DAY 685 OF THE WAR: Netanyahu Silent on Response to Hamas, As IDF Begins Advance Toward Gaza City; IAF to Buy More Boeing Tankers; Interest Rates To Remain Unchanged
Tel Aviv Dairy August 21, 2025
Once again, the day’s leading story feels like a repeat performance, as if yesterday’s headlines had simply been recycled. I almost wish I could get away with copying and pasting my last update, shutting off the news, lowering my blood pressure, and giving myself a brief respite.
Lately, I find myself switching off the news more often than I ever imagined I would. Still, out of commitment to you and Tel Aviv Diary, I keep listening, keep talking with people outside, trying to gather whatever of insight I can. Yet, the central issue, the war in Gaza and the fate of our 50 remaining hostages, remains unchanged: there is nothing new to report today.
The Israeli government has not yet offered a response to Hamas’s acceptance of the Witkoff plan; a framework originally proposed by Israel itself. The prevailing sense is that the government aims to say no, while avoiding an outright rejection by simply ignoring the proposal. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but that’s where we stand at the moment. Families of the hostages warn that Prime Minister Netanyahu is effectively writing off their loved ones, vowing they will not allow it. What that means in practice, is unclear.
Prime Minister Netanyahu spent much of the day at Southern Command reviewing plans for the capture of Gaza City. At the same time, the Military Command have been coordinating with medical forces in Gaza. They have been instructing hospital staff to prepare for evacuation and to relocate to field facilities that Israel plans to establish once civilians are moved from Gaza City to the open areas of the south. The strategy hinges on clearing the population before advancing. Yet it appears likely that a high percentage of residents will refuse to leave, weary of repeated displacements, each time into harsher conditions.
Many in Gaza doubt that relocation to the south will bring any improvement, or that the new areas being prepared will offer real food or adequate housing. For now, residents cling to survival in half-destroyed homes, some of which remain partially intact. The prospect of moving the entire population of Gaza City into open land in the south seems nearly unimaginable. Officials point to the earlier evacuation from Rafah as proof it can be done, but most of those displaced went from Rafah to Gaza City, and some to Al-Mawasi—shifts from one built-up, familiar area to another, not into an uncertain expanse.
Once again, I have to repeat: this could be part of a staged effort, meant to create the impression that an assault is imminent in order to strengthen Israel’s negotiating position with Hamas. That remains a possibility—though it assumes Hamas is concerned about the fate of Gaza’s civilians and wishes to avoid the spectacle of mass casualties at Israel’s hands.
Tonight, a security meeting is scheduled, ostensibly to consider advancing the timetable for the capture of Gaza City. For now, the earliest such an operation could take place is late October according to a number of military correspondents. It is equally possible, however, that the discussion will center on the ceasefire proposal. At this point, we simply do not know. I can only hope that this uncertainty is a positive sign, though only time will tell.
IAF PURCHASES ADDITIONAL BOEING TANKERS
The Air Force has decided to acquire two additional KC-46 tanker aircraft from Boeing. These planes will join the four already on order. The first two expected to arrive next year, replacing the converted Boeing 707s still in service, some of which are more than 60 years old. The move marks a setback for Israel Aerospace Industries, which had sought a share of the contract by offering to convert two standard 767s into tankers domestically
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DELAYED ARMOR UPGRADE FOR TANKS
In another development, concern has been raised after a reserve tank unit was outfitted with Merkava Mark 3 tanks instead of the newer Mark 4s. The Mark 4 was specifically designed to address vulnerabilities revealed in combat with the earlier model, yet production has long lagged behind operational demand, leaving the Army short of the newer tanks. As I noted yesterday, the Ministry of Defense has at last placed an order for additional Mark 4s. But the move comes nearly two years into the war, despite the shortage being evident from the outset. And even now, delivery of the new tanks remains far off.
ECONOMY
Yesterday evening, Bank of Israel once again opted to keep interest rates at their current elevated level. Hopes for a cut had risen amid signs of easing inflation, but the governor cautioned that the ongoing war is driving government deficits ever higher, leaving no room for a reduction. As noted yesterday, the costs of the war continue to mount, and a growing number of economists warn that Israel cannot sustain both the fighting and its broader economic needs indefinitely. For now, the economy has held up reasonably well. Spending by reservists and their families has helped support domestic demand, reduced travel abroad has boosted consumption at home. These trends have cushioned the economy for two years, but the strain is becoming increasingly clear.
