Wednesday, February 26, 2025

02/26 Links Pt1: Israel comes to a standstill to mourn the Bibas family; President Herzog: As president, I ask for your forgiveness; Hamas To Hand Over Four Hostage Bodies

From Ian:

Israel comes to a standstill to mourn the Bibas family
Tens of thousands of Israelis have paused to pay their respects at the funeral procession for Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, who were taken hostage and murdered during the Hamas-led attack on October 7.

Mourners gathered in central Israel, including at Kfar HaMaccabiah in Ramat Gan, before the procession passed through Yavne, Ashdod and Ashkelon, en route to the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council near the Gaza border.

The private burial ceremony took place at Tsoher Cemetery near Kibbutz Nir Oz, the family’s home. Eulogies were being broadcast live from Israel at 9.30am local time, as crowds gathered in solidarity at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.

Yarden Bibas, husband of Shiri and father of Ariel and Kfir, who was recently released from Hamas captivity as part of the ceasefire deal, shared emotional tributes to his family.

Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were buried together in a single casket.

The funeral’s MC, Carmit Palty Katzir, whose family members were killed and kidnapped on October 7, said: “They will remain together and close, just as Shiri enveloped the children, always, including on that accursed day.”

Speaking through the Hostage Family Forum, Yarden expressed his deep love and heartache for his loved ones taken from him.

“Shiri, I love you and will always love you! Shiri, this is the closest I've been to you since October 7th, and I can't kiss or hug you, and it's breaking me!,” Yarden said, paying tribute to his late wife.

Reflecting on the loss of his two sons, he added, “Ariel, you made me a father. You transformed us into a family. You taught me what truly matters in life and about responsibility. Ariel, I hope you're not angry with me for failing to protect you properly and for not being there for you. I hope you know I thought about you every day, every minute.”

Yarden also spoke of his youngest son, Kfir, with heartbreaking tenderness: “Kfir, I didn't think our family could be more perfect, and then you came and made it even more perfect… I remember your birth.

"I remember during the delivery when the midwife suddenly stopped everything—we were frightened and thought something was wrong—but it was just to tell us we had another redhead. Mom and I laughed and rejoiced. Kfir, I'm sorry I didn't protect you better, but I need you to know that I love you deeply and miss you terribly!”

Dana Silberman-Sitton, the sister of Shiri Bibas, spoke emotionally about her sister and her two young nephews, Ariel and Kfir, at their funeral.

Using the nicknames she had for her loved ones, “Baz,” “Lulu,” and “Purpur,” Sitton reflected on the special bond they shared. “We waited to be aunts together, just to be called ‘aunt,’ and you, Shiri, were like no other aunt, loving and protective,” she said.
Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas buried in a single casket: ‘They will remain together’
Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and baby Kfir, who were abducted by terrorists to the Gaza Strip and then murdered there, were buried together Wednesday in a single casket, mother and children wrapped in an eternal embrace, at their joint funeral.

They were buried at Tsoher Cemetery, near the home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, from which they were seized on October 7, 2023.

“They will remain together and close, just as Shiri enveloped the children, always, including on that accursed day,” said Carmit Palty Katzir, who acted as MC at the funeral.

She was referring to a haunting video clip of traumatized Shiri, clutching her boys to her chest, as a mob of terrorists dragged them from their home. The images became symbolic of the horror of the attack and seared their fate into the national conscience.

Ariel was four years old when the family was kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, and Kfir was just nine months old. The kibbutz was one of the hardest hit on that day — terrorists broke into all but six homes in the community.

Though the funeral was kept as a private event — state officials and the public were asked to stay away — it was broadcast live on a video feed that was simultaneously carried by all major Israeli networks.

The funeral procession began in the central city of Rishon Lezion where the bodies were prepared for burial. Tens of thousands of people gathered along roads and highways of the 60-kilometer route from there to the cemetery to pay their respects. Many held orange balloons or wore orange, a tribute to the bright colored hair of Ariel and Kfir that became an icon of their plight.

In a heartbreaking address, Yarden Bibas eulogized his wife and children at their funeral, speaking with his sister Ofri at his side. Yarden, who was also taken hostage, was released earlier this month as part of a ceasefire deal with Hamas.
Bibas Brothers Join Count Of 55 Israeli Children Killed Since October 7 Attacks
The bodies of Ariel and Kfir Bibas were returned to Israel on Thursday by the terrorists who kidnapped and murdered them. Upon official identification of their bodies, their death increases the total number of children from Israel who have died in the fallout of the October 7 attacks to 55.

Kfir was nine months old when he was kidnapped, and Ariel was 4.

According to a July 2024 report from Israel’s Ministry of Justice, 53 children were known to have been killed during Hamas’s October 7 massacre and during the war that followed. Twelve of those children were killed by a Hezbollah missile while on a soccer field in the Druze Town of Majdal Shams.

“Our hearts were broken today. On October 7, 2023, Israel suffered its deadliest attack in history,” Dr. Cochav Elkayam Levy, the founder and chair of the Civil Commission on Oct 7 Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children, told The Daily Wire. “ Families were massacred, tortured, taken hostage, witnessed the murder of their loved ones, separated from each other and many, including children, were exposed to the atrocities on social media.”

