π️Lonny's War Update- October 638, 2023 - July 5, 2025 π️
π️Day 636 that 50 of our hostages are still in Hamas captivityπ️
The complete document revealed: 60‑day cease‑fire proposal — with Trump guarantees and phased hostage release
The Egyptian–Qatari proposal includes a 60‑day cease‑fire, phased release of hostages (living and deceased), and redeployment of IDF forces in Gaza. During this period, negotiations will be held on a full Israeli withdrawal and permanent arrangements in the Strip. U.S. President Trump is the guarantor for the agreement and is expected to announce it himself. Mediator Bashara Bakhbakh: “I am full of hope that we will hear good news tonight.”
Al-Majalla magazine in Saudi Arabia today (Friday) publishes the full text of the 60‑day cease‑fire proposal between Israel and Hamas — including phased hostage releases, extensive humanitarian aid delivery, and partial redeployment of the IDF. According to the proposal, President Trump is guarantor of Israel’s commitment and will personally lead the announcement. Within the period, negotiations will occur on a permanent cease‑fire, at whose conclusion “all Israeli hostages — living and deceased — will be released.”
According to a report on the Saudi Al‑Hadath channel, not confirmed by other sources, Hamas is expected to announce its response to the cease‑fire proposal at a press conference tonight at 20:00.
Duration
A 60‑day cease‑fire. President Trump guarantees Israel’s commitment to the cease‑fire throughout the agreed period.Timeline
Release of 10 living hostages and 18 deceased hostages as follows:-
Day 1: release 8 living hostages.
-
Day 7: return 5 deceased hostages.
-
Day 30: return 5 deceased hostages.
-
Day 50: release 2 living hostages.
-
Day 60: return 8 deceased hostages.
Humanitarian aid
Aid will enter Gaza immediately upon Hamas's agreement to the cease‑fire. It will be delivered according to the agreed protocol regarding civilian aid, honored throughout the period. The agreement includes commitment to large-scale aid consistent with needs, in line with the January 19, 2025 agreement on humanitarian assistance. Aid distribution will be via agreed routes including the UN and Red Crescent.IDF activity
All offensive military operations in Gaza will cease when the agreement comes into effect. During the cease‑fire, air activity (including military and intelligence) over Gaza will pause for 10 hours daily—or 12 hours on days when hostages are released.Troop deployment
-
Day 1: After releasing 8 living hostages, redeployment in northern Gaza and along the Netzarim corridor, per section 3 on humanitarian aid and pre‑agreed maps.
-
Day 7: After returning 5 deceased hostages, redeployment in southern Gaza per section 3 and agreed maps.
Technical teams will determine final boundaries for redeployment via accelerated negotiations.
Negotiations
On Day 1, negotiations commence under the guarantors' auspices regarding permanent cease‑fire arrangements, including:
A. Principles and terms for releasing all remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners agreed by both sides.
B. Issues related to redeployment and Israeli withdrawal, including long‑term security arrangements in Gaza.
C. “Day after” arrangements in Gaza proposed by either side.
D. Declaration of a permanent cease‑fire.Presidential backing
President Trump is serious about both sides committing to the cease‑fire deal and insists that negotiations during the temporary cease‑fire, if successful, must lead to a permanent resolution of the conflict.Palestinian prisoner release
In exchange for releasing the Israeli hostages (living and deceased) per item (2) above, Israel will release an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners. The release process will coincide with hostage releases, per item (2), following a pre‑agreed mechanism without public ceremonies.Hostage and prisoner status
By Day 10, Hamas will provide full information (proof of life, medical condition, or proof of death) for each remaining hostage. In return, Israel will provide full information about Palestinian prisoners detained in Gaza since October 7, and the number of Gazan deaths in Israel. Hamas commits to ensuring hostages’ health, wellbeing, and safety during the cease‑fire.Releasing the remaining hostages upon agreement
Permanent cease‑fire negotiations must be completed within 60 days. Upon agreement, all remaining Israeli hostages (living and deceased) from the “List of 58” provided by Israel will be released. If negotiations are not completed in that time, the temporary cease‑fire may be extended.U.S. President Donald Trump was asked last night if Hamas had responded to the cease‑fire framework; he replied, “We’ll know in the next 24 hours.” Trump also spoke about normalization talks with regional states and said at a meeting with Saudi defense minister that other countries will want to join the Abraham Accords.
