I apologize for not having published a podcast or written dispatch for the last two weeks. I was reassured by knowing that the immediate events were covered well by mainstream and independent media. I will be filling in the picture going forward. And backwards, a bit.
Honestly? It has been difficult to process the magnitude and pace of events in recent weeks. As you know, I don’t aspire to cover breaking news. And sorting through the unbelievable events of recent weeks has left many Israelis feeling a little unmoored.
Following the release of all 20 living hostages by Hamas on October 13, I was overwhelmed, as were so many Israelis. The euphoria of that day was weighted down by very heavy grief. Their survival, and release, reminds us all of the very different endings for so many other families. These last few weeks – leading up to the return of the living – followed by the murdered - has been exhilarating, draining, confusing. We alternate between euphoria and despair, stopping at every point along the continuum in between.
On the morning of Monday, October 13, I rose very early and spent hours standing outside the IDF Re’im base on the Gaza border. Along with thousands of Israelis and swarms of international media, I waited for the first convoy of released hostages to arrive. I felt I had to be there. To actually witness this moment that we dared not to think would never come but the possibility terrified the nation.
I wrote about that morning here, in the National Post (Canada). If you sign up with your email you can access several (I’m pretty sure that it is five) articles per month. After that a paid subscription is required.
Here are the first few paragraphs from that piece, with a link to the National Post site to continue reading.
Re’im, Israel — Traffic is usually light at 5:30 a.m. in southern Israel, but not Monday. Thousands of people, like me, were driving to stake out a roadside spot for the imminent return of 20 men who have been held hostage by Hamas for two years.
My route took me through Ofakim, a town of 40,000 that was attacked by Hamas on October 7. It is 30 kilometres from the Gaza border by road. This is how deeply Hamas penetrated Israel, encountering virtually no resistance. Aside from small groups of young soldiers on the border, the IDF was nowhere.
These roads, this region, are haunted by the ghosts of Hamas. It is impossible not to imagine them, marauding. I headed to the IDF base at Re’im, one of several along the Gaza border that was the site of fierce battles on October 7.
But Monday was joyful. Re’im base is the first stop in Israel for hostages released by Hamas, and welcoming crowds lined the roads leading from the Gaza Strip. They bore signs, ribbons, flags.
Monday was exceptional. Twenty hostages were set to be released in one day. This operation was delicate and complex. Until now, only three or four hostages had been released on the same day. This was unprecedented. We were there to bear witness.
Since you last heard from me I have continued to work on upcoming stories and podcasts and will shower you with content in the coming days.
Almost immediately following the announcement of the Trump Peace Agreement tourists began to return. It is now a tsunami of visistors. I know so many and it is heartwarming to receive them. Many hotels are fully occupied and the tourist economy here is revving up. Let’s hope that the fragile peace holds.
Tomorrow I will be publishing an interview I did today with State of Tel Aviv and Beyond regular guest and brilliant commentator, Lt. Col. (Res.) and FDD Senior Fellow, Jonathan Conricus. We get into the wobbly ceasefire, whether it will hold, and the visit in the last few days of Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Vice President J.D. Vance.
As well, in the next day or two I’ll be posting a short and moving piece reporting on the funeral I attended today at Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, for Tal Haimi. A father of four (his youngest, a son, was born seven months after October 7). Haimi led the kibbutz security group. He and others fought so valiantly, for hours. Tal Haimi was murdered by Hamas and his body taken to Gaza. A dead hostage.
The IDF did not show up at Nir Yitzhak on October 7th until 1:30 in the afternoon.
Also attending the funeral for Tal was former IDF Chief of Staff, Herzi Halevi. He was the man in charge on October 7. I was, frankly, a little surprised to see him there. As were many others, it seems. More on that later.
Tal Haimi’s remains were returned to Israel last night. The funeral was held at his kibbutz at 5 p.m. today.
Thank you for the update. I appreciate it so much