 The I-24 News channel broadcasting from Israel with dozens of correspondents throughout the world brings the truth from Israel to hundreds of millions of people in scores of countries. Bringing Israel's story to the world. I-24 News channels now on hot. Welcome to this year in special here on I-24 News. I'm Bat11tholm. Thanks for joining me. This weekend marks the grand finale of 2023. Asteroids, Armageddon and AI apocalypse and ancient curses have all been predicted to bring about the end of the world. But as this year comes to a close the most acute threat is largely a result of human actions. Environmental destruction, the climate catastrophe and of course major wars. Doomsday has been envisioned with every year that passes and while many are grateful to have survived the past 365 days for Israelis, Doomsday was an actual reality this year. A scenario many predicted but didn't foresee would actually play out. I-24 News correspondent Jonathan Schachar takes a look back at that fateful day now known as the events of October 7th 2023. 6 29 a.m. That's when Hamas' surprise attack on Israel on the morning of October 7th started. It was a Saturday, a Sabbath morning of the sacred Jewish holiday Simchat Torah, an undercover of extraordinary missile barrages launched toward Israel. Hamas simultaneously attacked by land, sea and air. These images taken within an hour of the infiltration show carnage never before seen in Israel. It wasn't just border communities and the nearby Nova Music Festival. Many of the 3,000 Hamas terrorists advanced deep into the south to continue their killing spree. While the army, the police and the security establishment were still trying to fathom what was happening, on social media the first images were emerging, many of them from survivors and victims of the Nova Music Festival massacre. Eventually, after fierce fighting, the Israeli security forces regained control of some communities near the border, which had been under Hamas' control for many hours. First responders could enter and witness sites beyond even their worst nightmares. We saw, it was unbelievable the casualties that we saw and then we thought that everything, we saw everything, but then it came to yesterday when we went into Kibbutz Baeri and we saw the what was done to the families, to the children. Even after two days the chaos was not over. In some communities in the south like Baeri, Sderot and Kfar Azar, the battle against Hamas was still raging. Once control was retaken, I-24 News was among the first on the scene on October 10th. Many of these houses are also still have grenades and booby traps. The scope of the horror shocked even seasoned IDF officers accompanying our teams on the ground. It's not a war. It's not a battlefield. You see the babies, the mothers, the fathers in the bedrooms, in the protection rooms and how the terrorists killed them. It's something that I never saw in my life. Something that we used to imagine as our grandfather and grandmother in the pogrom in Europe and other places. All told, more than 1200 people were killed, among them at least 800 civilians. More than half of the victims were between the ages of 18 and 29. 36 children younger than 18 were brutally executed. Over 240 people were kidnapped into the Gaza Strip. Two and a half months later, people in Israel are trying to return to their lives. Lives halted on October 7th at 6.29 a.m. A day dubbed the Black Sabbath. A day which will never be forgotten. Joining me here in studio is retired Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of the British Forces in Afghanistan. Thank you so much for joining us on our special. You've spent most of your life fighting terrorism and insurgency in some of the world's toughest, tough spots, including in the Middle East being Afghanistan and Iraq. And you've also recently spent some time here in Israel, I believe, two months into the war with Hamas. How do the atrocities of October 7th compare to some of the others you've seen around the region that you've unfortunately bore witness to? I watched the 45-minute video of the idea I've put together to show to journalists and diplomats, et cetera. And I also visited Qa'far al-Jar and Berry quite soon after the atrocities took place. And in my 30-year military career, which is included fighting against Islamic State, al-Qaeda, Taliban, the IRA, Irish Republican Army, I've never seen anything so horrific as what I saw in that video and in those communities. It's indescribably worse. Of course, there are comparisons, particularly with Islamic State, in terms of the delight in the horror, in the devastation they were causing and the killing. But I would say it's a step much worse than them. It's really horrifying to hear that when we compare, as you mentioned, Hamas is ISIS. A lot of the stuff that people have been seeing, at least on the ground here in Israel, is, as you mentioned, worse than some of the atrocities committed by ISIS. Now, the longer wars tend to drag on, over time, it becomes less clear-cut who is the victor and who the victim tends to be. But is that the case here? We have to remind the audience that there was a ceasefire before October 7th. This was not a war that Israel willingly or wanted to engage in in the first place. Absolutely not. And I think this is very much a black and white situation, despite what people like the general secretary of the United Nations had to say about this did not happen in a vacuum. This is absolutely clear-cut, black and white case of evil and aggression. And it goes beyond that because, of course, Hamas and Iran together, working together, working hand in hand, carried out a very sophisticated deception operation against Israel to convince Israel that its intentions were not aggressive against Israel any longer, that it was focusing on the economic development of the Gaza Strip. So I don't think this is a case where you can say there are two sides to this argument. There is only one side to this argument. And Israel's on the right side of that. Or for such an operation to be pulled off, there's no doubting that you need a wad of cash in order to do so. And since 2007, Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip. They alone have been the sole government of over two million Palestinians in the enclave. Destroying much of what Israel left behind when it unilaterally withdrew from the Strip two years earlier, Hamas lobbied on international funding. Instead of using those funds for the betterment of its society, Hamas injected its annual budget of around $2.5 billion into propping up its terror operations aimed at destroying Israel. Your veriting assessment out of Jerusalem was that Hamas has far too much to lose from engaging in a full-fledged war with Israel and therefore will not take the risk. But then October 7th happened, and now three months later, the Jewish state is still at war with Hamas. Our senior defense correspondent Jonathan Regev explains how the Israeli narrative collapsed and exactly what it was Hamas had to lose. On paper, it looked like a very good plan beneficial to everyone involved. Hamas would get much-needed money for its civil employees who do not get their salaries. This money is going to pay my debts. I have to pay my delayed rents, electricity, water bill. Qatar would get the international status as the provider of Gaza and a reliable global player. Qatar is a credible state country, okay, and when we tell them what is there on the ground, what we are doing there, it's a good work. And Israel, which mostly kept quiet on the issue, did everything to facilitate it, believing an improved economic situation in Gaza would serve as a calming factor. It began roughly five years ago. As Gaza was sinking into a major economic crisis, Qatar offered assistance to the Gaza residents. Monthly cash envelopes with anything between $15 million and $40 million were brought by the Qatari envoy to the banks in Gaza and from there, on paper, to pay the salaries of Gaza's civil workers who were desperately waiting for it. One day feels like a year to us. We have kids that we would like to raise to give them a good life. Where are we supposed to get the money for that? At the same time, Qatar was also providing fuel for the Gaza power plants to keep working for longer hours and cement for construction of buildings destroyed in previous wars with Israel. Qatar became the closest ally of Hamas. The Emir was given a hero's welcome when he came for a visit, and at least according to his envoy, peaceful days were about to come. The work which we are doing, it's keeping peace for the both nations, okay, both people. There was just one issue. Someone had to monitor where exactly the aid was going and whether the claims made by Hamas were actually true. They know the money that was spent went only for humanitarian projects. Not one penny was used for weapons or other things. The salaries are used for health, education, welfare and other humanitarian cases. The money will go only to beneficiaries. Now we know who these beneficiaries really were. Muhammad Sinwar, for example, brother of Hamas leader Iqya Sinwar. Here we see him right next to the driver in what is the biggest tunnel uncovered so far in Gaza, a huge tunnel which cost millions and millions of dollars while the Gaza people are starving. The subterranean tunnel constructed by Muhammad Sinwar, this is the Sinwar project tunnel that was meant to do a terror attack. Hamas has spent a million of dollars in this project specifically. Here is another beneficiary, five million shekels, roughly 1.5 million dollars were found in suitcases in the home of a senior Hamas official in the neighborhood of Jibalia along with ammunition and rocket launchers, terror tunnels and ammunition. This is what the money was used for but those in charge did not see it. We wanted to avoid a humanitarian disaster. That's why the money started flowing for those purposes, to avoid disease and maintain the two million people there. The plan that looked so good for five years crushed down on October 7th. Instead of avoiding a humanitarian disaster it brought one first on the Israeli side of the border and then in Gaza. So many questions will have to be asked once the war is over. The issue of the humanitarian money funding this terror monster is one of the most important. Still with me in studio retired Colonel Richard Camp Richard. A major question that has not been properly addressed let alone investigated yet is how did this happen? We've seen from a financial point of view we understand where the money came from in order to pull off an attack like this but from a military perspective. How did Hamas orchestrate an attack like this that it slipped right under the noses of the security and defense establishment here in Israel? Of course we'll have to wait until the investigation comes out before we can be fully clear on all of the facts but from what I can see as I mentioned earlier Hamas deliberately mounted a deception very sophisticated deception plan no doubt with advice from Iran in which they lured almost the IDF and Shinbeck into believing that they were not going to carry out an attack like this. And I think you know one example of that deception was the fact that the the previous round of fighting with Gaza did not include Hamas and this was seen as an indication