Wednesday
Yom Reva’ee
29 Tevet 5785
January 29 2025
SPECIAL NOTICE
From January 30-February 19 your humble servant will be traveling in some places in the world where internet service is spotty or nonexistent. This OneIsrael blog will be published as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
UPDATE 9:00 AM ISRAEL TIME
The View from Ashdod
The absurdity of what is going in northern Gaza (376,000 Palestinians had returned as of an hour ago) was underscored by videos that surfaced yesterday showing who is finally doing vetting of returning northern Gazans. It turns out that the vetting is being done in the Netzarim Corridor is by Hamas (yes, you read that correctly) and by an “Egyptian-Qatari Committee”. Click on the link below to watch an “inspector” in action:
https://x.com/WachtelDan/status/1883921512572543146/video/1
The News from Washington
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff is in the Netzarim Corridor today to observe the farce first hand. Of course, his report will be that everything is proceeding smoothly, and that Israel should begin talks about Phase 2.
This comes amidst the following invitation that PM Netanyahu received yesterday (pardon the blurriness):
Netanyahu will meet with Trump on February 4. Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s trial continues being delayed because of the illness of one of the judges.
Speaking of the White House, it was revealed yesterday in a White House press conference that the Trump Administration has stopped a Biden grant of $50 million dollars “to fund condoms in Gaza”—under the rubric of “humanitarian aid.”
One final note about Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to Washington concerning Sara Netanyahu who has been mysteriously missing from Israel since late November during which time she has been living in Miami where the Netanyahu’s oldest son Yair lives (she did not even return to Israel during Bibi’s recent surgery). Now, she “is expected to return” to Israel with her husband when he returns.
The 70 D9 Bulldozers Have Arrived
The bulldozers that Israel had purchased some months ago but whose delivery was halted by Biden have arrived in Israel:
As we have previously written, these bulldozers which will be equipped with protective armaments are critical in the war against terrorists because they can blow up buried IEDs.
On the Ground in Lebanon
A brief statement from the IDF spokesman last night:
“An IAF aircraft struck a Hezbollah truck and an additional vehicle that transferred weapons in the area of Chaqif and Nabatieh in southern Lebanon.
The truck and the additional vehicle were struck after being monitored by the IDF at the time of the transfer of the weapons.”
And so it goes in Israel this morning . . so far . . as we await the next three hostages to be released tomorrow . .
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.