Browsing: War in Israel

Israel’s new IDF chief of staff, Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, has vowed to achieve an Israeli military victory over its enemies despite many existing challenges. “Enemies near and far have sought to destroy us. They mistakenly believed that our spirit was weak and our ranks were fractured,” Zamir wrote in his first official order to IDF soldiers. He openly admitted that the Israeli military failed to protect the Israeli border communities during the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack. “The Israel Defense Forces did not fulfill its mission on October 7. We will not hide it, nor will we cover it up,” Zamir pledged.…

Liri Albag is one of the female lookouts who survived the Hamas terror attack at the IDF base where she was serving on October 7th. In an interview to be broadcast on Channel 12, Albag shared the horrors she experienced that day and the feeling of fear that took over her. “Since October 7th I have been living in one long nightmare, waiting for someone to wake me up, to tell me, ‘It was all a dream; it didn’t really happen,’ but unfortunately it did,” she said sadly. On the moment when the terrorists infiltrated the base, she said: “There was a look…

On October 7, the battle at sea ended in less than an hour thanks to a swift response from IDF Navy forces, even though no reinforcements were sent to the coastline overnight, even after warning signs emerged. The Navy had even been instructed not to raise its alert level, yet still managed to eliminate about half of the Hamas terrorists who attempted to infiltrate by sea. However, those who did make it ashore murdered 17 people at Zikim beach, near the Gaza border. As part of the IDF’s core investigations into the failures of October 7, released Thursday for the…

Released hostage Omer Shem Tov was forced to disguise himself as a Muslim woman and lowered into an underground tunnel in a bucket. He was spit on, cursed, and compelled to kiss his Hamas captor in a staged ceremony. Other hostages were shackled for months, starved, and left in complete darkness, their bodies wasting away.  According to testimonies published by Israeli media, the six freed hostages endured months of isolation, abuse, and deprivation in Hamas’s underground tunnel network. Eliya Cohen, one of the released hostages, recounted being shackled for extended periods, suffering deep cuts from the restraints. He and his…

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) struck and killed a high-ranking Hezbollah commander deep within Lebanese territory on Wednesday, in one of its most significant strikes since the start of the ceasefire with the terror group over two months ago. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) “conducted an intelligence-based strike and eliminated Mahran Ali Nasser Al-Din, a significant terrorist in Hezbollah’s Unit 4400,” the IDF stated, confirming that Nasser al-Din was a key figure in the terror group’s weapons smuggling operations. “He was directly involved in coordinating with smugglers operating along the Syria-Lebanon border,” the military said, stressing that this constituted “a clear…

The families of Eliya Cohen, Omer Wenkert, Omer Sham Tov, Tal Shoham, Avera Mengistu, and Hisham al-Sayed have been informed that they will be released alive from Hamas captivity this Saturday. Here are their stories as they prepare to leave the horrors of captivity behind. Ziv Abud, the girlfriend of hostage Eliya Cohen, celebrated the news of his return Tuesday, writing on Instagram, “Eliya is coming home!” Cohen had attended the Nova music festival with Abud, his nephew Amit ben Avida, and Amit’s girlfriend, Karin Shwarcman. When the Hamas terror attack began, the four took cover in a rocket shelter…

The National Center for Forensic Medicine officially confirmed Thursday evening that it has identified the body of former hostage Oded Lifshitz, 85, who was murdered in captivity more than a year ago. His family and the Prime Minister’s Office had announced the development earlier in the day, with officials saying that he was killed by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Dr. Chen Kugel, head of the forensic institute, said that forensic teams were working to provide definitive identification of the three other bodies transferred from Hamas custody, which the terrorist group has claimed to be those of Shiri Bibas and her two…

An Israeli American hostage recently freed from Hamas released a powerful message thanking Donald Trump for being the “reason I am home alive” and urged him to bring those remaining in captivity home. Keith Siegel, 65, issued a statement on Friday, February 14, commending the president for his “strength” and “leadership” during the conflict in Gaza while revealing the horrors he faced as a prisoner of Hamas. “Since February 1, I am a newly released Hamas hostage. I’m a survivor. I was held for 484 days in unimaginable conditions. Every single day felt like it could be my last,” Seigel…

Marking 500 days since the October 7 massacre, the Washington Hebrew Congregation was filled with a national prayer for the return of the hostages due to efforts from the Jewish Federations of North America on Tuesday. Hamas captivity survivors and their family members addressed a crowd of hundreds of people who showed up in support. Among the survivors who presented were Noa Argamani and Ilana Gritzewsky, both of whom have partners who remain in Gaza captivity, Avinatan Or and Matan Zangauker. In addition, Gal Dalal, brother of hostage Guy Gilboa Dalal, also spoke, in addition to Moshe Lavi, brother-in-law of hostage…

The United Nations and Israeli officials condemned Hamas on Thursday after the terror group publicly displayed the bodies of four Israeli hostages before handing them over to the Red Cross. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk called the act “abhorrent” and a violation of international law. “Under international law, any handover of remains must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families,” Türk said in a statement. The hostages, including Israeli infant Kfir Bibas, his 4-year-old brother Ariel, their mother Shiri Bibas and 85-year-old Oded Lifshitz, were…