🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 668, 2023 - August 4, 2025 🎗️

 🎗️Day 668 that 50 of our hostages are still in Hamas captivity🎗️

**There is nothing more important than getting them home! NOTHING!**



“I’ve never met them,

But I miss them. 

I’ve never met them,

but I think of them every second. 

I’ve never met them,

but they are my family. 

BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!”



We’re waiting for you, all of you.
A deal is the only way to bring
all the hostages home- the murdered for burial and the living for rehabilitation.



#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope




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

‎אין נצחון עד שכל החטופים בבית

Very important video to watch 
"‘We are on the precipice of defeat’: Former IDF chiefs of staff, intel chiefs demand end to Gaza war" 




WE WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH OF WHAT ISRAEL IS DOING IN GAZA

To all of those who deny that Israel is committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, starvation and genocide in Gaza – there is one way of proving the innocence or guilt and the extent of responsibility of Israel for all of these claims: open Gaza to international journalists now. There are war correspondents who cover wars all over the world. They are willing to take the risks involved in being inside an active war zone. It is not the responsibility of Israel to provide them with guarantees beyond what international law determines – not to kill or injure them with the intention of doing so. It is beyond reason that Israel has prevented international journalists from covering the war in Gaza. If Israel is innocent and has nothing to hide – open Gaza up to the international media. If Israel has something to hide, then keep Gaza closed to the international media. The actions of Israel on this issue will determine the answer. But eventually Gaza will be opened and then the world will see the truth. It will be horrible; no doubt, and Israel will not be able to deny or to satisfactorily explain what it has done in Gaza for 22 months. Let the world see and every person in the world can judge for themselves. This war must end today! (Gershon Baskin, August 4, 2025)


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

*4:35pm yesterday- Gaza envelope- explosive drone from Yemen intercepted on the Israel/Egypt border 



Hostage Updates

Until the last hostage



The Israeli media tells us that reaching a comprehensive deal that includes ending the war and returning all the hostages in one phase will take a long time. That is a lie.

The moment Netanyahu is ready to end the war, the deal — which has been on the table for a long time — can be agreed to and implemented.

An agreement with Hamas on the release of Palestinian prisoners must be finalized. The Shin Bet has already prepared the lists and conditions for their release. The army needs a maximum of two weeks to withdraw from Gaza.

As early as tomorrow, Mahmoud Abbas should announce the formation of a Palestinian committee to govern Gaza on a temporary basis, and representatives of the international community who are currently in Israel should be invited to Ramallah to endorse the committee Abbas declares — this would eliminate Netanyahu’s excuse that an Israeli withdrawal leaves Hamas in control of Gaza.

It is possible to include in the deal what Hamas has already agreed to — that it will not govern Gaza after the war. According to Hamas, it is ready to transfer authority to a professional Palestinian body that it will not be part of.

All the hostages can be returned within two weeks, maximum.

**Stop lying to us!!!**  

(Gershon Baskin, August 3, 2025)

Hostages forum fumes at lawmaker’s ‘callousness’ after he says Israelis shouldn’t watch hostage videos

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum accuses MK Simcha Rothman of being “blind to what is happening” after the Religious Zionism lawmaker said the Israeli public shouldn’t watch the videos of the hostages published as propaganda by Gaza terror groups.

The videos that are made public are approved for release in Israel by the families of the hostages, who wish to raise awareness and keep their loved ones in the public eye.

״With your own words, you’re proving your callousness and that of the government you are a member of,” the hostages forum fumes in response to Rothman’s comments. “Any sane and sensible person who saw the hostages’ condition understood that they must be brought home now.”

“Unlike you, who chooses to close your eyes and ignore it, the people of Israel looked Evyatar [David] and Rom [Braslavski] in the eye, and the vast majority of them demand the return all 50 hostages and an end to the fighting,” the forum continues, demanding that the lawmaker “be ashamed and apologize.”

“The attempt to forget October 7 and the hostages will not succeed,” the forum vows. “The people see, the people remember, and the people will bring home the hostages.”  link Rothman is truly one of the most callous among the Knesset members. He has, on many occasions told hostage family members to shut up and has had them forcibly removed from his committee meetings. The only thing he cares about is destroying democracy with the laws he has and is pushing to overthrow the entire judicial system and give all the power to the government. He cares nothing about the hostages and would like the families and supporters to shut up and leave him and the Knesset alone and never hear about the hostages again. He is one of the most blaring examples of politicians who do not represent the country or the will of the people and he should never again hold any position that has influence over anyone.




Holding draft order, brother of hostage soldier asks MKs why he should fight for them

Tensions run high at the Knesset House Committee as the family of hostage Matan Angrest pleads with lawmakers to bring him home.

“I received my draft order in the mail yesterday,” says Matan’s brother, Ofir Angrest, holding it up.

“Who am I supposed to fight for? For you, who wouldn’t bring me back if I were kidnapped?” Ofir demands of lawmakers. “For a country that abandons its hostages and its soldiers?”

Angrest was kidnapped as a soldier defending Gaza border communities on October 7, 2023.

“I want to submit this form that I received yesterday to you,” Ofir says, handing his draft order to MK Boaz Bismuth, who is set to replace Yuli Edelstein as chair of the powerful Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. “You tell me if I should serve a country that doesn’t bring its soldiers home.”

He says he will show up for the draft once his brother is back home.  link On October 7, this government totally abandoned the people of Israel and the abandonment continues to this day. They breached the sacred covenant of providing protection and security and most importantly, the feeling of security and safety. They have shown all of us that the values that are infused into each and every one of us of life, caring for each other, never leaving anyone behind are hollow values to those who make the decisions to send our children to war, to fight, to die. But they have shown that they don't care if our children die or are maimed, and they certainly have shown us that they cannot be trusted to return our children back home, if the worst happens and they are kidnapped by our enemies. This is the breach of the highest order. We are a people's army with the standing army made up of our children and the incredibly important reserves that is made up of our fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, friends, neighbors, bosses, employees (of course not of the children of the corrupt prime minister). It means that everyone has people in the army and going to fight for us. But it also means that we have a government that just doesn't care. This is a breach of trust that cannot be acceptable to anyone and one of the most important reasons that this government and this prime minister must be relegated to the past, either behind bars as many of them belong or to never be heard from again.





