🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 676, 2023 - August 12, 2025 🎗️

 

🎗️Day 676 that 50 of our hostages are still in Hamas captivity🎗️

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



“I’ve never met them,

But I miss them. 

I’ve never met them,

but I think of them every second. 

I’ve never met them,

but they are my family. 

BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!”



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



#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope




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

‎אין נצחון עד שכל החטופים בבית

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

*



Hostage Updates

Until the last hostage



Netanyahu rules out partial hostage deal with Hamas — report



Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the opening ceremony of the new Knesset museum, in Jerusalem on August 11, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not agree to negotiate a partial ceasefire and hostage-release deal with Hamas, and is only willing to discuss a comprehensive agreement that would end the war on his own terms and secure the release of all remaining hostages, Channel 12 reports, citing unnamed sources close to the premier.

“The prime minister would be willing to hold negotiations [for a deal] under conditions that we set for ending the war — and only if all the hostages were to be returned. Until then, we will not participate whatsoever in negotiations,” the sources are quoted as saying.

Netanyahu’s stance on whether to pursue a partial or comprehensive deal was unclear after the security cabinet decided last Thursday to capture Gaza City, adds the network, saying it now appears he is siding with his top adviser, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who reportedly urged against any partial deals during Thursday’s cabinet meeting. link

He is such a damned liar and manipulator  I o until now, he has refused to discuss a comprehensive deal that would bring home all the hostages and end the war. So why now? Here are my thoughts as to why now: he and his cronies have been saying in recent days that a comprehensive deal will take months to negotiate, which is just plain BS.  He is saying months and giving what might sound like reasonable justification for this but it is once again, Netanyahu stretching it out for more time and to his schedule, which is all linked to his political survival time table.  Let's not forget that this is the man who created and demanded phased interim agreements and would never agree to have a comprehensive final deal even discussed. Whenever the negotiators were closing in on one of his phased agreements, he managed to muck up the works so that an agreement could not be reached. Everyone who has cared about the hostages has been pushing for a single comprehensive deal that would bring the hostages home and end the war, but couldn't get Netanyahu to budge. Now, all of a sudden, he announces that he will only agree to a comprehensive deal but, as always, he included demands that he knows Hamas will not agree to. In this case, it is his demand that Hamas lay down their arms. They will NEVER agree to lay down their arms to Israel. What is definitely possible is that they may agree to lay down their arms to an alternative Palestinian government that will govern Gaza. If that will not be in place, the disarming demand will never be agreed upon and the war will go on.
Now, regarding Dermer and his recommendation to not have any partial deals, let's not start throwing parties honoring him.
He is the person at the beginning of the war who was going around Washington, his old haunting grounds as ambassador, telling everyone that all of the hostages were dead. Then, back in Israel, he expressed that no deal should be made with Hamas. He had no problem sacrificing all of the hostages. And since Netanyahu stripped the negotiating team of the key negotiators, the head of the Shin Bet and Mossad and put his closest advisor/yes man in charge of the negotiations, no hostages has been brought home through anything that Dermer had anything to do with.

Family of Nepalese hostage Joshi arrives in Israel to seek son’s return



Bipin Joshi, a Nepali farming student, was taken captive from Kibbutz Alumim on October 7, 2023, by Hamas terrorists. (Courtesy)

The mother and sisters of hostage Bipin Joshi, a Nepali agricultural volunteer taken captive from Kibbutz Alumim on October 7, land at Ben-Gurion Airport for their first visit since he was kidnapped.

Joshi’s mother Padma Joshi bursts into tears upon landing.

“Please, save my son,” she says, according to accounts in the Hebrew media. “Hamas, bring him home now.”




Qatar, Egypt and Turkey said to present Hamas with proposal for deal to end Gaza war, free hostages

Sky News in Arabic reports that Hamas negotiators are being presented with a new Gaza ceasefire proposal put together by Egypt and Qatar, with Turkish help, which would include an end to the war and the release of all hostages.

According to the report, the deal would see all hostages living and dead released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, while Israel would pull its military back “under Arab-American supervision” until an agreement is reached regarding disarming Hamas and its exit from governing Gaza.

During the interim phase, Turkey and other mediators would guarantee that Hamas freeze any military activities, allowing for talks on a permanent end to the war.

According to the report, if Hamas accepts the terms of the proposal, it will be sent to the American mediators to be passed to Israel.

Sky News presents the proposal as designed to “strip any excuse for occupying Gaza from [Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu.”

The report comes as a Hamas delegation has returned to Cairo at a time of swirling reports of fresh efforts to reenergize stalled ceasefire talks. LINK Without knowing the finer details, the Egyptian/Qatari deal sounds extremely reasonable and comes very close to answering one of Netanyahu's impossible demands, that of Hamas disarming while Israel occupies Gaza. The main problem, that I can see is that it is too reasonable and could conceivably be achieved in a relatively short period of time, which is a very good thing. So why is it a problem? Because Netanyahu doesn't want this deal to happen quickly. It would totally upend his timetable for is political survival. 
Last month, he did everything he could to survive the last Knesset season in order to get to the summer recess. He bargained on the recess giving him a breather in which it would be very unlikely for his government to fall even after the Haredi parties officially left the coalition but continue to give their support to Netanyahu's government. He figures that when the Knesset returns in the Fall, it is right before the Jewish holidays when nothing gets done and again the chances of the government falling are reduced. That brings us to October/November time frame and it as this juncture that he is prepared either for the government to fall on one issue or another (such as the Haredi army exemption not passing, or his agreeing to end the war), or to reach agreement with the coalition partners and/or the opposition to call for early elections which will be held in the first quarter of 2026, instead of October 2026 which is when the elections are supposed to be held if the government doesn't fall. That is what I believe Netanyahu is planning for and anything earlier than that won't give him the time he has determined he needs to convince the Israeli voters (at least those who have voted for him in the past) that the IDF, Shin Bet and Mossad are the bodies and people responsible for October 7 and that he bears no responsibility or blame. He truly believes that the traditionally short memory of the voters will still be the situation in the next elections. I have news for Benjamin Netanyahu that October 7 changed everything and we will never forget or forgive who has the lion's share of the responsibility and the blame.
Back to this potential agreement; if indeed it will be accepted by Hamas, and everyone else tells Netanyahu to go for it, it is only one voice that he will listen to and that is Trump. So, the question will be if Trump will be willing to push Netanyahu into that deal even if it messes with his timetable? He may be able to once again bend Trump to his will and get him to agree with Netanyahu that the deal doesn't answer his demands of full disarmament. He has already convinced Trump that Hamas can't be trusted and a deal cannot be made with them. We will have to hope that the people around Trump will remain 'The last man in the room with Trump' as he will be the one with the most influence, and not Netanyahu.