Guarantor guarantees
The guarantor mediators (U.S., Egypt, and Qatar) will guarantee that the cease‑fire lasts 60 days, and will ensure serious negotiations on permanent cease‑fire arrangements. They will also guarantee continuation of serious negotiations for an extended period if required under agreed procedures.Special envoy
Special envoy Steve Witkoff will arrive in the region to finalize the agreement and will lead the negotiation team. President Trump himself will personally announce the cease‑fire agreement. The U.S. and President Trump are committed to ensuring continued negotiations until a final deal is reached.Dr. Bashara Bakhbakh, a key link between Hamas and the U.S., posted on Facebook today that Hamas is expected to deliver its response to the Egyptian–Qatari cease‑fire proposal—which Israel has already agreed to—tonight. “Residents of Gaza, with God’s help, Hamas will give its answer tonight to the Egyptian–Qatari cease‑fire proposal. I am full of hope we will hear good news tonight,” he wrote.
A source in Palestinian terror organizations told Al‑Hadath that Hamas has informed mediators it will submit a response tonight. According to the source, they support accepting the cease‑fire agreement as an initial 60‑day phase, during which negotiations will take place on ending the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
According to the report, there is agreement on the need for a cease‑fire that paves the way for “organizing internal affairs.” The decision on accepting the proposal lies with Hamas leadership. They estimated Hamas will agree with some technical notes.
The Palestinian businessman mediating between the U.S. and Hamas: “Who are you, Bashara Bakhbakh?”
Bakhbakh’s post is drawing great interest—mainly because he is at the center of the most secretive talks between Hamas and the U.S. administration. He conveyed messages from Hamas to Washington, helped draft the latest frameworks, and was also the unofficial lead in releasing hostage Idan Alexander.
Dr. Bashara Bakhbakh
Bakhbakh was formerly a fervent supporter of the Democratic Party but crossed lines and established the “Arabs for Trump” campaign. He said he did so because he felt betrayed by the Biden administration over its handling of the war in Gaza. “We repeatedly warned President Biden to stop the genocide taking place in Gaza,” he said in an interview with The Central Edition.Behind the scenes, he serves as an unofficial diplomatic conduit between Razi Hamad—member of Hamas’s political bureau—and American officials. One incident he revealed in that interview was the conversation where he was told Hamas’s willingness to release all hostages in exchange for a cease‑fire: “They asked me to pass this message to the Americans—and so I did.” link
-
Hamas responds ‘positively’ to truce offer, says it’s ready to start proximity talks
But source says response includes reservations on key issues, as Hamas aims to prevent Israel from resuming war, lift curbs on UN aid and secure a more significant IDF withdrawal
Pictures of the remaining Israeli hostages are displayed along a long table by a beach outside the US embassy branch office in Tel Aviv on July 4, 2025. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)Hamas announced Friday that it had submitted a “positive” response to the latest proposal for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement, adding that it was prepared to “immediately” begin proximity talks with Israel to close remaining gaps, but a source involved in mediation efforts told The Times of Israel that the terror group’s reply included three reservations on core issues, leaving significant hurdles to overcome.
“The movement has delivered its response to the brotherly mediators, which was characterized by a positive spirit. Hamas is fully prepared, with all seriousness, to immediately enter a new round of negotiations on the mechanism for implementing this framework,” Hamas said in a statement, which made no mention of any reservations.
But the source involved in the mediation effort said Hamas wants clearer language regarding the possibility that negotiations on a permanent ceasefire aren’t finished by the end of the 60-day proposed truce.
The text presented to Hamas states that the 60-day ceasefire can extend, so long as the sides are negotiating in good faith. But the source said Hamas wants the latter condition dropped, viewing it as a window Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will exploit to resume the war, as he did in March, collapsing an agreement reached in January before its second stage. Accordingly, the source said Hamas wants the proposal to state that talks on a permanent ceasefire will continue until an agreement is reached — something Israel has opposed, fearing that Hamas will drag out the talks indefinitely.
Another Hamas reservation pertains to aid, which the terror group wants to fully resume through mechanisms backed by the United Nations and other international aid organizations, the source said, noting that assistance could still flow through the controversial, US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. However, they clarified that Hamas would not accept the current system whereby Israel severely restricts the amount of UN aid allowed in.
