Israel Update 28.8.25

MORE MEDIA DECEPTION 

 

The IDF Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) on Sunday published evidence documenting that a Gazan toddler featured on the front page of the UK’s Daily Mirror on Friday suffered from a genetic disease, not malnutrition. The photo of Karim Ali Fouad Abu Mu’amar, 3, in frail physical condition, was headlined: “Stop Starving Gaza’s Kids.”
A report from the European Hospital in Gaza shows Mu’amar’s diagnosis as a 10-month-old infant. He suffers from a rare hereditary kidney disorder called Fanconi syndrome, which could lead to muscle and urinary tract weakness. The disease also affected other members of his family.
COGAT said, “Hamas continues to spread false narratives as part of a deceptive propaganda campaign” and accused foreign media of “serving as their platform without any examination or verification.”Report here

 

HOSTAGES UPDATE

 

Israel has assessed that “at least one or two” hostages held in Gaza are in life-threatening condition, a day after US President Donald Trump suggested that fewer than 20 hostages remain alive. Israeli officials fear that several of the living hostages are in serious danger of death and in dire need of medical attention.Report here

 

Former hostage Tal Shoham described  the systematic theft of humanitarian aid by Hamas while Israeli hostages endured deliberate starvation. He said”The guards had food for months ahead that they stole from humanitarian aid. They said they received orders from above to starve us.”
His weight dropped from 174  to 110 pounds by the time of his release.
Hostages were allowed merely 300 calories a day and just 300 mi of water, which they had to choose to use for drinking or washing.Report here

 

 

GAZA “FAMINE”: IPC REPORT CHALLENGED

 

Statement from Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

 

The IPC has just published a “tailor-made” fabricated report to fit Hamas’s fake campaign. Unbelievably, the IPC twisted its own rules and ignored its own criteria to produce false accusations against Israel. The entire IPC document is based on Hamas lies laundered through organizations with vested interests.
There is no famine in Gaza. Over 100,000 trucks of aid have entered Gaza since the start of the war, and in recent weeks a massive influx of aid has flooded the Strip with staple foods and caused a sharp decline in food prices. The laws of supply and demand don’t lie… Every forecast the IPC has made regarding Gaza during the war has proven baseless and completely false. Full statement here

 

And see articles in Comment & Opinion below.

 

 

GAZA HOSPITAL STRIKE

 

The IDF have released the initial findings of an inquiry into Monday’s strike on a surveillance camera on the roof of the Nasser Hospital in Gaza, used by Hamas to monitor Israeli troop movements.

Forces operating in the area to dismantle terrorist infrastructure identified the camera as part of Hamas’ intelligence network and said it was being used to direct terrorist activities against IDF troops. Intelligence confirmed Hamas’ use of the Nasser Hospital for militant operations since the start of the conflict.

The strike aimed to neutralize the threat posed by the camera. The initial inquiry was presented on Tuesday to the Chief of the General Staff, who emphasized that the inquiry is ongoing.

The IDF noted that six of those killed in the strike were identified as terrorists, including one who had participated in the October 7 infiltration into Israeli territory. However, the IDF Chief of Staff did not make this declaration to clear the IDF of mistakes during the operation and he expressed regret for any harm to civilians. The IDF is investigating why tank shells were mistakenly approved for the operation.Reports here         here& here

 

Footnote:

Former hostage Sharon Aloni Cunio, who was held at Nasser Hospital, recounted harrowing conditions there: “Hamas took us by ambulance to Nasser Hospital, there were 3 rooms where hostages were held, each room had 10-12 hostages. The rooms were small so there wasn’t much space. We slept on pillows soaked in blood, and to go to the bathroom we would wait for hours.”

Another former hostage Ilana Gritzewsky testified on Wednesday before the UNSC, where she described being held for a time at Nasser hospital. She said her captors, who would subject her and other captives to cruel interrogations, were dressed not as Hamas fighters but as civilians, including one who claimed to be a teacher and another who said they were a lawyer.

