π️Lonny's War Update- October 689, 2023 - August 25, 2025 π️
π️Day 689 that 50 of our hostages are still in Hamas captivityπ️
- Hostage negotiator Gershon Baskin gives a fascinating insight into his conversations with Hamas negotiators as a UN-backed group declares famine in part of Gaza, and Israel prepares to send troops to occupy Gaza City. ABC News Australia with Dr. Gershon Baskin starts at minute 17:30
On Saturday night, after the demonstration for the hostages, I was with my brother speaking to a father of one of the 50 hostages. He told us that after Dermer was appointed by Netanyahu to head the negotiations, and Dermer finally agreed to meet with him, Dermer said (I paraphrase), ‘what do I care about 20 hostages ( he only referred to the living hostages). If it was 6 million (Holocaust reference), that would be a different story. For your 20, go talk to the Americans.’ The father said to us how absurd it is for him, a father of a dead IDF soldier held in Gaza has to go to the Americans to get him home for burial.
IDF chief signals readiness, Netanyahu delays and next round of hostage talks remains uncertain
IDF Chief Eyal Zamir says conditions for hostage release are ready, but Israel has yet to respond to Hamas’ proposal; families demand action as Netanyahu delays, and the location and timing of the next negotiation round remain uncertain
Hamas is waiting for an official response from Israel on a proposed hostage deal, while families of captives are pressing for immediate action. IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir told Israel’s political leadership that “we have created the conditions for the release of the hostages,” and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said, “There is a deal on the table; it must be taken.”Despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordering immediate negotiations, progress has been slow, and key details—including the location of the next round of talks—remain unresolved. Qatar, which has previously hosted talks, has refused to cede its role, prompting consideration of alternative venues such as the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, or a European capital. The UAE is viewed as a viable option because of its role in humanitarian aid and its involvement in proposed temporary governance arrangements in Gaza.About a week after Hamas agreed in principle to a partial deal, a senior Hamas official said the movement has yet to receive an official response to its latest proposal and has not been presented with any new suggestions for a broader, comprehensive deal. He accused the Israeli government of “procrastination and evasion” but said Hamas remains ready to negotiate a cease-fire with “full national responsibility and an open mind.”Netanyahu has repeatedly said Israel seeks a comprehensive agreement to free all 50 hostages, 20 of whom are confirmed alive, but no official response has yet reached mediators. The prime minister is scheduled to convene the security cabinet Tuesday evening to discuss plans for a Gaza City operation, as well as Israel’s response to the mediation efforts.Sources familiar with the details say Hamas is raising obstacles and is unwilling to accept Israel’s conditions, which include disarmament, demilitarization of Gaza, and ending Hamas involvement in governing the territory. Hamas has rejected these demands, offering only to refrain from acquiring new weapons, a position Israel considers a “non-starter.” This has left mediators focused on the possibility of a partial deal.Security sources say Netanyahu believes military operations in Gaza City must advance to demonstrate Israel’s seriousness, potentially pressuring Hamas to compromise. Hamas, however, is reportedly wary of an assault on its last stronghold and may prefer a negotiated deal that halts military action.Last Thursday, Netanyahu announced he had ordered immediate negotiations to secure the release of all hostages and define conditions for ending the war. Aside from exploratory talks, progress has been limited. No decisions have been made regarding when negotiations will resume, where they will be held, or the composition of the Israeli delegation. Some Israeli officials prefer moving talks from Doha to Cairo, but Qatar’s refusal to give up its role has complicated the planning.
(Photo: REUTERS/Sergio Flores)Minister Ron Dermer is coordinating with U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and U.S. officials are not blocking Israel’s planned Gaza City operation. Trump has suggested that Hamas may yield under military pressure. Sources say no changes are planned for the negotiation team, though a replacement would need to be appointed if Dermer departs.Zamir, during a visit to a Navy base, said Operation “Gideon’s Chariots” had achieved three objectives: “We dealt a severe blow to Hamas, removed threats from the border and communities, and, as a result of the military pressure, created the conditions for the release of the hostages.”At the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, officials reacted strongly to Zamir’s remarks. “The chief of staff is saying what most of the nation demands—a comprehensive agreement to return all 50 hostages and end the war. Netanyahu, it is time to fulfill the people’s will. You do not have a mandate to continue an endless war. You do not have a mandate to sacrifice hostages, soldiers and Israeli civilians.”The forum added, ahead of planned protests in two days, “It is time to stop the spin and sabotage. There is only one path to Israeli victory and national revival—the return of all hostages and the end of the war. Israel stands with the hostages, the soldiers in active and reserve duty, the displaced and the wounded. Tuesday will be a day of solidarity for their return.” LinkThousands rally in Tel Aviv for release of captives: ‘May be the last chance to save lives’
Joined by thousands of supporters, the families of Israelis held in Gaza are rallying at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square to call for a deal to free the captives while warning that the planned conquest of Gaza City puts their loved ones’ lives at risk.
Liran Berman, whose brothers Gali and Ziv Berman were abducted by Palestinian terrorists during the October 2023 attack, notes the six captives who were executed by Hamas last year when Israeli forces unknowingly neared their location.
“Expanding the fighting only puts them and all the hostages at even greater risk,” he says. “There is a deal on the table. But deals do not last forever; their windows close fast and hard, as we have seen too many times before. This may be the last chance to save lives and to bring the fallen back.”
Roni Adar, whose brother Tamir Adar was killed fighting Hamas-led terrorists before they captured his remains, says she has been waiting for close to 690 days to bury him.
“In what world should a younger sister spend almost two years begging for the chance to stand at the grave of her older brother?” says Adar.
She adds, “Tamir must come home. Not because he was a hero, not because he was the first to fight, and not because they fought alone against the whole world. Simply because he is, above all, a human being. A man who loved life and loved living. Who loved Israel — both its land and its people.”
Father of hostage Eitan Horn warns against Gaza City op, says gov’t ‘only cares about political survival’
At a Tel Aviv protest calling for a hostage-ceasefire deal, the father of Hamas hostage Eitan Horn decries the IDF’s pending operation to take over Gaza City.
“The government doesn’t care about the nation, the hostages… it only cares about its own political survival,” Itzik Horn tells a crowd of thousands gathered under a bridge on Begin Road.
