War Day 472: Trump Reverses Sanctions on Israelis, Concerns About Witkoff Qatar Connections

War Summary, Day 472: Hamas playing games with the agreement terms, Gazans approach buffer zone and get shot, Qatar enriching Gaza with fuel, Trump signs executive order reversing Biden-era sanctions on Israelis, and Israeli officials quietly concerned about Steve Witkoff’s Qatar connections.

By Mrs. Bruria Efune

94 held captive in Gaza.
35 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza. 120 living hostages rescued.
41 hostage bodies rescued.
1,815 Israelis killed.
411 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
87 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
15 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.
30,683 estimated projectiles fired at Israel.
80,000 Israelis displaced from their homes. 
1 Israelis killed since the ceasefire began.

1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

– First details of the hostage’s ordeal
– Hamas playing games with the agreement terms
– Gazans approach buffer zone, ignore warnings, get shot
– Yair Lapid calls for end to war
– Herzi Halevi instructs officers to prepare plans for continued fighting in Gaza and Lebanon
– Qatar enriching Gaza with fuel
– IDF soldier killed in Samaria
– Terrorists celebrate a return to terror
– Trump signs executive order reversing Biden-era sanctions on Israelis
– Israeli officials quietly concerned about Steve Witkoff’s Qatar connections 

Hostages:

Families of Doron Steinbrecher, Emily Damari, and Romi Gonen say they are doing okay. 

Limited information about their experience has been approved for the public at this point. What has been reported is that they were moved around Gaza, sometimes held in tunnels, and sometimes in hidden apartments in Gaza City and in the designated humanitarian zone. They hardly saw sunlight over the last 15 months, and one of the three spent the majority of the time underground in a tunnel. They received very limited medical care, despite both Emily and Doron having gunshot wounds from Hamas. One of them underwent a surgery without any anesthesia. Romi treated Emily’s hand, which lost two fingers. The three learned Arabic while in captivity.

The women were not told that they would be released until hours before, and during the release they were terrified for their lives from the crowd of armed terrorists and civilians. 

Doron’s sister says she’s smiling, okay, strong, and brave, and that she is starting to deal with the recuperation. 

Emily’s mother reports that she’s in better shape than they had expected, and that “it was a great joy to see, along with the whole world, a glimpse of Emily’s strength, determination and charisma at the time of her release.”

Two photos from Emily’s release became iconic throughout Israel. In one, she is seen draped in the Israeli flag, smiling, as she walks into the hospital. In the other, she cheerfully holds up her bandaged hand, showing her three remaining fingers.

Despite all the horrors she’s been through, Emily told her mother that “she is the happiest woman in the world; she has her life back.”

At a security cabinet meeting, Russian President Putin said he instructed his Foreign Ministry to ensure that dual citizen, Sasha (Alexander) Trufanov is released. Sasha is on the list of hostages to be released during the first phase.

Hamas continues to torture the families of hostages: This morning, a Hamas Spokesman claimed that the next hostage release will take place on Sunday—even though the agreement stated they would be returned on Shabbat. Only in the evening did Hamas retract and say it will happen on Shabbat. This may seem like a small slip-up, but it puts the families of hostages further on edge, not knowing if Hamas will hold up their side of the deal on Shabbat or not.

Gaza:

IDF troops remain stationed in the buffer zone, all around Gaza. The IDF gave warnings to Gazans not to approach these positions for their own safety, and provided maps. This morning, as several Gazans began to approach the buffer zone at the south end of Rafah. IDF troops issued warnings to the men not to approach, but when they continued, the troops shot and hit them.

Incidents like this are to be expected. It’s likely that Hamas downplayed the buffer zone to Gazans, as they had promised that they won a victory and removed the IDF from Gaza—losing land around Gaza does not display a victory. Hamas likely also wants the validity of the buffer zone to be tested and weakened, so that once again, they can easily approach the border without fear.

After the Nachal Brigade was withdrawn from Beit Hanoun, the IDF says that they are preparing for future operations. The Nachal Brigade lost 67 soldiers since the morning of October 7th.

