IAF says ‘hostage ribbons’ painted in the skies by planes on routine flight path
People across Israel record videos of ribbon-shaped contrails in the sky, with many believing they were intended as nod to the yellow hostage ribbon
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
People across Israel reported seeing large ribbons drawn with airplane contrails in the skies on Monday morning, which many interpreted as a nod to the yellow ribbons worn as a symbol of support for the hostages held in Gaza.
However, the IDF said later in the day that the contrails were caused by a routine patrol, and there was no intent to form the image of the hostage ribbon nor any other symbol.
According to the military, the contrails were caused by an Israeli Air Force spy plane that was operating to track a drone launched from Yemen at Israel, which was successfully intercepted by the Israeli Navy over the Mediterranean Sea.
The IDF said that the flight path of the spy plane and the weather conditions caused the contrails.
“Due to the high flight altitude in varying condensation conditions and strong westerly winds, the unique contrails were created,” the military said. “This was a routine flight path.”
Videos and pictures posted online showed the ribbons in the skies over the Tel Aviv area, Jerusalem, and various areas in southern and northern Israel.
"סמל החטופים", אותו סרט קשור, סמל הזדהות ותמיכה בהחזרת החטופים, הופיע הבוקר בשמי הארץ.
הצייר – טייס, המכחול – מטוס ואת התמונה המרהיבה יכולנו לראות מעשרות ערים וישובים בארץ, מצפון לדרום, דרך ירושלים, גוש דן, השרון ועוד.הקריאה להשבתם של כל 100 החטופים חייבת להמשיך ולהדהד בכל… pic.twitter.com/sW6lygHpjq
— מטה המשפחות להחזרת החטופים והנעדרים (@BringThemHome23) December 16, 2024
In an initial statement Monday afternoon, the military said the air force found that the ribbons were caused by IAF aircrafts’ “routine operational activity.” It added at the time that investigators were still probing if the ribbons were possibly a stunt carried out as part of a rogue initiative.
The yellow ribbon has been widely used as a symbol for the hostages taken captive from Israel into the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, during the Hamas invasion, when the terror group killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped 251.
It is believed that 96 of the hostages remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF. Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that.
https://twitter.com/yosi_shahbar/status/1868512889461453250
Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 38 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
