π️Lonny's War Update- October 634, 2023 - July 1, 2025 π️
- Hostages' families respond to Smotrich: 'How long will you sell dangerous concepts to the public?'
The Hostages Families Headquarters responded to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who called for ending negotiations with Hamas: "The truth is that Smotrich has no real plan besides an endless war without goals or purpose, but with the painful price of losing the hostages and IDF soldiers. With one hand he votes for returning residents to the Gaza envelope claiming there is no security concern, and with the other hand he votes for expanding the fighting claiming that Hamas has not yet been defeated. How long will he continue to mislead the people of Israel - and sell them dangerous concepts?" link
- Qatar foreign ministry: No truce talks being held, only efforts to resume negotiations
Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari states at a press conference in Doha that “there are no ongoing talks regarding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, but rather contacts aimed at drafting a framework that would allow negotiations to resume.”
He adds that there is “positive language” coming from the Americans regarding reaching a ceasefire. Al-Ansari also says that Qatar continues to push for a separation between the issues of the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and a ceasefire. link. This is a ridiculous situation and should be an embarrassment to our government, that they are doing almost nothing to get our hostages home. Our negotiating partners, Qatar, Egypt, the US are the only ones actually doing to the work. A proper government, a proper leader/prime minister should have a negotiating team in Doha and/or Cairo at all times and not come home until a deal is made to end the war and bring all the hostages home at once and not in those horrific phases that Netanyahu invented to give him an out at any time to return to his war and sacrifice the hostages.
- Smotrich claims ‘no greater danger’ to Israel than a truce deal to free the hostages. article I will not dignify the disgusting utterances of this racist, messianic, failed minister by copying the things he unembarrassingly states. From the beginning of the war, he has made it very clear that he is willing to sacrifice every single hostages as long as the war goes on, we 'encourage' the Gazans to 'voluntarily leave' and he can fulfil his dreams of taking over Gaza and setting up Jewish settlements throughout the Strip. The hell with the hostages, the hell with their families and the hell with all the soldiers killed to fulfil his messianic dreams. He is an embarrassment to the country and to the Knesset. Unfortunately, this government in total is an embarrassment and he is a strong part of that embarrassment and disgrace.
- Gantz calls for deal to free all the hostages ‘even if the price is a long ceasefire’
National Unity chairman Benny Gantz demands that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu come to an agreement to free all of the hostages “even if the price is a long ceasefire.”
“There is no war in Gaza — there is fighting. Right from the beginning, we determined that the intense campaign would last three months, followed by continued fighting for a year or perhaps more, in order to dismantle Hamas’s military infrastructure. That’s long overdue,” Gantz, who served in Netanyahu’s now-defunct war cabinet, tells reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting at the Knesset.
“I said from the beginning that the process of reshaping Gaza would take about a decade. It’s time to explain this to the public and start working to shape this reality, instead of letting others decide over our heads,” he says.
“Our interest is to return all the hostages, as quickly as possible — and not to spread it around in another phased deal that will leave some of the hostages as bargaining chips for Hamas,” Gantz continues.
“Even if the price is a long ceasefire, it is clear to the world and clear to us that we cannot live with a terrorist organization that is arming itself on our border. In my opinion, Hamas will not become a peace movement. We must take advantage of the deal to change the regime in Gaza and demilitarize it. We must not give in to Hamas’s plan to stall for time.”
Turning to the wider region, Gantz says that he supports “normalization with Syria” but that any agreement with Damascus must be carefully considered.
“Let it be clear — Syria is not the UAE, Morocco nor Bahrain. It shares a border with us and is a country that initiated a war against us in the past. The regime suffers from instability and still has a lot to prove. Any future agreement must be first anchored by security arrangements. We must not withdraw from the strategic positions safeguarding our ability to protect the people of the Golan Heights. We must also safeguard the interests of our Druze brothers and sisters. Any arrangement with Syria must start with the preservation of Israel’s security superiority in the area,” he says.
