 In the news edition, I'm Vanessa Levine, starting in the north of Israel after an Israeli farmer was killed in a missile strike out of Lebanon earlier on Thursday afternoon. Emergency teams confirming the 60-year-old man was killed near the Israeli settlement of Matat near the northern border. Let's find out exactly what is happening on the ground. Our Middle East correspondent, Ariel Ozaran, is in northern Israel. An Israeli farmer killed in that missile strike. The IDF responding straight away. What is the latest there? What can you tell us? Right, Benita, following the announcement of the death of the 60-year-old farmer from Matat, the IDF saying that it is responding to the source of fire with attack helicopters as well as artillery. This comes as Hezbollah claims responsibility for its seventh attack along the border just today. On the Lebanese side, they're reporting of widespread Israeli artillery shelling all across the western and central sector of the border with Israel so far. No reports of injuries over there, but indeed the deadly attack today while it has prompted an immediate response from the IDF is expected to. We are, we should expect to see in the coming hours a more significant Israeli response on Hezbollah targets. We have seen that earlier during the day, but obviously following this deadly anti-tank attack on the area of Matat, this will prompt a more severe Israeli response, as it usually does in these kinds of situations. And Ariel, earlier on as well, Red Alert siren sounding in Arab al-Aramshah in the north. What update can you share on that front? Right, so just about half an hour after the anti-tank attack, anti-tank missile attack on the border community of Matat. So a little to the west in Arab al-Aramshah, rocket alert sirens were also heard. This is about an hour, hour and a half ago. There have been no reports of injuries or damage as a response as a result of that attack. But obviously this just indicates the rapid escalation of these cross-border fires, a dynamic that we've seen being carried out here along the border over these past few days. Obviously every day more attacks than the day before. And we are indeed on pace, at least according to how this day is progressing, to be on that trajectory as well. And obviously today is two months exactly since the start of this war, since that Hamas terror onslaught on the 7th of October in southern Israel. But in the last two months, thousands of people up north, thousands of residents of those communities close to the border have evacuated, amidst fears about what could transpire along that front. Talk to us about what the latest development means for those communities waiting for the green light in the coming weeks or months to allow them to go back home. Right, Benita, so that green light isn't coming anytime soon and as far as the residents who have been evacuated are concerned, they don't plan to return anytime soon until Israel takes care, as they say, regarding the threat up north. Now on that note, Prime Minister Netanyahu as well as Defense Minister Joav Garant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Alevi held a situation assessment up in the Northern Command earlier today. And Netanyahu following that also visited an artillery base in the Upper Galilee, issuing kind of a threat to not so veiled, I should say, to Hezbollah saying that if Hezbollah chooses to start an all-out war, then it will single-handedly bring the situation in southern Lebanon and Beirut to share the same fate as Gaza and Han Yunis. Obviously, a reference to the widespread damage and destruction caused by Israel's attack in Gaza in an attempt to try and deter Hezbollah from escalating the situation even further. It looks like a tense few hours, days and weeks ahead. Thank you so much for now. Our correspondent, Ariel Ossiran, live from Northern Israel. Stay safe. More to come from Ariel, of course, in the coming hours. Now it's exactly two months since the darkest day in Israel's 75-year history. Since that surprise Hamas terror onslaught in southern Israel on the 7th of October, more than 1,200 people shot or butchered during the hours-long killing rampage. More than 240 people were abducted, babies, children, women, men, and the elderly held captive by Hamas in Gaza. In total, 110 hostages had been released. Most of them during that brief truce, a hostage deal brokered by Qatar. At the moment, 138 people are still in captivity, including the youngest hostage, baby Fear Bebas, who was kidnapped with his mom Shiri and four-year-old brother Ariel. The two redhead boys becoming a symbol of the pain of the nation, holding a defenseless mother and her two young children captive for more than two months now. Hamas, saying in recent weeks the Bebas family had been handed to another terror group in the strip to this day, no confirmation if that is in fact true. The Red Cross is yet to see any of the hostages in captivity. Confirmation today that Mohammed al-Atrash, who has been missing for two months, is among the hostages being held by Hamas, relatives of the 40-year-old father of 13 from the Bedouin village of Sawa in the Negev haven't heard from him since the terror assault. And now we check in with our senior defense correspondent Jonathan Regev. He joins us from southern Israel. And Jonathan, I understand you are at an event which is celebrating women from Gaza border communities. Tell us more. It's two months since that terror assault. What is the atmosphere they're like right now? That is right. This is an event which is set to begin in about 30 minutes. And it is meant to celebrate the bravery of the women of the Gaza border communities. It's probably not by chance that it is held here in the city of Ophakim in southern Israel. Perhaps the most famous woman back then on a terrible day of October 7th was a woman known as Rachel from Ophakim, Rachel from Ophakim. Why so? There were Hamas terrorists in her home for hours and hours and she kept them busy and kept them busy and prevented them from killing her or abducting her. It's a story of bravery. And today, two months later, the city of Ophakim is here celebrating the bravery of women in the Gaza border. There are going to be some female singers coming to perform here in just about 30 minutes. Because let's remember there have been so many bravery stories of women, soldiers, police women from every sphere. We heard the story of the tankers and so on, the women from the tanks. So this event comes to celebrate that. Certainly the name Rachel is one that is being held in high esteem across the country right now. I understand many babies in the last two months have been given the name because she is one of the heroines of that day. In terms of the operations on the ground right now, Jonathan, let's change gears because I understand that two Hamas intelligence operatives have been caught by the IDF. Tell us more, what is the latest on that front? Have been killed. Actually, two senior officials adding to the many more which have already been killed. One is Abdulaziz Rantisi. The older generation may remember this name as this was the Hamas leader which was killed back in 2004. He was in charge of all of the lookouts basically in the entire Gaza strip, basically on the lookouts monitoring the movement of the Israeli army. And another senior official, Ahmed Ayush was also in charge of coordinating all of the images from those lookouts again in the entire Gaza strip. These are two major officers from the Intelligence Unit of Hamas, both killed in the last few days by IDF forces. Thank you so much. Defense correspondent Jonathan Reggae of our Senior Defense Correspondent, live from southern Israel. More to come from Jonathan in the coming hours. And joining me now in studio, it's a pleasure to welcome Dr. David Shimoni, former intelligence official in the Commanders for Israel's Security. Dr. Shimoni, thank you so much. And what a story to start with on that front. We just heard from my colleague Jonathan Reggae of two Hamas intelligence operatives, well-known operatives, eliminated by the IDF. Talk to us about the significance of this breakthrough right now. I would have preferred that they were not being killed but being captive, being caught because two senior intelligence officers can be very valuable to our intelligence. It is a blow to them. I think the IDF is eliminating a lot of the high-ranking officers of Hamas. And the loss of two intelligence officers is a great blow to the ability to read the situation, to make a greater picture of what's happening and to try to plan their actions. Talking about intelligence, we've seen in the past few days many, many Hamas operatives being captive, taken by Israel to interrogation. And I believe this will give the IDF additional intelligence a lot of information that could be relevant to the situation of the hostages, maybe the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense hinted of Israel considering military operations to try to rescue some of those hostages. So I believe that the intelligence picture of what's happening now in Hanyunas area and with our hostages is improving a lot because of this income of many, many Hamas operatives being caught by us and imprisoned and interrogated. Talking of exactly that, take a look at this image. Scores of terrorist suspects arrested inside the Gaza Strip. Now, obviously, the reason they are not wearing any clothes is so that troops can make sure that they aren't hiding weapons or explosives. But Dr. Shimoni, given what you're just describing, talk to us about A, the scale of the arrests, where these suspects would be taken and exactly what you alluded to. What kind of information could be gleaned from this group on our screens right now? There's a very fast kind of initial intake intelligence understanding of each one of these captives. Who is he? What does he know? And there are interrogators on the field, field intelligence officers who speak Arabic and who are intelligence officers who will question all of them to see if any of them or some of them have immediate information, information about troops, about our hostages. But this will be done on the field. After that, they will be sent to safer places, they won't be under fire, where professional interrogators can question them for as long as we need to gather a full picture, to try to match stories that each one of them says separately, and to create new intelligence that will be useful to our troops, where to go, where is the dangerous axes that are booby trapped, hopefully positions or locations of hostages. So there's a lot, a lot of intelligence flowing from these captive Hamas members. Some of them, of course, know nothing. Some of them are very low ranking, but all of them will be questioned. All of them will be screened. And those who have