 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 be fought as well. Welcome to this special broadcast here on 924 News. We continue our rolling coverage on day 66 of the war here. In Israel and the South, fierce fighting in the Gaza Strip continue. Another group of suspected Hamas terrorists surrendering in the northern part of the Strip, Israeli troops finding yet another ammunition in UNRWA bags on civilian facilities there. In the north, Hezbollah anti-tank missile fire persists. Washington Post reports suggest Israel used U.S. supplied white phosphorus bombs in Lebanon on the diplomatic front Italy, France and Germany calling for sanctions against Hamas ahead of an expected vote at the UN General Assembly tomorrow to call on Israel to cease the fire. Security Council envoys visit the Rafa crossing today. This is Israeli hostages who were released reveal more of the horrors of Hamas captivity will be bringing you more of their testimonies later on in the broadcast. We want to begin the broadcast here in the studio Colonel Loni Wittal, Palestinian Affairs expert and former COGAT advisor joining us here. Before we continue, we begin rather our conversation Colonel Wittal, I do want us to take a listen to what the idea of spokesman had to say is more images of surrender come out of the Gaza Strip, Daniel Agari again the idea of spokesperson is addressing what it means and also the optics of it. Let's take a quick listen. As we kill terrorists and fight the terrorists, there is surrender. Those who come out, many people who come out and some of them are armed who disarm themselves, but there are many men who come outside who are in this zone. When we spot a group like this that has come outside and surrendered to us after we have called to them, we undress them because we are worried about explosive belts. It's something we have been doing for years during battle because we have had incidents when people have detonated themselves upon our forces, so this is part of the process. During the process, there is also an investigation. During that process, we also discover in the field Hamas members, not all of them are Hamas or part of a terror organization. So what we do is when the investigation is over, they put their clothes back on. That's what is supposed to happen and where it didn't happen, we will change that situation to what should happen. Then we arrest those who are part of a terrorist organization and we bring them here for an investigation. Some of the investigations happen in the field and some of the people who are found not to be a part of the terrorist organizations, just citizens who are in the area, are released to the south where the other Ghazans are now. Colonel Evyatar, those images are obviously being seen across the globe. The perception there is one. They're also seen here in Israel. The perception might be different in disrespect, but perhaps the target audience of these images, Hamas, but what's the impact of that on Hamas' survivability in terms of the morale? We should separate between the clearance process, if you want, checking clearance, as the IDF speaker told about it, and I would say the way that you do it. We have to arrest all of them. We have to check all of them. We have to take their weapons. We have to take out their address to check that everyone is clear without any explosives or something else and then let him wear his dressing and shirt and so on. But in the end of the day, those photos are negative. We should not be satisfied for that. It's not the huge event. It's not the huge case, but I think that the IDF soldiers, the IDF forces should keep the main discipline. If you want to work in the right way, you don't have to give up. You have to continue up to the orders. There are clear orders. When you are in war, in an emergency case or something like that, you have to continue and to be honest with your values. It's not suitable to a democratic state. It's not suitable to the IDF. I think that after it was, it happened. I think that I'm sure that the headquarters, the commanders of the IDF will exist or will, I would say, demand for the soldiers and the units to keep discipline as it was before. And not to let the, in society, I think, or to let the freedom, if you want, to release those images of perhaps more harm than benefit in this instance. But we do want to add now to the northern front. It's been a busy day there as well. I-24 News' senior Middle East correspondent, Ariel Osseron, standing by there with the I-24 News team. Of course, Ariel, what's the current situation underground? Again, yet another eventful day there. You're right, Ali. It almost doesn't stop for a moment. About 10 minutes ago, six rockets launched towards Nier's Cliff. That's a mountain range behind Kiryat Shmonan, the upper Galilee. No reports of injuries from there in this incident. But this comes following multiple incidents along the border of rocket fire, as well as anti-tank missile attacks on IDF border posts. And one of these attacks, five attacks claimed by Hezbollah today, included heavy Burkan rockets on the Biranit border post. Also from there, no reports of injuries. But this comes as there's been significant exchanges of fire along the border on the Lebanese side. Reports of widespread IDF artillery shelling across the board, really from Nakoura and Merukhin to the west, and Ramya Etashab in the center, Tai Ben Marjayoun to the east. Now, regarding Tai Be in Lebanon, they're reporting the death of the village leader there. It's a border village very close across the border to Metula, claiming that he was killed by IDF shelling while on his balcony at home. And this raises the tensions even further whenever there are civilians who are killed on either side of the border. There have been four Israeli civilians also killed in these 66 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Among the ranks of Hezbollah, we're talking about figures reaching close to 100, if not above that. And so another day of fighting here along the Israel-Lebanon border, with Israel claiming to have retaliated to all of these strikes, all of these rocket launches with artillery shelling to the sources of the fire, as well as targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon. Yes, and not very typical, so to speak, for Hezbollah to publicly acknowledge this number of casualties on it. And as we speak, Ariel once again read the Siren Alerts being heard in the south. We will be heading there soon. But before we let you go, Ariel, let's do address this report on the Washington Post today, this afternoon, that Israel used U.S. supplies, supplied rather white phosphorus bombs in Lebanon. Clear the clutter for us. What does it mean exactly? Right, Ariel. So before we touch on that, I just want to give you a report coming these past few moments from Saudi Arabia saying that Israel has relayed the demand that there be no weapons other than those belonging to the Lebanese army south of Al-Itani. This is obviously a demand to enforce UN Resolution 1701, which currently prohibits the presence of Hezbollah weapons south of Al-Itani River in an attempt to try and find a diplomatic solution prior to engaging with Hezbollah as it is expected once it is finished in the war with the south. But regarding the report, the investigation in the Washington Post, regarding the alleged use of white phosphorus bombs on one of the southern Lebanon's villages, Deira on October 16th, leading to the injury of nine people, three of them needed to get into hospital. Now, the danger of these bombs is that they burn at a very high temperature and could cause severe damage upon contact with the skin. And that's why they're limited the use of these bombs while it is not prohibited under international law. It is restricted to areas that are not populated. This is what the investigation is looking into, the IDF saying that it did not use it in populated areas and employed this U.S. supplied munition under the restrictions of international law. I-24 News is in your Middle East correspondent, Ariella Saran on the northern front of the Israel-Lebanon border. Thank you very much for this Ariella back here in Syria with Colonel Alone Vita. When it comes to the northern front, the challenges posed by Hezbollah, it seems that over two months on, we might have seen some tactical gains here and there. But bottom line, strategically speaking, we're more or less in the very same position we were a couple of months ago. I have to agree with you. Nothing go forward. But in the end of the day, Israel should reach to the crossroad or a kind of a junction right or left. We should not keep the current status as it is. We have to decide. We have a dilemma. We cannot ignore. In this time, in the current time, we cannot, let's say, challenge two fronts together, right? We cannot fight two challenge together with all our forces and the aircraft and so on. We have to decide where is the main course, where is the main front. In the meantime, the southern front, Gaza Strip, this is the main efforts and the second is the north. After that, the day after the war. The day after the war, another war. If we reach over there, we shall decide together with the USA who are not alone in this area what to do in order to push those military sites of Hezbollah and units up to the north, to the Litani River. I'm not sure that the diplomatic way will be enough. We should, I think, use also military instruments or military steps in order to bring back the security, not the feeling of the security itself, actually on the ground. There is a difference. Of course. The moment neither is restored. Of course. We should not be satisfied with the feelings. We have to bring back full security to the Israeli residents on the northern border as soon as possible. Little room for feelings at this point in time. And on that point, exactly, let's do cross now to the southern front. I-24 News correspondent Pia Staklbacher with the I-24 News team there on the ground near the Gaza border. Pia, another day of intense fighting, several different areas. Let's try to map out the current state of affairs. Right, Ellie. Well, fighting is taking place in different areas throughout the Gaza Strip. Of course, here in the north, in Bethanon, Bethlehem, this is what we can see from here. We can hear the outgoing Israeli artillery on a quite regular basis. We know that here in the north, the Israeli engineering corps are active to dismantle and destroy Hamas infrastructure, such as tunnel shafts and other infrastructure there. Then also in the Gaza Center in Gaza City in Shuzha'iyah, heavy fighting is taking place. But of course, the focus is on Haan Yunus, Gaza's second largest city, this largest city in the south, where on the ground fighting is taking place, the Israeli ground operations pushing forward to the south. And from the south, also, we have seen incoming rocket alert sirens ringing in southern Israeli communities in parallel to the city of Haan Yunus, just a number of minutes ago, the communities of Miftakhim, Niri Yitzhak, Yesha. And this is not the first time that we've seen rocket alert sirens ringing in, of course, the Gaza border area. But as we could see also at noon today in Tel Aviv, not only Tel Aviv, but basically rocket alert sirens ringing all throughout the center. And that really shows you that Hamas is trying to showcase time and time again that it still has the capability to fire rockets not only here to the surrounding communities surrounding the Gaza border, but also further to the center of the country. The Israeli military this morning published that yesterday six Israeli soldiers were killed in the battle on the ground in Haan Yunus in the area of the school, where they were killed by explosives that had been planted there. So we do know that the Israeli ground offensive is now trying to focus on the southern area because this is also where the Israeli security establishment expects senior Hamas leaders to hide out, such as Yahya Sinwar, who possibly houts out in one of these tunnels there, but also obviously the more than 130 hostages that are expected to be in those tunnels. We have heard after quite some time today from the Hamas spokesperson Abu Abaydah. It's a nickname, obviously. Nobody knows his real identity, but he said that those hostages will not be able to be captured alive after an attempt was made last weekend where two Israeli soldiers were wounded trying to rescue one of those hostages. This is of course one of the main objectives of Israel's campaign here in Gaza to try and get to those more than 130 men and women who are still being held captive more than 60 days into this war early. Absolutely. Unfortunately, we've seen this field rescue attempt short days ago that concluded with two Israeli soldiers wounded and without the ability to rescue some of the hostages, but obviously these efforts are still underway as well. I-24 News correspondent Piaz Takobach, thank you so very much for this, much more from Piaz. Of course, later on in the evening, back here in studio with Colonel Aloni Vital. Colonel Vital, what is your take on what is currently happening in the Gaza Strip in terms of the fighting? We do know that there are still, again, fierce, intensive fights, not just in the southern bastion of Hamas of Hanyunas, but also in northern communities or neighborhoods that the control over them was gained several weeks ago, but they're not yet clear or clean. It takes time. I have to agree with you on that. Well, this is boring. Yes. But we have to make the issues clear. I would say like that. The IDF forces are continue fighting. There are complex combats on the ground in the south and the north as well. The main efforts are in the south, which means Hanyunas district. In the north, I would say 80 percent of the control of the area is under the hand of the IDF forces, and you have to continue fighting small Hamas cells, which are still exist and located in the tunnels from time to time, the gate out, use explosives and go back to the tunnels. This is the main challenge of the IDF over there. In the end of the day, I can assume that the majority of the area will be under control. The main mission is after Hanyunas district will be Rafah border. In the end of the day, we should reach over there to coordinate our, I would say, security perception over there with Egypt, because we are speaking about border between Sinai to Gaza Strip, and in order also to collapse the channels over there. There are dozens of channels, maybe more of that, maybe hundreds of channels that Hamas used to smuggle weapons. You cannot close the door and leave the window open. So this is the main mission or the next main mission in order to control in a security means all Gaza Strip. And this would also mean a third, much longer phase after this more intense fighting, what is dubbed in the military lingo lawn mowing of these sorts of interactions all the time. Exactly. You can imagine, I would say, the meaning of maintains, right? It's not occupied, it's not controlled, it's maintained. In order to come down the escalation over there to fight the efforts of Hamas, also cells of Hamas, groups of Hamas, to initiate violence and terror actions. And I think that we have a long, long mission over there. Yes, still a long way to go. And according to the diplomatic clock, not so much time to do so. Colonel Alaylou, thank you so very much for joining us. And we want now to turn our focus into this, because with the return of more of hostages that from Hamas captivity during the days of the ceasefire, some families of hostages who are still there have received the first sign of life from their loved ones. The information which provided a drop of certainty, if you will, in a sea of uncertainty also emphasized how critical their situation is and how acute is the struggle to bring them home as soon as possible more in this next report. It's been 65 days since Yoni's daughter, Naama, was kidnapped to Gaza. The chilling video of her abduction has become a symbol of cruelty and harm to young women and the danger they are in. When the children began to return from captivity, some of the girls returned with braids in their hair, braids the Naama's parents no closely. Maybe it's stories we tell ourselves. Naama did a lot of triathlons in her youth. And this is exactly the way they used to do these braids. Imagining her sitting and doing braids for a little girl she took care of is something that could actually sound normal. Yes, it certainly warms the heart, but for a relatively limited time. Since then, a real sign of life has arrived. Abductees who saw Naama and were with her before they were released called Yoni and said they had met her. She is injured, but alive. The first feeling is there is air. You can breathe again, but it lasted a few hours until the evidence came. Naama is 19 years old. She's a girl. She has quite a few girls with her, young girls. We all understand their vulnerability, the potential harm that can be done to them and the feeling that those who are running the war. There's no one to trust. They're the only ones we can put our trust in, but as long as they don't give the most basic sense of security, it actually causes this cry to be doubled and doubled. I received a call from someone who is with him. He asked them to call me and gave my phone number. He literally said, this is the number. Please call her and tell her that I'm alive and that they should do everything possible to get me out. The last time she heard from him was when he and their mother hid in the safe room in a bed under the blankets and their father left and never returned. After a few days, she found out her parents were murdered and Itai was kidnapped. In the message he conveyed to her through the abductees, she understood for the first time what was happening that morning. From what Itai told the hostages that were with him, on October 7th, they were in the safe room. They covered themselves with blankets and then the terrorists started shooting at them. My mother must have shouted that she was injured and probably died. I hope at least she died quickly and didn't suffer, but Itai already knew she was dead. It seemed that he was injured by something and he probably stood up according to what I understood and then they took him away. And so that's why I say he was in fear of death from the moment they actually shot him and he didn't die. Miraculously, he didn't die. And since then, he has been in constant fear of death until this moment. When you receive such a sign of life, does it give hope or does it do the opposite? There is this kind of sigh of relief for a moment that he's alive, but then I also understand that he's in the worst mental and emotional state. The worst I could never actually imagine and even more than that because until then I couldn't imagine it at all. I didn't allow myself to imagine he was, where he was, and now suddenly it became tangible. I was told that he was very, very fearful and that he's very scared. I heard that from the words he said to them, from the conversations that were held there, that this is not the Itai I know. You must understand that even if the swaps return according to the list at the moment, Itai will not be the first to come back. First of all, I'm not ready to accept it. It's very easy to make categories, but no, there are people there waiting to be taken out and every minute that passes, they are in danger. Do you think the dog feels it too? Yes, she misses him as well. Since that Friday when the swaps stopped and the fighting resumed, the atmosphere has changed. The same breathing space that returned for a moment gave way to great concern to Naama and Itai and to other hostages, and the understanding that there is no time. I am the father whose daughter has been in hell for 61 days and my feeling as a father of such a girl is that I can't help her. I can't save her. I can't help her. I can't save her. 66 days and 137 Israeli hostages still being held captive in the Gaza Strip by Hamas terrorists earlier today. The Russians have been trying to apply pressure from their side on Hamas to release all Israeli hostages. This is the contacts, the negotiations to bring about their release is in an apparent deadlock at this point in time. And as we keep on hearing with everyday passing, their well-being, their state is at serious risk. This is it from us for now, but at the top of the hour, Laura Sellier will be here as we continue to bring you all the latest from the ground, from north and south. The I-24 news teams are on the ground there. And of course, all the analysis here in studio day 66 of the war here in Israel and counting. Thank you very much for watching. Have a peaceful, pleasant evening as much as possible. Is in a state of war. Families completely gunned 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. Bringing Israel's story to the world. I-24 News channels. To this special broadcast here on I-24 News, we continue our rolling coverage on day 66 of the war here in Israel and the south fierce fighting in the Gaza Strip continue another group of suspected Hamas terrorists surrendering in the northern part of the strip Israeli troops, finding yet another ammunition in UNRWA bags on civilian facilities there in the north. Hezbollah anti-tank missile fire persists. Washington Post reports suggest Israel used U.S. supplied white phosphorus bombs in Lebanon on the diplomatic front Italy, France and Germany calling for sanctions against Hamas ahead of an expected vote at the UN General Assembly tomorrow to