An average of less than 70 trucks of aid has been entering Gaza each day since Israel lifted a blockade on the Strip after 78 days. International organizations say hundreds of trucks per day are needed to address the dire need in the Strip. The extent of the crisis has been highlighted by the utterly chaotic scenes at GHF distribution sites, which thousands of Palestinians have been willing to walk long distances while coming under IDF fire on a near-daily basis in order to reach due to the severe lack of food in Gaza.
Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli strike in the Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)The third reservation in Hamas’s response pertained to the withdrawal of Israeli forces during the truce, with the terror group demanding that the IDF retreat to positions it maintained before the collapse of the previous ceasefire in March.
All three reservations are likely to receive pushback from Israel, given that Netanyahu has insisted from the get-go that Israel maintain the ability to resume fighting, rather than agree up-front to a permanent ceasefire. Jerusalem has argued that ending the war would leave Hamas in power and able to regroup, though, critics of the government have maintained that Israel has already sufficiently dismantled the terror organization.
Israel is also opposed to aid mechanisms other than GHF, arguing that they allowed Hamas to divert large amounts of humanitarian assistance.
Israel has also taken over large swaths of territory, including the so-called Morag Corridor in southern Gaza, where it will likely push to keep its troops, similar to the Philadelphi Corridor, which straddles the Egypt-Gaza border.
The source familiar with the mediation effort said that despite the Hamas reservations, they expected that the sides would still be able to move ahead with proximity talks, which could take place in Doha as soon as Sunday.
But US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff had been pushing for Hamas to accept the mediators’ proposal as is, so that only a small number of issues would need to be raised during proximity talks. Those included the number and the identities of the Palestinian prisoners to be released in the deal and the maps marking the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
A Palestinian mother and her daughter rush for cover during an Israeli strike in the Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)It wasn’t immediately clear whether Israel and the US would deem Hamas’s reservations as limited enough to proceed with proximity talks.
US President Donald Trump has been pushing for a deal since he brokered another ceasefire between Israel and Iran on June 24, and he expressed his hope earlier this week that a ceasefire would be reached next week. He made similar comments the week before, though.
The deal on the table would secure the release of half of the 20 remaining living hostages, with eight freed on the first day and two released on the 50th day, according to an Arab diplomat from one of the mediating countries.
Roughly half of the remaining slain hostages would also be released, with five being freed on the seventh day, five more freed on the 30th day and eight more freed on the 60th day.
While Hamas has offered to release all of the hostages in one batch, Netanyahu — under pressure from far-right coalition partners — opted for the phased framework in order to maintain the ability to resume the war. Accordingly, Hamas demanded more staggered releases to ensure that Israel remains at the negotiation table.
A Netanyahu aide told Israeli reporters after midnight on Saturday that Israel had received Hamas’s response and was studying its contents.
A banner calling for action to release the Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip is displayed along a beach outside the US embassy branch office in Tel Aviv on July 4, 2025. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)Meanwhile, Palestinian Islamic Jihad — a smaller Gaza terror group that is aligned with Hamas in the war and also holding hostages, issued a statement backing plans to hold proximity talks with Israel, while seeking “guarantees.”
“We presented (Hamas) a number of detailed points on the mechanism for putting in place the mediators’ proposal, and we want additional guarantees to assure us (that Israel) will not resume its aggression after (hostages) are freed,” PIJ said in a statement issued shortly after Hamas’s.
The proximity talks are expected to be very difficult, with Israel reportedly fearing that Hamas will try and increase the proportion of Palestinian security prisoners that are released for every hostage.
And if those talks succeed, the subsequent negotiations on a permanent ceasefire are likely to be even thornier, with Israel demanding the disarmament of Hamas and the exile of its leaders — conditions that the terror group has long rejected. Netanyahu reportedly told security cabinet members earlier this week that he wanted to fight in Gaza until the last Hamas gunman is defeated.
Hamas had been deliberating the latest ceasefire proposal since Tuesday when Trump announced that Israel had accepted it.
Trump’s aides met with Netanyahu-confidant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer in Washington, consulting with him on the terms of the deal before the president’s Tuesday announcement.
Palestinians inspect the damage after an Israeli strike in the Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 4, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
Trump will host Netanyahu at the White House on Monday for the Israeli premier’s third visit in six months. No other foreign leader has been in the Oval Office more than once since the start of Trump’s second term.
On Thursday, Trump hosted former American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander at the White House and reportedly pledged to secure the release of the remaining 50 captives.
