Last night, was my second consecutive appearance on LBC British radio. For those in London, I will be back on air tomorrow morning at 7:40 AM. Throughout the war, I have been appearing intermittently, and as I said to the host before we went live, it was refreshing to discuss some positive developments for a change. The day was expected to be a straightforward, with the security cabinet slated to meet in the morning to approve the hostage-ceasefire agreement, to be followed by the full cabinet meeting. First, leaders of the Religious Zionist Party were scheduled to convene to decide if they should remain in the government after an agreement they opposed. Despite multiple meetings between Finance Minister Smotrich and Prime Minister Netanyahu they failed to reach any agreement.
As time progressed, the security cabinet meeting still hadn’t occurred, raising the question: why? Was Netanyahu attempting to buy time? Then, word came from the Prime Minister’s office that there were last-minute unexpected issues in the negotiations, with Hamas introducing last-minute demands that delayed the agreement. By midday, it became clear that difficulties had emerged concerning the number of individuals Hamas wanted released. These complications could potentially have been resolved during the day. We all anxiously awaited a resolution, holding our collective breath
.
Around 6 PM, news broke that all issues had been resolved and that the cabinet would convene tomorrow. However, shortly thereafter, the Prime Minister’s office declared that they would not summon cabinet members until every last detail was finalized and signed. Currently, it appears the cabinet may not meet until Saturday night, which could delay the ceasefire and hostage release until Monday.
As it stands now, Smotrich has agreed to support the agreement, but only if the government passes a resolution committing to resuming military action after the 42-day ceasefire. Smotrich is pushing for a resolution that states Israel will not adhere to the agreement in full, a stance that would prevent the return of any remaining hostages. The disappointment with pausing the war while Hamas retains control is understandable. It is a terrible situation, but the fault lies with the government, which refused even to discuss the governance of Gaza the “day after” the ceasefire.
When repeatedly questioned about why he was not discussing a plan for “the day after,” as Defense Minister Gallant had urged last February, Prime Minister Netanyahu consistently responded that such dialogue could only occur once that time arrived. Well, now that we have reached that critical juncture, it is unfortunately too late to engage in those conversations and hope to shape the outcomes effectively.
UPDATE: Tonight, close to midnight, Army representatives informed the families of the hostages that the ceasefire/hostage agreement had been signed in Doha.
Tel Aviv Diary is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
BEN-GVIR RESIGNS
Tonight, Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir announced that he and his party would resign from the government if the current ceasefire plan is approved. Ben-Gvir criticized the plan harshly, stating that It would not only end the war, but also require Israel to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor, release hundreds of convicted murderers—and beyond all that—fail to secure the return of all the hostages. Ben-Gvir added that he would consider rejoining the government if the government decides to resume the war. Many of us would like to tell Minister Ben-Gvir not to let the door hit him on the way out.
Despite the validity of Ben-Gvir's criticisms of this agreement, given that we have been engaged in combat for 15 months and lack any alternative means to get back the hostages, we are left with no other option. According to a recent opinion poll, while the majority of Israelis believe that this is an awful agreement, an overwhelming number still support proceeding with the deal anyway.
The Houthis have declared their intention to adhere to the ceasefire and cease hostilities against Israel. However, the implications of this decision for shipping activities in the Red Sea remain uncertain.
SYRIA
Today, the new Syrian foreign Minister stated in an interview that Syria wishes to avoid conflicts with any of its neighbors, including Israel. The foreign minister emphasized that the new Syrian government has communicated to Israel that it harbors no hostile intentions.
The IDF is taking advantage of the time before the ceasefire to eliminate as many terrorists as possible. Below is the statement released by the Army Spokesman:
The IDF and Shin Bet conducted overnight airstrikes targeting dozens of terrorist sites across the Gaza Strip, including a Nukhba terrorist involved in the brutal massacre on October 7, as well as operatives from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations.
In a joint operation by the IDF and Shin Bet, an Israeli Air Force aircraft targeted and eliminated Muhammad Al-Sham Zohdi Abu Al-Rous, a Nukhba operative from the Hamas terrorist organization who infiltrated Israel and participated in the brutal massacre at the Nova music festival on October 7.
In another joint operation by the IDF and Shin Bet, the Israeli Air Force struck approximately 50 terrorist targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day. The targets included Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives, military structures, weapon storage facilities, launcher positions, weapon production sites, and observation posts.
Before the strikes, numerous measures were taken to minimize harm to civilians, including the use of precision weaponry, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence information.
The Hamas terrorist organization systematically violates international law, cruelly exploiting civilian institutions and the population as human shields for terrorist activities. The IDF will continue to operate with strength and determination against terrorist organizations.
TRUMP NOMINEES
On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate conducted a confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth. Two key points emerged from the hearing: Hegseth does not possess the typical qualifications expected of someone poised to run the largest organization in the United States, however, he is unequivocally a staunch supporter of Israel.
