At last, today marks the first time in months that we've awakened to good news. Every morning, before getting out of bed, I check the notifications on my phone, and for the last four months, almost all of the reports have been bad news. At 6 AM, the IDF announces the names of the soldiers who fell in combat the previous day. The first thing I saw this morning was the names of the two most recently fallen soldiers. However, then finally, I saw a notification that brought hope to me and so many other Israelis: the IDF liberated two hostages, Fernando Marman (61) and Louis Herr (70) from Hamas captivity.
In advance of the rescue operation, several Hamas police intelligence officers were eliminated. Special forces had infiltrated the area by Friday night to prepare for the mission. On Sunday night, a combined force of Army Special Forces and elite Police units discreetly entered Rafah without detection.
The hostages to be rescued were held in a second-floor apartment. To gain access, the soldiers ascended to the balcony, and at 1:49 AM, they breached the apartment. Upon entry, they quickly located the hostages, reassuring them with the words, “We are here to save you and bring you home.” The soldiers immediately shielded the hostages, by throwing themselves over them for protection.
The operation concluded swiftly. Within less than a minute, after the Hamas terrorists detaining the hostages were neutralized, the soldiers and hostages raced to the extraction point. They exited the building by rappelling down from the second floor, during which time they came under fire from surrounding buildings. However, the Air Force was prepared and established a protective corridor of fire, safeguarding the group as they evacuated the area and rendezvoused with an armored unit. Subsequently, the armored unit transported the hostages to a waiting helicopter for their journey back to Sheba Hospital, where their immediate families had hurried to reunite with them.
For a country eagerly awaiting good news, this rescue operation served as a much-needed boost, highlighting both the successful rescue of the two hostages and our capability to execute difficult, intricate missions flawlessly. During the extraction, one fighter was slightly injured, but aside from that, all of our forces returned unharmed.
Nevertheless, the remarkable rescue does not address the underlying issues we face. Despite Finance Minister Smotritch's assertion that “we should not negotiate with Hamas, but rather rescue the hostages,” the reality is that replicating last night's action, while possible under certain circumstances, is unlikely to result in the return of more than a handful of hostages. 134 Israeli hostages are still being held captive by Hamas for 129 days, and counting…
There is hope that this rescue operation might prompt Hamas to adopt a more flexible stance in hostage negotiations, fearing the loss of what they perceive as valuable assets. Yet, this is mere speculation. Additionally, the question of whether any centralized control over Hamas's activities in Gaza remains is increasingly being raised, adding another layer of complexity to the situation.
Israel was initially reluctant to send representatives to Cairo for discussions with the head of the CIA, as well as with Egyptian and Qatari officials, regarding negotiations of a plan to secure the release of the hostages. However, it now appears that the head of the Mossad will attend these meetings. It should also be noted that the Egyptian Foreign Minister stated tonight that whatever happens in Gaza, the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty will remain in effect.
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A NOTE TO ALL WESTCHESTER VOTERS … The following is what Congressman Jamaal Bowman, U.S. representative for New York's 16th congressional district, tweeted after the rescue operation:
While we watched the Super Bowl, Netanyahu launched a wave of attacks and killed innocent civilians in Rafah - a place where many refugees fled for relative safety - despite warnings from Biden. Netanyahu’s government is unfit to lead anything and cannot receive support.
* Please make sure you register as Democrat, so you are able to vote against this man in the upcoming the deadline to update your voter registration(from Independent or Republican) is in 2 days (February 14).
IDF soldiers Sgt. First Class (res.) Alon Kleinman (21) of Tel Aviv (L) and Sgt. First Class Adi Eldor (21) of Haifa, whose deaths in action in Gaza were announced on February 12, 2024.
There was additional fighting in Khan Younis today. I fear that tomorrow morning we will wake up to some further bad news.
It was another day of intensive exchanges on the Lebanese border. Israel attacked a car transporting a leader of the Islamic Jihad in Lebanon.
NETHERLANDS’ SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court in the Netherlands has ruled that the government must halt the provision of spare parts to Israel for F-35s. The government strongly objects to the ruling and has submitted an appeal. Meanwhile, the Foreign Minister of the European Union has proposed that Europe impose an arms embargo against Israel. The only issue with this plan is that Israel exports much more arms to Europe than it imports.
OFIR AKUNIS APPOINTED ISRAEL’S CONSUL GENERAL IN NY
Minister of Science Ofir Akinus has been appointed to serve as Israel’s new Consul General in New York. I guess Netanyahu feared that Akinus might be one of the Likud MKs who could oppose his continued leadership after the war, so what better way to neutralize Akunis than by sending him off to a plum assignment to New York.
The Taub Center has released its annual report on various aspects of Israeli society. Over the course of the next several updates (depending on the news of the day), I will excerpt selected portions of the report to feature. Here is the first segment, on Social Welfare spending;
Social expenditure in 2022 totaled NIS 298 billion — a reduction of about NIS 4 billion in current prices relative to 2021. The change in total expenditure included a decrease of NIS 7.4 billion in spending on social security and a rise of nearly NIS 4 billion on education between 2021 and 2022. In real terms (Figure 1), this is a decrease of about NIS 17 billion in total expenditure, and within this, a decline of about NIS 13 billion in social security and a rise of about NIS 1 billion in education. In the area of health, while there was a decrease totaling about NIS 5 billion in real terms, the amount of expenditure remains relatively high. It reflects the much-needed increase in expenditures for the COVID-19 crisis. In social welfare spending (social services provided by the Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs and other social ministries) there was an increase of about NIS 1 billion, which is an increase of NIS 0.4 billion considering inflation. Relative to 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, expenditure on social welfare has grown by about NIS 0.6 billion in nominal terms. This represents an increase of about 3.4%; however, a significant share of the increase in 2022 resulted from additional budget provided to the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption for the resettlement of immigrants from Ukraine and Russia
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A PIECE OF HISTORY
Tel Aviv Founded
In 1909, the decision was made to form a clean, new suburb near Jaffa. A ceremony was held on April 11, 1909, on the sand dunes north of the ancient city. A few hundred Jewish settlers attended, marking the founding of this new suburb named Tel Aviv (Hill of Spring). A lottery was held to assign plots of land. By 1914, this new suburb had become home to 1,500 new residents. It had already become the cultural and political hub of Jewish settlement in Palestine. The city continued to grow and throughout the mandate it was the center of Jewish life in Palestine. After the State of Israel came into existence, the government was moved to Jerusalem. Tel Aviv remained the country's financial, cultural, and economic capital. Today the city is known as the “Capital of the Start-up Nation,” owing to the presence of literally thousands of start-ups in Tel Aviv. The city of Tel Aviv is also home to the offices of many major tech companies, including: Google, Amazon, and Facebook.
It was great to read about the history of the founding of Tel Aviv. Sometime when news is quiet (bring it on!) you might like to share current views of Geddes plan, which former the basis of much of the way the New North is laid out today.
Next year will be the centenary of its unveiling.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geddes_Plan_for_Tel_Aviv?wprov=sfti1#
It was great to read about the history of the founding of Tel Aviv. Sometime when news is quiet (bring it on!) you might like to share current views of Geddes plan, which former the basis of much of the way the New North is laid out today.