News Digest — 12/4/25
Sudthisak Rinthalak Identified As Deceased Hostage Returned To Israel, PMO Confirms
Sudthisak Rinthalak, a Thai citizen who was killed during Hamas-led massacres in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, before his body was kidnapped and taken to Gaza, was identified as the deceased hostage returned to Israel on Wednesday (3rd), the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed on Thursday morning (4th).
The PMO added that Rinthalak’s family, as well as the Thai ambassador to Israel, Boonyarit Vichienphan,expressed their appreciation for Israel’s efforts to return Rinthalak’s remains.
Following Rinthalak’s return, only the remains of one hostage, Staff-Sergeant Major Ran Gvili, remain in Gaza captivity. The PMO noted that Israel would continue to work to return Gvili to Israel for burial.
“The Hamas terror organization is required to meet its commitments to the mediators and return him as part of the agreement’s implementation. Israel will not compromise on this and will spare no effort until he is brought home to Israel,” the office concluded.
In its statement confirming Rinthalak’s identification, the IDF also noted that, as per the ceasefire agreement, Hamas is obligated to return the remains of all the hostages. Hamas was supposed to return all the hostages, both living and deceased, days after the agreement was signed in October.
The military also noted that, according to its knowledge, after being murdered and abducted to Gaza, Rinthalak, who worked in the orchards of Kibbutz Be’eri, was held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist group.
“The IDF expresses deep condolences to the families, continues to make every effort to return the remaining deceased hostage, and is prepared for the continued implementation of the agreement.
Previously on Wednesday (3rd) , PIJ said that it had located one of the remaining hostages in northern Gaza and turned over a coffin containing Rinthalak’s remains to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir, where they were subsequently identified.
Five IDF Soldiers Wounded In Rafah Tunnel Attack As Ceasefire Tensions Escalate
Five IDF soldiers were wounded Wednesday (3rd) – one seriously and four moderately – after terrorists emerged from a tunnel and opened fire on Golani reconnaissance forces operating in eastern Rafah, the military said. The soldiers were evacuated for treatment and their families were notified. At least two terrorists were killed in the attack, with a manhunt for the others underway.
The encounter took place hours after Israel received a coffin containing the remains of a hostage from the Red Cross in northern Gaza. Artillery fire and exchanges of gunfire were also reported in Rafah by Gaza–based media, underscoring the volatility on the ground as efforts to advance to the next phase of the ceasefire remain stalled.
The IDF said Southern Command forces remain deployed according to the ceasefire framework “and will continue acting to remove any immediate threat.”
Earlier Wednesday (3rd), the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories said the Rafah crossing would open in the coming days for Gazans seeking to exit to Egypt, pending political authorization. The move required approval from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had delayed it in recent weeks amid stalled hostage returns. Hours later, Egypt denied the announcement, saying the crossing would open in both directions only once a new agreement is finalized.
Inside Rafah, large numbers of terrorists remain in the tunnel network, and Israeli forces are continuing efforts to encircle them, eliminate them or bring them in for questioning. Palestinian sources reported this week that among those killed in Rafah’s tunnels was Abdullah Hamad, son of Hamas political bureau member Ghazi Hamad, a participant in the group’s negotiating team. Additional reports said that along with the commander of Hamas’ East Rafah Battalion, Abu Ahmad al-Bawwab – long believed by Israel to have been killed – Ismail Abu Labda was also eliminated. Abu Labda had been filmed overseeing staged “hostage release ceremonies” during transfers to the Red Cross.
According to IDF figures released earlier this week, more than 40 terrorists have been killed in operations against what the military calls the “Rafah Pocket” along with the destruction of dozens of shafts, tunnels and other terrorist infrastructure.
Palestinian sources said Abdullah Hamad was part of a group of Hamas terrorists trapped underground, with contact lost after the ceasefire took effect in October. His brother later confirmed his death on social media, writing that he “accepted his fate and did not run from it.”
After weeks of entrenchment and incremental IDF advances through the underground network, some terrorists have begun seeking new hiding places – some attempting to flee the area, others preparing suicide attacks. The IDF continues close surveillance of the tunnel system using a wide range of intelligence assets: some terrorists have been eliminated from the air, while others have been captured and taken for interrogation.
Hamas’ internal security apparatus warned residents of Gaza on Wednesday (3rd) of possible Israeli escalation “in the coming hours,” urging civilians to exercise heightened caution regarding movement, communications and sleeping arrangements.
Chief Of Staff: ‘We are Operating Across All Arenas, Both Near And Far’
The Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir conducted a field tour on Wednesday (3rd) in the 80th Regional Division, together with the Commander of the Southern Command MG Yaniv Asor, the Commander of the 80th Division, BG Israel Friedler, and additional commanders.
The Chief of Staff held a situational assessment with the commanders on the operational challenges in the arena, the defensive posture,and the IDF’s response to the drone threat.
The Chief of Staff also spoke with the female soldiers from the Armored Corps in the area and expressed appreciation for their work and their contribution to safeguarding the residents of the communities of the Nitzana region. He emphasized that the troops’ readiness and activity constitute a central component in the IDF’s ability to deter and thwart threats.
Zamir also met with the heads of the local councils in the area, thanked them for their cooperation and for their contribution to the security of the area. He emphasized to them the IDF’s commitment to continuing to strengthen the defensive and security systems in the area.
The Chief of Staff expressed appreciation to the Commander of the Southern Command and the Commander of the 80th Division for the division’s activity, the extensive efforts to maintain defense in the area, and the processes of force build-up and adaptation.