During the confirmation hearing, Hegseth stated the following: “I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas.” He continued, “I’m a Christian, and I robustly support the State of Israel and its existential defense.”
In contrast, listening to an interview with Mike Waltz on the “Call Me Back” podcast, it is evident that he is not only highly qualified, but also a strong supporter of Israel.
Lufthansa, the German airline, announced today that it will resume flights to and from Tel Aviv, Israel, starting February 1, immediately following the declaration of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The Lufthansa Group encompasses several airlines, including Lufthansa itself, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings
.
Yesterday, the Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air expanded its flight service from Israel to additional destinations in Europe. The airline operates flights to 15 destinations, including London, Budapest, Larnaca, Athens, Rome, and Abu Dhabi.
BUSINESS
Infinidat
Lenovo, the global technology leader, is set to make its first strategic move into Israel by acquiring Infinidat, a prominent Israeli enterprise storage company with 500 employees, including 300 based in Israel. While financial terms remain undisclosed, the deal has been signed and awaits regulatory approval in what industry observers consider a significant acquisition.
Founded in 2011 by Moshe Yanai, Infinidat has grown into a profitable enterprise, reporting approximately $300 million in annual revenue as of 2023. Under the current leadership of CEO Shahar Bar-Or, the company has secured $325 million in funding from prestigious investors including TPG Private Equity, Goldman Sachs, and Israeli investment firms Claridge and ION.
At its core, Infinidat revolutionizes enterprise storage through innovative intelligent systems that optimize performance while reducing costs. Infinidat's flagship technology employs a sophisticated algorithm that studies organizational data usage patterns and dynamically distributes information across multiple storage types – magnetic drives, SSDs, and DRAM – ensuring both speed and cost-effectiveness.
Infinidat has expanded its portfolio to include high-performance flash drive systems and comprehensive backup solutions featuring disaster recovery and cybersecurity protection. Targeting large enterprise clients, Infinidat's premium solutions often command multi-million dollar contracts. The company maintains its research and development center and intellectual property exclusively in Israel.
For Lenovo, this acquisition represents a strategic expansion of its enterprise storage capabilities, particularly in serving high-value sectors such as banking, insurance, telecommunications, and higher education.
Israel Electric Corporation
Under Israel's 2018 electricity reform, the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) cannot expand its power generation capacity beyond two units under construction in Hadera, but can develop up to 15% of Israel's electrical storage capacity.
The storage facilities, to be built at substations, will stabilize grid frequency during power station failures or demand spikes, protecting grid components from damage. The IEC will procure these lithium-battery facilities through an EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) tender.
IEC CEO Meir Spiegler noted that the storage facilities could help address Israel's growing electricity shortage. With demand increasing 3% annually and new power station construction delayed, the storage systems will both stabilize frequency and supplement power supply.
The IEC's new 20-year transmission and storage license, issued in May, maintains its control over electricity transmission from power stations to cities while permitting the 15% storage capacity development. This license complements the 2018 reform's opening of power generation and customer services to competition.
Reeco
Hotel procurement platform Reeco has secured $15 million in Series-A funding led by Aleph Fund, with Net Capital and existing investor Joule Ventures participating. This brings total funding to $25 million. Reeco employs 60 people across Israel (development), U.S. (marketing), and Argentina (customer support).
Reeco's digital platform streamlines hotel procurement from ordering and inventory to culinary management and payments—replacing traditional paper-based processes. Its real-time analytics help management optimize operations and profitability.
Reeco has grown its client base 800% in the past year, serving major chains including Hilton, Marriott, IHG, and Hyatt. Founded in 2022, Reeco is led by CEO Henrik Shimoni, a third-generation hotelier with a degree in Hotel and Tourism Management, and CTO Omri Shalev, who began programming at age 15.
ControlMonkey
Israeli startup ControlMonkey has raised $7 million in seed-funding led by lool ventures and Joule Ventures, with participation from Gaia Ventures and notable tech entrepreneurs. The company aims to tackle the $140 billion annual waste in cloud infrastructure spending.
ControlMonkey's platform integrates with Terraform to ensure organizations' cloud configurations match their Infrastructure as Code (IaC). The system uses deterministic AI to scan cloud environments, automatically generate Terraform code, fix deviations, and maintain security and cost optimizations.
Founded in 2022 by Aaron Twizer (former Spot.io founder, acquired by NetApp for $450M) and Uri Yemini (early Spot.io engineer), ControlMonkey offers automated code fixes and a Quality Gate feature that checks cloud changes against organizational policies and compliance requirements. While currently focused on Terraform despite its recent user rebellion, the platform is designed to adapt to evolving market preferences.
Momentick
Momentick, an Israeli startup analyzing satellite imagery to detect greenhouse gas emissions, has raised $5 million led by FinTLV Ventures and Menomadin Fund, with participation from early investor TAU Ventures. Momentick's deep learning algorithms process satellite data to monitor emissions from energy facilities, gas pipelines, and remote production sites. Following successful collaboration with Japanese insurer Sompo, Momentick is expanding its focus on helping insurers assess emission-related risks.
