War Day 634: Trump Announces Gaza Ceasefire, Syria to Recognize Golan Heights

War Summary, Day 634: Trump announces Israel agreed to a 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, speculation whether Netanyahu would prioritize a hostage deal over defeating Hamas, Netanyahu to meet Trump in Washington next week, explosives lab discovered in Ramallah, reports of explosions in Tehran, Iran used bot networks to flood social media with nationalist propaganda, Trump lifted sanctions on Syria, and Syria may recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

By Mrs. Bruria Efune

50 held captive in Gaza.
28 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
148 living hostages rescued.
57 hostage bodies rescued.
1,894 Israelis killed.
441 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
88 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
18 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.
32,345 estimated projectiles fired at Israel.
10,000 Israelis estimated remain displaced from their homes.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Hostages & Gaza Ceasefire:

There’s a lot of talk of the possibility of a hostage-ceasefire deal coming soon, along with contradictory reports to its feasibility. [see update at end of section].

Prime Minister Netanyahu will be going to Washington after Shabbat, and will meet with envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. President Trump, likely on Monday. Netanyahu says he aims to capitalize on the success of Operation Rising Lion.

Earlier this week, he said: “Many opportunities have opened up now following this victory (over Iran). First and foremost, to rescue the hostages.” (Some media translated this to mean that Netanyahu will now prioritize a hostage deal over defeating Hamas. But that’s not what he said. He only said that the Iran war opens the opportunity to rescue the hostages.)

Israel’s Strategic Minister, Ron Dermer, is already in Washington.

Trump has been talking a lot about a ceasefire and release of the hostages lately, and today said: “We hope it’s gonna happen, and we’re looking forward to [it happening] some time next week.”

— Just now (Tuesday evening) Trump said: “My Representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War. The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring Peace, will deliver this final proposal. I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

However, there is no sign of actual negotiation progress with Hamas. Hamas is still demanding a guaranteed complete end to the war before the release of just half the hostages. They also insist on remaining in Gaza, armed (Ynet). Netanyahu has previously insisted that he won’t accept a deal that allows Hamas to remain armed and able to attack again.

Even if Hamas accepts a temporary pause in exchange for the release of half the hostages, some in the government are concerned that The U.S. will pressure Israel into keeping the ceasefire, without fully defeating Hamas.

Israel is hoping that Hamas will soon relax their demands. IDF intelligence finds that Hamas is panicking after Iran’s defeat—since Iran was their main source of arms. They are also struggling financially, especially now that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is distributing aid without allowing Hamas to tax it. And in addition, Hamas is facing a growing number of armed militia in Gaza who are fighting them, and even cautiously reaching out to the IDF about taking over governance of Gaza.

Israel now has to choose whether to push forward for a deal, or continue fighting Hamas where they haven’t been able to go before. Here’s the situation:

The IDF has captured 70% of Gaza, turning it all to rubble. Nearly the entire population of Gaza is living in an area in central Gaza along the coast, which makes up 25% of the Gaza Strip.

Hamas, while decapitated and significantly beat down, still has a resemblance of an army in Gaza, with ranks and enough organizational capabilities to rebuild, given time. They also still have explosives and some arms, and are still able to harm IDF soldiers and terrorize Gazans into submission. The remains of Hamas’s army is mostly embedded amongst the civilian population.

The IDF will need to choose one of the following paths, or similar:

• Fight Hamas amongst a dense population, which will bring a very high risk to IDF soldiers, a high civilian death toll—and a very heavy risk to the lives of the remaining hostages.
• Build a new humanitarian zone and have all the civilians evacuate to it in stages, while weeding out Hamas. This could take a long time to do, and Israel is under pressure to hurry up and finish the war. It will also risk the lives of the hostages, but to a lesser degree than the first option.
• Renegotiate a ceasefire deal that Hamas agrees to—which could leave Hamas still standing.

**

Ohad Ben Ami, who had been held hostage by Hamas, shared an account from just weeks before his release. It gives a horrifying perspective of what goes into the videos which Hamas routinely releases of hostages begging for freedom.

Skip the next two paragraphs if you’re sensitive.

Ben Ami shared that a senior Hamas commander entered the cell in which he was held together with five other hostages. The terrorist told the hostages that they had one hour to choose which three of them would be executed, and which would be shot in the knees.

The hostages were then forced to have this cruel discussion, under immense psychological pressure. Then, the Hamas terrorist came and told them that they could all be spared, if they agree to record a video condemning the Israeli government.

Gaza:

The IDF announced the name of a hero who fell in battle in Gaza:

Sgt. Yisrael Natan Rosenfeld, 20, from Ra’anana.

Yisrael Natan was killed by an explosive in Kfar Jabaliya.

**

In the last 24 hours, the IDF struck over 140 terror targets in Gaza—an uptick over recent days. Among the targets struck were terrorists, military buildings, anti-tank launch positions that posed a threat to the forces, weapons storage facilities, and other terror infrastructures.

An airstrike on Monday targeted a meeting of Hamas leaders who planned to divide cash for salaries. Five million shekel and several terrorists were blown up.

There are now five divisions operating in Gaza. Everywhere they go, each division searched for Hamas weapons, launchers, tunnels, and buildings. They eliminate any terrorists they find, and destroy all Hamas infrastructures before moving forward, leaving nowhere for the terrorists to hide.

Today the 98th Division, which is a special forces division, returned to Gaza to join the 162nd Division in eastern Gaza City. Division 162 had a busy few days, with close-quarters combat and many eliminated terrorists.

The 99th Division is operating along the Netzarim Corridor in Central Gaza for around two weeks now. Their position is a significant threat to Hamas, who continue to try and attack them.

