Important Takeaways:
- Israel and Hamas agreed to extend the four-day ceasefire two more days, in hopes that the pause will see the release of an additional 20 hostages.
- On Monday, 11 Israelis, including 2 mothers and 9 children, returned home after 52 days in captivity by Hamas.
- Among the reunions: 15-year-old Dafna and her 8-year-old sister Ela, who are now with their birth mother. Hamas murdered their father, step-father and step-brother in Kibbutz Nir Oz.
- The White House expects more reunions
- …the White House is skeptical concerning how Hamas may use the ceasefire.
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Important Takeaways:
- 11 Israeli hostages returned to Israel on Monday, bringing the total released to 76.
- Hamas terrorists attacked Israeli forces in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday as efforts continued to extend the ongoing ceasefire, according to initial reports.
- Shortly after the reported incident the spokesperson for Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades Abu Obeidah claimed that Israeli forces had committed a “clear violation” of the ceasefire in the northern Gaza Strip and that Hamas had “dealt with this violation.”
- “We are committed to the truce as long as the enemy has committed to it, and we call on the mediators to pressure the occupation to adhere to all the terms of the truce on the ground and in the air,” said Abu Obeidah.
- Palestinian media claimed that shortly after the reported incident, Israeli fighter jets were scrambled over the Gaza Strip.
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Important Takeaways:
- The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas is refusing to release an infant Israeli hostage, Kfir Bibas, who was nine months old at the time of his abduction, among the 50-70 hostages it is letting go as part of a four-to-six-day “pause” in the fighting.
- The Times of Israel reported:
- The IDF’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee indicates to Sky News that the Bibas family — father Yarden, mother Shiri, 10-month-old baby Kfir and 4-year-old Ariel — will not be released today from Hamas captivity.
- Adraee explains that the family was taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 massacre, and was then transferred to another Palestinian terror faction in Gaza. They are currently being held in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
- The Bibas family confirms that their loved ones will not be released today.
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Important Takeaways:
- The horrors endured by Hamas’s hostages: Barely any food, forced to sleep on plastic chairs, waiting to be executed… Israelis reveal the Hell they went through while held captive for seven weeks
- As of Monday morning, of the roughly 240 people dragged into Gaza by Hamas in its brutal October 7 attack, 62 hostages have been released (made up of Israelis and foreigners), one was freed by Israeli forces, and two were found dead inside Gaza.
- Their relatives have spoken of plastic chairs as beds, irregular meals of bread and rice, and hours spent waiting for the bathroom.
- In one 84-year-old woman’s case, it is reported that she was not given vital medication while in Gaza, and that she is currently in an ‘unstable’ condition.
- Another elderly woman said she feared she was on her way to be executed in the build up to her release, only to find that she was being freed.
- Of those released, 58 were freed under a cease-fire deal over the past three days. Four others were freed earlier in the conflict.
- A total of 14 hostages with Israel citizenship were returned to Israel on Sunday, the third day of a four-day truce deal with Hamas that will see a total of 50 Israeli captives freed in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners.
- Under the terms of the agreement, one more group of captives is set to be handed over to Israel in exchange for Palestinian prisoners before the end of the truce.
- Those freed in recent days have largely stayed out of the public eye.
- Most are still in hospitals being treated as they start to process a seven-week ordeal that may have left many of them deeply traumatized.
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Important Takeaways:
- On Day 4 of Hostage Release, Families Await Word as Israel Mulls Ceasefire Extension
- Monday marks the fourth day of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, and the ongoing release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7th. Israeli sources now report the ceasefire may be extended much longer to release more hostages.
- For the past three days, heartwarming scenes have played out in Israel as families are being reunited for the first time after weeks of captivity, having been kidnapped by Hamas. Fourteen Israelis were released on Sunday, including four-year-old Avigail Edan, an Israeli-American. Hamas killed her parents in front of her during the massacre on October 7th.
- So far, 40 Israelis have been freed, with more expected on Monday for a total of fifty Israelis. In Jerusalem and the West Bank, Palestinians celebrated the return of dozens of prisoners. Many of them have committed attempted murder, stabbings, shootings, and have thrown Molotov cocktails. One woman called for more kidnappings so more prisoners could be freed.
- It’s likely more Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages will be released. Israel’s war cabinet is deciding whether or not to extend the ceasefire for ten days with ten hostages released for each day. This may prolong Israel’s military campaign for up to two weeks.
- “I think every day that goes on with the ceasefire, it’s going to be harder for them to restart the war machine, and that is exactly what Hamas intends,” CBN News Correspondent Chuck Holton explained. “They understand that the longer this ceasefire goes on, the more pressure will build on Israel to continue that ceasefire indefinitely, and if they continue it indefinitely, Hamas does not get wiped out, and Hamas survives. That’s their strategy here, I believe.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Quick Facts
- Over 1,400 Israelis (392 soldiers) have been killed, and over 7,000 have been injured.
- The IDF has notified families of 240 being held hostage in Gaza.
- The IDF has struck over 15,000 Hamas targets.
- Over 9,500 Rockets have been fired by Hamas toward Southern and Central Israel from Gaza (over 500 failed launches have fallen inside Gaza), with Lebanon and Syria also firing from the north.