BUSINESS
Cybersecurity company Seemplicity has secured $50 million in a Series-B funding round, led by Sienna Venture Capital with participation from Essentia Venture Capital and existing backers Glilot Capital Partners, S Capital, and NTTVC. The round brings the company’s total funding to $82 million, all of which will remain in the company to support growth initiatives.
Founded in 2020 by Yoran Sirkis (CEO), Ravid Circus (CPO), and Rotem Cohen Gadol (CTO), Seemplicity has developed a platform that automates the management and remediation of cyber exposures. The system consolidates findings from more than 200 security tools, eliminates duplicates, and applies AI-driven prioritization to deliver tailored remediation plans for security, IT, and DevOps teams.
Since its Series-A, the company has reported an 800% increase in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and a threefold expansion in new global customer acquisitions. Today, Seemplicity employs 75 people, with 47 based in Israel and the remainder in the United States.
The new funding will be directed toward expanding Seemplicity’s R&D center in Israel, strengthening AI capabilities, deepening its footprint in the United States, increasing its presence in Europe, and driving additional revenue through new sales channels for enterprises of all sizes.
Neurolief
BrainsWay, the Jerusalem-based pioneer in brain stimulation, announced a $5 million investment in the Israeli startup Neurolief, marking its entry into the field of at-home treatments for treatment-resistant depression. The investment is structured as a convertible loan with an option to acquire Neurolief, making this the first time BrainsWay has backed a local competitor.
Neurolief, based in Netanya, has developed a rigid headband that stimulates peripheral nerves connected directly to the brainstem, a central hub responsible for releasing key neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine that regulate mood. Early studies have shown promising results: over 70% of patients reported improvement, and a third entered full remission. If approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Neurolief would become the first medical device company to gain FDA clearance for an at-home treatment for clinical depression.
BrainsWay, by contrast, has built its reputation over the past two decades on Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (Deep TMS), a clinic-based therapy already approved by the FDA for depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and smoking cessation. With more than 1,500 clinics worldwide, 90% in the U.S., the company’s model currently requires patients to undergo daily treatments for six weeks, creating accessibility challenges.
Neurolief’s system, designed for home use and at a significantly lower cost ($2,000–$4,000 compared to $6,000–$12,000 for clinic-based TMS), offers a potential paradigm shift. BrainsWay sees this not as a threat but as an opportunity to create a treatment continuum, beginning in clinics and continuing at home to sustain long-term benefits.
This investment complements BrainsWay’s broader expansion strategy. In recent months, it has also invested in U.S. mental health clinic networks Stella Mental Health and Axis Integrated Mental Health. With $78 million in cash reserves and rising revenues, BrainsWay is positioning itself as a global leader in both clinical and at-home neurostimulation treatments.
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SPOTLIGHT ON ISRAELI COMPANIES
EL AL
To the Skies: An Institutional History of El Al Israel Airlines
Forged in Conflict: The Birth of a National Symbol (1948-1950s)
The genesis of El Al Israel Airlines is found not in commercial opportunity but in geopolitical necessity. The airline was not founded to meet a pre-existing market demand but to overcome a critical strategic vulnerability faced by the newly declared State of Israel: its profound isolation. This origin story, rooted in statecraft rather than commerce, would embed a unique geopolitical DNA into the airline's institutional character, defining its purpose and trajectory for decades to come.
The Catalyst: A President's Flight
The airline’s inaugural, albeit unofficial, mission was a direct response to an international embargo imposed on Israel during its 1948 War of Independence. In September of that year, Chaim Weizmann, soon to be sworn in as the nation’s first president, was in Geneva and needed to return to Israel. The embargo precluded the use of a military aircraft for international travel. In a move that would set the precedent for El Al’s future role, the state improvised. An Israeli Air Force Douglas C-54 military transport aircraft was hastily converted for civilian use.
This was more than a simple repaint; it was a deliberate act of projecting sovereignty. The aircraft was painted with the name “El Al Ltd.–Israel National Aviation Company” and, most significantly, the new Israeli flag was emblazoned on its tail. When this plane flew into Geneva, it was a powerful assertion of statehood on the international stage.
The flight itself was a logistical challenge, requiring the installation of extra fuel tanks to manage the ten-hour nonstop journey back to Israel, a testament to the determination behind the mission. On September 29, 1948, the aircraft brought Weizmann home, completing its state-mandated task. After the flight, the plane was stripped of its civilian markings and returned to military service, its purpose fulfilled. This foundational event established that from its very conception, El Al was an instrument of the state, created to solve problems that conventional diplomacy or commerce could not.
