 You're watching I-24 News, breaking news edition, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Tel Aviv right now for a meeting with Israel's Defense Minister Joav Galant. The two are expected to hold a press conference at the Israeli military headquarters very shortly, but before we get to that, let's take a listen to Austin's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just a short while ago. Mr. Secretary, it's good to welcome you and your delegation again. We're fighting for civilization against barbarism. I can say that when we spoke, I expressed again our commitment, Israel's commitment, to achieve total victory against Hamas, and we think that this is not only our war but in many ways your war because you are leading the forces of civilization in the world. This is a battle against the Iranian axis, the Iranian axis of terror, which is now threatening to close the maritime Strait of Bab el-Mandib. This threatens the freedom of navigation of the entire world. I appreciate the fact that you are taking action to open that Strait. It's not only our interest, it is the interest, I think, of the entire civilized community. And I want to thank you for the support that you have shown consistently, and I welcome the opportunity to talk about what else we're doing to have our common interest serve. Mr. Prime Minister, thank you. And Mr. Prime Minister Netanyahu, thanks for hosting us again. This is my fourth visit to Israel's Secretary of Defense and my second since the terrible day of October 7th. I'm here to underscore what President Biden has said again and again. Our commitment to Israel is unshakable. I know that Israel is a small, tight-knit country, and I know that all Israelis were touched by the vast evil committed by Hamas. So I'm here to mourn with you for the innocent souls taken from you on October 7th. And I'm also here to stand alongside the families of those still missing in Gaza, including U.S. citizens. America's commitment to Israel is unwavering. And no individual, group, or state should test our resolve. So in the Red Sea, we're leading a multinational maritime task force to uphold the bedrock principle of freedom of navigation. Iran's support for hoody attacks on commercial vessels must stop. Now, we'll continue to provide Israel with the equipment that you need to defend your country, Mr. Prime Minister, including critical munitions, tactical vehicles, and air defense systems. We'll continue to support Israel's mission to find and free all of the hostages. And I'm also here to discuss how we can best support Israel on a path to lasting security. And that means tackling urgent needs first. We must get more humanitarian assistance into the nearly 2 million displaced people in Gaza, and we must distribute that aid better. And we want to thank you for the recent initiatives that you've taken, Mr. Prime Minister. We applaud that, and hopefully that will enable us to move even more in. So thanks for, again, being a great host, and I look forward to a great discussion, Mr. Prime Minister. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Thank you. That was U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just a short while ago, and we are awaiting his meeting with Defense Minister Yav Galant. We'll bring that to you live right here on I-24 News. Meanwhile, just an hour ago, record alert sirens were heard on Israel's northern border with Lebanon and in the West Bank. A shooting attack earlier today has left one Israeli woman wounded. The woman's husband and two children who were with her were not injured. Meanwhile, in Gaza, the IDF continues its battle on the ground, attacking over 150 terrorist targets in the last day from the air, sea, and land. And as we mentioned, U.S. Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Tel Aviv right now. He is about to hold that press conference. Meanwhile, as the pressure on Israel grows to reduce human suffering in Gaza, we can see those live images right there of Austin and Galant. As the pressure on Israel grows to reduce human suffering in Gaza, the IDF releases footage showing how airstrikes against Hamas terrorists are often aborted when pilots notice unexpected civilian presence. Let's take a listen to IDF spokesperson Daniel Higari addressing the footage you just saw. Our war is against Hamas, not against the people of Gaza. Hamas is civilian's death as a strategy. We see it as a tragedy. Which is why we use many measures to try and minimize the civilian harm and suffering. That is the tragic reality in this war that Hamas started. We warned civilians before attacks whenever is possible. We also recommend civilians to temporarily move away from areas of intense fighting. We know this is hard, but we are trying to save lives. Now for more, we're joined in studio by retired police commander Mirav Lapidot, the former spokesperson for the Israeli police. And now CEO of Lapidot Communications and Strategy. Mirav, great to have you with us in studio. Let's talk about the message that Israel is trying to send here. It's no coincidence that the IDF spokesman Daniel Higari is sending this message in English together with footage showing how the Israeli Air Force is aborting attacks when it sees civilians. This is why the U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is here in Israel. Yes, of course it's not a coincidence. This is a message to the U.S. and all the world that we are trying to do our best in order to avoid any harm of innocent civilians. And Daniel Higari said it well. He said, when we hurt by accident civilians who are innocent, we see that as a tragedy. But the real tragedy is that Hamas is aiming towards innocent civilians. He's an innocent Israeli civilians and not only Israelis because as we saw before, they don't care even for Palestinians in Gaza if they die while they're attacking and converting their, all the terrorist attacks. Mirav, stay with me because we do have the current police spokesman for foreign media. Dean, he's with our I-24 news, Ariel Osaran. And on Israel's southern border, Ariel, there is some pressure from the government to bring back residents to their communities. What are we hearing from the residents and what does the police have to say? Right, guys. So really in recent days, as the war has continued and the IDF's ground operation in the Gaza Strip continues to deepen, we are already starting to hear signs talk about a potential pending return, perhaps, of some of the residents in some of these southern border communities. And on this topic exactly, I'm joined by the Israeli police's spokesperson for international media, Dean Elzden. Dean, thanks for joining us. So given that since the start of the war, there have been 12,500 rockets fired towards Israel, mostly towards the southern border communities, and these rockets continue to fall in this area, what is the position of the Israeli police regarding the timeline for safe return of these residents to these border communities? I just want to reiterate something that you said. Over 12,500 rockets have been fired towards civilians. It's an astronomical number. You're talking about rockets being fired at women and children that are in residential communities. I'm very proud of our nation for being so resilient and wanting to come back to their homes, and I really can't blame them. I would want to as well. But my main concern and the main concern of the police is to make sure that they do it safely. Even if you're in central Israel and you haven't been relocated from southern Israel, you need to listen to the instructions of the police. We've saw so many incidents throughout the outbreak of this war where people are touching rocket fragments of rockets that have already landed or rockets falling a couple of minutes after the siren has already finished. And so that's why I really want to take this opportunity to tell the public, listen to the instructions. When there's a rocket siren, take your families into protected shelters, stay there for 10 minutes. We saw the miraculous, really, I want to call it a Chanukah miracle, a rocket fragment fell in the middle of a supermarket while people were doing shopping and miraculously nobody was hurt. Stay in the shelters, your safety matters. So is there any timeline just briefly, is there any expectation for a timeline when they can come back? It's more of a governmental issue. We're going to support whatever orders come down. But again, when the families come back, when everybody comes back to the residential communities, do it safely, listen to the instructions, and we're going to continue being here to defend you, to support you, and to get to the rocket impact sites. D-nails done, Israeli police. Thank you very much for that. Guy, as you heard, this is the position of the Israeli police regarding the expected timeline of return, not quite specifics regarding when that will happen, but indeed a reiteration of the importance to listen to the guidelines of home front as well as emergency services as the war continues in both fronts. I will also run reporting from Israel's southern border. Thank you very much. Mirav, you're still with me. Let's talk about this plan of the government to bring back at least some of these communities. We know that so many Israelis have been displaced since the start of this war. They were given alternative accommodation in hotels and some of the kibbutzes, etc. The people do want to go back, but they want to go back where they are safe. Not all of them feel safe to go back right now. As for now, the government didn't order anybody to go back. They are still under the accommodation that the country is supplying them, and they are expected to stay out of these areas. In the areas that they can live in, like of Akim, the home front command gives all the proper instructions how to defend yourself in the case of missiles. You have to go into the shelter, as Dean said before, and stay there for 10 minutes, and after 70 days of war, we understand that these instructions do save lives. Like wherever somebody is following the instructions, most probably that he will be safe, even though if the iron dome misses some of the rockets and they do fall in the city. So everybody is expected to do so in the future. Strict to us about the dilemma of those residents, they've been given in many cases very good alternative, but nonetheless, we're talking about families with children, sometimes very small children, having to live away from their homes, away from their