π️Lonny's War Update- October 659, 2023 - July 26, 2025 π️
Trump says conversation with Netanyahu ‘was sort of disappointing’
Asked by reporters at the White House if he had spoken to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about airdrops of aid into Gaza, US President Donald Trump says their conversation was “disappointing,” but didn’t specify if they had been in touch recently.
“I speak to him, but I can’t tell you what I speak to him about,” Trump says. “But it was sort of disappointing, although I told you… When you get down to those last 20 hostages… it’s going to be very hard for Hamas to make a deal because they lose their shield, they lose their cover. We got a lot of them out.”
Israel said earlier today it would soon allow the resumption of airdrops of humanitarian aid into Gaza, which were expected to be from Jordan and the UAE.
Trump also claims that the US donated $60 billion for Gaza humanitarian aid.
He appears to be referring to the $30 million that the US has allocated to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
“We hope the money gets there because that money gets taken, the food gets taken,” Trump says, adding that the US will still give more money. He claims that the majority of aid for Gaza comes from the US and that “no other country other than us gives anything.”
As of early this year, the UAE was behind nearly half of the aid going into Gaza, while the US support was closer to one-third, according to UN figures
Sources deny Gaza ceasefire talks are slated to resume next week
A source involved in the mediation effort and an Arab diplomat deny that hostage negotiations have been scheduled to resume next week after the US and Israel pulled their negotiating teams from Doha due to frustration with Hamas’s latest response.
Egyptian media reported earlier today that talks would still pick back up next week, and Hamas official Bassem Naim told reporters the same.
But the two sources involved in mediation efforts say nothing has been scheduled yet and that Egypt and Qatar are still waiting for directions from US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff.
Netanyahu: Israel and US are ‘considering alternative options to bring hostages home’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel and the US are weighing ways to secure the release of hostages in Gaza that do not depend on a negotiated agreement with Hamas.
“Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff got it right,” Netanyahu says in a statement. “Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal. Together with our US allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas’s terror rule, and secure lasting peace for Israel and our region.”
Netanyahu does not elaborate on what such “alternative options” could entail.
Talks hit a major roadblock yesterday after Hamas submitted its response to the latest ceasefire proposal and Israel withdrew its hostage team.
But Jerusalem is still interested in a deal, and public statements are understood by many observers to be part of the pressure campaign to push Hamas to agree to a deal.
Last night, Witkoff announced that Washington was calling back its negotiators from hostage talks in Doha and will pursue “alternative options” after the latest response from Hamas “clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.” Link since the beginning of the war, there are a number of triggers that make my blood boil, cause me physical pain, and make me curse Netanyahu wishing him the worst and desperately wanted him to never be seen in public again, never to hold any position of power, never to have any influence in the lives of any Israeli. The are 3 main triggers: the first is hearing the army report of the deaths of more soldiers; the constant abuse of hostage families by Bibists (Netanyahu cult supporters, Knesset members and ministers); the constant scuttling of hostage deal negotiations in order to not end the war. And we have been suffering these triggers since October 7, 2023, almost 2 years. Netanyahu can blame Hamas as much as we wants (Hamas is deserving of all the blame in the world, but there is one person who has all the power to change our entire paradign and allow the country to begin to heal, and he consistently does only what is good for him first and consideration of the country comes a distant second).
Rubio said to tell ex-hostages, families that Trump administration must ‘rethink’ Gaza war strategy. This is, once again Netanyahu's influence on Trump. There is no 'rethinking' Gaza war strategy. It has to end and the hostages have to be brought home. There is no other way to bring the hostages home, no matter what Netanyahu tries to sell to us. Military pressure will kill the hostages either directly through bombings or from the guards executing them as per their orders as soon as soldiers come close enough.Hostage families meet with Rubio in DC: ‘This is a critical moment’
Captivity survivors and hostage families met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington today, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum says, a day after the US and Israel withdrew negotiators from Gaza ceasefire-hostage talks in Doha.
Participants included Hamas captivity survivors Keith and Aviva Siegel; Lishay Miran-Lavi, wife of hostage Omri Miran; Liran Berman, older brother of twin-brother hostages Gali and Ziv Berman; Anat and Hagai Angrest, parents of captive soldier Matan Angrest; Ronen and Orna Neutra, parents of slain captive soldier Omer Neutra; and Ruby and Hagit Chen, parents of slain captive soldier Itay Chen.
