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The Times of Israel liveblogged Sunday’s events as they unfolded.
Israeli soccer player being investigated for incitement in Turkey for referring to hostages
Israeli soccer player Sagiv Jehezkel displays a message of solidarity with hostages held in Gaza while celebrating a goal for Turkish club Antalyaspor on January 14, 2024. (Antalyaspor/X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Turkish prosecutors have launched an investigation against Israeli soccer player Sagiv Jehezkel on charges of “inciting people to hatred and hostility” over a gesture, Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc says.
“A judicial investigation has been initiated by Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office against Israeli football player Sagiv Jehezkel for ‘inciting people to hatred and hostility’ due to his ugly gesture supporting Israel’s massacre in Gaza after scoring a goal in the Antalyaspor-Trabzonspor Super Lig match,” Tunc writes on social media platform X.
Media reports indicated that Jehezkel had been detained for questioning, although such reports could not be immediately verified.
Israeli player Jehezkel, 28, showed his bandaged hand after scoring a goal against Trabzonspor today, reading “100 days, 7.10,” referring to the Hamas attack on October 7 and the number of days the hostages have been in Hamas captivity.
Marking 100th day, Biden says US will ‘never stop working’ to bring hostages home
US President Joe Biden visits a coffee shop on January 12, 2024, in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
US President Joe Biden says on the 100th day since October 7 that America is still working to bring home the “more than 100 innocent people, including as many as six Americans, who are still held being hostage by Hamas in Gaza.”
In a statement marking the somber anniversary, Biden says that “their families have lived in agony,” and at the same time, they have been “at the forefront of my mind as my national security team and I have worked non-stop to try to secure their freedom.”
Biden says his administration has “pursued aggressive diplomacy to bring the hostages home,” lauding the deal in late November under which more than 100 hostages were freed.
“I will never forget the grief and the suffering I have heard in my meetings with the families of the American hostages,” he adds. “No one should have to endure even one day of what they have gone through, much less 100. On this terrible day, I again reaffirm my pledge to all the hostages and their families — we are with you. We will never stop working to bring Americans home.”
Iranian President Raisi tells Houthi leader that world rejects US strikes on Yemen
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi waves to the crowd during the funeral ceremony of the victims of a bomb explosion in the city of Kerman about 510 miles (820 kilometers) southeast of the capital Tehran, Iran, January 5, 2024. (AP Photo/ Vahid Salemi)
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi condemns the US air strikes on Yemen, saying the attacks revealed what he calls the true aggressive nature of the United States, Iran’s IRNA news agency reports.
Supporting defenseless Palestinians is the principled stance of Iran, Raisi adds in a phone call with the head of Yemen’s Houthi Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, it reports.
Referring to the US strikes, Raisi says such actions “are rejected and condemned by the freedom-seeking nations of the world.”
Mashat says Yemen stands firm in confronting Israel and supporting the people of Gaza.
Hamas publishes propaganda clip showing 3 hostages: Noa Argamani, Yossi Sharabi, Itay Svirsky
From left: Noa Argamani, Yossi Sharabi and Itay Svirsky, seen in an undated Hamas propaganda film released on January 14, 2024. (Screenshot combo)
The Hamas terror group has published a new propaganda video showing three hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
In edited-together clips, the video shows Noa Argamani, Yossi Sharabi, and Itay Svirsky identifying themselves and asking the Israeli government to return them home.
There is no information indicating when the videos were filmed.
Hamas has previously issued similar videos of hostages it is holding, in what Israel says is deplorable psychological warfare. Most Israeli media outlets do not publish the video clips themselves.
Egyptian TV channel says its journalist was killed in Gaza airstrike
Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip, as it seen from the Israeli side of the border, on January 14, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
A video-journalist from the Cairo-based television channel Al Ghad was reportedly killed in Gaza in a strike the channel blames on the IDF.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that Al Ghad video-journalist Yazan al-Zwaidi has been murdered by Israeli fire,” the station announced in a post on X.
اسـ.ـتُشهد مصور قناة «الغد» في شمال غزة الزميل يزن الزويدي، اليوم الأحد، إثر استهداف قوات الاحتـ..ـلال له.
وإذ تنعى قناة «الغد»، الزميل المصور الصحفي وجميع الزملاء الصحفيين الشهـ..ـداء، تُحمِّل قوات الاحتـ..ـلال الإسرائيلي المسؤولية عن استهداف الصحفيين والطواقم الإعلامية في غزة،… pic.twitter.com/ZQ5c2dqA6A— قناة الغد (@AlGhadTV) January 14, 2024
The IDF did not immediately comment on the claim.
Sa’ar to vote against war budget, saying it lacks ‘politically difficult decisions’
MK Gideon Sa'ar speaks during a Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee hearing, January 29, 2023. (Olivier Fitoussi/ Flash90)
Minister Gideon Sa’ar says that he will vote against the war budget in the cabinet because the current proposal does not reduce the expected deficit enough.
“Israel has entered a long security crisis, which is also an economic crisis, which requires significant economic measures to be taken,” Sa’ar writes on X.
He says that the budget should include “politically difficult decisions” in order to gain public trust, suggesting a cut in the salaries of senior officials: “Unfortunately, these are missing in the budget brought to the government.”
Six pro-Palestinian activists arrested for plot to disrupt London Stock Exchange
Illustrative. The London Stock Exchange. (Manakin; iStock by Getty Images)
British police arrest six people who are members of the Palestine Action protest group as part of an investigation into an alleged plot to disrupt the London Stock Exchange.
The police allege the activists had planned to target the LSE tomorrow morning, in an attempt to prevent the building from opening for trading.
In a statement, London’s Metropolitan Police says three people were arrested in the northern English city of Liverpool, two in London, and one in the south coast city of Brighton.
“These are significant arrests. We believe this group was ready to carry out a disruptive and damaging stunt which could have had serious implications had it been carried out successfully,” says Detective Superintendent Sian Thomas.
The police says all six activists remain in custody.
Report: Eisenkot tells war cabinet, ‘We have to stop lying to ourselves’
National Unity MK Gadi Eisenkot speaks during a conference at Ben-Gurion House in Tel Aviv on July 25, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90/ File)
War cabinet observer Minister Gadi Eisenkot says Israel’s leaders are “lying to themselves” and need to wise up before it is too late, according to several Hebrew media reports.
Eisenkot, whose son and nephew were both killed fighting in Gaza, reportedly told the other members of the cabinet that “we have to stop lying to ourselves, to show courage, and to lead to a large deal which will bring home the hostages. Your time is running out, and each day that passes endangers their lives.”
According to the reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reiterated their belief that only added military pressure will lead to such a deal.
IDF says it killed 2 Palestinians who hurled explosive device at West Bank army base
File: IDF troops operate in the West Bank, January 25, 2023. (IDF Spokesperson's Office)
IDF troops killed two Palestinians who allegedly hurled an explosive device at an army base near Ramallah in the West Bank.
The IDF says troops of the 636th Combat Intelligence Collection unit carrying out “proactive activity” near Ramallah spotted the two suspects hurling a bomb at the base and opened fire.
No soldiers are hurt, the IDF says.
Pro-Israel Chicagoans brave sub-zero weather at rally marking 100 days since Oct. 7
A pro-Israel rally in Chicago on January 14, 2024. (Jacob Magid/Times of Israel)
CHICAGO, Illinois — Some 200 pro-Israel Chicagoans brave the sub-zero (Fahrenheit) temperatures to attend a rally marking 100 days since some 240 hostages were kidnapped into Gaza during Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught.
Bundled up and huddled together outside the office building that houses the Israeli consulate, participants hear from the top Israeli diplomat in the city; Jewish, Christian, and Hindu faith leaders; and a cousin of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
Dozens of people at the rally clutch small Israeli and American flags, along with pictures of some of the 136 hostages still in Gaza. In between speeches, they chant, “Bring them home!” and “Am Yisrael Chai” (The nation of Israel lives).
Some of the participants have stuck a piece of masking tape to their jackets with the number 100 written on it, copying the ritual of Goldberg-Polin’s mother, Rachel, who updates the figure each day her son remains in captivity.
“For 100 days now, our hearts have been broken over and over again. We’re still absorbing, digesting and analyzing the horrors of that first day,” Consul General Yinam Cohen says.
“As we stand here, on this frigid Chicago winter day, I am devastated and outraged thinking of the women, men, children and the elderly held in dire conditions in underground tunnels in Gaza with no essential medicine and hardly any food, suffering violence and also sexual abuse,” says Cohen, highlighting the plight of Goldberg-Polin, whose parents are Chicago natives.
Israel’s Consul General to the Midwest Yinam Cohen addresses a pro-Israel rally in Chicago on January 14, 2024. (Jacob Magid/Times of Israel)
“When people on the streets of Chicago chant, ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’… We have to maintain our moral clarity,” he asserts. “We will defeat the terror, our hostages will return home, and we will continue to strive for peace.”
Speaking after Cohen is Tianna Strong from the International Christian Fellowship, who leads the group in prayer for the hostages.