Asked about US President Donald Trump’s demand to end the prime minister’s ongoing criminal trial, Gantz replies that “this is an internal matter of the State of Israel… and there is no room for external intervention or influence in this matter.”
- Suspected Iranian espionage: Police and Shin Bet arrest couple from Ra'anana
Police, under Shin Bet direction, arrested a Ra'anana couple in their 30s on suspicion of spying against Israel for Iran. This was announced in a joint statement by the two organizations. According to the statement, police searched the couple's apartment and seized several phones, computers and technological equipment, in addition to communications suspected of being correspondence between the couple and a handler. The suspects will be brought before court for a detention extension hearing. Israeli-Arab group says some Gazans displaying photos of Israeli kids killed on Oct. 7 in message of peace
The Israeli-Arab peace movement Standing Together (Omdim Beyachad) announces that “in recent days, silent vigils have been held by Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip, including bereaved parents, displaying photos of Israeli children killed on October 7. The vigils were inspired by similar demonstrations we have held in Israel against the war of destruction in Gaza, featuring images of Palestinian children who died in the war.”
Footage released by the organization shows Gazans holding up photos of Kfir and Ariel Bibas, the children from Kibbutz Nir Oz who were kidnapped to Gaza during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack and murdered there along, with their mother.
According to the group, participants in Gaza are members of the local Youth Committee, which launched the campaign “Living Together, Dying Together,” calling for an end to the war, the release of all hostages and the cessation of civilian killings on both sides.
The group quotes the protest organizer, who lost his three children and several cousins in the war, as saying: ‘We mourn with every Jewish, Christian, or Muslim family that lost a child in this war. Our pain does not blind us to the suffering of others — we are against the killing of children, whether they are Palestinian or Israeli.” link. This is an absolutely incredible act on the part of the Palestinians in Gaza. Doing something like this in the past under Hamas government would have meant arrest and torture and possibly death of the Gazans holding these pictures. Any Gazan who spoke of peace with Israel or were public in their connections with Israel with the purpose of finding peace between our peoples, would be arrested, tortured and jailed. I know a Gazan who was in favor of peace with Israel, still in favor, was arrested and shot 28 times by Hamas. His family was able to get him to a hospital in Cairo where he spent the next year fighting for his life and then recovering. He still has bullets shards throughout his body.
- IDF video shows demolition of major Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza
Newly released footage by the IDF shows the demolition of a major Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza, uncovered and dismantled by the 188th Armored Brigade and the Yahalom combat engineering unit.
According to the IDF, the underground passage, located in the Khan Younis area, stretched two kilometers and reached a depth of 20 meters. It was allegedly used by Hamas for military activity and as a hideout, with troops discovering sleeping quarters inside. Part of the tunnel ran beneath the former Ma’an School building.
The military says the operation was part of a broader campaign in recent weeks in which the 188th Brigade, together with the Israeli Air Force, destroyed hundreds of Hamas military infrastructure sites, killed dozens of operatives and located weapons in the area. video
- Gaza media outlets report some 20 killed in IDF strike on cafe in western Gaza City
Media outlets in Gaza reports that around 20 people were killed and others injured in an Israeli strike in western Gaza City, near the coast. According to the reports, the targeted structure was being used as a cafe.
Footage from the scene shows a destroyed pavilion and casualties being pulled from the site.
The IDF has yet to issue a response.
IDF says reviewing deadly strike on seafront Gaza internet cafe
Palestinians inspect the damage at Al-Baqa cafe, which was hit by an Israeli strike on the Gaza City seafront on June 30, 2025 (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)The Israeli army says that it launched a review into a strike Monday on a seafront Gaza cafe it says targeted operatives from terror groups.
In a statement to AFP regarding the incident, the army says it struck “several Hamas terrorists – in the northern Gaza Strip.”
Gaza’s Hamas-linked civil defense agency said at least 24 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in the strike on the Al-Baqa cafe, a prominent venue along Gaza City’s coastal promenade. The figure could not be independently verified.
An army spokesperson says that “prior to the strike, steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians using aerial surveillance.”
“The incident is under review,” he adds.