call on Israel to cease the fire. Security Council envoys visit the Rafa crossing today. This is Israeli hostages who were released reveal more of the horrors of Hamas captivity will will be bringing you more of their testimonies later on in the broadcast. And we want to begin the broadcast here in the studio Colonel Loni Vita, Palestinian Affairs expert and former Cogut advisor joining us here. And before we continue, we begin rather our conversation Colonel Evita, I do want us to take a listen to what the idea of spokesperson had to say is more images of surrender come out of the Gaza Strip. Daniela Garig and the idea of spokesperson is is addressing what it means. And also the optics of it. Let's take a quick listen. As we kill terrorists and fight the terrorists, there is surrender. Those who come out, many people who come out and some of them are armed who disarm themselves. But there are many men who come outside who are in this zone. When we spot a group like this that has come outside and surrendered to us after we have called to them, we undress them because we are worried about explosive belts. It's something we have been doing for years during battle because we have had incidents when people have detonated themselves upon our forces. So this is part of the process. During the process, there is also an investigation. During that process, we also discover in the field Hamas members. Not all of them are Hamas or part of a terror organization. So what we do is when the investigation is over, they put their clothes back on. That's what is supposed to happen and where it didn't happen, we will change that situation to what should happen. Then we arrest those who are part of a terrorist organization and we bring them here for an investigation. Some of the investigations happen in the field and some of the people who are found not to be a part of the terrorist organizations, just citizens who are in the area, are released to the south where the other Gazans are now. Colonel Evitar, those images are obviously being seen across the globe. The perception there is one. They're also seen here in Israel. The perception might be different in disrespect, but perhaps the target audience of these images, Hamas, but what's the impact of that on Hamas' survivability in terms of the morale? We should separate between the clearance process, if you want, checking clearance, as the IDFS speaker told about it, and I would say the way that you do it. We have to arrest all of them. We have to check all of them. We have to take their weapons. We have to take out their address to check that everyone is clear without any explosives or something else, and then let him wear his dressing and shirt and so on. But in the end of the day, those photos are not, I would say, are negative. We should not be satisfied for that. It's not the huge event. It's not the huge case, but I think that the idea of soldiers, the idea of forces should keep the main discipline, right? If you want to work in the right way, you don't have to give up. You have to continue up to the orders. There are clear orders. When you are in war, in an emergency case or something like that, you have to continue and to be honest with your values, all right? It's not suitable to a democratic state. It's not suitable to the IDF. I think that after it was, it happened. I think that I'm sure that the headquarters, the commanders of the IDF will exist or will, I would say, demand for the soldiers and the units to keep discipline as it was before. And not to let the, in society, I think, or to let the, I would say, the freedom, if you want to... To release those images of perhaps more more harm than benefit in this instance. But we do want to head now to the northern front. It's been a busy day there as well. At 24 News, a senior Middle East correspondent, Ariella, also standing by there with the 24 News team. Of course, Ariella, well, what's the current situation underground? Again, yet another eventful day there. You're right, Ali. Almost doesn't stop for a moment. About 10 minutes ago, six rockets launched towards Nires Cliff. That's a mountain range behind Kiryat Shmonan, the Upper Galilee. No reports of injuries from there in this incident. But this comes following multiple incidents along the border of rocket fire as well as anti-tank missile attacks on IDF border posts. And one of these attacks, five attacks claimed by Hezbollah today included heavy Burkhan rockets on the Biranit border post. Also from there, no reports of injuries. But this comes as there has been significant exchanges of fire along the border on the Lebanese side. Reports of widespread IDF artillery shelling across the board, really from Nakura and Merukhin to the west. And Ramya Itaasha in the center, Taiba and Maljayun to the east. Now regarding Taiba in Lebanon, they're reporting the death of the village leader there. It's a border village very close across the border to Metula claiming that he was killed by IDF shelling wall on his balcony at home. And this raises the tensions even further whenever there are civilians who are killed on either side of the border. There have been four Israeli civilians also killed in these 66 days of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah among the ranks of Hezbollah. We're talking about figures reaching close to 100 if not above that. And so another day of fighting here along the Israel-Lebanon border with Israel claiming to have retaliated to all of these strikes, all of these rocket launches with artillery shelling to the sources of the fire as well as targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon. Yes, and not very typical, so to speak, for Hezbollah to publicly acknowledge this number of casualties on it. And as we speak, Ariel, once again read the Siren Alerts being heard in the south. We will be heading there soon. But before we let you go, Ariel, let's do address this report on the Washington Post today this afternoon that Israel used U.S. supplies, supplied rather white phosphorus bombs in Lebanon. Clear the clutter for us. What does it mean exactly? Right, Ariel. So before we touch on that, I just want to give you a report coming these past few moments from Saudi Arabia saying that Israel has relayed the demand that there be no weapons other than those belonging to the Lebanese army south of Al-Tani. This is obviously a demand to enforce UN Resolution 1701, which currently prohibits the presence of Hezbollah weapons south of Al-Tani River in an attempt to try and find a diplomatic solution prior to engaging with Hezbollah as it is expected once it is finished in the war with the south. But regarding the report, the investigation in the Washington Post regarding the alleged use of white phosphorus bombs on one of the southern Lebanon's villages, Deira on October 16th, leading to the injury of nine people, three of them needed to get into hospital. Now, the danger of these bombs is that they burn at a very high temperature and could cause severe damage upon contact with the skin. And that's why they're limited the use of these bombs while it is not prohibited under international law. It is restricted to areas that are not populated. This is what the investigation is looking into the IDF saying that it did not use it in populated areas and employed this U.S. supplied munition under the restrictions of international law. I-24 News is in your Middle East correspondent, Ariella Saran on the northern front of the Israel-Lebanon border. Thank you very much for this, Ariella, back here in Syria with Colonel Alone Vita. When it comes to the northern front, the challenges posed by Hezbollah, it seems that over two months on, we might have seen some tactical gains here and there. But bottom line, strategically speaking, we're more or less in the very same position we were a couple of months ago. I have to agree with you. Yeah. Nothing goes forward. You know, but in the end of the day, Israel should reach to the crossroad or a kind of a junction right or left. We should not keep the current status as it is. We have to decide. We have a dilemma. We cannot ignore. In this time, in the current time, we cannot, let's say, challenge two fronts together. We cannot fight two challenges together with all our forces and aircrafts and so on. We have to decide where is the main course, where is the main front. In the meantime, the southern front, Gaza Strip, this is the main efforts, and the second is the north. After that, the day after the war in the south. The day after the war, another war. If we should reach over there, yeah, we shall decide together with the USA who are not alone in this area what to do in order to push those military sites of Hezbollah and units up to the north to the Lytani River. I'm not sure that the diplomatic way will be enough. We should, I think, use also military instruments or military steps in order to bring back the security, not the feeling of the security, the security itself actually on the ground. There is a difference. Of course, of course. Neither is restored. Yeah, we should not be satisfied with the feelings, you know, and we have to bring back full security to the Israeli residents on the northern border as soon as possible. Little room for feelings at this point in time. And on that point, exactly, let's say, do cross now to the southern front, I-24 News correspondent Pia Stakalbach with the I-24 News team there on the ground near the Gaza border. Pia, another day of intense fighting, several different areas. Let's try to map out the current state of affairs. Right, Eli, well, fighting is taking place in different areas throughout the Gaza Strip. Of course, here in the north, in Bethanun, Bethlehem, this is what we can see from here. We can hear the outgoing Israeli artillery on a quite regular basis. We know that here in the north, the Israeli engineering corps are active to dismantle and destroy Hamas infrastructure, such as tunnel shafts and other infrastructure there. Then also in the Gaza Center, in Gaza City, in Shuja'iyah, heavy fighting is taking place. But of course, the focus is on Hanyounis, Gaza's second largest city, this largest city in the south, where on the ground fighting is taking place, the Israeli ground operations pushing forward to the south. And from the south also, we have seen incoming rocket alert sirens ringing in southern Israeli communities in parallel to the city of Hanyounis. Just a number of minutes ago, the communities of Mihtahim, Niri Yitzhak, Yesha. And this is not the first time that we've seen rocket alert sirens ringing in, of course, the Gaza border area. But as we could see also at noon today in Tel Aviv, not only Tel Aviv, but basically rocket alert sirens ringing all throughout the center. And that really shows you that Hamas is trying to