Israel Brief: Sunday, October 12

Hostages on the clock, Hamas on its heels, and the sober work of winning a real peace

Shavua tov, friends.

By dawn Monday, Hamas says it will hand over every living hostage and the remains it claims it can find. The Re’im reception hub is ready. Hospitals and forensic teams are standing by. The number we cannot forget hovers over all of it: more than 2,000 Israelis killed across two years of war. If sons and daughters step off helicopters tomorrow, Israel will breathe again. If families receive their dead with honor, we will mourn with them as one people.

Jerusalem today carries a precise mood. War weary. Careful. A little more light in the eyes. As one friend in the city put it, people are smiling and nodding, almost whispering “maybe.” When we see our people home, there will be dancing in the streets. Until then, steady.

Pay attention to three tracks in this briefing. First, the mechanics of the release: gathering points, ICRC handovers, and whether Hamas really returns all the bodies it says it cannot find. Second, the fight for Gaza’s “day after.” Armed clans are openly confronting Hamas in Beit Lahia, Sabra, and Rafah. Israel’s defense minister has ordered preparations to destroy the tunnel system. Cairo is floating an international force. Washington will stage personnel in Israel, not in Gaza. This is where outcomes get written. Third, the narrative war abroad. London’s marchers chanted “from the river to the sea” even as a ceasefire took hold. British ministers finally told universities to protect Jewish students.

There is hope in the air. There is also homework. Read on.

The War Today

Hamas to release all remaining hostages ‘by dawn on Monday’ - report

An Israeli official says Hamas has begun gathering the remaining captives for handover to the ICRC starting around 6 a.m., with Israel assuming a single, all-at-once release of living and deceased hostages ahead of President Trump’s planned 9 a.m. arrival. Uncertainty remains over the handover site(s) and whether Hamas can locate all bodies, as ministries brace for possible “not found” notifications to families. Read more →

Chaos reported as Palestinian factions revolt against Hamas in post-ceasefire Gaza

Armed clans and rival militias have erupted in open conflict with Hamas across Gaza, signaling a possible collapse of its authority after the ceasefire. Heavy fighting was reported in Beit Lahia and Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood, where the son of a senior Hamas commander was killed, and in Rafah, where the Abu Shabab militia claims to have survived an assassination attempt. Local leaders declared Hamas “finished,” as Israel reportedly aided anti-Hamas fighters targeting militants hiding in hospitals and mosques. The clashes mark the first major internal uprising against Hamas in nearly two decades and may determine who controls postwar Gaza. Read more →

Katz to IDF: Get ready to destroy Hamas tunnel network

Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the IDF to prepare for the complete destruction of Hamas’s tunnel network in Gaza as part of the second phase of President Trump’s demilitarization plan. Katz said the operation—expected to involve both Israeli forces and an international oversight mechanism—would mark the “primary implementation” of disarming Hamas and securing a postwar Gaza. U.S. and Israeli officials estimate the network stretches up to 450 miles, with more than 5,000 shafts built under civilian areas. Read more →

Two thousand dead: The unfathomable toll of Israel’s two-year war

Israel marked 2,000 fatalities from the two-year conflict that began on October 7, 2023 — a grim accounting that spans the initial massacre, the Gaza campaign, the northern front, and the 12-day war with Iran. The figure includes 915 IDF soldiers, 43 civilian defense members, 100 police officers, and 61 children, among them victims of terror attacks in Israel and abroad. The youngest killed was a 14-hour-old newborn; the oldest, a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor. Together, the toll captures a nation reshaped by grief and endurance. Read more →

Inside Israel

‘I started seeing the events of October 7 in my dreams’: Indirect exposure to trauma linked to PTSD in Israeli journalists and therapists

A new Bar-Ilan University study finds that Israeli journalists and therapists who worked with survivors of the October 7 massacre experienced symptoms of vicarious trauma — post-traumatic stress triggered by exposure to others’ suffering. Researchers Ilanit Hasson-Ohayon and Danny Horesh reported high rates of intrusive imagery and emotional distress among respondents, suggesting that even indirect contact with atrocity carries a measurable mental toll. The findings underscore how deeply October 7 has scarred Israel’s social fabric, affecting not just victims but those tasked with telling or treating their stories. Read more →

Israeli teachers report high satisfaction, but face growing shortages, study shows

A survey found Israeli middle school teachers among the most satisfied globally—93% say they’re happy in their jobs, and 78% would choose teaching again—but warned of deepening shortages of certified staff. Nearly half of principals said the shortage hurts classroom quality, twice the OECD average. Israel also leads in classroom AI use, though many teachers seek better training, and societal respect for educators remains uneven across sectors. Read more →

Danger ahead: What the West Bank’s red signs say about peace

Across Judea and Samaria, stark red warning signs, written in Hebrew, Arabic, and English, line the roads: “This road leads to a Palestinian Authority area. Entry for Israelis is dangerous to your lives and forbidden by law.” These aren’t symbolic—they exist because Israelis driving past these zones, not even entering them, are routinely stoned, firebombed, or shot at. The road through Huwara—where Israeli families have been ambushed, murdered, or attacked simply for passing—is a few hundred meters from such signs, a daily reminder of a grim truth: the neighbors are genocidal. This article argues that these warnings are the direct result of a Palestinian leadership that has long vowed a Jew-free state, pays stipends to terrorists, and educates its youth to see Jews as foreign occupiers. In contrast, Palestinians enter Israeli cities freely for work, healthcare, or trade without fear. Read more →

Air pollution: A persistent plague on the lungs of Jerusalemites

The Jerusalem Post reports that dirty air kills an estimated 5,000 Israelis each year, with Jerusalem’s mix of heavy traffic and imported dust storms compounding risk as the state underfunds monitoring and delays a national climate law. Fewer than 70 stations track air quality nationwide; researchers urge a low-cost “citizen science” network and stronger enforcement to cut emissions from transport, industry, and waste. Practical guidance urges high-filtration masks on bad days, indoor filtration, and targeted protections for vulnerable groups. Read more →