 In news edition, I'm Benita Levine, coming to you live from Tel Aviv. Israel's war cabinet is set to meet in the coming hours to discuss a possible deal broken by Egypt that could see the release of more hostages from Hamas' captivity. Security leaders are also expected to discuss the high-intensity phase of the fighting inside Gaza with the Israeli death toll in the retaliatory ground operation now at 172. It's more than 12 weeks since the Hamas terror onslaught in which more than 1,200 people were murdered in southern Israel. Most of them civilians. 129 people remain in captivity inside Gaza. So for more on the security front, it's a pleasure to welcome to studio Lieutenant Colonel in the reserves, Doron Avital, the former commander in the Special Forces in the IDF. Doron, thank you so much for being here in studio. It's the new year in most parts of the world in just a few hours. And of course, everyone hoping that it will herald some good news, good news for the hostages, good news in terms of ending this war, but that is looking increasingly unlikely your take. Yeah, I mean, those news coming from the government meeting, this is some kind of optimism. I think there's a demand from the public and I think also from the leadership of the state to go for any possible deal that would mean not the ending of the war, but some kind of a pause in return for hostages. And if the Egyptian can broker a deal, this is very much welcome. The first fighting are now taking place in Hanyunas. I mean, I think we're making quite progress, closing in on some of those headquarters tunnels and so on. But still, the end is not near. It will require a lot of many weeks of fighting until this phase would end, maybe a month, a month and a half. But this phase would not be able to end if not for some kind of deal with the hostages. And then we have to think what's the next phase. So let's look at what a potential deal couldn't tell in terms of the military operation because as we've been discussing, top of mind is the hostages getting them home safely and as soon as possible. What does that mean if there is another pause? What does it mean for the ground operation? For the IDF, the IDF has proven that it can take a pause, it can go back and resume momentum. This was the fear in the first pause in the first phase of the war. But I think the IDF proved itself and the IDF we shouldn't forget. It's already a few months, almost three months in the war, so it means the IDF already knows the terrain, is rooted very good in the area. There's much more acquaintances of the battlefield. The IDF now would be in some sense better suited for the task and better suited for the option of posing the war for a few weeks if indeed there's an effective hostage deal coming. And of course also we have to look at the humanitarian catastrophe that might loom in the future. So this would also be if there is a pause, something with the civilian can be worked out. The humanitarian aid can be channeled more carefully into civilians and not to Hamas ends. So it might work to our benefits and to the benefit of the conflict in general, but let's hope there is such a deal indeed because Hamas was very adamant until now that without accepting his precondition for ending the war, he's not going to go into no deals. What about the psychological manipulation that Hamas was heavily involved in at the time of the first hostage release deal? Videos being released, the way hostages were held, the details that have been emerging and also when we saw the way people were surviving despite the fact that there were no medications handed out, that the Red Cross never got there. How important is it that if there is another deal right now, it involves A, the Red Cross getting to all the hostages and B, the fact that it's actually implemented because it was supposed to be part of the last deal, and clearly that didn't happen. Sure, it's crucial for us. There's no question about that, the question whether we can handle it. Hamas knows that Israel is a democratic country. Hamas sees the demonstration. Hamas sees the Israelis. Hamas understands, and I don't think we should hide that this is what we are. And he knows that by using this psychological offensive, if you want, it can really exert pressure on the government. Having said that, we shouldn't forget that the previous deal, Hamas doesn't view it as a good deal from his perspective. He got a few days of ceasefire. He got the release of not very high-caliber prisoners. So I think Hamas thinks now that he wants a deal and he wants to exert a price from us. So this way, the negotiations are so tough right now. Because Hamas knows that he's in the end of the rope. We are closing only in Chanyones. He wants a real deal for him that can guarantee his staying power and so on. And the question whether we can allow it, what can we allow it, and whether there's a deal on the table. Something we will take a deeper look at in a short while. But first, let's check in with our correspondent, Zach Anders. He joins us once again from southern Israel. And Zach, we've been talking here in studio about the intense fighting inside the Gaza Strip, particularly around Chanyones. Talk us through the latest updates. What is known about the fighting inside the Strip at this hour? It has appeared to, at least from the media that's being released by the IDF and by Hamas itself in the last three days, the fighting is house-to-house in some neighborhoods of Chanyones. These are areas where Hamas has the ability to apparently retreat into the tunnels. The IDF says that it is having some success in locating and disrupting this activity within the subterranean network. But it has not entirely eliminated that threat of this vast tunnel network connecting homes to one another to a larger network of access for Hamas to be able to move with somewhat of an advantage in some places, undetected, and then pop out of the tunnel or the structure for just a few moments fire upon what they're sharing in their media, firing upon these tanks attempting to disrupt the Israeli activity with their heavy equipment that is, of course, followed by ground forces. This is in tandem, the heavy tanks and the ground forces as they're moving through some streets and neighborhoods attempting to locate these Hamas strongholds. But again, it's an incredibly difficult challenge in Kanyones with this tunnel network. And it's not to say Hamas has the upper hand, but it is why this operation is taking so long is this first challenge of finding and eliminating the tunnels. And that one-on-white combat, as you alluded to, coming at a heavy cost, 172 Israeli soldiers killed so far in the ground operation, that high intensity one-on-one combat, exacting a heavy toll. At the same time, Zach, we've also been talking here in studio about the humanitarian aid coming into the strip and attempts to make sure that it lands up in the hands of Palestinian civilians. Talk us through the latest on that front at this hour. Well, with so many now in southern Gaza, even south of Kanyones and congregating around Rafa, there are hundreds of thousands of people in this area. As soon as the trucks have been getting through the crossing, they've been meeting large crowds that have been getting on top of the trucks, spreading the water and the food that's making its way in through this crossing and limited amounts. It is in the early days of these humanitarian convoys that we're bringing aid in. It was a very big question as to where was going and who would have access to it. The IDF says that it intercepted multiple phone calls and radio chatter of everyday people complaining that Hamas was taking these resources for themselves and moving it at their will throughout the Gaza Strip to their benefit. In the last few days, it appears that that is no longer something that's the greatest challenge, perhaps, because right as the trucks get through the crossing, it immediately is met by these crowds and the crowds are then taking the aid and distributing it themselves. So it's hard to imagine any sort of data gathering or some sort of way to quantify where these resources are going unless they get into the Strip, but it does appear that everyday people are getting access to it immediately once it does cross. Thank you so much for now. That's our correspondent, Zach Anders, live from southern Israel as we see the sun setting there. Zach Anders, thank you very much for that update. Now, on Israel's northern border, tensions continue to simmer with Israel and Hezbollah seemingly locked into fighting that nonetheless is below the point of full-scale war. The Biden administration wants to keep it that way, which is why, as our senior diplomatic correspondent, Owen Ultiman, explains the administration's envoy is on his way to the region soon. Let's take a look. America's Point Man on Lebanon, trying to do on land what he did at sea with Amos Hockstein reportedly set the flight back to Beirut this week to try to broker a deal that would bring quiet to the land border between Lebanon and Israel, the way he did last year with the border between zones at sea. The most important piece of this agreement is that it is entirely in the interest of each country to not violate it and to move forward. The background now, of course, is the war and the element of it on the Israel-Lebanon border, the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah has been firing for months at communities on the Israeli side and the Israeli military has responded by firing at Hezbollah targets. The Biden administration wants the situation contained below the threshold of a wider war, as does the French government. Israel has killed more than 130 Hezbollah fighters. Israeli attacks have intensified and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a warning. We have approved operational plans for the continuation of the fighting. If Hezbollah expands the war, it would absorb blows that it has not dreamed of and Iran as well. Hockstein's apparent plan to incentivize Hezbollah to move its troops away from the Israeli border in exchange for apparent Israeli concessions on marking that border in at least some of the 13 points of dispute. The Biden administration does not want a full-scale war. Israel's plan A is not to have a full-scale war and the Lebanese public does not want a full-scale war, which all point to the sides getting to a deal that forestalls a full-scale war, at least for now. So let's find out what is happening on the ground up north. We go back to our correspondent guy, Israel. He joins us once again from northern Israel. Hezbollah's latest update is there, Guy. What can you tell us? Not much since the last update over an hour ago and we heard of these two anti-tank missiles fired towards an IDF post on the ridge of Ramim, just behind me here, very close to the border with Lebanon and also the city of Kiryat Shmona that we could see in the distance here amid all of that, of course, the discourse both from Hezbollah and from the Israeli government on the