“If, God forbid, the hostages die as a result of this operation, you will not be able to run away from this,” he says, addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “You will be to blame for the death of my Eitan.”
“I don’t want to receive Eitan in a nylon bag,” he continues.
He calls on protesters to take to the streets, saying “only the people, through public pressure, can save them [the hostages].”
Mother of hostage urges Netanyahu to sign phased ceasefire deal that Hamas accepted
The mother of hostage Matan Zangauker calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to back the phased ceasefire and hostage release deal that Hamas agreed to early this week.
“If Netanyahu signs the deal, on Sunday he can already begin negotiating for the return of the rest of the hostages in exchange for ending the war,” Einav Zangauker says in remarks to the press outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
“If the conquest of Gaza [City] begins, there will not be a deal,” she adds, while accusing Netanyahu of “placing obstacles [before a deal] and blaming Hamas” while moving forward with plans to capture the Strip’s largest urban center.
Yehuda Cohen, father of hostage soldier Nimrod Cohen, appeals to US President Donald Trump to press Netanyahu to sign a deal to end the war and free all the captives.
“The time is now,” Cohen says, “warning additional lives will be lost, our loved ones will die” if the Gaza City offensive goes ahead.
The contacts for a hostages deal – and the position of Israel | First publication
After the operational plans for the conquest of the city Gaza were approved, under pressure of the mediating countries, the Prime Minister Netanyahu examines possibility to send out a delegation for negotiations – but still not clear when, where – and who will compose the team • the possibilities: a European capital or in the United Arab Emirates • senior officials in Israel: “the next understandings opposite Hamas will be only about all the hostages and about the end of the war.” After the approval of the plans, the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to convene on Tuesday the political-security cabinet for a discussion on the issue of Gaza and the contacts for a hostages deal, and even before that, it is possible that already tomorrow (Monday), it will be decided where the Israeli delegation will go out to discussions.
Behind the scenes are conducted political discussions on a new place for the talks – not in Qatar and not in Egypt. Among the possibilities that are being examined: a European capital or an Arab state, possibly in the United Arab Emirates, where recently visited the minister Ron Dermer and discussed these issues. Netanyahu has not yet decided if the delegation that went recently to Doha will continue in its composition, or if changes will be inserted. It is possible that the head of the Mossad Dedi Barnea, who met recently with the Prime Minister of Qatar, will return to the team. In the security system they are waiting for Netanyahu’s decision.
Senior officials in Israel: “the understandings – only about all the hostages”
Senior officials in Israel say that the proposal of the mediators is no longer relevant: “we advanced from it and conveyed to them the message decisively. The next understandings opposite Hamas will be only about all the hostages and about the end of the war in conditions that Israel will be ready for them.” Regarding the connection between the maneuver and the deal they emphasize: “there will not be a connection between the contacts and the maneuver. The move for the conquest of Gaza will go out to the way after the evacuation process will exhaust itself. The contacts will not stop the maneuver, but on the contrary – the maneuver will accelerate the contacts.” The Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir referred today to the progress of the operation and said that the IDF stood in its three central goals. According to him, “we struck a hard blow on Hamas, we distanced the threats from the border and from the communities, and thanks to the military pressure we created the conditions for the release of the hostages.”
The Chief of Staff also added that the IDF is preparing for the expansion of the action, while focusing on the city Gaza. “The Navy,” he noted, “is required to be prepared for defense and for assistance in the attack to the ground forces.” Zamir emphasized that the campaign continues, and that the IDF will continue to act to achieve all the goals of the war. Link- IDF chief reportedly says there is a hostage deal ‘on the table, we need to take it’
Senior officials say phased-release framework, which Hamas said it accepted, no longer relevant; renewed talks’ location, timing, and make-up undetermined as war’s expansion loomsIDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said Sunday that the military has created the conditions in Gaza for a hostage deal with the Hamas terror group, reportedly adding behind closed doors that the government must accept the proposal that’s currently on offer.
Senior Israeli officials, however, said the phased-release framework that Hamas said it accepted last week is no longer relevant.
“There is a deal on the table, it’s the improved Witkoff framework [proposed by the US Mideast envoy],” Zamir said while visiting the Haifa naval base, according to Channel 13 news. He reportedly said that “now it’s in Netanyahu’s hands,” and that “there is great danger to the lives of the hostages in taking over Gaza City.”
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said Sunday that the military has created the conditions in Gaza for a hostage deal with the Hamas terror group, reportedly adding behind closed doors that the government must accept the proposal that’s currently on offer.
Senior Israeli officials, however, said the phased-release framework that Hamas said it accepted last week is no longer relevant.
“There is a deal on the table, it’s the improved Witkoff framework [proposed by the US Mideast envoy],” Zamir said while visiting the Haifa naval base, according to Channel 13 news. He reportedly said that “now it’s in Netanyahu’s hands,” and that “there is great danger to the lives of the hostages in taking over Gaza City.”
The premier said last week that he had issued instructions for an Israeli negotiating team to pursue a comprehensive deal with Hamas, after the terror group — having repeatedly rejected the so-called Witkoff framework for a ceasefire and phased hostage release — said it had accepted the proposal.
The terror group’s announcement came days after Netanyahu — who’d long pushed for the Witkoff framework — said he would no longer accept a partial agreement, and would only negotiate for the release of all the hostages together.
Hamas’s purported acceptance of the Witkoff deal also came in the wake of Jerusalem’s approval of a plan to take over Gaza City — a plan that Zamir is reported to have strongly opposed behind the scenes, citing danger to the remaining hostages, of whom 20-22 are believed to be alive.
Retired generals, opposition lawmakers and citizens in support of a hostage deal have all warned publicly that Hamas guards could murder captives if Israeli troops draw near, as the terror group has done to other hostages in the past. Family members of slain hostages whose bodies are held in the Strip have also warned that a Gaza City takeover could prevent the retrieval of their loved ones’ remains.
People demonstrate for the release of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip, at the Goma junction, northern Israel, on August 24, 2025. The sign, with a photo of hostage Eitan Horn, reads: “Forgive us, that you are still in hell.” (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)The military, however, has started active preparations for the new offensive. Thousands of reservists have been called up for the operation and are expected to report for duty September 2, with the maneuver to begin in the following weeks.