Formal Incorporation and Foundational Identity
The Weizmann flight crystallized the urgent need for a national airline. The State of Israel had officially decided to establish such a carrier on August 18, 1948. Following the successful mission from Geneva, El Al was formally incorporated on November 15, 1948.
The airline’s branding was a conscious act of nation-building. The name “El Al” was chosen by David Remez, the first Minister of Transport, from a passage in the biblical book of Hosea (11:7). Meaning “to the above” or, more poetically, “to the skies,” the name embedded a deep cultural and historical resonance into the airline’s identity, linking the modern technological endeavor of flight to the ancient heritage of the Jewish people.
The ownership structure further underscored its role as a national project. The Israeli government held the controlling interest, with other shares held by major Zionist organizations, including the Jewish Agency and the ZIM shipping company. This confirmed that El Al’s primary purpose was national service, with profit generation being a secondary concern.
Humble Beginnings and Early Operations
From these symbolic origins, El Al began to build its commercial operations, albeit modestly. In early 1949, the airline purchased its first two aircraft: a pair of used, unpressurized Douglas DC-4s acquired from American Airlines. Continuing the theme of national symbolism, these planes were registered as 4X-ACC and named ‘Rechovoth’ (a city in central Israel) and 4X-ACD, named ‘Herzl’ after the founder of modern political Zionism.
The airline’s first scheduled commercial flight took place on July 31, 1949. The DC-4 ‘Herzl’ departed from Tel Aviv’s Lod Airport (later renamed Ben-Gurion Airport) for Paris, with a stopover in Rome. This flight marked the beginning of Israel’s regular air connection to the world. The route network expanded rapidly over the following months, establishing vital links to other key European capitals, including Zurich on December 18 and London on December 22, 1949.
The pioneering spirit of these early years was embodied by its flight crews. Many of the original pilots were foreign volunteers—airmen from the United States, England, and South Africa who had previously flown military transports for Israel as volunteers during the War of Independence. Their involvement highlighted the mission-driven culture that permeated the airline, a legacy of its formation in the crucible of conflict. Every flight was more than a commercial journey; it was an assertion of Israel’s existence and its connection to the global community, making the airline a “flying embassy” long before it became a mature commercial carrier.
On Wings of Eagles:
The Great Airlifts and Nation-Building (1949-1952)
No sooner had El Al established its first commercial routes than it was called upon to fulfill a far more profound and demanding role, one that would cement its identity as an essential instrument of the “Ingathering of the Exiles”—a core tenet of Zionist ideology. The great airlifts of Jewish communities from Yemen and Iraq were not peripheral activities for the fledgling airline; they were defining missions that shaped its institutional culture and forged an unbreakable bond with the national project. This period demonstrated a symbiotic relationship: the state’s demographic goals made El Al’s mission-driven purpose clear, and in turn, the airline’s growing operational capacity made these historic rescue operations feasible.
Operation Magic Carpet (On Wings of Eagles):
Airlifting Yemenite Jewry (1949-1950)
Beginning in late 1948 and intensifying through 1949, El Al personnel and aircraft played a crucial role in “Operation Magic Carpet,” known in Hebrew as “Operation On Wings of Eagles”. The mission’s objective was audacious: to airlift nearly the entire Jewish population of Yemen, one of the oldest communities in the diaspora, to the new State of Israel. Following a wave of anti-Jewish violence and deteriorating conditions, the opportunity arose to evacuate them from the British protectorate of Aden.
Over the course of the operation, which lasted until September 1950, approximately 47,000 Yemenite Jews and 3,000 Jews from the Habbani Jewish community were transported to Israel. The airlift was a massive undertaking, involving between 380 and 450 flights, many of which were chartered British and American transport planes, with El Al deeply involved in the planning and execution.
The conditions of these flights were a stark reflection of their urgent, humanitarian purpose. Commercial comforts were stripped away in favor of maximum capacity. Standard aircraft seats were removed and replaced with simple wooden benches to accommodate as many people as possible on each flight. The logistical and political challenges were immense. To ensure safe passage over hostile Arab airspace, the aircraft had to be repainted to obscure their Israeli identity. At the operation’s peak, planes flew around the clock, with seven to eight flights per day covering the 1,600-mile journey from Aden to Lod, a flight that took approximately nine hours.
