π️Lonny's War Update- October 653, 2023 - July 20, 2025 π️
π️Day 653 that 50 of our hostages are still in Hamas captivityπ️
Hostage families express concern IDF’s planned expanded ground op may pose risk to loved ones
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum expresses concern over the announcement that the IDF plans to expand ground operations into Deir al-Balah for the first time.
“Can anyone promise us that this decision will not come at the cost of the loss of our loved ones?” the forum says in a statement.
“We expect the prime minister, the defense minister, and senior IDF officials to urgently explain to Israeli citizens and the families what the plan for the fighting is, and how exactly it protects the hostages who are still in Gaza,” the forum says.
“Unfortunately, despite all the spin and false promises, many families have already learned firsthand the meaning of expanding the fighting in the shadow of negotiations and the absence of a clear war plan. One can only recall the horror of the murder of the six hostages in August last year,” the forum says, referring to Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi, Or Danino and Alex Lubanov, who were murdered by their captors in a tunnel, apparently as Israeli troops neared.
The forum says that the expansion of ground operations should not be used as a “card” in negotiations for a ceasefire deal, as it poses “a tangible and immediate danger to their fate.”
“Enough! The Israeli people overwhelmingly want an end to the fighting and a comprehensive agreement that will return all the hostages,” the statement concludes.
Polls have consistently shown a large majority of the Israeli public is in favor of a deal to bring home all those held in Gaza, even if it means the end of the war.
This morning for the first time the IDF issued an evacuation warning for the Deir al-Balah area, one of the few locations in the Strip where the military has not operated with ground troops.
The IDF has avoided ground operations in areas where it believes Hamas to be holding hostages in order to not endanger them, as the terror group has vowed to execute captives if troops near.
Ex-captive Doron Steinbrecher urges Netanyahu, Trump to ‘make Israel great again’ with Gaza deal
Speaking to some 2,000 people at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, Doron Steinbrecher, who was released from Hamas captivity as part of the truce-hostage deal in January, urges Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war, secure a hostage deal and “make Israel great again.”
“Six months ago I saw the sun for the first time after 471 days in the tunnels,” she says. “Six months ago I drew my first breath that wasn’t all fear.”
“Now, after six months, I still can’t breathe… without fear,” she says. “It’ll take time. And the first step is that everyone comes back.”
She addresses Trump in English: “We have met and spoken; I know how personally important this is to you, how deeply you are involved, and I know what you are capable of. Make it happen. Let everyone emerge through the gates of hell so that we may rise.”
“Bibi and Trump,” she continues, using Netanyahu’s nickname. “Close the deal, [so] that we could make Israel great again!’
The Hostages Square rally is shortened today so attendees can march on to a large demonstration outside the US Embassy Branch Office on Ben Yehuda Road.
A block away from Hostages Square, in front of the Begin Road entrance to IDF Headquarters, some 500 anti-government hostage relatives and activists are also holding a truncated demonstration and will march on to Ben Yehuda.
Father of hostage Eitan Horn: ‘Netanyahu, you tore him away from his brother’
The father of hostage Eitan Horn says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tore his child away from his brother Iair, who was freed earlier this year in a ceasefire deal.
“My son Eitan is being held in inhumane conditions in a tunnel in Gaza and is dealing with a skin disease that is getting worse,” says Itzik Horn in a statement with other families of hostages, ahead of the weekly rallies.
“Netanyahu, you tore him away from his brother,” he says.
Iair and Eitan Horn were taken hostage on October 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Nir Oz.
Iair was released in February in a hostage-ceasefire deal. His brother Eitan remains in Hamas captivity in Gaza. The families of those held in Gaza have long campaigned for a comprehensive deal that would see all of the hostages brought home.
Einav Zanguaker, whose son is held in Gaza: ‘Israel must join with the US, abandon the madness of eternal war’
Einav Zanguaker, whose son Matan is being held hostage in Gaza, calls on Israel to join with US President Donald Trump and “abandon the madness of eternal war.”
“This is the time for Israel to join hands with the US, to abandon the madness of eternal war and to advance Trump’s vision for ending the war and returning all the hostages,” she says in an address ahead of the weekly demonstrations calling for a hostage deal.
Yesterday, US President Donald Trump saidhe believes that a breakthrough in a partial deal that would see at least 10 living hostages released was coming “very shortly.”
Zanguaker issues a call for a comprehensive deal that would see the release of all 50 people held by terrorists in Gaza.
“This is the 652nd day that our children are rotting in Hamas tunnels. The entire nation wants to bring all 50 hostages home and end the war with a comprehensive agreement, but Netanyahu is delaying signing an agreement,” charges Zanguakar.
