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Sunday, October 19, 2025

10/19 Links: The shape-shifting story of Hind Rajab; The Birmingham jihad; Anti-Jewish sentiment has poisoned our police; In a blatant violation of the ceasefire, two IDF soldiers killed in Gaza

From Ian:

Mark Zlochin: The shape-shifting story of Hind Rajab
Over the months following Hind Rajab’s death, the narrative about the circumstances of this tragic incident changed shape many times. Through successive retellings by Al Jazeera, Forensic Architecture, and others, what appears to have been a fog-of-war incident was gradually recast as a seemingly clear-cut case of deliberate targeting. Yet the deeper examination shows something far more uncertain — a scene defined by confusion, poor visibility, and overlapping gunfire. These central issues were steadily pushed aside even though they are essential to understanding what really happened.

Summary of main findings:
1. Ignored contextual factors affecting visibility: None of the reconstructions considered the combined effect of three critical factors — the cloudy, low-visibility weather; the car moving north despite Israeli instructions for civilians to evacuate south; and the use of plastic sheeting over the car windows, which would have further obscured visibility inside the vehicle. This crucial context undermines claims that those inside the car could have been clearly seen and deliberately targeted, while its omission in every reconstruction undermines the integrity of those investigations.
2. Early vs. later accounts: Early descriptions depicted a car under fire while still moving — a scenario which, in combination with the low‑visibility factors described above, explains why the car could’ve been reasonably perceived as a potential threat. Later accounts, however, shifted to a stationary car parked in clear view, eliminating the motion factor that made misidentification under conditions of high uncertainty plausible and recasting the episode as deliberate attack on an unambiguously civilian target.
3. WhatsApp transcript omissions: Two key messages appear in the Arabic screenshots featured in the English-language Al Jazeera investigation, but are missing from the English narration and all subsequent coverage: the first message noting that two family members had left the car, and the final message in which Mohammed Hamada informs the Red Crescent that Layan has been killed. These omissions directly contradict both the narrative that the family remained trapped inside the car throughout, and the Red Crescent’s account of their supposed final call with Layan — underscoring the significance of what was left out..
4. Forensic Architecture’s analysis: Their modelling depended entirely on the contested recording, which — even taken at face value — reveals at least two weapon types, inconsistent shot counts, and contradictory sound signatures — strong indications of crossfire rather than a single, deliberate volley. Moreover, the claim that the shooter had a “clear view” of the children ignores the evidence that the shooter’s view was heavily obstructed by the plastic‑covered windows, the seatbacks, and the low-visibility conditions on that cloudy day.
5. Shifting timelines and destinations: The family’s supposed route and the timing of the attack changed repeatedly across accounts. Apart from the obvious issue of the reliability of these accounts, in the latest version, which places the first attack in the early morning, there remains a gap of over six hours between the alleged start of the incident and the first documented contact with the Red Crescent. No published reconstruction acknowledged or attempted to explain this glaring six-hour gap, even though it fundamentally affects how the sequence of events — and any claim about intent or coordination — can be interpreted.

Taken together, these inconsistencies reveal how a battlefield encounter clouded by uncertainty in the midst of crossfire was gradually reframed into a narrative of deliberate atrocity. The evidence instead suggests a chaotic encounter in which poor visibility, miscommunication, and the pressures of combat likely resulted in tragic misidentification and the deaths of civilians caught in the crossfire. Recognizing these complexities does not diminish the human loss; rather, it restores factual integrity to a dramatic event that has been repeatedly weaponized for political ends.
Melanie Phillips: The Birmingham jihad
Yet Khan turned this “Jew-hunt” into Maccabi “hooligans” who he called “violent fans,” thus reversing offender and victim. This kind of inversion, of course, characterises the Palestine cause itself, which preposterously accuses Israel of the genocidal intentions that the Palestinian Arabs have towards the Jewish state simply because Israel defends itself against such an onslaught. As with the Palestinian Arabs and Israel, so with these British Muslims and the Maccabi fans.

The British state in unable on every level to deal with this. Indeed, it doesn’t even understand what’s happening to it.

Keir Starmer said he was appalled by the ban. His government is reportedly “doing everything in our power” to reverse it and is “exploring what additional resources could be required” to guarantee public safety.

Good luck with that one. Given the incitement against the Maccabi fans by Khan and his ilk, this has now become an even bigger headache than it originally was. But the real problem is vastly more huge and significant than one football match in Birmingham.

Sectarian Islamic politics and the demonisation of Israel and Jews are now out of control in Britain and have breached the walls of Parliament itself. Although one Muslim MP, the Conservative Saqib Bhatti, has spoken out bravely against the Maccabi ban, others along with Ayoub Khan are making vicious statements. Iqbal Mohammed MP has said:
Thank you all who put the safety of Aston Villa fans, Birmingham residents snd the British public above the zionist and political pressure to let Israeli hooligans and terrorists run riot in our country.

Zarah Sultana MP, the former Labour MP who now sits as an independent and has a long history of eye-watering hatred of Israel, also posted on X:
Next UEFA must ban all Israeli teams.We cannot have normalisation with genocide and apartheid.

The presence of such virulent Islamic extremists in parliament reflects in turn the antisemitism, threats and incitement being promoted by Islamic clerics to which successive governments have resolutely turned a blind eye.

