News Digest — 10/8/25
Israel Foils Second Gaza Flotilla In A Week
Israel said Wednesday (8th) it thwarted another attempt to breach its maritime blockade of Gaza, intercepting a flotilla of nine vessels organized by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The boats carrying about 100 activists, had sailed from Italy two weeks ago.
“Another futile attempt to breach the legal naval blockade and enter a combat zone ended in nothing,” the Foreign Ministry tweeted. “The vessels and the passengers were transferred to an Israeli port. All the passengers are safe and in good health. The passengers are expected to be deported promptly.”
Earlier on Wednesday (8th), the Gaza Freedom Flotilla said its vessels were under attack by the Israeli military, with several boats intercepted while sailing toward the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military was jamming signals with at least two boats being boarded, the flotilla said on Instagram.
The IDF has not yet commented on the incident.
The interception follows a series of similar maritime confrontations in recent weeks. On Thursday (2nd), Israel stopped the 42-ship Global Sumud Flotilla, which carried 479 activists, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg. Nearly all of those detained have since been deported.
Documents found in Gaza and released by Israel’s Foreign Ministry traced direct Hamas involvement in organizing and financing the Sumud flotilla to break the Israeli blockade of the Strip. Israel said the boats carried no aid and accused participants of seeking confrontation rather than delivering humanitarian relief.
Only seven activists remain in custody, including a Spanish national accused of biting an Israeli Prison Service officer.
Israel and Egypt have maintained restrictions on Gaza to prevent weapons smuggling since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. Since then, Palestinian activists have periodically launched flotillas to challenge the blockade. In 2011, an independent UN inquiry into the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident criticized Israeli forces for using excessive force but upheld the blockade’s legality.
Kibbutz Nir Oz Commemorates The 65 Murdered, 83 Taken Hostage On October 7
Kibbutz Nir Oz commemorated the second anniversary of Hamas’ October 7 massacre on Tuesday (7th).
The massacre led to 65 kibbutz members being murdered, and 83 being taken hostage, including four who managed to escape, and three who were murdered along the route to the Gaza Strip.
Nine of those taken hostage are among the 48 remaining Gaza hostages.
“Exactly two years ago, our world collapsed,” the Kibbutz’s statement began,
“We will remember the Nir Oz community in its days of glory – the homes, the lawns, the trees, and the paths. The pool and the grocery store, the places where we met by chance and shared the small conversations that were such a central part of our communal life” the statement continued.
“We will remember the holidays we celebrated together, the arguments and disputes that now surely seem insignificant. The flowers of Nir Oz. The creativity and enterprise that made Nir Oz a cultural gem of the Negev – the exhibitions in the White House, and the best live music lineup ever,” the statement continued.
“We will remember the yellow gate that protected our special home but on that fateful day collapsed under the murderous assault and failed to protect us. We will remember that we were all heroes – from the babies to the elders. All of us! We will remember that we are strong in a thousand ways, and like the phoenix, from the ashes we will build new life,” the statement added.
“We will remember that day, its noontime sun rising over a blood-soaked land, the skies standing tall and silent. We will remember the mounds of ash beneath the blooming gardens,” the kibbutz added.
Netanyahu: ‘We will Continue To Work To Achieve All War Objectives’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued an official statement Tuesday evening (7th), marking two years since the October 7th massacre, in which hundreds of Israeli civilians were murdered and kidnapped into the Gaza Strip.
“Two years have passed since the October 7th attack – the horrifying massacre of our brothers and sisters in the western Negev and the participants of the Nova party,” Netanyahu wrote. “We paid an extremely painful price. Babies, children, adults, and the elderly were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists. 251 men and women were kidnapped into the terror tunnels of the Gaza Strip.”
He continued, “My wife and I bow our heads in memory of our fallen, and their memory will be etched in our hearts forever. We embrace the grieving families with love, wish a full recovery to the wounded in body and soul, and, of course, continue to act in every way possible to bring all the hostages home – both the living and the dead.”
The Prime Minister emphasized the scale of the current campaign: “The war of resurgence on seven fronts is a decisive war for our home – a war for our very existence and future. Our bloodthirsty enemies inflicted heavy damage on us, but they did not break us. Soon, they discovered the tremendous strength of the people of Israel.”
“Amidst the immense pain, we feel immense pride in the remarkable resilience of our state,” Netanyahu added. Our soldiers and commanders are giving a fierce fight to those who wish us harm on every front, near and far. Those who lift their hand against us will suffer unprecedented blows.”
He also referred to the broader strategic picture: “Together, we broke the Iranian axis, together we changed the face of the Middle East, and together we will ensure Israel’s eternity.”
Netanyahu concluded with a direct appeal to the citizens of Israel. ”We are in days of critical decisions. We will continue to work to achieve all war objectives: to bring back all the hostages, to dismantle Hamas rule, and to ensure that Gaza will no longer be a threat to Israel. Together we will stand – and together, with God’s help, we will win”
IDF Downs Four Houthi Drones Over Eilat Within an Hour
Four explosive-laden drones launched by the Houthis in Yemen were shot down by Israeli air defenses near the Red Sea resort of Eilat within an hour on Tuesday afternoon (7th), the Israel Defense Forces said.
