Israel Weekly News Roundup Dec 1, 2023
This Week’s Headlines Focused on the Release of Israeli Hostages Held By Hamas
Early Friday morning Hamas launched missiles towards southern Israel, and indicated that the truce of 10 days has been terminated.
According to the agreement between Israel and Hamas, Hamas would release ten hostages per day, in return Israel would free 30 Palestinian detainees per day. Hamas would deliver the list of released hostages for the next day before 7am on the morning of the release. The list was not delivered before 7am Friday morning and Israel renewed its attacks in Gaza. Hamas still holds 150 hostages, the majority of them are men of all ages, some are soldiers, men and women, their number and their physical condition is unknown, or if they are dead or alive.
Since the war has renewed, new guidelines are in effect, like the need to be close to safe shelters at schools in many parts of the country.
Negotiations between Israel and Hamas continue, through mediators like Egypt and Qatar. Israel has said that truce can be renewed, if Hamas will release ten more women from captivity
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A total of 90 hostages were released by Hamas during a seven day truce in the war between Israel and Hamas
Hamas kidnapped 240 people, the majority of them Israelis, and some Thais employed in Israel who were also abducted during the attack on October 7th.
Israel and Hamas agreed on a deal according to which Hamas will release children and women, in daily tranches, and Israel in return will release Palestinian youth and women prisoners. The deal specified three Palestinians for each Israeli. A truce was agreed upon, during which Hamas promised to release at least ten hostages per day of the truce.
The initial agreement was meant to be for five days, for the release of fifty Israeli hostages. Apparently, the truce was extended for two more days, in which Hamas released more Israeli hostages, women and children.
In addition to the agreed upon hostages, Hamas released three hostages, who have dual Israeli and Russian citizenship, as a gesture to Putin.
Hamas still holds 150 hostages, four of them children and fourteen women. The rest are men, foreign citizens, and soldiers, both men and women. The deal for the release of the soldiers is expected to be the most contentious.
Among the released hostages was four year old Abigail, also an American citizen who President Biden has been following. Both her mother and father, a photojournalist, were murdered by Hamas operators when they attacked their community in Kibbutz Kfar Aza (Gaza) on October 7th. Two of her siblings managed to survive.
Three Members of the Bibas Family May Have Been Killed In Gaza
The Bibas family became known all over the world, due to Kfir being the youngest hostage kidnapped by Hamas during the attack on October 7th. Kfir and his four year old brother Ariel, both redheads, were documented by Hamas operators who took them to Gaza, while being held by their mother, Shiri. Their father, Yarden, was also kidnapped together with them. At first Hamas claimed that their forces don’t hold them and that they were held by another organization. Later this week, there was a report by Hamas’ military wing claiming that they were killed during an Israeli air strike . This report was not confirmed by Israeli sources.
Hostages Reveal Some Details of Their Conditions While Held in Gaza
Under strong military restrictions, which Israeli intelligence try to impose on the released hostages, some stories are being told to the media. One of the boys told his mother that he was forced to watch horror videos that were taken by Hamas during their attack, which depicted torturing Israelis and murdering people from his community. Children said that their captives threatened to shoot them when they dared to cry. A father of one of the girls said she doesn’t talk but whispers very quietly, and he understands that she was ordered to to speak loudly. Another released hostage said that she and others kept together with her, didn’t have enough food and were often hungry. Another woman said she did not receive any medical treatment and any medicine she needed.
Many of the hostages lost a lot of weight while in Gaza, and some of the elderly women needed treatment when they were released and returned to Israel.
All the hostages were hospitalized for check-ups and treatment following their return to Israel. Many don’t have a home to go back to, since their homes on the Kibbutzim were destroyed, burned to ashes and their communities were all evacuated.
19 Thai Hostages Released and Returned to Thailand
The Thai foreign minister came to Israel to accompany the nineteen Thai hostages who were released last week by Hamas. They were foreign workers in Israel who were abducted on October 7th, and held by Hamas militants in Gaza.
Their release was coordinated with Thailand, and they were not included in the daily lists according to the deal with Israel.