next possible stages of this war. We heard from the deputy chief of the terror group today named Qassem saying the rocket fire, the fighting of Israel will continue as long as Israel continues its battles in Gaza. And we also heard from the Israeli government, of course Benjamin Netanyahu saying that we will resolve the situation in the north, we'll restore the security and bring back the residents over 80,000 Israelis that had to flee their homes here in this area. He said we will achieve that whether by political means as we heard in Owen's piece or by military means. But that very quickly actually in the government meeting this morning turned into a conflict within the ministers with minister Nier Barkat and Amichai Shikli both questioning perhaps the Israeli strategy which comes to Hezbollah, Nier Barkat saying Hezbollah is not deterred. The fact that we killed over a hundred Hezbollah operatives he says does not impress Hezbollah. That is not enough to supply that sense of deterrence and we see that these fire, the rocket fire as the drones and the anti-tank missiles continue to this day and to the very hour that we're talking about right now. Thank you so much Correspondent Guy Israel live from Northern Israel. Appreciate the update. Thank you Guy. And still in studio Lieutenant Colonel in the Reserves, Doron Avital. So let me put that question to you. Is Hezbollah deterred? I think the strategy of Hezbollah is very clear. They've been declaring and they've said as long as the operation in Gaza continues they are going to engage us. Even the deputy of Hezbollah was discussing the fact that he knows that we had to evacuate the north and how much time can we sustain it and so on. So I think the question is not deterrence as a concept as some of the minister were discussing but a wise strategy on behalf of Israel. So our strategy is to keep engaged Hezbollah and let him pay the toll that he pays and he pays dearly for his provocation in Lebanon and also when they try to channel the weaponry through Syria we saw those attacks that Israel took or didn't take responsibility for. So this is our strategy. Whether the treasured will cross and will go into war will go into war. But I don't think Israel now is part of the strategy would prefer to go to war only on the condition that some treasured is crossed or the diplomatic campaign that now is being issued by the US and the help of the French would not work. So I think it's in terms of the wise strategy on behalf of the IDF and behalf of the government and some of those ministers are trying to gain political gains in the context of the, you know, the Kissinger ones have said, I said it once before, that Israel doesn't have foreign policy only internal politics, so that's what we see. But basically the strategy is wise. We contain the, we let Hezbollah pay and if the treasured is crossed we can act. He didn't know that that would still be true as of today when we look at the... Political infighting, which is something that post the 7th of October hasn't been an issue. We've seen so much unity, but that seems to be dissipating, right? Politics is coming back the next year. There will be high politics, maybe election. This is clearly India. When the war cabinet convenes and we know that is going to be happening in the coming hours, obviously it's always faced with some tough decisions right now. But how much impact does public sentiment have right now? Israelis are on day 86 of a war still grieving, still processing what happened on the 7th of October. We're going into the new year of 2024. Talk to us about the impact of that public feeling right now when the war cabinet decides on its next moves. I think the Israeli society was taken, of course, and obviously is in shock after the events of the 7th of October, and now they're trying to digest what had happened. So the main focus, of course, is the hostages. The Israelis, the fact. Israel went so far to rescue a few hostages here and there, or then table operation, or the Gilad Shalit will listen prisoners. The fact that Hezbollah is holding 130, 209 of our hostages is unacceptable. Then the economical wars and the fact that the South and the North can get back. So I think the Israeli public right now is worried, a bit confused. The political load is starting to enter the arena. And I think the cabinet, of course, is very much tuned to it. And I think more than anything, the cabinet right now is tuned to the hostages issue and then to the objectives of the war, which is the dismantling of the military power of Hamas, the infrastructure of Tunis, and then targeting those leaders of Hamas that are responsible for the atrocities of the 7th of October. Lieutenant Colonel in the reserve, Doron Avital, always appreciate you being here in studio. Thank you, as always, for your insights. And on another front, shipping giant MERSC has announced it will suspend its vessels passage through the Red Sea for the next 48 hours following two attacks on one of its merchant ships while transiting the Bab Al-Mandab Strait. Now, the shipping company recently reversed a similar decision following the formation of the U.S.-led naval coalition in the area, a coalition that is now being put to the test. Middle East correspondent Ariel Oceran has the details. A moment of truth for the U.S.-led naval coalition in the Red Sea. American naval forces sank three Houthi small boats as they attacked a commercial vessel off the coast of Yemen on Sunday. Hours after the same vessel was hit by an anti-ship ballistic missile in a separate attack. The U.S. Central Command said gunmen on board the boats opened fire at the Danish-owned MERSC Hangzhou and attempted to board it. The gunmen then opened fire at U.S. Navy helicopters responding to the distress call. The helicopters returned fire, sinking three boats and killing its crews. A fourth boat fled the area. This would be the 24th attack by the Houthis on international shipping since October and the first ship to be attacked since the naval coalition was formed. The Houthis have emphasized many times in their statements that the actions taken in response to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are only targeted at Israeli ships or ships related to Israel or ships heading to Israeli ports. Therefore, the United States and Israel should bear direct responsibility if any obstructions or delays happen to ships entering the port of Udeida. In an interview with the Associated Press, the commander of U.S. naval forces in the Middle East, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, said before Saturday's incident that quote, we are clear-eyed that the Houthi reckless attacks will likely continue. The statement comes as Denmark becomes the latest country to sign on the more than 20-nation coalition highlighting the global importance of the threat by the Iranian-backed Houthis. Iran leads the access of evil and aggression against us on various fronts. The aggression is directed not only against Israel but against the entire free world. The attacks on the Meir's Kingzhu come as the shipping company announced it would resume sending its ships through the Red Sea due to the maritime coalition in the area. A statement since reversed following the latest attack, but continued attacks will test the coalition, whether it's going to be more than a floating iron dome simply protecting ships or whether it will actually take proactive steps against the Houthi attacks. And now, changing our tone and changing our tune, literally, there are many initiatives across the country aiming to help boost morale and spread messages of positivity and hope. Music is an upbeat way to do just that. And the band called Hakka Forchniot is doing just that at various army bases, as you can see on your screen. So let's find out more firsthand. We welcome to studio Rabbi Liron Bernstein, lead singer and Yair Lera, lead guitarist of that band. Thank you gentlemen so much for being here in studio. So you weren't able to pick up weapons, quote, unquote, so you picked up musical instruments. What a message. Rabbi, starting with you, talk to us about how this all came about. Absolutely. Thanks, Penita. Thanks for hosting us. And it works even better in Hebrew when you say we didn't have the ability to pick up clay Nashik, you know, instruments of war. We picked up clay Nagina, instruments of music. And we felt like everybody, you know, at that moment in that Shabbat Shabbat, that we wanted to do something, but we didn't have the ability to go out in war. So we said, look what we can do. You know, we've been doing a lot of music together over time, just informally in our community. Let's go do something for the soldiers. We saw what was happening in terms of the mass of efforts that there were to bring food to the soldiers and make barbecues. A friend of Yair reached out to him and said, can you come do some music? Yair said to me, am I up for singing? I said, absolutely. And that's how it began. And, you know, we now have been to over 20 locations. I've lifted over 2,500 soldiers and, you know, and just, you know, spread the real good message and hope to the soldiers themselves and to the people back home. Because, yes, some might find it quite unusual to think of bands, musicians going out to army bases in the middle of a war. What kind of reaction have you had at the various bases? Yeah, we were actually inspired by Leonard Cohen coming out in 73 for the Yom Kippur War there. Sure. And I think as much as we get from the soldiers, I think they get from us to see people from Khootslaara to Meda Aliyah 11 years ago. I think that's your Aliyahversary today. Thank you. Today's for you. Congratulations. Thank you. And drive all the way to the Gaza border, take our instruments, plug into the monitor, and then just sing away. I think it's a very heartwarming thing both for us and for the soldiers. And you mentioned, Rabbi, the fact that people want to do something. And in a time like this, people have been getting involved in a range of initiatives, as you say, sharing food, cooking food, making music. Talk to us, though, about the message coming back from soldiers. What are they saying? What are they feeling? How do you boost more role? It's coming at a heavy cost, this fighting. So how do you help keep their spirits focused and uplifted? For sure. I think music has got tremendous, tremendous power, as we know, to unite, to uplift, to inspire. We get to the different bases, and every time we get to a different base, it's a different scenario, different group of soldiers. And so we want to tap into the space that they're in. Some of them have been on very difficult missions. Some of them are dealing with medical evacuations, all different types of soldiers. So we really want to understand the space that they're in and see how can we uplift them with the songs that resonate with them. So we sing everything from Isha Rebo to Kanan Benari to Avram Freed to our aces to Coldplay. Wonderwall by aces is our hit. Whenever we sing Wonderwall, you see it