Israel Update 23.10.25

GAZA “CEASEFIRE”

IDF Major Yaniv Kula, 26, and Staff-Sgt. Itay Yavetz, 21, were killed and a reservist was seriously wounded on Sunday by anti-tank missiles fired by terrorists emerging from a tunnel in Rafah in southern Gaza, breaking the ceasefire agreement.  918 IDF soldiers have been killed on or since Oct. 7, 2023. Report here

In response the Israel Air Force launched airstrikes and artillery fire to neutralize the threat, destroying several operational tunnels and military structures. Report here

GAZA

The U.S. and Israel are considering a plan that would divide Gaza into separate zones controlled by Israel and Hamas, with reconstruction only taking place on the Israeli side until Hamas can be disarmed and removed from power.
Presidential advisor Jared Kushner said no funds for reconstruction would go to areas that remain under Hamas control, and the focus would be on building up the safe side. Report here (paywall)

Israeli security officials and experts on Gaza agree that Hamas has been badly diminished but not thoroughly destroyed and an estimated 10,000-20,000 fighters remain at Hamas’s disposal. An Israeli military official said that 90% of the group’s rockets have been destroyed as well as Hamas’s ability to rebuild them.Report here

HAMAS STALLING TACTICS

10 days ago Israelis celebrated as 20 living hostages came home but Hamas has failed to return all 28 bodies of murdered hostages.Report here

13 murdered hostages remain in Gaza at the time of writing. Report here

In the past week, these have been returned:

Saturday: Eliyahu Margalit 75

Sunday: Ronen Engel, 54, and Thai national Sonthaya Oakkharasri, 30

Monday: Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Tal Haimi, 41

Tuesday: Arie “Zalman” Zalmanowicz 85, and Tamir Adam 38.

Their stories are hereherehere& here

HAMAS IN GAZA

Regional diplomatic sources said Hamas has quietly selected roughly half of the candidates for the new governing body in Gaza – individuals aligned with Hamas principles, though not openly affiliated with it.  The remaining candidates were chosen by the Palestinian Authority. Egypt and other Arab mediators were fully aware of Hamas’s role in shaping the lineup.
The move is seen as a way to secure Hamas’s continued influence in Gaza even after the war ends, despite international calls for its disarmament and removal from power. Report here

The Israeli army believes that Hamas has reestablished its hold over Gaza’s governing institutions since the ceasefire went into effect. The fear is that the entry of Turkey into Gaza in a supervisory role will serve to further strengthen Hamas and facilitate its effort to take control. No protests against Hamas rule have been observed, except to a small degree on social media.  Report here (paywall)

 Hamas’s Interior Ministry, internal security forces, and police have resumed operations.
The Interior Ministry declared its intention to “settle accounts” with those militias that cooperated with Israel. But Gazans who enjoyed a brief, limited period of freedom of expression during the war have also become targets.  One Gaza resident known for his opposition to Hamas said that persecution of dissidents has only intensified. Report here (paywall)

Tamir Hayman, a former head of Israeli military intelligence  said that Hamas was trying to sow fear and reestablish its dominance in Gaza, pointing to the executions by Hamas militants of eight rivals on a crowded Gaza City street last week. “By doing that, they’re stronger, and it creates much more difficulties when you’re trying to demilitarize them. The appetite by Arab or Western countries to be deeply involved in demilitarization is decreasing by the hour.”   Report here (paywall)

Around the second anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre, the Arab press published numerous articles sharply criticizing Hamas and its decision to carry out the terror attack, which led to extremely severe consequences for the Palestinians. The writers accused Hamas of carrying out a horrific massacre, including against women, children and innocent civilians, and of embarking on an irrational and reckless “military adventure.” Some even claimed that Hamas had brought a “second Nakba” upon the Palestinians…The articles called on the Palestinians and the Arab world to hold Hamas accountable for the disaster, and to disarm this movement and prevent any possibility of its remaining part of Gaza’s political future. Report here

And see article in “Comment & Opinion” below

PALESTINIAN “CHEMICAL TERROR”

Residents across central Israel say air quality has sharply deteriorated  in recent weeks because of large-scale waste burning in areas under the Palestinian Authority, leaving communities blanketed in smoke and foul odours each evening. People living in Modi’in, Shoham, Harish, Hashmonaim, Yehud, Rosh HaAyin, Petah Tikva and nearby towns reported that the pollution forces them indoors nightly, sometimes for hours. The nonprofit Citizens for Clean Air described the situation as “catastrophic,” saying residents are suffering from what it called a long-running environmental hazard. Report here

HIZBULLAH THREAT

Hizbullah has recently accelerated the pace of its reconstruction efforts, according to Western intelligence officials. “Hizbullah is rebuilding faster than the Lebanese army is dismantling,” they said, adding that Hizbullah has managed to rearm itself – including with rockets – recruit new fighters into its ranks, and restore its sites and bases with most of these efforts taking place north of the Litani River. Report here