Hostage Families Forum says ‘no mandate’ for war
In a statement Sunday night, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said, “The IDF chief of staff is saying what the majority of the nation is demanding: A comprehensive deal for the return of the 50 hostages and an end to the war.
“Like the entire nation of Israel, so too the IDF chief of staff does not want another ‘cleared for publication’ [announcement of a fallen soldier] but rather the return of our brothers and sisters from Gaza,” the group said.
“Netanyahu, the time has come to realize the will of the nation. You have no mandate to continue this forever war. You have no mandate to sacrifice the hostages, the soldiers, and the citizens of Israel.”
Meanwhile senior Israeli officials speaking anonymously said Monday that Israel will not accept the Witkoff framework, having already moved on from so-called “partial” deals, i.e. phased releases that would see some captives released on different dates during an initial, temporary ceasefire, and would only see the remaining captives freed after an agreement has been reached to permanently end the war.
“We moved on from [the Witkoff framework] and sent a determined message. The coming agreements with Hamas will only be for all the hostages and an end to the war on conditions that Israel is willing to accept,” the officials said, according to Channel 12.
Palestinians transport their belongings as they flee the Abu Iskandar neighborhood of northern Gaza City on August 22, 2025. (Bashar TALEB / AFP)Netanyahu said earlier this month that Israel will only pursue a comprehensive deal to free all the hostages and to return the bodies of all the slain hostages, in one release, in exchange for an end to the war that is acceptable to Israel.
According to Netanyahu, the war must end with Hamas’s disarmament, the Strip’s demilitarization, and a new civilian government in the territory that is neither the terror group nor the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority.
Additionally, the senior officials said, “There is no connection between the efforts to reach a deal and the offensive [to take over Gaza City]. The Gaza City takeover will get underway once the evacuation process has exhausted itself.
“The talks will not stop the offensive; rather, the opposite — the offensive will accelerate the talks,” they said, according to Channel 12.
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 50 hostages, including 49 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 28 confirmed dead by the IDF. Twenty are believed to be alive and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said. Hamas is also holding the body of an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014. link
**There is nothing more important than getting them home! NOTHING!**
“I’ve never met them,But I miss them. I’ve never met them,but I think of them every second. I’ve never met them,but they are my family. BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!”
We’re waiting for you, all of you.
A deal is the only way to bring
all the hostages home- the murdered for burial and the living for rehabilitation.
A deal is the only way to bring
all the hostages home- the murdered for burial and the living for rehabilitation.
#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope
#BringThemHomeNow #TurnTheHorrorIntoHope
There is no victory until all of the hostages are home!ΧΧΧ Χ Χ¦ΧΧΧ Χ’Χ Χ©ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧΧ€ΧΧ ΧΧΧΧͺ
Is there a moral majority in Israel? by Dr. Gershon Baskin
August 22, 2025
According to almost all public opinion polls in Israel, up to 80% of Israelis want the war in Gaza to end and want all of the Israeli hostages to be brought home. This large majority exists with the knowledge that ending the war means that Hamas might remain the ruling power in Gaza. The majority of Israelis know that a deal with Hamas to end the war and to bring the hostages homes also include the release of what might be more than a few thousand Palestinian prisoners, including about 200 who are sentenced to life in prison for murdering Israelis. After 22 months of war, the majority of Israelis want it to end. But how much of the demand to end the war has a moral base to it? Do Israelis still believe that the Israeli army is the most moral army in the world? Do Israelis believe that there is no starvation in Gaza caused by Israel? Do the Israelis believe that Israel is innocent of committing war crimes in Gaza? Crime against humanity? Genocide? Do the Israelis believe that Israel is also not committing war crimes in the West Bank where it is in fact engaged in deFacto annexation, which is explicitly against international law? Do Israelis care about international law? Do Israelis understand that what is being done by Israel, its government and its army is being done in their names and on their behalf?
Israelis have had a very high regard for their country and for themselves. Israel’s achievements since its birth in 1948 are nothing short of a miracle. There are a lot of things to be proud of in Israel as Israelis. The rebirth of the Hebrew language, the development of a vibrant, exciting and compelling Israeli Hebrew culture of music, theater, literature, and culinary delights. The emergence of Israel as a high-tech giant with a booming economy (at the macro level). Israel has also been a vibrant liberal democracy for many years, enjoyed particularly by its 80% Jewish majority, much less so by its 20% Palestinian Arab minority. And the military might of Israel is also something that Israelis are very proud of. Israel has developed and lived by many national myths which have become part of the national ethos - the few against the many, the weak against the strong, the moral against the immoral, and that we never leave anyone behind. In reality, Israel is very strong – much stronger than all of its enemies combined. But Israel does leave soldiers and now civilians behind. Israel abandoned its citizens and its border on October 7 2023. There is no such thing as a moral army, and let’s face it – it is very difficult to find an ounce of morality in what Israel has been doing in Gaza over the past 22 months. We are no longer the weak against the strong and we have to question very seriously if we are the moral against the immoral.
Today Israel is accused by the IPC - The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) which is the most senior United Nations watchdog on hunger and famine, of being responsible for famine in Gaza. IPC defines famine as an extreme deprivation of food. Starvation, death, destitution and extremely critical levels of acute malnutrition are or will likely be evident. According to the IPC report, over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions characterised by starvation, destitution and death. Another 1.07 million people (54 percent) are in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), and 396,000 people (20 percent) are in Crisis (IPC Phase 3). Israel of course denies the validity of the report, calls it lies and distortion and undoubtedly members of the Israeli government and the Prime Minister himself will call it an antisemitic report. There is no reason whatsoever to believe the Israeli response. Israel can provide no evidence that the report is false. If Israel wants to prove that it is false, all it has to do is open the borders of Gaza for international journalists to enter Gaza with the uninhibited ability to move around, to get the facts and the pictures, not be embedded with the Israeli army, but doing the job that Israel has prevented them from doing for 22 months. These journalists would go in with the knowledge that they are entering an active war zone and without Israeli protection, but also with the knowledge that Israel will not be intentionally targeting them, as it has done with Palestinian Gazan journalists. Let the truth come out – this is my response to the Israeli denials.
