 According to the I-24 Newsdesk, we continue a rolling coverage of the war here in Israel. And we begin in the West Bank, because the fear there has been realized. Benjamin Achimeir was murdered in a terror attack. The IDF has found a body of the 14-year-old who went missing in the West Bank on Friday. According to the IDF and police, Achimeir set out in the early morning hours from a farm near the outpost of Malachi Shalom, northeast of Ramallah, to go shepherding. And hours later, the sheep returned to the farm without him. The murder was believed to have been carried out by Palestinian terrorists, according to an initial investigation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is saying the heinous murder of Achimeir of the serious crime called on Israeli citizens to allow the security forces to do their work unhindered amid fears of retaliation by Jewish settlers. 14-year-old Benjamin is the brother of one of our colleagues here on I-24 News. And we share our deepest condolences with the bereaved family. May his memory be a blessing. Now to the northern border, on higher than high alert, rocket sirens sounding in towns close to the Lebanon border all throughout the day, largely evacuated those communities of civilians ever since Hezbollah began attacks on October 8. Israel's air force in response, attacking a series of Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon. And we want to cross now live to the northern front, I-24 News correspondent Belir Shaleen joining us live from there. Belir, thank you very much for joining us. Well, as said, multiple rounds of sirens being heard today on Israeli towns on the Lebanese border. What can you tell us? Yes, so the last siren was heard an hour and a half ago, and apparently it was as a result of an anti-tank missile that was fired in the western Galeel, specifically in Shtoula. And the house was actually hit as a result of that, but there is no casualties as a result of this anti-tank missiles in Shtoula. There are Lebanese reports of Israeli airstrikes in both Farha and Ita Shab, as well as a report that said that some rockets were fired at a military site in Evin Menachem. There is no confirmation for that from the Israeli site yet. And the incident or the main incident for today is actually the person that was seriously wounded in Hanita this afternoon. So we're talking about the person who is actually a member of the emergency squad in Hanita. He's also a reserve in the military, and he is actually seriously wounded as a result of one drone that exploded near him as the result of that. And that was one of the two drones that actually did manage to cross into Israeli airspace and were not actually successfully been intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome. So this is the main incident for today. Apparently it's a revenge or a response for what the Lebanese side or Hezbollah has been saying in the last couple of days about the incident on Wednesday, where Israel also said that it had managed to kill several members that belonged to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. So that's why we have seen the large barrage of rockets also yesterday evening. So the escalation is obvious here, but it's still right at the border. We haven't seen any expansion of the circle of fire, but it is absolutely different than what we have been seeing throughout this week, where we have been talking about some calm, but apparently it has been the calm before the storm, as we can say. The calm before the storm in Bolivia, obviously, for over a week now, the entire country is in preparation mode, in waiting mode for a pending Iranian attack of sorts. What can you tell us? Yes, definitely. So the American intelligence, they said yesterday that it is expecting an attack by Iran in the coming 24 to 48 hours. Also American intelligence said that it has seen or observed some sort of military movement if it can be said like this. In the side to Iran where cruise missiles and ballistic missiles were used in this movement. So maybe the reports that we're talking about 100 missiles that would be fired at Israel could be what Iran is preparing to. But from the Israeli side, it is prepared with the multi-layer of defense, as the officials are saying, the Iron Dome, the Patriot air defense system, Heads and other air defense system, as well as, of course, the fighter jet in the air all the time. I-24 news correspondent, Bolia Sledin, thank you very much for joining us from Israel's northern border. You will, of course, keep us updated throughout the evening. And now, amidst the deadlock in hostage release talks and in light of the dire American estimation that only few are still alive, Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv police and Tel Aviv all together readying another weekend of demonstrations with the main rally set to kick off now at the very center of the city, urging the government to reach a deal, any deal, essentially. I-24 news correspondent, Pierre Kloeschendler joining us live from there, Pierre. The rhetoric of the families of the hostages is getting harsher weekend week out. And yet the divide over this issue seems to be, seems to be growing. Right. The divide between the families of the hostages is growing indeed, because some of the families are trying to adopt some sort of national unity attitude and working in coordination with the government for the release of the hostages. And there's a rally at Hostage Square, which is very subdued on one hand, and also preventing any sort of criticism vis-à-vis the government, simply because those families believe that they depend very much on the goodwill of this government to work more forcefully for the release of the hostages, especially that the Passover holiday is coming in about 10 days. And for the Israelis, this is a holiday which symbolizes the liberation from slavery during the biblical times. And therefore they find a connection with the 133 hostages that are held in captivity. But some of the families are here at the gates of the Defense Ministry, and they have adopted for the past two weeks a much stronger statement, which basically says if you're not able, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to work for the release of the hostages now, then move away. Let others negotiate for the sake of the hostages. And there is another rally, which is behind me a few hundred meters away, which is a political rally against the government and calling for early election. And that has been going on for many weeks now. And as weeks goes on, the demonstrations are growing and growing. Now the big question is, given the context today, the security context of a potential Iranian reprisal attack on Israel, the question is whether a lot of people will be attending. But I see that people are streaming in, and they seem to be ignoring that threat. Now at the start of each demonstration for the past weeks, since the start of the October 7th war. There is an announcement by the speaker, by the public announcer saying, if there is a rocket attack, please don't move, just lay on the ground. And this message is going to probably be broadcasted today to the public participating to the demonstrations. But that will have even more weight today, given the security context. A24 News correspondent, Pierre-Claude Schindler, thank you very much for this. Pierre will keep us updated live from Tel Aviv later on in the evening. And following the opening of our broadcast on the West Bank in the aftermath of the murder of 14-year-old Benjamin Achimeir in recent hours, according to the IDF announcement now, there have been several clashes between settlers and security and Palestinians in several locations throughout the West Bank, and we do see reinforcement of IDF and security personnel presence in those areas in the West Bank, where Silla, of course, following, keeping an eye on everything that is happening there. But now, more independent Iranian attack, Iranian forces claim they've taken over a ship in the Strait of Homo, near the Persian Gulf. The container ship flies up, Portuguese flag, but is managed by a company owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ophir. It all comes, of course, as Israel is on high alert for appending Iranian attack. A threat that the United States is taking very seriously, sending an aircraft carrier through the Red Sea towards Israel as a show of deterrence against Iran. These, including France and Poland and India, have all issued travel warnings for citizens heading not just to Israel, but also to Lebanon or Iran itself, while U.S. embassy workers have been told not to travel outside the Greater Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Berashiba areas. And if Iran is indeed planning something big, U.S. President Joe Biden is assuring his signature statement, don't. Still for now, IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Higari is saying there are no changes to the instructions from the Home Front Command, making it clear that not only is Israel ready to defend itself, it is also ready to attack. Iran will bear the consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further. Israel is on high alert. We have increased our readiness to protect Israel from further Iranian aggression. We are also prepared to respond. The Israel Defense Forces prepared for all scenarios, and we will take the necessary steps together with our allies to protect the people of Israel. And now, following, of course, the situation in the Gaza Strip in effort to ease tensions following the criticism, underway Israeli parliament speaker Amir O'Hana met with the French President Emmanuel Macron this week at the Elisabeth Palace, addressing and discussing, not just the situation on the ground, but with a specific emphasis on the potential operation that is expected to take place against Hamas battalions in Rafa. The humanitarian aid that Israel is providing, the possibility of a military campaign against Hezbollah in the north, and, of course, the Iranian threat against Israel. And our correspondent in Paris, Benjamin Petrover, spoke to O'Hana, let's take a listen. You are wrapping up a two-day visit to Paris. You have met with President Emmanuel Macron. How would you sum up your visit? I have met not only with Emmanuel Macron, but also with my counterparts, Chair of the Senate, President Gerard Larcher, and the Chair of the National Assembly, Yael Braun-Pivet. I can tell you that we have true friends here in France. There is wide support among elected officials as well as within the public. I see the polls, and I see that despite concerning remarks from some of the French leaders, the people, many of the people, support the state of Israel and the destruction of Hamas. What was the purpose of this visit, and was it achieved? This visit is a continuation of a visit that started in Germany. We started in Germany where we also met with high-ranking leaders. The idea is to fight not only on the battlefield, but also on the diplomatic and public arena, to explain Israel's actions. I said to our friends, we are here so you can ask us the tough questions. Don't go easy on us. We will do our best to give you the answers. I think that's exactly what happened. This has huge value to Israel's position and ability to continue the war in the battlefield with no interference. Six months into the war, does France still remain on Israel's side? Yes. The answer is yes. At least that's what President Macron assured me. More than that, we are of course aware of the threats Israel is receiving, including a real and immediate threat from Iran. President Macron told me, we've warned the Iranians not to attack in Israel. That is a very important message. Which, by the way, was also given by all Western countries, including world powers such as the U.S., the U.K., and others that have warned the Iranians. I think it's highly important. What does this mean exactly? France's support, standing by it, is of high importance. It allows us to continue and apply pressure, both military and diplomatic pressure, on Hamas, on Sinwar, in order to push him to comply with a deal to release the hostages. I said to President Macron that the comments we've heard from France, such as the call for an immediate ceasefire without conditioning it on the hostages' release, an embargo on Israel and a one-sided recognition of a Palestinian state, all those remarks work to the benefit of Hamas. Yahya Sinwar sees them and he is elated. He says to himself, I've won. I don't need to release the hostages. The world will stop Israel. I will get my ceasefire without giving anything. There is a saying in French to describe Macron's policy. It translates to, at the same time. But how can you side with Israel's war against terrorism, and at the same time, sign the call for a ceasefire with Egypt and Jordan? It is very damaging. As I said to Macron, it works to benefit Hamas. It's not only against Israel's interest. It's against the interest of the free world. This war is not a local battle of Hamas versus Israel. It's a battle of fundamentalism, radicalism, and radical Islam that is attacking the free world. This is what Israel represents in our region, and all of us, all of the countries of the free world, need to stand together behind the goal of defeating Hamas and releasing all the hostages. Regarding Iran, if Israel will see it as necessary