π️Lonny's War Update- October 721, 2023 - September 26, 2025 π️
π️Day 721 that 48 of our hostages are still in Hamas captivityπ️
‘Psychological abuse’: Relatives of hostages slam Netanyahu’s plan to air UN speech across Gaza
Families of the Gaza hostages slam the decision to broadcast Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s UN General Assembly speech across the Gaza Strip, suggesting that the premier should instead use the opportunity to speak to the hostages.
“Instead of the Gazans, I would prefer to speak to those who are longing for a voice of hope — the hostages and the soldiers,” writes Lishay Miran-Lavi, the wife of hostage Omri Miran, on X.
“If they’ve already set up loudspeakers, I would be happy to transmit a recording of myself to Omri so that I can tell him, and all the hostages and soldiers, that the people of Israel are fighting for them and with an overwhelming majority want an agreement that will bring them home and end the fighting,” she writes. “Would you agree?”
Anat Angrest, the mother of hostage Matan Angrest, also takes to X to warn the premier that there is a chance the hostages may also hear his speech over the loudspeakers.
“Any sentence other than ‘I came to the United States to sign a deal that brings you all home’ is psychological abuse for them,” she writes. “Don’t destroy their hope, if they still have any.”
**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!!!”
Read the opinion piece "Recognizing a Palestinian state is a reward for Israel" in the War and Politics section.
Red Alerts - Missile, Rocket, Drone (UAV - unmanned aerial vehicles), and Terror Attacks and Death Announcements
*10:45pm yesterday- ballistic missile from the Houthis- intercepted successfully- no reports of injuries or damage
IDF says it destroyed Hamas position in Gaza City; troops found weapons, stolen aid on site
Earlier today, Israeli troops destroyed a Hamas position deep in Gaza City, where numerous weapons and stolen humanitarian aid were found, the IDF says.
The “fighting compound,” that the military says had been manned by Hamas operatives, was located by troops of the 401st Armored Brigade.
Inside the structure, the soldiers found numerous weapons, including 20 explosive devices, dozens of grenades and firearms, along with boxes of aid that had been stolen, and a tunnel connecting several apartments used by Hamas in the area, according to the IDF.
IDF says Hamas terrorist who attacked Nahal Oz base on Oct. 7 killed in Gaza
A Hamas terrorist who participated in the attack on the military’s Nahal Oz base during the October 7 onslaught was recently killed in the Gaza Strip, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says in a press conference.
Wael Matriyah commanded a Nukhba Force platoon in Hamas’s Shati Battalion, Defrin says.
He says Matriyah was a “cruel murderer, who participated in the raid on the bomb shelter at the Nahal Oz base,” where seven female surveillance soldiers were abducted to Gaza, and other soldiers were killed.
Defrin says that following a review of intelligence, the military was able to confirm that the Hamas terrorist was killed by troops in Gaza.
Abbas reiterates PA readiness to assume control of Hamas-free Gaza Strip
NEW YORK — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas tells the UN General Assembly that the PA is ready to bear “to bear full responsibility for governance and security” in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas “will not have a role to play.”
The PA has been eager to replace Hamas in Gaza, but Israel has rejected the idea outright, while the US and the Arab world have maintained that Ramallah must undergo significant reforms until it can be better suited for the role and that a transitional body of independent Palestinian technocrats should govern the Strip in the interim.
Still, Abbas reiterates what much of the international community would like to hear — that “Hamas and other factions will have to hand over their weapons to the Palestinian Authority as part of a process to build the institutions of one state, one law and one legal security force.”
“We reiterate that we do not want an armed state,” Abbas says.
The PA president laments that the UN has passed over 1,000 resolutions regarding the Palestinian plight that have gone unimplemented.
He says that while the PA has adhered to the Oslo Accords, Israel has not done the same.