A total of 870 youth lost one parent in the war, and another 23 lost both parents. Three nuclear families were entirely wiped out.

A report by the Dvora Institute, which Levy helped author, found that Hamas killed civilians as their family members bore witness, especially children. Levy’s report deemed Hamas’s tactics on October 7 a “kinocide,” or a systematic and widespread attack directed against families.

“The Bibas family is not alone,” Levy said. “They are among many who faced unimaginable horrors. Families like the Idan family, Arava family and Sharabis suffered devastating losses.”


President Isaac Herzog: As president, I ask for your forgiveness
"The trees are so heavy, the fruit bends the branches; this is the hour when children fall asleep. The lamb will return to its mother's embrace, lie down in the pen and fall asleep, and the sheep will kiss him, and she will call him by name."

An entire country and a whole nation are now in a time of mourning and lamentation, pain and weeping. A time when two tender lambs – golden infants – finally return, in their mother's embrace, to us, to their home. And all of us, an entire nation with a broken heart, accompany them to their eternal rest. Israelis hold Israeli flags as a convoy carrying the coffins of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas makes its way as part of their funeral procession in Ashkelon, Israel February 26, 2025 (Photo: Reuters/Amir Cohen)

Master of the universe, this is not how we prayed they would return to us. This is not the moment we waited for, nor the ending we hoped for. In our mind's eye, we saw them returning, their golden heads shining, with that lively, mischievous look gleaming in their small eyes. And mother Shiri, in her breathtaking courage, still sheltering them under her wings, protecting them from all harm; exactly as she did when facing Satan, whom they encountered at such a tender age.

The image of Shiri, carrying her two golden children with eyes torn open from terror, forging a path for them between rifle butts and human monsters – will remain seared in us forever. This image contains within it simultaneously the purest light, the most noble and pure love; and, incomprehensibly, the most horrifying, distilled evil. This image is a single moment in time that encapsulates the entire story of the October 7 disaster – Simchat Torah. The essence of goodness against the lust for murder. And how great is our heartbreak.

The lullaby we carry in our hearts today is an eternal lullaby. As sweet, beloved Kfir and Ariel are brought to an Israeli grave, to eternal rest, together with their remarkable mother Shiri. Israelis gather on the day of a funeral procession for Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas at a public square dedicated to hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel February 26, 2025 (Photo: Reuters/Shir Torem)

If there is still mercy in the world, may the beautiful faces of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir become a heart-piercing cry, echoing in all corners of the earth. A weeping that travels from one end of the world to the other, awakening the hearts of people whose senses have dulled, whose sense of justice has been distorted, whose hearts have been sealed. Look, world – today we are burying the sweetest and purest of your children. Open your heart, world, join the great cry that an entire broken nation is shouting today.

Beloved Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel. Know that from the day you were torn from us, we did not cease for even a moment to pray and hope, to wait, to cry, to yearn for you to return to us alive. That together with brave, heroic father Yarden, who recently returned to us from the valley of the shadow of death, all of you would return to your warm and beautiful home. And now, there are no words with the power to heal the heart. And we refuse to be consoled.

Beloved Yarden, and all the Bibas, Silverman, and Siton families – we all cry with you, embrace you, are broken with you. As president of the State of Israel, in the name of the State of Israel, I ask your forgiveness. Forgiveness that we did not fulfill our duty. Forgiveness that we did not protect your loved ones on that cursed day. Forgiveness that we did not save them, that we did not bring them home safely.
Yarden Bibas brings nation to tears in emotional eulogy to wife, kids
Yarden Bibas delivered a heartbreaking eulogy for his wife and children on Wednesday, more than a year after they had been captured and then murdered by Hamas and days after their bodies were returned.

"Shiri, stay by my side, watch over me so I don't sink into darkness," said over their coffins in the southern town of Tzohar. The lone survivor of his immediate family from the Oct. 7 massacre in Kibbutz Nir Oz, Bibas shared intimate memories of his relationship with his wife Shiri, recalling their early courtship.

"I remember the first time I said 'my love' to you. It was at the very beginning of our relationship. You told me to only call you that if I knew for certain that I loved you, not to say it casually. So I didn't say it because I didn't want you to think I was rushing to say 'I love you.' Shiri, I'll reveal to you that I loved you even then when I said that," he said crying.

"Ariel, I hope you're not angry at me that I couldn't protect you properly and that I wasn't there for you. I hope you know that I thought about you every day and every minute. I hope you're enjoying heaven, and I'm sure you're making all the angels laugh," Yarden wept. To Ariel's younger son Kfir, he said: "I didn't think our family could be more perfect, and then you came and made it even more perfect. I remember your birth. I remember that after Shiri had gone into labor, the midwife suddenly stopped everything, and we got scared, afraid that something had happened, but it was only to tell us that we had another redhead. Mom and I laughed and were happy."

