Noam Or, 17, and Alma Or, 13, were among those released in the prisoner exchange that took place on Saturday. For fifty days in Hamas captivity, they hoped to reunite with their mother but found that would not be possible.
“This dream had been shattered by the fact that she was murdered,” said the siblings’ maternal uncle Ahal Besorai to CNN. “My sister, their mom, was murdered on October 7. The children did not know that. We thought they were together when they were kidnapped, but they were separated from the outset.”
“When they first crossed the border and reunited with their grandmother and older brother, the first news that they had to confront was the fact that their mom was no longer alive. And that was a terribly emotional and traumatic moment for them,” Besorai added.
The siblings recounted that they were not told they were being freed. Originally, they were told they were being taken to a restroom but were then handcuffed, blindfolded, and taken to a car to be handed over to the Red Cross.
They had lived in Kibbutz Be'eri, one of the main targets for the Hamas invasion. Dror, their father, is still missing and presumed to be held by Hamas as well.
The siblings were freed uninjured, although they had lost weight in captivity. Besorai expressed that he fears for their mental health in the long term.
Otzma Yehudit threatens to dissolve the government, if Israel does not continue fighting with all its might against Hamas in Gaza, after the implementation of the outlines for the return of the captives.
Sources in the party emphasize that if another deal is brought to the government that will result in the stopping of the war, all six Otzma Yehudit Knesset members, led by Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, will leave the coalition.
"The ultimate goal of the war is the complete elimination of Hamas. Any deal that entails keeping Hamas alive will lead to more disasters like the Black Sabbath disaster on October 7th, and such a deal means a victory for Hamas in this war," the sources claimed.
They added that, "We must not agree to any such deal – and, in any case, Otzma Yehudit will not be part of government that will allow Hamas to continue to exist."
Earlier, Minister Itamar Ben Gvir tweeted: "Stopping the war = dissolving the government."
Aron Yishai Unger Z”L, was killed in a crash on the Palisades Parkway, he was 62 years old.
The victim was traveling on the Palisades Parkway southbound near Exit 2, when his vehicle collided with a tree. Bergen and Rockland Hatzolah did everything they could to save his life, and rushed him to Englewood Medical Center. Unfortunately, he was Niftar a short while later.
David's devastated parents (above) took their grief to civil court and, in 2000, after years of preparation they brought a case under a 1992 law that permits American victims to sue anyone providing material support to terror groups.
David Boim (above) was born in Brooklyn, New York, but on May 13, 1996, he was living in Jerusalem and studying at a yeshiva. It was the day he was murdered.
It was March 2018, and the hookah lounge in a working-class suburb outside of Chicago was packed.
Warm and engaging, frequently switching between English and Arabic, Tlaib - a Michigan State representative with larger ambitions - pleaded for out-of-state donations to help her become the first Palestinian American in Congress.
She unashamedly told the audience that her Detroit constituents often declared: 'Rashida is a warrior, and this is a war we're in.'
Sitting in the front row, Rafeeq Jaber listened intently, seemingly impressed and knowing a thing or two about raising money to wage war.
For Jaber's now-defunct charity, the Islamic Association for Palestine, was found legally liable for financing the Hamas murder of an American and ordered to pay a $165 million settlement to the victim's family.
Jaber's 2018 attendance – confirmed to DailyMail.com by a national security research institute – at an event for a future-U.S. Congresswoman would likely shock most Americans. But he was far more than simply a guest.
Jaber was a prominent host of Tlaib campaign gatherings, and he remains unrepentant today - even refusing to condemn Hamas when asked to do so by DailyMail.com.
What's more, he is not Tlaib's only major supporter with alleged ties to the vicious killers now responsible for the worst mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust.
There's Wisconsin furniture salesman Salah Sarsour, who co-hosted a party for Tlaib in July 2018 in Milwaukee. His name appears on the official Tlaib invite to the event.
Sarsour is known to U.S. counter terror experts as being a suspected fundraiser in one of the largest pro-Hamas money laundering operations in U.S. history.
Then there's Abdelbaset Hamayel, whose name is listed alongside Jaber's as a co-host on an official 'Rashia Tlaib For Congress' invitation to a meet and greet at the Jerusalem Banquet restaurant in Bridgeview, Illinois in July 2018.