to launch a preemptive strike, do you have assurance that France will stand by Israel? Naturally, I couldn't answer that, even if I do have the answer. These things are not publicly discussed. But I think undoubtedly Israel has the right and duty to defend itself and its citizens, and it's not conditioned on the approval of any country, including the world powers. Does France have any information about the hostages? Specifically, the French hostages? Whatever information we have about the French hostages, we share with the French. There are 133 hostages. Some of them are alive, and some of them are not alive. And we are operating on two levels, military and diplomatic, to bring them all home as soon as possible. Amir Ohana, thank you. One last question. In a few hours, you will be back in Israel. What is your first task? I think the main issue at the moment is the Iranian threat. We are receiving information that the Iranians are planning to attack. And if that were to happen, we would have to respond. So potentially, we are facing a major escalation. And joining us now in studio, international affairs analyst, Mr. Dan Perry, thank you very much, Mr. Perry, for joining us. So as we speak, the masses are gathering in Tel Aviv and elsewhere in the country. But again, calling for any deal, essentially. They're not even saying a deal now or a deal that will bring back any deal. Just say yes. And yet, there are no signs that any deal is indeed materializing. Well, think about the government's original two goals, that they claimed are complimentary and not contradictory, to destroy Hamas fully, meaning to remove them from power in Gaza at the very least, and to return to hostages. And there was an implication that pressure, military pressure on Hamas would hasten the return of the hostages because Hamas is normal people that don't want the people to suffer, normal leaders that don't want their people to suffer, and are somehow accountable. That was obviously a dubious assertion. Hamas only benefits from the suffering of their people. That is not real leverage that Israel could deploy. And therefore, we find ourselves six months down a line with neither goal having been achieved and Israel having suffered reputational damage that is at a level where there's something approaching an academic boycott against its academicians and all kinds of talk of arms embargoes and investigations for genocide, and still the goals haven't been achieved. So increasingly in Israel, there is a school of thought that says that the two goals have to be decoupled. And the one that is more urgent is the returning of the hostages, because the hostages will die. And there are obviously reports and more than suspicions that a large proportion of the ones that are still there are in fact no longer alive. Now look. We're just, I would just like to note that we're seeing live images from Tel Aviv now on the screen, the weekly gathering, one of many protests currently taking place, but this is the main one. And remember, there's fears of an Iranian attack, so people who are out in large gatherings and public right now are in fact rather brave, and their motivation is very high. The point, Ellie, is this. There is a school of thought, and it's not extreme leftists, and it's not defeatists. It's people who understand the two goals are not necessarily a complementary and maybe contradictory that say, maybe the best thing for Israel to do after six months and after having visited such stupendous and some would say exaggerated punishment on the people of Gaza basically, and having degraded Hamas, maybe it's time to consider accepting Hamas's stated conditions for return of all the hostages, which would mean ending the war and pulling out of Gaza with Hamas having been badly degraded but left in charge. Now this is obviously extremely difficult for Israelis to accept, extremely. On the other hand, it might not necessarily be so foolish to do so if what followed was a zero tolerance policy for any further misbehavior from Hamas. Well, but it wasn't. It just wasn't. So from now on, no matter what the deal, I'm not so sure. But I know this and I'm rather sure of this right now. Israel's ability to go in and finish off Hamas is hampered by the presence of the hostages because there is a very serious risk that to go in and actually hit Sinoir and his fellow leaders where they are would be sacrificing hostages. This is not a scenario that is likely to happen at this point in time. Anyways, the military campaign is not at its peak and not going to get more intense. Why have we been stalemated for two or three months now? No, but it's because of this. Now, consider this. How much easier would it be to have finished the job more quickly if there were no hostages being held by Sinoir? It would obviously be easier. Yeah, again, there is no suggestion that there'll be a more intense military campaign should the hostages get out. No, but I'm saying there should be. In other words, if Israel accepts Hamas's conditions and in a way that would be a surrender and to be clear, I'm not advocating it. I'm saying from knowledge that this is a scenario that's being considered by extremely serious people. To take Hamas at its word, leave it to whatever degree it still exists in charge in Gaza, and then prepare, prepare for the inevitable final battle when Hamas fires the first rocket. But at least then you're presenting to the world a narrative that is sustainable. A defeat of hostages, defeat and surrender. A narrative where you know what you want. And what you want is to move in on Hamas when hostages are no longer there. And you've prioritized saving the hostages. Now, consider this. Not doing that can quite credibly be presented as having sacrificed the hostages. All right. We need to move on. Dan Perry, thank you very much for this. We'll have to wait and see. Not Iran, not the Gaza war, not the deteriorating ties with the US. The ultra-orthodox draft bill, this is what may bring to the collapse of the Israeli government at this point in time, and our morale and has all the details on the dispute itself and the extended deadline that is fast approaching. It doesn't have to be to go to the Israeli army. For that it means to ask they don't want us to be religious. Therefore, we prefer to die and not to go to the army. Hundreds of ultra-orthodox Jews gathered this Saturday to protest against the conscription reforms. Since 1948, the ultra-orthodox Jews were given army waivers in the name of piety, the so-called status quo. Now, that decades-old arrangement is resented, more than ever, by mainstream Israelis fighting in the front line for the past six months. The situation regarding the military service is very difficult. We understand the side of the secular families who serve in the military. But honestly, we aren't able to serve in the military. Because without Torah, there would not be a Jewish community. The military contradicts our values of the Haredi community. This makes it clear that we cannot enlist. Just 1,200 ultra-orthodox volunteers a year, a negligible number compared to an estimated 170,000 active soldiers and nearly 500,000 reservists. So today every year you have 13,000 Haredi youth that they can draft to the IDF. From that 13,000, minimum thousands every year can come to the IDF service. And they are not coming, we have today only 10% of them. With the war raging and spreading to other arenas, not all voices from the Haredi community are against this reform. So we can double it and can triple it in one, two years and we can see a lot of Haredim and it's going to be enough to the IDF. They don't want all of the Haredim in the IDF service. I think it must be done. It's always possible to find tasks that can help the country. There is no reason not to do it. Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition relies on ultra-orthodox parties that are invested in keeping their constituents in seminaries and away from the IDF. They regard the military service a distraction from Bible studies and religious values. Specifically, they object to gender mixing in IDF units, to kosher regulations and upholding the Torah decrees while serving. On April 1st, the Supreme Court suspended the state subsidies for draft-age men in seminaries. However, it accept Netanyahu's request for an extension until the end of the month before implementing it to allow the government to continue negotiating an agreement. And if negotiations fail, Israel may be facing a constitutional crisis as well as a political one. Yes, and we want to go back to those live images from Tel Aviv. Right now, the weekly rally calling for the release of the hostages for reaching about a deal is currently underway. And at the same time, the families of the hostages are sending an urgent letter to the attorney general expressing suspicion for conflict of interest as they say that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is handling the deal to release them and his personal interest. This is according to the letter that they're sending, perhaps further underlying the political sentiments, plural that have been mixing in to the debate over a deal to release the hostages. This is it from us for now. We will be back at the top of the hour. We'll leave you with those images live from Tel Aviv. 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. Esta semana, News 24, Israel Bajo Ataque. News 24 en Español trae el análisis y la información de los acontecimientos de la guerra espadas de hierro. Entrevistas exclusivas reportes desde la zona de guerra, la reacción de los países hispanoparlantes. News 24, el único medio en Español que te mantiene informado y conectado con la comunidad latina en Israel. News 24, únicamente en I-24 News. Welcome to the I-24 News Desk. We continue our rolling coverage of the war here in Israel. And we begin in the West Bank because the fear there has been realized, Benjamin Achimeir was murdered in a terror attack. The IDF has found the body of the 14-year-old who went missing in the West Bank on Friday. According to the IDF and police, Achimeir set out in the early morning hours from a farm near the outpost of Malachi Shalom, northeast of Ramallah, to go shepherding. And hours later, the sheep returned to the farm without him. The murder was believed to have been carried out by Palestinian terrorists, according to an initial investigation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was saying the heinous murder of Achimeir, the serious crime called on Israeli citizens to allow the security forces to do their work unhindered amid fears of retaliation by Jewish settlers. 14-year-old Benjamin is the brother of one of our colleagues here on I-24 News. And we share our deepest condolences with the bereaved family. May his memory be a blessing. Now, so the northern border on higher-than-high alert, rocket siren sounding in towns close to the Lebanon border all throughout the day, largely evacuated those communities of civilians ever since Hezbollah began attacks on October 8. Israel's Air Force in response, attacking a series of Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon. And we want to cross now live to the northern front. The I-24 News correspondent, Belir Shaldeen, joining us live from there. Belir, thank you very much for joining us. Well, as said, multiple rounds of sirens being heard today on Israeli towns on the Lebanese border. What can you tell us? Yes, so the last siren was heard an hour and a half ago. And apparently it was as a result of an anti-tank missile that was fired in the western Galil, specifically in Shatoula. And the house was actually hit as a result of that. But there is no casualties as a result of this anti-tank missiles in Shatoula. There are Lebanese reports of Israeli airstrikes in both Farha and the Eta Shab, as well as a report that said that some rockets were fired at a military site in Evin Menachem. There is no confirmation for that from the Israeli site yet. And the incident or the main incident for today is actually the person that was seriously wounded in Hanita this afternoon. So we're talking about the person who is actually a member of the emergency squad. And Hanita is also a reserve in the military. And he is actually seriously wounded as a result of one drone that exploded near him as a result of that. And that was one of the two drones that actually did manage to cross into Israeli airspace and were not actually successfully been intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome. So this is the main incident for today. And apparently it's a revenge or a response for what the Lebanese side or Hezbollah has been saying in the last couple of days about the incident on Wednesday where Israel also said that it had managed to kill several members that belonged to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. So that's why we have seen the large barrage of rockets also yesterday's evening. So the escalation is obvious here, but it's still right in the border. We haven't seen any expansion of the circle of fire, but it is absolutely different than what we have been seeing throughout this week where we have been talking about some calm. But apparently it has been the calm before the storm, as we can say. The calm before the storm in Bolivia, obviously for over a week now, the entire country is in preparation mode, in waiting mode for a