Hamas did not have aggressive intent. Now once that was sown into the seeds of the people responsible for assessing intelligence I think even the the details indicators of a potential attack were misinterpreted misunderstood seemed to be something else and that was primarily the thing that enabled this attack to take place. On top of that of course there are big question marks over first of all the the defense of the Israeli border with Gaza and secondly the slow reaction and and I should say that I believe Israel relied overly heavily on technology rather than boots on the ground to defend its people around the Gaza border area and the other point I would make as well is we should not forget while we're making these condemnations of what happened we should not forget the extreme bravery of so many people on that day who reacted sometimes just off their own bat retired serving civilian security guards who reacted with immense bravery saving many many lives and in some cases losing their own lives. Absolutely since that fateful day for lack of a better way of putting it anti-semitism has literally blown up seeing unheard of increases in the United Kingdom for example and listen to this number because it's insanely startling more than 1,350 percent of an increase beyond all competition anywhere in the world you would argue that Hamas is by far one of the most successful anti-semitic entities in the world today why is that? Well Hamas has jumped into a long-standing propaganda campaign against Israel which began really in the 1960s and out of interest it began in Moscow in the 1960s orchestrated by the Soviet Union but Hamas jumped onto that into that agenda and managed to use its aggression against Israel as also a propaganda weapon against Israel. Hamas sought every time they attacked Israel and they've done it many times now every time they attacked their objective in that attack was not to destroy Israel because they can't but to lure Israel into reacting and knowing that reaction had to result in the death of innocent civilians because of the way Hamas fight and therefore drawing the ire of the world onto Israel this was their whole strategy organizations like the United Nations like universities think tanks human rights groups all of these people immediately condemned Israel every time they react to Hamas aggression and it encourages them to do it again and again and again and this not only leads to major problems here in Israel but it also leads to a growing anti-Semitic campaign against the Jews around the world in the UK and Europe and in the US and elsewhere. Absolutely and as you mentioned that tactic known as double war crime where they not only fight at civilians but they do so from behind civilians. Richard stay with me because I do want to turn to a slightly different topic with regards to this war from Lebanon to Jordan and Egypt criticism is mounting against the Israeli-American and European leaders all of whom are accused of dehumanizing the Palestinians. This is not the first time that the confrontation between Israel and Hamas has revealed a gulf between the West and the Middle East which has itself experienced several cycles of conflict but this time the gap seems even wider our Middle East correspondent Ariel Osaran reports. Until October 7th there were high hopes for big changes in the Middle East. Talk of US mediated peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia which in turn would spread to other Arab countries created much anticipation but then after thousands of Hamas terrorists rampaged through southern Israeli communities and IDF bases slaughtering burning and kidnapping everything in their path the delicate house of cards collapsed. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia affirms its categorical rejection of the continuation of aggression occupation and the forced displacement of Gaza's population. The Kingdom holds the occupation authorities responsible for the crimes committed against the Palestinian people and their properties. We are certain that the only way to guarantee security, peace and stability in the region is to end the occupation siege and settlements. But sidelining Israel's Saudi normalization for the unforeseeable future was only one of the effects of that dark October 7th on the region. It also saw the solidification of the Iranian axis of proxies. From Iraq to Lebanon all the way to Yemen Tehran's branches all began to attack Israel. We're in a multi-arena war we are being attacked from seven different sectors Gaza Lebanon Syria Judea and Samaria Iraq Yemen and Iran we have already responded and taken action and I say here in the most explicit way anyone who acts against us is a potential target there is no immunity for anyone in an attempt to get a better understanding of how the region as a whole was affected by the October 7th attacks. I 24 news reached out to journalists in the region to give their perspective. One of them is a journalist from Yemen. We blurred his face and distorted his voice for his safety speaking with an Israeli based news outlet. Perhaps the most surprising front to many has been the continuous drone and missile attacks by the Houthis in Yemen towards Israeli territory and then at international commercial ships navigating through the Red Sea. The Yemeni armed forces affirm their continued support for the Palestinian people as part of the religious moral and humanitarian duty and confirm the continuation of operations in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea against Israeli ships or those heading to the ports of occupied Palestine until the food and medicine needed by the Gaza Strip are brought in. But according to the journalist in Yemen the Houthis are simply the ones pulling the trigger in service of their patrons. Beyond emboldening the Iranian axis, the October 7th attacks also seem to have affected the streets in many of the region's capitals in support of the Palestinians. I see a lot of change among the awareness of ordinary people who never really paid attention to political issues of the Palestinian situation. I've seen especially in Arab countries, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, many of the countries are really much more involved now. And I think we've seen also progressives and young people around the world taking up the Palestinian cause in a much more powerful way than we've ever seen before. Like the journalist in Yemen, Qutb 2 believes that the war in Gaza has put a strain on Israel's existing peace agreements with Jordan and Egypt. Both peace treaties have held on so far, but on a very thin ice, I think that there is strong opposition in both countries to their countries continuing the peace agreements. But more importantly, I think people want civilian lives to be saved. Besides threats, there are some silver linings that have emerged from the horrific attacks on Israel and ensuing war in Gaza. Not only the American-led Maritime Coalition aimed at ensuring the safe navigation in the Red Sea, but that Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan all intercepted Houthi drones and missiles over their territories on their way to Israel. An indication that Jerusalem does have shared strategic interests in the balance of power in the Middle East. Well, I think Arab countries are trying to be peacemakers as much as they can. They're trying to provide material support to people who are in terrible need. And I don't think we've seen a major shift, especially in countries that have had normalization relations with Israel. The leaders are still insisting on keeping some form of relationship, even though public opinion has changed. And so, with the war in Gaza in full steam, and further escalation, with his balloon to horizon, the October 7th attacks seem to have changed not only Israel, but the region as a whole. Now, Israel for the first time has been in the Middle East, and Israel for the second time has been in the Middle East. And so, with the war in Gaza in full steam, and further escalation with his balloon to horizon, the October 7th attacks seem to have changed not only Israel, but the region as a whole. Now, Israel finds itself at a critical juncture, a regional war, or increased regional cooperation. Whether or not it's up to Israel to decide what the outcome will be, that still remains to be seen. Iran is waging a shadow war on Israel right now, using its proxies in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, and even to some extent in the West Bank. Why not just attack the country directly? Why does it seek to hide behind others in order to carry out its dirty work? Well, this is the way that Iran has traditionally operated, using proxies. It's used proxies against British forces, for example, in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the same with American forces, killing many Americans and many British in those operational areas. It's used proxies in the past against Americans in Lebanon. You name it, this is the way they operate. They're not interested in a face-to-face frontal confrontation if it can be avoided, because of course they recognize that they could never win such a confrontation, particularly if it involved the U.S. or Israel, or both. So that's why they operate in the way they do, and they've been supremely successful at it. Tassim Soleimani was one of the masterminds of this strategy until he was assassinated by the U.S. in Iraq. And they develop it, and they continue it, and they also fall the world into believing they're not behind it. And you have extraordinary things like Iran taking leading roles in the U.N. Human Rights Council, et cetera. So it's a very clever, very skillful tactic. It needs to be called out more often, and there does need to be much stronger, I think, more direct action against Iran itself. I know Israel has been carrying out a series of assassinations, raids, et cetera, inside Iran against the nuclear program. But we do need to see, I believe, for example, the U.S. striking at Iran's proxy in Yemen in order to, at least in the first instance, to give Iran a bloody nose. And then if that doesn't work, then turn to Iran itself. Of course, we're going to, we're very likely to see a big conflagration provoked by Iran in Lebanon in the near future. As you mentioned, the United States obviously intertwined into this conflict, as is the European Union, because Israel seems to claim or does point out that it is the first line of defense before Hamas, and quote on quote Iran, reaches their shores. Are we expecting that support to wane if this does become a prolonged war? I think it might. I don't think it's been, first of all, the most important country, and the only really important country outside Israel in this conflict is the United States of America. And as I read it, the U.S. support has been pretty solid so far. I understand that they haven't really been pushing Israel to operate in the way they expect, except in their media statements. I don't think that's been happening behind closed doors as well. I think that's partly intended to appease the anti-Israel electorate within, within the United States. And we've seen similar kind of words from people like Prime Minister Sunak in the UK, saying that Israel mustered here to the Laws of War, Israel must minimise civilian casualties. When they know