On Friday, he told reporters that Gazans have “been through hell,” dodging a reporter’s question about whether he still plans for the US to take over the Strip.
“I want the people of Gaza to be safe,” he answered. linkIslamic Jihad says supports Gaza ceasefire talks, demands ‘guarantees’
Palestinian Islamic Jihad says it supports plans for proximity talks on a truce with Israel in Gaza but demands “guarantees” that the process would lead to a permanent ceasefire.
“We presented (Hamas) a number of detailed points on the mechanism for putting in place the mediators’ proposal, and we want additional guarantees to assure us (that Israel) will not resume its aggression after (hostages) are freed,” the terror group says in a statement after Hamas indicated it was ready for talks.
- Report: Health and intel officials working to determine which hostages to prioritize in potential dealTwo Israeli committees are reportedly gathering information on the well-being of the remaining living hostages in order to determine which ones should be prioritized in the phased ceasefire deal currently under discussion.While all 20 of the hostages still believed to be alive are considered “humanitarian,” a Health Ministry committee and an IDF Military Intelligence committee will recommend to the hostage negotiating team who should be released first, Channel 12 says.The deal under discussion will see the release of eight living hostages on the first day, two living hostages freed on the 50th day and the remaining 10 hostages freed when an agreement is reached on the terms of the permanent ceasefire, which could take place by the 60th day of the truce.It hasn’t been confirmed yet whether the hostage negotiating team will be able to use the list supplied to it by the professional committees. In the last hostage deal, an Israeli list was submitted to Hamas ahead of time. link Netanyahu, the past repeatedly lied to the hostage families about who decides who will be released. He stated unequivocally on several occasions that Israel had nothing to do with the list of those to be released and said it was all in Hamas' hands. The last time he stated that, a government official told that it wasn't true and the list was prepared by the Defense Ministry. Immediately thereafter, when Netanyahu was questioned about it, he changed the narrative and stated that Hamas alone decided in which phase the hostages on the list would be released. Quite a difference and indicative of Netanyahu's compulsive lying. Since the last hostage deal that Netanyahu broke before completion, both the Defense and Health Ministries insisted that they would not be preparing the list as every single one of the living hostages is a humanitarian cause and anyone left behind was at high risk of disease, dying or being killed. Apparently, both of these ministries were pressured into being the ones to make the recommendations for the list which would then be confirmed by others who report into Netanyahu and then the list will be given to Hamas. This, as the Hostage Families Forum has stated is no different than the Nazis selectia (selecting who will live and who will die). The only reason that it is being done is because of the Phased releases that Netanyahu invented and insists upon. This shouldn't have to be. There should be only one deal, one that ends the war and brings home all of the 50 hostages at once; no lists, no selection, no phased releases. Unfortunately, Netanyahu's personal political survival takes precedent over the lives of the hostages. He wants the option of returning to the war if he sees it of political benefit for him, therefore we have this horrible and inhumane phased release over 60 days while leaving half of the living hostages still rotting and dying in Gaza with no date for their release.
- Mother of hostage Alon Ohel to go to Washington ahead of PM’s meeting to ‘look decision-makers in the eye’Alon and Idit Ohel pictured before October 7
Idit Ohel, mother of hostage Alon Ohel, is traveling to Washington to call for an end to the war in Gaza and the release of the captives, ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, she says in a video posted to social media.
“The progress in negotiations and Hamas’s response necessitate an end to Alon’s and all the hostages’ nightmare,” she says. “I’ve decided to travel to Washington tonight to look decision-makers in the eye, both in [Israel] and the United States, so they’ll know it’s time to save the life of my dear son Alon.”
“Alon is seriously wounded. He lost an eye and is suffering from a head wound that has not been treated,” she says. “His life is in danger.”
“Alon is alone, in harsh and cruel conditions,” says Idit Ohel. “If we don’t save Alon now, then when?”
“We’ve won,” she says. “We’ve won the war against Hamas, against Hezbollah and Iran, and now it’s time to win the most important war: bringing back Alon and bringing back the rest of the hostages.”
Alon Ohel, 24, was abducted from the Re’im area Nova music festival during the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023. He is one of 20 hostages still thought to be alive in Gaza, all of them young men.
The ceasefire-hostage deal on the table would secure the release of half of those hostages known to still be alive, with eight freed on the first day and two released on the 50th day, according to an Arab diplomat from one of the mediating countries. Roughly half of the remaining slain hostages would also be released, with five being freed on the seventh day, five more freed on the 30th day and eight more freed on the 60th day.