immediate information will be interrogated on the other spot. And those who we believe have more substantial information will be taken to custody and interrogated there. Talk to us, though, about the time frames here, because obviously time is of the essence. It's two months into this war. And for two months, there are 138 hostages still being held captive in dire conditions. It is so troubling to think of exactly what is unfolding there right now. What is the urgency, so to speak, in terms of the intelligence gathering, in terms of the interrogation that you were talking about and you yourself will know about, in terms of making sure that reliable information is gleaned as soon as possible? Very, very, very urgent. Two months for the captives for our hostages is terrible, especially for the soldiers. There's some kind of unwritten understanding that there are no codes of contact regarding our soldiers. So I believe they are treated very badly, malnutrition over there, and interrogations, of course. And some of them, or many of them, could have arrived there injured from the October 7th assault. So yes, I think it's very urgent. I think from the beginning of the war, I've been your guest here and saying that I believe getting them all back as soon as possible is a top priority, most urgent. Other considerations regarding timetables, of course, are the tension that is growing between us and the United States about them saying, in January, the war should be ending, the hostilities will end. Israel is pressing for more time. I believe there's also political reasons behind this gap between us and the United States. The United States have a very clear understanding of what will be the future picture of Gaza, of the Middle East. And Israel, unfortunately, does not. We have a leadership that can agree about military objectives, but not about political objectives. And they're unwilling, they're delaying the discussion what's going to happen when the war ends. So for the Americans ending the war means to begin some big. Last week, we lost the world lost Dr. Henry Kissinger, who taught us his legacy that a war should lead to a political agreement, to a settlement, a final settlement of hostilities, of conflicts. And I believe that our leadership are not really it with the plan. They haven't agreed yet upon a plan. What is the right solution for Gaza? What to do in the West Bank? How to address the Palestinian issue? So for us, for our leadership, time is good. If the war will end a year from now, it will help them to contain this coalition they have and to avoid these pressing questions. And of course, right now, the focus and the immediate focus is the existential threat that exists right now, not to mention, of course, at the same time, getting back the 138 hostages being held captive exactly two months to the day unimaginable. Dr. Shimoni, stay with us. There's more to discuss. But on this exact front, we now welcome Professor Nadav Davidovic, the chair of the Israeli Public Health Physicians Association and director of the School of Public Health at Ben Gurion University. He joins us from Tel Aviv Professor. Thank you so much for your time. We are talking here in studio about the physical and psychological trauma the hostages have been through. Difficult to process what the last two months must have been like. 110 hostages are home. 138 still in captivity. So from a medical perspective, what can you share about the ordeal, the impact of the conditions, the uncertainty, the lack of food in captivity? What details are emerging? Well, first of all, we need to understand that when we're talking about health, the physical aspects are mental health aspects and also the social aspects related to health. I don't think we can speak of one condition that fits all. It's very different, of course, different age groups. Gender is very important here. We know, unfortunately, for example, that women, especially women that probably suffered also from sexual violence, as we know, and had also their own needs in terms of sanitation are different than men. And by the way, men also some of them suffered from sexual violence. And we know that there are people that are elderly suffering from previous conditions, not given any medications. It's unheard of that until now, the Red Cross didn't have any access to those in captivity and they couldn't bring them medications. Every person there, there is a medical file that was arranged. And this is horrible. We know from those that were released that the conditions are very bad. In terms of food, as you mentioned, in terms of course, of the mental health aspects. And this is really something unheard of. And in terms of the history of Israel, we never had such a large number and such condition for so long time. And even on the international scale, this is something that very minimal knowledge and we are learning as we continue. And we need to be very, very attentive and demand the release, of course. Professor, we know as a nation, the outrage here about the fact that the Red Cross has not managed to get access to the hostages, which at this hour include babies and the elderly. But as a doctor, someone with your medical experience, you just mentioned that there are files that are available. What does it mean? Number one, that there are files. Where are they? Why does the Red Cross not have them? And why are they not doing anything about it? And then again, as a doctor, what does eight weeks of captivity do to someone who has an existing health condition to start? The files were given to the Red Cross. The all interaction with the families and also the medical records that belong to the specific individuals that are covered by the different health funds in Israel. Also, my colleague and my friend, Professor Hagai Levine, together with others working together, the headquarters of the families, they took lots of information and transferred it to the Ministry of Health here and also to the Red Cross. We need to understand that the Red Cross, the way of operation is to keep neutrality. This is very, very frustrating and maybe puts a whole question mark about future operation of the Red Cross. If the Hamas is not willing to get any information or to lead them to those in captivity in order to give the medicine, so they have nothing to do. The question are they active enough maybe to try to do more or maybe to be in touch with those who have leverage on Hamas like Qatar and others. That's a good question. Now to your second question about being in captivity for eight weeks. This is a multi-dimensional issue because we're talking about nutrition, lack of vitamins. We're talking about being held in tunnels without seeing the daylight. We are talking about emotional torture and physical torture according to the testimony of those being released. Also, for example, if you're suffering from hypothyroidism, like one of those that were released, Elma Avram, she suffered from hypothermia and bradycardia, very low heart rate when she was released. Actually, she almost died in captivity and was taken to the emergency department immediately and now she's not in immediate danger. By the way, some of those that were released maybe at the beginning looked okay, but it's clear that they got different medications, psychiatric medication in order for them to look more cheerful. Some of them are now going operations or maybe even suffering from stroke after they were released because they didn't take the ongoing medications and suffering from chronic conditions, hypertension, cardiovascular problems, diabetes, and together with the very bad nutrition, it's a very bad combination. It's an absolutely abominable situation and criminal to think that, as you say, those files are in the hands of the Red Cross, whether it's Qatar, whether it's the US, whether it's any other Gulf nations, any player that could put pressure on the people involved in this travesty to make sure that medications get to people who have been in hostage for two months. It's just unbelievable to think that this is the case eight weeks in. Professor, you alluded to the fact that some of the hostages were given some kind of drug when they were freed to make them seem calm and happy. We saw these scenes where they were waving in cases and smiling even at armed Hamas terrorists. Talk us through the confirmation. What is known about the drugs that were given to these freed hostages and the scenes that we saw on our screens, people waving at their captors? So again, I want to be very careful and also to keep the privacy, but we know that some of those in captivity were given psychiatric medications in order for them to be more relaxed. Probably, we know that Hamas gradually were staging more and more release almost as a horrible satanic kind of reality show. And part, a major part of what Hamas is doing is playing on psychology. And I think this makes it even more horrible. And so this psychiatric medication, again, it's clear that some were given, not so clear of all of them. We need to remember that not all of the prisoners or those in captivity were in the same place. And probably there were different ways of dealing with them. So much to process, not to mention, as you say, the psychological gains that were being played by Hamas as well, compounding the trauma. We appreciate your insights. As always, Professor Nadav Davidovich, thank you very much for speaking to us live from Tel Aviv. Thank you. Thank you. Dr. David Shimoni, in all your years in the war front, when you see these images, these hostages have been through seven weeks in some cases of captivity. The people that are still there, it's now exactly two months. And to think of the psychological trauma over and above, the physical trauma, some of whom were injured two months ago, what is your take on the scenes that we were seeing? I would like to add to Professor Davidovich two points regarding their mental situation. One is you have to consider that the last images that they saw before they were taken to Gaza, where their family members being slaughtered in front of their eyes, their children, the parents. And this is the last image they have of home. And with uncertainty about other relatives, members of the family, they don't know what happened to them. And the second factor is you have to take into consideration, since the day they are in Gaza, they are exposed to the noise of war, the explosions of our bombing and our shelling. So, yes, they will be needing a lot, a lot of help when they get back. Their situation must deteriorate very fast. And I hope we'll see them back home soon. Certainly the whole nation is hoping that we see the 138 hostages still being held captive for two months back home very soon. Dr. David Shimoni, thank you as always for being here in studio. And tonight marks the