π️Lonny's War Update- October 691, 2023 - August 27, 2025 π️
π️Day 691 that 50 of our hostages are still in Hamas captivityπ️
350,000 attend Tel Aviv rally for ceasefire and hostage-release deal, organizers say
As rallygoers trickle out of Hostages Square, actor Lior Ashkenazi claims from the stage that tonight’s massive demonstration for a deal to release the captives drew a total of 350,000 attendees.
“This is the most moral and humanitarian struggle there is,” he says, calling on demonstrators to continue to take to the streets.
“We are done being polite, enough!” he yells.
Protesters join organizers in singing Israel’s national anthem to conclude the rally.
Police did not immediately provide their own independent estimate of the crowd size. Organizers of a similar rally on August 17 said that 500,000 had attended the demonstration that day.Link
Report: Relatives of hostages plan to focus on confronting politicians directly
Following two separate days of mass protest calling for a deal to release the hostages held in Gaza, relatives of the captives are planning to shift tactics and confront politicians directly, Channel 12 reports.
The network says the hostages’ relatives hope to “disrupt the day” of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and cabinet ministers, including by protesting outside their homes on a daily basis. The families also plan to protest government and cabinet meetings, as a group did earlier today.
Protesters also plan to obstruct the politicians’ movements, the report says, in an effort to constantly remind them of the hostages’ plight.
The report comes at the end of a day of mass protest, culminating in a rally that is said to have drawn hundreds of thousands to Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square. Earlier in the day, amid the demonstrations, the security cabinet met and reportedly did not discuss a temporary ceasefire and hostage release deal that Hamas claims to have accepted.
A similar day of mass protest took place on August 17. Link If we have learned anything from the hostage crisis, it is that the politicians in Netanyahu's government, starting from him, don't give a damn about the hostages and whether they live or die. As Netanyahu's closest aid and minister and the person he put in charge of the hostage negotiations, Dermer said to the father of a hostage (a soldier killed by Hamas and his body taken to Gaza), and I paraphrase "what do I care about 20 hostages (referring to only the living hostages)? We're not talking about 6 million. Go to the Americans for help." This is the minister in charge of the negotiations to get the hostages home. In the more than 6 months since Netanyahu put him in charge, not a single hostage has come home through his actions. This is quite possibly a success for him in the eyes of his boss. He was put in charge to make sure that nothing that Netanyahu was against would ever be brought up formally or informally, as opposed to the previous heads of negotiations who were willing to discuss anything and saw their prime mission as bringing home all the hostages. Dermer sees his prime mission is to keep his boss in power and do everything possible so that happens.
The rest of the government may have other goals and missions but none of them really care about the fate of the hostages. There are 2 who have constantly and repeatedly threatened to bring down the government if Netanyahu makes a deal. Yet, there are no ministers who have told Netanyahu that if he doesn't make a deal, they will bring down the government. At best, a couple of them have stated the importance of the hostages but none have done anything about it other than pleasantries. And pleasantries don't bring them home. Words mean nothing. It's all about action.
Protesting in front of ministers' homes have done nothing till now. Some of them call the police, who then abuse the protesters, others like the idiot minister of education who doesn't understand what his actions mean educationally, blasts music to drown out the reciting of the hostages' names in front of his apartment. Others leave while the protesters are there of just ignore them. However, maybe if the protesters are enough bother to the ministers and their families every day and every hour that they are allowed to protest, maybe one or two will beg Netanyahu to make a deal to finish with the hostages. Maybe!?"The occupation is madness – whoever is alive is much more important": the call of the children of the founders of Nir Oz who were murdered in captivity
A year ago the bodies of Haim Peri and Avraham Munder were rescued from Khan Yunis, the body of Amiram Cooper is still in Gaza – all of them founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz who were kidnapped – and murdered in captivity. In the shadow of the approval of the plans for the occupation of Gaza, their children ask to prevent for the hostages an identical fate: "If I had known that my father is there I would not have been able to live with myself". Noam Peri: "Black flag"
Just a year ago, on August 20 2024, were rescued from Khan Yunis the bodies of Alexander Danzig (76), Avraham Munder (79), Yoram Metzger (80), and Haim Peri (80) of blessed memory, who were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 2023, and murdered in Hamas captivity. The bodies of Aryeh Zalmnovich (85) and Amiram Cooper (86) of blessed memory, who were also kidnapped alive and murdered in captivity, are still being held in the strip.
In the desolate fields of Nir Oz, the kibbutz that knew years of quiet and warm community, mainly memories remain today. Memories from the founding generation, from the people who saw in the kibbutz a life project, and most of them are no longer.Rotem Cooper with his parents, Amiram z"l and Nurit
"Metzger, Danzig, Peri, they are people of the landscape of my childhood", recalled Rotem Cooper (59), son of Amiram. "The kibbutz was conducted really like one big family. We grew up in collective sleeping, and each one of the adults was in a certain sense the parent of all of us. Alex was my history teacher, guided me on the trip to Poland. With Gadi Moses (who was also kidnapped and was released in the last hostage deal in February this year – L.G.) I worked in the metal workshop. Munder, I knew as 'the father of Keren'. Simply family". His father, Amiram, was a man of culture and a community leader. "He was a central figure in the kibbutz, the kibbutz secretary, one of the initiators of Nirlat. The kibbutz was his life project", told Rotem. "But father was abandoned twice: once in the non-guarding of the borders, and a second time when they did not bring them back.