What Israel and its army are doing in Gaza is being done in my name because I am an Israeli citizen. Because I am completely opposed to what Israel is doing in my name, I have the responsibility and the obligation to call it out for what it is: war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Israel is not doing in Gaza what the Nazis did to the Jews in Europe during World War II. And the definition of genocide is not determined by the number of people killed. But there are more than 60,000 people killed in Gaza. We don’t know how many of them were combatants – e.i. legitimate targets, but we do know that a majority of those killed were non-combatants, tens of thousands of women, children, elderly people. Israel has erased the cities of Khan Yunis, Rafah, Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun and now is in the process of doing the same to Gaza city, the rest of Jabalia, Nussierat, Deir el Balah and more. Gaza has been rendered uninhabitable for its 2.2+ million inhabitants. Israel has destroyed the infrastructure of roads, electricity, water, and sewage. Israel has demolished most schools, hospitals, universities, government buildings, courthouses, mosques, churches, and public buildings. Israeli contractors are being paid per building demolished under the protection of the Israeli army. More than 2 million people are homeless and are living in tents or in semi-demolished buildings. Now those living in and around Gaza city are being pushed into the 15% of Gaza in the southwest corner of the strip where this pressure cooker of humanitarian disaster will explode.
It seems that most Israelis don’t want to know this. They don’t want to hear it. They certainly don’t want to see it. The mainstream Israeli media is mostly complicit in what the government and the army are doing by open denial, by self-censorship, and by direct instructions of the editors and the owners of the media not to show it or to call it lies and antisemitism. Israel is becoming or has already become the most hated country in the world. But the knee-jerk response that all of the criticism and hatred of Israel is blatant antisemitism enables Israelis and their government to push the legitimate criticism against Israel off the table. They simply say: the world hates Jews and has always hated Jews. Israelis then feel relieved because the criticism of almost the entire world has nothing to do with what Israel is doing, it is antisemitism. This is the lies that Israelis tell themselves. There are antisemites among those who criticize Israel, but almost all of the criticism of Israel is justified and has nothing to do with antisemitism.
When the Australian Prime Minister denied the visa to right wing anti-democratic messianic fanatic Member of Knesset Simcha Rothman it had nothing to do with antisemitism. It was because Rothman was invited by a right-wing extremist Australian Jewish organization that most of the Jewish community of Australia oppose and because the visit of this hate filled extremist would cause public unrest and possible unnecessary strife between Jewish and Arab or Muslim Australian citizens. When French President Macron announced plans to recognize the State of Palestine, he was called antisemitic and his act of recognizing Palestine as being antisemitic. It is not, and he is not. Macron has done more for the Israeli hostages that most of the members of the Israeli government. Macron and France aided Israel in its attacks against Iran. Macron and France memorialized French Jewish citizens killed on October 7 with a great deal of respect and honor that should be recognized by Israelis as true friendship.
If there is a moral majority in Israel, and I want to believe that there is one, it is now time to stop being a silent moral majority. It is not enough to demonstrate for the release of the hostages. This is very important, but it is not enough. We, the moral majority in Israel have a responsibility to ourselves, to our peoplehood, to our legacy as Jews and to our future as Israelis to stop the war in Gaza and to bring down our government. We can no longer stand silent in the face of the war crimes that our army is committing in Gaza. I know how difficult it is for us to see our army and our soldiers as anything less than heroes. It is now time for us to tell our heroes that the only heroism now called for is that which sees the huge black flag hanging over everything that we are doing in Gaza. The black flag is the illegality of our actions and the immorality of what Israel is trying to achieve in Gaza. The same black flag is flying over the crimes being committed by Israel in the West Bank with the forced removal of Palestinian communities in the Jordan valley and in the Hebron hills. It is flying over the continuation of the settlement building and the confiscation of Palestinian land all over the West Bank. The black flag is flying high above our heads and we cannot ignore it.
If we as Israelis don’t do everything possible to stop the war in Gaza, then we are in fact complicit in what Israel is doing in Gaza and in the West Bank. This stain will stay with us for years to come. The Netanyahu legacy will be personally attached to him as the worst leader of the Jewish people in all times. His legacy will also stick to all of us and this period of our history will be labeled the dark age of Israel. We have a chance to change that. Our behavior as citizens at this time now, will determine the extent of our morality and the extent of our humanity. We can either continue to be silent or we can all, each an everyone of us in our way, do something to save our souls as a nation and to save our country from our leaders. link
Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
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Anyone in Gaza City who doesn’t evacuate ‘can die of hunger or surrender,’ Smotrich said to tell IDF chief
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his top adviser, Ron Dermer said during a recent meeting that Israel has US President Donald Trump’s full support, but has a limited period of time to carry out its planned military offensive in Gaza City, according to Channel 12 news.
The network quotes the two as saying that Trump wants a quick and decisive operation, and doesn’t want the war against Hamas to further drag out.
The report also says that during the same meeting, military chief Eyal Zamir clashed with far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, saying the Israel Defense Forces isn’t sure how long it will take to evacuate Gaza City’s civilian population.
“We ordered you [to carry out] a quick operation. In my opinion, you can besiege them. Whoever doesn’t evacuate, don’t let them. No water, no electricity, they can die of hunger or surrender. This is what we want and your capable [of doing it],” Smotrich reportedly said.
Channel 12 says Ben Gvir then asked Zamir whether “you’re scared of the military advocate general,” with the latter responding that “we are operating in other areas, in Khan Younis and Rafah.”
“This isn’t what the political leadership ordered. You don’t want to defeat [Hamas],” Smotrich is quoted as telling Zamir, who reportedly shouted back, “You don’t understand anything. You don’t know what a brigade or battalion is. This takes time.” Link
Gazans are not leaving Gaza city. The residents who have left and gone to the humanitarian area in the south have not been received well and have experienced violence. They have no where to go, they are not receiving aid and are threatened by Hamas when they attempt to leave so many of them have decided that they are staying in their homes. Their decision is that, if they will be killed, they will die in theur homes and not in a tent or desolate in the streets. Israel wants as many of the Gaza City residents to leave so the Air Force can massively bomb the high rise buildings which are a huge risk and danger to incoming Israeli troops. Hamas has been booby trapping as many buildings and infrastructure as possible and are positioning snipers in all of the high rise buildings to attack from above. We can assume that they are doing much more using the high ground against Israeli troops.