Netanyahu pushes military offensive to free hostages, Hamas rejects talks, senior official says 




Prime minister vows to free hostages and defeat Hamas, citing disturbing new videos; officials say military action will expand into areas of Gaza previously avoided to protect captives, as talks stall over Israel’s non-negotiable demands




Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza as part of a broader military campaign aimed at defeating the terrorist group, while maintaining the flow of humanitarian aid to areas outside active combat zones, and where possible, beyond Hamas control, according to a statement issued Sunday by a senior Israeli official.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israel is in ongoing discussions with the United States and that a shared understanding is emerging that Hamas is not interested in a deal to end the war.




Israeli defense officials clarified that the term “military victory” refers to planned ground operations in parts of Gaza where the IDF has not yet deployed, primarily due to concerns for the safety of the hostages. Hamas has repeatedly threatened to kill hostages if IDF forces approach their locations, meaning such operations would carry considerable risk.

The official said Israel does not expect Hamas to accept a comprehensive deal and is therefore preparing to escalate its military campaign. The assertion that Hamas “is not interested in a deal” signals that Israel remains unwilling to compromise on its core conditions, which Hamas has rejected.




Those conditions include the release of all 50 hostages—living and deceased, the disarmament of Hamas and the complete demilitarization of the Gaza Strip, the continued presence of the IDF along the Philadelphi Corridor on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt and the maintenance of a security perimeter around Israeli communities near the Gaza border.



Israel has also refused Hamas' demand for the release of 200 convicted Palestinian murderers in exchange for 10 hostages, reportedly fearing there would not be enough high-profile prisoners left for future hostage exchanges. Additionally, Israel has ruled out the release of members of Hamas’ elite Nukhba force who are awaiting trial.


Hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski


While Israel may agree to symbolic exile of some Hamas members or the formation of a technocratic government in Gaza, Netanyahu has made clear that without full demilitarization of the enclave, he cannot justify any agreement to his political base.



In a separate statement Sunday evening, shortly after the initial comments were released, Netanyahu addressed the public following the publication of disturbing hostage videos by Hamas showing captives Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David in visibly deteriorating health.

“Like you, I was horrified yesterday. I saw the gruesome videos of our beloved sons, Rom and Evyatar,” Netanyahu said. “I called their families, embraced them on behalf of my wife, myself and all of you. You see them wasting away in a dungeon, while the Hamas monsters around them are well-fed. They have everything they need to eat, and they are starving them the way the Nazis starved the Jews.”




The prime minister added: “When I see this, I understand exactly what Hamas wants. It does not want a deal. It wants to break us through these horrifying videos and its false propaganda around the world. But we will not break. I am filled with even greater resolve to free our hostages, eliminate Hamas and ensure Gaza is never again a threat to the State of Israel.” Link Once again, like always, Netanyahu has shown himself to be only the self interested shmuck he has always been. "Netanyahu has made clear that without full demilitarization of the enclave, he cannot justify any agreement to his political base." This is all he cares about, his base and staying in power and to hell with the hostages. They can die, their families can continuing suffering hell everyday and the nation can't heal. But all of that is fine as long as Netanyahu is able to cater to his base and his extremist coalition partners who have stated quite clearly that sacrificing the hostages is not a problem for them. Netanyahu knows very well that Hamas will never accede to his demands, no matter what. Netanyahu has warned that if they don't, the army will apply more military pressure and go into any areas that it has not yet fought. He knows all too well that additional military pressure will most definitely result in the killing of more hostages, either from our bombing or by execution by their terrorist guards who have very clear instructions to execute any and all hostages they are guarding if there is the slightest inkling that Israeli soldiers are approaching or in the area. We have seen the results of these executions as well as the hostages killed by our bombing. Netanyahu doesn't care. He caters only to his base and his messianic coalition partners and the country be damned.

Slain hostage’s mother says Israel should ‘surrender’ to Hamas to save captives

Iris Haim, who son Yotam was mistakenly killed by the IDF in late 2023, calls for end to war, says Israel needs to choose ‘whether we go to our destruction or revival’



Iris Haim lights candles on the sixth night of the Jewish holiday of Hannukah, during a Knesset ceremony on December 30, 2024 .(Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Iris Haim, the mother of slain hostage Yotam Haim, suggested in a social media post Sunday that Israel should “surrender” to Hamas and end the war to free the remaining hostages in Gaza.

“We surrendered to Hamas for 20 years, we gave more and more and more, and now we need to free those who still can be [freed],” Haim wrote on Facebook, following the recent release of propaganda videos showing two Israeli hostages, Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David, nearing starvation.

“For me and for my family, it’s too late, Yotam won’t return,” Haim wrote of her son, who was taken hostage from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023, and managed to flee his captors but was accidentally shot dead by Israeli troops in Gaza on December 15, 2023, alongside two other Israeli hostages. The soldiers mistook him and the other hostages as a threat in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City.

“Surrender? I’m prepared to surrender, in exchange for the hostages, in exchange for the last honor that remains in the face of the families like mine who still have hope,” Haim wrote.

She added that “if the army is strong enough, there will be companies, platoons and divisions who will protect the residents of the Gaza border — that’s the mission. Not at the expense of the survivors of starvation and abuse who still have breath in their lungs.”

“We need to look the enemy in the eye. We will not defeat them. This picture is a picture of failure for our country, and after it there will be no picture of victory,” she added.



Yotam Haim, left, and his mother, Iris Haim, in an undated photo. (Courtesy)

“My child will never come back,” said Haim. “I am a citizen of this country and I do not think we will have a revival without [surrender].”

Referencing Sunday’s Jewish fast holiday of Tisha B’Av, Haim said it was “a day that I was not connected to in any way before October 7, and now I understand the significance.”

Tisha B’Av commemorates the ancient destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem, as well as a litany of other Jewish historical tragedies.

“We can choose whether we go to our destruction or revival,” she added.

Haim, unlike most of the hostages’ family members, has been vocal in opposition to criticism of the government during the war, and has been absent from most hostage rallies.



