DAY 316 OF THE WAR: Hostage Negotiations, Two Soldiers Killed, Fighting in Gaza, Rockets in the North, Jewish Terror in West Bank
Tel Aviv Diary, August 18, 2024
Zoom Briefing: Sunday, August 18th 6 PM (Israel), 4 PM (GB), 11 AM (EDT), 8 AM (PDT). The invitation link will go out in the morning.
Overnight, the IDF struck what it identified as arms depots in Southern Lebanon, in Nabatiah. According to Lebanese reports, 10 to 13 people were killed, including civilians. In response, Hezbollah launched a barrage of 55 rockets and missiles at various targets in northern Galilee, hitting places like Safed, Ayelet Hashachar, and Hatzor Haglilit. This attack, while causing no injuries, did spark several fires. Additionally, earlier in the day, a Hezbollah-operated suicide drone landed on an IDF base in the area, wounding two soldiers. Later this afternoon, an Israeli operation killed another Hezbollah commander on a motorcycle in south Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Lebanon is experiencing a power outage, as the main power plant has depleted its fuel reserves. It should be noted that on a typical day, most of Lebanon receives power for just four hours, distributed on a rotating basis.
HOSTAGE NEGOTIATIONS
The major topic of discussion in Israel today was focused on the hostage negotiations that took place in Doha. Based on statements from the U.S., Egypt, and Qatar, it appears that the two-day talks were very successful. President Biden issued the following statement regarding the current status of the negotiations:
Earlier today, I received an update from my negotiating team on the ground in Doha and directed them to put forward the comprehensive bridging proposal presented today, which offers the basis for coming to a final agreement on a ceasefire and hostage release deal. I spoke separately with Amir Sheikh Tamim and President Sisi to review the significant progress made in Doha over the past two days of talks, and they expressed the strong support of Qatar and Egypt for the U.S. proposal as co-mediators in this process.
Our teams will remain on the ground to continue technical work over the coming days, and senior officials will convene again in Cairo before the end of the week. They will report to me regularly. I am sending Secretary Blinken to Israel to reaffirm my iron-clad support for Israel’s security, continue our intensive efforts to conclude this agreement and to underscore that with the comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal now in sight, no one in the region should take actions to undermine this process.
Tonight, President Biden provided the following responses to the press corps:
Q: How are the ceasefire talks?
THE PRESIDENT: So far, as of an hour ago, they’re still in play. I'm optimistic. Not far from over. Just a couple more issues. I think we’ve got a shot.
Q: Are you more optimistic now than you have been in months past?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q: Why?
THE PRESIDENT: If I told you that, I’d give away what's going on.
U.S. policy has always favored maintaining an optimistic outlook. In this instance, while Israeli sources are a bit more cautious, they generally appear to share this optimism. The U.S. is hoping to finalize the deal at the upcoming summit, scheduled for the end of this week in Cairo.
Netanyahu’s office released the following message tonight:
Today, the negotiation team regarding the hostage deal updated the Prime Minister on the status of the talks in Doha. The team expressed cautious optimism to the Prime Minister about the possibility of progressing towards a deal based on the latest American proposal (which is based on the May 27 framework) that includes components acceptable to Israel.
It is hoped that the heavy pressure on Hamas from the United States and the mediators will lead to the removal of their opposition to the American proposal and allow a breakthrough in the negotiations.
Tonight, for the first time, there were no statements from Netanyahu that might delay or derail the agreement. The key question now is how Hamas will respond. It seems unlikelythat Hamas, which has long awaited a wide regional conflict, would agree to a ceasefire at a moment that seems so close to a larger war. All this being true, it’s been over ten months, and this war must come to end—perhaps this time it will.
There is growing hope (emphasis on hope) that as long as negotiations continue and possibly succeed, Iran will refrain from launching attacks. The situation with Hezbollah is more uncertain. There is an understanding that Hezbollah will likely retaliate at some point for our assassination of their military head.
IRAN
Iran may have been deterred by certain American declarations and our explicit threats regarding what we might do.
On Thursday, the Air Force made a very public demonstration of its capabilities by conducting a public exercise that simulated an attack on Iran, featuring Israeli tankers refueling a variety of Israeli planes in mid-air.
GAZA
Fighting continues in Gaza, particularly in Khan Younis. In central Gaza, Major (res.) Yotam Itzhak Peled (34) and Sergeant-Major (res.) Mordechai Yosef Ben Shoam (34) were both killed when their vehicle, carrying supplies for soldiers, was hit by an IED.
Here’s the Army Spokesman’s report regarding the last 24 hours of combat in Gaza:
Forces from Division 252 eliminated several militants in the central Gaza Strip, including one who fired at an IDF unit operating in the area. There were no casualties among IDF forces. Shortly after the shooting, an Air Force aircraft targeted and killed the militant.
Additionally, naval forces targeted and killed several militants who posed a threat to IDF forces in the area over the past day.
Brigade combat teams under the command of Division 98 expanded operations in the Khan Younis area over the last 24 hours, eliminating armed militants and locating and destroying dozens of Hamas terrorist infrastructures in the area. Furthermore, an Air Force aircraft, directed by the division's fire center, eliminated the militants responsible for firing into the Nirim area yesterday (Friday).
Division 162 continues its operations in the Tel Sultan area of Rafah, where several militants were killed, and multiple terrorist infrastructures were attacked over the last 24 hours.
