DAY 331 OF THE WAR: Six Hostages Executed By Hamas, Bodies Returned to Israel for Burial, Hundreds of Thousand Demonstrate Demanding the Government Do More

Tel Aviv Diary, September 1, 2024

September 1 is the first day of school, typically a joyful occasion. However, while walking my dog this morning, I saw a contrasting scene: while some children smiled, the adults did not. Our country is broken. Last night, even before today's tragic news, my son commented as we returned from the weekly protest on behalf of returning the hostages, "We need some poets who can try to articulate the depth of how broken the country is.”

I already knew last night that we would wake up to terrible news, but I didn’t know just how heart-wrenching it would be. Six young people, who had survived for nearly 330 harrowing days in Hamas captivity, were brutally murdered in cold blood, each shot in the head. The names of these hostages are Hersh Goldberg Polin (23), Eden Yerushalami )24(, Carmel Gat (40), Almog Sarusi (27), Alexander Lobanov (32), and Ori Danino (25). Five of the six, with the exception of Carmel Gat, were abducted from the Nova music festival in Re’im. Carmel Gat was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri during a visit with her family.

Three of these hostages were anticipated to be released in the initial phase of the hostage release plan, which could have been implemented two months earlier. This most recent group of recovered hostages was killed by Hamas in the past few days, likely due to fears that the IDF might soon rescue them. All six of these hostages were in the same underground tunnel complex where Farhan al-Qadi was found and rescued last week, located merely a kilometer away—highlighting the immense scale of the tunnel complex, much of which remains unexplored.

I have come across tweets and articles that I find illogical, in which people criticize comments made by Biden or Harris—released hours before our Prime Minister—faulting them for advising against travel to Rafah. I utterly fail to see the logic of this claim. Biden and Harris’ reasons may have been misguided, e.g., fear of a large number of civilian casualties.

However, it’s clear that heading into Rafah has neither facilitated the release of the hostages (except for one accidental case) nor has it prevented the loss of their lives. We might have been able to reach an agreement for a ceasefire and release of hostages back in May, but instead, the government decided we had to enter Rafah. While it's true that we eliminated terrorists and destroyed tunnels and armaments, we have also suffered the loss of 98 soldiers since May, nearly all in Gaza.

To date, the Army has had very limited success in rescuing hostages; in fact, a greater number have been killed. Additionally, we have not addressed the problem in the North, with 90,000 evacuees and ongoing rocket attacks. The only constant in this situation is Netanyahu's continued hold on power.

SOME REFUSE TO BE CONFUSED WITH FACTS…

I recently had a discussion with someone who insisted that the IDF cannot leave the Philadelphi corridor. He argued that nothing was being smuggled into the area as long as we were present in Gaza. I tried to explain that tunnels have existed in Rafah since the late 19th century, but he would not believe me.

When I questioned how Hamas was able to launch rockets at Sderot before we withdrew from Gaza, he suggested that only one or two rockets were fired. However, I presented him with a chart showing that 281 rockets were fired from Gaza in the year before our unilateral disengagement in 2005. Nevertheless, the doubting man continued to express disbelief that there were attacks before the disengagement.

President Herzog issued the following statement regarding the killing of the hostages:

The heart of an entire family nation is shattered to pieces with the news of the murder of Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Eden Yerushalmi, whose bodies were brought back from Gaza in a military operation.

On behalf of the State of Israel, I embrace their families with all my heart and apologize for failing to bring them home safely. We will continue to fight relentlessly against the criminal terrorist organization Hamas, which has once again proven there is no end to its willingness to commit murder and crimes against humanity.

The blood of our brothers cries out to us. Our sisters and brothers are still there, enduring Hell. The supreme covenant between the state and its citizens is to ensure their safety. We have the sacred and urgent mission to bring them home.

DEFENSE MINISTER GALLANT STANDS UP TO THE COALITION

Defense Minister Gallant has urged the Security Cabinet, which is meeting tonight, to reconsider its stance regarding the Philadelphi Corridor and to make every possible effort to broker an agreement. I won’t bother detailing the comments made by other ministers. However, it is significant to note that Netanyahu reached out to several of the six families whose loved ones' remains were recovered, offering an apology—for the first time in 11 months.

During tonight's Security Cabinet meeting, Defense Minister Gallant made the following statement regarding continued IDF presence at the Philadelphi Corridor:

We won't achieve the war goals we've set for ourselves because the Cabinet's decision is an unnecessary constraint we've imposed on ourselves, and it is secondary to the hostage deal. The decision made on Thursday was based on the concept that “there's time,” but if we want the hostages alive – they do not have time.

Do not lecture me about making concessions...We've risked soldiers’ lives for decades in order to save one person. How can we now disregard the lives of 30? This is a moral failing. We were raised and educated on the principle of not leaving any wounded behind. In the decisions we make, we must consider the values that guide us. On Thursday, we made a decision to stay in Philadelphi, even at the cost of leaving hostages there.

In response to Gallant, Prime Minister Netanyahu stated:

I want to free all our hostages no less than you do. I have fought for the release of hostages no less than you, and I was even injured in one of those operations.

I believe that the path I am leading, of standing firm and being aggressive, is the right way.

Now, after we made an extremely just decision during the last Cabinet meeting, should we come and reverse it? Especially after the terrible murder of our hostages?