start of the Festival of Hanukkah, a festival about miracles, a festival about lights. He is hoping for a miracle. He is hoping for light out of this two months of darkness. That is a wrap for this edition of our Breaking News coverage. I'm Denise Levine. Thank you for watching. Breaking News Edition. I'm Denise Levine, starting in the north of Israel after an Israeli farmer was killed in a missile strike out of Lebanon earlier on Thursday afternoon. Emergency teams confirming the 60-year-old man was killed near the Israeli settlement of Matat near the northern border. Let's find out exactly what is happening on the ground. Our Middle East correspondent, Ariel Ozeran, is in northern Israel. An Israeli farmer killed in that missile strike. Ariel, the IDF responding straight away. What is the latest there? What can you tell us? Right, Benita, following the announcement of the death of the 60-year-old farmer from Matat, the IDF saying that it is responding to the source of fire with attack helicopters as well as artillery. This comes as Hezbollah claims responsibility for its seventh attack along the border just today. Now, on the Lebanese side, they're reporting of widespread Israeli artillery shelling all across the western and central sector of the border with Israel so far. No reports of injuries over there, but indeed the deadly attack today while it has prompted an immediate response from the IDF is expected to. We should expect to see in the coming hours a more significant Israeli response on Hezbollah. Targets, we have seen that earlier during the day, but obviously following this deadly anti-tank attack on the area of Matat, this will prompt a more severe Israeli response, as it usually does in these kinds of situations. And Ariel, earlier on as well, red alert siren sounding in Arab al-Ramsh in the north. What update can you share on that front? Right, so just about half an hour after the anti-tank missile attack on the border community of Matat, so a little to the west and Arab al-Ramsh rocket alert sirens were also heard. This is about an hour, hour and a half ago. There have been no reports of injuries or damage as a response, as a result of that attack, but obviously this just indicates the rapid escalation of these cross-border fires, a dynamic that we've seen being carried out here along the border over these past few days, obviously every day more attacks than the day before. And we are indeed on pace, at least according to how this day is progressing, to be on that trajectory as well. And obviously today is two months exactly since the start of this war, since al-Khamas terror onslaught on the 7th of October in southern Israel. But in the last two months, thousands of people up north, thousands of residents of those communities close to the border have evacuated amidst fears about what could transpire along that front. Talk to us about what the latest development means for those communities waiting for the green light in the coming weeks or months to allow them to go back home. Right, Benita, so that green light isn't coming anytime soon and as far as the residents who have been evacuated are concerned, they don't plan to return anytime soon until Israel takes care, as they say, regarding the threat up north. Now, on that note, Prime Minister Netanyahu as well as Defense Minister Joav Garant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Alevi held a situation assessment up in the Northern Command earlier today and Netanyahu following that also visited an artillery base in the Upper Galilee issuing kind of a threat to not so veiled, I should say, to Hezbollah saying that if Hezbollah chooses to start an all-out war, then it will single-handedly bring the situation in southern Lebanon and Beirut to share the same fate as Gaza and Khan Yunus. Obviously, a reference to the widespread damage and destruction caused by Israel's attack in Gaza and attempt to try and deter Hezbollah from escalating the situation even further. It looks like a tense few hours, days and weeks ahead. Thank you so much for now. Our correspondent, Ariel Ursaran, live from northern Israel. Stay safe. More to come from Ariel, of course, in the coming hours. Now, it's exactly two months since the darkest day in Israel's 75-year history. Two months since that surprise Hamas terror onslaught in southern Israel on the 7th of October. More than 1,200 people shot or butchered during the hour's long killing rampage. More than 240 people were abducted. Babies, children, women, men, and the elderly held captive by Hamas in Gaza. In total, 110 hostages had been released, most of them during that brief truce, a hostage deal brokered by Qatar. At the moment, 138 people are still in captivity, including the youngest hostage, baby Fear Bebas, who was kidnapped with his mom Shiri and four-year-old brother Ariel. The two red-haired boys becoming a symbol of the pain of the nation, holding a defenseless mother and her two young children captive for more than two months now. Hamas, saying in recent weeks, the Bebas family had been handed to another terror group in the strip to this day. No confirmation if that is, in fact, true. The Red Cross is yet to see any of the hostages in captivity. Confirmation today that Muhammad al-Atrash, who has been missing for two months, is among the hostages being held by Hamas, relatives of the 40-year-old father of 13 from the Bedouin village of Sawa in the Negev, haven't heard from him since the terror assault. And now we check in with our senior defense correspondent, Jonathan Regev. He joins us from southern Israel. And Jonathan, I understand you are at an event which is celebrating women from Gaza border communities. Tell us more. It's two months since that terror assault. What is the atmosphere they're like right now? That is right. This is an event which is set to begin in about 30 minutes. And it is meant to celebrate the bravery of the women, the Gaza border communities. It's probably not by chance that it is held here in the city of Ophakim in southern Israel. Perhaps the most famous woman back there on a terrible day of October 7 was a woman known as Rachel from Ophakim, Rachel from Ophakim. Why so? There were Hamas terrorists in her home for hours and hours. And she kept them busy and kept them busy and prevented them from killing her or abducting her. It's a story of bravery. And today, two months later, the city of Ophakim is here celebrating the bravery of women in the Gaza border. There are going to be some female singers coming to perform here in just about 30 minutes. Because let's remember, there have been so many bravery stories of women, soldiers, police women from every sphere. We heard the story of the tankers and so on, the women from the tanks. So this event comes to celebrate that. Certainly the name Rachel is one that is being held in high esteem across the country right now. I understand many babies in the last two months have been given the name because she is one of the heroines of that day. In terms of the operations on the ground right now, Jonathan, let's change gears because I understand that two Hamas intelligence operatives have been caught by the IDF. Tell us more. What is the latest on that front? They have been killed. Actually, two major, two senior officials adding to the many more which have already been killed. One is Abdulaziz Rantisi. The older generation may remember this name as this was the Hamas leader which was killed back in 2004. He was in charge of all of the lookouts basically in the entire Gaza Strip, basically on the lookouts monitoring the movement of the Israeli army. And another senior official, Ahmed Ayush was also in charge of coordinating all of the images from those lookouts again in the entire Gaza Strip. These are two major officers from the intelligence unit of Hamas both killed in the last few days by IDF forces. Thank you so much. Defense correspondent Jonathan Regev, our senior defense correspondent, live from southern Israel. More to come from Jonathan in the coming hours and joining me now in studio. It's a pleasure to welcome Dr. David Shimoni, former intelligence official in the Commanders for Israel's Security. Dr. Shimoni, thank you so much. And what a story to start with on that front. We just heard from my colleague Jonathan Regev, two Hamas intelligence operatives, well-known operatives eliminated by the IDF. Talk to us about the significance of this breakthrough right now. I would have preferred that they were not being killed but being captive, being caught because two senior intelligence officers can be very valuable to our intelligence. It is a blow to them. I think the IDF is eliminating a lot of the high-ranking officers of Hamas and the loss of two intelligence officers is a great blow to the ability to read the situation, to create a picture of what's happening and to try to plan their actions. Talking about intelligence, we've seen in the past few days many, many Hamas operatives being captive, taken by Israel to interrogation. And I believe this will give the IDF additional intelligence a lot of information that could be relevant to the situation of the hostages. Maybe the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense hinted of Israel considering military operations to try to rescue some of those hostages. So I believe that the intelligence picture of what's happening now in Hanyunas area and with our hostages is improving a lot because of this income of many, many Hamas operatives being caught by us and imprisoned and interrogated. Talking of exactly that, take a look at this image. Scores of terrorist suspects arrested inside the Gaza Strip. Now, obviously the reason they are not wearing any clothes is so that troops can make sure that they aren't hiding weapons or explosives. But Dr. Shimoni, given what you're just describing, talk to us about, A, the scale of the arrests, where these suspects would be taken and exactly what you alluded to, what kind of information could be gleaned from this group on our screens right now. There's a very fast kind of initial intake intelligence understanding of each one of these captives. Who is he? What does he know? And there are interrogators on the field, field intelligence officers who speak Arabic and who are intelligence officers who will question all of them to see if any of them or some of them have immediate information, information about troops, about our hostages. But this will be done on the field. After that, they will be sent to safer places. They won't be under fire. Where professional interrogators can question them for as long as we need to gather a full picture to try to match stories that each one of them says separately and to create new intelligence that will be useful to our troops, where to go, where is the dangerous axes that are booby trapped, hopefully