Israel Update 4.12.25

RETURN OF MURDERED THAI HOSTAGE.

 

Gaza hostage Sudthisak Rinthalak’s remains were returned to Israel and positively identified on Thursday, bringing closure to his family and Thai authorities after more than two years of captivity.

Rinthalak worked on Kibbutz Be’eri’s farm for just three months before Oct 7. Previously, he had been working in Israel since 2017. His father said that his son largely supported the family through wages he had earned in Israel.

On October 26, 2025, embassies representing Asian Pacific nations in Israel hosted a memorial event in Kibbutz Be’eri , honouring the murdered foreign workers whose lives were cut short by the Hamas attacks.

The Thai Ambassador honoured the 28,000 Thai workers living and working across Israel, largely in agriculture, at the event.

“They were highly commended for their hard work, dedication, and kindness. They were loved by their friends, employers, and communities… They helped cultivate this land and feed this nation. Gradually, they became an integral part of the Israeli economy and society.”

He spoke of the 42 murdered Thai workers, including Rinthalak, and thanked the Israeli government for its efforts to return those remaining, noting that Rinthalak was, at the time, still awaiting return. Report here

Footnote: Israel had said on Wednesday that the forensic remains handed over by Hamas on Tuesday belonged to neither of the two remaining hostages whose bodies were held in Gaza. The Prime Minister’s Office stated: “The efforts to bring them home will not stop until the mission is complete — returning them for a proper burial.” Report here

THE LAST REMAINING HOSTAGE

 

 

The body of Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili is now the last still held in Gaza. When the Oct. 7 massacre began, Gvili, 24, left his home and headed out to fight, even though he had broken his shoulder 10 days earlier and was waiting for surgery, but he could still hold a handgun. During a battle near Alumim, he rescued about 100 people who had fled the Nova music festival and killed 14 Hamas terrorists before he was abducted. Report here

 

 

IRON BEAM

 

Rafael Advanced Defence Systems’ Iron Beam laser interception system is due for delivery to Israel’s Air Force by the end of December. Designed to neutralize drones, UAVs, rockets, and mortar shells at the cost of only a few shekels per shot, the system recently completed a series of successful operational tests. Report here

 

 

Iron Beam will be deployed near Iron Dome batteries. It operates using Iron Dome’s warning and command and control systems. In a split second, the system identifies whether an approaching threat requires a $50,000 Iron Dome missile or a laser shot costing 50 cents. Report here

 

TERRORIST ATTACKS

 

 

After a terrorist wounded a female IDF soldier in a ramming attack on Monday, he was shot by the IDF. Report here

Two soldiers were wounded in a stabbing attack in the West Bank  on Tuesday, and the terrorist assailant shot.Report here

HIZBULLAH

 

 

Iran has sent the Hizbullah hundreds of millions of dollars over the past year via money exchanges and other businesses in Dubai. Tehran has long used the UAE to launder funds and evade sanctions. A UAE official said the country is committed to preventing misuse of its territory for illicit finance and was working with international partners to disrupt and deter it. The U.S. is also concerned about funds being smuggled to Hizbullah through Turkey and Iraq.The US Treasury Dept recently stated that Iran’s Quds Force has transferred more than $1 billion to Hizbullah since January. Hizbullah is highly focussed now on rebuilding.  Report here (paywall)

 

 

Israeli and Lebanese officials are set to meet in a session of the ceasefire monitoring committee in Naqoura, southern Lebanon. Despite the diplomatic move, Israeli military intelligence concerns about Hizbollah’s growing strength, its continued deployment near the border and the inability of the Lebanese Army to confront the terrorist group,  have led a senior Israeli official to state they are “heading toward escalation.” Report here

 

 

Hizbullah assassinated four Lebanese figures (customs department officers and journalists) out of fear that they would expose links between the terror group and the 2020 Beirut Port explosion. Report here

 

GAZA

 

Four  Israeli soldiers were wounded on Wednesday by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by Gazans in Rafah in a serious violation of the ceasefire agreement. The terrorists emerged from an alley, fired at the troops, and attached an explosive device to a vehicle before being killed. Later in the day, the IDF struck targets across southern Gaza in a response to the ceasefire violation.
In a separate incident, the IDF located and destroyed five loaded rocket launchers during operations in northern Gaza. Report here

 

The proposed deployment of an international force in Gaza, a crucial feature of President Trump’s peace plan, is struggling, with several countries backpedalling on troop offers. Indonesia, which had announced it would send 20,000 peacekeeping troops, is now looking at providing 1,200 troops as an initial deployment. Azerbaijan has also reassessed. No Arab countries have committed to contributing soldiers.Report here

 

Yasser Abu Shabab, head of the anti-Hamas Abu Shabab militia, was killed on Thursday in an internal clan scuffle.