“[Netanyahu] is playing petty politics on the backs of the 50 hostages and our heroic soldiers. My Matan is sitting alone in the tunnels with muscular dystrophy that makes it difficult for him to stand on his own two feet. He doesn’t have time,” she says.
“Stop using selektzia. Jews do not make selections on their brothers,” says Zanguaker, addressing Netanyahu directly and referring to the Holocaust-era practice of Nazis to distinguish between Jews deemed fit for hard labor and those who were to be immediately executed.
“We see the pressure that Trump is exerting to bring about a comprehensive agreement and end the war. He understands what people here refuse to understand — that only ending the war will ensure everyone’s return,” she says.
Tens of thousands of people are expected to join a rally calling to free the hostages held captive on the Gaza Strip this evening in Tel Aviv, with organizers then leading a march to the US Embassy office in the city, to urge a comprehensive deal to return all remaining hostages and end the war in Gaza.
- ‘Make Israel great again’: Freed hostage urges Trump and Netanyahu to seal Gaza deal
Family members of captives berate PM for not backing an agreement to free all the remaining hostages; protesters also demonstrate against army enlistment exemptions for Haredim
Families of hostages, former captives and their supporters march to the US embassy branch in Tel Aviv, during a rally calling for the release of all hostages, July 19, 2025. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)Thousands of Israelis rallied Saturday evening for the release of the hostages held by Hamas, calling for an agreement that would free all the remaining captives amid negotiations on another temporary ceasefire deal that would see only some of the hostages returned from Gaza.
Speaking Saturday to some 2,000 people at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, freed hostage Doron Steinbrecher urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war, secure a hostage deal and “make Israel great again.”
“Six months ago, I saw the sun for the first time after 471 days in the tunnels,” Steinbrecher, who was released from Hamas captivity as part of a truce-hostage deal in January, said at the weekly rally. “Six months ago, I drew my first breath that wasn’t all fear.
“Now, after six months, I still can’t breathe… without fear,” she continued. “It’ll take time. And the first step is that everyone comes back.”
Steinbrecher then addressed US President Donald Trump in English: “We have met and spoken; I know how personally important this is to you, how deeply you are involved, and I know what you are capable of. Make it happen. Let everyone emerge through the gates of hell so that we may rise.”
“Bibi and Trump,” she continued, using Netanyahu’s nickname. “Close the deal, [so] that we could make Israel great again!’
The demonstration began earlier in the evening with a moment of silence for the 893 IDF soldiers killed during and since the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.
Former hostage Doron Steinbrecher speaks during a rally calling for the release of captives held hostage in Gaza by Hamas at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, July 19, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)The silence was pierced by a quarrel that ignited on the square’s southern edge, where left-wing protesters typically gather ahead of Saturday-night demonstrations with signs decrying “war crimes” and “genocide” in Gaza. A man bearing an Israeli flag emblazoned with an anti-government logo yelled at the left-wing activists that they should be “embarrassed” and appeared to almost come to blows with one of them before others separated them.
After the moment of silence ended, the rally’s MC, an attorney who heads the anti-government group Mothers on the Front, launched into a tirade against Haredi exemptions from mandatory military service.
“You are more Jewish than all the Haredim in Bnei Brak,” Ayelet Hashachar Seidoff told the cheering crowd, referring to the large ultra-Orthodox city that neighbors Tel Aviv.
One of the speakers, Vered Shavit Fima, a mother of two combat soldiers, slammed the government’s attempt to codify the Haredi draft exemptions, saying that soldiers are suffering grave physical and psychological damage and are demanding an end to the war.
When they come home, she continued, they discover “deals made at their expense, the draft evasion law, the lengthening of service, money given to people who don’t serve while they are missing equipment.”
During her speech, the left-wing activists left to attend a silent vigil on Kaplan Street for Palestinian children killed in Gaza.
Protesters then joined with hostage families marching from three separate demonstrations. The participants in the rallies at Hostages Square, Begin Road and Habima Square marched on to a large demonstration outside the US Embassy Branch Office on Hayarkon Street.
Among the leaders of the march were former hostage Yocheved Lifshitz, widow of slain hostage Oded Lifshitz, and other hostages’ relatives, including the wheelchair-bound Tal Kuperstein, father of Bar Kuperstein.
Outside the US mission’s beachfront entrance, the crowd was a mass of Israeli, American and yellow flags, the latter signifying the hostages’ cause. Protesters stood behind a large banner urging Trump to reach a “big, beautiful deal” — a nod to the name of his recent spending bill. Splayed out on the sand was a massive sign reading: “Save the hostages, end the war.”
