War Summary, Day 682: Netanyahu insists he will only accept a deal that guarantees the release of all hostages, IDF preparing for takeover of Gaza City, troops battle Hamas around a hospital in one area and a cemetery in another, Gaza overflowing with humanitarian aid which gets mostly stolen by Hamas, Iran leaders say they are still at war with Israel, and Katz says Israel will impose a blockade on Houthis.

By Mrs. Bruria Efune

50 held captive in Gaza.
28 hostages confirmed murdered held in Gaza.
148 living hostages rescued.
57 hostage bodies rescued.
1,916 Israelis killed.
459 fallen soldiers and police in the battle in Gaza.
88 fallen soldiers in Northern Israel.
18 fallen soldiers and police in Judea & Samaria.
32,371 estimated projectiles fired at Israel.
1 Jewish nation united in prayer, charity, and good deeds.

Top Headlines:

– Desperate, Hamas agrees to old partial deal, though not completely
– Netanyahu insists he will only accept release of all hostages
– Hamas not very good at it, but still firing rockets
– IDF preparing for takeover of Gaza City, new details emerge
– IDF advances into Sabra neighborhood
– Troops battle Hamas around a hospital in one area, cemetery in another
– Gaza overflowing with humanitarian aid, most stolen by Hamas
– Iran leaders say still at war with Israel
– Iran reformists want to move away from war, meet strong opposition
– Israeli Navy hits Houthis
– Katz says Israel will impose a blockade on Houthis
– Lebanon politicians want to disarm Hezbollah, Hezbollah refuses, tensions rise

Hostages:

In short: Hamas is feeling the pressure and wants to stop the IDF from entering Gaza City. They told media that they agreed to a ceasefire proposal. The proposal is the previous Witkoff deal with some small changes. It only frees half of the living hostages. Prime Minister Netanyahu had already promised that he will only accept a full deal that releases all hostages and with Hamas’s surrender. This deal does not fit those conditions. Time will tell if Netanyahu will give in, if Hamas will agree to a full deal, or if the IDF will continue forward into Gaza City.

The details:

According to reports on Al Jazeera and Israel Hayom, Hamas agreed to a proposal in which:

• 60-day ceasefire
• 10 out of 20 living hostages are released
• 140 terrorists serving life sentences for murder are released from Israeli prison
• 60 terrorists with long sentences for attempted murder are released from Israeli prison
• Israel withdraws troops in Gaza to the 1 kilometer buffer zone, but does remain in the strategic Beit Lahiya and Shajaiya areas (which is at an elevation allowing view of the full area)
• According to some reports: Hamas demands that the IDF leave the Philadelphia Corridor, allowing full movement between Gaza and Egypt, and easy smuggling of weapons
  — In the past, Hamas always demanded that the 60 days lead to a guaranteed permanent ceasefire, with no guarantees that Hamas disarms. I don’t see reports about this, but since Hamas’s goal is to completely stop the IDF from taking Gaza City, it would be surprising if this isn’t still a demand.

Netanyahu’s office wrote in response to the reports: “We will only accept an agreement that secures the release of all hostages in one phase.”

Curiously, at the same time, U.S. President Trump wrote on Truth Social: “We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be…. Play to WIN, or don’t play at all!”

This seems to indicate that Netanyahu, with full backing from Trump, does not plan to accept this deal without full surrender of Hamas.

However, some are concerned that Netanyahu might be tempted to take the lopsided deal.

The Tikva Forum, which represents some of the families of hostages, wrote: “If the Israeli government surrenders to Hamas and, despite everything, agrees to a partial deal, there is no nicer way to say it—this is a disgrace.“

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich tweeted: “We are fighting only to win! In no way can we stop halfway through with a partial deal that would only release half of the hostages and could lead to the war ending in defeat.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir tweeted that “Netanyahu does not have a mandate to go for a partial deal.”

Although, unlike previous times, Smotrich and Ben Gvir did not threaten to dissolve the government. Likely because it’s the summer session, so they can’t really do that for another couple months.

On the other side of the spectrum, there are those calling for Netanyahu to agree to a deal:

Opposition MK Benny Gantz said that Netanyahu “has a clear majority and a broad safety net [in the Knesset] to bring back the hostages. Netanyahu, this is not the time to hesitate, it is the time to make the right decisions for the people of Israel and Israel’s security.”

Gantz was intentionally vague, since there is currently no offer that brings back all the hostages, and definitely not one that protects Israel’s security.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which represents some of the families of hostage opposite the Tikva Forum, wrote: “We demand that Netanyahu immediately conduct continuous negotiations for the release of all the hostages and the captives from Gaza… The people will not allow the Prime Minister to torpedo yet another deal.”

Both the Biden and Trump administrations have consistently emphasized that only Hamas torpedoed deals, never Netanyahu. There has also never been an offer from Hamas to release all of the hostages (the closest offer we got to that was a gradual release lasting up to seven years, during which Hamas gets to rebuild Gaza).

Gaza:

On Sunday a Hamas rocket landed in an open area in Israel near the Gaza border. On Monday, a Hamas rocket aimed at Israel fell short and landed in Gaza. In both incidents, sirens were only activated in empty areas which came under threat.

**

The IDF is preparing for the next stage of Operation Gideon’s Chariots, to take over Gaza City. The plans are going through the approval process—the Chief of Staff gave his approval and on Tuesday will present is to the Defense Ministry.

Preparations can take two to three weeks until the Gaza City operation fully begins. The operation may take three or four IDF divisions, mostly from the regular (non reservist) units, however up to 130,000 reservists could be called to free up the soldiers by taking their positions in other sectors of Israel.

While early reports said that the takeover operation would be completed by October 7th 2025, some now say that it could take a full two months. After that, forces will need to remain for a longer period, in order to clear out all remaining terror infrastructure.