‘He was wrong’: Families fume at Netanyahu for pledging to free only ’20 hostages’

Hostage Families Forum urges PM to assure nation he’s ‘committed to returning everyone’ after comment that omitted 30 more captives confirmed or feared dead; he confirms: ‘We are struggling for all of them, the living and the fallen as one’

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum demanded Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu retract a statement he made at a Sunday press conference, where he pledged to free 20 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

When asked at the press conference whether he would agree to a partial hostage release deal, the prime minister committed himself to “the release of all 20 of our hostages.”

There are 50 hostages held by terror groups in Gaza, at least 20 of whom are thought to be alive.

Twenty-eight have been declared dead based on intelligence findings, while authorities have expressed “grave concern” for the lives of two other hostages who have not been seen or heard from in close to two years of captivity.

The forum, which represents relatives of most of the hostages, demanded that Netanyahu clarify his words.

At an event today at the opening of a new Knesset museum, Netanyahu indeed stated: “We are struggling for all of them, the living and the fallen as one.”

“Assure the people of Israel that you are committed to returning everyone — the living and the dead,” the forum said in its statement. “The prime minister must clarify that he was wrong, and that his commitment is to all 50 hostages, alive and dead, to ensure the return of the living for rehabilitation and the dead for a proper and respectful burial.”

Earlier on in the Sunday press conference, which was for Israeli media, Netanyahu declared: “As for our goal [in expanding military operations in Gaza], we want to free all the hostages. When I say ‘all,’ I mean the living and the dead.”

But several times throughout the remainder of the event, Netanyahu referred specifically to the imperative to secure the release of the “20” hostages Israel believes to be alive, rather than all 50.

The families’ statement comes after the group railed against the government’s recently adopted plan to conquer Gaza City, warning that the maneuver will endanger the hostages who are still alive. Many hostage families have called for a general strike on Sunday in protest of the move. Netanyahu’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir have also reportedly warned that the operation will endanger the hostages.

The Gaza City takeover is due to begin in October — after around a million Gazans currently staying there are relocated southward — and was adopted after negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release hit an impasse late last month. On Monday, Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that a Hamas delegation, led by the group’s Gaza leader Khalil al-Hayya, was heading to Cairo as part of an effort to revive the negotiation channel between Hamas and Egypt, with the aim of reaching a ceasefire in Gaza.

According to the unconfirmed report, Turkey helped renew the connection between Egypt and Hamas.



US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff attends a meeting between US President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House on July 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images via AFP)

And on Saturday, Channel 12 journalist Amit Segal reported that an unnamed Israeli source with knowledge of the matter had said there was a chance for Israel and Hamas to reach a limited ceasefire deal. US special envoy Steve Witkoff met Qatari Prime Minister Abdulrahman al-Thani in Spain that day to discuss a comprehensive deal for an end to the Gaza war and the release of all 50 remaining hostages, Axios reported. Israel has expressed preference for a comprehensive deal as well.

Against that backdrop, American relatives of hostage Rom Braslavski are hoping to obtain US citizenship for him, after a video was recently released showing him emaciated.

“We are hoping for that Trump card, for the American citizenship route,” said Braslavski’s cousin, Roye Ben-Menahem. “To see that bear fruit could be the greatest gift so that Rom could get the same treatment as Edan Alexander” — a reference to an American-Israeli hostage who was released byHamas in May as a gesture to the United States.

Ben-Menahem and his mother were sending letters to various officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, requesting that Braslavski be granted US citizenship based on the American status of his grandmother, aunt and cousin.  Link Once again, Netanyahu shows us how utterly disconnected he is with the people, not that he cares. He has blundered several times with not knowing how many hostages, living or dead, were still in Gaza, as though the number changes constantly. His disconnection emphasizes how little he really cares about the hostages and their families and he has been willing to sacrifice all of the hostages throughout the war. The only thing that he really cares about is staying in power and he will do anything and everything to make that happen. That is the one reason that the war is still going on and the one reason that the hostages have not all be brought home

Ex-hostage at Knesset: Netanyahu made promises at Nir Oz visit, then ‘forgot about us’



Former hostage Yocheved Lifshitz at the Knesset in Jerusalem, August 12, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Addressing the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, former hostage Yocheved Lifshitz, the widow of murdered hostage Oded Lifshitz, says that her home of Kibbutz Nir Oz was “completely abandoned by the government and the army” during the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.

“We were left for hours in the hands of Hamas [terrorists] who abused, slaughtered, and ate the breakfast left by the kibbutz residents,” she says.

