Israel At War: Day 798

When we see that the war on terror by Israel is close to 800 days long, I thought it would be good to see where this conflict is on all fronts. Of course, we need to start with Hamas in Gaza and on that front Israel is still waiting on the return of the last hostage remains. Prime Minister Netanyahu is putting pressure on negotiators to get that body back so that phase two can start as we read in a report from i24news.tv:

Israel has ramped up the pressure on mediators to expedite the recovery of the remains of Sgt. First Class Ran Gvili, a police officer murdered and abducted by Palestinian terrorists during the October 7 massacre, i24NEWS understands.

He sent a strong message to them since Hamas doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to turn over a body they know exactly where it is:

Amid the delays plaguing the operation to retrieve Gvili's remains for burial in Israel, the message conveyed to the mediators was that Israel expects nothing less than intensive and coordinated efforts to find the body. Throughout the week, talks were held with the mediators on a daily basis, in which the coordinator of the prisoners and missing persons, Brigadier General (res.) Gal Hirsch, announced that Israel completely rejects the Islamic Jihad's claim that they have returned all those kidnapped.

Since the next step is Hamas disarming this is major hold up, one I am convinced the terrorists are stalling on for obvious reasons:

The recovery of Gvili's remains, i24NEWS was told, represents a central element in the implementation of the agreement and is considered more than a purely tactical demand. Israel is demanding that the mediators apply pressure on Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, since both organizations possess information about his location, in addition to the significant intelligence information that was passed on last week by the special delegation that went to Cairo.

In other words, Israel knows where the body is right now. I’m sure Israel told the US ambassador when he was in town:

i24NEWS can report that the issue also came up in Hirsch's talks this week with the American ambassador in Jerusalem, Mike Walz, as well as with a senior official on behalf of the mediators.

Push is coming to shove on this, and I actually see Hamas never turning over the body for months if no pressure is applied on them. Expect Hamas to start threatening to leave the ceasefire next.

Northern Exposure

Israel and Hezbollah are nearing a collapse of the tenuous ceasefire they agreed to as we read in an article from The Times Of Israel:

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji reveals to Al Jazeera that Beirut has received warnings from Arab and international parties that Israel is preparing to launch a wide-scale operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

This attack is coming because the Lebanese army can’t disarm Hezbollah as they agreed to do as part of the ceasefire. Instead of using military force, Lebanon is hoping that diplomacy will work:

Rajji says the Lebanese government is in the midst of intensive diplomatic engagements to prevent such an operation and to ensure that its personnel and facilities are not targeted.

One of their talking points is that the reason for attacking Israel is to support Hamas which isn’t working:

The Lebanese foreign minister says his government is still trying to negotiate with Hezbollah, hoping it can coax the terror group to willingly give up its weapons, arguing that they proved ineffective “in supporting Gaza and defending the country” over the past two years.

I see no chance that approach will work. These terrorists only capitulate when force is used against them. They’ll talk all day and into the night as long as they are left alone. Expect more of the same until the US tells Israel to finish off Hezbollah their way.

Crazy Antisemites

And on the Jew hatred front we hear about prominent personalities calling for the release of one Israel’s worst terrorists in an article from i24news.tv:

More than 200 prominent figures from the global cultural scene have signed a new petition demanding the release of Marwan Barghouti, the Palestinian militant leader serving multiple life sentences in Israel.

These antisemites are seemingly blind to the fact that he killed 5 Israelis and would murder more if he could. The article gives details about their cause:

The campaign organized by the “Free Marwan” initiative, seeks to spotlight Barghouti’s decades-long incarceration and what it describes as the harsh conditions of his imprisonment.

The petition has drawn an unusually high-profile list of supporters, including several well-known Jewish artists. Among them are British actor Stephen Fry, American musician Paul Simon, and actresses Hannah Einbinder and Ilana Glazer.

They join a roster of internationally recognized names such as Mark Ruffalo, Sir Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Josh O’Connor, Sting, Annie Lennox, Brian Eno, and acclaimed author Margaret Atwood.

According to these celebrities Barghouti is being treated harshly in prison:

The signatories accuse Israel of “continued mistreatment” of Barghouti and call on the United Nations and governments worldwide to work toward his release. Barghouti, long portrayed by supporters as a potential heir to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, was arrested in 2002 and convicted for his role in orchestrating deadly attacks during the Second Intifada.

He is serving five life sentences plus 40 additional years for the killings of five Israeli civilians.

In the latest ceasefire negotiations, his release was brought up and quickly shot down. Still, these folks see him as a hero and martyr for Gazans:

The campaign marks one of the most high-profile international pushes in years for Barghouti’s freedom, and is likely to reignite debate over the legacy of the man supporters call the “Palestinian Mandela” and critics deem an unrepentant terrorist.

His release would inspire terrorists to kill more people since he did so and survived incarceration. It would be like letting Charles Manson out because prison life is so hard. Tell the family of Sharon Tate and her unborn baby that. I’m sure we’d get deafening silence from them.