JC Israel Briefing Day 536: Kibbutz mourns pensioner with ‘eternal smile’ after latest ramming attack

It is thought the attack would have continued were it not for passing Border Police officers, who shot and killed the terrorist. The wounded soldier, a heavy-load truck driver in the IDF, is in hospital and remains in a serious condition.

Elsewhere, there was rocket fire towards Israel from both Gaza and Yemen yesterday. The ballistic missile from Yemen was the sixth in a week and was intercepted outside Israel’s borders. Still, shrapnel fell on the city of Beit Shemesh – without causing injuries or major damage. The rocket fire from Gaza targeted Sderot. It constituted the third such attack since the IDF restarted its Gaza operation last week. Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.

Israel responded by announcing that it will carry out a raid in Jabalia, the area in Gaza where the rockets apparently came from. The military announced in Arabic that people should leave the area, stating: “To all residents of the Gaza Strip located in the Jabalia area, this is a final advance warning before the raid. Terrorist organisations return and launch their rockets from inside [civilian areas].”

In Gaza, Israeli forces struck and destroyed some 100 pickup trucks – some of the key vehicles that Hamas used to perpetrate the 7 October massacre. These trucks were hit across Gaza, including inside a building used to store them.

In Syria, the IDF struck two military bases, in ongoing efforts to limit the military capabilities in the hands of the new Syrian regime, which Israel views with suspicion.

Meanwhile, Egypt has proposed a new ceasefire deal and wants to revive hostage negotiations, and according to the Associated Press, Hamas has responded positively.

The terror group is reportedly prepared to release five living hostages, including an American-Israeli, in exchange for a week-long pause in fighting and more aid. According to the proposal, Israel would release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange. The talks are behind closed doors, and the exact terms are still being discussed. Israel has not commented on the proposal.

Hamas has also released heartbreaking footage of two Israeli captives, Elkana Bohbot and Yosef Chaim Ohana. They are seen lamenting their conditions inside a Gaza tunnel. In the footage, Bohbot accuses the government of silencing former hostages and pleads for help. Bohbot’s family reacted to the video by appealing to US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for empathy: “Please, imagine this is your son, the father of your grandchild, waiting to see daylight, hearing IDF bombs, and living in constant fear for his life,” the family wrote.

In the video, the hostages appealed to former captive Ohad Ben Ami to speak out – and he responded by doing so, posting on social media that the government must halt fighting now to return hostages. Families of both hostages confirmed the footage is authentic – though it is unclear how far their words were scripted by Hamas as a form of psychological terrorism.

Back in Israel, the ultra-Orthodox government minister who caused outrage by dancing to a song decrying IDF enlistment has resigned one of his political positions. Yitzhak Goldknopf, chairman of United Torah Judaism, stepped down from his role as a minister in the Prime Minister’s Office after the video from a wedding emerged. However, he retains his main post as Minister of Housing and Construction.

Speaking of the military, a former IDF Chief of Staff has claimed that “not a single war goal has been achieved” despite 535 days of fighting. Gadi Eisenkot, who served in the Knesset after his stint at the top of the military, said that Netanyahu has failed in strategic aims and in the return of hostages, while investing energy into safeguarding his own political career.

But, it appears that more countries will join the Abraham Accords, the peace process that has brought normalisation between Israel and Arab countries like the United Arab Emirates. President Trump said that several nations are interested in joining the normalisation agreements initiated during his previous term.

And Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar has accused ministers of ramping up the political discourse against him to dangerous extremes. “Yesterday you accused me of treason, today you are threatening to send me to jail, tomorrow you will execute me,” he said, according to Israeli media, during a closed-door security meeting.

The remark, while apparently not intended literally, highlighted the deepening rift between Bar and the political leadership. The cabinet has voted to dismiss him, but the High Court issued an injunction halting the move until April. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir accused Bar of “spying on the political echelon” and called him “a criminal who should sit in prison.”

Finally, there were clashes yesterday in the Palestinian West Bank village of Susiya, where extremist settlers reportedly attacked Palestinian residents and international activists. According to eyewitnesses, stones were thrown, property was damaged, and several people were injured.

One of the Palestinians involved was Hamdan Ballal, co-director of the documentary No Other Land, which recently won an Oscar. According to reports, the incident degenerated into two-way violence, and some Palestinians threw stones at soldiers who arrived on the scene. Soldiers arrested three Palestinians, including Ballal, on suspicion of stone-throwing. The circumstances surrounding the incident are still emerging.

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