BREAKING....Thread 8...Israel At War...OPERATION SWORDS OF IRON

[Elderberry]

i24NEWS English

@i24NEWS_EN·

'Hamas has lost the war, it has lost Gaza... It has lost the sympathy of the population... They have lost the war but they don't know it yet. Sinwar is completely disconnected from reality,' says Frmr. IDF intelligence officer Raphaël Jerusalmy

https://twitter.com/i24NEWS_EN/status/1735599412330557894

[Elderberry]

i24NEWS English

@i24NEWS_EN·

Israel reportedly turned to Egypt as a mediator instead of Qatar 'Qatar is dangerous, but I guess that it has more influence on Hamas than Egypt. They showed they can bring back our hostages,' says Frmr. Shin Bet coordinator
@GONENB1

https://twitter.com/i24NEWS_EN/status/1735613296940646694

[Elderberry]

i24NEWS English
@i24NEWS_EN

🔴IDF: Troops expose a terrorist ambush that used dolls with speakers playing crying sounds as a lure

The dolls were placed intentionally near a tunnel shaft connecting to a large tunnel network that extends under other nearby civilian structures and to a Hamas command center equipped with cameras that were monitoring IDF troops

https://twitter.com/i24NEWS_EN/status/1735652118919315496

[Elderberry]

Israel Defense Forces
@IDF

In an attempt to ambush our troops, Hamas terrorists connected dolls to speakers playing crying sounds and set them up in an area rigged with explosives.

The dolls and children's backpacks were intentionally placed near a tunnel shaft connecting to a large tunnel network that extends under nearby civilian areas including a school and a medical clinic.

Our forces conducted thorough searches of the area and exposed the ambush as well as Hamas intelligence and anti-tank positions in the area.

https://twitter.com/IDF/status/1735651616416514381

[mystery-ak]

https://twitter.com/i24NEWS_EN/status/1735688786640539814

[mystery-ak]

https://twitter.com/i24NEWS_EN/status/1735676480833687696

[mystery-ak]

https://twitter.com/i24NEWS_EN/status/1735668632569405763

[mystery-ak]

Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
·
54m
Rocket alerts activated in Jerusalem area for first time in 6 weeks, @N12News
 reports; rocket attacks down sharply as IDF takes over more terror hubs, destroys launch sites; but some of Hamas rocket arsenal still intact, mostly in central & southern Gaza.

https://twitter.com/IsraelRadar_com/status/1735675654534746372

Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
·
2h
IDF intercepts rockets fired from Lebanon, targets terror sites & operatives near border; Minister Gantz warns: If world fails to keep Hezbollah away from border, Israel will do it. via @N12News

Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
·
4h
US objects to permanent Israeli buffer zone inside Gaza, @ynetalerts
 reports; Washington willing to accept temporary security zone, ongoing Israeli strikes & raids to destroy remaining Hamas forces.

[bigheadfred]

Was there a Palestinian “national identity” prior to 1964?

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/was-there-a-palestinian-national-identity-prior-to-1964/

[Right_in_Virginia]

i24NEWS English
@i24NEWS_EN

🔴IDF: Troops expose a terrorist ambush that used dolls with speakers playing crying sounds as a lure

The dolls were placed intentionally near a tunnel shaft connecting to a large tunnel network that extends under other nearby civilian structures and to a Hamas command center equipped with cameras that were monitoring IDF troops

https://twitter.com/i24NEWS_EN/status/1735652118919315496

War really is hell.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Israel Radar

IDF sends in bulldozers for massive demolition of buildings in Shujaiya; army determined to ensure that no observation towers or surveillance posts remain in this Hamas stronghold near Israeli border. via @Nadav_Eyal

Fire burns in Gaza, as seen from southern Israel, December 15, 2023
(photo credit: REUTERS/CLODAGH KILCOYNE)
Source:  Jerusalem Post

Aerial picture showing the wreckage of houses in Gaza.
Source: The Guardian

Working to make the Gaza Strip uninhabitable insures more US taxpayer dollars to rebuild it and more American communities welcoming displaced refugees.

