[IMPORTANT] Hamas launches foot assault against settlements.

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Ok yes, carpet bombing Palestinian safe zones meant as a civilian refuge is a war crime under international law drafted at the Hague. But basically whatever the IDF/Israel/Netanyahu did to defend themselves against HAMAS rockets or rescue their hostages is moot. Oct 7 is Israel's fault. the prevailing narrative is the Israeli state should not exist in the first place. I said this on Oct 8. Israel were put in an impossible position. It's exactly what HAMAS and Iran wanted.

Israel’s military sent ground troops back into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces announced, just over a day after it broke a two-month ceasefire with a sprawling bombing campaign that killed hundreds across the enclave.

The “targeted ground operation” has focused on the central and southern Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, the IDF said in a statement.

Ground troops had also retaken about half of the “Netzarim Corridor,” the IDF said, referring to the Israeli-built roadway that bisects Gaza and has been used to cut off traffic between the northern and southern parts of the enclave.

Hamas said in a statement Wednesday evening that Israel’s ground incursion “constitutes a new and dangerous violation of the signed ceasefire agreement.”

Israel’s defense minister issued a bellicose statement, threatening that the military would once again begin evacuating civilians from combat zones.

“The air force attack against Hamas terrorists was only the first step. The rest will be much more difficult and you will pay the full price,” Defense Minister Israel Katz said in the statement. “If all the Israeli hostages are not released and Hamas is not eliminated from Gaza — Israel will act with forces you have never known before.”

Alongside its statement, the IDF circulated a video that showed Israeli tanks, as well as infantry soldiers walking, taking up positions and gathering in groups around destroyed homes in what the IDF said was central Gaza.

At about 9 a.m. local time Wednesday, Israel’s Arabic-language spokesman published a map on social media advising residents in Gaza to vacate areas around the perimeter and move toward the coast, highlighting two square blocks of territory in the enclave’s northeast and southeast for urgent evacuation.

The IDF will permanently seize parts of the Gaza Strip if Hamas doesn't release the hostages held in captivity, Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Friday.

"I have instructed the IDF to seize additional areas in Gaza, evacuate the population, and expand security zones around Gaza to protect Israeli communities and IDF soldiers. The more Hamas persists in its refusal to release the hostages, the more territory it will lose, which will be annexed to Israel," Katz said.

"If the hostages are not released, Israel will continue to take more and more territory in the Strip for permanent control," he concluded.

Katz approves further Gaza military operations
On Thursday, Katz approved the continuation of military operations in Gaza.

The IDF announced on Thursday evening that it had four separate forces operating simultaneously in each of Gaza’s main regions.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that his country was ready to temporarily host half a million Gazans who would be evacuated from the Gaza Strip, according to a Friday report by Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

According to the report, the Gazans would be allocated a city in the North of the Sinai Peninsula.

The comment reportedly came during a conference held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the situation in the Middle East, in which the Egyptian leader was present, among other attendees.

According to the report, the temporary relocation offer has raised concerns with Jordan, who has previously taken a strong stance against such a move.

The families of American hostages held by Hamas in Gaza recently received a grim outlook from senior U.S. administration officials regarding the chances of reaching another hostage release deal. Those involved in the discussions got the impression that negotiations are currently at a complete standstill and that U.S. President Donald Trump does not intend to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resume talks on a deal.

To the contrary, it appears that Trump is poised to back Netanyahu if he decides to launch a large-scale ground operation, following Israel's massive airstrikes earlier this week, which led to the collapse of the cease-fire.

Israel has so far focused primarily on airstrikes and limited ground raids in the northern Gaza Strip, the eastern part of the Netzarim corridor in the center, and the Rafah area in the south. However, preparations are still underway for the implementation of the new Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir's larger plan: mobilizing several divisions, including many reserve units, for a wide-scale ground offensive in Gaza.

Zamir told ministers he believes his plan could finally achieve what Israel has failed to accomplish in nearly a year and a half of war – the complete destruction of Hamas' rule and military capabilities.

Security sources told Haaretz that Israel is still leaving room for an interim deal that would secure the release of hostages. However, given the political pressure in favor of expanding military operations, they believe such an escalation is increasingly likely.

Netanyahu's plans are highly ambitious and face no significant opposition from senior Israel Defense Forces and Shin Bet security service officials. The goal is to use Zamir's military campaign to establish military rule in Gaza – or at least in large parts of it – while transferring control over humanitarian aid distribution to the IDF.