The emotional farewell came during Wednesday's all-but-official national day of mourning as thousands of Israelis lined the streets to pay their respects to Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas. The mother and two young children from Nir Oz were murdered while in Hamas captivity, with their bodies returned several days ago as part of the hostage deal.

The funeral procession began at 7:45 a.m. from the Chevra Kadisha complex in Rishon Lezion, traveling through multiple junctions before reaching its final destination in Tzohar, southern Israel. Along the route, masses gathered, many visibly emotional as the three coffins passed by.

"We have begun this funeral journey accompanied by masses of the people of Israel," the Bibas family stated. "We see and hear you all, and are moved and strengthened by your presence."

Yarden Bibas, who was recently released after more than a year in captivity, watched solemnly as the nation mourned his family. Images showed him making a heart gesture toward the crowds who had come to honor his wife and children.


David Horovitz: What Israel’s leaders, Donald Trump, and the rest of the free world owe Yarden Bibas
Israel came to a halt and watched on Wednesday as Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas were buried. We watched Yarden Bibas eulogize his wife and small sons, watched him apologize for not having been able to save them from the invading barbarians, watched him entreat his murdered wife to “guard me so I don’t sink into darkness.”

And the nation wept.

The unforgivable murders of Shiri, Ariel and Kfir Bibas encapsulate not only the horror inflicted on Israel by Hamas and its Gazan co-killers on October 7, 2023, but also the undimmed viciousness of those who perpetuated it. And, at the same time, the insistent battle of the people of Israel to reassert our safety and security and right to life in our country.

Some 1,200 people were slaughtered by the terrorists who invaded southern Israel 16 months ago, and we have still barely begun to internalize the scale of that loss. We know but are still processing that whole families were massacred in their homes, that hundreds of people were murdered at an outdoor music festival, that life after life after life after life was brutally extinguished by human beings who have lost any semblance of humanity.

The Bibas family has come, red-headed, unbidden, to represent it all — because we watched the abduction of Shiri from Kibbutz Nir Oz as she desperately sought to protect her small son and her baby; because we saw them still alive in Gaza later that day; because we know her parents were killed on the kibbutz that morning; because we held out hope for 16 months that they had somehow survived and would be returned alive; because Hamas twisted the knife still deeper by returning another body instead of Shiri’s; because we are learning more than even their remaining family can bear for us to learn about the precise, despicable, cold-blooded circumstances of their murders.

But also because the people of Israel on Wednesday connected to them and each other — lining the route of the funeral procession in our masses, gathering in Hostages Square, and watching the unbearable eulogies delivered from a cemetery in southern Israel near the kibbutz. In the self-same southern Israel, that is, where Hamas and its partners murdered and burned and raped 509 days ago, and where Israel and its devastated communities have found the strength and the will to return and start to rebuild. Where Yarden Bibas, bereft father and husband — released less than a month ago after 15 months of terrible captivity to find his worst fears for his precious family confirmed — somehow mustered the courage and strength to stand and bare his soul, to declare his love for them and his heartbreak at the impossibility of their loss.

We have been unable as a nation to even begin to focus adequately on all of those who were murdered 16 months ago in large part because, as of this writing, 63 hostages remain in the hands of the monsters in Gaza, perhaps 24 of them alive, some of them known to be chained, right now, in dark, airless tunnels, being beaten and starved.

And because Hamas is entirely unrepentant and remains hellbent on our destruction. Perhaps I missed it, but even Mousa Abu Marzook, whom The New York Times noted is seen as “one of the more pragmatic figures in Hamas,” while expressing nuanced reservations in an interview with that paper this week regarding the consequences for Gaza of the slaughter his disciples perpetrated, took no issue with the mass murder itself.

Plainly, Israel must do everything in its power to return all the remaining hostages. And plainly, too, Israel must do everything in its power to prevent Hamas and those who share its death cult Islamist ideology from reviving and rearming and finding new and old ways to kill anyone in its path.


Eylon Levy: Rest in peace, little lion cubs of God
Beloved Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel,

I am sorry.

I am sorry that we did not shout louder. That when Gazans violently snatched you from your beds — baby Kfir, from your crib — we did not make the earth shake demanding your safe return. I, personally, am sorry that I didn’t start every interview holding up your picture, and that when I did say that the October 7 monsters snatched a BABY FOR GOD’S SAKE, I failed to convey the horror of that fact. Maybe it’s because I failed to grasp that horror, because I didn’t want to grasp it. Maybe a different approach could have saved you. I don’t know. Forgive me.

An entire nation loved you more than you could possibly know. Because by the time we all knew your faces, you had been brutally murdered.

And because by the time you were brutally murdered, you, baby Kfir, were too young to even have the cognition to understand what love is.

You understood only the love of your mother, whom we last saw clasping you to her chest for dear life.

And of your father, whose love for you was used by those demons to torture him in hell, a man whose travails make Job look like he had it easy.

And of your brother Ariel, who never got to protect you like every big brother should.

But not of a nation, a nation that understood that the struggle for your freedom was also a struggle for the dignity of every Jew. And of every human being, even as many so-called humanitarians tore down and defaced your posters.