[mystery-ak]

Trey Yingst
@TreyYingst
·
1m
The IDF says that Israeli forces shot and killed three hostages today in northern Gaza after they were mistakenly identified as Hamas fighters.

[mystery-ak]

https://twitter.com/IsraelRadar_com/status/1735726963094860207

[Right_in_Virginia]

i24NEWS English

Israel reportedly turned to Egypt as a mediator instead of Qatar 'Qatar is dangerous, but I guess that it has more influence on Hamas than Egypt. They showed they can bring back our hostages,' says Frmr. Shin Bet coordinator @GONE

Qatar is "dangerous" 

'Buying Quiet’: Inside the Israeli Plan That Propped Up Hamas
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gambled that a strong Hamas (but not too strong) would keep the peace and reduce pressure for a Palestinian state.
NY Times, Dec 10, 2023

Just weeks before Hamas launched the deadly Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, the head of Mossad arrived in Doha, Qatar, for a meeting with Qatari officials.

For years, the Qatari government had been sending millions of dollars a month into the Gaza Strip — money that helped prop up the Hamas government there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel not only tolerated those payments, he had encouraged them.

During his meetings in September with the Qatari officials, according to several people familiar with the secret discussions, the Mossad chief, David Barnea, was asked a question that had not been on the agenda: Did Israel want the payments to continue?

Mr. Netanyahu’s government had recently decided to continue the policy, so Mr. Barnea said yes. The Israeli government still welcomed the money from Doha.

Allowing the payments — billions of dollars over roughly a decade — was a gamble by Mr. Netanyahu that a steady flow of money would maintain peace in Gaza, the eventual launching point of the Oct. 7 attacks, and keep Hamas focused on governing, not fighting.

The Qatari payments, while ostensibly a secret, have been widely known and discussed in the Israeli news media for years. Mr. Netanyahu’s critics disparage them as part of a strategy of “buying quiet,” and the policy is in the middle of a ruthless reassessment following the attacks. Mr. Netanyahu has lashed back at that criticism, calling the suggestion that he tried to empower Hamas “ridiculous.”

In interviews with more than two dozen current and former Israeli, American and Qatari officials, and officials from other Middle Eastern governments, The New York Times unearthed new details about the origins of the policy, the controversies that erupted inside the Israeli government and the lengths that Mr. Netanyahu went to in order to shield the Qataris from criticism and keep the money flowing.

The payments were part of a string of decisions by Israeli political leaders, military officers and intelligence officials — all based on the fundamentally flawed assessment that Hamas was neither interested in nor capable of a large-scale attack.

[...]

As far back as December 2012, Mr. Netanyahu told the prominent Israeli journalist Dan Margalit that it was important to keep Hamas strong, as a counterweight to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Mr. Margalit, in an interview, said that Mr. Netanyahu told him that having two strong rivals, including Hamas, would lessen pressure on him to negotiate toward a Palestinian state.

The official in the prime minister’s office said Mr. Netanyahu never made this statement. But the prime minister would articulate this idea to others over the years.

More:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/10/world/middleeast/israel-qatar-money-prop-up-hamas.html

[Right_in_Virginia]

Trey Yingst
@TreyYingst

The IDF says that Israeli forces shot and killed three hostages today in northern Gaza after they were mistakenly identified as Hamas fighters.

The Guardian Updates
9m ago
13.31 EST

Israel Defense Forces: IDF mistakenly kills three Israeli hostages

The Israel Defense Forces announced on Friday that it “mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat, as a result the force fired at them and they were killed.”

In a statement released on Friday, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari wrote:

“During the fighting in Shejaiya, an IDF force mistakenly identified three Israeli hostages as a threat. As a result the force fired at them and they were killed.

During a scan and inspection of the area of the incident, a suspicion arose regarding the identity of the dead. The bodies were taken for examination in Israeli territory, after which it turned out that they were three Israeli hostages.”

Two of the hostages who were killed have been identified as Yotam Haim and Samer Talalka, according to the IDF. It added that a “message was also given to the family of the third abductee, at whose request his name will not be given now.”

The IDF said that is has begun “investigating the incident immediately.”

