 It's from Israel. We begin with new developments in Gaza, with the Israel Hamas war now in its fourth month. As military operations dramatically wind down in the north Gaza Strip, they may be heating up in the new way in South Gaza. The Wall Street Journal reports that Israel is in the final stages of a planned military assault to take control of the southern border between Gaza and Egypt. Reportedly, this operation has not yet gotten the all-clear from Israeli leaders, and the timing will depend on many factors, including the level of cooperation from Egypt. The southern border is the so-called Philadelphia Corridor that is nearly nine miles long, and it's believed to be a primary source of smuggling for Hamas terrorists. The decision to launch a major ground operation to take control of the Gaza-Egypt border may also depend on the state of negotiations with Hamas to free more hostages. Well over 100,000 Israelis attended a rally in Tel Aviv last night to mark 100 days since hostages were first kidnapped and the rallies and demonstrations still going on today. Both freed hostages and the families of loved ones of current captives are giving passionate speeches saying that the government has failed them and that Prime Minister Netanyahu must do everything in his power to free hostages. 100 days in Hamas captivity being marked with events across the country and around the world, but the main event here in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square with a 24-hour rally that began last night at 8 p.m., showcasing released hostages, families of hostages and victims of that horrific October 7th. As well as social leaders, singers as you can hear being sung right now live performance to the attendees here now all the while all sharing the same call to bring back the hostages home and to bring them back now. We've also seen video messages being sent in for instance from Gal Gadot and Hollywood or U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer all reiterating that call 100 days since the captivity began, 136 Israelis remain in captivity. Now throughout the event we've heard some released hostages and relatives of Israelis who remain in Hamas captivity speaking to the crowds here, reiterating the call to do everything in the power of leaders of Israel to bring them back as fast as possible. Let's take a listen. Tonight is 100 days already that my brother is hostage in Gaza and we came here because it's 100 days. It's very difficult for the family, for the children and for everybody and we hope to bring him back. We are calling the UNRWA, we are calling the UNICEF, we are calling our government to do much more. It's not 100 days, it's a lot of time for young people, old people, ill people to be there in jail under the ground. It's not normal and we are calling everybody who can do something to bring them back. It has been 45 days since I was released from Hamas captivity in Gaza. As far as I am concerned, as long as Ohad is not at home, I am still a hostage. His time and that of 135 other hostages is running out, Ohad is injured, and each day he does not receive treatment, his condition deteriorates. And if Hamas fails to kill me, then I appeal to all the decision makers of the state of Israel and the war cabinet, please don't kill me, because every day that passes without Sasha kills me. I am ready to return to captivity, just get my son out. Now a special moment was marked this morning at 6.30 am, the exact same moment that October 7th attacks began with the same DJ at the Nova Music Festival, one of the most horrific sites of the massacre on October 7th, playing the exact same playlist, the exact same song was playing at 6.30 am, as it was on that day, and the peak of today's event. In a nationwide strike, 100 minutes, state institutions, schools, companies, all taking part in a call to bring back the hostages home and to bring them now. For I-24 News, I'm Ariel Oceran, Hostage Square, Tel Aviv. Our Middle East correspondent, Ariel Oceran reporting from Tel Aviv, I'll note here as much as the war in Gaza goes on, casualties nearly every day in Gaza. There was a new attack reportedly from Hezbollah in the north just moments ago, according to Israeli reporting that there was an anti-tank missile that was fired from Hezbollah in Lebanon onto the northern settlement area, the northern town of Uval. There is a direct hit on the house, these, I believe, are live images showing some of the smoke, not live, but showing the aftermath of the attack. There are reports of two injured, one seriously injured, one moderately injured in that home, yet another Hezbollah attack on Israeli towns, also nearly every day now from Hezbollah. This is yet another report with injuries, when we learn more about this, we will keep you posted. Again, the attacks coming from both the south and the north nearly every day here as the war goes on. Back here in studio, I'm joined by Yaakov Lapin, the military and strategic affairs analyst with the Jewish News Syndicate, and I, 24 News, senior editor, guy, Israel. I want to start with you, Yaakov, about this Philadelphia quarter, which may be the lynchpin, the whole lynchpin of ultimately winning the war on Hamas, achieving the war goals of destroying their ability to rule Gaza, degrading their military capabilities. Many have said you cannot do that without controlling the smuggling tunnels on the border crossing with Egypt. How risky though, would any military operation be at the Philadelphia crossing, and how much of it depends on some kind of cooperation with Egypt? Egypt has to know about this operation before it happens. It has to know how to deploy its forces so that they're out of harm's way. There has to be a certain level of quiet coordination for this to pass off in a smooth manner as far as Egypt and Israel are concerned. Having said all of that, it's absolutely critical for Israel to take control of the Philadelphia Corridor in order to prevent future arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip. There are two ways that Hamas has been building up its terrorist army. One is by using dual good materials to produce and create massive factories in the whole Gaza and domestic arms industry, some of it underground, some of it overground. One huge factory was uncovered in Baraj in central Gaza last week. And then they transfer all these weapons under the ground through their tunnel system throughout the entire Gaza Strip. It's incredible and no asymmetric terror army has built anything like it. And the second way is through the Philadelphia Corridor. Smuggling still continues even though it became much less important after C.C. rose to power in Egypt as president and blocked off as many tunnels as he could linking Sinai and the Gaza Strip. He certainly has an interest in Israel, even if you won't say so publicly, in making sure that that border is sealed because the arms and the terrorists go in both directions to Sinai and to Gaza. But if Israel says and the war cabinet ministers continue to say that it does not want permanent control inside Gaza, that there is going to be a day after at some point handover. How can you ensure Gaza is demilitarized unless you have an Israeli military presence along this corridor permanently, once again, to ensure that those tunnels into Egypt are not rebuilt? So there is the overland and there is the underground question. First of all, underground, I think there is going to have to be some sort of barrier built. The one thing that did work on October 7th is this underground barrier. No Hamas terrorists crossed into Israel through any cross-border underground tunnels because the barrier cut them off effectively. And some kind of version of that I think is going to eventually have to be built to make sure that there are no tunnels remaining, linking Sinai and Gaza. Overground, I think if the IDF maintains a presence there, that's not the same as permanently being stationed across the Gaza Strip. This is controlling border area much like the Jordan Valley has to remain under IDF control in order to prevent the West Bank from being even more flooded with arms than it already is. This is a critical border section. How it's done is open to interpretation. There could be different degrees of a presence, but there's going to have to be a degree of Israeli control, including sensors, various electronic sensors along that very, very important border line. Guy, as there's no official confirmation or denial from Israeli officials on the Wall Street Journal report, but even the paper notes that there is much discussion still about the timing of any military assault. What kinds of factors do you believe that the government must consider when weighing the benefits and the drawbacks of a military assault on an area like the Philadelphia Crosset? First of all, this Philadelphia Corridor has been the Achilles' Hill of Israel in Gaza for so many years. Back in 2005, then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has decided with the suggestion of some of his aides to remove the Israeli control over the Philadelphia Corridor, saying that that could pose too much of a threat to Israeli soldiers. But as we see so many years later, that threat has grown indeed with hundreds of those tunnels under that Philadelphia Corridor that has turned Gaza into what it is now, has allowed Hamas to arm itself to this degree. And obviously, the advantages will be great, will be both in terms of blocking that safe passage of those ammunitions and the ability of Hamas terrorists to flee that area into Sinai also prevent the possibility of smuggling some of the Israeli hostages out of Gaza. That is something of a major concern for Israel as well. On the Egyptian side, of course, they claim that this would pose a violation of the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt of 1979 that limits the number of troops, Israelis and Egyptians that are in that area in the Sinai Peninsula. I can also remind our viewers and the Egyptians that when Egypt needed more troops in Sinai to confront ISIS, Israel has enabled that. And so Egypt needs to understand very clearly that Israel needs to complete this task. And we heard Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday addressing this very issue of the Philadelphia Corridor. Let's take a listen. The Philadelphia Corridor is one option for what I call the Southern closing point or the Southern blockage point. It's clear to you that we do not conclude this war without having sealed off this breach point, because otherwise we will have eliminated Hamas, ensured the basic demilitarization of Gaza and then later again, more weaponry, more war material, more lethal equipment through the Southern breach point. So clearly it must be closed. There are a number of options as to how to close it. We are checking them, but we have yet to make a decision, except for one thing, it has to be closed. The timing of a military assault to take control of the Philadelphia Corridor may be tied innately to the status or progress of a hostage deal with Hamas. On that end, let's take a moment to tune in live now to the ongoing 24-hour demonstration in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square, where passionate speeches being made from loved ones of hostages. Our senior editor, Guy Israel, will translate now. We're going to listen and translate for a few minutes so you can hear the words from loved ones. How