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, said the families would accept nothing less than all 50 hostages, living and dead, all at once.
“We won’t be satisfied with eight hostages, not with 10 hostages and not with 49,” she said. “This is the time for Israel to choose life. This is the time to end the war in exchange for all the hostages, to give us our breath back, to let us hug our loved ones again.”
She addressed Trump in English: “Mr. President, sir, we are counting on you; you brought hostages home before, please do it again. We need you, and we need your leadership. We are begging you, help us bring our children home now.”
A similar demonstration was held outside the US Consulate General building in Jerusalem.
Israelis rally for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas, outside the US consulate in Jerusalem, July 19, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)Hostage families berate Netanyahu
Family members of hostages made their weekly remarks to the press before the rallies, with Itzik Horn, father of hostage Eitan Horn, slamming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for separating Eitan from his brother Iair, who was freed earlier this year as part of a ceasefire.
“My son Eitan is being held in inhumane conditions in a tunnel in Gaza and is dealing with a skin disease that is getting worse,” Horn said. “Netanyahu, you tore him away from his brother.”
The families of those held in Gaza have long campaigned for a comprehensive deal that would see all of the hostages brought home.
Einav Zanguaker said it was “time for Israel to join hands with the US, to abandon the madness of eternal war and to advance Trump’s vision for ending the war and returning all the hostages.”
Einav Zangauker speaks at a press conference in Tel Aviv on July 19, 2025 (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)Trump said on Friday he believes that a breakthrough in a partial deal that would see at least 10 living hostages released was coming “very shortly.”
Like Horn, Zanguaker issued a call for a comprehensive deal that would see the release of all 50 people held by terrorists in Gaza, but placed the blame on Netanyahu for the lack of an agreement.
“[Netanyahu] is playing petty politics on the backs of the 50 hostages and our heroic soldiers. My Matan is sitting alone in the tunnels with muscular dystrophy that makes it difficult for him to stand on his own two feet. He doesn’t have time,” she said.
“Stop using selektzia. Jews do not make selections on their brothers,” she continued, addressing Netanyahu directly and referring to Nazis’ Holocaust-era practice of distinguishing between Jews deemed fit for hard labor and those who were to be immediately executed.
“We see the pressure that Trump is exerting to bring about a comprehensive agreement and end the war. He understands what people here refuse to understand — that only ending the war will ensure everyone’s return,” she said.
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 50 hostages, including 49 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 28 confirmed dead by the IDF. Twenty are believed to be alive and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said. Hamas is also holding the body of an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014.
Israelis attend a rally calling for the release of captives held hostage in Gaza by Hamas at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, July 19, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)Hamas released 30 hostages — 20 Israeli civilians, five soldiers, and five Thai nationals — and the bodies of eight slain Israeli captives during a ceasefire between January and March, and one additional hostage, a dual American-Israeli citizen, in May as a “gesture” to the United States. The terror group freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that in the early weeks of the war. In exchange, Israel has freed some 2,000 jailed Palestinian terrorists, security prisoners, and Gazan terror suspects detained during the war.
Eight hostages have been rescued from captivity by troops alive, and the bodies of 49 have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors, and the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014. link. There should only be one deal to negotiate and close; the deal to end the war and bring all the hostages back in a single release. Despite what Netanyahu and his cronies say, not only is it possible, it is also the deal that Hamas wants to make. They have come out very clearly, the last time being yesterday that they want a single deal and they are only negotiating this foolish, heartless, inhumane interim deal because it is what Israel is demanding. Let's be very clear. It is not Israel demanding this interim deal. 84% of the Israeli population wants a single deal to end the war and bring home all the hostages. The one who wants this interim and horrible 5 phased release deal is Netanyahu. This is a deal that only serves one person, Netanyahu in his war of political survival. There is no other reason for it, no security establishment demands, no intelligence organization demands, no humanitarian demands. There is only one demand: Netanyahu's timetable for his political strategy for the next elections. That's it! The hostage families, the hostages, the majority of the Israeli public can all be damned because of the decision and demand of the autocratic leader, Netanyahu. All of Netanyahu's rhetoric and narrative of any needs to do this agreement over 2 months and only then complete it with a second part that will specify when the war will end and the last hostage will come home is all Netanyahu's political blah blah.