Tianna Strong addresses a pro-Israel rally in Chicago on January 14, 2024. (Jacob Magid/Times of Israel)
“To my Jewish brothers and sisters here and in Israel, we Christians offer a prayer of strength and encouragement. Know that you are not alone. Millions of Christians are standing with you in prayer,” Strong says, earning countless “thank yous” from participants.
Capping off the line-up is community member Michael Goldstein, Goldberg-Polin’s cousin.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin cousin Michael Goldstein addresses a pro-Israel rally in Chicago on January 14, 2024. (Jacob Magid/Times of Israel)
“By now, you all know his story, told so eloquently by his parents, John and Rachel,” he tells the crowd.
“For 100 days, I have felt only a fraction of their pain, but I have also latched on to their hope. Early on, while John was being interviewed, he said Hersh is a guy who lights up a room. Since then, I’ve carried that in my heart,” says Goldstein while holding up a sign with his cousin’s picture.
The event organized by the StandWithUS pro-Israel advocacy group concludes after 30 minutes ,and participants rush into the lobby of the office building where they are able to recognize one another for the first time after briefly removing their hats, masks, and scarfs before dispersing.
US denies Houthi reports of fresh strikes on targets in Yemen
Houthi supporters attend a protest against the United States-led airstrikes on January 12, 2024, in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP Photo)
The United States denies Yemeni rebel reports that it carried out new attacks today on rebel targets in Yemen.
Houthi media claimed US and British strikes hit rebel-held Hodeida, but a US defense official speaking on condition of anonymity says, “No US or coalition strike occurred today.”
The Ansar Allah news website of the rebel group had said earlier that “air strikes from the American-British aggression hit Hodeida.”
Hamas claims ‘many’ hostages have been killed, says global ‘resistance’ will expand
A man walks by posters of people held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, on January 4, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
A spokesman for the Hamas terror group claims that “many” of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip are likely to have been killed, blaming Israel for their fate.
“The fate of many of the enemy’s hostages and detainees has become unknown in recent weeks and the rest are all in the tunnel of the unknown due to the Zionist aggression,” Abu Obeida says in a televised statement. “Most likely, many of them were killed recently, the rest are in great danger every hour and the enemy’s leadership and army bear full responsibility.”
He adds that “any talks before stopping the Israeli aggression are worthless.”
Abu Obeida also says that Hamas has been told by “several parties in the resistance fronts that they will expand their strikes on the Israeli enemy in the coming days.”
FM Katz says he held ‘constructive’ conversation with UAE counterpart
United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan in Paris, on July 18, 2022. (BENOIT TESSIER / AFP)
Foreign Minister Israel Katz says that he held a “constructive conversation” with the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates.
In a statement from his office, Katz says that he “emphasized the importance that Israel attributes to our relations with the UAE,” and also noted that it is committed to bringing all the hostages home and defeating Hamas.
“We agreed to continue working together to strengthen our bilateral relations and to promote peace and security for the benefit of all people of the region,” he says.
IDF vows to respond further to Hezbollah attack which killed 2 Israeli civilians
An Israeli ambulance and soldiers are stationed at the entrance of Kfar Yuval in northern Israel near the Lebanon border after an anti-tank missile attack on January 14, 2024. (jalaa marey / AFP)
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari vows the military will further respond to the anti-tank missile attack on Kfar Yuval today, killing a member of the town’s local security team and his mother in their home.
“The price for this will be exacted not only tonight, but also in the future,” Hagari says.
Barak Ayalon, 45, and his mother Miri Ayalon, 76, were killed when an anti-tank missile slammed into their home in the border community, in an attack claimed by the Hezbollah terror group.
As crowd chants ‘Now! Now!’ over his speech at rally, Herzog calls for ‘entire world’ to help bring home hostages
President Isaac Herzog addresses the 100-day rally in Tel Aviv's 'Hostages Square' on January 14, 2024. (Screenshot)
President Isaac Herzog speaks at the 100-day rally in Tel Aviv, as those in the audience scream “Now! Now!” over his speech, practically drowning him out.
“I am speaking from here to the hostages, our brothers and sisters, whoever can hear me — we are not giving up on you. We have not forgotten you. We are all working and will continue to work here in Israel and around the world 24/7 in order to bring you home!” Herzog says.
The crowd chants so loudly that Herzog has to ask them to pause to allow to him to address the rest of the world in his remarks.
Switching to English, Herzog says, “I call upon the entire family of nations to do your part. This isn’t just our battle. It is a battle for the entire world. Stand with life and liberty. Stand with freedom and democracy, against barbarism and hate.”
“Stand with our hostages. And help bring them home!” he says. “There is no later. The time for you to act is now.”
IDF carries out fresh wave of airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
Smoke billowing above the Lebanese village of Adayseh, in a picture taken from along Israel's border with Lebanon, during Israeli shelling on January 14, 2024. (jalaa marey / AFP)
The IDF says it carried out another wave of airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in response to attacks on the border.
The sites that were hit a short while ago by fighter jets included command centers and other infrastructure used by the terror group, the military says.
מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר השלימו לפני זמן קצר גל תקיפות בשטח לבנון. בין המטרות שנתקפו, תשתיות טרור ומפקדות מבצעיות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בשטח לבנון.
כמו כן, חיל האוויר תקף משעות הצהריים תשתיות ונכסים נוספים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בלבנון pic.twitter.com/bxHQGVmfHA
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) January 14, 2024
The IDF says that earlier it also hit other “infrastructure and assets” belonging to Hezbollah.
Freed hostage, whose husband is still captive, says ‘I thought we were forgotten’
Freed hostage Aviva Siegel and her daughter speak at the 100-day rally in Tel Aviv on January 14, 2024. (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)
Released hostage Aviva Siegel, a native of South Africa, whose husband, US-Israeli citizen Keith Siegel is still held hostage, speaks at the 100-day rally in Tel Aviv.
“I belonged to Hamas,” says Siegel. “I could die and Keith would be alone. Or he would die and I would be alone. Or we would be injured and die slowly.”
Siegel speaks about moving 13 different times during her captivity, about being left in “a scary dark tunnel, without enough oxygen, and left in a small space. We were sure those were our last hours, and then we were left for days and they told us that Israel was no longer,” she says. “I thought we would never return. I thought we were forgotten.”
As Siegel speaks during a rainy point in the rally, the audience is silent, rapt, listening to every word.
“I saw abuses that are impossible to describe,” says Siegel. “I went through 54 days of hell and can’t let it continue. I beg the war cabinet to bring them home alive. We lost 64 people in Kfar Aza and we’re broken. I so hope to wait [at the border] for Keith [when he is released] to come home,” she adds.
Thousands of Israel supporters march in London, Paris, Berlin on 100th day of war
Pro-Israel supporters hold placards as they gather for a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in central London on January 14, 2024. (HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)
On foot and bike, thousands of Israel supporters gather in London, Paris, and Berlin to call for the release of hostages held by Hamas for 100 days.
Several thousand turn London landmark Trafalgar Square into a sea of Israeli flags and yellow balloons, symbolizing the 132 hostages who remain captive after being kidnapped on October 7.
Some supporters hold placards reading, “Stand with Israel” and “Never again is now,” while guest speakers on stage lead the crowd in chants of, “Bring them home.”
Several hundred people also march through the streets of Berlin, waving Israeli flags to demand the “immediate” release of the hostages. Marchers carry signs reading “100 days in hell” and “Bring the hostages home now.”
Others hold up placards criticizing the Israeli government for “betraying the hostages” and calling for “an immediate ceasefire.”
And in Paris, a series of events take place at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
Earlier in London, around 250 cyclists completed a 4.5 mile (7.2 kilometer) ride inside Regents Park to draw attention to those still detained.
Lapid at Tel Aviv hostage rally: Israel is not doing enough to bring them home
File: Opposition leader Yair Lapid speaks at an anti-judicial overhaul protest in Hod Hasharon, July 15, 2023. (Courtesy)
Speaking at the 100-day rally in Tel Aviv, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says that “I get asked all the time if Israel is doing enough to bring the hostages home and I say no, because they’re not home.”
“I said to the prime minister that the opposition will give you our back,” he says. “We don’t have good choices, the only choice is to bring them home.”
The events of October 7 are the failure of the government and IDF, says Lapid, which abandoned those in the Gaza border communities on that day.
“It’s their failure and it’s their job to bring them home, to make the decisions that are hard to make. The Israeli contract is broken into pieces and can only be put back together by returning them to their homes,” he adds. “Our reliance on one another is what makes us different.”
Report: Fresh strikes carried out on Houthi-held port city in Yemen
A Yemeni youth holds a mock rocket during a protest following US and British forces strikes, in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on January 12, 2024. (MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP)
Renewed US and British strikes hit the rebel-held port city of Hodeida in the west of war-torn Yemen, the Iran-backed Houthis’ media reports.
“Air strikes from the American-British aggression hit Hodeida,” reports the Ansar Allah news website of the rebel group, marking the third consecutive day of reported strikes targeting the group over its attacks on Red Sea shipping.