Every time that Smotrich opens his mouth, he proves to the world that he is a war criminal. He is constantly calling for the wholesale deaths of non combatants in Gaza by our bombings, starvation or whatever will kill more in the least time. Since the beginning of the war, he and the other war criminal Ben Gvir have made it no secret that they want all Gazans expelled from Gaza. Killing them would suit them even better as there wouldn't be anyone trying to come back.
The fact that both of these extremist messianic war criminals hold senior ministerial positions in the government including positions above the security organizations is the most ludicrous atrocity that Netanyahu has committed when forming this illegitimate government that doesn't represent the people. Ben Gvir is a convicted criminal for being a member and supported of a terror organization. The IDF refused to allow him to join the army because he was seen as a danger to the system. Smotrich was a draft dodger who was finally caught up with and, at the age of 30 served a few months as a clerk in IDF headquarters. Both or their knowledge and understanding of the military and security can be measured on an ice cream stick, yet they are the 2 tails that wag Netanyahu the dog in all matters of security. Their motives have nothing to do with the security of the nation or the people. It is all about their messianic and racist agendas and ideologies and with it, they three have dragged the entire country into war crimes and immorality. As the Chief of Staff shouted to Smotrich, “You don’t understand anything." Yet, Netanyahu allows them to commit these massive crimes in our name and make us as guilty as they are, unless we do our civic duty: speak up, yell, demonstrate, force the change that we need to see, and get this government out of our lives for good.
Gaza and the South
IDF tanks reportedly advance into another Gaza City neighborhood
Israeli tanks have reportedly advanced into the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City.
Al Jazeera airs footage purportedly showing IDF tanks in the Sabra neighborhood, which is located in the central part of Gaza City, close to the Zeitoun neighborhood, where the military has been operating for over a week.
The IDF has said it is operating on the outskirts of Gaza City ahead of a major offensive that would see the military capture the entire city.
Tens of thousands of reservists are due to show up for duty on September 2 for the offensive, which is likely to begin in the following weeks.
Palestinian reports say Israeli airstrike hit Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza
Palestinian media reports an Israeli airstrike against the upper floor of Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.
According to the reports, two people were killed and others were wounded in the strike.
The IDF has not yet commented. video
Three hours after Nasser Hospital strikes, IDF still has yet to commentThree hours since Israeli strikes hit Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, the IDF has yet to issue a statement on the attack.
In response to a query by the Times of Israel shortly after reports of the strikes emerged, the IDF said it was looking into the incident.
Earlier, a military official told The Times of Israel the attack was not an airstrike conducted by the Israeli Air Force, indicating it may have been conducted by ground forces.
Palestinian media reports that 15 were killed in the strikes, including four journalists. Footage showed rescue workers being hit in a second strike following the initial attack.
Death toll of Israeli attack on Nasser Hospital rises to 20, Hamas-run health ministry saysThe Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip raises the death toll of the Israeli attack on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis to 20.
Four journalists are reported to be among the dead.
IDF chief orders immediate inquiry into Nasser Hospital strikes, ‘regrets harm’ to civiliansIDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has ordered an immediate inquiry into this morning’s strike against Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, the military says.
The IDF confirms that troops carried out a strike in the area, which, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, killed 20. Four journalists are said to be among the dead.
“The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved [civilians] and in no way directs strikes at journalists,” the military says, adding that it works to “minimize harm to them while safeguarding the security of our forces.”
Associated Press freelancer killed in Nasser Hospital attack, news agency says
Mariam Abu Dagga, one of four journalists killed in an Israeli attack on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, was a freelance journalist who had worked with the Associated Press since the outbreak of Israel’s war with Hamas in October 2023, the news agency says.
Abu Dagga, 33, had reported for AP on issues including child malnutrition in Gaza, and earlier this month reported on Nasser Hospital doctors struggling to save children with no prior health issues who were wasting away from starvation.
The Reuters news agency said earlier that its contractor cameraman, Hussam al-Masri, was killed in the same strike, and Al Jazeera said photojournalist and cameraman Mohammad Salama was as well.
Foreign Press Association decries killing of journalists in Nasser Hospital strikes, demands answersThe Foreign Press Association says it is “outraged and in shock” after five journalists were killed in Israeli strikes on Nasser Hospital, in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, earlier today.
“A group of journalists from several major international news outlets — including Reuters, AP, and Al Jazeera — have been killed together in Israeli military strikes,” says the FPA, which represents journalists working for international media in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.
“This is among the deadliest Israeli attacks on journalists working for international media since the Gaza war began,” it says.
“These strikes hit the exterior staircase of the hospital where journalists frequently stationed themselves with their camera,” the FPA says, adding that they occurred “with no warning.”
The organization demands an explanation from the IDF and the Prime Minister’s Office and an end to Israel’s “abhorrent practice of targeting journalists.”
“This has gone on far too long. Too many journalists in Gaza have been killed by Israel without justification,” it says, adding an appeal to world leaders: “Do everything you can to protect our colleagues. We cannot do it ourselves.”
Israel and Syria are expected to sign on a security arrangement
After dozens of years of hostility and wars – Israel and Syria are approaching for the first time an agreement of a security arrangement • according to the reports, the expected understandings include demilitarization of the Syrian Golan, prohibition of placing strategic weapons and establishment of a humanitarian corridor for Druze in As-Suwayda • in return – the regime in Damascus will receive aid for rehabilitation from the United States and from the Gulf states – a step that is intended to stabilize Syria and to distance it from the Iran axis • all the details
Israel and Syria are close to signing an agreement of a security arrangement – a move that sounded until not long ago imaginary. According to foreign publications, at the end of September Israel and Syria may sign – with American mediation and under sponsorship of the Gulf states – an agreement of understandings and security arrangement.
The emerging agreement is intended to stabilize Syria after years of the civil war, to reduce the threats on the northern border and to take Damascus out of the Shiite axis under leadership of Iran. For Israel it is a significant security opportunity – alongside strategic risks that still hover over the move.
The main points of the expected understandings
1-Demilitarization of the Syrian Golan area – from Damascus until As-Suwayda, a step that is intended to prevent terror threats from the area bordering Israel.
2-Prevention of rehabilitation of the Syrian army by Turkey – a point that Israel sees as of very great importance.
3-Prohibition of placing strategic weapons in the territory of Syria – including missiles and air defense systems, in order to preserve the freedom of action and the aerial superiority of the Israeli Air Force in the area.