[Right_in_Virginia]

https://twitter.com/i24NEWS_EN/status/1735688786640539814

i24NEWS English
@i24NEWS_EN·

'Hamas has lost the war, it has lost Gaza... It has lost the sympathy of the population... They have lost the war but they don't know it yet. Sinwar is completely disconnected from reality,' says Frmr. IDF intelligence officer Raphaël Jerusalmy

https://twitter.com/i24NEWS_EN/status/1735599412330557894

[mystery-ak]

Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
·
27m
IDF stunned by scope of terror tunnel network in Gaza; Israeli forces discover massive underground spaces used as command centers, weapons production & storage sites. via @tallevram

[mystery-ak]

https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/1735741100000694563

[mystery-ak]

Israel Defense Forces
@IDF
·
49m
During combat in Shejaiya, the IDF mistakenly identified 3 Israeli hostages as a threat and as a result, fired toward them and the hostages were killed. 1/1

Israel Defense Forces
@IDF
Their bodies were transferred to Israeli territory for examination where it was confirmed that they were 3 Israeli hostages and were identified:

Yotam Haim, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza by the Hamas terrorist organization on October 7.
Samer Talalka, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Am by the Hamas terrorist organization on October 7.
The third hostages’ family has been notified and requested that his name will not be broadcasted.

IDF and Israel Police representatives have notified all of the families. 2/2

Israel Defense Forces
@IDF
The IDF began reviewing the incident immediately. The IDF emphasizes that this is an active combat zone in which ongoing fighting over the last few days has occurred. Immediate lessons from the event have been learned, which have been passed on to all IDF troops in the field.

The IDF expresses deep remorse over the tragic incident and sends the families its heartfelt condolences. Our national mission is to locate the missing and return all the hostages home. 3/3

[Right_in_Virginia]

Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com

IDF stunned by scope of terror tunnel network in Gaza; Israeli forces discover massive underground spaces used as command centers, weapons production & storage sites. via @tallevram

'Buying Quiet’: Inside the Israeli Plan That Propped Up Hamas
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gambled that a strong Hamas (but not too strong) would keep the peace and reduce pressure for a Palestinian state.
NY Times, Dec 10, 2023

Just weeks before Hamas launched the deadly Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, the head of Mossad arrived in Doha, Qatar, for a meeting with Qatari officials.

For years, the Qatari government had been sending millions of dollars a month into the Gaza Strip — money that helped prop up the Hamas government there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel not only tolerated those payments, he had encouraged them.

During his meetings in September with the Qatari officials, according to several people familiar with the secret discussions, the Mossad chief, David Barnea, was asked a question that had not been on the agenda: Did Israel want the payments to continue?

Mr. Netanyahu’s government had recently decided to continue the policy, so Mr. Barnea said yes. The Israeli government still welcomed the money from Doha.

Allowing the payments — billions of dollars over roughly a decade — was a gamble by Mr. Netanyahu that a steady flow of money would maintain peace in Gaza, the eventual launching point of the Oct. 7 attacks, and keep Hamas focused on governing, not fighting.

The Qatari payments, while ostensibly a secret, have been widely known and discussed in the Israeli news media for years. Mr. Netanyahu’s critics disparage them as part of a strategy of “buying quiet,” and the policy is in the middle of a ruthless reassessment following the attacks. Mr. Netanyahu has lashed back at that criticism, calling the suggestion that he tried to empower Hamas “ridiculous.”

In interviews with more than two dozen current and former Israeli, American and Qatari officials, and officials from other Middle Eastern governments, The New York Times unearthed new details about the origins of the policy, the controversies that erupted inside the Israeli government and the lengths that Mr. Netanyahu went to in order to shield the Qataris from criticism and keep the money flowing.

The payments were part of a string of decisions by Israeli political leaders, military officers and intelligence officials — all based on the fundamentally flawed assessment that Hamas was neither interested in nor capable of a large-scale attack.

[...]

As far back as December 2012, Mr. Netanyahu told the prominent Israeli journalist Dan Margalit that it was important to keep Hamas strong, as a counterweight to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Mr. Margalit, in an interview, said that Mr. Netanyahu told him that having two strong rivals, including Hamas, would lessen pressure on him to negotiate toward a Palestinian state.


More:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/10/world/middleeast/israel-qatar-money-prop-up-hamas.html

[berdie]

https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/1735741100000694563

How tragic for the hostages, their families...and the soldiers that made the error.

[DCPatriot]

How tragic for the hostages, their families...and the soldiers that made the error.

Realize it's all hindsight now, but come on...how many movies have you seen in your life where a hostage is dressed up like one of the kidnappers...aka Hamas?

No information on if a sniper killed them...would be awful if that were the case.

[Hoodat]

Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
·
27m
IDF stunned by scope of terror tunnel network in Gaza; Israeli forces discover massive underground spaces used as command centers, weapons production & storage sites. via @tallevram

American tax dollars at work.

[Wingnut]

American tax dollars at work.

  Must have been before Biden. 

[Right_in_Virginia]

Scoop: Israel's Mossad chief expected to meet Qatari PM to resume hostage talks
Adios, Dec 15, 2023

Israel's Mossad spy agency director David Barnea is expected to meet Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Europe this weekend to discuss resuming negotiations of a deal to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, two sources briefed on the issue said.

Why it matters: It would be the first meeting between senior Israeli and Qatari officials since the collapse of the seven-day ceasefire that led to the expansion of the Israeli military operation to southern Gaza.

Israel's return to the table suggests it is ready to try to explore a new hostage deal. The previous deal was derailed two weeks ago after Hamas refused to release the remaining women it is holding hostage. Hamas blamed Israel for the collapse and said the women Israel proposed be released were IDF soldiers.

Driving the news: On Friday, the IDF announced three Israeli hostages were mistakenly killed in Gaza by IDF soldiers.

The IDF said the three might have managed to escape or were abandoned by their Hamas captives during fierce fighting in northern Gaza.

Shortly after the IDF statement, several family members of hostages still held by Hamas publicly called on the government to present a new plan for a new deal to secure their release as soon as possible.

Hamas is still holding more than 130 hostages. More than 100 were released as part of a deal that paused the fighting in Gaza for seven days.

Behind the scenes: Qatari mediators contacted Israeli officials last weekend to see whether there was interest in relaunching indirect talks with Hamas over a new deal, Axios reported earlier this week.

The mediators checked with the Israeli negotiating team about whether Israel would agree to a deal that would allow the release of the remaining female hostages in exchange for a pause in fighting lasting longer than a day, according to Israeli sources.

One source said such a deal could include "humanitarian elements," such as the release of elderly men and those with serious medical conditions, or the release of hostages who are seriously wounded.

Last weekend after the initial Qatari proposal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the members of the war cabinet decided against the Mossad chief traveling to Qatar.

After a backlash to the decision, Netanyahu changed course and allowed Barnea to engage with the Qataris.

Israel expressed willingness to discuss a new agreement that would include the release of the remaining women they'd asked for in the previous deal, an Israeli source said.



https://www.axios.com/2023/12/15/israel-mossad-qatar-prime-minister-hostage-negotiations

[Right_in_Virginia]

TOI
11:35 pm

Hundreds march in flash protest in Tel Aviv calling for gov’t initiative for hostages’ release

Large crowds have amassed at the Kaplan Junction in Tel Aviv and have blocked off the road to traffic as they march toward the IDF’s Kirya military headquarters in a flash protest calling for the government to take the initiative to secure the release of the hostages, after the IDF’s mistakenly killed three of them earlier today in Gaza.

“Their time is running out! Bring them home now!” the crowd is heard chanting. “There is no victory until every last hostage is released!”

Anger among the hostage families has mounted in recent days following reports that the government has been holding off on initiating a hostage deal proposal with Hamas on the grounds that it believes that only continued IDF operations in Gaza will bring the terror group to its knees and back to the table with an offer Israel could accept.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly barred Mossad chief David Barnea from traveling to Qatar for that reason earlier this week.