The Hamasniks themselves did not believe that they would not release all the elderly after a few weeks". According to Rotem, when the tanks of the IDF entered Khan Yunis, the conditions of the hostages there deteriorated at once: "From that moment they lived on the ground, in a tiny space. It is not clear how much food and water they received. When I hear about the planned occupation of Gaza, this in my eyes is complete madness. This is to ignore about 20 living hostages. No matter how many Hamasniks will be killed, in a moment others will be recruited. If I had known that my father was still alive there and they had decided to occupy, I would not have been able to live with myself".Amiram Cooper and his wife Nurit Cooper Amiram Cooper and his wife Nurit Cooper
Neta Peri with the picture of her father. "We cannot restore what we lost – it is possible to save whoever is alive"(Photo: Neta Bay)
On October 7, Keren Munder (56) lost her brother Roi (50) of blessed memory. She, together with her parents Ruth and Avraham and her son Ohad, who was then nine years old – were kidnapped to the strip. Keren, Ruth and Ohad were released after almost two months, in the first hostage deal. Her father, Avraham of blessed memory, who remained in captivity, was murdered later. "I miss his loving look that accompanied me from childhood, the grandfather who loved us the most, the hugs and his sense of humor", she said. "And I want to tell him sorry. Sorry that I left you at home on the floor when we were kidnapped, I thought they would have mercy on you. Sorry that you had to suffer 131 days, the neglect, the lack of compassion and the inhuman conditions. Sorry that you did not survive. Not because of you, but because of the decision of the government not to bring you out in time". According to her, "Father would always say about minor matters that happened 'That which I feared came to me'. And in the end it really happened: the wars came to the doorstep of his house. To the beloved kibbutz. I long for the revival of Nir Oz, for the fact that mother will be able to return there. But mainly I think now about who is still there. The attention must be first of all to the return of everyone". The hostages who are still there, and the plans that were approved for military occupation of the city of Gaza, are the thing that now worries more than anything the children of the second generation of the founders of Nir Oz. "My father, Munder, Metzger, Moses – all of them of the same nucleus. I knew these figures naturally in my life. All of them walked in the kibbutz paths, were part of the landscape. These people did real Zionism, stood up to every war. All this generation was kidnapped from its home – and abandoned in captivity. Most of them were murdered long months after, in harsh conditions. Apart from Gadi Moses, no one returned alive", told Noam Peri (42), daughter of Haim of blessed memory. "We understand that decisions that were taken were knowingly as part of political considerations. The decision to carry out military actions that will endanger lives of hostages, it is a black flag. Everyone who made such decisions, we will come to account with him. But the most important now is to save who is still there. We cannot restore who we lost, but it is possible to save who is still alive".Alex Danzig of blessed memory Aryeh Zalmnovich of blessed memoryAryeh Zalmnovich of blessed memoryYoram MetzgerThe Munder family: Roi of blessed memory (on the right), the mother Ruth, Keren, and the father Avraham of blessed memory
"As a child, we would open the gate to Gaza and go to the sea", recalled Rotem. "Nir Oz was a living place. Today, all that is left is memory and image. It is a symbol of what happened to all of us. Nir Oz will no longer recover to what it was. If 100 out of 400 will return to the kibbutz, this will be a crazy success. A quarter of the people I knew were murdered or kidnapped. This is not a thing that one can imagine. It is important to me that they bring back the body of father, but much more important that they bring back who is still alive. Occupation of Gaza is madness. What is important now is the hostages. As long as they are there, this is the first duty". Keren agrees with him: "The most important thing now is to bring everyone back. Not to leave anyone behind". "For us", said Noam, "the kibbutz will no longer be the same. A whole generation of the founders either were murdered or kidnapped, and did not return. But I am not yet free to mourn – the sense of urgency to save who is still there is stronger than everything". link‘We know what fear is’: Holocaust survivors gather at Hostages Square in show of solidarity
Holocaust survivors gather at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, seated at a long table in the center of the plaza and facing rows of empty chairs draped with posters of the hostages, as part of a day of protest organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum demanding a deal to bring the captives home and condemning the government’s decision to widen the war in Gaza.
The table is set with empty plates, a few scraps of pita, cans of beans, and sand scattered across the black tablecloth, symbolizing the starvation and inhumane conditions in captivity.
“We know what a Holocaust is, what hunger is, and what fear is,” says Holocaust survivor and former Israeli lawmaker Colette Avital. “We came to this country with values of solidarity. We learned that we don’t leave people behind. We don’t see that this government is doing what it needs to do to bring back [the hostages].”
“Fifty years from now, you’ll ask yourselves where you were,” she says, urging Israelis to act. “Everyone needs to [go out] and fight. We all need to end this nightmare and bring everyone home.”
Shulamit Rudnik, another survivor, appeals directly to the prime minister: “Enough, Bibi. Stop. Give us our children, our grandchildren. Calm the mothers and grandparents.”