A Nottingham imam Asrar Rashid, who has said that if the Maccabi fans come to the Birmingham match “we will not show them mercy,” has also called for Muslims in the UK and “other white nations” to take up arms to carry out pre-emptive strikes against “white people and white nations” who have been committing “genocide” against Muslims — in Canada and Australia, don’t you know, as well as in Gaza.
Stephen Daisley: Anti-Jewish sentiment has poisoned our police
It says that officers who have been trained to avoid victim-blaming in other circumstances feel comfortable intimating that a Jew making known his Jewishness is asking for trouble. It is outrageous, too, that a detective would pursue a line of questioning that suggested there was something provocative about a Jew wearing a modest Star of David pendant. It seems we are very much in the realm of: ‘Well, you were wearing that miniskirt, love.’

What do we think would happen if the police had behaved the same way with, say, a Muslim woman? She turns up at a pro-Israel rally in her hijab seeking to document the activities of protestors. The police arrest her and an interviewing officer suggests her head covering is ‘antagonistic’. How long do we reckon it would take between the video hitting social media and the Met commissioner issuing a grovelling apology and sending half the force on Islamophobia awareness training?

The hijab hypothetical would never happen because the police are scared of Muslims. Not the majority of Muslims who cause no trouble for anyone but that minority who take to the streets to protest offence, and sometimes attempt to intimidate, as seen with the Batley Grammar teacher who was hounded after showing a picture of the Prophet Muhammad, the schoolpupils who scuffed a copy of the Quran in Wakefield, and the mobs who forced The Lady of Heaven film out of British cinemas in 2022.

Muslims who wish to bully authorities into submission have the implicit threat of public disorder or violence. Wouldn’t want a Charlie Hebdo attack on your hands, would you? Jews have no such calling card attacks in the West to demonstrate the consequences of failure to bow to their demands.

The experience of Jews in Britain is an object lesson in the brutal realities of a multicultural democracy. The more law-abiding, productive, and integrated a demographic, the more likely it is to face mistreatment by institutions of the state.

The primary duty of the state is not the protection of its citizens but the maintenance of the illusion of harmony in a country where thuggishness prevails. Jews, on the whole, are not thuggish. They pose no threat. They have no power.

You can arrest them, you can interrogate their religious apparel, you can call the Star of David ‘antagonistic’, and no mob will come for you. This is where we are and where we’re heading.


The 16 hostages whose bodies are still held in Gaza
Israel has watched and rejoiced as the final living hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were released and returned last week to Israel, where they and their families can begin their journeys of healing and rehabilitation together.

But 16 families still wait for closure as their loved ones’ bodies remain held in the Gaza Strip, leaving them unable to bury their sons and fathers.

On Saturday, the sister of Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed in 2014 and whose body has been held by Hamas ever since, said the fight for the return of the bodies was the “last and hardest,” and called on the public not to abandon the families.

“We need you now in the last and hardest battle of all. The least sexy battle, in which there will be no hugs,” said Ayelet Goldin. “There will be bowed heads, final respect, heroism, and a beautiful and pure Israeliness that preserves its values ​​for the sake of our children.”

The 16 include civilians abducted from their homes near the Gaza border, soldiers, and one police officer.

The latest ceasefire marks a key step toward ending the ruinous two-year war that was triggered by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, when invaders killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 251.

Before the deal was reached, there were 48 hostages held in Gaza, including Goldin.

On October 13, the 20 living hostages among them were released.

The bodies of 28 who were killed on October 7 or died in captivity, were meant to follow, but thus far, Hamas has only returned 12 of them.

Their families of these final 16 remain in limbo, as Hamas claims it is currently unable to reach some and does not know where others are. Israeli officials have said they do not believe the terror group’s claims on the matter.
Israel receives bodies of slain hostages Ronen Engel, Sonthaya Oakkharasr
The Red Cross transferred two deceased hostages to Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip early on Sunday, according to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.

The chief rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces led a military ceremony as the remains arrived in the Jewish state, after which the bodies went to the National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv to be identified.

IDF representatives informed the family of slain hostage Ronen Tommy Engel that one of the bodies was his, the military said later on Sunday morning.

Engel, 54 years old at the time of his death, was killed by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught when he went out to protect his family as terrorists invaded his hometown of Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Engel leaves behind a wife, three children and a brother. His wife, Karina, and two daughters, Mika and Yuval, were also abducted, and were returned as part of a ceasefire deal with Hamas in November 2023.

On Sunday afternoon, the military announced that the second body had been identified as belonging to Sontaya Ukkharsri, 30, a Thai national who was abducted while working in the fields near Kibbutz Be’eri.

Ukkharsri, a married father of one, was among the more than three dozen Thai citizens who were murdered during the Oct. 7 massacre.

“The IDF expresses deep condolences to the family, continues to make every effort to return all the deceased hostages, and is prepared for the continued implementation of the agreement,” the IDF statement said.

The PMO announced that it had updated all of the families of hostages, adding that “our hearts are with them in this difficult hour.”

“The effort to return our hostages is ongoing and will not cease until the last hostage is returned,” it said.
Body of ‘hero medic’ who died treating others on October 7 returned home to Israel
One of the deceased hostages returned home to Israel last night has been identified as Ronen Engel, who was murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7 as he tried to help the injured.

Hamas abducted his body along with most of his family, who were still alive, including wife Karina and their daughters Mika and Yuval. They were released the following month during the first ceasefire but Engel was kept.

Now, after over two years, his body has finally arrived home.

Mika wrote: “After 744 days, my father finally returned home.

“It’s not what we hoped, it’s not what we wished for him, but it’s finally here. Our hearts are with the families of the hostages, and we won’t stop until the final slain hostage [is returned]."

Engel's family found out he was dead on December 1, 2023.

As terrorists stormed Israel during the October 7 massacre, Engel set out as a volunteer medic in an attempt to treat those who had been hurt in Kibbutz Nir Oz - but paid the ultimate price for his bravery.