positions or locations of hostages. So there's a lot, a lot of intelligence flowing from these captive Hamas members. Some of them, of course, know nothing. Some of them are very low ranking, but all of them will be questioned. All of them will be screened. And those who have immediate information will be interrogated on the other spot. And those who we believe have more substantial information will be taken to custody and interrogated there. Talk to us, though, about the time frames here, because obviously time is of the essence. It's two months into this war. And for two months, there are 138 hostages still being held captive in dire conditions. It is so troubling to think of exactly what is unfolding there right now. What is the urgency, so to speak, in terms of the intelligence gathering, in terms of the interrogation that you were talking about and you yourself will know about, in terms of making sure that reliable information is gleaned as soon as possible? Very, very, very urgent. Two months for the captives for our hostages is terrible, especially for the soldiers. There's some kind of unwritten understanding that there are no codes of conduct regarding our soldiers. So I believe they are treated very badly, malnutrition over there, and interrogations, of course. And some of them or many of them could have arrived there injured from the October 7th assault. So yes, I think it's very urgent. I think from the beginning of the war, I've been your guest here and saying that I believe getting them all back as soon as possible is a top priority, most urgent. Other considerations regarding timetables, of course, are the tension that is growing between us and the United States about them saying, in January, the war should be ending, the hostilities will end. Israel is pressing for more, for more time. I believe there's also political reasons behind this gap between us and the United States. The United States have a very clear understanding of what will be the future picture of Gaza of the Middle East. And Israel, unfortunately, does not. We have a leadership that can agree about military objectives, but not about political objectives. And they're unwilling. They're delaying the discussion what's going to happen when the war ends. So for the Americans, ending the war means to begin some big, last week we lost, we lost the world lost Dr. Henry Kissinger, who taught us his legacy that a war should lead to a political agreement, to a settlement, a final settlement of hostilities, of conflicts. And I believe that our leadership are not really it with the plan. They haven't agreed yet upon a plan. What is the right solution for Gaza? What to do in the West Bank? How to address the Palestinian issue? So for us, for our leadership, time is good. If the war will end a year from now, it will help them to contain this coalition they have and to avoid these pressing questions. And of course, right now, the focus and the immediate focus is the existential threat that exists right now, not to mention, of course, at the same time, getting back the 138 hostages being held captive exactly two months to the day unimaginable. Dr. Shimoni, stay with us. There's more to discuss. But on this exact front, we now welcome Professor Nadav Davidovic, the Chair of the Israeli Public Health Physicians Association and Director of the School of Public Health at Ben Gurion University. He joins us from Tel Aviv Professor. Thank you so much for your time. We are talking here in studio about the physical and psychological trauma the hostages have been through. Difficult to process what the last two months must have been like 110 hostages are home, 138 still in captivity. So from a medical perspective, what can you share about the ordeal, the impact of the conditions, the uncertainty, the lack of food in captivity? What details are emerging? So first of all, we need to understand that when we're talking about health, the physical aspects, our mental health aspects and also the social aspects related to health. I don't think we can speak of one condition that fits all. It's very different, of course, different age groups. Gender is very important here. We know, unfortunately, for example, that women, especially women that probably suffered also from sexual violence, as we know, and had also their own needs in terms of sanitation are different than men. By the way, men also some of them suffered from sexual violence. And we know that there are people that are elderly suffering from previous conditions, not given any medications. It's unheard of that until now, the Red Cross didn't have any access to those in captivity, and they couldn't bring them medications. Every person there, there is a medical file that was arranged. And this is horrible. We know from those that were released that the conditions are very bad. In terms of food, as you mentioned, in terms of, of course, of the mental health aspects. And this is really something unheard of. And in terms of the history of Israel, we never had such a large number in such condition for so long time. And even on the international scale, this is something that very minimal knowledge and we are learning as we continue, and we need to be very, very attentive and demand the release, of course. Professor, we know as a nation, the outrage here about the fact that the Red Cross has not managed to get access to the hostages, which at this hour include babies and the elderly. But as a doctor, someone with your medical experience, you just mentioned that there are files that are available. What does it mean, number one, that there are files? Where are they? Why does the Red Cross not have them? And why are they not doing anything about it? And then again, as a doctor, what does eight weeks of captivity do to someone who has an existing health condition to start? The files were given to the Red Cross. The all interaction with the families and also the medical records that belong to the specific individuals that are covered by the different health funds in Israel. Also, my colleague and my friend, Professor Hagai Levine, together with others, working together at the headquarters of the families, they took lots of information and transferred it to the Ministry of Health here and also to the Red Cross. We need to understand that the Red Cross, the way of operation is to keep neutrality. This is very, very frustrating and maybe puts a whole question mark about future operation of the Red Cross. If the Hamas is not willing to get any information or to lead them to those in captivity in order to give the medicine, so they have nothing to do. The question, are they active enough maybe to try to do more or maybe to be in touch with those who have leverage on Hamas like Qatar and others? That's a good question. Now to your second question about being in captivity for eight weeks. This is a multi-dimensional issue because we're talking about nutrition, lack of vitamins. We're talking about being held in tunnels without seeing the daylight. We are talking about emotional torture and physical torture, according to the testimony of those being released. Also, for example, if you're suffering from hypothyroidism, like one of those that were released, Elma Avram, she suffered from hypothermia and bradycardia, very low heart rate when she was released. Actually, she almost died in captivity and was taken to the emergency department immediately and now she's not in immediate danger. By the way, some of those that were released may be the beginning looked okay, but it's clear that they got different medications, psychiatric medication in order for them to look more cheerful. Some of them are now going operations or maybe even suffering from stroke after they were released because they didn't take the ongoing medications and suffering from chronic conditions, hypertension, cardiovascular problems, diabetes and together with the very bad nutrition, it's a very bad combination. It's an absolutely abominable situation and criminal to think that, as you say, those files are in the hands of the Red Cross, whether it's Qatar, whether it's the US, whether it's any other Gulf nations, any player that could put pressure on the people involved in this travesty to make sure that medications get to people who have been in hostage for two months, it's just unbelievable to think that this is the case eight weeks in. Professor, you alluded to the fact that some of the hostages were given some kind of drug when they were freed to make them seem calm and happy. We saw these scenes where they were waving in cases and smiling even at armed Hamas terrorists. Talk us through the confirmation. What is known about the drugs that were given to these freed hostages and the scenes that we saw on our screens, people waving at their captors? So again, I want to be very careful and also to keep the privacy, but we know that some of those in captivity were given psychiatric medications in order for them to be more relaxed. And probably we know that Hamas gradually were staging more and more at the release almost as a horrible satanic kind of reality show. And part, a major part of what Hamas is doing is playing on psychology. And I think this makes it even more horrible. So these psychiatric medication, again, it's clear that some were given, not so clear of all of them. We need to remember that not all of the prisoners or those in captivity were in the same place and probably there were different ways of dealing with them. So much to process, not to mention, as you say, the psychological gains that were being played by Hamas as well, compounding the trauma. We appreciate your insights as always. Professor Nadav Davidovich, thank you very much for speaking to us live from Tel Aviv. Thank you. Thank you. Dr. David Shimoni, in all your years in the warfront, when you see these images, these hostages have been through seven weeks in some cases of captivity. The people that are still there, it's now exactly two months. And to think of the psychological trauma over and above, the physical trauma, some of whom were injured two months ago, what is your take on the scenes that we were seeing? I would like to add to Professor Davidovich two points regarding their mental situation. One is you have to consider that the last images that they saw before they were taken to Gaza, where their family members being slaughtered in front of their eyes, their children, their parents. And this is the last image they have of home. And with uncertainty about other relatives, members of the family, they don't know what happened to them. And the second factor is you have to take into consideration, since the day they are in Gaza, they are exposed to the noise of war, the explosions of our bombing and our shelling. So, yes, they will be needing a lot, a lot of help when they get back. Their situation must deteriorate very fast. And I hope we'll see them back home soon. Certainly the whole nation is hoping that we see the 138 hostages still being held captive for two months back home very soon. Dr. David Shimoni, thank you as always for being here in studio. And tonight marks the start of the Festival of Hanukkah, a festival about miracles, a festival about life. He is hoping for a miracle. He is hoping for light out of this two months of darkness. That is a wrap for this edition of Our Breaking News Coverage. I'm Denise Levine. Thank you for watching. We're coming to you live from Tel Aviv and today marks exactly two months since Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel and raped, murdered and tortured hundreds of civilians and took dozens of others hostage. The death toll stands at more than 1200 while 138 hostages remain to Gaza, including 10-month-old baby Kvi Bebath and his four-year-old brother Ariel. The Red Cross has not checked on the condition of any of the hostages. While this afternoon the IDF released these pictures showing hundreds of suspected terrorists who surrendered in Jabalia in northern Gaza, Hamas stronghold. Fighting is also underway in the southern garden city of Karnunis. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the home of the Hamas leader Sinwar has been surrounded. 86 IDF troops have been killed in the fighting. Tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians have reportedly streamed into the city of Raffa near the border with Egypt. Well, let's get the very latest on the situation in Gaza. Now we can go to southern Israel. Our correspondent Jonathan Regev joins us now. Jonathan, let's start with those pictures the IDF released earlier this afternoon appearing to show dozens of Hamas terrorists who gave themselves up to the IDF forces. That is true Laura and it has two two significances, two meanings, both operational and moral. As far as the operational importance of this, these are Hamas terrorists that can provide a lot of intelligence for ID, for the IDF regarding where Hamas terrorists are hiding tunnels, possibly even hostages. So a lot of intelligence can be extracted from these terrorists who have been caught. The other thing is that just like you've shown these images on screen now, the entire world, the entire Arab world, all of the Palestinian websites are showing this. And this has a very important moral point if Hamas and the Palestinian factions want to portray their terrorists as those that are fighting until the last drop of blood. Here we're seeing dozens, dozens of them. You just showed the images surrendering being taken away. If anyone has anything regarding the moral that this would mean to the other fighters, to the other terrorists, they're seeing it. And they're seeing other terrorists not really fighting to the last drop of blood, but surrendering in very big numbers, a very big moral meaning for these images. Well, let's talk about what's happening in the south of Gaza in Hanyounis. This is where the Hamas leadership is reportedly holding out. What's the situation there? Yes, in Hanyounis and the south, we're still not in that place. The ground operation began only a few days ago and therefore fighting is intense. I think the IDF is facing more intense face-to-face fighting in the south when compared with the north. It's a different issue, but the IDF is progressing. The 98th division of the Israeli armies is pushing forward inside Hanyounis and the bordering areas with more and more power. Yes, the Hamas leadership is supposedly hiding somewhere in the tunnels in that area. And let's remember both Iqya Sinwar, the head of the political bureau in Gaza, Edmucham Adef, the head of the military bureau in Gaza are both natives of Hanyounis. They're probably in that area. There's a very good chance that many of the hostages are in tunnels in that area. So that push by the Israeli armies is extremely important. Jonathan, thank you very much. Jonathan Rea gave there with the very latest out of Gaza. Well, the situation is becoming increasingly desperate for guards and civilians. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced and are reliant on aid. There's footage online of people looting aid trucks to stop the supplies falling into the hands of Hamas terrorists while others have slammed them for stealing the food and fuel they are supposed to receive. Take a listen. This is a very difficult situation. There are no facilities. There are no facilities. All of them are going down. No facilities are coming for the nation or for the people. We see civilians in Gaza, increasingly desperate and increasingly angry with Hamas, with me in the studio, Brigadier General Hanan Geffen is the former commander of the 8200 Intelligence Unit in the IDF. Thank you very much for being with us, Brigadier General. So let's talk about those scenes that we saw in Jabalia, the camp in northern Gaza. As Jonathan was saying, this is very good for morale. It will also prove important in terms of intelligence. Yes. And plus, it's one of the targets of this war, because it's not operation anymore, is getting rid of the power of the Hamas. And this is probably a platoon or even a part of a battalion of Hamas in the middle of Gaza, which yesterday they were claiming that they are holding tight and the Israeli forces are just blocked by them, and they saw some RPG shooting and so on, and we're very proud of these pictures. And it's probably something around the battalion. And there are more people there than what is shown here, which means that in part of Gaza there is a collapse of the forces. And this is part of what we are going to see, because there are many hidden things. This is the other side of the moon. Many of the people of this fighter just went to get rid of all the signs of Hamas and went inside and were part of the population there, going south. The terrorists were trying to mingle in with the civilians. And so it means that the part of the war in the northern part of Gaza is nearing its end. It will not end totally, because as the old Arab lady said, they are getting the food. So this is getting to be part of a mob, kind of, I would say, a clique. And they will have, for their survival, they will have to be a part of a criminal family. Right. If the regular population is turning against Hamas, could that work in Israel's advantage, work to Israel's advantage? It will. It will. But that's not our intention. The intention is to divide the population, but not for that purpose, but not to be here, because we don't, you know, today, after the 7th of October, we are very suspicious of big parts of this population, what we really think, what really happens when, let's say, the war is finished. The scenes we will see, scenes of victory, of, you know, we prevailed and we hit the Israelis. I would want to point another thing of this war. This war, many they mentioned, only a few of them are seen. One of them is the tanks, moving tanks, of course, and then soldiers, and some smoke of airstrike. But there are many, many houses that are targeted with the commanders there. We don't know who the commander, I don't believe even the Hamas leadership do not know where the commander, because they are under the rebels. Some of them are under the tunnels. And they are totally losing control of the Hamas, and that's exactly what we are looking for to dismantle these control capabilities of Hamas. And this is a sign. Do you think this is a sign that the leadership could be close to surrender? I don't believe they will surrender. How to believe they will surrender? If they, they're surprised, but they will fight for a long time now. And just some news coming in to me now. I'm hearing that the son of Gadi Aizenkot, Gadi Aizenkot was the former IDF chief of staff. His son was a soldier. I'm hearing that he has been killed in the fighting in Gaza. That news just coming to us now. So that's the son of the former IDF chief of staff and a member of the current war cabinet has been killed in the fighting in Gaza. Of course, 86 IDF soldiers have been killed in the fighting so far. Can we take a listen to this? Okay. He's, he's speaking. But then we can see he's, then we can see a file footage of Gadi Aizenkot there. So we're just hearing that his son is one of the dozens of soldiers who have been killed in the fighting in Gaza because of course this war is extracting quite a cost on the IDF, isn't it? Yeah. He was serving in an elite unit there in the Gaza Gull. All right. Okay. Well, let's talk about what's happening in the Khan units. You don't think that the Hamas leadership is ready to surrender? They will not. They will try. I don't believe even that they try to escape because there's no place for them, a refuge for them. So they will try to fight camouflage in this or that way and prolong the wars as much as they can. It's the first time we're in such a situation where we are closing on such an organization, a terror organization. We haven't had any examples from the, from the past to compare. I hope they're judging by the Prime Minister yesterday said that we are nearing. So this is will be the only, only the possibility to stop the war is getting rid of two or three of them. The top. Yacha Sinwa, Mohamed Def and one or two more and then totally the Hamas will collapse and we'll enter a third phase for many months where Israel has to fight again and again exactly what happened right now in the, in the, in the West Bank. And of course, the hostages, 138 hostages still being held. When those prisoners are brought to Israel for questioning, are you hopeful that they might provide some clues as to where they're hostages? Yeah, of course, the problem is the hostages that they were spread between many factions and families and, and, and locations. So to collect them, it's a huge intelligence attack, which is done. I'm sure there's a lot of information and these guys probably will have more, at least about the history of whereabouts of those studies. All right. While talking about the hostages, 110 were freed under that deal that was brokered by Qatar. Some of those hostages are now speaking out about the horrors they endured while in captivity. Many can't speak out because their fathers, their brothers, their grandfathers are still being held by the terrorists. Only one man was released in the deal, but our Erica Jackson has some of their stories now. Nearly two months after Hamas' brutal attack in Israel on October 7th, freed Israeli hostages are now telling firsthand accounts of what it was like being kidnapped and taken into the Gaza Strip. Among those sharing stories of being taken captive and held under life-threatening conditions are 85-year-old Yolkhavid Lipschitz and 84-year-old Dietza Haiman. Those who have been freed also detailing the mental anguish of what it was like to be held against their will, including 44-year-old Danielle Oloni, who was kidnapped with her five-year-old daughter, Amelia. I'm sure that every day there will be a lot of 85-year-old friends who will not be released. Those who have been freed echoing the same message that time is running out. I'm sure that every day there will be a lot of 85-year-old friends who will not be released. More details are likely to emerge about October 7th, as more of those who were kidnapped are expected to share their stories as well. Just to update you on the latest news, the son of the former IDF chief of staff, Gadi Eisencott, Ghal, Meir Eisencott, has been killed in the fighting. 