The survivors, seated at the table, are joined by family members of the hostages, including Moti Angrest, the grandfather of hostage Matan Angrest, holding a poster of his grandson, who is believed to be alive. Also in attendance is Zamir Haimi, the uncle of Tal Haimi, who was murdered during the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught on Kibbutz Nir Oz. His body is still being held in Gaza by terrorists.
Hostage’s father at rally: ‘I don’t want to receive my boy in a bag’
Ofir Braslavski, the father of hostage Rom Braslavski, says in a speech at a mass rally in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square that he “no longer trusts the prime minister” after nearly two years have passed without the return of his son.
“I don’t want to receive my boy in a bag,” adds Braslavski.
Last month, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group released footage of Braslavski, appearing emaciated and in dire medical condition.
His father calls the video reminiscent of “the horrors of the Holocaust, seeing him tortured, suffering.”
But despite the footage, the government “isn’t doing anything,” Braslavski says from the stage. “Two years we are waiting… as if it’s something he [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] is doing intentionally.”
“I no longer trust anyone — I don’t trust the prime minister. I don’t trust the government… the only person I trust is the IDF chief of staff,” he says.
Braslavski refers to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who yesterday reportedly urged the government to take the hostage deal currently on the table, saying the choice is “in Netanyahu’s hands.”
The rally in Hostages Square caps a day of nationwide protests for a deal to free the captives and against the government’s planned military offensive in Gaza City.
Daughter of slain captive rails against ‘forever war on the backs of our soldiers and hostages’
Noam Peri, the daughter of slain hostage Haim Peri, who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 and murdered in captivity, speaks before a thousands-strong protest in Tel Aviv.
“We don’t want a forever war on the backs of our soldiers and hostages,” she says.
In English, she appeals to US President Donald Trump, urging him to “look at all this crowd… at the pictures from the streets of Israel.”
“The people of Israel are voting with their feet, the nation wants this war to end and the hostages brought home,” she says. “For my father, it is too late, but you can still save the other hostages and be remembered as the president who made history.”
She says that “my father, and the 41 other hostages murdered in Gaza, reveal the terrible truth,” claiming that continuing the war will lead to more hostages’ deaths.
Report: ‘Very senior Egyptian figures’ fume at Israelis for failing to respond to latest ceasefire proposal
“Very senior figures in Egypt” have conveyed to their Israeli counterparts their “disappointment, frustration and anger” that Israel, after eight days, has failed to respond to the latest ceasefire and hostage-release proposal that Hamas claims to have accepted, Channel 12 reports.
“With considerable pressure, we got Hamas to agree to 98% of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s demands, but [Israel] has yet to respond to us with a proper answer, and all we’re hearing is that ‘Netanyahu wants something else,'” the TV report quotes unnamed senior Egyptian officials saying.
“This is strange and unacceptable behavior. There is an opportunity to reach an agreement and secure the release of at least 10 living hostages, and Israel is simply turning its back,” the Egyptian officials reportedly say.
Netanyahu has publicly ruled out any further phased ceasefire and hostage-release deals, and is instead demanding a comprehensive agreement in which all the captives held by Hamas would be freed at once, along with other demands including the demilitarization of Gaza. Another of Netanyahu’s demands is for Gaza to be governed by “Arab forces” affiliated with neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.
Earlier tonight, the security cabinet met briefly but reportedly did not discuss a response to the current hostage-ceasefire proposal.
Channel 12 reports that an Egyptian delegation visited Israel yesterday, attempting to work out the situation.
A Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman earlier today also said Qatar had not yet received a response from Israel to the latest ceasefire proposal, which he said met almost all of Israel’s demands. “The ball is now in Israel’s court, and it seems that it does not want to reach an agreement,” the spokesman said.
The Channel 12 report speculates that Israel and the US might be holding off on a deal so that US President Donald Trump could announce it on a potential visit to Israel next month.
In protest installation, former captives face photos of their partners still held hostage
Former hostages Arbel Yehoud and Sharon Aloni-Cunio are taking part in a somber installation at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, as part of a day of protest opposing the government’s decision to expand the war in Gaza, and calling for a deal to bring back the remaining captives.
The two women sit facing photographs of their partners, brothers Ariel and David Cunio, who remain held by Hamas in Gaza. From loudspeakers, voice recordings of Ariel and David play into the square.
Yehoud and Aloni-Cunio are joined by the men’s mother, Sylvia Cunio, who embraces them.
Yehoud was held for 482 days after being kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz with Ariel during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. She was released in January during the most recent ceasefire deal.
Aloni-Cunio was freed in November 2023 along with her two daughters, Yuli and Emma, after more than 50 days in captivity.
The day of protest is organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents relatives of most of the hostages.
Trump to hold White House meeting on ‘comprehensive plan’ for managing post-war Gaza
US President Donald Trump will chair a “large meeting” at the White House on Wednesday to discuss the “comprehensive plan” that the administration is putting together for the post-war management of Gaza, his special envoy Steve Witkoff announces.