Former IDF chief Herzl Halevi strongly opposed this approach, warning that soldiers must not be put in a situation where they are killed while distributing flour to the Palestinian civilian population.

It seems that Israel is currently creating a smokescreen around the government and military's true intentions. While waiting for possible updates in negotiations, which are uncertain, preparations are underway for a large-scale operation to occupy Gaza and restore full Israeli control.

This will occur while the far-right factions in the government push for the return of settlements and the forced expulsion of Palestinians, to be presented as "voluntary migration," with backing from Trump. High-ranking IDF officer Ofer Winter is already actively preparing for the establishment of a military administration to encourage migration under his leadership.

Meanwhile, a security survey among Palestinians suggests that nearly a quarter of Gaza's population would agree to migrate, though it remains unclear which country would be willing to accept Gaza's residents.

Journalist Amit Segal, who is well-versed in Netanyahu's inner circle, wrote on Friday in his column for Yedioth Ahronoth that Netanyahu is aiming for a "complete change of the rules of the game," with full backing from Trump.

"What convinced the president more than anything to return to war was actually his meeting with the [released] hostages," Segal said. "They came to convince him that everyone should be freed now, and he was persuaded that before that, Hamas should be taken out first."

He added: "Again and again, he asked if there were innocent people or righteous individuals who helped them [in Gaza], and he was answered negatively."

The understanding that the war is set to expand, with risks to the lives of the remaining hostages and IDF soldiers, has sparked renewed debate within the reserve army. This occurs as anger mounts among government opponents over Netanyahu's decision to fire Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar (the High Court issued an interim order on Friday against the government's decision, paving the way for a developing constitutional confrontation that has breathed new life into the protest movement).

For the first time in many months, reservists, including pilots and navigators in the air force, are raising the possibility of ceasing their volunteer service in response to the developments.

It currently seems that the constitutional crisis surrounding the dismissal of Ronen Bar and the intention to remove Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara will merge with the growing debate over the direction of the war in Gaza. It is hard to rule out the possibility that, for Netanyahu, this is the preferred path – an intense confrontation on multiple fronts, during which he will escalate actions against his opponents and try to achieve his ultimate goal: political survival while delaying his criminal trial proceedings.

Israel's security cabinet approved a plan to separate 13 Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank from their neighbouring communities, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Sunday.

The settlements will ultimately be recognised as independent, he posted on X about the move, which follows the approval of tens of thousands of housing units across the West Bank.

We continue to lead a revolution of normalisation and regulation in the settlements. Instead of hiding and apologising – we raise the flag, build and settle. This is another important step on the path to actual sovereignty in Judea and Samaria," Smotrich said, using Israel's term for the West Bank.
Israel's opposition to ceding control of the West Bank has been deepened by its fears of a repeat of the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas-led militants. Its military says it is conducting counter-terrorism operations in the West Bank and targeting suspected militants.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry criticised the approval of the separation of the neighbourhoods and their recognition as independent settlements as disregarding international legitimacy and resolutions.

Israel's pro-settler politicians have been emboldened by the return to the White House of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Smotrich, head of the far-right Religious Zionism party and a key partner in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition, has for years called for Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank.

He noted that until now the 13 settlements were formally considered part of their parent communities, in some cases for decades, which he said caused significant difficulties in their daily management.

"Recognising each of them as an independent settlement is an important step that will greatly assist in their advancement and development," Smotrich said.

Israel's Security Cabinet has approved the establishment of a "Voluntary Emigration Bureau for Gaza residents interested in relocating to third countries," in line with Israeli and international law, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Sunday.

In his statement, he said the directorate will operate in coordination with international organizations and other governing bodies according to government instructions and will coordinate the activity of relevant ministries. Katz added that the administration will be bound to Israeli and international law.

In a discussion intended to be about the return of the hostages, security officials presented ministers with options for intensifying military pressure on Hamas in Gaza in order to facilitate their release.

Katz's statement about the administration mentioned that it will act "to prepare for and facilitate the safe and supervised passage of Gazans for voluntary exit to third-party countries."

Katz added that the Palestinians' departure from Gaza, support of which has drawn accusations of ethnic cleansing, would be executed by "setting up a road and security checks for pedestrians in designated crossings in Gaza as well as coordinating the establishment of infrastructure that allows passage by land, sea and air to target countries." Katz also stated that he will soon announce the candidate for head of the directorate.

