🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 648, 2023 - July 16, 2025 🎗️

 🎗️Day 648 that 50 of our hostages are still in Hamas captivity🎗️

**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.



#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope




There is no victory until all of the hostages are home!

‎אין נצחון עד שכל החטופים בבית

Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements

*11:45pm yesterday- IDF says it intercepted two rockets launched from central Gaza at southern Israel

Two rockets launched from the central Gaza Strip at southern Israel a short while ago were intercepted, the military says.

Sirens did not sound in any towns, but alerts were activated in open areas near the Gaza border. There are no injuries

*9:20am - South - an explosive drone from Yemen was intercepted south of Eilat - no sirens were sounded as it did not reach Israeli airspace

Three IDF troops killed, officer seriously wounded in northern Gaza fighting


R: Staff Sgt. Shoham Menahem, Sgt. Shlomo Yakir Shrem and Sgt. Yuliy Faktor, who were killed during fighting in northern Gaza on July 14, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)



Three IDF troops were killed and an officer was seriously wounded during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip today, the military announces.
The slain troops are named as:
Staff Sgt. Shoham Menahem, 21, from Yardena
Sgt. Shlomo Yakir Shrem, 20, from Efrat
Sgt. Yuliy Faktor, 19, from Rishon Lezion


MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE A REVOLUTION 

They all served with the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion.
According to an initial IDF probe, the soldiers were in a tank that was hit by an explosion in northern Gaza’s Jabalia at around noon today.
The IDF initially suspected the tank was hit by Hamas RPG fire. However, in the hours following the incident, the military increasingly believes the explosion may have been caused by a malfunctioning shell that detonated inside the turret.
Other causes of the explosion are being investigated, the military says.  link


646 days that are a blight in the history of Israel and the Jewish people brought in by the enablers and the great criminal, the prime minister of political survivor  
Hostage Updates

Until the last hostage



Israel eases position on IDF withdrawal from Gaza, but shift unlikely to be sufficient for Hamas — diplomat



IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip, in an image published on July 14, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Israel submitted a new series of maps to mediators in Doha earlier today that envision a further reduction in its presence inside Gaza during the 60-day truce under discussion, an Arab diplomat tells The Times of Israel.

However, the adjustments are unlikely to be significant enough to allow for a breakthrough, the Arab diplomat says, adding that Hamas is still reviewing the updated Israeli proposal and will likely need a day or two before responding. 

This is the second time that Israel has revised the maps of its proposed partial withdrawal from Gaza in two weeks.

Last week, it agreed to do so under US pressure, but the proposal was rejected by Hamas as insufficient, as it still envisioned Israel maintaining control of over one-third of the Strip, including a three-kilometer buffer zone in Rafah where Israel wants to create a controversial “humanitarian city.”

There, Gaza’s entire population will be herded, vetted upon entry and prevented from leaving, as Jerusalem encourages their migration to countries outside the Strip.

Confirming reporting on the Axios news site, the Arab diplomat says the new version of the Israeli maps envision a reduction of the Rafah buffer zone from three kilometers to two.




Hamas accuses Netanyahu of being ‘unwilling’ to reach ceasefire-hostage deal

Hamas accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of not wanting to reach a deal to end the war in Gaza as negotiations in Qatar for a hostage release and ceasefire deal enter their second week.

“Netanyahu is skilled at thwarting one round of negotiations after another, and is unwilling to reach any agreement,” the Palestinian terror group says in a statement on its Telegram channel.

Netanyahu has accused Hamas of refusing to move forward with a US-backed proposal for a deal, and yesterday accused Hebrew media outlets of “echoing Hamas propaganda” in response to reports claiming that he and his government have been obstructing the deal. link There is nothing that Hamas does that I condone. On the contrary, I abhor every single thing they do and want them to disappear from this earth. That doesn't mean that what they say isn't right. It is exactly right. Netanyahu does everything he can to prevent deals from being made. This round of negotiations started with the sending of a 'junior' level of negotiators who never received a mandate to close a deal that was on the table. That deal includes a second part which sets up the parameters for ending the war with American guarantees. And as opposed to the last deal that Netanyahu breached without American acceptance, Trump has made it clear that he won't allow Netanyahu to do that again. That is the main reason that the team does not have a mandate. Netanyahu is still working on his political maneuvers before agreeing to setting a date for ending the war. That will only happen after the Knesset goes out on summer recess for 3 months, and also when Netanyahu has all his other ducks lined up.
In addition to not having a mandate to close the deal, Netanyahu sent one of his favorite lap dogs, Ofir Falik to make absolutely sure that no one on the negotiating team will even bring up for discussion anything that Netanyahu doesn't want brought up. He has sent Falik several times with the same mission. The main reason that Netanyahu sent a junior team was to give him the opportunity to have his meetings with Trump in the White House to convince Trump to give him the leeway he needs to end the war on his terms. The most important term for Netanyahu is the timing. He is gearing up for new elections in the first quarter of 2026 and wants everything to go his way leading up to the declaration of 'Total Victory', ending the war and bringing home the rest of the hostages. Trump gave him the green light because Netanyahu promised him the end of the war, which is Trump's most important thing to lead him to this coveted Nobel Peace Prize, but also convinced him that if Netanyahu gets to do things his way and in his time, he will also win the next election. Trump very much wants Netanyahu to stay on as Prime Minister. He has a great affinity for autocrats and Netanyahu is one of his favorite autocrats.