There are currently up to one million Gazans in Gaza City. Thousands have begun to evacuate and move south, in order to escape the battlegrounds. Many leave in a hurry, assuming that Hamas will soon begin to block people from escaping the city, so that they can be used as human shields.

The IDF has begun delivering large tents to southern Gaza, for the new evacuees.

**

IDF tanks have begun advancing towards the Sabra neighborhood, near the center of Gaza City, accompanied by heavy air support. Shelling and gunfire is heard. Gazans report that the tanks are surrounding the Sabra school and an UNRWA clinic used by Hamas.

**

Divisions 99 and 162 operated in Northern and Central Gaza.

On Sunday, Division 99 attacked an armed Hamas terror squad near and outside the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital compound in the Zeitoun area in Gaza City. Unsurprisingly, the terrorists were identified storing and equipping themselves with weapons in the hospital compound, and using it as a shelter.

Over the last day, the Kfir Brigade (alongside Division 36) worked together with the Military Intelligence to locate and destroy Hamas rocket launchers which were aimed at Israel. In the Old Cemetery area in Khan Younis, troops found and eliminated heavily armed terrorists who were operating from within.

In addition, Gaza Division (143) forces continue to operate in the southern Gaza Strip to eliminate terrorists and destroy military infrastructure while protecting the area.

Humanitarian Aid:

Humanitarian aid data and efforts for August 17:

• 320 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings. Several truck drivers were arrested after they were found attempting to smuggle thousands of cigarettes as humanitarian aid-something that could’ve made Hamas millions in profits.
• Over 330 trucks were collected and distributed by the UN and international organizations. Over 80% were hijacked by Hamas or other armed militia in Gaza.
• An unknown number of tankers of UN fuel entered for the operation of “essential humanitarian systems.”
• 161 pallets of aid were airdropped in cooperation with Jordan, the UAE, Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Denmark and Indonesia.

In addition, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is distributing an average of over 1.5 million meals daily. Hamas is not able to hijack or profit off this aid.

On Sunday, the BBC published a news story which framed Israel as having starved a woman, who arrived in Italy and then died of malnutrition. The truth that they hid: Israel helped evacuate the woman to Italy for treatment because she had leukemia. Israel had offered a few dates to the UN to organize her transfer, and the UN chose the latest date. The woman died of malnutrition because of the Leukemia, not because of Israel who tried to save her.

Iran:

Iranian officials are back at their favorite pastime: threatening war with everyone.

Top Military Advisor to Khamenei, Yahya Rahim Safavi made note that war with Israel isn’t over. He said:
“Another war is likely. We are not in a ceasefire, we are in a phase of war. No protocol, regulation, or agreement exists between us and the US or Israel. It is possible another war will break out and after that war, there will not be another.”

Adding drama, Tehdar Amir Hayat Moghadam of Iran’s National Security Commission warned:
“We can target America from the sea. The IRGC Aerospace Force has worked for 20 years on this capability, and it’s possible we have achieved it. America is 10,000 kilometers away, but we can bring our ships within 2,000 kilometers and strike Washington, New York, and other cities with missiles.”

Amir Hayat Makkadem, member of the National Security Committee in the Iranian Parliament chimed:
“Our missiles are within the range of all European countries, including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.

**

These threats come as Iran battles with a severe water shortage which puts Tehran at just weeks away from zero water. At the same time, mysterious spontaneous unexplained fires keep breaking out at Iranian oil refineries, missile factories, and other war-related sites.

**

On the opposite side of the Iranian political spectrum: Reformist leaders under the Reform Front are aggressively pushing for strategic political reforms and nuclear de-escalation. However, these initiatives face mounting resistance from conservative power centers, including parliament and judiciary, which are increasingly undermining the reformist administration from within.

It is unclear if Iranian President Massoud Pazakhian is aligned with his party in presenting these demands for reforms.

Yemen:

On Sunday sirens were activated across central Israel, from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, after the Houthis in Yemen fired a missile in Israel’s direction. The missile was intercepted.

Hours earlier, the IDF struck a Houthi-controlled power plant in Sana’a, Yemen. The strikes were carried out by the Navy.

Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that Israel is “imposing an air and sea blockade on them [the Houthis] that hurts them greatly, and this morning we struck infrastructure and energy targets. This is just the beginning. The continuation will be strong and painful.”

Lebanon:

Lebanon is fighting for its freedom from Hezbollah. On Sunday, U.S. envoy Tom Barrack met with Lebanon’s president to discuss the disarmament of Hezbollah. The U.S. is pushing for Hezbollah to disarm in order to bring about a complete ceasefire agreement with Israel.

While the Lebanese government has been moving to disarm Hezbollah, the face significant opposition from the terror group.

Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem stated: “Hezbollah will never give up its weapons and is prepared to confront the Lebanese government.”

Qassem threatened that Hezbollah will march to the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon and fight a battle, if actions are taken to disarm Hezbollah.

Lebanese MP Ashraf Rifi in response: “We are preparing a legal case against Hezbollah’s Secretary General because he is threatening the civil peace.”

Other:

Israeli is considering retaliation after the French consulate in Jerusalem handed Muhammad Abbas of the PA a letter about recognizing the Palestinian state. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar recommended to the Prime Minister that the French consulate in Jerusalem be closed. France responded with subtle threats

Due to a severe shortage of soldiers, the IDF is considering reaching out to Jewish communities in the diaspora to encourage the enlistment of youth in the IDF. Hundreds of diaspora youth between the ages of 18 to 25 come to Israel every year to volunteer as “lone soldiers,” and are seen as an important demographic in the IDF. (In almost every brigade-level ceremony in the IDF, you’ll see at least one lone soldier receive an award for excellence.)