The cafe and restaurant, which had so far survived more than 20 months of war sparked by the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack, had become a gathering spot for those not displaced by the conflict.
“There’s always a lot of people at that spot, which offers drinks, spaces for families, and internet access,” says Ahmad al-Nayrab, 26, who was walking on the nearby beach when he heard a loud explosion.
“It was a massacre,” he tells AFP. “I saw bits of bodies flying everywhere, bodies mangled and burned. It was a bloodcurdling scene; everybody was screaming.”
- Israel may soon let more aid into Gaza ‘as part of broader and larger plan’ — official
Israel might expand the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza “in the near future as part of a broader and larger plan,” an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
“Then we would be reducing the tension between the population and the soldiers, as well as other advantages which I will not go into right now.”
“It’s a bigger plan, but it’s still under debate and not decided.”
The plan will be discussed tonight in the cabinet meeting on Gaza, says the official.
IDF admits killing several Gazan civilians near aid hubs, says Hamas tolls exaggerated
The IDF acknowledges that Palestinian civilians were killed and injured by its fire near aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip, including by artillery fire, but says the tolls provided by Hamas authorities are exaggerated.
The military also announces it “reorganized the access routes” to the humanitarian hubs, adding new fencing and signage along with additional paths to the aid sites.
According to the military, troops on the ground have only used live gunfire when a threat was posed to them, including when dozens of suspects approached forces outside of the designated routes to the aid sites operated by the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or outside the operating hours.
In those cases, the IDF says a small number of people were hit by its fire, and not dozens as Hamas has claimed.
However, the military says that at least in three “tragic” cases, artillery shelling was carried out toward areas near the aid sites, in an attempt to prevent Palestinians from approaching specific zones outside of the distribution centers.
The artillery fire in those cases was “inaccurate,” according to the IDF’s investigations, and resulted in 30-40 Palestinian casualties, among them several dead.
The military says those civilian casualties “did not need to happen” and it was the result of the inaccurate artillery, and not intended to directly target civilians at the aid sites.
The IDF says it stopped carrying out shelling near the aid sites following the incidents.
Each case of reported civilian casualties near the GHF sites has been investigated, the military says, adding that it is working to improve infrastructure, access routes, signage, and announcements for the aid sites.
Currently, there is no screening process for Palestinians who seek to collect aid, meaning that Hamas members are likely also arriving and picking up food packages. In the coming weeks, the IDF hopes that a screening process may begin, along with the opening of additional aid sites.
Citing “the lessons that were learned,” the IDF also says the Tel Sultan aid site will temporarily be closed while a new distribution hub is built there “in order to reduce the friction with the population and maintain the security of the forces on the ground.”
- IDF says it hit more than 140 terror targets in Gaza strikes over past 24 hours
Palestinians inspect the rubble of a home destroyed by Israeli airstrikes in Al-Zawaideh, Gaza Strip, on July 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)The Israel Defense Forces says it carried out airstrikes on more than 140 terror targets across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, as part of ongoing operations against Hamas and other terror groups.
According to the military, the strikes targeted terror group operatives, anti-tank launch sites, weapons depots, military buildings, and underground infrastructure threatening Israeli troops.
Ground forces from multiple divisions continued operating in various parts of the Strip. The 99th Division directed an airstrike that killed two operatives attempting to plant an explosive device, while the 162nd Division eliminated eight operatives in an operational command center. The 36th Division reported dozens of terrorist operatives killed and hundreds of targets destroyed in recent days.
Meanwhile, naval forces struck several targets in southern Gaza under direction from the 143rd Division.
π️Day 634 that 50 of our hostages are still in Hamas captivityπ️
**There is nothing more important than getting them home! NOTHING!**
“I’ve never met them,But I miss them. I’ve never met them,but I think of them every second. I’ve never met them,but they are my family. BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!”
We’re waiting for you, all of you.
A deal is the only way to bring
all the hostages home- the murdered for burial and the living for rehabilitation.
A deal is the only way to bring
all the hostages home- the murdered for burial and the living for rehabilitation.