However, Axios reports that Netanyahu has since changed his mind and has agreed to dispatch Barnea to meet Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Europe this weekend to discuss resuming negotiations toward another hostage deal.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Lufthansa, subsidiaries to resume flights to Israel on January 8
TOI, Dec 15, 2023

FRANKFURT, Germany — German airline group Lufthansa said Friday it planned to resume flights to Tel Aviv from January 8, after the service was suspended following the Hamas terror group’s October 7 onslaught in southern Israel.

The group’s airlines will initially “offer a total of 20 weekly connections to and from Tel Aviv,” Lufthansa said in a statement. “This corresponds to around 30 percent of the regular flight schedule.”

Lufthansa Airlines will offer connections from Frankfurt and Munich, while Austrian Airlines and SWISS will also restart the service.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/lufthansa-subsidiaries-to-resume-flights-to-israel-on-january-8/

[Elderberry]

Israel Defense Forces
@IDF
In the past 24h, our forces:

🔺Apprehended terrorists hiding in the al-Mu'tasim Bi'llah and al-Farabi schools in Gaza City's Rimal neighborhood, who turned themselves in, and eliminated additional terrorists in the area.

🔺Located weapons and underground terrorist infrastructure in operational compounds in Khan Yunis.

🔺Directed an IAF strike on a number of Hamas terrorists who fired at the troops from the roof of a compound in Jabalya.

[Elderberry]

Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com

IDF engaged in heavy battles in Shujaiya as Israeli forces continues to clear massive terror base in Hamas stronghold; about 30% of homes in area converted into battle stations with sniper positions, launch sites & weapons caches. via @WallaNews

[Elderberry]

i24NEWS English
@i24NEWS_EN
·
🔴The IDF has completed battles in Gaza's prestigious Rimal neighborhood, where the 401st Brigade and 13th Fleet defeated Hamas terrorists operating out of the "Al Ma'atzam in Allah" and "Al Farabi" schools.

Israel Radar
@IsraelRadar_com
·
War update:
IDF raids 2 schools in Gaza's upscale Rimal neighborhood based on intel info, kills at least 12 terrorists, others surrender; forces in Khan Younis area raid apartments used as terror hideouts, seize many weapons, discover tunnel shafts. via @ynetalerts

[mystery-ak]

Israeli and Qatari officials meet to explore new hostage cease-fire deal: WSJ

 Israeli and Qatari officials planned to meet in Norway on Saturday in an effort to strike a new deal to release hostages held in Gaza, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was set to meet with David Barnea, director of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, in Oslo, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

"Significant obstacles impede a resumption of negotiations on a new hostage deal, the people said, including disagreements over the possible terms within Hamas, the U.S.-designated terror group whose Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel sparked the Gaza war," the Journal reported.

These talks would be the first meeting between senior Israeli and Qatari officials since a week-long cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas fell apart two weeks ago. The truce ended after Hamas did not free a group of female hostages and two young children who remain captive in Gaza.

The report comes a day after Israel said IDF troops mistakenly killed three hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza City.

During a week-long truce in late November, Hamas released more than 100 women, children and foreigners it was holding in Gaza in exchange for the release of 240 women and teenagers.

Reuters contributed to this update.
Posted by Chris Pandolfo

[DCPatriot]

@Wingnut

How quickly do you think HAMAS leadership in Qatar would sincerely negotiate if their residences there were suddenly destroyed?

Am reminded of how the Russians dealt with kidnappers in the Middle East.

Sent body parts and even a head of a family relative instead of a ransom payment.

No Russians are kidnapped in the Middle East anymore.

[Hoodat]

@DCPatriot

I agree with your statement.  Just a reminder though that it was the United States who put pressure on Qatar to allow Hamas to set up their HQ there.

[DCPatriot]

@DCPatriot

I agree with your statement.  Just a reminder though that it was the United States who put pressure on Qatar to allow Hamas to set up their HQ there.

Yep...

And the very first thing I would do after taking the Oath of Office, January 20th, 2025 is have Barack Obama taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals, as well as about 250 other of his clan.

THEN, I'd remove every barrier to DRILL BABY DRILL.