The last female hostage in Gaza: Aunt of Inbar Haiman pleads for Israel to recover her body

Hannah Cohen, aunt of slain hostage Inbar Haiman — the last remaining female hostage in Gaza — delivers an emotional plea before the Knesset Finance Committee, demanding that the government retrieve her niece’s body and allow the family to lay her to rest.

“Inbar is the only woman in Gaza,” Cohen says. “All the other young women were released in the last humanitarian deal, but it was decided that she would not be because she is considered dead.”

The remaining female hostages in Gaza were returned to Israel during a ceasefire between January and March, including the bodies of slain captives, except for Haiman.

Cohen accuses the government of abandoning her niece twice: once when she was kidnapped on October 7, and again when she was excluded from previous hostage deals.

“[Inbar] has been abandoned for two years. If she were the daughter of an MK or minister, you wouldn’t have left her there,” she says. “But she’s our daughter, so she’s not worth much. She’s a tool in a game between Hamas and the Israeli government.”

Haiman was attending the Nova festival when Hamas launched its assault on October 7, 2023, and she was kidnapped after evading Hamas gunmen for several hours. The army informed the family in December 2023 that she had been murdered on October 7. Her body remains held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

“I’ve cried, I’ve screamed, and nothing has helped,” says Cohen, who has appeared regularly before various Knesset committees on behalf of the Haiman family. “My cat was buried with more feeling than my niece.”

Cohen chastises lawmakers for their inaction and indifference, pointing to MKs on their phones during her testimony. “I’m sorry if my story isn’t so interesting to you. I don’t want to bother you.”

“Does anyone have a recommendation for what I should do? What would you do if you were me?” she says, appealing directly to both coalition and opposition lawmakers.



Israel and Iran







Gaza and the South



H.E. President Mahmoud Abbas - if you want the war in Gaza to end, if you don't want to see an Israeli military government in Gaza, if you want Hamas to be removed as the governing body in Gaza - appoint a Gazan to head a temporary government in Gaza.  Appoint someone credible, clean, reliable who shares your agenda for the two states solution and against violence. It should be someone from Gaza, not necessarily someone who is physically in Gaza right now. Appoint someone who fulfills your promises to President Macron and to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.  You claim that you are President of all of Palestine - you are the only person who has the authority to appoint the head of the temporary government for Gaza.  That person will appoint the other members of the government. The Palestinian people are waiting for you. The international community is waiting for you.  The Arab states are waiting for you. Do it now.  Take away Netanyahu's claim that if Israel leaves Gaza, Hamas will remain in power.  (Gershon Baskin, July 11, 2025)

Hamas terrorist who held Emily Damari hostage killed in IDF strike  

Security services say terrorist who participated in October 7 massacre was killed last month in a strike on Gaza City; Damari says happy to hear the news but victory can come only when all of the hostages are free 




The IDF and Shin Bet killed the Hamas terrorist who held Emily Damari hostage in Gaza at the start of the war after he participated in the October 7 massacre.

In a statement, the IDF and Shin Bet said terrorist Mohammed Kanita was killed on June 19 in Gaza City.




Damari said in a post on Instagram that she hoped for more good news and that the account with all of the terrorists could be settled. But the true victory, she added will be when the hostages who are still in Gaza, including her close friends Gali and Ziv Berman, are free.




Damari was released from captivity in the last ceasefire deal in January after 417 days in captivity. She has undergone a series of complicated operations since her release to treat injuries sustained during the massacre. Damari lost two fingers after being shot by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and was treated with an expired bottle of iodine during the long months of her captivity.

IDF admits error in deadly strike on water delivery site 


Israel’s military said Sunday that a strike near a Gaza water distribution point that reportedly killed several children was an accident, as Israeli aircraft pounded targets across the Strip.


Palestinians collect drinking water in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on July 13, 2025. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

The strike, which the Israel Defense Forces attributed to a “technical malfunction,” came as negotiations on a ceasefire and hostage release deal continued to stall, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly set to convene top ministers and defense brass in a bid to find a way to break the logjam.

Gazan health officials at Al-Awda Hospital said the strike that hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp killed 10 people, including six children.


The IDF admitted it had erred while targeting an operative from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group.

“Due to a technical malfunction in the munition, it struck dozens of meters away from the intended target,” the IDF said, adding that it had opened an investigation and that it “makes every effort to minimize harm to uninvolved civilians.”

Ramadan Nassar, a witness who lives in the area, told The Associated Press that around 20 children and 14 adults had been lined up to get water. He said Palestinians walk some 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) to fetch water from the area.

Water shortages in Gaza have worsened sharply in recent weeks, with fuel shortages causing desalination and sanitation facilities to close, making people dependent on collection centers where they can fill up their plastic containers.

