Who Is American Hostage Edan Alexander Set To Be Released?
Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, 21, is set to be released from Gaza captivity, Hamas said on Sunday (11th), which was later confirmed by the Prime Minister’s office and US President Donald Trump.
Born in Israel, Alexander grew up in New Jersey and made aliyah at the age of 18 to serve in the IDF, enlisting in the Golani Brigade.
On the morning of October 7,2023, he volunteered to stay on base and was kidnapped to Gaza from the Gaza border area.
Alexander told his mother, Yael, who was visiting the country for the holiday of Sukkot, “If I don’t go, someone else will have to stay there,” his grandmother, Varda Ben Baruch, told Walla News
“He was so considerate and went back to the base,” she added.
“After he was kidnapped,life came to a halt and changed completely. The house is no longer the same. Nothing matters any more except bringing our loved ones home safe and sound,” Ben Baruch said.
In March, recently released hostages conveyed a sign of life from Alexander, revealing the conditions under which he was being held in captivity in a Channel 12 report. According to the report, Alexander was being held in tunnels under harsh conditions.
In April, shortly after Passover, Hamas published a propaganda video of Alexander. Hamas later said it was unaware of Alexander’s fate after having previously said it had lost contact with the group holding him.
His father,Adi, called on the US to hold direct talks with Hamas to achieve the release of his son.
“I think we should engage back with them directly and see what can be done in regards to my son, four dead American hostages and everybody else,” he said.
If he could have spoken to his son, he would have told him, “ Just believe. You know, nobody forgot about you… and everybody is fighting for your release on the highest level in the United States and in Israel.”
President Herzog Goes To Germany To Mark 60 Years Of Diplomatic Ties
President Isaac Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog departed Sunday evening (11th) for a historic one-day state visit to Germany, at the invitation of President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, marking 60 years since the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and Germany.
As part of the visit, Herzog will not only meet with the President of Germany, but the Chancellor of Germany, the President of the Bundestag, and other senior government officials. He will also be the guest of honor at a state event at the President’s Palace. President Steinmeier will accompany President Herzog to a memorial ceremony at Platform17 at Berlin-Grunewald Station. The two presidents will also hold a joint meeting with more than 100 Israeli and German youth participating in a dialogue on shared history and the future.
The state visit marks a significant milestone in the relationship between the two countries and reflects a shared commitment to deepening friendship and strategic partnership. It also carries historical significance, reflecting the long-standing development of relations between Israel and Germany.
Following the conclusion of the visit to Germany, President Steinmeier is expected to return to Israel together with President Herzog for a reciprocal state visit, which will include, among other events, a visit to Kibbutz Be’eri – the second joint visit by the presidents to the kibbutz since the outbreak of the war. The Presidents will also visit the Israel National Library, and President Herzog will present the Presidential Medal of Honor to President Steinmeier at a state ceremony to be held in his honor at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.
Purge Of Hezbollah From Beirut Airport Satisfying Israeli, US Officials – Report
Lebanon has conducted a major overhaul of security at its sole international airport, in Beirut, to prevent smuggling by Hezbollah, satisfying Israeli and US officials and giving them hope that the government will take full control over the country’s ports of entry from the terror group Hezbollah, according to a news report.
Airport staff linked to Hezbollah have been fired, smugglers have been detained, and new surveillance mechanisms using AI are being deployed at Rafik Hariri International Airport, which is situated in an area of southern Beirut that is controlled by the Iran-backed terror group, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday (10th).
In one recent achievement, Lebanese security thwarted an attempt to smuggle over 50 pounds of gold to Hezbollah through the airport, a senior security official told the newspaper.
“You can feel the difference,” Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said, “we’re doing better on smuggling for the first time in the contemporary history of Lebanon.”
Salam, who was appointed by Lebanon’s new president in January, was also cited as saying that Hezbollah had tried to block plans to construct a second airport for commercial and cargo flights in an area outside the terror group’s control near the Syrian border in northern Lebanon. The second airport could also serve as an alternative should the Beirut airport be shattered due to attacks on Hezbollah targets there,” the newspaper said.
While US and Israeli officials reportedly felt there was still work to be done in Lebanon, a senior US official told the newspaper that “there is reason for hope here.”