As some of the hostage families and returned hostages have said, Trump very much wants the war to end and all the hostages home. His real reasons for this desire is all based on his need to win the Nobel Peace Prize. I don't care, nor does anyone else what his motivation is as long as he will push Netanyahu to end the war. The problem is that he is allowing Netanyahu to do it along his plan and timetable because Netanyahu convinced him that he can get it done but only with his timetable and that will also enable him to win the next election. That is what Trump wants as well. We, the people of Israel will make sure that Netanyahu will be placed in the annals of history and no longer serve in any leadership role. However, due to Trump's acquiesce to Netanyahu's plan, our hostages will continue to suffer and at least 10 living hostages will remain in Gaza past the first 60 days ceasefire because there is still no timeline to end this quagmire. In addition, at least 12 of the dead hostages will also remain in captivity and their families will continue to suffer until they, too will be brought home at some indeterminate time in the future, all because this is what suits our failed prime minister.
**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
Prevent the Prolonging of the War Now!
Gershon Baskin
This is a message to the people responsible for the negotiations on ending the war in Gaza. It is a message to the members of the Israeli team (excluding the politicians attached to Netanyahu’s coat strings). It is a message to the Qatari and Egyptian mediators. It is a message to President Trump and his chief emissary Steve Witkoff and to Bishara Bahbah, the American-Palestinian ally of Trump working with the US negotiating team. It is a message to the leaders of the Arab world starting with MBS and MBZ and including King Abdallah II and Abed el Fatah A-Sisi. It is a message to those Members of Knesset who have a moral code which goes beyond obeying the orders of the Israeli supreme leader. It is a message to the chiefs of the Israeli army and the heads of Israel’s security apparatuses. It is also a message to the Hamas leadership and their negotiating team. The war in Gaza must come to an end now. The ceasefire deal that is on the table is a bad deal and it must now be replaced immediately with an end of war deal that brings home all of the hostages at once, releases Palestinian prisoners, brings about full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a full and complete end to the war.
The deal that is on the table is a bad deal because it does not end the war, it does not end the death and destruction, it leaves half of the hostages in Gaza and delays the arrangements that will create a new legitimate Palestinian government for Gaza (without Hamas). The deal that is on the table now prolongs the war in Gaza and it is on the table solely for internal Israeli political reasons. The war is essentially over in terms of its strategic aims – it ended many months ago. Netanyahu knows it. The Chief of Staff of the IDF knows it. The Shin Bet and the Mossad know it too. The absence of the political diplomatic end of the war, which is a strategic decision by Netanyahu and a complete and total political failure of the Palestinian leadership does not change the futility, cruelty and horrors of prolonging the war.
When Israelis open their eyes to what they have done in Gaza, when Israel finally allows international journalists to enter Gaza, what we will bear witness to is the horrific committing of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza by Israel. As we are approaching what will probably become 100,000 deaths in Gaza (4.35% of the population) and the almost total destruction of all infrastructure and housing, the dimensions of what the world has allowed to happen will become a lot more apparent. If 4.35% percent of Americans were killed in a war is would be 14,7598,200 American citizens. In Germany is would be 3,555,000 Germans, 2,873,000 British citizens, 1,367,000 Saudis. How can anyone with a conscience agree to this war continuing even one more day. How has this been allowed to continue for almost two years? Don’t say there was no choice! There are always choices.
Israelis will not rally to end the war because of all of the death and destruction in Gaza which is very sad and a bad commentary on changes that have occurred inside of Israel over the last decades. Since October 7, nearly 900 Israeli soldiers have been killed in addition to the about 800 Israeli civilians who have been killed and that does not include the 30 hostages whose bodies are still held captive in Gaza. There are still 20 Israeli hostages believed to be alive in Gaza. How long will they survive the captivity of Hamas and the Israeli military pressure (which has also killed Israeli hostages)? How long will Israelis allow Netanyahu to prolong the war for political reasons?
Anyone who supports the bad ceasefire deal on the table is a collaborator in the continued death and destruction of this war. Yehya Sinwar was prepared, according to what he said, to sacrifice 100,000 Gazans to liberate Palestine. He did not liberate Palestine and Palestine will not be liberated by killing Israelis. Yehya Sinwar committed an act of collective national suicide for which his own people, in the future, will call him a criminal against the Palestinian people. The remaining Hamas leadership, outside of Gaza, know that Hamas’s armed struggle “resistance” strategy is bankrupted. They know that Hamas cannot control Gaza any more. They have expressed, in public, many times that they are prepared to accept a Palestinian civilian rule in Gaza which they are not part of. Hamas started this war, or this chapter of the many Israeli-Palestinian wars on October 7, and Hamas has the responsibility now to bring it to an end. Hamas must refuse to negotiate a partial deal that prolongs the war. Hamas must tell the negotiators and the mediators that the only acceptable deal is one that ends the war and they will release all of the Israeli hostages, alive and dead, at once – in exchange for ending the war, Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners. Hamas must declare officially and publicly that their rule over Gaza has come to an end and they are turning over the control of Gaza to the appointment by Mahmoud Abbas of a temporary governor of Gaza who not be from Hamas. Hamas should declare that they support Abbas’s call for Palestinian national elections within 12 months and that no armed groups or political parties which oppose the position of the PLO in support of the two states solution will not be eligible to participate in those elections. This is what Hamas needs to do in order to bring the war to an end. This is what Hamas must do because there is no other viable strategy for creating a Palestinian state next to Israel.