IDF says it has killed more than 9,000 Hamas operatives in Gaza since start of war
IDF troops operate in Gaza in a handout image cleared for publication on January 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Israel Defense Forces has published a large data set with information on its operations in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Lebanon, from the number of terror operatives killed, to the number of sites struck.
According to the data, more than 9,000 Hamas operatives and fighters of other terror groups have been killed by the IDF in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, in addition to some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7. The Hamas-run health ministry has said over 23,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, which includes both civilians and Hamas members.
The IDF’s data says the military has killed two Hamas brigade commanders and 19 battalion commanders and other senior officials with an equivalent rank. More than 50 Hamas company commanders and operatives with a similar rank have also been killed, according to the data.
In Lebanon, the IDF says it has killed more than 170 terror operatives, mostly members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Some 30,000 targets have been struck in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war, including more than 3,400 that were discovered as Hamas sites during the fighting. In Lebanon, some 750 Hezbollah positions have been hit, according to the IDF’s data.
Since the beginning of the war, some 9,000 projectiles fired from Gaza crossed the border into Israel, another 2,000 from Lebanon, and around 30 from Syria.
An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires a shell from northern Israel towards Lebanon, January 11, 2024. (AP Photo/ Leo Correa)
The IDF says the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 has interrogated some 2,300 Palestinian suspects in the Gaza Strip, some of whom were arrested and brought to Israel for further questioning.
A total of 7,653 trucks ferrying humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip have been inspected by Israeli authorities at the Nitzana and Kerem Shalom crossings. The IDF says the trucks have carried a total of 137,920 tons of aid.
The IDF has also made 79,000 phone calls, dropped 7.2 million leaflets, sent 13.7 million texts and 15 million recorded calls to Palestinians in Gaza with evacuation warnings.
Since October 7, in the West Bank, the IDF says troops have arrested more than 2,650 wanted Palestinians, including more than 1,300 affiliated with Hamas. It says 40 brigade-level raids have been carried out, and 14 homes of Palestinians accused of terrorism have been demolished.
According to the IDF’s data, a total of 295,000 reservists have been called up since the beginning of the war. Of them, around 45,000 are serving despite receiving an exemption from reserve duty.
The IDF says the nearly 300,000 reservists have been on duty for an average of 61 days.
Men make up 81 percent of the reservists, with the other 19% women. 115,000 of the reservists are fathers, and some 3,000 are mothers. Half of the reservists are between the ages of 20-29, with 31% being between the ages of 30-39. Another 13% are aged 40-49, 5% aged 50-59, and 1% aged 60-69.
A total of 522 soldiers, reservists and local security officers have been killed and another 2,536 have been wounded since October 7. Of them, 188 were killed and 1,113 were wounded during the ground offensive in Gaza.
The IDF has also listed 19 soldiers killed due to friendly fire in Gaza, and another 36 by accidents during the war, including car crashes and military-related incidents.
Nasrallah says violence in Red Sea, Lebanon border, Iraq all ‘tied to one thing’ – Gaza
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivers a televised speech in Kherbet Selm in southern Lebanon on January 14, 2024. (Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP)
Hezbollah terror group leader Hassan Nasrallah says in a televised address that the US must understand that all of the violence in the region is tied to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Nasrallah says that envoys sent to Lebanon had been seeking to “extinguish” the Lebanon front by delivering a warning that if the group did not stop its attacks “Israel would launch a war on Lebanon.” He did not identify the envoys.
He says the aim of the Lebanon front is to “stop the aggression against Gaza.”
The United States should understand “that the security of the Red Sea and calm on Lebanon’s front, the situation in Iraq, and all developments in the region is tied to one thing: to stop the aggression against Gaza,” Nasrallah adds.
“You are trying to deal with the consequences and the results, go fix the reason,” he says.
Nasrallah was speaking to commemorate the death of a top Hezbollah commander, Wissam Tawil, who was killed in south Lebanon last week, the most senior Hezbollah commander to die in three months of hostilities with Israel.
Gallant calls on government to take steps to strengthen Palestinian Authority
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at a briefing with commanders in the IDF Judea and Samaria Division on January 14, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warns that Hamas is trying to incite in the West Bank, and says Israel must take steps to prevent that by strengthening the Palestinian Authority.
“Hamas is trying to connect between Gaza and Judea and Samaria, and to rile up the area,” says Gallant in comments supplied by his office, using the biblical name for the West Bank.
“We must prevent this in every way and deal with the issue of laborers and money,” he adds. “This could harm our ability to achieve our war goals.”
Gallant is referring to proposals to allow Palestinian laborers from the West Bank back into Israel to work, as well as frozen tax funds that Israel collects for the Palestinian Authority — issues that have been highly contentious in the cabinet since the start of the war.
He adds that he “hopes that the government will accept the position of the IDF and the Shin Bet on everything that is connected to laborers and money. I will say this in the clearest way possible: A strong Palestinian Authority is in the best security interests of Israel.”
At Tel Aviv rally, released hostage says ‘we were abandoned by the State of Israel’
The reunification of the Brodutch family, with father Avichai meeting his wife Hagar and their children Ofri, 10, Yuval, 9 and Oriya, 4, after the latter four were held by terrorists in Gaza for 51 days, November 27, 2023. (Spokesperson's Office, Schneider Children's Medical Center)
Hagar Brodutch, who was taken hostage with her three children and the neighbors’ child, Avigail Idan, speaks about her 51 days in captivity, during which she was sure that her husband, Avihai, had been killed while fighting with the kibbutz’s local security team.
“We were abandoned by State of Israel,” says Brodutch at a rally in Tel Aviv marking 100 days since October 7. “There is no resurrection until all the hostages are back.”
Kibbutz Kfar Aza buried more than 60 members, says Brodutch, noting that her children suffer nightmares, as do all the hostages.
“They need their home now!” says Brodutch.
Daniel Waiss, whose father Shmulik was killed in Be’eri and whose mother, Yehudit was killed in Gaza after being taken hostage, performs at the 100-day rally. He is followed by actor and performer Shuli Rand, singing his 2015 song “Breishit” (Genesis), which describes the Garden of Eden: “This huge wound will, God willing, heal soon,” says Rand.
Freed 13-year-old hostage says family is ‘waiting for a deal’ to bring his dad home
Yagil Yaakov, who was freed from Gaza captivity but whose father remains a hostage, speaks to Channel 12 news on January 14, 2024. (Screenshot)
Yagil Yaakov, 13, who was freed from captivity in November after more than 50 days held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, begs for his father Yair to return home.
In an interview with Channel 12 news, his first since returning, Yagil says that since his return, “I’m OK, I try to be normal… things could be better.”
Yagil — whose brother Or was also kidnapped and freed — says his mother finally agreed for him to do an interview with the media after he adjusted and recovered from his journey, and in particular to mark 100 days that his father has been held hostage.
“Dad is like my best friend, I miss him so much, to watch movies with him, basketball games, soccer games,” he says.
“In the meantime we don’t know anything, the lack of knowledge is driving the whole family crazy, we’re waiting for any detail just to know what’s happening,” he says, noting that they are “waiting for a deal” that will bring him home.
“I left, but what’s with him, what’s with everyone else there? To live that nightmare — I know, I was there,” he adds. “Every day is like an eternity.”
Yagil says that while he was there he picked up some Arabic, and was repeatedly told “lies about the State of Israel — that they don’t want you here, that they abandoned you, that they don’t want you back, and that they say no to every offered [hostage] deal, and at a certain level you start to believe it.”
Pro-Palestinian protesters rally at Cyprus base used in strikes on Yemen’s Houthis
Protesters wave Palestinian flags in front of the gates of the Royal Air Force Akrotiri base near Limassol, Cyprus, on January 14, 2024. (Iakovos Hatzistavrou / AFP)
Pro-Palestinian activists protest at the gates of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, angry that the British base was used as a launch pad for strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Several hundred protesters chant “Out with the Bases of Death” at the entrance to RAF Akrotiri, one of two bases Britain retains in Cyprus, a former colony. The iron gates to the heavily guarded compound, which sits on a peninsula on Cyprus’s southernmost tip, were locked with dozens of police present.
“We are here because we condemn the complicity of the UK government and using Cypriot land for their agenda to support Israel in their onslaught of Gaza,” says Natalia Olivia of the Cyprus-based United for Palestine.
Another activist, Nicos Panayiotou, calls the use of the British bases a disgrace. “They are using Cypriot land to do something every Cypriot is condemning,” he says.
Kfir Brigade troops uncover large cache of mortars in Khan Younis, says IDF
Troops of the Kfir Brigade operate in southern Gaza's Khan Younis, in a handout image published January 14, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF releases new footage of the Kfir Brigade operating in the area of southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.
During raids carried out by the brigade, troops located assault rifles, explosives devices, missile warheads, rockets and other military equipment belonging to Hamas and its elite Nukhba force, the IDF says.
The footage released by the army also shows a large cache of mortars found by the soldiers.
Last week, a soldier of the Kfir Brigade’s Duchifat Battalion, Sgt. Roi Tal, 19, was killed during a gun battle with Hamas operatives in a building in the Khan Younis area.
Relative of Bedouin hostages addresses rally: ‘Stop the war, bring our loved ones home!’
