Tzvi Joffre is a journalist and sometimes sofer based in central Israel. He worked for a number of years as a breaking news editor at The Jerusalem Post and is studying political science and Middle Eastern studies at Bar-Ilan University.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib warned that the country was bracing for a major retaliation by Hezbollah after the attack, stressing “this escalates this war.”
The attack was set to take place on or around the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre, with the suspect, an ISIS supporter, saying that he wanted it to be “the largest attack on U.S. soil since 9/11.”
“A lot of work is still ahead of us, and we will be tested by actions, not words,” said Avi Bluth, the head of the IDF’s Central Command – which is responsible for the West Bank.
Yonatan Shamriz, whose brother was mistakenly killed by IDF troops along with two other hostages in December, stressed that “This day should be for unity.”
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah claimed that his movement successfully targeted a military intelligence base in Glilot, just north of Tel Aviv.
![[From left to right] Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Almog Sarusi, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Carmel Gat, and Ori Danino: the six hostages murdered by Hamas in Rafah.](https://b283bbfe.delivery.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/hostage-collage-768x512.jpg)