The Forum quotes Rubio as telling the hostage families: “I reaffirm my unwavering commitment — 100% — to achieving a hostage deal that brings every hostage home and ends the fighting.”
In a statement, the hostage families thank Rubio for meeting with them and his “unwavering commitment” to the captives.
“We trust that President Trump and his administration will do everything in their power to ensure this deal does not collapse and that this pressing opportunity is not lost,” say the families. “We believe the President and his team are fully committed to securing an agreement that brings all the hostages home.”
“In such a sensitive and decisive moment, we feel compelled to remind all parties of the cost of failure: the tragedy of August 2024, when six hostages were brutally murdered after negotiations collapsed. That devastating loss must never be repeated,” say the families. “This is a critical moment. The deal must be finalized and it must bring every single one of them home.” Link I will not take the responsibility for the hostages off of Netanyahu’s hands as their entire captivity, from the moment they were kidnapped until they are returned home falls on Netanyahu; it is due to his complete abandonment of the south and the people of Israel, his actions amd non actions throughout his premierships that October 6 could happen. Unfortunately, he is a man with no scruples and refuses to take any responsibility for anything that goes bad. He is the entire reason that we still have the hostages in Gaza, yet he always chooses what is best for him before he can act on behalf of them and the country. We are therefore at the mercy of the one person, other than Netanyahu’s wife , who could force him to make a deal to end the war and bring home all the hostages.
Rubio’s statement that trump is doing all he can falls short. If he was truly doing all he can, he would put an end to Netanyahu’s BS, tell him that his timetable and plan don’t work and force Netanyahu to end the war and being home all the hostages at once, a single phase to last no more than 3 weeks. That is all the time needed to redeploy the soldiers and end the war. Netanyahu convinced Trump that it can only definitively work if he works according to his plan which he also told Trump that, if done his way, he will also be re-elected (*these are my opinions and assumptions based on all of Netanyahu’s actions, statements and history, and of Trump’s).
Trump wants a few things: the war to end and the hostages brought home as he views these as the best way for him to reach his clearly stated goal of being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and he wants his buddyNetanyahu reelected, after all, autocrats need to stay together. As long as Trump holds back from forcing Netanyahu to end the war, the hostages will remain in captivity suffering and dying, more soldiers will be killed and maimed and the humanitarian crush with starving dying Gazans will worsen.
US officials said to cast withdrawal of negotiators from Doha as power play against Hamas
US officials told hostage families in a meeting in Washington Thursday night that the US and Israel recalled their negotiators from Doha to “make a muscle” after Hamas hardened its position in truce-hostage talks, Channel 12 reports.
The comment appears to contradict a joint statement by Egypt and Qatar earlier today that said talks were making progress and negotiators were recalled merely “to hold consultations before resuming dialogue.”
Reporting in Hebrew on the English-language conversation, Channel 12 quotes the unidentified officials as saying: “The decision to recall the delegations is part of the negotiations. We’re very close to a deal, but in the face of Hamas’s additional demands, we have to make a muscle back. Israel does not accept the demand about prisoners’ release, but obviously Hamas’s demand is an opening stance for the sake of the negotiations.”
The terror group is said to be upping the number of prisoners it demands Israel will release in exchange for the 50 remaining hostages.
Hostage families reportedly asked the officials if the deal on the table is still a partial deal, adding: “Why not promote a comprehensive deal?”
The officials responded that US President Donald Trump “is committed to bringing back all the hostages and ending the war,” according to Channel 12.
The network also reports that hostage families in Washington are meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The cages, terrorist’s weapons and suicide pact: Former hostage Emily Damari talks on captivity, release deal- Pro-hostage deal, anti-government rallies set to draw thousands as truce talks falter
Families Forum to hold 2nd weekly march to US mission in Tel Aviv, demanding a comprehensive deal; anti-government activists to protest in Ness Ziona after attack on Arab lawmakerThousands of Israelis are expected to take part in pro-hostage deal and anti-government rallies across the country on Saturday night, as Gaza truce-hostage talks appeared stalled after the US and Israel withdrew their negotiators from Doha.
For the second weekend running, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum will begin its main weekly rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, from which participants will march to the US Embassy Branch Office to demonstrate there.
Anti-government hostage families protesting in front of the Israel Defense Forces headquarters on Begin Road, and anti-government activists protesting on Tel Aviv’s Habima Square, are also expected to join the march to the US mission, as they did last week.