difficult it is to belong to a group. You've embarked on a different path from your parents and from your neighbors. And despite the differences, you always knew to respect and value and always remember that you do not pose all the truth on your side, loving everyone and respecting everyone. The ability to understand that you don't have all the wisdom on your side, I needed someone to tell me to do this, that if I speak today, I speak to you, my brother. The events prior to October 7th, I don't need to tell you about the fact that we were in a difficult position, divided as a nation with such hate between brothers and even violence. I do not need to tell you that. I do not need to tell you the reality of the war about the spirit of the people and the state, a war between brothers. This I do not need to tell you. You feel it yourself. It hurts whenever you saw this on the news and you, with your sensitivity, you are the first. You grew up in Shiloh and you moved to Tel Aviv. You know the complexity of both worlds. You know the people and the faces of both worlds. And therefore to you, for you, it was so difficult to see what has happened here prior to October 7th and what could have continued on October 7th and the Jewish holiday of Jerusalem. Reading from the book of Genesis. From there on, you do not know what has happened on our side. The dimensions of the disaster, the massacre, the rape. If you hear us, I do not know how to tell you. Over 1200 were murdered. Bar was killed, was murdered, not from a rocket, but from a short-range shooting. Over 1200 wounded. This is what happened here in this war. Prior to October 7th, we were suffering great pain with great darkness in this country. On the verge of a fight between brothers. After October 7th, a massacre that cannot be described in words, and if you ask where we are now, secularists are fighting next to religious, left-wings and right-wings, atheists are assisting religious people, people from all walks of life, we invest our efforts in fighting together, in volunteering together. What we didn't see in this country for so many years, this is where we are right now. We are at war, but a war of brothers against enemy, all with one goal, of winning. Do you think that we will return, the hostages will win? When we'll destroy all of Hamas, when we remove the threat, will then we win? I don't know. Is the war here against Hamas or against the challenges that we pose to each other? Is it against Hamas or against each other? I know what your answer is. I know what my answer is. This is an opportunity for a new beginning. All my team is fighting in Gaza. I lost three friends on October 7th, one of them for my team, and others that I know from the battles. A friend from high school, and one from the community where I grew up, and you, you are a hostage in Gaza for 100 days. I miss you, my brother. I know how he wants this country to be like when he comes back, to have a better reality than the one that was here before he was abducted. Some people use this opportunity to send messages to the political echelon, but I prefer to send a message to you who hear me. We are at a difficult war against Hamas, and at a difficult war against ourselves. We were on the verge of destruction, and we may go back there, respect the other, speak to those who do not think like you, speak only with love and peace to each other, bring light for those who lost their lives and for the wounded, and for the hostages and for Avina Tan. He will be so glad when he comes back. This is an opportunity for a new beginning. And there, and God said, let there be light. I wish it will happen now. Our own guy, Israel, here in studio, translating the speech there from a brother, desperate to see his brother who has been held in captivity now for 100 days. I want to ask about the hostage story here. So there's recent polling, there's recent Israeli polling with showing a growing divide among the public about how to proceed now with the war which is in its fourth month to get the hostages home. The IDF chief of staff yesterday confirming his belief military pressure is the only way to go. Military pressure led to the first hostage deal. It will lead again to a second hostage deal when Hamas leadership feels the news tightened. Not everyone agrees with that assessment, but there's so many questions now, of course, about Rafiq, the southern Gaza, not only just the border crossing, but where Hamas is last stronghold. Can the IDF win this war without a major operation in the Rafiq area? Is that needed or it's not a necessary risk? Eventually it will be needed because the goal of this war is to dismantle Hamas's military capability and its leadership, and if that doesn't happen then the war will not achieve its ultimate goal. And that leadership is now focused in the Qanunis slash Rafiq area underground. And that is where for weeks now we have had special forces from the IDF, the Shin Ped intelligence, the Halom special engineering unit. They are operating underground in Qanunis. They probably have a pretty good map of what's going on down there now, and it's a huge network of tunnels. And this is in many ways the final showdown. And the hostages here are tragically and in the most heartbreaking manner, they are seen by Hamas as their insurance policy. Hamas's goal is to survive this war in terms of its leadership. Probably more than half of its fighting forces already off the battlefield, killed or seriously injured. They've lost all organized control of northern Gaza. They're losing what's left of their control of central Gaza. Southern Gaza is the last stronghold. And the only reason the IDF cannot right now move in and finish the job is because the hostages. And they are seen as the insurance policy. So it's in Hamas leadership's interest to drag this out. They don't have a great motivation now to go for a deal. However, if they see that the news, as you say, tightens, the knife is on the neck, whatever analogy we want to use, they may reconsider because then they'll say, okay, we'll at least take a week, two weeks, and then we'll figure it out from there. And that's where the IDF is trying to get them into that position. Your thoughts, Guy, here? Yes, we need to also remember there are one million Palestinians displaced from the northern part of the Gaza Strip into the Rafah area around that area of the Philadelphia quarter, making that task of the IDF even more complicated. And it also goes to the point of disagreements of some sort with the Americans, with Secretary of State Anthony Blinken about the next stages of this war. I think for anyone... One thing the IDF has pointed to as a humanitarian example is their careful mapping of zones, corridors where their warning civilians get out of this area on the map. It's going to be an active combat zone, too. Increasingly now there's no more areas left to mark up. Everyone, as you mentioned, really now in the Rafiq kind of border crossing area, that's where they are. We've seen many weeks ago the IDF with those very specific maps detailing residents where to flee to. At the end of the day the IDF will have to work out a system in which those residents are able to leave that area so that the IDF can operate there. And it goes without saying that next to... In addition to one million civilians who are in that area, we can expect thousands of Hamas terrorists who are hiding in between them, making that task even more complicated. When Israel allowed that humanitarian corridor from the northern part of the Gaza Strip to the south, it did not examine each and every one of those who crossed. And if it wishes to make sure that this is a safe zone, it will have to, I think, be a lot more strict about who is able to flee that area so that whoever does stay there is a fair target because it will tell all civilians to leave that area. That will be the next fighting zone. If you care for your life, evacuate. This will have to be one of the next stages so that Israel would not hurt these civilians. Another point that Israel, of course, considers is the fact that intense fighting on that Philadelphia corridor could also result in some damage on the Egyptian side. And this is why Yakov mentioned it is so important to coordinate these moves with the Egyptians. Obviously, Israel does not want to see any Egyptian soldiers hurt in any such strike. According to that report in the Wall Street Journal, the Egyptians have rejected out of hand the idea of joint patrolling on the Egyptian side. But it does not mean there won't be some kind of negotiation or diplomatic coordination. But it's a delicate matter to say the least. Guy, Yakov, thanks for that analysis. We're going out for a short break again. Attacks reportedly in the north already a short time ago, a Hezbollah anti-tank missile striking a direct hit. Making a direct hit on their house in Uval, a northern border community. Reports of two injured in that attack. And again, the war in Gaza continues now. Amid this massive protest in Tel Aviv over 100,000 Israelis estimated taking part in some manner in today's day of action and demonstrations. We're going out for a short break. More live images here from the protests in Tel Aviv. More speeches, more analysis, more live reporting. Stay with us. We'll be right back. It's been 100 days since the trauma that rocked Israel. More than 1,200 dead, more than 5,000 wounded, over 160,000 displaced. Join I-24 News for our special coverage on January 14, marking 100 days since the massacre of October 7. Follow us on the border with Gaza for firsthand accounts of eye witnesses, survivors and fighters. 100 days of war, January 14, 9 p.m. local, only on I-24 News. 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. Thanks for staying with us on I-24 News. Thousands, tens of thousands of Israelis gathering in Tel Aviv as part of today's ongoing 24-hour rally in support of the hostages in Gaza. Over 130 Israelis still being held hostage by Hamas terrorists. These are live images here from the rally. The speakers take the podium. Family members of hostages giving passionate speeches today. They are warning that time is running out to save their loved ones. And they're railing against the government, saying that Israeli lawmakers are more concerned about their own political survival than the survival of the captives. Many demonstrators have said over the last day that the government must do anything and everything to get the hostages home. Whatever it takes, ending the war, freeing Palestinian prisoners. The top IDF generals insist the only way to bring more hostages home is continued military pressure to tighten the news around Hamas leadership. Former hostages who were released though during that ceasefire in November are rejecting that argument. With me now is Professor Harai Levine, the head of the medical team for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Professor, thank you so much for being with me. I want to ask if you know anything more about the status of the medicine. It does seem a bit unclear. The medicine is supposed to go to the hostages. Who physically has the medicine now? And how do we know when it will actually end up in the Israeli hostages' hands who need it? Shalom Jeff, as we said, again and again, the hostages, all of them are in life-threatening condition and obviously when it's the 100th day. We don't know what is their current condition. It means that the medication that will get to them, it's not something technical, okay, you just send the medications. They need physician visit by the Red Cross to be examined to see what are the current health medical needs and then get treated for what they need now. So no one can know exactly what to send them without knowing the current condition. So we expect the basic right of any human being that was captivated to get a visit from the Red Cross. I really hope that that's what we will hear this week. That the Hamas finally allowed the Red Cross to visit them, to give them the proper care and not only to be a delivery that sends them the medications because if it will be only medication, it will be too little, too late. Professor, you mentioned life-saving medicine. We have heard from so many hostages who were freed who have seen the hostages who are still in Gaza who spent time with them and talk, unfortunately, about the state of physical abuse and sexual abuse. Separate from the life-saving medicine, is there other medicines that need to be delivered to address physical wounds that may not be life-threatening but still serious wounds of a sexual nature medicine that may treat of a sexual nature? Is that kind of medicine also going to be delivered? It's a very good question, Jeff, and I want to add to your question about their mental torture. Yes, they need anti-anxiety, anti-depression and care, you know, imagined for a woman that was raped. She needs treatment. I hope that there are no pregnant women from rape and they will need treatment now. They need to be treated in Israeli hospitals. For all the needs, we see that even for hostages that were released, the recovery is very, very difficult. Those who were injured require multiple surgeries and long-term antibiotic treatment. Some of them are in life-threatening condition, despite the treatment, the good treatment, in Israeli hospitals. So, yes, the best care for them is to bring them back home now for the very least they should be visited. Is that your concern? Do you have concern that these hostages who are being raped, they have maybe been impregnated by their rapists, by their captors? Is that a concern and that something that also needs to be addressed medically and psychologically? Yes, I don't know. It's a viral bill. Some were getting this kind of torture and others got other kinds of torture. So, I don't know about all of them, but the risk for testimonials is very serious for sexual violence, for rape, for pregnancy and for other things. Again, it's not only that. You know, for Hirsch Goldberg, who got severely wounded in his hand. Clearly, even one of the days later, if he survived, he needs, you know, medications for against infection, he needs physiotherapy and treatment for his handicap and, you know, for someone with hypertension. Now, his current situation is different than it was 100 days ago. So, obviously, they need to be cared by a professional team of physicians and nurses and not only to get the medication. We hope that that's what will happen this week, that they will be visited by the ICRC, get proper care to their needs and this will be only a step towards the release and getting treated in Israeli hospital. That's what we hope so. And I hope that whatever will happen this week will only be the catalysator to the treatment that they need because their health needs are multiple. They suffer from starvation. They suffer from dehydration. They suffer from a lack of exposure to sunlight and they have many complications which we know for clear from testimonials. From six weeks ago, now their situation obviously has deteriorated even further. Professor, you mentioned this week. Is there something specific that you expect or were told that may happen this week that with the Red Cross representatives, are they supposed to be allowed to see the hostages? Is there a plan, perhaps led by Qatar, that you know of to let that happen? Or is it just something that you hope happens sooner rather than later, even today or tomorrow? Or is there something specific you know of? First of all, we always have hope. Second of all, it was published in the media. Yes, I must say although I want to be very cautious and I think that we shouldn't speak too much before it happens. But yes, we got the positive signals from the ICRC and from other roads that something is going to happen this week and we have fingers crossed that they will get the care that they need. And this will be the first step towards the release. You know, it's very different. We have been, you know, now in this 24-hour rally here, very emotional, very difficult after 100 days and we must get some light at the end of the tunnel. You know, behind me this is the demonstration that we had about the tunnel. We really, the families, the hostages really deserve to get some good news. So we really hope and we have some indication for that that we will have some good news this week. Professor, we're looking live at the images from the rally behind you. We have the speakers and the music playing. I want to ask, in your mind, is it acceptable if the Red Cross confirms this week, as you hope, you know, the proof of life from these hostages is able to visit them? Is that enough? Do they also need to physically guarantee the transfer of the medicine? I'm sorry, I'm not sure I got your question but I'm saying at the moment it's uncertain. We don't know exactly what will happen. Maybe it will be different for different groups of hostages. Their basic right, I want to tell you what should happen. The basic right of any prisoner of war and those are not prisoners of war. Those are innocent hostages is to get a visit from the Red Cross to get full medical treatment, not only medication. You know, they need to get their glasses. They need to get their hearing aid. I really hope that they will get the very least, the minimal things that they deserve in order to save their lives. Because again, after 100 days, it's life-wisking. Someone who did not see for 100 days, you know, can lose his desire for life. We know that some of the hostages turned into a state of apathy. So they really need sunlight. They really need a full visit by professionals to get the care they need. I don't know what will happen. I hope for the best. I expect for, you know, I'm also prepared for the worst. Professor, thank you so much for being with us as we continue to monitor and watch the power of these images from the speeches behind you and the demonstrations as they go on. Thank you for spending a few minutes with us on I-20 for News. Thank you, Jeff. And the U.S. Navy is continuing to warn American flag vessels to steer clear of areas around Yemen in the Red Sea after additional airstrikes on Houthi militia targets. The American military is warning commercial vessels to stay away from the Red Sea for at least the next day and a half. On Saturday, the U.S. launched its second round of attacks on Houthi targets, destroying a Houthi radar site with Tomahawk missiles. President Joe Biden is warning that the Iranian-backed militia could face even further strikes. The first day of strikes on Friday hit more than two dozen locations, destroyed over 60 targets. President Biden also says he sent a private message directly to Tehran about the strikes on the Houthi targets. The Houthis this month alone have sent dozens of one-way bomb drones, ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles. Tankers and vessels in the Red Sea and commanders of the Houthi militia continue to vow further retaliation with us now as Elan Zayelat, a research associate for the Institute for National Security Studies. Elan, thank you so much for being with me. I want to ask about the damage done by these multi-day strikes from the United States according to reports. The strikes were successful. They destroyed nearly all the targets, but the targets themselves did not degrade the Houthi's ability to keep firing missiles, keep firing drones that the Houthis still have an extensive arsenal. How concerned are you? How realistic is the threat of further Houthi aggression? Well, as you rightly said, the strikes were precise, were very limited and mainly sent a message of deterrence. That's what we can do. We have intelligence about you. We can strike you if you continue to block the Babelmandem Strait to attack a civil vessel that was to the Red Sea. Houthis, as they announced before the attack, they said they will continue. They will move the underterg by the U.S. warning and by the U.S. strikes. This has put the U.S. on a bind because, on the one hand, the Biden administration went to prevent from global prices, especially energy prices, to jump. On the other hand, it don't want further intervention in Yemen that will drive an original escalation. On the threat of escalation, President Biden confirming that the U.S. sent a back-channel message directed to Iran, a private message, he won't get to details about it, but what do you think that message might have been? I mean, would it be, I mean, certainly not something as basic as don't retaliate, but is he setting the parameters for an acceptable retaliation? Is he setting a warning? Is he sending something even more diplomatic? What kind of tone would a presidential message to Tehran be at this point? Yes, Biden clearly signaled that it's not going to want a photo escalation with Iran, an all-out, original war with Iran. So this move seems like a tougher way of diplomacy. Those strikes, the U.S. announced it before. They've publicly announced hours before that it will strike in Yemen. And then the back-channel to Iran to clarify what they mean and to keep the same rule of engagement. The U.S. understand that it cannot let the Houthis get away of this, of those attacks because it's going to give them the message that they can block whatever they wish they will see. But on the other hand, as I say, the U.S. is a foreigner from getting too aggressive to not bring Iran to escalate in Iraq, in Lebanon, in other arena. Elon is the Houthi militia. Are they proving their worth to Tehran? Do you think the Islamic Republic will invest more now in the Houthis when they want to arm them more in the weeks and months to come? Or are they becoming a more valuable asset for Iran? Yes, the Houthis are absolutely providing themselves valuable assets for Iran. And even more than this, the Houthis have kind of protected assets. I like Hezbollah. I like Lishan. I work in Syria. Each attack, a launch is retaliated by the U.S. or Israel. Here, the Houthis can attack for months and keep themselves safe for a long time because of the sensitivity of Yemen, of the hard humanitarian situation in Yemen and the attempt to break peace deal in Yemen, in between Yemen and Saudi Arabia. And Iran understand it. And understand it can use Yemen to further deter the U.S. from intervening in the region. And also to ground on support of the Arab and the Muslim world. It's support of Palestinians to the Houthis, unlike other countries in the region that stay in the side. Elon, thank you so much for your analysis. Great to have you and I-24 News. Thanks for having me. The families of kidnapped hostages have built a mock terror tunnel in the heart of Tel Aviv, seeking to raise awareness as they mark 100 days of captivity for their loved ones. The tunnel in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square, where we've been showing you these live images all day, it resembles the cramped dark and dire conditions that the hostages have lived in for months now. Here's a look. This tunnel will put us on the front page of the New York Times, again, and other newspapers in Israel as well. The question is whether it will make it to government headquarters. They are part of the public. They supply public pressure. There's no other way. We must keep them on people's minds. A nonstop reminder that these people are alive and that we must get them out. Every passing minute, this claustrophobia is a reminder. We know from testimonies of released hostages every minute there can mean life or death. We will keep making them the topic. It may bother some people, we will keep on anywhere. And when you're told to quiet down, don't raise your voice higher. They say don't raise your voice. Don't give interviews. Let them say. This is the first of five interviews you're giving today. Correct. They said keep quiet. We're on it. They did, yes. They said our outcry will raise the price of their release, they said. They said a lot of things. It doesn't really matter. First because I don't think anyone in Hamas is unaware of the price that people put on human lives. Second, we've seen this before with Ron Arad. His family was also told to keep quiet. Hadar Golden's family as well. They were told we are doing everything. Stay out of the way. On Friday evening, the construction of the tunnel exhibition was finished. The war is now routine. 100 days in, people have gotten used to it. As during Gilad Shalit's five years and four months in captivity, life went on. The fight is about saying, this isn't Gilad Shalit. These 136 people don't have five years, perhaps not even five days. There are very difficult emotions, the feeling of a poker game with hostages for chips, that the state is after a better deal unwilling to compromise, unwilling to think outside the box. We see it as if they have one guiding principle that they will not abandon pushing the price down. Weeks and weeks and weeks go by, eventually they will get their better price and claim a job well done. But we will be bringing back 136 coffins, not living people. We don't have time. You're afraid he won't survive? Very. I'm very afraid he won't survive. Dekal Lifshitz's grandfather, 83-year-old or dead Lifshitz, is still captive in Gaza from his home in Yeroz. The most recent piece of information we got about him was that he survived October 7th and that a released hostage had shared a room with him. He has severe blood pressure issues and often faints. On one occasion when he fainted he was taken out of the room. That's the last we heard of him. I don't believe our government cares about reaching the biggest possible victory at the lowest possible price they get. It's an admirable aspiration but in complete disregard of our lack of time. If not for political factors and a thirst for revenge, a comprehensive hostage deal for everyone's return could have been reached two months ago before the ground operation. Sometimes the threat is stronger than the execution. It's a chance, but our gut trumped our sense as a crisis management and negotiations expert who quit the current efforts when he saw where they were headed. As time ticked by it became clearer to me that improper considerations were involved in these attempts. I thought the mandate given to a team in such a case is to bring back hostages but I didn't see anything of the sort. We're acting out of panic, out of rage, and the reaction in the negotiation does not help. Right now, my future, my son's future is in the hands of a select few. Twenty-two years, we made sure not a hair of his head was harmed. On October 7th at the festival, he was forsaken. I'm begging for the soul of my child and the soul of our family the spark in our eyes, all of us here at the square, underground so to speak, will not spark again. Truth and hope will not return if they do not return. That is what I scream for. Omer Winker, kidnapped from the Nova Festival suffers from colitis. He can't wait another minute for a better deal. He is not a bargaining chip. He is a young man, 22 years old and his country failed to protect him and it has an obligation to bring him back alive. Omer suffers from colitis, a disease that affects the inner lining of the colon. It causes severe inflammation and eventually spasms, excruciating pains, nonstop diarrhea, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, hemoglobin deficiency, weakness, saline deficiency, a truly life-threatening state. Omer suffers from colitis, a disease that affects the inner lining of the colon and needing a stoma for the rest of his life. In a worse, untreated case it can lead to, I don't want to say it. Death. Romy Gonen, 23 years old was kidnapped from the Nova Festival. Three months she has suffered with a gunshot wound in her hand, untreated. We know she is alive. We know her hand is not well. The hands that was shot, that she can't move it. She bandages it herself every few days when supplies arrive. I don't know her real condition, not to mention the fact that she, a young woman, is in the hands of men. We saw what was done on October 7. Time is critical for them to return alive. All their lives are in danger. We do know makes us extremely worried. 100 days of physical, mental and sometimes sexual abuse. No treatment of medical needs and many of them have grave medical needs. Untreated injuries in a low oxygen environment, no clean air, terrible nutrition, contaminated water, no light. It's truly an unfathomable, unacceptable, life-threatening reality. It's a grave. Slowly your senses become impaired. Humanization. You fall into ever-deepening depression. There is no day after. If they do not return, there isn't. What shape will that day have? What kind of life will that day have? What kind of life will that day have? What kind of country would this be? Without their return, there will not be a country. I will not let them forsake the hostages, leave them there, and myself return to raise my kids. We have two more kids at home. What example would I be setting for them? Two days ago, this video came out of a tunnel in Gaza with prison cages at the end of it. 136 Israeli citizens have spent 100 days in underground cages, not even high enough to stand in. Their fate, their lives will be decided by politicians. How many released terrorists is one more hour of sexual abuse of a 20-year-old woman worth to you? Such a calculation includes political factors. It would be naive to think otherwise. Destroying Hamas is something we had 20 years to do. They do not have 20 years to spend waiting. We have no choice. We cannot accept the reasoning that since the price is heavy, then we simply won't pay it. The price is heavy, and we must pay it, because we brought this upon ourselves. It's us in there. Hamas eventually executed this disaster, but we're the ones who built it up for 20 or 30 years. We are fully complicit in what happened. Every government, every person part of the conceptual failure of the last two or three decades bears a heavy responsibility in this. And now, for us to make the smallest step towards recovery, I won't even call it victory. We need to bring them home. A northern border from Hezbollah hitting a house in the northern town of Yuval, a northern border community. There are two injured in this attack. One critically hurt and one moderately hurt. The critically wounded civilian, both civilians, the critically wounded civilian is a woman in her 70s who is being rushed to the hospital to receive life saving treatment. Hezbollah taking credit for this attack, and the demonstration from the IDF likely to follow in the minutes and hours to come. We'll stay on top of it. And we'll also stand on top of the ongoing demonstrations in Tel Aviv as the war goes on in Gaza. This is the 100th day of captivity for over 130 hostages. Israeli hostages are still being held by Hamas. The protests and demonstrations for action to bring them home goes on. We'll be back with more updates here on the channel after a short break. Thank you very much. It's been 100 days since the trauma that rocked Israel. More than 1200 dead. More than 5,000 wounded. Over 160,000 displaced. Join I-24 News for our special coverage on January 14th. Marking 100 days since the massacre of October 7th. Follow us on Twitter to find out what happened and what happened. We'll see you in the next video. This is the massacre of October 7th. Follow us on the border with Gaza for first-hand accounts of eye witnesses, survivors and fighters. 100 days of war, January 14th. 9 p.m. local. Only on I-24 News. If the plastic particles breaks up, it does not stop at the micron size. It can actually go even smaller. So once the size goes below one micron, people call it nano-plastics and it sizes in nano-range. These tusks belong to elephants. They shoot their most beautiful on the elephants and we should leave them on the elephants. Every tusk you see today represents an animal that has been killed. Thanks for watching I-24 News at this hour for the latest live updates from Israel. We'll begin with new developments in Gaza with the Israel Hamas war in its fourth month. As military operations dramatically wind down in the North Gaza Strip, they may be heating up in a new way in South Gaza. The Wall Street Journal reports that Israel is in the final stages of a planned military assault to take control of the southern border between Gaza and Egypt. Reportedly, this operation has not yet gotten the all clear from Israeli leaders. The timing will depend on many factors including the level of understanding reached with Egypt and any progress on a second hostage deal. On the issue of hostages, tens of thousands of Israelis right now gather in Tel Aviv as part of an ongoing 24-hour rally in support of the hostages in Gaza. Family members of hostages have been giving passionate speeches warning that the time is running out to save their loved ones and they are railing against the government saying that lawmakers are more concerned about their own political future than the future of the captives. It's not 100 days. It's a lot of time for young people, old people, ill people to be there in jail under the ground. It's not normal and we are calling everybody who can do something to bring them back. It has been 45 days since I was released from Hamas captivity in Gaza. As far as I am concerned, as long as Ohad is not at home, I am still a hostage. His time and that of 135 other hostages is running out. Ohad is injured and each day he does not receive treatment. His condition deteriorates. And if Hamas failed to kill me, then I appeal to all the decision makers of the State of Israel and the War Cabinet please don't kill me because every day that passes without Sasha kills me. I am ready to return to captivity. Just get my son out. The southern border is the so-called Philadelphia corridor. It's nearly nine miles long and it's a primary source of smuggling. I-24 News Middle East correspondent Ariel Osiron has more details. It's perhaps the Achilles' heel of Israel's border protection that could threaten the future of the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that Jerusalem informed Cairo of its plan to conduct a military operation along the Gaza side of the border with Egypt also called the Philadelphia corridor. The Philadelphia corridor is one option for what I call the Southern closing point or the Southern blockage point. It is clear to you that we will not conclude without having sealed off this breach point because otherwise we will have eliminated Hamas, ensured the basic demilitarization of Gaza and then later again more weaponry, more war material, more lethal equipment through this southern breach point so clearly it must be closed. According to the report, the operation along the nine-mile route would aim to remove Palestinian officials from the key crossing area and replace them with Israeli forces. For Israel, reclaiming the corridor under which Hamas stockpiled its arsenal for decades through tunnels would strike a strategic blow against Hamas. For now we don't hold on the Philadelphia corridor. It means that basically they can smuggle hostages out of the Gaza Strip and another problem is that we can also get or they can get Hamas, can get ammunition through the Philadelphia corridor. Unfortunately, the fact that Israel found Chinese weapon in Gaza, Iranian weapon in Gaza means that Philadelphia corridor was actually open wide. For the Palestinians, such a move would roll back a symbol of Palestinian sovereignty nearly two decades after Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. As for the Egyptians, who since October 7th have significantly bolstered the border fence barriers and watchtowers, they aren't too excited either. This ongoing war on our eastern border requires all our efforts to prevent it from extending further, especially with all the threats it represents to the Egyptian national security in particular and to the Palestinian case in general. Until the 2005 Israeli pull out from Gaza, the Philadelphia corridor was perhaps the most dangerous kill zone in the Strip with numerous casualties among IDF forces. But Israel also seeks to stop the unhindered flow of weapons into Gaza. And if Egypt won't take care of it, it will. Egypt already suspicious of Israel's alleged intent to relocate Palestinians in its territory, the presence of Israeli soldiers along the border undermines the 1979 peace treaty. And with the day after the war in Gaza nearing, Israel and Egypt find themselves on a potential collision course. And Ariel joins me now in studio alongside IDF reserves Lieutenant Colonel Doron Abital, a former commander of IDF Special Forces. Thank you both for being with me in studio. Doron, I want to start with you with a question here about any possible military operation to take back the Philadelphia root corridor border, however you want to call it. As Ariel mentioned, this has been for decades kind of an Achilles heel with Israeli security. Is there a way to avoid taking over the Philadelphia corridor to guarantee its security, but then not having to be stuck there, sitting there waiting like sitting ducks, as some have called it, for ambushes in the future, and how do you start an assault on Philadelphia without an eye towards what happens after you take control? This is a tricky question for IDF. I mean, Netanyahu declared yesterday and Herzli Alevi talked about approving the plans for the southern command. So they have a plan, but there's no still a command because I think it's very tricky to do what to do with the Egyptian there, and I don't, I'm not sure. Rafa and the Philadelphia root, there's two questions are big challenges when we go ahead and plan ahead, and I'm not sure how we solve it. I heard the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt talking very, I mean, very adamant. It's clear that the Egyptian wouldn't say it as in we can't lose Egypt in this context. So we have to be very careful. I'm not sure what the plan, how we plan to do it, but let's wait and see. We'll talk about the Philadelphia corridor in just a second, but an update here to the breaking news we've been following this afternoon, this anti-tank missile that was fired from northern Israel. Hezbollah has taken credit for launching this missile into northern Israel. These are images from the attack. It hit a house in a northern community, a town called Uval, a small northern border town, according to authorities, two people, two civilians injured in this attack, both civilians. One was moderately injured and a woman in her 70s was seriously critically injured as fighting for her life now in a hospital, an IDF retaliation likely to come in the hours to come. We're going to stay on top of this story as well. Of course, the tension, the violence and attacks, not just from Hamas in the south also from Hezbollah in the north. We'll keep you posted on this story. Back here in the studio, honor your story here with the Philadelphia crossing, tracking the history, the painful history for Israel on the Philadelphia corridor. If the IDF doesn't coordinate with Egypt or carefully align itself with Egypt on how to proceed, is the very peace treaty itself at risk with Egypt if this operation goes wrong to take control of this Philadelphia passage? That is the scenario that is possible if Israel decides to run amok and just act unilaterally without any coordination with the Egyptian site. I do not see that happening. As of now, Israel is currently striking in Rafa sometimes near the border, but that hasn't caused any significant clashes with Egypt. I think what we can make of this report in the Wall Street Journal is Israeli posturing basically given that we have seen in Arab media over the past few weeks reports of talks, negotiations between Israel and Egypt regarding this very axis, this corridor, and how to deal with it. The discussions have even reached a level of putting an underground barrier there of bolstering Egyptian military patrols. There is a dialogue between the sites regarding the day after on the Philadelphia corridor, but recent reporting has indicated that there has been stagnation in the talks, and what I make of this report is perhaps an Israeli attempt to try and pressure the Egyptian side into returning to the negotiating table. Otherwise we will see the scenario that is outlined in the report unravel, and that is a unilateral kind of a reality that neither Egypt nor Israel would like to see take place there. Israel will never risk challenging the space street. There is a milestone in our history that we can't, again this is the beginning of the peace process with our countries, then Jordan followed the Oslo Accords and we have to be very careful how we play this game and I think it should be clear to everybody and also there is a very tight connection between our intelligence and the Egyptian intelligence, and I'm sure they are working out how to construct some policy. In years past obviously with the threat from ISIS to get rid of ISIS killers and Israel wasn't on the Egyptian side they were invited in Israel had to approve the increased presence of military of Egyptian military forces in the Sinai Peninsula to really carry out this operation against ISIS and other Islamist groups that were receiving some support from Hamas. Now there was also an Egyptian operation to take out these tunnels under Rafa because also for Egypt it's a security concern but not at the same level of gravity that it is for Israel and they didn't do the, they didn't do the best job at it and they didn't, it wasn't hermetic and so the Hamas and other, just civilian smugglers have been able to re-establish the entire operation under the Gaza-Egypt border that saw massive amounts of weapons and material go into Gaza mainly for the benefit of Hamas and Israel is trying to see how can this be prevented moving forward because when the last time Israel put all of its faith in Egypt this is the reality that happened so Israel needs to find a way to change it but going in a collision course with Egypt is not necessarily the best way to go at it. I want to ask about the tactics now of the war as they increasingly perhaps turn to special forces operations, pinpoint targeted strikes or pinpoint maneuvering the operation in a general sense the ground operations really winding down in the north they moved to the south. The IDF took great pride and took great care over a period of several months in these carefully designed maps laying out literally down to the street name corridors where civilians were told to evacuate to this area in this map zone was about to become an active battlefield active war zone civilians must get out there were dozens of carefully drawn out sections now there's really no more sections left to go everyone's in the Rafiq area over a million Palestinians who follow that map are now in the Rafiq area how does the IDF they control of the Rafiq area and destroy Hamas there? So when we go further the stage which means first stage means maybe Rafa but surgically then of course this is the main concern there's 1.3 I think millions that are civilians from Gaza that are in the south now in terms of the special forces I think right now first of all the best brigade that we have the 98 brigade is in Hanyunes and it followed by the special forces engineering and special forces trying to locate either the hostages or the senior leaders of Hamas so the work is right now much more surgical and much more careful special forces are involved in every level of the planning and operation they are there whether it will work whether it will come to some concrete result in terms of those two objectives whether the two objectives stand in conflict this is yet to be seen. Does the IDF need to have a big ground operation to take control of the Rafiq crossing is the risk greater than the benefit of full control there? So I would say I don't have the full intelligence picture so in the end open the map see the intelligence see what you have and then make a decision I would be very careful in going full force into Rafiq I mean this is where we hosted or channeled the civilians into we have the Egyptian there this is a big issue of course we know for a fact that many Hamas terrorists were right now shaving their beard and going and running to Rafiq so they are there we are worried also that hostages so the question is what the intelligence that we have and following and how can we follow on this intelligence unfortunate update regarding the anti-tank missile firing towards the north 40 old men was pronounced killed by Israeli medical services that arrived at the scene and the IDF just issuing a statement that its fighter jets are carrying out strikes in southern Lebanon so that retaliation has arrived so a 40 year old man has been killed two others seriously hurt including that 70 year old woman who was reportedly down in critical condition but multiple injuries of casualties here tensions in the north now already heating up perhaps and I think those cornet anti-tank missile that I used to challenge civilians or houses in the northern border there are big issues they were hitting Har-Meron which is really on the highest range like 9.5 from our border this is 3.5 so it's this is a big challenge and I don't I'm not sure we have a big good answer there was a plan there was an announced plan from ministers that within 3.5 kilometers like a mile and a half let's say in the US terminology that they were supposed to be allowed to go back in the weeks to come 3.5 kilometers kind of cutting the distance in half but they're under constant deadly attack how can they go back yeah this is very hard they have to sometimes on the permission of the army go in and out to do some necessary work in the farm but this is