extended families in many cases. Not a comfortable situation. They want to go back home, talk to us about their dilemma, wanting to have a safe zone for their families, and at the same time wanting that security that just perhaps isn't there just yet. Nobody wants to live out of their home for unknown time. They left their homes in a blink of an eye when somebody told them, just bring up, take whatever is necessary, and go on and live to the center of Israel and be there. But nobody said for how long then, and nobody says now for how long it's going to be yet to go. And of course it's a matter of work. Some of them has to go back and work and support their families and the children has no school and no other activities that they are used to. So of course everybody wants to live in their home. It's not very comfortable to live in a hotel even though it's nice and it's a very proper accommodation. But some of them are separated from their families. Some of them are separated from others from their community. So they do want to go back. But if you wait, they're comfortable of living outside your home or just be living. So I'm sure that every family takes the right decision and stay off these risk zones. And hopefully that somewhere in the near future we will all come back to live normally and safely here in the state of Israel. And the Defense Ministry of Galan said this war will take many months. Let's hope the residents are able to come back before the end of this war that some sort of sense of safety will be given to them. But more updates or more issues that are relevant in Israel right now are the issue of the hostages. As Israel emerges from the tragic killing of three hostages by friendly fire, the government is making efforts to show the public that talks on a new hostage deal are moving forward. Our senior diplomatic correspondent Owen Alterman sketches out the terms for the talks and how this time they're different from talks on that first deal in November. The funerals remind Israelis of the stakes. Here, the funeral of hostage Alon Shemriz, killed in the tragic friendly fire incident. His hands raised, his white flag not enough to earn his rescue. A reminder to many in Israel of the price of waiting on another hostage deal. Ladies and gentlemen, you already saw the light, but it became darkness. Those who abandoned you also murdered you after you did everything right. And so the Israeli government reportedly ramps up talks on a new hostage deal with meetings afoot and progress made. Now with two key differences from that first hostage deal in November. First, that November deal focused on women and especially children who were in the twisted logic of Hamas assets, but also liabilities with the terror group taking a beating internationally for holding three year old hostage. So Hamas had more incentive to free the kids for a lower price. And then the second difference, the balance of power on the battlefield. Only continued military pressure will lead to the release of all of our hostages. My directive to the negotiating team is based on this pressure without which we would have nothing. That first deal in November came when military pressure in Gaza was at a high, with a sense of big incremental gains each day. And so big incremental losses each day for Hamas. The sense now is of a war that is making slower progress. Less incremental pressure on Hamas means less sway for Israeli talks, all of which adds up to tougher decisions for the Israeli government and public, not only to want fervently to bring them home, but also to understand the price in all its dimensions. Yes, and at this very hour, the Mossad chief David Bornea is meeting with, say, director Bill Burns, also with the Qatari prime minister about a possible hostage deal. At the same time, the U.S. defense secretary Lloyd Austin is meeting right now with Israeli defense minister Yav Galant in Tel Aviv. We'll bring that pressure to you live here on I-24 News. Now, let's bring in Shay Bazaar, political analyst and consultant and also the former Israeli consul general to Miami. And Boston is joining us from Rana. Shay, thank you very much for coming on. Good evening. So we just heard the comments there from Austin in his meeting with Netanyahu, speaking about an unshakable commitment, unwavering commitment of the U.S. to Israel. No doubts, no question marks there. And despite that, also expressing his concern about human suffering in Gaza, what do you make of these public statements? Yeah, we don't, we can rely not just on these public statements, but also on polls that have been done lately again and again among the American people and which we see by them that the support for Israel is tremendous. And we cannot be grateful enough for this to have our great friends, United States of America standing by us in these difficult hours. It's very encouraging. And I think that the visit of the Secretary of Defense and the joint head, joint staff is very important to us and also to prevent very big troubles in the Middle East, which we all know can rise every day. Yes, obviously, no short of concerns for Israel or for the U.S. in the Middle East right now, be it the issue of Gaza, Hezbollah, the Houthis or Iran in general. Let's speak about the two heads of state, Netanyahu and Biden. The relations between these two goes a long way. And it does include a lot of affection between the two, but also a lot of differences. Some of them have been made public in the recent weeks. Yeah, it's not a secret. I believe the personal relationship is long. They know each other for very long time, but they are not seeing things eye to eye. We heard about it again and again, especially in the last year. But although President Biden stood by Israel right away when the Hamas attacked Israel on the 7th of October, and this show that President Biden deal less with politics or personal resurgence, but his leadership is much more than this. Standing by Israel and by the pre-war is really tremendous at this hour. But yeah, the relationship are not good. And it's not secret that the American administration would like to see a different Israeli government at this time and in the future. And nonetheless, that incredible support, obviously not to be taken for granted at all, also considering the facts that we are expected to see elections in the US. And we're also seeing this wave of anti-Semitism across the US in campuses. And this is quite incredible to see the strong stance of Biden in support of Israel and against those movements in the US. Incredible. Incredible. Absolutely. I don't think that the standing by Israel is hurting President Biden on the inner American politics. I think the American people are more concerned, at least on the Democrat sides, about the economy, about the student loans, about the abortions, about the southern border of the United States more than they care about his standing by Israel. But nevertheless, he didn't care about the politics here. He took a stand as the leader of the free world, standing by justice, standing in the right side of history, which is admirable. And there is no doubt about it. Let's speak about this war in Gaza. National Security Advisor Jack Sullivan was here just last week saying that Israel should be transitioning to another phase of the war that is more focused on precise ways of targeting the leadership of Hamas. This is all happening as Israel is also attempting to reach some sort of a hostage release deal without meeting of David Barnier with Bill Burns. What do you make of the different outlooks of the Israelis and the Americans and how this war should advance from Iran? Yeah. I believe that both Israel and the United States understand that this war cannot end up without eliminating the Hamas control on the Gaza Strip, without eliminating their military power, without eliminating the threats on Israel. We cannot allow ourselves to have another attack like October 7th. And it's a signal to the whole Middle East. Our enemies are looking at us from all around, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and other proxies of Iran, and see is Israel strong enough to crush an enemy that's brutally attacked it? Or we are weak and the world is pressing us and everyone can do whatever he wants and get away with it without a punishment. And I think the United States and Europe and our allies around the world understand it. And this is why the standing base were so steadful. Now, about the schedule, the itinerary, how much time we need to crush Hamas in this way or another. It's going to take another month, another two months. I don't think it's a big difference. I think the parties are talking to each other and the head of the Israeli army explain their position to the counterparts from the United States. I think eventually there is not a lot of differences. I know that they are talking about giving humanitarian aid to the citizens of Gaza. And we see the fuel and the food and the water and other supplies are running into Gaza every day, which some people of Israel think it's a mistake because this war, they think will end up fast, at least quickly, if this siege will be more tighter. But anyway, we do it as a request of our friends from around the world. But the schedule is less of a problem. I think the main issue that's the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chief of Staff talking today is about the Houthis, more than they're talking about the Gaza issue today. Yes, I'm sure they're not short of topics to discuss, no short of threats on Israel and American interest in the region. The former Israeli consul general to Miami and Boston, Shai Bazaq, we thank you very much for your insight. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, Shai. And Mirav, still with me, it's so interesting to look at those relations between Israel and the US. Israel is obviously so relied on the American aid, both internationally and both with respect to military assistance in this war in Gaza, when, of course, there are so many other threats at the same time. What do you make of how things evolve here in those relations? Well, as we saw, Defense Minister Austin said that the US commitment to Israel is unshakable. This is something that's not important only to us, to the people of Israel, to hear. It's a remark state for all the world, because this is not a war just between Hamas and the Israeli people. This is a war between the free world and all the terror organizations all over the world that are threatening all the free communities all around the world, in Europe, in the states, and all other countries all over the world. And all terror organizations must know that if they're going to attack any civilization, doesn't matter where and whom, all the world is going to be against them. This is why it's so important to eliminate Hamas and eliminate the military force of Hamas, because otherwise it will be a signal to all terror organizations all around the world that they are allowed to do whatever they want, whomever they want, if it means to attack people in Paris or in London or in Washington or in the marathon in Boston. It's all the same. It doesn't matter if that group or the other group. This is our fight against terror, our, the free world, not our, just the Jewish people. We have to stand all together and be all together. And this is why the statement of Minister Austen is so important. Very strong messages there from Defense Minister Austen, Defense Secretary Austen and from you, we're Avalipidot. Thank you very much for being with us. More updates are coming up here on i24 news. Stay tuned. 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 to be fought as well. You're watching i24 news breaking news edition. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austen is in Tel Aviv right now for a meeting with Israel's Defense Minister Joav Galant. The two are expected to hold a press conference at the Israeli military headquarters very shortly. But before we get to that, let's take a listen to Austen's meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just a short while ago. Mr. Secretary, it's good to welcome you and your delegation again. We're fighting a war of civilization against barbarism. I can say that when we spoke, I expressed again our commitment, Israel's commitment to achieve total victory against Hamas. And we think that this is not only our war, but in many ways your war, because you are leading the forces of civilization in the world. This is a battle against the Iranian axis, the Iranian axis of terror, which is now threatening to close the maritime Strait of Bab el-Mandib. This threatens the freedom of navigation of the entire world. I appreciate the fact that you are taking action to open that Strait. It's not only our interest, it is the interest, I think, of the entire civilized community. And I want to thank you for the support that you have shown consistently, and I welcome the opportunity to talk about what else we're doing to have our common interest serve, Mr. Prime Minister. Thank you. Mr. Prime Minister Netanyahu, thanks for hosting us again. This is my fourth visit to Israel's Secretary of Defense and my second since the terrible day of October 7th. I'm here to underscore what President Biden has said again and again. Our commitment to Israel is unshakable. I know that Israel is a small tight-knit country, and I know that all Israelis were touched by the vast evil committed by Hamas. So I'm here to mourn with you for the innocent souls taken from you on October 7th, and I'm also here to stand alongside the families of those still missing in Gaza, including U.S. citizens. America's commitment to Israel is unwavering, and no individual, group, or state should test our resolve. So in the Red Sea, we're leading a multinational maritime task force to uphold the bedrock principle of freedom of navigation. Iran's support for hoodie attacks on commercial vessels must stop. Now, we'll continue to provide Israel with the equipment that you need to defend your country, Mr. Prime Minister, including critical munitions, tactical vehicles, and air defense systems. We'll continue to support Israel's mission to find and free all of the hostages, and I'm also here to discuss how we can best support Israel on the path to lasting security, and that means tackling urgent needs first. We must get more humanitarian assistance into the nearly 2 million displaced people in Gaza, and we must distribute that aid better. And we want to thank you for the recent initiatives that you've taken, Mr. Prime Minister. We applaud that, and hopefully that will enable us to move even more in. So thanks for, again, being a great host, and I look forward to a great discussion, Mr. Prime Minister. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Thank you. Thank you. That was U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just a short while ago, and we are awaiting his meeting with Defense Minister Yav Galant. We'll bring that to you live right here on I-24 News. Meanwhile, just an hour ago, rocket alert sirens were heard on Israel's northern border with Lebanon and in the West Bank. A shooting attack earlier today has left one Israeli woman wounded, the woman's husband, and two children who are with her were not injured. Meanwhile, in Gaza, the IDF continues its battle on the ground, attacking over 150 terrorist targets in the last day from the air, sea, and land. And as we mentioned, U.S. Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Tel Aviv right now. He is about to hold that press conference. Meanwhile, as the pressure on Israel grows to reduce human suffering in Gaza, we can see those live images right there of Austin and Galant. As the pressure on Israel grows to reduce human suffering in Gaza, the IDF releases footage showing how airstrikes against Hamas terrorists are often aborted when pilots notice unexpected civilian presence. Let's take a listen to IDF spokesperson Daniel Higari addressing the footage you just saw. Our war is against Hamas, not against the people of Gaza. Hamas sees civilians' deaths as a strategy. We see it as a tragedy, which is why we use many measures to try and minimize the civilian harm and suffering. That is the tragic reality in this war that Hamas started. We warn civilians before attacks, whenever is possible. We also recommend civilians to temporarily move away from areas of intense fighting. We know this is hard, but we are trying to save lives. Now for more, we're joined in studio by retired police commander, Mirav Lapidot, the former spokesperson for the Israeli police and now CEO of Lapidot Communications and Strategy Mirav. Great to have you with us in studio. Let's talk about the message that Israel is trying to send here. It's no coincidence that the IDF spokesman Daniel Higari is sending this message in English together with footage showing how the Israeli Air Force is aborting attacks when it sees civilians. This is while the U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is here in Israel. Yes, of course, it's not a coincidence. This is a message to the U.S. and all the world that we are trying to do our best in order to avoid any harm of innocent civilians. Daniel Higari said it well. He said when we heard by accident civilians who are innocent, we see that as a tragedy. But the real tragedy is the Hamas is aiming towards innocent civilians. It's an innocent Israeli civilians and not only Israelis because, as we saw before, they don't care even for Palestinians in Gaza if they die while they're attacking and converting all the terrorist attacks. Mirav, stay with me because we do have the current police spokesman for foreign media. Dean, he's with our I-24 News Ariel Osteran and Israel's southern border Ariel. There is some pressure from the government to bring back residents to their communities, whatever you're hearing from the residents, and what does the police have to say? Right, guys. So really in recent days as the war has continued and the IDF's ground operation in the Gaza Strip continues to deepen, we are already starting to hear signs talk about a potential pending return, perhaps, of some of the residents in some of these southern border communities. And on this topic exactly, I'm joined by the Israeli police's spokesperson for international media, Dean Elzdan. Dean, thanks for joining us. So given that since the start of the war, there have been 12,500 rockets fired towards Israel, mostly towards the southern border communities. And these rockets continue to fall in this area. What is the position of the Israeli police regarding the timeline for safe return of these residents to these border communities? I just want to reiterate something that you said. Over 12,500 rockets have been fired towards civilians. It's an astronomical number. You're talking about rockets being fired at women and children that are in residential communities. I'm very proud of our nation for being so resilient and wanting to come back to their homes, and I really can't blame them. I would want to as well. But my main concern, and the main concern of the police, is to make sure that they do it safely. Even if you're in central Israel and you haven't been relocated from southern Israel, you need to listen to the instructions of the police. We've saw so many incidents throughout the outbreak of this war where people are touching rocket fragments of rockets that have already landed or rockets falling a couple of minutes after the siren has already finished. And so that's why I really want to take this opportunity to tell the public, listen to the instructions. When there's a rocket siren, take your families into protected shelters, stay there for 10 minutes. We saw the miraculous really, I want to call it a Chanukah miracle, a rocket fragment fell in the middle of a supermarket while people were doing shopping and miraculously nobody was hurt. Stay in the shelters, your safety matters. So is there any timeline, just briefly, is there any expectation for a timeline when they can come back? It's more of a governmental issue. We're going to support whatever orders come down. But again, when the families come back, when everybody comes back to the residential communities, do it safely, listen to the instructions, and we're going to continue being here to defend you, to support you, and to get to the rocket impact sites. Dean Elzden, Israeli police, thank you very much for that. Guy, as you heard, this is the position of the Israeli police regarding the expected timeline of return, not quite specifics regarding when that will happen, but indeed a reiteration of the importance to listen to the guidelines of home front as well as emergency services as the war continues in both fronts. Are we lost Iran reporting from Israel's southern border? Thank you very much. Mirav, you're still with me. Let's talk about this plan of the government to bring back at least some of these communities. We know that so many Israelis have been