Israel at war day 497
- US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would take a hard stance on Saturday on Gaza
“I don’t know what’s going to happen at 12 o’clock. If it was up to me, I’d take a very hard stance. I can’t tell you what Israel is going to do.”
- Israeli officials: Talks have begun on phase two of the hostage deal - between the prime minister, Trump's envoy Witkoff, and Egypt. At the same time, attempts are being examined to extend phase one - to create more waves and release more hostages alive
- Israeli Political source: We are working in FULL coordination with the US to rescue as many hostages alive as possible, as quickly as possible, and we intend to take full advantage of this opportunity. After that - all options are on the table.
- A group of Jewish celebrities and artists, as well as hundreds of leftist woke "rabbis", took out a full-page ad in The New York Times Thursday to object to what they called ethnic cleansing in Gaza. The ad was a response to US President Donald Trump’s plan to permanently relocate the entire population of Gaza, The brief text of the New York Times ad, on page A7, reads, “Trump has called for the removal of all Palestinians from Gaza. Jewish people say NO to ethnic cleansing!”
- Moments before leaving for the meeting place with her son, due to her being shomer Shabbos, Yelena Tropanov, the mother of Sasha, who is expected to be released from Hamas captivity tomorrow, says to Rabbi Shlomo Raanan - chairman of "Ayelet HaShahar,""I ask the people of Israel to please light Shabbat candles with joy and ask that all the hostages be released soon."
- Former Israeli general Giora Eiland said Israel has failed in almost all of its war objectives against Hamas, except partially in recovering hostages. In contrast, he said, Hamas has achieved its goals, including maintaining its control in Gaza. #Israel
- The list of hostages to be released tomorrow from Hamas captivity includes:
- Alexander (Sasha) Tropanov (29).
- Sagi Dekel-Chen (36).
- Yair Horn (46).
All three were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, Sages wife had a baby a month after he was taken hostage.
- 369 terrorists are expected to be released from Israeli prison tomorrow. That includes
36 prisoners with life sentances, who will be deported to the Gaza Strip or abroad via Egypt.
- Netanyahu will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at 10 a.m. on Sunday in his Jerusalem office. Rubio is also scheduled to meet Opposition Leader Yair Lapid at 4:15 p.m. at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem.
- Wapo: Israel is determined to exploit Iran's security weakness shortly, according to Israeli and American sources. Israel expects Iran to agree to dismantle all its nuclear capabilities, similar to the outline of Libya in 2003, and if not - the Iranian nuclear facilities will be bombed, with or without US help
Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed with Trump in their meeting a series of outlines for joint Israeli-American action - starting with a joint attack that would include American assistance in refueling and intelligence and also a more limited outline of increasing the diplomatic ultimatum