DAY 321 OF THE WAR: Soldier Killed In Gaza, Over 46,000 Acres Burned in North, Head of GSS Sounds the Alarm, Fake News Spreading, Hostage Family at DNC
Today, we learned that the remains of six hostages found by the IDF earlier this week all contained bullets, suggesting it’s likely that their Hamas captors executed them. It's difficult to determine which scenario is worse— the possibility that our own actions inadvertently caused their deaths or that Hamas deliberately murdered them. In either case, it underscores the urgency of the situation for the remaining hostages and the fact that their time is running out.
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GAZA
Fighting continues in Gaza. This morning, another soldier lost his life when an RPG struck his tank. He was Sergeant Ori Ashkenazi Nechemya (19) of Ashkelon.
Here’s how the IDF Spokesman described their operations today:
In the last 24 hours, Division 162 forces eliminated around 50 terrorists in the Rafah area; an arms depot located near a Hamas military site, which previously served as a school in Gaza City, was attacked from the air.
Last night (Wednesday), Air Force fighter jets, guided by intelligence from Military Intelligence (Aman), the Shin Bet, and the Southern Command, attacked a weapons depot located near a Hamas military site that previously served as the 'Salah al-Din' school in Gaza City. The attacked depot stored rockets and other weapons intended for launch towards Israel.
In the last 24 hours, Division 162 forces eliminated around 50 terrorists and destroyed terrorist infrastructure in the Tel al-Sultan area of Rafah. In one of the strikes, Nahal brigade forces identified a group of terrorists on their way to attack our forces. With air support, the Air Force aircraft attacked and eliminated the terrorists.
Division 98 forces intensified their operations in the Khan Younis area and the outskirts of Deir al-Balah following precise intelligence about the presence of terrorist infrastructure and Hamas militants in the area. In the last 24 hours, the fighters destroyed dozens of terrorist infrastructures, located rockets, and eliminated terrorists.
In several joint operations between the Air Force and Division 252 forces, several terrorist cells were eliminated from the air in the central part of the Gaza Strip, and a booby-trapped building was destroyed.
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IN THE NORTH
The North continues to burn due to the impact of Hezbollah rockets. So far, during the war, 189,000 dunams (46,703 acres) have been scorched. Of this, 61% of the land affected is in the Golan Heights, 29% in the Upper Galilee, and the remainder in the Lower Galilee. The vegetation in the Golan Heights is expected to recover the fastest. The Health Authorities in Lebanon (which are more reliable than those of Hamas) report that 564 Lebanese have died since the war began, with the overwhelming majority (421 fatalities) being Hezbollah fighters. Additionally, another 1,800 have been wounded.
HOSTAGES Tonight, the head of the Mossad and the Shin Bet headed to Cairo to continue negotiations regarding the hostage and ceasefire agreement. To be honest, I have no idea where we currently stand. This morning's reports from Washington indicated that Netanyahu had promised concessions to Biden last night. However, this morning, Netanyahu denied those claims.
It’s puzzling why Netanyahu would deny agreeing to some concessions, as that would appear favorable to us, but perhaps his base would disapprove. Alarmingly, I’ve been hearing more and more voices on the right suggesting that we cannot afford to save the hostages. It's difficult for me to accept that these are my fellow countrymen in a country that has always believed we are all responsible for one another.
WEST BANK
Today, the Army killed three terrorists in Tulkarem and destroyed two workshops for the creation of roadside bombs.
The police and the Shin Bet issued the following statement regarding suspects in the acts of terror against Palestinians in the village of Jit last week:
The Shin Bet and Israeli police arrested four suspects last night, three adults and a minor, who are suspected of involvement in several terrorist incidents against Palestinians, including the serious disturbances on Thursday (15.8) in the village of Jit in Samaria.
The incident is considered a serious act of terrorism, which included the arson of buildings and vehicles, stone-throwing, and the throwing of Molotov cocktails. Additionally, there was a shooting that resulted in the death of a Palestinian and the injury of another.