His militia had reportedly been collaborating with Israel on anti-Hamas efforts in southern Gaza. Report here

 

 

SYRIA

 

Last Thursday, IDF soldiers killed three members of Jaama Islamiya (a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Lebanon) in Beit Jann in southern Syria. Jaama Islamiya has been involved in several attacks against Israel since the beginning of the war, working alongside Hamas and Hizbullah in Lebanon and Syria.  On their way out of Beit Jann, the IDF convoy transporting two arrested suspects was ambushed, wounding six reservists, three severely. Report here

 

Surgeons at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Centre saved the life of an IDF soldier wounded in Syria who arrived at the hospital in critical condition with a bullet lodged in his heart.Report here

 

 

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s general intelligence orchestrated the attacks on the IDF on Thursday and earlier attacks against Druze communities. Report here

 

Context

For a year, IDF forces have been operating in the buffer zone on the Golan Heights and east of it, working to disrupt terrorist networks threatening Israel. During the Syrian civil war, and especially after the fall of the Assad regime and the collapse of the Syrian army, the villages and towns became awash with weapons of all kinds.
IDF activity has led to the thwarting of Hamas-directed cells, Islamic State-inspired cells, and cells directed by Iranian proxies. Report here

 

 

CO-OPERATION

 

A Ukrainian delegation recently visited Israeli communities near the Gaza border, such as Kibbutz Be’eri, to view the destruction from the October 7 attack and observe the reconstruction efforts. Ukrainian officials were reportedly impressed by Israel’s ability to quickly construct temporary homes and infrastructure with minimal bureaucracy. Israel plans to offer its knowledge on simplifying processes, building quickly, and emphasizing community needs, resilience, choice, and psychological recovery.

Israel and Ukraine are set to sign a memorandum of understanding today on cooperation in postwar reconstruction. Report here

 

 

JORDAN

 

Israel is advancing a plan to develop a hospital on its territory to treat Jordanian patients as part of a joint Israeli-Jordanian industrial park along the border of the two countries. The industrial park, dubbed the “Jordan Gateway,” will enable Israelis and Jordanians to cross the border to work on joint projects. Report here

 

 

DEFENCE

 

Germany.

 

Germany’s first long-range missile shield entered service on Wednesday. The government in 2023 decided to buy three batteries of the Israeli-American Arrow 3 system following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Berlin’s subsequent rearmament.  The contract is worth $4 billion. The activation marks the first deployment of Arrow 3 outside of Israel. Arrow 3’s missiles, manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries,  intercept incoming ballistic missiles during their travel time through space. Israel’s Arrow 3 has intercepted missiles launched from Yemen and Iran. Report here

 

 

Greece

 

Athens is building one of the most advanced counter-drone shields in Europe, relying on Israeli technologies and joint defence projects. Report here

 

 

Thailand

 

The Royal Thai Air Force has selected the Barak MX air and missile defence system from Israel Aerospace Industries as part of its plan to upgrade national base protection.
It would become the most advanced air defence asset in Thailand’s arsenal. Report here

 

 

India

Reportedly, India has initiated the procurement of more Israeli Heron MK-II drones, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and discussions are also now underway to manufacture the advanced UAV in India. Heron drones are primarily deployed for long-range surveillance on both the Chinese and Pakistani frontiers and have proven highly effective. Report here

 

 

INNOVATION

 

Israeli-founded Orca AI’s Co-Captain system is designed to steer ships clear of various threats by collecting and processing multiple sources of visual information and  is inspired by navigation apps like Waze, enabling vessels to share real-time sea condition data and alerts on traffic, weather, and other disruptions. The company claims its platform reduces the number of close encounter events (near misses) in open waters by around 50% to 60%.Report here

 

 

 

SEASONAL

 

Haifa kicked off its December celebrations on Monday evening with a dazzling display of light and festivity, as the city’s giant Hanukkah menorah, Christmas tree, and crescent moon were lit together at Ben-Gurion Boulevard Square. The symbolic lighting, attended by Mayor Yona Yahav, marks the start of a month-long celebration highlighting the city’s rich cultural tapestry and co-existence. Report here

 

 

COMMENT & OPINION

 

Gaza

 

Ron Ben-Yishai :

As we drove along the Morag Corridor in Gaza that separates the Khan Yunis area from the Rafah area, what surprised me most were piles of white sacks and cardboard cartons scattered along the entire route. They were sacks of flour and food packages brought in as humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza.