This appears to be the first time that Witkoff has revealed the existence of a US plan for the so-called day after, as Washington has largely deferred on the issue to its Arab allies in the region since Trump’s remarks in February on his vision to take over Gaza and permanently relocate its residents. While Israel welcomed the idea, it was roundly rejected by US partners in the region who Trump hoped would be willing to take in Palestinian refugees.
“Many people are going to see how robust it is and how well meaning it is, and it reflects President Trump’s humanitarian motives,” Witkoff says in a Fox News interview, without elaborating further.
Last month, Trump made headlines when he said he’d be unveiling a new aid plan for Gaza. The White House said the plan would be announced shortly thereafter but never ended up following through. Ultimately, the State Department indicated that the administration would suffice with increasing the number of distribution sites being operated by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation from three to 16. That expansion has yet to take place however and the US has only transferred half of the $30 million pledged for the project, which will likely cost much more link If Trump's comprehensive plan for the day after has anything to do with expulsion of Palestinians and turning Gaza into Trump's Mid East Riviera, it's a non starter and an international crime of ethnic cleansing. If, however, he or his people have wised up and recognized that the Gazans need to stay in their land and the plan must be a new, alternative Palestinian government which will oversea rebuilding Gaza with international funding, in particular from the Gulf States, then they would be moving in the right direction. However, it is all premised on Trump forcing Netanyahu to end the war immediately and getting all the hostages home. It is a package deal, post Gaza and ending the war.
Paintings by former captives displayed at Hostages Square as part of day of protests
An exhibition of paintings created by former hostages is being displayed at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, as part of a day of protest demanding a deal to bring back the remaining captives, and opposing the government’s decision to expand the war in Gaza.
The exhibit, previously displayed at Ben Gurion Airport, features paintings and sculptures by released hostages, including Raz Ben Ami, Meirav Tal, Ilana Gritzewsky, Yarden Bibas, Karina Ariev, Naama Levy, Liri Albag, Keren Munder, Ohad Munder-Zichri, Margalit Mozes and Aviva Siegel.
Each work is accompanied by a paragraph written by the artist describing the emotions behind it.
Ben Ami, who has experience creating art, tells The Times of Israel that her painting is “about the chaos in all of our lives, but also about trying to find the good, and the good I see is when all of the hostages will come back.”
She adds, “It’s horrible that we have to stand here and remind people of this, but we have no choice. And we will do it until they are returned.”
Aviva Siegel, also in attendance at the square, writes that her piece takes viewers “to the darkest place in the whole world — where our hostages lie under piles of garbage, suffocating, afraid, sad, hungry, thirsty, frustrated, longing, worried, feeling forgotten. Just like I felt.”
Albag, released from captivity in February, writes that art was the only way she could express herself when she was in Gaza, drawing one half of a self-portrait while there. Now, her two paintings contrast that darkness with a colorful, smiling self-portrait.
“However, half of me is still in Gaza,” she says. “This painting is not just mine. It’s everyone who is still there. I painted myself, but I know that the eyes in this painting are those of someone who is still waiting.”
An artwork by released hostage Yarden Bibas, displayed at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on August 26, 2025. (Ariela Karmel/Times of Israel)For Bibas, the exhibition is a way of commemorating his murdered family. Abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, Bibas was released in February after his wife Shiri, four-year-old Ariel, and baby Kfir were killed in captivity. His work, “Freedom and Love,” features wire butterflies and the word “love” for his son Ariel, who loved butterflies. “Through butterflies, I send my love to Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir. And through them I also demand freedom for all the kidnapped who are still in captivity,” he writes.
The network reports that some of the former officials in question protested that they received the conclusions before being interviewed by the office. The office said that they would have a chance to give testimony after reading the drafts.
Channel 12 does not detail the contents of the draft reports.
**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!!!”
Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
*5:30am - Jerusalem areas, Sharon Area, Shfela - single ballistic missile from Yemen - successfully intercepted
This is in response to Israel's attack on Yemen on Sunday. It is the longest period following our attack that they retaliated.
- Senior Likud MK slams protesters as ‘rioters in Hamas’s service’ who will ‘bury’ hostages
This is not the first time that these worthless politicians have said that the 'rioters' are Hamas' agents, even saying that about the families who have lost their loved ones on October 7 as well as had others kidnapped. Just as I have said many times, there is no depth too low for these failed and corrupt coalition members and ministers, starting from the prime minister to go in being more deplorable. Just when it seems they can't go lower, they surprise us by going even lower. It has reached the point that we are no longer surprised. That's how bad it is. These ministers have no shame whatsoever but they are the first to pour on accusations of shame. They are traitors to their office, to the public and to the state.
Israel exploring ways to end war in Gaza, as US asks for Hamas’s demands – report
Israel is exploring avenues for ending the war in Gaza, the Maariv daily reports, without citing sources. According to the outlet, US officials recently asked Qatari counterparts to get Hamas to lay out a list of its demands for ending the war and releasing all hostages.
Hamas has yet to respond, says the report.
Meanwhile, according to Maariv, a mid-level Egyptian delegation was in Israel on Monday to try to nail down the location of the next round of talks on a ceasefire in Gaza.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman says in a press conference that the location doesn’t matter, putting the onus on Israel.