very well, that's what Israel's doing. So I think, I think support remains pretty strong. These things, these sort of things, these public statements are dangerous, because they, they imply that Israel is, is not adhering to the Laws of War, and therefore they provoke anti-Semitism in their own countries. Retire Colonel Richard Kim, former commander of the British forces in Afghanistan. Thank you for joining us on our year in special. Israel is in a state of war. Families completely done down in their beds. We have no idea where is she as our soldiers are fighting on the front lines, but the general perception is something that certainly needs to, to be fought as well. Thanks for staying with us as we continue with our year in special. Since Israel's retaliation on Hamas in the Gaza Strip following the October 7th massacre, hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators have taken to the streets and cities across the Middle East, the United States, Europe and even Asia. And many of them anti-Semitic slurs often featured alongside calls to stop the quote genocide in Gaza against the Palestinians. Our MSc hall takes a look at some of the global and at times violent protests. In the subject, there were nine months of 2023 before October 7th, during which the angst that hovered over the US-Israel relationship centered on Israel's judicial overhaul. And how the Biden administration and, of course, American society saw it. But then came October 7th and swept that all away. Using a diplomatic correspondent Owen Ultiman takes a look not only at how US-Israel ties have weathered the storm of this war, but also on the warning signs going forward. The fleeting moment that encapsulates a year, a president from the silent generation speaking up on the legacy of the American bond with Israel, the chaos of war afoot, the chaos on the campuses to come, and an 80-year-old president left to stand by the status quo. Israel has the right to respond. Indeed, it has a duty to respond to these vicious attacks, atrocities. I've been sickening. Where is Israel? Let's make no mistake. The most passionately pro-Israel speech in history, said leading expert Michael Oren, saying that the Jewish people would, quote, always remember and cherish it. And the speech has remained a striking singular memory, swallowed by an unruly reality. The scenes from Gaza that muddled US policy, the scenes from American streets and campuses that devoured the sense of belonging and support that Biden wanted to deliver, with the administration moving soon enough to make clear it wants this war behind it, the series of visits of high-level officials meant to walk Israel toward that end, the message of the Secretary of State from mid-October, and then from the year's end. You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself, but as long as America exists, you will never ever have to. It's clear that the conflict will move and needs to move to a lower intensity phase. And Dr. Gay, at Harvard, does calling for the genocide of Jews violate Harvard's rules of bullying and harassment, yes or no? It can be, depending on the context. And all the while, the campus is in streets, for a wave of angry protests without precedent, for a rising fear of anti-Semitism that few American Jews expected, a crisis for an American Jewish liberalism that had always carefully cultivated the political center, only to now see that political center evaporate, replaced by the angry right and the angry left. Our tax dollars have gone to fund colonization, apartheid, crimes against humanity, and we're sick of it. The people want Palestinian liberation. We unequivocally don't equate our colonizers with the colonized or the occupiers with the occupied, or press people have a right to resist and defend themselves by any means necessary. And so the story of 2023 is less about a heroic older president, and more about the young generation that will inherit him. Poll after poll has shown the protests are not in aberration. America's Gen Z does not like Israel, does not like Biden, and may not like the political center. The problem is so big and so much about America that Israel may not be able to solve it. Numbers that could one day put the U.S.-Israel alliance in danger. Numbers that Israel might not be able to reverse. A message for 2024 and for the uncertain decades ahead. And joining me now here in studio to break this down further is Racheli Rotner and Israeli comedian and cartoonist and from Tel Aviv, Brett Gelman, an American actor and comedian. Welcome so much to you both, too, this year in special. Brett, I'd like to start with you. You were here in Israel at the moment. What made you decide to come in the midst of a war? What have you seen thus far? And what message will you be taking back with you to America? It's still pretty evident that there's a major disconnect between many American Jews and Israelis regarding the reality on the ground. Yeah, what I'm going to be taking back with me and the reason that I came here is the truth, is the truth of the situation, the truth of what Israel is. I'm trying to show people that Israel is a country and a culture and a people who celebrate life. They do not celebrate death. And to show that this is really just, it's the opposite of the message that my country, you know, what the Gen Z and other people who are protesting are stating that it's just, this is really truly that the oppressed ones are the Israeli people that you are surrounded by hostility and surrounded by destruction. And this is just a classic repeat just in a different form of anti-Semitism we've seen throughout history. And just briefly in our senior diplomatic correspondence report, we saw the anti-Semitism that is brewing on campuses. It would appear that the campuses have become almost a safe haven for pro-Palestinians, which is flair because they do have a legitimate plight. But what's absurd is that it's now becoming a ground also for breeding Hamas supporters, a terror organization. So if these schools are quite literally allowing the preaching of terrorism under the guise of the First Amendment and not protecting its Jewish and Israeli students, the big question is should we then abandon these Ivy League schools as Jews and Israelis or as many of the critics are calling it poison Ivy? Well, I'm not in any position to call for any means like that or leaving these schools. I think the problem is those schools, they don't support Hamas as they support being polite to everyone and be nice to everyone. And they just don't understand the situation that Israel is in. I mean, for them, when they talk about Palestine, they're talking about Palestinians they know in America, which are liberal, young, nice people. And we're living the reality here. So it's a little hard for me to understand their perspective. Those Ivy League schools that they're trying to include everyone, but they don't really know what's going on. Brits, what would be your stance on what's happening at the moment on the US college campuses? I think that it's incredibly misguided. How I understand it is that there are a lot of progressive values that are very good. I'm for civil rights, I'm for women having the say of what happens to their own bodies. I'm pro-choice, I'm pro-environment. I'm against oppression, but somehow some sort of propaganda or misinformation seeped into the campuses in which they started to relate the Jewish people and the Israeli people as the oppressor and as colonizers and Israel is an apartheid state. And it just, it went way too far in the other direction to where the Jewish people were not given a seat at the marginalized table anymore and we weren't recognized as an oppressed people. And it's just to find things in this very black and white type of context where there has to be an oppressor and an oppressed. And so if they're going to choose, they're going to choose the Palestinian people as the oppressed and the Israeli people and the Jews as the oppressor. This is how, this is what the polls have said. And it's just incredibly misguided. It's a complete lack of knowledge of history. It's a complete lack of knowledge of what the actual situation in both Israel and Gaza and the West Bank are. It's very strange to me that as these people are talking about oppressor, they don't mention Hamas at all. Even if they were going to mention the Israeli government in some way, the fact that Hamas is not even being brought into this conversation when they are a terrorist organization, not only terrorizing the Israeli people, but also terrorizing their own people makes me feel like this is a little bit something that's very, very historical going on here, that there is some sort of concerted effort of anti-Semitism, not to be a conspiracy theorist or anything like that. But we've seen this kind of thing happen in the past. Absolutely. And we are seeing not only this happening in college campuses, but online as well. The internet has been a wash recently of blatant anti-Semitism, as well as anti-Zionist articles, videos, memes, etc. You name it. The outrageous lies are sadly believed, as we've mentioned, by many who don't do enough of their own fact-checking, but simply believe the content they are exposed to. Some of them are so exorbitant that they've actually become laughable. But if laughter truly is the best medicine, then why fight these falsities with anything else? Our guest here in studio, Rachel E. Rotner, decided to do exactly that with one major difference. Her comedic skits are based on actual conversations and conceal a very sad truth. Take a look. All right, admissions. How may I help you? Hello, my name is Jamma. My son, Hamid, would really like to register to your establishment next year. I think you might have heard of him. He was one of the Hamas fighters who participated in the fight of October 7th, a real political activist. So I wanted to ask if you have some kind of political activism scholarship? No, all of our scholarships are need-based. There aren't any merit-based scholarships. It would not help if he says that he's a Hamas fighter. Everything that a student does helps them in the process. Okay, so that would be helpful if he writes down that he was in the October 7th massacre. In addition to everything else, our process looks at the student's entire secondary school career, both inside and outside of the classroom. And the massacre is an advantage, right? Any of their activities. We look at all of their activities outside of the classroom. And don't worry, he didn't rape any captive. He's very respectful for a gender self-definition. He only killed them. He's very feminist. So it will be okay, right? All I can say to you is that he can apply. Great, great. Because he's very respectful for a ethnic minority. The only slot of white babies. We don't need more white male in the world, right? Hello. Do you have any other admissions questions I can answer for you? Yes, we want to make sure about your campus rules so we don't do anything forbidden. You can smoke in the campus surroundings. I'm not sure if you can smoke on. Okay, what about drinking? Drinking is not allowed. What about raping? That's not allowed on campus either. Okay, how about the slaughtering babies around the campus? That's not allowed on campus either. What about wearing a hat? You can wear a