An Air Force fighter jet, in cooperation with Gaza Division forces, struck a launcher from which rockets were fired toward the Re'im area yesterday evening. There were no injuries.
During the last 24 hours, Air Force fighter jets and aircraft struck approximately 40 terrorist targets, including military structures, weapon storage facilities, and more.
WEST BANK
On Thursday night, Jewish rioters attacked the Palestinian village of Jit in Samaria, leading to serious violence and destruction. The IDF is currently investigating whether a Palestinian killed during the incident was shot by members of the Havat Gilad emergency response team, who reportedly interfered with IDF and Border Police operations. The response team, composed of recently released reservists, arrived on the scene as armed civilians without being summoned by the IDF.
Security footage indicates that around 50 rioters arrived from Havat Gilad in nine cars and returned there after the attack. Despite claims that the violence was in retaliation for stone-throwing by Palestinians, no such incident was reported to the IDF prior to the riots.
The Security Forces were unaware of the planned attack, receiving no advance intelligence from the Shin Bet or police. Consequently, they were unprepared to prevent the rioters from entering the village. The attack resulted in one Palestinian being killed, another seriously wounded, and three others injured. Significant property damage occurred, including the burning of homes and cars.
Notably, the Palestinian who was killed was not known to have ties to terrorism, despite Hamas later claiming him as one of their own. Security officials are also concerned about the involvement of increasingly younger participants in such nationalist crimes, some as young as 13 or 14 years old. As of now, no arrests have been made except for one individual who was later released.
Today, a group of six Israelis from Itamar tried to enter the Palestinian village of Rujeib near Nablus. The group, some of whom were masked and carried pepper spray, fled when an IDF force arrived. One Israeli was detained by the IDF, but the police declined to arrest him, claiming that the IDF’s claim was false.
Tonight, the Air Force struck a vehicle in Jenin, killing its two occupants, who had been identified as terrorists.
A WORTHWHILE READ
Here’s an interesting, insightful article titled: “The Left's Hollow Righteousness on Gaza.”
BUSINESS
Chaos Labs
The startup Chaos Labs, which develops risk monitoring tools for blockchain-based financial applications, on Thursday the completion of its Series-A funding round, raising a total of $55 million. This round includes $40 million in new equity and an additional $15 million that was previously received as SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity), which has now been converted into shares.
In February 2023, Chaos Labs reported raising $20 million, which already included the $15 million SAFE that has now been converted. Chaos Labs was founded in 2021 by Omer Goldberg, who previously worked as a tech lead at Facebook and Instagram in Tel Aviv and New York. Chaos Labs serves applications in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, offering services like cryptocurrency trading and peer-to-peer lending on the blockchain.
Definity
The startup Definity is developing a Data Application Observability & Remediation solution specifically for Spark-based data applications. This solution enables Data Engineering teams to optimize infrastructure performance while preventing data unavailability or low-quality issues—a combination that, as the band once said, ‘doesn’t go together,’ especially on outdated infrastructures and tools. Instead, Definity’s solution provides real-time insights into the running application, the quality of the data it consumes and produces, and infrastructure performance, all in one place.
The system automatically monitors all data applications running in the organization, whether they are in the cloud or on-premises, without requiring the teams to change a single line of code or perform any other complex integration. It then provides a complete picture of the process, allowing your engineers to identify and quickly fix issues. Additionally, the system can highlight insights such as cost-saving opportunities and performance optimizations. The result, according to the company, is the prevention of costly data issues, acceleration of development pace, and reduction of infrastructure costs.
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A PIECE OF HISTORY
Lynch in Ramallah
On October 12, 2000, a horrifying event unfolded in the West Bank city of Ramallah that would become one of the most brutal episodes of the Second Intifada. Two Israeli reservists, Vadim Norzhich and Yosef Avrahami, inadvertently entered the Palestinian-controlled city of Ramallah after mistakenly driving through a military checkpoint. Upon entering the city, the reservists were detained by Palestinian Authority (PA) police and taken to the local police station in the neighboring city of el-Bireh.
As word spread that Israeli soldiers were being held in the police station, a mob of over 1,000 Palestinians quickly gathered outside, fueled by anger and rumors that the captives were undercover Israeli agents. The tension escalated rapidly, and despite the efforts of some Palestinian policemen to protect the soldiers, the mob overwhelmed the police station. The two reservists were brutally beaten, stabbed, and ultimately killed by the enraged crowd. One of the bodies was even thrown out of a window into the street below, where it was further mutilated and set on fire.
The lynching was not only a gruesome act of violence but also a significant turning point in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The event, which occurred just weeks after the collapse of the Camp David peace talks, marked a severe escalation in the ongoing violence. The images of the lynching, including a widely circulated photograph of a Palestinian man with bloodied hands raised triumphantly, shocked Israel and the world, leading to widespread condemnation and a forceful Israeli military response.
In retaliation for the lynching, Israeli forces launched airstrikes against Palestinian targets in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including the very police station where the lynching occurred, as well as other key installations associated with the Palestinian Authority and militant groups. The incident further deepened the distrust and animosity between Israelis and Palestinians, effectively burying any remaining hopes for peace at that time.
The lynching in Ramallah became a symbol of the intense hatred and violence that characterized the Second Intifada, highlighting the deep divisions and the challenges of achieving lasting peace in the region. The failure of Palestinian police to control the mob underscored the growing powerlessness of Yasser Arafat's authority and the limitations of the peace process amidst such widespread unrest and violence.