pending Iranian attack of sorts. What can you tell us? Yes, definitely. So the American intelligence said yesterday that it is expecting an attack by Iran in the coming 24 to 48 hours. Also, American intelligence said that it has seen or observed some sort of military movement, if it can be said like this, inside Tehran where cruise missiles and ballistic missiles were used in this movement. So maybe the reports that we're talking about, 100 missiles that would be fired at Israel could be what Iran is preparing to. But from the Israeli side, it is prepared with the multi-layer of defense as the officials are saying, the iron dome, the Patriot air defense system, heads and other air defense system, as well as, of course, the fighter jets in the air all the time. I-24 news correspondent, Bolius Ladin. Thank you very much for joining us from Israel's northern border. You will, of course, keep us updated throughout the evening. And now amidst the deadlock in hostage-release talks and in light of the dire American estimation that only few are still alive, Tel Aviv police and Tel Aviv altogether readying another weekend of demonstrations with the main rally set to kick off now at the very center of the city, urging the government to reach a deal, any deal, essentially. I-24 news correspondent, Pierre-Claude Schendler joining us online from there, Pierre. The rhetoric of the families of the hostages is getting harsher weekend week out, and yet the divide over this issue seems to be growing. Right, the divide between the families of the hostages is growing indeed because some of the families are trying to adopt some sort of national unity attitude and working in coordination with the government for the release of the hostages. And there's a rally at Hostage Square, which is very subdued on one hand and also preventing any sort of criticism vis-à-vis the government simply because those families believe that they depend very much on the goodwill of this government to work more forcefully for the release of the hostages, especially that the Passover holiday is coming in about 10 days. And for the Israelis, this is a holiday which symbolizes the liberation from slavery during the biblical times, and therefore they find a connection with the 133 hostages that are held in captivity. But some of the families are here at the gates of the Defense Ministry, and they have adopted for the past two weeks a much stronger statement, which basically says if you're not able, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to work for the release of the hostages now, then move, move away, let others negotiate for the sake of the hostages. And there is another rally, which is behind me a few hundred meters away, which is a political rally against the government and calling for early election. And that has been going on for many weeks now. And as weeks goes on, the demonstrations are growing and growing now. The big question is given the context today, the security context of a potential Iranian reprisal attack on Israel. The question is whether a lot of people will be attending, but I see that people are streaming in and they seem to be ignoring that threat. Now, at the start of each demonstration for the past weeks, since the start of the October 7th war, there is an announcement by the speaker, by the public announcer, saying if there is a rocket attack, please don't move, just lay on the ground. And this message is gonna probably be broadcasted today to the public, participating to the demonstrations, but that will have even more weight today given the security context. I, 24 News correspondent, Pierre Colchendler, thank you very much for this. Pierre will keep us updated live from Tel Aviv later on in the evening and following the opening of our broadcast on the West Bank in the aftermath of the murder of 14-year-old Benjamin Achimeir in recent hours, according to the IDF announcement now. There have been several clashes between settlers and security and Palestinians in several locations throughout the West Bank, and now we do see reinforcement of IDF and security personnel presence in those areas in the West Bank, where Silla, of course, following, keeping an eye on everything that is happening there. But now, more independent Iranian attack, Iranian forces claim they've taken over a ship in the strait of Homoes near the Persian Gulf. The container ship flies a Portuguese flag but is managed by a company owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ophel. It all comes, of course, as Israel is on high alert for appending Iranian attack, a threat that the United States is taking very seriously, sending an aircraft carrier through the Red Sea towards Israel as a show of deterrence against Iran. Countries, including France and Poland and India, have all issued travel warnings for citizens heading not just to Israel but also to Lebanon or Iran itself. Well, U.S. embassy workers have been told not to travel outside the greater Tel Aviv to Rulamun-Barashiba areas. And if Iran is indeed planning something big, U.S. President Joe Biden is issuing his signature statement. Don't. How imminent do you think the attack on Israelis from Iran, Mr. President? I want to get a secure information from my expectation sooner than later. What's it to Iran in this moment? Don't. Still, for now, the IDF spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Higari, is saying there are no changes to the instructions from the Home Front Command, making it clear that not only is Israel ready to defend itself, it is also ready to attack. Iran will bear the consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further. Israel is on high alert. We have increased our readiness to protect Israel from further Iranian aggression. We are also prepared to respond. The Israel Defense Forces prepared for all scenarios and we will take the necessary steps together with our allies to protect the people of Israel. And now, following, of course, the situation in the Gaza Strip in effort to ease tensions following the criticism, under way Israeli Parliament Speaker Amir Okhana met with the French President Emmanuel Macron this week at the Elisabeth Palace, addressing and discussing not just the situation on the ground, but with a specific emphasis on the potential operation that is expected to take place against Hamas battalions in Rafa. The humanitarian aid at Israel is providing the possibility of a military campaign against Hezbollah in the north. And of course, the Iranian threat against Israel. And our correspondent in Paris, Benjamin Petrover, spoke to Okhana. Let's take a listen. You are wrapping up a two-day visit to Paris. You have met with President Emmanuel Macron. How would you sum up your visit? I have met not only with Emmanuel Macron, but also with my counterparts, Chair of the Senate, President Gerard Larcher and the Chair of the National Assembly, Yael Braun-Pivet. I can tell you that we have true friends here in France. There is wide support among elected officials, as well as within the public. I see the polls, and I see that, despite concerning remarks from some of the French leaders, the people, many of the people, support the State of Israel and the destruction of Hamas. Ha'am rabbi meot bishil ma. What was the purpose of this visit, and was it achieved? This visit is a continuation of a visit that started in Germany. We started in Germany where we also met with high-ranking leaders. The idea is to fight, not only on the battlefield, but also on the diplomatic and public arena to explain Israel's actions. I said to our friends, we are here so you can ask us the tough questions. Don't go easy on us. We will do our best to give you the answers. I think that's exactly what happened. This has huge value to Israel's position and ability to continue the war in the battlefield with no interference. Six months into the war, does France still remain on Israel's side? Yes. The answer is yes. At least that's what President Macron assured me. More than that, we are, of course, aware of the threats Israel is receiving, including a real and immediate threat from Iran. President Macron told me, we've warned the Iranians not to attack in Israel. That is a very important message, which, by the way, was also given by all Western countries, including world powers such as the U.S., the U.K. and others that have warned the Iranians. I think it's highly important. What does this mean exactly? France's support, standing by it, is of high importance. It allows us to continue and apply pressure, both military and diplomatic pressure, on Hamas, on Sinwar, in order to push him to comply with a deal to release the hostages. I said to President Macron that the comments we've heard from France, such as the call for an immediate ceasefire without conditioning it on the hostages' release, an embargo on Israel, and a one-sided recognition of a Palestinian state, all those remarks work to the benefit of Hamas. Yahya Sinwar sees them, and he is elated. He says to himself, I've won. I don't need to release the hostages. The world will stop Israel. I will get my ceasefire without giving anything. There is a saying in French to describe Macron's policy. It translates to, at the same time. But how can you side with Israel's war against terrorism, and at the same time, sign the call for a ceasefire with Egypt and Jordan? It is very damaging. As I said to Macron, it works to benefit Hamas. It's not only against Israel's interest, it's against the interest of the free world. This war is not a local battle of Hamas versus Israel. It's a battle of fundamentalism, radicalism, and radical Islam that is attacking the free world. This is what Israel represents in our region, and all of us, all of the countries of the free world, need to stand together behind the goal of defeating Hamas and releasing all the hostages. Regarding Iran, if Israel will see it as necessary to launch a preemptive strike, do you have assurance that France will stand by Israel? Naturally, I couldn't answer that even if I do have the answer. These things are not publicly discussed, but I think undoubtedly Israel has the right and duty to defend itself and its citizens, and it's not conditioned on the approval of any country, including the world powers. Does France have any information about the hostages? Specifically, the French hostages. Whatever information we have about the French hostages, we share with the French. There are 133 hostages. Some of them are alive and some of them are not alive, and we are operating on two levels, military and diplomatic, to bring them all home as soon as possible. Amir Ohana, thank you. One last question. In a few hours, you will be back in Israel. What is your first task? I think the main issue at the moment is the Iranian threat. We are receiving information that the Iranians are planning to attack, and if that were to happen, we would have to respond. So potentially, we are facing a major escalation. And joining us now in studio, international affairs analyst, Mr. Dan Perry. Thank you very much, Mr. Perry, for joining us. So as we speak, the masses are gathering in Tel Aviv and elsewhere in the country, yet again calling for any deal, essentially. They're not even saying a deal now or a deal that will bring back any deal. Just say yes, and yet there are no signs that any deal is indeed materializing. Well, think about the government's original two goals, that they claimed are complementary and not contradictory, to destroy Hamas fully, meaning to remove them from power in Gaza, at the very least, and to return to hostages. And there was an implication that a pressure, military pressure on Hamas would hasten the return of the hostages because Hamas is normal people that don't want the people to suffer. Normal leaders that don't want their people to suffer and are somehow accountable. That was obviously a dubious assertion. Hamas only benefits from the suffering of their people. That is not real leverage that Israel could deploy. And therefore, we find ourselves six months down a line with neither goal having been achieved and Israel having suffered reputational damage. That is at a level where there is something approaching an academic boycott against its academicians and all kinds of talk of arms embargoes and investigations for genocide. And still, the goals haven't been achieved so increasingly in Israel. There is a school of thought that says that the two goals have to be decoupled. And the one that is more urgent is the returning of the hostages because the hostages will die. And there are obviously reports and more than suspicions that a large proportion of the ones that are still there are in fact no longer alive. Now look. I would just like to know that we're seeing live images from Tel Aviv now on the screen, the weekly gathering. One of many protests currently taking place, but this is the main one. And remember, there's fears of an Iranian attack. So people who are out in large gatherings in public right now are in fact rather brave and their motivation is very high. The point, Ellie, is this. There is a school of thought and it's not extreme leftists and it's not defeatists. It's people who understand the two goals are not necessarily a complementary and maybe contradictory that say maybe the best thing for Israel to do after six months and after having visited such stupendous and somewhat exaggerated