🎗️Lonny's War Update- October 733, 2023 - October 8, 2025 🎗️

 🎗️Day 733  that 48 of our hostages are still in Hamas captivity🎗️

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



“I’ve never met them,
But I miss them. 
I’ve never met them,
but I think of them every second. 
I’ve never met them,
but they are my family. 

BRING THEM HOME NOW!!!”






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

*Four drones from Yemen downed over Eilat as Israel marks October 7 massacre anniversary 

On the third October 7, since the war began, Israel faced attacks on multiple fronts: drones from Yemen, rockets from Gaza, and Hezbollah terrorists struck in Lebanon



Israel continued to face attacks on several fronts on Tuesday, the third of October 7 since the Hamas-led massacre and the outbreak of the war. As the nation commemorated two years since the terror attack and negotiations for a potential deal continued in Egypt, fighting persisted in Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen.
In the afternoon, two sirens sounded within 20 minutes in Eilat following the launch of drones from Yemen. The Israeli Air Force intercepted the drones, and the interceptions were filmed by beachgoers at Dolphin Reef. “Wow, well done, IDF,” some were heard cheering. The interceptions were also visible in the skies over Aqaba, Jordan. The Air Force later confirmed that it had downed four drones launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels within less than an hour.


Earlier in the day, a rocket was fired from northern Gaza and landed without exploding in an open area near the moshav of Netiv HaAsara, along the Gaza border. The rocket struck greenhouses and became lodged in the sand. At 9:29 a.m., another “Red Alert” siren was activated, but the IDF later said it was a false alarm.






2 Years of October 7

From the National Ceremony commemorating 2 years since October 7

Tens of thousands at the ceremony for 7/10, Yonatan Shemriz: “Not only a memorial day for the people we lost – also a memorial day for the negligence”
On the completion of two years since the Hamas massacre, tens of thousands gathered in Tel Aviv for the central memorial ceremony of the families of the murdered and the kidnapped. Viki Cohen and Anat Angrest sang “Come, Mother” to their kidnapped sons, the captivity survivor Omer Shem-Tov recalled Ori Danino who returned to the inferno to save his friends: “He could have chosen otherwise and was murdered after 11 months in captivity.” Galit, whose mother and daughter were murdered: “We want correction, not revenge.”
Two years since the massacre: the central memorial ceremony of the families of October 7, at the initiative of the “Kumu” (Rise up) association of Yonatan Shemriz, was held last night (Tuesday) at Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv – and was broadcast simultaneously also in a screening event at the Hostages Square in the city. The ceremony, attended by tens of thousands, was hosted by actor Tsahi Halevi and Ashira Greenberg – wife of Lt. Col. Tomer Greenberg of blessed memory, commander of Battalion 13 in Golani, who fell in battle in Gaza in December 2023. The ceremony at Yarkon Park was broadcast live on ynet.
An official state ceremony will take place only on the Hebrew date, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – whose last tweet was “Happy Sukkot Holiday” – did not publish since the end of the holiday any reference to 7/10, on any of his various social media pages. Only after the publication on ynet that he had not yet referred to the marking of the massacre, Netanyahu published last night a statement in which he wrote, among other things: “Citizens of Israel, we are in crucial and fateful days. We will continue to act to achieve all the goals of the war: the return of all the hostages, the elimination of Hamas’s rule, and ensuring that Gaza will no longer constitute a threat to Israel. Together we will stand – and together, with the help of God, we will win.”








The ceremony opened at 21:30 with a moment of silence, Kaddish, and Yizkor. In the opening video appeared captivity survivor Agam Berger playing the violin, and immediately after that the singer Yuval Raphael, who survived the massacre at Nova and since then represented Israel at Eurovision, came up to sing on stage. Zvi Zusman, father of Staff Sgt. (res.) Ben Zusman who fell on December 3, 2023, read “Yizkor.” Rabbi Elhanan Danino, whose son Ori was kidnapped and murdered in Hamas captivity, read “Kaddish.”
“The captain, the beating heart of all of us”
Mazi Ilon, wife of Tal Ilon – commander of the emergency squad of Kibbutz Kfar Aza who fell in the battle of containment on October 7 – said at the ceremony: “Our love began in the kibbutz, between the dining hall and the children’s houses, and a deep connection was created between us. We built a home there, three children, full of family, friends, light, and laughter. So much laughter. You, the captain, the beating heart. You never made an issue of yourself, but everywhere you were the thing itself – a conquering smile, witty humor, with the power of an embrace that leaves no room for doubt. A father like in the books, and also one who embarrasses his children. A father who paints fears in pink colors, who lives a life of adventures, clean and devoid of slogans.”
Omer Shem-Tov recalled Ori who returned to the inferno and was murdered in captivity
Captivity survivor Omer Shem-Tov said at the ceremony: “October 7 – the date that became a turning point in our lives. On a morning of holiday and joy, at a party with friends, one moment and our world changed. At night we were still kids dancing life, but in the morning everything broke – a shattering of innocence, of routine, of security. Facing the horror, we stood before a choice: to sink or to fight for the light. Within that darkness appeared light – light of people who did not give up, who rose, stood up, ran to the field, to the headquarters, to help, to save, to love. They taught us what true mutual responsibility is.”

Vicky Cohen and Anat Angrast sing 'Come Mother' together with the singer Yardena Arazi


Omer Shem Tov "From this darkness, light will come - light of those who don't give up"