“I ask this government, until when? You know that I lost a kilo every two days in captivity — now think about those who are still there. You are discussing everything other than bringing them home. Today, when I travel to Nir Oz, one of the hardest things for me is seeing that 85% of the kibbutz is burned, that one in four has either been kidnapped or murdered, and Bibi remembered to come visit [only] after a year and seven months,” she says, using Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nickname.

Netanyahu made significant promises during that visit, “and the moment he crossed the fence, he forgot about us,” she continues.



Holocaust survivors advocate for the release of the Gaza hostages at the Knesset in Jerusalem, August 12, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The committee is also addressed by several Holocaust survivors who call on the government to return the hostages.

Survivor Michael Adam recalls being detained by the Nazis in northern France during World War II and held in a camp for nearly a year. He says he was nothing but skin and bones when he was released and that the trauma “has plagued us for our entire lives” and continued for generations.

“Wake up, bring everybody home,” another survivor yells.

Hundreds of retired pilots, Air Force reservists to rally today in Tel Aviv, calling for war’s end

Hundreds of Israel Air Force reserve and retired pilots are set to hold a rally this evening in front of IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv to demand an end to the war.

A statement on behalf of the reservists says the 7 p.m. demonstration will “call for an immediate end to the futile war and urgent action to bring the hostages home.”

“We support the [IDF] chief of staff’s opposition to the war’s expansion and support for an urgent deal to return the hostages,” they add, arguing the war is “exacting an unbearable toll from hostages who have languished in captivity for 676 days, is risking our soldiers’ lives in vain, is causing unnecessary harm to innumerable innocent civilians, and is degrading Israel’s standing in the world to an unprecedented low.”

Sex abuse, dehumanization: Health Ministry report to Red Cross details accounts of freed hostages



Families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza, former hostages and supporters hold a press conference in Tel Aviv, on August 9, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

A report published by the Health Ministry that will be forwarded to the president of the Red Cross reveals the physical and mental damage suffered by 12 of the hostages who were freed at the beginning of this year, including accounts of ongoing sexual harassment, dehumanization and life-altering injuries.

The report (Hebrew link) paints a harrowing picture of severe patterns of abuse, medical neglect and subhuman conditions that constitute torture and serious violations of international humanitarian law.

The ministry calls for the immediate provision of food, water and medical treatment to the abductees who are still in captivity.

An analysis of the medical condition of the hostages still being held captive shows that they are “in immediate danger, and every additional day there increases the risk of irreversible damage to their physical and mental health.”

The report that exposes the abuse in captivity: “Hostages endured prolonged sexual harassment”
The Health Ministry’s report reviewed the effects of captivity on 12 hostages who returned to Israel • An official document was delivered to the Red Cross, clarifying: “Immediate action must be taken to provide medical aid to the hostages” • On physical damage: “In some cases, rehabilitation is not expected to restore full function” • And on psychological abuse: “They were subjected to deliberate tactics of isolation, intimidation, and suppression”

The Health Ministry today (Tuesday) delivered a special report to the Red Cross on the condition of hostages released from Hamas captivity. The report summarized the physical and mental harm of 12 of the returnees, and reveals the abuse they suffered in the Gaza Strip. “Immediate international action must be taken to provide urgent medical aid and to bring the hostages to Israel for life-saving treatment,” was written to the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The report presented findings on the captivity conditions of 12 hostages, 4 women and 8 men, who were returned to Israel in the second hostage deal. The information in the report was obtained with the consent of the returnees and is based on reviews of their medical files and conversations with their care teams.

“From the information gathered about the captivity conditions, descriptions emerge illustrating severe patterns of abuse, medical neglect, and subhuman conditions that constitute torture and severe violations of international humanitarian law,” it stated. “The reality of captivity is described by the returnees as a reality deliberately designed to create an environment of physical and psychological torture.”



“Severe patterns of abuse.” A tunnel where hostages were held, archive

The report clarified that the hostages endured a severe traumatic experience already at the stage of abduction. They suffered extreme violence, and some were shot. Most were victims of violent assaults by local mobs. Some were tightly bound at the hands, to the point of losing sensation in their fingers.

Some of the hostages reported witnessing the murder of family members and friends during the abduction, in addition to seeing the destruction and devastation of the kibbutzim and towns they came from. These events intensified the trauma they experienced and in many cases caused severe uncertainty about the fate of their family members.



The hostages witnessed the destruction. House in Kibbutz Be’eri after the massacre | Photo: Omer Fishman, Flash90

Captivity conditions
The hostages were held under varying conditions, with most spending prolonged periods underground and shorter periods above ground. Transfers between locations were done suddenly, with a constant sense of life-threatening danger. Some hostages were forced to walk long distances, sometimes many kilometers, at night, in complete darkness or blindfolded.

“The nutritional regime imposed on the hostages amounted to deliberate starvation and typically included only one meal consisting of pita or rice,” the report said. “Most of the food was unfit for human consumption – moldy and containing worms and insects. The water provided was contaminated, sometimes seawater or untreated sewage. Showers were allowed only every few months, with cold water and a shared towel.”



Military maneuver in the Gaza Strip (Photo: IDF Spokesperson)
The hostages spent a prolonged period underground | Photo: IDF Spokesperson

Health damage
During captivity, the hostages suffered from various medical problems as a direct result of the harsh conditions, lack of hygiene, and prolonged nutritional deficiencies, which led to recurring infectious diseases. Symptoms of intestinal infections were described, causing abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, high fever, and in other cases, respiratory illnesses accompanied by shortness of breath and high fever.

The report stated: “Since these illnesses were not treated, they caused severe hallucinations and intense pain, which also mostly received no treatment.” It also noted: “Due to extreme and prolonged starvation, the returnees suffered significant weight loss of about 15% to as much as 40%.”