Hamas said Friday that it had submitted a “positive” response to the proposal, but a source involved in mediation told The Times of Israel that the terror group expressed reservations on three core issues that could pose significant hurdles in negotiations.
Netanyahu has publicly vowed to keep fighting in Gaza until Hamas is vanquished but is reportedly working with Trump on a plan that would end the war, re-commit Israel to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and normalize Israeli-Saudi and Israeli-Syrian relations.
Or Levy, who returned from Hamas captivity, about his son: "It is a pain that I cannot describe"
Five months after he returned from Hamas captivity, the former hostage Or Levy met with Haim Etgar and Maayan Adam and told about the most difficult moments and how his son received his return – without his mother Einav. "Everything is insane, I get a kick in the stomach again and again," he said.
491 days the former hostage Or Levy spent in the tunnels of Hamas. He did not stop thinking about his wife, the late Einav, who was murdered while hiding in a protected room, and about his son, Almog, who is waiting for him in Israel. In fact, Levy says that this is what kept him sane during the hard months when he could barely find hope to cling to. Now, when a deal to return hostages is on the table – he allows himself to express cautious optimism and tells how his and his son's lives have changed since his return.
In recent days, Levy returned with his son from a trip around the world, something that gave a lot of breathing space to the two who so longed for it. "These are the things that keep me alive," he said. "It was magical, Almog enjoyed and was happy with every moment, I allowed myself to rejoice a little because I saw how good he feels." The former hostage continued and told about a situation that happened and pinched his heart: "Not long ago I was with him in the garden and someone approached him and asked him who he was with, he answered: 'Only me and Dad', it kicked me in the stomach."
Or Levy in Hostages Square"It is a hard feeling, we live in a country where such things happen, that children go through such things," he continued and said. "It sends me to all the parents who are under the ground in Gaza, and their children do not see them. It is a pain that I cannot begin to describe."
Despite everything, Levy allows himself to rejoice a little and to hope that the mentioned deal will indeed go forward: "Every time there is a feeling of return to routine, then some new craziness happens. In recent days we are hearing good things, so I get a little excited and think about what could happen."
What do you imagine could happen with the deal?
"I had the chance to think about it. My excitement is not even because of me, it is because I know there is optimism on the other side. When there is optimism, then the hostages who are there feel it, it gives another small light of hope in difficult days. They are going through terrible days, and it is not life. You hear the conversation of your captors and that they are optimistic, when they are like that you can benefit from it, whether it is a cup of tea, or a little halva. Suddenly they are a bit more okay with you. You feel that it is almost over – so you also feel that."But what happens if it does not materialize? Is there deterioration?
"Sure, all the time. You always feel there is a hammer pounding more and more. I remember we always used to say: 'Never say it cannot get worse' – every time something happens and it gets worse. When you think you are at the bottom of the bottom, you understand that from here you only have down to go."Levy told about the coping with loss alongside fatherhood that forces him to keep going, even on the hardest days: "I believe that the only way is upward, especially when I have a child in my care whom I need to give the best to. It is hard, and every day is a struggle, but we need to be strong, and keep going forward, not to sink. Einav was always the one who studied and came with summaries about how to behave, I would try to go with the flow. Suddenly I am in both roles and it is hard, I constantly think what she would have done?"
Who do you feel you left behind in Gaza?
"I was with Alon Ohel for 490 days, we were kidnapped together from the protected room and went through all the places we reached inside Gaza and under the ground. I came back and he is still there. It is a completely surreal situation. I see the count of days and every time I get a kick in the stomach again. It already does not seem real in any way, everything is insane. We cling to every drop of optimism, but things are complex." linkIDF says it holds operational control over around 65% of Gaza
IDF soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip, in a handout cleared for publication on July 4, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)The IDF says it now holds operational control over roughly 65% of the Gaza Strip, following intensified military action across the territory.
Over the past week, Israeli forces eliminated more than 100 Hamas operatives, including senior commander Hakem al-Issa.
Since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, the Israeli Air Force has struck over 7,500 terror targets, including weapons sites, tunnels and rocket launchers.
The military says its campaign will continue in pursuit of its war goals and to protect Israeli civilians.
- IAF struck some 100 terror sites across Gaza over past day, military says
IDF soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip, in a handout cleared for publication on July 4, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)The Israeli Air Force struck around 100 terror targets across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the military says, as ground forces continue operations against Hamas and other terror groups.
