Israel update 6.3.25

ISRAEL UPDATE 26.2.25

 

TWO FATAL TERROR ATTACKS

 

An Israeli man, Hassan Karim Dahamsheh, 70, a resident of the Arab town Kafr Kanna, was killed and at least four others were wounded in a terrorist attack at a major Haifa bus station on Monday. The assailant, an Israeli Druze citizen, who had spent time abroad, was killed. His family said he suffered from mental illness. A 15-year-old boy with life-threatening injuries was stable after undergoing emergency surgery. report here

 

 

HOSTAGES

 

 

Israel received the bodies of four Israeli hostages last Wednesday night 27/2 after they were transferred by Hamas to the Red Cross. In exchange, Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

A Hapoel Tel Aviv  season-ticket holder, Tsachi Idan had often attended games with his daughters. He was abducted and his eldest daughter Maayan 15, murdered on Oct 7. Idan then 49 was murdered  in captivity.

Ohad Yahalomi, 50 had worked for the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and was known for his love of nature and hiking. He was murdered in captivity at some point during the past 10 months.

Itzhak Elgarat, a Maccabi Tel Aviv supporter, known as Kibbutz Nir Oz’s handyman, was injured fighting the Oct 7 attackers and murdered in captivity.

Born in Baghdad in 1938, Shlomo Mantzur survived the Farhud pogrom in Iraq and immigrated to Israel in 1951 at age 13, becoming one of the founders of Kibbutz Kissufim, where he worked for years in the chicken coop and an eyewear factory, and learned carpentry as a hobby. He was murdered on Oct 7.

report here (paywall)

More information herehere here& here

 

 

Recently freed hostage Eli Sharabi has described being chained, beaten and starved by Hamas terrorists throughout his 16 months of captivity. The 53-year-old, who lost 40% of his body weight, also recounted close relationships he formed in captivity particularly with Alon Ohel, who remains in captivity, despite serious injuries.report here

 

 

Released hostage Emily Damari has undergone a series of operations to correct complications from wounds sustained om Oct 7. Mandy Damari her mother, said her daughter was “sewn up like a pin cushion” by Hamas, leaving Emily in significant pain in both her hand, where she lost 2 fingers, and leg. report here

 

 

59 hostages remain in captivity. Here are their stories

 

 

Alon Ohel’s mother Idit spoke to the UNHCR (90 second video) Watch here

 

 

Eight Israeli former hostages were hosted at the White House on Wednesday. The US administration is engaging in direct talks with Hamas over the release of U.S. hostages still held in Gaza.report here

 

 

TERRORIST PRISONER RELEASE

 

Hillel Fuld, whose U.S.-born brother Ari’s murderer is among hundreds of Palestinian prisoners earmarked for release in exchange for the Israeli captives, said, “It’s like a punch in the gut. On the one hand, we’re releasing hundreds of monsters for every single Israeli hostage. It’s just tragic, it’s horrible. On the other hand, we see these hostages being reunited with their families. How could we not pay that price? Who could look a mother in the face and say we’re not going to bring your daughter back from the dungeons of hell?”
Since the truce took effect on Jan. 19, Hamas has released 25 living hostages in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners.(as at 25 Feb) report here

 

 

HAMAS

 

 

Hamas is regrouping its military forces for a return to fighting with Israel in Gaza. Arab officials who talk with Hamas say it has started repairing its underground tunnel network and is training new fighters to use weapons to mount a guerrilla war against Israel. Hamas is also repurposing unexploded ordnance into improvised explosive devices. report here (paywall)

 

 

Thousands of Hamas fighters have re-entered northern Gaza and are building up their military capability to fight Israel again, returning to their former stronghold of Gaza City under the cover of civilians returning home, Israeli security officials have said. Military officials say Hamas is once again taxing the local population – including a levy on humanitarian aid – to pay their fighters. They are also planting bombs and installing surveillance cameras in preparation for a renewed IDF offensive.
An IDF official said: “Every day of ceasefire helps Hamas mobilize operatives and commanders and  pass on orders.”report here (paywall)

 

 

GAZA

 

Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV toured supermarkets in Gaza in a report on Feb. 25, 2025. Shoppers said, “Everything is back to normal.” They said shops are well stocked with all the products that were on offer before the war and that prices are even better than they had been before the war. report here

 

 

