The Newest Goings On War and Its 24 Hostages In Gaza

 Nadene Goldfoot                                              

New IDF Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir approved new offensive plans for the Southern Command in preparation for a likely resumption of fighting against Hamas in Gaza. Zamir was born and raised down south in Eilat. His grandparents were immigrants from Yemen and Syria, so he is a Mizrahi Jew.   He is a graduate of the 17th class of The Military Academy for Command in Tel Aviv.  Zamir is a graduate of the Inter-Service Command and Staff College, and the National Security College. He holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Tel-Aviv University, a Master's degree in national security from the University of Haifa, and is an alumnus of the General Management Program for Senior Executives (GMP) of The Wharton School, where Trump attended in Pennsylvania.  

The 24 hostages presumed to be alive who are still held by Hamas: Top row, from left: Elkana Bohbot, Matan Angrest, Edan Alexander, Avinatan Or, Yosef-Haim Ohana, Alon Ohel. Second row, from left: Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, Bipin Joshi, Rom Braslavski, Ziv Berman, Gali Berman. Third row, from left: Omri Miran, Eitan Mor, Segev Kalfon, Nimrod Cohen, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn. Bottom row, from left: Matan Zangauker, Bar Kupershtein, David Cunio, Ariel Cunio, Tamir Nimrodi, Pinta Nattapong. (Hostages Families Forum)

The IDF said that any new offensive in Gaza will be subject to various operational constraints, primarily in areas where hostages are believed to be held. The 24 presumed to be alive are Two dozen men — fathers, soldiers, security guards, tech workers, dreamers, dancers and more — are still captive after over 500 days, along with the bodies of 35 others.  

Israel believes 24 hostages are still alive in the Strip — 22 Israelis, one Thai and one Nepali. All of them are young men who were kidnapped on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and abduct 251, sparking the war , the worst since the Holocaust, in Gaza.

Palestinian (Hamas) Security Drill (Terrorists)                                                  

Hamas has been reinforcing its positions, redeploying thousands of operatives to Gaza City from the south and restructured its combat units into companies and battalions in anticipation of renewed fighting. this happens every time there is a cease fire.  They use it to re-arm and add forces.                                   

Marc Polymeropoulos, a former CIA officer who worked in the region, repeated what he had heard Wednesday in an interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." that the United States would "take over" and "own" Gaza. “These are triggering mechanisms for Islamic extremist groups,” he said, adding, “This kind of language only is going to galvanize groups that want to kill Americans."  Marc Polymeropoulos worked for 26 years at the CIA before retiring at the Senior Intelligence Service level. He was one of the CIA’s most highly decorated operations officers who served in multiple field assignments for the U.S. government. He specialized in counterterrorism, the Middle East and South Asia, including extensive time in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Resource:

israelAM 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyal_Zamir

https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-next-24-these-are-the-remaining-hostages-presumed-alive-in-gaza/