Such a step would reward terrorism and send a dangerous message to Hamas that murdering our hostages is beneficial. A reversal of our decision will lead to demands for more and more concessions that will endanger Israel's security.

Canceling a strategic decision of the Cabinet following the cold-blooded murder of six hostages is a grave mistake. Such a step would be a reward for terrorism and send a dangerous message to Hamas that murdering our hostages is beneficial. It will lead to demands for more and more concessions that will endanger Israel's security.

We would need to leave the perimeter, execute a complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, restore Hamas rule there, allow hostages to be smuggled to Sinai and from there to Iran, and jeopardize our security interests. Therefore, I am strongly opposed to it.

I said yes to the Americans on May 27 and August 16. There is flexibility in negotiations, but not on a fundamental matter like the Philadelphi Corridor, which is Hamas's lifeline. After the U.S. agreed, why are you opposed?

MASS DEMONSTRATIONS ON BEHALF OF HOSTAGES

Tonight, Israel witnessed the largest demonstrations since the height of the protest against Judicial reform. According to an independent analysis, approximately 280,000 people participated in Tel Aviv, making it one of the largest demonstrations to date. [Demonstrations also took place in Jerusalem, Haifa, and Be’er Sheva tonight].

Tomorrow, the Histadrut, Israel's National Labor Union, has called for a national strike to urge the government into negotiating an agreement to secure the return of all hostages— both those who remain alive and those who are no longer.

I believe the well-known Israeli journalist Nadav Eyal summed up the reasons for today’s mass demonstration succinctly:

Huge demonstrations in Israel:

Many friends abroad have been asking why Israelis are taking to the streets today in the largest demonstrations since October 7. Given that Hamas executed the hostages, why are they demonstrating against the [Israeli] government?

The reason is clear: there is a consensus within the Israeli security apparatus, including the Defense Minister, the Chief of Staff, and the Head of the Mossad, that the government, led by Netanyahu, is making demands that could sabotage a real chance for a deal to return the hostages. These demands, which lack real security value, are seen as politically motivated.

It's important to note that no one in Israel is under the illusion that Hamas is necessarily interested in a deal. Israelis understand that Hamas, with its acts of mass murder, abduction, rape, and looting, is responsible for the situation we are in. However, Israelis—and especially the hostage families and the families of those who have already been returned, alive or dead—expect the Israeli government to do everything in its power to bring them home. This includes being willing to agree to a deal.

Israel has already seen significant success in the negotiations, including a tacit agreement from moderating countries and Hamas that this deal would not mark the end of the war. The IDF would be understood to continue pursuing Hamas after an interim deal that was supposed to release between 18 and 30 live hostages, some of whom were executed in cold blood by Hamas between Thursday night and Friday.

The majority of Israelis do not trust this government. It has not won a single reputable poll since March 2023, long before October 7, and it certainly hasn't won any since then. Most polls indicate that most Israelis believe the Prime Minister prioritizes his political survival—specifically, retaining the far right in his coalition—over the return of the hostages. This fear of a disastrous election defeat and the potential end of his political career seems to take precedence.

This is the context behind why hundreds of thousands of Israelis, many of them reserve soldiers, are now protesting during a time of war.

They are making a single demand: that the government do everything in its power to bring the hostages back home. They do so with the full understanding that it's not only up to the government and that the enemy is both cruel and calculated.

This demand is far more than political pressure on the government to agree. It’s about the essence of Israel as a society that enshrines the value of solidarity encapsulated in the Mishnah’s teaching that saving one soul is akin to saving the entire world.

The idea that Israel will do everything—not only through military force, which no one doubts, but also through political moderation and compromise—to return Israelis who were kidnapped, sometimes from their beds, by a cruel enemy is central to the Israeli identity. And it is this part of the Israeli identity that the government has completely managed to unmoor by its actions. It is this part of the Israeli identity that people are demonstrating for.

WEST BANK

The day's grim news escalated with reports of a terror attack on the West Bank. A terrorist, firing from a moving car, killed three policemen on a road from Kiryat Gat toward Hebron. Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Hadas Barnatz (53) was declared dead at the scene. Chief Inspector Arik Ben-Eliyahu (37) succumbed to his injuries during a helicopter evacuation on the runway. The third officer, Advanced Staff Sgt. Maj. Roni Shkuri (61), was pronounced dead at the hospital. Shukri is the father of police officer Mor Shkuri, who was killed on October 7 in the battle at the Sderot police station.

BUSINESS

In August 2024, Israeli startups reported total capital raises of approximately $130 million, with an additional investment estimated in the “tens of millions of dollars” from Japan’s SoftBank in Wiz, which was announced after Google’s acquisition deal was canceled.

Overall, nine Israeli companies reported capital raises this month, including three companies in advanced stages and six companies in Seed-A stages. One of these companies is the crypto firm Chaos Labs, which secured a relatively rare Series-A round. This round, reminiscent of 2021, amounted to $55 million and included follow-on investments from PayPal, a senior figure at OpenAI, and several other funds. This was the largest fundraising round of the month, accounting for about one-third of the total funds raised.

The August 2024 fundraising for Israeli startups was the weakest in ten years, with the last comparable downturn occurring in August 2014, when $174 million was raised.

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NOTE: The “PIECE OF HISTORY” section will return tomorrow.

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ICYMI: Here is the recording of today’s Zoom Update: