π️Lonny's War Update- October 654, 2023 - July 21, 2025 π️
G π️Day 654 that 50 of our hostages are still in Hamas captivityπ️
Despite reported progress in Gaza ceasefire talks, Israel holds off on sending senior delegation
U.S. envoy Boehler says Israel showed flexibility with Hamas, urging action; IDF chief Zamir praises troops’ battlefield successes as crucial to advancing hostage deal amid ongoing negotiations and rising hopes for agreement
Israel is holding off on sending a senior delegation to Doha despite growing optimism over a potential ceasefire and hostage release agreement with Hamas, officials said Sunday.Sources familiar with the negotiations said the option of dispatching Israeli envoys to Qatar is “completely off the table” for now, and no date has been set for reaching a deal. The statement came amid reports of narrowing gaps between the sides. Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, is also not expected to travel to Doha at this stage. “That’s the most important indication,” one source said.U.S. special envoy Adam Boehler, who has been involved in the talks, told CNN that Israel had shown significant flexibility and that it is now up to Hamas to act. He described the current offer — which includes a multi-phase ceasefire and hostage release — as the best Hamas is likely to receive“Israel wants this. I know them. Hamas is very rigid,” Boehler said. “They’ve been offered many proposals they should have taken. It’s time they release the hostages.” He said Israel had submitted new territorial maps and was actively working to retrieve the remains of two American citizens believed to be held in Gaza. “This is the best offer Hamas will get. My recommendation: take the deal.”Boehler said he is more optimistic than he was in previous weeks, citing Israel’s recent military success in Iran as a turning point. “Let’s get some people home and move to end this conflict,” he said. “If Hamas doesn’t act, Israel will have to take military action.”Meanwhile in Gaza, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir toured frontline units and praised their battlefield achievements as a driving force behind diplomatic progress. “Your achievements on the ground are advancing the defeat of Hamas and generating the potential for a hostage deal,” he told commanders. “Unfortunately, battle brings losses. Our soldiers fell in the sacred mission of defending the communities nearby. That can’t be done by defense alone — we defend through offense. That’s a key lesson from October 7.”“If we reach a deal to return the hostages in the coming days, it will be a tremendous achievement — one that belongs to you,” Zamir said.A Palestinian official involved in the talks said most points of disagreement have now been resolved, including key issues around the Israeli withdrawal map. “We’re down to differences of just a few kilometers along the eastern buffer zone near Israeli border communities. That no longer poses a major obstacle,” the official said. He added that American pressure was also helping finalize terms on humanitarian aid. The two sides have agreed to a prisoner exchange formula: 50 Palestinian prisoners for each Israeli hostage. “The deal is ready — just waiting for an announcement,” he said.On Saturday, Trump said from the White House that 10 more hostages would be released “very soon.” “We’ve gotten most of the hostages back. We’ll have another 10 very soon and we hope to finish this quickly,” he said.An Israeli cabinet official confirmed the claim and said the president’s involvement reflects the seriousness of the negotiations. “Trump’s statements aren’t made in a vacuum. His man is on the negotiations,” the source said. Still, the official warned that Hamas is deliberately slowing the process. “They’re testing our patience.”Despite that, there is growing consensus within Israel’s leadership that a deal is within reach. “If there’s a will to finish — it can be done,” the official said.U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff (Photo: Alex Brandon/AP)
Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Thani is said to be playing a central role in the mediation efforts. He returned to Doha after attending a private dinner with Trump in Washington last week. “Trump’s optimism came from that meeting,” one Israeli source said. While warning that Hamas is prolonging the suffering of Israeli families, the source added that recent pressure from Qatar appears to be prompting movement. “There are now more positive signs. A deal could be reached within two weeks.”The proposed framework calls for a 60-day ceasefire during which 10 living hostages would be released in phases — eight on the first day and two more on day 50 — along with the return of 18 bodies in three stages. Talks would continue during the truce for a permanent end to the war and the release of all remaining hostages. Hamas is demanding guarantees that the ceasefire be extended beyond 60 days if no final deal is reached. The nature of those guarantees is still being negotiated.The main sticking point in recent weeks — Israel’s military presence in parts of Gaza — appears to have eased after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to withdraw from the so-called Morag corridor, which cuts off Rafah from Khan Younis. While some Israeli defense officials expressed concerns, the military has said it will implement any political decision. link- ‘Don’t risk their lives again’: Hostage families fear tragedy as IDF expands Gaza operationsFamilies warn intensified fighting could jeopardize their loved ones; with memories of past tragedies fresh, they plead for restraint and renewed focus on securing a deal to bring them home
For nearly two years, families of hostages held in Gaza have endured a rollercoaster of hope and despair amid ongoing negotiations. Recent preparations for expanded IDF operations in the region, coupled with the military’s claim that these actions pose no risk to the hostages, have failed to ease their anxiety.On Saturday, the IDF issued an evacuation order for Deir al-Balah, an area previously untouched by ground operations, followed by reports of overnight strikes.Silvia CunioThe six hostages executed by Hamas in Gaza Tunnels
Liran Berman, whose brothers Gali and Ziv were abducted from Kfar Aza, described the emotional turmoil. “It’s a constant mix of feelings, especially since the last deal,” he said. “We’re seasoned in disappointment, so we don’t hold much hope, but there’s cautious optimism. “Yet, there’s also deep fear—that the deal will collapse, that they won’t be included or that they’ll be separated. No one can assure us they’ll return together.” The escalation in fighting heightens concerns, especially after the murder of six hostages in captivity last August. “That fear is always there,” Berman said. “We’re nearing the anniversary of their ordeal, living with that dread every second.” Berman stressed the need for public support, noting widespread backing for prioritizing the hostages’ release, even if it means halting the fighting. “Polls show most Israelis support bringing them home but we don’t see people in the streets,” he said. “We’re exhausted, running on fumes. This is a fight to save lives.”Gil DickmanSilvia Cunio, whose sons David and Ariel were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, shared the fear of their separation. “I can’t even think about it,” she said. “I just want them back together, hand in hand. We’re all waiting, broken. I feel their pain in my body—fear, hope, optimism, then fear and tears again. It’s unbearable.” Frustrated by the ongoing war, she questioned its purpose. “Why are they fighting? For another patch of land, they leave soldiers to die,” she said. “Stop the war and bring my boys and all the hostages home, dead or alive. They abandoned us on October 7; they owe it to us.” Gil Dickman, cousin of Carmel Gat, one of the six hostages murdered by Hamas, understands the terror of what intensified military action could bring. “This is exactly what happened last year,” he said.Liran Berman
“Negotiations were underway, then operations endangered hostages. Carmel’s case and the others are a stark warning. We can’t risk the hostages, especially now as a deal nears. We’ve told military officials—the writing’s on the wall. No one can say ‘we didn’t know’ later.” link
**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
PLEASE READ THE ARTICLE "Even Knesset Members Cried and Were Shocked: This Is How the Captivity Looks in the Eyes of the Hostages" in the Hostage Updates section
Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
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Even Knesset Members Cried and Were Shocked: This Is How the Captivity Looks in the Eyes of the Hostages
A few thousand among the masses who arrived at the Hostages Square experienced something they will not forget: looking captivity in the eyes, “feeling” the terrible experience – also as hostages. Among the visitors to the compound were also ministers and Knesset members, who until now cannot digest what they saw: “She took off the glasses and burst into tears.” The people behind the project tell N12 Magazine about the idea – and the goal: “So that they do not close their eyes.”
Ilanit and Shay Dali recently came from their home in Hadera to Hostages Square in Tel Aviv for the first time. No special reason, just a strong inner feeling that drove a need to come here specifically during these days and experience. But as powerful as a visit to the place may be, what it cannot really convey is the terrible feeling of the abduction and the captivity itself. What does try – even to some extent – to simulate the inferno is the video "Through the Eyes of the Hostages": a virtual reality video that allows every visitor to the square to completely isolate themselves from the hustle of the square and be drawn into the horrors of captivity, with the help of goggles and headphones, in one of the corners of the square.
“She has to see it, just has to,” says Shay Dali after he himself finished watching the “attraction,” with disappointment on his face. In the end, after several minutes of persuasion, Ilanit relented and watched it too. “I think that as a woman, it is much more powerful than for a man. There is something powerful there that can sweep you, make you forget that you are in Tel Aviv. You are really there when the terrorist looks you in the eye and you have a second to react,” explains Dali. “I came back after a long reserve duty, I was not in Gaza, I was in Lebanon, I know what it is to be on the fighting side. But to see a terrorist in front of you when you cannot react – it is terrible.”
"You are right there when the terrorist looks you in the eye." The virtual reality project in the Kidnapped Square“There is a feeling of choking in the throat, of panic, of ‘here, it is over’ – he (the terrorist – Y.C.) looks you in the eyes and you want to jump on him. But I know exactly where I am. If it were a quieter and darker place and I did not know where I was, maybe I would have done something.”