Protesters demanding a deal to free hostages in Gaza block Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway and hold a banner reading, “Abandoning the hostages = the destruction of the Third Temple. Bring them home. Get out of Gaza,” on August 3, 2025. (Aviv Atlas/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

War broke out between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping 251. Of the 50 hostages remaining in Gaza, Israel believes 20 to still be alive.

Negotiations to return the final hostages have largely stalled since Israel and the US pulled their negotiators from Doha last month due to frustration with Hamas’s response to the most recent phased ceasefire proposal.

While those talks had aimed at securing a 60-day ceasefire in exchange for the return of half of the living and dead captives, a senior Israeli official told reporters Thursday that Israel and the United States are now aligned on aiming for a comprehensive framework in place of a partial ceasefire. However, the official did not mention the timeline for such an agreement. Link Everything that Iris Haim has said is correct. We must surrender to the demands of Hamas in order to get the hostages home. Almost all of the hostages were brought home through deals that included surrender.  Only a handful of hostages were brought home through military missions. Hamas holds the aces and we need to give up what they want to end this mess: getting the hostages home and ending the war. This country cannot heal until the hostages are home. Too many of us are still living in October 2023, time has stood still and we are unable to fully function. It is not only the families of the hostages. They are not alone, we are with them and we can't go on until they are able to go on. On October 7, we lost the war. No matter what happened after that, we had already lost the war. A terrorist organization that Netanyahu empowered broke through our 'impenetrable security fences' in over 200 separate places, occupied over 20 communities in the Western Negev, killed 1200 of our people and took another 251 hostage. Along with that, they achieved a major goal that no one else had achieved before. They took away our personal security and our dysfunctional government failed at every step, the first being the destruction of the sacred covenant that the government has with its people, the covenant to protect its people and provide its people with the feeling of safety and security. We lost these things on October 7 when we were attacked and the government abandoned us all. We lost the war that was just beginning and we have been living with a lost war for 668 days. There is no 'total victory' as Netanyahu has been calling for since the beginning because his 'total victory' is totally undefined and this is on purpose since Netanyahu wants to be the only person who can declare this victory based on whatever suits his political survival. But what we do know is that all of his talk is about a military victory as part of his 'total victory' and very little, if anything about bringing home all the hostages. The hostages is barely a second though for him but for the majority of the population (over 84% based on latest polls), without the hostages, there is no such thing as any kind of victory. Bringing home the hostages is the only victory we will know from this war.  




PM said seeking ‘decisive military victory’ in Gaza, putting hostage families on edge

Families Forum calls reported plans to expand war a ‘scam’ by Netanyahu, who expresses shock at clips of skeletal captives despite reportedly having been briefed on their condition

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “pushing for the release the hostages through decisive military victory,” according to a diplomatic source quoted Sunday by Hebrew media,

The source’s comments came as captives’ relatives slammed reported plans to expand the fighting in the Gaza Strip and slammed Netanyahu for indicating, in a video statement on harrowing footage of two hostages, that there was no ceasefire-hostage deal in sight.

In comments carried by several outlets, the unnamed source said “an understanding is forming that Hamas is not interested in a deal.”

Therefore, the source said, “the prime minister is pushing for the release of hostages through decisive military victory, combined with the entry of humanitarian aid to areas outside the combat zone, and, as much as possible, outside of Hamas control.” The source did not elaborate on how such a plan would work.

The source was said to have added that “Israel is in contact with the Americans,” whose special envoy Steve Witkoff said Saturday that Washington was aiming to end the Gaza war rather than expand it, and that the US was no longer interested in partial hostage deals.

According to Channel 12 news, due to the US pivot away from deals that would temporarily pause the fighting in exchange for only some of the hostages, Israel is set to decide this week if it will expand the fighting — even at the risk of harming hostages — or allow more time for a potential deal.



Illustrative: IDF soldiers are seen in the Gaza Strip in a handout photo released July 28, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The network reported that Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz are undecided on the matter, while the rest of the security cabinet is divided.

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Military Secretary Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman, and Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs were said to be in favor of expanding the war.

On the other hand, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Shas leader Aryeh Deri, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Mossad chief David Barnea reportedly oppose expanding the fighting, as do the Shin Bet’s negotiator, who is known by the Hebrew initial “Mem,” and Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, who is overseeing the hostage file for the military.

Hostage families decry plan to expand fighting

In a video statement Sunday evening, Netanyahu said propaganda footage of hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski — clips from which the hostages’ families approved for publication the past two days — showed Hamas was uninterested in a hostage deal.

The footage, published respectively by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad last week, show the hostages to be pale and skeletal. David could be seen in an underground tunnel digging what he said he feared was his grave.

Netanyahu said the videos strengthened his resolve to vanquish the terror group.



Still images of hostages Ram Braslavski (left) and Evyatar David from Hamas propaganda videos, cleared for publication by their families in August 2025. (Composite screenshot)

“I understand exactly what Hamas wants,” he said in a video released by his office. “It doesn’t want a deal. It wants to break us — with these horrifying videos, with the false horror propaganda it spreads across the world.”

The premier said he was “shocked” by “the horrifying videos” and spoke with the hostages’ families.

Apparently referring to the hand of a captor that can be seen in the video of David, Netanyahu said that as the hostages “waste away in a dungeon… the Hamas monsters surrounding them — they have thick, fleshy arms. They have everything they need to eat. They are starving them the way the Nazis starved the Jews.”

“But we will not break,” Netanyahu said, adding: “I am filled with even greater determination to free our captive sons, to eliminate Hamas, and to ensure that Gaza will never again pose a threat to Israel.”

Following Netanyahu’s statement, and in response to the Hebrew media reports about cabinet plans to expand the fighting in Gaza, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the premier “is leading Israel and the hostages to the abyss.”



Anti-government, pro-hostage deal protesters rally around a fire in front of the Begin Road entrance to the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, August 2, 2025. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)

“Netanyahu is preparing the greatest scam,” said the Forum, which represents a majority of the families of the remaining 50 hostages. “The talk, which has been heard again and again, about releasing the hostages through decisive victory, is a fraud.”

