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Israel at war day 546: What happened in Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen?

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
 IDF operates in southern Syria, April 5, 2025. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
IDF operates in southern Syria, April 5, 2025.
(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Freed hostage Omer Wenkert to PM: 'Invite me to the cabinet, look me in the eyes'

"For 505 days, I was starved, humiliated, and beaten. Of those days, I spent 197 days alone, almost losing my sanity."

By URI SELA
 Released hostage Omer Wenkert speaks at a rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, April 5, 2025. (photo credit: PAULINA PATIMER)
Released hostage Omer Wenkert speaks at a rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, April 5, 2025.
(photo credit: PAULINA PATIMER)

Former hostages Omer Wenkert, Liri Albag, and Gadi Moses spoke at a rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday, demanding that the Israeli government agree to a comprehensive deal that would return all Israeli hostages.

Omer Wenkert, a former hostage who was released in the first phase of the currently paused hostage deal, opened the protest rally.

"I was brought back to life about a month and a half ago. I am here, excited and crying out: Return my brothers from captivity. But I’m not really here; only half of me stands here. Part of me is still captive in a tunnel, and you [here at the rally] are not really here either—because part of us, part of all of us, is captive in Gaza."

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Hamas hostage video shows first sign of life of Maxim Herkin, family confirms

The video is the first sign of life of Herkin since his abduction on Otober 7.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
 (L-R) Hostages Bar Kupershtein and Maxim Herkin. (photo credit: SCREENSHOT/X, SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)
(L-R) Hostages Bar Kupershtein and Maxim Herkin.
(photo credit: SCREENSHOT/X, SECTION 27A COPYRIGHT ACT)

The Hamas terrorist organization released a teaser of a propaganda video on Saturday afternoon that showed Israeli hostages Bar kupershtein and Maxim Herkin.

Originally, Hamas published a teaser video with two blurred figures.

Shortly after, the family of hostage Maxim Herkin confirmed that he was one of the hostages in the video. "We recognized his voice," the family said.

The Hostages Families Forum has requested that the propaganda video, or parts of it, not be published or shared without their permission.

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Hamas teases release of propaganda video featuring two hostages

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
  (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST/REUTERS)
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST/REUTERS)

The Hamas terrorist organization released a teaser of a propaganda video on Saturday afternoon that features two hostages whose faces are blurred, which is expected to be released in full later in the day.

The Hostages Families Forum has requested that the propaganda video, or parts of it, not be published or shared without their permission.

This is a developing story.

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UN renews Albanese's mandate until 2028 despite history of antisemitism

The confirmation comes despite opposition from the US, UN Watch, and hundreds of thousands of petitioners. 

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
 Press briefing by Francesca Albanese, Special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian Territories at UN Headquarters on October 27, 2022. (photo credit: Lev Radin/Shutterstock)
Press briefing by Francesca Albanese, Special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian Territories at UN Headquarters on October 27, 2022.
(photo credit: Lev Radin/Shutterstock)

The UN Human Rights Council renewed the tenure of Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967 during a vote on Saturday.

Albanese herself confirmed the results of the vote with multiple posts on X/Twitter.

The confirmation comes despite opposition from the US, UN Watch, and hundreds of thousands of petitioners. 

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US deputy Middle East envoy meets Lebanese officials to discuss contentious border issues

Ortagus will demand that Lebanese authorities establish a schedule for Hezbollah’s disarmament, push for talks between Israel and Lebanon.

By DARCIE GRUNBLATT
 US deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus meets with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, in this handout image released on April 5, 2025. (photo credit: VIA REUTERS)
US deputy special envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus meets with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, in this handout image released on April 5, 2025.
(photo credit: VIA REUTERS)

US deputy special envoy for the Middle East, Morgan Ortagus, concluded her meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Saturday, after arriving in Beirut on Friday for her second visit to Lebanon since US President Donald Trump took office in January, Al-Monitor reported Friday night. Her last visit was in February.

She is also scheduled to meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri regarding the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire that was signed in November, Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, and the disarmament of Hezbollah.

Ortagus will demand that Lebanese authorities establish a clear schedule for Hezbollah’s disarmament, Al-Monitor reported, citing local reports. She is also expected to push for the beginning of talks between Israel and Lebanon on the demarcation of their border, currently marked by the blue line drawn by the United Nations in 2000. 

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IDF expands ground operations in Gaza in North and South

According to security assessments, taking control of the Morag Axis will allow for the isolation of Rafah from Gaza to prevent transfer of weapons.

By AMIR BOHBOT
 IDF troops operating in northern Gaza, April 4, 2025. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
IDF troops operating in northern Gaza, April 4, 2025.
(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

The IDF expanded ground operations in Gaza overnight Friday, in the North and South, and took control of several areas in Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia, Rafah, and the Morag Axis.