The first part of the Families Forum rally, at Hostages Square, will feature speeches by Or Levy, who was released from Hamas captivity in February as part of the last truce-hostage deal; Ela Haimi, wife of slain captive Tal Haimi; and Omer Biran, an IDF reservist whose brother, Cpt. Reei Biran, was killed in an apparent accident in Gaza earlier this month.
The second part of the rally, outside the US mission, will feature speeches by captivity survivor Iair Horn, who was released a week after Levy as part of the same hostage deal, and whose younger brother Eitan is still captive; Yael Adar, mother of slain hostage Tamir Adar; and Yotam Cohen, brother of captive soldier Nimrod Cohen.
The Forum will demand “a comprehensive deal that will bring all hostages home and end the war,” according to a press release on the weekly rally.
The first part of the Families Forum rally, at Hostages Square, will feature speeches by Or Levy, who was released from Hamas captivity in February as part of the last truce-hostage deal; Ela Haimi, wife of slain captive Tal Haimi; and Omer Biran, an IDF reservist whose brother, Cpt. Reei Biran, was killed in an apparent accident in Gaza earlier this month.
The second part of the rally, outside the US mission, will feature speeches by captivity survivor Iair Horn, who was released a week after Levy as part of the same hostage deal, and whose younger brother Eitan is still captive; Yael Adar, mother of slain hostage Tamir Adar; and Yotam Cohen, brother of captive soldier Nimrod Cohen.
The Forum will demand “a comprehensive deal that will bring all hostages home and end the war,” according to a press release on the weekly rally.
“Hamas didn’t really want to make a deal. I think they want to die,” Trump told reporters outside the White House on Friday.
“Now that there are reports the deal has collapsed, we are begging you — do everything, fight, and stand by us until every last one of them is home. We cannot return to normal life until they are back,” the Forum said.
In addition to the Tel Aviv rally, the Families Forum will hold smaller rallies in Jerusalem, Kiryat Gat, the Shaar HaNegev Junction in the Negev and other locations.
Meanwhile, prominent anti-government activists will hold a large demonstration protest in Ness Ziona, where a right-wing mob there last week attacked Arab MK Ayman Odeh while chanting “death to Arabs.”
In an announcement of the Ness Ziona rally, organizers accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana of failing to condemn Odeh’s attackers, who were praised by at least one coalition member.
“Tonight, we’re all in Ness Ziona,” wrote the organizers. “We’ll put up a non-violent, determined and moral resistance to Ben Gvir’s rioters.”
None of the Saturday night rallies appeared set to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the UN has reported skyrocketing malnutrition over the past week.
On Friday, a large anti-war demonstration in the northern Arab town of Sakhnin called attention to the crisis, with former lawmaker Mohammad Barakeh, who heads the High Follow-up Committee, an Arab community umbrella organization, saying the demonstration was “here to send a clear message against genocide, ethnic cleansing and starvation.” He also likened Odeh’s attackers to Nazi and white supremacist groups.
According to Haaretz, the Sakhnin demonstration was attended by over 10,000 people under heavy police presence. No arrests were reported.
Dozens of people also attended smaller anti-war rallies in the central towns of Jaffa and Tira and the northern town of Kabul, Arabic-language website Arab48 reported.
Talks to end the war appeared to reach a standstill on Thursday when the US and Israel recalled their negotiators after receiving what US special envoy Steve Witkoff described as Hamas’s “selfish” response to the partial ceasefire-hostage deal on the table.
Hamas said Friday that talks were set to resume next week, but a source involved in the mediation effort and an Arab diplomat have denied this.
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 50 hostages, including 49 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 28 confirmed dead by the IDF. Twenty are believed to be alive and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said.
Hamas is also holding the body of an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014. Hamas released 30 hostages — 20 Israeli civilians, five soldiers, and five Thai nationals — and the bodies of eight slain Israeli captives during a ceasefire between January and March, and one additional hostage, a dual American-Israeli citizen, in May as a “gesture” to the United States.
The terror group freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, and four hostages were released before that in the early weeks of the war. In exchange, Israel has freed some 2,000 jailed Palestinian terrorists, security prisoners, and Gazan terror suspects detained during the war.
Eight hostages have been rescued from captivity by troops alive, and the bodies of 49 have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors, and the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014.