punishment on the people of Gaza, basically. And having degraded Hamas, maybe it's time to consider accepting Hamas as stated conditions for return of all the hostages, which would mean ending the war and pulling out of Gaza with Hamas having been badly degraded but left in charge. Now this is obviously extremely difficult for Israelis to accept. Extremely. On the other hand, it might not necessarily be so foolish to do so if what followed was a zero-tolerance policy for any further misbehavior from Hamas. Well, but it wasn't. It just wasn't. No, but from now on, no matter what the deal... I'm not so sure. But I know this and I'm rather sure of this. Right now, Israel's ability to go in and finish off Hamas is hampered by the presence of the hostages because there is a very serious risk that to go in and actually hit Sinwar and his fellow leaders where they are would be sacrificing hostages. But Sam would suggest that this is not a scenario that is likely to happen at this point in time. Anyways, the military campaign is not at its peak and not going to get more intense. Why have we been stalemated for two or three months now? It's because of this. Now consider this, how much easier would it be to have finished the job more quickly if there were no hostages being held by Sinwar? It would obviously be easier. Again, there is no suggestion that there'll be a more intense military campaign should the hostages get out. No, but I'm saying there should be. In other words, if Israel accepts Hamas's conditions and in a way that would be a surrender and to be clear, I'm not advocating it. I'm saying from knowledge that this is a scenario that's being considered by extremely serious people. To take Hamas at its word, leave it to whatever degree it still exists in charge in Gaza, and then prepare, prepare for the inevitable final battle when Hamas fires the first rocket. But at least then you're presenting to the world a narrative that is sustainable. Of defeat and surrender. A narrative where you know what you want. And what you want is to move in on Hamas when hostages are no longer there and you've prioritized saving the hostages. Now consider this, not doing that can quite credibly be presented as having sacrificed the hostages. All right, we need to move on. Dan Perry, thank you very much for this. We'll have to wait and see. Not Iran, not the Gaza war, not the deteriorating ties with the U.S. The ultra-orthodox draft bill. This is what may bring to the collapse of the Israeli government at this point in time. And our Morel has all the details on the dispute itself and the extended deadline that is fast approaching. They want us to go to the Israeli army. For that it means to ask. They don't want us to be religious. Therefore we prefer to die and not to go to the army. Hundreds of ultra-orthodox Jews gathered this Saturday to protest against the conscription reforms. Since 1948 the ultra-orthodox Jews were given army waivers in the name of piety, the so-called status quo. Now that decades-old arrangement is resented, more than ever, by mainstream Israelis fighting in the front line for the past six months. The situation regarding the military service is very difficult. We understand the side of the secular families who serve in the military. But honestly, we aren't able to serve in the military. Because without Torah, there would not be a Jewish community. The military contradicts our values of the Haredi community. This makes it clear that we cannot enlist. Just 1,200 ultra-orthodox volunteers a year, a negligible number compared to an estimated 170,000 active soldiers and nearly 500,000 reservists. So today every year you have 13,000 Haredi youth that they can draft to the IDF. From that 13,000, minimum thousands, every year can come to the IDF service. And they are not coming. We have today only 10% of them. With the war raging and spreading to other arenas, not all voices from the Haredi community are against this reform. So we can double it and can triple it in one, two years, and we can see a lot of Haredim and it's going to be enough to the IDF. They don't want all of the Haredim in the IDF service. I think it must be done. It's always possible to find tasks that can help the country. There is no reason not to do it. Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition relies on ultra-orthodox parties that are invested in keeping their constituents in seminaries and away from the IDF. They regard the military service a distraction from Bible studies and religious values. Specifically, they object to gender mixing in IDF units, to kosher regulations and upholding the Torah decrees while serving. On April 1st, the Supreme Court suspended the state subsidies for draft-aged men in seminaries. However, it accept Netanyahu's request for an extension until the end of the month before implementing it to allow the government to continue negotiating an agreement. And if negotiations fail, Israel may be facing a constitutional crisis as well as a political one. Yes, and we want to go back to those live images from Tel Aviv. Right now, the weekly rally calling for the release of the hostages for reaching about a deal is currently underway. And at the same time, the families of the hostages are sending an urgent letter to the attorney general expressing suspicion for conflict of interest, as they say that the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is handling the deal to release them and his personal interest. This is according to the letter that they're sending perhaps further underlying the political sentiments for all that have been mixing into the debate over a deal to release the hostages. This is it from us for now. We will be back at the top of the hour. We'll leave you with those images live from Tel Aviv. 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 the I-24 News Desk. We continue our rolling coverage of the war here. In Israel, in the West Bank, the fear has been realized. Benjamin Achimahir was murdered in a terror attack. The IDF found the body of the 14-year-old who went missing on Friday. According to the IDF and police, Achimahir set out in the early morning hours rather from a farm near the outpost of Malachi Shalom northeast of Ramallah to go shepherd day. Hours later, the sheep returned without him. The murder was a belief to have been carried out by Palestinian terrorists, according to an initial investigation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the heinous murder of Achimahir is a serious crime. Colden Israeli citizens to allow the security forces to do their work unhindered. I mean, fears of retaliation by Jewish settlers. And indeed this hour, the IDF is announcing several clashes in different locations throughout the West Bank between Jewish settlers and Palestinians. The IDF and security forces reinforcing their personnel on the ground to prevent the situation from escalating further. 14-year-old Benjamin is the brother of one of our colleagues here on I-24 News and we share our deepest condolences with the bereaved family. May his memory be a blessing. Now to the northern border, unhired and high alert. Rocket siren sounding in towns closer to Lebanon border. Throughout the day, those communities largely evacuated of citizens since Hezbollah began attacking since October 8. Israel's Air Force in response attacking a series of Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon. And the situation there continues to be unhigh. Unhigh alert. In attack now, Iranian forces claim they've taken over a ship in the Strait of Homoos near the Persian Gulf. The container ship flies a Portuguese flag but is managed by a company owned by the Israeli billionaire Al-Ofer. It all comes as Israel is readying for an expected Iranian attack. A threat that the United States is taking very seriously. Sending an aircraft carrier through the Red Sea towards Israel at the show of the terrorists against Iran. For now, IDF spoke to us in rear admiral Daniel Agari and saying there are no changes to the instructions from the Home Front Command making it clear that not only is Israel ready to defend itself but it is also ready to attack. Iran will bear the consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further. Israel is on high alert. We have increased our readiness to protect Israel from further Iranian aggression. We are also prepared to respond. The Israel Defense Forces prepared for all scenarios and we will take the necessary steps together with our allies to protect the people of Israel. On to the attack in Australia. At least six people are dead after a mass-stabbing attack at the mall near Abundai Beach in Sydney. Several others are still being treated in hospital in serious condition including a young child seeing now on your screen graphic scenes emerging on social media showing shoppers frantically running from the attacker was holding a massive knife. The suspect was shot dead by police officer at the scene. Her quick action is now being praised by the Australian Prime Minister. Our brave police, our first responders and of course everyday people who could never have imagined that they would face such a moment and some of the footage is quite extraordinary. Staff for whom this should have been a normal shift shoppers peacefully going about their lives and yet for these Australians their first instinct in the face of danger was to help someone else. As the investigation of course continues this is it from us for now we will be back at the top of the hour and we will see you at the end. Thank you more from Israel's channel 13 expose the network of those bots and thank you very much for joining us. Bar what have you discovered? Hi Jacob, thank you for having me. I discovered that there is a major group of activists from Egypt. They're actually located right now in Turkey. They're from the Muslim Brotherhood Organization and they try to infiltrate the Israeli social media platforms by creating users that seems to be authentic Israeli users. They try to depict themselves as activists for Netanyahu and against Netanyahu activists for the recruitment of paradigm Jews and what they try to do is to create chaos in the Israeli social media by creating this rift enlarging this rift between major sectors in the Israeli society and they had a plan they had a plan to create more than 40,000 users on Twitter that will create this kind of chaos in the Israeli social media and we actually see that they did get an achievement when Itamar Ben-Greer the minister actually introduced a user from this group on the cabinet meeting just two days ago it was actually a user that was created specifically by this organization of the Muslim Brotherhood. So he brought the fake news of sorts to the cabinet. This is the kind of stuff we saw from Russia and China also in the U.S. So this is the same idea of creating chaos in the society? Yeah, trying to interfere with the Israeli society creating chaos on social media especially on Twitter which we know it's a major platform very influential, a lot of politicians are inspired on Twitter actually I believe that Itamar Ben-Greer saw this tweet that was created on Twitter and he saw it on Twitter the user was called Maghen Ben Avram Israeli activist who is against Netanyahu of course it was all fake and was part of this plan by the Muslim Brotherhood Organization but actually it's quite frightening when you think about it because here in Israel we have now all the protests and we have these clashes between different sects inside the Israeli society it's a very divided society so when we're talking about this organization a Muslim extremist organization they actually quite understand all the narratives inside the Israeli society and they try to enlarge this chaos that actually exists inside the Israeli society Definitely exists it's not a tough job to do Barsh Amor, thank you very much Thank you so much Jacob Meanwhile we have more testimonies about the sexual abuse of hostages in Gaza and it's surfacing more and more family members appeared in the Knesset today here's the report by Natasha Kirchak That's 21 year old Maya Regiv she and her younger brother were abducted by Hamas terrorists on October 7th from the Nova Music Festival but were miraculously released last November during a temporary ceasefire deal I know a lot of things I don't want to get involved with people who are 70 and 90 Today Maya is speaking out an emergency session held in the Israeli parliament to discuss the dire situation of the female Israeli hostages still being held captive in the Gaza Strip by terror operatives not one government minister is present and only three coalition members are attending the session today that's because the Israeli parliament is on a six week recess that's until May 19 as you might imagine the family's of the hostages are infuriated especially those present That's Yarden Gonen who's been fighting for almost six months now for the release of her 23 year old sister Romy who was also taken hostage by Hamas at the Nova Music Festival 134 hostages still remain captive in Gaza 19 of them are women a United Nations report in March presented clear and convincing evidence that hostages have been raped while being held in Gaza those currently held captive are still facing sexual abuse just last week one of the released female hostages confirmed the horrifying report 40 year old Amit Susana