In the early hours of Saturday morning, the Israeli air force and artillery batteries operated to target terrorist objectives and support the operating troops.

On Friday evening, both ground troops and the Israeli air force struck in Rafah, Khan Yunis, Shuja'iya, Gaza City, and Beit Hanoun.

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New video contradicts IDF version of killing of aid workers in Gaza - NYT

The video shows a convoy of ambulances and a fire truck, with headlights on, after the IDF said the vehicles were operating with headlights turned off.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
 Funeral prayer held at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, located in the southern Gaza Strip, for 8 health workers from the Palestinian Red Crescent who were killed in an Israeli attack 8 days ago in Rafah and had been pulled from the rubble, on March 31, 2025. (photo credit: Hani Alshaer/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Funeral prayer held at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, located in the southern Gaza Strip, for 8 health workers from the Palestinian Red Crescent who were killed in an Israeli attack 8 days ago in Rafah and had been pulled from the rubble, on March 31, 2025.
(photo credit: Hani Alshaer/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The New York Times obtained a video recording on a cell phone of one of the killed paramedics, who was found with 14 other aid workers in a mass grave in Rafah in late March, that shows that the ambulances and fire truck the workers were traveling in were clearly marked and had their emergency lights on when Israeli troops fired at them, the NYT reported Friday evening. 

Earlier in the week, an Israeli military spokesperson, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, reportedly told the NYT that the IDF did not “randomly attack” an ambulance,” but that several vehicles “were identified advancing suspiciously” without headlights or emergency signals toward Israeli troops, prompting them to shoot.

He also said that the majority of those killed were terrorists, according to the NYT.

The IDF said it is conducting an investigation into this incident on Thursday, Reuters reported. The military said its Southern Command had transferred the investigation to a general staff mechanism outside the chain of command to establish what had happened and "hold accountable people if we need to."

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Mounting costs, ineffectual strikes: US having little impact on Houthi threat - NYT

Pentagon officials reportedly acknowledged that the US was struggling to hit the Houthis’ underground arsenal. 

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
 A fighter plane takes off for an operation against the Houthi group in an unknown location in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on March 17, 2025.  (photo credit: US CENTCOM via X/Handout via REUTERS)
A fighter plane takes off for an operation against the Houthi group in an unknown location in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on March 17, 2025.
(photo credit: US CENTCOM via X/Handout via REUTERS)

Despite US President Donald Trump’s claim that recent strikes on Yemen had “decimated” the Houthis, government officials have reportedly quietly acknowledged in private that the attacks have been less effective than anticipated, the New York Times reported on Friday.

Pentagon officials reportedly acknowledged that the US was struggling to hit the Houthis’ underground arsenal. 

Despite limited success, the attacks have grown fiercer under the Trump administration, the NYT report detailed, with attacks reportedly stronger than what the US defense department is willing to admit.

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Hamas: Half of living hostages in areas IDF trying to operate

"We have decided not to move these captives from those areas and to keep them under strict security measures - but their lives are in extreme danger."

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
 Abu Obaida, the spokesman of the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, gestures as he speaks during an anti-Israel military show in the southern Gaza Strip November 11, 2019 (photo credit: IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA/REUTERS)
Abu Obaida, the spokesman of the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, gestures as he speaks during an anti-Israel military show in the southern Gaza Strip November 11, 2019
(photo credit: IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA/REUTERS)

Half of the living hostages are in areas that the IDF has attempted to evacuate recently, Hamas's Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida said in a statement on Friday.

"We have decided not to move these captives from those areas and to keep them under strict security measures - but their lives are in extreme danger," he said.

"If Israel is concerned for the lives of these hostages, Netanyahu must immediately enter negotiations for their release," he continued. "The Netanyahu government bears full responsibility for the lives of the hostages. If it truly cared about them, it would have honored the agreement signed in January, and most of them would likely already be home."

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$1 million operation: Hamas paying Negev Bedouins to smuggle drones into Gaza Strip

Despite only being worth between 100 and 150 shekels, each drone smuggling operation costs one million dollars.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
 A drone flying above the tank in the background (illustrative) (photo credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)
A drone flying above the tank in the background (illustrative)
(photo credit: SHUTTERSTOCK)

Hamas has been collaborating with Bedouins in the Negev to smuggle drones into the Gaza Strip for the past several weeks, N12 reported on Friday.

Each drone is smuggled into the Gaza Strip at a rate of one million dollars per drone; at least ten drones have been delivered.

The drones are worth only NIS 100 to 150 each and can carry up to 70 kilograms of cargo.

Hamas is expected to modify the drone for military use in combat against IDF troops.

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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 Supernova music festival and hundreds of Israeli civilians across Gaza border communities.
  • 59 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 a.m.
  • Netanyahu confirmed the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire on January 17, 2025.