“For 22 months now the public has been sold the illusion that military pressure and intense fighting will bring the hostages back,” said the group. “Even before the draft for a comprehensive deal was written, we’re being told there is no feasibility for a deal.”

“The truth must be told: Expanding the war endangers the lives of the hostages who are at risk of imminent death. We saw the chilling images of the hostages in the tunnels, they won’t survive more long days of horror,” the group said, adding that expanding the Gaza war “is a guarantee of the failure of the century.”

“There is no victory nor any revival in it,” the group added.

‘Not something we didn’t know’

Despite Netanyahu’s professed shock at the state of David and Braslavski, Hebrew media reported that the cabinet and other security forums were repeatedly briefed in recent weeks that the remaining hostages were being starved.

Sources familiar with the issue were cited by the Ynet news site as saying: “The visual was still devastating, but it’s not something we didn’t know.”



Hostage families and their supporters rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on August 2, 2025. The screen shows, from right to left, pictures of hostage Evyatar David before his abduction; in a propaganda video from February 2025; and in a propaganda video from July 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The security establishment was said to have warned in a recent closed meeting: “The hostages are suffering difficult captivity conditions. Their conditions are deteriorating; their captors are starving them. This didn’t happen because of lack of access to food — the captors received orders to starve the hostages and give them minimal food, only to keep them alive.”

Braslavski and David are among the 20 hostages still thought to be alive in Gaza. All are young men abducted during the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, when thousands of terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages.

Terror groups in Gaza are also holding the remains of at least 28 hostages confirmed dead by the IDF, including the body of an IDF soldier killed fighting in Gaza in 2014. There are grave concerns for the well-being of two other hostages, Israeli officials have said. Link There is so much packed into this article that I question myself as to where should I begin. The best place is with the most important fact that runs throughout - Netanyahu is a consummate, prolific and pathological liar. Every word coming out of his mouth is either a complete lie or mixed with lies and the purpose of it all is his political survival.
"Netanyahu is “pushing for the release the hostages through decisive military victory,”" - A COMPLETE LIE!. Netanyahu knows better than most of us that a military victory cannot happen, nor will it release the hostages. He knows perfectly that the expansion of the fighting will definitely bring with it the deaths of more of the living hostages. 42 living hostages who were kidnapped on October 7 found their deaths in captivity. That's not enough for him.
"The unnamed source said “an understanding is forming that Hamas is not interested in a deal.”" LIES! The unnamed source is from his mouth though his lackies, either in the Prime Minister's office or through other lapdogs of his. Hamas is definitely interested in a deal, just not the deal that Netanyahu is trying to push. He knows their bottom line as it has not changed since the beginning of the war. He knows very well that Hamas never changes their bottom line no matter how beaten down they are, yet he tries to sell to the media and to his BFF Trump that he knows differently and that a deal with Hamas cannot be made and he can only achieve the shared goals of Israel and the US through more military pressure. Unfortunately, Trump has bought Netanyahu's snake oil once again and therefore is not willing to put the necessary pressure on Netanyahu to end the war. He is the only one who can do it but Netanyahu has once again played him. We were all hoping that Trump was truly out of patience with Netanyahu and that was the reason that Witkoff was coming. Again, we were all disappointed, none more than the families.
"The premier said he was “shocked” by “the horrifying videos”" THE BIGGEST LIE!!! In the words of the article "Despite Netanyahu’s professed shock at the state of David and Braslavski, Hebrew media reported that the cabinet and other security forums were repeatedly briefed in recent weeks that the remaining hostages were being starved." Netanyahu is constantly provided with reports and information about the situation of the hostages based on medical knowledge, returning hostages briefings and directly hearing from the returned hostages. He has played his 'shock' card the last time that we saw images of hostages being released who also looked like Holocaust survivors and that was a lie then. It didn't stop being a lie now, but that doesn't prevent the consummate liar from lying again.
Regarding the next steps, Netanyahu claims he is undecided. LIES! All of his decisions are based on what is best for his political survival. Smotrich, Ben Gvir and his yes men Dermer, Gofman and Fuchs are all in favor of extending the fighting. He is not moved by the latter 3 as they will always go along with whatever decision he makes. That's why he has so many yes men. Smotrich and Ben Gvir don't give a damn about the hostages and only see them as fodder for their extremist messianic goals of ridding Gaza of all Palestinians and making the entire Strip Jewish Settlement with no recollection that Palestinians ever lived there. They, of course want that to happen as fast as possible in the West Bank as well. Netanyahu, the autocrat is a snivelling coward and allows Smotrich and Ben Gvir to be the tails that wag the dog. He appeases them in order to keep them in the government and stay prime minister. With his precarious coalition due to the Haredim leaving the government but not withdrawing their support for him, he is deathly worried that if Smotrich and Ben Gvir leave the government due to his making a hostage deal, his government can come crumbling down. That is all the governs his decisions. It doesn't matter that all of the security organization chiefs: IDF, Shin Bet, Mossad, as well as some of his close advisors oppose expanding the fighting and the security chiefs, in particular are in favor of making a deal to bring all the hostages home and end the war. None of that matters because it would jeopardize his political survival and that is more important than the hostages' lives and more important than the soldiers who continue to be killed an maimed in the Gaza guerilla war of Netanyahu's political survival. Anything else that Netanyahu will say is LIES, LIES, LIES. That is what he is best at.



Hostages Forum slams Netanyahu for ‘selling illusion’ that military pressure will free hostages



Protesters demanding a deal to free hostages in Gaza block the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv, August 3, 2025. (Danor Aharon/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

The Hostage Families Forum slams Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he saysthat Hamas does not want a deal and that Israel must act to eliminate the terror group, amid stalled ceasefire talks.

“For 22 months now the public has been sold the illusion that military pressure and intense fighting will bring the hostages back,” the group, which represents a majority of the families of the 50 hostages still being held, says in a statement.

“Even before the draft for a comprehensive deal was written, they’re telling us that an agreement is not feasible,” the group adds. “The truth must be told: Expanding the war endangers the lives of the hostages who are at risk of imminent death. We saw the chilling images of the hostages in the tunnels, they won’t survive more long days of horror.”