displaced since the start of this war. They were given alternative accommodation in hotels and some of the kibbutzes, etc. The people do want to go back, but they want to go back where they are safe. Not all of them feel safe to go back right now. As for now, the government didn't order anybody to go back. They are still under the accommodation that the country is supplying them, and they are expected to stay out of these areas in the areas that they can live in, like of Akim. The home front command gives all the proper instructions how to defend yourself in the case of missiles. You have to go into the shelter, as Dean said before, and stay there for 10 minutes. After 70 days of war, we understand that these instructions do save lives. Wherever somebody is following the instructions, most probably that he will be safe, even though if the iron dome misses some of the rockets and they do fall in the city. So everybody is expected to do so in the future. Strict to us about the dilemma of those residents, they've been given in many cases very good alternative, but nonetheless we're talking about families with children, sometimes very small children, having to live away from their homes, away from their extended families in many cases, not a comfortable situation. They want to go back home, talk to us about their dilemma, wanting to have a safe zone for their families, and at the same time wanting that security that just perhaps isn't there just yet. Nobody wants to live out of their home for unknown time. They left their homes in a blink of an eye when somebody told them, just bring up, take whatever is necessary and go on and live to the center of Israel and be there, but nobody said for how long then, and nobody says now for how long it's going to be yet to go. And of course it's a matter of work. Some of them has to go back and work and support their families and the children has no school and no other activities that they are used to. So of course everybody wants to live in their home. It's not very comfortable to live in a hotel, even though it's nice and it's a very proper accommodation, but some of them are separated from the families, some of them are separated from others from their community. So they do want to come to go back, but if you wait. You're watching Act 24 News Breaking News Edition. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Tel Aviv holding a press conference with Israeli Defense Minister Yav Galant. Let's take a listen to what they have to say. And the entire world, what it means to be a leader and a partner? There is no greater projection of our intimate ties than sitting together with General Brown and General Allevi discussing the most sensitive issues on the agenda in full transparency and trust. Thank you, Secretary, for your deep commitment to Israel's security. We stand here 72 days into a war that we didn't want. On October 7th, Hamas conducted a brutal attack. They murdered, raped and kidnapped children, women, soldiers, Holocaust survivors. On October 7th, we fall back and immediately set the goals of this war, the destruction of Hamas and the return of the hostages home with no exception. Our common enemies around the world are watching and they know that Israel victory is the victory of the free world led by the United States of America. In our war against Hamas, the Hamas terrorist organization is a war, not a war against the people of Gaza. We are fighting a brutal enemy that hides behind civilians. Billions of dollars have been invested in Gaza, money that should have gone to civilian infrastructure and instead was used to build a network of tunnels hundreds of kilometers long equipped by military facilities. Today, IDF troops are operating in Hamas hotspots across Gaza. In northern Gaza, our troops have eliminated thousands of terrorists, destroyed military infrastructure and dismantled most of the battalions operating in the area. In South Gaza, in Janyones, we are precise and focused on eliminating Hamas leadership and military infrastructure. Detecting and engaging Hamas leadership and the chain of command span over the phases of this war and will continue until we fully achieve our goals. Secretary Austin, we both know the complexities of war. We both fought brutal terrorist organization. We know that it takes time. Unlike our enemies, we are defending our values and we operate according to international law. The IDF is operating to minimize the harm to civilian population. We are also working with international partners to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid. Yet anytime we discuss humanitarian issues, we must remember the 129 hostages will held in Gaza. This is the most humanitarian issue. On October 8th, a day after Hamas attack, Hisbala opened fire, unprovoked. The threats of rockets, missiles and drones is unacceptable. Over 80,000 citizens have been displaced, living as refugees in their own country. We are determined to create a new reality, restoring with security in the area, based on UN resolution 1701 pushing back Hisbala. We will bring back the residents of the North to their homes on the border after full security will be restored. We prefer to do so via understanding, ensuring that the border region is clear of terrorist and does not allow direct threats of our citizens. If such a process will not be implemented diplomatically, we will not hesitate to act. Today, we also discuss the growing global threat posed by the Houthis terrorist organization. Their action, threatened international freedom of navigation and their reckless behavior, firing ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones against Israel, can drag the region into war. The state of Israel values U.S. leadership and we will support international efforts. At the same time, we maintain the right to take all the actions necessary to defend our sovereignty and our citizens. Hamas, Hisbala and the Houthis are funded, supported and trained by one source of evil, Iran. And unfortunately, this is only their secondary effort. Iran's major effort is acquiring military nuclear capabilities, and this continues even now. We are aware of their actions and we are ready to defend ourselves. We must take a stand. The world is watching us now. This includes our enemies, Hamas, Hisbala and Iran. The image they see today is powerful as we stand here united. We are resilient and determined and we will win on every front. Thank you once again, Mr. Secretary. Thank you for coming and thank you for your support and your friendship. Thank you very much. Well, good afternoon, everybody. We've been talking almost daily by phone, so it's good to see you once again in person. And it's good to be back in Israel, even in these difficult days, especially in these difficult days. This is my fourth visit to Israel as Secretary of Defense and my second time since October 7th. And I know that Israel has been profoundly changed from where you were on October 6th, so I'm here with a clear message. America's support for Israel's security is unshakable, and Israel is not alone. At a time of mourning, a real friend shows up. And I know how terrible these days have been for the Israeli people. And I know that October 7th touched everyone in this small democracy. So let me again extend my deepest condolences to Minister Gaddy Eisencott, who has been sitting shiva for his 25-year-old son and mourning his nephew after they both fell in Gaza. On October 7th, Hamas committed one of the worst atrocities in the history of modern terrorism. As President Biden said, it was an act of sheer evil. Innocent young people at a concert were massacred. Parents were shot in front of their children. Women were sexually assaulted. Toddlers and Holocaust survivors were taken hostage. And for Hamas, that was just the beginning. Hamas has clearly and loudly spelled out his vision of the future. And it is to repeat October 7th over and over and over again. No country should tolerate such a danger. And Israel has every right to defend itself against a fanatical terrorist group whose stated purpose is to murder Jews and eradicate the Jewish state. Hamas is still holding hostages, including American citizens. Hamas embeds itself and hides itself behind innocent Palestinian civilians. Hamas does not speak for the Palestinian people. And Hamas is determined to doom both Israelis and Palestinians to an unending cycle of suffering and strife. So make no mistake, Hamas should never again be able to project terror from Gaza into the sovereign state of Israel. And we will continue to work together for a safer, more secure future for Israel and a brighter future for the Palestinians. The United States will keep pushing relentlessly for the safe return of hostages in Gaza. And we will continue to help Israel in its efforts to bring them all home. Thanks to the personal leadership of President Biden, we helped to broker a deal that got out more than 100 hostages. But this remains a top priority for the United States from President Biden on down. And we will continue to do everything that we can to bring home every man, every woman, and every child seized by Hamas. Now, the United States has been clear and consistent since Hamas started this war on October 7th. Democracies are stronger and more secure when we uphold the law of war. And as I've said, protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza is both a moral duty and a strategic imperative. So we will continue to stand up for Israel's bedrock right to defend itself. And we will also continue to urge the protection of civilians during conflict and to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. That's important as Israel fights to dismantle the Hamas terrorist infrastructure in Gaza. And it will also be crucial for our work with our allies and partners after the fighting stops. Now, we're working to ensure that this conflict does not escalate beyond Gaza. But as we are driving to stabilize the region, Iran is raising tensions by continuing to support terrorist groups and militias. Attacks by these Iranian proxies threaten the region's citizens and risk a broader conflict. Of course, the United States does not seek war. And we urgently call on Iran to take steps to de-escalate. Now, in my meetings today, I also discussed the need to take urgent action to stabilize the West Bank. Attacks by extremist settlers against the Palestinians in the West Bank must stop. And those committing the violence must be held accountable. Now, we know that the