Post here Report here

 

HOPE FOR GAZA

 

In eastern Rafah, a new school operating in an area controlled by the Abu Shabab clan now serves 130 children. The school eschews Palestinian Authority textbooks and appears to educate pupils along ideas of pluralism and tolerance. “We want to create a generation of learners, not terrorists,” said Mohammed, a senior member of Abu Shabab’s forces. In central Gaza, another school has sprung up with a similar stated mission of educating children away from hate.Report here

 

 

OTHER GAZA NEWS

 

President Trump chaired a meeting on Wednesday focusing on plans for postwar Gaza, as the U.S. and Israel seek a comprehensive deal that would end the conflict and return all of the remaining Israeli hostages. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff has said  that the Trump administration opposes additional partial Gaza hostage deals and that Hamas is fully responsible for the lack of a deal to date. Report here (paywall)Report here

 

 

COGAT released video footage Monday showing Hamas fighters assaulting, abusing and shooting at residents throughout Gaza, describing it as “unprecedented documentation” of Hamas’s violent control over Gaza. “Hamas does not represent the people of Gaza — it rules them through force, fear and cruelty.” Report here

 

The IDF announced that a mass evacuation of civilians from Gaza City  is “inevitable” as troops advance deeper into the city. Forces are pushing through Hamas strongholds, seeking to dismantle remaining command centres. The army says civilian movement is the only way to reduce casualties.The humanitarian stakes are immense, but Israel insists it cannot stop short of dismantling Hamas’s military infrastructure.(Update from WBII)

 

HOUTHI ATTACKS CONTINUED – NEW THREAT

 

A Houthi ballistic missile launched against Israel last Friday contained an internationally banned cluster warhead. One of these struck close to 85 year old Ilana Hatoumi’s home, shattering all the windows, but she survived in her safe room. This appears to be the first time the Iranian-backed Houthis have used this type of missile against Israel.. On Sunday the IDF struck Houthi missile bases, some in the vicinity of the presidential palace, and targeted power plants.

On Wednesday, The IDF intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile. The attack, which took place around 5:30 a.m., triggered air-raid sirens for some 1.5 million Israelis, including in the capital, Jerusalem

Today, Thursday, sirens sounded in southern Israel when the IDF intercepted a Houthi UAV. Another one was intercepted before reaching Israeli territory.Reports hereherehere& here

 

 

COUNTER TERRORISM

 

Several Palestinians were arrested in Tel Aviv on Sunday in connection with an alleged terror attack plot, after a long manhunt.  Earlier this month, a Palestinian man  was  arrested in Ra’anana, on suspicion that he was planning a terror attack. Since October 7, 2023, 53 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another eight members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank. In that time, troops have arrested some 6,000 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 2,350 affiliated with Hamas.Report here

 

 

MEDICAL AID FOR ETHIOPIA

 

A recent Israeli medical delegation to Ethiopia provided sight-saving treatments to more than 1,600 patients, The delegation spent six days providing eye care to those who had no access to ophthalmologists, setting up mobile eye clinics in four different locations. Report here

 

 

INNOVATIVE SURGERY

 

 

A team of Rabin Medical Centre doctors successfully performed an emergency mitral valve repair procedure on a heart transplant patient, a procedure that has been previously documented only twice in patients after heart transplantation worldwide, and had never before been attempted on a patient in cardiogenic shock.Report here

 

A 71-year-old Parkinson’s patient underwent deep brain stimulation (D.B.S.) surgery while fully awake — and under hypnosis — in a rare and unusual procedure at the Galilee Medical Centre. The patient, Ali Abu-Ria from the Israeli-Arab town Sakhnin, had electrodes implanted in his brain to treat his tremors.Report here

 

 

MEDICAL RESEARCH

 

In a recently published study, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem found that a new drug pairing outperforms Tamiflu—the most widely used anti-influenza medication—against even the deadliest flu strains, including bird (avian) and swine flu. The drugs are Arainosine and Theobromine, a compound found in chocolate.Article here