More than a dozen people were also reported killed near an aid distribution site on Sunday, with eyewitnesses describing shots to victims’ heads and bodies. The Israeli military said its troops had fired warning shots, but that its review of the incident had found no evidence of anyone hurt by its soldiers’ fire.






Gazan says IDF preventing him from trying to rescue family in rubble

A resident of Gaza tells the Times of Israel that Israeli forces are not allowing him to try to rescue his family buried under rubble following an IDF strike.

Footage from Gaza circulating on social media in recent hours shows people trapped alive under rubble in Gaza City.

Anas Arafat, a resident of Gaza City, tells The Times of Israel that the victims are his relatives — his parents, brothers, and their children. According to him, at least 10 family members have been buried since yesterday afternoon beneath a building in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, which was hit in an Israeli airstrike.

He says that when relatives try to approach the site to rescue them, they are targeted by IDF drones.

The IDF has not issued any statement on the incident.  video


Rescue teams arrive to free trapped Gazan family, with little hope for their survival

Rescue teams have begun working to retrieve a family trapped under rubble in Gaza City following an Israeli airstrike, after a family member earlier claimed that they were blocked from doing so by the IDF. The teams appear to be holding out little hope to still locate survivors.

Anas Arafat, a resident of Gaza, tells The Times of Israel that rescue teams reached his family this afternoon, nearly a day after he says they were buried beneath a building in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City following an IDF strike.

Earlier, Arafat said that for many hours, family members were unable to reach the trapped victims due to being targeted by IDF drone fire.

According to Arafat, the rescuers lack heavy equipment needed to move the rubble. They have recovered the body of one woman, and it appears that the rest of the family — 13 people in total — did not survive, as no voices have been heard from under the rubble since yesterday.

The IDF has yet to issue a comment on the incident.




IDF issues evacuation order for Gaza City, Jabalia, saying fighting ‘is spreading westward’



IDF troops operate in the Jabalia area of north Gaza, in a handout photo published June 29, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF calls on Palestinians residing in Gaza City and Jabalia in the Strip’s north to evacuate amid an ongoing offensive against Hamas.

“The IDF is operating in the area with increased force to destroy the enemy and terror organizations. The fighting is spreading westward toward the city center,” says the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee on X.

The warning calls for civilians to head south to the Mawasi area on the coast.

UNRWA claims 1 in 10 children seen at its Gaza clinics is malnourished






Palestinians receive meals from volunteers in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza Strip, on July 14, 2025. (Ali Hassan/Flash90)

One in 10 children screened in clinics run by the United Nations refugee agency in Gaza since 2024 has been malnourished, the agency says.

“Our health teams are confirming that malnutrition rates are increasing in Gaza, especially since the siege was tightened more than four months ago on March 2,” UNRWA’s director of communications, Juliette Touma, tells reporters in Geneva via a video link from Amman, Jordan.

Since January 2024, UNRWA says it has screened more than 240,000 boys and girls under the age of five in its clinics, adding that before the war, acute malnutrition was rarely seen in the Gaza Strip.

“One nurse that we spoke to told us that in the past, he only saw these cases of malnutrition in textbooks and documentaries,” Touma says. “Medicine, nutrition supplies, hygiene material, fuel are all rapidly running out.”

On May 19, Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza, allowing limited UN deliveries to resume. However, UNRWA continues to be banned by Israel from bringing aid into the enclave, after Israeli accusations that the organization employs and collaborates with Hamas members.

Israel is working on alternate methods for distributing aid in the Strip but has faced heavy criticism for its efforts.

Northern Israel, Lebanon and Syria



After IDF strikes tanks, Syrian FM condemns outside interference in internal affairs



A burning tank in the Mazraa area, near Sweida, Syria, on July 14, 2025. (Bakr ALkasem / AFP)

The Syrian foreign minister indirectly addressed the IDF fire: “No one has the authority to interfere in our affairs.”

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani tells Saudi news outlet al-Hadath that “no one has the authority” to interfere in internal Syrian affairs, in what appears to be a veiled reference to the IDF’s shelling of tanks in southern Syria earlier today.

He says as much while discussing the deadly clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters in recent days in the area where the strikes were carried out.

Al-Shibani adds that it is the responsibility of the state, and nobody else, to bear arms.

“Syria is beginning to return to its natural place in the Arab and international arenas,” he says.

Al-Shibani is currently in Brussels for meetings at the European Union. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is there as well, though his spokesperson says there are no personal meetings planned with his Syrian counterpart




Israel launches waves of strikes against Hezbollah targets in northeast Lebanon

The Israeli Air Force has launched a wave of strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon’s eastern Beqaa Valley, the IDF announces.

The IDF says the targets include military facilities belonging to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force, where operatives and weapon depots were detected.

“The military camps that were targeted are used by the Hezbollah terror organization for training and preparing terrorists for the planning and execution of terror operations against IDF forces and the State of Israel,” the military says in a statement.

The weapons stored at the sites and Hezbollah’s activity “constitute a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, and pose a future threat to the State of Israel,” the statement adds.

Hezbollah’s Radwan force was tasked with invading Israel, and the IDF says the elite unit had advanced the terror group’s “Conquer the Galilee” plan for years, until last year’s war.




