Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) — Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Tuesday that Hamas will face intensified military action unless it releases all remaining hostages. “The murderous Hamas needs to understand: If they do not release all our hostages, our blows will intensify,” Katz stated in remarks released by his office. The statement came during a high-level security assessment held at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The meeting was attended by Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen...
By JNS Staff (JNS) — Nearly three in five Israelis back the resumption of fighting in the Gaza Strip in the wake of Hamas’s rejection of a U.S. proposal to extend the ceasefire in exchange for the release of more hostages. According to a survey carried out by Israel’s Direct Polls Institute and published by Channel 14 on Monday night—before the Israel Defense Forces launched a campaign of extensive airstrikes in Gaza—59 percent of Israelis support the resumption of hostilities. Some 38 percent said they opposed it, while 3 percent of respondent...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last Wednesday that security officials are aware that a “more intense front” could open in Judea and Samaria amid the resumption of heavy fighting with Hamas in Gaza. “Because while we are waging an intense war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, we are aware of the possibility that a larger and more intense front could open here in Judea and Samaria,” the premier said during a visit to the Border Police’s undercover “Mista’arvim” special forces unit. “They are simply doing holy work for...
(JNS) - In a groundbreaking achievement for Israel's space program, a constellation of nine research nanosatellites-built entirely by high school students-was launched into space from Cape Canaveral in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Dubbed Tevel 2, this project marks the largest Israeli satellite constellation ever deployed, the Tel Aviv University Spokesperson's Department said on Sunday. Gila Gamliel, Israel's Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, hailed the launch as a tes...
(JNS) — Fifty-eight percent of Israeli Jews believe that civilian towns in Judea and Samaria contribute to the security of the entire country, according to a poll published by the Jewish People Policy Institute on March 11. Asked whether they concurred with the statement, “Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria create deterrence and contribute to the security of all citizens of Israel,” 46 percent responded that they “very much agree,” while 12 percent said they “somewhat” concur. In the past six months, there has been an increase in the perce...
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces’ Military Rabbinate distributed almost half a million hamantaschen, or oznei Haman (“Haman’s ears”) cookies, the army said ahead of the holiday of Purim, which starts Thursday night. Approximately 460,000 hamantaschen in the flavors of chocolate, poppy seed and date arrived at army bases across the country, according to the IDF announcement. Vegan and gluten-free options are also provided. Around 5,000 Purim gift baskets were distributed to various units. In keeping with the religious commandment of hearing M...
(JNS) - "When I stood at the Gama junction next to Re'im, the first place whereas Israelis we could see the trucks with the coffins pass, it was very emotional. I understood why they had to come back," Daniel Lifshitz told JNS. The remains of his grandfather Oded Lifshitz were returned to Israel from the Gaza Strip last month as part of a ceasefire agreement with the Hamas terrorist organization. Oded was laid to rest in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Feb. 25. "It would have been like a very strong voice in...
(JNS) — Omer Wenkert, 23, described the brutal abuse he endured in the Gaza Strip at the hands of his Hamas captors. “They just hit you like crazy with everything they can find, whether it’s hitting your legs with the barrel of the gun, punching your face, kicking you all over. With each punch you pass out and the next one wakes you up,” said Wenkert in a televised interview with Israel’s Channel 12 News. On his birthday his captor had opened the door and awakened him in a state of “complete madness, insanely aggressively,” he recalled. “That w...
(JTA) - Hamas has returned bodies of four Israeli hostages who were killed in captivity in Gaza - the final group of hostages to be released under the terms of the first phase of a ceasefire that began last month. The four hostages, all men 50 or older, were abducted in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Unlike previous hostage releases under the current ceasefire, their bodies were handed to Israel quietly, without a public ceremony early on the morning of Feb. 27. That stipulation came after Hamas...
(JNS) — Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Tuesday hailed the island nation of Fiji’s decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem. “I commend the Republic of Fiji’s government for its historic decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people. Thank you, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, friend of Israel. Thank you, Fiji! tweeted Sa’ar. I commend the Republic of Fiji’s government for its historic decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people. Thank you, Rabuka had confirmed...
(JNS) — The surviving member of the Bibas family, Yarden, shared a poignant eulogy at Kibbutz Nir Oz for the burial of his wife, Shiri, and their two children, Ariel and Kfir who were murdered by the hands of Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Yarden recalled his deep love for Shiri, remembering their first moments together and their bond as best friends, a wife, and a mother. He expressed deep sorrow and regret for not being able to protect them, especially during the tragic events on Oct. 7 when Gazans snatched them from their home. “I remember the...
(JNS) - "Looking at their scared frightened faces, begging to come out, wanting to be like their friends who got released, it is very hard to see your son begging for his life, asking to come out," Ilan Dalal, the father of Guy Gilboa-Dalal, told JNS. On Saturday, Hamas published a propaganda video showing Israeli hostages Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David at their friends' release ceremony from captivity in Gaza. Hamas compelled the two to watch the ceremony from inside a vehicle as Israel...
(JNS) - Kibbutz Nir Oz announced early Saturday morning that resident Shiri Bibas was murdered while held captive in Gaza, after Hamas said it returned her body to Israel late the previous night. "With pain and deep sorrow, Kibbutz Nir Oz announces the murder of Shiri Bibas, may her memory be a blessing, who was kidnapped from her home," according to a statement from the community. On Thursday, Hamas returned the bodies of the Bibas children, Kfir and Ariel, along with that of octogenarian Oded Lifshitz. However, the fourth body freed from...