Targets of the airstrikes included rocket launchers, military buildings, weapons depots and other infrastructure used by terror operatives.
Simultaneously, IDF ground troops from multiple divisions continued operations in Gaza City, northern Gaza, Khan Younis and Rafah, locating and destroying underground tunnels, weapons stockpiles and explosives planted to harm Israeli forces.
- Last Hamas leader standing wants an honorable deal in Gaza, reportIzz al-Din al-Haddad is heavily involved in negotiations for a new ceasefire and hostage release deal, according to Middle East intelligence sources
Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the current leader of Hamas in Gaza, said recently that he will either achieve an “honorable deal” to end the war in Gaza or else it will be “a war of liberation or a war of martyrdom,” according to the New York Times. The paper reported that he was heavily involved in the current ceasefire negotiations.On Thursday, IDF spokesperson Effi Defrin was asked who was calling the shots in Hamas and he named al-Haddad. "He is in northern Gaza and I will not say any more," Defrin said.Izz al-Din al-HaddadWestern Intelligence officials quoted in the Times' report said Haddad, who is the last senior member of Hamas to survive the war and Israel's targeted killings, was in Gaza City. He had survived at least six assassination attempts and was among the more prominent leaders of the Hamas military wing.Haddad, who is in his 50s, took part in the October 7 massacre. He speaks Hebrew and had held hostages in northern Gaza, including the female IDF lookouts who were released last January in the last ceasefire and hostage exchange deal.Israeli-American Keith Siegel, who was freed from captivity last January, said he had met Haddad in Gaza. He asked how I was doing and if I was being treated well, in perfect Hebrew," Siegel said. "He was mostly cordial except when [Siegel's wife] Aviva went to Switzerland and said in interviews that Hamas was torturing hostages.Keith Siegal during his release from Hamas captivity in GazaSiegel described a time when Haddad appeared wearing a face mask and a woolen hat. "I understood he was concerned that some of the guards could be sources for Israeli intelligence. Before Siegel's release, Haddad brought him a gift of chocolate to take to his wife and the two men walked together along the shoreline. "When he saw I was nervous, he said, "Be happy. You're going home."An intelligence source who spoke with the New York Times said Haddad saw the resistance to Russia in Chechnya in the early 1990s as a model for Hamas to follow.In the first war between the Muslim Republic and Russia, which lasted two years, the Russians did not achieve any of their military objectives and thousands of soldiers died.Haddad is not likely to concede his demand for an end to the war and the withdrawal of IDF troops from the Strip. link - Ex-senior security officials urge Trump to leverage Netanyahu meeting to end Gaza war
The head of a group representing over 550 former senior Israeli security officials has penned a letter to US President Donald Trump, urging him to leverage his upcoming meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza.
“It is our professional judgement that the IDF has long accomplished its dual mission of dismantling Hamas governance and essentially destroying its military capabilities,” Commanders for Israel’s Security chair Maj. Gen. (ret) Matan Vilnai writes.
Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel, and as demonstrated this year on multiple fronts, Israel possesses overwhelming power and ability to neutralize any threat that might arise from Gaza in the future,” he continues.
Coming out against Netanyahu’s prosecution of the war, Vilnai writes that further fighting “risks the lives of hostages, will continue to cost yet more IDF casualties and prolong the suffering of innocent Palestinians.”
“More broadly, it is likely to cause a loss of momentum in leveraging military achievements in Gaza, Lebanon and most recently Iran, towards implementing your vision for a regional strategic transformation.”
“Furthermore, it is also the professional judgement of the hundreds of CIS retired generals that a partial and staggered hostage deal and a limited ceasefire entail the same risks to the lives of remaining hostages, to IDF soldiers and to innocent Palestinians, and will most likely lead to renewed fighting, all while reducing prospects for expanding the Abraham Accords and forging a regional alliance that includes Israel,” he adds.
- Gaza aid group says two US workers injured, blames ‘hostile action by Hamas’
Palestinians pick up food parcels from a distribution point set up by the privately-run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), on June 25, 2025. (Eyad BABA / AFP)The Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says that two American aid workers were injured this morning, blaming the attack on “hostile action by Hamas.”
“This morning, two American aid workers were injured distributing food as part of GHF activities. Early indication is that this was hostile action by Hamas. GHF continues to investigate and will update with more information as it becomes available,” the group says in a statement.