“What matters now is not the venue,” says Majed Al-Ansari, “but that an agreement is reached now. There is already an offer on the table to which Israel must respond.”
“Attempts to stall by shifting locations or other tactics are clear to the international community, and it is time for Israel to give a serious answer to what it has already agreed to in the past.”
Israel’s security cabinet is about to meet to discuss the war and negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage-release agreement.
IDF releases new footage showing destruction of Hamas tunnels in central Gaza
The IDF releases new footage showing the destruction of two Hamas tunnels in the central Gaza Strip, part of a monthlong operation by forces from the Gaza Division’s southern brigade, the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, and the Gaza Division’s engineering units.
According to the military, one of the tunnels, which featured multiple exit shafts, contained living quarters, food, weapons, and other facilities used by Hamas operatives. Troops filled the tunnel with concrete to seal it.
A second offensive underground route, stretching hundreds of meters, was destroyed with explosives.
The IDF says that in the course of the operation, dozens of Hamas fighters were killed, and both underground and aboveground terror infrastructure was dismantled. The military adds that the effort was aimed at widening the security buffer along the central and southern border of the Gaza Strip. video video 2
UN says 11 more Gazans die of malnutrition in last 24 hours, citing Hamas-run ministry figures
Eleven more people have died from malnutrition and starvation in the last 24 hours, bringing the total figure since the start of the Gaza war to 300, UN spokesperson StΓ©phane Dujarric says during a briefing, citing the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
Updating reporters on developments in Gaza, Dujarric says roughly 5,000 people have been displaced from northern Gaza to Deir al-Balah in the central Strip and Khan Younis in the South since August 20. He adds that some 8,000 others have been displaced to the west of Gaza City, bringing the total number of new displacements since the end of the ceasefire in mid-March to more than 800,000.
Dujarric claims that Israeli authorities continue to inhibit the delivery of humanitarian aid throughout Gaza, denying or impeding eight of 15 UN missions to transport assistance over the past 24 hours.
Moreover, UN partners have reported that several education facilities, which are also used as shelters, were attacked last week, Dujarric says.
Israel rolling ahead with Gaza City takeover to free hostages, beat Hamas, PM tells senator
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his security cabinet’s decision to order the military to take over Gaza City in the coming months is “unequivocal.”
“Israel will act with determination and strength to bring back all of its hostages and to defeat Hamas,” Netanyahu told US Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa in his Jerusalem office today, his office says in a statement.
Netanyahu also told Ernst, a Republican whom he previously hosted in April, that “these missions are intertwined.” Link Netanyahu’s statement of defeating Hamas and bringing back the hostages are incompatible. Netanyahu has been saying for the last year that we are virtually days away from defeating Hamas. Militarily, Hamas has been decimated with 25-30000 terrorists killed but they continue recruitment unabated. With Gazans more desperate than ever, starving, shortages of everything and in constant danger, all Hamas has to do is offer food, water, tents and a little money and they recruit more and more. The only way to stop Hamas in all areas is to install an alternative Palestinian Governing body. They will be backed by some of the key Arab countries and funded primarily by the Gulf States who will not invest a dollar until Hamas is out and an alternative Palestinian government affiliated with the Palestinian Authority in in place in Gaza.
Netanyahu’s statement about the decision of the security cabinet is clearly BS as he is the single decision maker in his autocrat government. We have seen all along that he makes most decisions without any cabinet vote and many times, doesn’t even bring the matter to the cabinet. He specifically goes to the cabinet when he wants to use it as an excuse that his hands are tied, as is the case here. The moment Trump will ‘order’ him to end the war, he will make the decision unilaterally. Trump is the one person Netanyahu cannot say no to. If Trump tells him so, we will see a quick decision by Netanyahu. As simple as that.
Palestinian reports: Gazan athlete killed by IDF fire near GHF aid distribution center; no comment from IDF
Palestinian media reports that Alam Abdallah al-Amour, an athlete from the Gaza Strip who has competed in international running events, was killed by IDF fire near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution center in Khan Younis.
There is no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces.
Three weeks ago, Gaza media reported that Suleiman al-Obeid, a well-known former Gazan football player, was killed by IDF fire under similar circumstances. FIFA paid tribute to al-Obeid, while the IDF responded several days later, stating: “From an initial and thorough review, we are not aware of any casualties resulting from IDF fire” near Gaza aid distribution centers on August 6, the day he was reported killed.
IDF says troops continuing operations on Gaza City outskirts ahead of planned wider offensive
The IDF says ground troops continue to operate on the outskirts of Gaza City ahead of the planned offensive to conquer the northern Gaza city, targeting the remaining Hamas strongholds in the enclave.
According to the military, forces from the 99th Division have been striking Hamas infrastructure both above and below ground, and in the past 24 hours destroyed several observation posts that posed a threat to Israeli troops. At the same time, the 162nd Division has been engaged in fighting in Jabalia and Gaza City’s outskirts in an effort to eliminate operatives from terror groups and dismantle their networks.
Elsewhere, the 36th Division continues its operations in Khan Younis, where the IDF says troops — with air support — killed several operatives and destroyed additional infrastructure.