88 IDF soldiers have been killed, including Ghal Eisencott, the 25-year-old son of Gadi Eisencott, who's also a member of the war cabinet. That has just been announced. There you can see pictures of him. So that has been announced. His son, a reservist, 25-years-old, has been killed in the fighting. 88 IDF soldiers have now been killed since the war began on October 7th. Well, Brigadier General Hanan Geffen is with me in the studio. Just as we begin to see some results in the war in Gaza with the surrendering of dozens of Hamas terrorists, I also a reminder that this war is costing Israel dear. 88 soldiers have now lost their lives. And it's not over yet. That's why from the beginning this war was conducted very carefully, very slowly, combining air force, artillery, intelligence, and navy. So the support of the soldiers, and of course the tanks and so on, support the forces on the ground. Sometimes it was, you know, there were critics that said it was too slow. It should be quicker. Yeah, because they sat for three weeks or something and everybody was anticipating that ground invasion. But it should be every single day and so on. But it was taken very, very slowly because of the will to be very careful about the soldiers and to achieve the target in a very cautious way. Not typical to Israeli, the way Israeli conduct the military operation. But in this case, it is the policy. Are you satisfied with the way the offensive has gone so far? Yes, it is. Because we are learning the other side, we are getting information, we are better. And if it given in a war college, the situation in Gaza, it's impossible situation. You have over two million population in a small area, you have to find out a very big terror organization that is mingling in the population. And Israel managed to do it and gained the support of the world. A lot of voices around the world were saying you won't be able to do this in an urban environment. You won't be able to do this when there is such a large population. We have one answer. We don't have any choice. We have only one choice. If we want to survive in this, in the Holy Land, in the land of our fathers, this is the only choice we have. And what about the extent of intelligence that's been uncovered since the tunnel networks, the weapons storage, the way that Hamas operates, because of course Israel didn't have any security control over Gaza for 17 years. Israel has an idea how the war will fought. And we knew where the Hamas will anticipate the Israeli approach. And that's why this war is totally different. Hamas was surprised, couldn't execute the plans yet, you know, ambushing so many soldiers. And they have to improvise and we see it. There are casualties, but it's different than what Hamas anticipated. And this was one of the failures that they knew from the beginning that this war will turn against them. They knew it from the beginning. All right, OK. Thank you, Annan Geffen. Well, the Zaka organization is tasked with sourcing the remains of every victim of the October 7 attacks. The groups of volunteers, including both Jews and Muslims, enable witness to some of the worst atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists. Our team followed their work in Kibbutz Niroz, which was one of the communities worst hit. Yearly two months after Hamas onslaught in southern Israel, volunteers of the Zaka organization are still working hard to collect body parts from the Gaza border area. Here in Kibbutz Niroz, 38 people were murdered. Yisrael Khasid, a volunteer and the spokesman of Zaka Tel Aviv, recalls the horrific moments when his crew first arrived to Niroz. We found blood on the bed, so we had to cut off the sheet and bury it. This house looks exactly as it was when we arrived here. One of the bodies was laying on the bed. It had melted from the heat. We had another body here and another one of a 15-year-old, which was lying on the grass, half-burnt. In one of the houses, the team found human tissue and remains of hair. Khasid tells us about the tough moments he and his crew faced after October 7. One incident broke me and forced me to take some days off. I couldn't communicate with my family or anyone, actually. It was a baby, the same age and size of my daughter. Some of his body parts were removed. When I saw him, I was devastated. I said, that's it, I can't take it anymore. I'm 25 years old. Someone else should do this job. I got home and hugged my daughter. My wife told me, Yisrael, this is your mission. If you feel that you can't do it, take some time off. But then after several days, I saw that there were still hundreds of bodies, which remained unidentified, and it's very urgent, because the bodies are decomposing. And if we'll wait any more, it will be very hard, if not impossible, to identify the bodies. So I stood up and I said, that I'm willing to sacrifice my soul and body in order that we'll identify and bring as many people to burial in Israel as possible. As we walk inside one of the houses, we're greeted by evidence of the mental challenges that the crew faces. I had a conversation with a psychologist yesterday. He begged me to tell him what I've seen here. I asked him if he can handle it. He said, yes. We spoke for 15 minutes. I tried to hide some of the details from what I've seen here. I told him about one case which really touched my heart. I couldn't sleep after it. As I told him the story, he stops me and said, I need to take a break and drink something. I can't take it anymore. When I heard it, I understood that the psychologist is also a human being. We perform like machines, hours and hours, days and days, without sleeping, without any break for our souls. Israel says that there are still eight missing people from October 7th. Some of the bodies or body parts were transferred to the Abu Kabeer Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv. Identifying them may be a difficult and complex procedure which may use different methods such as DNA tests and scans. We had one body that was classified as a terrorist body. It had weapons on it. The CT scan engineer told us that it was not a terrorist body, but an Israeli resident. But all the documents had shown that he is a Hamas terrorist. He showed our volunteer David a scan that showed that he had coronary artery bypass surgery. He said that this surgery was done in such a professional way, he doesn't believe that the body belonged to a terrorist. They checked the list of missing people and they found someone on the list who had the exact same surgery. Our ambulance went to Tel Heshomer Hospital and got his medical records. They cross-checked the information and came to the conclusion that the body belonged to him. They couldn't identify the body in any other way because the body was totally burnt out. Zaka Tel Aviv is a branch of the famous volunteer organization which has existed for nearly 30 years. It numbers around 400 volunteers. Its main goals are identification, extraction and rescue of bodies and body parts. Many of the volunteers here are ultra-orthodox who see their mission as a religious decree. Bringing complete bodies to burial is a custom in Judaism. We'll continue to work and we won't give up until the last murdered person will be buried. We still have several missing people. Many corpses still need more evidence that we need to collect. We'll continue to come here. We'll search inside the horrors time after time. Going back to these places where the horrors occurred is the hardest thing. But we'll continue to do it. We'll go back here and everywhere we need to go, anytime, any moment, so we can find every small piece of information which can help us identify the bodies of those who are considered missing and who are not fully identified. Zaka Tel Aviv also operates a special center in Tel Aviv with special facilities for cases of mass casualties. This place is called the Reading Center. It is available for times of emergency to receive and to treat hundreds of bodies. We have family rooms, rooms to purify the bodies and to clean them. We have dozens of morgue freezers. We have a big space which can allow us to accept bodies from hospitals from all over Israel. Zaka volunteers say that despite the difficulties and challenges, they are proud to be a part of this organization which brings of final justice to the deceased. Perhaps another example of Israeli solidarity in the last few weeks. The IDF has announced the deaths of two more soldiers killed in the fighting in Gaza. They are Master Sergeant Gal Mayer, Eisencott, 25 years old. He is the son of the former Chief of Staff, Gadi Eisencott. Eisencott also sits on the war cabinet. Sergeant Major Jonathan David Ditch, 34 years old, also killed. He comes from Harish, so two more soldiers killed, including the son of the former IDF Chief of Staff, Gadi Eisencott that brings to 89 the number of IDF troops who have been killed since the fighting began on October 7th. All right, we're going to take a very short break. When we come back, we'll have the latest from the north of Israel where there has been a civilian killed following a missile attack from Lebanon. We'll have that right after the break. You're watching I-24 News and today marks two months since Hamas terrorists carried out the worst attack on Israel in this country's history. Over 1,200 people were murdered. Over 240 taken hostage. 