Netanyahu confirms IDF strikes on Syrian forces to ‘prevent harm to Druze



Syria's security forces enter the predominantly Druze city of Sweida on July 15, 2025, following clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters. (Sam HARIRI / AFP)

In a joint statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz say they have instructed the IDF to strike Syrian forces “following the attack on the Druze in Syria.”

The statement says the IDF was told to hit “regime forces and weapons that were brought into the Sweida area,” which Netanyahu and Katz say are “against the demilitarization policy that was decided, prohibiting the entry of forces and weapons into southern Syria that endanger Israel.”

“Israel is committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria due to the deep brotherly alliance with our Druze citizens in Israel, and their familial and historical ties to the Druze in Syria, and we are acting to prevent the Syrian regime from harming them, and to ensure the demilitarization of the area adjacent to our border with Syria,” the statement adds.

West Bank, Jerusalem, Israel and Terror Attacks



• Settlers reportedly torch vehicles on outskirts of Palestinian village in West Bank

  Israeli settlers torched Palestinian vehicles parked in a lot on the outskirts of the central West Bank village of Burqa earlier tonight, Palestinian media reports.

  Footage from the scene shows a number of cars engulfed in flames.

  A Burqa resident tells the Palestinian Authority’s official Wafa news site that Israeli soldiers arrived at the scene after the settler attack but that no arrests were made, as is almost always the case in such incidents.

  There is no immediate comment from the IDF. Video

  
  

• CNN correspondent says settlers attacked his crew while reporting on Israeli violence in West Bank

  A CNN reporter says his crew was attacked by settlers while they were in the West Bank on Monday to cover the death of a 20-year-old Palestinian-American who was allegedly beaten to death by Israelis near Ramallah several days ago.

  “As we were covering this story, my team and I were attacked by Israeli settlers. The back window of our vehicle was smashed, but we managed to escape unharmed,” tweets CNN reporter Jeremy Diamond.

  “This is just a sliver of the reality many Palestinians face in the West Bank amid rising settler violence.”

  Earlier this month, two reporters from Deutsche Welle were injured in an attack by settlers in the same area.  link This is, afterall the Wild West Bank where lawlessness by extremist settlers is the norm and accepted behavior by the corrupt government which enables and promotes violence against the Palestinians and anyone else who is there to help their cause including the army.

  
  

• Palestinian man beaten by settlers in South Hebron Hills, recounts witness

• A Palestinian man has been hospitalized after he was beaten by settlers in the South Hebron Hills, according to an eyewitness.

  The Palestinian witness, who spoke to The Times of Israel on condition of anonymity, says that six settlers attacked Mousa Nawaj’ah, a 65-year-old resident of Umm Nir in the South Hebron Hills, yesterday.

  According to the witness, the settlers beat him in his yard as he stepped outside to feed his dogs.

  He was taken to a Palestinian hospital in moderate condition while conscious, with rib and back pain, and bleeding from his hands. Footage shows him being evacuated on a stretcher.

  The Israel Police have not yet commented on the incident.  link The Jewish terror attacks on Palestinians are reaching proportions never before seen in the West Bank. This is happening because the lawlessness of these terrorists is being rewarded with immunity, impunity and encouragement by the messianic ministers and Knesset members of the coalition. These are the same racists messianics who applaud violence in the Arab sector within Israel believing that its fine for them to continue to kill each other and leave the Jews alone. Well, that hasn't worked out exactly as they planned. The violence in the Arab sector is not just violence based on 'family honor'. Much of the violence is committed by criminal gangs who begin first by taking advantage of their own people through various criminal means including protection rackets. However, these criminal gangs have grown in size, strength and areas of activity and have indeed been working very strongly against businesses, farmers and real estate owners throughout many areas of Israel. The same is happening with these Jewish terrorists. They started their terror and criminal actions against Palestinian farmers, uprooting their olive trees, stealing and killing their sheep and goat herds, and expanded directly into the Palestinian villages destroying and burning whatever they could: homes, cars, trucks, factories, etc. and moved up to killing Palestinians. Their next move was attacking Israeli security forces who were in the area, especially if they believed they were there to protect the Palestinians. This won't end there. Their actions will continue and worsen in the West Bank and move even more within Israel proper to attack, destroy and burn more properties in Arab villages in Israel, which has already seen its share of these Jewish terror activities. When the terrorists feel this impunity and immunity, their terror attacks expand and their Wild West Bank will become their Wild Israel. In the West Bank, they freely attack Israelis who go to protect and help the Palestinian farmers and residents who are under attack. We will definitely see these attacks on Israelis move to Israel proper with targeted attacks on homes, cars and businesses. The enablers of these terrorists, the government, is also the enabler of total lawlessness against the people who don't support them.