Senior Lebanese security and military officials cited by the Journal said no planes are now exempt from security checks, while flights from Iran have been suspended since February.
The suspension, triggered by an IDF claim that Iran was smuggling cash to Hezbollah aboard civilian flights, set off massive riots by supporters of the terror group who demanded Iranian flights be let in. At one point, rioters attacked a convoy led by a top officer from the international peacekeeping force UNIFIL, wounding him.
Meanwhile the IDF has continued to target Hezbollah operatives and arms caches in southern Lebanon, and maintains some posts in the region after withdrawing from most of it in February.
The terror group was required to vacate the area under the November 27 ceasefire agreement, to be replaced by Lebanon’s military and UNIFIL. Last month, an official said the Lebanese military had dismantled over 90% of Hezbollah’s infrastructure near the border with Israel.
Ibrahim Mousawi, a Hezbollah member of Lebanon’s parliament, told the Journal that while the terror group sustained heavy losses, it had ways to rearm, saying, “Where there is a will, there is a way.” He also said allegations that Hezbollah controlled the airport were exaggerated: “We are part of the system, just like any other Lebanese constituency.”
However, Lebanon’s former deputy prime minister Ghassan Hasbani said the airport had been “a main port of entry for supporting whatever para-state activities were happening.”
Some 60,000 residents of northern Israel were displaced by Hezbollah’s near-daily attacks. In a bid to secure the residents’ return, the IDF stepped up operations in Lebanon in September, decimating Hezbollah’s leadership.
Hezbollah also took a hit with the ouster in December of its powerful ally in Syria, the Iran-backed president Bashar al-Assad. The ouster cut off a land route for arms smuggling from Iran to Lebanon.
In January, Lebanon’s parliament elected US-backed Joseph Aoun, ending a two-year vacancy in the post. Aoun, previously the commander of Lebanon’s armed forces, has vowed to maintain a state monopoly on arms – a veiled threat against Hezbollah, the only armed group not to surrender its arms to the Lebanese state when the country’s 15-year civil war ended in 1990.
IDF Paratroopers Relieved In Syria Ahead Of Expansion Of Hamas War
The Israel Defense Forces’ Paratroopers Brigade is being redeployed from Syrian territory ahead of the expansion of the ground campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the military announced on Sunday (11th).
The Paratroopers, who served in the Golan Heights and later across the border in Syria for approximately five months, “completed their mission on the northern border,” the army said.
The Paratroopers Brigade is scheduled to be replaced in the coming days by reservists, who will continue to protect the Jewish state’s northern border through military operations in southern Syria.
Over the past months, the paratroopers, led by the 210th “Bashan” Division carried out “dozens of raids on Syrian outposts confiscating and destroying hundreds of weapons,” the military’s statement noted.
The paratroopers leaving Syria are set to join the fight against Hamas as part of the 98th paratroopers Division, aka the Fire Formation.
The 98th Division, with its special forces, previously took the lead to defeat enemy strongholds such as Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, during the current war.
The paratroopers will be joined by forces of the Nahal Infantry Brigade, which had been operating against terrorists throughout Judea and Samaria for three months, the IDF said in a separate announcement.
The Nahal Brigade troops will fight in the Strip as part of the 162nd “Steel Formation” Division, the army said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a stern warning to Hamas on Thursday (8th), declaring that the “rules are about to change” as Israel prepares to expand its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The prime minister reiterated the IDF’s key objectives: “First – to defeat Hamas, to be victorious over Hamas, to eliminate Hamas. The second, of course, simultaneously – is to release our hostages.”
Fifty-nine abductees remain captive in Gaza, according to official Israel Defense Forces figures. It is believed that 21-24 of them are still alive, with heavy question marks over one Israeli and two foreign nationals.
IAF Reportedly Strikes Three Houthi-Controlled Ports Following Evacuation Warning
The Israel Air Force reportedly began conducting airstrikes at the Houthi-controlled Yemen ports Ras Isa, Hudaydah, and Salif on Sunday (11th) following a warning from the IDF’s Arabic spokesperson, Col. Avichay Adraee that locals should evacuate until further notice.