Galit Dan who's daughter Noya and mother Carmela were killed in Nir Oz: "The time has come that today it will end, that we will return to living"
“There were among them also Ori Danino, who returned to the inferno to save Maya, Itay, and me – even though he could have chosen otherwise, and was murdered after 11 months in captivity alongside Eden, Carmel, Almog, and Alex. For me, another fate awaited – after 505 days of pain, hardship, and longing I returned home, I learned what true resilience is and what it means to love the land, the people, and life. We are still on the way, with 48 hostages who have not yet returned and with families waiting and praying. Peace is still far away, but the unity, the caring, and the human spark that were revealed here are the foundation on which we will rebuild. Thank you to the heroes who fought and did not return, to the fighters who guard us even today, and to all who choose the light when it is easier to surrender to the darkness.”
The cries of the mothers: “My child, I do not give up”
After an emotional performance of the song “I’m Coming Home” performed by the singer Eden Golan, with the photos of the hostages still in captivity behind her – Viki Cohen, mother of the hostage Nimrod Cohen, and Anat Angrest, mother of the hostage Matan Angrest, came up to speak. They addressed their sons in captivity. “I remember the first time they placed you next to me, your first breath, the look that I knew would accompany me all my life,” said Viki.
Anat added: “I remember how you tried to walk, falling and getting up, and your eyes looked for mine with every small step. I remember your first drawing, your first fallen tooth, your bar mitzvah speech, and the day you enlisted – with a smile in uniform and eyes shining with pride and a sense of mission.”
“I remember the exact place where I stood when they told me you were kidnapped,” said Viki. “Since then, for two years the light is gone and you are in darkness, trembling there in the tunnels. But my child, I swear – I am not giving up! A whole nation is fighting for you.” Anat concluded: “We will bring you home – the living and the fallen, until the last hostage. And you will bring back with you the captive heart, the quiet, the values on which you grew and for which you fought, back to us, home, to the State of Israel. Amen.” Afterward, they began to sing “Come, Mother,” alongside the singer Yardena Arazi.
“Again October, and I pray there will be no more bereaved mothers”
Galit Dan, whose 13-year-old daughter Noya and mother Carmela were murdered in their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, said at the ceremony: “Again October, and this is day 732 of our disaster. Two years that you are not here, two years since the day I became a bereaved mother and an orphaned daughter. My Noya, you left me a message and said, ‘Mom, there was a big boom, Mommy,’ and I had no words then, and even now I have no words to answer you. Two years that I miss your laughter, your hug, the challenges that were with you. In the thirteen years you lived, raising you required constant mental effort – maybe that’s why you turned out so concise and high-quality. You wanted the world to hear you, and now they listen a little more.”
“In a moment again it will be Grandma Carmela’s birthday, my beautiful and generous grandmother. Great luck that I managed to hug you so many times. Now, as October has come again, I imagine you both – Noya and Grandma – supporting each other, whispering that you love and know that I also love you. I am here to ask in your name and in the name of all who lost everything: not revenge, but correction. To defeat fear and find hope, to defeat hatred and connect to humanity. It is time to bring everyone home, it is time that that day end, that we return to live.”
Sergeant Ariel Sosnov fell in November 2024 at a gathering area in Avivim. His partner Atara Sinton told in a video in his memory at the national memorial ceremony: “I cannot describe the feeling of what it is to pray, to read psalms, and to ask God with all your might that the person you love most in the world is only injured.” Sinton established in his memory the project “The Flowers Man” of distributing flowers to soldiers. “No matter where he was, in Gaza or in Lebanon, he would make sure that the flowers reached me. This is how circles of love expand and this is something we so much need now,” she said.
“Our generation will be the one to fix. The people of Israel have risen” – speech of Yonatan Shemriz
“On this day was born a new commitment to a better country”
Yonatan Shemriz, one of the organizers of the ceremony whose brother Alon was kidnapped to Gaza and killed by mistake by IDF fire, said: “Today two years ago I sat in a safe room with a pregnant woman and a girl celebrating her second birthday. In one hand I held the handle, and in the other a knife – to cut the cake and also to defend ourselves. I received a message from my brother Ido, who was fighting against dozens of terrorists and saw our best friends killed. A few hours later my younger brother Alon wrote to me that terrorists entered his apartment. I managed to write to him that I love him – and since then we have not spoken. Already there, in the safe room, I promised myself: we will rise.” “We went out into a country where the only thing that functioned in it was the people,” he said. “The people of Israel dressed us, fed us and fought for us. They were there when no leader came. Alon, my heroic brother, was killed after doing the impossible. When we received the message, I hoped to die. I found no meaning to life. Three weeks later, Lavi was born. I looked at him and at Yehali, and I promised myself: we will rise!”
October 7 is not only a memorial for the people we lost. It is a memorial day for neglect, for lack of leadership and for fleeing from responsibility. On this day a great commitment was born: to lead the State of Israel to a better reality. Much better. It is not what we wanted, but it is what fell to us. The beginning of the rehabilitation is the return of our brothers and our sister home!”

“When you return and the war ends,” he addressed the hostages, “our generation will take off the uniforms, shake off the ashes of the burned houses and wash away the failures that the previous generations left us. Our generation, which inherited a bleeding, isolated, divided and painful country, will be the one that will fix it.”
Yonatan explained: “This will be the best version of Israel: a country that sanctifies the lives of its sons and daughters. A country of truth, responsibility and mutual guarantee. A country desiring life, that stands firm against every threat. We will make sure that a state inquiry committee is established, so that truly ‘never again’. We will lay the foundations for a better future for our children.”



Hostages Square joint viewing screening of the national memorial ceremony


Hostages Square packed with the crowds who came to watch the screening of the ceremony (Photo: Paulina Patimer)


The ceremony was broadcast on television, on ynet, and in community screenings throughout Israel and the world. According to the organizers, also this year the ceremony emphasized the authentic memory of the families and gave representation to all parts of Israeli society. At Hostages Square, simultaneously, there were dozens of broadcasting crews from all over the world.
On stage during the evening appeared: Ester Rada, Berry Sakharof, Daniel Weiss, Hadag Nahash, Hatikva 6, Yuval Raphael, Yardena Arazi, Noam Kleinstein, Eden Golan, Eden Hason, Idan Amedi, Amir Benayoun, Rita, Riki Gal, Rami Kleinstein, Shiri Maimon, Shalom Hanoch, Shlomi Shabat, Shlomo Artzi, and Tamir Greenberg.
The October 7 families and the “Kumu” movement called on the general public to join them at this moment “in bowing of heads, in silence, in memory of their loved ones and with great hope for the speedy return of the hostages home.” The movement emphasized that the call is directed to every person in Israel and in the world, “to take part, to spread the message, and to stand together with all the people of Israel.” link



At Oct. 7 ceremony, ex-hostage Omer Shem Tov calls for release of remaining captives
By Stav Levaton

