Israel News for 12-5-2024
News Update
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken today to discuss the situation in Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza. Meanwhile, Syrian rebels ousted pro-government forces from the city of Hama today, after taking control of Aleppo last week. Rebel forces are heading in the direction of Damascus.
Egypt has released a new ceasefire proposal the would include a preliminary 60 day ceasefire and IDF withdrawal from the Rafah crossing, which would be managed and supervised by the Palestinian Authority. After the first week of the ceasefire, living hostages would be released in exchange for hundreds of terrorists released from Israeli prisons. Hamas has yet to respond to the proposal. President-elect Trump’s new envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed al-Thani in an attempt to reach a deal before the January 20 inauguration.
The body of murdered hostage Itay Svirsky was recovered from Gaza in a Shin Bet and IDF operation. Svirsky, 38, a resident of Tel Aviv, was visiting his family in Kibbutz Be’eri on Saturday October 7, and was kidnapped alive to Gaza. His parents, Orit and Rafi Svirsky, were murdered in the massacre at the kibbutz. Itay has been held with Noa Argamani for a period of time. He was declared dead after 102 days in captivity, 2 days after appearing in a Hamas video alongside Argamani.
The IDF issued the results of an investigation that revealed that hostages Alex Dancyg, Yoram Metzger, Haim Perry, Yagev Buchshtav, Nadav Popplewell, and Avraham Munder were fatally shot by their captors in February, allegedly in response to an IDF airstrike targeting nearby infrastructure. The IDf was unaware of the presence of the hostages in the vicinity.
Michael Bloomberg, reportedly the richest Jew in the world with around $102 billion, announced that he will donate 100 million shekels, around $27.8 million, as an initial investment into the reconstruction of the areas in the north that were damaged by the war. Bloomberg will oversea the initiative via his non-profit Bloomberg Sagol Center for City Leadership at Tel Aviv University, which he established in 2022 with his Israeli partner Yossi Sagol. Work on the project has already begun. For more, click here.