Separately, an Israeli Air Force strike, guided by the Military Intelligence Directorate and the Shin Bet, killed Mahmoud al-Asoud, commander of Hamas’s General Security Apparatus in western Gaza.
The IDF says al-Asoud played a central role in Hamas’s security apparatus both during the current war and in past years.
The air force, directed by the navy, also struck a naval weapons warehouse and a repair facility for Hamas’s naval armaments in Khan Younis.
Israel, Syria said to eye September deadline for security agreement; Damascus denies report
Israeli officials confirm that advanced talks are underway with Syria on a potential security agreement, with the end of September set as a target date, according to the Kan public broadcaster.
Interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who acknowledged the negotiations to Arab journalists yesterday, is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly in New York on September 25 — the first time in years that a Syrian leader will speak at the forum. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is slated to deliver his own speech the following day.
Arab media reports, citing Syrian sources, have suggested the US-brokered agreement could be signed on September 25, shortly after al-Sharaa’s address.
The officials cited by Kan confirm the date as a potential deadline, adding that Washington is pressing Jerusalem to accelerate the talks. “It’s important for [US President Donald] Trump to announce this agreement as soon as possible, and that’s the reason the contacts are advancing,” the officials are quoted as saying.
The deal is not expected to constitute a full peace treaty, but rather limited security arrangements designed to reduce tensions and address mutual concerns.
According to the Kan report, the September 25 date is desirable to Sharaa for both international and domestic reasons. A deal timed to his UN speech would bolster his global standing, while unrest among Syria’s Druze minority has left him looking to Israel — which he sees as influential in the south — for a quick arrangement.
Last week, Sky News Arabia reported that the US is trying to arrange a meeting between Sharaa and Netanyahu, and with the participation of Trump, during the UN General Assembly.
Syria’s Foreign Ministry denies both the report of a September 25 deadline and the report on efforts to arrange a meeting between Sharaa and Netanyahu.
Gaza and the South
Seven injured in settler attack in southern West Bank
Palestinian media outlets report that seven people were injured during a settler attack in a village in the West Bank’s South Hebron Hills.
Those injured include four Palestinians and three Israeli activists who were in the village of Qawawis, the reports say.
Footage of the incident shows three individuals approaching residents’ homes and beating several locals with clubs.
According to the reports, settlers also threw stones, sprayed pepper spray, and smashed security cameras, car windows, and solar panels in the area. Several of the injured were evacuated to a hospital for treatment. Video How many times can I say "Once again the settler terrorists attacked Palestinians"? It has become an epidemic with occurrences on a daily basis. And why not? These settler terrorists know they act with impunity and with de facto immunity. Nothing they do gets them arrested, charged or brought to court for a criminal trial. Quite the opposite. They are encouraged by multiple government ministers and Knesset members, with one of them, Smotrich who does all he can to get more financing for all of the illegal settler activities, including but not limited to land theft, property destruction and even killing. And the leader of it all, Netanyahu, the prime minister doesn't say a word against it. He doesn't want to be on the wrong side of his criminal ministers or the settler terrorists. This makes him and his entire failed and corrupt government culpable and legally liable for all of these crimes and terror acts. The only problem is that one of these encouraging ministers is the minister in charge of the police and he makes absolutely certain that the police, which has transformed into Ben Gvir's personnel militia, does absolutely nothing against these settler terrorists. They are protected by the body that is supposed to protect the weak and innocent. They are protected by the government, the body that is supposed to call out and demand action against terror activities. Instead, they encourage, finance and morally support the terror acts. This makes them all criminals and supporting terrorist acts.
Police say $450,000 seized in yesterday’s raid on Ramallah money changer accused of funding Hamas
Israeli police say that security forces seized roughly 1.5 million shekels ($447,000) of “terror funds” during a raid in the West Bank yesterday that targeted a local currency exchange office linked to Hamas.
A statement from a police spokesman says Border Police and IDF soldiers “raided a money exchange business in the heart of Ramallah that was used to transfer funds to the Hamas terror organization.”
“Forces seized significant sums of money in both foreign and local currencies, with a total value of approximately 1,528,832 shekels, including US dollars, Jordanian dinars, euros, and other foreign currencies,” the statement says.
“Nine wanted suspects accused of involvement in terror activity were arrested and taken, together with the seized evidence, for investigation,” it adds.
Dozens of Palestinians were wounded in the raid, according to the Red Crescent. Some were hit by live rounds, while the rest were injured by rubber bullets or tear gas inhalation, the organization said.
Israel carries out frequent raids across the West Bank, where tensions have remained high throughout the Gaza war, sparked by Hamas’s October 7 ,2023, onslaught. However, incursions into central Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority, are relatively rare. link This action should not have been done by the IDF. It should have been worked out with the Palestinian Authority Security Services as part of the security coordination between Israel and the PA that has never stopped since Oslo. The PA is very much against Hamas and any efforts for them to rehabilitate themselves monetarily or with arms and recruiting. It could have been an opportunity for them to show their security forces acting against Hamas at the time that we are acting against them in Gaza. However, Netanyahu doesn't want to show that they have any ability or wherewithal to combat Hamas as that could make the PA a viable alternate government in Gaza. Netanyahu has been refusing to hear about the PA having any part in the new Gaza government, in fact he has stated time and time again that he will not permit the PA to have any role in Gaza. This is part of his continuing war with the world to prevent a 2 State Solution and one of the main reasons that October 7 ever happened.