Hostage rally in Tel Aviv

The hostages suffered from starvation. Rally in Tel Aviv, archive

The hunger and poor nutrition weakened the immune systems of the returnees, and combined with poor hygiene conditions made them more vulnerable to infections and worsening of illnesses due to the lack of treatment.

“During the captivity period, the hostages suffered from severe and deliberate medical neglect,” the report said. “Despite recurring infectious diseases, significant injuries, and alarming medical conditions, they were almost completely denied access to appropriate medical care. In the few cases where any treatment was given, it was extremely minimal and consisted of fever-reducing pills, with no antibiotic treatment, even when there were clear signs of severe infections.”

Physical abuse and psychological terror
The report authors accused: “The hostages suffered ongoing psychological abuse that was part of a systematic dehumanization mechanism. The psychological suffering was intensified through deliberate tactics of isolation, intimidation, and suppression.”

The hostages were subjected to extreme social isolation. One was held alone for over 50 consecutive days while injured. Two other hostages were held in complete isolation for prolonged periods of more than a year. Survivors testified that the prolonged isolation had severe psychological consequences, including intense feelings of anxiety and despair, abandonment, loss of sense of time and reality, to the point of detachment from the self.


Hamas terrorists (Photo: Reuters)




Throughout their captivity, the hostages lived under a constant threat to their lives. The captors used various methods to maintain an atmosphere of fear and terror, especially targeted threats with weapons. Several survivors described how their captors would activate grenade triggers, count down, and stop at the last moment – a practice of deliberate psychological terror. In most cases, the survivors testified that the captors showed visible enjoyment from the panic and fear that seized the hostages during abuse with live weapons.

The abuse also included elements of prolonged sexual harassment of male and female hostages. One female hostage described being harassed by her captors over months.

Long-term physical consequences of captivity
The report stated: “Survivors of captivity carry significant and irreversible physical damage that will accompany them for many years. The most common is irreversible nerve damage caused by gunshot wounds, shrapnel, and prolonged binding of limbs, leading to serious functional difficulties including limitations in walking, driving, typing, and performing basic daily activities.”

In some cases, rehabilitation treatments are not expected to restore full function, and in other cases, chronic pain cannot be alleviated and is expected to be a permanent part of the lives of many of the returnees.

Psychological consequences of captivity
Even six months after their release, the long-term psychological effects of captivity cannot yet be fully assessed. The report stated: “At this stage, it is not possible to predict with certainty which survivors will develop psychological disorders. Coping with the consequences of captivity is linked to various factors, primarily the release of all hostages, the severity of the trauma experienced in captivity, social support during captivity, the manner of reception and ongoing treatment, and personal and community support systems.”

“In ongoing monitoring, some returnees are presenting symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder,” it was written. “Symptoms include recurring nightmares, flashbacks, recurring images and thoughts related to the trauma of the abduction and the captivity trauma.”



Even now, the full psychological impact of the captivity cannot be fully assessed. Hostage square rally, archive | Photo: Paulina Patimer

“The returnees show signs of exaggerated startle responses, constant anxiety, hypervigilance, difficulty being alone, and avoidance of trauma-inducing situations. Many avoid crowded places or stimuli reminiscent of the trauma, such as eating certain foods or being in a room alone or in the dark. Others experience difficulty coping with public exposure and the forced transformation from anonymous individuals to public figures.”

Against the background of terror organization videos distributed, in which hostages Eviatar David and Rom Breslevski were seen, the Health Ministry clarified: “They are in life-threatening condition; this is a continuation of the distress and abuse described in the report.” The authors of the document concluded: “The described captivity conditions raise concern and fear for the lives of the hostages who have not yet returned and prove that they are in concrete life-threatening danger.”  link

The Major Gaps on the Way to a Comprehensive Hostage Deal | N12 Clarifies
Netanyahu detailed Israel’s five principles for ending the war, which clash with Hamas’s conditions for a deal • A Palestinian news agency claimed: Trump is expected to soon announce the launch of ceasefire talks • These are the terror organization’s clarifications – and the mediators' interim solutions in an attempt to bridge the gaps

Despite the renewal of contacts between Hamas and Egypt in Cairo yesterday (Monday), the gaps between Israel and the terror organization remain significant. Amid the obstacles, the mediators are working to bridge the chasms on the way to a comprehensive hostage deal. N12 lays out the disputes and the framework taking shape.

Renewal of Negotiations for a Deal – Current Status
A Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo yesterday to hold meetings with senior Egyptian intelligence officials, in an attempt to advance a comprehensive deal for the release of hostages.
Behind the scenes: the mediators, in cooperation with Turkey, are formulating a new proposal aimed at bridging the deep gaps between Israel's demands and Hamas's terms, in hopes of preventing an Israeli move to conquer Gaza City.
Egyptian diplomats described the talks in Cairo in the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar as “the most profound and comprehensive” since relations between the two sides deteriorated. According to the sources, no substantial progress has yet been made, as “consultations are still ongoing” regarding the wording of the proposal expected to be presented to Hamas in the coming days. They claimed that the U.S. will not accept any revisions to the wording being drafted, which slows down preparation of the Arabic and English versions.

Palestinian Report: Trump to Announce Negotiation Talks
The Palestinian news agency “Ma’an” reported that a framework for a comprehensive agreement being developed includes a ceasefire and IDF withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the entry of Arab forces under American supervision, and the appointment of a Palestinian governor to manage civil affairs and security, in addition to overseeing the Strip’s reconstruction process.
It was claimed that U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to soon announce the launch of comprehensive ceasefire talks.
Ma’an contacted Palestinian businessman Samir Khalil, who said that the proposal to appoint him as Gaza governor has been on the table for about a year and a half. According to him, he presented it to the Palestinian Authority president and prime minister, and it was discussed within the Palestinian leadership.
He added: “The proposal includes that the administration in Gaza will be under the supervision of the Arab League committee, which includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, the Palestinian Authority, and Qatar – to manage Gaza’s civil affairs and ensure security.”