The group suggests that expanding the war in Gaza — which is reportedly under debate by the cabinet — “is a guarantee of the failure of the century. There is no victory nor any revival in it.”






Israel and Iran








Gaza and the South



Hamas vows not to lay down arms after Witkoff reportedly says it’s ready to demilitarize

Accusing US of complicity in ‘genocide and starvation,’ terror group pledges to continue violent resistance ‘as long as the occupation exists,’ slams US envoy’s visit to GHF site

Hamas on Saturday said it would not disarm “as long as the occupation exists,” denying reported remarks to the contrary by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and blasting him for visiting an aid site run by the controversial, US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

In a statement, Hamas vowed to continue its violent struggle, saying its right to do so was guaranteed by international law until Palestinians’ “national rights” were realized, “foremost among them… the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with full sovereignty and Jerusalem as its capital.”

The terror group also assailed Witkoff’s visit to the GHF amid reports of soaring hunger in Gaza, and that hundreds of Palestinian aid seekers have been killed near the agency’s four distribution sites in the south and center of the enclave since they started operating in mid-May.

“The American administration is a full partner in the crime of starvation and genocide,” said Hamas. It added that Witkoff’s visit was “nothing more than a pre-arranged theatrical performance” to provide Israel with “political cover for managing starvation and continuing the systematic killing of children and unarmed civilians from our people.”

The terror group called on the US “to bear its historical responsibility by lifting the cover from the crime of the century in Gaza and moving toward a ceasefire agreement that leads to ending the aggression.”

Israel has vociferously denied the claim it is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, saying it takes steps to mitigate harm to civilians and accusing Hamas of using civilians and human shields. Jerusalem has also rejected as Hamas propaganda allegations that it is purposely starving the territory, and accuses the terror group of hijacking UN aid deliveries.



US special envoy Steve Witkoff (R) and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee (center) tour a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution site on August 1, 2025. (Steve Witkoff/X)

GHF, which seeks to circumvent Hamas in the distribution of aid, launched its operations in May, sidelining the longstanding UN-led humanitarian system just as Israel was beginning to ease a more than two-month aid blockade it had imposed on Gaza.

Other humanitarian groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF, saying its distribution plan puts aid-seekers in danger. Since the group began operating in Gaza, Hamas’s civil defense agency and foreign correspondents inside Gaza have reported frequent incidents in which Israeli troops have opened fire on crowds of desperate Palestinian civilians approaching GHF centers seeking food.






Palestinians gather at an aid distribution point set up by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), near the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on June 25, 2025. (Eyad BABA / AFP)

Israel has accused Hamas of attacking Gazan aid seekers and falsifying death tolls, but has also acknowledged that Palestinian civilians have been killed near GHF aid distribution sites. The IDF says troops have been issued new instructions following what it called “lessons learned.”

Witkoff: No ‘perfect news’ to share on ceasefire-hostage talks

Hamas’s vow to retain its arsenal came four days after an unprecedented declaration by the entire Arab League, as well as dozens of other countries, urging the terror group to disarm and condemning its onslaught of October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.

Witkoff appeared to allude to the declaration when he told hostage families during a visit to Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square on Saturday that “some Arab countries are demanding that Hamas disarm,” according to Hebrew media accounts of his comments.

“Hamas said that it is ready to demilitarize,” Witkoff reportedly said.

At the same time, he told the hostage families that he has no “perfect news” to share with them about the Gaza ceasefire-hostage talks, which have stalled for over a week following the US and Israel’s withdrawal of their negotiators from Doha.



US special envoy Steve Witkoff speaks to hostages’ families at Hostages Square, in Tel Aviv, August 2, 2025. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

“I wish I had perfect news for you, but it’s a super-complicated situation and I don’t have perfect news for you,” said Witkoff, according to audio from the meeting published by Channel 12. “Do I believe we are going to be successful here ultimately? I do, for a lot of reasons and some of those I can’t discuss right now.”

Witkoff also said that US President Donald Trump was now seeking a comprehensive deal to end the war and bring all the hostages home, echoing a senior Israeli official who had told reporters Thursday that “there will be no more partial deals” with Hamas.

In the audio published by Channel 12, Witkoff could be heard saying: “No piecemeal deals… that doesn’t work.” He also reportedly called negotiations with Hamas frustrating, accusing the terror group of failing to stand by its word.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for repeatedly presenting proposals that would release only some of the remaining 50 hostages, 28 of whom have been confirmed dead by the IDF.  Link With all due respect to Witkoff (and he really is due a lot of respect), he doesn't understand Hamas and doesn't understand the Middle East. He is not alone in this, most American politicians, presidents and advisors don't have the necessary understanding. Specifically here with Hamas disarming, there is a great lack of understanding. Hamas will never give up their arms to Israel or the the US. It just won't happen. They say they will never disarm as long as the occupation exists. They don't mean the occupation of the West Bank or Gaza or Jerusalem. They mean the occupation on any land that Israel currently sits on today. They want the decimation of Israel entirely and until that happens, they will not give up their arms or their armed struggle. Hamas can never be viewed as a potential peace partner. It will never happen. They are a fundamentalist terrorist group that has distorted their religious to extremes and will never compromise. But that doesn't mean that they can't be disarmed or that Israel won't be able to live in peace with a Palestinian State.
Hamas has to stop being Israel's problem. The entire Arab leagued has declared that Hamas must disarm and give up all power. This is not lip service. This is the most important body of Arab nations that decide on some many things in our region. Among the nations of the Arab League are the rich nations of the Gulf and they will be the largest benefactors for rebuilding Gaza, but they won't do it as they have in the past. They are tired of investing huge amounts of money in rebuilding what Israel had destroyed in past operations, and now with 90% of Gaza in ruins, they will not invest a single dollar in Gaza as long as Hamas remains a power, either as a governing body or as a terror group supposedly providing security to Gaza. As long as Hamas is still there, any rebuilding is viewed as temporary until the next operation or war. They want to rebuild Gaza in a new reality with a real potential for a bright future and that can only be done with Hamas gone for good.
Netanyahu doesn't stop calling for an end to Hamas in Gaza but it can't be done by Israel and certainly not the war that he has totally mismanaged the war. Had he allowed and enabled an alternative Palestinian government linked to a reformed Palestinian Authority go in to establish municipal, civil and security rule with the backing, aid and physical support from multiple Arab and Muslim nations, Hamas would long ago been defeated by their own people. But Netanyahu would never ever agree to any governing body associated with the PA and his refusal has resulted in the deaths of more soldiers, hostages and Gazans, and all those deaths on the Altar of Netanyahu's Political Survival.