And that's BEFORE 1PM.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Israeli hostages killed in Gaza were holding white flag, official says
Reuters, Dec 16, 2023

JERUSALEM, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Three Israeli hostages killed mistakenly in Gaza by Israeli forces had been holding up a white flag, a military official said on Saturday, citing an initial inquiry into the incident that has shaken the country.

A soldier saw the hostages emerging tens of metres from Israeli forces on Friday in Shejaiya, an area of intense combat in northern Gaza where Hamas militants operate in civilian attire and use deception tactics, the official said.

"They're all without shirts and they have a stick with a white cloth on it. The soldier feels threatened and opens fire. He declares that they're terrorists. They (the Israeli forces) open fire. Two (hostages) are killed immediately," the official told reporters in a phone briefing.

The third hostage was wounded and retreated into a nearby building where he called for help in Hebrew, the official said.

"Immediately the battalion commander issues a ceasefire order, but again there's another burst of fire towards the third figure and he also dies," the official said. "This was against our rules of engagement," he added.

The military on Friday identified the three hostages killed in Shejaiya, an eastern suburb of Gaza City, as Yotam Haim and Alon Shamriz, abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and Samer Al-Talalka, abducted from nearby Kibbutz Nir Am.


More:
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-hostages-killed-mistakenly-gaza-were-holding-white-flag-official-says-2023-12-16/

[Right_in_Virginia]

The Guardian Updates
3h ago
07.56 EST

Israel has said it is opening a military police investigation into the killing of two Palestinians in the West Bank after an Israeli human rights group posted videos that appeared to show Israeli troops killing the men – one who was incapacitated and the second unarmed – during a military raid in a West Bank refugee camp.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Lord, this is painful.  Some updates report the IDF soldiers are receiving "psychological care".  This report (below) says the hostages had escaped.  May they RIP.  😔

https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1736054351238467782

[Right_in_Virginia]

U.S. Central Command
@CENTCOM

In the early morning hours of December 16 (Sanna time) the US Arliegh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS CARNEY (DDG 64), operating in the Red Sea, successfully engaged 14 unmanned aerial systems launched as a drone wave from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The UAS were assessed to be one-way attack drones and were shot down with no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries. Regional Red Sea partners were alerted to the threat.



9:49 AM · Dec 16, 2023

[mystery-ak]

‘Darkness Falls on Israel’: Nation in Anguish as Details of 3 Hostages’ Deaths Revealed

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) revealed Saturday after an inquiry that the three hostages who were mistakenly killed on Friday were shirtless, waving white flags, and calling in Hebrew, and were shot by soldiers who thought they were being lured into a trap.

The hostages had emerged at 10:00 a.m. One of the soldiers who saw them shouted “Terrorists!” upon seeing them. The soldiers opened fire — against protocol, which forbid firing on someone with a white flag. They killed two, and wounded the third, who ran into a building and continued shouting for help in Hebrew. A battalion commander ordered them to stop firing, but they kept on shooting, killing him. At no point did any of the soldiers, including the commander, imagine that the three could be hostages.

In addition, soldiers had found graffiti earlier in the week on a building that read “SOS – three hostages” in Hebrew. They believed the building to be booby-trapped, as many other buildings have been, as Hamas has tried to lure IDF soldiers into ambushes. The IDF had not encountered any civilians in the area in a long time; all of the unarmed men in the area of Shejaiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, had been Hamas operatives. The possibility of hostages emerging into the open simply had never been considered.

It is not yet known whether the hostages were abandoned by their captors, or whether they managed to escape in recent days.

The soldiers who fired on the hostages are reported to be receiving psychological counseling, according to the Times of Israel.

more
https://www.breitbart.com/middle-east/2023/12/16/darkness-falls-on-israel-nation-in-anguish-as-details-of-3-hostages-deaths-revealed/

[mystery-ak]

Dem Rep. Stevens: U.S.-Funded Aid Is ‘Being Stolen by Hamas’

On Friday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) said that aid that has gone into Gaza that the United States helped fund is “being stolen by Hamas” and “is not being given to the civilians, the lderly, the pregnant women who are in Gaza, who I certainly pray for every single day.”