showcase time and time again that it still has the capability to fire rockets, not only here, to the surrounding communities surrounding the Gaza border, but also further to the center of the country. The Israeli military this morning published that yesterday six Israeli soldiers were killed in the battle on the ground in Hanyounis in the area of the school, where they were killed by explosives that had been planted there. So we do know that the Israeli ground offensive is now trying to focus on the southern area, because this is also where the Israeli security establishment expects senior Hamas leaders to hide out, such as Yahya Sinwar, who possibly outs out in one of these tunnels there, but also obviously the more than 130 hostages that are expected to be in those tunnels. We have heard after quite some time from the Hamas spokesperson Abu Abaydah, it's a nickname obviously, nobody knows his real identity, but he said that those hostages will not be able to be captured alive after an attempt was made last weekend, where two Israeli soldiers were wounded trying to rescue one of those hostages. This is of course one of the main objectives of Israel's campaign here in Gaza, to try and get to those more than 130 men and women who are still being held captive more than 60 days into this war really. Absolutely, and unfortunately we've seen this field, rescue attempt, short days ago that concluded with two Israeli soldiers that wounded and without the ability to rescue some of the hostages, but obviously these efforts are still underway as well. I-24 News correspondent Piaz Takobach, thank you so very much for this, much more from Piaz, of course, later on in the evening back here in studio with Colonel Aloni Vittal. Colonel Vittal, what is your take on what is currently happening in the Gaza Strip in terms of the fighting? We do know that there are still, again, fierce intensive fights, not just in the southern bastion of Hamas of Hanyunas, but also in northern communities or neighborhoods that the control over them was gained several weeks ago, but they're not yet clear or clean. It takes time. I have to agree with you on that. Well, this is boring. But we have to make the issues clear. I would say like that the IDF forces are continue fighting. There are complex combats on the ground in the south and the north as well. The main efforts are in the south, which means Hanyunas district. In the north, I would say 80 percent of the control of the area is under the hand of the IDF forces, and you have to continue fighting small Hamas cells which are still exist and located in the tunnels from time to time. The gate out, use explosives and go back to the tunnels. This is the main challenge of the IDF over there. In the end of the day, I can assume that the majority of the area will be under control. The main mission is after Hanyunas district will be Rafa border. You know, in the end of the day, we should reach over there to coordinate our, I would say, security perception over there with Egypt, because we are speaking about border between Sinai to Gaza Strip. And in order also to collapse the channels over there, the dozens of channels, maybe more of that, maybe hundreds of channels that Hamas used to smuggle weapons, you cannot close the door and leave the window open. So this is the main mission or the next main mission in order to control in a security means all Gaza Strip. And this would also mean a third much longer phase after this more intense fighting, what is dubbed in the military lingo lawn mowing of these sorts of interactions all the time. Exactly. You can imagine, I would say, the meaning of maintains, right? It's not occupied, it's not controlled, it's maintained in order to calm down the escalation over there to fight the efforts of Hamas, also sales of Hamas, groups of Hamas, to initiate violence and terror actions. And I think that we have a long, long mission over there. Yes, still a long way to go. And according to the diplomatic clock, not so much time to do so. Colonel Adela Levittal, thank you so very much for joining us. And we want now to turn our focus into this because with the return of more of hostages that from Hamas captivity during the days of the ceasefire, some families of hostages who are still there have received the first sign of life from their loved ones. The information which provided a drop of certainty, if you will, in a sea of uncertainty also emphasized how critical their situation is and how acute is the struggle to bring them home as soon as possible more in this next report. It's been 65 days since Yoni's daughter, Naama, was kidnapped to Gaza. The chilling video of her abduction has become a symbol of cruelty and harm to young women and the danger they are in. When the children began to return from captivity, some of the girls returned with braids in their hair, braids that Naama's parents know closely. Maybe it's stories we tell ourselves. Naama did a lot of triathlons in her youth, and this is exactly the way they used to do these braids. Imagining her sitting and doing braids for a little girl she took care of is something that could actually sound normal. Yes, it certainly warms the heart, but for a relatively limited time. Since then a real sign of life has arrived. Abductees who saw Naama and were with her before they were released called Yoni and said they had met her. She is injured, but alive. The first feeling is there is air. You can breathe again, but it lasted a few hours until the evidence came. Naama is 19 years old. She's a girl. She has quite a few girls with her, young girls. We all understand their vulnerability, their potential harm that can be done to them, and the feeling that those who are running the war. There's no one to trust. They're the only ones we can put our trust in. But as long as they don't give the most basic sense of security, it actually causes this cry to be doubled and doubled. I received a call from someone who was with him. He asked them to call me and gave my phone number. He literally said, This is the number. Please call her and tell her that I'm alive and that they should do everything possible to get me out. The last time she heard from him was when he and their mother hid in the safe room in a bed under the blanket, and their father left and never returned. After a few days, she found out her parents were murdered and Itai was kidnapped. In the message he conveyed to her through the abductees, she understood for the first time what was happening that morning. From what Itai told the hostages that were with him, on October 7th, they were in the safe room. They covered themselves with blankets, and then the terrorists started shooting at them. My mother must have shouted that she was injured and probably died. I hope at least she died quickly and didn't suffer, but Itai already knew she was dead. It seemed that he was injured by something and he probably stood up according to what I understood and then they took him away. And so that's why I say he was in fear of death from the moment they actually shot him and he didn't die. Miraculously, he didn't die. And since then, he has been in constant fear of death until this moment. When you receive such a sign of life, does it give hope or does it do the opposite? There is this kind of sigh of relief for a moment that he's alive, but then I also understand that he's in the worst mental and emotional state. The worst I could never actually imagine, and even more than that, because until then I couldn't imagine it at all. I didn't allow myself to imagine he was, where he was, and now suddenly it became tangible. I was told that he was very, very fearful and that he's very scared. I heard that from the words he said to them, from the conversations that were held there, that this is not the Itaiano. You must understand that even if the swaps return according to the list at the moment, Itai will not be the first to come back. First of all, I'm not ready to accept it. It's very easy to make categories, but no, there are people there waiting to be taken out, and every minute that passes, they are in danger. Do you think the dog feels it too? Yes, she misses him as well. Since that Friday when the swaps stopped and the fighting resumed, the atmosphere has changed. The same breathing space that returned for a moment gave way to great concern to Naama and Itai, and to other hostages, and to the understanding that there is no time. I'm the father whose daughter has been in hell for 61 days, and my feeling, as a father of such a girl, is that I can't help her. I can't save her. 66 days and 137 Israeli hostages still being held captive in the Gaza Strip by Hamas terrorists earlier today. The Russians have been trying to apply pressure from their side on Hamas to release all Israeli hostages. This is the contacts, the negotiations to bring about their release. It's an apparent deadlock at this point in time, and as we keep on hearing with everyday passing, their well-being, their state is at serious risk. This is it from us for now, but at the top of the hour, our Laura Sellier will be here as we continue to bring you all the latest from the ground, from north and south. The I-24 news teams are on the ground there, and of course, all the analysis here in studio, day 66 of the war here in Israel. And counting, thank you very much for watching. Have a peaceful, pleasant evening as much as possible. From Israel, with dozens of correspondence 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. 