Northern Israel, Lebanon and Syria

West Bank, Jerusalem, Israel and Terror Attacks



Palestinians rally across West Bank for detainees in Israeli jails, against Gaza war




Palestinians rally across West Bank for detainees in Israeli jails, against Gaza war


Thousands of Palestinians protested in the West Bank’s major cities Sunday against the war in Gaza and in support of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

One of the largest marches took place in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, located just north of Jerusalem, with hundreds gathering at the main square, waving Palestinian flags.

Many protesters carried photos of Palestinians killed or imprisoned by Israel, as well as photos depicting the hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip, where UN-backed experts have said famine is unfolding.

“My son is in Megiddo prison and he suffers from many things, such as the lack of medicine and the lack of food,” Rula Ghanem, a Palestinian academic and writer who took part in the march, told AFP, referring to an Israeli maximum security facility that has been accused of abusing inmates.

She told AFP that her son had lost 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and suffered from scabies in jail.

The number of Palestinians jailed by Israel has skyrocketed since the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza. Israel says it has detained some 6,000 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank in that time, including more than 2,350 affiliated with Hamas.


According to the PA’s Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs, some of those detained were arrested for posting political statements on social media.

The commission’s spokesman Thaer Shriteh told AFP: “The international community is a partner in all this suffering, as long as it does not intervene quickly to save the Palestinian people and save the prisoners inside the prisons and detention centers.”

One group of protesters at the Ramallah demonstration dressed as skeletons and carried dolls around to symbolize the Gaza war’s dire effect on children, who are most at risk of malnutrition.

“We hope that our stand today will have an impact in supporting our people in Gaza and the hungry children in Gaza,” said 39-year-old Tagreed Ziada, one of the protesters at the Ramallah march.



Demonstrators rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah in support of Palestinians detained by Israel and against the war in Gaza, August 3, 2025. (Zain JAAFAR / AFP)



Demonstrators dress in human skeleton costumes and raise pictures of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, during a protest in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, August 3, 2025. (Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

Israel has denied reports of widespread starvation in Gaza and has accused Hamas of hijacking aid deliveries.

Protests were also held Sunday in other major Palestinian cities such as Nablus in the north and Hebron in the south, with many employees of the Palestinian Authority receiving a day off to attend the demonstrations.

While there have been somewhat regular demonstrations against the war in Gaza, they are rarely coordinated across various cities in the West Bank.

• US confirms Palestinian killed in alleged settler attack was American citizen
  PA health ministry says Khamis Ayyad, 41, died of smoke inhalation after settlers set fire to homes in village of Silwad on Thursday
  
  Haleema Ayyad, mother of slain Palestinian-American Khamis Ayyad, holds a mobile phone with her son's photo at the family house in Silwad, east of Ramallah, July 31, 2025. (AP/Nasser Nasser)

  
  The US State Department on Sunday confirmed an American citizen had died this week in the West Bank, with family and Palestinian officials attributing his death to arson by Israeli settlers.

  The Palestinian Authority and witnesses reported on Thursday that settlers had set fire to homes and cars in the village of Silwad in the central West Bank, the latest in a string of attacks in the Palestinian territory.

  Khamis Ayyad, 41, died from smoke inhalation due to the fires, the Palestinian Authority health ministry said.
  

  Speaking Friday at a press conference in Chicago, Ayyad’s family said he had moved to the West Bank several years ago with his wife and children, but continued to work for an American company.

  He is at least the second American citizen killed in West Bank settler violence in July, after 20-year-old Saif Musallet was beaten to death while visiting family in the town of Sinjil.

  Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, demanded Israel investigate that killing, calling it a “criminal and terrorist act,” but has yet to comment on the death of Ayyad.
  

  
  People inspect damage after an alleged attack by settlers in the West Bank town of Silwad on July 31, 2025. (Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

  
  The IDF said it received reports of the arson attack and dispatched troops to the scene; however, all the suspects had fled by the time the forces arrived.

  According to the IDF, Palestinians hurled stones at the troops as they were scanning the area. The soldiers also located a burnt-out car and graffiti left behind by the Israeli assailants.
  

  Israeli authorities have requested that the Palestinian Authority provide the results of Ayyad’s autopsy, according to a military official. Police have since launched an investigation into the arson and vandalism.

  Asked for comment on the latest death, a State Department spokesperson said “we can confirm the death of a US citizen in the town of Silwad in the West Bank,” without naming Ayyad.

  “We condemn criminal violence by any party in the West Bank,” the spokesperson said, on condition of anonymity.
  

  
  Mourners gather at a hospital in Nablus, West Bank, August 3, 2025, for the funeral of Mu’in Asfar, 24, a Palestinian killed during clashes with Israeli settlers in the village of Aqraba. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

  
  Separately, residents of the West Bank village of Aqraba on Sunday buried a 24-year-old Palestinian who was killed by Israeli settlers the day before, the mayor told AFP.

  The man was killed during a violent confrontation involving firearms that lasted half an hour and left eight other people injured, Mayor Salah Jaber said.

  “It happened very close to the homes of residents. That’s why they (came out) to defend their area, their homes and their farms,” Jaber said.
  

  “The shooting was clearly intended to kill. The injuries were extremely severe, even to the limbs — one person was killed instantly,” Jaber said, identifying the dead man as 24-year-old Muin Asfar.
  

  Jaber said that although the Israeli army was present, “it was supporting the settlers more than protecting the Palestinians.”

  Contacted by AFP, the military said that it was looking into the incident.