just go into their souls and uplift them. And I think music has that way of really speaking to them, of uplifting them. And then in those difficult moments, I think their hearts have been uplifted. It's not just about giving them food, but about lifting their spirits in a real tremendous way. And we share that message that we've come from Kutslar, it's from the diaspora. We chose to make this our home. They're protecting our home. We look up to them as our heroes. And we're so grateful for everything that they do. And we are on behalf of all of the home front to support the front line and to show them that. And they appreciate it tremendously. They send us their own videos and pictures afterwards. They send us WhatsApp notes afterwards to say, you don't know how the soldiers woke up the next morning after what we had done. And that's tremendously rewarding. And we're very grateful and humbled to be able to do such a thing. And Yair, talk to us about the communities in London, watching, seeing your videos, seeing the work that you are doing, following what you are doing, what kind of reaction or impact is being felt from the UK right now? I think it can be very draining, especially after October 7th, to be consuming news the whole time and kind of a lot of negative stories and you kind of get sucked in. And then suddenly there is this positive story these guys from, not from Israel, who are doing something different, doing something positive. I think it definitely spreads a message of positivity and we're getting letters from all over the world and messages for people, sponsorship. And it has this kind of roll-on effect that the more loved it is spread, we're spreading and it's spreading across the world as well. What is your stand-out moment? You've been doing this for several weeks now. You've seen a range of people, different ages, different stages. Talk to us about what stood out for you, the message that really struck, so to speak, at your heartstrings. Yeah, the humanity that we see in our soldiers, what's unique about the soldiers in Israel is the people's army. So all these soldiers are our brothers, our cousins, our friends, our family members, and we're all one degree away. And there was one moment where we got to this unit that was about to go into God's the next day in Kibbutzikim. And while we're singing, someone whispers into my ear, one of the soldiers says, we've got a Khatan here. So this guy... I agree, just everybody watching. I agree. And so we got very excited. We started singing the traditional Jewish wedding songs for the groom. And then the next groom came. We had them on top of each other and really started singing. Everybody was dancing. We ended off with Ed Sheeran's Perfect and had them dancing together. So that was very special. Well, that is a perfect way for us to end this update. Thank you so much. The band, Haqafoch Niyot, Raba Ali, Ron Bernstein, and Yair Lera, thank you so much for being here in the studio and wishing you all the best with your initiative. Thank you. And that is a wrap for now for this news edition. He has hoping for 2024 peace, a new era of quiet. Israel is in a state of war. Families completely done down in their beds. We have no idea where she is. Our soldiers are fighting on the front lines. But the general perception is something that certainly needs to be fought as well. In news edition, I'm Benita Levine coming to you live from Tel Aviv. Israel's war cabinet is set to meet in the coming hours to discuss a possible deal broken by Egypt that could see the release of more hostages from Hamas captivity. Security leaders are also expected to discuss the high intensity phase of the fighting inside Gaza with the Israeli death toll in the retaliatory ground operation now at 172. It's more than 12 weeks since the Hamas terror onslaught in which more than 1,200 people were murdered in southern Israel. Most of them civilians. 129 people remain in captivity inside Gaza. So for more on the security front, it's a pleasure to welcome to studio Lieutenant Colonel in the Reserves, Doron Abital, the former commander in the Special Forces in the IDF. Doron, thank you so much for being here in studio. It's the new year in most parts of the world in just a few hours. And of course, everyone hoping that it will herald some good news, good news for the hostages, good news in terms of ending this war. But that is looking increasingly unlikely, your take. Yeah, I mean, those new news coming from the government meeting, this is a some kind of optimism. I think there's a demand from the public and I think also from the leadership of the state to go for any possible deal that would mean not the ending of the war, but some kind of a pause in return for hostages and if the Egyptian can broker a deal this is very much welcome. The first fighting are now taking place in Chanyunas. I mean, I think we're making quite progress closing in on some of those headquarters tunnels and so on, but still the end is not near. It will require a lot of many weeks of fighting until this phase would end, maybe a month, a month and a half. But this phase would not be able to end if not for some kind of deal with the hostages. And then we have to think what's the next phase. So let's look at what a potential deal couldn't tell in terms of the military operation, because as we've been discussing, top of mind is the hostages getting them home safely and as soon as possible. What does that mean if there is another pause? What does that mean for the ground operation? I think for the IDF, the IDF has proven that it can go from, that it can take a pause, it can go back and resume momentum. This is what's the fear in the first pause in the first phase of the war. But I think the IDF proved it's proved itself and the IDF we shouldn't forget. It's already a few months, almost three months in the war so it means the IDF already knows the terrain, is rooted very good in the area, there's much more of the battlefield. So the IDF now would be in some sense better suited for the task and better suited for the option of posing the war for a few weeks if indeed there's an effective hostage deal coming. And of course also we have to look at the humanitarian catastrophe that might loom in the future. So this is also if there is a pause something with the civilian can be channelled more carefully into civilians and not to Hamas ends. So it might work to our benefits and to the benefit of the conflict in general but let's hope there is such a deal indeed because Hamas was very adamant until now that without accepting his precondition for ending the war he's not going to go into no deals. What about the psychological manipulation that Hamas was heavily involved in at the time of the first deal. Videos being released the way hostages were held, the details that have been emerging and also when we saw the way people were surviving despite the fact that there were no medications handed out that the Red Cross never got there. How important is it that if there is another deal right now it involves A. the Red Cross getting to all the hostages and B. the fact that it's actually implemented because it was supposed to be part of the last deal clearly that didn't happen. Sure, it's crucial for us. There's no question about that, a question whether we can handle it. Hamas knows that Israel is a democratic country. Hamas sees the demonstration. Hamas sees the Israelis. Hamas understands and I don't think we should hide that this is what we are and he knows that by using this psychological offensive if you want he can really exert pressure on us. Having said that we shouldn't forget that the previous deal, Hamas doesn't view it as a good deal from his perspective. He got a few days of ceasefire. He got the release of not very high caliber prisoner. So I think Hamas thinks now that he wants a deal and he wants to exert a price from us. So this way the negotiations are so tough right now because Hamas knows it is a deal, we are closing on in Khan Yunus. He wants a real deal for him that can guarantee his staying power and so on. And the question whether we can allow it, what can we allow it and whether there's a deal on the table. Something we will take a deeper look at in a short while. But first let's check in with our correspondent Zach Anders. He joins us once again from southern Israel. And Zach we've been talking here in studio about the intense fighting particularly around Khan Yunus. Talk us through the latest updates. What is known about the fighting inside the strip at this hour? It has appeared to at least from the media that's been released by the IDF and by Hamas itself in the last three days that the fighting is house to house in some neighborhoods of Khan Yunus. These are areas where Hamas has the ability to move. The IDF says that it is having some success in locating and disrupting this activity within the subterranean network, but it is not entirely eliminated that threat of these this vast tunnel network connecting homes to one another to a larger network of access for Hamas to be able to move with somewhat of an advantage in some places undetected and then pop the tunnel or the structure for just a few moments fire upon what they're sharing in their media firing upon these tanks attempting to disrupt the Israeli activity with their heavy equipment that is of course followed by ground forces. This is in tandem the heavy tanks and the ground forces as they're moving through some streets and neighborhoods attempting to locate these Hamas strongholds in Khan Yunus with this tunnel network and it's not to say Hamas has the upper hand but it is why this operation is taking so long is this first challenge of finding and eliminating the tunnels. And that one on white combat as you alluded to coming at a heavy cost 172 Israeli soldiers killed so far in the ground operation that high intensity one on one combat exacting a heavy toll at the same time that we've also been talking here in studio about the humanitarian aid coming into the strip and attempts to make sure that it lands up in the hands of Palestinian civilians talk us through the latest on that front at this hour. Well with so many now in southern Gaza even south of Khan Yunus and congregating around Rafa there are hundreds of thousands of people in this area as soon as the trucks have been getting through they've been meeting large crowds that have been getting on top of the trucks spreading the water and the food that's making its way in through this crossing and limited amounts it is in the early days of these humanitarian convoys that we're bringing aid in it was a very big question as to where was going and who would have access to it the IDF says that it intercepted multiple phone calls and radio chatter of everyday people complaining that Hamas was taking these resources for themselves and moving it at their will throughout the Gaza strip to their benefit in the last few days it appears that that is no longer something that's the greatest challenge perhaps because right as the trucks