Conditions Set by Prime Minister Netanyahu in This Week’s Press Conference

• Disarmament of Hamas.

• Return of all hostages – both living and deceased.

• Demilitarization of the Strip – prevention of weapon production and smuggling.

• Israeli security control in the Gaza Strip.

• Establishment of an alternative civil administration – “that is not Hamas and not the Palestinian Authority. That is, one that does not educate its children for terror, does not fund terror, and does not generate terror. An administration that lives in peace with the State of Israel.”

The Five Conditions for Ending the War

Hamas's Demands for a Comprehensive Hostage Deal

• Permanent ceasefire – ending the war in Gaza with international guarantees that the IDF will not resume it.

• Full IDF withdrawal from all areas of the Gaza Strip, including the Philadelphi and Morag corridors.

• Broad release of Palestinian prisoners – including Nukhba terrorists who carried out the October 7 massacre.

• Opening the crossings to allow unrestricted humanitarian aid entry, including opening the Rafah crossing for residents’ exit and return.

• Cancellation of the American aid fund and distribution of aid only through the UN and international organizations.

• Reconstruction of the Strip.

Clarifications from Hamas
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim in an interview with Al Jazeera: “Hamas is willing to show flexibility – provided that the war and displacement stop, the crossings open, and the people are allowed to rebuild their lives. What is absolutely non-negotiable is the disarmament of the resistance. This is not a subject for negotiation. Resistance will end only with the end of the occupation. No leader in the Palestinian resistance will agree to lay down arms at the negotiation table.”

Senior Hamas official abroad, Osama Hamdan, to Qatar’s Al Araby TV: “Hamas has long proposed the idea of a comprehensive deal and presented a proposal over a year ago. This idea included a complete cessation of aggression in the Gaza Strip, full IDF withdrawal, opening of the crossings, reconstruction of the Strip, and afterwards – a comprehensive prisoner exchange deal from both sides.”

The New Deal Framework Being Formulated by the Mediators
Sky News in Arabic reported yesterday that the mediators, Egypt and Qatar, in cooperation with Turkey, will present Hamas leadership with a new initiative – aimed at preemptively denying Prime Minister Netanyahu justification for conquering Gaza City.
It was noted that if Hamas agrees, the proposal will be passed to the American mediator in preparation for presentation to Israel.
According to the report, the proposal is for a comprehensive deal that will include the release of all Israeli hostages, living and deceased, in exchange for the release of an agreed number of Palestinian prisoners.
It includes a new IDF deployment map under Arab-American supervision until a comprehensive solution is reached regarding Hamas's weapons and governance.
The initiative includes a transitional phase during which Hamas will freeze the activity of its military wing and refrain from using weapons, with guarantees from the mediators and Turkey, while negotiations will be held aiming for a permanent ceasefire agreement.

Our commentator Ehud Yaari reported last night on the “Main Edition” that Egypt has decided to engage for the first time in the Israeli demand for Hamas's disarmament – under which it proposes to “freeze” the quantity of weapons in the terror organization’s possession, but it is unclear what the demand includes.
Abu Mazen demands that the weapons be stored in depots under supervision and protection by Palestinian Authority personnel.
Additionally, Egypt believes that Palestinian policing forces should be brought into the Gaza Strip, to be trained in the U.S., Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, or other countries, under American supervision.  link




Israel and Iran







Gaza and the South



The “will” of the eliminated journalist-terrorist, the rift with Qatar – and the rage of the captivity survivor: “A journalist held me!”
The British "Guardian" published a full article from the "personal will" of Anas al-Sharif, an Al Jazeera journalist who was eliminated: "If you are reading this, Israel succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice." Shlomi Ziv, who was rescued in "Operation Arnon", was outraged at the nature of the coverage in the world: "I was held by a journalist, and his father was a doctor!" The IDF noted "the integration of the terrorist into the Qatari network", Qatar's Prime Minister attacked: "Crimes that surpass all imagination"
The British newspaper "The Guardian" published yesterday (Monday) a full article from the "will" of the journalist-terrorist Anas al-Sharif, an Al Jazeera reporter in Gaza, who was eliminated the day before yesterday in an IDF strike near Shifa Hospital. The text, published on al-Sharif's X account after his death, was formulated as a "personal will" in which he wrote: "If you are reading this, Israel succeeded in killing me and silencing my voice." He described himself as a "faithful witness to the suffering of the Palestinian people" and called "not to forget Gaza." In the will, he also detailed personal requests – including concern for his wife, children, and mother, and asked "to be among the martyrs."
"My hope was to live a long life so I could return with my family to our occupied home in Ashkelon," he wrote and claimed that he did not hesitate to tell the truth "without distortion and without falsification," so that "Allah would be a witness against those who were silent, those who agreed to our killing, and those whose hearts did not move at the sight of the body parts of our children and women." He "entrusted" his readers to protect "Palestine – the crown jewel of the Muslim world – and its people and innocent children," and urged not to let borders or chains prevent its freedom.
In the personal part, he asked for care for his family members: he described his wife as "as steady as the trunk of an olive tree that does not bend," and asked "to be among the martyrs," while being "satisfied with Allah's decree" and confident in meeting Him. He concluded his words with a request: "Do not forget Gaza and do not forget me in your prayers."