past 72 days have been some of the most painful days in Israel's history. But it would compound this tragedy if all that was waiting for the Israeli people and your Palestinian neighbors at the end of this awful war was more insecurity, fury, and despair. As I've said, Israelis and Palestinians have both paid too bitter a price to just go back to October 6. So I discussed past ways today toward a future for Gaza after Hamas, based upon the clear principles laid down last month by my friend Secretary Blinken. Israelis and Palestinians both deserve a horizon of hope. So the United States continues to believe, as we have under administrations of both parties, that it is in the interest of both Israelis and Palestinians to move forward toward two states, living side by side in mutual security. Now, we know how hard that is, especially after October 7. But ongoing instability and insecurity only play into the hands of Hamas. So we must think together about what lies beyond this terrible season of terror and war. And as we do, the United States will remain deeply committed to the security and self-defense of the State of Israel. As John F. Kennedy said in 1960, America's friendship with Israel is a national commitment. That was true then, and it's even truer now. The United States will remain Israel's closest friend in the world. And as I've said repeatedly, our support for Israel's security remains unshakable, and it always will. Thank you very much, and we'll be happy to take your questions. All right. We'll start now with Karen Bezalel. Thank you. Secretary Austin, welcome to Israel. It's not a secret that there is a gap between Israel and the U.S., so have you set any sort of either timetable or deadline to the current phase of Israel's ground war in Gaza? And have you heard any firm assessment from the IDF where the current phase stand? And if I may, with regard to the North, Israel says, and the Minister Gallant has just repeated, that it will attack Lebanon if there won't be an acceptable solution that will include the Hezbollah withdrawal north to the Litani River. Jake Sullivan was here last week, and he was quite confident that such a solution can't be achieved. What is the U.S. position if Israel attack, and will you order the U.S. Army to strike and even destroy Hezbollah and Iranian target if required? And Minister Gallant, it took the IDF 70 days to reach the tunnel that was revealed yesterday. How long do you think it takes to totally dismantle the threat of the tunnel? Yes, welcome back to this rolling coverage of day 73 of the war here in Israel. We've just been listening to U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visiting here in Israel alongside Israeli Defense Ministry of Gallant earlier today, Austin also meeting the Israeli Premier and on the agenda, of course, the current and future Israeli operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and we want to tune back in to this press conference taking place right now live in Tel Aviv. It's critical, as I said earlier, that Hamas not be able to threaten Israel from Gaza or even threaten Gaza anymore. You know, that's an interest that we all share. That's a common interest with all of us. And so today we had great discussions about the status of the campaign, about goals and objectives, and about how to reduce harm to civilians in the battle space and the need to ensure a sustained flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza. You know, we can offer some insight based upon our own experience in fighting terrorist groups, and certainly that enabled us to have great discussions. And we also have some great thoughts about how to transition from high intensity operations to a lower intensity and more surgical operations. So we had great discussions on all of those issues. On Lebanon, we've been clear that we don't want to see this conflict widened into a larger war or a regional war. And we call upon Hezbollah to make sure that they don't do things that would provoke a wider conflict. Yes, as to the first question, let me be more precise. It took us 70 days before we exposed this tunnel to the public. It was discovered longer period before that, after a month or so. But we had a lot of a lot of operations to be done inside the tunnel before we exposed it. The war will take time. And I can assure only one issue that eventually we will reach our goals. First of all, to destroy Hamas. Second, to rescue the hostages. Both of them are very important equally. This is a war of national determination and national resilience. And we will prevail because we are fighting for the right values and for survival in this region. As to the second question, we understand how important is the cooperation, the international support to establish something different in Gaza. This is the reason we conduct these talks today together with Secretary Austin and General Barn and Mr. Sutterfield and others regarding the issues that we have to conduct in Gaza. We know that Hamas will not control Gaza. We know that we will have the freedom to eliminate any kind of threat in the future. And there will be no serious military threats against Israel from Gaza. Second, Israel will not control Gaza in any civilian way. We will conduct any needed operation and military effort in order to secure our future. And we are building the routes for non-hostile partners in the other side. Thank you, Tara Kopp. If we can also please stick to one question each, please. Thank you. Thank you. Minister Galant, back to Lebanon. Are you currently planning for a ground operation in the north to, as you said, fully secure that area from Hezbollah? Secretary Austin, if that ground operation is launched just to repeat my colleague's question, what role would U.S. forces have in such case? And then, is it too dangerous right now, Minister Galant, to open a second front in the north when you have troops committed in the south in Gaza? And my final one for Secretary Austin, another commercial vessel today was attacked in the Red Sea. And U.S. warships continue to intercept ballistic missiles and drones that are fired from Houthi-controlled Yemen. Why hasn't the U.S. struck back or conducted a counter-strike like it has against similar Iranian-backed militants in Iraq and Syria? I would like to reiterate what I said. I said that diplomacy is the preferred way. We are not looking for wars, but we have 70,000 Israeli refugees, and Hezbollah is shooting us every day since October 8, a day after Hamas launched the war against Israel. Therefore, in one hand, we are patient, and we are looking for a diplomacy solution that will make sure that Hezbollah is not threatened Israeli civilians on the northern communities directly. On the other hand, we are preparing ourselves to any situation that is needed. And if something like that happened, we will know what to do, and we will prevail. We are not looking for anything similar to that, and we hope that Hezbollah will understand it. It's time to stop. Thanks, Sarah. Regarding the Houthis, these attacks are reckless, dangerous, and they violate international law. And so we're taking action to build an international coalition to address this threat. And I would remind you that this is not just a U.S. issue. This is an international problem, and it deserves an international response. And that's why I'm convening a meeting tomorrow, a ministerial meeting with fellow ministers in a region and beyond to address this threat. That'll be a virtual meeting, and I look forward to that discussion. And more important, I look forward to working together with members of that group to address the threat in a meaningful way in the future. And we'll have more details on this soon, but we're going to make sure that we're doing everything that we can to ensure freedom of navigation in the area. The straits are pretty important, as we know, as you know, a large amount of commerce flows through their international commerce flows through there on a daily basis. Yonah Bab. Yonah Bab from the Jerusalem Post. Good to see you again, Mr. Secretary. There's been a lot of discussion about getting Israel's intent to reduce civilian casualties to match up with the results. General Petraeus famously said that sometimes the U.S. needs to take hits on force protection to win over hearts and minds. Legitimacy, you're probably familiar that just recently about 10 Israeli soldiers died in one ambush. And a lot of people in Israel were saying if the Israeli Defense Forces had just bombed the area, they wouldn't have died. Is this the kind of thing, you know, war doesn't have perfect solutions that sometimes the United States may think that Israel may need to take more hits to force protection instead of being as aggressive with its air force and artillery? Mr. Galant, good to see you. The United States, in its most respectful way possible, is trying to push Israel on certain timelines on certain things about the day after. Is it maybe time that yourself and the government need to tell Israel that even though we've had tremendous successes in the field, we may not actually control all of Gaza at the end of January. We may not get all of the hostages back at the end of January. Some of these things may continue in the three to nine months afterwards, what they call Shlav Gimmel, the third stage. So for the first part of the question, in terms of the nature of the strikes and the amount of collateral damage, I think let me begin by saying the protection of our troops is important to all of us. Minister Galant, me, all of us. And that is foremost. But what we see happening is a combination of two things. The first thing is the complexity of this battle space, three-dimensional battle space, very closed spaces, dense population of people. And so that makes it very, very difficult to conduct any military operation. Above and beyond that, we see that Hamas routinely uses civilians as shields. Beyond that, they place their headquarters and their logistical sites near protected sites, hospitals, mosques, churches, you name it. And so that adds to the complexity. And as you've heard Jake Sullivan say, it provides an additional burden for the forces that are prosecuting this fight. It requires a very professional force, and that force has to learn each step of the way. And we've seen that. And then Minister Galant and I had a great conversation today about some of the things that they've learned and some of the techniques that they're changing as they conduct operations