4-A humanitarian corridor to Jabal al-Druze in the area of As-Suwayda – a sensitive and charged subject directly connected to the Druze community and to the humanitarian aid to it.
The returns to the Syrian regime – promises for rehabilitation of the state with American aid and with aid of the Gulf states.
The broader meaning of the agreement is an attempt to return Syria to a more stable status in the Middle East, while distancing it from Iranian influence. Israel on its part seeks to guarantee its security – both opposite the Iran and Hezbollah axis, and opposite the possibility of creation of a new extremist Sunni axis in the border area, that includes elements of Daesh and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Report: “Al-Sharaa is in an advanced stage of reaching a security agreement with Israel”
Nadim Koteich, director of Sky News in Arabic who participated in a meeting held today by the President of Syria Ahmad al-Sharaa with media people from the Arab world: Al-Sharaa is in an advanced stage of reaching a security agreement with Israel, the chances to reach such an agreement are greater than the chances not to reach it.
According to him, if this indeed happens, it will be based on the separation-of-forces line from the year 1974, will preserve the sovereignty of Syria and will pave the way to confidence-building measures and possibly even to a peace agreement. He noted that the President of Syria does not see the current circumstances as favorable for signing a peace agreement with Israel, but emphasized that “if he believes that a peace agreement will serve Syria and the region, he will not hesitate to do it and this will be done publicly.” Link
Police arrest 5 settlers suspected of violence against security forces
Police last night arrested five Israeli settlers suspected of violence against security forces, law enforcement officials announce.
The five were transferred for interrogation after police, operating off intelligence from the Shin Bet, detained them overnight Saturday-Sunday. Details regarding the suspects and the ongoing investigation are barred for publication under a gag order lasting until September 3.
“The Shin Bet and Israel Police view these acts of terror as a grave threat to national security and will continue to work to thwart such activity and to prosecute perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law,” the agencies say in a joint statement.
Honenu, a right-wing legal aid organization, accuses law enforcement of carrying out a “witch hunt against the settler community” with the recent arrests, claiming that authorities hold a double standard against settlers.
“While other groups that block roads and act violently toward public officials are dealt with gently, settlers who hold legitimate protests are pursued like common criminals,” a spokesman for the group alleges.
Recent years have seen settler attacks in the West Bank rise steeply, mostly targeting Palestinians, with little enforcement.
Last Tuesday, police arrested two other settlers on similar suspicions, saying the two detainees were involved in violence against security forces. Link these are the only instances that these settler terrorists are detained, apprehended or arrested, only after they have attacked Israeli security forces. Even in these cases, they are rarely charged and even rarer for a criminal charge against them that would warrant a criminal trial. In most cases, one of the following will happen: released without any charges or follow up; released to house arrest which is removed within a few days; held overnight (very rare) and released the next day or to house arrest; and the absolute rarest is to be charged with a crime that either gets reduced to a non criminal misdemeanor or the charge gets dropped entirely. If they were Palestinians, they almost definitely would be charged with a criminal crime and held without bail for the duration of their trial. That process could go on for 6 months or longer and they will be in prison this entire time. In addition, they will settler terrorists will go before an Israel court judge the Palestinian will go before a military judge. As Palestinians, living under military occupation puts them under Israeli military law and courts where their chances of conviction are more than 99%. For settler terrorists and Palestinian, there is no such thing as equality in equal Justice systems. The system automatically works against the Palestinians
Two Palestinians injured by stones and beatings during settler attack
Palestinian media reports that two Palestinian residents of the village of Halhul, north of Hebron in the West Bank, were injured earlier today by settlers who threw stones and assaulted them in the area of the village.
One of the injured, Mustafa Abd al-Qader Malham, is 60 years old, and the other is Aed Malham.
Both were evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment.
- Politics and the War and General News
Running away from his fate: the only strategy that Netanyahu knows
Netanyahu knows that his time is quite limited, and he is required for short maneuver actions that will perhaps buy him a better way out for elections • there is from his perspective no better way to rehabilitate himself and to be “the fixer” than to try to impose another achievement in the war – and to frame it under a new name • the problem: the promises and the lies no longer impress the public • opinion - by Major General (res.) Israel ZivThe Prime Minister got caught in a big confusion that he created with his own hands. We are in a situation that no one understands what Israel really wants or more correctly what the Prime Minister wants. The big fear is that he himself is not sure and complete about what he really will do, although the moment for which they have been fighting already almost two years has arrived now, and the conditions for an agreement are completely ripe.
The long period of extension of the war for the sake of extension of it, including “Chariots of Gideon” that is now turning from an operation to a series of operations and joining all the deals that were foiled on the way, while casting the blame on Hamas, ended with a surprising acceptance by Hamas to a partial deal that Netanyahu demanded for more than a year. The acceptance by Hamas caused him in a panic and there is no way to run away, except by turning over to a full deal, upon which he placed impossible conditions for the ability of Hamas to accept, mainly clause four that leaves the future security control over Gaza in the hands of Israel.
On the other side, the pressure from the minister Bezalel Smotrich for continuation of war and against a deal to a very heavy level. However, Netanyahu feels that the public in Israel is no longer with him, the army does not believe in the action, there is a big fear that the mobilization of the reserves will be low, the standing army is exhausted. We saw the Khan Younis event last week, that testified about tiredness and attrition. The public cry of the mothers already goes out to the streets against the continuation of the war. Netanyahu is in trouble. The entire public no longer buys the stories of victory and decision, the slogan remains worn out on the floor.
The only way out for Netanyahu from the entrapment into which he maneuvered a whole state is president Trump, the only factor that still supports him but also is losing patience in absence of any achievements from Netanyahu’s side – neither return of hostages nor decisive victory. Netanyahu knows that his time is quite limited, and he requires short maneuvers that will perhaps buy him a better way out for elections.