Ali Al-Ziyadne addresses a rally in Tel Aviv marking 100 days since Hamas kidnapped hostages from Israel, on January 14, 2024. (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)
Ali Al-Ziyadne, a relative of Bedouin hostages Hamza and Youssef Ziyadne, who were working at Kibbutz Holit when they were captured, yells from the stage at Hostages Square, where 100 days of captivity were being marked: “Bibi [Netanyahu], you have officers in your cabinet, take their advice, stop the war, enough, bring our loved ones home!”
“We see you at the Defense Ministry and you say you’ll take every initiative but you haven’t,” adds Al-Ziyadne. “At least ask, Mr. Bibi. Give a green light to Mr. [Mossad chief David] Barnea and see what he does to bring them home.”
Maccabit Meyer, the aunt of hostages Ziv and Gali Berman, 26-year-old twins abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, also speaks at the rally. “Those who abandoned them are the ones guilty of their captivity,” she says.
Air raid sirens sound in Yavne, Ashdod after rocket fire from Gaza
Incoming rocket sirens are sounding in the coastal city of Ashdod and nearby communities as well as in the city of Yavne.
The Hamas terror group claims to have fired a rocket at the city from the Gaza Strip.
There are no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The rate of rocket fire from Gaza has slowed significantly in recent weeks.
Hezbollah chief Nasrallah says US strikes on Houthis ‘will harm all maritime navigation’
An image grab from Hezbollah's al-Manar TV taken on January 5, 2024, shows the head of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group Hassan Nasrallah delivering a televised speech, with a picture of killed Hamas's deputy chief Saleh al-Aruri to his left. (Al-Manar / AFP)
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah says that the Houthi rebels will continue to attack ships in the Red Sea and will not be deterred by US strikes on the group.
Describing US and British strikes on Yemen as an act of stupidity, Nasrallah says the Houthis will continue targeting ships belonging to Israel and going to its ports.
“The more dangerous thing is what the Americans did in the Red Sea will harm all maritime navigation, even the ships that are not going to Palestine, even the ships which are not Israeli, even the ships that have nothing to do with the matter, because the sea has become a theater of fighting, missiles, drones and warships,” the terror leader says.
IDF: Two Palestinians who broke through West Bank roadblock, fired at troops were shot dead
A gun used in an attack against troops near the West Bank settlement of Metzad, January 14, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says two Palestinians who breached a roadblock and opened fire at troops near the West Bank settlement of Metzad were killed by soldiers.
According to the IDF, a Palestinian-owned car broke through a roadblock near Metzad and fled.
Amid a chase after the vehicle, the IDF says shots, were fired from the car, likely by the passenger, at the soldiers.
The troops returned fire, killing both suspects.
The IDF says troops found the gun used in the attack, along with an axe and ammunition, in their car.
Cabinet approves new interim head of Prisons Service after Ben Gvir spat
Israel Police Deputy Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi (Courtesy)
The government has approved the appointment of Kobi Yaakobi as the interim head of the Israel Prisons Service to replace outgoing chief Katy Perry.
Perry had initially said she was not going to seek to extend her term, then with the outbreak of the war decided she would stay on — but National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said no to that, sparking a coalition crisis. While Ben Gvir later backed down, Perry said last week that she would ultimately leave the position this month.
Yaakobi, a veteran police officer, has been serving as security secretary to Ben Gvir, sparking backlash against a nomination seen by some as politically motivated.
Ahead of budget amendment vote, Netanyahu says war will take ‘many more months’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, speaks with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich during the weekly cabinet meeting at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, January 7, 2024. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool via AP)
Ahead of a cabinet vote on a wartime amendment to the 2024 budget, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu notes that the ongoing war will “take many more months.”
Noting that it is 100 days since the October 7 massacres, Netanyahu says that half of the hostages have been brought back and “we are not giving up on anyone; we are doing everything to bring everyone home, everyone, with no exceptions.”
Netanyahu says that it is clear “that we must manage this war. It will take many more months. Therefore we are bringing a war budget today.” He notes that it includes “much greater security expenses that we had intended” in the original 2024 budget passed last year.
He promises that the budget amendment also includes special grants to reserve soldiers and to the families of reservists as well as independent freelancers.
Netanyahu concludes by saying that he intends to pass the budget amendment within a day, “up to 24 hours. I am prepared to sit here as long as it takes, if it’s possible tonight we will finish this. We will bring a war budget to the State of Israel, a budget that promises us security and a future.”
Mira Ayalon, 76, killed in Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack in Kfar Yuval
Mira Ayalon, 76, who was critically injured in a Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack has passed away of her injuries, Ziv Medical Center says.
Her son Barak Ayalon was killed in the direct impact on their home as well.
Mira’s husband and Barak’s father was lightly injured in the attack and was taken to Ziv Medical Center by ambulance, the hospital adds.
‘I hear gunfire, I hear gunfire’: IDF shares radio recordings, images of attempted infiltration from Lebanon
Weapons found on the bodies of gunmen who infiltrated into Israeli territory from Lebanon early January 14, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF publishes images from the scene of an attempted infiltration attack from Lebanon in the Mount Dov area on the border early this morning, showing that the three gunmen came armed with assault rifles and several magazines.
It also releases a recording of the radio communications between the soldiers amid the attack.
“I hear gunfire, I hear gunfire,” one soldier is heard saying.
“Engagement with a number of terrorists, I don’t know how many… I’m hit by a bit of shrapnel, the force is all good,” another soldier says.
“Three terrorists identified, I think we took them down, eliminated three terrorists,” the first soldier says.
Five IDF soldiers were lightly and moderately wounded in the incident.
Barak Ayalon identified as man killed in Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack
Barak Ayalon was killed in a Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack on his home in Kfar Yuval, January 14, 2024. (Courtesy, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
The man killed in a Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack a short while ago has been identified as Barak Ayalon, who served as a member of the Kfar Yuval civilian emergency response team, his community says in a statement.
Ayalon, who Magen David Adom says was in his 40s, was killed when the anti-tank missile impacted directly on his home.
His mother, Mira Ayalon was reported to be critically injured in the attack and later passed away of her injuries.
Rocket sirens sound in Gaza border communities after 21-hour lull
Sirens sound in communities close to the Gaza border after 21 hours of silence.
The sirens are activated in the communities of Sa’ad, Zimrat and Shuva.
Rocket Alerts [14:46:25] – 3 Alerts:
• Gaza Envelope — Sa'ad, Zimrat, Shuva#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/6L9e89JMVo
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) January 14, 2024
Israeli man killed in Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack in Kfar Yuval, northern Israel
This picture taken on December 31, 2023, from southern Lebanon shows smoke billowing across the border in northern Israel in the vicinity of a military facility in Metula, after the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets. (Hasan Fneich/AFP)
An Israeli man has been killed in a Hezbollah-claimed anti-tank missile attack against a community in northern Israel.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says the man in his 40s was declared dead at the scene in Kfar Yuval, close to the Lebanese border.
Another woman in her 70s is seriously wounded, and a man aged 74 is treated for acute anxiety, MDA adds.
The IDF says it carried out strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in response to attacks carried out by the terror group on northern Israel.
It says the sites hit by fighter jets included a command center, a military target, and other infrastructure belonging to the terror group.
The IDF says several rockets were fired by Hezbollah today at Misgav Am and Goren, which all landed in open areas.
In addition to the attack on Yuval, the IDF says anti-tank missiles were also fired by Hezbollah at the communities of Zar’it and Shomera.
‘I want to believe in hope,’ Haifa mayor says at Tel Aviv rally
Haifa Mayor Einat Kalisch-Rotem speaks at the rally marking 100 days since October 7, January 14, 2024 (Screenshot)
Haifa Mayor Einat Kalisch-Rotem speaks at the rally marking 100 days since October 7, as a family member of hostage Itay Svirsky.
“I want to believe in hope, to be a free country in our land,” she says, quoting Israel’s Hatikva anthem. The hostages were born free and are now imprisoned as captives, says Kalisch-Rotem, and “we can only sing the anthem with all our hearts if we haven’t lost our hope,” she says.
Kalisch-Rotem says that as the mayor of Haifa, she is a public servant whose job is to serve the public.
“This war started in our homes and our safe rooms, the rooms that are supposed to save us,” says Kalisch-Rotem, adding that the only way to believe in Israel again is to have leaders “who lead with modesty and wisdom,” and to have the hostages returned in a deal, at any price.
Palestinian gunmen reportedly fire at IDF troops in West Bank, one assailant killed, one injured
Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at IDF troops near the West Bank settlement of Metzad, Hebrew-language media outlets report.
The soldiers returned fire, reportedly killing one of the assailants and injuring the second.
There are no reports of Israelis hurt in the attack.
The IDF has not yet issued a statement on the incident.
‘If only there were light now’: Brother of hostage Avinatan Or talks of unity at Tel Aviv rally
Chaim Or speaks at the rally marking 100 days since the deadly October 7 Hamas onslaught, January 14, 2024. (Screenshot)
Chaim Or, brother of Avinatan Or, who was taken hostage from the Supernova desert rave with his girlfriend, Noa Argamani, speaks about his brother who grew up in the religious settlement of Shilo and then struck out on his own path, “a different path from his family, but you always knows how to honor and make room for others.”