Released hostage Omer Shem Tov speaks at Israel's national October 7, 2023, memorial ceremony in Tel Aviv, October 7, 2025. (Alon Levin/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)
Released hostage Omer Shem Tov and Israeli singer Eden Golan take the stage at Israel’s national memorial ceremony in Tel Aviv, marking two years since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, calling for the release of the 48 hostages still held in Gaza.
“We are still on the journey — with 48 hostages who have not yet returned, and families who wait, breathe, and pray for that moment,” Shem Tov tells the crowd of some 30,000.
He expresses gratitude for all those who fell while fighting back against the invading terrorists or while saving civilians on October 7, and singles out Ori Danino, who initially fled the Nova music festival, only to return to try and rescue Shem Tov, and Maya and Itay Regev. He was taken hostage and murdered in captivity in August 2024.
“For two long years, 48 innocent souls have been held captive by Hamas,” Golan says in English, addressing national audiences watching the livestreamed event.
“Please, stand with us. Raise your voices, help us tell the world: They are coming home,” she urges, before performing a rendition of “I’m Coming Home.”
Following her performance, the crowd erupted into chants of “Everyone, now.”
Their appeal comes as ceasefire and hostage-exchange talks, mediated by the United States alongside Egypt and Qatar, are underway in Egypt.
Two years later: Israelis return to sites of October 7 massacre to mourn, remember and reclaim 
From bullet-riddled shelters along Route 232 to the Nova festival grounds and border kibbutzim, families of victims, survivors and visitors gather to honor the dead and confront the trauma of the worst terror attack in Israel’s history


The skies are clear and blue. The sun scorches the back of the neck. The turnoff to Route 232—normally deserted during holiday seasons—is completely jammed, with drivers waiting several long minutes to make the turn. Many cars are haphazardly parked along the roadside, and people—lots of people—pause and linger at every corner. This is what the Gaza border region looks like on October 7, 2025, the holiday now marked by the worst disaster in Israel’s history.
A Ynet team visited memorials, roadside bomb shelters and the Nova music festival site, speaking with bereaved families, friends and passersby who came to the area to pay their respects and feel a fraction of what Hamas terrorists inflicted on this region that horrific Saturday.


‘The shelter is smaller—much smaller—than in the photos’
The so-called “shelters of death.” Along Route 232 are the concrete structures originally intended to protect against rocket fire. On the morning of October 7, they became brutal death traps, where terrorists massacred Israelis, many of them fleeing the Nova music festival. That’s how these structures came to be known as “shelters of death.”
In the shelter at the bus stop across from Kibbutz Re’im, 27 Nova attendees sought refuge. Sixteen were murdered, four were kidnapped and seven survived.

Memorial site along Route 232 honoring victims of the October 7 massacre (Photo: Dror Schwartz)
The entire roadside turnout is filled with vehicles. Visitors come in one after another, faces solemn. Some light candles, others place stickers or scrawl messages on the walls. At the shelter’s entrance, a note reads: “Aner, you are the hero of Israel”—a tribute to the late Aner Shapira, who acted with extraordinary bravery, throwing back grenades that the terrorists had tossed into the small concrete structure.
A large family stands nearby, examining every inch of the shelter. From time to time, they gather around the open trunk of a car, which has been turned into a makeshift table for food and drinks. Many wear shirts printed with the photo of a young woman—clearly, a bereaved family.


A reinforced shelter along Route 232, now a memorial site, displays tributes and messages honoring victims of the October 7 massacre. The inscription reads: 'Aner, you are the hero of Israel' (Photo: Roni Green Shaulov)
“My sister was here with her fiancé. She was four months pregnant. They murdered them both,” says Ofri, sister of the late Nitzan Rahoum, who fled from the Nova festival to the shelter along with her partner, Lidor Levy.


“We come here from time to time. It’s important to us, but it’s never easy,” Ofri says. “Lidor went outside after the first grenade, and the terrorists shot him right here,” she says, pointing at the road.


The Rahoums (Photo: Roni Green Shaulov)


Nitzan Rahoum and Lidor Levy
“Nitzan was deeper inside and was killed there. Every time I enter the shelter, I realize how small it is—so much smaller than it looks in pictures. They were a young couple, both 28, here to celebrate life, and it was all cut short in a moment. For them—and for us. A switch inside us was shut off,” she says, placing a sticker on one of the walls.
The silence of car horns
About a kilometer north, the Re’im parking lot is packed to capacity. Even the traffic circle recently installed to help ease congestion is of little help. Yet, despite the heavy traffic, not a single car horn can be heard—a striking and unusual quiet.


Amid the signs and photos of the victims, many visitors walk solemnly. A group of American Zionists moves quietly through the site. Soldiers are present, and of course, bereaved families who have come to the memorials for their loved ones.
The Nova site, once a colorful party ground, was later turned into a makeshift memorial. Today, it is one of the most visited places in Israel—if not the most visited.


Ya’ara Yaron stands beside a memorial portrait of her daughter Shir, who was murdered at the Nova festival on October 7. A tattoo of Shir’s image is also inked on her leg (Photo: Herzl Yosef)
“She was murdered five minutes from home. That’s the hardest part for me,” says Ya’ara, mother of the late Shir Yaron, who fled the party and was killed at the Mivtahim junction. Shir lived in Moshav Ohad in the Eshkol region, about 15 minutes from the Re’im parking lot. She had arrived at the party just an hour before Hamas launched its murderous attack.
“She didn’t even get to experience the party,” her mother says. Standing next to Shir’s photo—planted in the soil where the festival took place—are Ya’ara, her husband Aryeh, and cousin Gil. From here, they’ll head straight to Shir’s memorial service. They’re also wearing shirts printed especially for the occasion, bearing Shir’s photo on the back.
“Shir wasn’t just my daughter, she was my best friend,” Ya’ara says. “I gave birth to her at 20. We were close in age and spent a lot of time together. She was the center of my world. When Shir stopped living, so did I.”
There’s no point in talking to Ya’ara about words like “recovery,” “healing” or “comfort.” She isn’t there—far from it, she says. What comes next is unclear. “Today marks two years, and it’s not easy,” she emphasizes. “But it’s no different from yesterday or last week. Next week won’t be easy either. And a year from now, it still won’t be. Every single day is a nightmare.”
‘The walls tell a whole story’


At the police station memorial in Sderot, a group of leather-clad bikers parks in a perfectly straight line. These tough-looking bikers from the Harley Owners Club of Israel—men and women alike—remove their helmets and walk toward the memorial, their expressions softened by emotion despite their rugged appearance.