Politics and the War and General News


IDF failed to stop Ofakim Oct 7 massacre as 33 killed before troops arrived, probe finds
Report cites critical communication failures, misjudged deployment and lack of situational awareness; police and civilians mounted an improvised defense, while Israel’s elite Yamam unit led a rare hostage rescue under heavy constraints
The Israel Defense Forces failed to stop a deadly terrorist assault on the southern city of Ofakim on October 7 due to critical lapses in communication, planning and situational awareness, according to a military investigation released Sunday. Fifteen Hamas terrorists infiltrated the city at approximately 6:40 a.m., and within 40 minutes had murdered 33 people — 25 civilians and eight members of Israel’s security forces. The IDF arrived too late to impact the fighting, according to the report.
The six-month probe, led by Brig. Gen. Oren Simcha, found that troops from the Chaim Laskov Officers Training School, also known as Training Base 1 (Bahad 1), were among the closest military units but were dispatched to the wrong location. They then had to proceed on foot for 30 minutes to reach the Mishor HaGeffen neighborhood, by which point the terrorists had already been killed or had barricaded themselves inside homes.  video


“This was a battle that could have ended in hundreds of deaths,” a senior IDF official involved in the investigation said. “It was the determination of police officers, civilians and soldiers that stopped the massacre.”


Breakdown in coordination
The report cited poor coordination between the IDF, the police and local authorities as a key factor in the delay. On the morning of the attack, Ofakim had no active emergency command center, no standby squad, and no real-time intelligence about the terrorists' movements. Frantic civilian reports created a picture of a city overrun, leading to widespread confusion.


In reality, the 15 terrorists concentrated their assault on just three streets in the Mishor HaGeffen neighborhood. A functioning municipal command center, the report said, could have provided accurate information and guided both residents and responding forces more effectively. Since then, Ofakim has established an operational command hub, armed response units and surveillance camera integration.


The first IDF forces from Bahad 1 reached the industrial area of the city at 9:10 a.m., more than two hours after the attack began, and had to walk to the combat zone. “By the time they arrived, the battle had effectively ended,” a military source said. “The terrorists were either dead or entrenched. The soldiers were no longer relevant to the fight.”
Only at 2:30 p.m. were two of the five IDF platoons reassigned to assist civilians in nearby Kibbutz Kisufim. Three others remained in Ofakim.


Hamas targeted weak points
The report highlighted the attackers’ preparation and intent. Hamas operatives specifically chose Mishor HaGeffen because its homes lacked fortified safe rooms (known as "mamadim"). Anticipating that residents would flee to public shelters, the terrorists hoped to catch more victims in the open. Captured maps labeled the area as a “neighborhood without protection.” The attackers carried enough arms and ammunition for sustained combat lasting days.


A city’s pain
Sarit Ohayon, whose husband Moshe and son Eliad were killed defending their neighbors, said the report did not offer new information. “I’m thinking about how to prevent this from happening again,” she said. “We’re not where we need to be yet. I don’t feel enough has been done to make us feel safe.”



Ofakim Mayor Itzik Danino said the report was a sobering confirmation of local fears. “We heard the truth, and the truth hurts — the IDF was not here when we needed it most,” he said. “But it has learned, recovered, and is active on multiple fronts. We believe in its ability to restore trust. The heroes of Ofakim are real — they live among us.”


Hostage rescue: A first for Israel’s special forces
Superintendent L., deputy commander of Israel’s Yamam counterterrorism unit, called the battle in Ofakim “complex and unprecedented in intensity.” He described the operation to rescue Rachel and David Edri — a hostage rescue from a private home — as the first of its kind since Yamam’s founding in 1974.


The assault on the Edri home came under difficult conditions, with most Yamam operatives deployed elsewhere. Forces reallocated from other engagements reached the house late at night. After 14 hours of planning, a two-minute breach ended with four terrorists killed and the hostages rescued unharmed. Three Yamam fighters were wounded, one seriously. He later returned to duty.
“We faced this mission exhausted — after hours of combat and after losing nine unit members,” Superintendent L. said. He paid tribute to First Sgt. Yitav Lev Halevi, one of the first to enter the Edri home. Halevi was killed seven months later during a counterterrorism operation in the West Bank. “He was a principled warrior and an extraordinary human being,” he said. “I wanted you to know his name.”  link

"Worn Out and Falling Apart": Regular Soldiers Warn of the Effects of Prolonged Fighting in Gaza
Testimonies collected from soldiers on the ground reveal a troubling picture of physical and mental exhaustion, affecting combat capability and increasing the number of casualties • "You do not operate the way you did during the first entry into Gaza. You are less alert, you are worn out," described B., a regular soldier • "Severe incidents can be avoided but we are not robots," said another soldier

Almost two years of intensive fighting in Gaza are taking a heavy toll on the regular soldiers fighting on the front lines. Testimonies collected from soldiers on the ground reveal a troubling picture of physical and mental exhaustion, which affects combat effectiveness and contributes to a rise in casualties. "You do not function the way you should, like you did during the first entry into Gaza. You are less alert, you slack off more on guard duty because you are worn out and cannot concentrate," described B., a regular soldier who has been serving inside the Strip for nearly a year and a half.

The soldiers describe a gradual erosion of combat fitness due to prolonged operational activity: "During the first entries, you are focused, and from one entry to the next it becomes more complicated. You feel like you are fighting both the terrorists and the burnout," said B. The most severe account comes from another soldier operating in the southern Strip: "You survive the day and fight with yourself not to go crazy. There is burnout, the combat routine is very difficult for almost two years. There is a breakdown in procedures, it should not be like this, and it is clear that severe incidents could be avoided, but we are not robots."