President Trump needs to hold firm to his position that the war in Gaza must end now. President Trump needs to tell Netanyahu very firmly that the war is over and it is now time to make the deal. President Trump needs to tell Netanyahu to trust Steve Witkoff that he will ensure that the war ends with Hamas standing down from power and control in Gaza. The US needs to provide the assurance to Hamas that if Hamas ends it control over Gaza and hands over all of the hostages, Israel will not renew the fighting and Israel will withdraw from all of Gaza. Israel can protect Israel and its citizens from the border. Israeli troops do not need to remain in Gaza. President Trump needs to tell Netanyahu and the Arab leaders that a new mechanism will be in place at the Rafah crossing to ensure that no illegal smuggling will take place. Qatar, Turkey and other countries should offer to accept any Hamas leaders - civilian or military – who are willing to leave Gaza safely with their families. There are a lot of pieces to put together to end the war, with that, the free choice to continue the war must be taken away from Israel and from Hamas. The powers that be – in the United States and in the region are powerful enough to say: Enough! And to mean it.
This is not fantasy and it is certainly not naΓ―ve. This is what a majority of Israelis want to happen now. Without question, it is what a majority of Palestinians want to happen as well. The peoples all over the region and their leaders want this war to end now. Tell Netanyahu, tell Hamas – take the bad partial ceasefire deal off the table now – and sign the only deal acceptable which is the deal to end the war now. July 19, 2025
Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
*12:15am- Gaza envelope- rockets from Gaza-Nachal Oz
IDF says lone soldier from Norway succumbed to apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound
An IDF paratrooper in training who apparently attempted suicide last week has succumbed to his wounds.
Cpl. Dan Phillipson was a so-called “lone soldier” from Norway, moving to Israel a year ago alone to serve in the military.
On Tuesday, the IDF said the soldier was found with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound at a training base in southern Israel.
He was taken to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The IDF says a Military Police investigation has been opened into the incident, the findings of which will be sent to the Military Advocate General for review.
In the past two weeks, four soldiers, including an off-duty reservist, have died by suspected suicide, bringing the total to 19 such cases since the beginning of the year.
During the ongoing war, the military has seen a rise in suicides among soldiers.
- Reserve combat engineering officer and soldier seriously injured when Humvee hit explosive device in Khan Younis
A reserve combat engineering officer from Engineering Battalion 710, Ram Formation (179), and a reserve combat engineering soldier from Engineering Battalion 749, Training and Logistics Brigade (828), were seriously injured earlier when their Humvee drove over an explosive device in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The IDF spokesperson announced this, adding that the officer and soldier were evacuated for medical treatment at the hospital, and their families have been notified. link this is the guerrilla war of attrition that Netanyahu has brought us with soldiers killed and maimed every day, tens to hundreds of Gazans trying to get humanitarian aid killed each day and our 50 hostages still in the hellish Hamas Captivity while Netanyahu plays his political games. By everyone in the security establishment's account, the war in Gaza should have ended quite some time ago. The military accomplishments and goals have all been met except for the return of the hostages. And all but the diehard Netanyahu supporters and the extremist messianics recognize that continuing the war is far from the interests of the country and the hostages.
The diplomatic solutions that should have been in place for over a year is the only logical, practical and necessary actions that need to be done immediately. These are the placement of an alternative Palestinian government, not based on Netanyahu's clan chiefs (i.e. war lords) but attached to or aligned with the Palestinian Authority with planned democratic elections that will not allow any armed groups to participate, security forces made up of personnel from the Arab States (Gulf States, Egypt and others) trained by the US for internal security, purposes including the disarming of Hamas, rebuilding of Gaza after Hamas to be funded primarily by the Gulf States.
Hamas, of course, must be disarmed but they will never surrender their weapons to Israel but will do so to a Palestinian government. The rebuilding of Gaza cannot begin until the war is over, Israeli troops are pulled back and Hamas is no longer in power. None of the rebuilding financiers will invest a dime as long as Hamas is still in power as they recognize that any rebuilding would then be temporary was Israel and Hamas would continue to do battle with Israel continuously bombing and destroying any new building. The Gulf States are fed up with their investments in Gaza being for nought and they want a permanent solution and investments to be for the long term. IDF set to begin ground operations in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza for first time
The IDF issues a new evacuation warning for Palestinians residing in the southwest of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, as it is set to begin ground operations in the city for the first time since the start of the war.