of course this cornet missile we didn't have a solution because if you don't identify the unit that is launching this missile in advance then you are stuck with this missile there's no way to prevent talking about a three and a half kilometer buffer zone but these missiles can reach 10.5 other systems can reach even more in the fact that we that's the the cornet kind of the distance 10 kilometers they can yeah and the husband almost have thousands of them easily yes they don't lack armaments that is something as clear but it is important to reiterate the fact that just like Hamas indiscriminately firing rockets at civilian populations these are anti-tank missiles fired at civilians homes and that is the and that's a situation that is evolving in the north or that has been the case for nearly a hundred days and this is why Israel has to act I think calls to bring back the population are way premature and Israeli leaders have already indicated that once they're done with Gaza Lebanon is next and it's interesting the Uval village it has a long history because in 75 there was a big terror attack by the PLO in which a high ranked officer was trying to rescue his family and got killed so it's really the generation of the 80s and the 70s I really remember this event the same way the Philadelphia Corridor now comes back after a terrible event that really caused us to do the disengagement when we lost many soldiers on this route so it's itself in a very tragic way. Can I ask Lieutenant Colonel your assessment your just analysis the question of deterrence and any the IDF has been striking and counter striking and counter counter striking Hezbollah literally now for months Hezbollah deterred at all in any way from continuing their attack. The question what is deterrence whether Hezbollah wants giving the circumstances and now that he doesn't have any element of surprise that we hit 160 of his soldiers. Is Hezbollah satisfied with this that the 80,000 Israelis cannot come home there were not there's no plan for them to come home. I mean Nisrael I even said they created because you remember the security zone that we used to have on the other side of our border and said listen those Israelis right now have a security zone in their border so he was really mocking us and he's very good in his rhetorics but I think in the end he pays a toll including some of his leaders and his son in law we didn't take responsibility but I don't think of any other force that operates in this region so he and 160 of his soldiers dead and weaponry and so on so I think where our strategy is reasonable but then we have the question of the residents of the north that can come back so we are really locked there's a real dilemma here but on both side I would say also in the Nasrallah side. Nisrael the leader of Hezbollah has mentioned that and retaliation the vengeance for some very high-profile assassination some Israeli attributed to Israel some Israel taking credit for and some of these strikes targeting Hezbollah that this was only the initial round days ago that there was more to follow do you believe that there's an escalation ladder might there be that Hezbollah is now on so to speak. Well I think the failed infiltration last night on the northern border in the Mount Dov area the infiltration of the Lebanese cell that were they were all eliminated by idea forces I think that is an indication that they're not de-escalating the situation in terms of ladders of escalation there's a lot more unfortunately and Hezbollah is maintaining a very gradual and slow pace advancement but it's only going one way so far and whether that indicates if the if Hezbollah is deterred or not I think following October 7th we need to be very cautious in our assessment as to what the other side is planning or thinking at the end of the day they're not deterred to continue carrying out strikes against Israel they're not deterred to try and infiltrate on the ground and as far as their capabilities are concerned we know that they can do a lot more damage towards Israel. I'll just note here my producer more in my year giving me an update to kind of the circumstances of this attack in this house a civilian house in the north it was again about two miles from the border it's a father and son who were eating breakfast at their table that when the missile the anti-tank missile hit their home the father dying of his injuries but again eating breakfast at the breakfast table 80,000 families have fled so they don't face this possible circumstance just a horrible story circumstance there but not everyone can leave they don't know the circumstances of this specific story but not the reality is the facts are not everyone can and we know that there was also a 70 a woman in her 70s seriously or people have medicine people have have disabilities are unable unable to travel unable to find permanent basically semi-permanent lodging elsewhere within the country some people are still living there and given that they're not given compensation from the government regarding farming, agriculture Israel's borders are the bread basket of the country and they're inactive right now and so regarding the north some people just for their own sake of livelihood given that they have no sense of breathing room they feel like they have no choice to go and they're putting their lives at risk. As we continue to follow this story Lieutenant Colonel your assessment here on the hostage demonstration going on today we've heard so many really powerful really emotional speeches from family members demanding that the government do more whatever it takes to free the hostages at this point if there is going to be an attack an operation to keep control of the Philadelphia corridor as likely must happen in this war does that make it more or less likely that there may be a deal the IDF believes that if the daggers have to throw only then will there be a deal what do you think? I think if there is a deal an effective deal on the table the IDF would be willing to go into a ceasefire but the question is of course that we can't accept as a precondition the posing of the stopping of any activities this would mean a surrender so we are really locked in this picture but as long as there is no deal on the table we have to keep the pressure on and the question is exactly I keep getting back to it none of us knows what's the intelligence picture that Israel has because by now we have to have a better picture as the whereabouts of some of the hostages and some of the senior leaders so whoever has this picture can make the judgment whether he goes rescue operation whether he goes deal where they stops the war now for a while if there is an effective deal on the table we will end with the story here from I-24 news correspondent Aurea Shapiro of a special resident of Natif Asura this is a border community near Gaza that had suffered horrific attacks on the October 7th massacre a special survivor is continuing to face her challenges and with an eye towards the future here's more. Among the many battles seen in Israel since October 7 many stories are unknown one of them belongs to Ramit Mendelovich a resident of Natif Asura a village on the Gaza border which lost 21 of its members but Ramit's story begins even before the Hamas on the Gaza border and Ramit's story begins even before the Hamas on the Gaza border begins even before the Hamas onslaught around two and a half years ago I fell down at work I broke my shoulder at first I had a regular treatment and my whole arm became swollen and hurt about two months later I saw that my hand really hurt I couldn't move it and it also affected my arm and elbow so I started to check what was wrong Ramit found out that she suffers from complex regional pain or CRPS CRPS there's a phenomenon of over protection of the brain and nervous system of the affected body part which causes extreme pain that is not caused by an ongoing disease or something happening in the hand now and what we're trying to do with the rational of the treatment is to desensitize this over protection Ramit improved with therapy and her situation became better and then October 7 occurred slowly we understood what was happening my daughter, my child's girlfriend and I entered the safe room my husband and my child guarded the room with their weapons it was insane I can't remember the details I remember though that at a certain point I was falling apart and the one who helped me was my son it was like we exchanged rules suddenly he was protecting me and not the other way around after October 7 Ramit's condition deteriorated the pain returned and she found it hard to function and perform even easy tasks my hand started to react to that Saturday October 7 in the most frightening moments I remembered my hand shaking wildly without control I can tell you that when I came to see a doctor in Ashkelon the hand also shook and when I returned to see my home I was very excited because I missed my home but it was hard and my arm was shaking automatically the medical staff were helping her to get basic abilities which became extremely difficult as a result of the CRPS disease our pain can be very much affected by our stress or by feeling down so it has a very strong effect on how much you're able to do and I'm sure it had a very strong effect on her as well wow Ramit survived the horrific attack she may not be like the other victims of October 7 but the pain is still there making her one more member of the wounded society still waiting to recover he's injured by Hezbollah hitting a civilian house in the north three casualties from that anti-tank missile fire one father dead his son is injured and a 70 year old woman in her 70s critically injured Hezbollah taking credit for that attack the idea is responding as we speak right now with fighter jets striking Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon it goes on to show solidarity with the hostages still held more updates stay with us what I saw today was unbelievable the devastation on the homes the destruction the scenes still that you could imagine of what happened it was like something out of a movie and still also the smell the overpowering it was an important day for me and to show the viewers of I-24 news but it wasn't a difficult challenging day this was the home of Yaniv Ohana to see basically a modern day pogrom and to feel the vulnerability we live in Israel we are so dependent on the army and the government and authorities to provide security to see how all of that can be overturned in the course of one day I think it really makes us understand how fragile our lives are and how how much we're going to have to fight for our existence, our very existence in this corner of the world welcome to this special broadcast on I-24 news I'm Khaled Bendevi this month marks the 38 years since I started as a journalist in Israel and nothing was like the last two months this has been the most challenging, most emotional most heartbreaking and some ways the most complex story that I had to cover during that time and never I felt the kind of responsibility that I had to present this story to the world in the right context with the right facts and to really speak truth to power in this situation Thanks for watching I-24 news at this hour for the latest live updates from Israel we'll begin with new developments in Gaza with the Israel Hamas war now in its fourth month as military operations