Chaim Or speaks about what took place on October 7, on the Simchat Torah Shabbat when the very beginning of the Book of Genesis is read. He talks to his brother, telling him about what he doesn’t know happened as he was taken hostage, of the nation coming together, of Chaim’s friends killed in battle, of those murdered in their homes, the rapes and pillaging.
“If you hear me, I have no idea how to tell you about this,” says Or, “so I’ll just rip off the bandage. 1,200 people killed, a fetus killed, 240 hostages. We faced darkness we can never forget. Since October 7, secular soldiers have been fighting alongside religious, the left and the right are together, and they fall in battle together. They invest in supporting each other in a way we have never seen. That’s the situation we’re in now, we’re in a war — but against the enemy, not against one another.”
Or asks the audience to speak to people they don’t know, to invite over the person from the other side of the map, “just speak in love and peace, and bring light, for the injured, the soldiers, the dead, and for Avinatan. He’ll be so happy once he’s back.”
“And there was light,” says Or, quoting from Genesis. “If only there were light now.”
Egypt and China closely monitoring Red Sea to ensure safety of navigation
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry meets with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at al-Tahrir Palace in the center of the Egyptian capital Cairo on January 14, 2024. (Khaled Desouki/ AFP)
Egypt and China are closely following developments in the Red Sea, focusing on ensuring the safety and security of navigation, they say in a joint statement.
The two countries expressed concern over the expansion of the conflict in the region, emphasizing the importance of uniting efforts to stop the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the statement adds.
The statement from the two countries comes after two waves of US-led strikes Friday hit more than 60 targets in 28 locations in response to weeks of attacks on commercial vessels traversing a vital strait near the mouth of the Red Sea.
Father of hostage Itay Chen says government broke contract with public on October 7
Ruby Chen, father of hostage Itay Chen, speaks at the 24-hour Tel Aviv rally for the hostages to mark 100 days since the October 7 Hamas onslaught, January 14, 2024. (Screenshot)
Ruby Chen, father of hostage Itay Chen, speaks at the 24-hour Tel Aviv rally for the hostages about Tomer Leibowitz, Itay’s friend and comrade who was killed on October 7 and would have celebrated his 20th birthday today.
Chen said he paid condolence calls to the families of soldiers killed in Gaza, “because I know they went to look for my son, for the hostages.”
“This is the deal we have with the government: We pay taxes, we go to work and we expect the government to protect us, and that contract was broken,” says Chen. “In order to bring us back to where we were, we need to fix things.”
Chen says that the hostage families asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to come and speak at the rally, “and I still hope he will do that and come be the prime minister of us all.”
Hundreds of stores shut at BIG shopping centers to honor victims of October 7
Hundreds of stores in BIG shopping centers across Israel shut down amid 100 minute strike to mark 100 days since the October 7 Hamas assault, January 14, 2024. (Sharon Wrobel)
Hundreds of shops, restaurants and cafes come to a standstill at 24 BIG Shopping Centers during a 100-minute labor strike to commemorate the 100th day since the abduction of hostages by the Hamas terror group on October 7.
“We haven’t seen this before, that commercial businesses shut down in such a magnitude, but we feel that this is the time for us too to show social responsibility and do everything we can to put pressure on the government to bring back the hostages,” BIG Shopping Center CEO Hay Galis tells The Times of Israel on the sidelines of a ceremony held outside the Yehud BIG Shopping Center during the 100-minute shutdown.
Family members of the hostages and BIG shopping center management representatives join the ceremony wearing yellow shirts and giving speeches.
“To the Knesset and a government that brought this upon us – you have failed! And in particular, you failed in bringing back the hostages,” says Eitan Bar Zeev, chairman of BIG Shopping Center. “I have lost faith in you. Disconnected government.”
“Stop taking care of your seat and come to your senses to set your priorities right to return the captives now,” Bar Zeev says in a call to politicians.
Speaking at the ceremony is Yoni Asher, whose wife and two young daughters were released after being held as hostages by Hamas terrorists in Gaza for 49 days. “Without bringing back the hostages there will be no trust and without trust there will be no government,” says Asher.
Also speaking at the ceremony is Shahar Ohel, cousin of Alon Ohel, 22, a budding pianist who was abducted by Hamas terrorists from a crowded shelter in a field on October 7.
Ohel’s family started a project that began with bringing a yellow piano to the Hostages Plaza in Tel Aviv, representing the hope that he will return.
A yellow piano is displayed outside the BIG shopping center in Yehud to represent hostage Alon Ohel, 22, who was taken captive by Hamas during the October 7 assault, January 14, 2024. (Sharon Wrobel)
Visitors are invited to play the piano and send love and strength. Additional yellow pianos will now be placed at a number of BIG Shopping Centers, including in Yehud.
Among the retail and food chains joining the effort are Fox, Fox Home, Foot Locker, Laline, Mango, American Eagle, Flying Tiger, Nike, Billabong, Saks, Castro, Hoodies, Tuftan, Carolina, Togo, Factory 54, H&M, Kravitz, Ronen Chen clothing, Lee Cooper, Nine West, Jack Cuba, Opticana, Optica Halperin, Cafe Cafe, McDonald’s, Mega Sport, Elite, Intima, Golf & Co, Kitan, Steimatzky, and Adika.
Elderly woman seriously wounded in Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack
A woman in her 70s is seriously wounded in an anti-tank guided missile attack in the northern community of Yuval, medics say.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says its medics and military medics are treating the woman at the scene, and will soon airlift her to a hospital.
The Lebanese Hezbollah terror group took responsibility for the attack, claiming it targeted Israeli troops.
Total cost of war expected to amount to more than NIS 200 billion, Bank of Israel says
The Bank of Israel estimates that around NIS 210 billion will be spent on war expenses in 2023-2025, Channel 12 states in a report examining the impact of the war in Gaza on Israel’s economy.
Since the start of the war on October 7, Israel has invested NIS 24.7 billion ($6.6 billion) worth of state funds in various aspects of the war effort, including defense costs across all of Israel’s borders and funding for the more than 100,000 displaced people evacuated from the north and south of the country, the report says.
Some NIS 930 million has also been earmarked for mental and physical health care for victims of terror on and after the October 7 Hamas onslaught in which some 1,200 people were massacred and another 240 were seized as hostages.
The cost of repairing and rehabilitating the destroyed communities along the Gaza border will reach roughly NIS 400 million, Channel 12 adds, and the damage up north as a result of cross-border attacks from Lebanon will reach around NIS 250 million.
Two reported wounded in Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile attack on northern Israel
At least two people are reportedly wounded in a Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile attack from Lebanon against the northern community of Yuval.
Hebrew-language media reports say two missiles were fired from Lebanon at the town.
Earlier, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for separate missile attacks near the northern communities of Shomera and Margaliot, as well as a sniper attack on “spy equipment” in Metula.
Environment ministry: Explosion in Haifa caused by machine breakdown at Carmel Olefins factory
A breakdown of a polyethylene machine at the Carmel Olefins factory in Haifa, northern Israel, causes an explosion and emission of black smoke clouds, the Environmental Protection Ministry announces.
The machine in question was immediately shut down, the ministry adds.
The ministry says it will probe whether the factory, owned by the Bazan Group, violated its emissions permit. Nobody was injured in the explosion.
Carmel Olefins manufactures polypropylene and polyethylene for the plastics industry.
כך נראית שגרת תקלות! רגע הפיצוץ העז שהתרחש לפני כשעה קלה במפעל כרמל אולפינים מקב' בז"ן והחריד את הבוקר של תושבי מטרופולין חיפה – נשמע ונראה למרחוק.האירוע עדיין בבדיקה ואנו מקווים שהמשרד להגנת הסביבה יפעל למצות עם המפעל את הדין. על הממשלה להאיץ את סגירת המתחם המזהם והמסוכן הזה בלב המטרופולין שמתקניו מתפוצצים מעצמם עוד לפני כל איום הביטחוני.#סוגריםאתבזן!
Posted by מנקים את מפרץ חיפה on Sunday, January 14, 2024
Universities across Israel hold ceremonies marking 100 days since October 7 Hamas assault
Tel Aviv University President Prof. Ariel Porat speaking on campus at an event marking 100 days since the October 7, 2023 start of the Israel-Hamas war, on January 14, 2024. (Shiraz Pashinsky/TAU)
Universities across the country are holding ceremonies and activities today in solidarity with the hostages captured by Hamas, the victims of the October 7 assault on southern communities, fallen soldiers and others affected by the ongoing crisis.
Administrators, staff, faculty and students of Israel’s institutes of higher education “wish this day to stand alongside the abductees’ families and join in the call to return the abductees without further delay, quickly and peacefully. We mourn the murdered and the fallen and send wishes for a complete recovery to the wounded,” the Association of University Heads says in a statement.
The various events include solidarity rallies featuring family members of the abducted, art installations, a 100-minute pause in classroom activities, lectures, marches and other activities.