GHF says the injuries are not life-threatening.
Media reports say a grenade was thrown at the workers.
- Gaza medics say 20 killed in latest Israeli strikes
Gaza’s Hamas-linked civil defense agency says Israeli military operations killed 20 people across the Strip today.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal, whom Israel has accused of being an active Hamas terrorist, says five of the dead were killed in a strike on a school in Gaza City.
A second strike near another school in the city where displaced civilians had found shelter killed three people and wounded around 10, including children, he says.
The tolls cannot be verified and do not differentiate between combatants and civilians.
Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military says it could not comment on specific attacks without precise coordinates.
The military says it does not deliberately target civilians and notes that Hamas has been using civilian sites, like hospitals, schools and displaced centers, as cover for their operations.
The latest strikes came hours after Hamas said it was ready to start talks “immediately” on a US-sponsored proposal for a Gaza ceasefire. link It is too well known that most of the Gazans being killed in our daily bombing in various areas of Gaza and those killed at the Humanitarian distribution sites are not Hamas members, they are non combatants being killed as the horrific and distorted euphemism 'collateral damage'. I am sick and tired of hearing the army spokespeople say that great consideration is taken before the attacks to limit the civilian casualties because the deaths of tens of civilians on a daily basis throws that statement to the garbage bin. The famous statement of our army being the most morale army in the world doesn't say much when we are killing so many civilians daily especially at a time that this damn war should be over. All of these are Netanyahu's casualties along with all of the soldiers killed in the last month and half and longer for a war that should have been over a long time ago. Netanyahu believes that his political survival is worth the blood of thousands and his followers are silent. When did we totally lose any semblance of morality?
**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
*
The Army announced the death of a soldier killed in battle in Gaza
Gaza and the South
- IDF confirms killing Lebanese Quds Force operative in strike near Beirut
Lebanese emergency responders inspect the debris at the site of an airstrike on a vehicle in Khalde, south of the capital Beirut on July 3, 2025. (IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)The IDF and Shin Bet confirm that they killed Qassem Al-Husseini, a Lebanese operative affiliated with Iran’s Quds Force, after he was targeted in a strike yesterday.
Al-Husseini was killed in an Israeli airstrike near the village of Sil, near Beirut, following precise intelligence provided by the Shin Bet, Northern Command and Military Intelligence.
According to the IDF, who was advancing terror plots against Israel along the northern border and played a central role in smuggling weapons from Iran through Syria into Lebanon and the West Bank, working closely with Syrian and Lebanese arms dealers.
His death, the military says, deals a significant blow to Iranian-backed efforts to arm terror groups across the region.
Syria says ready to work with US on return to 1974 disengagement deal with Israel
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani says that Damascus is willing to cooperate with Washington to reimplement the 1974 disengagement agreement with Israel.
In a statement following a phone call with his American counterpart Marco Rubio, Shaibani says he expressed Syria’s “aspiration to cooperate with the United States to return to the 1974 disengagement agreement.”
Syria and Israel have technically been in a state of war since 1948.
Israel’s takeover of the buffer zone along the Syrian border following the fall of Bashar al-Assad last December is considered by the United Nations to be a violation of the 1974 disengagement accord.
Israel says the accord has fallen apart since one of the sides was no longer in a position to implement it, and that the takeover was a defensive move to protect the country from potential hostile forces that could have exploited the power vacuum.
- Entire Bedouin community flees West Bank hamlet after enduring repeated settler attacks
Residents of Mu'arjat flee their village due to settler violence. (Peace Now/X)An entire Bedouin community fled their village north of Jericho on Thursday night, succumbing to repeated attacks by Israeli settlers from surrounding illegal outposts, Peace Now reports.
Hundreds of Mu’arjat residents are now looking for a home elsewhere, the settlement watchdog says.
In recent months, settlers from nearby outposts routinely harassed Mu’arjat residents, blocking grazing, issuing threats, attacking people and stealing livestock, according to Peace Now.
“In recent weeks, harassment intensified, with settlers walking between homes, threatening residents and demanding that they leave,” Peace Now says.
On Wednesday, settlers established a new outpost several feet outside the community school. The family living nearby was forced to flee, and their property was looted, according to the watchdog.
“Israeli security forces ignored repeated calls from residents to remove the invading settlers. Soldiers and Border Police officers were even documented sitting with them in the new outpost adjacent to the community,” Peace Now says.
