Swords of Iron

Freed hostage:

'I was kidnapped by civilians who sold me to Hamas'

Nurse recounts how she was kidnapped from her home by armed Gaza civilians and sold to Hamas terrorists before being taken to a tunnel with other hostages.

WSJ presents story on the fallen of Yerucham's hesder yeshiva

An entire generation raised with terror attacks but no war is now losing its innocence - and beloved friends, schoolmates, and family members.

Chief rabbi:

Do not visit places of entertainment when the nation is suffering

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef calls on yeshiva students to sanctify G-d's Name, avoid 'walking around the streets and places of entertainment' when the People of Israel are suffering.

'Israel will be held accountable'

Erdogan offers condolences to Hamas leader

Turkish President calls Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to offer condolences after three of his sons were eliminated in an Israeli air strike in Gaza.

Spanish PM:

'Israel's response in Gaza risks destabilizing the Middle East'

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez criticizes Israel, insists recognition of a Palestinian state is "in Europe's geopolitical interests".

More details:

One of Haniyeh's sons was involved in holding Israeli hostages

The IDF stated that the strike that killed three of the political bureau chairman's sons was not authorized by the Chief of Staff or the political echelon since was in 'real-time' against terrorists who were on their way to commit an act of terror.

MK Bismuth to Arutz Sheva:

'If the war is over you can say goodbye to the Zionist dream'

MK Boaz Bismuth tells Arutz Sheva that the war must continue and condemns calls by world leaders to stop it.

Education Ministry:

No plans to return to distance learning due to war

Ministry forced to issue denial after message circulates warning parents to prepare for distance learning after Passover due to potential war in north.

IDF confirms:

3 sons of Ismail Haniyeh killed in Gaza

Three sons and several grandchildren of Hamas's political bureau head reportedly killed in strike on car in Gaza.

RFK Jr.

'I'd rather lose election than turn against Israel'

3rd party candidate criticizes Biden for not being supportive enough of Israel in war with Hamas, says he has paid a political price for not changing his support for Israel.

Energy Minister:

'No chance of weeks-long power outages'

Energy Minister Eli Cohen addresses rumors of potential months-long blackouts if the war expands, says these rumors are baseless and Israeli energy production has many redundancies.

Following protest:

Nukhba terrorist flown out of Jerusalem hospital

Health Ministry transfers Hamas terrorist being treated at Hadassah Mount Scopus Medical Center in Jerusalem to military medical facility following outcry.

Minister Gantz:

'Youth in middle school will one day fight in the Gaza Strip'

Minister Benny Gantz addressed the media and said that Israel will continue to fight in Gaza: 'We will go into Rafah, we will return to Khan Yunis, and we will operate in Gaza.'

Hamas insisting on assurance that war will end

Hamas terror group unafraid and prepared for Israeli operation in Gaza, plans to reject hostage deal due to insistence on permanent ceasefire, complete withdrawal of IDF from Gaza, Al Akhbar says.

Mother of hostage killed by accident writes letter to CoS

Iris Haim, mother of Yotam, hostage in Gaza who was killed by mistake by IDF fire, writes painful letter to Chief of Staff, following his decision to dismiss two officers after the World Central Kitchen incident in Gaza.

Bereaved father protests:

Nukhba terrorist hospitalized in Israel

Bereaved father Herzl Hajaj, whose daughter was killed in a 2017 terror attack, protests allowing terrorist from Hamas' Nukhba force to be treated in Israeli hospital.

Watch:

IDF eliminates terrorist who tried to attack soldiers in Gaza

Nahal Brigade combat team eliminates terrorists, operating from the air and ground and locating and destroying terrorist infrastructure.

Former Justice Minister:

'Half a year has passed, Chief of Staff must go home'

'I believe and hope that Halevi's resignation will spark a chain reaction, and the entire senior command of the IDF, which is responsible for the failure, will stand up and resign,' former Justice Min. Haim Ramon says.

Haredi MK:

Hostage deal? 'We're trying not to get into that'

MK Pindrus says his party is not part of the bodies charged with making decisions on a prisoner swap.

56 Congress members call to withhold offensive arms from Israel

Demand to withhold offensive arms from Israel 'picks up steam' as additional members of Congress sign letter in aftermath of World Central Kitchen employees' deaths.

Author Douglas Murray honored by Israeli President

Douglas Murray, author and journalist, receives special award from Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli, for his efforts to support Israel following the outbreak of the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Watch:

IDF strikes buildings from which rockets were launched

IDF troops operate in the central Gaza Strip, IDF strikes areas from which launches were identified at IDF troops and Israeli territory.

Holocaust survivors in Israel to receive additional funds

Germany to give Holocaust survivors in Israel an extra $238 each because of the war.

France threatens sanctions on Israel over Gaza aid

France's Foreign Minister says pressure, and possibly sanctions, must be imposed on Israel to open crossings to get humanitarian aid to Gaza.

British Foreign Secretary:

'We will not suspend arms exports to Israel'

Despite pressure on the British government, Foreign Secretary David Cameron says the UK’s position on export licenses to Israel remains “unchanged”.

Egypt pessimistic about humanitarian ceasefire

Officials in Egypt pessimistic about the possibility of declaring a humanitarian ceasefire during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

Biden:

'I think what Netanyahu is doing is a mistake'

US President ups his criticism of Netanyahu over the war in Gaza: I don’t agree with his approach.

Harris to hostages' families:

'No higher priority than reuniting hostages with loved ones'

US Vice President meets families of Americans taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, provides update on US efforts to secure the release of all hostages.