hat. Oh, good. I was afraid for a moment. Okay, he's looking forward to being in your school. He has lots of very, very fun activities for him and the students and everyone. It will be so much fun. Thank you very, very much. Have a good day. You too. Aheli, this was a real conversation. Also something that was a real image was watching the presidents of three of the world's most elite universities sitting together at a witness table. All of them were women, one black, one Jewish, sitting there within days one of them is forced to resign at the congressional hearing on campus anti-Semitism. Why is it so difficult to say yes? Being an anti-Semite, expressing anti-Zionist rhetoric is against our code of conduct. Well, I think that Bert mentioned the anti-Semitism. I don't think this has anything to do with anti-Semitism, what's going on in the universities. I think they're just really confused about their morals at the moment because they got used to the fact that we always have to stand by the underdog, the people who have less money, have less political power, which is true most of the time. But sometimes the truth is a lot more complicated than that. I mean, not everyone. I mean, sure, if you have less money and less power and less education, then you're the underdog, but it doesn't mean automatically that you're right and that you have to fight your situation by all means necessary, which is the phrase that I keep hearing, but it's not true. I mean, I don't have a solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but I'm sure that the answer is not murdering babies and raping women. And I think that for people who are far away from these kind of conflicts on their daily lives and only read about it, and they see it in a kind of a, it's more like it's literature to them, it's poetic, it's let's stand by the weak, the weak guy. And it's not something that happens to them every day that threatens their lives, that threatens their kids. It's just something to read about on Twitter and say, oh, this poor guy, let's help them, which I totally understand and admire in a way, but I think that it's completely misguided and they, I mean, they don't see the whole picture. And that's what makes, that's what's funny to me because that's why I made these calls to Harvard and Yale because I do believe that they have good intentions, but I think the way those intentions got mixed up in the way is incredibly absurd and funny and sad, which for me is the best kind of satire. Absolutely. And as you mentioned, it seems to be an overriding theme of this idea of being misguided. Brett, you have been quite outspoken with many of the Jew haters in particular online. Why is bashing Israel and belittling Jews so attractive to so many, in particular now with Gen Z? Well, yeah, I have to disagree with Raheli. I mean, I agree with everything she said, except the fact that she disagreed with me, that it has nothing to do with anti-Semitism, but just respectfully, it absolutely does. If you are only calling out this situation and you're not calling out the myriad of other actual genocidal situations that are happening in the world. And even if regardless of complications in Israeli society and the Israeli government, I'm not saying that it's a government, their hands are not clean. It's a society, the hands are not clean. Things need to be reformed, things need to be done. But if you're only pointing out the one Jewish government when you live in the United States, and you're not even calling out your own government, your own society and the way that you're doing it, the problems did not go away that we've always had. So focusing on Israel in this way makes me think that you at least have unconscious bias. I'm not saying that everybody there is consciously saying I hate the Jews, but they are falling into something in an unconscious way when they're choosing to focus so much on this. Where as I advocate for my own people, as I advocate for Israel, people equate that to me being anti-Palestinian, to me being pro-war, to me celebrating the bombing of Gaza. When I've not said anything, I've only said the opposite of that. And I'm sorry, it is Jewish hatred. I know firsthand because of the amount of comments that I get that are solely directed at my Judaism, that are violent against me speaking out in favor of my people. So, and these are coming from Americans. These are coming from people who are part of groups that I stood for. And so it's definitely there is Jewish hatred involved. I do think that there is misinformation. I do think some are not aware that they are being anti-Semitic, but it's absolutely a virus that's running through everybody. I can, all I have to do is show you every single post I've made. There are comments there. And it's one thing to say free Palestine, but there is more than that being said that is way more hateful and deeply anti-Semitic. Brett Gellman, an American actor and comedian, as well as Racheli Rotner, an Israeli comedian and cartoonist. I want to thank you both, first and foremost for being here on our year in special, but perhaps more importantly for fighting the great fight online in particular. Thank you both so very much. Thank you. Thank you. And from comedy to the classics, this next clip will no doubt give you goosebumps and may even bring a tear to your eye. In the north of Israel, more specifically, the coastal city of Kaysaria, the largest musical show ever in Israel took place. Yes, in the midst of a war. And that is because it not only included hundreds of artists, but also the families of the abductees. Coming together with one message, the powerful and our global slogan, bring them home. Take a listen. Us, but definitely not least, bringing us to the end of this year in special. Joining me now from northern Israel is Ron Klein, the orchestral arranger for the homeland project and a musical composer for TV and films. Thank you so much for being with me on our special. Explain to us a little bit about how you came up with the idea. What did it involve? The coordination for this must have been incredibly difficult. Yeah, the, the who came with the idea is the main producer. She told me she was looking for a way to spread some light and hope from all the despair and sorrow that's around us. And she had a vision of a thousand musicians and singer singing in Caesarea for the kidnapped and their families. She turned to Iran Mittalman, the talented musician. And together they came with an idea to a renewed performance for the song, Habaita, coming home. Iran then wrote a wonderful and uplifting musical adaptation. And he wisely combined it, the national anthem inside the song. And you can see the very moving result. Absolutely. The video is simply beautiful. Seeing the families of hostages, their stories are just heart-wrenching and nothing, besides having their loved ones safely back in Israel would remotely heal their pain. But music often has the power to lighten the load a little bit. Do you believe that this is how they were feeling in that performance? And if music in this way can also drive home the message around the world of bringing the captives home? This is very much our hope that this project will increase the awareness of the terrible state that people who kidnapped are somewhere we don't know where. We all hope they will get back as soon as possible. Some of the kidnapped families will also participate in the video. And we were very moved from them. It was very moving for us. And just briefly, Ron, what is the next step for the Homeland Project? Where do you envision this going at least while there's still a war ensuing at the moment between Israel and Hamas? Currently, we are definitely overwhelmed with all the feedback we get from all over the world. This is spreading very fast. This project and raising awareness and we're very moved by that. I don't know of any plans ahead if we have any. But already now, we deeply hope that it will do some good and spread some hope. Maybe it will reach some of the kidnapped also. I desperately hope so too. Thank you, Ron Klein, the orchestral arranger for the Homeland Project for joining me. And obviously, we want to leave you on our your in special with more of that touching and moving music. i l made for me official dresser of i24 news good evening ladies and gentlemen 8 dollars or more is in a state of war families completely done down in their beds we have no idea where she has our soldiers are fighting on the front line but the general perception is something that certainly needs to to be fought as well. Entrevistas exclusivas report es desde la zona de guerra la reacción de los países hispanoparlantes and welcome to the special edition here on i24 news i'm back to levent or coming to live from our televised studios thanks for joining me this hour it is december 28th and today marks the 83rd day of war here in israel the fighting between the idf and hamas and gaza continues predominantly in northern gaza where the israeli military believes the terror groups last standing battalion is located the past 24 hours the idf announced the deaths of three more soldiers killed in battle bringing the toll of slain troops since the start of the ground offensive to 167 now in the north updates are coming in that a drone from lebanon set off sirens in northern israel intercepted by israeli air defenses those rocket reports were intercepted near haifa and the akko areas meanwhile wednesday marked the heaviest hezbollah barrages since the outbreak of war in gaza late on wednesday evening a kamikaze drone also hit an open area in the southern golan heights with the iran back militias in iraq claiming responsibility for the attack in the west bank clashes between the idf and the palestinians erupted during an overnight rest raid during which israeli security forces seized safe financial documents phones and recordings all in addition to the tens of millions of shekels that were seized as well well let's cross our lives to our correspondent peer clausian low standing by for us in southern israel pier what is the latest where you are at your location at this hour pier can you hear me all right it seems that we haven't got pier just yet but in the meantime i've got guests here with me in studio retired colonel amit as a former member of the israeli security agency and our middle east correspondent ariel osir and thank you gentlemen for joining me i'm it first and foremost it seems in the past 48 hours that the action is moving sort of from the south to the north in the sense that we've had the biggest barrage of rockets being fired in the north i think it's another escalation of for hezbollah but this seems to be more than that maybe we will see more action from the militia of iran a shia militia also from the south side of the golan and it's gathered for for what iran is trying to do now it's pushing the hands out of of the conflict but in another hand they are getting in hezbollah and other militia shia militia to be in the conflict so we will see more more and more escalation in the north in the side of hezbollah gentlemen stay with me and do you believe that we have our correspondent pier clauschenblatt up and running pier what is the latest that you can tell us at the moment on your location right the the air is trembling with the sound of explosions the roar of the fighter