“We made all our efforts to build the institutions of a modern Palestinian state that lives side by side in peace and security with Israel, but Israel did not adhere to the signed agreements and has worked systematically on undermining them,” Abbas says.link The PA or governing body linked to the PA is the only body that would be acceptable by the Palestinians in Gaza as well as the Arab States to take over the governing of Gaza. This the the government that can and should take on Hamas and deal with their disarmament. They should have been put in place a long time ago and turned the Hamas arms and infrastructure into a Palestinian problem, which they would have dealt with. There are many reasons why the PA and Hamas have never been able to reach reconciliation. Their ideologies are too far apart and have no chance of coming together. Fatah as the leading party of the PA has stated that any party that wants to be part of the future PA/State of Palestine must accept the agreements that they have signed and committed themselves to and that includes the recognition of the State of Israel and the goal of the 2 State Solution to live side by side in peace. These are the areas that Hamas could never bridge as they are committed to the destruction of the State of Israel and their idea of a State of Palestine is similar to the Islamic Republic of Iran. They would want an Islamic republic of Palestine. There is no love lost between Hamas and the PA and they along with most of the Palestinians blame Hamas for bringing upon them the second Nakba (the catastrophe). The amount of support of Hamas in Gaza is less than 10% and before the war was less than 20%. The Gazans have been terrorized by Hamas for many years and wants to throw of the yoke of Hamas and live in a democratic society.
Netanyahu has been the preventer of putting in any alternative governing body in Gaza and has purposely kept the war going for his own political survival needs. Had a new governing body been put in, the IDF would not have needed to go back to the same fighting zones 4 and 5 times because each time they left, Hamas regrouped and took over again. What should have been was that each time the IDF took over an area and successfully routed most of Hamas from the area, the new Palestinian governing body with security support of a number of Arab nations would have taken over each area and begun to govern and prevent Hamas from regrouping. Netanyahu's complete lack of strategy has been the marked failure of this war and has cost so many lives.In virtual UN speech, Abbas condemns Hamas for targeting civilians on Oct. 7, Israel for Gaza ‘genocide’
NEW YORK — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas begins his virtual address to the United Nations General Assembly by noting that he is doing so on the eve of the two-year anniversary of Israel’s “genocide, destruction and starvation” campaign in Gaza, while also reiterating his condemnation of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.
Abbas says the war has killed and wounded roughly 220,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom he says are women, children and elderly, relying on figures from the Hamas-run health ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.
He highlights Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank, including the recent approval of the E1 settlement project, which aims to forestall efforts to establish a viable, contiguous Palestinian state. Abbas also speaks to unchecked Israeli settler violence.
“They burn homes and fields, they uproot trees and attack villages and attack unarmed Palestinian civilians. In fact, they kill them in broad daylight under the protection of the Israeli occupation army,” says Abbas, who is one of the only world leaders authorized to speak virtually. The US issued a visa ban on dozens of top PA officials in response to the decisions by Western countries to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.
“Despite all that our people have suffered, we reject what Hamas carried out on the seventh of October. These actions that targeted Israeli civilians and took them hostage… do not represent the Palestinian people, nor do they represent their just struggle for freedom and independence,” Abbas says, in a slightly more detailed condemnation than the ones he has issued in the past, including at a Monday two-state solution conference.
IDF confirms it was told by PM’s office to air UN speech across Gaza to ‘influence’ civilians, Hamas
The IDF confirms that it was ordered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office to broadcast the premier’s UN speech to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, as part of an “influence campaign.”
Netanyahu’s office said it had instructed the military to place loudspeakers on trucks on the Israeli side of the Gaza border only, without risking the lives of troops, though the IDF says it also brought such loudspeakers into the Strip.
It is unclear if the IDF violated the prime minister’s instruction by bringing the loudspeakers into Gaza or if the statement from the Prime Minister’s Office had false information.
The military says a total of nine loudspeaker systems were deployed for the “influence campaign,” aimed both at the Palestinian civilian population in the Strip and against Hamas.
The campaign is also part of efforts to influence the hostage talks in Israel’s favor, the military says, adding that other tools are being used, which it refuses to elaborate on.
The loudspeakers were placed on cranes and trucks and taken to army encampments inside the Strip, the military confirms, though the IDF says none are being brought to the front lines. Others were placed along the border with Gaza.
Comparing Netanyahu to Kim Jong Un, Lapid suggests IDF disobey order to air UN speech in GazaOpposition Leader Yair Lapid lambastes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “megalomaniacal” decision to broadcast his UN General Assembly speech through loudspeakers placed across the Gaza Strip and calls for the IDF to disobey instructions to do so.
“Unfortunately for Netanyahu, he is not Kim Jong Un and the Israeli military should not broadcast the ruler’s speeches over loudspeakers while risking soldiers in the field,” writes Lapid on X.
“This is megalomaniacal madness that is unsuitable for a democratic country.”
140 targets hit in Gaza over past day, IDF says, as ground troops tackle Gaza City
The Israeli Air Force struck over 140 targets in the Gaza Strip in the past day, the military says.