Watch:

IDF strikes infrastructure used by Hezbollah in Syria

In parallel, in the past hours, the IDF struck a number of Hezbollah observation posts and terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

MK Rothman:

'We cannot stop. We must protect the world from this evil'

MK Simcha Rothman speaks to Arutz Sheva and says that 'Our friends from all around the world need to understand that any pressure on Israel to stop the war is actually pressure to make Israel sign a suicide pact.'

New record number of aid trucks enter Gaza

468 aid trucks enter Gaza today, setting new record one day after previous record of 419 trucks was set.

Smotrich:

'Sinwar senses weakness, only pressure will return hostages'

Finance Minister claims that the only way to defeat Hamas is to keep hitting it and thus increase the pressure to return the hostages.

IDF official:

Withdrawal from Khan Yunis done to prepare for Rafah op.

Military officials say withdrawal of most troops from Gaza on Sunday was carried out in order to prepare for combat in other areas.

Passover Seder Plate found in Khan Yunis

Soldiers from the Engineering Battalion found a Seder Plate in the building in Khan Yunis where they were staying.

Entrepreneur Kevin Bermeister:

'We may be alone - but that's not a bad thing'

Entrepreneur Kevin Bermeister says that despite the international pressure on Israel, the world will soon realize that Israel is a good partner even if it insists on independence.

Freed hostage tells MKs:

'If I'm in poor health, what will happen to those still there?'

Raz Ben Ami, who was released in November after 54 days in Hamas captivity, tells Knesset committee of her continuing suffering after being freed, fear for her husband, who is still a hostage.

Netanyahu:

'No force on Earth can stop us from defeating Hamas'

PM meets new IDF recruits, says Israel will destroy the last Hamas battalions in Rafah regardless of any international pressure not to do so.

Activists demand: Close UNRWA offices in Jerusalem

Im Tirtzu activists, MK Boaz Bismuth, demonstrate living conditions of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, demand removal of UNRWA from Jerusalem.

Proposal:

Condition negotiations on US commitment to support Rafah op.

Diplomatic-Security Cabinet to discuss proposal which would condition progress in hostage deal negotiations on a US commitment to support Israel's operation in Rafah.

Watch:

First successful interception by C-Dome defense system

IDF announces: First operational interception by the 'C-Dome' Defense System from a Sa'ar 6-class corvette.

US intelligence estimates:

Iran won't attack Israel directly

Iranian response to Syria elimination likely to consist of large-scale attacks by missiles, UAVs, intelligence source tells CNN.

IDF takes out terrorist who participated in 7/10 massacre

IDF eliminates terrorists, destroys terrorist infrastructure; terrorist who participated in the October 7th massacre eliminated in strike.

Likud MK:

'Netanyahu must keep his promise and destroy Hamas'

MK Nissim Vaturi says that he will demand answers to the hard questions Israelis are asking about the IDF decision to remove a large number of troops from Gaza.

US, Israeli, defense officials discuss Iranian threat, hostages

Defense Min. Gallant and US Sec. of Defense Austin hold call stressing efforts to release remaining hostages, potential scenarios for war with Iran.

IDF takes out head of Hamas' Emergency Bureau

IDF eliminates Hatem Alramery, head of Hamas' Emergency Bureau in the central camps.

Report reveals:

American Jews donated more since 7/10 than during the Six Day War

Donations to Israel since Oct. 7 top $1.4 billion, Israeli government report concludes.

Ahead of hostage release deal

Likud members demand Netanyahu hold a discussion

Seven members of Knesset from the Likud write letter to Netanyahu in which they demand that he hold a discussion in preparation for a hostage release deal.

'Prime Minister, don't stop'

Sderot Mayor opposes end of military maneuver

Alon Davidi, the mayor of Sderot, criticizes end of the maneuver phase in the Gaza Strip: Have the goals of the war been achieved?

Jordan, France and Egypt:

'Ceasefire must be implemented without delay'

King Abdullah II of Jordan, French President Emmanuel Macron and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in op-ed for Washington Post: An operation in Rafah would have “dangerous consequences”.

For the first time:

'Naval Iron Dome' intercepts drone near Eilat

IDF Naval forces identify a suspicious aerial target crossing into Israeli territory and intercept it using the "C-Dome" naval defense system.

Hamas claims:

'We know the location of less than 40 hostages'

Hamas breaches the understandings reached in Paris, claims it knows the location of less than 40 hostages who are alive.

Highest number of aid trucks since war enter Gaza today

Today, 419 humanitarian aid trucks passed through the Kerem Shalom and Nitzana border crossings.

Hamas says Interior Ministry building attacked, mayor killed

Arabic media reports airstrikes in Maghazi in central Gaza, 3 killed.

The bereaved mother's plea to the President

Ruhama decided to go straight to the President to ask him to work to unite the nation again. To her surprise, he requested the same thing of her.

Islamic Jihad spokesman:

'Terror orgs use all hospitals in Gaza'

Tariq Salami Otha Abu Shlouf, captured at Rafah Hospital, admits terror group lied about IDF strike on hospital that was hit by an Islamic Jihad rocket.

Netanyahu:

'There's a date set for Rafah operation'

PM says victory over Hamas and return of hostages requires a military operation in Rafah amid reports of progress in ceasefire talks.

Bennett:

'Iran has been at war with Israel since October 7th'

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett explains why the attack in Damascus will not lead to escalation - and what else the future holds for the region.

Air Canada resumes flights to Israel

In first since October, leading Canadian airline to resume flights between Canada and Israel.

Smotrich to Netanyahu:

'Only the cabinet has the authority to make decisions in war'

Finance Minister sent a letter to the Prime Minister calling on him to meet with the expanded Security Cabinet to discuss the current situation of the war.

Ireland urges 'immediate and unconditional' release of hostages

Marking six months since Hamas' massacre of Israelis, Irish Embassy in Tel Aviv calls Hamas' actions 'reprehensible,' calls out terror group's sexual violence.