Hamayel was a purported point person for another charity, named KindHearts, that was accused by the U.S. Treasury Department of financing terrorism in 2006.
Tlaib's defenders claim it is unreasonable to expect her to know the background of all the guests at her campaign events or the 45,000 donors named on her Federal Election Commission records.
That's fair enough.
Yet she certainly should know the identities of her co-hosts.
Perhaps most troubling of all is the thread tying these Tlaib's campaign boosters together, as a DailyMail.com investigation has now revealed that each of them are connected to an alleged pro-Hamas network that – to this day – is under investigation for supporting terror.
A source within the Israeli government told Breitbart News on Tuesday that U.S. President Joe Biden’s pressure would lead to Hamas surviving the war intact, rather than allowing Israel to destroy Hamas or remove its military and governing capabilities.
In recent days, the White House has acknowledged that Israel intends to continue fighting Hamas after the current “pause,” sought by Biden to allow the release of hostages, ends later this week.
“The Israelis have been pretty clear that once the pauses are complete and the hostage exchanges [sic] are over that they intend to continue their military operations against Hamas,” White House adviser John Kirby said on Monday (Israel does not hold “hostages”; it is releasing convicted Palestinian terrorists).
However, the White House is no longer clearly stating that it shares that goal. And the Israeli government privately believes Biden is prepared to tolerate the survival of Hamas, despite the fact that Hamas and other terror groups would see that as a victory.
The reason Israel believes this is Biden’s goal is that the U.S. administration is imposing onerous conditions on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) regarding its operations in Gaza, such that defeating Hamas has become almost impossible.
Joseph R. Biden (D-Burisma) and Antony Blinken consult daily with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu, offering Israel their American ideas on how to conduct the war against Hamas-ISIS in Gaza, how to negotiate hostage releases and prisoner exchanges, and such.
Consider that America has not won a single war (except Grenada) these past eighty years. Not the Korean War. Nor the Vietnam War. Made an absolute mess of Iraq, after saving Kuwait from Saddam Hussein. Amid George W. Bush’s idiotic belief that America could imbue an Arab Muslim society with Western values of democracy and fundamental freedoms, America destroyed a Dream Conflagration that saw Saddam and the Ayatollahs embroiled in a potentially Eternal War. For eight glorious years, from 1980-1988, 500,000 Iraqis and Iranians killed each other at a combined cost of $1 trillion (and that was when a trillion dollars was worth a trillion dollars). And then Bush ruined it, leaving both warring sides focused on hating America instead.
America, G-d bless it, has made a mess of practically everything it has touched the past 80 years, culminating in its recent disgraceful exit from Afghanistan and now the eternal stalemate in Ukraine. America, once great, simply does not know how to win a war anymore.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Monday that “there are 2 million Nazis” in the West Bank, referring to recent opinion polls indicating that most Palestinians in that territory support Hamas’s October 7 massacres in southern Israel.
Israeli officials have equated the ideology behind the atrocities committed during the Hamas onslaught — in which 1,200 people were brutally murdered, most of them civilians, and over 240 were kidnapped to Gaza, triggering the ongoing war — with the worldview that brought about the systematic mass murder of millions of Jews by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust.
The families of three IDF soldiers who were kidnapped during the massacre of October 7 have been notified that their loved ones have been murdered by the Hamas terrorist organization, it was cleared for publication this evening (Tuesday). The three were killed in battle on October 7.
The fallen soldiers were identified as Sergeant Shaked Dahan, 19, Sergeant Kiril Brodski, 19, and Staff Sergeant Tomer Yaakov Ahimas, 20.
A security official stated that Israel possesses intelligence that would allow for the retrieval of two of the fallen soldiers for burial, but has no such intelligence for the location of the third soldier. The families have also been notified of this development.
This is the first time since the massacre of October 7 that the IDF has confirmed that Hamas is holding the bodies of fallen Israeli soldiers. Earlier, Egyptian and Qatari sources told the Wall Street Journal that efforts to secure a long-term ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas would require "difficult compromises" from both sides.
The source claimed that if there is a deal in which Israeli soldiers or the bodies of soldiers are released by Hamas - Israel will have to release thousands of convicted terrorists in exchange as well as stop the fighting in Gaza altogether.
Hamas freed 11 more Israeli hostages — nine children and two mothers — Monday, including three with ties to New York City.