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 line, but the general perception is something that certainly needs to be fought as well. Ladies and gentlemen, rockets at northern, southern and central Israel today, one person was lightly injured in Holanda south of Tel Aviv. Seven IDF soldiers have been killed in the latest fighting in Gaza, bringing to 104, the number of Israeli troops who have been killed. And Israel's envoy to the United Nations has criticized a move by the United Arab Emirates to fly a delegation of UN Security Council foreign ministers to the Rafa crossing between Gaza and Egypt. Well, those are the headlines this hour. We will start though in the north of Israel, where the IDF has been responding to numerous rocket fire by the Iranian bacteris group Hezbollah that is based in Lebanon. Our correspondent is in northern Israel, Ariel Otharan joins us now. Ariel, just take us through what happened this afternoon. Right, Laura. Well, what this afternoon continued this evening. I'll start with the end. 15 minutes ago, rocket alert sirens sounded in the area of the border community of Stura that's in the central western part of the Israel-Lebanon border in the western Galilee, nor ports of injuries in this attack. But this is not the first attack on that area as many IDF border posts are located in that area as they are along the border as they have been targeted already five times throughout the day today by Hezbollah. Hezbollah claiming responsibility for these attacks as well as one of them, including heavy bull-con rockets that carry a heavier payload than the regular rockets that are usually launched. Other border posts were targeted with mortar shells. Now, as I mentioned, no injuries in either, in any of these attacks. And the IDF saying a couple hours ago in its latest statement that it had been targeting Hezbollah infrastructure and also responding to the sources of those launches with artillery as well as with Air Force striking command center in the south and the Lebanese side reports of widespread Israeli artillery shelling pretty much all across the border and the western central and eastern sectors of the border. Now in the eastern sector just across the border from Mitula reports in the Lebanese village of Taibe where the village head has been reportedly killed in one of these latest IDF shellings. Of course the civilian casualties have potential to escalate the situation further and the Israeli side there have been so far four civilians who have been killed in addition to multiple soldiers. This is not today but we're talking about 66 days of war between Israel and Hezbollah along the border. Now interestingly enough, Saudi Arabia reporting about an hour ago that Israel has been relaying messages to Lebanon that it demands that no military presence of anybody besides the Lebanese army be south of the Latani River meaning that they refuse to allow Hezbollah to hold weapons south of that river. Obviously this is in accordance to UN Resolution 1701 which already prohibits the presence of weapons south of the Latani River not in the hands of the Lebanese army. This appears to be an attempt by Israel diplomatic attempt to try and change the situation here along the border as while it's fighting in the south and tens of thousands of residents there have been evacuated. Also along the northern border around 80,000 Israelis have been evacuated from their homes and are not allowed to return given that it's a battle zone and these residents are saying that they're not willing to return as long as there is a Hezbollah presence along the border. So Israel now relaying those messages with the potential of military escalation down the line as Israeli leaders have indicated recently. Ariel, thank you very much indeed. Ariel Osaran there in northern Israel where we have once again seen an uptick in the fighting between Hezbollah and the IDF. Well with me in the studio this hour Ruth Wasserman Lund is a former member of the Knesset. She's also former Israeli diplomatic envoy to Egypt. Good to have you with us Ruth. We've just been talking about the situation in the north but I want to ask you more about what is happening in Gaza. The number of IDF troops who have fallen in the fighting now 104. We are seeing this very intense urban fighting in the neighborhoods in northern Gaza but also in Canunis as well. Just give us a sense of how you think the offensive is progressing. It's very important for me to state that the Israeli IDF despite all the criticism worldwide is working very very closely to the international law and hence in this very close-knit urban atmosphere and neighborhoods. This is something that is going to be learned in military academies throughout the world after today. It's very intense very difficult and you know apart from the fact that this is heart-wrenching to see every single one of our soldiers that has fallen gone. This is exemplary in terms of military conduct. Conduct? Conduct. It's not even an example of how a military is I think first and foremost value-oriented rather than. For example, one of the soldiers who was killed either today or last night, he was attacked from Hamas terrorists who had embedded themselves inside a school. So it just shows you that the soldiers are going building to building, they're having to clear it, find the tunnel shafts, eliminate them. It is very hard painstaking work isn't it to root out these terrorists? No words to describe exactly the kind of military operation that is actually taking place in this close-knit urban neighborhoods and with the Hamas being embedded in civilian population in schools, in kindergartens, in mosques, in hospitals. This is the raison d'etre. This is the way that the Hamas is working and this is exactly the challenge that faces the IDF and it is doing it in a manner which is not only exemplary military-wise but value-wise and this is something that I can say as a liberal politician, somebody that looks up to the way that values and democracy are the light that needs to lead us. This is something that I'm very proud to say that the IDF is being led by. All right Ruth, for now thank you very much indeed. While this dense urban warfare in Gaza is dangerous and difficult but the IDF says it is getting results. Entire Hamas battalions have been either killed or captured and Israel is hoping to repeat this success in the south of the strip as the ground operation defends. Our senior defense correspondent Jonathan Regif has this report. House to house, alleyway to alleyway. This is what urban warfare in the dense Gaza neighborhoods looks like. While the IDF forces are massive but exposed, the small Hamas quads much more familiar with the narrow streets appear from the tunnels for just a few seconds. They hope to score with an explosive device or an anti-tank missile. The IDF's aim is to hit them from the ground or from the air before they do it. Hundreds of terrorists have been killed just in the past few days. Hundreds more understand this will be their fate if they continue fighting and choose instead to surrender, among them, some top officials. A group of crazy people led by Ieya Sinwar destroyed everything. They destroyed the Gaza Strip and took it 200 years backwards. Hamas itself may be trying to portray images of resilience in Gaza, but the former minister is telling a different story. Hamas, the Qasam Brigades, and especially Ieya Sinwar are responsible for the situation. This is my opinion, but also the opinion of the people. They are saying that Sinwar and his people destroyed us, and we have to get rid of them. The images of surrender are coming from the north of the strip. The hope is to see them soon in the south. That is why the IDF is pushing forward towards Chanyunes. In order to keep this going, supplies are constantly provided to the forces. For those deep inside, they come from the air. The 98th Division is operating in Chanyunes. We keep providing them in every way possible. Together with the Air Force and the technological and logistical unit, we provide them with all types of supplies from the air. Our division is able to do that, even when there is no way to reach our commando fighters by land. The constant logistical assistance along with a massive firepower should eventually lead to victory in Chanyunes as well. Well, let's get the latest on the fighting now. Our correspondent, Pia Stechelbach joins us from Stechot in the south of Israel. So Pia, talk us through how the IDF is advancing in those northern neighborhoods and also in Chanyunes, the city where the Sinye Hamas leadership is believed to be hold on. Right, Laura. Well, throughout the last hours, we've seen heavy activity here in the northern areas from where we stand right here. We can see into the neighborhoods of Bethlehem and Beth Hanun, where we know that the Israeli engineering corps are operating. What we see here on a regular basis are flares being thrown just a couple of seconds ago. There were another barrage of flares, which is basically a way to illuminate the area for the engineering corps to operate there. We can hear heavy booms on a quite a regular basis. And this is an indication that the Israeli army is operating specifically in the north that it says it has operational control over to really dismantle and destroy Hamas's infrastructure, tunnel shafts, ammunition, and other infrastructure targets there. Of course, the IDF is now trying to copy that in other areas of the Gaza Strip to, first of all, gain operational control and then really enter with the engineering corps and dismantle the infrastructure. Heavy fighting is ongoing in the Gaza City area. Gaza City is encircled. Fighting is going on in the neighborhood of and of course in Hanun is the second largest city of the Gaza Strip. Heavy densely was once densely populated area. We do know that great numbers of civilian populations are still there, but this is where the ground offensive is advancing currently. The IDF announced this morning that yesterday six soldiers were killed in the wider area of Hanunis when they were targeted by explosives that were planted there, embedded in a school in that area. So the offensive is advancing, but of course the fighting in urban conditions, urban warfare, poses very great challenges for the Israeli army. And Pia, despite this fierce fighting, Hamas is still managing to fire rockets at Israel. We saw a pretty heavy barrage fired at southern and central Israel this afternoon, didn't we? Right, Lord. Well, at noon we saw that very large barrage of rockets being fired onto central Israel, including Tel Aviv and the suburbs, but also throughout the day here and there, rocket fire into the southern communities here, localities close to the Gaza border, mainly in the south, in the areas that are in parallel to either Gaza City, but more so also towards the south there, which might indicate that rocket launchers are stationed there. And this is, of course, a way of Hamas to show that they still have the capability to fire rockets not only towards those Gaza border areas that were mostly targeted by fighting since the beginning of this war, but still that they also still have the capability to target the center of Israel, the Tel Aviv area. We see rocket fire onto the center every couple of days now, and this is a way of Hamas showing that they're still alive and kicking, although the facts on the ground are also, of course, the Israeli army. They speak in a different language. They are saying that entire brigades of Hamas have either surrendered or were demolished, were eliminated, especially in the north. And, of course, the goal of Israel's military operation in Gaza is to replicate these successes in the entire Gaza Strip. Pia, thank you very much. Pia Stackle back there. Ian Stairhot with the latest on the fighting inside Gaza. Well, Ruth Wasserman Lanser is with me in the studio. And Ruth, I just want to talk about comments the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made yesterday. He made a direct appeal to Hamas terrorists to surrender, because we've already seen