The Sderot police station attack memorial site (Photo: Roni Green Shaulov)
It was at this location that, around 12 hours into the fighting on October 7, 2023, authorities made the decision to demolish the police station—while Hamas terrorists were still barricaded inside. A year later, a memorial was established here in honor of those killed, and a new police station was built elsewhere.


Members of the Harley Owners Club at the Sderot police station attack memorial site (Photo: Roni Green Shaulov)


Ran Lanzman (Photo: Roni Green Shaulov)
“Today marks the anniversary of the terrible disaster that struck us,” says Ran Lanzman of the Harley Owners Club, known by the acronym H.O.C. “We rode down from the center of the country. We first visited the Nova site and then came here. It’s simply important to be here. When I look at the bullet holes in the walls, they tell a whole story. We came to pay our respects to the fallen—and to the wounded.”
‘I decided to have 12 kids and name them all Be’eri. That’s my revenge.


Back at the Nova festival site, amid the photos, candles and flowers, a young couple from Tel Aviv walks silently, pushing a stroller carrying their peacefully sleeping baby girl, oblivious to the scene around her. Mordechai and Tamara Artzi stood in this very spot exactly two years ago—and managed to escape. Soon after, they married, had a daughter named Alice, and today they returned here with her for the first time. For them, it’s a kind of victory.


Mordechai and Tamara Artzi with their daughter Alice (Photo: Roni Green Shaulov)
Mordechai recounts that morning with emotion and vivid detail. “It was a wild and joyful party. Like many others, we decided to take drugs before sunrise. That’s the high point of the festival. I looked up at the sky and suddenly it was black with rockets. The music stopped and we were told to evacuate. People panicked. There was chaos, and some started saying, ‘Terrorists have infiltrated.’ I got angry—I thought they were spreading baseless rumors.”
Suddenly, he recalls, gunfire rang out. “We tried to exit from the back gate, but it was completely blocked with cars. People had abandoned them and were running. We went back to the main entrance and saw total panic. Bullets were flying over our heads. Police stood helplessly, guns drawn. We got out of our car too and started running through the field with everyone else. And in that moment—the acid kicked in.”


Mordechai and Tamara Artzi on the morning of the Nova music festival, shortly before the Hamas attack began on October 7
What may sound like a surreal aside in an otherwise horrific story underscores the chaos. Running for your life while high is far from ideal. “I saw thousands of people running through the fields, and no one knew what was going on,” he continues. “I told myself I had to get home. I entered survival mode. We got back in the car, and I saw the sun rising. I decided to drive toward it—east—away from Gaza and as far from it as possible.”
They sped through the fields at 200 kilometers per hour, he says, reaching the town of Netivot before merging onto Route 34. “We drove past bodies strewn across the road. It was insane. An hour earlier, we were in paradise, and now it was hell—and all this while I was high on acid and terrorists were hunting us. Somehow, no one shot at us. I don’t know how. Maybe we passed between the ambushes in a few lucky minutes.”

Mordechai and Tamara Artzi on their wedding day (Photo: Gilad Mashiach)
Despite his humor and light tone, Mordechai shares how the trauma changed his life. “While we were fleeing, I decided I was going to get married and have kids—as many as possible. That would be my revenge. I was so close to death, and I suddenly understood what mattered. There’s no point wasting time on nonsense. I started looking for a ring, and the day after I got one, I proposed to Tamara.”
A few months later, Tamara became pregnant and gave birth to Alice. “If not for Nova, I probably wouldn’t have gotten married or had kids for another five years,” says Mordechai. “I would’ve stayed some Tel Aviv bro going to parties every day, doing nothing. This was a slap in the face—a real one. On the drive home, I decided I’d get married, have 12 kids, and name them all Be’eri. That’s my revenge. Today, we walk around Nova with pride. It’s hard, but we’re here with our baby for the first time. And I’d be happy to come here every year—with a new child.”
The communities of horror
Ceremonies were also held in the kibbutzim of the Gaza border region to mark the day when their members were slaughtered while waiting for the army to arrive. In Kibbutz Kfar Aza, for instance, residents gathered near the armory at exactly 6:29 a.m.—the moment the attack began. Members of the alert squad, half of whom were killed, stood alongside community members and families.


Residents of Kibbutz Kfar Aza stand in silence during a memorial ceremony marking two years since the October 7 attack and the start of the war (Photo: Meir Even Haim)


(Photo: Meir Even Haim)


Sagui Dekel Chen, a former hostage, holds hands with his wife Avital during his first visit to the cemetery in Nir Oz, nearly a year after his release from captivity in Gaza (Photo: Ohad Shahar)
In Be’eri and Nir Oz, residents visited cemeteries that have swelled dramatically since that cursed day.
Sagui Dekel Chen, a survivor of captivity in Gaza, visited the cemetery in Nir Oz for the first time. “Somehow, in a whirlwind, I survived,” he said. “I’m above all this, but not after all this. Today is my first time here, though in my dreams and thoughts throughout captivity, I was here often—without knowing the names, without knowing how small some of the coffins were.”


He said it was still “early” to discuss the future of Hamas’s political bureau in Doha, after Israel’s botched strike on the group’s leadership in the Qatari capital last month.
The Hamas bureau has helped Doha mediate in the conflict, Ansari said, adding: “As long as there is a need for a channel [of communication with Hamas], there is a need for this.”
Ansari also said Israel should have ceased operations in Gaza after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed the deal, which the premier expressed support for in a joint press conference with Trump at the White House last week.