The targets hit by the IAF included terror operatives, tunnels, buildings used by terror groups, and other infrastructure, according to the IDF.
The Hamas-run health ministry reported yesterday that 83 Palestinians were killed over the previous 24 hours.
In Gaza City, the military says the 98th, 36th, and 162nd divisions continue to destroy Hamas sites — including tunnels — kill operatives, and locate weapons amid a new offensive against Hamas.
In addition to the IAF strikes, the 282nd Artillery Regiment shelled some 35 sites in Gaza City, including buildings used by Hamas and operatives, as part of support for the 36th Division, the IDF adds.
Elsewhere in north Gaza, outside of Gaza City, the military says troops of the 99th Division killed several operatives who approached forces.
Hezbollah defies Lebanon PM, honors terror chief Nasrallah with coastal light show
Thousands of Hezbollah supporters gathered at a scenic overlook on Beirut’s coast this evening and projected images of the group’s former longtime leader of the Iran-backed terror group and his successor on the iconic arched Raouche rock to commemorate their deaths in Israeli airstrikes nearly a year ago.
The move came despite an apparent attempt by Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to halt the planned light show.
Salam issued a circular earlier this week pointing to “the recent recurrence of the exploitation of national monuments for propaganda purposes and to hold activities in which partisan and political slogans are raised.”
He directed public bodies to “strictly prohibit the use of public land and sea areas, archaeological and tourist landmarks, or those that bear a unifying national symbolism before obtaining the necessary licenses and permits from the relevant authorities.”
Hassan Nasrallah, the longtime leader of the terror group, was killed in a series of massive Israeli strikes on a site in Beirut’s southern suburbs on September 27, 2024, that destroyed an entire block under which Nasrallah was meeting with an Iranian general and some of his top military commanders.
Days later, Nasrallah’s successor, Hashem Safieddine, was killed in another series of airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Salam says in a post on X that a gathering permit was issued by the governor of Beirut to the organizers of the demonstration, but “clearly stipulated that the Raouche rocks shall not be illuminated at all, whether from land, sea, or air, and no light images shall be broadcast on them.”
He says he has asked the ministers of interior, justice and defense to take “appropriate measures, including arresting the perpetrators and referring them for investigation” and that the incident “negatively impacted [Hezbollah’s] credibility in dealing with the logic of the state and its institutions.”
A Hezbollah representative, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with the group’s procedures, confirms that the organizers had only requested permission for the gathering.
He says it was unclear which agency had authority to give permission for the light show on the rock and that they considered it was covered by “freedom of expression” under Lebanon’s constitution.
The event is a show of force by the Shiite terror group and political party, which suffered serious blows in last year’s war with Israel and has been under domestic and international pressure to give up its remaining arsenal since then.
IDF confirms striking Hezbollah missile manufacturing site in eastern Lebanon
The IDF confirms carrying out an airstrike in Lebanon’s eastern Beqaa Valley a short while ago, saying it targeted a Hezbollah precision missile manufacturing site.
The Hezbollah facility has been targeted by the IDF several times before. The military says its existence is a violation of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
It issues footage of the strike.
UN adds 68 companies to blacklist for business ties to Israeli settlements in the West Bank
The United Nations has added nearly 70 more companies to a blacklist of firms from 11 countries that it says are complicit in violating Palestinian human rights through their business ties to Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The new list spotlights companies that do business that’s deemed supportive of the settlements, which are considered by many to be illegal under international law. It includes an array of companies like vendors of construction materials and earth-movers, as well as providers of security, travel and financial services.
The list, formally known as a “database of companies,” now contains 158 companies — the vast majority Israeli. The others are from the United States, Canada, China, Britain, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Newcomers to the list include German building materials company Heidelberg Materials, Portuguese rail systems provider Steconfer, and Spanish transportation engineering firm Ineco. Among those still on the list are travel-sector companies US-based Expedia Group, Booking Holdings Inc. and Airbnb, Inc.
While 68 new companies were added on Friday, seven were taken off. A total of 215 business enterprises were assessed in this round, but hundreds more could get a look in the future.
“Businesses working in contexts of conflict have a due diligence responsibility to ensure their activities do not contribute to human rights abuses,” says Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson of the UN human rights office. “We call on businesses to take appropriate action to address the adverse human rights impacts of their activities.”
She says countries also have a responsibility to make sure that companies operating in such areas aren’t contributing to rights abuses.
The companies in the updated list are active mainly in sectors like construction, real estate, mining and quarrying. The UN human rights office, which compiled the list, has advised the companies of their listing and given them a right of reply.