With the completion of the first phase of the hostage deal and in light of Hamas’s refusal to accept the Witkoff framework for continuing negotiations – which Israel had agreed to – PM Netanyahu has decided that the entry of all goods and supplies into Gaza will be halted,” it was announced on Sunday. An Israeli official said the move came in full coordination with the U.S. report here

 

 

Israel estimates that the aid that has already entered Gaza will last 5 months.report here (paywall)

 

 

The US is backing Israel in its decision to block aid to Gaza amid Hamas’s refusal to agree to a second ceasefire deal. “Israel has negotiated in good faith since the beginning of this administration to ensure the release of hostages held captive by Hamas terrorists,” National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said Sunday. “We will support their decision on next steps given Hamas had indicated it’s no longer interested in a negotiated ceasefire.”  report here

 

 

Israel’s Foreign Minister said Tuesday that “Humanitarian aid became the number one source of income of Hamas in Gaza” as he defended his government’s decision to block aid to Gaza which had surged during the 6-week ceasefire adding “I don’t know of any other country in the world that is being asked to finance the war against itself.”
He  said Israel had allowed aid into Gaza under the first phase of the ceasefire “as long as there was a commitment…to free our hostages.”
After the first phase ended on Saturday, “we don’t have any commitment now to finance terror against ourselves.”report here

 

 

An Israeli government spokesman accused Hamas on Monday of hoarding supplies “for months and months.”
It has “enough food to fuel an obesity epidemic,” and “no one is going hungry in Hamas. The supplies are there, but Hamas don’t share.” report here

 

 

The IDF was capable of concluding the war against Hamas but refrained from striking nearly a third of Gaza to avoid harming hostages, according to Dr. Harel Chorev, a senior researcher at the Moshe Dayan Centre for Middle Eastern and African Studies. report here

 

Footnote:

A polio vaccination drive in Gaza reached more than 600,000 children, according to the head of the World Health Organization report here

 

EUROPE

 

After a UN Security Council meeting on Gaza’s future, speaking on behalf of France, Britain, Denmark, Greece and Slovenia, French Deputy UN Ambassador Jay Dharmadhikari said, “We are clear that any plan must have no role for Hamas [and] must ensure Israel’s security.” report here

 

 

ARAB SUMMIT

 

 

The adoption of the Egyptian reconstruction plan for Gaza during the recent Arab summit in Cairo is entrenched in perspectives that are no longer relevant post-Oct. 7, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. According to the Egyptian plan, an administrative committee of Palestinian technocrats would govern Gaza temporarily in preparation for the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) return in the Strip.
The Foreign Ministry said, “The [summit] statement continues to rely on the PA and UNRWA. Both have repeatedly demonstrated corruption, support for terrorism, and failure in resolving the issue.”report here

 

 

HIZBULLAH

 

A new report by the Alma Research and Education Centre warns of the increasing “Shiitization” and cooperation with Hizbullah by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) deployed in southern Lebanon, raising questions about the force’s ability to enforce the ceasefire agreement.

“The family ties between Hizbullah operatives and LAF soldiers increase the likelihood that Hizbullah will exploit the LAF, especially in southern Lebanon, as a supporting platform, human shield, or even as a direct proxy force. This situation also facilitates the leakage of Western military knowledge and weapons to Hizbullah.” If the trend of Shiitization is not curbed, the LAF will eventually become, “at least in part, a proxy force of Hizbullah, or even merging with its military forces.”report here

 

 

SYRIA

 

The IDF have been instructed to “prepare to defend” the Druze-majority city of Jaramana on the outskirts of Damascus in Syria which was “currently under attack by the forces of the Syrian regime.”
“We will not allow the extreme Islamic regime in Syria to harm the Druze,” said Israel’s Foreign Minister Katz. report here

 

 

THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL (UNHCR)

 

 

Luai Ahmed, a Yemeni-born Swedish journalist active on social media, told the UNHRC last week, “I ask the UN, the Arab League, and everyone who has been waving the Palestinian flag since Oct. 7: ‘Where is the flag of Yemen?’ Half a million people have died [there] in the last 10 years. The biggest famine and humanitarian crisis in modern history. Why does no one care when half a million Yemenis die?” Ahmed also referenced Sudan and Syria where there are ongoing humanitarian crises, accusing the UN body of only acknowledging such crises where Israel could be blamed.
“Why is it that when Arabs kill millions of Arabs, no one bats an eye? Why does your report mention Israel 188 times – yet fails to mention the Islamic Republic in Iran even once? How can you speak about the conflict while ignoring the party who armed, trained, and funded the terror proxies – Hamas, Hizbullah, and the Houthis – who have been bombing Israel thousands of times?”