(JNS) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday night ordered the military to conduct a "massive" counter-terrorism operation in Judea and Samaria, after three buses exploded near Tel Aviv and bombs were found on two others in what is being investigated as a coordinated attack. Netanyahu also instructed the Israel Security Agency and Israel Police to step up "preventive activities" against possible additional attacks across the country. Following a situational assessment on...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - The family of Hamas hostages Gali and Ziv Berman has received the first sign of life from the twin brothers in nearly 500 days. The brothers were abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct. 7, 2023, along with Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher and Amit Soussana, who have since been freed. "On one hand, we can breathe a little easier, but we also know whose hands they are in and the grave danger to their lives," said the twins' aunt, Makabit Meyer. "They are alive, and we must...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Intelligence gathered from hostages released from Gaza suggests Alon Ohel, 24, abducted from the Supernova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023, may lose his vision. According to information disclosed Sunday morning on Kan Reshet Bet radio, reports from captives freed from Gaza indicate Ohel has sustained shrapnel injuries to an eye and can’t even detect shadows with it. Medical sources indicate that based on survivor testimonies, he risks losing vision in both eyes. As discussions continue over the future of the hostage/ceas...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - The purported remains of Oded Lifshitz, 84, one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz, were returned to Israel on Thursday, as part of the first phase of the hostage deal after his death has been all but confirmed a day earlier. Lifshitz was abducted from his home during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack alongside his wife, Yocheved. The body was handed over to Israel on Feb. 19 as part of the latest swap in the hostage deal with Hamas, after which confirmation of its identity...
(JTA) - The oldest hostage in Gaza is not alive, Israeli authorities announced on Tuesday. Shlomo Mantzur was killed 16 months ago, during Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and his body was taken to Gaza, Israeli officials said they determined after assessing intelligence data gathered in recent months. He was 85 at the time and is survived by a wife, five children and 12 grandchildren. Mantzur, who moved to Israel as a child after his family fled their native Iraq following the 1941...
(JNS) - Hundreds of thousands of shattered and fire-damaged wine bottles, some with wine remnants, line the floor of a once-thriving winery in Moshav Avivim, a picturesque community on Israel's border with Lebanon. The tableau of devastation at the former winery in this deserted Israeli village in the Upper Galilee just down the hill from Lebanon has remained frozen in time since four Hezbollah missiles demolished the site last year in multiple attacks and with it some 300,000 bottles of wine....
(JNS) - Three Israeli men regained their freedom on Saturday, after 498 days of captivity in the Gaza Strip. The hostages were handed over to representatives of the Red Cross at a staged event in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, shortly after 10 a.m., and to the IDF and the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) at approximately 10:30, and were being escorted to Israeli territory for an initial medical examination. Alexandre ("Sasha") Troufanov, 29, who has dual Russian citizenship, had been...
(JNS) — During a meeting with European Union ambassadors in Israel on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned that Jerusalem would resume military actions in Gaza if Hamas does not release the hostages. “We discussed today Hamas’s announcement of its intention to violate the framework for the release of the hostages. A decision by Hamas not to release the hostages is essentially a decision to return to war. So far, we have not taken any unilateral actions,” Israel’s top diplomat said. FM Gideon Sa’ar to EU ambassadors: “If Hamas doe...
(JNS) - For the first time since being released on Feb.1 as part of the ceasefire deal, former hostage Keith Siegel, an American-Israeli, released a video on Friday detailing his experience in captivity. "My name is Keith Siege,l and I am a 65-year-old American citizen," the video began, featuring Siegel in a blue sweater with a yellow hostage pin. "I love country music, and I love pancakes on Saturday morning. But that was my previous life. Since Feb. 1, I am a newly released Hamas hostage. I...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — A recently released hostage has provided the first confirmation in months that Omri Miran, 47, held captive in Gaza, was alive and in relatively stable condition as of July. “We received confirmation of Omri’s condition through one of the returned hostages,” his brother Boaz revealed on Tuesday, speaking about Omri, who has now been in captivity for 495 days. “They shared that his condition was generally stable during their time together, when they were being held in b...
Three more Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza for 491 days were released last week. The three men returned home emaciated, gaunt, and with signs of suffering from severe malnourishment including complex cardiac issues and infections. Seeing them paraded by Hamas in a dehumanizing public spectacle before thousands of armed terrorists and jeering “innocent civilians,” it was impossible to avoid the analogy that they looked like people who had survived Nazi concentration camps 80 years ago. In addition to deliberate starvation, there are mul...
(JNS) — Alexandre (“Sasha”) Troufanov, who was released yesterday from Hamas captivity in Gaza, put on tefillin for the first time on Sunday, with the help of Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar. Lazar gave Troufanov, who is a dual citizen of Israel and Russia, a tefillin set and a Chumash—a copy of the Torah in book form—the Charedim 10 news site reported. In a video conversation on Sunday, Troufanov thanked Lazar for working to free him and other hostages. “I truly appreciate everything you have done. You are wonderful people, you have a huge...