get through the crossing it immediately is met by these crowds and the crowds are then taking the aid which distributed it themselves so it's hard to imagine any sort of data gathering or some sort of way to quantify where this these resources are going once they get into the strip but it does appear that everyday people are getting access to it immediately once it does cross thank you so much for now that's our correspondent Zach Anders live from southern Israel as we see the sun setting there thank you very much for that update now on Israel's northern border tensions continue to simmer with Israel and Hezbollah seemingly locked into fighting that nonetheless is below the point of full scale war the Biden administration wants to keep it that way which is why as our senior diplomatic correspondent Owen Ultiman explains the administration's envoy is on his way to the region soon let's take a look America's point man on Lebanon trying to do on land what he did at sea with Amos Hoxton reportedly set the flight back into Beirut this week to try to broker a deal that would bring quiet to the land border between Lebanon and Israel the way he did last year with the border between zones at sea the most important piece of this agreement is that it is the entirely in the interest of each country to not violate it and to move forward the background now of course is the war and the element of it on the Israel-Lebanon border where the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah has been firing for months at communities on the Israeli side and the Israeli military has responded by firing at Hezbollah targets the Biden administration wants the situation contained below the threshold of a wider war as does the French government Israel has killed more than 130 Hezbollah fighters Israeli attacks have intensified and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a warning we have approved operational plans for the continuation of the fighting if Hezbollah expands the war it would absorb blows that it has not dreamed of and Iran as well Hoxton's apparent plan to incentivize Israel to move its troops away from the Israeli border in exchange for apparent Israeli concessions on marking that border in at least some of the 13 points of dispute the Biden administration does not want a full-scale war Israel's plan A is not to have a full-scale war and the Lebanese public does not want a full-scale war which all point to the sides getting to a deal that forestalls a full-scale war which will be at least for now so let's find out what is happening on the ground up north we go back to our correspondent guy Israel he joins us once again from northern Israel what's the latest there guy what can you tell us not much since the last update over an hour ago we heard of these two anti-tank missiles fired towards an IDF post on the ridge of Ramim just behind me here the border with Lebanon and also the city of Kiryat Shmona that we can see in the distance here all of that of course the discourse both from Hezbollah and from the Israeli government about the next possible stages of this war we heard from the deputy chief of the terror group today named Qasem saying the rocket fire the fighting of Israel will continue as long as Israel continues its battles in Gaza and we also heard from the Israeli government of course Benjamin Netanyahu saying that we will resolve the situation in the north will restore the security and bring back the residents over 80,000 Israelis that had to flee their homes here in this area he said we will achieve that whether by political means as we heard in Owen's peace or by military means but that very quickly actually in the government meeting this morning turned into conflict within the ministers with minister Nier Barkat and Amichai Shikli both questioning perhaps the Israeli strategy when it comes to Hezbollah and Nier Barkat saying Hezbollah is not deterred the fact that we killed over 100 Hezbollah operatives he says does not impress Hezbollah that is not enough to supply that sense of deterrence and we see that these fire the rocket fire is the drones and the anti-tank missiles continue to this day and to the very hour that we're talking about right now thank you so much correspondent guy Israel live from northern Israel appreciate the update thank you guy and still in studio lieutenant colonel in the reserves to Ron Avital so let me put that question to you is Hezbollah deterred I think the strategy of Hezbollah is very clear they've been declaring that as long as the operation continues they are going to engage us even the deputy of Hezbollah was discussing the fact that he knows that we had to evacuate the north and how much time can we sustain it and so on so I think the question is not deterrence as a concept as some of the minister were discussing but a wise strategy on behalf of Israel so our strategy is to keep engage Hezbollah let him pay the toll that he pays and he pays dearly for his provocation in Lebanon and also when they try to channel weaponry through Syria we saw those attacks that were as well took or didn't take responsibility for so this is our strategy whether the treasure will cross and we're going to war we'll go into war but I don't think Israel now is a part of the strategy would prefer to go to war only on the condition that some threshold is crossed or then the diplomatic campaign that now is being issued by the US and the help of the French would not work so I think it's in terms of the it's a wise strategy on behalf of the IDF and the government and some of those ministers are trying to gain political gains in the context of the Kissinger once have said I said it once before that Israel doesn't have foreign policy only internal politics so that's what we see but basically we don't realize we contain the and if the treasure is crossed we can act he didn't know that that would still be true political in fighting which is something that post the 7th of October hasn't been an issue we've seen so much unity but that seems to be dissipating right politics is coming back the next year there will be high politics maybe election this is clearly India all cabinet convenes and we know that is going to be happening in the coming hours obviously it's always faced with some tough decisions right now but how much impact does public sentiment have right now Israelis are on day 86 of a war still grieving still processing what happened on the 7th of October we're going into the new year of 2024 talk to us about the impact of that public feeling right now when the war camp that decides on its next moves I think the Israeli society was taken of course and obviously is in shock after the events of the 7th of October and now they are trying to digest what had happened so the main focus of course is the hostages the Israeli is the fact Israel went so far to rescue a few hostages here and there or then table operation or the Gilad Shalit will listen prisoners the fact that Hezbollah is holding 30 and 29 of our hostages is unacceptable then the economical wars and the fact that the south and the north can get back so I think the Israeli public right now is worried a bit confused the political load is starting to enter the arena and I think the cabinet is of course is very much tuned to him and I think more than anything the cabinet right now is tuned to the hostages issue and then to the objectives of the war the dismantling of the military power of Hamas the infrastructure of Tunis and then targeting those leaders of Hamas that are responsible for the atrocities of the 7th of October Lieutenant Colonel and the Reserves Doron Avital always appreciate you being here in studio thank you as always for your insights and on another front shipping giant MERSC has announced it will suspend its vessels passage through the Red Sea for the next 48 hours there will be two attacks on one of its merchant ships while transiting the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait now the shipping company recently reversed a similar decision following the formation of the US-led naval coalition in the area a coalition that is now being put to the test Middle East correspondent Ariel Oceran has the details A moment of truth for the US-led naval coalition in the Red Sea the American naval forces sank three Houthi small boats as they attacked a commercial vessel off the coast of Yemen on Sunday hours after the same vessel was hit by an anti-ship ballistic missile in a separate attack the US central command said gunmen on board the boats opened fire at the Danish owned MERSCangzhou and attempted to board it the gunmen then opened fire at US Navy helicopters responding to the distress call the helicopters returned fire to the MERSCangzhou the Houthis are calling its cruise a fourth boat fled the area this would be the 24th attack by the Houthis on international shipping since October and the first ship to be attacked since the naval coalition was formed the Houthis have emphasized many times in their statements that the actions taken in response to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are only targeted at Israeli ships or ships related to Israel or ships heading to Israeli ports or direct responsibility if any obstructions or delays happen to ships entering the port of Udaida in an interview with the Associated Press the commander of US naval forces in the Middle East Vice Admiral Brad Cooper said before Saturday's incident that quote, we are clear-eyed that the Houthi reckless attacks will likely continue the statement comes as Denmark becomes the latest country to sign on the more than 20 nation coalition highlighting the global importance of the threat by the Iranian back-to-thies Iran leads the access of evil and aggression against us on various fronts this aggression is directed not only against Israel but against the entire free world the attacks on the Maers-Kengshu come as the shipping company announced it would resume sending its ships through the Red Sea due to the maritime coalition in the area a statement since reversed following the latest attack but continued attacks will test the coalition whether it's going to be more than a floating iron dome simply protecting ships or whether it will actually take proactive steps against the Houthi attacks and now changing our tone and changing our tune literally there are many initiatives across the country aiming to help boost morale and spread messages of positivity and hope music is an upbeat way to do just that and the band called Haqafochniot is doing just that at various army bases as you can see on your screen so let's find out more firsthand we welcome to studio Rabbi Liron Bernstein lead singer and Yair Lera lead guitarist of that band thank you gentlemen so much for being here in studio so you weren't able to pick up weapons quote-unquote so you picked up musical instruments what a message Rabbi starting with you talk to us about how this all came about absolutely thanks Puneet thanks for hosting us and it works even better in Hebrew when you say we