Magen David Adom (MDA) said in a statement that Engel left his house that morning with his first responder bag to try and help others.

Yossi Abuharon, the volunteer manager of the Ofakim MDA station, said: “[Engel] was always smiling, that was his hallmark. Even when we arrived at the worst of accidents, he managed to make his patients smile and forget their troubles for a moment.”

Engel has also left behind his son Tom, who was away on October 7, and his brother Dani.

Dani wrote: “My brother was truly a hero. Ronen fought for the lives of Karina, Mika and Yuval, and that doesn’t surprise anyone. We all know who Ronen was… he always looked on the bright side of life.”

The family sat shiva for Engel near Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, where, according to The Times of Israel, his daughter Yuval is still being treated nearly two years after her release. It was also reported that the family will not be having a burial.

His family also honoured him by getting matching tattoos on their arms of his motto for life: “F***ed up, yet optimistic”.


‘You didn’t go in vain’: Uriel Baruch, killed on Oct. 7, laid to rest after Hamas returns body
The family of slain hostage Uriel Baruch, whose body was returned to Israel last week, laid their loved one to rest in Jerusalem on Sunday, two years after he was killed by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023.

After close family members eulogized Uriel, President Isaac Herzog and far-right Minister of Public Security Itamar Ben Gvir also spoke at the funeral, with the former urging the return of all remaining hostages’ bodies from Gaza, and the latter calling for terrorists to be executed.

The former hostage’s wife, Racheli Baruch, said she began writing his eulogy on October 13, 2023, after hearing that her husband’s friend, Michel Yoav, was murdered while they fled the Nova music festival together.

In March 2024, Israeli authorities determined that Baruch had been killed on October 7 and his body taken to Gaza.

Racheli spoke of their love and their six years of marriage, which included their two sons, Shalev and Ofek.

“You have no idea how much I’ll miss you,” said the young widow. “How much I’ll miss your silliness. I can’t understand how I’m supposed to go on from here. How is a 31-year-old woman supposed to carry the title ‘widow’? How were our lives cut short like this? We still had so many plans! It’s going to be so hard without you.”

She described her slain husband as a “playful soul who wanted to devour life,” thanked him for all he had taught her, for the amazing people who surround them, for their son who resembles him so much, and for choosing her.


Slain hostage Bipin Joshi praised for October 7 heroism as his body flown to Nepal
The Foreign Ministry on Sunday held a farewell ceremony at Ben Gurion Airport for slain Nepalese hostage Bipin Joshi, whose body will be repatriated to Nepal after it was returned from Hamas captivity last week.

Joshi, a 23-year-old agricultural student, deflected a grenade during the attack on October 7, 2023, and saved the lives of a number of people before he was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Alumim on October 7, 2023, and killed in captivity in Gaza.

He came to Israel as part of an international agricultural training program under Mashav, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation, which operates under the Foreign Ministry.

Residents of Kibbutz Alumim and the Sdot Hanegev Regional Council, Nepalese diplomats, Eynat Shlein, deputy director-general of the Foreign Ministry and the head of Mashav, and other senior Foreign Ministry officials attended the airport ceremony.

Gal Hirsch, the government’s point man on hostages, lit a memorial candle for Joshi at the ceremony, and praised the student for his heroic actions on October 7.

“I am sorry. It shouldn’t have ended this way,” Hirsch said.

“Bipin came to Israel to learn, and now we are sending him home, with pain and sadness,” Hirsch said.

“A skilled student, a great person, and especially a hero. He fought and struggled, saved lives during the attack, survived, but in the end was murdered in captivity,” Hirsch said.

His family, some of whom visited Israel in recent months to advocate for his release, awaits his coffin’s arrival in Nepal, according to the Foreign Ministry. Deflected grenade from shelter on Oct. 7

Joshi was a part of a group of Nepali farming students who arrived in Israel only three weeks before the October 7 massacre as part of an academic program to care for orange and lemon orchards.

The students had experienced rockets fired from Gaza in the weeks after their arrival, but realized that morning that they were experiencing a different kind of attack. Even so, they were calm at first, taking selfies in the safe room that they even uploaded to Facebook with the caption, “Bunker Time.”

When the terrorists entered the shelter, they shot and killed two of the students. They then threw two grenades into the space. Joshi tossed one of the grenades away, but the other exploded, injuring several people in the room.

At that point, some of the Thai workers and Nepali students fled to other hiding places, while Joshi and several others tried to rescue those who were wounded.

He also sent messages to his cousin in English, writing, “If something happens to me, you have to take care of my family. Be strong and always see the future.”


Seven released hostages leave hospital, receive rapturous welcome in hometowns
Seven freed hostages were discharged from Sheba Medical Center on Sunday, nearly a week after they were released from Hamas captivity as part of the Gaza ceasefire.

Crowds lining the streets gave joyful, hearty welcomes to David and Ariel Cunio, Gali and Ziv Berman, Yosef-Haim Ohana, Maxim Herkin, and Elkana Bohbot as they arrived at their hometowns.

In separate statements announcing their releases, the hospital said the men will continue their outpatient treatment at the Returning to Life Clinic, designed for hostages and their immediate families.

The seven were abducted on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, sparking the Gaza war.

Ohana, Herkin, and Bohbot, were kidnapped from the Nova music festival; twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman were abducted by Hamas terrorists who overran Kibbutz Kfar Aza, and David and Ariel Cunio were taken hostage from their homes in Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Hamas released 20 living hostages on Monday. Families of returned hostages have said their loved ones described torture, starvation, and long periods of isolation in captivity.

The bodies of the remaining 28 hostages who were killed on October 7 or died in captivity were meant to follow, but thus far, Hamas has only returned 12 of them.