Captivity survivor: “I was held by a journalist!”
The elimination reignited the discussion about the ties between Hamas and “journalists” in Gaza. Captivity survivor Shlomi Ziv, who was rescued in June last year alongside hostages Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, and Andrey Kozlov in “Operation Arnon”, responded on X to the Sky News report on the death of the terrorist-journalist and wrote: “I was held by a journalist, and his father was a doctor!”
The Hamas operative who held those hostages along with his doctor father, Abdullah al-Jamal, also served as a photographer for Al Jazeera and was claimed to be a journalist who published articles about "Israeli massacres" in Gaza.
According to an investigative report revealed by the American site "Washington Free Beacon" in June last year, he had ties with the Iranian regime. According to the report, al-Jamal collaborated with Tehran through a website edited by one of the writers of the newspaper "Kayhan International", whose publication is supervised by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Regarding the event last night, the IDF quickly acknowledged that it carried out the strike and said that al-Sharif headed a Hamas cell that fired rockets toward Israel – a claim he and the network had previously denied. The IDF emphasized in its statement that this was a reporter of "the Qatari network Al Jazeera". Qatar, for its part, harshly condemned the "deliberate assassination of journalists". Its Prime Minister, Mohammed Al-Thani, said that "the deliberate targeting of journalists in Gaza reveals crimes that surpass all imagination," and accused the international community of helplessness "in stopping the tragedy." According to "The Guardian", this was the first time during the war that the IDF took responsibility so quickly for the elimination of a journalist.

The strike and the response that followed illustrated the complexity of the relationship between Israel and Qatar – a central mediator in talks to end the war, and a country that Israel sees at once as a channel for conveying messages to Hamas and at the same time as a hostile actor. Just last week, Yair Netanyahu, son of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, claimed that Qatar "is funding the rise of antisemitism in the world."

Globally, the elimination was widely covered, with main headlines like "Israel killed journalists in an airstrike." On “Sky News” the main article was dedicated to Al Jazeera’s condemnation, and it was written that according to the "Committee to Protect Journalists", since the beginning of the war at least 186 journalists and media workers have been killed in the Strip. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate claimed that since October 7, 238 media personnel have been killed. CNN, BBC, NBC, "Washington Post", "The Guardian", and "New York Times" also covered the event; the “Post” headlined that “The IDF killed journalists in the strike.”

The Qatari network, as mentioned, condemned the strike and said that "this is a planned assassination of reporters and photographers by Israeli forces." In the Arab press, including the Lebanese "Al-Akhbar" associated with Hezbollah, it was written: "Al Jazeera – without reporters in Gaza. Anas al-Sharif is a martyr." These media outlets accused that “as a justification for its crimes against journalists, the Israeli army published a statement taking responsibility for the strike and accusing him of leading a Hamas cell,” and even noted that eyewitnesses claimed al-Sharif received a phone call and upon answering – the strike was carried out.

Anas al-Sharif and Yahya Sinwar
Considered the most senior journalist of Al Jazeera in Gaza – and also seen alongside top Hamas leaders. Al-Sharif and Yahya Sinwar
Anas al-Sharif sitting with senior Hamas officials

Al-Sharif, whom the IDF clarified was a Hamas operative, was considered the most senior journalist of Al Jazeera in Gaza. During the war, his home was attacked and his father was killed. Last October, the IDF published records indicating that he served as the head of a cell in the rocket company of the East Jabalia Battalion. He was also documented very closely in events involving the release of female hostages, including the observer Agam Berger, Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinberger, and in social media posts was seen alongside top Hamas officials, including Yahya Sinwar and Khalil al-Hayya.

Online, there were those who welcomed the elimination and circulated photos published by the IDF Spokesperson of al-Sharif with Sinwar. On the other hand, the “Committee to Protect Journalists” claimed that “the pattern in which Israel labels journalists as combatants without providing credible evidence – raises serious questions about its intentions.” The organization "Reporters Without Borders" condemned the "admission of murder by the Israeli army" and called for international intervention.

The spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "We are very concerned about the repeated harm to journalists in Gaza. Journalists covering conflicts are protected under international humanitarian law, and their ability to operate safely must be ensured." The UN Human Rights Office also condemned the harm and said it was a "serious violation of international humanitarian law."  link

• Gazan media reports 7 children killed in strike; IDF denies hitting civilians

  Media outlets in Gaza report that seven children were killed in a strike on a building in the Zeitoun neighborhood of eastern Gaza City.

  Graphic footage shared online shows a man mourning over the bodies of seven children at a hospital in the city.

  The IDF has called on residents of the neighborhood to evacuate in recent weeks, including in a message from the IDF spokesperson last week.

  The IDF’s Spokesperson’s Office says it struck “Hamas terrorists who were inside a command center” used by the group to plan attacks on troops.

  “We are not aware of any civilian casualties in the strike,” a spokesperson says, noting extensive measures taken to minimize risk to civilians.

  “Terrorist organizations in the Strip systematically violate international law, cruelly exploiting civilian institutions and the population as human shields for terrorist activities,” the spokesperson adds.

  Hamas claims over 60,000 people have been killed in the war, though the figures are impossible to verify and do not differentiate between combatants and civilians.

  
  

• IDF says it targeted Islamic Jihad members in drone strike on Gaza’s Deir al-Balah yesterday

  

  IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip in an image released by the military on August 12, 2025. (IDF)

  An Israeli drone strike on central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah yesterday targeted several Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives, the military says.

  No further details are given by the IDF on the strike. Palestinian media reported a strike in Deir al-Balah last night that killed five people.

  Separately, troops of the 188th Armored Brigade came under mortar fire in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis and directed an Israeli Air Force drone to hit a building from which the projectiles were launched, the IDF says.