Because in your time in captivity, and in your deaths, you became symbols, the most terrible burden for any innocent to bear.

Kfir and Ariel — the little lion cubs of God.

We made a deal with the devil to get you back.

In your memory, we pledge to do our utmost to bring ALL the hostages home, and then to hunt the monsters who did this to the ends of the earth. The earth we will not let cover your blood. Because what those demons did to you must never again happen to another Israeli child.


‘This is the horror of Hamas’: Bibas family funeral to be held in Israel
Sky News host Chris Kenny says the Bibas family funeral will “affect and torment” Israelis and many people around the world.

Later tonight, Australian time, the Bibas family will hold a funeral for mother Shiri and her two little boys, Ariel and Kfir.

“This is the horror of Hamas and the October 7 atrocities; the death cult of Islamist extremist terrorism, manifesting itself in the deliberate abduction and murder of a mother and her two little boys,” Mr Kenny said.


‘Unofficial day of mourning’: Israel ‘grieves’ Bibas family
I24 News Correspondent Nicole Zedeck joins Sky News host Sharri Markson to provide an update on the Bibas family funeral procession in Tel Aviv.

“Israel is certainly grieving today; it is an unofficial day of mourning,” Ms Zedeck told Sky News host Sharri Markson.

“Ten of thousands of people have taken to the streets following this procession.

“It is shocking that Israel can still be shocked by the terror group in Gaza.”


Australia must ‘stand with Israel’
LNP Senator James McGrath says Australia must “stand with Israel” in their fight against Hamas.

Mr McGrath told Sky News host Sharri Markson that the rest of the Israeli hostages should be brought home.

“This is what some Australians have forgotten about.”


‘Visceral reaction’ to Bibas family funeral procession
Sky News contributor Kosha Gada discusses the “visceral reaction” to the Bibas family funeral procession in Tel Aviv.

“What a day, there are a few tragedies in the world, in a world that unfortunately sees many tragedies, that really elicit the kind of visceral reaction that this one is from around the world,” Ms Gada said.

“That word you used backdrop is so critical because it does sort of refocus or remind the world a little bit about the fundamentals of this conflict and that evil exists.”




Nicole Lampert: Inside the hotel where freed Israeli hostages are starting their lives again
No hotel is quite like it. It houses people who have had their faces on the front pages of newspapers all over the world. Others have had audiences with presidents, prime ministers, popes. Days are spent crying, hugging and – perhaps more unexpectedly – laughing.

This is the hostage hotel where, slowly, the Israelis who were held in the most appalling conditions by Hamas terrorists for 16 months are coming to terms with their new normal. It is a cocoon-like environment for post-hospital care – which is why The Telegraph is not reporting its name – to protect people who are both physically and mentally beginning their journeys to health and starting their lives again.

“It is quite a surreal place, a surreal experience to be there,” says Michael Levy, whose brother Or was released on February 8 – one of three men whose startlingly emaciated appearances was a reminder of the horrific conditions the hostages have been held in.

“Over this time, the other hostage families have become my family. But now I see the hostages too, and that feels strange because I am used to seeing their faces in this little picture... then you see them in real life and they have a voice and they are taller or shorter than you imagined. For the hostages, it helps – in the hotel you can see them talking between themselves about their experiences, even if they never met before.”

Several floors of the specialist hotel, which is used mainly by patients of the nearest hospital, have been reserved just for hostages – and for the past few weeks the number of them has grown. Emily Damari, the 28-year-old British-Israeli citizen released by Hamas last month, was taken to the hotel after being reunited with her mother Mandy following her release.

The hostages have come back with a myriad of complex health issues, including malnutrition, muscle weakness, gastrointestinal issues, infections, fractures and untreated injuries from when they were first taken. Many are also suffering from significant emotional and psychological distress – a result of the trauma of October 7, their incarceration and the terror of the Hamas “parade” on their release – which manifests as nightmares, hypervigilance and emotional numbness.

Each hostage has a large room or even a suite so that friends and family can sleep over. Key family members, including Michael, also have their own bedrooms near to their loved ones which they can use as a base and come and go to their own homes as they like. Families too are seen as needing help after 16 months in torturous limbo.

Or is frequently joined by his three-year-old son Almog. His wife, Eynav, was murdered by Hamas on October 7 when they threw a grenade into the shelter where she was hiding, before taking him and three others as hostages.

“Or told us that even in the worst situations what kept him alive was that he had promised himself that he would come back for Almog,” says Michael. “They were apart for a year and four months, but it was like they have never been apart. One of the things that helps me understand that he’s OK is that he has come back and acts like a dad. That is the best part for me, just sitting and watching him be a dad.”

The hotel has a special dining room for the hostages where each family has their own table and they can choose when to eat – giving the hostages choice is a huge part of their rehabilitation. On Friday nights, the beginning of the Sabbath, a tradition has begun where all the families eat together.