45 Thai citizens, working in Israel, were murdered on October 7th attack, eight are still missing and thirteen are still being held in Gaza.
American Tycoon, Elon Musk, Made A Short Visit to Israel
Musk met with PM Netanyahu, who took him for a tour in southern Israel including a tour of Kibbutz Be’eri, where 100 of its members were murdered during the Hamas attack, and tens were taken hostage. Many houses in the Kibbutz were burned to ashes, destroyed and are uninhabitable.
There was a lot of criticism surrounding this visit and for the fact that PM Netanyahu hosted him. Musk is held responsible for the escalation of antisemitism on his social media platform X (Twitter), because he not only doesn’t stop or ban it, but because he himself promotes tweets that express antisemitism.
Another criticism came from members of the Kibbutzim. They claimed that PM Netanyahu has not found the time to meet with them and listen to them, but he found the time to meet Musk. He was also criticized for taking Musk into the house of a member of Kibbutz Be’eri without notifying the owner, or inviting him to be present for the tour.
PM Netanyahu did not invite representatives of the communities that were attacked by Hamas on October 7 for a meeting. He decided to invite them only later this week, more than fifty days after the attack and a barrage of ongoing criticism for not meeting with them. It was too little too late, and some representatives decided to decline the invitation, saying that it is too late.
It is important to say in this context that the majority of the communities that were victims of the Hamas attack are known for being predominantly liberal, and many of them took an active part in the protest against the judicial overhaul spearheaded by Netanyahu’s coalition.
Hizbollah Decided to Join the Truce, Without A Deal With Israel
After more than a month of unrest and daily targeting and attacking Israeli targets near the border with Lebanon, the Lebanese based Muslim Organization, Hizbollah, decided to join the truce and hold their fire against Israel.
Since the was in Gaza started, more than fifty days ago, the Lebanese organization Hizbollah started antagonizing Israel by random daily shooting at Israeli communities on the Lebanese border. All the Kibbutzim and other communities on the border between Israel and Lebanon were evacuated and checked into hotels, to protect their lives while there is no security guarantee for them in their homes.
Israel did not start a wider scaled up war with Hizbollah and prefers to negotiate a deal that will force Hizbollah to withdraw its’ forces north of the Litani River, according to the international agreement, UN Security Council Resolution 1701 from 2006.
Three Dead and Six Injured in Terror Shooting Attack in Jerusalem
Two armed, Hamas affiliated brothers from East Jerusalem shot at a Jerusalem bus station, killing two women and one man, and injuring six. Both gunmen were shot dead at the scene, and police raided their family home in an East Jerusalem neighborhood. Both brothers spent time in Israeli prisons, due to their active involvement in acts of terror.
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, and said it was perpetrated in retaliation for the war on Gaza, the killing of two boys, ages 8 and 15 and two senior Hamas commanders in Jenin the West Bank. In its statement, Hamas also called for an “escalation of resistance” and said that “the heroes of our people are mobilizing to avenge the blood of the martyrs.”
Secretary of State Blinken Visits Israel, Ramallah and UAE
U.S. Secretary of State’s visit to the region includes Israel, the PA and UAE, to continue diplomatic efforts to advance humanitarian aid to Gaza and prolong the ceasefire. Blinken met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, to discuss efforts to accelerate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, including through maximizing humanitarian pauses.
In a formal statement following the meeting, Blinken condemned Jewish extremist settler violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and said he would continue to insist on full accountability for those responsible. Blinken also reiterated the United States’ commitment to advance tangible steps towards a Palestinian state.
While in Israel, Blinken met with PM Netanyahu, President Herzog and other senior Israeli officials. At a meeting with Israel’s war-time cabinet, Blinken said that if Israel will not take steps to minimize casualties among Gazan civilians and prevent a humanitarian disaster, it will have limited time to complete its military campaign in Gaza. He also made it clear that that as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza will exacerbate, and the number of civilian casulaties will increase, international pressure from the US and Europe will increase, and it will no longer have their unwavering support for its military campaign in Gaza.
For Further Reading:
Hostages: Here, here, here, here, here
Abigail Idan: Here, here, here
Bibas Family: Here, here, here, here