What is going on in Israel, Lebanon, and Gaza?
Israel targeted with bus bombings, no one injured • Fourth body of returned slain hostages identified as Gazan woman
Ben-Gvir slams Trump, Israeli government, calls for war after bus bombings
Ben-Gvir blamed Trump and Netanyahu for emboldening terror after a series of bus bombings in Israel, calling for an all-out war in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza and an end to lenient security policies.
Otzma Yehudit leader MK Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized US President Donald Trump and the Israeli government on Thursday night following a series of coordinated bus bombings across central Israel, arguing that weak policies—both past and present—have emboldened terrorism and calling for an all-out war in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza.
Speaking on Kol Barama radio, Ben-Gvir referenced Trump’s recent statement urging Israel to "bring down the gates of hell" on Hamas but accused both Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of enabling terrorism through policies such as prisoner release deals.
“The government’s conduct is feeble,” Ben-Gvir said. “We must investigate what happened. I have criticism of the Shin Bet, but this failure is on the political leadership that chose to release terrorists. God has mercy on us, but how many times can we rely on miracles? We must launch an all-out war in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, halt humanitarian aid, and end the forgiving policy toward the Palestinian Authority.”
Go to the full article >>'Depraved monsters': World reacts to Hamas withholding Shiri Bibas, details of Ariel, Kfir's deaths
As the news of the Bibas kids being identified by forensics and Shiri Bibas not having been one of the remains sent back to Israel, many people expressed their condolences and anger online.
World leaders and Jewish organizations expressed shock and anger following the news Shiri Bibas's body was not released back to Israel along with those of her young sons Ariel and Kfir.
As the news of the Bibas kids being identified by forensics and Shiri Bibas not having been one of the remains sent back to Israel, many people and organizations expressed their condolences and anger online.
Who are some of these people and organizations?
"Kfir and Ariel were kidnapped alive with their mother yet returned in coffins and alone," the IDF posted on X with a photo of a broken orange heart. "Hamas murdered these innocent babies in captivity. We're heartbroken and outraged - as the world should be."
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Forensic findings confirm Kfir, Ariel Bibas' return, reveal they were brutally murdered in Gaza
Though the bodies of the two murdered young children were a DNA match, the body of their mother, Shiri, was not.
Official identification has linked the remains of two of the four bodies returned to Israel today from captivity as belonging to Kfir and Ariel Bibas, the IDF confirmed early Friday morning, alongside a report on forensic findings of the case.
The two boys, nine months and four years old, respectively, at the time of their abduction on October 7, 2023. The bodies were identified using forensic analysis in an interdepartmental collaboration between the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and Israel Police.
Available intelligence and forensic evidence from the identification process have led officials to determine that the two children were brutally murdered in captivity by terrorists in November 2023, just a month after their abduction.
Go to the full article >>Saturday hostage release to continue as planned
This comes after the IDF announced the results of the forensic investigation which found that one of the hostages remains on Thursday morning was not Shiri Bibas.
Israel will continue with Saturday's upcoming hostage release as planned, the IDF told Israeli media.
This comes after the IDF announced the results of the forensic investigation which found that one of the hostages remains on Thursday morning was not Shiri Bibas.
What was the agreement?
According to the agreement between Israel and Hamas, Hamas was to release four deceased hostages on Thursday morning and in return, Israel would release all female Palestinian prisoners and anyone under the age of 19 who were arrested during the October 7 massacre and the days that followed.
Go to the full article >>Israel at war: What you need to know
- Hamas launched a massive attack on October 7, with thousands of terrorists infiltrating from the Gaza border and taking some 240 hostages into Gaza.
- Over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were murdered, including over 350 at the Re'im music festival and hundreds of Israeli civilians across Gaza border communities.
- 69 hostages remain in Gaza.
- 49 hostages in total have been killed in captivity, IDF says.
- The IDF launched a ground invasion of Lebanon on September 30.
- The Israel-Lebanon ceasefire came into effect on November 27 at 4:00 a.m.
- Netanyahu confirmed the first phase of the Israel-Hamas Ceasefire on January 17, 2025
- 735 terrorists will be released as part of the hostage deal