News Digest — 11/7/25
IDF Chief: Rafah Terrorists Will Surrender Or Be Eliminated
IDF Chief of Staff LTG. Eyal Zamir told the Security Cabinet Thursday night (6th) that there is “no deal” for about 200 Hamas terrorists trapped in tunnels beneath Rafah, two days after he said he would consider releasing them only in exchange for the body of fallen soldier Hadar Goldin, who has been held in Gaza since 2014.
The IDF clarified that there is no evidence that Goldin’s remains are located in the same tunnels where the terrorists are hiding.
It’s either surrender or elimination,” Zamir said during the meeting. “If they surrender, we’ll take them in their underwear to Sde Teman for interrogation.”
Zamir also advised the government not to move to the next stage of the ceasefire deal until all hostages and fallen soldiers are returned, and to block any reconstruction efforts until Gaza is fully demilitarized.
Earlier Thursday (6th), Egypt proposed that the trapped terrorists in Rafah provide intelligence on Hamas tunnels in exchange for safe passage to areas under Hamas control, Reuters reported, citing two sources familiar with the talks. Both Israel and Hamas have yet to respond formally, and discussions are ongoing.
US Special Envoy Steven Witkoff, representing President Donald Trump, said, “If they come out, raise their hands, and surrender their weapons, it will be a test-case for Gaza’s demilitarization model.”
Neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor Hamas spokesperson Hazen Qassem commented on the report.
The IDF aims to destroy the remaining tunnels before the next phase.
The 200 terrorists trapped in the Israeli-controlled enclave of Rafah’s Jenina neighborhood are part of a larger group of hundreds or possibly thousands of fighters caught between the Israeli border and the Stage A withdrawal line under the ceasefire framework.
The IDF is trying to use the limited window before the next stage of the agreement to destroy the remaining tunnels, though such operations often risk deadly encounters.
Additional Hamas terrorists—numbering several dozen in some vcases—remain in similar enclaves near Bani Suheila, a suburb of Khan Younis, and other areas on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line. Zamir recommended eliminating all of them and continuing to locate tunnel networks in those areas.
However, in Rafah, an opportunity emerged. Hamas reportedly offered to assist in locating the remains of Israeli soldiers in exchange for the safe release of its 200 terrorists into Hamas-controlled territory. Netanyahu initially considered the proposal but backed down amid sharp criticism and threats from within his coalition.
Israel Launches Wave Of Strikes On Southern Lebanon
The IDF on Thursday (6th) carried out a series of strikes on terrorist infrastructure and several weapon storage facilities belonging to Hezbollah’s Radwan Force in southern Lebanon.
“The Hezbollah terrorist organization, and specifically the Radwan Force, continues in their attempts to reestablish terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon, intended to harm the State of Israel, the IDF stated.
According to the IDF, the weapons storage facilities were constructed in the center of civilian-populated areas. This is yet another example of the Hezbollah terrorist organization’s strategy to cynically and brutally exploit Lebanese civilians as human shields as it operates out of civilian areas,” the military added.
The IDF stressed that the presence of terrorist infrastructure and the weapons storage facilities that were struck constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, while endangering the civilians in the area.
Before the strikes commenced, IDF Arabic-Language spokesman Avichay Adraee issued an urgent warning to residents of southern Lebanon, stating that the IDF would soon strike military infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah “to deal with the prohibited attempts carried out to rebuild its activities in the region.”
The spokesman singled out buildings in Al-Tayyiba and Tayr Debba, calling them to evacuate and adding, “You are located near buildings used by Hezbollah, and for your safety, you are required to evacuate them immediately and stay away from them by a distance of at least 500 meters. Remaining in the area of the marked buildings exposes you to danger.”
Shortly after the first wave of strikes, Adraee issued another warning ahead of a second wave of strikes. The second warning called on those in Zoutar al-Sharqiya to evacuate.
Earlier Thursday (6th), the IDF struck terrorists who were operating at a terrorist infrastructure site belonging to Hezbollah’s Construction Unit in the Tyre area in southern Lebanon.
The infrastructure site was used to manufacture equipment employed by Hezbollah terrorists to rebuild the terrorist infrastructure that had been previously targeted and dismantled during the war. The IDF stressed that “these actions of Hezbollah terrorists at the infrastructure site constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.
Senior IDF officers told reporters, “We are continuing the same approach in Lebanon of aggressive enforcement. There has been no change in the policy of the past year. This is a continuation of the ongoing effort to prevent Hezbollah’s reconstruction, not an escalation of the situation.”
The IDF is preparing for the possibility of a Hezbollah response to the strikes, including several days of fighting, but emphasizes that “there are no longer equations or symmetry.” According to the IDF, any action by the organization will be met with a severe response. There is no change in the instructions for northern residents.
Tanzanian Student Joshua Loitu Mollel Identified As Hostage Returned Wednesday Night, PMO Confirms
The remains of hostage Joshua Loitu Mollel, a student from Tanzania, was returned to Israel from Gaza on Wednesday night (5th), the Prime Minister’s Office reported Thursday (6th).
“Following the completion of the identification process by the National Center of Forensic Medicine, in cooperation with the Israel Police and the Military rabbinate, representatives of the IDF and the Foreign Ministry informed the family of the fallen hostage, Joshua Loitu Mollel, a student from Tanzania who was abducted to the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, that their loved one had been returned to Israel, and that his identification had been completed,” it said.