Netanyahu builds on Hamas saying no
Since in his nature is to run away from decisions and he has no real strategy, but only small maneuvers, he tries to strengthen with words and with empty promises that it is possible to do both hostages deal and decisive victory. Though, in the test of reality these dissipate again and again. With no other rabbit in his hat, it is reasonable that he will try to extricate himself once more through the old trick, he will maneuver once more towards a failure in negotiations with Hamas. The Israeli team will go out again with no mandate for a deal that will not happen, and then Netanyahu will be able to provide Smotrich the longed-for “conquest” of Gaza, and say he is relying on the Chief of Staff that he will act in a responsible manner, and will not entangle the IDF too deep in the swamp in Gaza and will carry out only a kind of conquest “lite.” Thus Netanyahu will gain a little more time, until Trump will be fed up, who will understand finally that Netanyahu is stringing him along on the way to nowhere. After all this Netanyahu will have a good excuse to Smotrich that Trump is the one who stopped the military action and not he, and he will be able to go to a hostages deal on the assumption that some of them will still remain alive and it will be possible perhaps to revive the negotiations. Complicated? This is the story of Netanyahu’s weakness, that he manages like this the war that is already close to two years going, through constraints and maneuvers with many lies.
In any case, since we are already close to the new budget that in any case he will not succeed to pass after the emptying of the treasury, Netanyahu, according to the journalist Amit Segal, will go out apparently in any case to elections in March coming.
All this, of course will not disturb him to declare achievement of the victory. Therefore so important for Netanyahu is the name of the operation, much more than the real severe meanings of the unnecessary entry to Gaza, since it does not seem that he is troubled by the price of the soldiers that will be killed nor the fate of the hostages, and not the heavy diplomatic price that makes an absolute destruction of the image of Israel in the world.
Yes what troubles him, as mentioned, is the name of the operation, because “Chariots of Gideon B” is not sufficiently pretentious, and also looks like a kind of round of improvements to the previous operation that did not bring trumpets and achievements. He needs something stronger that fits to “crescendo,” to create the peak of the image. The results of conquest of Gaza are not really important, he already will build by himself the glory and will praise the achievement on his own behalf. The Chief of Staff, who is busy with the heavy prices, did not want this action at all. “Iron Fist” is a good name in order to go out to elections.
The people will not forget and will not forgive
The polls and not the life, they are the truth of Netanyahu who built for himself a parallel political reality. Everything that really happens gets verbal explanation and there is no problem with contradictions. Only need to say the things with confidence. The prices to be paid are instrumental things from his perspective. The hostages long ago became statistics. From his perspective, he has no responsibility for their kidnapping, he is after all the Prime Minister of the war that is after the disaster, the disaster belongs to others, to Hertzi and to Ronen Bar that they did not wake him up, and perhaps even foiled him on purpose. He is the Prime Minister “the fixer.” He is the Prime Minister of the achievements, that returned 75 percent of the hostages, and in his view the fifty hostage that still are in the tunnels are only statistical margins in his dazzling success on all the fronts. Although he understands that what was achieved in reality is already worn out, but in the Netanyahu story, it is still there. Also to the conquest of Gaza City there is a light-headed statistical explanation in the need to complete another 25% to complete the decisive victory, another absurd slogan after the Philadelphi corridor, the Netzarim corridor, the Morag corridor, the transfer and the hunger war.
In general, along the entire long and bloody war that go on already for two years , there is an unceasing struggle on the narrative. The justified goals that were set for the return of the hostages and elimination of Hamas governance under the name “Swords of Iron,” is not disconnected in the public opinion from the disaster of October 7, but the matter does not match the perception of the Prime Minister. He tries to run away from the disaster from the beginning and mainly dealt in building another reality. Netanyahu tried for a long time to market the name “War of the Revival,” in order to give a dimension of historical heroism to the war, as if fate imposed on us a great crisis and he is the leader that is exactly in the right time and was chosen to lead the revival of Israel from the disaster, that of course he is not responsible for it. The price for enlarging the war and lessening the mishap that is not his, others paid. The effort failed completely because the people do not forget and do not forgive, certainly as long as the hostages do not return, the wound continues to bleed and the disaster continues to walk among us despite the estrangement of the Prime Minister. Together with this, the Prime Minister recognizes the importance of the hostages as an argument that justifies the continuation of the war and he must continue to preserve it as such. The public is not partner to the parades of victory that he leads already close to two years, but is forced with no choice to connect to him only out of hope for the return of the hostages, that Netanyahu continues to promise cynically their return without any intention to realize it. He could return to Hamas already last week with a positive answer within an hour, if really he cared about the hostages.
The Prime Minister has one strategy only, dragging out time for survival of his rule. Even a month or weeks is worth any price. He ignores completely the attrition of the reserve men, the attrition of the standing soldiers, the weariness from the difficult situation that most of the public is in. This is not really important from his perspective. The question returns big time to the public, if it is ready to continue with the political maneuvers of the Prime Minister on its back, to the continuation of the lies and the empty promises, if not, then this is the time of the public to say in a clear manner its word. link
Yair Golan files lawsuit against designer over images portraying him as Hamas terrorist
The Democrats party chairman Yair Golan is filing a NIS 300,000 defamation lawsuit against designer Or Reichert, who he accuses of publishing images portraying him as a Hamas terrorist.
The lawsuit, submitted to the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court, describes “a series of graphic designs presenting Golan wearing a keffiyeh, as a Hamas terrorist, and as someone assisting the organization.”
“We are determined to dismantle the poison machine and will continue to fight it with full force,” says Golan in a statement.
The left-wing Democrats party also highlights Reichert’s past work for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, alleging he was paid tens of thousands of shekels for video production.
“Those who poison the public discourse must know they will be held accountable,” the statement adds.
This is the latest in a series of legal steps Golan has taken against what he calls a systematic campaign of slander from the political right-wing. In January, he announced lawsuits against Likud MK Tally Gotliv and Otzma Yehudit’s Almog Cohen “for spreading conspiracies and lies across the internet and from the Knesset plenum rostrum,” adding that Gotliv has previously received a warning letter from an attorney demanding NIS 250,000 ($68,000) in damages and a public apology.
Both Gotliv and Cohen have spread baseless internet conspiracy theories about Golan, claiming that he was involved in espionage against Israel following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.