- The cages, terrorist’s weapons and suicide pact: Former hostage Emily Damari talks on captivity, release deal
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday said Israel is “considering alternative options to bring our hostages home,” while U.S. President Donald Trump declared at the White House that Hamas “want to die and it’s very, very bad. It got to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job.” About 50 hostages remain in Gaza, 20 of them believed to be alive.
Emily Damari, one of the hostages freed in the previous deal, described the horrors she endured during her captivity in an interview with the UK's Daily Mail, saying she speaks out only to help free those still held captive, including her close friends, twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman.“They are probably in a cage,” she said. “They are abusing them. There isn’t a lot of water. It is probably unimaginably hot for them.” Visibly angry, she added: “Come on already! What is taking so long?” Earlier on Friday, four female IDF lookouts who were also freed released a video pleading for another deal.Damari revealed that Hamas terrorists confined her and other hostages in small cages. “Sometimes there would be up to six of us at a time, squeezed in a tiny cage just two meters by two meters (6.5 feet by 6.5 feet),” she recalled. “The silence down there… it murders the ears. You go crazy in it.” ‘I said: Shoot me!’ On October 7, Damari was at her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza when Hamas attacked. “I sent Gali a message: ‘I’m not ok.’ I couldn’t move because my body was just ice. I was shaking – it was insane,” she said. Gali risked his life to run through heavy fire to reach her. Hours later, 10 armed terrorists stormed into her house while she and Gali lay face down on the bed, holding each other. “I hugged Gali and both of our faces were on the pillow,” she said. “Then they shot my left hand.” Seconds later they shot her dog, Choocha, dead and dragged them outside, searching for her car to drive back to Gaza.“One of them said he was taking me to a hospital. I realized it wasn’t going to be an Israeli hospital, so I told them, ‘No, no, shoot me!’ I didn’t want to be kidnapped – I would prefer to die. I took his gun, put it to my head and said, ‘Shoot me! Shoot me!’” she said. “Then someone put his gun on Gali’s head, so I immediately said, ‘No, no, don’t kill him.’” When they reached Gaza, Gali was separated from her and she hasn’t seen him since. Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv Life in captivity: Cages, tunnels and constant fear Damari was initially taken to Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, where a man who called himself “Dr. Hamas” amputated parts of her fingers. “Whether he did it intentionally or through incompetence, I’ll never know,” she said, “but it left me in constant, searing pain.” She and other hostages were then kept in the home of a Hamas operative, alongside his wife and six children — including a 14-year-old boy carrying a gun. “I had only the clothes I was kidnapped in and was allowed to shower once,” she said. Their stay ended when the house was bombed and collapsed.Emily Damari with Gali and Ziv Berman's mother
After 40 days with Ziv, she was told she was “going home,” only to be taken instead into Hamas’ tunnel network. “It is like a city,” she said. “I walked in and said: ‘Oh my God, it’s huge!’” In the tunnels she saw five women, including an eight-year-old girl, crammed into a tiny cage. One was 24-year-old Romi Gonen, shot during her abduction from the Nova music festival. “It was stinky, hot, humid, damp. You don’t get used to it,” Damari said. The floor was wet and crawling with cockroaches. They were allowed to use a hole in the ground as a toilet once or twice a day. Damari hid her sexual orientation, fearing it would cost her life. “Being lesbian would have been worse for them than me being Jewish or Israeli – they would kill me,” she said. Guards would ask why she wasn’t married; she deflected by joking that her “three brothers wouldn’t let her date.” ‘John Cena’ and the struggle to survive To keep her sanity, Damari created a strict exercise routine. “I would do sit-ups every morning. The most I did was 600,” she said. Her captors nicknamed her “John Cena” after the American wrestler.Romi Gonen and Damari in Israel (Photo: via Instagram)
“The terrorists would call me Sajaya, it means you are very confident, very strong. I did everything just to survive,” she said. At one point she even convinced a guard to hand her his weapon. “I thought of killing him. But the other girls said, ‘Yeah, but then what? We all die.’” After 13 months in captivity, Damari and Romi made a suicide pact. “I said, I’m not staying here. Either I’m going to escape or I’m going to kill myself,” she said. She confronted a guard, warning: “If you don’t get us out of here, you are going to have two dead hostages.” Eventually, she was freed on January 19, but six months later, 50 hostages still remain in Gaza. Hostage families urge U.S. actionDamari in the hospital after her release (Photo: Courtesy)
In Washington, hostage families' representatives met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, voicing fear that missing the current opportunity for a deal would seal the hostages’ fate. Rubio reassured them: “I repeat our absolute commitment to secure a deal that brings every hostage home and ends the fighting.” The families issued a joint statement stressing their trust in U.S. President Donald Trump’s team and warning of a repeat of the August 2024 tragedy, when six hostages were murdered after failed negotiations. “We cannot let such a disaster happen again in August 2025,” they said.linkHostage families' representatives in Washington
- Pro-hostage deal, anti-government rallies set to draw thousands as truce talks falter
π️Day 659 that 50 of our hostages are still in Hamas captivityπ️
**There is nothing more important than getting them home! NOTHING!**
“I’ve never met them,But I miss them. I’ve never met them,but I think of them every second. I’ve never met them,but they are my family. BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!”