IDF forces operating in Rafah (Archive) | Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via Xinhua, Getty Images

The harsh conditions the soldiers describe include a lack of basic needs and constant stress. "An entire month without a shower, not eating well, not sleeping well. Always on edge and disconnected from family and your girlfriend. You get more worn out with each passing month," said A., a regular soldier. A. added: "As long as you have not fought in Gaza and have not experienced a malfunction, have not actually seen your teammates die and get wounded—no one has experienced what we have experienced."



Regular soldiers in the Gaza Strip | Photo: N12 News

The soldiers point to a direct connection between mental burnout and the rising number of casualties: 20 killed in Gaza during the month of June and 10 more since the beginning of July. "You have more than 20 killed in one month because of the mental exhaustion among the soldiers. The soldier will observe less because he has been through so much and he is worn out. He will not really invest in watching the position facing the cover fire," B. explained.



IDF forces operating in the Gaza Strip (Archive) | Photo: IDF Spokesperson

At home, the soldiers' families wait, torn between support and fear: "They are in combat all the time. When they come home, I am mainly busy bandaging their wound. Very gently, without opening it. I suppose they need a very long break," said Vered Fima, mother of a soldier in Gaza. On the other hand, Vered Ben Saadon, mother of a commando soldier who lost his commander and three friends, expressed a different stance: "My son is in the commando, at the tip of the spear. Of course these things affect them and change them as people, and yet I say—we know that we have no other country. We have one goal—to win because we have no choice."

The harsh testimonies shared by the soldiers from the field point to an urgent need for proper attention and response from the army and decision-makers to their difficult condition and the loss of life that could have been prevented.  link We are facing a deep and painful change in the psychological make up of this young generation which will be felt for decades. The burnout and exhaustion, and unnecessary deaths are the current manifestations of a war that should have ended quite some time ago. What should be worrisome to our leadership, both on the national level and the local level, and to all of the social works, psychologists and psychiatrists is the manifestations of what we are already seeing in the emotional breakdowns of the soldiers, regular army and reserves. The levels of divorce are rising astronomically and I would have to believe that physical altercations within the homes is also rising. The soldiers are returning with untreated trauma and much of it will manifest into PTSD, if it hasn't already. So many are experiencing severe sleep disorders and inability to detach themselves from the heat of battle and return to 'normal life' of family, job, business, relationships. Upon leaving the battle zones and before re-entering their lives, they must meet with a social worker or psychologist who asked them some basic questions and if they would like help. Most just want to get back to their lives and say that they are just fine, don't go for help and are really not 'just fine'. They relive so many moments of terror, of friends and colleagues killed or maimed, jump at every sound that might be a terrorist, a bomb or an attack. 
The entire country is still reeling from October 7 and the war's end is still not around the corner and 50 hostages remain in captivity. Almost 2 years later, we are still not at a point to be able to truly mourn the loss of almost 2000 people, to rebuild and rehabilitate, to deal with the traumas of that day and every day since, and we are not able to begin to heal. None of these can begin yet, not as long as we have hostages in Gaza and soldiers dying and being maimed every day.
None of this seems to be even a blip on the priorities of this failed government. They live in their bubbles of partisan interests and as long as they are getting what they want (massive budgets, West Bank settlements, occupation of more and more of Gaza, 'political' travel junkets, Wild West lawlessness in the West Bank, more Palestinians killed, etc), they continue in their daily exercises of the Judicial overthrow, finding ways to continue to exempt an entire sector of the population from army service, destroying Israel's image overseas (as if there is more to destroy), over taxing the majority of the population to fund their partisan interests, ignoring the worsening education and health systems due to continuous budget cuts and reduction of priorities, watching passively as our national credit rating goes totally down the tubes, and so much more national destruction, all in the name of saving a coalition and keeping Netanyahu on his throne.







IDF soldier found dead on base in northern Israel in suspected suicide

An IDF soldier was found dead earlier today at a base in northern Israel, in an incident of suspected suicide.

The IDF says a Military Police investigation has been opened into the soldier’s death. The findings of the investigation will be sent to the Military Advocate General for review.

The soldier served with the Nahal Brigade.

Last Wednesday, another soldier who served in Gaza died by suspected suicide.

During the ongoing war, the military has seen a rise in suicides among soldiers

Lapid in Knesset: 'Netanyahu, the only people engineering reality work in your office'

Opposition leader Yair Lapid addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks in his Knesset speech, after Netanyahu claimed yesterday that polls showing public majority support for a hostage deal are "engineered." Lapid said: "Netanyahu, the only people engineering reality work in your office. The people of Israel want the war to end and the hostages brought home. The people of Israel understand this war is going nowhere and if we don't bring an alternative government to Gaza, Hamas will remain. So they tell themselves - at least let's bring our hostages home. We'll withdraw to the border, regroup and decide what to do 

The Region and the World

• Jewish-American actor Mandy Patinkin suggests Israel doing in Gaza what was done to previous generations of Jews

  

  Mandy Patinkin attends the 'Homeland' FYC Event at the Writers Guild Theater, in Beverly Hills, California, June 5, 2018. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

  Actor Mandy Patinkin appears to liken Israel’s “unconscionable” actions in Gaza to those perpetrated against Jews in previous generations.