US President Donald Trump, right, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participate in a press conference in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC on September 29, 2025. (Jim WATSON / AFP)
“We await the outcomes of the negotiations in the coming days regarding the ceasefire. This question should be directed first to the Israeli occupation government. It was supposed to actually cease fire if the statements made by the prime minister there regarding adherence to the Trump plan were true,” said Ansari.
While Netanyahu has endorsed the deal, it has not been ratified in either the cabinet or the Knesset. However, the IDF was ordered to halt offensive operations in Gaza after Trump, on Saturday, accepted Hamas’s response to his offer and called on Israel to stop bombing the Strip.
Nonetheless, deadly Israeli strikes have continued in the Hamas-run Strip, according to medical sources there, who reported at least 10 Palestinians killed by the IDF since dawn on Tuesday. The IDF has said it is carrying out strikes to guarantee the security of troops holding their line in Gaza.
Hamas celebrates anniversary of ‘glorious’ Oct. 7 massacre
In a video statement to mark two years since the October 7 atrocities, Hamas official Fawzi Barhoum said the Palestinian terrorist group’s delegation to Egypt was “seeking to remove all obstacles to achieving an agreement that meets the aspirations of our people,” according to a translation of his comments by news site Egypt Today.
“We seek a complete ceasefire, the withdrawal of the occupation army from the Gaza Strip, and the guarantee of the return of the displaced,” he said.
“We have dealt with all ceasefire proposals over the past two years with great responsibility, the most recent being President Trump’s proposal,” he added, accusing Netanyahu of having thwarted previous deals.
Barhoum also hailed the October 7 attack, saying it “restored our Palestinian cause to its global standing, and exposed the fascist occupation as a threat to the security of the region.” Hamas denounces Israel’s existence as an “occupation” and avowedly seeks the Jewish state’s destruction.
In a separate statement marking the October 7 anniversary, Hamas called the onslaught a “glorious day of success” for Palestinians and a “meaningful turning point” for the region.

A girl pushes a broken wheelchair loaded with jerrycans along a road at a camp for people displaced by war in northern Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, on October 7, 2025. (BASHAR TALEB / AFP)
“Two years on, and the enemy is still continuing its barbaric war against the steadfast Palestinian people, and continues its massacres against innocent civilians, while the world is silent and the Arab countries abandon them in an unprecedented way,” said the Islamist terror organization.
The statement also memorialized top Hamas leaders killed by Israel since the October 7 massacre, including Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, Saleh al-Arouri and Muhammad Deif.
Thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, 47 of whom remain in Gaza. Hamas is also holding the remains of a soldier killed fighting in Gaza in 2014. At least 26 of the 48 hostages have been confirmed dead by the IDF.

People walk past portraits of hostages held in Gaza, on October 7, 2025, during a rally in Tel Aviv marking the second anniversary of the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP)
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 67,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
Israel says it has killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and accuses Hamas of using Gaza’s civilians as human shields.  Link

Hamas demanding bodies of Yahya, Muhammad Sinwar – WSJ report

Yemenis brandish rifles and hold a picture of slain Hamas terror leader Yahya Sinwar during a rally in solidarity with Gaza in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on November 29, 2024. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)
Hamas is demanding the bodies of its slain leaders Yahya and Muhammad Sinwar be among those released by Israel, alongside living terror convicts and detainees, in exchange for the 48 hostages held by terror groups in Gaza, according to a Wall Street Journal report yesterday.
The demand has been made before, and Israel has rejected it, the newspaper notes.
US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan would see the terror group release the remaining 48 hostages — some 20 of whom are believed to be alive — within 72 hours, in exchange for 250 life-term Palestinian prisoners; 1,700 Gazans detained since the October 7 massacre, which sparked the Gaza war; and the remains of 15 slain Gazans in exchange for each deceased hostage.
Indirect negotiations over the plan are ongoing in Egypt.



Benny Gantz slams ‘detached’ government for ministers’ absence at Oct. 7 memorial events
By Ariela Karmel

Benny Gantz speaks during press conference in Tel Aviv on August 23, 2025. (Tal Gal/Flash90)
Blue and White-National Unity chair Benny Gantz calls the current coalition a “disengagement government” after writing that he did not see any ministers present at public civilian-led ceremonies marking the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks yesterday.
Gantz, who has partly resided at Kibbutz Yad Moredechai in the south since the Hamas terror group’s attacks, writes that he visited ceremonies held throughout the region, and “at none of the ceremonies or memorial sites did I see any government ministers who came to show solidarity. To light a candle. To [offer an] embrace. I hope I missed it.”
“Before all the disagreements and politics, we deserve for our government ministers to be part of the people,” he adds. “This is the second Disengagement Government — detached from its people and from its responsibility. We deserve a government that is connected, that will repair, that can unite all of Israeli society.”
The phrase “disengagement government” is a reference to the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, which oversaw Israel’s 2005 territorial disengagement from the Gaza Strip, when all settlers and troops were withdrawn unilaterally.
Dozens of ceremonies were held across the country yesterday to mark the second anniversary of the massacre, with some 30,000 people attending the nation’s largest memorial ceremony in Tel Aviv, which also did not include participation from government officials.
The government has opted instead to recognize a national day of remembrance corresponding to the Hebrew anniversary of the Hamas attack. Since it happened on the Jewish holiday of Simhat Torah, and the following day is a transition day known as Isru Chag, the annual remembrance day is marked two days after the actual Hebrew anniversary, on the 24th of the month of Tishrei, which falls this year on Thursday, October 16.






Hostage Updates and the Negotiations for an end to the war

Until the last hostage



Qatari PM, Turkish delegation to join talks on Trump’s Gaza plan in Egypt tomorrow

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani will head to Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Wednesday morning to join the ongoing indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas on US President Donald Trump’s proposal for ending the war in Gaza.

Al Thani’s participation “comes at a critical stage of the talks, reaffirming the determination of the mediators to reach an agreement that would bring an end to the catastrophic war in the Gaza Strip,” Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari says in a statement.

Separately, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reports that a Turkish delegation led by intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin will also join the negotiations tomorrow.

The agency, citing security sources, says that Kalin held talks with US, Egyptian, Qatari officials and representatives from Hamas ahead of the indirect talks.  Link this is a very important development.  This together with Witkoff and Kushner who arrived today to the negotiations show that they are coming to close the deal and are there to overcome the last and potentially biggest obstacles in the proposal. The pressures on the parties to resolves all the issues will be great and will be on both sides. Egypt, Qatar and now Turkey will be applying great pressure on Hamas  and the other 2 Gazan terror organizations that has sent delegations to the negotiations. The US will be putting tremendous pressure on Israel and despite Netanyahu's declaration that he has assurances from Trump that Israel will not have to capitulate on any issues, Israel, too will need to show flexibility and willingness to compromise.
It is hard to see what will be the hardest points in the negotiations for which each side will be less willing to compromise.
These are some of my assumptions:

Hamas demands that Israel likely won't agree to:
-disarmament only to a Palestinian body after Israel disengages and redeploys totally out of Gaza. Any demand to disarm to Israel will be the straw that breaks their back. They will never ever disarm or surrender to Israel. They would much rather continue fighting to their last dying breath and last drop of blood.

