Friday, October 17, 2025

What You Need to Know:

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas stands on shaky ground as the terrorist group has staggered the release of the bodies of slain hostages. The original ceasefire agreement involved the release of all living and deceased Israeli hostages from Gaza within 72 hours of finalizing the deal. So far, Hamas has yet to release 19 bodies, though the group claims that it will take time to retrieve the rest of the remains, blaming Israel that the bodies are trapped under debris and in tunnels.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials are insisting that Hamas return the rest of the deceased captives as agreed upon or there could be a return to the fighting in Gaza. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Hamas is capable of returning more deceased hostages but is choosing not to do so. Defense Minister Israel Katz said if Hamas does not hold up its end, Israel will “resume fighting and act to achieve a total defeat of Hamas, to change the reality in Gaza and achieve all the objections of the war.”

President Donald Trump and other US and international officials are working to keep the peace, backing Hamas’s claims that the process to retrieve the remaining bodies from the debris will take time. Meanwhile, mediators are trying to work out the next steps of the peace process, including establishing a multinational security force to take over control of security in Gaza and rebuilding the Strip.

Dig Deeper:

Israel Believes Hamas Could Return Most Deceased Hostages...

Israel Receives Bodies of Two Hostages; Hamas Says it Has No Others

Focus on Peace Process Turning to Demilitarizing Gaza, Trump Admin Advisers Say

What You Need to Know:

The IDF announced Thursday that it eliminated the chief of general staff for the Houthis, Muhammad al-Ghamari, in a strike on August 28 that targeted senior members of the Yemen-based terror group. Al-Ghamari was “responsible for hundreds of attacks against Israel during the war,” the military said, as the terrorist group fired countless projectiles and drones toward Israel following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. The Houthis issued threats in response to their chief’s death, asserting that Israel will “receive its deterrent punishment for the crimes it has committed.”

The IDF also announced Thursday that it struck and dismantled underground Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon in an effort to thwart the Iran-backed terrorist group from reestablishing itself in Lebanon. Hezbollah joined the Houthis in launching cross-border strikes against Israel following the Hamas attack two years ago, prompting retaliatory Israeli strikes on Hezbollah sites. A November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese government brought the fighting to an end, though Israel has vowed to prevent Hezbollah from restrengthening itself.

In the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military fired warning shots Wednesday night to deter Palestinians who were approaching the Yellow Line, where the IDF withdrew following the ceasefire that leaves it in control of 53% of the coastal enclave. This is the latest in a series of incidents of Palestinians approaching the Israeli buffer zone and being driven away.

Dig Deeper:

Houthi Chief of Staff Dead; Yemeni Terrorists Warn Israel of “Punishment”

IDF Strikes Underground Hezbollah Terrorist Sites across Lebanon

IDF Fires Warning Rounds at Suspects near Gaza “Yellow Line”...

What You Need to Know:

As world leaders celebrate the peace deal that led to the Israel–Hamas ceasefire, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday said his government’s decision last month to recognize Palestine as an independent state alongside France, Canada and Australia helped secure the ceasefire. The recognition, Starmer postulated, softened the Arab League to finally condemn the atrocities of October 7 and pressure Hamas to stand down. However, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel explained that the UK government recognizing Palestine sent a message to Hamas that prolonging the war would be rewarded and in fact hampered the negotiations that were underway.

Amid the international talks to bring about the Israel–Hamas peace deal, President Trump and other world leaders have encouraged expanding the Abraham Accords and bringing more Muslim-majority and Arab countries into peace agreements with Israel. Indonesia’s name came up as a potential new peace partner after President Prabowo Subianto has recently voiced a softer stance toward the Jewish state. Reports that the Indonesian president was soon to visit Israel, however, were quashed by the Indonesian government on Monday.

An unlikely new peace partner could come from Lebanon, as Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday said that Lebanon “cannot be outside the current path in the region, which is the path of crisis resolution,” adding that “today the general atmosphere is one of compromise, and it is necessary to negotiate.” This would be a big step for Israel and its neighbor to the north, as the two countries are currently enemy states.

Dig Deeper:

Keir Starmer: UK’s Recognition of Palestinian State Helped Bring about Gaza Deal

Indonesia Denies President to Visit Israel

Lebanon’s Aoun Urges Talks with Israel

What You Need to Know:

The remaining living hostages have been freed! What an answer to prayer to watch the return of the hostages to Israel on Monday after more than two years in captivity and to see their emotional reunions with their families and loved ones.

But they still have quite a journey ahead of them on the road to healing. The returned hostages are being treated for the physical and emotional scars incurred during their captivity. Each day, more details about their years in darkness come to light: starvation, isolation and physical and psychological torture. Many are being treated for complications from starvation and injuries incurred during captivity that were mistreated in the Gaza Strip. Several of the hostages were kept alone throughout most of their captivity with little to no knowledge of the outside world or the status of their loved ones after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.

