Friday, August 22, 2025

What You Need to Know:

Possibly the most difficult and complex situation facing Israel’s leaders at the moment are the indirect ceasefire/hostage negotiations over the war in Gaza. While Israel watches, a tug of war is being played out as Egypt and Qatar attempt to forge a deal with Hamas. For his part, US President Donald Trump is pushing for a comprehensive deal with full release of the hostages while Hamas, whose leaders were in Cairo this week, has yet to agree to anything more than the release of 10 living hostages in exchange for a 60-day pause in the fighting.

At home, the prime minister is facing increasing pressure from right-wing members of his government who want Israel to declare sovereignty over Judea and Samaria, an area known as Israel’s biblical heartland and the stage on which more than 90% of the Bible played out. Jordan illegally annexed this territory after seizing it during the 1948 War of Independence and renamed it the West Bank. Israel captured it from Jordan during the defensive Six Day War in 1967, but has never formally annexed it. The Palestinian Authority intends that most, if not all, of this area will become a sovereign Palestinian state. As such, any Israeli action to annex its biblical heartland would surely cause a furor among the nations of the world.

Dig Deeper:

White House Pushes for Full Hostage Deal

Cairo Forces Hamas into Corner over Gaza Truce Proposal

Apply Sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, Lawmakers tell Netanyahu

Israel Considers Sovereignty as Global Support for Palestinian State Grows

What You Need to Know:

The biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria, home to nearly half a million Israelis, is a major security challenge due to a large number of active terror cells. The Jewish High Holidays, which begin with Rosh HaShanah (New Year) on September 22, will bring additional challenges as hundreds of thousands of Israelis are expected to visit the area which is rich in biblical history. In preparation, the IDF is planning to beef up its troops in the region, especially in the area of Jenin and Tulkarm, which are two cities notorious for terror activities.

The IDF continues to maintain a vigilant stance along Israel’s border with Lebanon as Hezbollah attempts to rebuild. The IDF has prevented Hezbollah efforts to reestablish observation posts, and the army has acknowledged that the security situation is fragile. Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, the IDF’s new Northern Command chief said, “We must continue, preserve and deepen [our] war gains…and ensure all northern residents [can] return home safely and with confidence.”

Further abroad, in response to the repeated launch of missiles and drones by the Houthis in Yemen, the Israeli Navy targeted an energy infrastructure that supported the terror group’s efforts.

Dig Deeper:

Israel Police Conducts Major Enforcement Operation in Judea and Samaria

Reshaping Security in Southern Lebanon

Israel Strikes Houthi Infrastructure Site in Yemen

What You Need to Know:

International pressure over the amount of aid entering the Gaza Strip continues to grow. However, according to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), there are “dramatic and severe gaps between the number of aid trucks entering Gaza and the figures presented by the UN.” The UN says only 3,553 trucks have entered since May, while Israel’s records indicate a total of 9,200 trucks have crossed into the coastal enclave. That makes for a difference of nearly 6,000 trucks, which the UN didn’t acknowledge.

UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters that “the risk of starvation is everywhere in Gaza” and he holds the Israeli government directly responsible.

If that were not enough, Israel is accused of killing Gazans who were attempting to reach humanitarian assistance sites. According to Mr. Al-Kheetan, 1,021 deaths have occurred while Gazans were seeking aid from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, led by the United States and Israel.

Plans for unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state—without Israel’s agreement—are still planned for the UN’s 80th General Assembly meeting, which is set to begin September 9, 2025.

Dig Deeper:

UN Misrepresents Gaza Aid Flow

Killing of Aid Workers Surges to Record High, UN Claims

UN Report: Gaza Aid Insufficient to Avert ‘Widespread Starvation’

What You Need to Know:

While 50 Israeli hostages—20 believed to be living—are still being held in the tunnels of Gaza, the IDF continues its ground operations. This week saw a soldier critically wounded when 10 terrorists emerged from a tunnel shaft and attacked an army outpost in Khan Younis. The military stated it was examining whether the attack had been intended to abduct soldiers. Meanwhile, the IDF is continuing preparations for an assault on Gaza City, in compliance with the directive of the Security Cabinet, with a call-up of 60,000 reservists. 