The suspects have been handed over to the Shin Bet and police for investigation. The investigation of the incidents is ongoing.
It’s important to note that all those arrested are residents of the Shomron, contradicting claims by West Bank leaders that they were outside agitators. A report today revealed that a group of six Jews in the Old City assaulted a middle-aged Arab man who was walking there. This incident occurred on Tisha B'Av, and the attackers have since been arrested.
Additionally, it was reported that last week, the head of the Shin Bet (General Security Services), Ronen Bar, sent a serious letter concerning Jewish terrorism in the West Bank. Recipients of the letter included Prime Minister Netanyahu, Defense Minister Gallant, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Education Minister Yoav Kisch, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, Minister of Religious Services Michael Malchieli, and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
In the letter, Bar is said to have written, after Minister Ben-Gvir visited the Temple Mount for Tisha B’Av prayers with 2,000 supporters and before the recent Jewish Terror attack in Jit:
The leaders of this phenomenon seek to make us lose control of the situation. The damage to the State of Israel is indescribable, I write this letter to you with pain, with great concern, as a Jew, as an Israeli, and as a security professional, about the growing phenomenon of Jewish terrorism from the 'Hilltop Youth,'" he wrote. "The phenomenon of the 'Hilltop Youth' has long become a widespread platform for violent activities against Palestinians. I have never connected with the term 'nationalistic crime.' It is not a crime because it involves the use of violence to instill fear, meaning terrorism. It is not a 'nationalistic crime' and certainly not nationalistic because it challenges the nation.
MARKING ONE YEAR SINCE OCTOBER 7
Miri Regev continued to make more enemies today. Several days ago, in what many considered a tone-deaf move, the government appointed Regev to oversee the official national memorial marking the one-year anniversary of the massacre and onset of the war. Regev, who has long been Netanyahu’s go-to person for organizing national events like Independence Day, has consistently ensured that the wishes of the Netanyahus are met.
However, all of the Kibbutzim that suffered the greatest losses on October 7th have declared they will not participate. Regev intends to hold a closed, pre-recorded ceremony to prevent any disruptions. The Kibbutzim stated that as long as hostages remain in Gaza, conducting a national event is inappropriate. Only two of the towns attacked during the massacre expressed their readiness to participate in Regev’s proposed national ceremony; both are governed by Likud mayors. Today, Regev responded to the criticism against her by stating that she would ignore “peripheral noise” [i.e., external objections] and proceed with planning the event.
BEWARE OF BAD ACTORS
I want to discuss the dangers posed by misinformation spread by malicious actors—some of whom are undoubtedly from China, Russia, Iran, and even some from the “Bibi camp” here in Israel. Recently, I encountered three such instances. In the first instance, during my radio show on Monday (which was posted on Tuesday), the host mentioned a vineyard in California supposedly purchased by Ukrainian leader Zelensky. He questioned, “Doesn’t this suggest that Zelensky is corrupt and expects to lose?” The show’s host— who always had a good grasp of the facts and had been well-informed before the Trump era and the rise of alternative media, clearly parroting a story circulating in right-wing media circles, a narrative straight out of the disinformation department of Moscow’s FSB.
The second incident is related: In a WhatsApp group of Israeli business people, one of whom is a Trump supporter, an Israeli friend posted a story claiming that Germany was cutting all funding to Ukraine. She commented, “You see, Trump is right. The Europeans don’t care about Ukraine, so why should the U.S. pay?” However, the problem is that my friend's allegation, while based on a kernel of truth—i.e., that Germany needs to pass a special law because its budget is too large—grossly misrepresents the facts. Germany is not cutting any funding to Ukraine. This is yet another misleading claim that no doubt originated from the FSB.
The third incident involves a local rumor that has been circulating, which alleges a contributing factor to the disaster on October 7th was the Attorney General's failure to declare a state of war that morning, which they contend prevented the Air Force from engaging the terrorists. This story is completely baseless. It’s a narrative being propagated to undermine the Attorney General, a “favorite” target of certain government factions and their supporters, used to deflect blame from those truly responsible.