jets the outgoings of the sporadic artillery fire as well as the shriek the metal shriek of the gunship that are hovering overhead in a waiting mode and that are simply waiting to get coordinates from the ground forces when they identify a target and then either by sea by land or by air that target is being annihilated and that's what we've been seeing here although inside the gaza strip right now you can't see anything because of the fog so we're trying to decipher what's going on with the noise what we know is that there are three main areas of fighting one in gaza city in the neighborhood of al daraj and too far where there's a hamas battalion facing the 162 brigade then in the central sector of the gaza strip three refugee camps al nusayrat al buraj al mughazi there the six thirty six battalion is fighting the 36 brigade is fighting three hamas battalions and further south in hanouness and in the vicinity of hanouness you have at least five brigades one has been added to the others yesterday it was announced by the idf we're facing the hamas brigade in hanouness so these are the main areas of fighting and of course there is also fighting for the control of the excess roads the salacha dean road which crosses the gaza strip on the east of the gaza strip from north to south especially in the sector behind us there is a lot of fighting to rest control over the access road there's also another access road from east to west from israel to hanouness we're also there is a lot of fighting near the communities of al khuda and al fuhayri which from where the al nuqba elite commando units of hamas perpetrated their massacre on kibbutz near us one of the worst massacres of october 7 so these are the main area of fighting now the access roads are very important for three reasons first of all for logistical reasons for the idf to to channel ammunition food clothes for the soldier etc etc also for the displaced palestinian population if they can use that road it will facilitate their displacement toward rafah and also because they want to prevent terrorists from crossing the lines and go in support for other areas of fighting and also to prevent the moving of hostages now that means that the gaza strip now is cut in four sections the northern gaza strip and gaza city which is almost totally under operational control except for the two neighborhoods of gaza city which i mentioned earlier then there is after wadi raza the river of gaza city the central refugee camps in this direction then another section is the hanouness section and then there is rafah so you have now israel trying to rest control on four different areas of the gaza strip and trying to separate these areas from one another appear it does appear that more tunnels are being found and destroyed but will obviously discuss more on that right here in studio for the time being i want to thank you very much for the updates and the latest on the ground in the south ariel more tunnels being found in the gaza strip more specifically i suppose scary is that they're being found once again under civilian infrastructure well i mean this is something that israel knew all along and it's been trying to as as the wars progressed to illustrate this to the international community i think what israel is surprised regarding the the tunnel system and the potential fighting there is that there's different levels of of tunnels sometimes one tunnel system beneath another tunnel system and that is not only a challenge when you're talking about the the regular two-tier fighting of above ground and below ground but there's above ground below ground and even below that and so this is a challenge that the idf and also shin bet forces operating on the ground are learning on the go on the move these are not to my understanding there weren't plans drawn up for this kind of scenario indeed there were for for fighting in tunnels even though the the israeli forces are trying to avoid that at all cost and trying to probe them in advance like what we're seeing now this is a probe this isn't a soldier body cam and so the more these tunnels are uncovered the more israel can learn about them adapt to how adapt the way it deals with them and when the day comes as this israel approaches the third phase of the fighting which is going to be a lot more prolonged and according to the idf more surgical we are expected to see more engagement with these tunnels and so the valuable intelligence and information that israel's gathering now is expected to help it moving forward but indeed it is a very big challenge militarily and the idf helps to make the necessary adjustments as it moves forward it's the tunnels or at least subterranean warfare is not new in terms of a strategy that israel's enemies have been using we've seen this in the north with khizbollah tunneling under the northern border the terrain obviously vastly different as troops continue to move further on and press further on into the gaza strip is that why we're seeing khizbollah ramping up their attacks that almost it seems that if there's too much of a victory for israel in the gaza strip then khizbollah needs to get involved to balance that out i don't think that there is any connection between the that's the two issues khizbollah will get involved or engage in the north just because of interest of iran it's not connected to the palestinian even when they said iranian said that they did something in the north because of supporting the the palestinian in gaza it's it seems like the palestinian in gaza said that it's not like that and we saw that there is no connection still if there will be any a strategic decision from iran to make some movement uh at the north because something happens in the region not especially in the palestinian that's will be the only sign for us that there will be any connection between these two but i don't think that there is any arielle iran we know has said or at least suggested that the october 7th messica was as a result for the killing of kasam solemani by the americans in january of 2020 khamas denying that khizbollah has been relatively quiet on such an assertion well we have heard you're right and we did not we have not heard nasrallah khizbollah's leader in a public speech since the start of the war he was expected to deliver once or twice and and that was uh postponed indefinitely we can say um but regarding what khizbollah has been saying so there were uh khizbollah officials saying that um on the one hand uh hamas said that uh they don't want us to to join in a bigger capacity and that if there will be a victory will only be on palestinian land in gaza that is the only way to defeat israel this is a khizbollah member of parliament saying this on camera just earlier this week and also uh yesterday french newspaper la figuero uh sharing uh uh expose on the behind the scenes of the communication between hamas and khizbollah leading up there and on the day of october 7th saying that khizbollah was notified only half an hour before um this was a a call relate to to nasrallah as well and so um we can on the one hand look at these statements by khizbollah on the other hand listen to what the irgc saying as you mentioned the spokesperson saying that it was uh response to kassim sulimani then hamas saying no this was a response to uh israeli attacks on the alaqsa mosque now today at the funeral of uh uh razi musavi the irgc high ranking official in syria who was killed joseph salami the irgc commemoration strike i might add all israeli air strikes are alleged and fortunately um but if we're talking about um just today joseph salami irgc commander saying indeed that the october 7th attack was a solely palestinian matter and that the response for sulimani as well as musavi are going to be dealt with separately which is interesting considering while khizbollah may be one of the main proxies of iran hamas is definitely received funding and support as well from them there's a recent report that's come out that egypt who is trying to broker another hostage deal to bring back the 129 hostages that hamas is still holding captive along with palestinian islamic jihad and other terror factions in the gaza strips safely into israel while putting a halt on the fighting but they now claim that thinking of post war gaza without hamas in the government is unrealistic i mean really is this really what we're battling with or what israel has to deal with israel has no intention of reoccupying the gaza strip but can they still allow hamas at any at any level to maintain some kind of control in the strip yes um the egyptian are are very strong with with the thinking that um they can control what happened strategically with the gaza strip but still uh what will happen in gaza strip is not in the hand of the egyptian and what they will it will be just what the government of israel will want and we will not see hamas in any case diplomatically or politically getting engaged nor in gaza strip and nor in in the gaza in the west bank so it's just hallucinations and they're just waiting for for to be some some kind of a player in the region for negotiation they're talking about some some kind of of a thing that the hamas maybe will lead for negotiation but it's not real really something that's also been perhaps hard to believe but again as we've been talking about iran sort of fighting a shadow war against israel and correct me if i'm wrong i real but it was the first iraqi militian backed explosive device that was sent towards the gulland heights that made it to the gulland heights that made it to the gulland heights at least while this war has been ensuing it was that at all surprising are we expecting more fronts apart from hamas hezbollah you know at the uh yemen as well with the the hooty rebels are we expecting to see more fronts coming out from iran well iran's trying to activate them all as far as they're concerned they want arab's to fight their war i want it wants to see arab blood spilled as long as iranian blood is kept safe that is not what happened earlier this week in syria and that is considered a big blow to iran because that is against what they're what they've been planning to attack from syria from iraq again not knew they've tried it before i think it was a month ago that they launched a ballistic missile and it was intercepted by jordan when it as it flew over its airspace and so that is also an interesting engagement by jordan and this it didn't happen last night but indeed they this is not the first time they they tried to employ the the the proxy in iraq they will continue to do so to try and activate all the different arenas possible on israel as long as all the while to iran trying to distance itself and to try and avoid receiving a direct retaliation so far that plan hasn't worked so well for the iranians well speaking of a plan that may not be working so well the united states wanted to form a coalition of nations in order to target the red sea shipping routes and make sure that the hooty rebels were not impacting global shipping to the extent of which they have but there is news of some us allies and i pulling out saying that they want don't want to appear to pro israel it's looked like um the american doesn't have the real correlation to do something in the red sea and uh maybe maybe is just a way of thought of talking about