 

 

DEFENCE

 

 

Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems on Tuesday announced a €358 million ($415 million) deal with the German Air Force for advanced targeting technology for fighter aircraft. Report here

 

Morocco has completed the successful trial of an Extra guided missile produced by Israeli defence electronics company Elbit Systems Ltd and Israel Aerospace Industries. Report here

 

INFLUENCERS’ VISIT

 

The Israeli government arranged last week for 10 American and Israeli social media influencers to enter Gaza to reveal the truth about the humanitarian conditions for Palestinians there.  Xaviaer DuRousseau  posted (inter alia): “Israel is NOT blocking food from entering Gaza. There is enough food at this aid base to feed EVERY person in Gaza for at least a week, but the UN, Hamas, etc. refuse to distribute the food efficiently. Instead, it sits here to spoil and be stolen. How is that Israel’s fault?”

Report here (paywall)

 

CULTURE

 

Tonight 28 August sees the return of Tel Aviv’s White Night, celebrating the city’s UNESCO World Heritage status, awarded in 2003 for its unique Bauhaus architecture. Post here

 

SPORT

 

Daniel Bluman riding Corbie V.V. won the CSI5* MLSJ Grand Prix of Toronto. (Showjumping)

The Israeli waterpolo team won the Euro U18 Division 1 Championship defeating Belgium 12-9. Both teams are promoted to the Elite Division.

Nativ Bittane won gold and Alvin Landa bronze in the U19 50m butterfly at the World Virtus Swimming Championships in Bangkok. Virtus is an international organisation promoting elite sport for athletes with an intellectual impairment.

Nitzan Pizanty is World Capoeira Champion in the women’s category, blue-green belts. Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian dancelike martial art.

Daniel Boaran won a silver medal at the No Gi Under 15 European Jiujitsu Championships in Croatia.

Israeli Wakeboarder Matti Kornfeld won a bronze medal at the European Youth Championships.

Sources: posts hereherehereherehere& here

Football

 

The 12 Druze children murdered last July when a Hezbollah missile hit their football field in Majdal Shams were honoured on Wednesday in an emotional exhibition match near Herzlia which brought together the families of the victims and the injured, alongside legendary players from Israel’s national team. Report here

 

Two Israelis, Ofri Arad and Dan Glazer played in the Kairat Almaty team (Kazakhstan) which defeated Celtic FC on penalties in their Champions League match on Tuesday.  Arad scored a penalty in the shootout. Roundup herephoto here

 

Footnote: Last year Israeli winger Liel Abada left Celtic after suffering prolonged abuse from fans, notably the notorious “Green Brigade” who on Oct 7, the day of the Hamas attacks, unfurled two huge banners declaring “Free Palestine” and “Victory to the Resistance”. Article here (paywall)

COMMENT & OPINION

 

Palestinian state

 

Washington Post Editorial: Recognizing a state now comes at the wrong time. It actually sets back efforts to find a lasting peace. The establishment of a Palestinian state was always envisioned as the end goal of a process in which Israelis agree to swap conquered land for a guaranteed peace. But at the core, the future Palestinian state must recognize Israel’s right to exist and renounce violence and terrorism.

That means removing from any government role groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, whose calling cards are the elimination of the Jewish state. It means erasing from the education of young Palestinians in schools and mosques that insidious hatred of Israel and the Jewish people… Making the state a reality, if it ever happens, will take much more than symbolic recognition.