Virtual Reality – Through the Eyes of the Hostages
To simulate the inferno in Gaza, even in the heart of Tel Aviv“She watched and said ‘I cannot breathe’”
“What is happening here is actually installations that artists do, but you cannot and do not succeed in conveying the message through them like eight and a half minutes do in the virtual glasses,” says Bonnie Lebron, one of the devoted volunteer team operating the virtual reality compound. “We learned along the way what activates the very, very sensitive points in people,” says Alona Forkosh-Baruch, also part of the team. “I especially remember a high-ranking female officer who came here and asked to watch. She was on a break from her reserve duty and took off the glasses very early on. The trigger was the sounds of the woman from the other room, when you do not see anything but hear. And it was something so shocking for her that she just said ‘I cannot breathe, I cannot breathe, I cannot breathe.’ And we really had to calm her down for long minutes – eventually she calmed down, but our takeaway from that case was that we must give a prior description of what is expected in the video, because one cannot know what will trigger people.”While the eyes see a virtual world, the body reacts as if the terror is completely real. Such emotional storms are, it turns out, a common sight in the square, as Lebron also tells. “There are many people who stop in the middle, shaking, crying, unable to move. They were not able to continue further, we had to give them a glass of water to calm them, hold their hand, hug them. It is mainly the hug, to show them that we love them, and that maybe it is really happening but they are not the ones living it. There was a reporter from one of the TV channels who is really inside this story, and we invited her to come and see, and she stopped in the middle and said she could not go on. We had to hug her. One of the guides or escorts here is a psychologist, and she happened to be here and took her for a talk and calmed her. It is a very difficult situation.”
“There is a recurring reaction?”
“Mainly people talk about that look, the penetrating look in the eyes,” replies Lebron. “Sometimes we even saw reactions from people who are so into it that they forget it is virtual. You see the hand movements as they try as if to get out of it or to touch something. The penetrating look is something that passes through everyone and stays with them long after.”“When the terrorist gets up and threatens the hostages, it really feels like he is threatening you, and there are quite a few people who, the moment he gets up with the knife, they just take off the device and cannot bear that someone is threatened on such a level,” Forkosh-Baruch continues. “There are many points that affect people, but it varies greatly. Some say, ‘We do not know if we can handle it,’ they walk away, come back, hesitate, walk away again, come back. There are those who take off the device very early – they really want to, but they cannot bear it.”
The Ministers and Knesset Members Who Were Shocked and Cried
The volunteers estimate that several thousand people have already participated in this “attraction” during their visits to the square. But beyond the general public, those whose hearts were touched by the horrifying sights and sounds were the public representatives. “Also the then-minister Yitzhak Goldknopf came here, to the family room,” says Lebron. “By chance I volunteered in the family room that day and I brought the virtual glasses, sat him down, and of course I did not put it on him but his spokesperson did. He watched for two minutes, was shocked, and afterward he had a meeting with Keith Siegel, which strengthened even more what he saw.”“We learned what activates sensitive points in people.” Volunteers Arnon Hershkowitz, Alona Forkosh-Baruch and Bonnie Lebron“At some conference, a month later, he said that the figure he saw does not leave his head. I do not know how much it helped, but that is what he said, so it left something with him. Also Knesset Member Limor Son Har-Melech came to watch, I put the full version of the video for her, she took off the glasses and burst into tears,” says Liat Ariel and adds, “The first thing she said was, ‘I do not believe that Arabs rape Jewish women like this.’”
“We wanted them not to close their eyes”
This initiative is the brainchild of Ariel, cousin of Shlomi Ziv, who was one of the heads of the security team at the Nova Festival, kidnapped and rescued in “Operation Arnon” about a year ago. “We saw in it an impact that ‘look, we somehow managed to influence.’ But in practice it is not like her (Son Har-Melech’s – Y.C.) stance on the non-release of the hostages changed. I also remember the reaction of Benny Gantz after he watched the video. He said it was hard for him, that he felt there were too many IDF bombings in the video, that it does not look good, that it threatens the hostages. We told him that this is how it really is, this is also what the hostages who were there tell. Still, he asked to slightly reduce the number of bombings in the video.”“Not all Knesset members joined in, but we tried as much as possible to get them to experience it so they would understand what is really happening and mainly so they would not close their eyes, not distance themselves from it,” explains Ariel. “Last year I stood here at the station, there was not yet a volunteer team, the Knesset members who arrived sat on a chair, and when the video reached the moment of the kidnapping, I took them with my hand, physically grabbed them and sat them down on the floor in the tent.”
The project, Ariel says, grew out of the initial chaos that characterized the weeks after October 7, while her cousin Shlomi was still there, inside the horror. “No one knew what to do, and at some point everyone found themselves here in the square or at the headquarters – gathering and trying to understand what is happening. But it was still total chaos, and slowly the headquarters began to organize various think tanks. I was in such a group that came to talk about the humanitarian needs and the monetary difficulty and raising awareness, and there I raised the idea.”
“We tried to bring as many Knesset members to see, so they would not close their eyes, not distance themselves from it.” Liat Ariel“The beginning of the video is authentic, from Nova”
“Virtual reality illustrates in a very immersive way, it is something I previously experimented with in educational contexts,” says Ariel, an English teacher by profession. “We had such a pilot in school, so the children could speak English with virtual characters. It is easier to practice speaking skills so I was in love with that pilot and therefore decided to do a doctorate.”Ariel’s doctorate in the philosophy of education – which she has been working on in recent years at the Hebrew University – deals, in her words, with “creating emotion in you, and based on your emotion to change your attitudes in your head through experience. Because we understood that the whole story of the hostages is no longer rational for people. And people also have no way to understand it rationally, certainly not people in the world. So we went to the other side – emotion, creating a feeling.”
“It was exactly a week before the hundredth day, a bit after the first phase in which women and children were released, so we already had some first indications of what it means to live in captivity,” she recalls. “Danielle Aloni, who came out with her daughter, already came with stories we could use for illustration, but a lot we still did not know. Because of that, and because I wanted to try to make it as real as possible, the whole first part of the video is authentic and comes from Nova itself. I collected the videos the youth filmed there and from that we managed to tell the story of the kidnapping itself. We took all of this and interviewed Maya and Itay Regev, while they were still hospitalized, and to their testimony we added testimonies about the abduction of Eviatar David, who is still in captivity, and built a story.”
Virtual Reality – Through the Eyes of the Hostages
"There is a feeling of choking in the throat, of panic"“In the second stage we already added more editing and more videos, and then we added the simulation of the rape, which is heard only in sound. That part we took from the testimony of Aviva Siegel: she really told us how she used to hear it through the wall, in the adjacent room. Aviva said that there were girls sitting and they were taken out and brought back. With Aviva’s permission, we went and hired actors who recorded according to this testimony. When she felt a bit better, Aviva herself wanted to participate in the video – to actually play the role of herself – but the costs were very high.”
But not all hostage families felt comfortable with the personal story of their relatives being dramatized, even if indirectly and anonymously. “We really wanted to take an actress to play her,” says Ariel and mentions the name of one of the most well-known female hostages, “but the family did not want to. It was really like walking between the raindrops. For example, I can tell you that it was very difficult to get the original videos from Nova. There was a lot of work in gathering the information to bring something that is as reliable and as real as possible. And the thing is that at first we did not aim at the square at all, but at the leaders. Quite early we reached the annual conference in Davos and of course we were also in the Knesset quite a few times. We sat with the UN Secretary-General and also reached the European Union.”
"Even his wife laughed: My husband is going to Gaza"
On the eve of the Sukkot holiday in 2023, a week before the Black Sabbath. In the house of Rozita Ziv in Nahariya, the family sat around the table and ate together. “We talked about the fact that Shlomi is going to work at the party, at Nova,” recalls his cousin Liat. “Someone jokingly said that he’s going to Gaza, and we even laughed that if you search it on Google it really shows like the party is in Gaza. We laughed about it, and Miran jokingly said, ‘Yes, my husband is going to Gaza with my cousins to a nature party.’”Shlomi Ziv in the hospital after the rescue from Hamas captivity (Photo: IDF Spokesperson)With all due respect to her doctorate and the deep desire to tell first-hand the story of the 50 hostages still in Gaza and those who have returned, above all floats, of course, the family connection. Ariel says she and Shlomi, who grew up together in Nahariya, were quite close. Ziv, who in recent years has lived in the moshav Elkosh, was one of the leaders of the security team at Nova. “They drove to pick up the permits – Shlomi and Aviv Eliyahu z”l, who was the event's security officer,” Ariel continues to describe. “Of course, no one had any thought of anything resembling what ultimately happened. The following week, on that Saturday morning, we were supposed to meet as a whole family for jachnun at my mother’s house. It’s a tradition every Saturday. And then when they called my sister, who is an officer in the IDF – in the morning she put on her uniform and they came to pick her up – that’s when we understood that something was happening.”
Only a week later they discovered that Shlomi, the cousin they had joked with about the party, had been kidnapped. From that chaos grew one of the most harrowing initiatives seen at Hostages Square: the virtual reality film that seeks not only to tell the story – but to make you be inside it. Eight and a half minutes that present the horrifying daily reality of existence in captivity in Gaza and are all based on the testimonies of freed hostages themselves, gathered as part of an extensive investigation. For those who wish to be drawn into this “experience,” a tent operates in the center of the square with several sets of virtual reality goggles and headphones through which the video can be viewed. Due to the technical difficulty of using virtual reality goggles in daylight conditions, the tent operates only from 18:00, daily except Friday.
Shlomi Ziv and his wife Miran (Photo: Courtesy of the family)
"She joked that her husband is going to Gaza." Shlomi Ziv and his wife Miran before the abduction | Photo: Courtesy of the family“Different people are shocked by different parts”
“Everyone connects to – or alternatively is horrified by – different parts,” says Arnon Hershkowitz, also one of the volunteers, and explains: “There are three parts in the video. The first part is the sounds heard from outside – you do not see anything but you understand it’s an attack – probably a sexual assault – on a woman. The second part is a part where an Arab guard sits in front of you and looks you in the eyes. The third part is where more hostages are brought into the room and they are next to you, and the same guard ‘interacts’ with them.”According to him, “Different people are horrified in different ways and each in a different part. Some are devastated by the first part – the woman heard from outside, her horrible screams destroy them – and others point out the moment when the Arab guard sits opposite them and stares at them. They say, ‘We looked away, we cannot look at him,’ and there are those who feel that when he slightly abuses the hostages it is very hard for them because they, the viewers, cannot help them.”
