War Summary, Day 510: 24 living hostages remain in Hamas captivity, Israel will not withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor, negotiations for an extended first phase have stalled, preparations to return to war underway, expanded activity in Judea and Samaria region, Hezbollah weapons smuggler eliminated, U.S. official gave Israel a green light to strike Hezbollah funeral and Israel chose otherwise.
By Mrs. Bruria Efune
59 held captive in Gaza.
35 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
147 living hostages rescued.
49 hostage bodies rescued.
1,828 Israelis killed.
413 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
87 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
18 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.
30,683 estimated projectiles fired at Israel.
70,000 Israelis displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.
Updates may be off schedule and shorter than usual while I’m traveling this week. Please forgive typos and missed autocorrects as I write from my phone.
Top Headlines:
- 24 living hostages remain in Hamas captivity
- Israel will not withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor
- Negotiations for an extended first phase have stalled; unclear if more hostages will be returned soon
- Preparations for a return to war underway
- Expanded activity in Judea and Samaria region
- Hezbollah weapons smuggler eliminated
- U.S. official gave Israel a green light to strike Hezbollah funeral, Israel chose otherwise
- Behind the scenes insights from returning Ambassador, Mike Herzog
Hostages:
59 hostages remain in captivity. Of them, the 24 listed below are presumed to still be alive. The first 17 on the list have recently provided a sign of life—either through the hostages who were released this month, or through Hamas propaganda.
- Evyatar David
- Eitan Horn
- Eitan Mor
- Alon Ohel
- Elkana Bohbot
- Guy Gilboa Dalal
- Gali Berman
- David Kunio
- Ziv Berman
- Yosef Ohana
- Matan Angrist
- Matan Tzangaoker
- Nimrod Cohen
- Idan Alexander
- Omri Miran
- Segev Kalphon
- Bar Kuperstein
- Avinatan Or
- Ariel Kunio
- Maxim Harkin
- Rom Breslavsky
- Tamir Nimrod
- Bipin Joshi (Foreign worker)
- Netphong Pinta (Foreign worker)
Israel now made it clear that there will be no IDF withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor—meaning, there will be no Phase Two of the ceasefire.
Israel is trying to negotiate an extension of the first phase of the deal, to get the remaining living hostages out. In this scenario, more hostages would be released in exchange for more terrorists being released, more humanitarian aid sent to Gaza, and more time for Hamas to prepare and train their new recruits for a return to war.
Rumors go both ways: Initial reports from Egypt indicated that more hostages may be released this Shabbat. More recent reports indicate that Hamas does not want to extend the first phase, and will only agree to a deal with an IDF withdrawal and guaranteed end to war, with Hamas still standing.
Senior Israeli officials involved in the negotiations told Chanel 13 that there has been zero progress.
Tensions are high. If a deal to bring more hostages home isn’t reached within the next few days, the war will restart. Netanyahu’s government and the IDF are actively preparing for both options.
Homefront Command directives for civilians have not changed, though in the case of a return to war, some rockets from Gaza can be expected.
Judea & Samaria:
Operations in Judea and Samaria continue to expand.
Over the last week, IDF forces in Judea and Samaria arrested approximately 75 wanted terrorists, and confiscated 17 weapons and tens of thousands of shekels in terror funds.
In El Yamun, troops arrested four wanted terrorists and confiscating two M-1 weapons. In Hebron, forces arrested two wanted terrorists and confiscated two M-16 weapons. In Imatin, they confiscated tens of thousands of shekels of terrorist funds. Troops also operated and arrested several terror suspects in Jericho and the Jordan Valley area.
Lebanon:
Yesterday (Thursday), the IAF struck a Hezbollah observation post in Southern Lebanon, after activity was detected at the post.
Last night, the Air Force struck and eliminated Muhammad Mahdi Ali Shahin in the Beqaa region. Shahin was a key Hezbollah terrorist responsible for coordinating purchases of weapons on the Syrian-Lebanon border. He took this position after the ceasefire agreement came into effect, and in direct violation of the agreement, has been working to replenish Hezbollah’s weapons supply.
Channel 14 reported that on the eve of Nasrallah’s massive funeral in Beirut, a senior figure in the Trump administration sent Israel the message that they’d be ok with, and even happy if Israel took advantage of the moment to target and eliminate Hezbollah’s new leadership. Ultimately, Israel chose not to, in order to avoid having a two front war, and less manpower than needed when returning to Gaza.
Other:
—> In what is now almost a nightly occurrence, IDF troops again caught a drone entering Israel from Egypt. While most smuggling drones carry weapons, this drone was smuggling 20 kilograms of drugs. Two suspects were arrested on the Israeli side of the border.
—> Israeli Ambassador Mike Herzog has just completed his tenure in the United States, where he navigated the often complex and tense relationship between the Biden administration and Israel. In a recent interview with Israel Hayom, he shared several interesting insights, such as:
- Blinken (the former US Secretary of State) wanted to sanction the IDF’s critical Unit 504, which deals with human intelligence on enemy soil. Herzog prevented it at the last moment.
- Qatar is a problematic factor in the negotiations, intentionally not doing everything they can to get the hostages released.
- The Americans opposed the action in Iran, but were then happy to take credit for the fall of the Iranian axis.
Sponsored by Sheva Edelman. In gratitude for Bruria’s unfailing efforts to keep us informed. In honor of our soldiers for their bravery and success. In prayer for the immediate return of all our hostages. Mashiach now!
Discussion
We appreciate your feedback. If you have any additional information to contribute to this article, it will be added below.