Among the seven companies taken off the list were transportation company Alstom of France, and travel service providers eDreams of Spain and Opodo of Britain.
This is the first revision to the list since 2023, when 97 companies were listed — down from 112 in the original list published in 2020. Among those 15 taken off last time were US-based food and cereal giant General Mills.
Donor nations agree on emergency financial aid package for the Palestinian Authority
A group of nations providing financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority has agreed to an emergency package increasing the support, Norway’s foreign ministry says.
Saudi Arabia, Spain, Britain, Japan and France are among the nations supporting the initiative dubbed the Emergency Coalition for the Financial Sustainability of the Palestinian Authority.
It is not immediately clear how much funding the initiative would raise.
The Norwegian government says its contribution is for 40 million Norwegian crowns ($4.0 million).
“This coalition was established in response to the urgent and unprecedented financial crisis confronting the Palestinian Authority (PA),” the foreign ministry says in a statement.
The immediate purpose is to stabilize the PA’s finances and preserve its ability to govern, provide essential services and maintain security, it adds.
The countries participating in the scheme also call on Israel to release funds belonging to the PA.
For four consecutive months, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has been refusing to transfer clearance revenues that Israel collects on the PA’s behalf. These funds make up the majority of Ramallah’s budget and their withholding has brought the PA to the brink of collapse.
Norway has for decades chaired the international donor group to the Palestinians known as the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC).
Recognizing a Palestinian state is a reward for Israel
Opinion: The past week could have been a breakthrough, but without courageous leadership on both sides, as with Begin and Sadat, Israel risks winning the war yet losing the chance for lasting peace and a changed Middle East
After the initial shock and grief over what happened on October 7, I was, relatively speaking, more optimistic about the future than many. I saw the beauty in Israelis uniting in a time of crisis, volunteering for one another and willing to sacrifice themselves for a war that seemed indisputably just. The civilized world stood with us, and the Jewish people, in almost all its shades, rallied across the globe.I expected Israel to wage a war of a few months that would end with the Israel Defense Forces deciding the fate of Hamas so that no significant threat would remain. At the same time, I hoped the Palestinians themselves would shake off Hamas’ cruelty and, at the war’s end, announce they sought reconciliation with a demilitarized state, without a military and without Hamas, whereupon Israel, having struck Gaza, would seize the opportunity to offer negotiations.Most of the countries that recognized a Palestinian state tied their support to the Palestinian Authority enacting reforms, including in the education system, and made clear the state would not be established without meeting Israel’s security requirements. As it happens, what has unfolded in the diplomatic arena over the past week is, in fact, the total victory. I anticipated this, because history has often shown that reconciliation comes only after both sides have dealt and suffered heavy blows. The Yom Kippur War, for instance, paved the way for peace with Egypt.Last week could also have been a breakthrough. But that requires courageous leadership on both sides, as there was in the days of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat. Unfortunately, Israeli leadership, across the spectrum, not only Benjamin Netanyahu, refuses to speak to us candidly or to treat Abbas’ speech as an excellent opening position for negotiations.The strange trend is to childishly claim that a two-state vision without Hamas is actually “a reward for Hamas.” Why? Hamas has been removed from power and publicly denounced by the Palestinian president. The plan is to establish a Palestinian authority in Gaza backed by Arab states that will be committed to collecting the weapons remaining in Hamas’s hands.Why is such a proposal a reward rather than a punishment for Hamas? There is no good answer. Even Donald Trump struggled to respond, aside from saying that “we want the hostages.” But that is obvious. Before any negotiations, we must secure the hostages. That does not contradict the reconciliation plan.To secure the hostages, however, the war must end, and if Netanyahu is not willing to end it until every last person still hiding in Gaza is eliminated, the war will not end. That is both foolish and tragic, because Hamas has already raised the white flag; all that is needed now is to set the diplomatic process in motion to replace it.Israel also forgets that preventing another October 7 depends less on holding an extra 500 meters inside the strip and far more on ensuring the next generation in Gaza does not grow up seeking revenge for what was done there - a cycle that would only lead us to retaliate again and again. October 7 was not only a catastrophe, it was also an opportunity. And sadly, while we won the war, we are losing the chance for a real change in the face of the Middle East. LinkIsraeli anti-government protesters rally outside Netanyahu’s Manhattan hotel
Israeli anti-government activists protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside his hotel in New York City following the premier’s arrival for the UN General Assembly, where he is due to speak tomorrow.