We’re waiting for you, all of you.
A deal is the only way to bring
all the hostages home- the murdered for burial and the living for rehabilitation.
A deal is the only way to bring
all the hostages home- the murdered for burial and the living for rehabilitation.
#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope
#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope
There is no victory until all of the hostages are home!ΧΧΧ Χ Χ¦ΧΧΧ Χ’Χ Χ©ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧΧ€ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧͺ
Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
*2:35pm- Dead Sea, West Bank and Jerusalem areas- ballistic missile from Yemen - successfully intercepted
*8:15pm yesterday- Gaza envelope- Nir Am- rockets from Gaza
*9:30am - Gaza envelope - Kisssufim - rockets from Gaza
- Gaza running out of specialized food to save malnourished children, UN says
Gaza is on the brink of running out of the specialized therapeutic food needed to save the lives of severely malnourished children, United Nations and humanitarian agencies say.
"We are now facing a dire situation, that we are running out of therapeutic supplies," said Salim Oweis, a spokesperson for UNICEF in Amman, Jordan told Reuters on Thursday, saying supplies of Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), a crucial treatment, would be depleted by mid-August if nothing changed.
"That's really dangerous for children as they face hunger and malnutrition at the moment," he added.
Oweis said UNICEF had only enough RUTF left to treat 3,000 children. In the first two weeks of July alone, UNICEF treated 5,000 children facing acute malnutrition in Gaza.
- IDF, Shin Bet assasinate Hamas's chief of counterintelligence
The IDF and Shin Bet assassinated Amjad Muhammad Hassan Shaer, Hamas's chief of counterintelligence, the military announced on Friday.
The assassination reportedly happened earlier in the week.In the release, the military noted that it had struck several targets in the Gaza Strip and had eliminated various aspects of terror infrastructure.
Hamas dismisses renewal of aid airdrops: ‘Gaza does not need flying aerobatics’
Humanitarian aid is airdropped to Palestinians over Gaza City, Gaza Strip, March 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Essa)A Hamas official dismisses news about the resumption of airdrops of aid into Gaza, calling it a stunt that won’t help the starving population.
“The Gaza Strip does not need flying aerobatics, it needs an open humanitarian corridor and a steady daily flow of aid trucks to save what remains of the lives of besieged, starving civilians,” Ismail Al-Thawabta, the director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, tells Reuters.
The IDF said earlier today that it expected such deliveries, which took place a number of times last year, to resume soon
COGAT asserts ‘no famine’ in Gaza, but acknowledges ‘pockets’ of Strip with food access issues
Palestinian women care for their malnourished babies at the Friends of the Patient Hospital in Gaza City on July 23, 2025. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories assesses that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip “continues to be difficult and challenging,” but there is no widespread famine, contrary to claims made by Hamas.
COGAT says it continuously assesses the situation in Gaza, working to identify, alongside humanitarian aid groups, “pockets” where there are difficulties with access to food, to assist those areas.
According to COGAT’s assessments, “there is no famine in the Gaza Strip,” however, it acknowledges that “there are issues of access to food.”
Images being circulated by Hamas and media outlets of malnourished children in Gaza are not indicative of a widespread phenomenon, COGAT claims: “There is no documented famine, contrary to the false claims Hamas spreads systematically.”
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has been on a downward trend recently, COGAT assesses, mainly because the IDF is now in control of 75% of the Strip’s territory. This means that Gaza’s estimated 2 million population is squeezed into just 25% of the Strip, which has led to several issues, especially concerning sanitation.