Chief of Staff Zamir told the soldiers: “We are operating across all arenas, near and far, against complex threats emerging before us. We are changing the face of the western border, building strength and developing strong defensive capabilities – we will not allow threats to develop along our borders. We must be prepared on every border and in every arena for a sudden terrorist threat that may confront us, and alongside that, continue to develop the defense in the region, reinforce where needed, and ensure the troops’ readiness at all times.”
“Our approach is clear and is being implemented here as well in the 80th Division to thwart every threat at its inception. No containment – initiative.”
“We are monitoring all threats and will continue focusing efforts on thwarting these threats in order to stabilize security in the region. The drone threat is an evolving threat – we are addressing it, improving the operational response, and will continue to enhance it in the near term and in the multi-year plan. We are building strength and developing strong defensive capabilities.”
“Part of the adaptation and strengthening of the defense strategy is changes in our force-buildup – including the establishment of the 96th Division, responsible for defending the eastern border, and the establishment of additional Border defense Battalions. These are significant steps in shaping the IDF’s defensive capabilities for the coming years.”
“In the Negev, security and the communities are interconnected – this is a clear principle that guides our actions. We must continue strengthening the connection with the communities and the security components in the area.”
“As part of the lessons from October 7, we are continuing to change the defensive posture along the borders, reinforcing it and focusing on strengthening the area’s defense and the Rapid Response Teams. We are concentrating efforts in this arena as well, in order to provide a better and faster defensive response,“ Zamir concluded.
Officials From Israel And Lebanon Hold First Direct Talks In Decades In Naqoura
Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives held their first direct talks in decades Wednesday (3rd), part of a year-old ceasefire monitoring mechanism in the war with Hezbollah.
The meeting was held at the UN peacekeeping forces’ headquarters in Naqoura in Lebanon, near the border with Israel.
Israel was represented by the National Security Council Deputy Director for Foreign Policy Uri Resnick. Morgan Ortagus, the US special representative for Lebanon, headed the US delegation, while Lebanon was represented by former ambassador to the US Simon Karam.
Earlier on Wednesday (3rd) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the premier had instructed Gil Reich, acting head of the National Security Council, to send a representative to Lebanon to meet with government and economic officials.
The sides gave different accounts of the contents of the meeting. Ahead of the sit-down, the Prime Minister’s Office called it “an initial attempt to create a basis for a relationship and economic cooperation between Israel and Lebanon.”
However, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam contradicted this, stressing that his country was “far from” diplomatic normalization or economic relations with Israel.
Salam said Lebanon was still committed to the 2002 Arab peace plan that conditions normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel on the creation of a Palestinian state – a prospect to which Netanyahu’s government has been adamantly opposed. “Economic relations would be part of such normalization, so then obviously anyone following the news would know that we are not there at all,” Salam said.
But in a statement after the meeting concluded, Netanyahu’s office once again insisted that at the meeting, conducted “in a positive atmosphere,” the sides “agreed that ideas would be developed to promote possible economic cooperation between Israel and Lebanon.”
Lebanon had said earlier that it had agreed to send its own civilian representative – rather than a military figure – following a request to do so by the US, and Netanyahu was reportedly pressured by Washington to do so as well.
“Israel emphasized that the disarmament of Hezbollah is mandatory, regardless of progress in economic cooperation,” according to the Israeli readout of the meeting.
The sides agreed to continue the dialogue, Israel said.
Who Failed The Palestinians? Hen Mazzig
On November 27, I took part in a debate at the Cambridge Union on the topic: “This House believes the international community has failed Palestine.” Palestinians have “been failed” catastrophically, but who failed them and how? The proposition wants you to believe the international community failed because it didn’t give the Palestinian leadership enough money, enough impunity, or enough land. They want you to believe that Palestine is a helpless victim of Western neglect.
My argument is the opposite. The international community failed the Palestinian people by indulging a political fantasy at the expense of human reality. For decades, they treated Palestinians as a geopolitical weapon to be sharpened against the State of Israel. Palestinians as human beings are deserving of dignity, but “Palestine” as a political project is run by factions who have spent decades holding their own people hostage.
There has been a hundred year war. But it has been waged by Arab nationalists against every non-Arab, non-Muslim indigenous community in the region. The international community normalized the idea that Arab majorities should control the entire region, even at the expense of older indigenous cultures.
My own grandparents were among the 850,000 Jews violently expelled from Iraq, Tunisia, and across the Middle East. In 1941 with the violent terror attacks on the Jews of Iraq called the Farhud, my grandmother watched her best friend being raped and mutilated in the streets of Baghdad, just because she was Jewish.
A Middle Eastern Jewish civilization, indigenous to the region, was uprooted and erased within one decade. They received no UN agency. They received no perpetual refugee status. They received no annual resolutions. They were forced to move on. The international community treated Jewish refugees from Arab lands as people to be resettled. But they treated Palestinian refugees as pawns to be kept on a chessboard.
They created UNRWA – the only agency on Earth that passes “refugee status” down through generations, effectively forever. It was to ensure that a child born in Gaza today is not raised to build a future in Gaza, but is raised to believe their only future lies in a “return” to a war from 1948. The international community pays for schools that indoctrinate children to believe that statehood does not come from negotiations, but from the conquest of the land “from the river to the sea.”
According to the latest data for 2024, “Palestine” was the single largest recipient of humanitarian assistance on the planet, receiving $7 billion a year. We pay for their welfare, so they can spend 100% of their own budget on warfare. The international community failed because, for 75 years, they prioritized the preservation of a political conflict over the preservation of human dignity.