The Prime MInister’s Office said it shared in the sorrow of Mollel’s family, and that it is committed to returning all of the remaining deceased hostages in Gaza for proper burials.
“The Hamas terrorist organization is required to uphold its commitments to the mediators and to return them as part of the implementation of the agreement,” it said. “We will not compromise on this and will spare no effort until all the hostages are brought home–every last one of them.”
Six slain hostages remain in Hamas captivity in Gaza: Meny Godard, Hadar Goldin, Ran Gvili, Dror Or, Lior Rodaeff, and Sudthisak Rinthalak. Goldin is the last hostage who remains in Hamas captivity, who was kidnapped while on active IDF service.
Israel Seals Off Egypt Border, Vows Harsh Response To Drone Threat
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the IDF to declare the area adjacent to the Israel-Egypt border a restricted military zone and to change rules of engagement accordingly. Katz told senior security officials he and Shin Bet head David Zini agreed to treat the smuggling of weapons by drones as a terrorist threat. “We are declaring war – anyone who breaches the forbidden area will be attacked.”
The decisions were made at an emergency meeting on Wednesday (5th) about the drone threat on the Israel-Egypt border. Participants included Defense Ministry Director-General MG. (res.) Amir Baram, Deputy Chief of Staff MG, Tamir Yadai and representatives of the Defense Ministry, the Israel Defense Forces, the Shin Bet security agency, the National Security Council and the Israel Police.
At the end of the meeting Katz instructed the IDF to convert the strip of land along the border to a restricted military zone and to adjust rules of engagement to attack any unauthorized element who enters the area, in order to stop drone operators and other smuggling operations.
It was also agreed that DDR&D at the Defense Ministry will promote technological solutions in cooperation with the Israel Air Force, and that the National Security Council will assist on issues including mandatory licensing and legislative amendments addressing the use, purchase and possession of drones.
Katz said, “I convened you here to declare war on the smuggling of drones on the Israel-Egypt border. As in war, the current situation is dangerous to the state’s security and cannot continue. The smuggling of weapons by drones is part of the war in Gaza and is intended to arm our enemies. All measures must be taken to stop it. As we created deterrence with Hezbollah in Lebanon regarding unmanned aerial systems and attacks on communities, here too we must create deterrence and make it clear to those involved in smuggling that the rules of the game are changing. They will pay a very heavy price if they do not stop.”
Kazakhstan To Join Abraham Accords, White House Source Confirms
Kazakhstan is poised to become the latest nation to join the Abraham Accords, a senior White House official confirmed to Ynet on Thursday morning (6th), marking a potential symbolic expansion of the US-brokered agreements that normalized ties between Israel and several Muslim-majority states.
The official said the announcement would take place during a meeting at the White House between US President Donald Trump and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Earlier in the day, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said a new country was set to join the accords but declined to name it. Speaking at a business forum in Florida, Witkoff noted that he would return to Washington for the announcement Thursday night (6th).
Kazakhstan has maintained formal diplomatic relations with Israel since 1992 and operates an embassy in Tel Aviv. The two countries established consular-level ties in April 1992, followed by the opening of embassies in both capitals later that year. In December 2016, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the first Israeli leader to visit the Central Asian nation, meeting with then-president Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Earlier Thursday (6th), the official website of Kazakhstan’s embassy in Israel reported that President Tokayev met in Washington with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other members of the Trump administration. In the meeting, Tokayev reportedly stressed the strategic opportunities for deepening economic ties between Kazakhstan and the United States, and reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s commitment to political dialogue at multiple levels.
Since its initial signing in 2020, the Abraham Accords have been a cornerstone of US diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, aimed at fostering regional cooperation and reshaping alliances in the wake of shifting geopolitical interests. Current signatories include the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
The addition of a new signatory would represent a significant development amid heightened tensions in the region following the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel and ongoing hostilities involving Iran-backed groups in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.
To Secure Long-Term Peace, Fix Gaza’s Schools – Todd L. Pittinsky
For decades, billions have been poured into Gaza. The biggest scandal is what’s been taught in Gaza’s schools – in large part funded through Western largesse. Every generation in Gaza grows up memorizing the language of martyrdom. Schools, summer camps, mosques, and media channels work in concert to instill an uncompromising worldview: violence is virtuous, compromise is weakness, and the annihilation of Israel is a sacred duty.
Few parents in London, Paris or Washington would tolerate their child being taught that violence is noble or that neighbors are subhuman. Yet the international community has subsidized precisely that curriculum for Palestinian children – and then has acted shocked when violence perpetuates itself.
To ensure that hate does not take root again, reconstruction aid must come with nonnegotiable conditions: independent curriculum oversight by external auditors with direct access to materials and classrooms, teacher vetting for extremist affiliations and full donor transparency.
When Western taxpayers fund schools, they have every right to insist those schools don’t teach children to become terrorists. Indeed, they have every obligation to do so. We now know what failure looks like. The proper test in rebuilding a decent society for Palestinians is whether we enforce the standards we would insist upon for our own children. Gaza’s children deserve schools that prepare them for life, not death.
The writer is a professor in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at State University of New York at Stony Brook, (Washington Post)