Stevens said that she isn’t calling for a ceasefire, but instead is calling for Hamas to surrender and stop using its civilians as shields and believes that the Biden administration will “guide” Israel through portions of the war with the lessons America has learned over its past 20 years of war.

She added, “There’s been tons of aid that has gone into Gaza that the U.S. has helped to fund, and it’s being stolen by Hamas. It is not being given to the civilians, the elderly, the pregnant women who are in Gaza, who I certainly pray for every single day. Human life matters. We know that. We don’t want to see war in the Middle East. Hamas needs to surrender, Israel needs to secure its borders, and we need to stand up for our democratic ally. That is not Hamas.”

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2023/12/16/dem-rep-stevens-u-s-funded-aid-is-being-stolen-by-hamas/

[mystery-ak]

 Israeli photog captured paragliders, strikes moments before Hamas killed him
By Social Links for Doree Lewak
Published Dec. 16, 2023, 1:04 p.m. ET

Here are the last images taken by Israeli photographer Gilad Kfir, minutes before he was shot to death by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7.

Starting at 7:40 a.m., Kfir, a resident of Nativ HaAsarah, photographed the terrorists paragliding into Israel during the surprise attack, part of Hamas’ campaign using land, air, and sea to breach the border.


Gilad Kfir was killed shortly after photographing Palestinian terrorists paragliding into Israel on Oct. 7. Gilad Kfir


Kfir captured the first moments of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 from his kibbutz in Israel before being killed. Gilad Kfir

Kfir shot 65 photos between 8:16 and 8:17, capturing Hamas rockets being intercepted by Iron Dome, Israel’s missile defense system.

In all, Kfir took some 86 photos that morning.

His partner gave birth to his daughter on Wednesday.

https://nypost.com/2023/12/16/news/israeli-photog-slain-by-hamas-captured-paragliders-strikes/

[mystery-ak]

 Israeli military says hostages mistakenly killed were holding white flag: Reports
by Nick Robertson - 12/16/23 9:28 AM ET

The three Israeli hostages mistakenly killed by the Israeli military were shirtless and holding a white flag when they were shot, a military official said Saturday, according to multiple media reports.

An initial inquiry into the incident by the Israeli military determined that the soldiers violated the rules of engagement by firing on the group.

According to a senior Israeli military official, a single Israeli soldier opened fire on the three hostages when they exited a building near an Israeli base and began walking towards the base.

The soldier believed the hostages proved a threat and fired on them, killing two and forcing the third to flee into the building, according to the official.

“They’re all without shirts and they have a stick with a white cloth on it,” the official said, according to Reuters. “The soldier feels threatened and opens fire. He declares that they’re terrorists, they (forces) open fire, two are killed immediately.”

The third hostage then called for help in Hebrew, causing the soldiers to believe the man was a Hamas militant luring the group into a trap, the official said. The soldiers then entered the building and killed the hostage.

“This was against our rules of engagement,” The official said.

Markings on the men’s bodies raised suspicions that they may be Israeli, the official said, and they were later transported to Israel and confirmed to be among the hostages held by Hamas.

Two days earlier, soldiers noted a building in the area with the writing “SOS” and “help, three hostages” written on the outside walls, Haaretz reported. The Israeli military believed the building could be a trap.

more
https://thehill.com/policy/international/4363532-israeli-military-hostages-soldiers-killed-held-white-flags-reports/

[GtHawk]

Dem Rep. Stevens: U.S.-Funded Aid Is ‘Being Stolen by Hamas’

On Friday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) said that aid that has gone into Gaza that the United States helped fund is “being stolen by Hamas” and “is not being given to the civilians, the lderly, the pregnant women who are in Gaza, who I certainly pray for every single day.”

Stevens said that she isn’t calling for a ceasefire, but instead is calling for Hamas to surrender and stop using its civilians as shields and believes that the Biden administration will “guide” Israel through portions of the war with the lessons America has learned over its past 20 years of war.