dramatically wind down in the north Gaza strip they may be heating up in a new way in south Gaza the Wall Street Journal reports that Israel is in the final stages of a planned military assault to take control of the southern border between Gaza and Egypt reportedly this operation has not yet gotten the all clear from Israeli leaders the timing will depend on many factors including the level of understanding reached with Egypt and any progress in a second hostage deal on the issue of hostages tens of thousands of Israelis right now gather in Tel Aviv as part of an ongoing 24 hour rally in support of the hostages in Gaza family members of hostages have been giving passionate speeches warning that the time is running out to save their loved ones and they are railing against the government saying that lawmakers are more concerned about their own political future than the future of the captives tonight is 100 day already that my brother is hostage in Gaza and we came here because it's 100 day it's very difficult for the family for the children and for everybody and we hope to bring him back call it the Red Cross we are calling the UNRWA we are calling the UNICEF we are calling our government to do much more it's not 100 days it's a lot of time for young people old people ill people to be there in jail under the ground it's not normal and we are calling everybody who can do something to bring them back it has been 45 days since I was released from Hamas captivity in Gaza whereas I am concerned as long as Ohad is not at home I am still a hostage his time and that of 135 other hostages is running out Ohad is injured and each day he does not receive treatment his condition deteriorates and if Hamas failed to kill me then I appeal to all the decision makers of the state of Israel please don't kill me because every day that passes without Sasha kills me I am ready to return to captivity just get my son out the southern border is the so-called Philadelphia corridor it's nearly 9 miles long and it's a primary source of smuggling I-24 News Middle East correspondent Ariel Osiron has more details it's perhaps the Achilles heel of Israel's border protection and one that could threaten the future of the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that Jerusalem informed Cairo of its plan to conduct a military operation along the Gaza side of the border with Egypt also called the Philadelphia corridor the Philadelphia corridor is one option for what I call the southern closing point or the southern blockage point it's clear to you that we will not conclude this war without having sealed off this breach point because otherwise we will have eliminated Hamas ensured the basic demilitarization of Gaza and then later again more weaponry, more war material more lethal equipment through this southern breach point so clearly it must be closed according to the report the operation along the 9 mile route would aim to remove Palestinian officials from the key crossing area for Israel, reclaiming the corridor under which Hamas stockpiled its arsenal for decades through tunnels would strike a strategic blow against Hamas for now we don't hold on the Philadelphia corridor it means that basically they can smuggle hostages out of out of the Gaza Strip and another problem is that we can also get or they can get Hamas can get ammunition through the Philadelphia corridor unfortunately the fact that Israel found Chinese weapon in Gaza Iranian weapon in Gaza means that Philadelphia corridor was actually open wide for the Palestinians such a move would roll back a symbol of Palestinian sovereignty nearly two decades after Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip as for the Egyptians who since October 7th have recently bolstered the border fence with concrete barriers and watchtowers they aren't too excited either this ongoing war on our eastern border requires all our efforts to prevent it from extending further especially with all the threats it represents to the Egyptian national security in particular and to the Palestinian case in general until the 2005 Israeli pull out from Gaza the Philadelphia corridor was perhaps the most dangerous rail zone in the Strip with numerous casualties among idea forces but Israel also seeks to stop the unhindered flow of weapons into Gaza and if Egypt won't take care of it it will Egypt already suspicious of Israel's alleged intent to relocate Palestinians in its territory the presence of Israeli soldiers along the border undermines the 1979 peace treaty and with the day after the war in Egypt find themselves on a potential collision course and Ariel joins me now in studio alongside IDF reserves Lieutenant Colonel Doron Abital a former commander of IDF Special Forces thank you both for being with me in studio Doron I want to start with you with a question here about any possible military operation to take back the Philadelphia route corridor border however you want to call it Ariel mentioned this has been for decades kind of an Achilles heel with Israeli security is there a way to avoid taking over the Philadelphia corridor to guarantee its security but then not having to be stuck there sitting there waiting like sitting ducks as some have called or for ambushes in the future and how do you start an assault on Philadelphia without an eye towards what happens after you take control I have a question and a real dilemma for the IDF Netanyahu declared yesterday and Herzli Alevi talked about approving the plans for the southern command so they have a plan but there's no go away there's no still a command because I think it's very tricky to do what to do with the Egyptian there and I'm not sure Rafa and the Philadelphia route there's two questions one just when we go ahead and plan ahead and I'm not sure how we solve it I heard the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt talking very I mean very adamant it's clear that the Egyptian wouldn't say it we can't lose Egypt in this context so we have to be very careful I'm not sure about the plan how we plan to do it but let's wait and see we'll talk about the Philadelphia corridor in just a second but an update here to the breaking news anti-tank missile that was fired from Hezbollah into northern Israel Hezbollah has taken credit for launching this missile into northern Israel these are images from the attack it hit a house in a northern community a town called Uval small northern border town according to authorities two people two civilians injured in this attack both civilians one was moderately injured and a woman in her 70s was seriously critically injured she's fighting for her life now in a hospital IDF retaliation likely to come in the hours to come we're going to stay on top of this story as well of course the tension the violence and attacks not just from Hamas in the south also from Hezbollah in the north we'll keep you posted on this story back here in studio honor your story here with the Philadelphia crossing tracking the history the painful history for Israel on the Philadelphia corridor if the IDF doesn't coordinate with Egypt or carefully align itself with Egypt on how to proceed is the very peace treaty itself at risk with Egypt if this operation goes wrong to take control of this Philadelphia passage that is the scenario that is possible if Israel decides to run amok and just act unilaterally without any coordination with the Egyptian site I do not see that happening I mean as of now Israel's currently striking in Rafa sometimes near the border but that hasn't caused any significant clashes with Egypt I think what we can make of this report in the Wall Street Journal is Israeli posturing basically given that we have seen in Arab media over the past few weeks reports of talks, negotiations between Israel and Egypt regarding this very axis, this corridor and how to deal with it the discussions have even reached a level of putting an underground barrier there of bolstering Egyptian military patrols there is a dialogue between the sites regarding the day after on the Philadelphia corridor but recent reporting has indicated that there has been a stagnation in the talks and what I make of this report is perhaps an Israeli attempt to try and pressure the Egyptian side into returning to the negotiating table otherwise we will see the scenario that is outlined in the report unravel and that is a unilateral kind of a reality that neither Egypt nor Israel would like to see take place there No Israel will never risk challenging this this is a milestone in our history that we can't this is the beginning of the peace process in our country then Jordan followed the Oslo Accords and we have to be very careful how we play this game and I think it should be clear to everybody and it's clear also there is a very tight connection between our intelligence and the Egyptian intelligence and I'm sure they are working out how to construct some policy in years past obviously with the threat from ISIS to get rid of ISIS killers and the Sinai Peninsula there was very close coordination and Israel wasn't on the Egyptian side they were invited in Israel had to approve the increased presence of military of Egyptian military forces in the Sinai Peninsula to really carry out this operation against ISIS and other Islamist groups that were receiving some support from Hamas now there was also an Egyptian operation to take out these tunnels under Rafa because also for Egypt it's a security concern but not at the same level of gravity that it is for Israel and they didn't do the they didn't do the best job at it and they didn't it wasn't hermetic and so the Hamas and other just civilian smugglers have been able to re-establish the entire operation under the Gaza-Egypt border that saw massive amounts of weapons and material go into Gaza mainly for the benefit of Hamas and Israel is trying to see how can this be prevented moving forward because when the last time Israel put all of its faith in Egypt this is the reality that happened so Israel needs to find a way to change it but going in a collision course with Egypt is not necessarily the best way to go at it. I want to ask about the tactics now of the war they increasingly perhaps turned to special forces operations pinpoint targeted strikes or pinpoint maneuvering the operation in a general sense the ground operations really winding down in the north they moved to the south the IDF took great pride and took great care over a period of several months in these carefully designed maps laying out literally down to the street name corridors where civilians were told to evacuate that this area in this map was about to become an active battlefield active war zone civilians must get out there were dozens of carefully drawn out sections now there's really no more sections left to go everyone's in the Rafi'a area over a million Palestinians who follow that map are now in the Rafi'a area how does the IDF take control of the Rafi'a area and destroy Hamas there so when we go for the state which means first stage means Khan Yunus and maybe Rafa but surgically then of course this is the main concern there's 1.3 I think million that are civilians from Gaza that are in the south now in terms of the special forces I think right now first of all the best brigade that we have the 98 brigade is in Khan Yunus and it followed by the special forces engineering and special forces trying to locate either the hostages or the senior