An Iranian facility has also been struck at an unspecified location, the Saudi state-owned news outlet Al-Arabiya reported.
According to the Saudi news channel Al Hadath, the Ras Isa fuel port has allegedly been hit. It added that at least 10 airstrikes had occurred at the fuel port by press time.
“Due to the Houthi terrorist regime’s use of seaports for its terrorist activities, we urge all those present at these ports to evacuate and stay away from them for your own safety until further notice,” Adraee said before the strikes began.
“Evacuating the ports will keep you safe,” his statement concluded.
The airforce undertook a joint counterstrike of the Hoiuthis in Yemen along with the US last week on Monday (5th), following the ballistic missile strike at Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday (4th).
Israel’s Tuesday strikes (6th) across Sana’a, including at Sana’a International Airport, heavily damaged the region’s infrastructure, but likely cost Israel approximately 13 million shekels..
Yemen had denied reports by Al Hadath that Israel was responsible for airstrikes that targeted the Ras Isa fuel port between Friday night (9th) and Saturday morning (10th), Ynet reported.
Israel Still Shines As The Most Resilient Place On Earth – Avi Benlolo
Israel’s story didn’t begin in 1948. Its true birth stretches back more than 3,500 years, rooted deeply in a land where the Jewish people first built their Temple in Jerusalem around the year 957 BCE. From the Western Wall , the only remaining vestige of that holy sanctuary, to the fortress of Masada, and the ruins of King David’s palace, Israel is the very soil of Jewish history and civilization.
In Canada or much of Europe today, mobs chant in the streets not for peace, but for the erasure of Israel. It’s been a devastating 18 months. Hamas, Hizbullah, the Houthis, and their puppet master Iran launched a war not of Israel’s choosing. It was barbarism against civilization. Yet Israel has fought back, not just with might, but with a heart of courage. This is a war for survival, and it is one Israel will finish on its own terms.
There are 57 Muslim-majority countries across the globe, representing 24% of the world’s population and covering 25 million square km. of territory. In contrast, there is only one Jewish country – Israel – encompassing 21,137 square km., a fraction of the world’s map and population.
Since its founding in 1948, Israel has lost over 25,000 soldiers in defense of its people – brave men and women who stood between their homes and annihilation. Despite this, Israel’s population has reached more than 10 million – a teardrop in a world of 8.2 billion but a great achievement for a people who have had to rebuild after the murder of the six million in the Holocaust.
But Israel is not just surviving – it is thriving. It is the beating heart of hope. Despite war and trauma, Israelis were recently ranked the 8th happiest people on earth. Why? Because Israelis live with purpose. Out of 196 countries, Israel now ranks 28th in global GDP, a mere six places behind Canada. The atrocities of Oct. 7 have only solidified Israel’s national spirit. Israel is still the most magical place on earth.
The writer is founder and CEO of the Abraham Global Peace Initiative, a Canadian think-tank.
The People Of Israel Rise Each Morning With Resolve To Defend Their Communities – William Daroff
After a year of profound heartbreak, Israel Independence Day (Yom Ha’atzmaut) arrived as a testament to the indomitable spirit of the Jewish people. Even amid pain, we celebrated the miracle of Israel’s rebirth – the fulfillment of a 2,000 year-old dream – a miracle shaped through sacrifice, courage and unyielding hope.
In the aftermath of the horrific Oct. 7 attacks, when more than 1,200 Israelis were brutally murdered and hundreds were taken hostage by the Hamas terror army, Independence Day is not only a celebration of sovereignty; it is a declaration of resilience and a commitment to renewal. The State of Israel exists to safeguard the Jewish people. Its survival is not guaranteed by history, it is sustained by vigilance, unity, and the steadfast support of allies.
At a time when anti-Semitism is surging. Israel stands as a powerful reminder of Jewish dignity and perseverance. The people of Israel rise each morning with resolve – to defend their communities, to mourn their losses and to rebuild with hope. Across the Jewish world, Israel continues to inspire and anchor Jewish life. Supporting Israel is not about partisan politics. It is about memory, security, and destiny. We do not walk away from family.
Let us raise our voices proudly against anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. Let us stand with Israel as it strives for security and peace.
The writer is CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. (JNS)
(jns.org)
