Friday
Yom Shishee
24 Tevet 5785
January 24 2025
UPDATE 9:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
The View from Ashdod
Israel’s relationship with President Trump is becoming increasingly rocky.
Some reports from the last 24 hours:
*Trump has made it clear that he wants the IDF out of south Lebanon by January 26 despite the fact that the Lebanese Army has not fulfilled its part of the ceasefire agreement by dismantling Hezbollah assets south of the Litani River.
*Trump has sent his envoy Steve Witkoff back to the area today. Tomorrow he will head “the joint operations room” in Cairo which monitors the progress of the ceasefire with Hamas. Witkoff will oversee the reopening of the Rafah Crossing. He will join representatives from Egypt and Qatar to oversee the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza via the Netzarim Corridor—despite the fact that there is still no security mechanism in place to vet returning Gazans (and more than 100,000 have already returned).
*The Trump Administration has yet to release the weapons to Israel that the Biden Administration embargoed.
*In an interview yesterday, Trump said, “It would be nice if problems with Iran could be resolved without Israel attacking military facilities.” Whatever Netanyahu thought he was gaining with Trump concerning an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities by making concessions to Trump on the “Hostage/Ceasefire/Murderers’ Release” with Hamas seems like it is gone with the wind.
In short, no matter how many pro-Israel administration appointees Trump has made, the bottom line is that he (and increasingly Witkoff) are calling all the shots.
On the Ground in Gaza
*Two Palestinians were killed by IDF tank fire in the Tel a-Sultan area in Rafah in southern Gaza yesterday after they disobeyed IDF orders and approached our soldiers threateningly.
*The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) announced that 653 “humanitarian” aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Thursday.
By the way, there are unsurprising reports that Hamas is reorganizing and rebuilding quickly and is using “humanitarian” aid to smuggle ammunition and technological equipment.
On the Ground in Lebanon
Is the ceasefire with Hezbollah disintegrating?
Hezbollah in an official proclamation this morning:
“The 60-day period for the final withdrawal of the Israeli army from Lebanese territory is approaching. There is talk of postponing the withdrawal of the Israeli army from Lebanon. We will not accept any violations of the agreement. The parties must oblige Israel to withdraw from Lebanon to the last centimeter of our lands and allow people to return to their villages in southern Lebanon.”
At the same time Israel’s political and security echelons decided yesterday to maintain an IDF presence in Lebanese territory beyond the 60-day deadline (Jan. 26). The government sent a message to the Trump Administration supporting this decision with evidence of Hezbollah’s violations over the past two months.
From the IDF Spokesman concerning doing the work that the Lebanese Army should be doing:
“The troops of the 7th Brigade, under the command of the 91st Division, continue their defensive activities in southern Lebanon to uphold the security of the State of Israel, and the residents and communities of the Galilee in particular.
During scans conducted in southern Lebanon, the troops located numerous weapons, including Kornet missiles, grenades, and AK-47 rifles. All items were confiscated or dismantled.
Additionally, in collaboration with the Yahalom Unit, the soldiers located and dismantled several underground routes that were used as shelters and weapon storage facilities by the Hezbollah terrorist organization. All the weapons located were confiscated or dismantled.
Troops of the 300th Brigade, under the command of the 146th Division, operated to remove threats posed by Hezbollah in Ayta ash Shab in southern Lebanon. The Hezbollah terrorist organization used the village to store weapons and as a base to fire hundreds of rockets and anti-tank missiles into Israel.
During scans in the area, numerous weapons were located, including rocket launchers, crates of munitions, missiles and launchers, explosives, RPG launchers, AK-47 rifles, hundreds of rockets and mortars, grenades, Kornet missiles, and sniper rifles. The weapons were located inside buildings that served as residential buildings, courtyards, kindergartens, and basements. Additionally, over 30 weapons storage facilities and caches, as well as Hezbollah positions, were located. All of the findings were either confiscated or dismantled.
The 300th Brigade continues conducting scans in the area to remove additional threats to the State of Israel and its citizens, while acting according to the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
All of this and we are supposed leave in 2 days.
And so it goes this Friday morning in Israel where we await the names of the next 4 releasees from Hamas tomorrow–and supposedly a comprehensive list of who is alive and who is dead among the remaining hostages . . .
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.