told the New York Times that she was sexually assaulted and attacked by her Hamas guard during her captivity in Gaza her testimony is shaken Israel but clearly not enough despite the frantic cries of the families of the hostages nothing seems to be changing negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release still remain deadlocked Israel's negotiating team headed home from truce talks in Cairo today after putting together an updated proposal for Hamas to address but the families of the hostages still remain deadlocked Israel's negotiating team headed home from truce talks in Cairo today after putting together an updated proposal for Hamas to address but the families of the hostages say that time is running out this is the aunt of 25 year old Noah Argamani Noah was kidnapped with her boyfriend from the Nova Music Festival as well her mother Leora is battling terminal brain cancer and is closer than ever to her deathbed their family has been pleading for Noah's release so that Leora will have one last chance to see her daughter so what comes next amid the pleas is desperate families Israeli Knesset member Panina Tamanoshetta who is chairing this session says it was scheduled to try and pressure the government to secure a hostage release deal and be more flexible in negotiations the question is how long it will take but no matter what these families say they will not stop fighting Northern Israel was one of the hardest to hit on October 7th I don't know for news correspondent Ori Shapira met with some of the founders of this community who came back 40 years later let's take a watch this short road from Kibbutz Bairi next to the Gaza Strip to the point that we are heading for is full of memories the building which was once here was the remains of an old sheikh house that no longer exists the so-called Gashkash was a gathering of members of the Kibbutz consisting of sketches and songs most of the content was nonsense and inside Joe the leading forces behind this initiative were Ahal Basaray Dondi Schwartz and Itzan Ra'anan all of whom were born in the 1960s and grew up in Bairi in the 1970s and 1980s the Gashkash started when they were in their 20s young people who refused to grow up and to leave the Kibbutz the beginning, as always wasn't easy there were a lot of people a lot of tanks and in the sea of the sea there was something like the whole Kibbutz a lot of people and Ahal he told me every time Dondi, take a look take a look at this hero I didn't meet in Shum Tzama I looked at the camera and I didn't see Shum Tzama and Ahal he told me there was a Tzama a Tzama of the ocean and in the end it was a good success and we were starting to get the results and really it wasn't a Tzama after they swept the entire Kibbutz the Gashkash appeared in the national press in a short article at the Hadashot newspaper in 1986 under the unflattering title Mission to Irritate We invited more of our family to a Buddhist temple in Tel Aviv and it's a secret I don't even know what a secret is there are two kings there we came here and Dondi and I and they said we want you to build a castle in the castle and so on and we went to the Kibbutz we didn't understand anything and we told them we can build a castle if you want to destroy the castle if you want to destroy the castle you have to explain it to us and then they understood that they have relations with my family and they separated us No, he's here he's doing his homework Dondi is the only one from the trio who stayed in Bari Ahal moved to the UK and the Philippines his family however continued to live in Bari This is the house of my brother Yonat my brother Yonat who lives in the house and they took care of him and took care of his children Noam and Alma and they came to the castle Noam and Alma both came to the land but the castle is still empty especially when we talk about the castle and talk about it and all these things in the castle so you have to understand that the context of all this because it's everything is empty but what I think is right and wrong is that really Yes, there is fun and yes, there is fun and yes, there is fun but you also don't have to think that on the other side it could also be fun but I was here then I found it, I took it you know all the children's stories Dad, I love you if I love you it's just that you see it and it happens you were here that's exactly what he said I made a small child I made him in the castle with his father and his friend he was a father in shock It's a big week a big week all everyone I it's the children Barry, all the memories and many, many things that I wanted to take with them some of them memories, what they know what I know about them the new people that they know about me they don't know about the story the story of Barry It's cool, we started today it could be that we had a family photo with Hannah and Heidi In 2006 there was a reunion of Gashkash in Barry who lived here to do things after 20 years we had a couple of young people and that and that but you know, in the castle like in the 400 meters of the United States we stayed on the island in the end it's cool but it's not it's very difficult to think today to do Gashkash with these memories and that people found it funny it's not a dream, it's a dream at least it wasn't a big challenge for Saudi Arabia Jacob as the Saudi ambassador to the UN Abdulaziz Al-Wasil was elected as chair of this commission on the status of women by acclamation as there were no rival candidates basically and no dissents at least at this CSW's annual meeting in New York yesterday when the Filipino envoy to the UN who was the outgoing chair asked if the members if they had any objections there was silence in the chamber basically besides normally a country holds the chair for two years but the Philippines was put under pressure from other members of the Asia group to split its tenure and pass the post on to another country after one year initially Bangladesh was expected to take over but late in the process Saudi Arabia sort of stepped in as a lead for the chair now we are seeing human rights organizations opposing this I mean if the reactions of human rights organizations such as Amnesty International or anything to go by yes this could be seen as an attempt to burnish the kingdoms image speaking of Amnesty the organization quickly pointed to the irony of the CSW being led by a country in which the gap between human rights and women's rights even on paper is so wide also saying that whoever is in the chair is in a key position to influence the planning the decisions, the taking stock etc and that Saudi Arabia's own record on women's rights is quote abysmal and a far cry from the men of the commission and for its part human rights is saying that the country that jails women simply advocate for their rights has no business being the face of the UN stop form let's say for women's rights and gender equality the group even try to lobby other countries among the current CSW members including states like the Netherlands Japan, Switzerland etc but everyone reportedly kept secret keep quiet sorry there has been some progress in Saudi Arabia regarding women's rights who knows maybe no, this will make things better there some just I mean in stories like this there are always there are always three ways of looking at things the first one is to consider the countries like these need to be integrated so as not to be isolated and leave them and not leave them to continue with in this case a patriarchal system the second one is on the country to isolate them and force them to change and the third one is to let them use their lobbying skills and say that you know it's ok the situation regarding women in countries like Saudi Arabia is not so bad and it's safe to say that the United Nations does a bit of all three if you will to the liking of Riyadh alright Bestian Bari in Dubai thank you very much now this, scientists the Weitzman Institute of Science in Israel were lucky enough to spot the early stages of a supernova explosion this is very rare and it was by chance i24news, Dixie Arvind has the story a long time ago in a galaxy far far away a large star exploded 20 million years ago to be exact the explosion dispersed remnants through space and they emitted from the explosion reached Earth Israeli scientists at the Weizman Institute were the first to observe the early stages of the explosion so that night on the Friday night after we realized that this is a super interesting and very rare opportunity he pulled the trigger we told NASA this is the time stop whatever it is you're doing Hubble stopped whatever it was doing and turned as quickly as it can to observe our target other observations of this type that Hubble did the star that exploded was located in a neighboring galaxy called Messier 101 and scientists predict that the explosion probably left behind a massive black hole do you understand this we have to study the star itself as it was before the explosion and these measurements that we got so quickly after the explosion allowed us to recover this information before it was totally lost so one of the interesting results from this paper that after the explosion a black hole was left behind such occurrences are quite rare and the explosion creates sort of fingerprint of the supernova and the elements it leaves behind scientists can now study the early stages of an ultraviolet light from such an explosion which can help find supernovas elsewhere in space this was the first opportunity we had to observe this explosion process this light escaping for the first time the air on the star and that gave us new information about several things one we can estimate the properties both of the star and of the material around it as they were before the explosion in the chaos of cosmic creation scientists witness a spectacle which will move through space for aeons and this is it for us stay tuned for more news with Kalev Bendovid here on I-24 news have a good night from Tel Aviv the I-24 news channel 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 I-24 news channels now on hot a special look at one of IDF's special units its code name is cherry and it was founded 40 years ago first let's take a look at its creation initially a decision taken by the commander of the Israeli military central command a certain Ehud Barak in May, June 1986 this is what he said at the time I want a unit whose people look like Arabs and ride bikes in the Naples Kasbah as if they were on this angle of street in Tel Aviv within a few months the Duvdevan unit took shape with a creed from the bible it is through cunning that you will wage war a war in the shadows which the Israeli army did not want to bring to light here are press clippings from the time censorship to press charges against Reuters IDF denies information on Duvdevan unit ABC the unit really exists Steven Weisman a journalist from Reuters who revealed the existence of the Duvdevan unit is accused of having transmitted secret information to his employer Duvdevan unit shoots from a minibus the army denies and seizes the journalist visual documents aren't people disguised as tourists shot at stone throwers in these exclusive photos the first Duvdevan in action some are still active within the unit's reservists and others in special units that's why we blurred their faces the IDF uses a special unit in the West Bank which has obtained the right to kill it's like watching a child grow up you find an experienced man almost 37 years old a child who continues to improve it is a real source of pride most of its activity is now known to the public in Israel since its creation I can say that the lives of thousands of people have been saved thanks to particularly creative and innovative operations a secret targeted elimination unit Duvdevan operates against the leaders of the Intifada nearly 40 years after the creation of Duvdevan according to Uri Barlev the unit remains one of the most in the fight against terrorism in urban areas so that's the background now 24 years Matias in Bar brings us an up close look at the Duvdevan unit with us Barak Chikotay he was a Duvdevan soldier an officer during the reserve duty today, author of this book writes on the water why now? and why write this kind of story first of all it's something that comes to me from within it's like self-therapy the book also speaks a lot about my experience the experiences of my team which is why it has been subjected to censorship for six months as I told you, it was completely dissected every word was examined before being authorized they eliminated a large number of chapters they asked that we add this that we delete that it tells what we experience then it talks a lot about the psychological side reactions following combat post-traumatic stress disorder I personally support some of the soldiers suffering from PTSD as part of the Duvdevan unit alumni program I have the feeling that this book is a kind of remedy for you I believe that it has succeeded in being both a cure but it's also a preventative remedy I believe that we are all in the same psychological boat today after what we have experienced but very often we don't understand to what extent the fighters also pay a psychological price in addition to the physical one it is important to focus on this topic as well it's true that this should not prevent them from fighting we must defend this