#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope
#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope
There is no victory until all of the hostages are home!
ΧΧΧ Χ Χ¦ΧΧΧ Χ’Χ Χ©ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧΧ€ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧͺ
Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
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Gaza and the South
Hezbollah must be disarmed before Israel-Lebanon normalization can advance, says Israeli official
After confirming that talks between Israel and Syria are advanced, an Israeli official says that contacts with the US-led deconfliction mechanism in Lebanon continue “all the time.”
Earlier today, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said that Lebanon and Syria are both prospective candidates to join the Abraham Accords.
Before normalization with Lebanon can move ahead, says the official, “we need to finish the issue of disarming Hezbollah. It will be very hard. I don’t know if they will succeed.”
Still, the official indicates that the Lebanese Armed Forces have demonstrated they are serious about disarming Hezbollah. “They definitely have limitations that are both subjective and objective, but we are under the impression that they are trying. At least most of the army is trying. We are more-or-less effective enforcement, but you see that we are striking almost every day.”
“That should say a lot.”
IDF says troops in West Bank foiled planned attacks, uncovered bomb lab in Ramallah
During operations in the central West Bank over the past day, the IDF’s 7114th Battalion of the Binyamin Brigade together with the Shin Bet has foiled a terrorist cell planning attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers, the military says.
According to the IDF, troops uncovered an explosives lab in Ramallah containing materials used to manufacture bombs and arrested several suspects.
Additionally, the IDF and Civil Administration, the Defense Ministry body in charge of Israeli and Palestinian civil affairs in the West Bank, carried out enforcement actions against illegal construction in the village of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah. Assailants reportedly used these illegal structures as cover to throw stones at Israeli vehicles traveling on Route 60.
Following these incidents, the chief of the IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth ordered swift enforcement actions to maintain security.
On the Way to Loss of Control and Anarchy in Judea and Samaria
Jewish terror rampages and harms IDF fighters in the midst of a war for the security of residents • The transfer of powers to Smotrich and Ben Gvir dismantled the enforcement and prevention apparatus • After ignoring the harm to Palestinians and the warnings of former Shin Bet head Bar – Netanyahu and the cabinet must declare: this is terror • Opinion
Violent demonstration by extremist settlers at the Military West Bank Coordination base BinyaminThe serious events of Jewish terror rampaging in recent days, including physical harm to IDF fighters and commanders who risk their lives every night for the security of the residents, constitute a crossing of a glaring red line in the already complex and sensitive reality in Judea and Samaria. It seems the situation is on its way to a loss of control.This morning, another red line was crossed that we did not think we would reach – harm to a sensitive security facility that serves as a central tool in the fight against Palestinian terror, by Jewish terror.
The security facility in Binyamin that was set on fire by Israelis. A bright red line has been crossed Photo: IDF spokesmanBut it is worth paying attention to the fact that in recent months, dozens of events have occurred involving attacks on Palestinians and the burning of their homes and property. This happened without response, without headlines in the media, without arrests – and without condemnation from any of the heads of the settlements and the state.
According to IDF data, in the first half of 2025 there was a 30% increase in incidents of nationalist crime and Jewish terror, which are dragging the area into anarchy and loss of control, while severely harming our national security. There is no doubt that this difficult and serious reality has in recent months received covert backing and open support from members of Knesset, ministers, and leadership figures, who see the grim picture and do nothing – not even half a thing – to confront it.
I have no doubt that the original sin and watershed moment was in appointing Smotrich as a minister in the Ministry of Defense, and transferring powers over the Civil Administration and the Settlement Administration to him. This step led to a confusing and discriminatory policy and severely harmed law enforcement and order across Judea and Samaria, including harming the ability to thwart terror and provide security to the area’s residents.
Also contributing to this was the appointment of Minister Ben Gvir as Minister of National Security, responsible for the police in the district, which led to it not dealing with Jewish terror events. The level of cooperation between the Samaria and Judea (Shai) District Police and the Shin Bet as a central enforcement and prevention tool is almost nonexistent.