Avenged Sevenfold Singer Defends Message to Israeli Hostages: ‘It’s Not Political — It’s Human’
“I’m a bit of a troublemaker,” says Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows. The self-described atheist is referencing the reaction to a video message he recorded for Israeli hostages Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal, welcoming the two men home after two years in captivity. Gilboa-Dalal, who was 22 when kidnapped by terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, is a diehard fan of the band, noting after his return that their music carried him through some difficult days in Gaza, where a war against Hamas played out overhead as darkness and isolation threatened below — potentially ending his life at any moment.

Shadows’ message — “So excited to hear you are home. The things you guys have been through are unspeakable, terrible,” said the Huntington Beach, Calif. native — was not political in nature and intended for a viewing audience of two. But once released into the world (with the band’s permission), it drew scrutiny.

“It’s not something that I’m going to worry about; I know that it’s the right thing to do,” says Shadows. “I think you have to stick to your moral compass, but I’ve definitely heard it from both sides. To me, that video is just a human doing something for another human. It’s not making a political stance. It’s not sticking it in someone’s eye. It really is about two human beings that have been through hell. And if we can’t agree on that, it’s really hard to agree on anything.”

Shadows is acutely aware of the division among A7X fans, and the greater public, when it comes to, what he calls, “this particular subject.” “You know the hammer’s going to come down from the other side. But if you worry about that, then you’re just going to live your life scared and … in an untruthful sort of place. We’ve done things for a lot of different people across different cultures and different religions. And at the end of the day, if they’re fans, we really want to reach out and we want to support them in some sort of way. And so it just seems unfair — [this idea that] ‘if you’re not on my side, then you’re an enemy.’ It’s really kind of gross.”

Avenged Sevenfold has a robust following in Israel and the band has performed there in the past. But Shadows says his connection to the country goes deeper. “On October 7th, two cousins who we hung out with when we played in Israel, were, you know, murdered. So the whole thing hit home hard,” he says. “Again, it wasn’t anything political. It was two girls that we know — sweet, innocent people. Terrible things happened to them and they didn’t make it out. I made a post then that was very neutral — just our hearts are broken and this happened. I mean .… words seem so cheap, right?”


Palestinian Deradicalization Is Essential for Peace
The first principle of the U.S. plan for ending the Gaza war - "Gaza will be a deradicalized terror-free zone" - reveals the central contradiction that has haunted every peace initiative since Oslo. The plan begins with deradicalization. Three decades of failed peacemaking should have taught us that ideology precedes everything else in the Middle East.

Israel's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza was heralded as a test case for Palestinian self-governance and territorial compromise. Instead, by 2007 Hamas violently seized control, transforming Gaza into a forward base for Iranian-backed terror operations. Oct. 7 did not occur due to the absence of a Palestinian state: It occurred precisely because there was a de facto Palestinian state in Gaza.

The ideological structure underlying any Palestinian entity remains fundamentally based on jihad and the cancellation of Israel. That cancerous indoctrination is inherent in the Palestinian collective mindset and institutional framework.

Creating a Palestinian state now will inflame radicalization, not diminish it. Hamas had an 18-year period to radicalize an entire generation in Gaza. The Palestinian Authority's "pay to slay" program - disbursing more than $300 million annually to terrorists and their families - continues to this day. The PLO Charter explicitly calls for preparing younger generations ideologically and practically for armed struggle.

Changing ideology takes generations. Until Western policymakers understand this elemental truth about the Middle East, we will continue cycling through failed initiatives.


A Future Solution for Palestinians Needs a New Paradigm
A Palestinian state, in the sense of a sovereign entity responsible for its own military build-up and deployment, borders, airspace, electromagnetic spectrum, and treaties with foreign powers, would pose an existential threat to Israel. It would lead to severe and repeated conflict in the region, undermine the stability of moderate Arab states, and imperil key U.S. interests.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has existed since 1994 and provides a clear indication of the nature and characteristics of a future Palestinian state. The PA, contrary to the moderate image it attempts to project in the West, continues to glorify and reward terrorism, portray the mass murderers of Jews as national heroes, and promote the belief that Israel will soon be wiped off the map.

Dozens of PA schools, summer camps, and streets are named after terrorists responsible for the murder of Jews. Official PA media repeats again and again the message that incarcerated and "martyred" terrorists are role models.

Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem attempted to carry out more than 1,250 serious terror attacks in 2024. Not only did the PA fail to prevent these attacks, but some were carried out by members of the PA security forces.

However, the most likely scenario in the event of the establishment of a Palestinian state is that it would quickly be dominated by Hamas and other Islamist terror groups. Hamas is the most popular political party in the West Bank, 50% more popular than Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction. A Palestinian poll from May 2025 revealed that 59% of West Bankers still believe that Hamas's Oct. 7 attack was correct.

A constructive discussion is needed on new paradigms for a stable, peaceful, and prosperous Palestinian future. It should begin with the international community pressuring the Palestinians to abandon their culture of terror and embrace one of coexistence and cooperation.
"Deradicalization" in Gaza: Measures of Success
While President Trump's plan for ending the Gaza war begins with the stated goal to transform the Strip into "a deradicalized terror-free zone," the plan does not clearly define what "deradicalization" entails. Nor does it offer a strategy for dismantling Hamas's ideological and institutional influence after nearly two decades of rule.

The first step must be to redefine the concept of "deradicalization," shifting to a realistic and actionable goal: reducing public motivation to support Hamas or participate in acts of terrorism. This reframing would allow for the establishment of measurable benchmarks. Within this framework, efforts should focus on creating the economic, social, and political conditions that reduce the appeal of terrorism and diminish the incentives for young Palestinians to join or endorse Hamas's violent activities.