Eisenkot says government ‘not worthy’ of his son and others killed in Gaza war
MK Gadi Eisenkot attends an Israel Democracy Institute conference in Jerusalem on November 20, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief of staff, says the government “is not worthy” of his son Gal, who was killed in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.Eisenkot adds in an interview with the Kan public broadcaster that the government is also unworthy of other soldiers and hostages who have lost their lives in the nearly two-year war.
His son was one of the soldiers who “paid with his life to bring back the fallen,” Eisenkot says in the interview. “And this government is a government that is running away from its responsibility and is not worthy of Gal… and is not worthy of many other combat soldiers and unfortunately also hostages who lost their lives because of cowardice, because of political indecision, because of the political and ideological considerations of people who want to resettle the Gaza Strip.”
Eisenkot’s son was killed while serving in the IDF in Gaza in December 2023, while Eisenkot was a member of a since-dissolved emergency war cabinet formed in the wake of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, massacre and launch of the Gaza war.
Eisenkot has since become an outspoken critic of the government’s approach to the war.
In the interview, he says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition doesn’t “understand their responsibility” and does not heed public opinion, which, surveys show, supports a deal to end the war and bring the hostages back. Link Gadi Eisenkot's family paid the ultimate price twice in this war, his son and his nephew and the both of them were very close friends. Gadi Eisenkot may not have the most charisma in the world, especially as a politician, but he has integrity. My daughter, who was an education officer in the IDF when Eisenkot was Chief of Staff just said yesterday that, though she never met him or came in contact with him, Eisenkot as the IDF commander was felt in his integrity, his personal example and his dedication. As a civilian during this time, I also felt that he was a man of principles and it came through, not only in his words but in his actions, some of which were in contradiction to the politicians in the government. He is also one of the very few people I could see being the next prime minister and taking us to the beginning of rebuilding our country and society after October 7 and the disastrous and extreme Netanyahu governments. He is not a leftist and has never been a proponent on the 2 State Solution but we can say that about Rabin, who, had he not been assassinated by an extreme rightist, would have changed the future for us and the region. As opposed to Netanyahu, Gadi is a person who can bring us hope and present a strategy not built on living forever by the sword as Netanyahu has sold us for years. Gadi is so right that this government is not worthy of his son. It is not worthy of any of us. We are worthy of having leaders with vision, with integrity, with strategy for taking us out of the quagmires that Netanyahu has willingly led us into. We are worthy of leaders who care more for the State and its people than they care for their own positions and political futures, leaders who are willing to take chances for a better future, a future of peace and prosperity for us and our neighbors, a future that is not built on fear, hatred, distrust, division and war; a leader who knows shame, who knows right from wrong, who will admit to failures and not only take credit for successes that are not even his own, who will bend his head and feel the pain of bereaved families, who will stop at nothing to bring home hostages, who will look to heal and not to cause more pain. We are worthy of so much more and the government we have is not worthy of any of us.
- Netanyahu says October 7 'probably' wouldn’t have happened under Trump
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on a podcast that Iran would have acted more cautiously if Donald Trump were president, and that October 7 'probably' wouldn't have happened; He contrasted Trump’s support with Biden’s arms embargo threat over Rafah invasion. link I debated with myself if to say anything about this vile statement coming from the lips of Israel's biggest narcissist and liar but I couldn't let it go without any response.
October 7 had nothing to do with Trump or anyone else as US President no matter how many times Trump says it and Netanyahu will repeat it about his BFF. One thing is certain that there is no way that Trump would have given the same support as Biden did. October 7 happened, not because of who was in the White House but because of who was Israel's Prime Minister. Netanyahu's actions and inactions for years brought us to October 7 and that will come out fully once there is a State Commission of Inquiry. Netanyahu weakened the Palestinian Authority and strengthened Hamas for over a decade. He made sure that Qatar wouldn't stop the funding of Gaza and Netanyahu knew full well the extent of Qatar's support for Hamas and other Muslim Brotherhood Terror organizations. Twice he sent his top people to convince Qatar to continue funding Gaza/Hamas and convinced the US administration not to designate Qatar as a nation funding terrorism so they would continue the funding of Hamas. Netanyahu wanted a weak PA and a strong enough Hamas to show that there is no real partner for peace among the Palestinians. He dedicated himself to creating an environment of hate between Israelis and Palestinians by building the separation fence. It wasn't for security because any Palestinian who wanted to cross into Israel even with the fence knew exactly how to do it. He wanted Israelis to stop buying things from Palestinian cities and villages where they were cheaper than in Israel or go to restaurants there that were cheaper and also open on Shabbat; he wanted to make it more difficult and scarier for anyone who wanted to visit Palestinian villages or cities. He knows that separation creates fear of the other which then manifests into hatred.