Many of the universities have previously arranged a dedicated exhibit area with pictures of the abductees and other displays where the events are to take place today.
Flowers in bloom at a garden planted at Bar-Ilan University in commemoration of the victims of the October 7, 2023 Hamas assault into southern Israel, on Thursday, January 11, 2024. (Alon Korngreen, Bar-Ilan University)
At Ben Gurion University of the Negev, an empty chair is to be placed in all classrooms, reserved for student Noa Argamani, who is among those abducted. At Bar-Ilan University, a ceremony is to be held in a special garden of chrysanthemums and other southern flowers, which was planted at the beginning of the war and is now in bloom.
At both the Hebrew University and Ariel University, 100 yellow balloons are to be released to commemorate the 100-day mark.
Five soldiers injured in overnight battle with gunmen who infiltrated from Lebanon
Rambam Hospital in Haifa says five soldiers were admitted to the medical center following last night’s gun battle on the Lebanon border.
It says two of the soldiers are listed in good-to-moderate condition, and three are lightly hurt.
The IDF had said troops killed four gunmen who infiltrated into Israeli territory in the Mount Dov area.
Mother of Naama Levy appeals for leaders to make ‘hard, painful’ decisions and bring hostages home
Dr. Ayelet Levy Shachar, mother of Naama Levy who was taken hostage on October 7, speaks at Tel Aviv rally marking 100 days since the deadly Hamas onslaught, January 14, 2024. (Screenshot)
Dr. Ayelet Levy Shachar, mother of Naama Levy, taken captive on October 7, speaks at the Tel Aviv rally, reminds the crowd that everyone saw the video of her daughter being taken captive, tied up, bleeding, scared, in pajamas, in the back of a jeep in Gaza.
“Those are the moments that turned Naama into the daughter of us all,” says Levy Shachar.
“She’s an optimist who believes in the good in people,” says Levy Shachar. “And I too, believe, believe that the leaders of the world, of Israel, the US, Europe, Qatar and Egypt, won’t allow the disaster to continue. I believe our leadership will know how to behave with the right decisions, the hard ones and the painful ones, to make a deal that will bring them home. There won’t be a higher price to pay than leaving them there.”
“You promised to bring my daughter home, to bring all of them home. Their fate is in your hands,” says Levy Shachar.
“Only then, when they’re back, will we be able to heal together.”
Hospitals across Israel hold ceremonies marking 100 days since October 7
Captions: Medical staff and others at Shaare Zedek Medical Center gather to mark 100 days since the beginning of the war with Hamas and to stand in solidarity with the 136 hostages who still remain in Gaza, January 14, 2024. (Shaare Zedek Medical Center)
Hospitals around the country hold ceremonies marking 100 days since the deadly October 7 massacre and the beginning of Israel’s war against Hamas, and in solidarity with the 136 Israeli and foreign nationals still being held in Gaza by Hamas and other terror groups.
Today’s gatherings at the hospitals include moments of silence in remembrance of those murdered on October 7 and members of the IDF, the Israel Police, and security services who were killed in the war. Some also include prayers for the injured and the protection of IDF forces, as well as speeches by medical center leaders.
“The administration and staff of Wolfson wish to strengthen…all IDF soldiers and branches of the security services who are now in Gaza and elsewhere. We remember the fallen and hope and wish for the quick return of the kidnapped and captives, healthy and whole, and pray daily for the recovery of the wounded,” says Yaniv Fogel, administrative director of Wolfson Medical Center in Holon.
As staff, patients, families, and visitors gather at Hadassah in Jerusalem, director-general Prof. Yoram Weiss thanks everyone at the hospital who has tended to the injured.
“I am proud of you, the people of Hadassah, for everything you have done and given during these 100 days to save lives and treat and rehabilitate the wounded,” Weiss says.
Medical staff and others at Hadassah Medical Center gather to mark 100 days since the beginning of the war with Hamas and to stand in solidarity with the 136 hostages who still remain in Gaza, January 14, 2024. (Hadassah Medical Center)
Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, destroying entire communities, and slaughtering 1,200 people, mainly civilians. The terrorists also took some 240 Israelis and foreign nationals as hostages to Gaza on October 7.
Some were released during a truce brokered by Qatar and Egypt at the end of November. However, there are 136 hostages — some confirmed to no longer be alive — still being held by Hamas and other terrorist groups in the Strip.
‘I need you!’: Relatives of hostages appeal for safe return of their loved ones
Adi Sharabi, whose two brothers, Yossi and Eli Sharabi, were taken hostage from Kibbutz Be’eri as Eli’s wife and two daughters were killed by the Hamas terrorists, speaks at the rally marking 100 days since the deadly October 7 Hamas attacks, January 14, 2024. (Screenshot, courtesy)
Omer Shtivi, whose brother Idan Shtivi was taken hostage from the Supernova desert rave on October 7, calls out for help from the podium of the 24-hour rally for the hostages as he tells the crowd how his brother would go out from their Tel Aviv apartment that they shared and take care of homeless people on the streets.
“I need you!” yells Shtivi. “I’m happy to see you going on with your lives but what about those who were taken from their houses and haven’t come back? We can’t let this continue another minute!”
Another sibling of a hostage, Adi Sharabi, whose two brothers, Yossi and Eli Sharabi, were taken hostage from Kibbutz Be’eri as Eli’s wife and two daughters were killed by the Hamas terrorists, says that the Sharabi family “suffered a disaster, but it’s the disaster of the entire nation of Israel,” he says.
Sharabi calls upon the world leaders to act, for “history will judge them.”
Retired IDF general Noam Tibon says IDF operation in Gaza won’t bring hostages back alive
Sunday morning’s speakers at the 24-hour rally to mark 100 days for the hostages include retired general Noam Tibon, who saved his son, Haaretz journalist Amir Tibon, his wife and two young children from their home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7.
“Whoever talks about having to bring home the hostages has to add one more word — they have to be brought back alive. That’s a world of difference,” says Tibon. “After 100 days, we know that the IDF operations won’t succeed in bringing them home alive,” he says.
“We understand the pressure to carry out the operations that they say will bring a deal. I want to tell you something: We know who Hamas is. They’re murderers. A deal with Hamas is a deal with the devil, and that’s why that deal has to be made now.”
‘My heart is broken’: Musician Rami Kleinstein performs with his daughter at Tel Aviv rally
Rami Kleinstein and Meshi Kleinstein perform at Tel Aviv's Hostages Square at a 24-hour rally marking 100 days since the deadly October 7 Hamas attacks, January 14, 2024. (Screenshot, courtesy)
Singer and pianist Rami Kleinstein, wearing a sweatshirt affiliated with the Tribe of Nova desert rave group, performs at the 24-hour Tel Aviv rally, and says he’s been performing his own form of reserve duty by playing music for the injured and the mourners and the soldiers.
“Everything we’re doing is important to hold the families and the fighters who are giving their lives, to strengthen the injured, to hear all the stories,” says Kleinstein. “But until I get to perform in front of the released hostages, who have not been with us for 100 days, my heart is broken.
“I’m an optimistic person at my core and I believe it will happen, but I want it to happen now. I want to sing for them, in person.”
Kleinstein performs his song “Right Now” with his daughter, Meshi Kleinstein.
‘We’ll rebuild everything they tried to destroy,’ labor union head vows at start of strike
Head of the Histadrut labor union Arnon Ben-David speaks at Tel Aviv's Hostages Square at start of solidarity strike marking 100 days since the deadly October 7 Hamas attacks, January 14, 2024. (Screenshot, courtesy)
Head of the Histadrut labor union Arnon Ben-David launches a 100-minute strike that hundreds of companies and businesses across the country are taking part in, and speaks at the ongoing 24-hour rally held for the hostages at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square.
“I sometimes get up in the morning and I say to myself, ‘Is it real, what happened on October 7, is it possible that the State of Israel reached this place — that people were abducted from their homes and beds?” says Ben-David. “Soldiers killed while on duty? We’re in the midst of some terrible dream, and I want to wake up from this terrible dream and create a new Israel.”
Ben-David says he hoped there would be a miracle that would eliminate the need for events to mark 100 days and that there would be a hostage deal in place already.
“At this hour, hundreds of companies and businesses in the public and private sector are stopping for 100 minutes to remember and remind,” says Ben-David. “We’re striking today to work together to rebuild the land of Israel. We’ll rebuild everything that they tried to destroy and make it better.”
IDF confirms arrest of Saleh al-Arouri’s sisters in West Bank for ‘inciting terror’ against Israel
The IDF confirms troops operating in the West Bank arrested two sisters of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri, who was allegedly assassinated by Israel in Lebanon earlier this month.
Dalal and Fatima were detained in separate raids in ‘Arura, al-Arouri’s hometown, and al-Bireh, both near Ramallah.
The IDF says they were arrested for “inciting terror against the State of Israel.”
Another 12 wanted Palestinians were detained in overnight raids across the West Bank, the IDF says.
Since October 7, troops have arrested more than 2,650 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,300 affiliated with Hamas. According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 300 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time.
