TEL AVIV: Singing together in harmony, hundreds of religious Jews gather in a Tel Aviv square to listen to the devastated families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza for 13 months.
The paved area, now known as “Hostage Square,” welcomes the families of the captives — most taken from secular kibbutzim — for emotional gatherings every Saturday evening where they issue a rallying cry for their loved ones’ freedom: “A deal now!“
On Tuesdays, religious Jews attend to provide solace to the families.
“(We came) to meet them, to listen to them, show them that we support them,” says Odelia Dimant, wearing the traditional head covering of religious Jewish women.
It is the 33-year-old’s first time coming to the square, where she listens attentively to a cousin of Omer Neutra, a young soldier captured on October 7, 2023.
The crowd this Tuesday is mainly made up of women on the anniversary of Jewish matriarch Rachel’s death in the Hebrew calendar.
According to Jewish tradition, Rachel, who died in childbirth and was buried in Bethlehem, wept as she awaited the return of the exiled Jews.
In front of an attentive assembly, popular Orthodox speaker Yemima Mizrachi drew a parallel between Rachel’s tears and those of the hostages’ mothers.
Before the crowd gathers in front of the stage to listen to performers and sing along, the hostages’ families and religious Jews form small talking circles.
During Hamas’s October 7 attack, militants took 251 hostages back to the Gaza Strip. Of those, 97 are still held there, including 34 who have been confirmed dead.
The past 400 days have been agonizing for the families.
Ever since a truce deal allowed the release of more than 100 hostages in November 2023, negotiations aimed at securing another have been at a standstill, with hopes for more releases further dimmed after key interlocutor Qatar suspended its mediation between Israel and Hamas.
A collective formed on October 8, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, launched the regular gatherings at the esplanade of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, later renamed Hostage Square by the city council.
“The idea behind these gatherings is unity, and it’s the path that I chose, that of dialogue, not shouting but sharing what I have been going through for more than a year,” says Galia David, whose 22-year-old son Evyatar David was kidnapped at the Nova music festival. More than 40 people were taken hostage at the same event.
The unity at Hostage Square moves her deeply, she says.
“The fact that they come here with different ideologies shows that they are here to listen to us, help us, support us.”
Between the stands selling yellow ribbons — a symbol of solidarity with the hostages — visitors take photos, including in front of a giant clock that counts the number of days, hours, minutes and seconds that have passed since October 7.
For Ditza Or, a religious woman and the mother of Israeli hostage Avinathan Or, the nights are “special.”
“I am moved to see this support,” she says. “Tonight is about unity and prayer. I feel people’s support all the time. I see so much love... The unity is real.”
The evening’s highlight is a prayer for the hostages’ release, recited by Shelly Shem Tov, whose son Omer is being held captive, and Shlomit Kalmanson, a woman in a head covering who lost her husband Elchanan during the fighting at Kibbutz Beeri on October 7.
Elchanan grabbed his weapon on that fateful day and, with his brother and nephew, went to the secular kibbutz close to Gaza to try and defend the civilians there.
They saved more than 100 people’s lives, but Elchanan did not survive.
“Shlomit and I are different, in our appearance, in our places of residence, certainly in our votes, but we have in common love and the ability to see the good,” Shem Tov said told the crowd, unable to hold back her tears, her hand on her friend’s shoulder.
“Our hearts are linked, each with her suffering, but beyond this suffering, we share hope.”
Religious Jews comfort hostages’ families in Tel Aviv
https://arab.news/4xsu8
Religious Jews comfort hostages’ families in Tel Aviv
- “(We came) to meet them, to listen to them, show them that we support them,” says Odelia Dimant, wearing the traditional head covering of religious Jewish women
- It is the 33-year-old’s first time coming to the square, where she listens attentively to a cousin of Omer Neutra, a young soldier captured on October 7, 2023
European Commission allocates $230 million to support Palestinians
- UNRWA to receive €52 million ($58 million) to support its education, healthcare, and relief services for Palestinian refugees
- Dubravka Suica, commissioner for the Mediterranean, said: ‘Our support to the Palestinian people remains steadfast’
LONDON: The European Commission announced on Monday that it has allocated $230 million to support the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and the Palestinian Authority.
On Monday, the commission announced that it had allocated €150 million ($172 million) to the PA to ensure the delivery of essential public services, including payment of salaries for teachers, civil servants, and healthcare workers. This financial support is contingent upon the implementation of the reform agenda, it added.
UNRWA received €52 million ($58 million) to support its education, healthcare, and relief services for Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Since late 2023, UNRWA has been crucial in providing aid and shelter to millions of Palestinians in Gaza amid ongoing Israeli attacks, some of which targeted UN staff and UNRWA facilities.