in the South. So all of us learn. And again, they were a very professional force going into this, but this is an incredible complex battle space. And taking lessons learned from the North, they've applied some of those lessons in the South. And again, I'm sure that that'll continue to happen. Well, first of all, the discussions are transparent and frank. And on the personal level, I have a lot to learn from General Austin. So I'm learning also. And he always gives me good advices. Therefore, we share everything and we consult. Second, on the battlefield, we have a very meaningful and successful achievement. We detect thousands of terrorists, including senior commanders, but not the leadership. The eliminate Hamas leadership is an ongoing goal that will be achieved hopefully soon, but it will be achieved. It's part of the cause of the war. And we will continue to operate in different levels of intensity, according to the situation in the region. And I can tell you that soon we will be able to distinguish between different areas in Gaza. In every area where we achieve our mission, we will be able to transition gradually to the next phase and start working on bringing back local population. That means that it can be achieved maybe sooner in the North rather than in the South. So we are dealing with all the different components and we will decide in the next future, early future. No, I'm not defining any region. And this is an ongoing discussion, but I give you an idea about what we are discussing in the Israeli military establishment and together with the Americans. Thank you, Moshe Gaines with NBC News. Minister Gulant, what are the benchmarks for moving to the next phase of this war? Does that mean that you have to take out top Hamas leadership to be able to move on? And what specifically is keeping Israel from moving to more precise Insurer freedom of navigation in the area. The straits are pretty important as we know, as you know, a large amount of commerce flows through their international commerce flows through their on a daily basis. Yonah Bob. Yonah Bob from the Jerusalem Post. Good to see you again, Mr. Secretary. There's been a lot of discussion about getting Israel's intent to reduce civilian casualties to match up with the results. General Petraeus famously said that sometimes the U.S. needs to take hits on force protection to win over hearts and minds. Legitimacy, you're probably familiar that just recently about 10 Israeli soldiers died in one ambush. And a lot of people in Israel were saying if the Israeli defense forces had just bombed the area, they wouldn't have died. Is this the kind of thing, you know, war doesn't have perfect solutions that sometimes the United States may think that Israel may need to take more hits to force protection instead of being as aggressive with its air force and artillery. Mr. Galant, good to see you. The United States in its most respectful way possible. Defense Minister Joff Galant and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visiting here in Israel and to unpack what we've just heard. We are pleased to welcome here in the studio with Wasserman Landi, a former Israeli lawmaker and a Middle East expert. Thank you very much, Ms. Wasserman Landi, for joining us and also 24 News Senior U.S. correspondent Mike Wagenheim joining us live from New York. Mike, thank you very much for joining us. Well, Mike, I do want to begin with you. What's your impression from what we've just heard? If I may, it sounds as if Lloyd Austin said every single thing Israel could have hoped to hear. Yeah, for the most part, that's what Austin has done throughout this military operation in 95-ish percent. That's what the Biden administration has done throughout this operation is say the things that Israel wants to hear. Now, what's going on in the bad channels is a different story and what what is said in those meetings might be a different story. I don't think there's any doubt that Austin, Blinken, Biden, Sullivan, you throw them out there, you name them. I don't think any of them have said, listen, you've got to stop by this day, whether it's New Year's or whatever it is, nobody said that. And the reports said, and I was one of the first to say it, we're completely wrong about that. But there's no doubt whatsoever. On the other hand, that all of them are saying to Galant and Netanyahu, whoever they're talking to, listen, we've got to try to change the pacing of this. We've got to try to change the strategy on this. And I think Lloyd Austin went into some detail about that today, how he would like to see Israel move now from from its more broad operation to something more focused, whether it's a use of special forces, whether it's the use of maybe focalizing on certain areas, certain neighborhoods, it's got to be toned down for lack of a better word here. And I think that's the message that Galant, or rather Austin is pushing now. He certainly says it eloquently and very polished. But that's the message is that Israel does not have the free reign that it does in the first weeks of this operation. America wants to see now a different focus, a different strategy, a different policy going forward here. Right. So we can read them more in between the lines there. Let's do a tune back into this press conference is still taking place live in Tel Aviv. And the phases of the campaign for themselves. But in any operation like this, any campaign, there will be phases in the most difficult part is as you shift from one phase to the next, making sure that you have everything accounted for and you get it right. So that requires detailed planning and very thoughtful planning. And, sir, what are you? Thank you. The goals are the goals for the war. That means that by the end of the war, as long as it takes, we need to make sure that we have our hostages back, that we eliminate the Hamas abilities. And that's include destroying Hamas military capability and its ability to govern in Gaza. And it has certain parameters, including the amount of battalions that we need to dismantle and the chain of command and the supreme military leadership and so forth and so on. The phases are the technique which is part of the plan that we have to deploy in the area in order to achieve our goals. And as Secretary Austin said, this is only the way that we shape our plan in order to achieve the goals. And as it happened in the battlefield, the circumstances are changing. You change your efforts and you do something different in a different phase. And the intensity in the first phase is given. But in other phases, we will concentrate on certain issues, for instance, the engaging and detecting the supreme leadership of Hamas and others. So, all in all, there is no clock that is running, and we have to obey a certain day. But we need to get to different performances on the ground before we move to the next phase. And I believe that we will find the proper time to do so. And the most important issue, as I mentioned in the beginning, we will prevail. We will dismantle Hamas otherwise. We will not be able to exist and live in the way we want to live in this region, because there is a price to deterrence. And they need to know that if they kill or kidnap 1500 people, including kids and women, this is the end of Hamas. Thank you very much, everyone. Yes. That was it from U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Joav Galant, not the final court, of course, of Austin's visit here in Israel and in the Middle East, Bahrain Qatar, also not the agenda at a pivotal moment of this war with the Wasserman-Landy with us here in studio. Again, everything that was needed to be said was said. And yet, we also need to, sadly, admit that 73 days on is still in command and control of what is happening in the Gaza Strip, more or less, at least when it comes to his battalions. In the north, Hasan Nasrallah is not the tear up to him, up to his mood. The Houthis creating much havoc in the Red Sea. And Israel is the one to be scrutinized and held to a higher moral ground rightfully. So it doesn't feel like victory. It doesn't feel like a victory because it's not yet there. I think that Israel is held to a higher standard always. In fact, we ourselves hold ourselves to a high standard. However, we need not, and I believe will not, stop until the Hamas is not 100% crushed because that's a very unusual thing to strive for, given the fact that the Hamas is an ideology, not only a physical embodiment of an organization which has terrorism as its means, main means, but basically taking care of the capability and the vast majority of the leadership, including Sinwar, we are not yet there, but we are definitely on the way. This is something that we cannot allow ourselves. Israel cannot allow itself to stop prior to reaching those goals. If Israel does that, there are a number of meanings apart from the fact that this is a security issue for Israel itself. One, the Palestinian Authority cannot have any role whatsoever at all because they cannot stand up to the Hamas. It's been tested before and they failed. In fact, an actually weakened Palestinian Authority is saying that in order to take over the Gaza Strip, they actually need to sit around the table together with the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. Are you kidding? What on God's earth are they talking about? The Hamas and the Islamic Jihad will not sit with them for one second. In fact, in 2005-06, when Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, the first thing that the Hamas did before targeting Israeli civilians was to kill and target Fatah operatives. And that's exactly what's going to happen today because the Fatah perhaps wishes for a national answer or solution to the Palestinian issue. The Hamas want something different altogether. They don't care about land. They don't care about a national solution. They care about a caliphate. It's a religious ideological issue. And that's why if we do not destroy Hamas, it's not only an issue for Israel. It's an issue for the Palestinians. And despite declarative words opposing this for Saudi Arabia, for Egypt, for the United Arab Emirates, for Bahrain and for Jordan, it's a threat. And this is perhaps the point in time to know the difference between terror as a means and terror as an aim. Here, perhaps, the fundamental difference when we talk about Hamas and Fatah. And yet, Mike Wagenheim briefly, really 30 seconds before we bid farewell. If we're asking Washington, there is no other solution other than the two-state solution, other than the Palestinian Authority, sooner rather than later, taking over the Gaza Strip as well. Nobody can figure out how to implement it in practice, which is no new story there. They say they want a revitalized Palestinian Authority. They've had talks recently with Mahmoud Abbas about bringing in some new blood to leadership. But what a revitalized Palestinian Authority looks like with all the embedded corruption in there. It's not going to happen overnight. It's not going to happen by the end of this military operation. The two-state solution is far, far off at this point. Yeah, it reminds me of the hot button term not so long ago, a state minus during the deal of the century, right? Every time there's a new name to it. But the bottom line is that there are no new stories. As you've just said, Mike Wagenheim, perhaps, this is the issue. New stories needs to be presented, needs to be written. Mike Wagenheim, thank you very much for this. Ruth Wasserman-Lendi, you're staying with us. A quick break, three minutes, and we're back. 