us speaking um for israel but really nobody wants to do something i want to go back a little bit for what we said before about the iranian it's very important it seems like two days they are willing to to say in all the media that they are putting the hands back but even with another hand we see the militia even in syria are planning to get some involvement in the golan height and it's another and another place that we will have to see that we have to be alert of it's not just his bala is the militia in syria and of course the iranian militia that is launching for us missiles up to the golan heights we will have to see that we will have to be very alert of the north and side even if iran is saying that is not getting involved in this coalition yeah it's it's all eyes and ears at least not just on the south but on the north and obviously other possible fronts considering exactly where this can blow to amit asha arielle osaran thank you both very much for being with me here in studio onto a lighter topic with regards to this war a photographer is now traveling across israel to document the struggle of wives of idf reservists for her photo project called home front a hannah riftkin takes us behind the scenes of one of those photoshoots take a look a nation that comes together everyone is playing their part during wartime in israel sharoni galliano usually captures life's most special and happy milestones on october 7th she switched on a dime with the outbreak of war she now highlights israeli women whose partners have reported for me louis the hebu term for reserve duty for those with loved ones on the front lines this is the other home front i love that linear head on him think the thing that i saw the most around me which i didn't see being recognized or spoken about at all was the struggle of women whose husbands are at war and what it meant for them when we were expected in a way to resume life um to whatever capacity we can with children at home and the men away it leaves untidied homes and uncoordinated outfits it's the most candid it can be what has the experience been so far when you photograph these women when you go to visit them i hear a whole other side of it that i think we have to as a community as a country deal with in the future is these husbands aren't coming back the same she doesn't even get the opportunity or the chance to just um kind of just break down and let out what she's feeling because she has to be strong for her kids for her husband through this project i was able to really get a better picture listen to their stories and share them so that other people can know what they're going through and kind of take them out of themselves and look around and say who do i know that i can support who needs an ear to listen a shoulder to cry on or just someone to to see what they're experiencing the stories sharoni encounters are mainly among new immigrants and they range from balancing single motherhood to experiencing miscarriages to the prospect of giving birth alone while positive occasions and events best suit the spotlight her lens finds strength in authenticity i think on a large in a larger sense sometimes we go through really terrible things and they're horrible and we say like i don't want to remember this like i don't want to remember this um but i think that there is significance and value and importance to during those times to be in photos and to document them even if you don't look at them now because we're going to get through this however horrible it is we're going to get through this and there's going to be a day after and that day after i want women that i photograph from women in general to look back and say like look what i survived look how resilient i was rebecca is just one of more than a dozen women sharoni has documented so far i work in sales enablement and hp and to go i'm also a mom a wife and a friend and your husband's amelie my husband's amelie i'm on the bright side i didn't realize what an incredible husband i had i think until he was gone rebecca is doing her best to hold down the fort while there are sometimes immense challenges she finds empowerment in her family's wartime role and also in sharing her story i think it encouraged me to be one of the main characters in like the story of who's defending israel now it sort of gave me the permission that i needed to know that being my kid's mom right now and working and getting everyone in and out of a mclott is my part of what we're doing right now to protect israel american campuses are out for their christmas break and thus so pro-israel students can get a rest after what has been no doubt a tumultuous semester a group of them have also come here to israel senior correspondent ovan ultiman caught up with them and brings us their stories about challenges and how to overcome them a journey of two months through north america's fiery college campuses has brought them here to hostages square and televive where a delegation of students this week came as part of its trip to israel to gather strength for their pro-israel activism back home to share with israelis the challenges they face in the wake of the war the college campuses at least in canada have not been doing their job in protecting their jewish students they haven't you know they have a code of ethics to maintain they have a code of ethics to uphold the students came here through the hasbara fellowships organization and israel ambassadors dot com they met with israeli president isa kerzog we're welcome to the knesset by lawmaker danie danone and of course toured the south all the while telling their story we're a small community we're in the middle of nowhere blacksburg we have a bad hill and that's it and we're very close knit and we're very together we've got each other through this and we would love to see the same support coming from our classmates and our professors we're trying to get a lot of conversation on on campus because we see that these protests screaming at each other just fosters hate and just it just fosters more bad will between people and columbia is supposed to be this beacon of like people who are who are able to have conversations we're able to hold difficult ideas and be open-minded in this war america's college campuses have earned attention worldwide the field of battle for the future of us ties with israel and even of israel itself at the macro a story that could shake international relations at the micro a story that shakes a sense of security a lot of the girls like they really feel very unsafe walking back to the home and like one of my friends he put together this like task squad of of people who were willing to like protect people when they walk so now like if someone's leaving the hill they text the child like hey i'm walking 10 blocks and someone want to walk with me we all walk together we were escorted by police they blocked off the road they really supported us in that moment but still we had people driving past and screaming at us having Palestinian flags and walking back to helal to cars and to meet back with people they they followed us on campus and they honked at us and they screamed at us at cornell the kosher dining hall received a death threat in our jewish community chat someone alerted us to these posts and it felt like reading almost similar to if you read the from kibbutz berry their whatsapp chat about being so confused and not knowing what was going on obviously it's not close to the same extent a lot of people sheltered in place like similar to how rockets are placed here people just wouldn't leave their apartments for the night amid the turmoil students did talk of jewish communities that have come together of jewish students showing pride the hillhouse just packed 24 seven sadly a lot of that has to do with a lot of people lost certain friends based off of politics a lot of people who were in frats or sororities or certain clubs where they felt like that was their main community a lot of my friends that used to not display their kippo or their stars of david started putting them on um out of unity and show that they're not afraid in israel the students have joined a wave of diaspora jews coming over the year-end holidays to volunteer and show support bearing witness to the kama atrocities like yesterday we were in sterot bearing witness to the damage the physical damage and the emotional trauma that they it's not the same televieve but again it feels closer it feels more tight and you can feel the hurt of everybody but you can also feel the rock the spirit the strength a moment of solidarity for more challenging days ahead that brings us to the end of this special edition on i24 news but stay tuned because at the top of the hour there'll be more updates on the latest today is december 28th meaning if marks the 83rd day of war here in israel the latest updates include the fighting between idf and hamas in the gaza strip that is continuing predominantly in northern gaza where the israeli military believes the terror group's last standing battalion is located there's also been the deaths of three more soldiers killed in the gaza strip in battle announced bringing the total to 167 in the north there has been record alert sirens going off as well as drones being sent towards the northern part of israel wednesday also marked the heaviest trezbole barrage since the outbreak of the war all this and more coming up right after the break stay with us you're watching i24 news israel is in a state of war families completely done down in their beds we have no idea where we see as our soldiers are fighting on the front line but the general perception is something that certainly needs to to be fought as well what i saw today is was unbelievable uh the devastation on the homes of destruction the scene still that you could imagine of what happened it was like something out of a movie and still also the smell overpowering uh it was an important day for me and to show the viewers of i24 news but it was but it wasn't a difficult challenging day this was the home of yannev ohana to see basically a modern day pogrom and to feel the vulnerability you know we live in israel we are so dependent on the army and the government and authorities to provide security see how all of that can be overturned in the course of one day i think it really makes us understand how fragile our lives are and how how much we're going to have to fight for our existence our very existence uh in this corner of the world welcome to this special broadcast on i24 news i'm khaled bendevi this month marks the 38 years since i started as a journalist in israel and nothing was like the last two months this has been the most challenging most emotional most heartbreaking and in some ways most complex story that i've had to cover uh during that time and never i felt the kind of responsibility that i had to present this story to the world uh in the right context with the right facts and to really speak truth to power uh in this situation and welcome to the special edition here on i24 news i'm batch 11th or coming July from our televised studios thanks for joining me this hour it is december 28th and today marks the 83rd day of war here in israel the fighting between the idf and khamas and gaza continues predominantly in northern gaza where the israeli military believes the terror