dozens surrounding. We've all seen those pictures, urging them not to sacrifice their lives for the Hamas leader, Sinwa. I mean, from what we're seeing from the interrogations and all the rest of it, do you think there is a kind of a, if you like, a more pragmatic side to the group, whereas you've got the, you know, the real extremists like Sinwa and those closest to him, do you think we might see more of them surrender? I do think that we will see more surrendering, but not because they are less extreme, but just because there is more force being used by the IDF and they respond to force. I mean, if anybody didn't get it until today, then let me make it clear. The Hamas extremist terrorist organization in Gaza, apart from doing and carrying out the atrocities that they carried out against these great civilians and using their own population as human shields again and again. And this is very apparent. They use the schools, they use the children, they use the civilian population, the women and the children, they hide behind the kindergartens and schools and hospitals. Apart from doing all that, they respond to force, to power, to a strong hand. And this is clear. We are getting the results that we are getting. We are getting the surrendering that we are getting because of that force. If we stop that, this will stop as well. So it's not that I feel that there is a more pragmatic Hamas. No, I do not feel that, in fact, I do not know that from the understanding of the mentality of that terrorist group. Rather, the force that is applied by the IDF is the one that is getting these results. Well, that feeds into a debate here in Israel and internationally, in fact, about whether it is force or negotiations that will bring back the remaining 137 hostages. Where do you stand on that? Force. So you wouldn't suspend the military operation? No, no, I would not do that. The Hamas is very cynical, led by extremely cynical leadership on the ground, Hamadif and Sinwar. These are murderers, people who are murderers. They won't stop. And they will not surrender. They will not become less Machiavellian if we negotiate with them. Likewise, Qatar. Qatar is one with Hamas. Hamas is one with Qatar. The sooner we understand that, the sooner we'll have a hand up against the Hamas. We'll talk about Qatar in more detail a bit later on, because of course the Doha forum is under way. Exactly. Interesting statements coming out of that meeting. But let's turn our attention back to the North and the pressure that the IDF is putting on Hisbola. The terrorist group claims 100 of its members have been killed in clashes since October 7th. But Israel says that number is likely to be far higher. Ah, Robert Swift has this report. Throughout Israel's war in Gaza, its military has kept one eye firmly fixed to the North. With the status quo shattered, Israel has indicated that it will not return to the security situation that existed prior to October 7th. It fears that Hisbola, more powerful than Hamas, could repeat the tactics used on that day. UN Resolution 1701 states that Hisbola should contain its forces north of the Letani River, a declaration that's been ignored for years, but is now a priority for Israel in light of the daily skirmishing on the Lebanese border. Israeli leaders have not ruled out using military force inside Lebanon to secure the North and the communities there. The situation in the North needs to be changed. It will change. When the day comes, we will have to act. It could happen after the Gaza operation. You never know how long the Gaza operation will take, but we will need to bring the people back so that they will not be displaced in their country. They must be assured that the situation in the North is different. And reports in the Hisbola-affiliated Lebanese paper Al-Aqbar said that unifil peacekeepers passed the message to Lebanese parties that Israel considers everything that moves on the border with Lebanon at a depth of up to three kilometers, whether civilian or military, a legitimate target for its forces, to which a Hisbola official said that they would respond in kind. Israel is under increasing diplomatic pressure to curtail its military operations in the new year, but the possibility exists that it will in fact expand them. We're joining us now Colonel Dr. Jagnaria, former Deputy Head of Assessment for Israeli Intelligence and former Foreign Policy Advisor to the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Good to see you, Jack. Thank you for joining us. If I could stop by asking you about that report that Israel has warned Hisbola today via unifil that anyone who moves within a three-mile radius of the border, military or civilian, is now a target. What do you think of that? Do you think that will deter the group at all? Well, I don't need this report in order to know that Hisbola understands very well that in the depths of three to four kilometers, maybe a little bit beyond, anyone that moves or trying to approach the border or the defenses, he would be targeted by Israeli forces. This is obvious and I don't think that the information has anything new for us. Do you think the Hisbola death toll is higher than the group is letting on? Well, it could be. It could be higher. Certainly, when if you add to the number of Hisbola killed in the raids, air raids in Syria, so you might get to double the number. And for such a militia, a three-digit number is very, very important and certainly weighs a lot on the capabilities of some units, mainly those who are trained in anti-tank missiles firing against Israeli targets. Now, we've got these ongoing clashes and you could say that Israel has the upper hand in those clashes in terms of death toll figures. But what about the long term, Jacques? I mean, what is the plan to deal with Hisbola because there's talk about not destroying the group but moving it north of the Letani River inside Lebanon. Is that feasible? Will that be enough for Israeli citizens who have had to flee their homes? You know, everybody speaks about the Letani. It seems that nobody looks at the map. You know, the Letani on the one hand is on the western part of it is about 40 kilometers from the border. And on the eastern part of it is less than 10 kilometers. So do you want Hisbola to be 10 kilometers from the border? Or do you want Hisbola to be higher upward in the depths of the Lebanese territory? And if we have to apply the 1701 United, the resolution, then we are talking about eliminating the militia as militia except that the only force that is supposed to be on the ground is the Lebanese army, which is not existing. Now I turn to the diplomatic activity we are just faced with infos. I mean, we are the disinformation coming, the chief of the services of the tangents, the French one, and then the Americans, Hockstein, and everybody is talking about an arrangement in Lebanon. But I'm asking myself the question, is there a government in Lebanon? Is there a president in Lebanon? Is there a prime minister in Lebanon? Prime minister and the government are all transitional. They have, according to the constitution, the Lebanese constitution, they have no right to sign anything. They have no authority. And then you have no president to ratify any agreement. So what are we talking about? What sort of agreement? Are we talking virtually or what? So we are left, finally, with the American administration asking us not to expand the war and to turn it into a regional confrontation, whereas we are supposed to continue to accept all the provocations that Hezbollah is doing against us. This is insane, and this is not logic at all. So I think that on the one hand, Israel is very much interested not to create another front at this point in time. But on the other hand, I mean, we are left with the desires of Hezbollah. If he wants to, he will fire. If he doesn't want, he will stop. So do you think to a certain extent the Americans are tying Israel's hands when it comes to dealing with Hezbollah? They have done it very clearly. They're very openly, and quite bluntly, they said to the Israelis, we don't want you to open a war with Lebanon. We were supposed to carry a pre-emptive strike on the Hezbollah targets in Lebanon as a beginning of a military confrontation. And the Americans said, no, no way. You will not begin that. We have deep interest in the region. We are not interested in widening the conflict, and we are already under attack in Syria and in Iraq. And of course, we have to deal also with the matter of those crazy Houthis. So I mean, this is the situation right now. We have to go, and we don't know right now if we can carry another military confrontation with Hezbollah. After all, I mean, we have an army that is right now concentrated on Gaza. We have a priority. When we finish, do you think that when we finish, we can turn our troops towards the north? Okay, let's begin another war. I mean, it's daydreaming. How did we get to this point, Jack? Well, we got that because at the very beginning, we did decide that we are concentrating on Gaza first. And then while we were there, the missile defence wanted- Do you think that was a mistake to focus first on Gaza? No, I don't think it was a mistake. But on the other hand, we should have signified to Hezbollah that, I mean, as the president of the United States said, don't. We should have said, don't. And don't very seriously and not pretending that we will turn Lebanon back to the Stone Age and then to the disaster and devastate Lebanon as and look at Gaza and then you see Lebanon. I mean, all those are words and words and words and we have to finally to put these on the ground and not words all the time. So what is the answer then moving forward? I mean, all of the IDF assessments are saying it could take another two months at least to finish off Hamas in Gaza. I mean, is this country ready for another conflict? One with a much better armed enemy? Well, you know, if after two months of conflict in Gaza, we need 45,000 shares coming from the United States, let us be honest with ourselves. This is not the case with Lebanon, with Hezbollah. Hezbollah is a much, much stronger army, bigger army, much more equipped, well equipped and, you know, well trained in urban warfare. So we are facing another army, which is much more difficult to overcome than Hamas, certainly. And if it takes us two months in order to reach the situation we are in Gaza, let us remember a moment that the terrain in Lebanon is different. The Hezbollah has been since 2006 digging labyrinths and tunnels. And we have seen the tunnels, those tunnels, attack tunnels, which were discovered four years ago. This is the job of Hezbollah. So what waits for us is a very difficult war with Hezbollah, if we want to wage a war against this enemy. All right. Pretty bleak outlook there, Jacques. But thank you very much indeed, Dr. Jacques Naria. Thank you. Time for a short break. When we come back, we will talk about allegations, levels of Israel that is trying to permanently displace Gaza civilians. The Prime Minister hit back strongly against that. We'll have more on that next day with us. 