Around a dozen demonstrators gather in Manhattan holding signs that say, “Save Israel from Netanyahu,” “Stop the war,” and “Free them all.”
They chant, “Bring them home,” and, “There is no military solution,” to the beat of a snare drum.
The protesters seek an end to the war and the release of the hostages held in Gaza.
Organizers say some family members of Israelis held hostage in Gaza will join later today.
The hostage families will also lead a protest outside the UN Headquarters tomorrow as Netanyahu addresses the General Assembly.
Non-Jewish anti-Israel activist groups have also been protesting at the UN and have announced a large demonstration for tomorrow morning around the same time.
Despite their shared opposition to Netanyahu, the two groups are not allies, as the non-Jewish anti-Israel activist groups aim to ostracize those they consider Zionists and support the destruction of the State of Israel.
Abbas: Our people ‘will rise from under the rubble to rebuild’
NEW YORK — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas wraps up his virtual speech the UN General Assembly by declaring that Palestinians will defiantly remain on their lands, despite Israeli efforts to remove them.
“Our people will remain rooted like the olive trees. Firm as the rocks, we will rise from under the rubble to rebuild,” Abbas says.
“No matter how much our wounds bleed, and no matter how long this suffering lasts, it will not break our will to live and survive,” Abbas asserts.
“We want to live in freedom, security and peace, like all other people on earth, in an independent, sovereign state on the borders of 1967 with East Jerusalem as our capital in security and peace with our neighbors,” he continues.
“Peace cannot be achieved if justice is not achieved, and there can be no justice if Palestine is not freed,” Abbas continues.
“The time has come for the international community to do right by the Palestinian people, so that they may obtain their legitimate rights to be rid of the occupation and to not remain hostage to the temperament of Israeli politics,” he adds.
‘It’s not going to happen’: Trump says he won’t allow Israel to annex West Bank
Bombshell declaration could well squelch dream of PM’s far-right allies, putting his coalition at risk; US president again says Gaza deal ‘close,’ but he needs to meet Netanyahu first
In his first public comments on the matter, US President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.
“I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. It’s not going to happen,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked to confirm reports that he assured Arab and Muslim leaders of that stance during a multilateral meeting held Tuesday on the UN General Assembly sidelines.
Trump also stressed that he spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the issue
France, Britain, Canada, Australia and Portugal are among the countries that have recognized a Palestinian state in the last few days in part to help keep the possibility of a two-state solution alive. Israel has condemned the moves.
A senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel earlier this week that the Trump administration privately cautioned Israel against annexing the West Bank in response to the recent decisions by Western countries to recognize Palestinian statehood.
However, Jerusalem did not feel that the warning marked “an end to the discussion” and Netanyahu planned to discuss the matter with Trump during their White House meeting next week, the Israeli official said.
Even if the warning had already been conveyed privately, Trump’s decision to publicly declare he will not allow the West Bank to be annexed is sure to deflate hopes among settler leaders — which reached unprecedented levels following his reelection — that Israel would finally actualize their long-held dreams of annexation.
Without US support, Israel is much less likely to go ahead with the move, which would have diminished significance without backing from the world’s leading superpower and spark massive international backlash. A top Emirati official warned in an exclusive interview with The Times of Israel earlier this month that annexation would be a “red line” that would mark the “end” of regional integration.
Trump’s announcement could also spell trouble for Netanyahu’s government, whose far-right partners have made annexation a central aim and may be more inclined to collapse the coalition if annexation is now out of reach.
‘Close’ to a deal in Gaza
Earlier Thursday, Trump said that the US is “close to getting some kind of deal done” in the Gaza Strip after his “great” multilateral meeting in New York with the leaders of eight Arab and Muslim countries on the issue.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during the public portion of his sit-down with visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that “a lot was determined in that meeting” on Tuesday, during which Trump presented a 21-point plan for ending the war in Gaza and establishing a non-Hamas body to govern the Strip.
“I have to meet with Israel. They know what I want. I think we can get that one done. I hope we can get that done. A lot of people are dying,” Trump said.
“I’m going to have to tell Israel, ‘Let’s go,'” Trump added, indicating that he might exert some pressure on Netanyahu when they meet in Washington on Monday.
In the meantime, Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer discussed US efforts to end the war and free the hostages in Gaza with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff at the hotel where the Israeli premier is staying in New York. Netanyahu will address the UN General Assembly on Friday at about 4 p.m. Israel time.