The Israeli military confirmed that the nearly dozen kidnap victims had been handed over to the Red Cross and are back in Israel.
The hostages were expected to be freed in exchange for 33 Palestinian prisoners from Israel.
The newly freed hostages were identified as Sharon Cunio, 33, and her 3-year-old twins Emma and Yuli; Karina Engel, 51, and her two daughters Mika, 18, and Yuval, 10; 16-year-old Amit Shani; brother and sister Sahar, 16, and Erez Calderon, 12; and brothers Or, 16, and Yigil Yaakov, 12, the Times of Israel reported.
They will undergo medical assessments, with Israeli soldiers set to escort them until they are finally reunited with their families after being trapped in Gaza for seven weeks, the IDF said.
Despite White House optimism that two American women might be included in the latest batch of hostages freed from Gaza, officials confirmed that no one with US citizenship was released Monday.
A California mother of two disappeared from a Texas airport after she was released from a mental health clinic the day before Thanksgiving.
Police are searching for Danielle Friedland, 36, who did not board her plane at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on Wednesday night.
“Dani has been going through an unexpected but ongoing mental health issue for several months now, and we just love and support her,” her husband, Jordan Friedland, told KHOU 11 on Sunday.
Friedland spent six weeks getting treatment at the Menninger Clinic in Houston and was scheduled to return home to the California Bay Area for Thanksgiving.
Piedmont police believe the mother of a 5-year-old and 2-year-old may have left the airport in a taxi with $160 in cash and a debit card.
Law enforcement said Friedland intentionally left her phone at the airport.
“One of the scariest things for me is that Dani doesn’t know Houston. She doesn’t have friends or family here. She doesn’t have her luggage, her credit cards, her phone and I just can’t imagine how scary that must be,” Jordan said.
Family members and loved ones have flown in from across the country to help search for the missing mother.
Friedland is 5-foot-1, 100 pounds, and has brown eyes and brown hair. She was last seen donning a blue puffy jacket with blue and orange stripes and blue jogger pants carrying a black suitcase.
She has been diagnosed with depression, mood disorder psychosis, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, police shared.
It’s suspected that she may be in downtown Houston, specifically the Trinity Park area, according to the family.
“There were a couple of apparent sightings yesterday (Sunday), but nothing has turned up yet,” her husband shared.
The family has been in Houston, passing out flyers in hopes someone will recognize her.
They have been working with churches and other community groups in the area to help find the mother and have visited a homeless encampment in Houston due to Friedland’s previous statements.
Investigators are reviewing video from the airport to see if they can get a feel for what happened to the mother.
“We are aware of the news coverage about this unfortunate event. Because of patient confidentiality, we cannot confirm the status of any patient or provide any information without patient consent,” the Menninger Clinic said in a statement to the outlet.
“We are deeply saddened by this situation, and our hearts go out to the family. We all hope for her safe return.”
Anyone with information about Friedland’s whereabouts should email Piedmont Police Department detectives at detectives@piedmont.ca.gov or call the Houston Police Department Missing Persons Division at 832-394-1840.
A difficult question faces the State of Israel – how to release the approximately 240 captives held by Hamas. Should an agreement be reached to release them in exchange for many terrorists and a ceasefire?
Let us clarify this issue from the Jewish sources.
Redeeming Captives
Our Sages taught that the redemption of captives is a great mitzvah for which a person should donate charity, placing it at the top of the list of worthwhile causes because the captive suffers greatly from hunger, medical problems, psychological trauma, and often subhuman conditions whereby his life is often in danger (Baba Batra 8B) Therefore, it is not proper to spare means in rescuing captives (Rambam, and Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah252:1).
Nonetheless, Chazal postulated the halakha that it is forbidden to pay an over exorbitant amount for pidyon shivuim (redeeming hostages), as is stated in the Mishna: “They must not ransom captives for more than their value, for the sake of the public wellbeing” (Gittin 45A). The main reason given for this enactment, in both the Gemara and the Rambam, is to not create an incentive for highwaymen and kidnappers to seize more and more Jewish prisoners, since they know that we are willing to pay any price to set them free.
The Talmud mentions another explanation for this enactment – not to pressure the public to donate funds beyond their capability.
However, most of the Rishonim, including the Rif, Rosh, Rambam, and the Tur, say the principle reason is not to encourage our enemies to kidnap more Jews, and this is the ruling in the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh Deah 252:4).