Video embedded in this article: Video here

 

 

Syrian Activist Rawan Osman’s viral 90 second speech “Israel is not the problem”  Watch video here

 

 

RESCUE

 

 

Ten foreign workers from India were rescued from a West Bank village where they had been held for over a month. Palestinians had lured them to the West Bank village  with promises of work and then taken their passports and tried to use them to cross into Israel. report here

 

 

RETURN TO THE NORTH

 

 

The stories of Bedouin and Jewish residents who had evacuated and now are returning home both to mourn and to rebuild.Article here

 

 

SHEBA MEDICAL CENTRE (TEL HASHOMER)

 

For the 7th consecutive year, Israel’s Sheba Medical Centre has been named a World’s Best Hospital in Newsweek’s list and this time, it has climbed to #8 globally.report here

 

 

MEDICAL RESEARCH

 

 

Prof Yifat Merbl and her team from the Weizmann Institute of Science have discovered a new part of the immune system which scientists say is a goldmine for potential antibiotics. They’ve shown a part of the body known to recycle proteins has a secret mode that can spew out an arsenal of bacteria-killing chemicals. The Israeli researchers say it transforms our understanding of how we are protected against infection.Article hereStudy here

 

 

THE BBC

 

 

The BBC apologised for “serious flaws” in its recently aired Gaza documentary. On Tuesday, BBC chair Samir Shah told a parliamentary committee  that the scandal was a “dagger to the heart” of  its impartiality. reports here& here

 

 

 

VIETNAM

 

 

Israel Aerospace Industries has signed a deal to supply Vietnam’s Military Intelligence with two spy satellites for $680 million to help Hanoi address China’s provocations against its neighbours in the South China Sea.report here (paywall)

 

 

TEL AVIV MARATHON

 

Some 45,000 people took part in the Tel Aviv Marathon last Friday. Kenyan athletes won both the men’s and women’s races.  Report here

 

COMMENT & OPINION

 

OSCARS 2025

 

 

The film “No Other Land,” which won an Oscar for best documentary, is based on a  Palestinian falsehood.
The film conveys the narrative that Palestinians have lived in Masafer Yatta for hundreds of years and that Israel suddenly decided to evict them.
In reality, this was abandoned land that nomadic Bedouins occasionally used for grazing and where they sometimes took shelter in caves.
Palestinian construction in the area only began in the 1990s. Until 1993, the Israeli Air Force conducted full-scale military attack training in the area, that made permanent residence impossible.report here

and see: The Truth About Masafer Yatta Article here

Lahav Harkov: The Lies of No Other Land.  Article here

 

 

Gaza

 

Khaled Abu Toameh: Some are demanding that Israel end the war in Gaza, as if Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack was just another round of fighting… Hamas did not attack Israel because it wanted to release Palestinian prisoners or improve the living conditions of Palestinians in Gaza. The attack was part of Hamas’s Jihad to destroy Israel and replace it with an Islamist state… There is no alternative to eradicating Hamas. Anyone who believes that Hamas would abandon Jihad as a result of a ceasefire agreement is engaging in extreme self-deception. Hamas has not yet accomplished its mission of destroying Israel. In a civilized world, a terrorist group that is openly hell-bent on genocidal destruction has forfeited its right to exist. Article here

 

 

 

Wall St Journal Editorial: The six-week Gaza ceasefire ended on Saturday. Israel didn’t return to war Sunday, meaning Hamas is getting free days of quiet without releasing more hostages. But U.S. and Israeli pressure is increasing. In phase one, Israel ransomed 33 hostages for nearly 2,000 terrorists and security prisoners, and withdrew from most of Gaza. The deal’s terms, affirmed by the U.S., give Israel the right to resume fighting.
Israel backed the proposal of Trump envoy Steve Witkoff to keep trading terrorists for hostages, and at a faster pace, without the strategic concessions of phase two. Hamas rejected it. It is down to 59 hostages, including as many as two dozen of them alive.
To prompt Hamas to reconsider,  PM Netanyahu has chosen an intermediate step. “In light of Hamas’s refusal to accept the Witkoff outline,” he said Sunday, “we have decided to prevent any entry of goods and supplies into Gaza.”
This is what President Biden promised at the start of the war. On Oct. 18, 2023, Mr. Biden said aid would enter Gaza “based on the understanding that there will be inspections and that the aid should go to civilians, not to Hamas. Let me be clear. If Hamas diverts or steals the assistance, they will have demonstrated once again that they have no concern for the welfare of the Palestinian people, and it will end.”
Yet Mr. Biden sanctioned an Israeli protest group that opposed the aid, and kept pressuring Israel to send more, no matter how much Hamas stole. This let Hamas control Gaza’s people despite its losses. An Israeli siege means time is no longer on Hamas’s side. Israel flooded Gaza with aid during the deal, and it estimates Gaza is stocked for several months. The determination to cut off Hamas’s supply and control of new aid is a signal that Israel will no longer play with one arm tied behind its back. Editorial here (paywall)