Alongside preparations for establishing the transfer directorate in Gaza, reports continue regarding what countries may allegedly accept displaced Gazans.

The Egyptian Bureau of Information denied a report over the weekend that President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced that his country agreed to temporarily allow half a million Gazans into a city in northern Sinai as part of the Gaza rebuilding process.

"These claims are entirely false and are in flat contradiction to our position ever since the earliest days of the war," the bureau told Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper. It stressed that Egypt whole-heartedly objects to any attempt to exile Gazans, and especially to their transfer to Egypt "due to a risk to national security."

The Associated Press reported ten days ago that the United States and Israel approached senior government officials in the African polities of Sudan, Somalia and the unrecognized state of Somaliland to discuss the transfer of displaced Gazans into their territory.

According to this report, sources in Sudan said that their country declined offers from the U.S., while official sources in Somalia and Somaliland said they were unaware of attempts to contact them regarding the issue. Somalia later released a statement rejecting any offer that undermines the right of the Palestinian people to live in their homeland.

Overnight, Israeli ministers also approved the separation of 13 neighborhoods in West Bank settlements, granting them independent settlement status.

According to the far-right Religious Zionism party, which promoted the move, this will "advance and develop the settlements."

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, following the vote: "We continue, with God's help, to lead a revolution of normalization and regulation of the settlements," adding this "is another important step toward de facto sovereignty in Judea and Samaria."

The Israeli military said it struck multiple Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, after several rockets were fired from there toward northern Israel Saturday morning. Lebanese health officials said two people had been killed, including a child, and several more were injured.

Sirens rang out in the northern Israeli city of Metula around 7:30 a.m. Saturday, after a relatively quiet several months. The Israeli military said three rockets were launched from Lebanon, and all were intercepted. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah denied responsibility in the attack, and reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire agreement with Israel in place since November of last year.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the Israeli military to take "powerful action" in response, saying that the Lebanese government bears responsibility for any rockets launched from its territory.

In a statement, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam warned that renewed military activity with Israel could "drag the country into a new, devastating war." He asked Lebanon's defense minister to take all measures necessary to show that the state holds authority over both military and peaceful actions.

The Lebanese army announced that it had found three of what it called "primitive rocket launchers" possibly used in the attack and dismantled them, saying that the military continues to "take the necessary measures to control the situation in the south."

In order to protect herself from sexual abuse from the terrorists standing in front of her, she told them in English that she had her period.

Ilana Gritzewsky, an Israeli who was held hostage by Hamas terrorists for over a month before being released on November 30, 2023, said that her captors beat and molested her as they drove her to Gaza, according to a Tuesday report by the New York Times.

Gritzewsky told the NYT that she was taken alone, passed out en route, and awoke in Gaza surrounded by gunmen, "half-naked, terrified, and vulnerable."

She then said she had little time for self-healing due to trepidation over the fate of the hostages who remain in captivity.

During the Hamas attack, Ilana said that she jumped out the window of the safe room after hearing terrorists shoot at the door.


She said that she found herself in a dilapidated building in Gaza, with "her shirt up, baring her breasts and pants pulled down, with seven gunmen standing over her."

In order to protect herself from sexual abuse from the seven Hamas terrorists standing in front of her, she told them in English that she "had her period, believing that probably saved her from the worst," NYT<reported.

"I felt they were disappointed,” she said, adding, “I don’t think I have ever been so thankful for my period."

She was moved from place to place throughout her captivity and was refused medication despite telling her captors that she suffered from a chronic digestive disease

She recalled that she was interrogated about her military service, which concluded over a decade before she was captured, and that "one of her captors hugged her and told her, while pointing his pistol at her, that even if there was a deal, she would not be released because he wanted to marry her and have her children."

She was moved from place to place throughout her captivity and was refused medication despite telling her captors that she suffered from a chronic digestive disease.

She recalled that she was interrogated about her military service, which concluded over a decade before she was captured, and that "one of her captors hugged her and told her, while pointing his pistol at her, that even if there was a deal, she would not be released because he wanted to marry her and have her children."

Gretzewsky's background
Her boyfriend, Matan Zangauker, is still in captivity.

His mother, Einav Zangauker, is known as one of the most prominent voices in anti-government protests staged by The Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Gretzewsky discovered that she had a broken hip upon her release from captivity.