110 were freed under a deal broken by Qatar, all of them. But one, women and children. But 138 people, the overwhelming majority of them, Israelis remain at the hands of terrorists in Gaza. An estimated 17 women are still being held. The rest are men of all ages, including 79-year-old Chaim Perri, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz near Oz. And his son, Lior Perri, joins us now. Thanks for being with us, Lior. Thank you. I'm terribly sorry for what you're going through. Nobody should have to go through this. Just tell us what happened, because you're a father, I understand, as one of the founders of the Kibbutz. He lived there for many, many years. Yeah, he lived there for many years. He knew the consequences. It's not what I was trying to say, but he knew the Gaza Strip for many years. We've been there before 88. We used to go there to the beach, and there were kind of neighbors. Thing escalated during the years, and during the last 20 years, they were getting used to have nine seconds to run into the safe room every time there's an alarm. Because of the rocket attack from Gaza. Yeah, and because they're really close, so it's the best scenario, nine seconds. Usually they have less. So this morning they went to the safe room, like always, and they were waiting for the messages to come and tell them that it's over. So you say they, it was your father? Yeah, my father and his wife. And his wife? Yeah, my father, his wife was not. She's 71. He's 79, almost 80. So they went into the room, to the safe room, and they were waiting for this to over, and then we didn't hear for them for about two hours, and then she texted us that and she told us Haim was taken. And we understood, we started to understand what's going on, and we were also reading the media whatever was possible. We didn't understand quite, but then at around two or three o'clock when the police came, and they were the first security forces to go into the kibbutz, there was no fight with the terrorists inside Nicos. They were there for around... Because they had taken so many... They were there for around six hours. They did what they want and went out. What happened to us, Nad? The first time they tried to break in the safe room, my father managed to back them off. He was only 80, 79 years old. Yeah, he's a strong guy. But then he knew they would come back reinforced and he hid her inside the safe room. There was no really place to hide, but he just told her to lay low behind some laundry basket. And when they came back, he went out willingly. Oh, he gave himself up to the... Yeah, and they didn't go in the room to look. Oh, my goodness, so she survived? She survived. She's alive and well. And she stayed there for about four hours hiding, trying not to breathe, and hearing the people coming in and out of the house. What a hero. Yeah, and it is. What's bothering him most now, and this we know by talking to people who came back, is the fact that he doesn't know what happened to her. He has no idea that she is alive because he can only imagine the worst thing, because when he came out, when the tourists took him out of the house and dragged him to Gaza, he must have seen the horrific sites along the way. So he can only imagine what happened to her. He doesn't have a clue that his heroic act was successful. And, of course, your father's not the only one who has affected your half-brother and his girlfriend. They were visiting the kibbutz. They were visiting the kibbutz, my half-brother, Daniel Darlington. He really loved to... He's a British citizen living in Berlin. He really liked to come. He came every year to the kibbutz, and not just to kibbutz, to visit us here in Tel Aviv, and he really liked it here. And he was supposed to come back to Tel Aviv on Friday. His flight was Saturday night. And I was supposed to take him to the airport, but then he really happily texted me. I found a ride on Saturday, so I can stay one more day in the kibbutz. He really, really loved it there, and he was really happy that he could find one more day to stay there in this small piece of paradise for him. And that's it. On 7 in the morning, he wrote me... He texted me. He said, sorry for language, he wrote Big Balagan in the kibbutz. And that's it. That's the last I heard of him. That's the last you heard, but he has been confirmed to see... Yeah, he was sent to England, to Manchester. And me and my older sister, we attended the funeral about a month ago. It was very difficult for us. Very... your family ripped apart. I understand you have children. What do you tell them about what happened to Sabah? First, I tell them what happened to Uncle, because my girl asked me, why did they kill Danny? He's not Israeli. Why did they kill him? It doesn't make any sense for her. And then I try to explain that there are really, really bad people, animals, monsters. I can use whatever language I can to describe. And I explained it. They came to kill. They came to terrorize. And now they are taking good care of Grandfather. Those same horrible people are taking good care of Grandfather, and he will come back. We will manage to free him from the hostage. That's the small lies that we have to believe in. No other way. Perhaps you get through. Yeah, that's what we have to tell ourselves. I mean, you grew up in Thinkerboards. So, I mean, you also were aware of the dangers and the rocket attacks and all the rest of it. I mean, do you think it became normalized not just in your communities, but in the whole of Israel? Yeah, it did. Luckily, I wasn't there. I wasn't living there, because I left the Kibbutz around 30 years ago. When I left the Kibbutz, it was the same peaceful place that I used to grow in. And it was a beautiful place, and a really, really like a small, green piece of heaven. And the last 20 years, things have been different. And they're suffering ongoing bombing, which for some reason, we retaliate them. Like, they retaliate them. They say, okay, we build the bombing, so we build small shelters, and we run to the center, and they built a huge barricade in order to stop tourists. It's a billion-dollar fence, wasn't it? The famous billion-dollar fence. Yeah, and the one underground as well. Yeah. Like a 40-meter concrete wall all along those 59 kilometers, which is crazy. And they simply walk with a horse and carried over the fence. That's it. It was ridiculous. It was really one of the worst sites. And the worst site was to see the terrorists going inside the Kibbutz. There was one reporter standing inside Kibbutz Neval and reporting from there, and that was the hardest part, to see the un-security, the unsafety feeling in my own house. As a kid in Kibbutz, you feel very, very safe. Do you think you'd ever go back there? To visit here, but I'm afraid my friends who used to live there will find it very difficult to decide to go back. It doesn't matter what the solution will be. Even if it's a great solution that will promise peace and quiet to the Kibbutz, I cannot see anyone willing to go back there with kids, just reliving this nightmare. The older guys, they want to go back, of course. They have one home. That's the only home they know, so they will go back. People with children? People with children are really thinking about not going back. I'm not sure. I don't know, I don't understand. We saw, of course, 110 hostages released, women and children, mainly, from what you've heard about their testimony, about how they were kept, the conditions they were kept in and what you know about your father, who's clearly a very courageous and strong man. What do you imagine he's going through now? It must drive you crazy. I was a bit more optimistic during the ceasefire, during those six days without any soldiers getting killed, with more than 100 hostages coming back. It was like six days of we were overwhelmed. And last Friday, when we woke up and we understood that the war was continuing, it was it devastated us, almost as if, almost like October 7th, because then we understood that we've been sacrificed. And I'm saying sacrificed because that's what we feel. And after I've been to the war cabinet meeting on Tuesday, I got confirmed. I got reassurance for that because judging their answers, they're not prioritizing it right. So you don't kind of buy into what the army and the government is saying that we have to put the military pressure on Hamas. No way. No, I don't believe not even a single it's so if you want to save the hostages, you have to stop the fight. Because not only not releasing them is killing them, but also our bombing is killing them. And if our bombing is not killing them directly, it will kill them indirectly by making huge pressure on the families that holding them and on the food that they are getting all of the supplies that they need. I mean the condition for them will be worse the same as the condition for the Gaza people because they are the one who is keeping them alive. And those elderly people we know their physical situation is deteriorating really, really fast. Really fast day by day. 60 days now, right? Yes, 60 days. And now every day can be their last. It's not only the drugs and the medicine that they're getting, it's also the mentality shock of understanding that you're not going to be released now. They've seen a week of releasing people without any bombing and now the bombing returned and no more releasing they understand that they've been sacrificed so every day I cannot imagine where they find the strength to just to keep on to keep on living. Just the will to do it because I hope that he'll see you again, that he'll see as an art again, that he'll see his grandchildren again. He doesn't know, you know. He doesn't know what's going on outside. There's been cases where they told the hostages that there's no more Israel. That they've ruined Israel completely. They don't know what's happening. And after you spend six hours in the Kibbut without any resistance of the Israeli security forces, you can believe it. You have a good case. So now every day of fight brings the hostages closer to death, not to life. So anybody who says that the pressure, the putting on Hamas will help to release the hostages is not telling the truth because it's exactly the opposite. The pressure will help us to get more bodies, more coffins, not more living people. And that's something that has to be stopped now. Sorry, just one more thing because it's what we are urging the Israeli government. Take initiative. Take initiative. Give them an offer they can't refuse. Be the one who takes the initiative and make this exchange. Maybe Brigadier General, can I get for you to respond to that? No, it's it. Just listen to it. We can understand the dilemma that everybody is in war. Even the government members and there are some that you trust, like Gantz, you know, he's a guy that honesty and integrity. And Eisencourt? And Eisencourt, of course, sorry. And this guy of integrity, we all know them. And the dilemma is turning because it's heartbreaking. We know the nature of the guys there. Yakhia Sinwar is the brutal guy, he would give three or four and then drag it on and on and make life impossible because then the Israeli society, that's what he thinks will be turned apart. And that was he was looking for two months and it didn't happen. He looked for the world to intervene as it was in the past and it was right. 