  The military publishes footage showing the latter strike.

Northern Israel, Lebanon and Syria


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West Bank, Jerusalem, Israel and Terror Attacks


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Politics and the War and General News



• The Urgency of Establishing Alternative Legitimate Palestinian Governance in Gaza - by Dr. Gershon Baskin
  

  August 12, 2025

  The war in Gaza must end. It should have ended many months ago. The impending Israeli escalation of the war must be prevented. There must be a negotiated end to the war with Hamas or else the remaining 20 living Israeli hostages will never come home alive and the other 30 Israeli hostages who are not alive will never be brought home to burial in Israel. The war must end because too much suffering, death and destruction has already taken place in Gaza. Israel must not be allowed to continue to kill and destroy in Gaza or to implement the plans of the Israeli government for ethnic cleansing and building new Israeli settlements in Gaza. This must be prevented and if the international community does not stop it, it is complicit in carrying out the war crimes done by Israel.

  There is one major missing link to enable the war to end, or I should say to compel President Trump to force the end of the war on Netanyahu. And let’s face it, only Trump has the ability to force Netanyahu to end the war and to withdraw from Gaza. Even though Hamas is decimated in Gaza and can no longer effectively control and govern Gaza. Even though Hamas has lost its ability to wage real warfare against Israel, they continue to exist with fighters who are more than willing to fight, to kill and to die. As long as there are Israeli soldiers in Gaza, the Hamas armed fighters have targets to kill and they will continue to try to kill them as long as there is no agreement to end the war. But to end the war there must be an alternative legitimate Palestinian government in place now – not on the day after Israel leaves Gaza. If Israel were to leave Gaza today, the only organized group with weapons and power remains Hamas. Even though Hamas has said repeatedly that they are willing to transfer the governance of Gaza, with all authorities, to a Palestinian civilian technocratic government. As long as that government does not exist, there is no alternative to Hamas. This has to be a flashing red light to all concerned Palestinians.

  My understanding is that the Biden Administration believed that Palestinian President Abbas has to appoint the temporary Gaza government, or at least its head. They believed that the Gaza government had to be separated from the Palestinian Authority but it would receive its legitimacy from the Palestinian Authority. The Trump Administration, to my understanding doesn’t care about the Palestinian Authority’s need to provide legitimacy to a new non-Hamas Palestinian government. But the Trump Administration will not force Israel to leave Gaza unless there is a non-Hamas Palestinian government in Gaza which is committed to making peace with Israel, not destroying Israel. This is definitely a high bar to jump over. The high bar is now standing between Israel leaving Gaza or staying in Gaza and escalating the war.

  The challenge before the Palestinian people is not only getting Hamas and Israel to negotiate a deal on ending the war and releasing hostages and Palestinian prisoners, it is also the extremely urgent task of putting a new legitimate, non-corrupt temporary Palestinian government in Gaza that will be accepted by the people of Gaza and by the Arab states. It seems highly unlikely that Israel will withdraw from Gaza without the new Palestinian government in Gaza. So as long as Hamas is technically still the government of Gaza, Israel will not withdraw, the war will not end, the hostages will not come home, Gazans will continued to be killed in the hundreds and thousands and no reconstruction of Gaza will begin.  link

• Top IDF lawyer said to warn Gaza takeover will put army in charge of daily life there

  Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, military advocate general, reportedly cautions that Israel will be responsible for everything from aid to education if it conquers Strip

  
  Chief Military Advocate Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi at a farewell ceremony for retiring acting Supreme Court President Uzi Vogelman, at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on October 1, 2024. (Photo by Oren Ben Hakoon/POOL)

  
  

  
  The Israel Defense Forces’ top attorney has reportedly warned leaders that Israel will become responsible for a broad range of civilian affairs in Gaza if it proceeds with conquering the whole enclave.

  The Haaretz daily reported Monday, citing anonymous sources, that Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi raised a range of concerns relating to the government’s plan to conquer Gaza City. She said it could open Israel up to even greater international legal pressure, and that the military must make sure it’s operating in accordance with the laws of war.

  She also reportedly said that if Israel moves to take over such heavily populated areas of Gaza — and displaces their residents en masse — it would be obligated to provide for those civilians’ welfare.

  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he would increase the amount of aid entering the Strip. But the Haaretz report said that according to Tomer-Yerushalmi, Israel would also be responsible for civilian government functions including education, healthcare and infrastructure.

  At present, the roughly 75% of Gaza that Israel controls holds relatively few civilians, which, Haaretz said, means that there are fewer legal complexities involved. A source told Haaretz that Tomer-Yerushalmi will “present the implications to the chief of staff,” IDF Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.

  Her warning echoes comments made by Opposition Leader Yair Lapid last week, as Netanyahu’s government was moving forward with the Gaza City plan. Lapid said the plan puts the hostages held by Hamas, as well as IDF soldiers, at risk.

  “In exchange, we’ll be ruling over two million Palestinians — paying for their electricity and water, building them schools and hospitals with Israeli taxpayers’ money,” Lapid said. “You annex — you pay. From that moment, everything is on us.”

  

  Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara attends a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on April 27, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

  The Haaretz report added that Tomer-Yerushalmi, like Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, has faced attacks from the right for her work. The cabinet has voted to fire Baharav-Miara, a step that was frozen by the High Court while reviewing its legality,  and Haaretz said that if she or Tomer-Yerushalmi are pushed out, it would weaken Israel’s adherence to international law and could end up exposing soldiers to prosecution.

  “In the end, we want the best people to be those who can keep IDF soldiers and commanders free of lawsuits and arrests in foreign countries, even long after the war,” a senior official told Haaretz.