leaders of Hamas so the work is right now much more surgical and much more careful special forces are involved in every level of the planning and the operation they are there whether it will work whether it will come to some concrete result in terms of those two objectives whether the two objectives stand in conflict this is yet to be seen. Does the IDF need to have a big ground operation to take control of the Rafi'a crossing is the risk greater than the benefit of full control there? Yeah so I would say I don't have the full intelligence picture so in the end you have to open the map see the intelligence see what you have and then make a decision I would be very careful in going full force into Rafi'a I mean this is where we hosted or channeled the civilians into we have the Egyptian there this is a big issue of course we know for a fact that many Hamas terrorists were right now shaving their beard and going and running to Rafi'a so they are there also the hostages out there so it's a big issue so the question is what the intelligence that we have and following and how can we follow on this intelligence unfortunate update regarding the anti-tank missile firing towards the north a 40 old man was pronounced killed by Israeli medical services that arrived at the scene and the IDF just issuing a statement that its fighter jets are carrying out strikes in southern Lebanon so that retaliation has arrived so a 40 year old man has been killed two others seriously hurt including that 70 year old woman who was reportedly now in critical condition but multiple injuries casualties here tensions in the north now already heating up perhaps and I think those cornet anti-tank missile that I used to challenge civilians or houses in the northern border there are big issues they were hitting the border which is really on the highest range like 9.5 from our border this is Yuval Kfar Yuval it's 3.5 so it's easier this is a big challenge and I don't I'm not sure we have a big good answer to it there was a plan there was an announced plan for ministers that within 3.5 kilometers like a mile and a half let's say in the US terminology that they were supposed to be allowed to go back in the weeks to come 3.5 kilometers kind of cutting the distance they were constant deadly attack how can they go back they have to sometimes permission of the army go in and out to do some necessary work in the farm but this is of course the cornet missile we didn't have a solution because if you don't identify the unit that is launching this missile in advance then you are stuck with this missile talking about a 3.5 kilometer buffer zone but these missiles can reach 10.5 and other systems can reach even more in the fact that we that's the the cornet kind of the distance 10 kilometers they can and they must have thousands of them easily yes they don't lack armaments that is as clear but it is important to reiterate the fact that just like Hamas indiscriminately firing rockets at civilian populations these are anti-tank missiles fired at civilians' homes and that is the and that's a situation that is evolving in the north or that has been the case for nearly 100 days and this is why Israel has to act I think calls to bring back the population are way premature and Israeli leaders have already indicated that once they are done with Gaza Lebanon is next and it's interesting that Yuvale village it has a long history because in 1975 there was a big terror attack by the PLO which a high-ranked officer was trying to rescue his family and got killed so it's really the generation of the 80s and the 70s they really remember this event the same way the Philadelphia Corridor now comes back after a terrible event that really causes us to do disengagement when we lost many soldiers on this route it's itself in a very tragic way in your assessment your analysis the question of deterrence the IDF has been striking and counter-striking literally now for months does Hezbollah deterred at all in any way from continuing their attack the question what is deterrence whether Hezbollah wants giving the circumstances and now that he doesn't have any element of surprise that we hit 160 of his soldiers but is Hezbollah satisfied with this that 80,000 Israelis cannot come home there's no plan for them to come home and he said they created because he remembers the securities on it we used to have on the other side of our border and said listen those Israelis right now have securities on their border so he was really mocking us he's very good in his rhetorics but I think in the end he pays at all including some of his leaders his son in law we didn't take responsibility but I don't think of any other force that operates in this region so in 160 of his soldiers dead and weaponry and so on strategy is reasonable but then we have the question of the residents of the north that can't come back so we're really locked there's a real dilemma here but on both side I would say also in the Nasrallah side Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah has mentioned that in the retaliation the vengeance for some very high-profile assassination some Israeli attributed to Israel some Israel typed in credit for on some of these strikes targeting Hezbollah that this was only the initial round days ago that there was more to follow do you believe that there's an escalation ladder might there be that Hezbollah is now on so to speak well I think the failed infiltration last night on the northern border in the Mount Dov area the infiltration of the Lebanese that were all eliminated by idea forces I think that is an indication that they're not de-escalating the situation in terms of ladders of escalation there's a lot more to go unfortunately and Hezbollah is maintaining a very gradual and slow pace advancement but it's only going one way so far and whether that indicates if Hezbollah is deterred or not I think following October 7th we need to be very cautious in our assessment as to what the other side is planning or thinking at the end of the day they're not deterred to continue fighting out strikes against Israel they're not deterred to try and infiltrate on the ground and as far as their capabilities are concerned we know that they can do a lot more damage towards Israel I'll just note here my producer more in my year giving me an update to kind of the circumstances of this attack in this house a civilian house in the north there was again about two miles from the border it's a father and son who were eating breakfast at their table that when the missile the anti-tank missile hit their home the father dying of his injuries but again eating breakfast at the breakfast table 80,000 families have fled so they don't face this possible circumstance just a horrible story circumstance there but not everyone can leave they don't know the circumstances of this specific story but the reality is the facts are not everyone can and we know that there was also a woman in her 70s seriously or people have medicine people have disabilities are unable unable to travel, unable to find permanence basically semi-permanent lodging elsewhere within the country some people are still living there and given that they're not given compensation from the government regarding farming agriculture Israel's borders are the bread basket of the country and they're inactive right now so regarding the north some people just for their own sake of livelihood given that they have no a breathing room they feel like they have no choice to go and they're putting their lives at risk as we continue to follow this story your assessment here on the hostage demonstration going on today we've heard so many really powerful really emotional speeches from family members demanding that the government do more whatever it takes to free the hostages at this point if there is going to be an attack an operation to keep control of the quarter as likely must happen in this war does that make it more or less likely that there may be a deal the IDF believes that if the daggers have to throw only then will there be a deal what do you think I think if there is a deal an effective deal on the table the IDF would be willing to go into a ceasefire but the question is of course that we can't accept as a precondition the stopping of any war activities this would mean a surrender so we are really locked in this in this picture but as long as there is no deal on the table we have to keep the pressure on and the question is exactly I keep getting back to it none of us knows what's the intelligence picture that Israel has because by now we have to have a better picture as the whereabouts of some of the hostages and some of the senior leaders so whoever has this picture can make the judgment whether he goes rescue operation whether he goes deal where they stops the war now for a while if there is an effective deal on the table so yeah commando units by now mapping out literally operating on the ground mapping out this tunnel structure Lieutenant Colonel Ariel thank you so much for being with us you in the studio great to have you we'll end with the story here from i24news correspondent Orisha Peer of a special resident of Natif Asura this is a border community near Gaza that had suffered horrific attacks on the October 7th massacre a special survivor is continuing to face her challenges and with an eye towards the future here's more among the many battles seen in Israel since October 7 many stories are unknown one of them belongs to Ramit Mendelovich resident of Natif Asura a village on the Gaza border which lost 21 of its members but Ramit's story begins even before the Hamas onslaught around two and a half years ago I fell down at work I broke my shoulder at first I had a regular treatment and my whole arm became swollen and hurt about two months later I saw that my hand really hurt I couldn't move it and it also affected my arm and elbow so I started to check what was wrong Ramit found out that she suffers from complex regional pain disorder or CRPS in CRPS there's a phenomenon of over-protection of the brain and nervous system of the affected body part which causes extreme pain that is not caused by an ongoing disease or something happening in the hand now and what we're trying to do or the rational treatment is to desensitize this over-protection Ramit improved with therapy and her situation became better and then October 7 occurred slowly we understood what was happening my daughter, my child's girlfriend and I entered the safe room my husband and my child guarded the room with their weapons it was insane I can't remember all the details I remember though that at a certain point I was falling apart and the one who helped me was my son it was like we exchanged rules suddenly he was protecting me and not the other way around after October 7 Ramit's condition deteriorated the pain returned and she found it hard to function and perform even easy tasks my hand started to react to that Saturday, October 7 in the most frightening moments I remembered my hand shaking wildly without control I could tell you that when I came to see a doctor in Ashkelon the hand also shook and when I returned to see my home in Nativ Hasara I was very excited because I missed my home but it was hard and my arm reacted to the situation the medical staff are helping her to get basic capabilities which became extremely difficult as a result of the CRPS disease our pain can be very much affected