It is worth recalling that in August 2024, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar sent an urgent letter to the Prime Minister and cabinet ministers in which he clearly stated that Jewish terror endangers the existence of the state. Bar said then that this was no longer about "wild weeds," but that the phenomenon was significantly expanding, including use of weapons, some of which the IDF itself had supplied to residents in the West Bank.
Unfortunately, the severe and unusual letter received no response whatsoever from the Prime Minister or the cabinet, despite the serious reality he described.
A few months ago, upon taking office, Defense Minister Katz canceled administrative detention orders for "Hilltop Youth" activists who engaged in Jewish terror, even though it was clearly explained to him that this posed a danger to security and to human lives. The minister insisted they did not. This morning’s reality clearly shows the serious consequences of his decision to curry favor with his political base.
Now there is no fear of administrative detention, and the terrorists see public representatives fighting for improved prison conditions for those already arrested or imprisoned – who receive legitimacy and are even praised as heroes of the settlement movement.
At the same time, there is serious delegitimization of security forces, especially the Jewish Division of the Shin Bet, as well as violent activity against Palestinians. Nationalist crime in the form of violence for the sake of intimidation – this is terror in every respect.
Harming IDF soldiers and their commanders causes, first and foremost, a problem of governance to the point of deterioration into anarchy and loss of control on the ground – a very dangerous slippery slope.
These serious events harm the settlements in Judea and Samaria, most of which are made up of a normative population committed to the state and to the law. This gang of rioters casts a stain on this settlement movement and on Israeli society. They also severely harm Israel's struggle in the international arena and generate delegitimization against Israel and its army.
These Jewish terror attacks also generate revenge attacks by Palestinians against settlers and the IDF, and therefore a significant leadership decision is required here, first and foremost by the Prime Minister and the cabinet – the phenomenon must be defined as Jewish terror, without embellishment.
Significant resources must also be allocated to the Jewish Division of the Shin Bet and its size must be significantly increased. There is also a need for a significant expansion of the Shai District of the police – to allocate capabilities and means that will enable meaningful enforcement.
Without such a decision by the Prime Minister and the cabinet, it will not be possible to change this grim reality. It is worth reminding ourselves that we have been at war with a wave of terror in the West Bank for years, which requires the activity of dozens of IDF battalions. The killing of Palestinians by Jewish rioters could cause a serious escalation and very severe attacks.
At a time when we have a strategic opportunity to change the face of the Middle East, it is imperative to calm all arenas, while improving Israel’s national security and strategic situation.
In the current reality, the national and local leadership fears condemning and confronting the extremists and fears acting decisively – and this is the sad result. In my view, this deterioration will lead to deaths if we do not act immediately.
>>> Kobi Marom is a reserve Colonel, commanded the Golani 13th Battalion and the Hiram Formation (769) on the northern border, and is a national security expert. link
Katz combats settler violence with committee and fundsDefense minister announces interagency body to deal with growing violence by youth, although one exists; avoids reinstating strict measures lifted when he assumed office; blames judges
Defense Minister Israel Katz announced Tuesday that following recent attacks by extremist Jewish settlers on IDF soldiers in the West Bank—preceded by assaults on Palestinians—he had ordered the formation of a “joint body” led by the police and including the IDF and Shin Bet to coordinate enforcement efforts. However, the body Katz described had already existed for several months. Katz, who reversed his predecessor's decision to hold instigators of violence among West Bank settlers under administrative detention, had effectively reinstated a task According to Katz, the meeting included IDF Central Command head Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, Operations Division chief Maj. Gen. Yisrael Shomer, Judea and Samaria District Police commander Moshe Pinchi, Shin Bet representatives from and other national and security officials. Bluth reportedly clarified during the meeting that the shooting of a Jewish teen last week was unrelated to the earlier incident in which settlers allegedly attacked soldiers—including a battalion commander—and took place under different circumstances that are still under