He believed/believes that he can appease the Palestinians through money and work permits and this will make them forget that they are not entitled to civil and human rights like their Israeli neighbors are. He believed/believes that Israel can continue to occupy the people and their land for 60 years, oppressing them, limiting their freedom of movement and speech, prevent them from legally building new housing, factories, places of business and then tear them down when they can't get permits to build. He believed/believes that they can go to university and then never be able to work in their chosen fields unless they leave their families and move elsewhere in the world. He believed/believes that they will be satisfied with 40% unemployment and that the only way they can make a sufficient wage is if they are successful in securing a work permit to work in menial jobs in Israel, where most of them have to pay months worth of wages to secure that permit. He believed/believes that they will forever be fine with living under a different justice system that is automatically prejudiced against them, a military justice system that finds against them 99% of the time. He believed/believes that they will continue to live like this and there will never be any consequences? Keeping 5 million people under these conditions without any hope of national realization or fulfilment of the same national dreams that we Jews had until 1948, and thinking that the pittance that they get from us will replace all their dreams, can be the forever future and that nothing will happen. That is the delusion of Netanyahu and that is what brought us October 7. The Magic of Netanyahu is that he made many in the Israeli public believe all of his delusions and take the most existential issue facing Israel off the table and out of the public and political discourse for years. He pulled the wool over so many for so long and we all paid the price and are still paying it.
Lawmakers head to dinner with settler leader amid day of protests, PM expected to attend
Ministers and MKs are heading into a dinner event in Jerusalem’s Mishkenot Sha’ananim neighborhood with Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz, as demonstrators urging a ceasefire deal to free the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza protest outside.
The demonstration comes amid a day of protests for an agreement to free the captives.
The ministers have come directly from a cabinet meeting at which the issue of a hostage-ceasefire deal was reportedly not discussed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the event a little later. link We are in a war, a war that should have ended a long time ago but it didn't because keeping it going favors Netanyahu's war of political survival. We have 50 hostages rotting in Gaza for 691 days while the government of Israel chooses to not discuss a deal that is on the table and instead goes to a dinner celebrating the illegal settlements in the West Bank and helping turn dozens of illegal settlements legal which would get them hundreds of millions of shekels while the rest of the country is being over taxed more and more to pay for Netanyahu's war of survival. These are the important things of this failed government. This and working hard to pass a law to exempt Haredim from IDF service while a war is going on and reserves have been called up 4 and 5 and 6 times to serve hundreds of days while giving up their lives and their familes and risk their lives for Netanyahu's political survival. "Have they no shame?" They have proven that they don't.
The State Comptroller’s Office has sent drafts of findings from an investigation into the Nova massacre to former senior officials, Channel 12 reports.
The investigation is one of a range of probes the comptroller’s office is conducting into the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, massacre. The investigations are controversial because critics have demanded the formation of a state commission of inquiry to look into the massacre. State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman, who leads the office, has no legal background and was appointed under a Netanyahu-led government. The IDF has also sought to stop his probe.
Burnt cars are left behind at the site of the massacre three days earlier by Palestinian terrorists on the Supernova desert music festival near Kibbutz Re’im in the Negev desert in southern Israel, on October 10, 2023. (Jack Guez/AFP)Channel 12 reports that Englman’s office has sent drafts of his conclusions regarding the Nova festival, where terrorists killed more than 300 people and took others hostage, to a number of former officials, including former IDF chief Herzi Halevi and former police commissioner Kobi Shabtai
Liberman asks Lapid to call meeting with opposition heads plus Bennett and Eisenkot to discuss next government
Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman has written to Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, asking him to call a meeting of the “Zionist opposition party heads” — along with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and former Knesset member Gadi Eisenkot — for a discussion on “formulating the basic outlines of the next government,” the Walla news site reports.
According to the report, Liberman indicates in the letter that those leaders will need to form an alternative to the current government. The next general elections are scheduled for October 2026.
“I believe that especially during this period, we have a duty to show national responsibility and act together, for the sake of strengthening public trust and for a better future for the entire country,” writes Liberman, according to Walla. link This could be a step in the right direction if only they can not only talk but actually take action as a united opposition. One of the reasons that this government still exists and perpetuates their crimes against the State and people of Israel is because the opposition in all this time hasn't been able to get their act together and work as a real opposition. An opposition may not have government powers but they don't have to be impotent unless they act as impotents. There are definitely some members of the opposition who act as opposition is supposed to act but they are few and far between. Unless, they truly unite in their opposition and act to oppose the government at every step, then they are just enablers of the worst and most dangerous government Israel has ever had.
The Region and the WorldEU demands thorough investigation into ‘completely unacceptable’ strikes on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital yesterday
Israel’s deadly strike on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital yesterday is “completely unacceptable,” says the European Union’s diplomatic arm in a statement.
“Civilians and journalists must be protected under international law,” says the EU’s External Action Service. “The EU reiterates its call on Israel to respect international humanitarian law and to ensure that these attacks are investigated, noting the statement by the Israeli authorities that a thorough investigation will be conducted. There have been too many fatalities in this conflict.”
The Monday morning attack killed at least 20 people, including five journalists, according to media reports and the Hamas-run health ministry.
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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