In all these instances, the individuals disseminating the stories are employing the infamous tactic articulated by Nazi propagandist Goebbels, who said, “If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it.” In today’s era of social media and fake news sites—or even supposedly legitimate news sites lacking editorial standards—it’s incredibly easy to spread misinformation, which unfortunately tends to spread like wildfire. These three stories I just described show just a few examples I’ve encountered in the last few days. Countless additional false narratives are currently circulating, the extent of which we cannot fully know.
HERSH’S PARENTS ADDRESS THE DNC
Last night's Democratic Convention deeply resonated across Israel, capturing major headlines, as all channels aired the poignant speech delivered by Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin. Despite extensive prior warning about the nature of the current Democratic party, the couple was profoundly moved and surprised by the response to their remarks: the entire crowd rose to their feet, many visibly emotional and teary-eyed, and chanted in unison, “Bring them home.”
BUSINESS
EDF
EDF won a tender to build Israel's largest solar farm in Dimona, covering 3,000 dunams and generating 265 megawatts of electricity. The project's rate is under seven agorot per kilowatt-hour, which is less than half the average solar electricity cost in Israel. This follows EDF's recent win of a similar tender in Ashalim, both indicating decreasing solar power generation costs. These projects are part of a series of solar farms established through government tenders.
AISAP, an Israeli company, has developed software that can perform medical diagnoses from low-resolution mobile ultrasound images, potentially revolutionizing point-of-care diagnostics. Recently approved by the FDA for 12 diagnoses related to structural heart diseases and heart failure, the software can process images from any mobile ultrasound device, automatically generating diagnoses, measurements, and summary reports. It guides non-specialist physicians to perform examinations effectively within minutes, and uniquely, can be used by any doctor without specific expertise.
While not fully replacing echocardiograms, AISAP's technology can identify 90% of common structural and functional cardiac parameters. It bridges the gap between expensive, limited-access echo machines in large laboratories and affordable, portable ultrasounds. The company's CEO, Adiel Im-Shalom, highlights that their technology makes advanced diagnostics accessible worldwide, addressing the limitations of traditional echocardiogram allocation in hospitals and the low-quality images produced by portable ultrasounds.
On Friday night, June 1, 2001, Tel Aviv’s Dolphinarium Discotheque was the site of a devastating suicide bombing executed by Saeed Hotari, a young Palestinian terrorist. Dressed in a manner that led some to mistake him for an Orthodox Jew, Hotari blended into a crowd of teenagers and young adults—many of whom were recent Russian immigrants waiting to enter the popular nightclub.
Witnesses later described how Hotari provocatively taunted his victims by banging on a drum packed with explosives and ball bearings while repeatedly declaring in Hebrew, "Something's going to happen." At 11:27 PM, Hotari detonated his explosive device, triggering a powerful blast that killed at least 17 people and injured scores more. The explosion scattered body parts and shattered glass across the area, prompting civilians to join emergency services in the frantic response efforts in the aftermath.
The Dolphinarium attack was the single deadliest terrorist incident since the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence in the fall of 2000. The bombing succeeded a failed attempt on the same location five months prior, initially claimed by Islamic Jihad and a group called "Hezbollah-Palestine," though these claims were later withdrawn. It was ultimately confirmed that Hamas member Saeed Hotari carried out the attack. The incident sparked widespread outrage and condemnation, with Israeli officials labeling it a “massacre.” International leaders, including U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and U.S. President George W. Bush, condemned the bombing in the strongest terms. Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat also denounced the attack and called for a ceasefire.
In the aftermath of the bombing, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon faced significant pressure to retaliate but initially chose to hold back from immediate military action due to substantial diplomatic pressure from the U.S. and the governments of other countries. The attack deeply impacted the Israeli public, intensifying fears and tensions in an already volatile environment. In Ramallah, some Palestinians celebrated the attack, while in Tel Aviv, the Israeli response was one of profound grief and anger.