investigation. Lt. Col. (res.) G., commander of the 7114th Reserve Battalion, recounted firsthand the violence he and his troops faced during the weekend clashes with settler youth: “This is a rolling event. It didn’t start yesterday. These are the same individuals filmed torching property in a Palestinian village—armed with drawn weapons,” he said. “We saw them choke one of the soldiers, they punched me personally, stoned a vehicle, rammed an IDF armored jeep, slashed tires and threatened our lives, saying we wouldn’t make it out alive.” Lt. Col. G. stressed that most of the battalion’s time is now spent confronting Jewish rioters. “Some 90% of our time is spent preventing the hilltop youth from torching areas. Our mission is to protect the settlements, not to be distracted from them. This puts the residents in danger.” A senior IDF official also revealed that most of the youths involved in the unrest aren't West Bank residents. He said the illegal outpost cleared this week near the Beit El base was established just two and a half weeks ago on private Palestinian land. Last week, masked youths arrived in the nearby village of al-Mughayyir with cars and firearms, set homes on fire, and clashed with both Palestinians and IDF troops dispatched to break up the riots. Bluth said he was confident the officer who opened fire acted according to protocol, but still recommended an investigation by the IDF’s Military Police Criminal Investigation Division (MPCID) to “dispel any doubts.” According to Katz, all participants in the meeting agreed that “the settler movement as a whole and most of the hilltop youth, do not engage in this kind of violence. This is a small, extreme and violent fringe that deliberately targets security forces, local residents and even settlers.” The minister called for a firm response to anyone attacking IDF troops or law enforcement personnel and said police should take the lead in handling the threat. He added that regional commanders already have additional tools at their disposal but emphasized that “robust police enforcement,” similar to standards elsewhere in Israel, is essential. In addition to the announcement of the already-existing task force, Katz authorized the allocation of tens of millions of shekels to fund social and community programs for the hilltop youth. These initiatives will be led by special coordinator Avichai Tanami in collaboration with local council heads and aim to “integrate the youth into educational and normative frameworks to steer them away from illegal activity.” Katz’s office did not clarify what new powers, tools, or resources—if any—the “special team” would have beyond the capabilities of the long-operating interagency forum. According to Katz, “It was agreed that police enforcement would focus on prevention, investigation, and prosecution of individuals where evidence supports it.” Several participants criticized the judicial system for its leniency toward the perpetrators, despite extensive evidence. It was agreed that an immediate appeal would be made to the Justice Ministry on the matter. The complaints Katz described are echoed primarily by senior police officials, who say judges are releasing detainees after just a few days, before investigations are complete. Katz concluded by saying he would hold a follow-up meeting in three weeks to assess progress on the issue. already in place. link. The only reason that Yisrael Katz is the Defense Minister is because he is a yesman to Netanyahu. That is the only qualification that Netanyahu wanted in a defense minister after he succeeded in firing Yoav Galant, the previous defense minister. Katz doesn't stop making stupid statements that are picked up by the Israeli and International press where he helps make himself look like a moron on the international stage. His actions here in regard to Jewish terrorism against the army are just as moronic. He refuses to call this terror and all he is doing is forming a committee and throwing even more money to the settlements for social activities. There is nothing being done for deterrence, arresting of the perpetrators by actually enforcing the law, and absolutely nothing about getting the police to do their job and arrest the Jewish terrorists, charge them and bring them to trial. And of course, he will not go against one of his first stupid terror enabling actions of cancelling administrative detention for Jewish terrorists which the Shin Bet begged him not to do. What an idiot?- Over 12 Palestinians arrested after trying to keep settler shepherd away, rights group says
Israeli security forces arrested over a dozen Palestinians Monday who sought to prevent a settler from grazing sheep on their land in the southern West Bank, the B’Tselem rights group says.Members of the Palestinian hamlet of a-Rakeez, in an area known as Masafer Yatta, called Israeli Police upon spotting the Israeli settler on their agricultural land, B’Tselem says.
When Israeli troops and officers arrived at the scene, they arrested the Palestinians, while allowing the settler to continue grazing his sheep.