Division 36 is primarily in Khan Younis, but has expanded to additional areas. They’ve been eliminating many terrorists and in recent days destroyed hundreds of infrastructures used by Hamas—including three kilometers of tunnel connected via various branches. Troops also found and destroyed a 2 kilometer-long and 20 meters-deep tunnel, which contained dormitories for terrorists, equipped for extended stays. The tunnel was, of course, under a school.

The Gaza Division (143) is operating in Rafah, the buffer zone, and other areas, where they are uncovering valuable intelligence for the operations that may lay ahead.

Humanitarian Aid:

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been distributing an average of 2 million meals per day, in prepared family-size boxes, successfully cutting Hamas out of the process.

The IDF has been building new roads and paths to allow Gazan civilians easier access to the GHF aid sites.

Hamas continues to give false reports of civilians killed at GHF distribution sites.

Ynet reported that the United States and Israel are quietly working to thwart a United Nations and European-led effort to dismantle the GHF. The initiative follows a closed session of the UN Security Council on Friday, after which the UN reportedly directed its agencies and partner organizations to suspend all cooperation with the foundation. The UN previously worked together with Hamas to distribute Humanitarian aid, and allowed Hamas to profit by selling or taxing the free aid.

Iran:

While talking big and issuing threats to the U.S., it appears that Iran might actually show up to the negotiating table this weekend. Earlier this week, JPost wrote that senior Iranian officials were awaiting Ali Khamenei’s approval to begin negotiating. Today, the Mossad’s Farsi page on X wrote that Khamenei is giving in.

**

Mysterious explosions continue in Iran. Last night, air defenses were activated in Tehran, shortly before people spotted a drone crash into an apartment and explode. It is very difficult to get reliable information out of Tehran, or verify what is reported. Media outlets like Visegard report that a drone crashed into an IRGC meeting, killing several IRGC commanders. Regime media says that noise was from a military drill.

The suspicion—which cannot be confirmed—is that proxies of the Mossad in Iran are using drones to attack and weaken the IRGC.

**

The discussions over the bombed nuclear sites continue. The Washington Post reported that the U.S. intercepted communication between senior Iranian officials, in which they said that the attacks on Iranian nuclear sites were less devastating than expected. However, this should be taken with a grain of salt—earlier, Axios reported that Israeli intelligence indicated that Iranian military officials were giving false reports to their superiors, to downplay the damage done.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told CBS News that while the attacks caused significant damage to at least three facilities, it wasn’t total. He noted that Iran still retains the industrial and technological ability to quickly resume uranium enrichment—possibly within months. This contradicts the Pentagon report, which finds it impossible that Fordow’s centrifuges weren’t fully destroyed.

Satellite imagery of Fordow shows heavy machinery and Iranian soldiers at work, trying to repair the road (which had been bombed by Israel), and dig out the old tunnel entrances.

Remember: Israel has warned that it will strike again, if Iran is seen rebuilding nuclear capabilities.

**

Iran’s grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi issued a Fatwah declaring: “Any regime or individual threatening the leaders of the Islamic Ummah and acting on those threats qualifies as a Muharib.” This ruling was made as a direct death threat to U.S. President Trump.

Under Shia Islamic jurisprudence, a “Muharib” is defined as someone who wages armed rebellion, terrorism, violent crimes, or other unlawful acts. The prescribed punishment for such offenses is death.

**

How Tehran tried to prevent the attack: A new study conducted for the Ministry of Diaspora found that Iran operated a network of bots to flood social media in Israel and the United States with Iranian nationalist messages. In total, the bot network examined in this study distributed 241,712 publications, through over 100 fake accounts.

Yemen:

Following the alerts that were activated a short time ago in several areas across the country, the Air Force intercepted one missile launched from Yemen.
The alerts were activated in accordance with policy.

Judea & Samaria:

Israeli security forces uncovered and dismantled a large Hamas terror network in Chevron (Hebron), arresting over 60 Hamas terrorists, and seizing 22 firearms, 11 grenades, and large quantities of ammunition. The Shin Bet says the network, led by previously jailed Hamas members, was planning major attacks in Israel. The terrorists had conducted weapons training, gathered intelligence, and manufactured explosives. Ten planned terror cells were foiled. Some detainees were linked to past deadly attacks, including the 2010 Bani Naim Junction shooting and a 2023 checkpoint attack near Jerusalem.

**

Yesterday, Israeli forces operated in Ramallah, where they located a laboratory containing materials for preparing explosive devices.

Syria:

The IDF’s Division 210 is still deployed and alert in southern Syria, from the crown of Mount Hermon, to the border triangle of Syria, Israel, and Jordan. The forces recently carried out raids in which they confiscated weapons depots and detained suspects in the area who may have been part of a militia with intent to attack Israel.

**

Yesterday, President Trump signed an executive order to lift the decades-old sanctions on Syria. Israel had wanted this move to be held off until a peace agreement was made.

There is a lot of noise about the possibility of an imminent agreement between Israel and Syria. In such an agreement, Syria would recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Syria’s new President, al-Julani, wants Israel to leave areas taken after the fall of Assad, in the buffer zone. This includes the crown of Mount Hermon, which is a strategic outpost that provides significant added security to Israel over Lebanon and Syria.

An agreement with Syria won’t be similar to the agreements with the UAE and Bahrain. Syria still has many small terror groups and ISIS remnants who want to attack Israel. Until those are cleaned out, there won’t be free passage between the countries—but only a cooperative start to a more peaceful future after 77 years of war.

Sponsored in honor of the Bar Mitzvah on Shabbos of Itiel Holtz. (Son of Sari & Mordechai; grandson of Frady & Avi Moskowitz & Toby Holtz.)

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