20 years of negligence. We all know it and we repeat it. It portrayed it magnificently what happened 30 years of paradise and then 20 years of containment Everybody was angry with this containment. We have all the explanation in the world and now it's blow up in a way. But giving up to Yakhia Sinwar our experience is terrible. We have some three coffins there already for nine years, ten years, just playing around with the poor families, families just kidding playing and he enjoys it. I don't think he even wanted so hopefully what we have seen today just let's connect to the picture. We have seen dozens of hostages and probably even a battalion of Hamas guys. You mean the terrorists who surrounded them? Maybe this will be part of the turning point when they say okay let's try to do some day because we will be willing to do it whenever we see opportunity but right now they are still they try to keep why stop? Because they have ten women or eight women they were supposed to release because they have their reasons and they the thing is the way I see it they broke the deal because they were supposed to release the women and they said okay we don't have the women, we have something from a different category and then Israel said no it's like showing us who's the boss and we don't care who's the boss because we lost, we are community we lost okay so showing us now who's the boss is irrelevant. If you have the ability to release hostages and you said no that's a death sentence to the hostages because okay the older one are already dying so it's really heartbreaking dilemmas I don't want to be the cabinet the footsteps Leo listen obviously I don't know what you're talking about thank you for coming to talk to us thank you very much alright we'll change the pace somewhat the presidents of three major American universities are under fire for their testimony at a house hearing on anti-Semitism on campus and for calls for genocide in Israel when questioned about whether calling for the genocide of Jews would violate their codes of conduct on bullying the president of the University of Pennsylvania said it would depend on context the presence of Harvard and Penn the universities have since tried to walk back those comments but has the damage already been done well my next guest has written a piece which shows the link between what's happening on American University campuses and the Islamic Republic of Iran the Hoover Institute has devoted an entire issue to lobbying by the Islamic Republic Maryam Mehmasadehi is the founder of the Cyrus Forum and she joins us now great to see you Maryam to what we've seen this week at that US House committee session and the lobbying by the Islamic Republic so the Islamic Republic of Iran has a soft power strategy just as any type of government does but in this case we're dealing with a totalitarian regime like the USSR that has been schooled really by the KGB Khamenei the supreme leader is a student of the experience the history of the USSR and not only for avoiding the perestroika or glass nose type reforms that brought that regime down but also about how to use the West's own weaknesses against it and right now in the West in the United States in particular there is a deep polarization there is a lot of cynicism about America's role in the world there is a spirit of isolationism both on the left and the right and in the universities in particular many decades of a woke mindset complete with narratives and curriculum and student groups even entire fields of study that are very close to what the Islamic Republic of Iran and other totalitarian regimes actually teach and propagate inside their own countries to sustain their role what do I mean a spirit of anti-Americanism anti-Israeli sentiment anti-Semitism these are hallmarks of totalitarian regimes and in particular Iran's regime and they have taken root unfortunately inside America's universities and not just any universities but the best ones the most elite the more progressive as we say the school the more likely it is to have anti-Semitic protests the more likely it is to talk about microaggressions against women on campus but to be completely silent for example about the struggle of Iranian women or women in Afghanistan for their rights so it's a overall atmosphere an environment on United States college campuses college campuses in other western countries that is very much guarding regimes like the Islamic Republic in particular against scrutiny against any kind of real criticism and instead pushing it all on to democratic states like Israel and the United States. So it's a great idea to see people who describe themselves as progressive you know being progressive is about championing women's rights, gay rights minority rights but then you've got this kind of a strange situation where the so called progressive sympathize with what is one of if not the most repressive and misogynistic regime on earth a regime that beats women to death as you say for not properly covering their lives. So I'm very grateful to you for focusing on this issue and it's not just how they feel how these so called progressives feel about Iran's regime it's also about Hamas of course I mean turning a blind eye on exactly what Hamas stands for the LGBT community the women the people who are most likely to come out and support Hamas are the ones that are of rule by Hamas of course these people at Harvard and Princeton and Oberlin and other colleges like this are never going to have to face the consequences of rule by Hamas or rule by the Islamic Republic or the Taliban it's other people in other places that will be executed that will be tortured that will be raped and it's all very academic isn't it it's all very just briefly Mariam because we're running out of time money directly to American schools Qatar though is the biggest foreign donor to US universities contributed over 5 billion dollars to Ivy League schools over a period of 20 years should the US be a bit more aware of what's going on there exactly exactly so the Islamic Republic is sanctioned but it's chief ally Qatar the country that hosts is Ismail Hania the leader of Hamas and is host to Al Jazeera that is constantly fueling the anti-Semitic hate throughout the Middle East and supports the Islamic Republic of Iran and its coverage this country is a US ally and the United States has a military base there that military base can be moved easily someplace else in the region and or outside of the region and serve the same function Qatar is playing nice guy when really it is funneling money to the United States college campuses it particularly specifically for this kind of curriculum and appointments of professors and it is you know trying to play nice in terms of funneling ransom money to Iran's regime one really that is a hostage trade that that is facilitating so yes there needs to be awareness by the United States Congress the United States media everyone needs to be aware of this country in particular shouldn't be a US ally because it is it is an ally of our enemy the Islamic Republic of Iran well listen it's a fascinating piece that you've written I urge everyone to check it out Maryam she's written a piece for the Hoover Institute and they've dedicated a whole issue as I say to Iranian lobbying to do check that out Maryam thank you very much thank you Laura well over the course of the war Israelis have kept a close eye on trends in US politics our senior diplomatic editor Owen Altman reports it's a healthy obsession the tendency in Israel and among American Jews to take a microscope to American polling on Israel and so a new poll is getting some attention since it shows US President Joe Biden winning over more Democrats to his policies on the war in Gaza I've encouraged the prime minister to to focus on trying to reduce the number of casualties while he is attempting to eliminate Hamas a month ago polling from the AP in Nork showed a 50% approval rating among Democrats for Biden's stance on the war that number has now ticked up to 59% the question is why one answer polling was done just after the week long pause in the war with memories of freed hostages fresh and the fighting itself only starting to return another answer that the Biden administration's policies themselves drove the change the growing emphasis on protecting Gaza civilians and in moving humanitarian aid we're still talking about trying to find a way forward on hostages we're talking about sustaining and expanding the humanitarian assistance making it into Gaza in the big picture of US politics the movement in these polls does election day is almost a year away and the campaign will be fought on other issues for Israel the impact is a bit bigger Israel standing among US Democrats has become an issue of huge strategic importance with the war those voters are now paying attention and forming opinions on Israel for the long term so any shard of information will get looked at again it's a healthy obsession we're talking a tragic account of this well our senior US correspondent Mike Wagenheim joins us now Mike what can we read into those polls not much on any individual poll this was a poll of less than 1100 Americans I think what Joe Biden is more concerned about politically is what Democrats in the Senate have to say what Democrats in the House have to say in terms of moving aid forward in terms of possible conditioning of that aid those are the people he's listening to and those in his inner circle in the whole way I think things would have turned out a lot differently and probably not as well for Israel in terms of this operation and how it's carried forward Meanwhile Mike the head of the World Health Organization and the EU's Foreign Policy Chief have both thrown their weight behind the UN Chief Antonio Guterres tell us more about that Yeah Guterres invoking the little known article 99 of the UN Charter which allows the Secretary General to bring to the attention of the Security Council some agenda item which he feels is a significant threat to international peace and stability it's an article that hasn't been used since 1989 ironically enough in the Lebanon war toward the closing days Guterres says the Israel Hamas war has the ability now to inflame a regional instability he wants the Security Council to act and act in a significant way which they haven't been able to do because of differing political agendas within the Council so he's now put it on the table the US has already responded the Ambassador to the United Nations as Greenfield said basically okay we see the letter and the buddies are going to go about their own way on this and her deputy Robert Wood came right out and said we've seen the letter we note the letter we want to carry forward with quiet diplomacy make sure humanitarian aid continues to flow in with stability and with consistency and continue to allow this process to move forward without the Security Council taking action so Guterres says his position the US has theirs alright Mike thanks very much Mike Wagonheim there in New York with the very latest on