Beyond removing Hamas from power, postwar programming in Gaza should focus on creating a reality in which returning to violence is no longer in the interest of those who previously engaged in it. To succeed, such efforts must be led by local actors who bring a viable alternative to Hamas - and must include significant investment in socioeconomic recovery, institutional reform, and a clear political path.

The first step in this process is establishing a governance alternative that is more effective, legitimate, and attractive than Hamas in the eyes of the public. Another step is to shut down Hamas-controlled media channels, establish an independent communication authority under international supervision, and initiate efforts to reform religious and educational content.

International experience in countering the Islamic State has shown that effective narratives are built on identity and meaning. To dismantle toxic ideologies, it is not enough to refute them, there must be a more compelling alternative. In Gaza's case, metrics for success should focus on the public's willingness to support a governing alternative to Hamas, their readiness to engage in demilitarization efforts, and their parallel refusal to assist Hamas in rebuilding its military capabilities or recruiting new members.
Poll: 75 Percent of Young West Bank Palestinians Believe Israel Has No Right to Exist
A survey conducted on Sep. 1-7, 2025, for INSS found that 54% of Palestinians in the West Bank believe the State of Israel has no right to exist (75% of those aged 18-34), 69% think Israel will not endure over time, and 50% believe Israel can be destroyed following the events of Oct. 7.

The two-state formula is perceived by many Palestinians, especially younger respondents, as a temporary rather than final arrangement.

71% view normalization between Israel and Arab states as a betrayal of the Palestinian people.

74% are concerned about the destruction of cities in the West Bank, following the devastation in Gaza.


‘Redemption War’: Israeli gov’t approves new name for fighting sparked by Oct. 7 attacks
Israel’s government on Sunday backed a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to rename the seven-front war that began on Oct. 7, 2023, from “Iron Swords” to “War of Redemption.”

“After two years of continuous fighting, we remember how we began,” Netanyahu told his Cabinet at the start of the weekly meeting in Jerusalem, speaking ahead of the vote on the name change.

“We rose from the terrible disaster of October 7,” he said of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre of 1,200 people in Israel’s south. “This is the war of our revival—a direct continuation of the War of Independence.”

Over a year ago, in a special Cabinet meeting marking 12 months since the Palestinian terrorist invasion, Netanyahu presented a draft decision to his ministers to rename the war—which until then had been dubbed the “Iron Swords War” by the Israel Defense Forces—the “Tkuma War.”

The literal translation of tkuma in English is “rebirth” or “resurrection,” with the Prime Minister’s Office formally translating it as “redemption.”

According to the explanatory note to the Cabinet decision, “On Oct. 7, during the Simchat Torah holiday of 5784, Hamas terrorists launched a murderous attack on the State of Israel, during which they infiltrated from Gaza and massacred men, women, the elderly and children.

“During the war that started on that date, the IDF and Israel’s security agencies operated across seven fronts: in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Yemen and Iraq,” the note added.
Two IDF soldiers killed in Gaza
Two IDF soldiers were killed in Gaza on Sunday, in the first fatal attack since a ceasefire went into effect last week.

The two soldiers were named as Major Yaniv Kula, 26, from Modi’in, who served as a company commander in the Nachal Brigade and Staff Sergeant Itay Yavetz, 21, from the same city, who served as a combat soldier in the same unit.

A reserve soldier from a combat engineering unit was severely injured in the incident in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, in an area that is Israeli-controlled according to agreed-upon ceasefire lines. He was evacuated to hospital.

The multi-pronged attack began around 10:30 a.m. when gunmen emerged from a tunnel and fired an anti-tank missile at an engineering vehicle, and then carried out sniper fire at another engineering vehicle as well as other Israeli forces in the area.

Immediately after the attack, the IDF responded with airstrikes by fighter jets and artillery shelling in Rafah to “remove threats,” during which several tunnels and buildings where terror operatives were spotted were destroyed.

918 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the two-year-old war.


Israel says resuming Gaza ceasefire after deadly attack on troops led to massive strikes
The IDF announced the resumption of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Sunday evening after a deadly attack on troops in the southern Gaza Strip in the morning, and a subsequent wave of retaliatory Israeli strikes had threatened to shatter the fragile truce.

Washington was said to have scrambled to intervene to prevent the US-brokered ceasefire from falling apart, just over a week after it came into effect on October 10.

Two Israeli soldiers — Maj. Yaniv Kula, 26, and Staff Sgt. Itay Yavetz — were killed and three others were wounded when Palestinian terror operatives launched an attack on troops in the Rafah area on Sunday morning. The IDF blamed Hamas for the attack, and launched a wave of intense strikes against the terror group in response.

On Sunday night, however, the military announced that, “in accordance with the directive of the political echelon, and after a series of significant strikes, the IDF has begun renewed enforcement of the ceasefire following its violation by the Hamas terror organization.”

It stressed that Israel would “continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement and will respond forcefully to any violation.”

Israel’s announcement that it would return to upholding the truce came after the military carried out strikes against 20 targets in Gaza, which the Hamas-run civil defense agency said killed 45 people, although the figures could not be verified and did not differentiate between civilians and combatants.


PA paid $70 million to terrorists freed in hostage deal, watchdog says
In the context of the U.S.-brokered Israel-Hamas ceasefire that went into effect last week, Israel has released 250 Palestinian terrorists who were serving at least one life sentence for murder. Of those, 160 are now millionaires thanks to the Palestinian Authority’s “pay-for-slay” program, having been paid over 1 million shekels during their imprisonment, according to Palestinian Media Watch.