A former IDF Northern Front and Home Front commander, Golan made headlines and received accolades in 2023 when he headed to the front lines of the October 7 onslaught of his own initiative and rescued many partygoers fleeing the Hamas-led massacre at the Nova rave. link The article leaves out that Golan was the IDF Deputy Chief of Staff as well. On October 7, Golan, a retired general put on his army uniform, grabbed his personal weapon and went south the fight the onslaught of Hamas terrorist and save lives. He put his own life at risk multiple times over the next days and nights and rescued many and killed many terrorists. Following that, he continued spending his time in the south helping farmers by volunteering to act as a farm hand due to all of the foreign workers who left the area because of the war. This is a man who has dedicated his life to the security of the State and continues in his civil responsibilities and code of commitment to serve the State as an important voice in the Knesset and in the country. As a result of his strength and commitment, the Netanyahu family poison machine has set its sites on hurting Golan in the public eye but he is fighting back and the rest of us must stand up to the lies and vitriol that is constantly spewed by Netanyahu junior, bitter and evil wife and the bodies that have organized with one purpose and one purpose only, to keep Netanyahu in power no matter what it does to the state internally or internationally.
- The Region and the World
The Dutch Foreign Minister who resigned in conversation with N12: "Netanyahu government harms Israel"
| Exclusive interview The Dutch Foreign Minister Kasper Veldkamp resigned after he did not succeed to pass sanctions against Israel in the Dutch government • We publish for the first time that he was deeply influenced by a letter of the movement "Commanders for Israel's Security" that called for stopping the war • Veldkamp in exclusive conversation with N12: "The war lost its justification"
The resignation of the Dutch Foreign Minister Kasper Veldkamp at the end of the last weekend was done after he was deeply influenced by a letter that was published by the movement "Commanders for Israel's Security" that was published at the beginning of the month, so we publish for the first time today (Monday) in N12.
In the letter of the movement, that was directed in general to the President of the United States Donald Trump, the former commanders called to stop the war in Gaza and claimed that the war achieved its goals. In a conversation with N12 said Veldkamp, who served in the past as the ambassador of the Netherlands in Israel and was considered throughout the years as a pro-Israeli politician: "As a friend of Israel, I believe I must warn now that the military operation in the city of Gaza and the current actions of the cabinet of Prime Minister Netanyahu harm the security of Israel – and in the end also the Israeli identity."
Veldkamp resigned after he did not succeed to advance sanctions against Israel in the Dutch cabinet, and after him resigned also five ministers of his party. The sanctions that the former Foreign Minister tried to hold included an embargo on imports from the settlements, but he encountered political opposition. The resignation shakes even more the temporary transition party in the Netherlands, toward the elections that will take place in October.
In a letter of the movement "Commanders for Israel's Security" that influenced Veldkamp it was written: "Mr. President, stop the war in Gaza. The IDF already long ago achieved the two goals that can be achieved by force – dismantling the military and governmental structure of Hamas. The third and most important goal can only be achieved through a deal – the return of all the hostages home. Our professional assessment is that Hamas does not pose a strategic threat to Israel, and Israel can deal with it." The letter of "Commanders for Israel's Security" "Stop the war in Gaza!" | The letter of "Commanders for Israel's Security" The former Foreign Minister emphasized in conversation with N12 the need to end the war in Gaza: "This war was defensive and justified after the events of October 7, but it lost now its justification. I attach great importance to the security and to the future of Israel, but I do not agree with the policy of the current government and the conduct in Gaza. The war must end." According to him, "The Netanyahu government definitely lost its legitimacy in the eyes of the world, and I say this as one who made clear efforts to apply additional European pressure on Hamas, and always raised the issue of the hostages at every opportunity. I remain close, for professional and personal reasons, to Israeli society – a creative, free society and inspiring in many ways."
Aviv Shir-On, former senior in the Foreign Ministry and member of the movement "Commanders for Israel's Security", knew Veldkamp through their diplomatic work. "He was a very friendly ambassador to Israel when he was here. He was very positive to us, always was a friend of Israel," said Shir-On, who served as Deputy Director General for Europe in the Foreign Ministry at the time when Veldkamp was ambassador of the Netherlands in Israel.
Veldkamp tried to lead a more critical line towards Israel inside the Dutch government. In the country they condemned sharply the conduct of Israel in Gaza in the recent weeks, and last month they forbade the ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich to enter the country. The movement "Commanders for Israel's Security", whose letter influenced Veldkamp even though it was not intended for that, was established by retired seniors in the security systems and in the Israeli diplomatic service. The movement supports initiating a political arrangement with the Palestinians and with additional Arab states. The CEO of the movement is Itamar Yaar, who served in the role of Deputy Head of the National Security Council, and members in it are many other former seniors, including the former head of the Mossad Tamir Pardo, the former general Ami Ayalon and the former general Matan Vilnai. From Commanders for Israel's Security it was stated in response: "The letter expresses the position of the majority of the public in Israel regarding the need for stopping the war and releasing the hostages. The movement objects strongly to the imposition of sanctions on the State of Israel." link As far as Netanyahu is concerned, all of the members of the Commanders for Israel's Security have lost their way, have forgotten what victory is and have become left wing Netanyahu haters. It is always that those who worked closely with him, saw him in his actions and inactions, his decisions and non decisions, those who know him best, all have lost their way and become leftists who hate him. It is always them vs. us. He has always been the "Divider in Chief" and anyone who is against him is against the State of Israel, in other words, an enemy. The truth is that Netanyahu has become the enemy of the State, the person who has caused more damage to Israel than any other person in history and he is causing more damage with each day the war goes on and he is in power. The Dutch Foreign Minister has a long history of being a close and supportive friend to Israel but he has recognized what most of the world's leaders have recognized, that Netanyahu is a danger to Israel and as a good friend, he felt compelled to show his deep support for Israel and call out the destroyer of Israel. He and all of the members of the CIS as well as every Israeli who speaks out against Netanyahu's actions in the war, the hostages and his refusal to end the war, now very well that the war must end immediately, the hostages must be brought home immediately and new elections must happen as soon as possible for the voters to get rid of this legitimate government that serves itself and not the people or the country. We need more world leaders to speak out and apply all the necessary pressure to end this war, even if it means sanctions, embargoes, arrests warrants for the war criminals including Netanyahu. Staying silent is tantamount to support the war for Netanyahu's survival no matter who pays the price.
- Personal Stories
Acronyms and Glossary
ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague
IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague
MDA - Magen David Adom - Israel Ambulance Corp
PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen
PMO- Prime Minister's Office
UAV - Unmanned Aerial vehicle, Drone. Could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, or be weaponized with missiles or contain explosives for 'suicide' explosion mission
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