Two troops killed in Gaza, bringing wartime IDF toll to 846
(JNS) — Two Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed in an accident in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday night, the military announced on Thursday.
The troops were identified as Sgt. First Class (res.) Nadav Cohen, 21, of the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, from Beit Hanan; and Sgt. First Class Nachman Refael Ben Ami, 20, of the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, from Eilat.
According to an initial probe, a crane collapsed on the troops due to harsh winds caused by a winter storm.
On Tuesday, two IDF soldiers were killed and eight more were wounded when a terrorist opened fire at a military post near the village of Tayasir in northern Samaria.
The slain troops were identified by the military as IDF Sgt. Maj. (res.) Ofer Yung, 39, from Tel Aviv, and Sgt. Maj. (res.) Avraham Tzvi Tzivka Friedman, 43, from Ein Hanatziv.
The death toll among Israeli troops on all fronts since the Hamas-led terror attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 now stands at 846.
Sixty Oct. 7 orphans ineligible to receive state financial support
(JNS) — “We were abandoned by the Israeli government on Oct. 7, and we continue to be abandoned to this day,” says orphan Noam Ben Ami, whose mother was murdered in Kibbutz Be’eri.
A group of approximately 60 Israelis who lost their remaining parent during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist onslaught have found themselves in a legal void, unable to receive state compensation despite becoming full orphans on that horrific day.
Under current Israeli law, individuals who lost both parents to terrorism receive comprehensive financial support and psychological assistance regardless of age. However, those over 21 who lost their final surviving parent during the Oct. 7 attack do not qualify for these benefits, as the law only recognizes the simultaneous loss of both parents as a result of an attack.
In June 2024, Knesset member Yinon Azulai (Shas) introduced legislation to address this gap. The bill passed its preliminary reading but has since stalled in committee. According to the Knesset website, the bill’s advancement was contingent on either merging it with a government bill within one month or proceeding with agreement from multiple ministries, including Finance, Defense and Justice.
Azulai’s spokesperson told JNS, “We received an official request from several families, among them Liora Ben Tsur and Noam Ben Ami, who were caught in a legal loophole that excluded people who lost one parent in the attack from receiving compensation. Azulai immediately worked to assist them, as he did with several other cases of people requiring assistance following Oct. 7.”
According to Ben Ami, there exists a striking disparity in compensation for victims. While families of victims from the Lag B’Omer Meron stampede disaster received 500,000 shekels (about $140,000) to be split among family members as stated on the Prime Minister’s Office website, according to a Calcalist news report on Jan. 21, the relatives of Oct. 7 victims are set to receive only 14,360 shekels (about $4,000) and a rehabilitation package.
The affected group, just like many other family members and survivors of the attacks, faces heightened risks of psychological disorders and suicide. Unlike the other groups, however, they are without access to state-provided mental health support, according to Ben Tsur. “We are orphans. There is no such thing as half an orphan. We need help and no one is giving it to us,” she told the committee.
Israel foiled plot to blow up bus remotely in Jerusalem
(JNS) — Israeli security forces prevented a bus bombing in Jerusalem by arresting five Palestinian terrorists who planned to execute the attack remotely, the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) said in a statement on Thursday.
The defendants, some of whom are allegedly affiliated with Hamas and others with Fatah, acted as a cell to remotely detonate an explosive device, which they planned to smuggle into Jerusalem from Samaria, the Shin Bet statement also said.
One of the alleged cell members, Ahmed Jaser Ali, manufactured an explosive device for the planned bus bombing, the Shin Bet added. The cell members experimented with this device and others to determine how much explosives to pack into it.
The defendants are from the Ramallah area. In addition to Jaser Ali, they are Mander Sheikh Qassem, Bashir Awad, Omar Tsobakh and Ali Shweiki.
In recent weeks, Israel has stepped up its operations against terrorists in Judea and Samaria.
Terrorists released by Israel leave prison as millionaires
(JNS) — Many terrorists released by Israel are millionaires, flush with cash from years of receiving monthly Palestinian Authority “pay for slay” stipends, an analysis by a Jerusalem-based watchdog group revealed on Wednesday.
Palestinian Media Watch posted a list of all 734 terrorists scheduled for release from Israeli prisons in the first phase of the hostages-for-ceasefire agreement with Hamas, together with their “salaries” — the dollar amounts each terrorist received from the Palestinian Authority’s so-called Martyrs’ Fund while incarcerated.
In total, the terrorists received $141,837,087, or more than half a billion shekels. Of those, 316, or nearly half, received more than a million shekels.“It’s a tremendous force driving terror,” Itamar Marcus, Palestinian Media Watch’s founder and director, told JNS.
Netanyahu endorses voluntary migration of Gaza Palestinians: ‘A remarkable idea’
(JTA) — Benjamin Netanyahu endorsed the idea of Gaza Palestinians choosing to leave the territory temporarily, a toned-down version of the proposal President Donald Trump had pushed in a meeting with the Israeli prime minister one day earlier.
Netanyahu’s remarks came shortly after the White House walked back Trump’s dramatic pledges to permanently relocate the entire population of Gaza and bring the territory under American control.
The idea of encouraging Gaza Palestinians to leave the territory is not new — Netanyahu’s far-right allies have been pushing it for months — but it got an unprecedented platform on Tuesday when Trump reiterated, in a White House press conference with Netanyahu, that he believes “all” Gazans should permanently leave. He has repeatedly said that he’s pushing the leaders of Egypt and Jordan to take in large numbers of Gazans.
Trump also said on Tuesday that the United States would “take over” Gaza, clear out its rubble and rebuild it as an international destination. While some pro-Israel advocates praised the idea, it drew a chorus of criticism from people who questioned the idea’s legality, wisdom and feasibility — including Republicans in Congress — and accused Trump of advocating ethnic cleansing.
On Thursday morning, Trump echoed that idea, framing his proposal as a boon for the Middle East. “The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” he wrote on social media. “The U.S., working with great development teams from all over the World, would slowly and carefully begin the construction of what would become one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind on Earth. No soldiers by the U.S. would be needed! Stability for the region would reign!!!”