Additionally, actions taken by Israel to limit Hamas’s “takeover” of the humanitarian aid — such as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution sites — have harmed the terror group’s military wing, governance and its ties with the civilian population, according to COGAT’s assessments.
However, these “achievements” have led to extreme population density, chaos and the collapse of public order in Gaza, and as a result, “the humanitarian situation becomes far more complex,” COGAT has determined.
COGAT says that there is no shortage of water entering Gaza, and that food and other supplies should now be reaching Palestinians at an increased rate after the United Nations began transporting aid that had been mounting at the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings.
On Sunday, the UN did not collect any aid waiting at the Gaza crossings, leading Israel to publicly accuse it of allegedly refusing to cooperate. In the past two days, the UN resumed regular operations and collected 270 trucks’ worth of aid for distribution, according to COGAT figures.
The UN has repeatedly claimed that COGAT has refused its requests for collection and distribution authorization, and that dangerous and complex conditions inside Gaza made aid distribution very difficult. However, COGAT claims that nothing changed between Sunday and the rest of the week, and that when the UN wants to distribute aid, it can.
Currently, the contents of hundreds of aid trucks are still waiting on the Gaza side of the border crossings, with the main bottleneck being the collection and distribution, according to COGAT, which adds that the delays “have been the real cause of reduced aid availability and of food insecurity among the population Link lies, lies, lies
international association of Conservative rabbis calls on Israel to ensure aid for Gazans
The Rabbinical Assembly, the international association of Conservative rabbis, calls on Israel “to ensure humanitarian aid reaches those in need” in Gaza.
In a statement, the RA says it is “increasingly concerned about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We recognize the need for urgent action to alleviate civilian suffering and ensure aid delivery, as leaders continue to focus on returning the hostages and ending this war.”
It stresses that “Hamas has caused this crisis. Its brutal October 7 attacks on Israeli communities set this war in motion, and its ongoing tactics — embedding fighters in civilian areas, stealing aid, and turning public infrastructure into military assets — continue to endanger Palestinian lives.”
At the same time, it says, “The Jewish tradition calls upon us to ensure the provision of food, water, and medical supplies as a top priority. Aid agencies, the United Nations, and the Israeli government must act swiftly to distribute supplies currently stalled at the border so they reach the civilians who so desperately need them. We are heartened by today’s news of planned air drops of food, and encourage other creative solutions to address this crisis.”
UN aid chief demands Israel provide evidence of allegation that staffers are affiliated with Hamas
United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher demands Israel provide evidence for its accusations that staffers with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs are affiliated with Hamas, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Friday.
In a letter sent to the UN Security Council on Thursday, Fletcher says the remarks by Israel’s ambassador to the UN Danny Danon were the first time any such concern had been raised.
The accusations were “extremely serious and have security implications for our staff,” says Fletcher in the letter. “I expect the Israeli authorities to immediately share any evidence that led them to make such claims to the council.”
He says OCHA engages with all parties to armed conflict to secure humanitarian access, press for the protection of civilians and promote respect for humanitarian principles, adding: “As Israeli authorities know, our contacts with Hamas have also supported hostage releases.”
Danon declared at a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday that Fletcher and OCHA were no longer neutral and that hundreds of OCHA employees would undergo security vetting. Israel would also restrict OCHA visas to one month, he said.
“Israel has uncovered clear evidence of Hamas affiliation within OCHA’s ranks,” Danon told the 15-member council, without providing evidence.
Israel in January cut ties with UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, over its ties to terror groups, including Hamas.
Gaza and the South
- IDF kills Hezbollah officer in strike on south Lebanon
The IDF struck Hezbollah positions in the Bint Jbeil sector, in southern Lebanon, killing the terrorist Ali Mohammad Hassan Qoutan, who served as the personnel officer for the terror organization.
"Qoutan was involved in efforts to rehabilitate the terrorist organization in the Bint Jbeil area of southern Lebanon and operated to recruit terrorists during the war," the IDF said.
- Syria, US and France agree to engage in efforts to support Syria's transition
The three parties agreed on the need to ensure that Syria's neighbors do not pose a threat, and that Syria will not pose a threat to its neighbors.
This follows IDF strikes in Syria, triggered by clashes between Syrian Druze, Bedouin tribes, and the intervention of Ahmed al-Sharaa's regime.