Sirens sounded in Eilat at 2:36 pm for the first Houthi drone, and again at 2:58 pm, when two more drones reached the coast off of Israel’s southernmost city. The fourth drone did not set off alerts in Eilat, as it was downed before getting close enough to pose a threat.
All four drones were successfully intercepted by the Israel Air Force, the military said.
There were no reports of injuries or damage.
The attacks came amid the Sukkot holiday and on the second anniversary of the Hamas terror group’s devastating October 7 onslaught in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
The Houthis, an Iran-backed terror group, have repeatedly attacked Israel with ballistic missiles and drones, saying they are doing so in support of the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s war there against Hamas.
The group has targeted Eilat with drones numerous times. Last month, a Houthi drone hit the resort city, wounding over 20 people. Earlier this week, the municipality and IDF Home Front Command installed 10 new mobile bomb shelters in Eilat in the wake of that attack.
The Houthis – whose slogan calls for “Death to America, Death to Israel, and a Curse on the Jews,” – began attacking Israel and maritime traffic in November 2023, a month after the October 7 Hamas massacre that sparked the war in Gaza.
The Iran-backed rebels held their fire when a ceasefire was reached between Israel and Hamas in January 2025. By that point they had fired over 40 ballistic missiles and dozens of drones and cruise missiles at Israel, including one that killed a civilian and wounded several others in Tel Aviv in July 2024, prompting Israel’s first strike in Yemen.
Since March 18, when the IDF resumed its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen have launched 91ballistic missiles and at least 45 drones at Israel. Some have fallen short.
In response, Israel has attacked the Houthis in Yemen, 1,100 miles away, 19 times.
IDF Says Hezbollah Operatives Killed In Southern Lebanon Drone Strikes
Two Hezbollah operatives were killed within an hour of each other in separate Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Tuesday (7th), the Israel Defense Forces said.
The first strike in the town of Dalr-Ames killed Ali Issa, who served as Hezbollah’s local representative in the nearby town of Kafra, according to the IDF. As part of his role, the military said, Issa was responsible for liaising between the Iran-backed terror group and local residents “on economic and military matters.”
“The terrorist acted to seize private property for the organization’s military needs, such as renting homes for storing weapons and conducting surveillance,”said the IDF.
The second strike hit a Hezbollah operative who was operating an excavator between the southern towns of Yater and Zinqin, said the military, adding that “the terrorist was struck while attempting to restore Hezbollah terror infrastructure.”
The IDF said both operatives’ activities “constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
Under the November 27 Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, the Lebanese military was to take over southern Lebanon and dismantle the terrorist group’s infrastructure.
Tuesday’s attacks followed an Israeli strike the day before that killed a Hezbollah member who was previously wounded when Israel blew up hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members last year. The man, Hassan Atwi, was a key Hezbollah air defense operative.
Hezbollah, which was severely weakened by the war with Israel, faces a push to give up its arsenal.
Under intense US and Israeli pressure, Lebanon’s government is seeking to disarm Hezbollah, and the Lebanese army has drawn up a plan to do so beginning in the country’s south.
The fighting began when Hezbollah, unprovoked, started launching near-daily attacks on northern Israel starting October 8, 2023 – a day after fellow Iran-backed group Hamas stormed southern Israel sparking the Gaza war.
Hezbollah’s attacks displaced some 60,000 residents of northern Israel. In a bid to ensure their return home, Israel stepped up operations against Hezbollah in September 2024, decimating the terror group’s leadership and launching a ground invasion of Lebanon. Israel has since withdrawn from all but five strategic points in Lebanon and has carried out numerous strikes against targets it accuses of violating the agreement.
Memorial For The Victims Of October 7 Set Up At Columbia University
On the day of the October 7 massacre, a poignant and powerful memorial was installed across the Columbia University campus in New York City. In a joint initiative by the organizations DiploAct and Let’s do Something, Together with students supporting Israel, 1,200 empty chairs were placed throughout the campus – each one representing a life brutally cut short in the terrorist massacre carried out by Hamas in Israel
The installation, which spans nearly a mile, transforms an abstract horror into something tangible and deeply personal. Each chair bears the photograph of a victim, a memorial candle, fresh flowers, and a short account of that individual’s life – a chilling reminder that behind every number was a person with a family, dreams, and a stolen future.
Choosing Columbia as the site for the memorial was no coincidence. The prestigious American university has, over the past two years, become one of the most prominent stages for anti-Israel demonstrations and a wave of anti-Semitism that has silenced many voices and distorted the truth about the massacre.
The organizers set themselves a clear mission: to pierce the fog of misinformation surrounding the October 7 attacks and bring to light the stories of horror that have been suppressed on campus. “Their goal is to remind the academic world – and the students within it – of the true human cost of terrorism, not through abstract words but through the faces and stories of those who are no longer with us.
Amit Deri, chairman of the organization DiploAct, explained the choice of Columbia University: “We came to Columbia not only because it has been the site of the harshest anti-Israel protests over the past two years, but because it has become a symbol of the wave of anti-Semitism sweeping campuses worldwide. We came to say, loud and clear, that we will not let hatred silence the truth. We are here to remind students and the entire world what really happened on that dark day.”