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 back, thanks for staying with us. And today it seems that the attempts to reach about a breakthrough in releasing more Israeli hostages, attempts are gaining steam. The Israeli Mossad chief is meeting the Qatari prime minister in Warsaw with a somewhat of a joker CIA chief Burns, also very much present there with the hope that it will bring about a new deal. And in this respect, we want to head now to Tamir Rahamim, the cousin of kidnapped soldier, 18-year-old Liri Elbag. Tamir, thank you so very much for joining us. Before we talk the latest and the attempts and the no attempts, let's talk about Liri. Tell us about her. Tell us about the last time you heard from her. Thank you very much for having me, it's usual. Liri is an 18-year-old tsunami. Women, she just started her life, joined the army four months ago, that's all. Two of them, which she serves in Gaza as hostage. So in her base, she was less than two days, I guess, was about to close her first weekend on the base. And yeah, you know, suddenly a colorful happy child just went underground with great concern to her well-being. So last time I was interviewed here in I-24, I was quite desperate because we didn't know anything about her until then. Since then, we got some sites of, you know, actually, I won't call it live, but it was like, she's not dead yet. She's better than dead, which is, you know, she's alive, so she still has a chance and we still have hope. But of course, it's quite intertwining because when you are so on the hook and so, you know, desperate for clues and signs of anything new, you can often, you know, miss a lot of things and realize maybe your hope was for vain. For example, what happened with the three hostages, you know, a few days ago, basically, their families had hop and Hamas used Nazi tactics to eliminate this hop and create the diversion within us. And I will say only my opinion now, okay, it's only my opinion as Tamir, as a person, not responding to the main standpoint of the family, you know, the kernel family of theory. I don't think there's deals if terrorists are valid thing or something that promotes us. With all due respect to the remaining hostages and with great concern to them, I don't think negotiations with terrorists would lead us anywhere. In fact, every time we release these dangerous creatures out of the fairly well-leaved conditions within our jailhouses, those guys and gals just preaching for more bloodshed, more chanting to the elimination of Israel. So, for anyone who's not familiar with Louis' smile, we're an Austin's volunteer embodiment which searches openly and not so openly on the web groups and terror activities. And I must say that our, you know, in Israel and, you know, Jude and Samaria areas got quite hit up since the deals. When they see we release terrorists, they realize they can do anything they want, they can kill, they can try to kill, they can stab, they can do a lot of horrible things and somebody will release them. You know, the distance between the, you know, the Ramallah Hamas supporters and the Gaza formerly or currently Hamas supporters is huge because Gazans realize their lives are not in a matter of all. They care about their jihadists from the West Bank, from whatever they can release them, but they don't care about their honest, I don't know, about the average Gazans. Yeah, so basically my opinion, and it's only my personal opinion, I cannot, yeah, so basically I don't think it's rational, good, or beneficial to any Western party to discuss with terrorists. So, so from again, and we will yet again stress with you, just reiterated, your opinion and there are perhaps divisions among the families of the hostages in this respect, what is the right route of action. You're suggesting that only further military pressure will bring about the potential release of the of the hostages, Tamia? Look, eventually we're fighting a war of psychology with Nazis. And as one who has great passion to history, and World War Two is quite close history, to be honest. The Nazis used exactly same techniques in larger scales in Europe when... Yeah, we're having some technical issues. Basically, the British Navy was about to hit some Nazi bases and, you know, get hold of their fuels. So what the Nazis did is to transport over 10,000 concentration camp prisoners or hostages, Jewish ones, load them with fuels to the ships and send those ships blankly to the bay. So British bombers just dropped a whole load of bombs basically in explosives, killed almost all the prisoners, thought they were Nazis. And basically, what we see here in Gaza Strip nowadays is exactly the same technique. I mean, we, the Israeli press, are like to promote the fact Israelis killed hostages. No, that's actually not... I don't think that's the clear and whole situation, whole context. I think those guys used hostages as human shields and within the stress and, you know, the way wars are fought, we couldn't take the risk to our soldiers, which are, you know, every day we get another bed. I mean, I thought about going to work out today in my park nearby. And near this park is a military hospital, a military, sorry, cemetery. So last time I did a runder, I heard El Malerch Mim as my playlist. So excuse me for caring about the lives of soldiers than a potential risk to hostages. But I don't think we should negotiate with those inhuman creatures. Yes, a complex situation. No doubt about that. The moral dilemmas here are immense as just portrayed by you, Tamir El Hamim, the cousin of Liri Elbag, we do hope, of course, at Liri and all the rest of the hostages will be back here, back home in Israel very, very soon. Thank you very much for speaking with us, Tamir. Thank you for having me again. All right. Shifting focus now, out of patrol, about 70% of Iran's gas stations got out of order today in a massive cyber attack, claimed by the predatory sparrow, a hacking group alleged to have some ties to Israel. Will it be a match in the cyber fuel station? Let's cross now live to intelligence, cyber and national security expert commander, Dr. Eyal Pinko. Dr. Pinko, thank you very much for joining us. Well, let's start with the basics if we may, Dr. Pinko. Cyber for dummies, if you will. How do you hack a gas station? Because ordinary Joe's like us, like me, would intuitively think that gas stations are quite analog. Yeah. So I will say that made me in common. What is common to the national infrastructure that they're all connected to the internet? You can see that in hospitals, as we had an attacker today and yesterday, you can see that in railways, almost everything is connected to the internet in order to get control from the outside, a system updates connections with the suppliers and clients. So everything is basically connected to the internet. Once it's connected to the internet, you can penetrate it. So, you know, there is no 100% security. There's always a way to breach some kind of system that you want to breach. So, again, in this issue as well, once the gas station or the network of gas stations are connected to the internet for any kind of need, it's hackable. Right. So obviously, less evident, let's put it that way, than the actual ground war. The cyber war is very much happening short weeks ago, as you've mentioned, presumably, Iranian attack on an Israeli hospital. What does it look like behind the scenes? It's a very complicated issue. First, I would like to mention that we see that more and more, especially from the beginning of the Ukrainian war, that the internet, the cyber warfare became a tool as kinetic warfare, which I mean, that it's also not like firing bullets and rounds and missiles. It's also by firing, let's call it firing a cyber attack, which means I can achieve military, political, economical goals using cyber attacks. Dr. Pinko, if I may, the goal of a cyber attack is to create actual physical damage or just to show that we can? The issue of cyber attack has many aspects. First, cyber attack can be used in order to collect intelligence about the other side, which means probably this kind of attacks will be below the radar. It will not be detected, identified. And by that, the other side can approach our ass or his target and to collect information. The other aspects of cyber attacks are psychological warfare or what we call today in the popular name influence campaign. If I want to influence the public opinion, the decision makers, the military commanders, using the internet, the cyber domain, the social media, we can run a campaign and operation that can influence whatever you want, even effecting or influence processes. The other part of that is, and by the way, social engineering and influence campaigns can be revealed as who is behind it. It can be in the black side, which is you will not be able to know who is behind it. And the other side, as you said, is to create chaos, fear, to shut down national infrastructure and then you can see the results of the cyber attack. In this case, it also has absolutely psychological effects, but it also has economical and military damages as well. Right. And Dr. Pingo, before we let you go, trying to once again draw comparisons to ground operations, how crucial is defense when talking cyber? You know, when we speak about the philosophy of warfare, we say that always the offensive side got the advantage. So it's usually depends on the attacker