לוחמי צה"ל שב"כ ומג"ב פעלו הלילה למעצר 14 מבוקשים ברחבי יהודה ושומרון ובחטיבת הבקעה והעמקים; במבצע חטיבתי לסיכול טרור אמש בבקעה נעצרו שני מבוקשים ואותר חמ"ל תצפיות
במבצע חטיבתי בחטיבת הבקעה והעמקים הלוחמים עצרו שני מבוקשים, תחקרו חשודים רבים ואיתרו והחרימו חמ״ל תצפיות >> pic.twitter.com/aKdPf99dfX
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) January 14, 2024
100-minute strike begins across Israel to mark 100 days since October 7
More than 150 Israeli companies begin a 100-minute strike in solidarity with the hostages still held captive in Gaza after 100 days of war.
Companies participating in the strike include Meta Israel and the Jewish Agency, as well as more than 100 clothing and home-goods chains such as Fox Home, Billabong, and Golf Co.
Fast food chain McDonald’s is also participating, alongside Cafe Cafe and others.
Universities and schools across Israel are pausing regular scheduling and offering alternative programming for the duration of the strike.
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar will resign at end of war, former intelligence official claims
Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet security service, at a memorial service marking 27 years since the assassination of late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, held at Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem on November 6, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar will resign from his position at the end of the war in Gaza over the intelligence failures ahead of the deadly Hamas onslaught on October 7, former Shin Bet head Yaakov Perry tells Army Radio.
“I spoke with him directly about what is expected and I have no doubt that he will be one of the first to hand over the keys,” Perry says. “His intention is to leave the position.”
On October 15, Bar acknowledged his personal responsibility for the lack of an early warning for the assault on southern Israel communities.
“Despite a series of actions we carried out, unfortunately, on [October 7] we were unable to generate a sufficient warning that would allow the attack to be thwarted,” he wrote at the time in a missive to members of the agency.
“As the one who heads the organization, the responsibility for this is mine,” Bar said. “There will be time for investigations. Now we are fighting.”
Crisis hotline Eran says over 100,000 requests for help received since start of war
Israel’s crisis hotline Eran has received more than 100,000 requests for assistance since the shock Hamas assault on October 7, the organization says in an update marking 100 days since the onslaught.
Some 3,000 of the requests were received during the deadly events of October 7, in which some 1,200 people were slaughtered and around 240 others were seized as hostages.
In a statement published by Hebrew-language media outlets, Eran CEO David Koren says, “Regarding the mental health of all the citizens of Israel, it is important to understand that the huge number of requests is evidence of the need for assistance.”
“These are difficult, truly heartbreaking requests that have been received since the beginning of these events and the heavy disaster that befell the State of Israel,” he adds.
Iran’s Raisi declares victory of Islamic world over ‘defeated Zionist regime’
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi declares that “the Zionist regime and its supporters have been defeated” in a speech marking 100 days since the deadly October 7 Hamas onslaught in southern Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza, Iranian news outlets report.
Speaking at an event titled “The Al-Aqsa Flood and the Awakening of the Human Conscience,” the Iranian president credits Iran for making the issue of Palestine “the most important issue in the Islamic world,” and praises Iran for the leading the fight against Israel.
“The resistance of the Iranian nation has paid off,” he says but hastens to add that “the Palestinians, on their own initiative, upgraded the war from a war with stones to a war with missiles and drones.” Tehran has maintained that Hamas acted independently of Iran on October 7.
“The resistance against Israel in 2-day, 22-day, 33-day and 100-day wars worked and Palestine is victorious and the Zionist regime and its supporters are defeated,” he adds.
Gal Gadot sends video message to families of hostages on 100th day of war
Israeli actress Gal Gadot in a video message to families of hostages marking 100 days since their capture by Hamas, January 14, 2024. (Screenshot, courtesy)
At a 24-hour rally to mark 100 days of the hostages’ ongoing captivity in Gaza, actress Gal Gadot sends a video message from her home in Los Angeles to the families of the hostages. “100 days without them, and it’s impossible to imagine — you are heroes and we all will do what we can to bring them home, there’s no other option,” says Gadot.
“There’s meaning to everything you do, to every rally, video, article, march; the whole world sees and hears you,” she adds.
“The issue of the hostages is present in every home and in mine as well,” says Gadot, placing her hand on her heart. “We have to continue to act and we won’t stop until they are home. I hold and hug each and every one of you.”
Relatives of Arab Israeli lawmaker Ahmad Tibi killed in Gaza
Three relatives of Hadash-Ta’al MK Ahmad Tibi were killed amid the ongoing war in Gaza, he confirms in a short statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The three relatives were identified as university lecturer Dr. Sahar Tibi, computer science student Faisal Tibi, and 10-year-old Ahmed Tibi, Channel 12 reporter Mohammad Magadli said yesterday evening.
They were reportedly killed in an airstrike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
In a short statement on their deaths written in Arabic, Hebrew and English, Tibi uses the traditional Jewish phrase “May their memories be a blessing,” and shares a line from a poem by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish: “We love life if we find a way to it.”
عليهم رحمة الله. نحب الحياة اذا ما استطعنا اليها سبيلاً
יהי זכרם ברוך.אנו נאהב את החיים אם נמצא דרך אליהםWe love life if we can find a way to it
Allah yerhamhom RIP https://t.co/aui5ZyjRu0
— Ahmad Tibi (@Ahmad_tibi) January 14, 2024
Heavy flooding leaves displaced Palestinians in south Gaza with nowhere to shelter
Dozens of shelters in the Gaza Strip have been flooded with a mix of rainwater and sewage waste in the past day as a result of the heavy rainfall, Palestinian news outlets report.
According to the reports, the floods have damaged a number of UNRWA shelters and schools in southern Gaza, where thousands of civilians are seeking shelter in the war-ravaged enclave.
Displaced people in Khan Younis and Rafah are left without any barrier between them and the harsh winter weather after strong winds destroyed their tents, the reports say.
‘Our world stopped on October 7:’ Mother of hostage Yagev Buchshtav appeals for his release
Esther Buchshtav speaking at a Tel Aviv rally on January 14, 2024. (Screen capture/Youtube)
As daylight dawns on the 24-hour rally for the hostages in Tel Aviv, Esther Buchshtav, whose son Yagev was taken hostage with his wife Rimon, demands the return of the hostages.
“Fortunately, Rimon and [some] other women and children were released in the first deal. Unfortunately, my son was not,” she says.
Yagev and Rimon were taken captive from their home in Kibbutz Nirim on the morning of October 7. When Esther Buchshtav heard from her son that Hamas terrorists were shooting through his window, she told him to crouch down and stay protected. That was their final interaction before he was abducted.
“Sunday, 8 in the morning, 100 days. Our world stopped on October 7 at 16:09. We woke up in Kibbutz Nirim in the Gaza envelope to a nightmare. Our lives, and the lives of many others in the country and around the world, stopped on this day,” Buchshtav says.
“We heard this week about the transfer of medicine. The question is who knows what their medical state is now? What medicines do they need? They need to be in their homes, so they can be cared for in their homes — now,” she adds.
14 Hamas operatives killed by IDF in Khan Younis in past day; rocket launchers found in north Gaza
In a morning update on activity in the Gaza Strip over the past day, the IDF releases footage showing two Hamas gunmen spotted in Maghazi, before they are targeted in an airstrike.
Troops of the Golani Brigade identified the operatives moving toward a building they were in, before calling in the strike, the IDF says.
Meanwhile, in northern Gaza, the IDF says troops of the 401st Armored Brigade discovered and destroyed several rocket launchers in the al-Atatra neighborhood, used in recent attacks against Israel.
In southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, combat intelligence collection troops operating with the 7th Armored Brigade spotted two Hamas gunmen and called in an airstrike against them, the IDF says.
The IDF says the 7th Brigade killed five more Hamas operatives with tank shelling and located a tunnel shaft in Khan Younis.
Also in Khan Younis, the Givati Brigade, with air support, killed nine Hamas operatives during separate incidents over the past day.
The IDF releases footage showing two Hamas gunmen being spotted in central Gaza's Maghazi, before being targeted in an airstrike.
Troops of the Golani Brigade had identified the operatives moving toward a building they were in, before calling in the strike, the IDF says.… pic.twitter.com/BXRfOtrzhE
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) January 14, 2024
One dead, five injured in car crash in southern Israel
One person was killed and five were injured to varying degrees in a collision between two vehicles near the Erez junction in southern Israel, Magen David Adom says.
Medics at the scene of the accident declared the death of a 22-year-old man with multi-system trauma and evacuated the five injured for treatment at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, MDA says.
The injured include an 18-year-old in serious condition with a head injury, as well as three men between the ages of 30 and 60 and a 16-year-old, all with moderate injuries.
Oct. 7 rave organizer showcases live set commemorating massacre at Tel Aviv rally
Trance music producer Omri Sasi showcases his latest set during a rally in Tel Aviv on January 14, 2024. (Screen capture/Youtube)
Omri Sasi, one of the organizers of the Supernova rave, is showcasing a live set he created in commemoration of the October 7 massacre at the festival site.