Israel has not abandoned the five core principles it has laid out for ending the war: dismantling Hamas’ military capabilities; return of all hostages (living and dead); full demilitarization of Gaza; Israeli security control over the territory; and the establishment of a non-Hamas, non-Palestinian Authority civilian administration. Sources close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that he views a full assault on Gaza City as “a critical pressure point” necessary to bring about an end to Hamas control in the coastal enclave.

Dig Deeper:

IDF Oks War's Next Stage; Gaza City in Sights

Mobilization of 60,000 Reservists Ahead of Gaza City Offensive

Soldier Critically Wounded in Abduction Attempt in Khan Younis

What You Need to Know:

After 22 months of war, the longest in Israel’s modern history, you can see the weariness on the faces of Israelis everywhere. And with the rise in antisemitism around the globe, it’s safe to say that all Jewish people fall into the “weary” category since the hatred increasingly results in isolation. This week, the IDF issued call-up orders for 60,000 reservists who will be serving the country in Gaza as well as other areas where they are needed. These are men with families. They are husbands, fathers and providers. Those roles now fall to their wives, another source of weariness and vulnerability.

Consider the stresses and tensions Israelis are forced to take in their stride. Israel is a small country whose population is just 10 million, with a little over 7 million Jewish. This tiny nation is surrounded by four Arab nations whose population is approximately 160 million, home to terror groups whose stated goal is to remove the Jewish presence from the region. And that doesn’t count Iran, the head of the snake, so to speak. But the truth is that Israelis are living in the Land God gave to their forefathers by everlasting covenant, and we can stand with them in faith and hope.

Dig Deeper:

Sisters of Murdered Hostage Eden Yerushalmi Remember Her

When Dad’s in the Reserves, the Whole Family Serves

What You Need to Know:

This week, the Australian government denied a visa to Simcha Rothman, an Israeli politician who planned a solidarity visit to the Jewish community in the face of escalating antisemitic attacks. Although Australia itself has listed Hamas as a terrorist entity, one of the reasons given for the denial was Rothman’s call for the elimination of Hamas. In a similar action, well-known blogger Hillel Fuld was also denied a visa. He was to speak at Australian fundraisers for Israel’s national ambulance service.

London-based research institute IMPACT-se released a study this week that found repeated instances of hostility toward Jews in Pakistan’s textbooks. Judaism is not mentioned in comparative religion sections, with Jews themselves described as “treacherous and disloyal.

Finally, a group of 47 Israeli tourists found themselves stranded in Bosnia after the hotel staff threw their passports into the trash and then took it to the landfill. While authorities suggest it was accidental, one of the Israelis said, “We suspect the passports were thrown out because they had the Israeli emblem.”

Dig Deeper:

Viciously Antisemitic, Australia Bans Israeli Member of Knesset

Pakistani Textbooks Rife with Antisemitism Hostility to Jews, Israel Study Finds

47 Israeli Tourists Stranded in Bosnia after Passports Thrown Away by Hotel

What You Need to Know:

The first Nefesh B’Nefesh (a nonprofit organization that promotes and facilitates aliyah from the US and Canada) flight since October 7, 2023 touched down at Ben Gurion International Airport on August 20. Onboard were 225 new Israelis, ranging in age from nine months to 72 years, included 45 families with 125 children. The organization will bring 1,000 new immigrants in the month of August and expects a grand total of 4,000 to make the move in 2025. Aliyah (immigration) inquiries spiked immediately following the October 7 attacks, however the process typically takes 18 months to complete.

Gideon Sa’ar, Israel’s foreign minister reopened the nation’s embassy in Zambia on August 20 after decades of closure. Sa’ar’s office said, “The reopening of the embassy marks an important step in deepening bilateral ties with Zambia and forms part of a broader initiative to expand and strengthen relations with African nations.” Moreover, last week Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel visited Nigeria and also led the first official Israeli delegation to South Sudan.

Dig Deeper:

225 New Immigrants from North America Arrive

I Didn’t Realize What Home Was Until I Arrived in Israel

Israel to Open Embassy in Zambia