“We want to get the hostages back,” Trump continued. “We want them all back at one time.”
Trump said steps regarding Gaza could be taken “today,” without elaborating.
“Everyone wants to see that war over with. We’re going to see what happens,” he added.
Trump has predicted that a Gaza ceasefire is imminent repeatedly throughout his second administration, only for talks to subsequently hit snags.
But those hiccups didn’t prevent Witkoff from expressing his own optimism on Wednesday, saying that he expected a “breakthrough” within days following Trump’s multilateral meeting on Tuesday with Arab and Muslim leaders.
While Witkoff has not revealed details of the plan, a position paper on the issue which was given to the countries laid out steps towards ending the war in Gaza and establishing a non-Hamas body to govern the Strip.
Trump’s team is pushing Netanyahu to agree to the 21-point plan, according to Channel 12 news, which said that the premier was briefed on the framework “days ago,” and that he and Dermer “did not like” all of its points.
“Continuing the war will isolate Israel even further, but accepting the plan and ending the war will extricate Israel from isolation and enable progress in more positive directions in the region, with US backing,” a US source told the network on Thursday.
However, the report said Netanyahu is uncomfortable with the fact that Trump’s plan does not require Hamas to disarm and Gaza to be demilitarized as conditions for the war ending, but only post-war.
Smoke rises from Gaza City following an Israeli airstrike, September 24, 2025. (Fathi Ibrahim/Flash90)He also does not like the provision that the new mechanism for governing Gaza will operate under the authority of the UN Security Council, the television report added.
The president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was a key player in Trump’s 2020 Deal of the Century peace plan and the Abraham Accords, was heavily involved in creating the framework along with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Kushner was filmed accompanying Witkoff to the meeting with Netanyahu and Dermer on Thursday. Link The announcement by Trump that there will not be any annexation of the West Bank certainly comes as a blow to Netanyahu and his messianic extremist coalition partners. They have been banking on winning Trump's green light to annex, if not all of the West Bank, at least significant parts, such as the Jordan Valley which borders Jordan. Netanyahu wanted to show the world that the recognition of the State of Palestine would have a price and that price being the stealing of Palestinian lands, large parts of the future Palestinian State and officially making them part of Israel.
Netanyahu has spent all of his political career making sure that even the discussion of a 2 State Solution would never be brought to the table. His actions and war crimes in Gaza have had exactly the opposite effect and Trump has effectively removed the winds from Netanyahu's sails with his announcement.
Trump and Witkoff have been busy with the Trump end of the war plan and are in deep discussions with Netanyahu and his right hand yes man, Dermer to get them to say yes. Typically, there is some carrot to be given as a reward for acceptance of something Netanyahu doesn't want to do. Netanyahu, prior to Trump's annexation announcement, was sure it was going to be Trump's green light for annexation. Not only has Trump assured the Muslim and Arab countries that he won't allow annexation, he has stated the same several times in the last days. This was done to let Netanyahu know that it's not to be brought up for discussion. So, the question is, what will be the carrot. There has been internal discussion in Israel to make changes to the designated zones in the West Bank that are called areas A and are supposedly under complete control of the PA. The discussions have been to reduce the territories of Areas A and bring them back into Israeli control. That is not annexation in the legal sense but it would mean that Netanyahu would give his messianic partners more areas that would make up parts of the Palestinian State, to put up Jewish settlements with the goal of blocking the possibility of a Palestinian State. The settlements are purposely placed throughout the West Ban in areas close to Palestinian towns and cities to prevent any contiguous areas for a Palestinian State. The zigzags of territories makes a contiguous border an impossibility without uprooting tens of thousands of settlers and destroying those settlements. That is the goal of taking back parts of Area A. There is a chance that Netanyahu can convince Trump of this plan because Trump has no understanding of what Areas A, B and C mean or the ramifications of granting Netanyahu's wish. So, this could potentially be the carrot that Trump gives to Netanyahu.
Would this prevent Smotrich and Ben Gvir from boliting the government if Netanyahu won't agree to annex the West Bank? Yes and no. Ben Gvir will most likely bolt the government because he believes it will be best for him in the next elections to show that he wouldn't give in on his ideology and agenda. Smotrich on the other hand is a question. Even though, his goal is total annexation of the West Bank, he would see lots of benefits of getting large parts of Area A. He is the minister who deals with settlements in the West Bank and the Finance Minister who gives hundreds of millions for settlements. He would, obviously see this as an opportunity to put the idea of a State of Palestine in a coffin and his new settlements would be the last nails of that coffin.