group's last standing battalion is located the past 24 hours the idf announced the deaths of three more soldiers killed in battle bringing the toll of slain troops since the start of the ground offensive to 167 now in the north updates are coming in that a drone from lebanon set off sirens in northern israel intercepted by israeli air defenses those rocket reports were intercepted near khaifa and the akko areas meanwhile wednesday marked the heaviest hezbollah barrage since the outbreak of war in gaza late on wednesday evening a kamikaze drone also hit an open area in the southern golan heights with the iran-backed militias in iraq claiming responsibility for the attack in the west bank clashes between the idf and the palestinians erupted during an overnight arrest raid during which israeli security forces seized safes financial documents phones and recordings all in addition to the tens of millions of shekels that were seized as well well let's cross our lives to our correspondent pier standing by for us in southern israel pier what is the latest where you are at your location at this hour pier can you hear me all right it seems that we haven't got pier just yet but in the meantime i've got guests here with me in studio retired colonel amit as a former member of the israeli security agency and our middle east correspondent areal osir and thank you gentlemen for joining me amit first and foremost it seems in the past 48 hours that the action is moving sort of from the south to the north in the sense that we've had the biggest barrage of rockets being fired in the north well i think it's another escalation of khizballah but it seems to be more than that maybe uh we will see more action from the militia of iran a shia militia also from the south side of the golan and it's a gather for for what iran is trying to do now it's pushing the hands out of of the conflict but in another hand they are getting in khizballah and other militia shia militia to be in the conflict so we will see more more and more escalation in the north in the side of khizballah gentlemen stay with me and do you believe that we have our correspondent pier clash and la up and running pier what is the latest that you can tell us at the moment on your location right the the air is trembling with the sound of explosions the roar of the fighter jets the outgoings of the sporadic artillery fire as well as the shriek the metal shriek of the gunship that are hovering overhead in a waiting mode and that are simply waiting to get coordinates from the ground forces when they identify a terror target and then either by sea by land or by air that target is being annihilated and that's what we've been seeing here although inside the gaza strip right now you can't see anything because of the fog so we're trying to decipher what's going on with the noise what we know is that there are three main areas of fighting one in gaza city in the neighborhood of al daraj and to far where there's a hamas battalion facing the 162 brigade then in the central sector of the gaza strip three refugee camps al-nouserat al-burej al-mughazi there the 36 battalion is fighting the 36 brigade is fighting three hamas battalions and further south in hanunas and in the vicinity of hanunas you have at least five brigades one has been added to the others yesterday it was announced by the idf facing the hamas brigade in hanunas so these are the main areas of fighting and of course there is also fighting for the control of the excess roads the salah adin road which crosses the gaza strip on the east of the gaza strip from north to south especially in the sector behind us there is a lot of fighting to rest control over the access road there's also another access road from east to west from israel to hanunas where also there is a lot of fighting near the communities of al-khuda and al-fukhari which from where the al-nurbah elite commando units of hamas perpetrated their massacre on kibbutz near oz one of the worst massacres of october 7 so these are the main area of fighting now the access roads are very important for three reasons first of all for logistical reasons for the idf to to channel ammunition food clothes for the soldier etc etc also for the displaced palestinian population if they can use that road it will facilitate their displacement toward rafah and also because they want to prevent terrorists from crossing the lines and go in support for other areas of fighting and also to prevent the moving of hostages now that means that the gaza strip now is cut in four sections the northern gaza strip and gaza city which is almost only under operational control except for the two neighborhoods of gaza city which i mentioned earlier then there is after wadi raza the river of gaza city the central refugee camps in this direction then another section is the hanunas section and then there is rafah so you have now israel trying to rest control on four different areas of the gaza strip and trying to separate these areas from one another uh appear it does appear that more tunnels are being found and destroyed but we'll obviously discuss more on that right here in studio for the time being i want to thank you very much for the updates and the latest on the ground in the south arielle more tunnels being found in the gaza strip more specifically i suppose scary is that they're being found once again under civilian infrastructure well i mean this is something that israel knew all along and it's been trying to as as the wars progressed to illustrate this to the international community i think what israel is surprised regarding the the tunnel system and the potential fighting there is that there's different levels of tunnels sometimes one tunnel system beneath another tunnel system and that is not only a challenge when you're talking about the the regular two-tier fighting of above ground and below ground but there's above ground below ground and even below that and so this is a challenge that the idf and also shin bet forces operating on the ground are learning on the go on the move these are not to my understanding uh there weren't planes drawn up for this kind of scenario indeed there were for for fighting in tunnels even though the the the israeli forces are trying to avoid that at all cost and trying to probe them in advance like what we're seeing now this is a probe this isn't a soldier body cam and so uh the more these tunnels are uncovered the more israel can learn about them adapt to how adapt the way it deals with them and when the day comes as this israel approaches the third phase of the fighting which is going to be a lot more prolonged and according to the idf more surgical we are expected to see more engagement with these tunnels and so the valuable intelligence and information that israel's gathering now is expected to help it moving forward but indeed it is a very big challenge militarily and the idf hopes to make the necessary adjustments as it moves forward i mean the tunnels or at least subterranean warfare is not new in terms of a strategy that israel's enemies have been using we've seen this in the north with his bullet tunneling under the northern border the terrain obviously vastly different as troops continue to move further on and press further on into the gaza strip is that why we're seeing hezbollah ramping up their attacks that almost it seems that if there's too much of a victory for israel in the gaza strip then hezbollah needs to get involved to balance that out i don't think that there is any uh connection between the that's the two issues hezbollah will get involved or engage in the north just because of interest of iran it's not connected to the palestinian even when they said iranian said that they did something in the north because of supporting the the palestinian in gaza it's it seems like the palestinian in gaza said that it's not like that and we saw that there is no connection still if there will be any um a strategic uh a decision from iran to make some movement at the north because something happens in the region not especially in the palestinian that will be the only sign for us that there will be any connection between these two but i don't think that there is any arielle iran we know has said or at least suggested that the october 7th messica was as a result for the killing of kassam solemany by the americans in january of 2020 khamas denying that hezbollah's been relatively quiet on such an assertion well we have heard you're right and we did not we have not heard nasrallah hezbollah's leader in a public speech since the start of the war he was expected to deliver once or twice and and that was uh postponed indefinitely we can say um but regarding what hezbollah has been saying so there were hezbollah officials saying that um on the one hand hamas said that uh they don't want us to to join in a bigger capacity and that if there will be a victory will only be on palestinian land in gaza that is the only way to defeat israel this is a hezbollah member of parliament saying this on camera just earlier this week and also yesterday french newspaper la figaro sharing a expose on the behind the scenes of the communication between hamas and hezbollah leading up there and on the day of october 7th saying that hezbollah was notified only half an hour before um this was a a call relayed to to nasrallah as well and so um we can on the one hand look at these statements by hezbollah on the other hand uh listen to what the irgc saying as you mentioned the spokesperson saying that it was a response to kassim sulimony then hamas saying no this was a response to israeli attacks on the alaksa mosque now today at the funeral of uh uh razi musavi the irgc high-ranking official in syria who was killed hossain salami the irgc commander strike i might add all israeli airstrikes are alleged unfortunately um but if we're talking about um just today hossain salami irgc commander saying indeed that the october 7th attack was a solely palestinian matter and that the response for sulimony as well as musavi are going to be dealt with separately which is interesting considering while hezbollah may be one of the main proxies of iran hamas has definitely received funding and support as well from them there's a recent report that's come out that egypt who is trying to broker another hostage deal to bring back the 129 hostages that hamas is still holding captive along with palestinian islamic jihad and other terror factions in the Gaza Strip safely into israel while putting a halt on the fighting but they now claim that thinking of post war Gaza without hamas in the government is unrealistic i mean really is this really what we're battling with or what israel has to deal with israel has no intention of reoccupying the Gaza Strip but can they still allow hamas at any at any level to maintain some kind of control in the strip yes the egyptian are very strong with the with the thinking that they can control what happened strategically with the Gaza Strip but still what will happen in Gaza Strip is not in the hand of the egyptian and what they will it will be just what the government of israel will want and we will not see hamas in any case diplomatically or politically getting engaged nor in Gaza Strip and nor in the in the in the western bank so it's just hallucinations and they're just waiting for for to