"There is something powerful there that can sweep you, make you forget that in the end you're in Tel Aviv"Someone else who experienced the video in a particularly deep way – and in his case also in a very personal way – is “B.” who came here after a dress rehearsal of a play at the nearby Cameri Theater. The play deals with Nova, and one of its creators is his friend. He himself, he says, was not at the festival itself, but many of his friends were.
“In relation to the play, this video is very mild. For me, it is to see and know that it is not even close to a tenth of how it really is. I feel that this is a more softened version than the most softened version one could imagine. And in the end, it puts many things in proportion and mainly, in a rather selfish way, my life. I am not going through the best time now. I very much avoided letting the story of Nova enter my home. But seeing their struggles also awakens in me… I will not say anger – it is not anger – but it is like twisting the heart while it is still inside the body and wondering why it hurts.”
“The first time tears fell in a year and a half”
“What grabbed me most was the beginning. I watched the version that has rape in the beginning, and as someone who also experienced rape himself… you know, I’m standing here with you and smiling, but that’s just because there is no other bodily reaction to this horror,” “B.” shares honestly. “I’m used to releasing energy through laughter, and when I’m uncomfortable I laugh. That happened to me also today in the play. But just now, when I heard that thing happening (the rape – Y.C.), it was the first time in this year and a half that tears fell from my eyes.”"B. shared: 'It was the first time in this year and a half that tears fell from my eyes'"On the evening we came to visit the initiative’s tent, a new feature was operated for the first time in addition to the goggles and headphones. Ariel brought with her a new addition intended to deepen even more the isolation from the real environment and the immersion into the abyss of terror – a special vest that is worn by the viewer as they sit and watch the video. The motors in the vest transmit vibrations through the body synchronized in real time with what is happening in the video, thus making the “experience” more realistic and drawing the viewer even deeper into the small, repulsive room in Gaza.
One of the first test viewers is Amit Matalon. Although he is a Tel Aviv resident, this is also his first visit to the square. “This place is usually hard for me, it really triggers me,” he explains. “Honestly, it reminded me of Operation Defensive Shield, my place as a soldier inside the ‘human shield’ procedure (disguised stay in a civilian home), I was then a regular soldier. The sounds are familiar, the explosions in the background are familiar. Also the terrorist’s face is familiar – in short, it’s a lot, a lot of triggers.”
And how does it feel to be triggered while you are trapped inside virtual reality? “I must say that the vest triggered me a bit more. What works best there, in my opinion, is the duration – a long time when nothing happens, a long time he sits in front of you, that stillness. And just when the drama arrives, something breaks in the experience. The dead time makes it real. It is not an action movie, but a reality of life, where sometimes not much happens. Something does not move, does not change, and you have time to look at all the objects in the room, at the picture on the wall, and the tobacco on the floor.” link
- Minister Strook: 'We should make an effort not to harm hostages, but that might be the outcome'
Minister Orit Strook said in an interview with "Kol Barama" that Israel should launch a "decisive battle" in Gaza, and did not rule out the possibility that hostages might be harmed: "We should try very hard to prevent that, but it could happen." She added that "what needs to be done is to launch a decisive battle across all the territory we haven't yet touched in the Gaza Strip. There is an entire area designated as a 'do not touch' zone because there are hostages there, and in this way, it's impossible to win a war. It's not logical or reasonable." According to her, "We should make an effort not to harm hostages, but that might be the outcome." link Strook has shown the public that she is one of the most racist ministers (of course from Smotrich's party) and one of the most vocal about sacrificing the hostages. She has made it clear that she has no problem if all the hostages get killed so no deal is made and we can both decimate Gaza and take it over for Jewish settlements. She, of course states that disclaimer that the army should 'try' not to harm the hostages but if it happens, C'est la vie (that's life, no big deal). She, like her counterparts is so purposely removed from what the majority of the population wants. She is only concerned with her messianic racist ideologies which include getting rid of all Arabs from the West Bank, Gaza and finally from inside of Israel. Once it was hard to find Knesset members and ministers who were so extreme and utterly without restraints of how low they could get. In this government, it is the norm. Shockwaves from IDF strikes shatter homes, rattle nerves in Gaza border towns
Residents in Sderot and Netiv HaAsara report mounting damage from Israeli strikes in Gaza, with shattered windows, wall cracks and unlivable stress; forum of affected towns warns of escalating destruction as state compensation remains slow and limited
Residents of Sderot, Netiv HaAsara, and other towns near northern Gaza reported shattered glass doors, broken windows, and deepening cracks in their walls after a series of thunderous explosions.Yitzhak Agami, a resident of Sderot, described an exceptionally rough night. “The first blast cracked the glass door. Then, around 3 a.m., there was another massive explosion that shattered it completely,” he said. “I hadn’t even touched it—the shattering was solely from the shockwave.”Agami, who recently returned from two months of reserve duty on the northern border, said it’s been hard to readjust to daily explosions. “At first, I was in shock. We’ve been living with booms for two years, but nothing like this. All morning I’ve been dealing with it—contacting the Property Tax Authority, looking for a repairman, gathering receipts. I have little kids at home and there’s glass everywhere,” he added. “Still, I’m glad we’re winning. If I lose another glass door, so be it. But living like this for two years isn’t easy. We can feel cracks forming in the house.”Another resident from the same neighborhood said she discovered her balcony window had shattered overnight. In a video she posted, glass crunching underfoot, she said, “This is what’s left after the IDF blast. I’m shaking.”Similar reports came from Netiv HaAsara, a community right on the Gaza fence: broken windows, panels detaching from walls, and cracks that grow wider with each passing day. “The real problem is the hidden damage,” one resident said. “A broken window is easy to show the tax authority, but the internal wall damage worsens daily. Sometimes they tell us it’s not from the blast. This isn’t a livable reality—the constant noise from the fighting, and the structural damage that comes with it.”Vered, also from Netiv HaAsara, described the night as “brutal, with deafening explosions. Of course, you can’t sleep—your body goes into stress, full-body tremors. I don’t understand who thinks it’s okay to send kids back to live here in this situation. It’s terrifying and unbearable,” she said. “The living room window is damaged again—this is the third time. We haven’t even been reimbursed for the last claim.”The Homeward forum, which represents 12 communities hit hard in the Gaza envelope region, issued a statement saying that since the war began, residents have faced extensive damage to homes and infrastructure due to nonstop IDF operations in Gaza. “These include underground infrastructure damage, burst pipes, wall cracks, collapsed ceilings and pergolas, and more. At this stage, the full extent of the damage is still unclear.”Following pressure from the forum, the Knesset Finance Committee held a special session in May. Residents warned that the damage would likely intensify as fighting escalates. Many said that officials from the Property Tax Authority often don’t come to assess damage, and even when they do, they claim the destruction wasn’t caused by the shockwave, and deny compensation. Committee chair MK Moshe Gafni demanded that clear compensation criteria be published, but the guidelines have yet to be released, and residents are still struggling to get recognition or reimbursement from the state.Forum chair Ziv Matzliach said, “The renewed fighting has again brought severe shockwave damage to border communities and infrastructure, and it’s only getting worse. Unfortunately, the State of Israel still doesn’t grasp the full economic toll this takes on residents. They hear the military operations 24/7 and see the damage accumulate. Every day we encounter more destruction. There must be a fast-track system for recognizing and compensating for shockwave-related damage. In the meantime, it’s the residents who are footing the bill.” Link‘I’m always hungry’: Locals, officials says malnutrition in Gaza is worse than ever
Malnutrition in Gaza has reached new heights, local sources say, with the UN’s World Food Programme director describing the situation as “the worst I’ve ever seen.”
Ziad Musleh, a 45-year-old father displaced from Gaza’s north to the central city of Nuseirat, tells AFP: “We are dying, our children are dying and we can’t do anything to stop it.”
“Our children cry and scream for food. They go to sleep in pain, in hunger, with empty stomachs,” he says. “There is absolutely no food. And if by chance a small amount appears in the market, the prices are outrageous — no one can afford it.”
Umm Sameh Abu Zeina, whose cheekbones protruded from her thin face as she waited for food in Nuseirat, says she has lost 35 kilograms (77 pounds).
“We do not eat enough. I don’t eat, I leave the food I receive for my daughter,” she says, adding that she has a range of health conditions, including high blood pressure and diabetes.
WFP director Carl Skau, who visited Gaza City in early July, describes the situation as “the worst I’ve ever seen.”
“A father I met had lost 25 kilograms (some 55 pounds) in the past two months. People are starving, while we have food just across the border,” he says in a statement.
“Our kitchens are empty; they are now serving hot water with a bit of pasta floating in it,” says Skau.
Palestinians gather at a food distribution point in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 19, 2025. (Eyad BABA / AFP)Amina Wafi, a 10-year-old girl from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, says she thinks of food constantly.
“I’m always hungry. I always tell my father, ‘I want food’, and he promises he’ll bring me something but there is none, and he simply can’t,” she tells AFP.