The time has come to discuss the Biden administration’s relationship with Israel. With each passing day, two things become obvious. First, Israel cannot fight the war without U.S. resupply of the Israel Defense Forces. As a consequence, Israel is beholden to the administration’s directives. And second, if Israel follows the Biden administration’s directives, it will lose the war.
Israel’s dependence on the United States was stated bluntly by retired IDF Maj. General Yitzhak Brick in an interview earlier this week.
“All of our missiles, the ammunition, the precision-guided bombs, all the airplanes and bombs, it’s all from the U.S. The minute they turn off the tap, you can’t keep fighting. You have no capability. … Everyone understands that we can’t fight this war without the United States. Period.”
Brick went on to explain that President Joe Biden’s demand that Israel permit “humanitarian aid” to enter Gaza means that he is demanding that Israel keep Hamas fully supplied with food, water and fuel.
His demand that Israel minimize Palestinian Arab civilian casualties endangers IDF soldiers and renders the expansion of the ground offensive into central and southern Gaza, where the bulk of Hamas’s force is now located, almost impossible to carry out. Brick suggested various forms of long-term tunnel warfare and other suggestions for how the IDF may be able to defeat Hamas over time while operating within the constraints that Biden and his top advisors are dictating.
A BBC report presents a worrying picture of how Hamas prepared for the October 7th massacre and hid their activities from Israeli intelligence services.
According to the report, compiled by the channel's specialized crew for verifying information, the first of four training sessions had been announced by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as early as December 29th 2020. The exercises were codenamed "Strong Pillar".
The training included 10 separate armed Palestinian factions, among them Hamas, who practiced invading Israeli territory and carried out war games that included creating a joint command center between all the factions. Haniyeh noted at the time that it was a powerful message and symbol of solidarity between the various factions in Gaza.
Roni Krivoi, a 25-year-old Israeli with Russian citizenship, was released from Gaza on Sunday evening on the demand of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Hamas issued a statement that it complied with Putin’s request due to his “support of Palestine.” Krivoi was released in addition to the 13 women and children and 3 foreign nationals released last night and is the first male captive to be released.
Krivoi was born and grew up in Israel, with Hebrew as his mother tongue, but his parents obtained Russian citizenship for him when he was a child. On October 7th, he was working as a sound technician at the music festival near Re’im and was abducted by Hamas.
On Monday morning, Krivoi’s aunt, Yelena Magid, recounted the amazing story her nephew told her to Kan News.
“Roni said that he was caught by terrorists who held him in a building that collapsed due to IDF airstrikes,” she said. “He managed to escape and hide for four days alone. He tried to reach the [Israeli-Gazan] border but he wasn’t familiar with the area and Gazans [those innocent civilians] caught him and returned him to Hamas.”
Yelena also spoke about what happened to her nephew on October 7th. When the terrorists arrived, Roni and his friend tried to flee the area. “At a certain point, Roni decided to stop running,” his aunt said. “His friend was in contact with him until 10:30 a.m. when Roni told him that he could hear the terrorists getting closer to him. Ten minutes later, his friend called him again and someone answered in Arabic. His friend yelled: ‘Roni, Roni’ – they laughed and hung up.
Regarding Roni’s condition, his aunt said: “I asked him if he has nightmares. He said yes, but that’s good because it means he’s dealing with it. He has a few head wounds because he was hit by a stone when the building collapsed but he fine, he’s being taken care of. ”
“Roni is always happy and smiling. What gave us hope from the first day is that we know what he’s like, and someone who’s always smiling can always manage, no matter what the conditions.”
Six teenagers go on trial Monday in Paris for their alleged roles in the beheading of a teacher who showed caricatures of the prophet of Islam to his class, a killing that led authorities to reaffirm France’s cherished rights of expression and secularism.
Samuel Paty, a history and geography teacher, was killed on Oct. 16, 2020, near his school in a northwest Paris suburb by an 18-year-old of Chechen origin who had become radicalized. The attacker was in turn shot dead by police.
Paty’s name was disclosed on social media after a class debate on free expression during which he showed caricatures published by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, which triggered a newsroom massacre by extremists in January 2015.
All hearings at a Paris juvenile court are to be held behind closed doors in accordance with French law regarding minors.