“The IDF continues to operate with great force to destroy the enemy’s capabilities and terror infrastructure in the area, as it expands its activities into an area where it has not operated before,” says the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Col. Avichay Adraee, on X.
Civilians are instructed to head south to the Mawasi area on the coast.
It marks the first time since the beginning of the war that the IDF has issued an evacuation warning for the Deir al-Balah area, one of the few locations in the Strip where the military has not operated with ground troops.
The IDF has avoided ground operations in areas where it believes Hamas to be holding hostages, in order to not endanger them as the terror group has vowed to execute captives if troops near.
An estimated 350,000 Palestinians are residing in all of central Gaza, according to IDF estimates from May. It is unclear how many are in the newly evacuated zone. link This new operation is extremely dangerous for everyone: Gazan non combatants, soldiers and the hostages. The IDF purposely has not operated in Deir al-Balah this entire time because of the belief and intelligence reports that it is highly likely that Hamas has been and still is holding many of the hostages in this area. Prior to all ground operations in Gaza, the air force bombs many of the buildings further destroying whatever has been left standing in Gaza. Besides the destruction of buildings and infrastructure, we know very well from returning hostages' testimonies that the hostages are at high risk, even in the deep tunnels that our bombs also damage. We have already had several hostages killed by our bombings and many seriously injured. The impact of the bombing on the hostages adds tremendous additional trauma to their already daily existence of constant existential trauma. And if the bombs don't kill or injure them, the guards have very clear orders to execute any and all hostages they are guarding if they hear of even think that our troops are nearby. All of the holding areas of the hostages have also been booby trapped in order to kill them and to kill as many soldiers as possible. Increased military pressure hasn't saved a single hostage while it has caused the executions of many by their Hamas guards.
In addition to the booby trapped tunnels, we can be sure that Hamas has booby trapped large areas of the area the troops will be entering and of course, the terrorists have been preparing for greater and more expansive guerilla attacks on our troops from every possible area. They have adapted quickly to guerilla attacks and don't need highly trained terrorists to perform them. We can anticipate more soldiers deaths and maiming in Deir al-Balah and it is totally unnecessary and their blood, like the blood of so many will be on Netanyahu's hands for this is his War of Political Survival.
While it is obvious that the expansion in the fighting is to put additional pressure on the Hamas negotiators in Qatar but it will not have any effect on their bottom line: no interim agreement without guarantees of ending the war, IDF troop pull out and release of large numbers of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons. Netanyahu holds to the impossible belief or, at least sells the idea that this pressure will force Hamas to be more flexible and agree to the interim deal without the second part which states an end to the war, or minimally guarantees from Trump that Israel will not return to fighting after the 60 days ceasefire. This won't happen and Netanyahu does know that.
He is still buying time to fit his political survival timetable. He knows that a second part of the agreement will require ending the war and he is prepared for that. But he doesn't want that to be stated or guaranteed at this time because it will definitely cause his government to fall. With the Haredi parties out of the government but still in the coalition (meaning that they don't have any ministerial positions or agreements that they must vote with the government, they are still fully supporting the government), if it is stated that the war will end at some time in the near future after the 60 days ceasefire, both Smotrich and Ben Gvir will leave the government and the coalition and the government will fall immediately. This is too early for Netanyahu's election plans. He wants to hold the government together until the fall and for elections to be in the first quarter of 2026.
He fervently believes that he can get the population to forget his responsibility for October 7 and control the narrative that he has been building since October 8 (when he met with his political advisors and PR people to plan his deflection of responsibility instead of focusing on the attack of the day before and the fact that Hamas had taken over 20 Israeli communities). If nothing else, Netanyahu is a superman in maintaining a coalition and staying prime minister during all this time instead of doing the right thing and resigning and removing himself from politics forever. Keeping himself in power is the only strategic thing in his arsenal. He has never had strategic plans for anything else relating to the good of the country.IDF says it demolished 2.7 km of tunnels in north Gaza
In northern Gaza’s Jabalia, the IDF says, it demolished 2.7 kilometers’ (1.6 miles’) worth of tunnels during recent operations carried out by the 401st Armored Brigade in the area.
The underground passages were some 20 meters (66 feet) deep, according to the military. They were destroyed by combat engineers. video
At least 44 said killed when IDF troops opened fire on Gazans waiting for aid; no comment from IDF
Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency says the death toll has reached at least 44 after Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd of Palestinians waiting to collect humanitarian aid near Gaza City.