country do everything possible for that but we also must understand that just as there are bodily injuries there are psychological injuries and none of them take precedence over the other this is a first point the second thing that interests us I think is the result Israeli soldiers got their hands on this or that person they won victories they eliminated such and such person and that's very good but what I wanted to show is how we got all this the process how it happens from the beginning the fighters have to face fears they overcome them but what I describe in this book is how this mechanic works down to the smallest details regardless of outcome the result is important of course but I wanted the public to understand what the fighters go through their feelings, the emotions, the training how does it unfold the thoughts how do we establish a plan of attack if it works, if it doesn't work we have to take precedence to have an overview of the whole system immerse them in the heart of this unit if you had one example who could bring our viewers to read the book we were inserted into one of the villages near Jenin in the north of the West Bank me and my assistant we were in the middle of an operation I'm not going into detail because I can't then we were spotted, discovered it was like an episode of Fauda the shots were flying it was truly a miracle that we got through it when we did the debriefing we tried to understand why everything worked well our weapons were not visible nothing special happened but I remembered that my deputy was eating gum it was in the middle of Ramadan like now during Ramadan, even among Arabs there are people who do not fast but they don't do it in full public view you see that smallest detail is important the simple fact that he was eating gum he didn't say a word he didn't do anything in particular he didn't do anything that would arouse suspicion and yet I'll give you another example we were in a village near Nablus I mean my deputy it was also during an infiltration to get hold of a wanted terrorist we were asked to wait a few minutes before operating for intelligence purposes when you're somewhere and there's nothing to do you have to keep busy so we said to ourselves, let's buy an ice cream we go into a store we buy ice cream everything obviously happens in Arabic as any Arab would do since we're supposed to be Arab and I see that my friend a Nashkenazi from Ramata Sharon is holding his ice cream in one hand eating it and in the other hand, he's holding the wrapper I said to him, what are you doing a trash can? we were in a small village near Nablus and you're looking for a trash can? throw it he kept the packaging in his hand as is done in Ramata Sharon when finding a trash can but when you're in their village you have to throw it on the ground this is how they behave you can also be an Arab woman so at the bus stop, we won't sit like this but like this we have to remember that you are a woman in Tebron, the woman will be more religious more pious, she covers her head she wears less makeup in Ramallah, she is more modern she smokes, she eats chewing gum I have a question right on the water this water can extinguish the fire maybe this is the idea there is an Arab singer Beiruz, Lebanese, a fantastic singer in one of her songs she compares the man to letters written on water what does she mean by that? if you are in a swimming pool and you do like that, the water moves there is a movement, but in a second everything goes back to the way it was before for example let's say we eliminated the Hamas number one in Hebron we eliminated him a week later, the Shin Bet tells us there is a new number one but we have just eliminated his former boss we are constantly trying to create a situation in which we influence reality it is a dissonance that we find among soldiers particularly this type of unit where it involves very precise operations listen, if we take Dov Devan as an example, it is not a unit that operates blindly our job is to get our hands on certain persons and it could be in their bedroom at the hairdresser in their store, and we take them out we see this very often on TV but what Dov Devan exactly did on 7 October and later I believe the unit has experienced a significant number of casualties because it is always on the front lines and being on the front lines means we are the first to be affected when there is an exchange of fire the soldiers intervene to save as many people as possible without asking any questions this is why we have unfortunately a large number of losses injuries, deaths I personally accompany families who have lost loved ones or injured people everywhere in the country during their rehabilitation in various hospitals at Mount Scopus in Shiba at home we are all sensitive to bodily injuries if we see someone with or without crutches we understand that they have been injured but I think we need to be much more sensitive there is a person that I have been supporting for many years who suffers from PTSD we are at the license office because he needs authorization from psychiatrist etc it is very complicated we get there and the line is endless he tells me I have a card that exempts me from waiting in line I am an IDF invalid but it is a psychological disorder so it is embarrassing to so he goes to find the attendant discreetly shows her his card puts it back in his pocket she takes care of him everyone is shouting what are you doing you are ahead of everyone physically he looks like everyone else so people have difficulty accepting he looks like me and says I would have preferred to take a bullet so it would have been better to take a bullet appear handicapped and be understood by people one more thing this makes me think of another wounded man when he was at Shaari Tzedek hospital a soldier who lost his leg we left the service he went to have a coffee outside he was in a wheelchair and people were applauding him thanking him telling him he was a hero because they saw this young man was missing a leg and I believe there is an imbalance between the recognition the honor that we give to those who have been physically injured and those who have been psychologically injured I hope the book bridges that gap and in the same time I had in mind this soldier who fought during the 7 october attacks and then the mission to Jodiha and Samaria area to fight against terror he now smokes and drinks he knows it is forbidden to do so but how can you with all your experience tell him to stop you raise a very important question there a soldier in addition to having to shoot well run fast, be strong must also be strong internally psychologically, mentally the IDF attaches particular importance to this today learning to have psychological resilience how to prevent the event how to work on a combat experience as demobilization approaches there are a whole bunch of workshops when something happens we stop everything and we take care of the soldiers we ask them how they feel and in most cases this has a preventative effect the percentage of people suffering from PTSD or people who indulge in drinking or otherwise is relatively low it exists but listen you take a young man of 18 a good boy who has never experienced violence and a year later he is told take a gun and shoot people at point blank range it's completely crazy isn't it but it is the only solution we have this is how we get our hands on wanted people they are trying to kill us we must understand that there are people who are fighting for their rights as a society, as an army we must do everything to have people with a strong mind and resilience most fighters come out of these events unscathed they are strong mentally and physically the 7 october attacks were a failure but it was also the occasion for the soldiers aged of 20, 30, 40 even 50 years old on october 7 you saw how people responded individuals, true heroes who are on their own initiative took their weapons and went directly to the scene of fighting as far as the army is concerned there are a lot of things that need to be done differently the hit we took was enormous we can't look away but it helps us discover the heroism of young people there are real lions yesterday, I was in kafar aza with a wounded man and he introduced me to the family he saved it was very moving I believe we have an excellent army what needs to be corrected, we will correct but the fighters themselves the soldiers, they are the real heroes each of them unfortunately sometimes a system fails a nyam kippur those who saved the situation were the soldiers themselves the price was extremely heavy people came back from abroad I know one injured person the one who lost his leg he came back from Japan he hadn't even been called up he paid thousands of shekels to return quickly I know someone who was in Europe on vacation with his family and he's a deputy battalion chief he learned what happened and when he wanted to board the plane he was told that there were no seats available he went to find the pilot and told him I'm a deputy battalion commander I absolutely have to come back he made the entire trip sitting in the jump seat reserved for the crew with a harness do you see how far this goes? take Russia for example Russia has been at war with Ukraine for several years two or three years and people are leaving Russia they do everything to escape by any means possible they falsify their age to avoid the army in Israel people do everything to come all my children's friends have returned from abroad all the reservists it's fantastic listen, I'm really optimistic once again we will change what needs to be changed but I am optimistic because the young generation is extraordinary and I believe these people still have great things to do and with God's help I hope we win and I'm sure everything will be fine I hope we win and I'm sure everything will be fine thank you so much thank you so much thank you so with me here in Le Sevier is Lieutenant Colonel Dorona Vittal you are very much familiar with this special unit that was a game changer the whole concept, right? sure, this was a decision made by Eud Barak I was then the early 90s I was the commander of Seret Matkal I was the chief of staff and then he made the decision to establish two special units one of them is Doudavan that was supposed to work in Judah and Samaria and the other one was Shemshon, Samson hello and welcome to the I-24 News Desk we continue our rolling coverage of the war here in Israel breaking news this hour the Israeli home front command is adjusting updating its instructions there will be no schools operating tomorrow here in Israel as of 11pm local time tonight in a bit over two hours from now those instructions will be updated this of course emits the pending Iranian threat meanwhile American President Joe Biden is cutting his vacation short heading straight back to the White House all indications that this looming attack is nearing let's take a listen to the statement of Rear Admiral Danny Lagari the IDF spokesperson this hour during the weekend we have conducted assessments and plans preparing for pending Iranian attack the IDF forces are ready for any large-scale attack in light of this readiness the home front command is updating its instructions as of tomorrow morning all the educational programs schools, camps etc will not be operating as of tonight and in the coming days there should be no educational activity including travels etc it doesn't matter from where the threat is coming from you should rush to shelter and stay there for at least 10 minutes we will update if you will be asked to stay there for a longer while we will update on any threat we need resilience responsibility and readiness we will be updating you with every development on the ground I will be here updating you in a transparent responsible manner for any with any development since the beginning of the war we have been dealing with the Iranian proxy threats from all around the region in full readiness all systems are ready defense and offense dozens of aircrafts are already in the skies ready to go we are conducting security assessments all the while with our allies first and foremost the US we have supreme aerial defense albeit it does not cover all threats at all times so you must adhere to all instructions earlier today Iran conducted yet another carried out yet another terror terror activity in the form of seizing a ship and it continues to pose a threat to the entire western world and the entire region without terror attacks as it did throughout the past six months earlier today this morning Haidia forces and security forces found a body a 14 year old Benjamin Akhimey in the west bank the Israeli Shin Bet internal security agency and Haidia forces are currently in a manhunt after the perpetrators of this terror attack the murderers in recent hours we have seen violent clashes between Jewish settlers and Palestinians in several locations throughout the west bank we have reinforced the forces underground in several different locations and I call on Israeli citizens to allow the IDF to focus on the manhunt against the perpetrators and to let it conclude the investigation I will return here and update you as necessary yes that was the statement of Rear Admiral Daniel Gari IDFS spokesperson tonight and joining us now over the phone I-24 News senior editor Guy Israel Guy it is coming this is the dramatic