Operation Ezra and Nehemiah (Operation Ali Baba):
Rescuing the Jews of Iraq (1950-1952)
Following the success of the Yemenite airlift, an even larger and more complex rescue mission began: “Operation Ezra and Nehemiah,” also known as “Operation Ali Baba”. This operation aimed to bring the ancient and once-thriving Jewish community of Iraq to Israel. Following years of escalating persecution, the Iraqi government passed a law in March 1950 that briefly allowed Jews to emigrate, on the condition that they renounce their citizenship and leave their property and assets behind.
Between May 1950 and January 1952, this operation airlifted between 113,000 and 130,000 Iraqi Jews to Israel, effectively ending 2,500 years of Jewish history in Mesopotamia. El Al became the visible symbol of their passage to a new life.
The execution of this airlift reveals El Al’s early function as a tool for Israeli intelligence and covert diplomacy. Direct negotiations between the Israeli national airline and the hostile Iraqi government were impossible. The solution was a clandestine operation. An agent of the Mossad la-Aliya (the branch of the Mossad responsible for immigration), Shlomo Hillel, was sent to Baghdad pretending to be a representative of a seemingly neutral American charter company, Near East Air Transport (NEAT).
In reality, NEAT was a front company secretly connected with El Al. Hillel successfully negotiated a contract for NEAT to fly the registered Jews out of Iraq. This arrangement demonstrates that from its earliest days, El Al’s corporate structure was designed to be permeable, allowing it to serve as a cover for state intelligence and foreign policy objectives.
Initially, the flights operated via Cyprus. However, the Iraqi government, stunned and overwhelmed by the sheer number of Jews who registered to leave—far exceeding their estimate of 8,000—began to pressure the airline to increase the tempo of the flights. This pressure led to permission for direct flights from Baghdad to Lod, which dramatically accelerated the exodus.
Defining the Airline’s Ethos
These monumental airlifts were formative experiences for El Al. They cemented the airline’s identity not as a mere commercial carrier but as a vital partner in the foundational Zionist project. Its aircraft were not just transporting passengers; they were fulfilling a national and ideological mandate to gather the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland. This role, established in the state’s first years, became a central pillar of El Al’s public image and brand, creating a powerful legacy of national service that would distinguish it from every other airline in the world and justify decades of state support.
The Jet Age and Global Reach (1960s-1980s)
The period from the late 1950s through the early 1980s marked El Al's technological maturation and its emergence as a serious competitor on the world stage. As a small airline from a developing nation, its fleet strategy was characterized by a series of audacious, forward-looking procurement decisions. These "bold bets" on new aircraft technology allowed El Al to punch far above its weight, enabling it to compete with, and at times outperform, much larger and more established international carriers. This era saw the airline transition from propeller-driven aircraft to the pinnacle of the jet age, all while continuing to serve as Israel's indispensable lifeline during times of war.
The following table provides a summary of the key stages in El Al's fleet evolution, linking specific aircraft types to their strategic impact on the airline's operational capabilities and global reach.
From Propellers to Turboprops: The Pre-Jet Era
After its initial phase with unpressurized DC-4s, El Al made its first significant technological upgrade in late 1950 with the acquisition of Lockheed Constellation aircraft. The Constellation's pressurized cabin was a game-changer, allowing for higher, smoother flights above inclement weather. This capability was instrumental in launching the airline's first regular scheduled service to New York in April 1951. The route, which included multiple stops, was a milestone that made El Al the first airline based outside of North America or Europe to operate scheduled transatlantic service, a significant achievement for the airline and the nation it represented.
In 1955, despite the economic austerity facing Israel, El Al made another bold strategic move. It became one of the first two airlines in the world, alongside Britain's BOAC, and the very first non-British carrier, to place a firm order for the Bristol Britannia. The Britannia was a state-of-the-art, long-range turboprop. When it entered service with El Al in December 1957, it provided a distinct competitive advantage. The aircraft enabled nonstop flights between London and New York and set new industry records for speed and distance.
In December 1957, an El Al Britannia flew the longest commercial flight at the time, from New York to Tel Aviv, in 14 hours and 46 minutes. A month later, in January 1958, another Britannia flight broke the speed record for the nonstop New York-London route. These achievements were not just technical feats; they were major publicity coups that placed El Al on the map of global aviation.
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