Gaza’s Hamas-run civil defense agency says it has noted a rising number of infant deaths caused by “severe hunger and malnutrition,” reporting at least three such deaths in the past week.
“These heartbreaking cases were not caused by direct bombing, but by starvation, the lack of baby formula and the absence of basic healthcare,” civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal tells AFP.
Figures from Hamas agencies cannot be verified and do not differentiate between civilians and combatants. LINK
World Central Kitchen says it is halting hot meal services in Gaza as it’s out of foodThe World Central Kitchen organization says that it has depleted all supplies in its Gaza warehouses and that its aid trucks are currently stuck at the Gaza border.
As a result, the organization says it has been forced to halt operations in kitchens that were serving hot meals. However, it says, its teams in Gaza are continuing to bake bread and distribute water to residents.
It adds that yesterday, it served 80,000 meals to residents of Gaza.
The entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza has been a point of conflict between Israel and aid organizations since the start of the war.
Aid groups accuse Israel of obstructing deliveries, while Israel claims the organizations fail to meet necessary conditions for safe food distribution, such as compliance with specific aid routes in the Strip.
Last week, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation announced that UN-affiliated organizations had not delivered food to Gaza for over a week, and that the GHF was currently the only group bringing humanitarian aid into the territory. link The GHF is an organization set up by Israel government (indirectly) and is supposed to be providing humanitarian aid to 2 million Gazan refugees. However, it is not a professional organization that has any experience in refugee work and it is a smokescreen for the Israeli government to show that aid is being provided and Hamas is not able to appropriate the aid trucks coming in to Gaza. There are many other problems associated with the GHF aid. They have only set up 4 distribution areas, as directed by Israel and cannot possibly provide aid to 2 million refugees. People are literally starving in Gaza due to the refugee crisis we created and continue to exacerbate through army notices to evacuate multiple areas because of the expansion of fighting. The refugees are, at best living in tents and have to continuously pack up their remaining property and move according the the army orders. Medical aid is almost non existent and their minimal dietary are far from being met. On top of this, every day, tens to hundreds of Gazans are being killed by Israeli troops near aid distribution centers and this is just getting worse. The government is not allowing other aid organizations in to bring in and distribute aid, nor is anything being done to prevent the killing of non combatants who are just coming to get food and water.
Head of anti-Hamas militia in Gaza denies being backed by Israel, says support comes from vast tribal network
Yasser Abu Shabab, the leader of a Gazan militia operating in an area under Israeli military control, says in an interview with the UK’s Sunday Times that his group is not funded or armed by Israel, and insists that he is “just an ordinary Palestinian person who cares about his own people.”
Hamas has accused Abu Shabab of being a criminal, looter, and a traitor, and earlier this month demanded that he turn himself in to the terror group for prosecution.
“Hamas either accuses their [opponents] of being traitors working with Israel or being criminals. I am neither of these,” Shabab says. “I was an ordinary construction worker before the war. I have no military training. I am just an ordinary Palestinian person who cares about his own people.”
He adds that if a ceasefire is reached between Israel and Hamas, he and his group will need “international protection” from the terror group that rules Gaza, which he says will likely use the pause to crack down on internal dissent.
According to Abu Shabab, Hamas has killed 52 members of his family, including his brother.
He denies that he had direct involvement with Israel, and says his group was funded and armed by supporters within his tribal network. funding and arms came from support from his tribal network.
“I’m from the Tarabin family. We are a big tribe that extends not only to Gaza but also to Egypt, to Jordan, and even into some Gulf countries. Notable members of our family contributed money, and we used this money to buy products from the markets in Gaza and give it to needy people from our community,” he says.
“When I saw our people were suffering from the fact Hamas was stealing aid and was bringing this war with Israel upon the Gazans, leaving our people struggling and displaced, the idea sparked to create a safe zone for our people where we don’t fight,” he adds. “So my tribe and my family started to distribute aid to people who were in need.”
According to the Sunday Times report, the “most prominent wealthy member” of the Tarabins is Ibrahim al-Arjani, a Sinai-based Egyptian businessman who made millions from charging Palestinians fees for using the Rafah crossing to flee the war in Gaza.
When asked if his militia could manage the Rafah crossing after the war, Abu Shabab says, “of course.”
But “first we need to defeat terrorism,” he says, adding that his “ideal” for postwar Gaza is “one open to the world, to Egypt, Arab countries and Israel.”
“Many of my family members live in Israel in a good situation without any discrimination,” he says. LINK
Two senior Mujahideen Brigades operatives killed in southern Gaza strike, terror group says
Two senior members of the Mujahideen Brigades were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis yesterday, the terror group announces.
The Mujahideen Brigades is a relatively small Hamas-allied terror group in the Strip. According to the IDF, the group was responsible for the abduction and murder of Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir; Gadi Haggai and Judih Weinstein; and Thai hostage Nattapong Pinta.
The terror group says the strike in Khan Younis killed Azmi Mohammed Qdeih, a commander responsible for the Gaza City area; and Raed al-Saqa, a commander responsible for the southern part of the Strip.
The strike also killed several members of their families, the terror group says.
The IDF has not yet commented on the strike.
The leader of the Mujahideen Brigades was killed in a strike last month, along with another senior member of the terror group. Another Mujahideen Brigades operative involved in burying the bodies of slain hostages was killed in a separate strike last month.
Palestinian journalist union says three Gaza-based reporters attacked by Hamas operatives
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, a non-governmental body affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, condemns an incident in which three Gaza-based journalists were attacked by operatives from Hamas’s “Sahm” unit — which is responsible for enforcing law and order in the Gaza Strip, and the Hamas police investigations department.
According to the statement, the journalists — Khaled Shaat, who works for the Shaat News Agency and Jordan’s Al-Hayat Radio; Mohammed Salama, a photographer for Al Jazeera; and Abdullah Al-Attar, a correspondent for Turkey’s Anadolu Agency — were assaulted by Hamas operatives at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis while on duty.
“Assaulting journalists and preventing them from carrying out their duties is reprehensible and unacceptable behavior,” the organization says.
“The syndicate also emphasizes the necessity of facilitating the sacred mission undertaken by journalists to convey the truth and defend their people’s cause, particularly in light of the repeated targeting they face from the Israeli occupation,” the statement adds, calling for an “urgent and transparent investigation into the incident” and for the perpetrators of the attack to be held to account.
The statement is accompanied by an image of one of the journalists sporting visible injuries to his arm.
- Zamir said proposing IDF tighten grip on Gaza as alternative to ‘humanitarian city’
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has drawn up plans for the military to further intensify operations against Hamas, according to a Channel 12 news report that quotes sources familiar with the proposal describing it as “the plan for taking over Gaza.”
The report says the plan is an alternative to the controversial “humanitarian city” in Rafah pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which Zamir opposes, and would be acted on if hostage talks collapse or in the case of a truce if no deal is reached to end the war following the 60-day ceasefire.
The proposal reportedly calls for the IDF to capture and hold much more territory in the Gaza Strip than it currently holds, with the military gradually taking more ground each day to show Hamas what it’s losing.
A separate report by the Israel Hayom daily stresses the plan would see the military encircle most parts of Gaza, not take over the entire enclave.
The newspaper also reports that Netanyahu has prevented Zamir from presenting the proposal to the security cabinet and blocked a smaller group of ministers whom the IDF chief briefed from deliberating it. link. Of course Netanyahu doesn't want to present it to the security cabinet or allow Zamir to go through with it. It would go against the plan and dreams of both his extremist messianic partners and his BFF's dream of the Trump Gaza Riviera. Building the so called 'humanitarian city' would costs the Israeli taxpayer billions of dollars but that doesn't matter to Netanyahu, Smotrich or Ben Gvir, the most fiscally irresponsible government in Israel's history. And they certainly don't care that this is a defacto concentration camp with the sole purpose to further make the lives of the Gazan refugees even worse than it is now with the goal of forcing them to 'voluntarily emigrate', a euphemism for ethnic cleansing. Along with this 'humanitarian city', Netanyahu tasked the Mossad Chief Barnea with finding countries that will take in the Gazan refugee emigres. Barnea met last week with White House officials asking for US help to convince countries to take hundreds of thousands of the Gazans, top among them are Ethiopia, Indonesia and Libya, which have apparently expressed openness to the plan. Barnea asked the US to offer the willing countries incentives to make it worth their while. In the meantime, no one has asked any of the Gazans if they want to go to any of these countries.
Amid scrutiny, IDF releases video showing troops holding fire as Gazans collect aid nearby
Amid daily reports of deadly Israeli fire near aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip, the IDF publishes a video showing troops standing meters from Palestinians collecting food this afternoon while commanders instruct soldiers not to open fire.
“Do not open fire, nobody opens fire,” officers are heard shouting in the video published by Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson.
The video shows Palestinians collecting aid from a truck and clapping and cheering, apparently at the Israeli troops.
“Not a single shot was fired. The order was clear: do not open fire. And the Palestinians’ reaction? It wasn’t fear… it was hope. Civilians began welcoming and cheering our soldiers,” Adraee says.
“Those who have lived under Hamas’ lies know that our soldiers and our presence are a source of hope. No starvation, no deliberate killing, no targeting of those waiting for aid on purpose,” he says.
“There is Hamas propaganda with hollow media mouthpieces promoting lies to try to salvage what remains of defeated Hamas,” Adraee adds.
The release of the video comes after dozens of Palestinians near aid distribution sites in Gaza were reportedly shot dead on Sunday, including an incident in the north of the enclave in which Hamas health authorities reported nearly 80 people were killed.