Dubravka Suica, the commissioner for the Mediterranean, said: “Our support to the Palestinian people remains steadfast.
“With this (first) disbursement of €202 million to the Palestinian Authority and the UN Agency UNRWA, we reaffirm our unwavering political and financial commitment,” she added.
The funds are part of the commission’s Palestine Recovery and Resilience program for 2025-2026, amounting to up to €1.6 billion ($1.84 billion), in which the EU reaffirmed its support for the Palestinian people and its commitment to a two-state solution, as announced in April during the EU-Palestinian Authority high-level political dialogue.
“The EU is deeply concerned about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the worsening conditions in the West Bank. We remain firmly committed to a just and lasting peace, grounded in a negotiated two-state solution,” Suica added.
Syria president vows those involved in church attack will face justice
- The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the church in the working-class Dwelaa district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and wounded 63
DAMASCUS: Syrian leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa vowed Monday that those involved in a “heinous” suicide attack on a Damascus church would face justice, as he called for unity in the diverse, multi-faith country.
The shooting and suicide bombing Sunday at the church in the working-class Dwelaa district of the Syrian capital killed 25 people and wounded 63, the health ministry said.
The authorities who took power after ousting longtime ruler Bashar Assad in December said the attacker was affiliated with the Daesh group, which has not yet claimed the attack.
“We promise... that we will work night and day, mobilizing all our specialized security agencies, to capture all those who participated in and planned this heinous crime and bring them to justice,” interim President Sharaa said in a statement.
The attack follows incidents of sectarian violence in recent months, with security one of the greatest challenges for the new authorities.
The attack “reminds us of the importance of solidarity, and unity of the government and the people in facing all that threatens our nation’s security and stability,” Sharaa said.
Interior Minister Anas Khattab and intelligence services chief Hussein Al-Salameh held an emergency meeting to discuss the investigations, the ministry said in a statement.
The attack was the first suicide bombing in a church in Syria since the country’s civil war erupted in 2011, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.
It was also the first attack of its kind in the Syrian capital since Assad’s ouster.
A prayer service at the church is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (1500 GMT).
Since the new authorities took power, the international community has repeatedly urged them to protect minorities and ensure their participation in Syria’s transition, particularly after the recent violence.
Interior ministry spokesman Noureddine Al-Baba said Sunday that “the security of places of worship is a red line, and all efforts will be made to ensure people’s freedom to perform their religious rites.”Daesh “aims to sow sectarian division and incite all components of Syrian society to take up arms, seeking to show that the Syrian state is unable to protect its communities and citizens,” he told a press conference.
The top cleric of Syria’s Sunni Muslim majority, Grand Mufti Osama Al-Rifai, condemned acts of violence and terrorism in a statement Monday.
“We express our complete rejection of targeting places of worship and terrorizing believers,” he said.
Foreign condemnation of the attack continued to roll in on Monday.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkiye would not allow extremists to drag Syria back into chaos and instability, vowing that Turkiye would “continue to support the Syrian government’s fight against terrorism.”
Turkiye, which is close to the new authorities, has repeatedly offered its operational and military support to fight Daesh and other militant threats.
French President Emmanuel Macron also denounced the “horrible” attack, while the EU said it “stands in solidarity” with Syria in combating ethnic and religious violence.
“It is a grave reminder of the need to intensify efforts against the terrorist threat and to ensure the enduring defeat of Daesh and other terrorist organizations,” spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said.
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed anger after the attack on the Greek Orthodox Church, calling on the new authorities “to take concrete measures to protect all ethnic and religious minorities.”
Syria’s Christian community has shrunk from around one million before the war to fewer than 300,000 due to waves of displacement and emigration.
Daesh seized large swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territory in the early years of the civil war, declaring a cross-border “caliphate” in 2014.
The militants were territorially defeated in Syria 2019 but have maintained a presence, particularly in the country’s vast desert.
Jordanian king, Omani sultan discuss Iran-Israel conflict, call for peaceful dialogue
- They stressed the need to intensify coordination to extinguish the fires of conflict in Gaza and between Israel and Iran
- King Abdullah emphasized that peace in the region cannot be achieved without a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue
LONDON: Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman and King Abdullah II of Jordan discussed the Iran-Israel conflict and the serious repercussions of the escalation of tensions in the region.
During a call on Monday, they stressed the need to intensify coordination to extinguish the fires of conflict in the Gaza Strip and the ongoing tensions resulting from Israeli actions against Iran, the Oman News Agency reported.
They also called for peaceful dialogue and negotiation to find political solutions to regional issues that align with international law, ensuring security and stability, the ONA added.