“I know it sounds strange, but the Friday nights have become fun,” says Michael. “Everyone eats and then we play board games, we chat, we laugh. There are moments where I think, ‘I can’t believe I am in this strange situation.’ It is something I could have never imagined.”


I was held hostage in Gaza for 8 months, until the IDF rescued me | Andrey Kozlov
Andrey Kozlov was taken hostage on October 7th and held in Gaza for 8 months. He was rescued by the IDF in a daring operation deep in enemy territory.


Deal reached for return of captives’ remains ‘without Hamas ceremonies’
Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that an agreement had been reached with Hamas on Wednesday to resolve the delay in Jerusalem’s release of some 600 Palestinian terrorists as part of the ceasefire deal.

Following Israeli demands, “a deal was reached with the mediators: our four fallen hostages will be returned tonight as part of Phase 1, under an agreed procedure and without Hamas ceremonies,” the PMO stated.

Under the deal, the prisoners are set to be freed simultaneously with the transfer to Israel by Hamas of four Israeli hostages’ remains, completing Phase 1 of the ceasefire agreement, according to Channel 12 News.

Egypt, acting as a mediator, confirmed the breakthrough and said it will oversee the exchange, reportedly scheduled to take place at 11 p.m. local time on Wednesday. Gaza’s Hamas-affiliated Quds News Network also reported that the transfer would occur under Egyptian supervision.

Israeli officials were updating the families of the deceased hostages expected to be returned on Wednesday, Ynet reported. According to Hamas, it was preparing to return the bodies of slain Israeli captives Tsahi Idan, Ohad Yahalomi, Itzik Elgarat and Shlomo Mansour.

The hostages’ remains were initially set to be released on Thursday in accordance with the terms of the ceasefire agreement with Jerusalem.

The Al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades, a terrorist group in the Gaza Strip affiliated with Hamas, previously announced on its official Telegram channel that it would release the body of Yahalomi on Thursday.
Kassy Akiva: Hamas To Hand Over Four Remaining Hostage Bodies From First Phase Of Ceasefire Agreement
Hamas revealed the names of the final four hostages set to be released from Gaza this week under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. According to the terror group, all four hostages are deceased.

The hostages include Tsahi Idan, 49, Ohad Yahalomi, 49, Itzik Elgarat, 68, and Shlomo Mantzur, 85.

“Pursuant to Israel’s demands, agreement has been reached with the mediators,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday. “Four of our deceased hostages will be returned tonight in the framework of the first stage, in an agreed-upon procedure and without Hamas ceremonies.”

In exchange for the hostages, Israel agreed to free 602 Palestinian prisoners whose release had been delayed after Hamas paraded the bodies of three Israeli hostages on a stage and presented a casket they claimed contained the remains of hostage Shiri Bibas, but in reality had the remains of an unidentified Gazan woman. Hamas returned Bibas’s remains over the weekend.

At the time, Netanyahu’s office called Hamas’s actions a violation of the agreement.

“An agreement was reached to solve the problem of the occupation delaying the release of the prisoners who should have been released in the last batch, provided that they are released simultaneously with the bodies of the Israeli prisoners agreed to be handed over, in addition to the corresponding number of Palestinian women and children,” Hamas said in a statement.

Israel requested that the bodies be transferred to the Red Cross through Egypt in an effort to prevent Hamas from staging another public propaganda spectacle, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, a Qatari newspaper, reported Tuesday night.
The life and death of Shlomo Mansour, by Matti Friedman
It was only early in 2023 that Shlomo Mansour (Mantsur) set down in his diary his memories of the Farhud of 1941, the terrible massacre of Jews in Iraq. By a tragic irony, Shlomo, 85, was the victim of a second pogrom on 7 October 2023. This time, he did not survive. Matti Friedman writes up his story in the Free Press:

Six hundred miles and eight decades lie between the terrible parentheses on either end of the life of Shlomo Mantzur.

Mantzur—a diminutive carpenter, a father of five and grandfather of 12, a man whose only extravagance was a spectacular moustache—expected to end his life at the kibbutz in southern Israel where he fixed cupboards and clocks and tended his garden in the heat. He’d done his best to raise forward-looking Israeli children, bringing them cookies at recess when they were little, never burdening them with his past. When I met two of his daughters this week in Ramat Gan, in central Israel, they remembered him devising art projects for his grandchildren and plying them with ice cream on every visit. Their father, said Moshit, “broadcast optimism and lived in the here and now.”

Shlomo Mantzur was seized from his home at Kibbutz Kissufim, on the Gaza border, on the morning of October 7, 2023, as thousands of Palestinian gunmen attacked communities across southern Israel. The images of him that proliferated on Israeli streets afterward, in the form of hostage posters, depict a man with welcoming eyes and a grin. His personality seems unmistakable.

If the redheaded children Ariel and Kfir Bibas were famous as the youngest Israeli hostages—until last week, when the 4-year-old and 9-month-old were confirmed to have been killed—Mantzur was known as the oldest. He was 85 when he was taken. I’ve seen a photograph of red graffiti spray-painted by Israeli soldiers on a wall inside the Gaza battlefield: “Shlomo Mantzur, we’re coming.”