It will require the eradication of Hamas, ironclad security guarantees for Israel, and internationally agreed upon borders. All that can only possibly come through painstaking negotiations that win buy in from Israelis and Palestinians.Full editorial here (paywall)

 

 

Nasser Hospital context

 

From Palestinian Media Watch: In December 2024, the PA reported that Hamas was using Nasser Hospital as an interrogation centre. In a Telegram post in April 2025, the hospital’s director of Nursing Services showed a note in which he was “threatened blatantly” by Islamic Jihad for trying to prevent the organization from entrenching itself there. When hospitals become terror strongholds, they are no longer protected spaces under international law. Despite this, Israel continues to issue warnings, delay strikes, and make surgical efforts to minimize civilian casualties. It is the terrorists—not Israel—who are weaponizing hospitals and endangering the lives of both patients and staff. Full article here

 

 

Yair Mohr: The IDF strike on a hospital raises many questions, including how the point was reached where a Gaza hospital shifted from treating patients to serving military needs. The answer lies with Gaza’s health minister, Dr. Munir Al-Barash. Like every other senior official in the Strip, he is a Hamas member. He is also a businessman and one of the wealthiest men in Gaza. He heads Namaa, which controls all agriculture in the Gaza Strip. That organization also serves Hamas’ interests, providing the terrorist organization with food and economic security. Full article here

 

 

Andrew Fox: The identities of some of those killed on Monday further complicates matters. Indeed, some of the journalists killed in the strike appear to have been members of, or have close ties to, Hamas.  Mohammed Salama, a journalist for Al Jazeera, videoed and participated in the 7 October invasion of Israel that started the war. Mariam Abu Daqqa, who freelanced for the Associated Press, allegedly used her press credentials to protect Hamas fighters. Another, Ahmed Abu Aziz, openly celebrated the 7 October massacre. These connections do not necessarily justify their deaths, or even suggest they were knowingly targeted. But this does illustrate, once again, the way Hamas deliberately blurs the line between civilian and combatant, between journalist and operative…The Nasser Hospital strike is, in many ways, a distillation of the insoluble moral and strategic problems of the war in Gaza. It shows how boundaries between civilian and combatant are deliberately erased, how international law is abused for the benefit of terrorists, and how Israel is condemned for fighting an enemy that hides behind the sick and wounded. Full article here

 

Anath Hartmann:…unlike Hamas, which has every intention of killing Israelis and Jews wherever and whenever it can, Israel didn’t intend to kill them (civilians), and it wouldn’t have targeted the hospital in the first place if terrorists hadn’t been using it to advance the “global jihad” against the Jewish state. In fact, Israel’s armed forces could probably be much further along in their quest to stamp out Hamas if they weren’t so totally committed to avoiding civilian injury and death at every turn.Full article here

 

 

IPC & “Famine”

 

Israel National Digital Agency: Politics Disguised as Science: The Credibility Crisis of IPC “Famine”Analyses in Gaza

The IPC is the UN-backed system for assessing and communicating food insecurity and famine risk. On Aug. 22, the IPC released an analysis declaring famine in Gaza City. The declaration was issued not only without evidence that would justify it under the IPC’s own criteria, but also in contradiction to more recent data that was publicly available before the report’s release yet was ignored in the analysis. The classification disregarded newer information that directly undermined the famine classification.

A pattern has unfolded throughout the IPC’s reporting on Gaza since October 2023: thresholds blurred until they lost their meaning, principles applied inconsistently, and projections repeatedly framed to highlight worst-case outcomes.
The Gaza IPC reports expose a systematic lowering of standards: neutrality safeguards abandoned, critical stakeholders excluded, data selectively used, and transparency sidelined as key datasets and analytical reasoning remained inaccessible to outside scrutiny. Full statement here

 

 

Jake Wallis Simons: With the UN officially declaring famine in Gaza, we are being asked to believe that the privations match the other internationally recognized famines of this century, in South Sudan, Sudan and Somalia.
This seems unlikely, given that 10,000 aid trucks have entered Gaza since May, 2,300 boxes have been dropped from the air, and more than 2.2 million family food parcels have been handed out weekly…Pockets of hunger there may be, but Somalia this is not.
True, distribution has been a grim challenge. This is, after all, a war zone. There have been cases of malnutrition. Yet even before the war, this was so; that is what happens to the poorest when a society is ruled by incompetent jihadis.Full article here (paywall)

 

Gaza War

 