“I was there on October 7 at the event. I survived the massacre in a miracle. I lost my family — my uncle, Avi Sasi from Los Angeles, my cousin, Nitzan Rahum and her boyfriend, Lidor Levy. Nitzan was pregnant. Some of my friends are still held hostage in Gaza,” he says.
He notes that the Supernova rave was one of the hardest hit locations on October 7, with close to 400 murdered and 41 kidnapped.
The set opens with a few scripted words from another one of Sasi’s cousins, who also managed to survive the massacre.
“She hid between the dead bodies, but the terrorists returned a few times, shooting her in the leg. Luckily she wasn’t injured.”
“I wrote a few words as a message of hope, and so that the entire world will know what we went through,” Sasi says.
At the track’s outset, his cousin reads: “We promised ourselves that we would still dance. We are all one strong network of collective energy… Music has the power to heal any wound.”
IDF announces death of 21-year-old Andu’alem Kabeda who was killed fighting in southern Gaza
Andu’alem Kabeda, who was killed fighting in Gaza on January 13, 2024. (IDF)
The IDF announces the death of Sgt. First Class (res.) Andu’alem Kabeda, 21, who was killed fighting in southern Gaza yesterday.
Kabeda was from the southern town of Kiryat Gat and served in the Combat Engineering Corps’ 603rd Battalion.
He is the 188th soldier killed in the IDF’s ground offensive in Gaza, which it launched in response to Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught.
IDF troops reportedly arrest sisters of slain Hamas leader Arouri in overnight West Bank raids
Dalal and Fatima, sisters of slain deputy Hamas terror chief Saleh al-Arouri. (Courtesy)
Palestinian media reports that in a pair of overnight raids near Ramallah, the IDF arrested Dalal and Fatima, the sisters of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri, who was assassinated by Israel in Lebanon earlier this month.
IDF: Troops patrolling border eliminate ‘terror squad’ that infiltrated Israel from Lebanon
Smoke rises during an exchange of fire between the IDF and Hezbollah on the border between Israel and Lebanon, December 26, 2023. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)
Israeli soldiers shot dead four suspects who had infiltrated into Israel from Lebanon overnight, the IDF says in a statement.
The “terror squad” was spotted by Israeli troops conducting a patrol of the northern border near Mount Dov, the army says.
An exchange of fire took place during which artillery was also launched at the suspects to assist the Israeli troops on site, according to the IDF.
Egypt says it’ll remain in control of its Gaza border after PM suggests Israel might take it over
A photo shows a view of the wall on Egypt's eastern border with the Gaza Strip, in Rafah on December 11, 2023. (Giuseppe Cacace/AFP)
The spokesperson for Egypt’s foreign ministry says Cairo will remain in control of its borders after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed during a press conference earlier this evening that Israel is considering taking control after the war over the Philadelphi Corridor, which runs for 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) along the Gaza-Egypt border.
“Egypt fully controls its borders and controls it completely, and these issues are subject to legal and security agreements between the countries involved, so any talk on this matter is generally subject to scrutiny and is responded to with declared positions,” Ahmed Abu Zeid says during an interview with Egyptian television channel Sada El-Balad.
Asked if Israel intends to reestablish control over the Philadelphi Corridor, Netanyahu replied that this was “one possibility for what I call a southern barrier.”
“We have made it clear from day one that any decisions that hinder the entry of aid are essentially Israeli measures and it comes through various methods, including strictness in inspecting trucks, wasting a lot of time in the inspection process, prohibiting and obstructing the entry of medical aid, and obstructing the entry of journalists and officials,” Netanyahu said.
Abu Zeid goes on to blame Israel for the limited amount of humanitarian aid that has entered Gaza.
“We have made it clear from day one that any decisions that hinder the entry of aid are essentially Israeli measures and it comes through various methods, including strictness in inspecting trucks, wasting a lot of time in the inspection process, prohibiting and obstructing the entry of medical aid, and obstructing the entry of journalists and officials,” he says.
Israel argues that inefficiencies by Egyptian and UN representatives at the border are what has caused the bottlenecks in aid.
Granddaughter of freed hostage questions whether PM doing enough to bring abductees home
Anat Shoshani, granddaughter of a freed captive from Kibbutz Nir Oz, speaks during a rally in Tel Aviv on January 14, 2024. (Screen capture/YouTube)
During a brief on-stage interview at the 24-hour rally for the hostages in Tel Aviv, the granddaughter of released hostage Adina Moshe questions whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is really doing all that he can to return people home.”
Anat Shoshani — whose grandmother was freed from captivity as part of the hostage deal between Hamas and Israel and whose grandfather was murdered by Hamas on October 7 in Nir Oz — is the first of many to be interviewed as part of the overnight speaker’s lineup.
“We can’t rest, and we can’t stay silent,” she says to Linoy Bar-Geffen, the journalist emceeing the event. “The people here [at Hostages Square] have really become my family. Behind every hostage are dear and good people who just want their family back home.”
Between each interview is a musical performance featuring artists from the Gaza border communities that Hamas invaded on October 7.
During a press conference earlier tonight, Netanyahu was pressed to address the plight of the roughly 132 hostages still in Gaza.
The premier responded that no one can put themselves in the “nightmare” situation in which the hostages’ families have found themselves over the past 100 days, adding that his heart is with them and that he will not rest until all of the hostages are returned.
But he went on to say that the hostages’ families cannot put themselves in the shoes of the political decision-makers, suggesting that other considerations need to be taken into account in negotiations to free those held captive.
Some critics of this stance argue that the government must pay whatever price is necessary to free the hostages, given that the state had a responsibility to protect its citizens and failed to do so on October 7.
Meds for hostages reportedly handed to Qatari officials as Israel-Hamas deal inches forward
The family of hostage Doron Steinbrecher at the January 13, 2024, rally calling for the release of Hamas hostages. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Medications for the hostages in Gaza have reportedly been handed over to Qatari officials, as the deal between Israel and Hamas moves forward.
The Qatari representatives are now slated to bring the medications to the Gaza border and hand them over to a third party, which will deliver them to the hostages, Haaretz reports, without citing a source.
As part of the deal with Hamas, Israel has agreed to facilitate the expansion of medical aid as part of the humanitarian assistance that goes into Gaza for Palestinians.
The sides are still negotiating whether the Red Cross will be the third party that will deliver the medications to the hostages, Haaretz says.
Other options being looked at are representatives from the UN or another international aid group, the report says.
The Red Cross has lost significant credibility in the eyes of Israel, which has blasted the international aid group for failing to secure visits to the hostages.
Red Cross officials retort that publicly pressuring Hamas on the issue wouldn’t work and would harm efforts to maintain the neutrality that allows them to operate in conflict zones around the world.
Gantz, Eisenkot attend Tel Aviv rally for hostages after wrapping up war cabinet meeting
War cabinet minister Benny Gantz attends the Tel Aviv rally marking 100 days since the hostages were kidnapped into Gaza on January 14, 2024. (Courtesy)
Ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot from the National Unity party have arrived at the Tel Aviv rally demanding the release of the hostages after 100 days in captivity.
The pair arrive immediately after wrapping up a war cabinet meeting nearby at the IDF’s Kirya military headquarters.
There have not been spottings of ministers from other parties at the rally.
War cabinet minister Gadi Eisenkot attends the Tel Aviv rally marking 100 days since the hostages were kidnapped into Gaza on January 14, 2024. (Courtesy)
Art installations at Tel Aviv rally marking 100 days of war highlight hostages’ horrific conditions
An art installation in Hostages Square depicts the plight of those held in Hamas captivity at 24-hour rally in Tel Aviv on January 14, 2023. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)
At the 24-hour rally to mark 100 days since Hamas took some 240 people hostage into the Gaza Strip, demonstrators in Hostage Square are flocking to public art installations set up in honor of the missing.
One artist, Dana Sapir, donned in black and trapped in a cage, attracts attention from passersby and even brings one woman to tears as she attempts to claw her way out from a cage. Written on both her palms in black marker is the title of her piece: “Over my dead body.”
She remains in the tiny cage for hours, completely exposed to the pouring rain.
Next to Sapir is a mock Hamas tunnel erected earlier today. Attendees are lining up for the chance to walk through the claustrophobic, dimly-lit passage.
An art installation in Hostages Square depicts the plight of those held in Hamas captivity at 24-hour rally in Tel Aviv on January 14, 2023. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)
Etched on the walls of the tunnel are the names of the hostages, messages from families to their captured loved ones and tally marks counting down the days until their return. The distant sound of gunshots plays through speakers inside the tunnel, intending to simulate the dire conditions of the hostages.
Ofek, a demonstrator from Tel Aviv who arrived at the square around midnight, plans to stay all night at the rally despite the heavy rain.
“The issue of the hostages is declining [in publicity], fewer people are talking about them. Before on the big advertising boards, you would see posters demanding their return, now it’s less,” he says. He believes the current government isn’t prioritizing the return of the hostages, and that mass demonstrations like tonight’s are important to put pressure on Israel’s leadership.
Though the number of demonstrators has fallen since its peak at 120,000, many remain and are setting up for the night.
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