- His visit came during the four-day fire pause in the fighting, part of a deal with Hamas to release Israeli hostages.
- “We are here in the Gaza Strip with our heroic soldiers,” Netanyahu said.
- “We are making every effort to return our hostages, and in the end, we will return them all. We have three goals in this war: Eliminate Hamas, return all of our hostages, and ensure that Gaza will not go back to being a threat to the State of Israel.”
- These comments came just hours before seventeen more hostages were released by the terror organization Hamas on Sunday evening and transported by the International Red Cross to the Israeli border.
- One of the hostages, 84-year-old Alma Abraham, was evacuated by a helicopter to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba directly from the border, reportedly in serious condition.
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Important Takeaways:
- Israel Approves Deal To Get 50 Hostages Back From Hamas: ‘We Will Continue The War Until We Achieve The Goals’
- Israeli officials voted on Wednesday morning local time to approve deal in which dozens of hostages kidnapped by Hamas will be let go in exchange for Israel releasing some Palestinian women and minors convicted of crimes from prisons inside Israel.
- Hamas will release 12-13 hostages a day for four days in exchange for a ceasefire during that period of time, The Times of Israel reported. Israel will release about three times that number to return to their homes in Judea and Samaria and East Jerusalem.
- Israel also reportedly agreed to allow fuel to go into Gaza, as well as a “significant amount of humanitarian aid,” the report said. Israel’s military and security agencies all reportedly supported the deal. It’s not clear when the ceasefire will go into effect.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly demanded that some of the conditions include the possibility for further hostages to be released after the four day pause, a commitment by Hamas to locate and find hostages held by other terror groups inside Gaza, and a refusal to release Palestinians from Israeli prisons who have been convicted of murder, the report noted, adding that Israel believes Hamas can help locate 30 additional women and children who were taken hostage by other terrorist groups.
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Important Takeaways:
- FBI Director Warns House Panel Threat of Terror Attack Now at Whole ‘Nother Level’
- The directors of the FBI and Homeland Security were in front of Congress Wednesday warning Americans to stay vigilant given the situation in the Middle East.
- Those most responsible for protecting the country fear lone wolf attacks could happen here based on antisemitism, islamophobia, or just hate for America.
- “In a year where the terrorism threat was already elevated, the ongoing war in the Middle East has raised the threat of an attack against Americans in the United States to a whole ‘nother level,'” FBI Director Christopher Wray told a House panel.
- Wray confirmed multiple investigations were underway nationwide into people who may have connections to Hamas.
- “Our most immediate concern is that individuals or small groups will draw twisted inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks here at home,” he said
- Concern quickly shifted the conversation to the southern border after nearly 200 people on the terror watch list were encountered there.
- “200 is alarming to me, does that give you concern?” asked Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX).
- “Certainly, the numbers give us concern. I think it’s important in some ways to say that numbers alone don’t really tell the problem. We’ve all seen how much damage just a small number of foreign terrorists could cause. As crazy as it sounds people tend to forget it was 19 who killed 3,000,” Wray replied.
- “That’s the point I was going to make. It only took 19 to create 9/11,” McCaul said.
- One point Wray stressed to the American people is, that while continuing to live their lives, there should be a heightened awareness.
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Important Takeaways:
- Forty days after the savage Hamas atrocities of October 7, the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) on Wednesday passed a resolution demanding a ceasefire and calling for “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups, especially children.” The resolution did not condemn the Hamas atrocities that started the war
- The resolution passed the 15-member UNSC by a vote of 12-0 on Wednesday. The United States, United Kingdom, and Russia abstained from the vote.
- S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the United States abstained because it could not vote for a resolution that failed to condemn the Hamas atrocities or restate the right of U.N. member states to protect their citizens against terrorist attacks. She expressed approval of the call for Hamas to release its hostages, however.
- “What are they afraid of?” she asked of UNSC members who refused to condemn the October 7 attacks. “Let’s be crystal clear: Hamas set this conflict in motion.”
- UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward supported the call for a humanitarian pause, but also regretted that UNSC still could not bring itself to condemn the Hamas atrocities.
- Tuoro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust director Anne Bayefsky immediately criticized the Biden administration for failing to block a resolution
- “The Council resolution said the hostages were ‘held by Hamas and other groups’ – not that they were raped, mutilated and kidnapped by Hamas. It never mentioned Israel’s U.N. Charter right of self-defense. It refers only to civilians ‘in Gaza’ and never in Israel. It never mentions ongoing rocket attacks against Israelis. And yet the Biden administration refused to veto it,” Bayefsky told Fox News.
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Important Takeaways:
- Turkey cozies up to Iran after praising Hamas ‘mujahideen,’ seeks reconciliation on key issues
- Turkey has found itself at odds with its NATO allies, most of whom have backed Israel’s right to defend itself following the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, while Turkey has echoed the stances of other Middle Eastern nations in questioning Israel and defending the Palestinians.
- Erdogan took things a step further and defended the Hamas terrorists who carried out the attack, calling the group a “mujahideen,” or freedom fighters, “defending their lands.” He has also continued to push for a ceasefire, accusing the West of being “too weak” to call for one — a stance that seems common among the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) members.
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