Knesset member and head of the opposition, Yair Lapid, has begun calling for an end to the war. Lapid says it’s now time to build peace agreements with the Saudis and other Mideast countries, and establish an alternative government in Gaza. The majority of the government coalition disagrees, and voices that we can’t start talking about ending the war until the two goals are achieved: all the hostages are returned, and Hamas is defeated. Talking about ending the war before then, will only empower Hamas to rebuild.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi has instructed his top officers to formulate plans for the possible continuation of fighting—both in Gaza, and Lebanon. 

As part of the ceasefire agreement, hundreds of trucks of humanitarian aid, including mobile homes, have been driving into Gaza from Egypt, via the Rafah crossing. Qatar announced that within the first 10 days of the ceasefire, they will provide Gaza with 1.25 million liters of fuel.

Judea & Samaria:

The IDF announced the name of a hero who fell during an operation in Samaria:

Sgt. First Class (res.) Eviatar Ben Yehuda, 31, from Nitzan.

Two others were wounded in the incident, including a senior officer who is in serious condition. The unit was on a patrol mission in the Palestinian town of Tamnun, Samaria, in a Davidi light armored vehicle, when they were hit by a roadside bomb.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says that the IDF is preparing for significant operations in Judea and Samaria, in order to preempt and catch terrorists before they can do harm.

Despite warnings against it, last night, a busload of terrorists released in Judea and Samaria were welcomed with a large party. Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to use force to prevent any celebrations of freed terrorists, and to shoot any armed terrorists in the crowds of such celebrations. This is oddly a big deal, since armed terrorists in Judea and Samaria frequently hold parades in which they march around in terror uniforms, carrying and even shooting their guns, without fear of repercussion since they’re surrounded by unarmed supporters.

Several released terrorists have already made direct displays of returning to terrorism. In one video shared widely across social media, a mother can be sen immediately welcoming her 17 year old son by wrapping a Hamas headband around his head, and shawl over his shoulders.

Photos of terrorist Khalida Jarrar also went viral, with pro-Palestinains pointing to her white hair, and claiming that she was  just an innocent politician. Jarrar commanded the terror cell that murdered 17-year-old Rina Schnerb in front of her father and brother’s eyes. The terror cell had laid a roadside bomb on a popular family hiking trail.

Other:

– Almost immediately after his inauguration, President Trump revoked Biden’s executive order 14115, which allowed imposing sanctions on Israeli citizens in Judea and Samaria who were accused of provoking violence.

– Israel is also expecting Trump to lift Biden’s ban on the supply of 2,000 pound bombs to Israel, sometime in his first days in office, and halt all American funding to UNRWA.

– During Trump’s afternoon inauguration ceremony, he had former hostage Noa Argamani, and family members of hostages, lined up behind him, wearing yellow in a call for their freedom.

– Channel 14 reports that several unnamed Israeli officials are concerned that Trump’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, is strongly biased towards Qatar—a Hamas ally and supporter. In August of 2023, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) bought a failing Manhattan hotel from Witkoff for $623 million. Qatar is known to invest significant funds with people they see as connected to the White House. In 2021, the QIA invested heavily in Jared Kushner’s private equity firm, Affinity Partners. Qatar also has rentals in Trump offices, paying half a million annually. While none of these investments are against the law, they raise significant concerns of Qatar’s efforts to buy favors.

– A recent Harvard-Harris poll found a dramatic shift in the opinion of young Americans. A few months ago, the poll found an even split in the 18-24 age group over support for Israel vs. Hamas. In the new poll, 79% of this age group supports Israel, while 21% support Hamas (after a previous 50% support). However, in all other age groups, there was a small shift towards support for Hamas, resulting in an increase from 19% to 21% of Americans supporting Hamas over Israel.

Sponsored by the Nozhnik family, in memory of the Kapshiter family who were brutally murdered on Oct 7, 2023.

VIDEO: An interview with incoming US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.

Discussion

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  1. I find your reporting the only one worth reading and have ceased from reading others
    Thank You
    Ezra
    Tuffka.com

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