On Thursday night, dozens of settlers again entered the village, in what was the final blow, leading the entire community to flee. link While it is very understandable that the beduin village left their lands, this act provides a win to the settler terrorists whose illegal actions brought this about. The terrorists have the full encouragement of 2 senior extremist messianic ministers and basically have immunity for all of their terror acts. The police have instructions from their criminally convicted minister not to do anything whatsoever: not show up at the terror sits, not to arrest any Jews and never to bring charges, even in the event of murder which these terrorists have done on several occasions. And this failed and corrupt prime minister and government don't say a word, therefore enabling and condoning the terror against the Palestinians. The goal of these terrorists and the supporting ministers is to drive the Palestinians off of their lands in order to replace them with Jewish settlements throughout the West Bank and their hope is to do the same in Gaza. Calling it anything else other than terrorism is a politically motivated euphemism and their actions are criminal both in Israeli law and international law, yet no one from this government is making sure that the laws are upheld, making them all criminals.
- Houthis mimic Hezbollah: Terror group’s long-term plans against Israel
Iran's Yemeni terror proxy escalates threats against Israel with Hezbollah-style military drills and expands into captagon production as Tehran's regional arms shift strategy amid Syrian regime shift
Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen are intensifying their military threats against Israel and appear to be adopting tactics and propaganda methods modeled after Lebanon’s Hezbollah. New footage released by the Houthis shows terrorists riding motorcycles and simulating attacks on mock “Israeli” buildings—part of a drill labeled as preparation for “confrontation with the Zionist enemy and its supporters.”Houthi terrorists in military drillThe video, published this week, resembles Hezbollah’s own publicized drills simulating an invasion of northern Israel and includes terrorists firing at targets painted with Israeli flags. The Houthis captioned the footage: “You are not alone,” in reference to Gaza. Despite the recent ceasefire between Israel and Iran, Houthi missile and drone attacks against Israel have continued. While most have failed to cause significant damage, the terror group has made clear that its operations will persist as long as the war in Gaza continues.Beyond military threats, the Houthis are expanding their strategic ambitions. With former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime no longer able to serve as the primary producer of captagon—a powerful amphetamine pill previously manufactured and smuggled from Syria by Hezbollah and the Assad regime—the Houthis appear to be stepping into the role. This week, Yemeni security official Mataher al-Shaibi, based in the internationally recognized government’s capital of Aden, revealed that the Houthis have established a captagon production facility in northwest Yemen.According to al-Shaibi, the plant operates under the direct supervision of senior Houthi leaders and mirrors the operation once run out of Syria. The drugs are reportedly smuggled to southern Yemen and across the border into Saudi Arabia.He warned that the drug network has become a critical financial pillar for Iran’s proxies in Yemen and that authorities have thwarted multiple recent smuggling attempts. “This presents a severe threat to the security and stability of Yemen and the entire region,” al-Shaibi said.Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani echoed that concern, writing on social media that the Houthis’ adoption of drug trafficking as a terror-financing tool marks a new chapter in Iran’s regional strategy. “With Assad’s role diminished, the Houthis have stepped in to produce and smuggle captagon, exploiting pharmaceutical facilities in Sana’a for production,” he said.Al-Eryani urged the international community to act decisively, warning that the threat posed by the Houthis now extends beyond ballistic missiles and drones. “Unchecked, the Houthis will transform Yemen into a regional hub for narcotics trafficking, jeopardizing security across the Gulf,” he said.
Meanwhile, Al Arabiya reported new figures highlighting heavy losses sustained by Hezbollah since the war began. According to sources cited by the Saudi outlet, more than 4,000 terrorists have been killed and over 3,000 wounded.The report also claims that 2,000 terrorists left the organization voluntarily, many of them following the reported assassination of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.Military sources added that over 80% of the area south of the Litani River is now under the control of the Lebanese military and that most of Hezbollah’s heavy and medium weaponry has either been confiscated by the Lebanese army or destroyed by Israeli forces. link
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
Join my Whatsapp update group https://chat.whatsapp.com/IQ3OtwE6ydxBeBAxWNziB0
Twitter - @LonnyB58 Bluesky - @lonny-b.bsky.social
My blogs in The Times of Israel my blogs
Twitter - @LonnyB58
My blogs in The Times of Israel my blogs
Comments
Post a Comment