  In an interview with The New York Timesalongside his wife and son, the Jewish-American “Homeland” star answers a question about his public calls for a Gaza ceasefire by highlighting a line from a character he played in “The Princess Bride.”

  “‘I have been in the revenge business so long. Now that it’s over, I do not know what to do with the rest of my life,” Patinkin says, using the accent of Inigo Montoya from the hit 1987 film.

  “I ask Jews to consider what this man [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government is doing to the Jewish people all over the world,” he says. “They are endangering not only the State of Israel, which I care deeply about and want to exist, but endangering the Jewish population all over the world.”

  “For the Jewish people to allow this to happen to children and civilians of all ages in Gaza, for whatever reason, is unconscionable and unthinkable,” Patinkin continues. “And I ask you Jews, everywhere, all over the world, to spend some time alone and think, Is this acceptable and sustainable?”

  “How could it be done to you and your ancestors and you turn around and you do it to someone else?” he asks angrily.  link Mandy Patinkin is asking the questions I have asked for so long, long before October 7 when I have personally witnessed horrible abuses of power and racism against Palestinians. How could we, the people that has suffered under almost every regime and government around the world and throughout time simply because we are Jews, and then turn around and do similar things to others, in this case, Palestinians? We have created the world's biggest humanitarian crisis in Gaza and not only for the purposes of defending ourselves but as revenge and punishment. Of course, we are not alone in history when the winners, the stronger side carries our horrible revenge against the people who brought terrible suffering and pain. We are not the first to punish the weaker side that loses. But, when do we reach the point that it is enough? Enough punishment, enough revenge? When do we again look in the mirror and wonder where has our revenge and punishment taken us? When do we question where our morality went and when did we lose it? When do we decide that we must take back our morality for our own purposes and for that of our children? Do we want our children to be the future perpetrators of immorality, of revenge, of punishment and have those characteristics be the driving force of the next generations, leaving behind the lessons we should have learned from our own suffering at the hands of others? Are we going to be like some victims of child abuse and become abusers ourselves and then our children to become the abusers?
  Where does it stop? It stops when we look in the mirror, when we look at the crimes that our leaders have foisted upon us with their self interests and partisanship that is more important to them then the lessons we all grew up on: to cherish life, to protect the weak, to save lives, to redeem prisoners, to hope for, cherish and teach peace. It stops when we demand leaders who are worthy of us because this current breed of leaders are not worthy of anyone. It stops when we say enough of hopelessness and buying into their mantra that we must always live by the sword. It stops when we choose leaders who will do all they can to turn the swords and make them into plowshares, who will look to build friendships and not fences, who will recognize that we can only be free when all around us are free and have the same rights to the same rights as we do. This is what we all need to strive to and find the leaders who share this vision because our current leaders have been blinded and deafened and have blinded and deafened us to believe that we have no choice and that they are the only choice. Theirs is a false narrative, a false leadership, a false messiah. Now is the time for change, not tomorrow, not the day after, but now!

Personal Stories


Life swells alongside tragedy for the then-pregnant spouses of October 7 victims


Avital Dekel-Chen and Ela Haimi speak about giving birth after their husbands were killed or taken hostage and being single mothers during the traumatic months after the onslaught

Two months after her husband, Sagui Dekel-Chen, was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7, Avital Dekel-Chen gave birth to their third daughter in an Eilat hospital in Israel’s southernmost city, where their community was evacuated to following the massacre in their kibbutz.

She was one of four women who were pregnant on October 7 as their husbands were killed or taken hostage.

All four gave birth during the ensuing months as they struggled to keep their lives together and their families intact.

Three of the mothers, Ela Haimi, Michal Lubanov and Sigal Yehoud, were newly widowed. Only Dekel-Chen was eventually reunited with her husband, Sagui, who was released during a ceasefire in February.

Tal Haimi, a third-generation member of the kibbutz, was part of the Nir Yitzhak rapid response team, and was killed on October 7, his body taken hostage by Hamas to Gaza, and still held there.




Ela Haimi, holding a photo of her husband, Tal Haimi, who was killed defending their kibbutz on October 7, 2023 and his body taken hostage to Gaza (Avishag Shaar-Yashuv/IDFWO)

Lubanov’s husband, Alex, was the head bartender at the Nova rave where he was taken hostage and then killed by his captors in a Gaza tunnel in August 2024 .
Yehoud’s husband, Dolev, was considered a hostage for many months until June 2024, when his remains were found inside Israel. Authorities said he had been killed on October 7 during his work as a volunteer medic.
In conversations with Dekel-Chen and Haimi, they discussed the challenges they faced and the constant need to move forward, despite the unknowns they encountered.
“The kids are my priority, that’s what Tal asked of me that day,” said Haimi.

Haimi was informed by the IDF in December 2023 that Tal had been killed on October 7, and his body had been taken hostage. She gave birth to Lotan six months later, naming her youngest son with the letters of Tal’s name.
Since the attack, the family has been temporarily relocated to Kibbutz Mashabei Sade in the Negev.