“Insurance companies have lacked reliable data to assess greenhouse gas emission risks from energy companies,” says CEO Daniel Kashmir. “Our technology provides continuous global monitoring, enabling insurers to better evaluate risks and design climate-conscious policies.”
Momentick was founded in 2020 by Daniel Kashmir, Lev Oren, and Ofir Almog. The funding will support expansion in insurance and financial markets, where the company's precise emissions data helps evaluate energy companies’ environmental risks and guides emission reduction efforts.
Qbiq
Israeli startup Qbiq, which has developed a platform focused on automating architectural planning, announced on Wednesday the closing of a $16 million Series-A round led by global software investor Insight Partners. The round included participation from JLL Spark, 10D, Ocean Azul, Random Forest and M-Fund's Lior Elkan.
Founded in 2019 by Leeor Solnik, Elad Kaminer, Noam Diamantstein and Roey Granot, Qbiq tackles one of real estate’s biggest pain points: the inefficiency of traditional architectural planning, which leads to delays and prolonged deal cycles.
For decades, creating layouts involved slow, manual work using tools like AutoCAD, with architects solving complex design problems line by line. Even after completing a layout, interpreting it can be challenging—especially for those without a design background. Creating clarity through visuals, such as rendered tours and images, is a costly, months-long process, making it impractical for most deals and projects.
Qbiq has created one of the first Architectural AI platforms that allows brokers, landlords, architects, general contractors, and tenants to easily envision the full potential of any space in minutes, while considering basic or complex requirements. Customers such as Brookfield Properties, JLL, Skanska and IWG are able to easily create a wide range of architectural outputs for any space in minutes. These outputs include architectural programs, programmatic or conceptual layouts, high-resolution rendered tours and images, quantity takeoffs CAD/Revit models and more.
October 14, 2022 • Israel Reaches Maritime Agreement with Lebanon
I had been somewhat skeptical about Israel’s ability to successfully reach a consensus with Lebanon over disputed economic waters and the gas fields, until the arrangement was reached last weekend. The breakthrough came after the Lebanese withdrew their last-minute demands, allowing both Israel and Lebanon to finalize the deal. The US-brokered agreement recognizes the buoy-line Israel established following its withdrawal from Lebanon as the international boundary. Under the terms of the agreement, Israel recognized to Lebanon’s right to drill in the contested area. In return, Israel will receive 17% of the value of any gas discovered in the previously disputed zone.
Former Prime Minister Netanyahu and his supporters continued to attack the agreement, labeling it as a “surrender to Hezbollah”. However, contrary to his initial claims that he would not honor the agreement, the former PM has stopped making such threats, recognizing that the newly negotiated deal is reasonable and enhances peace along our northern border—at the expense of potential future income that Israel does not need.
Opinion polls so far indicate that Netanyahu's criticisms have not swayed public opinion, with a majority of Israelis supporting the agreement, and only 23% opposing it. Israelis are largely indifferent to the promised gas income, which has yet to significantly impact government coffers, but they clearly understand the costs associated with a potential conflict with Hezbollah.
It should be noted that after exploration, it was determined that there was no gas in the area that was “ceded” to Lebanon.
Thanks for your reports/updates. They have been an invaluable resource since 10/7. I must, though, vehemently disagree with your assessment that Trump’s nominee for Sec of Defense is “clearly highly qualified”. Seriously? Let’s see…he basically bankrupted two Veterans organizations that he was in charge of….reports of his fiscal irresponsibility are legend. And he is credibly accused of rape and sexual misconduct toward subordinates as well as frequent occasions of inebriation during work hours and at work events. He may vocally support Israel….but he has a huge tattoo on his chest that is recognized as a symbol of white christian nationalism (think nro-nazi beliefs). That he is a serial adulterer and an unapologetic misogynist is just icing on the cake for the list of why he is not only unqualified but should never get near heading up the dept of defense. His nomination should be defeated on multiple fronts.
Thanks for your reports/updates. They have been an invaluable resource since 10/7. I must, though, vehemently disagree with your assessment that Trump’s nominee for Sec of Defense is “clearly highly qualified”. Seriously? Let’s see…he basically bankrupted two Veterans organizations that he was in charge of….reports of his fiscal irresponsibility are legend. And he is credibly accused of rape and sexual misconduct toward subordinates as well as frequent occasions of inebriation during work hours and at work events. He may vocally support Israel….but he has a huge tattoo on his chest that is recognized as a symbol of white christian nationalism (think nro-nazi beliefs). That he is a serial adulterer and an unapologetic misogynist is just icing on the cake for the list of why he is not only unqualified but should never get near heading up the dept of defense. His nomination should be defeated on multiple fronts.