The detainees, including women, minors and the parents of two young children, are being held at a police station in the southern West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba, B’Tselem says.
Spokespeople for the Israel Police and the IDF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Masafar Yatta is located in what Israeli authorities say is an IDF firing zone, exposing it to evacuation orders. Residents say they have lived their for decades and face regular demolitions by Israeli authorities and harassment from nearby settlers from nearby illegal outposts, who they say are spared the selective enforcement of the orders. link This is a combination of the approved unlawfulness of the settlers and the double standard police actions. The police do not arrest settlers for their unlawful actions, including violence, arson, murder, vandalism, etc., yet the Palestinian victims are rounded up, arrested and charged for defending their property and their lives.
- Central Israel learns what the periphery knows in every war
Opinion: The Iranian missile strikes have erased the center-periphery divide in Israel, proving that survival now depends on urban resilience and communal solidarity forged on the border communities
The missiles that struck the heart of Israel transformed the concrete tower into a familiar sight from the border regions. More than 60 buildings were damaged in Bat Yam, nine high-rises collapsed in Ramat Gan, and 24 Israelis paid with their lives in just a few days of fighting.Residents of Revivim, Shlomi, and Mekhora, who saw newspaper headlines screaming "The Center Under Fire," have known this reality for a long time. Now the Tel Aviv metropolitan area is discovering firsthand what border communities are forced to relearn with each round: when the concrete wall collapses—the human wall is the last line of defense.Anyone who has spent time in a Tel Aviv shelter during a missile attack knows the gradual transformation that occurs in a high-rise building. From faceless strangers encountered in elevators, connections and acquaintanceships slowly form between neighbors.Each neighbor finds their familiar corner in the shelter, and the sense of alienation and estrangement that characterizes the city blurs under the shared threat. It's grim to say this, but this covenant of destiny that brings everyone together in stairwells or neighborhood shelters is a good foundation to start from—especially after being hit and forced to evacuate.As in every cinematic battle, the strongest enemy is saved for last, and so among the seven fronts, the Israeli government left Tehran for the end. The Iran front changed the geographical equation, but it doesn't cancel out the lesson already learned from the borders. In recent years, community mechanisms of mutual aid, emergency routines, informal education, and flexible employment opportunities have emerged at the edges of the country. They were born out of necessity, under the barrage of rockets endured by border residents, or when the North dealt with a hundred consecutive days ofunder fire. The model that suits communities in Manara and Be'eri will also suit the residential towers in Herzliya and Petah Tikva—it just needs to be adjusted to fit.Damages to Ramat Gan building after Iranian missile strikeYes, the urban arena is denser, and damage to a residential tower differs from the destruction of a private house in a moshav, but the basic principle is the same: first and foremost comes temporary housing solutions that prevent endless migration between relatives and hotels. Across northern, southern and eastern Israel, hundreds of empty apartments still stand—abandoned in the past year or not yet populated. Local authorities have already opened "open home" groups and are assembling apartment pools for residents displaced from central Israel, seeking shelter and frameworks for children while homes are rebuilt.This is the time for government ministries and philanthropic foundations to mobilize: to finance temporary relocation, basic apartment insurance, and high-speed internet, so people can return to work without falling into the financial trap of Tel Aviv's high cost of living. After housing comes social connection. From my work with student villages and the youth networks of Kedma on the borders, I’ve learned that communal bonfires, youth meetups and senior gatherings are not symbolic—they meet a deep post-trauma need. Even in a high-rise hit by a missile the heart of the city, it's possible to establish an "urban commune": the third floor hosts a children's playroom, the sixth floor organizes fitness classes in the shared living room, and on the roof neighbors open an evening observation post looking at skies that take on new meaning (of course, in accordance with Home Front Command guidelines). Experience teaches that when every age group finds a role, grief transforms into a sense of mission. The question is no longer "where is the periphery?"—it’s “who’s still safe?” If another tower falls in Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv could feel—for one night—like a tiny village in the Upper Galilee. But if we build networks of attentive neighbors and allow the flow of people and skills between the center and the frontiers, we will overcome this crisis not just through concrete, but through spirit. The confrontation with Iran showed that distance from the front doesn’t guarantee security. What does is our ability to drive a few kilometers, open a stranger’s door, and say: welcome home.Irael Cohen - The writer is the founder and president of Kedma, an organization working for the benefit of Israel’s periphery area.