didn't have the ability to pick up clay neshik instruments of war we picked up clay negina instruments of music and we felt like everybody at that moment in that Shabbat Shkora the black Shabbat that we wanted to do something but we didn't have the ability to go out in war so we said look what we can do we've been doing a lot of music together over time just informally in our community let's go do something for the soldiers we saw what was happening in terms of the massive efforts that there were to bring food to the soldiers and make barbecues a friend of Yair reached out to him and said can you come do some music Yair said to me am I up for singing I said absolutely and that's how it began and now we've been to over 20 locations uplifted over two and a half thousand soldiers and just spread the real good message and hope to the soldiers themselves and to the people back home because Yair some might find it quite unusual to think of bands, musicians going out to army bases in the middle of a war what kind of reaction have you had at the various bases we were inspired by Lenin Cohen coming out in 73 for the Yom Kippur war there and I think as much as we get from the soldiers I think they get from us to see people from Khutlaar to Medallia 11 years ago I think it's your anniversary today today's for you Yair and drive all the way to the Gaza border take out our instruments plug into the monitor and then just sing away I think it's a very hot warming thing both for us and for the soldiers and you mentioned Rabbi the fact that people want to do something at a time like this people have been getting involved in a range of initiatives as you say, sharing food cooking food, making music talk to us though about the message coming back from soldiers what are they saying, what are they feeling how do you boost more role it's coming at a heavy cost the spiting so how do you help keep their spirits focused and uplifted I think music has got tremendous tremendous power as we know to unite, to uplift, to inspire we get to the different bases and every time we get to different bases a different scenario, different group of soldiers and so we want to tap into the space at Darien some of them have been on very difficult missions some of them are dealing with medical evacuations all different types of soldiers so we really want to understand the space at Darien and see how can we uplift them with the songs that resonate with them so we sing everything from Isha Rebo to Kanan Benari to Avram Freed to Oasis to Coldplay Wonderwall by Oasis is our hit whenever we sing Wonderwall you see it just go into their souls and uplift them and I think music has that way of really speaking to them, of uplifting them and then in those difficult moments their hearts have been uplifted it's not just about giving them food but about lifting their spirits in a real tremendous way and we share that message that we've come from Kutslar it's from the diaspora we chose to make this our home they're protecting our home everything that they do and we here on behalf of all of the home front to support the front line and to show them that and they appreciate it tremendously they send us their own videos and pictures afterwards they send us whatsapp notes afterwards you don't know how the soldiers woke up the next morning after what we had done and that's tremendously rewarding and we're very grateful and humbled to be able to do such a thing and Yair talk to us about the communities in London watching, seeing your videos seeing the work that you are doing what kind of reaction or impact is being felt from the UK right now I think it can be very draining especially after October 7th to be consuming news the whole time and kind of a lot of negative stories and you kind of get sucked in and then suddenly there is this positive story these guys from, not from Israel who are doing something different, doing something positive I think it definitely spreads a message of positivity and we're getting letters from all over the world messages for people, sponsorship it has this kind of role on effect that the more love that is spread we're spreading and it's spreading across the world as well what is your stand out moment you've been doing this for several weeks now you've seen a range of people different ages, different stages talk to us about what stood out for you the message that really struck so to speak at your heartstrings the humanity that we see in our soldiers what's unique about the soldiers in Israel is the people's army so all these soldiers are our brothers our family members and we're all one degree away and there was one moment where we got to this unit that was about to go into God's the next day in Kibbutzikim and while we're singing someone whispers into my ear one of the soldiers says we've got a Khatan here a groom we've got a groom so we got very excited we started singing the traditional Jewish wedding songs for the groom and then the next groom came we had them on top of each other we was dancing, we ended off with Ed Sheeran's perfect and had them dancing together that was very special well that is a perfect way for us to end this update thank you so much the band thank you so much for being here in the studio and wishing you all the best with your initiative, thank you and that is a wrap for now for this news edition he has hoping for 2024 peace a new era of quiet Israel with dozens of correspondents throughout the world brings the truth from Israel to hundreds of millions of people in scores of countries completely gunned down in their beds the state of emergency and war in Israel bringing Israel's story to the world i-24 news channels now on hot Israel is in a state of war families completely gunned down in their beds as our soldiers are fighting on the front lines but the general perception is something that needs to to be fought as well this is our special coverage here on i-24 news it's an emotional rollercoaster for hostage families in Israel some reports indicate progress in the direction of the deal but others don't we'll start with i-24 news two months into the IDF's ground operation in Gaza they're fighting as to the end strategy of the current high intensity phase and a move on to the next phase on one hand there are still constant firefights with Hamas terrorists especially in the area of Chanyones we found here plenty of enemy infrastructure there was a terrorist here with a Kalachnikov that tried to shoot at our soldiers we killed him and caught another terrorist and took him for interrogation along with that Hamas officials are also being killed one of them is Abdel Fattah Mali the closest associate of Ichi Ayash who was known as the engineer and responsible for various terror attacks in the 1990s on the other hand there's a feeling that in the current phase the IDF is not able to reach the hostages or the Hamas senior leadership in some other way is now needed when will Israel head for that other way the prime minister may have set the goal for that the Philadelphia Corridor or to put it more correctly the southern end of Gaza must be in our hands no other solution can ensure the demilitarization we seek the Philadelphia Corridor separates Gaza from Egypt and the assumption is that huge amounts of weapons were and maybe still are smuggled to Gaza in tunnels running under it on paper Egypt seems to refuse any such move Egyptian backing for another crucial move a hostage deal families and protesters believe the government is not doing enough in that field I'm afraid that the government of Israel has prioritized otherwise it's political ambitions and the hostages is not on the top priorities a possible hostage deal the control of the Philadelphia Corridor the effectiveness of the IDF's current tactics many critical issues for the future of this war but none of them with a concrete solution at hand with me here in the studio is Dr. David Shimoni former intelligence officers also from commanders for Israel's security now let's talk about this Philadelphia Corridor this is a touchy point between Israel and Egypt when Israeli prime minister says we have to control that would that be a problem first of all if we look at the map what we call the Philadelphia Corridor is not only a stretch of sand between Gaza and Egypt there's also a town there the town of Rafa and the town of Rafa is divided between Gaza territory and Egypt territory and if the prime minister says we will have control of the whole Philadelphia Strip that means we'll have to be in charge of the city of Rafa we know for many years that between the city of Rafa in Gaza and in Egypt there are tunnels there are a lot of smuggling there are crime families running these things and also Hamas so to to be in charge of that territory is should be a question mark behind the exclamation also we have to consider our relationship with Egypt we don't want to damage our relationship with Egypt our relationship with Egypt is very very important so I believe when we're talking about controlling the entire Philadelphia Strip or Corridor I don't think that's feasible and I don't think that's something that we want maybe that's a hint to the Egyptians that we're not that great in stopping Hamas from getting all these equipment and arms definitely that could be a hint to the Egyptians their track record in stopping the smuggling into Gaza not only between the cities but all over the Corridor we know many years of smuggling that come in from the Arab Sea to the Red Sea convoys going through the Sinai desert in the Egyptian territory eventually the weapons, the ammunition they end up in Gaza, so yes we have questions to ask the Egyptians about these smuggling of weapons into Gaza and Egyptians president Assisi is on the record saying that Gaza should be demilitarized in the future I think that's a wonderful achievement that's our position also the position of the commanders for Israel's security we're talking about eventually the IDF leaving the Gaza Strip all together and leaving Gaza as a demilitarized zone now more from Jonathan's report before there's a feeling that maybe the IDF has reached its peak in terms of what it can do laterally on the ground right now what could be the importance of that first of all we don't know exactly what's going on especially in the Hanyunas area what we call the fog of war is there and there's control of the military on information that's coming out of there so we don't know exactly what is the true situation I think the IDF until now although it's taking a very long time has achieved many military goals great damage to the Hamas many of their fighters killed thousands of their fighters killed a lot of the infrastructure totally destroyed for the time being Israel is in full force in the Gaza Strip four divisions that's a big army operating there if we continue with that tempo and with that serious work we can achieve much more so there's not an end to the damage to hitting the Hamas and trying to achieve the goals I don't know if we can within a month or two months totally