Responding to reports that some witnesses said Israeli troops shot at the crowd, the IDF acknowledged firing “warning shots to remove an immediate threat posed to the troops” in northern Gaza, but denied the steep death toll, insisting that the “reported number of casualties does not align with the existing information.” video This video shouldn't be a worthy news item. In it can be heard in hebrew officers giving orders not to shoot. It should be the opposite. Not shooting should be the unspoken order known by all which would make this superfluous. Opening fire on the refugees should not be the standard practice but the exception when orders should need to be given. Every single day, there are reports of tens and hundreds of refugees being killed at or near aid distribution centers. There have been reports from a number of soldiers (who have no connection to each other) of orders being given by officers to shoot at refugees at the aid centers, where the refugees did not show a risk to the soldiers and were not close to the them. This horrid war has made killing non combatants a normal activity that doesn't have repercussions. These are actions that should immediately be investigated by the Military Police and orders from the most senior levels should be given to end this and make any killing of refugees an investigatable exception. For that to happen, the political echelon who are responsible for giving the 'marching orders' to the IDF needs to make that change and that is not about to happen with this extremist government which sees the deaths of Gazans as a positive thing.
Report: Hamas-appointed director of Gaza’s field hospitals arrested by IDF
Palestinian media reports that the IDF recently arrested Marwan al-Hams, the director of Yusuf al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah. According to the reports, al-Hams also serves as the head of the Gaza Strip’s field hospitals, a position within the Hamas-run health ministry.
The IDF has yet to issue a response.
‘A child who just won’t behave’: US said fuming at ‘madman’ Netanyahu after Syria strikes
White House officials reportedly view actions as harming Trump’s peace efforts, say PM making ‘big mistake’; Jerusalem tried explaining need to defend Druze, Israeli officialThe White House is alarmed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decisions in Syria, multiple officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration were quoted Sunday as saying, branding the premier a “madman” and “a child who just won’t behave.”
“Bibi acted like a madman. He bombs everything all the time,” a White House official was cited as saying by the Axios news outlet, using the premier’s nickname. “This could undermine what Trump is trying to do.”
Israel began carrying out strikes on Syrian troops rolling into Sweida on Tuesday after local government forces were accused of killing scores of people in the Druze city of Sweida, and on Wednesday the IDF struck key buildings in Damascus.
“The feeling is that every day there is something new. What the fuck?” said a second senior US official after an Israeli tank shell hit a church in Gaza, killing three people, in what the IDF says was a mistake.
While Trump did not publicly address the strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church, he held an angry phone call with Netanyahu and demanded that he release a statement expressing regret over the incident, which the premier did a short while later.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also told reporters that Trump’s reaction to the incident “was not a positive reaction.”
There is growing skepticism in the US administration about Netanyahu and his policies, said a third official, adding that “Netanyahu is sometimes like a child who just won’t behave.”
It was not clear whether the officials’ frustrations reflected the feelings of Trump himself. However, it wouldn’t be the first time the president has been irked by Israel’s behavior.
In an unprecedented, public, foul-mouthed tirade, Trump voiced his frustration against Israel last month when it planned a massive airstrike in response to the launch of a single missile by Iran after a ceasefire ending the 12-day war took effect.
According to Axios, US special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack asked Israel on Tuesday to halt its attacks on Syria to make room for diplomacy, and Israel agreed. However, on Wednesday, Israel carried out extensive attacks in Syria, including on its military headquarters and close to the presidential palace.
Israel said it was acting in support of the Druze, who form a substantial community in Israel and are seen as a loyal minority, with many serving in the Israeli military.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey complained to the White House, as did Barrack and US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“The bombing in Syria caught the president and the White House by surprise,” a US official was quoted as saying. “The president doesn’t like turning on the television and seeing bombs dropped in a country he is seeking peace in and made a monumental announcement to help rebuild.”
“Bibi’s political agenda is driving his senses. It will turn out to be a big mistake for him long-term,” one official said.
People pass in front of the Syrian Defense Ministry building which was heavily damaged by Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Syria, July 17, 2025. (AP/Ghaith Alsayed)A senior Israeli official told Axios that Trump urged Netanyahu to hold onto Syrian territory early in his term, and hasn’t complained about Israeli military operations there.
“The US wants to keep the new Syrian government stable and doesn’t understand why we attack in Syria because of attacks on the Druze community there,” the official said. “We tried to explain to them that this is our commitment to the Druze community in Israel.”
As Druze fighters clashed with Sunni Bedouin tribes, who were later joined by government forces last week, reports emerged from Sweida of regime forces killing women and boys, looting homes, and shaving Druze clerics’ mustaches. Videos also showed Druze fighters beating captured government forces and posing by their bodies.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said over 1,000 people have been killed since the violence erupted a week ago, including 336 Druze fighters and 298 civilians from the minority group, as well as 342 government security personnel and 21 Sunni Bedouin.
A ceasefire announced on Saturday appeared to be holding after earlier agreements failed to end the fighting between longtime rivals the Druze and the Bedouin.
AFP correspondents on the outskirts of Sweida city reported hearing no clashes on Sunday morning, with government forces deployed in some locations in the province to enforce the truce and at least one humanitarian convoy headed for the Druze-majority city. Link. Trump is in a precarious position vis a vis Netanyahu. They are BFFs and Netanyahu has all but promised Trump that he will win Trump's most desired prize: The Nobel Peace Prize that he has coveted from the minute it was announced that Obama was a prize winner. He is convinced that he will win the prize for ending the war in Gaza and engaging with the new leadership of Syria will assist as well. Trump wants the war to end immediately and for the hostages to all be returned to Israel. Prior to Netanyahu's last trip to Washington, Trump spoke very strongly that the war would end very soon. However, Netanyahu was able to convince Trump that if he allowed Netanyahu to work towards that end based on his own plan and schedule, Trump would definitely get the end of the war, though it would take around 4 months or more and that Netanyahu would get re-elected which is icing on the cake for Trump as he wants Netanyahu to continue. But Trump is Trump. He is unpredictable and what he says today can change 180 degrees tomorrow. He and his people are growing restless with Netanyahu, losing patience and believe he is doing damage to Trump's goals of peace. The attacks in Syria, the bombing of the church in Gaza, the rising violence of the Jewish terrorists in the West Bank, and the most crucial thing for Trump, the lack of movement towards closing a deal for the ceasefire in Gaza and release of some of the hostages.
Currently, it is only his people who are making noise but we are hoping that it will very soon be Trump who will be demanding change from Netanyahu and we hope that the change will be to immediately end the war and bring the hostages home, and not let it go on for 4 months at least. Netanyahu has a lot of experience wrapping Trump around his finger but we have already seen a few instances where he hasn't succeeded. There is no doubt that he is speaking with Trump on a regular basis in order to keep Trump's backing for his plan but the great hope is that Trump will stop Netanyahu's smooth talking and demand a quicker end to the war. Trump is the only person who can get Netanyahu to do the things that Netanyahu doesn't want to do and that includes ending the war in Gaza.- 'Hezbollah wanted to slaughter us and rape our women—we’re too merciful to them'
In rare frontline interview, IDF colonel admits he is 'ashamed' over Hezbollah’s buildup on Israel's border, blasts pre-October 7 failures and warns of new escalation in the near future
One day after the ceasefire between the IDF and Hezbollah took effect last November, Col. Avi (Avraham) Marciano, the outgoing commander of the 769th Hiram Brigade, responsible for security along the eastern sector of the Lebanon border, set out to ensure that “we’re not going backward."Marciano led his brigade’s command staff on a patrol of the Lebanese village of Markaba, just a few kilometers from Kibbutz Misgav Am. Suddenly, intelligence reports indicated that a Hezbollah commander, along with other terror operatives, was located just a few hundred feet away. The revelation stunned him. It was clear the mission was far from being over. “We immediately stopped the convoy and turned the situation into an operational mission,” recalls 38-year-old Marciano, married to Dovrat and a father of four from a small community in northern Israel. “We were an armed team set out to capture the terror operatives, but before we got to them, they managed to drop their weapons and escape. That was the moment it hit me; if they feel comfortable enough to sit on a balcony, smoking a hookah the day after a ceasefire begins, we cannot afford to pause." During those days, Marciano shifted the military tactic from “attack” to what he called “hunt and pursuit.” Since then, his soldiers have continued to track down and target Hezbollah terrorists and commanders throughout the sector. He kept the Hezbollah men’s hookah as a memento at the brigade's headquarters. “It was still lit when we arrived, with burning coals. They were that confident we wouldn’t kill them. From that day forward, we launched a series of extended, deep operations in about five villages and the Saluki Valley, and well beyond the areas where we had maneuvered before, to achieve more results. "I realized that if the enemy felt so secure in Markaba, it meant we hadn’t finished the war properly, and we had to deepen the achievement and destroy their capabilities," he says. Marciano, a career IDF officer who came up through the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion and held various command roles before being appointed brigade commander, assumed the position about six weeks before the October 7 terrorist attack. From the start of the ground offensive in Lebanon and throughout the months between the November 2024 ceasefire and the IDF’s withdrawal in February 2025, he spent every moment in Lebanese territory working to inflict a heavier price on Hezbollah and dismantle its assets. Last month, Marciano bid farewell to his comrades and officially handed over command of the brigade to Col. Yuval Mazuz. He began a year of academic studies, after which he is expected to return to military service. In a straightforward, no-holds-barred interview, Marciano reflects on a year-and-a-half-long fight, expressing also pointed criticism, of the kind only a commander with boots on the ground and his finger on the trigger can express. “Hezbollah’s invasion plan into Israel has been dismantled. That’s the major achievement,” he declares from his office at the brigade’s base in Kiryat Shmona. “But we could have done more." Marciano’s war museum Since October 8, 2023, the Hiram Brigade found itself in an inconceivable reality, which involved a drawn-out “defensive battle” against Hezbollah that lasted nearly a year. For much of that time, it seemed the soldiers stood behind the border fence with their hands tied. Despite significant accomplishments, including the elimination of hundreds of terrorists and pushing Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force away from the border, they were forced to watch Hezbollah launch thousands of rockets into northern Israel and destroy homes, without being given authorization to enter Lebanon and stop them. At the time, the IDF's main objective was to leave the northern sector comparatively quiet and secondary to the southern front. However, a rapid sequence of events starting with the “pager operation” in September led Hezbollah to sustain blow after blow, and hence, the government gave the green light for troops to enter Lebanon and clear the area of enemy infrastructure.Col. Avi Marciano (Photo: Ziv Koren)“We should create a collective memory within Hezbollah which would lead them to relinquish the very idea of eliminating the State of Israel,” he adds. “Hezbollah should have a collective memory of the next hundred years, which will show them what the price they will pay if they plan to carry out an ‘October 7’ against Israel. "From the moment the ceasefire was declared, my main mission was to move from house to house, from warehouse to warehouse, to clear and destroy, to make sure they can no longer have the ability to return here. “As soon as the main maneuvering forces, like the Paratroopers, Golani and reservists, evacuated an area, we moved in immediately and began systematically clearing it. We returned to the villages to make sure no terror infrastructure remained.” Not far from the brigade headquarters, in a small, fenced lot containing an old bunker, Marciano built a kind of war museum. It holds many items - a small fraction of the weapons and equipment seized from Hezbollah between the ceasefire and the final withdrawal of IDF forces. For Marciano, it is a place of honor and remembrance, but also a warning sign from 21 months of war and years of strategic restraint that preceded it. At one point, he recounts, there was not enough room left to store the captured weapons in Israel, so they began destroying them deep inside Lebanese territory. “We focused our efforts on the entire belt of major Shiite villages, from the area around Manara, Margaliot and Kfar Yuval all the way to the Litani River,” he says.The 'war museum' (Photo: Ziv Koren)The guiding principle for him and his troops was clear and uncompromising, almost obsessive: “If you go into a place, don’t leave until it’s completely destroyed. We pushed back hard against the culture of 'immediacy', a mindset that demands us to finish quickly, right here and right now, and move on, and according to which everything has to happen instantly." "Anyone who wants a short war will get a short-lived achievement," says Marciano. "If you want a long-term result, which will leave a mark on the enemy’s consciousness, the war will have to be long. There’s no other way to achieve that." He points at Lebanon, less than three kilometers away, and becomes silent. The silence, as the clichΓ© goes, is almost tangible. It's relative silence that is always tense. Even in the past week, Israeli airstrikes killed terrorists who were involved in Hezbollah’s efforts to rebuild. “The war, in terms of fierce ground maneuvering, is over,” he explains, “but to preserve its achievements, it will likely never truly end." Inside Marciano’s improvised war museum are rockets, anti-tank missile launchers, sophisticated explosives, drones, sniper rifles, operational maps, documents, flags and even personal items belonging to slain Hezbollah operatives. According to Marciano, Hezbollah stockpiled these weapons not only to invade the Galilee, but with the intent to remain there. The museum has drawn visits from senior IDF officials and international counterparts, including American generals involved in monitoring the ceasefire. Bereaved families whose loved ones fell in the northern operation have also come here. “First and foremost, this ‘museum’ serves a professional-operational purpose,” Marciano says. “I want commanders and soldiers to see with their own eyes the threat we faced, and what the enemy is capable of.”“There aren’t many soldiers who have ever seen an explosive device in their lives. They’re told, ‘If you’re patrolling the fence and spot an IED…’ but most of them have no idea what one even looks like. You can explain it via a PC presentation, but someone who sees it up close with their own eyes understands the threat better and will be a more professional and serious commander." "The museum also has a psychological purpose", continues Marciano. “The message of this site is: ‘Don’t think it can’t happen.’ History repeats itself. I hope that a decade from now, when someone tells the story of the awful and unimaginable reality we faced here, they’ll point to this place as a reminder of what we must never allow to happen again. The next war will certainly look different, and we can't tell who we will face or how the enemy will challenge us, but it’s critical to understand the enemy, his determination and way of thinking." At the entrance to the bunker, Marciano points to a large Lebanese road sign taken from one of the villages that his brigade cleared. “This is the most interesting sign, which reads: ‘Al-Quds, 173 kilometers', which means Jerusalem,” Marciano says. “That was their long-term goal, not just Metula or Kiryat Shmona (in the north). Hashem Safieddine, who was marked as Nasrallah’s successor and was later eliminated, stood next to this sign when he visited the border before the war. Those visits are over. They won’t be coming anywhere near here again."(Photo: Ziv Koren)
Every weapon in the collection has a story. “These launchers,” he says, gesturing toward a row of rocket launchers mounted on a new shiny red pickup truck, “we found them in the Saluki Valley, one of Hezbollah’s most fortified strongholds. "I felt I could push the brigade that far, into the first line of villages beyond the Saluki Valley. But that’s where we stopped. We invested enormous effort here while neglecting other areas out of necessity.‘Al-Quds, 173 kilometers' (Photo: Ziv Koren)
"If I could, I would have created a wider buffer between the Israeli and Lebanese communities, but in the end, that depends on how much explosives we are given. And that’s a painful issue,” he admits, revealing some of the frustration and sense of missed opportunities he continues to carry. We will elaborate on it later. “Look at this optical fiber,” Marciano continues. “That is what's left from the anti-tank missile Hezbollah fired at my office here at the military base. It hit my room. It’s a copy of an Israeli missile; they learn fast.Marciano's 'war museum' (Photo: Ziv Koren)
"And here’s a drone we discovered just 50 meters from us in Metula at the start of the war. It was just behind us. All of a sudden, I heard a buzzing sound and saw something in the sky. We realized it was an explosive drone and opened fire at it. It was carrying three RPG warheads. Every item here represents a surreal experience." Not enough explosives On the way to the border and the new Narkis outpost, built inside Lebanese territory opposite the Israeli community of Margaliot to help protect residents in the area, Col. Marciano reveals a deeper internal debate within the IDF: how much post-war reconstruction to allow in Lebanon, and what to prevent. “Personally, I believe that any house Hezbollah used for terrorism should not be rebuilt,” he says. From Lebanon’s highway adjacent to Israel’s border fence, nothing remained. It was wiped out as part of a recently revealed IDF engineering operation codenamed Silver Plow. “Unfortunately, there are still homes we didn’t fully demolish, even though they’re no longer habitable,” Marciano says, referring to the Shiite village of Kfar Kila, which overlooks Metula and whose buildings reached right up to the Israeli border. “It was the size of Kiryat Shmona, with four- and five-story buildings, all under Hezbollah’s control. They used those buildings to store weapons, as firing positions and as launching points.” “You're asking why we didn’t bring everything down? Sadly, it’s because we didn’t have enough explosives to do it,” Marciano says, reiterating his earlier criticism. “I’d actually want the general to come here, scold me and call me lazy because there are buildings we didn’t demolish, and missions we left unfinished. The security establishment should have mobilized more. "My criticism is also toward myself for not pushing hard enough. I think we’re being far too merciful toward the enemy. These people across the border planned to slaughter us, rape our women and burn our children. We are a nation that needs to embrace struggle, not because we don’t love peace, but because there’s no one on the other side to talk to." Marciano had requested the construction of three strategic outposts in the security belt just across the border in his sector. Due to political considerations, he was granted only two - one near Margaliot and another on the Hamamis Ridge overlooking from Metula.Marciano's 'war museum' (Photo: Ziv Koren)
He also urged the IDF high command to leave openings in the fortified barrier and fought to establish small posts beyond those gaps to give troops line-of-sight into the destroyed and open terrain. “I'm all for having a barrier, it’s a delaying obstacle, but it must not work against us by blinding us,” he explains. “I want a squad commander to feel he doesn’t need the chief of staff’s permission to cross it. He should see it as part of his responsibility to know what’s happening on the other side and protect us. He should fire a warning shot now and then, to make sure no one (terrorist) comes close. In the soldier’s operational mindset, I don’t want him to see the barrier as a limitation.” Marciano recalls Hashem Safieddine’s visit to the border wall in July 2022, where he drew graffiti and signed on a photo of a slain Hezbollah operative. “Safieddine said, ‘You can hide behind walls, but one day we’ll cross it and be in front of you.' "Well, we’re done being just behind the wall. In the Arab world, when you walk on your enemy’s land, it’s very different from just flying a drone above it. Defense starts with surveillance and monitoring tools aimed at the ridges overlooking us from Lebanon, but I’d rather be defending from top down, up to here at the border. “We will not let them reestablish themselves here like before. That won’t happen,” says Marciano. Any ATV driving up on the ridge, if I have a tank available, I’ll fire at it. Why? Because there will be no more ATVs filming us.” Standing atop one of the small "posts" that Marciano had carved into the border barrier near Metula, we looked out toward a distant site deep inside Lebanese territory. There, dozens of Hezbollah flags waved defiantly around a Hezbollah cemetery, a scene Marciano sees as a symbol of an unfinished psychological war.Not enough explosives to destory all buildings. Markaba, Lebanon (Photo: Ziv Koren)