FORMER HOSTAGES UPDATE

Freed hostages Matan Zangauker, Omri Miran and Matan Angrest were discharged from hospital on Friday, four days after they were released from Hamas captivity after 738 days, and will continue being supported by hospital staff. Report here

Seven freed hostages were discharged from hospital on Sunday. Crowds lining the streets gave joyful, hearty welcomes to David & Ariel Cunio,  Gali & Ziv Berman, Yosef-Haim Ohana, Maxim Herkin and Elkana Bohbot as they arrived at their hometowns. They will continue their outpatient treatment at the Returning to Life Clinic, designed for hostages and their immediate families. Report here

Footnote: Commentator Yoseph Haddad : All the living hostages returned to us, but not even one of the people abducted on Oct. 7 has said that anyone in Gaza cared about them, helped them, or tried to save or assist them in any way. On the contrary, the captivity survivors who’ve returned say that there’s no one in Gaza, not a single person from child to the elderly, who didn’t treat them with hatred, contempt, and violence. FB Post here

DEFENCE

The German Army has decided to procure Spike advanced anti-tank missiles from Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems for 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) Report here

JAPAN

Israel’s leadership has warmly welcomed the election of Japan’s new (and first female )prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, in a vote earlier this week, expressing hope for close bilateral cooperation. Report here

MEDICAL RESEARCH

Prof. Shani Stern, a Haifa University researcher and her team have developed a new method to predict a high suicide risk among patients with bipolar disorder through a simple blood test which helps monitor these patients, 40% of whom are likely to attempt suicide. The test achieved 95% accuracy.Report here

SPORT

The International Olympic Committee’s executive board recommended Wednesday that global sports federations cease holding events in Indonesia after the country barred Israeli athletes from the gymnastics world championships in Jakarta. The IOC also said it was ending “any form of dialogue” with Indonesia about hosting future Olympic events.
Israeli athletes denied visas included 2020 Olympic gold medalist and defending world champion Artem Dolgopyat in the men’s floor exercise. Report here

Basketball’s top European competitions are set to become the first to return to Israel since Oct. 2023, after clubs agreed on Tuesday to resume Euroleague and EuroCup games in the country from December 1, following recent ceasefire and peace initiatives in the region. Six-time champions Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv are the Israeli clubs in this season’s Euroleague, while Hapoel Jerusalem plays in the EuroCup.Report here

COMMENT & OPINION

Arab Criticism of Hamas

Abdulrahman Al-Rashed:
Of course, Hamas is to blame for the tragedies. First, its attacks were a massacre of massive scale, with children, women and civilians among the targets. It is also to blame for prolonging the tragedy, since it could have made the same concessions it is making today more than a year ago, sparing the blood of tens of thousands of Gaza residents who have perished because of Hamas.
To this day, we still cannot understand why Hamas carried out such a large-scale attack – one that would entirely predictably provoke an Israeli frenzy and the destruction of Hamas and everyone who stood with it.
The writer is chairman of Al Arabiya’s editorial aboard and former editor-in-chief of Asharq al-Awsat. Article here

The War May Be Over but the Fighting Is Not

Jonathan Schanzer:
The regime in Iran is now working feverishly to re-establish its air defences, rebuild its ballistic missile arsenal, and perhaps even rebuild its nuclear programme. There is also the rest of the Iranian axis. So long as the regime maintains its ambition of destroying Israel, its proxies will do the same. This includes Hizbullah, Hamas, Shiite militias in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen. They continue to receive weapons, funding, and other support from the regime.
Turkey, the country with the second-largest army in NATO, has openly called for the Islamic world to destroy Israel. The Erdogan regime’s key ally is the wealthy microstate of Qatar, which can certainly help fund Turkish ambitions…Article here

Gaza Ceasefire

Washington Post Editorial:
The UAE and Saudi Arabia have threatened to withhold reconstruction funds so long as Hamas stays in power. Given the continued barbarity of Hamas, a happy future for the people of Gaza is probably out of reach in the near term.
The central problem is that Hamas’s political legitimacy still hinges on violent confrontation with Israel… Hamas is so weak right now that it faces challenges to its control of Gaza and can likely cling to power only by massacring its Palestinian enemies, just as it did in 2007 with its political rival Fatah.
Hamas enforcers emerged from their underground dens, fresh-faced, well-fed and clad in clean uniforms. Hamas declared war on at least four Palestinian clans. Editorial here (paywall)