The 160 released terrorists collectively received at least 229.5 million shekels ($70 million) from the P.A., according to PMW. The other 90 also received a significant sum.

PMW noted that the figure excludes additional stipends for family members, meaning the total payouts were likely far higher.

“The Palestinian Authority ensures that it very much pays to slay,” PMW stated.

“Any government that spends hundreds of millions of dollars each year rewarding terrorists should be designated for what it is—a terror organization,” PMW founder and director Itamar Marcus told JNS.

“Yet the Palestinian Authority, which openly funds and glorifies terrorists, continues to enjoy international legitimacy and generous Western support,” he added.

“Shockingly, instead of cutting ties, the European Union and many European countries partner with the P.A. by paying its civil servants’ salaries—a scheme that frees up the P.A.’s other funds to pay monthly salaries to imprisoned terrorists. This is not legitimate foreign aid; it’s complicity in terror,” he told JNS.


Met Police denies arresting man for wearing Star of David
The Metropolitan Police force has denied arresting a Jewish lawyer because he was wearing a Star of David necklace at a pro-Palestine demonstration and said he was detained for breaching laws to keep protest groups apart.

The man, aged in his 40s, was arrested at a pro-Palestine protest outside the Israeli embassy in Kensington, central London, on August 29, according to The Telegraph.

The newspaper reports that police interview footage shows a detective stating to the suspect that he had worn the star of David on a chain around his neck to cause “offence”.

The detained man also told the paper that he had been acting as an “independent legal observer” to monitor the event for unlawful behaviour by the protesters and to examine the actions taken by police.

The man, who was held for nearly 10 hours, told the Telegraph: “It is outrageous that police should claim wearing a star of David somehow antagonises people.

“When it was first raised in the police interview, it rang alarm bells for me immediately. Police crossed the line. They (the police) are trying to criminalise the wearing of a Star of David. They said I was antagonising and agitating pro-Palestine protesters with my Star of David. In an environment of antisemitism, I will not be cowed by this. I will carry on wearing it.”

The Met said in a statement that the man was arrested for allegedly repeatedly breaching conditions set under the Public Order Act to keep opposing protest groups apart.


Starmer slams police’s ‘wrong’ ban of Israeli soccer fans
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday criticized the police’s decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a soccer match in Birmingham next month amid reports of a push by officials to have it reversed.

“This is the wrong decision,” Starmer wrote on X about the police’s decision to ban Maccabi fans from a Nov. 6 Europa League match at Aston Villa F.C.’s Villa Park. “We will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets. The role of the police is to ensure all football fans can enjoy the game, without fear of violence or intimidation.”

The Home Office has offered extra support to West Midlands police in an effort to reverse its ban, The Guardian reported on Sunday. A meeting with Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) has been set up for next week.

(The Safety Advisory Group chaired by Birmingham City Council’s head of resilience and made up of representatives of the local authority, emergency services and event organizers.)

Gary Mond, chairman of the U.K.’s National Jewish Assembly (NJA), a Jewish community organ that has been critical of the prime minister and his Labor Party, told JNS that “nobody can take Starmer’s protestations seriously.”

Starmer’s government, “along with its Conservative predecessor, has allowed antisemitism to flourish and become normalized in all aspects of public life—schools, hospitals, universities, places of employment, entertainment and sport. His sincerity is wholly questionable,” Mond said, adding that the ban was “a badge of shame for both West Midlands Police and the U.K. as a whole and must be reversed.”

In announcing the ban, the police cited violence that erupted in Amsterdam on Nov. 7-8 last year, when dozens of Muslim men hunted for Maccabi fans in town for a match. Many of the perpetrators referred to their targets as “Jews” in instant messaging platforms they used to coordinate what some of them called a “Jew-hunt.”

Emily Damari, a British-Israeli woman released from captivity in Gaza after 470 days, joined the ban’s many Jewish critics, calling it “shocking” and “disgusting” last week.
MP backing Tel Aviv football fans ban says ‘hating Israel isn’t enough’
A pro-Gaza independent MP who backs the ban on Israeli football fans from Villa Park has said hating Israel is not “strong enough”.

Adnan Hussain, the MP for Blackburn, said Israel was a “monstrosity” and anyone who disagreed did not “see Muslims as human”.

The MP said criticism of the ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters was tantamount to “gaslighting” amid a backlash against the restrictions, which were also backed by Ayoub Khan, an independent MP .

Sir Keir Starmer has criticised the decision to bar the fans from attending their team’s Europa League match against Aston Villa in Birmingham on Nov 6 over fears of potentially violent protests.

Speaking on Saturday, Mr Hussain said: “So when journalists, and reporters think they’re onto some sort of gotcha moment telling a Muslim man he must hate Israel, like hatred shouldn’t be [a] natural human response to the horrors Israel has been inflicting over the last two years.

“Hatred isn’t a strong enough response to the monstrosity that is Israel! If you don’t feel the same, it’s because the propaganda has been successful, and you just don’t see Muslims as human.”

Previous accusations of anti-Semitism
Mr Hussain, who became an MP in last year’s general election, has previously faced accusations of anti-Semitism for comparing the war in Gaza to the Holocaust.

“If you’ve ever wondered what you’d have done during atrocities like the holocaust [sic], know that, you’d have done exactly what you’re doing right now,” he wrote in a May 2024 Facebook post.

At a Free Palestine rally in 2014, he also gave a speech in which he claimed Israel’s military operation in the summer of that year was a “holocaust” and called for a boycott of companies that supported the country.