She added, “There’s been tons of aid that has gone into Gaza that the U.S. has helped to fund, and it’s being stolen by Hamas. It is not being given to the civilians, the elderly, the pregnant women who are in Gaza, who I certainly pray for every single day. Human life matters. We know that. We don’t want to see war in the Middle East. Hamas needs to surrender, Israel needs to secure its borders, and we need to stand up for our democratic ally. That is not Hamas.”

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2023/12/16/dem-rep-stevens-u-s-funded-aid-is-being-stolen-by-hamas/

Seems to me that the lessons we learned, or that we forced on our troops, is to stop before actually winning Not a lesson I think Israel cares to look to this time around.

[mystery-ak]

 27-year-old Israeli woman, Inbar Haiman, taken hostage by Hamas confirmed dead: ‘Creative girl full of joy’
By Social Links for Olivia Land
Published Dec. 16, 2023, 3:56 p.m. ET

An Israeli hostage abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7 from the Supernova music festival has been confirmed dead.

Inbar Haiman, described as a “creative girl full of joy,” was murdered at some point after she was kidnapped from the desert rave, the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum said Friday.

Haiman’s cause of death was not confirmed by the Forum. Her body is still believed to be in the Gaza Strip, the Times of Israel added.

Haiman, 27, was a visual communications student from Haifa, in northern Israel, the Forum said.

She was remembered as a “gifted” and “creative girl full of joy,” the Forum’s announced read.


Inbar Haiman is survived by her partner, Noam Alon.

She texted Alon, who told her to avoid the roads where the armed terrorists were killing fellow revelers while they tried to flee.

The young woman’s boyfriend and family eventually lost touch with her, and shared a description of her tattoos and outfit on social media in a desperate bid for information.

Two witnesses eventually told the frantic loved ones they saw Haiman – who they recognized from her distinctive leggings – hiding under a stage with friends, before running to take cover under a bush, the Times of Israel explained.

more
https://nypost.com/2023/12/16/news/israeli-hostage-inbar-haiman-confirmed-dead/

[libertybele]

I don't believe that there are any hostages remaining that are alive. 

[Elderberry]

i24NEWS English
@i24NEWS_EN

'The main fighting is going to be happening in the southern Gaza Strip and, of course, the tunnels'

@YaakovLappin
, a Military analyst at @MirYamInstitute
, @JNS_org
, details some of the new tactics deployed by the IDF as they progress into #Gaza

https://twitter.com/i24NEWS_EN/status/1736335531229745398

[mystery-ak]

Sec. Austin travels to Israel as thousands protest against mistaken killing of Israeli hostages

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin began a trip to the Middle East on Sunday as thousands of Israeli protesters gathered in Tel Avivi in outrage against the IDF killing of three Israeli hostages in Gaza this weekend. The IDF says the hostages were shirtless and one was carrying a makeshift white flag, but they were mistaken for Hamas terrorists.

https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/december-17-israel-hamas-war

[mystery-ak]

Prime Minister Netanyahu urges Israel to continue despite troops mistakenly killing hostages

[mystery-ak]

Hamas' brutality, cease-fire push was 'part of their playbook from the start': David Schoen

[mystery-ak]

 Majority of Americans 18-24 think Israel should ‘be ended and given to Hamas’
By Social Links for Jon Levine
Published Dec. 16, 2023, 12:56 p.m. ET

A majority of young Americans said they believe Israel should “be ended and given to Hamas,” according to a shocking poll.

The survey, conducted THIS WEEK by Harvard-Harris polling, found 51% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 said they believed the long-term answer to the Israel-Palestinian conflict was for “Israel to be ended and given to Hamas and the Palestinians.”

Only 32% said they believed in a two-state solution, and just 17% said other Arab states should be asked to absorb Palestinian populations.

The figure was in stark contrast to other age groups, which all dramatically preferred a two-state solution. Just 4% of Americans 65 and over said they felt Israel should be ended.

“These individuals siding with evil over democracy should be a wake-up call,” Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas) told The Post. “Ideological rot among young Americans, driven by woke values and victim culture, has gotten so bad they’ve convinced themselves to sympathize with actual terrorists who hate America,”

more
https://nypost.com/2023/12/16/news/majority-of-americans-18-24-think-israel-should-be-ended-and-given-to-hamas/