the one that is doing the offensive attack, how much time he has, how much capability he has, how much measures and tools. So it really depends how he's planning this attack. Every attack is based on intelligence about what we call the objective about the target or the victim, if you want to call it like that. And based on that, the attacker is planning a very well procedure of attack, including bursting into the systems and do whatever he wants to do. So usually the security layers should be few of them. And it really depends on the set of the attacker capabilities and willing to proceed on the attack and to collapse layer after layer after layer. And it seems that this endless tit for tat will continue on the cyberspace as well. Dr. Alpinco, thank you very much for this. Thank you so much. And from the cyber front, we're heading to the northern front to get the latest from our very on at 24 news correspondent, Zach Anders with the 24 news team of course on the ground there near the Lebanon border. Well, Zach interceptions strikes sirens. What's what's happening up north today? Yeah, and a whole range of weapons used today. We had five alarms, but more than that were attacks that went without an alarm in some of these communities. It's impossible with the amount of time that you have to respond to even issue an alert. They're just coming in too fast for some of these northern border communities that are right there looking out over Lebanon, Southern Lebanon. It appears that we have over six or seven Hasbla attacks. Hasbla has yet to claim responsibility for today's latest round of attacks that usually work through their communications channels in the Lebanese media, but it's been relatively quiet today. And the last bit of news that they've been out in front of is the number of Hasbla militants that have been killed 111. This is up from 107 the day before a continuation of the conflict for them in southern Lebanon. As we've seen very, very large and numerous strikes from the IDF throughout southern Lebanon, both on social media and on cameras that are pointing north over the border. We can see large plumes of smoke. We encountered an interception overhead. It's still unclear if it was a drone or a rocket, but at the same time we had a red alert for a another drone aerial hostile aircraft alert that was happening here near Kira and Shimona. And the interception, all we could tell from the white puff of smoke is that something did appear to be hit, but could not confirm what exactly that was. Otherwise, IDF has not released any reports of damage or casualties from today. And the war up north continues for another day. I-24 news correspondent Zach Anders, thank you very much for this. Back here in studio with the Wasserman Landy powering through with us through this broadcast. Thank you for staying with us. Let's do address the northern front briefly, because it seems to be the perfect mirror image of what we're seeing down south in the sense that if in the Gaza Strip it's military first diplomacy later in the north, it seems to be the other way around. A diplomatic solution of sorts first and appending, some would suggest inevitable military action that will follow. Well, if we take into account the fact that Iran planned the macro attacks on October 7th. In fact, I think they planned it on a different date, but the Hamas was very eager to perform and sort of surprise both the Hezbollah and Iran over achievers. Exactly. They couldn't wait to perform the vast atrocities that they had, and they sort of surprised the Hezbollah and Iran, and therefore they couldn't join. Saying in other words that the Hezbollah was planning to do this at the same time. In other words, the plan originally was to attack Israeli civilians, not soldiers in the south, in the north, and via the West Bank. That was the original plan. Meaning that if we leave the situation as is, it's a matter of time until the Hezbollah would indeed try to carry out the original plan. There isn't a possibility for the Israeli government and leadership to take that chance. There are two options. One is a very low probability that they will in fact move away to a far further point away from the Israeli border, allowing a no man's land that would be sufficient for the Israeli IDF to have some kind of space to protect civilians. Very, very improbable that the Hezbollah will indeed take that step and answer to the diplomatic calls of a number of countries like France, the United States, and so on. The other option is very clear. Period. And in this respect, speaking of clear options, let's put it that way, the Houthi Havoc keeps on making waves, not just in the Red Sea throughout the world. And we want to turn now to Director of Forward Strategy, Catherine Peretz-Shaktim. Thank you very much for joining us. Well, BP, joining Shipping Giants, holding their passage through the Red Sea. And again, the Houthi chaos is working, and it is working well. What can we say? I agree. I agree with you. It is working well. It's actually, I think, a tragedy on the part of the international community that they are literally playing into, for me, what I call hostage diplomacy. The Houthi are flexing the muscles. We know very well that the Islamic Republic of Iran is actually standing behind those attacks, encouraging them. And the West is doing absolutely nothing. If anything, they're retreating further, and they're trying to appease. They still believe that that the Islamic Republic's actions are in a reaction to their maybe-believe belligerence, which is not the case. The Islamic Republic is belligerent, regardless of what the West does, or wants to do, or even intends to do in the future. And I think that we need to stop retreating, because every time that they advance, we're losing ground. We're losing territory. We're losing the narrative. We keep reacting, trying to defend our positions when there's nothing to defend. What we need to do is enact a right to self-defense, because we are under attack. And I'm not just talking about Israel. I'm talking about democracy with a capital D. Right. And in this respect, it seems that an American announcement on operation, a prosperity guardian is imminent, this coalition that will counter the Houthis. And yet, at the same time, as you were alluding to, there appears to be some context. Well, I had a contact through Oman of the Americans with the Houthis, with elements related to it, to make them stop. And my question to you, Catherine Peretz, what does the Houthis want or might demand in return, other than, of course, global glory in the terror hall of fame? It's not just this. What we're actually essentially giving them is legitimacy. I mean, you have to remember that until not so long ago, the Houthis were declared, were proscribed as a terrorist organization by the United States of America. So what the United States of America is actually doing by engaging with the Houthis is actually declaring to the world that they are a worthy party to negotiate with, that they are a valid state actor. And that is, to me, number one, a betrayal of the Yemeni people who do want to live free and do not want this government or this regime to rule over them the same way that the Islamic Republic of Iran is ruling over Iranians. But we are retreating in the face of terror. So their demands will be never-ending. What they're looking for is to create this grand and climate caliphate and to force communities across the world, not just across the Middle East, to bow in accuracy to their demands. So what we're doing is bowing to terror. We shouldn't engage in my mind. We shouldn't ask Oman or Qatar or anyone else for that matter to act as some kind of a medial man between us and terror. Well, the United States of America ought to do. And any other, I would say, responsible party in this is to act against the only actor that we know to be behind all of this. And this is the Islamic Republic of Iran. It will not stop. We are already at war with this country, but no one wants to face the reality of it. And it will continue until we decided to stop. And unfortunately, people need to read history and realize that we are replicating exactly what happened in the 1930s versus Nazi Germany. The rise of terror is once again at our door, and everybody is trying to negotiate with it because we're trying to, hopefully, delay the inevitable, which is war. And war is already here. Israel is already under fire from the enemy. And I'm afraid that Western capitals are next. The proof is there. They are attacking our shipping lanes. They are trying to control vital waterways. What next? What are we willing to do to say enough is enough? What needs to happen for people to realize that we are already at war? They are here in our capitals. They have demonstrated through those pro-Palestinian demonstrations the chaos, the violence that they can unleash in our streets. So what else is to what are we waiting for? What needs to happen for blood to be drawn? It's already been drawn in Israel. Too many people already. Comfortably numb, comfortably blind. Unfortunately, this seems to be the ruling state of mind at this point in time. Katharina Peretschak, the director of Forward Strategy. Thank you very much for joining us tonight. We appreciate it. And Ruth, Wasserman Landi, before we wrap up this hour, you're concluding remarks. Again, the Iranian fingerprints all over so far. Iran now is staying out of harm. Well, I think that the international arena needs to create a coalition not only against the Houthis, who are the messengers of the main propagator, which is Iran, but also to stop Iran. And stopping Iran requires an international coalition led by the United States. That is not enough either, believe it or not. We need to tackle the Qatari issue. Qatar need not be considered any more a non-member, a non-full member of the NATO alliance. It needs to be asked, which side are you really on? Choose. And then to act accordingly. This is key in order to stabilize the international arena and the international economy. And this is in the best interest of everybody involved. Yes, playing both fields underlined when it comes to the Qatari and the Qatari issue. Creating the problem only to emerge as its solver. So cold, yes. Ruth Wasserman Landi, former Israeli lawmaker, Middle East expert. Thank you so very much. As per always for joining us here, we're taking a very quick break, three minutes. And now we continue our rolling coverage here on I-24 News, day 73.