The death toll cannot be verified.
There is no comment from the Israeli military on the reported incident.
“As of this moment, 44 people have been killed and dozens injured after Israeli forces opened fire on civilians waiting for aid” near Gaza City, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal tells AFP. Israel has said Bassal is an active Hamas terrorist.
IDF says Hamas weapons production commander killed in recent central Gaza strikeA commander in Hamas’s “weapons production headquarters” was killed in a recent airstrike in central Gaza’s Nuseirat, the IDF announces.
Bashar Thabat headed a section in the development and projects department of the weapons production headquarters, according to the IDF, and was responsible for Hamas’s “research and development processes in the weapons production headquarters, which works to restore and build up the arsenal of weapons for terror groups in the Strip.”
He was killed in a strike on July 10, the military says.
Meanwhile, the IDF says it has expanded its offensive against Hamas in Gaza City, with the 98th Division launching “targeted attacks” on terror infrastructure and cells of operatives in the past day.
In the Strip’s far north, the military says the 99th and 162nd divisions continue to uncover and destroy Hamas infrastructure, including tunnels.
In the Beit Hanoun area, troops of the Givati Brigade killed several operatives during an exchange of fire, the army says.
In southern Gaza’s Rafah, the IDF says the Gaza Division destroyed dozens of terror infrastructures and located tunnel shafts.
Also in the past day, the Israeli Air Force hit over 75 targets in the Gaza Strip, including cells of operatives, buildings used by terror groups, and other infrastructure, the IDF says.
The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip reported yesterday that 98 Palestinians were killed and 511 were wounded in the previous 48 hours. The tolls cannot be verified and do not distinguish between civilians and fighters.
Member of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force killed in south Lebanon drone strike, IDF says
A member of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force was killed in a drone strike in southern Lebanon’s Khiam earlier today, the IDF announces.
According to the military, the operative was attempting to restore Hezbollah infrastructure in the area, and his activities “constituted a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
Report: 2,000 Israeli Druze warn they’ll join fighting in Syria if attacks persist
Kan news reports that some 2,000 Druze in Israel have signed onto a document declaring their intention to join the fighting in Syria if attacks against Druze by Bedouin tribesmen and government-allied forces do not stop.
“We are preparing to volunteer to fight alongside our brothers in Sweida. It is our time to be ready to defend our brothers, our land, and our religion,” the document says, according to Kan.
Signatories include active reservists in the IDF, the network says, and the letter has sparked intense concern in the Israeli security establishment, which is striving to convince Druze leaders to leave it to the IDF to address any further violence.
Ceasefires have repeatedly been declared in the Sweida region in recent days but have been broken time and again.
In recent hours reports have indicated that clashes in the city of Sweida have been halted and the area was cleared of Bedouin tribal fighters following the deployment of Syrian security forces to enforce a ceasefire.
Gaza and the South
Priest at West Bank town attacked by settlers: I filed 14 complaints, police did nothing
A priest at a West Bank town attacked by settlers in recent days has said he filed multiple complaints over settler violence with Israeli police and that nothing was done.
Father Jack-Nobel Abed, of the Greek Melkite Catholic Church, hosted US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on a tour in Taybeh today.
He told Channel 12 news: “There have already been four arson attacks by settlers in our village. The latest was last Friday near the sixth-century Byzantine church — too close to its walls, which were burned, and to the cemetery walls and the surrounding area. Two weeks ago, they also set fire to our chicken coops.
“When I arrived and saw the damage, I almost cried. Nothing like this has happened to us since I’ve been in the village, for 35 years,” he said.
He added: “I personally filed almost 14 complaints at the Sha’ar Binyamin police station, and still nothing happened – we didn’t receive any response. Unfortunately, the police have done nothing, and for almost two years I’ve been filing complaints there, and they haven’t lifted a finger.
“There is fear among the residents because the settlers act with impunity – they beat people and bring weapons. Even so, many settlers from Kokhav HaShahar come to our village to buy bread, eggs, oil – everything – at our stores. We have good relations with everyone in the area. Nothing happened to us until these specific settlers arrived and started causing trouble. I still believe in coexistence.” link There is no surprise that the police have done nothing with the priest's complaints. Even the US Ambassador to Israel has lodged official diplomatic complaints about the attack on this mostly Christian village and the church. But we still have a convicted criminal who is the minister in charge of the Police and he has instructed them to do nothing about the Settler terrorists who attack Palestinians, and the weak, self-serving prime minister says and does nothing, thereby enabling the extremists and terrorists to continue their terrorist activities with impunity and immunity.