West Bank, Jerusalem, Israel and Terror Attacks
- Politics and the War and General News
- Lapid calls for return of hostages, end of war: ‘What are troops dying daily in Gaza for?’
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid asks why Israel is still in Gaza, arguing that it is time to end the war and bring home the hostages.
“The time has come to make a hostage deal and end the war. There is no longer any benefit to be gained from continuing the war. Only harm: security damage, political damage, economic damage,” Lapid tells reporters ahead of his Yesh Atid party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.
“Hamas will not be eliminated as long as there is no alternative government in Gaza,” Lapid declares, calling for the redeployment of the IDF along the perimeter of the Gaza Strip and the formulation of “a long-term plan to eliminate Hamas” and “encourage voluntary migration.”
“Reality is not changed by fantasies but by the right combination of military and political effort,” he asserts. “Every day, our soldiers are killed,” he notes. “For what?”
“I am in favor of eliminating Hamas, but Hamas will not be eliminated as long as an alternative government does not enter Gaza. We should have started a process a year ago to bring Egypt to manage Gaza, along with other Arab countries,” he continues.
“I understand that the far-right ministers want us to occupy Gaza and rule it forever. Soldiers will continue to die, the Israeli taxpayer, the battered and bruised Israeli middle class, will pay [the financial cost]… The absolute majority of Israeli citizens know and understand that this is a dangerous idea and disconnected from reality. In the real world, we need to make a hostage deal, end the war.”
TV: Ex-chief justice Barak to tell Herzog that Netanyahu must resign as PM in case of pardon or plea deal
Former Supreme Court chief justice Aharon Barak will meet with President Isaac Herzog tomorrow evening and discuss ways in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s criminal trial might be brought to an end, Channel 12 news reports.
Barak has expressed support on several occasions for bringing the trial — now in its sixth year — to a close, but only if Netanyahu leaves office.
According to the TV report, Barak intends to tell Herzog that he is opposed to a pardon for Netanyahu, which the president can technically grant. Were Herzog to issue such a pardon, however, Barak would reportedly tell the president he must condition it on Netanyahu leaving public office.
The former Supreme Court president will also reportedly tell Herzog that any plea bargain with Netanyahu that ends the trial without him having to resign from public office would be unacceptable.
Last week, it was revealed that Barak met with Netanyahu’s lawyer in January in a bid to reach a plea bargain, but the effort faltered due to the prime minister’s refusal to step down.
A similar attempt to reach a plea bargain, also mediated by Barak, back in 2022, foundered for the same reason.
US President Donald Trump has brought the issue back to the headlines in recent days, after he twice called for the trial to be cancelled.
Netanyahu’s ongoing testimony in the trial halted completely during the recent 12-day war with Iran, during which all non-urgent court proceedings were halted. The hearings scheduled for this week were also cancelled when Netanyahu brought intelligence chiefs to argue that urgent national security and diplomacy matters required the prime minister’s full attention, after the court twice rejected the premier’s requests for a delay.
The Jerusalem District Court has repeatedly cancelled hearings since Netanyahu’s testimony began, due to what he has said are his duties as prime minister, scheduling issues, foreign trips, and medical problems, though the premier has claimed he could run the country and stand trial simultaneously.
- The Region and the World
Ilan Avraham was murdered by Hamas during the October 7 massacre, outside the agricultural community of Yakhini where he and his wife had escaped from the assault on the Nova music festival.
Acronyms and Glossary
ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague
IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague
MDA - Magen David Adom - Israel Ambulance Corp
PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen
PMO- Prime Minister's Office
UAV - Unmanned Aerial vehicle, Drone. Could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, or be weaponized with missiles or contain explosives for 'suicide' explosion mission
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