The deeper we went into Gaza, the larger the amounts of food thrown along the roadside became. In my estimate, there were dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of tons of flour sacks and cartons, containing mostly canned goods. All of them were intact and ready to eat. The image of food tossed along the roadside does not align with the photos of walking skeletons that Hamas has flooded across social media. Article here

 

 

UK Funding for Hamas-linked groups

 

Prof. Gerald Steinberg and Anne Herzberg : Despite the lessons from the October 7 attacks, UK funding policies for Gaza reflect a lack of rigorous vetting and a failure of accountability, prioritizing continued aid delivery and diplomatic convenience over strict counter-terror financing adherence.

For example UK taxpayer funds were funnelled through UNICEF to provide “multi-purpose cash assistance” in Gaza.

The programme was implemented in coordination with the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) in Gaza, which was responsible for providing the lists of aid beneficiaries.

The UK’s official justification was that it was working with the Palestinian Authority (PA) MoSD in Ramallah but while PA personnel may have been formally accredited, Hamas retained operational control over the MoSD-Gaza and the cash distribution.

Further, internal Hamas documents from early 2022 reveal a layer of direct communication that occurred after the UK fully proscribed Hamas as a terror organization in November 2021 Article here

 

 

Qatar

 

Khaled Abu Toameh: Why Qatar Should Have No Role in Gaza:
As a long-time supporter and funder of the Muslim Brotherhood, the Qatari regime’s main goal seems to be ensuring that Hamas remains in power in Gaza.
Qatar is the only Arab country that hosts the entire leadership of Hamas. It has been providing political and financial aid to the terror group since 2007. Qatari (along with Iranian) support has enabled Hamas to stay in power for 18 years and launch its Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
The assumption that Qatar could play a role in maintaining peace or launching a process of deep deradicalization in Gaza is delusional. Qatar continues to be affiliated with the extremist ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. This ideology considers non-Muslims (and Israel) as enemy No. 1.
Since Oct. 7, Qatari media have consistently expressed unreserved support for Hamas and for terrorism and armed violence against Israel. Bringing Qatar into Gaza is effectively placing the fox inside the chicken coop. Article here

 

 

Syria

 

Herb Keinon: Israel’s new security doctrine, formulated after October 7, is defined by a commitment to pre-emption and a rejection of passivity. Threats must be dismantled long before they mature. Deterrence is no longer considered sufficient, and delay is seen as dangerous. This doctrine has led to a sustained IDF presence and consistent operations in southern Syria, often beyond the former UN buffer zone, to prevent jihadist and Iranian-aligned groups from taking root near the Golan Heights.

However, Israel’s actions clash with the US administration’s diplomatic goals in Syria. Washington is focused on stabilizing Syria’s political transition and cultivating the new leadership under President al-Sharaa

Israel must prioritize its security lessons from the past two years. While it supports diplomatic goals, it will continue to act pre-emptively to prevent the border from becoming a “launchpad for the next October 7 massacre,” even if it causes “diplomatic irritation“with Washington. Article here

 

 

Cambridge Union Debate

 

Hen Mazzig: On Nov. 27, I took part in a debate at the Cambridge Union on the topic: “This House believes the international community has failed Palestine.” Palestinians have been failed catastrophically. But who failed them and how? The proposition wants you to believe the international community failed because it didn’t give the Palestinian leadership enough money, enough impunity, or enough land. They want you to believe that Palestine is a helpless victim of Western neglect.
My argument is the opposite. The international community failed the Palestinian people by indulging a political fantasy at the expense of human reality. For decades, they treated Palestinians as a geopolitical weapon to be sharpened against the State of Israel. Palestinians as human beings are deserving of dignity, but “Palestine” as a political project is run by factions who have spent decades holding their own people hostage.    They (the international community)  created UNRWA – the only agency on Earth that passes “refugee status” down through generations, effectively forever. It was to ensure that a child born in Gaza today is not raised to build a future in Gaza, but is raised to believe their only future lies in a “return” to a war from 1948. The international community pays for schools that indoctrinate children to believe that statehood does not come from negotiation, but from the conquest of the land “from the river to the sea.”
According to the latest data for 2024, Palestine was the single largest recipient of humanitarian assistance on the planet, receiving $3 billion a year. We pay for their welfare, so they can spend 100% of their own budget on warfare. The international community failed because, for 75 years, they prioritized the preservation of a political conflict over the preservation of human dignity. Full speech link here