- IDF arrests over 200 suspected terrorists in West Bank ops.IDF soldiers operate in the West Bank, July 25, 2025. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
The IDF arrested over 200 suspected terrorists in operations over the past three months in the areas of Nablus and Hebron in the West Bank, the military said Friday.
It added that it has also thwarted terror attacks in the region, killed terrorists who "posted a threat to Israeli citizens," confiscated hundreds of weapons, and unearthed terrorist infrastructure deep inside Hebron.
IDF: Palestinian man attempted to carry out West Bank stabbing attack, was ‘neutralized’
A Palestinian armed with a knife attempted to carry out a stabbing attack near the southern West Bank settlement of Shim’a, the military says.
The IDF says troops deployed to the area opened fire on the suspect, “neutralizing him.” No other injuries were caused
Footage shows soldiers accompanying settlers as they take livestock from W. Bank Palestinian village
Two videos posted to social media appear to show soldiers accompanying settlers as they allegedly steal livestock from Palestinians in the southern West Bank area of Masafer Yatta.
Neither video could be immediately verified, and it was unclear if they captured the same incident. The IDF did not immediately comment.
In one video, three settlers can be seen entering a barn followed by three armed soldiers, two of them masked. A loud bang, followed by screaming, is heard as the six disappear from view. The soldiers and settlers then go back outside, with each of the settlers dragging a goat behind him.
In the second video, three soldiers — again, two masked and one unmasked — can be seen jostling two people, including a man whom the unmasked soldier briefly puts in a chokehold, as other Palestinians look on. The camera then cuts to a car surrounded by at least six soldiers. Three settlers can be seen pushing the three goats into the car.
In a final scene, a settler flashes a victory sign to the camera as he drives past with a goat in the passenger’s seat and two other goats in the backseat. A soldier looks on as the car goes by. Video Video 2 the army has long been an accomplice to the settler terrorism, standing by watching the settlers attacking Palestinians or arresting the Palestinians and letting the settler terrorist either go away or watching while they continue. These videos, no matter if they are of this incident or others in the past, clearly show the soldiers actively accompanying the terrorists which therefore implicated them as participants. At the very least, these incidents need to be thoroughly investigated by the military police and the soldiers punished
- Politics and the War and General News
Over 10,000 attend anti-war protest in northern Arab town under heavy police presence
Over 10,000 people protest against the war in Gaza in the northern Arab town of Sakhnin, Haaretz reports.
Footage posted to social media shows a heavy police presence, but no arrests are reported. The demonstration comes a day after 24 people were arrested at an anti-war protest in Haifa.
Sakhnin mayor Mazen Ghanaim says in a speech at the protest that, “We and our people in Gaza are one nation. We demand full equality and civil rights, not more war.”
Former lawmaker Mohammad Barakeh, who heads the High Follow-up Committee, an Arab community umbrella organization, says the demonstration is “here to send a clear message against genocide, ethnic cleansing and starvation.”
He assails the police build-up at the protest as seeking to intimidate protesters.
“Why would police deploy so many officers for a normal demonstration?” he asks. “You won’t intimidate us.”
- The Region and the World
Jordan police detain protester who chanted pro-Hamas slogan
Jordanian police are seen confronting a protester chanting for Hamas during a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Amman.
Footage shared on social media shows a protest in support of Palestinians that took place today in the capital, Amman. In the video, Jordanian police are seen detaining a protester and pulling him aside immediately after he began chanting, “Continue, continue Hamas.”
In the past two years, demonstrations in support of Palestinians and against the war in Gaza have taken place, sometimes in Jordan on Fridays. Video
Acronyms and Glossary
ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague
IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague
MDA - Magen David Adom - Israel Ambulance Corp
PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen
PMO- Prime Minister's Office
UAV - Unmanned Aerial vehicle, Drone. Could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, or be weaponized with missiles or contain explosives for 'suicide' explosion mission
Join my Whatsapp update group https://chat.whatsapp.com/IQ3OtwE6ydxBeBAxWNziB0
Twitter - @LonnyB58 Bluesky - @lonny-b.bsky.social
My blogs in The Times of Israel my blogs
Substack - https://lonnyb.substack.com/
Twitter - @LonnyB58
My blogs in The Times of Israel my blogs
Substack - https://lonnyb.substack.com/
Comments
Post a Comment