 

 

Col. (ret.) Yigal Carmon:
Arab positions have become severely radicalized because the war in Gaza and on Israel’s northern border have given rise to new hope in the hearts of the Palestinians and the Arabs, based on the belief that Israel is not as strong as they thought.
The Arabs have also learned that taking hostages is a strategic weapon and in any future war this weapon will be used. In addition, the Arabs have learned that the use of Arab civilians as human shields is highly effective against Israel and similar foes. This is because the Western world does not blame Hamas for taking hostages and using their own people as human shields, but blames Israel for fighting for its life. All this has given the Arabs and Palestinians new hope. It is not yet the time to make peace – only temporary arrangements. Article here

 

 

 

Terrorist prisoner release

 

Khaled Abu Toameh: Why Arab countries don’t want to receive Palestinian ex-prisoners.Article here

 

 

 

Palestinians

 

Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib: Palestinian leaders must not only recognize their failed approaches and crimes against their own people. But they must also apologize for their role in perpetuating a vicious cycle that, while beneficial to a narrow group of people who enriched themselves, has made a mockery of millions of Palestinians who deserve better lives and leadership.

Palestinian statehood cannot be achieved in spite of Israel; it cannot be imposed upon Israel; it cannot be screamed at Jews and Zionists around the world. Instead, it requires winning over Israelis and convincing them that Palestinians are willing partners to the Jewish people, able to cast aside their historical grievances in the pragmatic pursuit of a better future.

Change and transformation must begin from within. The problem is deeper than just Hamas; it is about transforming the collective mindset to undo decades of external interference, regional negligence, and internal incompetence. It’s time to reclaim Palestinian agency and responsibility. X post

 

 

 

David Ben-Basat: history has shown that each step toward Palestinian independence has led to increased instability.
Suicide bombings, bus explosions, and mass killings during the First and Second Intifadas resulted in thousands of deaths on both sides.
After Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005, it became a base for rocket attacks against Israel and led to the Oct. 7 attacks.
If Hamas were to gain control of the West Bank, Israel’s key cities, including Tel Aviv, as well as Ben-Gurion Airport, would be within direct rocket range.
The conflict is not just about borders but about ideology and religion.
Surveys indicate that most Palestinians do not accept Israel’s right to exist, raising doubts about whether a Palestinian state would genuinely seek peace.Article here

 

 

Refugees

 

 

Barry O’Halloran: How the UN turned Palestinians into permanent refugees.

When successful American-born supermodels can be classified as “refugees”, something has gone very wrong. Article here

 

Failure of the Oslo Accords

 

Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch: The Oslo Accords, that provided self-governance for Palestinians in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, were predicated on the assumption that the PLO recognized Israel’s right to exist and abandoned violence and terror as a means to achieve Palestinian aspirations. Yet the PLO-PA have consistently perpetuated a narrative, both within Palestinian society and in international organizations and fora, of Israeli delegitimization.

These policies include the constant radicalization of the Palestinian education curriculum, thereby brainwashing and poisoning the minds of generations of Palestinians, and adopting and implementing a multi-billion-dollar “Pay-for-Slay” program that promotes, incentivizes, and rewards terror.

As a result of the Oslo Accords, the PLO-PA was given autonomous rule of extensive areas in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. Instead of building a functioning, democratic, and prosperous society, these areas were turned into safe havens for terror and an incubator for Palestinian terror groups.

Despite being given the funding, the opportunities, and the capabilities to establish a functioning and prosperous Palestinian economy, the PLO, the PA, and the Palestinian leadership abused international aid, including substantial U.S. and EU aid, to promote Palestinian national aspirations to destroy Israel. Article here