Mantzur was born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1938. On the rare occasions when he spoke about the country of his birth, his daughters remembered, the stories tended to have happy endings. He grew up in Baghdad at a time when the population of the Iraqi capital was about one-third Jewish—a fact nearly impossible to imagine now. There was one story he told his children about an Arab worker in the small factory that Mantzur’s family owned, and where they manufactured cigarette packets. The worker’s long robe got caught in a machine, and he was about to be sucked into the gears, when little Shlomo noticed and shut the machine down just in time. He told a story about the frantic worry of his parents, David and Marcelle, when he disappeared one day, only to turn up hours later, unharmed—he’d snuck into a movie theater and stayed for more than one show.


Hostage flags confiscated from Jews touring Auschwitz
The Auschwitz Museum has defended its decision to confiscate Israeli flags bearing yellow hostage ribbons from Jewish tourists visiting from the UK.

Members of the tour, organised by Bushey Synagogue in Hertfordshire, were left shocked when security personnel at the museum seized the flags. The museum later justified the move, stating that while national flags are permitted, any alterations – including symbols or slogans – violate its regulations.

The 46-member group, which included Bushey’s senior rabbi, Elchonon Feldman, were taken aback by the decision.

“The group were really upset and couldn’t understand it,” said Lawrence Bentley, 76. “It is really bad in this day and age.”

Bentley and his wife, Stella, 74, who helped organise the trip alongside Jewish heritage charity JRoots, said the group tried to explain to security officers that the yellow ribbons represented the hostages in Gaza. Guards insisted that the addition of the yellow ribbon rendered the flags a “political statement” and confiscated them.

They had already worn the flags at Auschwitz Two when the confrontation occurred after the group passed through the Auschwitz One museum’s airport-style security checks. Some members wore the flags draped over their shoulders but were stopped and told they could not proceed.

“We explained it was for the hostages, but they said the yellow ribbon was a political thing,” Bentley said.

A senior security officer was called over. “He told us, ‘My hands are tied, it is a political statement and that is it.’” The flags were returned at the end of tour.

The Bentleys, who had visited Auschwitz twice before, had purchased 30 hostage flags in Hostage Square, Tel Aviv, during a trip to Israel earlier this month, intending to wear them during their visit. “We knew people would want to wear them. People often wear Israeli flags in the museum,” Bentley said.

While his own flag was hidden in his bag during the security checks, he revealed it once inside the site. “When we were in Auschwitz, we all gathered in a huddle with the flag and sang,” he said. “I had to show the flag surreptitiously so our tour guides did not see it.”

The group sang Am Yisrael Chai and Oseh Shalom. “We wanted to affirm Jewish life, as terrible as that place is, singing reaffirms that we are still here,” Bentley explained.
Oct. 7 survivors sue Al Jazeera for ‘serving as Hamas agents’
For the first time since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, 2023, Israelis are suing the Al Jazeera network over its coverage of the terrorist group and the massacre it led. The lawsuit was filed to the federal court in Washington by dozens of Oct. 7 victims, including Morris Schneider, the uncle of Shiri Bibas, who was murdered in Hamas captivity along with her two children, Kfir and Ariel.

Schneider, the brother of Shiri’s mother, Margit Silberman, who was murdered along with her husband Yossi in Nir Oz on Oct. 7, said upon filing the lawsuit that “the cruel murder of Shiri, Kfir and Ariel by terrorists from Gaza is an inconceivable atrocity that has destroyed our family forever, and has caused pain to millions of good people around the world.

“The kidnapping and barbaric murder of toddlers is unimaginable; only pure evil can see a child as a threat or enemy. The punishment for murdering a baby in a civilized society is severe and rightfully so. All the more so when it involves kidnapping, torture and murder. We can never erase from our minds their suffering and the torture they endured before their deaths at the hands of terrorists. No person with a shred of humanity could.

“Though no legal action can stop the pain and trauma of losing our family members in this way, we are determined to achieve justice and bring those responsible for these abhorrent crimes to justice.”

The lawsuit was filed by attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, president of the Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center, and utilized research conducted by attorney Jordan Cope from the StandWithUs organization. It states that Al Jazeera employed several Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad activists as journalists, some of whom were directly involved in the Oct. 7 attack.

Additionally, the lawsuit highlights exclusive interviews conducted by Al Jazeera with Hamas leaders, including those who carried out attacks against Israeli and American civilians. The lawsuit is also directed at Al Jazeera‘s U.S. subsidiary, claiming it played a direct role in supporting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Hamas Members Suspected of Plotting Attacks Go on Trial in Germany
Four Hamas members suspected of plotting attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe went on trial in Berlin on Tuesday, in what prosecutors described as the first court case against terrorists of the Islamist group in Germany.

The Hamas members were detained in late 2023 on suspicion of planning attacks, German prosecutors said at the time.

“For the first time in Germany, suspects are facing charges of having participated as members of the foreign terrorist organization Hamas,” prosecutor Jochen Weingarten told Reuters.

