Last night, Israeli security forces recovered six bodies of hostages in a special operation. Among those recovered by the IDF and Shin Bet were Chaim Peri, Yoram Metzger, Avraham Munder, Nadav Popolwal, Alexander Danzig and Yagav Buchstab, who were kidnapped alive and killed in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip. The rescue operation was conducted under the command of the 98th Division and carried out by the Paratrooper Brigade, the “Yahalom” Unit and the 75th Battalion, together with ISA forces, and was made possible by precise information from the ISA, IDF intelligence units and the IDF Intelligence Directorate’s Hostage Headquarters.
Following an identification procedure conducted by the National Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Israel Police, the IDF Manpower Directorate hostage team, which is responsible for accompanying the families of the hostages, has made contact with their families and communities. Officially, there are 109 hostages still in Hamas’s hands, but according to some estimates, there are 57 alive. Unfortunately, this is a very optimistic estimate. The news comes after Hamas has once again rejected the idea of a ceasefire agreement, and has done so with a series of statements from various leaders, such as Yahya Sinwar, who claims, according to the Wall Street Journal, that the latest round of negotiations for the release of the hostages and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip “is a deception designed to buy more time for Israeli military operations in the region.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a public statement yesterday in Jerusalem, following a three-hour meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, endeavoring to support the recent “bridge proposal” put forward by the United States and presented to Israel, and transmitted to Hamas at the end of the Doha talks last week. “The Prime Minister reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to the current U.S. proposal for the release of our hostages, taking into account Israel’s security needs, on which he firmly insists,” read a statement released in Hebrew and English by Netanyahu’s office, which for the first time publicly endorsed the new formula proposed by the United States. This is a major step forward, given that Israel had received the new U.S. proposal with great caution last Saturday, with Netanyahu declaring that “it contains elements acceptable to Israel.”
Israeli airstrikes hit Hezbollah weapons depots deep in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley late on Monday, the army said on Monday night. Meanwhile, a Lebanese media report, picked up by the Times of Israel, suggested that the retaliatory strike, threatened in response to the killing of the terror group’s top commander, could resume after Hamas rejected proposed truce conditions to end fighting in Gaza. Lebanese state media reported that at least three Israeli airstrikes hit several towns in the Baalbek district of northeast Lebanon. Videos from the scene showed a large fire and multiple explosions following the initial impact. Since October 8, 2024, Hezbollah-led forces have launched almost daily attacks on Israeli communities and military positions along the border, claiming that these actions are in support of Gaza in the ongoing conflict. So far, this fighting has resulted in the deaths of 26 Israeli civilians, in addition to 19 IDF soldiers and reservists. Hezbollah has said that 415 of its members have been killed by Israel during the current skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon, but some in Syria. In Lebanon, 72 members of other terror groups, one Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have also been killed.
