Today is the 331st day of the October 7th War. By now, everyone has seen the horrific news: six more hostages were executed by Hamas in captivity. The remains of the six hostages were recovered yesterday from a Hamas terror tunnel near Rafah. Hamas is executing hostages—dozens have been executed after brutally murdering over 1,200 people on October 7th. We must never forget the kind of barbaric enemy Israel is fighting. The Hamas rapist regime executed parents in front of their children and children in front of their parents. Hamas kidnapped and murdered babies and grandparents.
The Tragedy of Heshy Goldberg
One of the executed hostages was Heshy Goldberg, an American citizen whose arm was blown off while trying to protect festival goers at the Nova Music Massacre from Hamas grenades. There are indications that Hamas executed the six shortly before Israel’s forces were able to reach them. In light of last week’s hostage rescue, U.S. President Biden said he is devastated and outraged by Hamas’ latest murders and pledged that Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. These are his words. Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke of the cruel enemy who wants to murder us all on seven different fronts. He added that whoever executed our hostages is not interested in a hostage deal.
Israel’s Stand Against Hamas
Hamas is demanding that Israel capitulate, allowing them to take more hostages while executing those they have already abused for 11 months. Israel wants a deal to bring the hostages home from Hamas terror dungeons today. Israel wants a deal that won’t allow Hamas to kidnap more hostages tomorrow. Israel wants a deal that won’t allow Hamas to execute more innocent civilians ever. The war that Hamas declared on the people of Israel cannot end with hostages in Gaza and Hamas on its feet. The people of Israel need the three Ds: destroy Hamas, demilitarize Gaza, and deradicalize Gazan society.
Ongoing Terrorist Attacks
It’s not only the Gaza Strip—Israel is fighting a war on seven fronts. This morning, three Israeli police officers were murdered by terrorists on a highway into central Israel from Hebron, a city governed by the Palestinian Authority. Early yesterday morning, a pair of terrorists tried to simultaneously detonate two separate car bombs at two different locations against Israeli civilians between Hebron and Jerusalem. One explosive prematurely detonated. Both terrorists were stopped by security guards. Several people were injured, but thankfully, no innocents were killed on that occasion. Israel is investigating the possibility that these coordinated attacks were planned by foreign agents. In fact, Iran has been behind flooding the West Bank with explosives and weapons and is largely responsible for radicalizing the West Bank and strengthening Hamas and Islamic Jihad there.
Hamas’ Threat in the West Bank
Last week, a Hamas suicide bombing was narrowly averted in Tel Aviv—countless lives could have been destroyed. These murderous attacks are exactly why Israel’s security forces have been carrying out major counterterrorist raids to prevent the next murderous attack. Just a reminder: the West Bank has been governed for the last 30 years by the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority, headed by Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas and Fatah, the two main Palestinian factions, hate one another but agree on one thing: “From the River to the Sea,” meaning no Israel. Israel needs to ensure security for its people against the entire Iranian ring of fire that is threatening Israel from seven fronts.
Israel’s Humanitarian Efforts
One last item that is not getting enough attention: as I speak, Israel is facilitating a polio vaccination campaign for children in Gaza together with the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Israel brought in 1.3 million doses of a special polio vaccine meant for 600,000 children in Gaza. Most of these children were already vaccinated. In fact, according to the World Health Organization, Gaza had an optimal vaccination rate before the Hamas attacks. These doses are special vaccines meant to protect against a new strain of polio that has recently appeared from Egypt. In addition to bringing in the vaccinations, Israel has been coordinating tactical ceasefires daily between 6:00 AM and 2:00 PM, as well as daily humanitarian situational assessments together with international organizations. Israel is providing aid because it wants people to live in Israel and in Gaza. Hamas, on the other hand, wants people to die in Israel and in Gaza. Hamas needs to end the war that it started on October 7th, lay down its weapons, and release all the hostages.
Q&A Section
Question: We have a lot of questions today from people watching across our social media platforms. I’m going to combine a couple from Robin on Instagram Live and from Ed on YouTube. People are asking about Israel’s needs on the Gaza-Egypt border, specifically the Philadelphia Corridor. Also, what kind of deal is available? What do we know about what Israel is negotiating to free the remaining hostages?
Answer: Thank you for that very important question. The Philadelphia Line is the border between Gaza and Egypt. It was ruled by Hamas until recently, before the IDF went in. Rafah is divided by the Philadelphia Line, with one side being Gaza’s Rafah and the other being Egypt’s Rafah. Many tunnels have been found in Rafah—tens of tunnels, very long and wide enough to allow weapons to be smuggled in. This was Hamas’ lifeline for acquiring the weapons they used in the October 7th attacks. The Egyptian regime must have given the green light for this, as such a large operation couldn’t have happened without government approval. The Philadelphia Line and its protection are extremely important to prevent another attack like October 7th and to prevent Hamas from strengthening again. Some people suggest relying on technology to monitor the border, but technology alone isn’t enough. There needs to be a physical presence, and this presence is currently disputed between the parties. As for negotiations, many factors are involved, including the Egyptians, Qataris, Americans, and Israelis. Do I trust Hamas to honor any deal? Unfortunately, I have very little faith in Hamas. However, Israel is not solely relying on military force; it is trying to negotiate a deal because we have people—our own people—held hostage by Hamas, and we must do everything possible to bring them back.
Question: This is a question that came through on our Instagram stories: Can you say a little bit more about what’s happening in Judea and Samaria? What caused the security situation to deteriorate? Are there certain places in Judea and Samaria where the situation is better or worse than others, and why is that?
Answer: Absolutely, this is a very important point. Judea and Samaria, referred to as the West Bank by the international community, is critically important. First, there are only a few hundred meters separating the West Bank and Israel proper. In fact, I live in the northern part of the Sharon, and there are literally only a few hundred meters between Palestinian areas in the West Bank and Israeli civilian communities. The West Bank has been governed for the last three decades by the Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas. Fatah, Abbas’ party, is the arch-enemy of Hamas, led by Yahya Sinwar and his cronies. They hate each other more than they hate Israel, but they compete over who can kill more Israelis. Iran has been encouraging the smuggling of weapons into the West Bank through Jordan, which has been misused by Iran for this purpose. The Iranian regime has been arming Hamas and Islamic Jihad, strengthening them in the West Bank. This situation is dangerous, and while Israel has allowed more freedom for Palestinians in the West Bank, we have also seen a militarization of the area. The West Bank is not less dangerous than Gaza; in fact, I would argue it’s more dangerous at this point.
Question: Today is the first day of the new school year in Israel. Can you say a few words about the general atmosphere in the country today, especially about how people evacuated from northern Israel are dealing with starting the new school year in a faraway place?
Answer: It’s simply a humanitarian issue—the fact that tens of thousands of people are still evacuated with no end in sight from their homes in the entire north of Israel. Many children began school today in random places where they’ve been temporarily relocated by the Israeli government. I have three children in the Israeli educational system. On the one hand, I was happy and excited to send my kids to school after a long summer vacation. On the other hand, we are all concerned about the security situation. The West Bank is another front, the north is a front, the south—the Gaza Strip—is still a front, and there are always threats of security attacks and terrorist attacks throughout the country. But the news this morning, that six hostages were murdered while in captivity, makes the entire country mourn. This is the reality in which children are living—knowing that our own people are being held captive and murdered by terrorists. It’s a surreal and unbelievable reality for children to live in.
Thank you so much for all of your questions, and we’ll be back tomorrow at 3 PM Israel time, as usual. Thank you.