announcement we've been waiting for and again connecting the dots here those home front command instructions to the US President Biden again has cut his vacation short if if panic was ruling the streets of Israel until now as of tonight even more so yes you said it right Ali and it is a dramatic announcement by the IDF spokesman cancelling all educational activities and all public gatherings over a thousand people starting tonight here in Israel it should be mentioned that tomorrow as we approach the Jewish holiday of Passover most school students are on holiday but it does affect thousands many thousands of school children and parents because there are other activities and trips and educational programs all of those are cancelled and I really have to stress here that for several days now the Israeli security establishment has been torn as you mentioned between the fear of of sewing panic in the public and the need to maintain security amid those threats of an Iranian strike and this evening a major change in those instructions the idea that spokesman Daniel Agari is stressing and not to panic but it's hard to do so when you know that this threat is real it's imminent both the statements that we are getting from the Iranians and those instructions that do change the daily life of so many Israelis and it will be very interesting to see how would this affect the daily life of Israelis tomorrow the fact that there are no educational activities whether that would stop people from hanging out in shopping malls or going to the beach etc as for president Biden I think the decision to cut his weekend holiday short is mainly a symbolic one it is important for the Americans to show the Iranians and really to the entire world that they take this threat seriously that the threat on Israel impacts the American interest in the region as a whole they obviously fear like everyone fear a wider escalation that would come from such an attack by the Iranian and a possible retaliatory attack by Israel and no one knows where that could end so this is one of the many moves the Americans are making these days and we need to also remind our viewers that the commander of Sandcom Michael Kareela is still here in Israel he met with Israel Defense Ministry of Gallant with the chief of staff Hercie Alevi the Americans are very much involved in what Israel wants to do in case of such a strike how would they assist Israel in defending itself if we will see a major escalation of some sort so both symbolic and very real operational moves at the same time Yes and Guy we are expecting a gathering or rather the cabinet plural actually to be convening later on tonight the extended security cabinet and the war cabinet they are set to convene in some capacity later on tonight but so far we are not hearing from the Israeli government other than an update that Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz will postpone his expected visit tomorrow in Hungary and Austria because of the security situation so you are also monitoring the reactions from Jerusalem at this point in time Guy Yes it is a wait and see situation and those security assessments change all the time we have seen so many reports over the past 24 and 48 hours mainly from American news outlets about what could that Iranian strike how could it look like whether it is going to be involving hundreds of drones or hundreds of missiles launched from Iran or from any proxies in the region that could include Hezbollah proxies in Syria of course the Houthis in Yemen it should also be mentioned that all of these groups have been targeting Israel since the start of this war but yes we are expecting a much greater escalation if the Iranians indeed stand up to their threats and this is something that is indeed taken very seriously and it all comes as well as we are expecting the response of Hamas to the hostage release deal reports in Arabic media this evening that Hamas has indeed delivered its answer asking for many many changes to the offer proposed by the mediators last week and these are main sticking points that don't seem to be going to be resolved anytime soon Hamas wants to see many Gazans flocking to northern Gaza without any security check something that Israel would not allow because Israel does not want to see Hamas operatives returning to be a threat on Israel's border Hamas wants to see IDF troops withdrawing completely from the Gaza Strip Hamas literally wants to see an end to this war something that Israel the Israeli government would not allow and it comes I mean mounting pressure to release those hostages 133 Israeli hostages unfortunately quite a few of them we know and the Israeli government have mentioned are no longer alive and there's a great concern for those who are still there for their safety and their well-being and as we speak Guy the weekly demonstrations in Tel Aviv calling for hostage release deal are underway and in light of those new instructions of the home front command are likely to be dispersed very soon Yes the instructions going to effect at 11 o'clock tonight it will be very interesting of course to see how will these protesters deal with the police attempting to disperse them we know that whenever it came to issues of public order some factors of these protests did not want to cooperate with the police sometimes blocking roads etc this time the motive and motivation for the police is completely different not just allowing the highways to flow but a real threat to the lives of Israelis the gatherings that are allowed we mentioned is only for a maximum of a thousand people even in open areas and in central Israel so obviously a protest like this cannot continue it will be interesting to see how the police deals with this and how will the protesters do as well and we should mention these protests are actually divided into two we have a larger group of the hostage the families of the hostages who are making their call for an immediate deal with Hamas to release the loved ones and another faction that has met separately next to the IDF headquarters very nearby calling for elections right now for the prime minister to resign following what has happened here since October 7th and the way he is running the war so a lot of people out on the streets right now in Tel Aviv it will be quite an operation to disperse them by 11 o'clock yes indeed quite an operation and yet we already see that some of the protesters are making their way back home and guys stay with us it's 9 p.m. local time here in Israel and after longer days of preparation it seems that the pending Iranian attack is fast approaching the home front command here in Israel is updating its instructions no schools no universities no camps as of tomorrow at least until Monday evening as of 11 p.m. local time two hours from now no public gatherings of over 1,000 people meanwhile US President Joe Biden caught his vacation short heading straight back to the White House to discuss the situation in the Middle East this is of course as the looming attack has been discussed day in day out in the past two weeks or so guys real let's recap what we know at this point in time right so the instructions of the Israeli Home Front Command are very clear starting 11 p.m. tonight no educational activities are allowed anywhere in Israel we've seen such instructions when it comes to the Israel Northern Front and for the Gaza border communities throughout this war but this time this is across the country no educational activities and despite the holiday of Passover many school trips and other educational gatherings are all canceled starting 11 p.m. tonight also all general gatherings of over 1,000 people in one place all over the country is also not allowed this is something that we will see very soon in the protest in Tel Aviv where that will go into effect and guys real I-24 news diplomatic editor is closely following those developments the Israeli security cabinets plural also expected to convene later on tonight keeping close tabs on what is unfolding here in Jerusalem guys real thank you very much for this joining us now here in studio former Israeli deputy foreign minister former ambassador to the U.S. Mr. Danny I alone and Mr. Martin Hemmel international security expert thank you gentlemen very much for joining us well with a lack of a better phrasing ambassador alone it's coming well I would say it's a very peculiar situation where it would be aggressor would be attacker would announce that he's ready to attack because it really defeats the purpose of actually a real revenge retaliation or whatever you would call it it seems like the Iranians are more engaged in a psychological warfare trying to put Israelis in the bunkers trying to put the entire region on alert but now that they have done so much in rhetoric they would have to do something probably and if somebody thinks that the piracy today in the Straits of Hormuz was the the action that they were thinking of I don't think so and we may see still something that would be more than symbolic but still I don't think it would be very massive because they know that Israel's retaliatory action to their retaliation could be much more sounds like a choreography each side knows exactly what step to make so the entire dense will not exceed the agreed upon borders but if we're talking about the you know most basic objective of terrorism Mr. Himmel if we're looking at what's been happening here in Israel in the past 10 days or so an entire country preparing for the apocalypse well I think this preparation is expected I think there's a lot of overhype to it that's generated also because of media etc. I think cooler heads must prevail here there's no guarantee whatsoever there's going to be attacked tomorrow the next day in one sense Iran already has accomplished the purpose of its attack if it shuts down the country that's a score for what they want also so it might be an attack it might not and we'll have to wait and see I understand the need for precautions I understand the need for taking them but there's also a hysterical sort of fur that's going through this country that has to but listening to the IDF spokesperson did this hour those clear cut instructions until Monday evening no schools no public gatherings what's the alternative for the average Joe or average David in our I think that's prudent I'm not saying it isn't but if you look at what's been going on in the media here for the last week week and a half you think this is about 15 times a day and that itself wears people down and also lends to an hysterical sort of hysteria of a sort and I think the leadership here should maintain a very cool stand about everything of course prudence is important and taking action is important but as far as looking at the scorecard Iran itself has gotten a V already by shutting down Israel and we'll see what happens next yes and Danny we've heard US President Joe Biden using what is already a personal catchphrase if you will don't not in the context of just a general adversary but rather very much directed towards Iran in the context of this looming threat the steadfast support of the US even in light of the what seems to be profound disagreement is of paramount importance sure and well I think that the American very quick and thorough response may change the cat calculus of the Iranians because they are not just facing Israeli military and air defense but also American and also other allies of the United States in the region I would say that from the Americans point of view it was very important for them first of all to show to Israel and to the world that they really have our backs it's very important on two I would say for two reasons first of all if they want to restore stability in the region then Israel must be strong and stability was of course shaken to the core on the 7th of October now we have to reestablish the stability and the Americans always you know the core strategy of the Americans in the region is a strong Israel we will see the Americans continuing to support us militarily even though there are some strikes or discords when it comes to the war in Gaza and the vision of what would happen next in terms of political solution with the Palestinians but when it comes to military strategic defense Israel the United States are there is no daylight between them there is another reason for the Americans to show such great support for Israel and that is to really show up the alliances that they have in the world to show that they stand by their words and to show all their other allies from Taiwan to NATO countries Syria and Japan that America is a dependable and a very trustworthy ally this was kind of tarnished after the way they left Afghanistan and we may go all the way back to the Vietnam War but it's very important for the Americans right now first of all to dissuade the Iranians from enlarging the war here in the region and if they do start something to have Israel's back in terms of Israel responding and of course to show up support and trust in the American leadership throughout the world a gentleman we've been talking about the escalation on Israel's northern front with Hezbollah time and time again we've said that both sides are taking this policy it's attacking only thus far not an inch too much but we've always mentioned the potential error that one side might make and by that inflame the region