King Abdullah emphasized that peace in the region cannot be achieved without a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue based on a two-state solution, the Petra news agency reported.
The Iran-Israel conflict has escalated following US strikes on three nuclear sites inside Iran on Sunday. Tel Aviv and Tehran have exchanged attacks over the past 11 days, risking a full-scale war in the Middle East.
Israel targets Iran Guards, Tehran prison in fresh wave of strikes
- President Donald Trump hinted Sunday at interest in changing Iran’s system of government
- Evin prison is often used to hold foreign nationals and Iranians that are seen by rights groups as political prisoners
TEHRAN: Israel hit Revolutionary Guard sites and Evin prison in Tehran on the 11th day of the war Monday, in what it said were its most powerful strikes yet on the Iranian capital.
Iran, in turn, fired missile barrages at Israel and vowed retaliation against the United States after American strikes on the Islamic republic’s nuclear sites a day earlier.
Loud explosions rocked Tehran, where Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the military hit sites with “unprecedented force,” adding to speculation that it is seeking to topple Iran’s clerical leadership.
The targets included Evin prison, which Katz said “holds political prisoners and regime opponents,” as well as command centers for the domestic Basij paramilitary and the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iranian media and the Israeli military said Israel also struck Fordo, a key nuclear enrichment facility buried deep in the mountains south of Tehran.
The military said it had struck Fordo on Monday “in order to obstruct access routes” to the site, which Israel’s ally the United States hit the previous day with massive bunker buster bombs.
President Donald Trump boasted that Sunday’s US strikes on three key sites had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities, but other officials said it was too soon to assess the impact on Iran’s atomic program, which Israel and some Western states consider an unacceptable threat.
Sirens sounded across Israel on Monday and AFP journalists reported blasts over Jerusalem and people fleeing to shelters in Tel Aviv.
Iranian media said Israel’s strikes hit a power supply system in Tehran, triggering temporary outages.
In Israel, the national electricity company reported “damage near a strategic infrastructure facility” in the south that disrupted the power supply, without naming the location or specifying the cause.
Israel’s military censorship rules bar the publication of some details about damage in Israel.
Israeli strikes on Iran have killed more than 400 people, Iran’s health ministry has said. Iran’s attacks on Israel have killed 24 people, according to official figures.
After the US strikes, global markets reacted nervously, with oil prices jumping more than four percent early Monday but dipping later in the day.
China urged both Iran and Israel to prevent the conflict from spilling over, warning of potential economic fallout.
Iranian armed forces chief Abdolrahim Mousavi said in a video statement published on state TV that Washington’s bombing “will not go unanswered.”
“We will take firm action against the American mistake,” he added.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China to help deter Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said closing the strategic strait would be “extremely dangerous.”
With Iran threatening US bases in the region, the State Department issued a worldwide alert cautioning Americans abroad.
In Bahrain, home to a major US naval base, the US embassy said it had “temporarily shifted a portion of its employees to local telework,” citing “heightened regional tensions.”
Meanwhile, international oil firms including BP and Total evacuated some of their foreign staff from southern Iraq, the state-owned Basra Oil Company said.
After the Pentagon stressed the goal of US intervention was not to topple the Iranian government, Trump openly toyed with the idea.
“If the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change???” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
His press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday that Trump was “still interested and engaging in” diplomacy.
She suggested, however, that Iranians could overthrow their government if it did not agree to a diplomatic solution.
At a Pentagon press briefing, top US general Dan Caine said “initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage.”
Speaking ahead of a NATO summit this week, the alliance’s chief Mark Rutte said Tehran should not be allowed a nuclear weapon, calling it his “greatest fear,” while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said “there is no reason to criticize what America did.”
Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that craters were visible at the Fordo facility, but it had not been possible to assess the underground damage.
“Armed attacks on nuclear facilities should never take place,” he added.
Iran has consistently denied seeking an atomic bomb, and Grossi has said there was no evidence to suggest it was doing so despite the Islamic republic being the only non-nuclear armed state to enrich uranium to 60 percent.
The IAEA said on Monday that Tehran had informed it of “special measures to protect nuclear material” when the Israeli campaign began.
The UN agency also said it was seeking access to Iranian nuclear sites to “account for” stockpiles of highly enriched uranium.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, had accused the United States and Israel of deciding to “blow up” nuclear diplomacy with their attacks.
Erdogan says won’t let terror ‘drag Syria back to instability’
ISTANBUL: Turkiye will not allow extremists to drag Syria back into chaos and instability, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday after a suicide attack killed 22 at a Damascus church.
“We will never allow our neighbor and brother Syria... be dragged into a new environment of instability through proxy terrorist organizations,” he said, vowing to support the new government’s fight against such groups.