She told NYT that she still "does not feel free" even over 15 months after she was released from captivity.

She emigrated to Israel as a teen from Mexico, opened a confectionary business, and went to work on a medical cannabis farm in Nir Oz, where she met Matan before they moved in together.

Hundreds of Palestinians protested against Hamas rule and against the war in at least three locations in Gaza on Tuesday, in a relatively rare occurrence in the Strip due to the terror group’s often violent suppression of political dissent.

Footage showed around 100 residents of Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, holding a protest calling for an end to the war and an end to Hamas’s governance, with some demonstrators carrying signs reading “Stop war” and “Children in Palestine want to live.”

Additionally, a few video clips captured residents chanting “Hamas out,” “Hamas terrorists,” “The people want to overthrow Hamas” and “Yes to peace, no to the ongoing war.”

One gathering of residents took place in front of the Indonesian Hospital. Some of the protesters carried white flags.

“I don’t know who organized the protest,” said Mohammed, a demonstrator who declined to give his last name for fear of reprisals.

Hundreds of Palestinians protested against Hamas rule and against the war in at least three locations in Gaza on Tuesday, in a relatively rare occurrence in the Strip due to the terror group’s often violent suppression of political dissent.

Footage showed around 100 residents of Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, holding a protest calling for an end to the war and an end to Hamas’s governance, with some demonstrators carrying signs reading “Stop war” and “Children in Palestine want to live.”

Additionally, a few video clips captured residents chanting “Hamas out,” “Hamas terrorists,” “The people want to overthrow Hamas” and “Yes to peace, no to the ongoing war.”

One gathering of residents took place in front of the Indonesian Hospital. Some of the protesters carried white flags.

“I don’t know who organized the protest,” said Mohammed, a demonstrator who declined to give his last name for fear of reprisals.

“I took part to send a message on behalf of the people: Enough with the war,” he said, adding that he had seen “members of the Hamas security forces in civilian clothing breaking up the protest.”

Majdi, another protester who did not wish to give his full name, said the “people are tired.”

“If Hamas leaving power in Gaza is the solution, why doesn’t Hamas give up power to protect the people?” he asked.

Hours after the first protest, another anti-war and anti-Hamas demonstration was held in northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, with dozens of demonstrators burning tires and chanting, “We want to eat.”

As news of the protests spread, other demonstrations broke out across Gaza, including one in the major southern city of Khan Younis, where protesters were filmed chanting “down with Hamas,” and calling for an end to the fighting.

Hamas did not officially comment on the protests, but some media outlets in Gaza, including those associated with the terror organization, published photos and videos from the events under the framing “demonstration for stopping the war” without mentioning the calls for the terror group’s downfall.

Protests are relatively rare events in Gaza, especially against Hamas, which has maintained an iron grip on the Strip since it ousted the Palestinian Authority from the territory nearly two decades ago.

Israeli forces on Monday night arrested a creator of the Oscar-winning documentary film “No Other Land” after he was reportedly injured during clashes between settlers and Palestinians in the southern West Bank village of Susya.

Palestinian reports and eyewitnesses said dozens of settlers attacked the village, throwing stones at residents, cars and houses. According to the police, Palestinians responded by throwing stones back.

Alongside Hamdan Ballal, two other Palestinians — Khaled Shenran and Nasser Shariteh — were arrested on suspicion of stone-throwing while an Israeli suspected of taking part in the violence was also detained.

The three were released on bail on Tuesday afternoon and taken to a Palestinian hospital for treatment.

The Israel Defense Forces said the violence began “after a number of terrorists threw rocks toward Israeli citizens and struck their cars” near Susya.

Footage from the village showed a masked individual throwing stones and attacking Palestinians, and hitting the car of activists who had come to assist the residents. An activist with the Center for Jewish Nonviolence, Josh Kimelman, told The Associated Press that the settlers attacked their cars to make them flee the area.

According to a Palestinian at the scene, a Palestinian vehicle was also damaged by stones.

Four Palestinians were injured by stones, most of them lightly, eyewitnesses said. The military said an Israeli citizen wounded in the clashes was taken for medical treatment.

Basel Adra, a co-director of “No Other Land,” which chronicles Israel’s demolition of Masafer Yatta, a Palestinian West Bank village in a designated IDF live-fire training zone, witnessed Balla’s detention. Adra said around two dozen settlers — some masked, some carrying guns, some in Israeli uniform — attacked the village.