Wall St Journal Editorial:
Of course Hamas violated the ceasefire. Breaking up peace processes is what Hamas does, from its suicide bombings of the 1990s and early 2000s through its Oct. 7, 2023, massacre designed to thwart the expansion of the Abraham Accords to Saudi Arabia. Hamas leaders continue to say they won’t disarm, and their actions tell the same story.
The best part of the Trump deal is that the U.S. and Israel don’t have to play Hamas’s game or accept its excuses. With all living hostages ransomed and free, Israel was able to respond with force to Hamas attacks on Israeli troops on Sunday. Editorial here (paywall)

Zina Rakhamilova:
The chaperones of the ceasefire agreement, Qatar and Turkey, do not have Israel’s best interests at heart.
Since Hamas took over Gaza in 2006, Qatari funding bankrolled the terror group and bears responsibility for the two years of devastation we have endured.
Israel’s military strike targeting Hamas officials in Qatar appears to have alarmed Doha, bringing the Gaza war to their own soil.
This pressure ultimately forced Doha to push Hamas to release all the hostages at once.
Did Qatar have this ability all along to force Hamas’s hand? Think about how many lives could have been saved if Qatar had done this sooner. Article here

Khaled Abu Toameh:
In addition to Iran, Qatar and Turkey have long been sponsoring and funding Hamas and providing the terror group’s leaders with shelter…
It is laughable – and dangerous – to assume that under their current rulers, Qatar and Turkey would ever play a positive and constructive role in ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East. Qatar and Turkey are not interested in the reconstruction of Gaza. Instead, they are interested in rebuilding Hamas’s military and civilian capabilities… Article here

Lazar Berman: No one seems to have informed Hamas that it has been defeated. Hamas is not trying to hide its weapons or its determination to violently eliminate any opposition in Gaza. It has carried out public executions, and its operatives have put uniforms back on, riding around Gaza in pickup trucks brandishing rifles. This is not the behaviour of an organization that is about to hand over power and give up violence…
If there is not a vigorous Israeli response to ceasefire violations, and a clear message from Trump that the IDF is free to respond to further violations, Hamas will continue pushing the bounds of the deal until it falls apart. Article here

Hamas executions

Khaled Abu Toameh:

As Hamas drags Palestinians to the streets to face its firing squads, the international community appears to be looking the other way. Hamas is not going after criminals and suspected collaborators, as it claims. Instead, Hamas is targeting Palestinian clans and individuals who dared to publicly challenge its atrocities against both Israelis and Palestinians.
Hamas’s actions also demonstrate its determination to exploit the current ceasefire to reassert its control over Gaza. The silence, or apathy, of the international community, including so-called pro-Palestinian groups, only encourages Hamas to proceed with its crackdown on its own people.
In the eyes of Hamas leaders, the Trump peace plan is just another temporary ceasefire that should be used for rearming, regrouping, and preparing for massacring more Israelis.
No transitional government or “Board of Peace” will ever be able to enforce law and order as long as Hamas terrorists feel free to murder any Palestinian who wants peace and coexistence with Israel. Deradicalization will happen only after Palestinians see that Hamas has been totally defeated, disarmed and removed from power. Article here

Amihai Attali:
In the videos emerging from Gaza… armed Hamas militants are seen dragging a group of condemned men. Even more chilling are the dozens, maybe hundreds, of civilians forming a circle around the scene. At least half the crowd are children and teenagers. They cheer as the gunmen force the victims to their knees, and when each is executed with a bullet to the back of the head, the excitement erupts into ecstasy…Gazans bring their children to the town square to watch, to smell, and to hear death…The other side lives by a completely different code – of good and evil, of life and death, of right and wrong, of how to raise their children. Article here

Moumen al-Natour: Where are the protestors who for two years claimed to care for Gazans, now that footage of Hamas’s cruelty against its own people floods social media? Are the activists who filled the streets of Western cities truly for us Palestinians – or simply against Israelis?
The vision of a Gaza governed by civilians is the minimum condition for recovery. A society that values education, opportunity and safety over martyrdom could begin to resemble a normal community rather than a permanent front line. Article here

Deradicalisation

Dr. Dan Diker:
The first principle of the U.S. plan for ending the Gaza war – “Gaza will be a deradicalized terror-free zone” – reveals the central contradiction that has haunted every peace initiative since Oslo…

Oct. 7 did not occur due to the absence of a Palestinian state: It occurred precisely because there was a de facto Palestinian state in Gaza.
The ideological structure underlying any Palestinian entity remains fundamentally based on jihad and the cancellation of Israel. That cancerous indoctrination is inherent in the Palestinian collective mindset and institutional framework.
Creating a Palestinian state now will inflame radicalization, not diminish it. Hamas had an 18-year period to radicalize an entire generation in Gaza. The Palestinian Authority’s “pay to slay” program – disbursing more than $300 million annually to terrorists and their families – continues to this day. The PLO Charter explicitly calls for preparing younger generations ideologically and practically for armed struggle.
Changing ideology takes generations. Until Western policymakers understand this elemental truth about the Middle East, we will continue cycling through failed initiatives.Article here