Col. (ret.) Richard Kemp: The battle of Gaza City does not need to happen. The expected loss of human life and physical destruction could be avoided if Hamas laid down its arms and released the hostages. That is made much less likely by the words and actions of Western leaders.
The pressure they are piling on Israel to end the war, including threats to recognize a “Palestinian state,” are translated by Hamas into signals to them to fight on. Why would they give up the struggle if there is a chance their enemy will be restrained by its own so-called allies? It is hard to reconcile the constant attacks on Israel’s vital self-defence with the near silence about the savages that started this war and keep it going…
The IDF has no choice but to destroy Hamas in Gaza City…This will be a battle for good against evil, and if Israel has to fight it, the West should not get in its way. Full article here (paywall)

 

John Spencer: What to Expect in the 2025 Battle of Gaza City.Hamas has had two decades to prepare, embedding command posts and weapons caches beneath mosques, hospitals, schools, and apartment complexes. Roads, walls, stairwells, and even ceilings may be wired to explode. Full article here

 

“Journalists” & Journalism

 

James Kirchick: International watchdog groups claim an unprecedented number of journalists have been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas. Yet these assertions rely on an expansive definition of the word “journalist.” There is no independent media to speak of in Gaza, and journalists operate at either the direct command or the mercy of Hamas and other terrorist groups.
Of the journalists and media workers listed by the Committee to Protect Journalists who were killed since Oct. 7, 26 were employed by or freelanced for Al-Aqsa TV, which CPJ describes as “Hamas-affiliated.” 19 were employed by Al-Quds Al-Youm, which the State Department says is “run by Islamic Jihad,” and 7 worked for Palestine Today, which the CPJ calls “pro-Islamic Jihad.”
6 worked for Al Mayadeen or Al-Manar, the former affiliated with and the latter owned by Hizbullah. 23 worked for outlets connected to terrorist groups ranging from Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to the Houthis.
What’s being hyped as an unprecedented attack on journalists is actually a cynical salvo in an information war. The figure is high because the world has never seen a conflict in which so many people working on behalf of terrorist organizations have been disingenuously characterized as journalists by once-respected watchdog groups. Full article here (paywall)

 

Lenny Ben-David: Under penalty of death, no reporter or photographer in Gaza today can file an accurate report on Hamas human rights violations or casualties. Western editors rely on their Gaza reporters and fixers who report what Hamas tells them to.
The Gaza Press Corps is one of Hamas’s most important units. They report the casualty figures or starvation numbers given to them by the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health. When Hamas seeks an international campaign claiming Israel starves babies, the Gazan press and photographers are quick to find ravaged sufferers of congenital diseases to present as hungry victims, and the New York Times is just as fast to print the pictures on its front page. Full article here

 

 

Avi Wiess: In today’s media, “hits” are the metric of success. The more clicks, the more powerful the piece. By that measure, the New York Times’ July 24, 2025, front-page photo of Mohammed al-Mutawaq – presented as a starving Gazan child under the headline “Young, Old, and Sick Starve to Death in Gaza: There Is Nothing” – was a triumph. It drew massive attention. Mohammed became the face of the false allegation that Israel is purposefully starving Palestinian children – sparking an avalanche of criticism against the Jewish State.

But five days later, the paper quietly issued a correction: Mohammed had “pre-existing health problems.” The correction received only a fraction of the clicks…news outlets should adopt a simple principle: corrections should appear with the same prominence as the original story – on the same page, in the same medium. Only then is there a real chance to right a wrong. Full article here

 

Hostage deal protests

 

Liat Collins: the address for the protests should be any international body that could put pressure on Hamas: the UN; the Red Cross; the EU; Qatar, which still hosts Hamas’s leadership; and Turkey, for example, along with all those countries now calling for the unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state. Before granting the Palestinians sovereign rights, get them to release the 50 remaining hostages (Israelis and foreign citizens), 20 of whom are believed to be (barely) alive, and to lay down their arms and rockets.Full article here