Israel Emergency Overview
ISRAEL EMERGENCY FUND
Please consider a gift to the Israel Emergency Fund. We have identified the following urgent priority needs requiring our immediate collective assistance:
- Food and financial assistance
- Evacuation, Housing, Respite, and Support for Frontline Communities
- Funds for Victims of Terror
- Trauma Relief and Psychosocial Care
- Emergency Medical Services and Healthcare
- Special Populations
- Local Efforts and Volunteers
Jewish Federations’ Israel Emergency Campaign has now surpassed $854 million system-wide; and has allocated more than $673 million to a wide range of humanitarian organizations in Israel.
See Where Your Israel Emergency Fund Donation Goes
See List of Organizations Providing Emergency Relief
The Latest
Updated January 9, 2024 at 1 PM
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Activities
- Five IDF soldiers have fallen in the past week, in three separate incidents in the Gaza Strip. A total of 831 soldiers have been killed since October 7, 2023 and 5,588 have been wounded. Of these, almost 200 remain hospitalized. See here for a full list of casualties.
- On Monday, a terrorist attack took place near Kedumim, on the road from Kfar Saba to Shchem. A terrorist opened fire on a bus, killing three Israelis and wounding eight. Yesterday, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that the West Bank may be on the brink of war.
- Earlier in the week, the IDF released data about suicides in the military. Since October 7 some 28 IDF soldiers and officers have taken their own lives. Of these, 16 were soldiers from the reserves. This is the highest number of soldier suicides since 2011 and reports suggest that it reflects the tremendous emotional toll that the war is taking on fighters. According to commentators, reservists are particularly prone to depression due to their lives being upturned, with lengthy military service (sometimes in the range of 250 days per year). This in turn leads to great difficulties in relationships, domestic life, employment, and more.
- About one-third of Israeli troops have now withdrawn from southern Lebanon as part of the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah. Lebanese Army troops have assumed numerous positions in the country’s south, as per the agreement, to prevent Hezbollah from returning to the area. While the deployments have been slower than hoped, many are optimistic that the ceasefire will hold.
- Over the past three days, Israel has facilitated the transfer of large quantities of humanitarian aid to several hospitals in the Gaza Strip, including 6,750 liters of fuel, 10,000 liters of water, dozens of food crates and nearly 300 boxes of medical supplies, all in collaboration with the World Health Organization.
Ceasefire Talks
- The ceasefire in Israel’s north seems to be holding steady, despite several infractions.
- The most serious challenge to the truce occurred two days ago when Hezbollah fired a number of rockets at the Har Dov area. Israel’s military and political leadership quickly ordered several limited, but significant, retaliatory strikes and declared that any breach of the ceasefire would not be tolerated. Israel’s defense minister added that since an agreement was now in place, the IDF would no longer distinguish between Hezbollah and Lebanese Army targets. There have been no further rockets or other attacks.
- Israel has begun to withdraw from some area in southern Lebanon, with the Lebanese Army assuming control over evacuated positions. Lebanese citizens have attempted to return to areas that had been evacuated, where Israel has not yet relinquished control. Fearing that Hezbollah fighters may be infiltrating with the civilians, the IDF has fired warning shots to keep people out until the Lebanese Army can assume control.
- The IDF’s Home Front Command has eased many restrictions in the northern part of Israel following the relatively calm situation. Larger gatherings are now allowed, and schools in all non-evacuated areas have reopened, including in Israel’s third-largest city, Haifa.
- Evacuees have not yet been allowed to return to their homes in the north, but many people are entering their evacuated towns for short visits. Some are seeing their homes for the first time in over a year; they are assessing damages and retrieving personal items. Even for those whose houses were not damaged, a full return of the evacuees may take a while, until the IDF confirms that the situation is safe enough for civilian life to resume.
- According to the IDF, between October 8, 2024 and the ceasefire:
- 19,500 projectiles were fired at Israel from Lebanon and Syria
- 2,874 hits were recorded in Israeli kibbutzim, towns and cities along the northern border
- A total of 1,669 private homes were hit in Israel
- 213 public facilities were struck, including schools, municipal buildings, bus stations and more.
- 157 farming facilities were hit, including dairy farms, chicken coops and greenhouses.
Hostages
- The body of hostage Youssef al-Ziyadne, 53, an Israeli Bedouin Arab and father of 19, was discovered in the Gaza Strip; it was brought back to Israel by the IDF. Ziyadne’s remains were found in an underground tunnel in Rafah, where it is believed that he was alive for many months. Evidence was discovered suggesting that Youssef’s son, Hamza, was also killed. Al-Ziadna was working with three of his adult children at a kibbutz near the Gaza Border on October 7; all three were kidnapped. Two of his children were released in the November 2023 hostage deal.
- There are now 99 hostages remaining in Gaza. A significant portion of these are likely no longer alive.
- Intense negotiations continue to try to reach a ceasefire and hostage-release deal in Gaza. Many reports suggest that all sides are interested in reaching a new agreement before the US presidential inauguration on January 20, which is just 11 days away. Members of President-Elect Donald Trump’s Middle Eastern team have now joined negotiators in Qatar.
- Hamas may have sent a list of potential hostages to be released in the first stage of an agreement. A copy of one unconfirmed list, containing 34 names, has been circulating following its publication by a Saudi Arabian newspaper. The list contains the names of all “humanitarian case” hostages, which includes women, children, the elderly, and the injured. However, the list does not indicate which of the 34 are alive.
- Earlier today, Hamas official Taher al-Nunu claimed the terror group has made significant new concessions to complete the deal. It is understood that the remaining issues to be resolved include the names and number of terrorists to be released in exchange for the hostages, along with the specific wording regarding the details of Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza.
See here for a list of the names of those murdered that have been released so far, and here for a site in Hebrew with the names and photos of fallen soldiers.
Check the latest Times of Israel reports here.
Israel at War: An Overview
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