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. Broadcasting from Israel with dozens of correspondence 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 by 24 news channels. Now on hard. The United Nations has condemned a UN Security Council visit to the Rafa crossing, calling it yet further proof of UN bias against Israel. The United Arab Emirates has flown senior diplomats from countries including China, Russia and the UK to the Egyptian border with Gaza to assess aid deliveries. It comes after the United States used its veto to block a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. For more on that, let's go to Dubai. Our correspondent Bastien Borghi joins us now. Sebastian, just talk us through in a bit more detail the purpose of this delegation. Well, it is worth noting that this trip was organized by the United Arab Emirates as part of the preparation of a resolution that Abu Dhabi will be submitting to the United Nations for a vote in a few days time. A UAE drafted resolution that demands the warring parties allow the use of all land, sea and air routes to and throughout Gaza for aid. And it will also establish a UN run aid monitoring mechanism in the Gaza Strip, although it's not yet clear when the draft resolution could be put to a vote. So this visit to the Rafa crossing on the border between Gaza and Egypt is in fact part of an awareness campaign organized by the Emirates. Some might call it lobbying to make the United Nations realize what is needed in terms of a humanitarian operations scale-up that meets the needs of the Palestinian people. First repercussion, the US refused to send a representative on the trip. And this follows, as you said, a US veto last week of a proposed UN Security Council demand for an immediate ceasefire. France refused to send a representative as well, probably because Western countries feel that the Gulf State diplomacy is too opportunistic. One day they condemn Israel, the next day they defend Israel in order to keep good relations with everyone. Oh, interesting, because the French, of course, voted in favor of that resolution at the UN Security Council, didn't they, over the weekend? Can we expect more action at the Security Council pushed by the UAE because they do, of course, have a place on the Council right now, a revolving seat, as it were? Tomorrow the UN General Assembly will meet on Gaza the request of the UAE and the Organization for Islamic Cooperation. The General Assembly is a 193-member body. It is likely to vote on this draft resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. There is likely to be more significant political fallouts if it is widely agreed by most other countries. But there are no vetoes in the General Assembly and its decisions are not legally binding. In October it adopted the resolution with around 120 votes in favor, already calling for sustained humanitarian truth leading to cessation of hostilities. But in the end, as you know, as you remember, the real truth happened a month later and it was pretty much negotiated by the Qataris alone, thanks to their good relations with all the actors in this in this Gaza war. So the UAE can push for more, but they don't seem to have the means to achieve their ambitions. Ambassador, I mean, how is this typical of the Emiratis trying to kind of take a leadership role in the aid effort to help people in Gaza? As always, it can be called a balancing act by the UAE. The Emiratis have atrocious relations, as you know, with Gaza and with Hamas leaders in particular. And it wasn't the 2020 Abraham Accords that were the trigger factor. So for the time being, they are sending very little aid on the ground. And we also saw that 10 Emirati female volunteers departed for Gaza yesterday, but it's pretty limited at the end of the day. They focus on mostly on external ads and the care, as you remember, given to many wounded Palestinian children here in Emirati hospitals is an example of this. Bastia, thank you very much. Bastia and Pauli, they're in Dubai. Well, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has strongly rebuked allegations that Israel is trying to permanently displace Palestinians from Gaza. The Jordanian foreign minister made the accusation at the Doha Forum in Qatar this week. The Prime Minister called the claim false and dangerous. So can Israel destroy Hamas completely? And if it can, what will a post Hamas-Gaza look like with Wasim Al-Landa, a former member of the Knesset, and former diplomatic envoy to Egypt is with me in the studio. And I'm delighted to welcome from Manama tonight, Abdullah Al-Janaid, Bahrain economist and geopolitical analyst. Thank you to you both. So the United States and the Palestinian Authority want Ramallah, want the PA to take control of Gaza. Netanyahu says no way. He has said that the PA is trying to destroy Israel step by step. So who will govern Gaza, Abdullah? I believe that we are here today. It's because of Netanyahu, Netanyahu doctor for the last 15 years. So let's just revise or look back and see exactly what was there to prevent such a thing taking place. It was purely Netanyahu policies. And this is where the Palestinians are paying price. And the whole region is further destabilized. All right, please, would you like to respond to that? I think that the Palestinian Authority in its current situation, given the incitement in the school books and the unstable situation within the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, cannot possibly take upon itself the Gaza Strip. We have seen in 2015 when the IDF left the Gaza Strip and the Hamas took over, they were adamantly against the Fatah operatives shooting them in the kneecaps and throwing them out of the windows. I don't see any reason to believe that they will be willing one second to act otherwise, provided the fact that the Palestinian Authority at the current point is not strong enough to even govern and stabilize the West Bank. How are they going to take on a situation in the Gaza Strip with even a few thousand Hamas operatives left, even if the IDF does a huge job in eliminating the vast majority of the Hamas operatives the day after? It would need a reconsideration of the entire educational system, making a way with the incitement, with the indoctrination, and becoming more stable. This cannot be done by the current Palestinian Authority. A word on the incitement, Abdallah, but also if I could get your reaction to comments by the Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Shattair, he says Hamas cannot be destroyed and he actually wants it to kind of be folded in or what's left of it into the PA. He'll be going to Doha to ask the Qataris to give his organization the cash that previously went to Hamas. And what are your thoughts on that? Before that, can I just remark on what truth say? It's so typical Israelis to go back to the education books. What about the form of Hamas within the Israeli, the far-right settlers? Aren't they exactly the equivalent of Hamas in terms of inciting hatred, spitting on every Christian? Is this the Israel that lets it? I would love to answer that. That was one example. I would love to answer that. It's not the matter of the books. What we need is that both sides need to take a step. Instead of just continuing blaming the other side, we're not going to find a way out. You want to continue this fair enough. We're going to leave it to you and the Palestinian continue killing each other. And then when you finish, please come back and ask us, what did this lead to? You want to continue by all means? Go ahead. It's not the matter of the PA. The PA is there, and they are in this dire state. It's because of the 16 years of Netanyahu. He crippled that organization, and you need to take some sort of responsibility for that. All right. Let Ray respond. I would love to respond, sir. First of all, I'm a politician belonging to the opposition to Netanyahu. So I have absolutely zero interest in condoning the policy that was promoted in the last years, especially allowing the Qataris to pay money, stacks of money to the Hamas terrorist organization, and condoning the weakening of the Palestinian Authority. This is not my policy. However, I cannot put my hand in the sand and ignore the horrid incitement in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank. If we kill every single terrorist organization, would you condemn the same far-right Israeli settlers? I will answer that in one minute, sir. In one second, I will not run away from condemning anybody who you ask me about. But I would like to just return to a single fact. There is huge incitement in the Gaza Strip and in the West Bank. If we kill every single Hamas operative, every single terrorist, and this incitement goes on, the next generation will be terrorists as well. The Bahrainis will suffer from this. The UAE will suffer. Certainly first and foremost the Israelis and the Fatah, who the Hamas hate more than the Jews, which is very difficult, but it's true. So what I would like to say is, yes, I condemn those specific right-wing extremist settlers, not all settlers are like that at all. But those right-wing extremist settlers that do illegal acts in the West Bank. I do condemn them. I think that they should be arrested and many of them are arrested. To liken what we have to Hamas is completely irrelevant. We do not rape, kill, massacre, carnage, burn alive, kidnap. There is no likening whatsoever. Does this make the works of those specific, small amount but very bad, specific settlers promoting illegal acts against the West Bank Palestinians? I completely condemn them, completely. Abdullah, I should point out, Abdullah, that the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has not condemned Hamas for October 7th, by the way. Listen, the issue here is not Mahmoud Abbas condemning Hamas or otherwise for us, is we need the Israelis and the Palestinians to bypass every possible official channel and continue talking to each other. I just returned from Europe where we had Israeli and Palestinians sitting together and talking to each other. They were not officials, but they definitely have the best interest of Israel and the Palestinians at the same time. They see the only way out of this mess is not to the likes of Netanyahu and his coalition to remain in power and represent Israel, nor Mahmoud Abbas for his accepting, blaming everybody for his shortfulness. And just to get away with it, no, we need a proper representation of the Israelis