  Fouad Nafaah, director of the hospital in the nearby city of Nablus, told AFP that Asfar was already dead when he arrived at the facility.

  An AFP photographer reported that relatives had come to the morgue to retrieve Asfar’s body, which was wrapped in a Palestinian flag.

  
  Demonstrators rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah in support of Palestinians detained by Israel and against the war in Gaza, August 3, 2025. (Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

  Violence in the West Bank has spiked since the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.

  Settler attacks on Palestinians throughout the West Bank have been taking place on a near-daily basis, largely with impunity, in what has sparked mounting sanctions from Western governments.

  Since October 7, Israeli troops and settlers have killed at least 950 Palestinians, including many militants, according to PA health ministry figures. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.

  During the same period, 53 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another eight members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.  link. Palestinians are attacked daily by the Settler Terrorists and in those attacks, several are killed, and of those killed, there are some American citizens as well. The US Ambassador expressed some outrage but the State Department did not quite back up that outrage, so that when the latest American Palestinian death by Settler Terrorist came to light, a statement by an anonymous State Department spokesperson made this vanilla statement “We condemn criminal violence by any party in the West Bank,”  and made it on condition of anonymity. This clearly shows that Trump has no desire to put Netanyahu on the carpet about these dead American Palestinians, otherwise his yes man Rubio, Secretary of State would have made a more forceful statement and demand full investigation and action. But that didn't happen. And until Trump loses all patience with Netanyahu, it will never happen. A few dead Palestinians, even if they have American citizenship, isn't a deal breaker for Trump or for Netanyahu. 

  
  
  

• Report: Settlers set fire to building in Palestinian village overnight; no reports of casualties

  Palestinian media outlets report that Israeli settlers set fire to a building overnight in the village of Turmus Ayya near Ramallah, in the West Bank.

  Footage from the scene shows the partially burned structure, which was also sprayed with graffiti reading “Revenge.”
  

  The building is said to have been uninhabited, and there were no reports of casualties.

  No arrests have been made.  video

Politics and the War and General News



• ‘We are on the precipice of defeat’: Former IDF chiefs of staff, intel chiefs demand end to Gaza war

  More than a dozen former senior security officials put out a joint video with a call to end the war in Gaza, arguing that Israel has racked up more losses than victories, and that the fighting has dragged on for political reasons rather than being based on strategic military decisions.

  Among the 19 retired IDF chiefs of staff, intelligence chiefs, Shin Bet and Mossad directors and police commissioners are former IDF chief of staff and prime minister Ehud Barak, former chiefs of staff Moshe Ya’alon and Dan Halutz, and ex-Shin Bet director Yoram Cohen.

  “Each of these people sat in cabinet meetings, operated in the inner circles, attended all the most sensitive decision-making processes, the most delicate,” says a voiceover at the start of the video by way of introduction. “Together, they have more than a thousand years’ experience in national security and diplomacy.”

  In the video, the men argue that the fighting in Gaza could have ended long ago, and demand that Israel end the war with a permanent ceasefire and comprehensive hostage deal that will see the release of all 50 remaining hostages in one fell swoop.   
  

  “We have a duty to stand up and say what we need to say,” former Shin Bet director Ami Ayalon says. “This war started as a just war. It was a defensive war. But once we achieved all its military objectives, once we achieved a brilliant military victory against all our enemies, this war stopped being a just war. It is leading the State of Israel to the loss of its security and identity.”

  Former military intelligence chief Amos Malka posits that Israel is “well over a year past the point where we could have ended the war with a sufficient operational achievement.”

  Instead, supplies ex-Shin Bet director Nadav Argaman, “we are now mostly offsetting losses.”

  “We are on the precipice of defeat,” concurs former Mossad director Tamir Pardo.

  “What the world sees today is of our own creation,” he says of the dire humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, brought about by long months of war with Hamas. “We are hiding behind a lie that we wrought. This lie was sold to the Israeli public, and the world has long since understood that it doesn’t reflect the real picture.”

  “There are moments that represent a black flag in which one must stand firm and say: This far and no further,” Ya’alon declares. “Right now, we have a government that the messianic zealots have pulled in a certain, irrational direction.”

  “They are a minority,” agrees Cohen, “but the problem is that the minority controls the policy.”

  He says that anyone who believes Israel can “reach every terrorist and every pit and every weapon, and at the same time bring our hostages home,” is entertaining a fantasy.

  The security officials call for those currently in the offices they once held to take a stance against the continuation of the war.

  They must “bravely stand up before the prime minister and before the cabinet and say their piece… about this war and its futility,” says Argaman.

  “It is their duty to say what they can do and what cannot be done, even if someone really wants it,” he adds. Video

• The national memorial ceremony for October 7 will take place for the second year: “In the face of attempts to erase the scale of the disaster”
  The “Kumu” movement announced the beginning of preparations for the memorial ceremony organized by the families of those murdered in the massacre • “The ceremony that will present the whole truth, give representation to all of the people of Israel, and voice the cries of the hostages, the communities, and the heroes”

  
  Forces in Kibbutz Be’eri after the October 7 massacre | Photo: AP

  The national memorial ceremony for the events of October 7 and the outbreak of the war will take place for the second year on October 7, 2025. This was announced this morning (Monday) by the “Kumu” movement, founded by Yonatan Shimriz, brother of the late Alon Shimriz, which is again organizing the ceremony of the families of those murdered in the massacre. The location of the event and its participants will be published later.

  “In the face of attempts to blur, erase, and diminish the scale of the disaster, in the face of those who see October 7 as a ‘miracle’, we are once again standing to present the truth as it was, to voice the families’ cries, to remember, and to give hope,” the movement stated. “The national memorial ceremony is the people’s ceremony: of those whose lives were cut short on that terrible Shabbat and in the war that followed, of those who lost family and friends, of those who fought and still fight today, of those who were left with scars, on the body and in the soul, of those who were kidnapped and are still held in the tunnels, in hunger, in torture, and in captivity.”