be some some kind of a player in the region for negotiation they are talking about some some kind of a thing that the hamas maybe will lead for negotiation but it's not real really something that's also been perhaps hard to believe but again as we've been talking about iran sort of fighting a shadow war against israel and correct me if i'm wrong arielle but it was the first iraqi militia backed explosive device that was sent towards the golan heids that made it to the golan heids at least while this war has been ensuing it was that at all surprising are we expecting more fronts apart from hamas hezbollah you know at the yemen as well with the the huhti rebels are we expecting to see more fronts coming out from iran well iran's trying to activate them all as far as they're concerned they want arabs to fight their war i want they want to see arab blood spilled as long as iranian blood is kept safe that is not what happened earlier this week in syria and that is considered a big blow to iran because that is against what they're what they've been planning to attack from syria from iraq again not knew they've tried it before i think it was a month ago that they launched a ballistic missile and it was intercepted by jordan when as it flew over its airspace and so that is also an interesting engagement by jordan and this it didn't happen last night but indeed this is not the first time they they tried to employ the the proxie in iraq they will continue to do so to try and and activate all the different arenas possible on israel as long as all the while to iran trying to distance itself and to try and avoid receiving direct retaliation so far that plan hasn't worked so well for the iranians well speaking of a plan that may not be working so well the united states wanted to form a coalition of nations in order to target the red sea shipping routes and make sure that the hootie rebels were not impacting global shipping to the extent of which they have but there is news of some us allies now pulling out saying that they want don't want to appear to pro-israel it's look like the american doesn't have the real correlation to do something in the red sea and maybe maybe it's just a way of thought of talking about speaking for israel but really nobody wants to do something i want to go back a little bit for what we said before about the iranian it's very important it seems like two days they are willing to to say in all the media that they are putting the hands back but in with another hand we see the militia even in syria are planning to get some involvement in the golan height and it's another in another place that we will have to see that we have to be alert of it's not just rizbala is the militia in syria and of course the iranian militia that is launching for our missiles up to the golan heights we will have to see that we will have to be very alert of the northern side even if iran is saying that is not getting involved in this coalition yeah it's it's all eyes and ears at least not just on the south but on the north and obviously other possible fronts considering exactly where this can blow to amit asa arielle osaran thank you both very much for being with me here in studio onto a lighter topic with regards to this war a photographer is now traveling across israel to document the struggle of wives of idf reservists for her photo project called homefront akhanna rivkin takes us behind the scenes of one of those photoshoots take a look a nation that comes everyone is playing their part during wartime in israel sharoni galliano usually captures life's most special and happy milestones on october 7th she switched on a dime with the outbreak of war she now highlights israeli women whose partners have reported for me luim the hebu term for reserve duty for those with loved ones on the front lines this is the other homefront i love that lean your head on him i think the thing that i saw the most around me which i didn't see being recognized or spoken about at all was the struggle of women whose husbands are at war and what it meant for them when we were expected in a way to resume life um to whatever capacity we can with children at home and the men away it leaves untidied homes and uncoordinated outfits it's the most candid it can be what has the experience been so far when you photograph these women when you go to visit them i hear a whole other side of it that i think we have to as as a community as a country deal with in the future is these husbands aren't coming back the same she doesn't even get the opportunity or the chance to just um kind of just break down and let out what she's feeling because she has to be strong for her kids for her husband through this project i was able to really get a better picture listen to their stories and share them so that other people can know what they're going through and kind of take them out of themselves and look around and say who do i know that i can support who needs an ear to listen a shoulder to cry on or just someone to to see what they're experiencing the stories sharoni encounters are mainly among new immigrants and they range from balancing single motherhood to experiencing miscarriages to the prospect of giving birth alone while positive occasions and events best suit the spotlight her lens finds strength in authenticity i think on a lot in a larger sense sometimes we go through really terrible things and they're horrible and we say like i want to remember this like i don't want to remember this um but i think that there is significance and value and importance to during those times to be in photos and to document them even if you don't look at them now because we're going to get through this however horrible it is we're going to get through this and there's going to be a day after and that day after i want women that i photograph from women in general to look back and say like look what i survived look how resilient i was rebecca is just one of more than a dozen women sharoni has documented so far i work in sales enablement and hp and digo i'm also a mom a wife and a friend and your husband's amelie my husband's amelie i'm on the bright side i didn't realize what an incredible husband i had i think until he was gone rebecca is doing her best to hold down the fort while there are sometimes immense challenges she finds empowerment in her family's wartime role and also in sharing her story i think it encouraged me to be one of the main characters in like the story of who's defending israel right now it sort of gave me the permission that i needed to know that being my kid's mom right now and working and getting everyone in and out of a mclot is my part of what we're doing right now to protect israel american campuses are out for their christmas break and thus so pro-israel students can get a rest after what has been no doubt a tumultuous semester a group of them have also come here to israel senior correspondent ovan ultiman caught up with them and brings us their stories about challenges and how to overcome them a journey of two months through north america's fiery college campuses has brought them here to hostages square and tell aviv where a delegation of students this week came as part of its trip to israel to gather strength for their pro-israel activism back home to share with israelis the challenges they face in the wake of the war the college campuses at least in canada have not been doing their job in protecting their jewish students they haven't you know they have a code of ethics to maintain they have a code of ethics to uphold the students came here through the hasbara fellowships organization and israel ambassadors dot com they met with israeli president isa kerzog were welcomed to the knesset by lawmaker danie danone and of course toured the south all the while telling their story we're a small community we're in the middle of nowhere blacksburg we have a bad hill and that's it and we're very close knit and we're very together we've got each other through this and we would love to see the same support coming from our classmates and our professors we're trying to get a lot of conversation on on campus because we see that these protests screaming at each other just fosters hate and just it just fosters more bad will between people and columbia is supposed to be this beacon of like people who are who are able to have conversations who are able to hold difficult ideas and be open-minded in this war america's college campuses have earned attention worldwide the field of battle for the future of us ties with israel and even of israel itself at the macro a story that could shake international relations at the micro a story that shakes a sense of security a lot of the girls like they really feel very unsafe walking back to the home and like one of my friends he put together this like task squad of of people who were willing to like protect people when they walk so now like if someone's leaving to hell they text the child like hey i'm walking 10 blocks and someone want to walk with me we all walk together we were escorted by police they blocked off the road they really supported us in that moment but still we had people driving past and screaming at us having Palestinian flags and walking back to cars and to meet back with people they they followed us on campus and they honked at us and they screamed at us at cornell the kosher dining hall received a death threat in our jewish community chat someone alerted us to these posts and it felt like reading almost similar to if you read the from kibbutz berry their whatsapp chat about being so confused and not knowing what was going on obviously it's not close to the same extent a lot of people sheltered in place like similar to how rockets are placed here people just wouldn't leave their apartments for the night amid the turmoil students did talk of jewish communities that have come together of jewish students showing pride the hillhouse just packed 24 7 sadly a lot of that has to do with a lot of people lost certain friends based off of politics a lot of people who were in frats or sororities or certain clubs where they felt like that was their main community a lot of my friends that used to not display their kipo or their stars of david started putting them on um out of unity and show that they're not afraid in israel the students have joined a wave of diaspora jews coming over the year end holidays to volunteer and show support bearing witness to the khama atrocities like yesterday we were in sterot bearing witness to the damage the physical damage and the emotional trauma that they caused it's not the same televieve but again it feels closer it feels more tight and you can feel the hurt of everybody but you can also feel the rock the spirit the strength a moment of solidarity for more challenging days ahead that brings us to the end of this special edition on i24 news but stay tuned because at the top of the hour there'll be more updates on the latest today is december 28th meaning if marks the 83rd day of war here in israel the latest updates include the fighting between idf and hamas in the gaza strip that is continuing predominantly in northern gaza where the israeli military believes the terror group's last standing battalion is located there's also been the deaths of three more soldiers killed in the gaza strip in battle announced