“Tal was a very clear and straightforward person,” said Haimi, who has 11-year-old twins and an 8-year-old as well as Lotan, who is now 1. “It’s very easy for me to know his opinion about anything. I’m trying to do what he asked of me. The conversation isn’t over, I still speak to him in my head.”





Ela and Tal Haimi before he was killed defending their kibbutz on October 7, 2023. His body was taken hostage to Gaza (Courtesy)

Dekel-Chen had hoped that Sagui would perhaps be released in the first deal in November 2023, returning home before she gave birth in December 2023.

She called their daughter Shachar, a name they spoke about when she was first pregnant and added the name Mazal, which means good fortune, hoping the appellation would bring some luck. She suspected that Sagui didn’t know if she and their daughters were alive after October 7, having left them in the safe room when he went to fight on October 7.
When Shachar Mazal was born, Dekel-Chen saw that her youngest daughter was “super similar” to Sagui, with his brown curly hair and eyes, while their two older daughters look more like her.

“One of the hardest moments was being in Eilat with a new baby, seeing others hold the baby, but not Sagui,” she said.
Both women found that the logistics of life kept them focused throughout the months of uncertainty. They had their children to care for, their work, and the overriding goal of getting their husbands home, alive or dead.

The Dekel-Chens have a small business, a mini-market located in a nearby community, and Avital never closed it, even in the weeks after October 7, as family members helped her manage it from afar.





Avital Dekel-Chen, whose husband, Sagui Dekel-Chen, was released from captivity in Gaza after 498 days on February 15, 2025, speaks to the press on February 16, 2025. (Hostages Families Forum)

While Sagui was still in Gaza, Dekel-Chen moved with the rest of the Nir Oz community to Carmei Gat, a new neighborhood in the city of Kiryat Gat.
She grew up in the southern city of Dimona and met Sagui when she was 14 and he was 16. They moved to Nir Oz, his hometown, when they married 10 years ago.

There were difficult moments in the move to Carmei Gat, said Dekel-Chen, including having her eldest begin first grade for the third time — once from their home in Nir Oz before October 7, again in Eilat, and a third time in Carmei Gat.
“There was always someone with me, Sagui’s mom and my parents, and my sister, I had huge amounts of support and help, and the logistical issues had a solution, but a broken heart doesn’t,” she said. “At night, the sense of missing Sagui was just overwhelming; I couldn’t believe I was in this situation.”

Dekel-Chen promised herself that she would also create good moments for her daughters while Sagui was held hostage.
They took several vacations, and Dekel-Chen enrolled her older girls in extracurricular activities to create good experiences, she said.
“I wanted them to see that within this time we could have fun,” said Dekel-Chen.





Freed hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen is reunited with his wife Avital on his return to Israel after 498 days in captivity in Gaza, February 15, 2025. (IDF)

When Sagui was released home, after the initial elation was over, Dekel-Chen had to help their new baby adjust to her father.
“The older girls know what it’s like to have a father, but Shachar had no idea; she had no image of a dynamic with a father,” said Avital.
Their psychologist advised that they have the baby with them at all times, even at less opportune moments of the day.
“It works well,” she said. “She’s very connected to Sagui, even from the start, she just opened her arms to him.”





Former hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen with his youngest daughter, born while he was held hostage in Gaza, after his February 2025 release (Courtesy)

“It’s all complicated,” said Dekel-Chen. “We didn’t know if he would return or not, but there was so much support from people, and people just wanted to help us, to strengthen us. We feel like we were met by our nation, and we got through so many hard things, but now we can go help others.”

While the Dekel-Chens are working hard to rehabilitate themselves and their community, Haimi is still caught in the grim reality of October 7, with Tal’s body held hostage in Gaza.
The current hostage deal being negotiated would bring home ten living hostages from the 20 still considered to be alive, and 18 bodies of dead hostages from the 30 thought to have been killed.

Haimi is worried that Tal’s body won’t ever be returned for a proper burial, that it will get mishandled or disappear forever.
“It’s almost two years, and it’s too long for us, too long for our kids, too long for the other hostages,” she said.
Haimi ultimately wants to return to Nir Yitzhak, to the home she built with Tal, whose family has lived at the kibbutz for three generations.
She wants the routine of kibbutz life for her children, and for them to be with the members of the community who support and love them.





Ela Haimi, second from left, with her four children, including baby Lotan, born after Ela’s husband, Tal, was killed defending their kibbutz on October 7, 2023 and his body taken hostage to Gaza (Nir Davidzon/IDFWO)

“They need to see people around them who want them to be happy, not just because of what happened,” said Haimi. “I’m trying to bring them experiences of life and joy. We don’t want the existence we had on October 6, we want a different situation, for it to be 100 percent quiet and peaceful for both sides.”
She doesn’t see the hostages as a personal issue but a national one.
“It’s all of us,” said Haimi. “It’s me today, and tomorrow it’s someone else. We are all the hostages.”  link

Acronyms and Glossary

COGAT - Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories

ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague

IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague

IPS - Israel Prison System

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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