“We came back from the Oscars and every day since there is an attack on us,” Adra told The Associated Press. “This might be their revenge on us for making the movie. It feels like a punishment.”

Adra said the settlers entered Susya shortly after residents broke the daily fast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. A settler — who, according to Adra, frequently attacks the village — walked over to Ballal’s home with the military, and soldiers shot in the air. Ballal’s wife heard her husband being beaten outside and scream, “I’m dying,” according to Adra.

Adra then saw the soldiers lead Ballal, handcuffed and blindfolded, from his home into a military vehicle. Speaking to the AP by phone, he said Ballal’s blood was still splattered on the ground outside his front door.

Yuval Abraham, one of the film’s Israeli directors, posted on X that a “group of settlers” had set upon Ballal.

“They beat him and he has injuries in his head and stomach, bleeding. Soldiers invaded the ambulance he called, and took him. No sign of him since,” Abraham wrote.

In its statement, the IDF denied that any of the Palestinians were arrested in an ambulance.

On Tuesday morning, 15 hours after his arrest, Ballal spoke with his lawyer, Lea Tsemel, and told her that he was filming damage caused by settlers who threw stones at his house in Susya around 7 p.m. on Monday night. At that point, he said, a settler from the area arrived with two soldiers.

He told Tsemel that the soldiers beat him, and that afterward, he was arrested. He also said he and the other two Palestinians arrested — Shenran and Shariteh — spent the entire night outside, blindfolded, and that he was beaten by soldiers again.

There was no immediate response to the claims from authorities.

Located in the West Bank’s South Hebron Hills, Susya is one of many Palestinian villages that have come under increasing duress from settlers from nearby outposts in recent years.

Fault lies with all whom ignored and dismissed reports from female lookouts. Many of these lookouts paid with their lives and some became hostages.
Without these errors Hamas would never have been able to put Israel in an impossible position.

Continuing to blame Netanyahu or Mossad is pointless.

Doesn't it illustrate the whole premise Ben-Gurion made long ago in 1948 for why a strong defense force and 24hr intelligence surveillance was imperative for Israel's survival? Israel's existence presents an existential threat to many of it's neighbours in the region, it always was and always will be a target for terrorism. But even with the world's most sophisticated intelligence agency (Mossad) and heavy investment in thee IDF, Israel are not capable 24-7 of checking/monitoring every hole along it's border. Oct 7 was bound to happen eventually, especially with foreign aid for HAMAS. Continuing to blame Netanyahu or Mossad is pointless.

No, it's not pointless, the point is to try to hold them accountable for their failures. They had a duty and they failed, they deserve to be blamed.

Israel is an existential threat to the Palestinians, not their neighbors, the Palestinians and sympathy for the Palestinians are a threat to their neighbors. That is why if anybody takes the Palestinians they are going to have to be paid a lot.

Oh I doubt the Israeli people would agree with you. Ironically an Iranian Shia cleric makes more sense now than some college educated Harvard students with an mensa IQ.

I disagree with the Inam on this point, a Christian state would face similar issues. Remember the Crusades? Jews are just the latest white European crusaders to people who want to put Israel out of existence.

Israel on Friday launched an attack on Lebanon’s capital for the first time since a ceasefire ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war in November.

Associated Press reporters in Beirut heard a loud boom and witnessed smoke rising from an area in the city’s southern suburbs that Israel’s military had vowed to strike.

It marked Israel’s first strike on Beirut since a ceasefire took hold last November between it and the Hezbollah militant group, though Israel has attacked targets in southern Lebanon almost daily since then.

Israel’s army said it had hit a Hezbollah drone storage facility in Dahiyeh, which it called a militant stronghold. The strike came after Israel, which accuses Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields, warned residents to evacuate the area.

The area struck is a residential and commercial area and is close to at least two schools.

Israel sends a message to the Lebanese government
Israeli officials said the attack was retaliation for rockets it said had been fired from Lebanon into northern Israel. They promised strikes on Beirut would continue unless Lebanon’s government worked to ensure such attacks ceased.

“We will not allow firing at our communities, not even a trickle,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “We will attack everywhere in Lebanon, against any threat to the State of Israel.”

Egypt, Syria and Lebanon, Indonesia (and even Palestine) have large christian minorities. Pick one country with a muslim majority that in 2025 have any significant number of Jewish inhabitants.