Hezbollah flags fly over a cemetery deep inside Lebanese territory, seen from the Israeli side of the border. The site, marked by yellow banners and guarded by fencing, serves as a burial ground for Hezbollah fighters (Photo: Ziv Koren) “They shouldn’t be there,” he says firmly. “In the end, there’s not much difference between these flags and the flags of the Nazis, who believed and acted in support of the same genocidal ideology. So, if you ask me why we don’t go in and take them down, I'll say because it’s a matter of agreements and politics, and that’s beyond my responsibility.” Locals share Marciano's frustration. “I agree with the people of Metula who refuse to open their windows and see more Nazi-like flags. As a country, I think we cannot tolerate it, and I hope we do something about it,” he says. “But when there's (political) mechanism in place, and American involvement, and we fail to make it clear that we will not accept Hezbollah flags featuring weapons, then that's on us.” He passionately adds, “I completely understand what civilians, or even soldiers, feel when they see those flags. It can drive you mad. You say to yourself, ‘This is an organization whose entire purpose is to wipe me out, and it’s right here beside us, waving its flag.’ And the flag is just the beginning, the first sign. That’s why I think that in this case we’re making a serious mistake." He continues: “Would we tolerate seeing the Third Reich flag of the Nazi army in front of our eyes, dismissing it as ‘just a flag’? There's no doubt who put it up; It was not the Lebanese army but Hezbollah. And if they put it there, it means they’re still here. As long as Hezbollah is not reduced to a social-political movement, but an armed group committed to our destruction, and as long as its flag still features a weapon, they should not be allowed to return here. Not even with just a flag. The psychological war is no less critical than the physical one.” The sharp criticism The conversation inevitably evolves to October 7, 2023, and Marciano’s criticism gets sharper. “As soon as we realized something unusual and serious was unfolding in the south, I ordered all forces to deploy immediately to potential infiltration routes and open areas we believed Hezbollah might use to launch an attack against us. We were not going to sit in our outposts and wait for something to happen,” he says. “We called everyone back from their homes to report in. Of course, I was torn between the desire to head south to assist and the chilling sense that the same kind of assault could erupt in my own sector in the north at any moment."While the IDF may have failed to grasp the full scope of the threat in the south, Marciano notes that in the north, Hezbollah’s combat readiness, firepower and stated intentions, particularly Hassan Nasrallah’s public declarations about conquering the Galilee, were well known to military and political inner circles. Marciano acknowledges the criticism and does not shy away from it, even though, as a relatively new brigade commander, he did not have access to all classified information. Still, his honesty is striking. “If someone were to tell me now, at the end of my present position, ‘We appreciate your fighting and achievements, but you knew the threat, you understood the potential and still took on the role without doing more to prevent this horror and sound the alarm to shake the system, and for that, we’re dismissing you from the IDF’, I would lower my head and walk away. There’d be no argument about that.” When asked about the public opinion that the military’s failure was deemed a “crime,” Marciano responds: “If that’s what you want to call it, go ahead. I see it as a complete breach of trust, but not a crime, because there was no malicious intent involved. We operated under the assumption that there would be early warnings for such an incident. “Honestly, what we’ve achieved here since October 7 has been remarkable. But we were very lucky. Some might say divine intervention was at play, that the cards just fell in our favor. We took a terrible, painful blow in the south, like being hit on one side of the ribs, but as a result, we saved the other side, the north. That’s what happened. But it just as easily could have gone the other way, with the attack beginning here in the north, and the south going out to defend.” “The IDF is one army - north and south alike,” Marciano adds. “Were we in good shape as a military before October 7? Absolutely not. I’m ashamed of that. Any senior officer who isn’t ashamed of what happened missed something fundamental in officer training, which involves the core values of responsibility and leadership."The wall between Israel and Lebanon (Photo: Ziv Koren)
Still, his pride in his subordinates is clear. “I’m incredibly proud of my comrades, the battalion commanders, company commanders, platoon leaders and soldiers, because they have nothing to be ashamed of. They knew of Nasrallah’s threats from YouTube. "I’m just a brigade commander, very young and new in the role. But those above me, who knew what was happening and had been in their positions for years, should absolutely be ashamed. If any of them feels proud about this, something must be off in their moral compass.” His criticism begins with himself but goes well beyond. “My predecessor, Col. Sivan Bloch, for example, didn’t want to allow Hezbollah’s tents situated along the border. So you stomp your foot, pound the table, but they tell you, ‘Don’t escalate. That’s the instruction. We’re not stirring up the area.’ "It’s a sense of humiliation that’s impossible to put into words. You feel like you want to pull your hair out when you hear, ‘We’re not going to war, and any conflict on the border will lead to escalation.’ To fire a single shot at a Hezbollah operative’s leg, you had to get the chief of staff’s approval." Today, emphasizes Marciano, the situation is fundamentally different. “If a squad commander, or a soldier, feels that something is wrong, they have full backing to shoot,” he says. “The commander on the ground knows that if he sees a motorcyclist who appears threatening, looks suspicious and is somewhere he shouldn’t be, the commander should take him down. I’ll deal with my soldier later on at the examination, to check whether the shooting was justified." “But both my predecessor and I, and others, chose to stay in the military system before October 7, even when the situation was intolerable,” Marciano adds. “Brigade commanders paid with their lives in the south. And they would have been killed here too if the same scenario had been executed. It’s much easier to walk away and criticize from the sidelines, but we, IDF career officers, reservists and soldiers, chose to stay on the field, to fight and defend."(Photo: Ziv Koren)
He continues: “I don’t know to what extent a brigade commander, or even a major general, can push for a dramatic decision like launching a campaign in Lebanon when the senior political and military echelon is locked in this mindset.” “I’m not trying to shift responsibility onto others. I take full responsibility,” Marciano stresses. “But if you ask why I didn’t launch an offensive attack in the six weeks I was in command before October 7, the answer is simple: I’m not part of a militia. I can’t act against orders. If I had truly believed that was the most necessary step, I would have gone to my commanders and shaken them, but in the end, I’m a soldier.” When asked for his opinion of Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, the outgoing chief of the IDF Northern Command, Marciano says: “He’s a man of deep integrity. I can’t say he ‘made a mistake.’ I feel I made a mistake, and I’m ashamed of it." He adds that even Brig. Gen. Shai Klapper, who led the 91st Division before the war and until recently, warned before October 7 that there weren’t enough troops for proper defense. “Does that absolve him of responsibility? No. It doesn’t absolve any of us.” Still, Marciano stresses that "we should give credit to those who, for 20 years, laid the groundwork. “We knew where the rocket launchers were because a soldier a decade ago spotted something suspicious in a yard or warehouse and prepared the target that was waiting for us." Raising four kids on a 'meager salary' Last month, Marciano took his wife and children abroad for a yearlong sabbatical and peer-learning program. With his current role ending, he was not assigned to a new operational post in the IDF’s next round of appointments.(Photo: Ziv Koren)
“It wasn’t my first choice,” he admits. “If I’d been offered a regular brigade command or another major operational role, I’d take it. The right and moral thing for me would have been to keep fighting in Gaza or stay here. But I don’t have that kind of role right now, and I have no problem in taking a break to learn, recharge, broaden my perspective and come back refreshed." His family, he says, is grateful for the rare chance to spend a full year with their father at home. “The people of Israel, and so do I, should kiss the feet of my wife, Dovrat, and all the wives of career soldiers and military reservists,” he declares. “Even before the war, I would see my newborn son only once a month, at most, and that’s while we, the young career officers, are earning a meager salary. There needs to be a return to strong military pensions. It's not about me, I don’t want anything. But it should go to the young career soldiers and fighters whose entire families are paying a heavy price.” “My wife can’t build a meaningful career because she’s raising four young children, mostly alone. And we’re not willing to give up on having more kids because that’s a core value for us,” Marciano continues. “My family, like so many military families, lives in constant anxiety for my life. I never see my kids. I’m not there when they need me, when they’re sick or can’t go to school because of the war. And when I finally come home after three consecutive months in the army, I’m a different person - exhausted, impatient and my mind is still focused on the battlefield. I hope this coming year will give my children and my wife their father and husband back.” Looking to the future, Marciano hopes to eventually command the Golani Brigade. “But I have many great friends who are just as qualified for the role,” he adds. “If not Golani, I want to serve in the West Bank. I believe that’s where the next flare-up could be, and I want to be there, where I’m needed.”(Photo: Ziv Koren)
His replacement, Col. Yuval Mazuz, who also succeeded him in his previous roles as commander of Golani’s 13th Battalion and operations officer of Northern Command, is, in Marciano’s words, receiving “the best brigade in the world." Our current challenge is to ensure that a young Lebanese who joins Hezbollah is eliminated on the very day he signs his enlistment papers", Marciano says. “And if we see that it’s not working, and that deterrence isn’t enough, I hope my commanders and I will go in and secure the area by force.A patrol at the Lebanon border (Photo: Ziv Koren)
"If the Lebanese army won’t dismantle Hezbollah, then we’ll go in and do it ourselves. We’ll start from where we left off, and push the threat beyond the Saluki River, and even farther.” link
Gaza and the South
Hundreds of US, Israeli Jewish community leaders condemn deadly West Bank settler violence
Some 700 Jewish community leaders, rabbis, and academics in the US and Israel have signed a statement condemning deadly settler violence in the West Bank, after two Palestinians were killed last week, one of whom was a US citizen.