  In June, after the right-leaning Channel 14 aired a report suggesting a Tomer-Yerushalmi ruling was to blame for four soldiers’ deaths, Zamir condemned the “false, repeated, and baseless attacks regarding the conduct of the Military Advocate General.”

  
  

• Former Mossad agent questioned over Qatargate took part in hostage negotiating team meetings — report

  A former Mossad official who was questioned under caution in the Qatargate affair took part in meetings of Israel’s hostage negotiating team at the beginning of the war for two weeks, sometimes as an official representative of the spy agency, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

  The official insists to Kan that he reported his ties to Qatar to the Mossad and to the IDF’s envoy to negotiations Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, but the report claims that the spy agency and members of the team were unaware of the connections.

  The agent, referred to only as Shin, worked in cooperation with Qatari intelligence during his time at the spy agency and today does business in Qatar, Channel 12 reported in May.

  According to Channel 12, Shin owns a company with retired IDF general Yoav Mordechai, who formed connections with the Qataris during his time as head of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.

  The Hostages and Missing Families Forum says the report “reveals again how Qatar managed to infiltrate the holy of holies of the struggle to return hostages — from the Prime Minister’s Office to the senior officials of the Mossad and the negotiating team.”

  The forum demands that the prime minister prove with actions that he is committed to returning all the hostages held in Gaza.

  The Qatargate affair revolves primarily around suspicions that two Netanyahu aides — Jonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein — committed multiple offenses tied to their alleged work for a pro-Qatar lobbying firm, including contact with a foreign agent and a series of corrupt actions involving lobbyists and businessmen, all while working for the prime minister.

  
  

• Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer plans to retire from political life before the next election, Hebrew media reports Monday.

  Dermer has been openly discussing his retirement since Israel’s 12-day war targeting Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missiles program, unnamed senior government officials tell the Israel Hayom daily.

  The top aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former US ambassador has not settled on an exact date to leave his position, but will do so before the elections, the sources say.  link  Good riddance. Dermer has been a primary factor in the non return of the hostages and continuing the war. He is Netanyahu's closest advisor and yes man. Both in his previous appointment by Netanyahu as ambassador to the US and in his current ministerial role, he has deliberately been a shadow figure close to Netanyahu. Prior to Netanyahu appointing him to lead the hostage negotiating team, most Israelis never heard of him or knew what he looked like. He advising Netanyahu and only does what Netanyahu wants and that is why Netanyahu appointed him to lead the negotiations. In the original configuration of the team, it was headed by the chiefs of the Shin Bet and Mossad. Both of them had the hostages as a major concern and disagreed profusely with Netanyahu's demands and pushed for an end to the war so that all the hostages could be brought home at once. Netanyahu constantly accused them of not knowing how to negotiate simply because they objected to what he wanted. They knew very well that Netanyahu wanted first and foremost to save his political career and sacrificing the hostages and soldiers is fully acceptable to him. It was not to them. Netanyahu could not depend on them to not bring up potential issues for a deal that he didn't want. With Dermer, he knew that nothing that he didn't want would ever see the light of day. And because of that, Dermer did almost nothing to secure the release of any hostages. Since his appointment, no hostage was released through any of his efforts or, more correctly, non-efforts. As the head of the hostage negotiations, he has repeatedly refused to meet with hostage families and most of his trips to Washington and Europe were about Iran and not the hostages. And we can never forger that in the beginning of the war, he was in his old stomping grounds, Washington and telling everyone he could that the hostages were all dead. And throughout the war, he has been against any deal for the hostages. He has been a total failure in everything except his dying allegiance to Netanyahu and Netanyahu's war of political survival. As I started this - GOOD RIDDANCE!

The Region and the World



• World’s largest wealth fund says it was too slow to divest from Israeli firms, expects to sell more stocks

  Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest, says it expects to divest from more Israeli companies as part of its ongoing review of investments in the country over the situation in Gaza and the West Bank.

  The fund announced yesterday that it was terminating contracts with external asset managers handling some of its Israeli investments and has divested parts of its portfolio in the country over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

  The review began last week following media reports that the fund had built a stake of just over 2% in an Israeli jet engine group that provides services to Israel’s armed forces, including the maintenance of fighter jets.

  The stake in the company, Bet Shemesh Engines Ltd (BSEL), has now been sold, the fund announces.

  Bet Shemesh does not respond to requests for comment.

  Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), an arm of Norway’s central bank, which held stakes in 61 Israeli companies as of June 30, in recent days divested stakes in 11 firms, including BSEL. It does not name the other companies.

  “We expect to divest from more companies,” NBIM CEO Nicolai Tangen tells a press conference.

  The fund began investing in BSEL in November 2023, about one month after the war in Gaza began, via an external investment manager, Tangen says. The fund declines to name the external portfolio manager.

  Since then, NBIM has held quarterly meetings with Bet Shemesh Holdings, but the war in Gaza was not raised as a theme.

  “We had discussions about their business in the United States, not about the war in Gaza,” Tangen says, adding that the fund rated BSEL as a “medium risk” stock with regards to ethics concerns.

  BSEL was later reviewed as a high-risk stock in May. That change should have been quicker, Tangen says, adding that NBIM should have had a tighter overview of these investments earlier.

  “We should have been quicker in taking back control of the Israeli investments,” he says. link And the dominos keep falling in this War of Netanyahu's political survival. This latest announcement is another in a growing long list of countries who are blacklisting Israel: for investments, for arms sales and deliveries, research projects and works, university programs and sharing, musicians and artist blockade, and many more. These moves against Israel for the continuing war in Gaza are justified and the entire country will pay the price for Netanyahu's arrogance, stubbornness and every action he takes in our name for his own political survival.

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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