destroy all of the Hamas fighters but as long as the fighting continues full force I think the IDF will still be able to make more progress and achieve more goals problem is of course with our hostages which I'll always say in my interviews our first priority over any other priority and not necessarily more and more and more pressure will bring to the quick release of the hostages and might even damage them because we might be hitting places where there are kept let's go to an update from the Gaza-Israel border IDF correspondent Zach Anders is right there with the latest Zach we continue to see this heavy strikes in Khan Yunus where Prime Minister Netanyahu says there will be an intensification of the fighting and to expect this to last several more months as they shift their focus on the south of Gaza there are two questions two big questions remaining where is Sinwar is he in the south of Gaza and what will it take to find and eliminate this leadership structure of Hamas in southern Gaza now some of the estimates the Israeli estimates for this tunnel network inside Khan Yunus has some of these the depth of some of these tunnels reaching 20 meters underground it will take a considerable amount of effort to both bring in penetrate forces into this tunnel network in Khan Yunus but also to eliminate with conventional weapons with bombs and guided missiles targeting some of this tunnel infrastructure that is deep underground this is where the challenge remains and the language from the Prime Minister is starting to reflect that to label or to speak to that issue that to be able to achieve these goals it will take a tremendous amount of force to be able to dislodge and disrupt Hamas's activity underground underneath Khan Yunus. All right Zach thank you very much for this update back to you Dr. Shimani here in the studio so the realization that maybe the goals of this war are not very easy to achieve in this time frame that will change the strategy for sure right I think we have to differentiate between military strategy and political strategy because the state of Israel for the time being has not defined its political strategy so we can go on and pound the Hamas and bomb them and destroy as much as we can but and achieve military strategical objective like removing a lot of the Hamas abilities but unfortunately we have no internal agreement in Israel what will be the faith of Gaza after the war ends so yes we are talking now about maybe the military alone will not be able to achieve all of the goals again I'm mostly concerned about the hostages I think that's the most urgent and the most annoying thing for the Israelis we should do it as soon as possible with a deal or by the military pressure or by a military operation I'm sure that our leaders will be willing to boast a very successful military raid that will free some of the hostages I'm not sure how feasible that is so yes we are realizing and again we are still uncertain about the north about Lebanon if the north erupts if the north ignites it will be more difficult for the IDF to continue its full war in the Gaza Strip so there's more to come there's more to come now let's move to the story of 22 year old Alon Oyl who was abducted from Novo festival on October 7th in musician with big dreams and now in the hands of Hamas for over 80 days his mother Idid is fighting for his release and I-24 news reporter Uri Shapira has more on that the hostages square Tel Aviv it's become a focal point in the campaign to raise awareness of the Israelis abducted to Gaza and keep the plight in the public eye one of the items here is quite unique a solitary piano with a slogan on it Alon you are not alone I felt that I need to do something that will make people maybe understand about him more and learn about him more and by playing they will be in like contact with him the piano is dedicated to Alon Oyl 22 year old who was kidnapped to Gaza from the Novo festival on October 7th a talented musician learned to study music at the prestigious Rimon Academy in Ramata Sharon north of Tel Aviv but October 7th changed everything on that night Friday night we had dinner with our family we came home he got ready played the piano left the piano open and his brother took him to a friend's house and then from there they drove to the Novo festival they got there about 5 in the morning so he was like there for maybe an hour an hour and a half and it all started it started with rockets falling down knowing that they have to get cover from the rockets they got into a car into their car and started to drive north but the police stopped them and told them that they can go forward so they went south and found a shelter a bomb shelter near Reim at that time in Reim the Hamas came in and started to throw grenades into the bomb shelter at that time the Hamas came inside and took my son and three others the piano has become one of the most iconic items in this sad square as people occasionally stop and play on it some of the players are famous Israeli musicians such as singers Rami Kleinsten and Marina Maximilian for me it was important to say alone you are not alone because it's very important to think of him not being alone it is that we are not alone and the fact that we are thinking about him makes him and us not being alone so it's like a whole you know thing that has to do with that ever since October 7 Alon's mother Edith has been traveling the world as part of advocacy campaign to promote the message bringing them home now I can say now after all that time it's been 81 days now then when I'll see him the first thing I'll tell him that I know him better now because of the beautiful things that his friends are telling me about him and everything that people writing me things and sending me things about him that I have not been able to know before because as a mother you know you don't know everything your son is doing and now I know and it's beautiful and I want to meet him how he is now and I'll give him a big hug for that day 29 hostages are still there in the hands of Hamas with us now is Rami Igra, former head of the Mossad MIA unit thank you very much for joining us again here we are discussing this another time and I want to ask you are we moving closer tonight to a hostage deal in your opinion in order to have a deal you have to have both sides that have some kind of incentives in the past the Hamas was interested in swapping prisoners Hamas terrorists that were prisoners in Israel or Israel abducted whoever whether they were soldier or bodies or anything else today the Hamas does not have the same kind of incentive the Hamas has right now is only one they want cessation of hostilities and the reason is Hamas wants to continue its mission in its world and the mission of Hamas is in the world is to conduct a jihad between Dar al-Khar and Dar al-Salam between them and the rest of the infidels as they say so they have no real interest in doing a deal and they would like the only thing that they're interested in is its cessation of hostilities and as they have said many many times in the past we want this war to stop we want you to go back to the Israeli borders we want to really go back to the 6th of October and continue what we did on the 7th of October now it is it's evident that Israel will not let this be and because Israel will not let this be we are looking at a continuous war until we by force release these hostages who are now in the hands of the Hamas still the question is is there anything in between what's on the table now apparently or reportedly 40-50 hostages for a month long ceasefire does it have any logic in your mind this is an offer that has been placed on the table by Qatar now remember that between Qatar and Hamas there are financial connections but there is not an ideological connection Hamas does not agree to what Qatar says it does not also the military Hamas does not agree to what the political Hamas is saying they're there to continue Jihad and if you ask me Sinwar being a very practical person is understand that at the end of the day come what may be left with a little part of Hamas is his kingdom and because he is not bound to be a little king of a little kingdom he is there to fight to the end and he wants to go as a Shahid to his maker and we should aspire for this to happen as soon as possible you are absolutely pessimistic about this but what about the art of negotiations you can't negotiate against something which is not possible you can't come up with an idea or an offer that the other side wants something completely different look at the Khootspa Hamas is coming is broadcasting day and night all the time the same condition the conditions is cessation of hostilities the end of the war you draw your forces back to Israel you open our borders you help our reconstruction and then we will talk to you about your hostages now this is not a non-starter this is not even a non-non-starter there is nothing there to talk about now if you go back to the ideology of Hamas and you go back to the understanding that this is a religious organization with a religious target you understand that there is nothing that you can persuade them with that the Egyptians are coming back and forth and the Qatari are coming back and forth and the television in Israel is up and down about these possibilities is very nice and what it does really at the end of the day it makes Sinwara very happy Sinwara is sitting there on the other side of the television as he might be even tonight because he covers Israeli television all the time and he is saying to himself at the end of the day the Israeli society is not strong enough to eradicate Hamas the Israeli society is not strong enough to suffer the casualties that are in this war and because of these two reasons and because of the hostage movement in Israel there is a chance that at the end of the day they will listen to me and agree to my conditions I don't think that this time not like in the past Sinwara doesn't read as well has learned that lesson the 7th of October has awakened all of us and he should if he is watching right now understand that before without his death, without his becoming a Shahid this war is not going to stop Thank you very much for that Good night So many untold stories come out of October 7th Here is Aviv Barhanin who survived the Nova Festival and managed to rescue others as well Unfortunately we can't watch this story but maybe later let me go back to you Dr. Koshimoni here in the studio we've just heard a very pessimistic view from Mr. Igra about this kind of negotiation On one hand we did have a deal before he says that the terms changed but is it really impossible? I think first of all Mr. Igra is very knowledgeable about hostages and about these situations but as you said a month ago or six weeks ago we had a deal and it worked and if someone is negotiating the release of 40 or 50 hostages I think Israel will consider it and I believe that any hostage that we can free and we can bring back home is worth a good price and consideration