Avinatan Or was held in complete isolation without contact with any other hostages and was starved to the point where he lost up to 40% of his bodyweight. Alon Ohel was chained in the same tunnel for his entire captivity until 40 days ago, when he was moved to a new location and used as a human shield against the IDF. Matan Angrest, a soldier, was tortured, beaten and told that Israel had given up on him. “He’s been through a lot,” his mother told N12 news, “but he’s here and we’ll focus on the good.”

Dig Deeper:

Pain, Blindness and Shrapnel Wounds: Health Status of the Released Hostages?

Two Years of Chains, Torture, and Isolation: Hostages’ Time in Captivity

Freed Hostages Tell Families of Torture, Starvation and Long Periods of Isolation

“They Demanded He Convert to Islam”: Rom Braslavski’s Mother Says...

Handcuffed, Caged, Thrown in a Pit: Hostages’ Families Describe Two Years of Hell

What You Need to Know:

Last week, a survivor of the Nova festival massacre on October 7, 2023 took his own life. The day of the festival, Roei Shalev was shot in the back twice as he tried to shield his girlfriend, Mapal Adam, from Hamas terrorists. Despite Shalev’s efforts, he lost his girlfriend and his best friend that day. Just two weeks after the massacre, Shalev’s mother, who was reportedly very close to his girlfriend, also took her own life. Shalev was found in his burnt-out car last week after writing on social media: “I just want this suffering to end. I’m alive, but everything inside is dead.” 

Some 4,000 people attended the Nova music festival, where Hamas murdered more than 340 of the attendees and took another 40 hostage. Shalev’s father, Ronen Shalev, urged that “we need to flood the issue, treat it as a national emergency.” He said there needs to be more professional treatment specifically for the Nova families, including the survivors, parents and siblings. “It’s 4,000 shattered families,” he said, “4,000 survivors who are somehow clinging to life—with treatment, without treatment, with support, without support—but clinging to life with great difficulty.” Shalev said that his son didn’t get treatment because he didn’t seek it or feel like he needed it. The important thing, Ronan Shalev said, is to educate survivors and their families on the importance of treatment, even though many may not realize they need it.

Dig Deeper:

Nova Festival Survivor Dies by Suicide, Two Years after Hamas Massacre\y֥

Father of Nova Man who Took Own Life: Survivors’ Mental Health Crisis is “National Emergency”

What You Need to Know:

The Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023 and the ensuing war, caused a dramatic surge in global antisemitism. The ADL reported a 140% increase in antisemitic incidents in the US in 2023 compared to the year before—a record high. France saw a staggering spike of 1,676 antisemitic incidents in 2023 compared to 436 in 2022. Australia saw a 316% spike from October 1, 2023 to September 20, 2024 compared to the previous year. Will the tentative calm of the current ceasefire between Israel and Hamas spread to the rest of the world to cause the raging anti-Israel hatred to simmer down?

Antisemitism continues as Israeli athletes are barred from participating in the Jakarta Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Indonesia; as five people were killed in an anti-Israel riot in Pakistan; and pro-Palestinian groups in Tunisia are working to criminalize normalization with Israel. But we’re also seeing encouraging stands against antisemitism. Just as US President Trump has come down on universities and individuals for antisemitism, Germany is following suit. A German newspaper reported that a Palestinian immigrant is losing his citizenship after posting a picture of his newly issued passport the day before praising Hamas on his social media. This is a step in the right direction for Germany, as the government—while notably pro-Israel in its policies and stances—has allowed a surge of Muslim immigrants who have increased antisemitism in the country.  

Dig Deeper:

Antisemitic and Anti-Israeli Attacks Rise since October 7, 2023

Sport Court Rejects Israeli Appeals after Indonesia Denies Visas for Gymnastics...

Five Dead at anti-Israel Rally outside US Embassy in Pakistan

Tunisian Groups Launch Campaign to Criminalize Normalization with Israel

Berlin Strips Citizenship from Hamas Supporter

What You Need to Know:

Noa Argamani is one of the most recognizable faces among those who were taken hostage on October 7, 2023. She was recorded crying out in fear on the back of a motorcycle headed into Gaza, where she remained captive for 246 days until she was rescued by the IDF. Her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, was also taken hostage and remained in captivity for 738 days until he was released Monday with the remaining living hostages.

 In an emotional social media post, Argamani wrote, “But both of us, against all odds, came home and were reunited! I cannot put into words the range of emotions I felt when I saw him for the first time after so long. Each of us faced death countless times, and yet, after two years apart, we are finally taking our first steps together again in the State of Israel.

“At last, we can begin our healing together. The recovery will be long; we still haven’t truly processed what has happened here over these past two years. But we won. We won our personal war, and the war of all those who fought alongside us to reach this moment. And now, the time has come to begin our shared journey together.”

The hostages were released just before the end of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office quoted Nehemiah 8:17: “So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths…and there was very great gladness.”

Dig Deeper:

“Begin Our Shared Journey”: Noa Argamani Shares First Post since Being Reunited with Avinatan Or

Noa Argamani X Post