5️⃣9️⃣ HOSTAGES 🎗️ Day 518 still in captivity in inhumane conditions in Gaza /

• The direct talks between the US and Hamas have hit a snag since their existence was leaked to the media on Wednesday. Israel was not fully briefed on the talks ahead of time, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is unhappy with their existence, the official said. https://lnk.sk/qei9
• A high-level Hamas delegation has arrived in Cairo to advance efforts on a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, which has largely paused fighting with Israel https://lnk.sk/sjs2
• Israel believes 24 hostages are still alive in the Strip — 22 Israelis, one Thai and one Nepali. https://lnk.sk/hkb1 
• Ex-hostage Eli Sharabi meets with UK’s prime minister Keir Starmer, who vows to ‘redouble efforts’ to free remaining captives https://lnk.sk/ddm8                                                                                                                                       

ISRAEL 🇮🇱 /

• Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations calls on the administration at Columbia University and Barnard College to act to stop the antisemitism on their campuses: University campuses should be places of tolerance, respect and intellectual growth. https://lnk.sk/lerv 
• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved limit of the number of Muslims from the West Bank who could visit the Temple Mount on Fridays through the month of Ramadan; men aged over 55, women aged over 50, and children younger than 12 will be permitted to visit the Temple Mount https://lnk.sk/lnuc 
• A new poll showed that if elections were held today, there would be no significant change in the blocs. The poll found that the Likud party would win 22 Knesset seats, followed by National Unity at 17 seats. https://lnk.sk/jtur 
• Highway 90 was closed to traffic from the Dead Sea hotels towards Ein Gedi and from Menucha Junction to Tzukim Junction in both directions due to flooding on Friday morning. (video)  https://lnk.sk/itj6 

SYRIA 🇸🇾 / 

• The renewed Syrian civil war/the uprising against al-Julani, the developments in Syria tonight should worry Israel, the chaos in Syria is spreading rapidly. https://lnk.sk/cdkf 
• Iran starts new terror-proxy in Syria: ‘The Islamic Resistance’; Iran doesn’t want to give up an opportunity to create chaos and return the Syrian land connection to Lebanon and Hezbollah. https://lnk.sk/epsk 
• Moscow is holding secret negotiations with Damascus about keeping Russian military bases in Syria, such as the Khmeimim air base and the naval base at Tartus. The talks also include billions of dollars in Russian investments in the energy and port sectors https://lnk.sk/hbjv ; https://lnk.sk/vaz9

GAZA / 

• During a visit to Israel’s border with Gaza, newly appointed IDF Chief of Staff Zamir ordered an unannounced military exercise simulating a Hamas assault on Israeli territory. Zamir warned that a Hamas attack on an IDF outpost inside Israel is “only a matter of time.” https://x.com/IsraelRealtime/status/1897909816179273972
• France Thursday welcomed an Arab plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip under the future administration of the Palestinian Authority, adding that Hamas should be “entirely” excluded from running the territory. https://lnk.sk/ajis

LEBANON 🇱🇧 /

• The IDF is preparing for sensitive operation: Securing hundreds of Jewish during a visit to the gravesite of rabi Rav Ashi, a Talmudic sage. Rabbi Ashi (352–427 CE) was one of the „Amoraim“ (sages who lived from 200 to 500 CE) and one of the compilers of the Babylonian Talmud https://lnk.sk/bpyn  

USA 🇺🇸 / 

• US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday expressing his preference for negotiating a nuclear weapons program deal. https://lnk.sk/jdfu 
• U.S. will collapse Iran’s economy by shutting down its oil industry, Treasury secretary says https://lnk.sk/xyc3 
• The US state department will use artificial intelligence to revoke visas of foreign students who it perceives as supporters of Hamas. https://lnk.sk/tary 

EGYPT 🇪🇬 / 

• Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty spoke with U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. Abdelatty outlined the Arab plan for rebuilding the Gaza Strip and emphasized that there is full consensus on its implementation. https://lnk.sk/gwi3 

Resources: Newsrael, Axios, Guardian, Fox News, Maariv, YnetNews, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, … Times of Israel, CNN, Jewish Insider, Haaretz, Algemeiner, agentúra Xinhua, Israel National News,, Kuwait’s Al-Jarida, The Telegraph 

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