if what the Hamas is after is a ceasefire even a few weeks of ceasefire it's still something that Israel should consider we have to bear in mind that last time there was a short ceasefire the day after it ended Tel Aviv was bombed by rockets so it means Hamas used this opportunity to re-equip and rebuild itself so did the IDF the IDF allowed troops to go home to rest and change units and repair damage the vehicles etc so I think I think also Mr. Igra said what Hamas is after is its survival and should Hamas feel that by delaying the war by allowing Israel to stay silent for three weeks or whatever they're talking about it will enable them another three weeks of survival maybe they'll go for that kind of a deal but when he describes their negotiation tactics as faulty I think also Israelis are I mean we say to the Hamas let's release all the hostages and then we're going to kill all of you that's not kind of a negotiation that's very appealing to the other side I believe that top priority in my view is to release the hostages as many as possible as soon as possible they are in a terrible situation we don't know about all of them how many of them survived how many of them have been executed how many of them died of injuries and I think it's urgent if there is an option bringing back 40-50 of them right now and stopping the war for a few weeks I'll be in favor definitely very very hard questions we'll get to this later as well meanwhile treating Israeli troops by civilians takes many turns now meet the mobile spa i-24 news Dixie Irvid reports our paratroopers are being treated to a well-deserved spa day courtesy of a small Israeli-owned company the owner of the outfit Alec Shamesh and manager Tal El Nazarian decided to use their expertise to turn a bus into a barbershop to help soldiers serving in the war these additions help the bus look and feel like the real thing my soldiers, I have nephews in the soldiers it's my people, it's us we will do what we can do to help our soldiers to be better soldiers and win this war you can't mess with William Manino a hairdresser who's come all the way from Natania because he just loves to cut hair and wants to help the paratroopers in any way he can I am volunteering we are very happy to do so I'm giving my own time to the cause I came here this morning on my day off and this is what I'm doing cutting the hair of the soldiers it's cooking for some soldiers it's a treat for these soldiers who've been fighting since October 7th without a break they haven't even had the chance to take off their boots for weeks this is a weird feeling seeing all of this support have made the transition from fighting in the war to here really smooth everyone is helping depending on their skill set and it's a very pleasant feeling for us the IDF is spending a lot of time to ensure an easy transition for us once again, as Israel fights on civilian volunteers find ways to help the fighters taking the pressure off the soldiers for a few days before they go back into battle we'll take a short break and welcome back with more coverage here on I-24 News stay tuned the general perception is something that certainly needs to be fought as well welcome back let's go to the Red Sea a US warship has shut down two missiles fired from Yemen and three Houthi boats were sunk by US helicopters moment of truth for the US led naval coalition into Red Sea American naval forces sank three Houthi small boats as they attacked a commercial vessel off the coast of Yemen on Sunday hours after the same vessel was hit by an anti-ship ballistic missile in a separate attack the US Central Command said gunmen on board the boats opened fire at the Danish-owned Maersk Hangzhou and attempted to board it the gunmen then opened fire at US Navy helicopters responding to the distress call the helicopters returned fire sinking three boats and killing its crews a fourth boat fled the area this would be the 24th attack by the Houthis on international shipping since October and the first ship to be attacked since the naval coalition was formed the Houthis have emphasized many times in their statements that the actions taken in response to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are only targeted at Israeli ships or ships related to Israel or ships heading to Israeli ports therefore the United States and Israel should bear direct responsibility if any obstructions or delays happen to ships entering the port of Udeida in an interview with the Associated Press the commander of US Naval Forces in the Middle East, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper said before Saturday's incident that quote, we are clear-eyed that the Houthi reckless attacks will likely continue the statement comes as Denmark becomes the latest country to sign on the more than 20 nation coalition highlighting the global importance of the threat by the Iranian-backed Houthis Iran leads the access of evil and aggression against us on various fronts the aggression is directed not only against Israel but against the entire free world the attacks on the Maers-Kengshu come as the shipping company announced it would resume sending its ships through the Red Sea due to the maritime coalition in the area a statement since reversed following the latest attack but continued attacks will test the coalition whether it's going to be more than a floating iron dome simply protecting ships or whether it will actually take proactive steps against the Houthi attacks with us now is Intifat Kanabar founder of Kurdish Protection Action Committee thank you very much for joining us again let me start with eastern Syria we'll get to the Houthis later but we almost forgot about that what's happening there there were strikes in eastern Syria just the other day well Israeli Air Force successfully killed the senior IRGC Quds Force officer and that was a huge achievement I think what we see now there's an attack on US allies and Israel all over the Middle East all directed orchestrated by Iran make no mistake Iran is behind all these attacks from the attacks against Israel by Hamas through Hezbollah in southern Lebanon in eastern Syria and western and also on the Syrian Israeli border and we can see the flow of convoys trying to cross from Iraq to Syria where it was attacked yesterday and ultimately going to provide Hezbollah and the Syrian border militias with ammunition and fighters last night I might as well add there was a heinous condemned attack on Kurdish forces, Peshmerga forces near Erbil and there was zero American forces there so the attack is expanding and the defensive scenario that the US is following now is failing it has to be replaced by deterrence I also might want to remind the world that in February 2021 the Biden administration lift the sanctions from the Houthis which leave no doubt that any appeasement to Iran will only lead to more violence and the only way to deal with Iran is to terrorize the terrorists So how should the US deal with the Houthi problem the US should reimpose sanctions and the idea the fantasy that appeasing Iran proxies as the US embassy and US administration doing in Baghdad for example the United States is siding with the Baghdad government against the Kurds which are the only US allies in Iraq and so as siding with the Houthis against the Saudis allies so as so these policies has not paid off and someone you would think you would see some heads rolling in Washington but unfortunately in Washington we don't see accountability anymore for those who commit such terrible mistakes which led to the October 7th massacre I think if this not going to stop if the United States does not take action against the Iran we don't see many more October 7th unfortunately You're talking about direct military action against Iran Yeah, there has to be taken all measures we are not going to fool ourselves these attack are directed initiated by Iran the Iranians made it no secret Khamenei in every speech make a brag about using those proxies to attack Israel and to attack Saudi Arabia and to attack the Kurds in northern Iraq and so forth I think this action should be swift and strong against the militias and the proxies and I think Iran attempt to transfer the battle center from inside Iran to outside Iran should be failing and we should go and attack an Iranian inside Iran and maybe start with the Houthis and with because they are literally blocking what are the shipping lines over there well this is the axis of the so called resistance the axis of evil this axis of terrorism from the Houthis in Yemen to the Hezbollah in Lebanon to the Kitab Hezbollah and Najobah and Iraq and others to Hamas in Gaza this is all the same axis initiated by Iran and Iran should pay the price for it Hintifat Kanbar thank you very much thank you back to the studio here with Dr. Davichi Moni to the point that Iran has to be dealt with eventually that's where it comes from right for the time being the United States is not planning maybe they have plans but they're not no decision has been made to attack Iran directly and I believe something like that might happen or may happen the question is should it happen well as an Israeli we'll be very happy to watch on television how the American Air Force is and Tomahawk the cruise missiles I don't think you'll be watching television I think you'll be down in the basement some place I'll be down in the basement not because of Iranian attacks but because of Hezbollah we have to bear in mind that Hezbollah was installed in Lebanon by the Iranians to protect Iran to deter Israel from attacking Iran and I believe if something will happen between the United States and Iran as the previous Spoker hinted or requested actually then we'll be in war with Hezbollah I don't think the United States will attack Iran directly only because of the Khoutis Khoutis are a threat they began in this war as something very minor every few days they fire a rocket or a cruise missile or a drone towards Elat and we said okay so there's a siren and the very very sophisticated Israeli Arrow 3 anti missile system will send them down and then they decided to start interfering with international commerce and they became a world problem and we see this huge coalition mostly led by the United States but Great Britain, France we just hear that Denmark is joining them unfortunately the only Arab state that joined them is Bahrain Egypt was the main victim of this Khouti activity because it denies access to the Suez Canal which is a big source of revenue for Egypt Egypt has not yet joined I think I sympathize with the Kurds the noble, courageous people of Kurdistan but I don't think the United States will initiate a military strike on Iran unless Iran becomes wild and maybe if the United States coordinates with Israel on Hezbollah now the Khoutis so many countries in this coalition the United States military might and not much is happening so far should the coalition and the United States take some serious measures Iran attack the question is if the coalition will take defensive measures or