and the proper presentation of the Palestinians and for both to see that there is no simple way out of the tragedy that we are going through. We are talking about close to 18,000 Gaza killed. The issue of them, Shtaia or anybody else going to Dohan speaking in the forum, it's not going to be represented any way out. What we need is for the people on the ground and also for Israel to benefit from listening to its regional friends and partners and seize operation and let's build on something that's going to be serving the future of the relation. You're talking about, I mean, a near report about the UAE presenting a UN Security Council resolution. Now, this is, I believe, it's one of those final warnings you're going to be receiving from the region. If you don't stop and listen to us, that could definitely jeopardize the whole thing. All right, so sir, if a country or an entity near God forbid Bahrain was to rape, gang rape, kidnap, kill, massacre, burn alive, cut the organs while living of your mother's wives and daughters, you would talk and negotiate with the people who did that, even though they say that if they had the chance, they would continue to do this again and again and again. So understanding that the Hamas will not talk to Israel because they don't recognize Israel. They want to murder all Israelis. We need to first make a way with Hamas. This is not Netanyahu policy and I'm against Netanyahu. This is right-wing, left-wing, middle-wing, any-wing Jewish policy because they want to have us annihilated, murdered, raped, killed, cut into pieces. No, hang on, hang on, hang on. Rose, did you hear me say you need to negotiate with Hamas? No, we need to speak with people. My entire professional life, I spoke to Palestinians. This is my policy. I believe in speaking. Let Abdelah go ahead. Abdelah, go ahead. Again, this is very difficult. The minute you start to take a central position where both parties, you know, by necessity, need to sit together. I'm talking about the Palestinians. I wasn't talking about Hamas. For me, listen, I'm talking about the Palestinian authority. The Palestinian authority currently represents 30 percent of the West Bank only. Rose, the rest wants us murdered. No, no, you want me to go on details? I will go on to details. What I'm talking about is, now, we have a coalition that has been elected by the Israelis. I didn't go and ask how much they represent. I say they are, at the present time, this coalition represents Israel. Now, the PA represent a Palestinian, whether they are controlling 50 percent in percent or 5 percent. But we need, they are recognized by the international community and Israel that they are representing the Palestinians. So let us not play word games and focus on what needs to be done, what needs to be done for all of us to come together and find a way out. It's not going to be Hamas. Hamas shouldn't be in the picture. We all agree on that. But at the same time, continuing killing Palestinians is not going to be aiding nor your efforts or anybody's efforts. All right. Okay, both of you, do stay with me. I want to talk a bit more about Qatar in all of this, because Qatar is continuing to push for ceasefire in Gaza. Speaking at the Doha forum today, the State's Minutes for Foreign Affairs said Qatar would continue to make payments to Gaza even after Hamas has gone. It appears in recent years it has been common for Qatari diplomats to arrive in Gaza with suitcases of cash they were supposed to pay the salaries of civil servants. Israel argues that money went straight into terrorism. Qatari funding is in the spotlight over in the United States too, amid controversies about anti-Semitism on university campuses. Well, I'd like to bring in FDD founder and President Clifford Dime. Thank you very much indeed for being with us. So Qatar says it will continue to fund whoever is in power in Gaza. What are your thoughts on that? Well, my thoughts on Qatar is that we've all misunderstood Qatar for a long time. When I say, oh, I mean the U.S. government, I think I mean the Israeli government, academia, the media, pretty much everybody. Why? Look, we know that Qatar has been hosting leaders of Hamas. We know those leaders have been funded, they've lived luxuriously. That would make Qatar a sponsor of terrorism. But we didn't treat Qatar as a sponsor of terrorism. On the contrary, last year President Biden made Qatar a major non-NATO ally, huge to give that designation. And I think the idea was, okay, yes, they are hosting and funding Hamas, but they're keeping some reins on Hamas. They certainly know what Hamas is up to, what it's going to do. Either they know because they're being told or through basic intelligence, not hard to bug hotel rooms. And none of this turned out to be true. So what's necessary at this point is a full review of our relations and certainly U.S. relations with Qatar. They shouldn't be a major non-NATO ally. They perhaps should be considered and designated a sponsor of terrorism. The U.S. probably shouldn't have a military base there. And by the way, journalists and think tankers, journalists think tankers shouldn't be going there, certainly not on Qatar's dime. And there should be no academic institutions in the United States that have campuses in Doha. All that needs to be reevaluated. Right, of course, we know the Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is there right now. Let me bring in Abdullah al-Janaid by any columnist and commentator for us. And so Abdullah, just looking at it from a golf perspective, am I right in saying that there is or there appears to be some kind of competition between Doha and Dubai when it comes to being the ones to kind of help rebuild the future for the people of Gaza? It's on Dubai. We have to be very careful. It's UAE. It's not Dubai. Dubai is one of the Emirates. Sorry, Abu Dhabi. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Abu Dhabi. All right. Now, it's not the matter of competition on rebuilding. We all agree. Rebuilding Hamas is not going to be the solution where we need to rehabilitate the whole of Gaza, people, ground, and also aspirations. And that will require all of us coming together and doing something about that. Security, economics, social, and education. Ruth, that's going to love that. I'm sure. So what we need to do is those four. But to start with, now, we have UAE represented on the ground in UAE. We have Egypt next door. We have a massive humanitarian aid building on the Rafah area. And we have the Jordanian UAE Bahrain. If you recall, Laura, it was back in 2021. You and I were discussing the money to Hamas. And it was exactly weeks after U.C. Cohen, the head of Mossad, existing in the office. And he said that was the biggest mistake that this country have made by facilitating Hamas receiving that fund. It was you and I on this show that launched the accountability of Qatar for being allowed to finance Hamas. Now, financing Hamas falls on your head as Israel, the U.S., and Qatar, not just Qatar, because the three parties were responsible for reaching this agreement. Okay, Abdullah, thank you. Ruth, briefly. I would like to start first of all, Abdullah, thank you for saying what you had said. I appreciate it. And I say this without millimeter of cynicism, with all honesty, I would like to sign my name under every word that was said by the director of the FDD, Qatar, is a huge problem. It's a huge problem. It is financing hatred, incitement, indoctrination in the West. Leave what it's doing vis-à-vis Hamas. And by the way, it's saying outright that he wants Hamas to continue to rule and reign in the Gaza Strip despite the fact that it is humiliating and making very miserable and poor a huge number of Palestinian Ghazan civilians. I'm talking about its export of the ideology, the extreme ideology elsewhere to the West, and it's doing it by financing colleges, universities, initiatives, and so on. Right, because it turns out, Clifford D. May, it turns out that Qatar is the biggest foreign donor to US universities over the past 20 years. How do you explain that? Very smart on Qatar's part. Why? Because they want to influence American opinion. They have done that through Al Jazeera. They've done that by spending money at universities, by opening campuses. This has been a huge influence operation, and I think a lot of people in America and other places have been duped by Qatar. But I think the mask is off. I think we now see Qatar for what it is, and I think we have to treat Qatar very differently going forward. And I think it's clear that certainly that, look, it is Hamas and Qatar deserves some responsibility for this, that has brought about this war and this devastation upon Gaza. Everything that's going on in Gaza, and it's just terrible, is the fault of Hamas and Qatar is behind Hamas. They need to take responsibility for that, it seems to me. And I certainly agree with Israelis who say at this point we now know there is no pragmatism to Hamas. We can't get along with Hamas. We will not let Hamas have any military capabilities. We will not let Hamas govern Gaza going forward whenever else happens. If there needs to be a responsibility taken by Israel, which has adopted not a good policy of accepting Qatar and going into this misconception of what Qatar is and allowing this money to be funneled to the Hamas, yes, there should be a responsibility taken by the Israeli policymakers as well. And the US, of course, but that was being said. They see that many of the American are caught with their hand in the cookie jar. All of a sudden they call morality. But while it's going on, the money is coming in for all those, you know, policy influence and everything, it's hanky-dory. But all of a sudden, now, after October 7th, everybody is dropping Qatar. But what is happening to business as usual for the American with regard to other issues, like Iran? All right, very quickly, Cliff. I mean, you say the mask is slipping, but do you think that the elites in Washington are aware now of what Qatar is and are things going to change? I think a lot of people in the United States now and in Washington now realize that they were rather duped by Qatar. They're Qatar is not what they hoped. That, for example, giving them the status of a major non-nato ally was more of a bribe than a tip, in other words, because they hoped Qatar would deal differently. And to be charitable, Qatar was spending a lot of money building things in Gaza. I think a lot of people thought, surely they don't want to see the buildings they put up rubbled, as has now happened. And yes, Qatar and a lot of others were turning a blind eye to the network of tunnels that Hamas intended to use not to do anything good for the people of Gaza, but only to use as a way to kill Israelis in the hope of also killing Israel.