He added the defendants were accused of seeking to locate a secret weapons depot in Poland for possible attacks, while receiving orders from the deputy commander of the Qassam Brigades in Lebanon.

According to previous statements by prosecutors, the defendants are also accused of operating other weapons caches in Europe.
Gaza rocket lands inside Strip for second time in days
A rocket launched by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip impacted inside the enclave on Wednesday, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

It was the second such incident in three days.

“A short while ago, a projectile was launched from Gaza and fell within Gaza. The details are under review,” the military announced.

“The IDF recently attacked several launch sites in the area from which the launch that fell in the Gaza Strip earlier today was detected,” it subsequently stated.

On Monday, a terrorist rocket that was fired toward Israeli territory from Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah landed inside the Strip.

Following the incident, the IDF “struck the launch site from which the projectile was fired, as well as an additional launch site in the area,” the military announced.

On Feb. 13, a 14-year-old Palestinian was killed in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip when a terrorist rocket fell inside the coastal enclave. Unconfirmed video footage posted to social media showed a projectile impacting a densely populated area shortly after being launched.

IDF reinforcements have been deployed to the border with Gaza, reportedly amid suspicions that Hamas terrorists were planning an attack on Israeli forces in the area.

The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday fired warning shots at suspects throughout the Gaza Strip who posed a threat to troops, according to the military.


Israeli strike targets key Hezbollah arms smuggler on Lebanese-Syrian border
The Israeli Air Force carried out an airstrike on Wednesday on the Lebanese-Syrian border targeting a key terrorist in Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, who is said to be responsible for arms smuggling, the Israel Defense Forces said.

“Mahran Ali Nasser Al-Din played a significant role in Hezbollah’s weapons smuggling operations, and he was directly involved in coordinating with smugglers operating along the Syria-Lebanon border,” according to the statement.

The IDF said the terrorist was attacked after “repeatedly violating the [truce] understandings between Israel and Lebanon, including his involvement in the transfer of arms to the Hezbollah terror group.

Unit 4400 continues to transfer weapons to Hezbollah “in a manner that poses a threat to the security of the State of Israel, in blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the statement added.

On Tuesday, the IDF struck a Hezbollah production and storage facility for “strategic weapons” in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley, 30 miles east of Beirut.

The strike was conducted after Hezbollah terrorists were identified as operating within the facility, according to the IDF.

“The activity in these sites constitutes a blatant violation of the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military stated.

The IDF on Sunday struck several rocket launchers in Southern Lebanon that it said posed an imminent threat to Israeli civilians.


Ask Haviv Anything: Episode 3: John Spencer on why Israel hasn't yet won the war in Gaza
In our first interview episode, Haviv Rettig Gur sits down (virtually) with Prof. John Spencer of West Point, one of the foremost experts in urban warfare who has made a special study of Israeli warfighting tactics and strategy.

Many subscribers to this podcast have asked us why Israel doesn’t seem to have won this war, why Hamas is still standing after 17 months of fighting and why Israel must still negotiate for its hostages.

For answers we turned to Prof. Spencer. We learned about the IDF’s astonishing successes, such as its groundbreaking tactical innovations in tunnel warfare. And we learned about the gaping lacuna at the heart of Israel’s strategy in Gaza — the reason it still hasn’t won the war.

Thank you to Joe and Shira Lieberman for sponsoring this episode in honor of those we lost on October 7th.


Hamas’ Sponsors Exposed | Iran, Qatar & the War Beyond Gaza
Everyone wants to know: What will it take to defeat Hamas once and for all?

In this episode of Israel: State of a Nation, Eylon Levy sits down with Michael Doran, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former U.S. National Security Council official, to break down the bigger war beyond Gaza—and what it will take to end Hamas for good.

Doran argues that Hamas is just a pawn in Iran’s larger war against Israel, and that Tehran is the true mastermind keeping the terror group alive. But is Iran really the key to victory, or do Hamas’s other patrons—Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt—also bear responsibility?

Key topics covered:
🔹 How to take down Hamas—what’s the real strategy for ending this war?
🔹 Iran’s role in the war—does cutting off Tehran mean the collapse of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis?
🔹 Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt—How much power do they really have over Hamas?
🔹 The seven-front war—can Israel afford to focus on one enemy, or is every front a potential disaster?
🔹 What happens if Hamas survives?—the stakes of failing to finish the job.

00:00 - Coming up
00:15 - Monologue
02:31 - Welcome
03:45 - Understanding Iran
06:47 - Defining state sponsors
11:10 - US role in framing Hamas
15:12 - Iran's support of Hamas
23:34 - Hezbollah's role
31:02 - Let's talk about Qatar
46:20 - US role in Qatar
48:53 - Let's talk about the Egyptians
53:35 - Who to focus on
59:48 - Where does Turkey fit into this?
1:07:00 - The Future of the Middle East
1:12:48 - Wrap Up
1:13:44 - Outro


DON'T LOOK AWAY! Gazans Cheer the Death of the Bibas Family | The Quad
Daniel Ryan Spaulding joins the Quad this week to discuss the horrific death of the #Bibas family and Oded Lifchitz and the return of 4 hostages by #Hamas. They discuss the sickening celebrations held in #Gaza for the death of children and what this means for #Israel as we approach the end of Phase 1 of the #ceasefire.