offensive measures and I believe eventually they will be taking offensive measures which means attacking the Khoutis in the Yemen especially in the mountains where they are located of Yemen for the time being we see that they are growing their defensive abilities we just heard about three boats that were sunk by the American forces of course the American anti-missile systems are very effective here but I believe that time will come that the will be attacking directly the Khoutis in Yemen and what about Israel how do you see Israel's reaction after all you know missiles were shot at one of Israel's cities a major city of the lot this is an act of war it's an act of war the question is if Israel has to retaliate directly and I say not necessarily we can remember the war of the Gulf in the early 90s where Israel was bombarded by missiles coming in from Iraq huge scud missiles and eventually Israel did not retaliate did not respond and it let American-led coalition again to take care of this threat again we are in the Middle East we used to think about revenge and doing things if they shoot us we shoot them I believe Israel should be more sophisticated than that alright now let's go back to the story of Aviv Barhanin who survived the Nova Festival and managed to rescue other people as well let's watch wait a minute, the music is out we realized that we have to get it I thought that all of our efforts were pretty good I went through 100 meters from the right side of all the building that we created I went to the airport and eventually we started to to get there there were about 30 or 40 people in the airport and in the end it was not going to end and I had to leave so I looked behind what was going on and as soon as I saw that people wanted to kill us and we were fighting and as soon as they killed me I heard the sound of the gun of the missiles and as soon as I went to the airport I went to everyone who had guns and I ran to him and I went to him I started the story and really at the beginning of the story I thought it was a group that also went to the airport and I asked them if I went to the airport and we went to the airport and I saw that the airport was full of some kind of a hand and I saw that all the vehicles that came to the airport were armed with guns and the first man who was armed was trying to get back to the airport and he had a gun and he was trying to get a gun and I saw everyone in the bus and as soon as I understood that I was not going to the airport I was sure that he was there I got back to the airport to get back to the airport and I almost got to the airport at the airport and there I heard the gunshots really loud and I saw that the vehicles were coming from behind and at that moment I ran to the airport to get back to the airport and at that time I was trying to figure out what I was going to do that I was going to the airport that I didn't know if he was going to the airport and and as soon as I got there almost two meters before the airport another time I got back back to the airport to the airport just in order to get another moment of thinking of what I was going to do and I told the woman that I was in the airport that I was going to the airport that I was going to the airport and they told me there's no problem, we're with you I went to a road that also went to the airport because we were really close and I saw that he was not wearing a shirt I realized it was Jewish I gave him the shirt and he said that there was going to be a shirt and he said that there was going to be a shirt what I had to do was to say what Israel is and to start trying to continue I realized that I had to leave the airport and we went through a very heavy road we went through a very heavy road almost three hours to get home a lot of cars passing by and and cars and trucks in the road the signs that are not visible are breaking out of us I feel like like the state is taking over it's really good the energy of the airport the people the people are really helping here and we really had to go through this period without all those places that are really exciting and do something a very busy period we are really trying to see how much better what happened and how much better it is that I survived and that I really managed to get out from there and we didn't have to go to the airport and we didn't have to go to the airport and we didn't have to go to the airport we are really struggling at a military base in southern Israel mothers of lone soldiers have been finding meaning and emotional support while doing hard work as volunteers i24news Emily Francis has more compacting trash with a smile this is a dirty job but someone's got to do it I'm sure we're doing this in service to the country absolutely great weather, great people and a great cause has never been more gratifying preparing pallets of snacks I think we do about 50 pallets a day and the snacks go right to the front to the troops in Gaza and our incredibly important job really a matter of national security is compacting these boxes it's an assembly line of hundreds of volunteers from dozens of countries around the world it's one thing to give money it's another thing to go to rallies and support but it's something entirely different just to be here and lend physical support doing whatever we can and whatever they can involves packing boxes and doing the heavy lifting all with the goal of providing supplies for soldiers fighting the war in Gaza and fighting the war of public opinion against the Jewish people my feeling is world opinion never saved one Israeli life so a lot of us just don't care you know we feel that Israel has to do what Israel has to do to protect its own people and if the world doesn't like it well too bad the world doesn't like it when Jews fight back the non-profit organization SARL, service for Israel has existed for decades but since October 7th Israel has been overflowing with people of all ages wanting to pitch in no matter what the cost since I started coming to the bases I just feel so relaxed I feel like my blood pressure is down my temperatures down I feel like I'm just walking on a cloud and there's never a sense of anything negative it's all positive and I haven't heard a complaint from 80 Jews in a week which is unbelievable this one is for the Red Cross and this one is for the UN and they deserve it even 82 year old New Yorker, Rochelle Marshall suited up for her 18th SARL mission they thought I was too old to come here this year and let me tell you they made a mistake thinking that and I'm so honored to be able to help these people that when somebody thanks me I feel silly because these are the people who are making it possible for me to come here I'm going home I'm going to be away from this and they're going to stay here with young soldiers in Gaza for months fighting for their lives and for the existence of Israel every little bit of love and support helps and we're getting bombarded with all kinds of messages outside and our kids are being attacked I thought for lone soldier parents it would be really important to come together we are packaging this week it sounds silly but different treat bags so that every day the soldiers would get something extra to eat versus their tuna fish or whatever the average food is and what makes this particular SARL mission for others of lone soldiers fighting the war in Gaza are also volunteering and getting moral and emotional support in the process I have a son in the army today right now in Gaza he's 20 years old he came in about a year ago to join the army what we're packing here it happens to be Shabbat bags for soldiers and I know one of them is going to go tomorrow and listen to the news and you're far away from your son your mind cannot understand what's happening and it's really really hard really tough, you really feel lonely nobody can feel what you go through so now we are a bunch of women strong women and we are all brothers and we are all together and every time somebody is down I see her and it's amazing it's something I've never lived before I have two former lone soldiers one came back to America and I have a daughter drafting sorry next week and she feels really confident about her decision so coming back and having a physical way just I know I mean like a lot there's some snacks but it's so important to physically be here in Israel to show support to show my kids that I'm proud of them I have three lone soldiers one has severe PTSD from his service it doesn't matter if they're my three soldiers or they're somebody else they're all my children and I got to hug them and send them in I mean we can be the last people they see it just kills me it kills me and I love them all they're everyone's mom my son is in the Mishmar Ghul the border police he's been dreaming of joining Sahel since he was 14 if they would have taken him then he would have come he is absolutely built for this he knows he's built for this he's living his best life just living his dream living his destiny one son he's actually been here for 18 years that's when he did his main service and he's been doing Miloim ever since and he was called up on day one and he has had days off in between but he's basically still at it he's in the north he's new he had just drafted a month before the war broke out I am just really really really proud you know you want your child to do what's in their soul and in their heart he is so passionate about Israel he is very confident in his wanting to be here which brings me confidence in my husband's confidence and I really as a mother believe it's all going to be okay and I send that from across the ocean every day on this particular day the moms and volunteers also got a morale boost by the president of the world's Zionist organization we need to remember that what happened on October 7th was not a war against Israel but a war against the Jewish nation we are one nation one people this is our home we have to stay united and fight against anti-Semitism you look it's just it's horrific you know anybody with any moral integrity or anything should stand up and come here and help and also on this sorrow mission the Jewish people have a mission police officer Nick Jones to thank for taking a stand against the hypocrisy and anti-Semitic vitriol that is sweeping the globe well I have friends that are Jewish of course and I'm part of the IDF every morning I get a briefing with them and I hear and I see the videos of everything that's going on here and if it were happening in America we would do just like we did in Iraq and Afghanistan we would stand up, we would go take care of business here it doesn't exist there's a farmer I live by it says good people remain silent bad things happen to him as Americans we need to I don't care what your religious background is everybody needs to stand behind Israel because no one around her is sticking up for her at the Hotsiri military base in the Negev Emily Francis, I-24 News and we'll take a short break now for more special coverage here on Negev-24 News see you in a moment