altogether here even more so in this terrible reality we live in reasonable what type of an attack are we anticipating Mr. Hezbollah well I still think Iran's got much more to lose by widening the war significantly than to gain if it widens the war significantly then they're just weeks away from the capability of getting a nuclear bomb and they don't want to bring attention to that they don't want to bring attention they also need Hezbollah very much to shore up the Syrian regime and to be the power house in Lebanon and disable Hezbollah because of a widening war is not going to be in their interest so I think they will want to make a statement a military statement they'll want to make a point but I don't think they want to widen it to the point of a major major conflagration especially with the United States also coming in saying what it is that being said a military site is a possible objective it could be a military site it could be a significant terror attack it could be a striking of an Israeli representation abroad it could be anything along those lines but it won't want to push it all options are I don't see hundreds and hundreds of load flying aircraft and hundreds of missiles being fired because that will widen the conflict completely you know what I'm thinking of our viewers here at Israel and around the world at the moment listening to us they might think we're all completely out of our minds and yet I have nothing better to offer at this point in time because so much is unknown we're just sitting here waiting for something to happen or not right? well you can wait with a bit of stoicism and a bit of coolness or you can wait with unnecessary speculation you should be prepared and be patient and hopefully nothing will happen or something minor or not major will happen but this endless speculation just feeds hysteria we all need to be zen about it Ali I think we also should stress that Israel is probably the most prepared country in the world in terms of aerial attacks our missile defense system is second to none our air force is also probably second to none and yet and yet we sit here be that right Mr. Erlon we want to hop now to the ground to the center of Tel Aviv where the weekly rally calling for a hostage release deal is currently underway or rather nearing its end as we speak Pierre Colchandler is joining us live from there Hamas is officially giving its response to the proposal to reach a deal what should have been perhaps the main topic on our agenda today and yet pushed to the sidelines of the new cycle Pierre Colchandler due to the home front command instructions this rally is now being dispersed no not yet as you can see behind me there's a lot of people here the home front command instruction is that there won't be any gathering of 1,000 people starting from 11 p.m. local time which is in two hours from now so they will be dispersing at some point in the near future simply because they need to go home but at the moment the demonstration for the release of the hostage is in full steam and you can see just above us some representatives of the families of the hostages that are chanting and calling the names of the hostages with the people clamoring now now in other words reading the names of the 133 hostages and asking for their immediate release and this is probably the closing chapter of this demonstration as 133 names are being read right now by one of the representatives of the hostages families now I'm not sure that the participants in the demonstrations have understood that the answer of Hamas closes the door on one hand and leaves it open on the other in other words Hamas is saying that it demands the end of the war a full withdrawal from the Israeli army more humanitarian aid the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip as well as the return of all the displaced Palestinians from the south to the north of the Gaza Strip but at the same time which are sine qua non unacceptable conditions by the Israeli government but at the same time they say that they are inclined in going on negotiating for the release of the hostages in return for the release of the Syrian security prisoners now the tension with Iran obviously makes the demonstrations more difficult to sustain and it seems that they are going to disperse very soon after the names of the hostages are being read I-24 news correspondent Pierre Couchendler live from Tel Aviv again it seems that those rallies are nearing there and sooner rather than later and we will just update that Israeli Defense Minister Joav Galant is currently holding a security assessment with the IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Alevi and the other senior officials at the security establishment meanwhile Jacob Sullivan is updating that he's been speaking to his Israeli counterparts Alevi our reiterating the American steadfast support in Israel in its battle against Iran here in the region but for now we want to go back to yet another story we've been covering today the third front if you will the West Bank fear has been realized there Benjamin Achim Eir was murdered in a terror attack the IDF has found the body of the 14 year old who went missing on Friday according to the IDF and police Achim Eir set out in the early morning hours from a farm near the outpost of Malachi Shalom of Ramallah to go shepherding hours later the sheep returned without him the murder was believed to have been carried out by Palestinian terrorists according to an initial investigation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the heinous murder of Achim Eir is a serious crime and called on Israeli citizens to allow the security forces to do their work unhindered in fears of retaliation by Jewish settlers there a message that we've also been hearing from IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari earlier tonight and indeed several violent clashes between Jewish settlers and Palestinians in different locations across the West Bank the security forces have been reinforcing their presence their underground 14 year old Benjamin is the brother of one of our colleagues here on I-24 News and we share our deepest condolences with the bereaved family Mary McCullough with all the details on this terror attack and the investigation the body of 14 year old Benjamin Achim Eir has been found by Israeli security forces a day after the teen went missing while shepherding in the West Bank a search was initiated on Friday morning after the sheep Benjamin had taken out to pasture returned to the farm without the teen hours later the body of the Jerusalem youth later found by Israeli military police not far from the farm where he went missing believe to have been carried out by Palestinian terrorists following an initial investigation Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the incident a heinous murder and serious crime sending his condolences to the family since Achim Eir's disappearance Friday groups of Israeli settlers have launched a series of reprisal attacks on West Bank villages attacking residents and burning houses and property one Palestinian was killed in a after settlers swept through the village the main health ministry has reported at least eight injured one of those critically injured in the village of Douma my son was injured my nephew was injured most of the people here were injured they burnt the cars they tried to open the houses to burn them they could not so they damaged everything they could the water tanks not leaving anything unharmed they went on until the end of the village not leaving one house unharmed for a reason claiming that there is a settler that has gone missing Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant condemned the acts of revenge asking the public to quote let the security forces act quickly in their search for the terrorists telling them not to take the law into their own hands tensions have been steadily increasing in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Israel Gaza war in the period since the war began in October at least 358 Palestinians have been killed in the same period the teens murder and ensuing settler attacks a concerning development in the powder keg inching closer and closer to boiling out of control heading now live to Israel's northern border on higher than high alert rocket siren sounding in towns close to the Lebanese border throughout the day today those communities are largely evacuated of civilians since Hezbollah began attacks on October 8th Israel's air force attacking in response a series of Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon and yet suspense suspense there as well back here in a studio with Ambassador Dania Elon Mr. Martin Hemmel let's do get the latest from the ground from Israel's northern border Belir Shaldeen I-24 news correspondent joining us live from there Beliria the readiness on the northern front as well the entire country in the very the very same situation yes exactly we've heard what Higari has said the military spokesperson he said that up to thousand people are only allowed to actually gather anywhere in Israel as well as of course a ban on any activity as they like may it be activities or any educational activities of this mean this means of course that the Iranian threat is real and may be even imminent in the coming hours or in the coming days and this is very important that we also listen to what Gallant has said a while ago when he talked about the strengthening of the offensive and the strength the offensive and the defensive formation as well this is coming after many reports intelligence reports from the U.S. saying that movements has been detected in Iran of moving missiles maybe cruise missiles or ballistic missiles that can be fired at Israel and drones as well so just to note here that all of these missiles at some point has been fired at Israel of course but this time it could be a huge barrage of these missiles something that will be challenging so much for the air defense systems in Israel. I-24 news correspondent Balish Ladin from Israel's northern border with Lebanon thank you very much for this back here in studio with Ambassador Daniel on Mr. Martin Himmel let's do recap the renewed updated tonight this past hour no schools no educational activities no universities no school trips no camps nothing whatsoever as of tomorrow as of 11 p.m. local time just a bit over 90 minutes from now gatherings of over 1000 people will not be allowed meaning that those mass demonstrations we're now seeing in Tel Aviv for example are to be dispersed back here in the studio with you gentlemen as said we do not know what is coming if anything at all but we do know that we are that we are waiting we're on hold Ambassador Ayalon well sometimes the preparedness is I would say the best way to thwart any attack but here I would say that you can be over prepared you say well you can be over prepared I think Israel is very well prepared and rightly so but it will be a major departure of the strategy of Iran if they attack directly so far they have been hiding behind their proxies whether it's the Houthis whether it's the Lebanese the Hezbollah and Hamas of course Islamic Jihad so that would be I would say hurting their long-term strategy their long-term vision for the region because if they put themselves in the front they are risking massive retaliatory response which could really I would say undermine the very authority and the very regime that they are trying to to keep there and to sustain there they have done such an attack about three or four years ago on the Aramco on the energy installations of Saudi Arabia and that was a very successful attack and they showed some capabilities of actually merging drones and cruise missiles together the Saudis did not stop it they could not defend themselves 50% of their energy industry was defunct for a long time and there was no retaliation in the face of Israel the Iranians I think very well know that we are not Saudi Arabia and we are not the United Emirates or anyone else there could be a massive Israel cannot allow itself to be weak exactly and if they miscalculate here and the damage would be let's say above a certain level that Israel can sustain that could be a massive retaliatory response by Israel and the United States and this is where I do not believe the Iranians have shown themselves to be very calculating very much so because their main goal is to preserve their regime as a regional superpower nothing short of that and Mr. Himmel this is perhaps an eccentric reality check we have been talking not just inside baseball but focusing perhaps naturally on the movements of the different approaches bottom line there are two axes here and tonight it is clear I think that what is clear is that Israel shouldn't be too terrified it's a very very strong country Iran's got a healthy respect for Israel and I don't think Iran's going to threaten all its interests just to make a point alright we shall wait and see we are at a certain on hold Mr. Martin Himmel Ambassador Dania Elon let's just recap this hour's news an American source is saying this hour to El Jazeera high likelihood that Iran will be launching an attack against Israel in the early hours of Sunday morning in a few hours from now Iran is expected according to this American source to attack from its own territory Israeli targets with the help of its proxy