“They let Gaza burn, they hate Gaza. Now let’s make Israel burn, let’s make Israel burn,” he said.
Hezbollah fighter 'laid the groundwork' for police's decision to ban Israeli fans from Aston Villa football match by compiling 'safety risk' dossier
A former Hezbollah fighter is behind a report that campaigners claim 'laid the groundwork' for the police to ban Israeli fans from attending a football match in Birmingham, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The Hind Rajab Foundation, chaired by Dyab Abou Jahjah, helped the 'Game Over Israel' campaign compile an anti-Israel dossier which was handed to West Midlands Police ahead of a Europa League match at Villa Park next month.

According to the GOI campaign group, the document was integral to the police's highly controversial decision to stop Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from going to the match.

The document commented on the so-called 'systematic instrumentalisation of football culture in genocide' as well as illustrating 'why Israel's place in global sport is indefensible', according to its authors.

It also highlighted the Amsterdam riots when Maccabi played Ajax in the Europa League last year, and said: '[The Maccabi fans'] arrival in Aston – a diverse and predominantly Muslim community – poses a real risk of tensions within the community and disorder.'

Lebanon-born Abou Jahjah was previously part of Islamist militant group Hezbollah, which has long been embroiled in violent conflict with Israel.

Abou Jahjah has said that he was 'very proud' of his military training.

It comes as West Midlands Police caused outrage last week after it asked Israeli fans to stay away from the Aston Villa fixture, citing public safety concerns.


Muslim Brotherhood-Linked Trust NAIT Controls Significant Portion of American Mosques
As Secretary of State Marco Rubio moves forward with plans to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a foreign terrorist organization, a Jewish Onliner investigation reveals that a trust linked to the Brotherhood holds titles to at least 400 mosques and Islamic institutions across America—a significant proportion of all Islamic facilities nationwide.

The most recent independent assessment of NAIT’s holdings, from the early 2000s, showed the organization controlled approximately 332 properties—representing 27 percent of America’s roughly 1,200 mosques at the time. In a 2023 announcement marking its 50th anniversary, NAIT stated it now serves as trustee for “400+ waqf institutions in USA and Canada.” Despite claiming income under $25,000 annually to avoid filing IRS returns, documents show NAIT has “advanced millions of dollars in interest-free loans” to Islamic centers and holds properties worth hundreds of millions across the United States.

Federal court documents, congressional testimony, and public records show this organization—the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT)—was explicitly listed in the Muslim Brotherhood’s own 1991 strategic planning document. NAIT was also named as an unindicted co-conspirator in America’s largest terrorism financing case. The organization is currently led by board members who have publicly expressed support for jihad and the implementation of Sharia law “in all areas.”

The 1991 Blueprint
NAIT appears on a list of 29 organizations under the heading “our organizations and the organizations of our friends” in a May 22, 1991 memorandum authored by Mohamed Akram. The document, seized by the FBI and entered as evidence in federal court, describes a “Civilization-Jihadist Process” with an explicit goal: “eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and ‘sabotaging’ its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God’s religion is made victorious over all other religions.”

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Muslim Students Association (MSA)—the organizations NAIT openly acknowledges maintain a “foundational supporting relationship” with on its website—also appear on this list.

NAIT was established in 1973 by MSA, according to its incorporation documents, with original board members including known Muslim Brotherhood figures such as Jamal Barzinji, Ahmad Sakr, and Hisham al-Talib.
Mamdani posts smiling photo with NYC imam tied to 1993 terror bombing
During the New York City mayoral debate on Thursday, Zohran Mamdani, a state representative, said that it took Andrew Cuomo being beaten in the Democratic primary by a Muslim for the former governor to visit a mosque. “He had more than 10 years, and he couldn’t name a single mosque at the last debate we had that he visited,” Mamdani said.

On Friday, Mamdani posted photos from Masjid At-Taqwa in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he said he had “the pleasure of meeting with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, one of the nation’s foremost Muslim leaders and a pillar of the Bed-Stuy community for nearly half a century.”

Critics, including U.S. Vice President JD Vance, noted that the imam smiling alongside Mamdani in the photo is an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing who testified as a character witness for Omar Abdel-Rahman, the “blind sheikh.”

“I’ve been reliably informed that Democrats are opposed to any kind of political violence, so I look forward to them universally condemning Zohran Mamdani for campaigning with an unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorist plot that killed six New Yorkers,” the U.S. vice president stated.

“Nothing to see here, just the Kathy Hochul-endorsed, antisemitic Democrat socialist candidate for mayor of New York City campaigning and smiling with an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing,” the Republican Jewish Coalition stated.

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) stated that a “hack” New York Times journalist questioned why she called Mamdani a jihadist. “Do you want another comment?” she wrote, sharing Mamdani’s photo with the imam.


My hell at the hands of Hamas torturers: I was stripped, hung upside down, whipped, forced to squat for 24 hours and told I'd be made to watch my mother and sister raped
There are few horrors a human being can survive that Moumen al-Natour, a Palestinian anti-Hamas activist, has not endured at the hands of the Sunni Islamist terror group that currently rules the Gaza Strip.

Whether that's being lashed with a whip, stripped of his clothes, or made to squat for 24 gruelling hours in a tiny underground cell, the 30-year-old lawyer has paid the price time and time again for his resistance to the authoritarian government.

As the organiser of the 2019 anti-Hamas protest movement 'We Want to Live', Moumen has a target on his back wherever he goes; he has been imprisoned 20 times for his 'crimes' and tortured on multiple occasions.

Hamas accuses him of serving 'foreign agents' like Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and of sowing the seeds of 'conflict and division' within the community - accusations the peace activist vehemently denies.

He maintains that he just wants the best for his people in the beleaguered territory, where, he says, the vast majority of civilians have grown to detest Hamas for triggering the two-year war.