-Hamas will insist on being part of the Palestinian factions that will rebuilt and rehabilitate Gaza. It may be under a different name but I think they will want to retain their name as they continue to celebrate October 7 and don't relate to the almost total destruction that they brought upon Gaza and the 2 million refugees

-Tunnels destruction - the Trump proposal doesn't specifically state the tunnels but it does state all terror infrastructure. The tunnels are Hamas' main and most important infrastructure and may fight to exclude their destruction from the agreement, especially since they have all plans to rebuild themselves even if it takes a generation. They want those tunnels to continue serving Hamas.

-full redeployment of Israeli forces out of the strip in its entirety without any buffer zone


Israel demands that Hamas likely won't agree to:
-maintaining a perimeter buffer zone of 750 meters to a kilometer depth along the entire border of Gaza/Israel. This will be a no manss later where anyone entering the buffer zone without  prior clearance will be shot and killed

-gradual redeployment along side the new Palestinian government and security forces taking over control of areas

-ability to go back to fighting if there are breaches. Not only Hamas is demanding guarantees that this will not happen, Qatar and Turkey are demanding strong guarantees. There could be an agreed upon mechanism and deciding body to determine what constitutes a breach on either side and what ramifications could come of each type of breach, but I don't think this will be met with agreement on either side

There are obviously more points of major disagreements but I believe that the respective mediators will lay down the law with each of the sides and force them to agree to terms that they otherwise would never agree to.




PM’s office reports progress in talks on Gaza deal as top Israeli, US negotiators to join

Israeli official tells ToI there is ‘optimism, but very cautious,’ warns ‘Hamas can add obstacles at any moment and leave’; terror group hails ‘glorious success’ of Oct. 7 two years on

Negotiations in Sharm el Sheikh for a Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal based on US President Donald Trump’s proposal have made progress, the Prime Minister’s Office said Tuesday, as Egypt’s top diplomat said that an American delegation led by White House special envoy Steve Witkoff will soon join the negotiations.

An official from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office told The Times of Israel that there was “optimism, but very cautious,” while warning “Hamas can add obstacles at any moment and leave.”

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a top confidant of Netanyahu who is heading the Israeli negotiating team, will depart Wednesday for the talks, the official added.

Speaking earlier at a joint press conference with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said they “had a long conversation with Steve Witkoff, who is expected in Egypt in the coming hours.”

Alongside Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser Jared Kushner is also expected to join the indirect talks that resumed Monday in the resort town of Sharm el Sheikh, with the Axios news site reporting that Trump and his top security advisers met with the pair before they departed.

Witkoff and Kushner were architects of Trump’s 20-point plan, which calls for a gradual Israeli withdrawal and the release of all remaining hostages within 72 hours of the start of a truce, among other conditions. The two briefed the group on the state of talks, which included Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Chief of State Susie Wiles, according to the report.



Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty (R) walks with Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (L) after their meeting at a hotel in Cairo’s eastern outskirts on October 7, 2025. (Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)

Hostage families have hailed Trump for his efforts to end the war and bring back their loved ones. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents most of the hostages’ relatives in Israel, on Monday wrote to the Norwegian Nobel Committee to recommendthe US president for a Nobel Peace Prize.

On Tuesday, Trump wrote to the Forum to express his “sincerest thanks” for the move.

Since the October 7 onslaught, Trump said, he has “been resolved to returning all the hostages home, and ensuring the total destruction of Hamas so these horrific acts may never be repeated.”

“These unspeakable scenes have been seared into our memories, and we will never forget,” he added. “Please know that we remain steadfastly committed to seeing an end both to this conflict and the waves of antisemitism, both at home and abroad.”

Trump later told reporters at the White House that “we’re in very serious negotiations” to end the Gaza war and bring broader peace to the Middle East.

“I think there’s a possibility that we could have peace in the Middle East, something even beyond the Gaza situation. We want a release of the hostages immediately, et cetera,” he said in an Oval Office press conference alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

“So our team is over there now. Another team just left, and literally every other country in the world has supported the plan,” he continued.

“There’s a real chance that we could do something,” Trump added, before later declaring “we are very close to making a deal on the Middle East that will bring peace to the Middle East.”

Indirect talks resume on Tuesday

After several hours of talks Monday, an Egyptian official with knowledge of the discussions said the parties agreed on most of the first-phase terms, which include a truce, the release of the hostages, and an initial Israeli withdrawal.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meetings, said the talks resumed Tuesday afternoon.



US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff (R) and Jared Kushner, son-in-law and adviser to US President Donald Trump, arrive for a joint news conference between Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the State Dining Room at the White House on September 29, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP)

Palestinian and Egyptian officials have indicated that Hamas wants clear guarantees and timelines for Israel’s withdrawal, due to worries that Israel will ditch the talks once the terror group gives up its only leverage by freeing the hostages.

The foreign ministry spokesman for mediator Qatar said Tuesday that “if Hamas hands over the hostages, that would mean the end of the war.”

In comments to reporters in Doha, Majed al-Ansari was also cautious on the Egypt peace talks.



IDF troops seen operating in the Gaza Strip in an image published October 6, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

“I have no doubt that this round of negotiations is a process in which all parties are strongly committed to reaching a consensus, but there are many details to consider,” he said, adding that the plan’s clauses “require practical interpretation on the ground, which of course requires communication with all parties.”

Israel sees growing pressure on Hamas as Turkish spy chief enters talks 

MIT director to meet Israeli, US officials in Sharm el-Sheikh amid cautious optimism over potential deal; Netanyahu marks Oct. 7 anniversary with vow to dismantle Hamas, as Trump pushes for breakthrough and Hamas demands full Israeli withdrawal before hostage release

The head of Turkey’s intelligence agency, İbrahim Kalın, is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday for the third day of talks over a prospective deal with Hamas, Israeli officials said.