In any case, Trump's plan for ending the war and bringing home all of the hostages will also most likely bring elections that much closer, which is the best outcome of everything.Parents of soldiers blast PM for using their sons in his ‘meglomaniac’ plan to broadcast UN speech across Gaza
A protest group representing mothers of combat soldiers slams Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for ordering the IDF to hook up loudspeakers throughout the Gaza Strip to broadcast his speech to the UN General Assembly live to its residents.
“How long will you use our sons for your personal campaign? They are not just extras in your war [movie] frame. They are not scenery in your megalomaniac show,” the Ima Era (Wide-awake Mother) group says in a statement.
“We appeal and demand from the chief of staff and also from the general of the Southern Command: The responsibility for the lives of the troops is in your hands. You must not give in to this madness,” they add.
The unusual and controversial move has also been met with angry responses from families of several hostages held by Hamas.
The IDF declines to comment and has directed journalists to contact the Prime Minister’s Office, which has not yet issued a response.
Charges filed against US-Israeli citizen suspected of spying on public figures for Iran
State prosecutors file charges against dual American-Israeli citizen Yaakov Perl, a Hasidic man who allegedly spied on Iran’s behalf on several public figures including ex-IDF chief Herzi Halevi and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
The defendant is a member of the Satmar Hasidic movement and harbors a deep antipathy towards the State of Israel, which drove him to reach out to Iranian intelligence operatives online, prosecutors say.
Perl had been living in Morocco for several years, where he took part in protests against Israel and published articles condemning Zionism.
He appears to have garnered attention in the Arab world shortly after October 7 during an anti-Israel protest in Morocco’s capital Rabat, where he declared to an interviewer that “the real Judaism and the real Jews are against Zionism.”
After making contact with the agent, Perl attempted several times to recruit Israelis and foreign workers to spy on his behalf, but to no success. In July of this year, he moved to Israel himself for espionage purposes and settled down in Beit Shemesh.
According to prosecutors, Perl traveled across the country to carry out missions for his Iranian operator, filming Halevi’s home and gathering intelligence on the security arrangements around Ben Gvir’s residence.
The defendant went so far as to consider renting an apartment near the homes of both Halevi and Ben Gvir in order to spy on them for an extended period of time.
He also collected information on an organization that campaigns for Jewish prayer rights on the Temple Mount, which Ben Gvir and his wife are supposedly members of.
Perl declined to go up to the Temple Mount when asked to do so by his operator, citing the commonly held belief among Haredim that Jews are prohibited from ascending to the holy site.
Like most other Israeli agents recruited by Iranian operators, Perl was compensated in cryptocurrency for the missions he carried out on Tehran’s behalf and made at least $15,000.
He was arrested on September 4 and is charged in the Tel Aviv District Court with the offenses of aiding the enemy during wartime, providing intelligence to the enemy with the intent of harming national security and providing intelligence to the enemy that could benefit them.
The Region and the WorldMicrosoft cuts IDF access to cloud system over surveillance program, report says
Tech giant reportedly cuts Unit 8200’s access to Azure cloud and AI tools over Palestinian surveillance program; move marks first known case of a US tech giant halting services to IDF since Gaza war began
Microsoft has revoked access to some of its cloud and artificial intelligence services used by the IDF’s Unit 8200 after an internal review found violations of the company’s terms of service, the Guardian reported Thursday.According to the report, the decision came after revelations that Unit 8200, the IDF’s elite signals intelligence unit, had stored vast amounts of intercepted Palestinian phone calls in Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform. The surveillance program, which sources inside the unit described with the phrase “a million calls an hour,” allowed intelligence officers to collect, replay and analyze conversations from Gaza and the West Bank.The Guardian, in a joint investigation with +972 Magazine and Local Call, revealed last month that Microsoft and Unit 8200 began collaborating on the project after a 2021 meeting between CEO Satya Nadella and then-commander Yossi Sariel. The report said that up to 8,000 terabytes of data had been stored at a Microsoft data center in the Netherlands before being hastily moved after publication. Sources said the data may now be shifting to Amazon Web Services, though neither the IDF nor Amazon responded to requests for comment.Microsoft President Brad Smith confirmed to staff in an internal email seen by the Guardian that the company had “ceased and disabled a set of services to a unit within the Israel ministry of defense.” He added, “We do not provide technology to facilitate mass surveillance of civilians. We have applied this principle in every country around the world.”The Guardian reported that this is the first known case of a U.S. tech company halting services to the Israeli military since the war in Gaza began. The decision follows protests at Microsoft’s headquarters in the U.S. and Europe, led by a worker campaign called “No Azure for Apartheid.”The revelations come as Israel faces scrutiny at the United Nations, where a commission of inquiry recently accused it of committing genocide in Gaza — a charge Israel strongly denies. The Guardian investigation claimed the surveillance system had also been used to help prepare airstrikes during the war, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.While the suspension affects some cloud and AI services, Microsoft continues to maintain a broader commercial relationship with the IDF. Still, the move has raised questions inside Israel about the reliance on foreign tech companies to host sensitive military data abroad. LinkIsrael kicks off public diplomacy campaign in New York City as PM visits for UN General Assembly
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lands in New York for his speech at the United Nations General Assembly tomorrow, his office says it has ramped up its public diplomacy efforts by plastering trucks and billboards in the city with the message “Remember October 7” to highlight Hamas atrocities and “remind world leaders” of the hostages in Gaza.