And, of course, Scumbags and Heroes.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Emotional Roller Coaster
02:54 Conflicted Feelings on Broadcasting Violence
04:09 Moral Compass and Justifications for Violence
06:23 Recruitment and Propaganda in Conflict
07:39 Return of Hostages and Emotional Impact
10:04 Spiritual Moments and Signs of Hope
11:24 Journalistic Standards and Reporting Ethics
14:10 Hostage Release and Media Responsibility
15:51 Identity Politics and the Treatment of Hostages
19:21 The Complexity of Human Rights and Terrorism
20:43 Community Responsibility and Condemnation
21:42 The Symbolism of Nasrallah's Funeral
24:01 Messages of Resistance in the Middle East
26:54 The Need for Stronger Measures Against Terrorism
28:52 The Scumbags of the Week: A Critical Look at Anti-Israel Sentiment
35:18 Understanding Ideological Conflicts
38:53 The Role of Media and Public Perception
41:42 Political Figures and Their Impact
42:12 Heroes and Scumbags: A Dual Perspective
51:23 Unsung Heroes in Times of Crisis




The 'very strict' rules female nurse must now follow after she allegedly threatened to kill Jewish patients
A Sydney nurse who allegedly threatened to kill Jewish patients in shocking footage is no longer allowed to leave Australia or use social media, police have revealed.

Former Bankstown Hospital nurses Sarah Abu Lebdeh and Ahmad Rashad Nadir appeared in a viral video earlier this month where they allegedly boasted of withholding treatment from Israeli patients and even killing them.

Detectives arrested Abu Lebdeh, 26, when she attended Sutherland Police Station in southern Sydney with her lawyer at about 7.30pm on Tuesday - two weeks after the video was posted to social media.

The Condell Park woman was charged with three Commonwealth offences: threatening violence to group, using a carriage service to threaten to kill and using a carriage service to menace/harass/offend.

She was granted conditional bail and is scheduled to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on March 19.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon that Abu Lebdeh was being closely monitored while on bail.

'She is on very, very strict bail conditions, namely prohibiting her from going to a point of departure from Australia, but more importantly, banned from using social media,' Ms Webb said.
Top cop reveals why male nurse yet to be charged over alleged antisemitic video
The male nurse at the centre of a viral antisemitic video allegedly threatening to harm Israeli patients has not been charged as he is receiving medical treatment, police say.

Former Bankstown Hospital nurse Sarah Abu Lebdeh, 26, was formally charged with three Commonwealth offences after a two-week long investigation by detectives.

On Wednesday, she was hit with three offences of threaten violence to group, use carriage service to threaten to kill and use carriage service to menace/harass/offend.

Following the major development from Strike Force Pearl, police were questioned why her NSW Health colleague Ahmad ‘Rashad’ Nadir had not been charged.

Commissioner Webb confirmed on Wednesday afternoon there would be "further charges down the track" but detectives were still waiting to formally interview Mr Nadir.

"I won't go into that. We'll just interview that individual at the right time. I don't want to jeopardise the investigation or any other element," she said about the ex-nurse.

The NSW police chief added it was "out of her control" that detectives had been unable to interview Mr Nadir who police confirmed was "receiving ongoing medical treatment".

Speaking to 2GB earlier, Commissioner Webb did not go into the specifics of another person's medical history, but noted the "matter is ongoing until we're able to talk to him".

"We just have to work around his personal circumstances at the moment," she said.
Students chant ‘Allahu Akbar’ outside school after staff stood down for defending Sydney nurses
Dozens of schoolchildren rallied outside a Western Sydney high school chanting "Allahu Akbar" and demanding the return of a staff member who criticised Australia's "selective moral outrage" after two Sydney nurses allegedly threatened to "kill" Israeli patients.

The Wednesday protest also saw students waving Palestine and Lebanon flags outside Granville Boys High School while shouting "bring him back", "Sheikh Wesam" and "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free".

The protest was organised by Teachers and School Staff for Palestine New South Wales.

It comes after the school's student support officer Sheikh Wesam posted a video on Instagram claiming two Sydney nurses' comments about Israeli patients were "never meant to be literal" or a "threat to patient care".

Following the video's publication, the NSW Education Department took swift action against Mr Wesam and ordered him to work from home on Wednesday due to his post allegedly breaching the department's social media policy and code of ethics.

Mr Wesam has since taken down his post.

A spokesperson for the NSW Department of Education told The Australian employees had “been reminded of their duty to uphold the reputation of the department as apolitical and impartial.”

“Any student who did not follow directions from staff will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action," the spokesperson said.

However, the work from home order was criticised by some in the Muslim community, with Muslim Vote endorsed candidate for Watson, Dr Ziad Basyouny claiming it sent a "chilling message" to anyone who expressed a different view.




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This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For 20 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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