Israel views his visit as a significant escalation of pressure on Hamas following U.S. President Donald Trump’s success in securing Turkish support for pushing his peace plan and drawing Hamas to the negotiating table.




Kalın is the most senior Turkish figure in direct dialogue with Israeli leaders, especially within the security establishment, Mossad and the National Security Council, a role accentuated by the current absence of ambassadors. In return for Turkey’s backing of Trump’s plan, it is slated to play a central role in Gaza’s reconstruction and in coordinating humanitarian aid into the enclave with Israel. Turkish officials have also told U.S. counterparts that they have made contact with two Hamas-affiliated groups holding Israeli captives — groups that had not previously been reachable.




The move could mark a turning point in restoring Turkey‑Israel relations, potentially lifting trade sanctions, resuming Turkish air links and reinstating diplomatic representation. Observers familiar with the negotiations believe Trump’s ability to enlist Turkey was instrumental in persuading Hamas to agree to talks.




Israeli officials expect that should Hamas resist, it would face pressure from Turkey and Qatar to expel its leadership from Doha and Istanbul — a setback from which the organization might struggle to recover.

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Ahead of Kalın’s arrival, Turkish security sources told Anadolu that his agenda would focus on securing a Gaza ceasefire, implementing a prisoner exchange and facilitating humanitarian assistance. The sources said Kalın has held discussions with senior officials from the United States, Egypt, Qatar and Hamas in preparation for Wednesday’s session.




Alongside Kalın, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump adviser Jared Kushner and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer will arrive in Sharm el‑Sheikh on Wednesday. Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed Al Thani is also expected, according to Qatari reports.

Israeli officials, reflecting on the second day of negotiations, expressed “cautious optimism” and said the talks “are moving in a positive direction.” As ever, Trump sounded more buoyant, telling a joint press conference in Canada that “there is real chance we can do something. Once there is a deal, we have the power to guarantee it.”

An Egyptian source speaking to the Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Al‑Awsat said a preliminary agreement may be reached as early as Thursday or Friday, with Trump then announcing it. The source said that if there are obstacles, the final decision might be delayed until Sunday at the latest. The main sticking point, per the source, is the ongoing Israeli military operation; Hamas is pushing to set conditions that would allow it to deliver captives only after removals of checkpoints, Israeli withdrawal, flight suspensions or receiving hostages from other factions.




Despite the momentum, Hamas demands reported during negotiations suggest the path to agreement remains difficult. A senior Hamas official told Al Jazeera that, unlike Trump’s plan, the group opposes a partial withdrawal in exchange for all hostages. “The Hamas delegation emphasized that the release of the final hostage must be concurrent with the final withdrawal of Israeli forces. The delegation stresses the need for international guarantees for a permanent ceasefire and full withdrawal,” the official said.

According to Egyptian reports, Hamas’ demands for prisoner release include those it considers “aces” — Marwan Barghouti, mastermind of the assassination of Minister Rehavam Ze’evi Ahmed Saadat, Hassan Salameh, serving 46 life sentences, and Abbas al–Sayed, planner of the Park Hotel bombing in Netanya. Link




Witkoff and Kushner won’t leave Egypt without a deal, US official vows

By Lazar Berman



US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff (L) and Jared Kushner await the arrival of President Donald Trump at Teterboro Airport, from where they will motorcade to attend the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup final, July 13, 2025. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will not leave talks in Egypt without a deal, a senior US official tells Channel 12 news.

“Bibi did excellent work,” says another senior US official. “The military pressure was critical in order to make Hamas more pragmatic. But now Bibi has to understand that the time has come for a deal.”

Hamas is trying to take advantage of Trump’s determination to reach a deal to talk about “day after” issues right now, including demilitarization and the end to the war. In response, the Israeli negotiating team is instructed to only make progress on details pertaining to the release of hostages, IDF withdrawal maps, and the release of Palestinian prisoners, according to the report.

If the sides don’t reach a deal, the US could present a compromise “take it or leave it” deal, says Channel 12, despite the fact that Trump has presented his proposal as such already.

Trump is meeting former hostage and US citizen Edan Alexander in the Oval Office in the next two hours, reports Channel 12.

Hamas demanding full IDF withdrawal from Gaza as soon as last hostage is released, source tells Al Jazeera

Hamas is demanding a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as soon as it hands over the final hostage, an unnamed source from within the terror group tells the Al Jazeera news network, at the end of the second day of negotiations in Cairo.

The Hamas source tells the Qatari outlet that the terror group is also seeking international guarantees that Israel will abide by the demand for a complete ceasefire and total withdrawal from the Strip.

Under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza, Hamas is to hand over the remaining 48 hostages, the living and the dead, and only then will the IDF begin a gradual withdrawal from the enclave.

The source tells Al Jazeera that the main focus of today’s indirect negotiations was the timetable for the release of the Israeli hostages, whom he calls “prisoners.”

Report: Islamic Jihad, PFLP delegations to join negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh

By Nurit Yohanan



Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists stand near Red Cross vehicles arriving in Khan Younis ahead of the release of three hostages on February 15, 2025 (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The Saudi channel Al-Hadath reports that a delegation from the Islamic Jihad terror group will join the Gaza hostage-truce negotiations today in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

A delegation from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine — a less powerful group, but one that is still active and represents one of the “factions” of the Palestinian terror front – will also join.

Yesterday, Qatar announced that its prime minister would attend the talks, and it was also reported that Turkey’s intelligence chief would take part.

Today, the leader of Islamic Jihad says in a speech marking the second anniversary of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that it is possible “to reach agreement on the clauses in the deal relating to the release of prisoners” — referring to hostages, who will be exchanged for terror convicts and other Palestinian security prisoners and detainees — “within the coming days, thereby stripping Israel of its pretexts for aggression.”

Family of Nepali hostage Bipin Joshi to share clip of him in captivity, from late 2023



A still image, cleared for publication by the family of Bipin Joshi, from a recording of him discovered in Gaza that shows him in the weeks after his abduction from Israel. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

The family of Nepali hostage Bipin Joshi — who was in Israel studying agriculture when terrorists kidnapped him to Gaza amid the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack — approve for publication a still image taken from a recording of him in the weeks after his abduction.