  “This year, too, we are producing the national memorial ceremony of the families of October 7,” said Yonatan Shinriz. “A ceremony that will present the whole truth and show the full picture, that will give representation and voice to all of the people of Israel. That will voice the cries of the hostages, the families, the communities, the heroes who survived, and the fighters who gave and still give their lives to save others. In the year that has passed since the previous ceremony, no commission of inquiry has been established, the hostages are still rotting in Hamas’s tunnels in Gaza, and thousands of Israelis are still refugees in their own country. In the face of attempts to blur, diminish, and rewrite the scale of the disaster on that cursed day and to change the narrative – we are standing to fight for our memory, to remind of the truth, and to give hope that it is possible to rise, to rebuild, and to be rebuilt.”

  
  Yonatan Shimriz at the national ceremony marking a year since October 7 (Photo: The National Memorial Ceremony)
  
  

  The previous ceremony took place at Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv in the presence of a limited audience due to the Home Front Command’s instructions at the time, even though tens of thousands of people were supposed to attend. It was broadcast live, hosted by actress Rotem Sela and media personality Hanoch Daum, and included performances by musicians Shlomo Artzi, Corinne Allal, Shalom Hanoch, Gali Atari, and Amir Dadon. Immediately afterward, the government memorial ceremony led by Minister Miri Regev was broadcast, which had been pre-recorded in Ofakim without an audience, against the backdrop of the refusal of many bereaved families to take part in it.

  These days, the “Kumu” movement is launching a crowdfunding campaign for the production of the next ceremony by the families. According to its members, more than 3 million shekels were raised last year for this purpose, and they emphasized the importance of public support for producing the event.  link As one of the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, who refused to watch the Government's October 7th show produced by the egocentric minister Miri Regev, I fully agree and support the Memorial Day for October 7 to be fully organized and run by the families who were most directly impacted by the massacre, and not by the government that bears so much of the responsibility for October 7 yet refuses to accept or acknowledge any of that responsibility. For the last 2 years, that same government has rubbed salt into the wounds of the entire country without remorse, sorrow, respect or responsibility. They have absolutely no right to partake in any October 7 memorial, let alone produce one.

  
  
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The Region and the World



• Macron condemns hostage videos, calls for two-state solution 

  French president condemns newly released clips of hostages Evyatar David and Rom Braslavski as evidence of 'heinous cruelty,' demanding their immediate release and reiterating his push for a two-state solution

  
  

  French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday condemned propaganda videos released by Hamas over the weekend showing Israeli hostages held in Gaza in a state of severe malnutrition.

  In a statement posted on his X account on Sunday, Macron described the footage as evidence of "heinous cruelty" and "unlimited inhumanity."

  
  

  The videos, one released by Hamas showing Evyatar David and another by Palestinian Islamic Jihad depicting Rom Braslavski, surfaced on Friday and Thursday, respectively. Macron expressed solidarity with the hostages, along with their families and loved ones. "We think with deep emotion of Evyatar David, Rom Braslavski, all the hostages still held captive, as well as their families and loved ones who have been plunged into hell for more than 660 days," he wrote, emphasizing that France's "absolute priority and imperative is the immediate release of all hostages."

  
  

  Despite his condemnation, Macron tied the hostage crisis to broader political goals, reiterating his support for establishing a Palestinian state, which he is expected to formally announce next month. He argued that securing the hostages' unconditional release, restoring a ceasefire and delivering substantial humanitarian aid are critical steps.

  
  

  However, Macron stressed that these measures alone are insufficient and advocated for a two-state solution as the only viable path toward peace. "This effort must be accompanied by a political solution for the day after," he continued. "That solution is the two-State solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace. It is the only possible path toward a future where justice, security, and dignity are guaranteed for all the peoples of the region."

  Macron clarified that his vision for a political resolution includes the complete disarmament of Hamas, its total exclusion from governance and Palestinian recognition of Israel. This stance comes despite Hamas declaring on Saturday that it will not disarm until a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital is established.

  Macron's remarks echo a controversial speech, where he drew parallels between Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, calling for the release of all detainees on both sides—a comparison that sparked outrage. Link There are many condemning Macron for his statements and intentions of recognizing a Palestinian State. Some of his statements have been pure blunders such as an parrallel between our hostages and Palestinian prisoners, especially those with blood on their hands from killing Israelis in terror attacks. Yet, he is 100% correct in his statements about the 2 State Solution. "That solution is the two-State solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace. It is the only possible path toward a future where justice, security, and dignity are guaranteed for all the peoples of the region." There is no other way. October 7, with all the pain of everything that happened and is still happening, this should also have been a wake up call for us all. We cannot expect 5 million Palestinians living under our occupation, lacking even the basic civil and human rights and a separate justice system that is entirely skewed against them, and with Settler Terrorists attacking and killing them daily, with an extremist government deliberately making their lives harder and worse every day, to continue living like that without some kind of explosion. When desperate people reach the point that they have nothing to lose, we all lose. We, our leaders, have 'managed the conflict' from 1967 and the management of it has failed to the point of explosion, especially when we have a prime minister who feeds the serpent and depresses the lamb. Netanyahu has done everything to weaken the Palestinian Authority, which had been the body that we could have made peace with. Along with the weakening of the PA, Netanyahu made sure to keep Hamas just strong enough to show the world that we couldn't make peace with the PA because they were weak and didn't represent the Palestinian people and Hamas was a terror organization dedicated to our destruction. Let's not forget the words on one of Netanyahu's important Coalition partners, the finance minister Smotrich who said that "Hamas is an asset to Israel". These are the people who bear the most responsibility for October 7. We have proven over 58 years that the conflict cannot be managed, especially by these extremists, if by anyone. The conflict must be solved and cannot be solved by the existing leaders of either side. And the solution, the only feasible solution is a 2 State Solution. It doesn't matter if it is Macron or any other world leader, they are the voice of reason and only through that reason can any of us have a different future, one based on peace and hope and so much more.
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Personal Stories

Acronyms and Glossary
COGAT - Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories
ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague
IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague
IPS - Israel Prison System
MDA - Magen David Adom - Israel Ambulance Corp
PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen


PMO- Prime Minister's Office
UAV - Unmanned Aerial vehicle, Drone. Could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, or be weaponized with missiles or contain explosives for 'suicide' explosion mission
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