The statement is published by Smol Emuni US, a left-wing Jewish organization that describes itself as being “committed to the foundational religious principle that all people are created in the image of God.”
The letter is endorsed by Jewish leaders from across all streams of Judaism, from Orthodox to Reconstructionist and non-denominational.
“In response to settler violence targeted against the West Bank village of Sinjil last Friday, and which led to the deaths of two Palestinians, Orthodox rabbis, educators and community leaders in the United States and Israel have led a charge to condemn this incident as well as the alarming increase in settler violence against civilian, nonviolent Palestinians,” the statement reads.
“These escalating incidents of settler violence have included the burning of inhabited homes and expulsion of men, women, and children from their land. Some of the perpetrators believe they are fulfilling God’s commandment to conquer the land.”
“Led by Orthodox rabbis and organized by Smol Emuni US over 700 leaders in the Jewish community have signed a letter of condemnation, declaring these actions contrary to the morality of the Torah and calling upon all spiritual and communal leaders to denounce these actions, and not remain silent in their presence,” it adds.
Among the signees are several well-known Orthodox rabbis, including Rabbi Yosef Blau, the former president of Religious Zionists of America; Israel Prize winner and Talmudic expert Rabbi Daniel Sperber; Rabbi Tully Harcsztark, principal of New York’s modern-Orthodox SAR High School; and the founder of Beit Midrash Har’el in Jerusalem, Rabbi Herzl Hefter.
Others who signed the statement include Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah, The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights; Rabbi Amy Eilberg, the first woman to be ordained by the Conservative movement; and Rabbi Lauren Grabelle Herrmann, the rabbi of SAJ, the first Reconstructionist synagogue in the US. link
Settlers clash with security forces near Ramallah as they work to demolish illegal outpost
Radical settler activists are currently confronting Border Police personnel who are trying to evacuate and demolish an illegal outpost in the central West Bank area, just east of Ramallah.
After security forces began to arrive at the outpost, dubbed Tzur Harel, settler activist groups reported that hundreds of activists were on their way to the site to protest against the demolition.
Israeli officials have said that Tzur Harel, which is located on private Palestinian land, has been the source of violent nationalistic activity, including on several occasions last year during previous demolition efforts.
Extremist settler activists violently attacked Civil Administration and Border Police personnel who were carrying out evacuation and demolition orders on July 3, 2024. They threw firebombs at the security forces, as well as rocks at vehicles belonging to the security services traveling on a nearby road.
Settlers returned to the site shortly after being evacuated and were removed again a week later July 7, only to return once more.
The site was demolished again in August that year, and once more in November 2024, when a soldier was hit in the head by a glass bottle thrown by rioters during the evacuation effort. video link The press needs to stop calling them activists; they are terrorists. Enough of the euphemisms. And they need to be treated like terrorists, not with kid gloves but with arrests, charges, trials and prison time. Unfortunately, there is no chance of that happening with this extremist messianic government that encourages all of the terror actions that they commit with impunity and immunity. Not when the police has been turned into the militia of the convicted criminal who is in charge of them. He, himself was convicted of similar criminal offenses and belonging and supporting the terror organization Kach. He spent his legal career defending these settler terrorists.
And if that was not bad enough, the minister in the defense ministry in charge of west bank civilian matters and settlements is no other than the messianic extremist Smotrich who has done everything he can to get huge budgets for these lawbreakers and encourages every act of theirs against the Palestinians and in favor of stealing Palestinian land for Jewish Settlements. There will certainly be a reckoning for them, the terrorists they support and all of the illegal actions. There are already sanctions against many of them in a number of European countries and that will continue and grow and hopefully soon, we will have a law abiding government that will end this reign of terror.
- Politics and the War and General News
IDF committee formed to award citations for October 7 battles
First report: The IDF will establish a committee that will discuss the thousands of recommendations for awarding medals to soldiers and officers for their performance on October 7; The committee, which will set standards for the sensitive and explosive issue, is not expected to publish its decisions before another committee, the one dealing with the massacre failures, publishes its recommendations for dismissals
Nearly one year and ten months after the October 7 massacre, the Israel Defense Forces have begun addressing the sensitive issue of awarding military commendations for the day of the attack—a subject that has previously stirred public controversy.IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir recently ordered the establishment of a special committee to draft recommendations for citations to be awarded to soldiers and commanders for their bravery in repelling Hamas’ deadly invasion of the western Negev. The committee is expected to submit its conclusions within a few months.This will be a special citations committee, distinct from the IDF’s usual citation review bodies, which typically operate under the Military Human Resources Directorate. The panel will include senior officers from various branches and commands, including reservists, in order to diversify its composition and thoroughly evaluate each citation recommendation. These recommendations will be collected from battalion, brigade and division commanders, as well as officers in rear-echelon units whose troops were caught in or rushed into battle on that black Saturday. The IDF emphasized that discussions are still preliminary and a final decision has yet to be made.The committee will assess every nomination individually and, before doing so, it will establish unique criteria for awarding commendations due to the sheer scale of combat and exchanges of fire in the Gaza border region during Hamas’ initial assault. The panel will also draw on extensive documentation gathered by IDF investigation teams over the past year.The last time a General Staff-level citations committee operated in a similar fashion—following Operation Protective Edge nearly a decade ago—it ended in controversy. The IDF was forced to add additional awards after the initial distribution, under intense pressure from soldiers in the field and bereaved families.This time, the military anticipates further complications: What will constitute the threshold of heroism for a citation in the unprecedented circumstances of October 7, with thousands of nominations expected? How can the army avoid devaluing the award by distributing it too broadly? Other complex questions include: how to handle civilians who spontaneously joined the fighting before being formally drafted, and how to deal with potentially conflicting accounts from the hundreds of battle sites across the Gaza periphery and along the border that day.At this stage, the committee will focus only on citations related to the events of October 7, not on the many battles that took place during the ground offensive in Gaza that began three weeks later. Even the smaller-scale fighting still taking place in the Strip is officially considered part of the same war, nearly two years after it began.The Israel Defense Forces had until now deliberately avoided addressing the highly sensitive issue due to the failures of that day, but the military has decided to move forward with considering the citations.The IDF may soon launch staff work to design and award campaign ribbons for the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who took part in the war. The colors and design will be developed by the Military Human Resources Directorate. A decision on the IDF's official name for the war is also expected soon. The political echelon is expected to push for naming it after the ground operation that began in late October in Gaza—"Operation Iron Swords"—rather than the more commonly used term, "The October 7 War."Out of concern of public backlash, the military's decorations and citations committee will not publish its conclusions until after the findings are submitted by a separate panel, headed by former Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. (res.) Sami Turgeman. That committee is reviewing internal battle debriefs and how their lessons are being implemented across the IDF. It is also expected to recommend disciplinary action, including the dismissal of officers who demonstrated serious negligence or bear greater responsibility for the failures.The army has thus far avoided dismissing officers for the failures of October 7. The few who have left did so months later and voluntarily. Some of the heads of internal inquiry teams reportedly ignored orders not to make personal recommendations, arguing that the failures among certain Southern Command officers were egregious. They expressed shock and frustration that no dismissals have occurred to date, even as some of those same officers continued to command troops and make critical decisions throughout months of war.However, the panel of generals led by Turgeman has yet to meet its timeline and has not submitted its findings—even interim ones—nearly four months after being appointed by Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir. The IDF now says that the conclusions will be presented to the General Staff soon, possibly within weeks. They are expected to address the quality of the debriefs as well, most of which have already been completed. Link
- The Region and the World
Tens of thousands demonstrate in Morocco against Israel, calling to reverse normalization
Tens of thousands of Moroccans demonstrate in the capital Rabat against the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, calling for the reversal of the kingdom’s normalization deal with Israel.
Protesters gather in the city center, brandishing Palestinian flags and placards that call for the free flow of aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
Chants of “It’s a disgrace, Gaza is under fire,” are heard, as well as “Morocco, Palestine, one people,” and “No to normalization.”
The protesters gather at the call of various organizations, including a coalition bringing together the Islamist movement Al-Adl Wal-Ihssane and left-wing parties.
“Palestinians are being starved and killed before the eyes of the whole world,” says Jamal Behar, one of the demonstrators in Rabat.
“It is our duty to denounce this dramatic, unbearable situation.”
Morocco and Israel in 2020 signed a US-brokered normalization deal, which has increasingly come under attack in the North African kingdom as the war in Gaza rages into its 22nd month.
IDF says it destroyed Houthi military infrastructure in Hodeida port strikes
The IDF says its airstrikes at Yemen’s port of Hodeida destroyed “military infrastructure of the Houthi terror regime.”
The targets included “engineering equipment working to restore port infrastructure, fuel tanks, and vessels used for military activity and [attacks] against the State of Israel and ships in the maritime area near the port,” the military says.
Israel has targeted the Hodeida port several times in response to the Houthis’ missile and drone attacks. The IDF says it is used by the Houthis for terror activity, including importing weapons from Iran.
“The IDF identified continued activity and attempts by the Houthi terror regime’s forces to restore the terror infrastructure at the port; therefore, components used to advance this activity were targeted,” the military says.
In first, IDF officials say Yemen strikes were carried out with drones, not fighter jetsThe Israeli Air Force strike against the Houthis in Yemen this morning was carried out by a drone, and not fighter jets, military officials say.
All previous IAF strikes in Yemen, located some 1,800 kilometers from Israel, involved dozens of fighter jets, refuelers, and spy planes.
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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