Ayatollah Killed in U.S.-Israel Airstrikes; Regime Retaliation Kills 9 Israelis, 3 U.S. Troops; Synagogue Destroyed in Beit Shemesh; First Reports of Injuries in Jerusalem; 100,000 IDF Reservists Called up
Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that a missile and drone attack targeting Israeli civilians was expected “in the immediate future.”
Upon completion of the mission, Israel opened the Rafah Crossing for the first time in more than two years.
At 11:55 a.m. Israel time, the IDF confirmed the news the world had waited nearly two years to hear: “There are no more living Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity.”
The Israeli government “approved the framework for the release of all of the hostages, the living and the deceased,” the prime minister’s office stated.
“All of the hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a strong, durable, and everlasting peace.”
Demonstrators filled Hostages Square and major intersections, channeling grief and anger into a strike that drew support from political leaders and celebrities
According to Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter, who organized the meeting, the overriding objective was to find common ground among the ambassador and the Haredim.
Ambassador Huckabee blames Hamas for the impasse in the hostage release deal, calls for an investigation in the case of the American Palestinian killed near Sinjil and praises the US-Israel partnership.
