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‘He Never Gives Up’: How One Israeli’s Miraculous Oct. 7 Survival Inspired Support for Soldiers’ Families
Amichay and Avital Shindler and their children. Photo: Courtesy of OneFamily
On Oct. 7, Amichay Shindler saved his family’s life by absorbing a bomb planted by Hamas terrorists outside the door to their safe room. Ten months and one prosthetic hand later, it is still not clear how he is alive today.
No one understands the challenges of being thrust into raising children and managing a household alone more than Avital Shindler, Amichay’s wife. She faced these difficulties under extraordinary circumstances, having been evacuated from her home in Kerem Shalom kibbutz along with other Israeli communities in the Gaza periphery.
Avital leveraged her own experience to help manage a newly formed support group for the wives of injured Israeli reserve soldiers, including those like her husband who were injured during Hamas’ massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7. Shindler’s group, Haverot Barzel (Friends of Iron), named after the ongoing war in Gaza, joined forces with OneFamily, Israel’s largest organization supporting victims of terror and their families, to host a trip to Magic Kass, an indoor amusement park near Jerusalem, for 160 families of injured reservists and the reservists themselves.
Haverot Barzel holds regular support meetings with various professionals, providing a safe space for the women to share what they’re going through with others in a similar position. “It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you’re with other women who are experiencing what you’re experiencing. You say one word and everyone immediately understands you,” Shindler told The Algemeiner.
The women are overwhelmed with practical, logistical, bureaucratic, and emotional responsibilities, leaving no time for any non-essential activities. “Many of them barely have time for their children as they juggle household duties and, in some cases, shuttle between the hospital where their husband is hospitalized and home. Organizing a fun outing during the summer vacation is simply not possible,” she explained.
Even those whose husbands are well enough to return home face significant physical and emotional challenges. These men are often unable to help around the house as they used to, leading to frustration for both partners and, in many cases, depression.
For Shindler, her husband’s injury is an evolving journey where new steps keep cropping up. “Just when you think it’s over, something new happens. Complications, or more surgeries, it can be anything.”
But Shindler doesn’t wallow. She credits her husband’s fortitude. “He never gives up,” she said.
The Shindler’s home was the only one in the kibbutz, which is a stone’s throw away from Hamas-ruled Gaza, to sustain damage on Oct. 7. Terrorists barged into the home and demanded, in Hebrew, that Amichay open the safe door, saying they were Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers. Shindler refused, shouting, “I know who you are; get out or I’ll kill you.” Amichay clung onto the handle of the door to stop them from entering.
Seconds later, an explosive device detonated. Shindler’s body absorbed a lot of shrapnel, and part of the wall collapsed onto his head. The door to the safe room was breached, but for reasons still unknown, the terrorists chose not to enter and exited the house.
Avital and the couple’s six young children were hunkering down at the other end of the safe room and were not harmed in the blast. Convinced her husband was dead, Avital instructed her children not to look at him and to recite psalms instead. Two members of the kibbutz’s civil defense squad, Amichai Yisrael Witzen and Yedidia Raziel, entered the house and approached Amichay with the intention of transferring him onto a tourniquet, away from the children and into the living room. But incredulously, Amichay opened his mouth and said, “Don’t, I can walk alone.”
But when they reached the living room, another terrorist came, shooting dead both responders. More terrorists and soldiers arrived, until eventually the soldiers gained the upper hand, saving the kibbutz.
Amichay’s life was in mortal danger. He suffered severe burns, multiple shrapnel wounds, and crushing injuries to his hands, jaw, and parts of his face. Bleeding profusely, he was rushed to a field hospital. There, a paramedic recognized him as the brother of Avishai Shindler, who had been killed in a Palestinian terror attack in 2010. This same paramedic had been unable to save Avishai’s life but was now determined not to let history repeat itself. According to Avital, this encounter was no coincidence; she believes it was the hand of God that brought this paramedic to save Amichay.
Amichay was subsequently transferred to Sheba medical center where he spent several weeks in the intensive care unit. It would be another five months before he was released home.
Today, Amichay writes, cuts salad, and is taking out a driver’s license for someone with a prosthetic.
OneFamily, which was established in 2001 in response to the Second Intifada, organized the day at the amusement park, sponsoring and staffing the event. The outing provided a much needed relief for many of the injured as well.
“Some of them find it hard to be with the kids at home. They can’t play with them. But a lot of them, being [combat soldiers], are naturally attracted to adrenaline-inducing activities so being on a rollercoaster with their children was a perfect opportunity to rebuild that connection,” Avital said.
Injured Israeli reservists and their families at Magic Kass as part of a trip organized by Haverot Barzel and OneFamily. Photo: Courtesy of OneFamily
One mother, Shachar Moss, said her family’s experience at the amusement park “moved her to tears.”
“When you go through such a journey, or injury and then rehabilitation, every small thing takes on new meaning,” Moss said. “Every experience that the children are able to have with their father takes on new meaning. It’s felt differently now.”
The post ‘He Never Gives Up’: How One Israeli’s Miraculous Oct. 7 Survival Inspired Support for Soldiers’ Families first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
The post Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.