“The Prime Minister’s Office and its Public Diplomacy Directorate initiated an unprecedented campaign in New York, featuring dozens of massive billboards and trucks surrounding the UN building and Times Square,” the PMO says in a statement.
The purpose of the campaign is “to remind world leaders and the public of the atrocities committed by Hamas, and of the unfathomable cruelty of the terror organization that continues to hold 48 hostages in Gaza,” the PMO adds.
The billboards and trucks carry the English-language slogan “Remember October 7,” alongside a QR code that directs to a website that presents documentation of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, massacre, according to the statement. link The continued dysfunctionality of this government is amazing. For 2 years, they left the arena of public diplomacy entirely in the hands of Hamas. For 2 years, the government did virtually nothing to show the true picture of what happened on October 7 and the reasons for the war that followed. The only public diplomacy for Israel that was going on was by the efforts of individuals who were acting where the government was supposed to act but was in total disarray and chaos for the better part of a year following the massacre. But even then, they continued to ignore the international community and the narrative and left an open field for the total distortion of reality.
Only now with the major world recognition of the State of Palestine has Netanyahu decided to do anything major in the world of public diplomacy. Well, Netanyahu, looks like it's too little, too late. Netanyahu has been directing a war that has turned into a giant war crime and has kept the war going and the hostages in captivity for 721 days and counting strictly for his political survival. That is now the case with this public diplomacy campaign as he sees the danger the recognition can have to his political survival. He believes that the more time he has to distance himself from October 7, the better for him to convince the public of his rewritten narrative absolving himself from any responsibility and blame for everything that he did and didn't do to bring us to October 7. He branded himself Mr. Security and that brand went out the window on October 7. He thought he was making great progress in being able to own that brand once again, with Lebanon and Hizbollah, with Syria and Assad's departure, the 12 day war with Iran and the killing of much of the Hamas leadership. But once again, he is in a position that the brand of Mr. Security is going out the window with the recognition of the State of Palestine. It is showing the world and every Israeli just how weak he is and how he is responsible for alienating Israel throughout the world. That is the only reason that the money and efforts have been allocated for this public diplomacy campaign.More than 65 munitions dropped on Houthi targets in Sanaa, in largest single IAF strike in Yemen to date, military says
Some 20 Israeli Air Force fighter jets dropped more than 65 munitions on Houthi targets in Sanaa this afternoon, the highest number of munitions used in a single IAF strike in Yemen, according to the military.
In all, seven targets were struck, including five military headquarters where Houthi operatives were gathered, and two weapon storage facilities, the IDF says.
Aerial refuelings were also conducted during the operation.
Slovenia imposes travel ban on Netanyahu
Slovenia is imposing a travel ban on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a government statement.
The country imposed a ban on far-right cabinet ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir in July.
Slovenia, an EU member state that recognized a Palestinian state last year, imposed an arms embargo on Israel in August and introduced a ban on imports of goods produced in Israeli settlements in the West
Hundreds of diplomats stage walkout from UN General Assembly as Netanyahu enters to speak
NEW YORK — Several hundred diplomats from around the world are staging a walkout from the UN General Assembly hall as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enters to deliver his speech.
Netanyahu’s supporters try to take attention away from the spectacle by loudly applauding and standing for several minutes.
Joining the premier’s entourage in the side-gallery with Sara Netanyahu is New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
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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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