Huckabee's complaints were directed to Netanyahu and Trump. Netanyahu is a close friend to this fundamentalist Ambassador and Huckabee has the mistaken impression that Netanyahu will act to appease him so that his support will continue unrelentingly. As a result, Netanyahu made a vanilla statement against violence against the church, nothing else. Here again, the only person who could get Netanyahu to actually take any action whatsoever against the settler terrorism is Trump but that will not happen. Trump's highest priority is to end the war in Gaza so he will get his Nobel Peace Prize. The chaos in Syria concerns him as well because if things get out of hand and Netanyahu focuses on Syria and doesn't work towards ending the war in Gaza, it will jeopardize his peace prize, so he is angry at Netanyahu for Israel's involvement there. Trump is focusing his pressure on Netanyahu only on Gaza and doesn't want to risk that for anything else, especially what he may see as a local and small time issue such as the settler terrorism.Abbas announces elections for PLO legislative body for first time since 2006
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announces that elections will be held before the end of the year for the Palestinian National Council, for the first time since 2006.
The Palestinian National Council, comprising approximately 300 members, is the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization. The body was once the sole representative of the Palestinian people internationally, but its power has been diminished with the advent of the PA as a Palestinian proto-government, and today it holds mainly symbolic internal significance.
Like the Palestinian Authority, it is dominated by the Fatah movement.
Haaretz reporter Jack Khoury notes that the announcement of new elections for the body appears to be an attempt to revive public legitimacy for the PA and the PLO, which are facing a deep crisis of popularity in the West Bank.
- Politics and the War and General News
Almost two years later: rehabilitation of Nir Oz stuck because of bureaucracy
A year and nine months after the attack in which 40 residents of Nir Oz were murdered and 76 were kidnapped, the kibbutz is still being rebuilt from donations - not from the state budget • Despite the visit of the prime minister and promises of rehabilitation, the money is stuck, the bureaucracy is suffocating - and the residents who were abandoned continue to pay the price
Almost two years have passed since the October 7 attack, but in Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the communities that was harmed the most severely, the rehabilitation of the houses is delayed - and some of them are still being built today from donation money alone. Liat Atsili, who was released from Hamas captivity after 54 days of captivity, insists on returning to the home where her husband Aviv z”l fell and his body was kidnapped. But her house too - like about 30 other houses in the kibbutz - is not being built with state money, but thanks to private donations.
Despite an agreement signed by the state with Kibbutz Nir Oz for the transfer of 343 million shekels for rehabilitation, part of the sum has still not been transferred. Because of this, the kibbutz is forced to rely on external assistance - among other things, a donation of 40 million shekels which KKL (Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael - Jewish National Fund) committed to transfer, but has not yet finally approved. Without this money, the state itself is not transferring its share, and as a result - many rehabilitation projects are stuck. Despite an agreement signed by the state with Kibbutz Nir Oz for the transfer of 343 million shekels for rehabilitation, part of the sum has still not been transferred. Because of this, the kibbutz is forced to rely on external assistance - among other things, a donation of 40 million shekels which KKL (Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael - Jewish National Fund) committed to transfer, but has not yet finally approved. Without this money, the state itself is not transferring its share, and as a result - many rehabilitation projects are stuck. The visit of Prime Minister Netanyahu to the kibbutz illustrated the absurdity: the chairman of the kibbutz, Tzviki Tesler, showed him the neighborhood being built from donations and told him simply - “This is money from donors.” Even the Tekuma Directorate, which is responsible for managing the rehabilitation funds, is forced to raise donations itself, after a cut of about 1.5 billion shekels from its original budget.
Caption: Hostages of Nir Oz who are still in Hamas captivityResponse of the Tekuma Directorate: “In April, an outline was agreed upon for the rehabilitation of Kibbutz Nir Oz in the scope of 350 million shekels, and we are working to advance the agreement with the relevant bodies.”
KKL clarified: “No budget was allocated for a specific locality. KKL is acting to assist the localities that were harmed in the war, in physical rehabilitation and in community resilience.”
In the meantime, Nir Oz is rehabilitating - but mainly thanks to the spirit of volunteerism and the generosity of others. Its residents, who went through the inferno, are not asking for favors - only that they be allowed to rebuild, as they deserve. link
- The Region and the World
Acronyms and Glossary
ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague
IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague
MDA - Magen David Adom - Israel Ambulance Corp
PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen
PMO- Prime Minister's Office
UAV - Unmanned Aerial vehicle, Drone. Could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, or be weaponized with missiles or contain explosives for 'suicide' explosion mission
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