Former hostage recounts Hamas feasting on aid while he was starved
(JNS) — Former hostage Tal Shoham told Israeli Army Radio on Wednesday that Hamas systematically stole humanitarian aid while Israeli captives were subjected to deliberate starvation.
“In the room next to us, the guards had food for months ahead that they stole from humanitarian aid. They said they received orders from above to starve us,” Shoham said.
In July, the IDF Arabic spokesperson released video evidence showing Hamas operatives living comfortably underground, consuming fresh bananas, dates and meat in tunnel complexes, even as the organization publicly accused Israel of causing starvation in Gaza.
By contrast, Shoham described the horrific conditions he and other hostages endured. “It was a continuous nightmare. There was no oxygen to breathe, and we felt extreme and ongoing hunger. I saw the pictures of Rom [Brasklavski] and Evyatar [David], they look like walking skeletons, it reminded me of the Holocaust pictures,” he added.
Shoham’s weight dropped from 174 pounds to 110 pounds by the time of his release in February during a ceasefire. He previously told Fox News that hostages were limited to just 300 calories a day and 300 milliliters of water — slightly more than 10 ounces — which they had to decide whether to use for drinking or washing.
IAF intercepts Houthi drones launched from Yemen
(JNS) — The Israeli Air Force intercepted two drones dispatched by Houthi terrorists in Yemen on Thursday afternoon that triggered air-raid sirens, including in the border communities of Bnei Netzarim and Naveh.
“Following the hostile aircraft infiltration sirens that sounded a short while ago in the communities near the Gaza Strip, a UAV launched from Yemen was successfully intercepted by the IAF,” the Israel Defense Forces said.
There were no initial reports of injuries or damage.
Bnei Netzarim and Naveh are located near the Egyptian border and a bit south of the Gaza frontier.
Some 90 minutes later, air-raid sirens sounded in unidentified “open areas” in the Jewish state following the interception of a second UAV.
“The target was intercepted before it crossed toward the territory of the State of Israel; alerts were activated in open areas in accordance with policy,” the IDF said.
On Wednesday morning, the IAF intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen.
The attack, which took place around 5:30 a.m., triggered air-raid sirens for some 1.5 million Israelis, including in large population centers.
Israel’s Magen David Adom medical emergency response group said it had not received any reports about casualties or fallen shrapnel.
‘Very good’ meeting with Rubio, Sa’ar says
(JNS) — As he left the U.S. State Department, on Wednesday afternoon, Gideon Sa’ar, the Israeli foreign minister, told reporters that his meeting with Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state was “very good.”
JNS asked the Israeli minister what his plan was to deal with a Palestinian state. “There won’t be one,” Sa’ar told JNS.
Rubio and Sa’ar met “to reaffirm the United States’ unwavering commitment to Israel’s security,” per a U.S. readout of the meeting.
The officials discussed “key issues in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria” and “the importance of countering Iran’s malign influence,” stated Tommy Pigott, State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson.
Rubio and Sa’ar “agreed that continued close cooperation between their countries is vital to the security and prosperity of the region,” according to Pigott.
According to the Israeli readout, the ministers discussed “the different challenges and opportunities in the Middle East.”
These included “the Iranian issue, following the unprecedented cooperation between the two countries to address the nuclear threat and the ‘SnapBack’ issue, the war against Hamas in Gaza, and the upcoming U.N. General Assembly discussions next month.”
“We had a productive meeting on mutual challenges and interests for both our nations,” Sa’ar said.
Editor of state-linked Qatari paper hails Hamas’s hostage-taking
(JNS) — The editor-in-chief of a Qatari daily that maintains close ties to Doha’s ruling family last week hailed attempts by the Hamas terror group to kidnap Israel Defense Forces soldiers in the Gaza Strip.
“If success is not achieved this time in capturing Zionist soldiers,” Al-Sharq‘s Jaber al-Harmi posted on Aug. 20, “then the second, third and fourth attempts will succeed, Inshallah, by adding new rats to the tally held by the heroes of [Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam] Brigades.”
Al-Harmi posted just hours after Hamas terrorists attempted to kidnap Israeli soldiers in Gaza, praising the ambush as a “qualitative operation” and lauding the perpetrators as “heroes.”
“Blessed be the hands of the heroes,” he wrote, adding: “And may the hands of the vile criminal outcasts be paralyzed.”
The post was subsequently deleted or removed from the social media platform.
Headquartered in Doha, Al-Sharq is considered pro-government in its editorial stance and often reflects official regime messaging. It is one of Qatar’s three leading Arabic-language dailies.
The publisher of Al-Sharq, Dar Al Sharq, is privately held but owned by Sheikh Khalid bin Thani Abdullah Al Thani, a senior member of Qatar’s ruling family and a prominent businessman.
IDF, Shin Bet recover two hostage bodies from Gaza
(JNS) — Israeli forces have retrieved the bodies of two hostages, that of Ilan Weiss and another, unnamed, individual, that Hamas terrorists had kept in the Gaza Strip, the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem said on Friday.
Weiss, 56, was murdered on Oct. 7, 2023, while defending Kibbutz Be’eri, and his corpse was taken to Gaza, according to the statement. His daughter and wife, Noga and Shiri, were also abducted. They were released in November 2023 as part of a hostage deal.
The name of the other Israeli whose body has been retrieved in the joint IDF and Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) operation has not yet been cleared for publication.
With the retrieval of the two bodies, Hamas is believed to be holding 20 living hostages and another 28 bodies.
Defense Minister Israel Katz on social media noted that Weiss was the deputy head of Be’eri’s emergency response team, “who, alongside other heroes, heroically managed the containment battle in the kibbutz and prevented a greater disaster.”
Katz expressed “profound appreciation to our heroic fighters who risk their lives day and night to return all the hostages — the living and the fallen alike.”