Moumen's treatment at the hands of the terrorist group exemplifies the sadistic methods officials will deploy to maintain their grip over the tiny enclave.

Whether that's starving the lawyer in prison, or threatening him with the rapes of his mother and sister, there is no limit to the brutality the group has been prepared to wield when it comes to suppressing dissent.

But no matter what kind of ISIS-inspired torture methods Hamas has used against him, Moumen will stop at nothing to secure the rights of the 2.2 million civilians in the territory - who he insists are ready for new leadership.


Hizbullah: One Year after Nasrallah's Elimination
A year after the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah, Hizbullah still clings to its extremist ideology. The ceremonies marking the anniversary of Nasrallah's elimination were attended by large crowds at several locations and served as an opportunity for a show of force.

Hizbullah's current secretary-general, Naim Qassem, declared that the organization remains ready to confront anyone attempting to force it to disarm. Media coverage glorified Nasrallah and the path of resistance he led for 32 years as secretary-general.

Hizbullah lost many of its commanders and fighters during the war (in an August 5 speech, Qassem claimed the organization had 5,000 dead and 13,000 wounded). The IDF claims to have eliminated 80% of Hizbullah's firepower, and its financial capabilities were severely diminished.

Most serious of all, Hizbullah continues to be a daily target of IDF strikes - eliminating operatives and destroying its military infrastructure including ammunition depots and production facilities. The absence of Hizbullah's senior, veteran leaders who were killed in the war has also hampered its decision-making process. Naim Qassem lacks Nasrallah's abilities and authority.

In practice, the Lebanese Army operates only to a very limited extent in southern Lebanon, continues to avoid clashes with Hizbullah, and focuses mainly on collecting weapons from Palestinian refugee camps (only from Fatah elements). The issue of disarmament is existential for Hizbullah, which adamantly insists on retaining its weapons - a central pillar of its power against both domestic and external adversaries.

A year after the ceasefire took effect, Hizbullah appears to be regaining its footing. It is undergoing reorganization, recruiting new operatives, finding creative methods to smuggle weapons, and generating new sources of income through its networks in South America, Europe, and Africa. The group continues to enjoy broad popular support in Lebanon, maintains cooperation with the Shiite Amal movement, led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and retains the backing of Iran.
How Israel’s F-35s UPGRADE Made Iran’s Air Defenses Useless?
In this video we reveal how Israel transformed its F-35I into a strategic weapon through a secret fuel tank integration that expanded its reach deep into Iran, enabling sorties over Tehran without refueling. We analyze the conformal fuel tanks, external drop tanks, stealth preservation, S-300 defense collapse, US-Israel cooperation on the upgrade, and the implications for air dominance in the Middle East and beyond

Israeli F-35 extended range upgrade, conformal fuel tanks stealth integration, external drop tanks stealth, strike deep inside Iran undetected, S-300 suppression failure, strategic F-35 modification secret, Israel US cooperation F-35-I upgrade, Tehran penetration sorties, bunker buster inside F-35, Iran air defense collapse




Grenoble Jewish community targeted with graffiti and death threats
Antisemitic graffiti and death threats were discovered in several locations in the French city of Grenoble on Thursday.

The facade of the offices of Hervé Gerbi, a Grenoble lawyer and candidate in the municipal elections under the Horizons banner, as well as the premises of the local office of CRIF, the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions, were targeted. Gerbi and CRIF announced their intention to file a complaint.

The graffiti read “A slow and painful death to every member of the CRIF” and “F**k the CRIF” and “Goy Power.”

Gerbi, who chaired the Grenoble branch of CRIF until 2024, responded in a statement: “I am aware that there are still voters to be convinced. The message written on the door of my office is an illustration of this. We must convince people that security is the first of freedoms and that secularism is our common good.”

Attorney Eric Hattab, head of CRIF in the region, denounced the antisemitic intimidation.

“It doesn’t scare me at all. If they’re trying to intimidate me, it’s a waste of time. I will continue my mission to serve the Jewish community in Grenoble without letting these threats and graffiti deter me,” he said, adding that he has confidence in the police who are already investigating the case.

Hattab questioned whether the Jewish community has a future in France. “Today, we hide our Jewish identity, no one wears a kippah anymore, we remove the mezuzah, we avoid being recognized,” he said, adding that many Jews are considering leaving France, especially the younger ones.


Israel 4th in life expectancy among OECD countries
Israel ranks fourth in life expectancy among OECD countries, the Israeli Health Ministry said Sunday, citing new data from the intergovernmental organization.

Japan tops the list with life expectancy of 84.1 years, followed by Switzerland 84.3, Spain with 84 and Israel at 83.8, the OECD survey found.

The report noted an increase in life expectancy in Israel from 84.8 to 85.7 years in women, and 80.7 to 81.7 years in men. This was nearly a year more than the previous survey during the COVID pandemic, despite low public investment in health in Israel, compared to many European countries.

According to the report, Israel invests 7.6 percent of its GDP in health, while in Germany the investment stands at 12.3 percent, Austria and Switzerland 11.8 percent, France 11.5 percent and Sweden 11.3 percent.

Israel ranks second after Switzerland in the lowest preventable mortality rate, with only 134 deaths per 100,000 people and is also among the countries with the lowest mortality rate from heart disease: only 49.4 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the data.

The vaccination rate in Israel is similar to the OECD average over the past decade, and stands at over 90 percent.

“Israel manages to present one of the highest life expectancies in the world, and all this with public spending on health that is significantly lower than that of most European countries, despite resource limitations,” said Dr. Asher Shalmon, the director of the International Relation Division at the Health Ministry. “This is an extraordinary achievement.”




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