The full clip, which runs about thirty seconds, will be released at 7:55 p.m., Israel time.

The recording was obtained by the military and shared with the family by intelligence officials, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum says in a statement.

“The sign of life that was found in Gaza, which we are sharing with you today, anchors our strong faith that he is alive,” his family say in a statement, shared by the forum.

Joshi is one of two hostages whom Israel has expressed “grave concern” about, but whom the military has not confirmed dead.

Gaza and the South

Northern Israel, Lebanon and Syria


• the Israeli military carried out two separate airstrikes in southern Lebanon within an hour, killing two Hezbollah terrorists. One of them, Mahmoud Ali Issa, Hezbollah’s local representative in the village of Kafra, was killed by a drone strike in Deir Amas.  According to the IDF, Issa was responsible for liaising between Hezbollah and residents on both economic and military matters and was involved in seizing private properties for terror use, such as renting homes to store weapons and conduct surveillance.
  In another strike, the IDF said it killed Ali Kaddouh in the Wadi Marimin area. Kaddouh was allegedly operating engineering equipment near Zibqine in an effort to restore Hezbollah’s damaged infrastructure.

West Bank, Jerusalem, Israel and Terror Attacks


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Politics and the War and General News



• Weeks before Oct. 7, IDF chief warned Netanyahu that Israel’s enemies had become more willing to ‘take risks’ and attack

  

  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and then-IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi at a security assessment at the military's Northern Command, December 7, 2023. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

  In a letter sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu some two-and-a-half months before the October 7, 2023, onslaught, then-IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi had warned the premier that Israel’s strategy of deterrence was crumbling, and the country’s enemies were noticing, according to an investigation by the Channel 12 news outlet.

  The existence of the letter was first reported back in December 2024, but the new report marks the first time that quotes from the letter have been made public.

  According to Channel 12, Halevi explained in the letter that Israel’s strategy of deterrence has historically been built on three factors: Military strength, social cohesion, and a strong relationship with the United States.

  But, he warned, Israel’s enemies had noticed weaknesses in all three of these areas, thus reducing Israel’s capacity for deterrence.

  While the report does not go into the perceived weaknesses that Halevi was referring to, Israeli society had become deeply divided in the year leading up to October 7, 2023, due to the government’s controversial judicial overhaul plans. At the same time, Israel’s relationship with the US was under strain, as then-US president Joe Biden had been refusing to invite Netanyahu to the White House due to displeasure with the policies of his hardline government.

  In his letter, Halevi warned Netanyahu that “the current situation [in Israel] leads to dilemmas among our enemies — whether to take advantage of what is happening and launch an attack on Israel, or to wait for the internal process to continue,” Channel 12 reports.

  He wrote that, in his estimate, the developments inside Israel were increasing the chance of “escalation,” although he said he believed that this would come from the northern border, and did not mention Gaza, the report says.

  Furthermore, he warned, Israel’s enemies would also potentially be more willing “to take risks in response to actions initiated by Israel, which in effect limits Israel’s freedom of action in the region.”

  “We are entering a dangerous zone; it is necessary to act in a way that will prevent harm to the security of the State of Israel and the ability of the IDF to defend it,” Halevi wrote, according to Channel 12.

  It was previously reported that Netanyahu received Halevi’s warning while recovering in the hospital after having a pacemaker fitted in the summer of 2023.

  During that same hospital stay, he was also warned by then-Shin Bet director Ronen Bar that Israel appeared increasingly vulnerable to attack.

  There is no immediate comment from the Prime Minister’s Office in response to the report.  link There is already a great deal that has come out of reports made and given to Netanyahu, senior ministers and senior security staffs and they they failed to take them seriously enough or to take action. In time, more and more information will come out as to the reports that were ignored, actions not taken, wrong actions taken, negligence and criminal negligence. However, without an Independent State Commission of Inquiry, much of the real and damning information will be buried or stay buried, which is a real danger to the state as well as allowing those responsible to continue to shirk any and all responsibility forever. As we all know, the main actor who is preventing this commission of inquiry is Netanyahu himself. There are several other actors who know fully well that they may and will be implicated in this commission and it will go into the history books, but they have shown their concern and love for the country above and beyond their own self interests. This includes former and current IDF, Mossad and Shin Bet chiefs, former Prime Ministers and Defense Ministers and former Ministers of Internal Security (police and border police under them). So, who is against this commission and instead wants only a Knesset commision that they control? Firstly the Prime Minister, Netanyahu, the current defense and internal security minister and the rest of the cabinet. When the war broke out and for the first months, many in the cabinet and the coalition Knesset Members were stating that a State Commission of Inquiry was a must. That all changed when Netanyahu and his poison machine came out fully against this commission and it hasn't changed since.
  There is no way that the people of Israel will let any of them get away with this. There have been State Commissions of Inquiry for much lesser things and Netanyahu, himself has repeatedly called for these commissions when he was in opposition for a number of various incidents. This Independent State Commission of Inquiry is inevitable, but the sooner it comes to be, the better for the security and well being of the state.

The Region and the World



• Egyptian FM says more Arab states will make peace with Israel if Gaza war ends

  By Nurit Yohanan
  

  Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty attends an Arab officials' meeting in Riyadh on January 12, 2025. (Fayez Nureldine / AFP)

  Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty tells the Saudi channel Al-Arabiya that “additional Arab countries will sign peace agreements with Israel if the war in Gaza comes to an end.”

  He adds that the main guarantor for the success of the talks in Egypt is US President Donald Trump himself.

  He also says that the current talks in Sharm el-Sheikh are focused on the first stage of the US plan: ending the war, bringing in aid, returning the hostages, and releasing Palestinian security prisoners.

Personal Stories





Acronyms and Glossary

COGAT - Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories

ICC - International Criminal Court in the Hague

IJC - International Court of Justice in the Hague

IPS - Israel Prison System

MDA - Magen David Adom - Israel Ambulance Corp

PA - Palestinian Authority - President Mahmud Abbas, aka Abu Mazen




PMO- Prime Minister's Office

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

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

‎אין נצחון עד שכל החטופים בבית