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‘A Bad but Necessary Deal’: Five Members of His Family Were Murdered — Today, Their Killer Walks Free
Oran Almog, right, addressing the UN Security Council next to Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon on July 25, 2017. Photo: Screenshot
While the release of three Israeli hostages on Thursday brought relief and elation across Israel, it also triggered a wave of mixed emotions, especially among victims who saw the terrorists responsible for their suffering set free. One of them is Oran Almog, who was just ten years old when a Palestinian terrorist disguised as a pregnant woman blew up the restaurant he was in, killing five members of his family and leaving him blind.
Yet, while Thursday’s release of Sami Jaradat — the mastermind behind the October 2003 massacre of Almog’s family — was a deeply personal blow, the return of hostages remained a necessary step, he said.
“That the terrorist who killed my family will find himself free is deeply painful, heartbreaking even,” he told The Algemeiner. “But at the same time, I know that even today — especially today — I must set aside my personal pain and focus on the significance of this deal. And the significance is clear. We are getting our hostages home, and that is the only thing that matters.”
Almog’s father, Moshe Almog, his younger brother, Tomer, his grandparents Admiral (res.) Ze’ev and Ruth Almog, and his cousin, Asaf, were murdered when the suicide bomber, Hanadi Jaradat, a 29-year-old lawyer from Jenin, managed to get past the security guard of the Maxim restaurant — jointly owned by a Jewish Israeli and an Arab Israeli — and blow herself up. Sixteen other people were also murdered in the attack, among them four children. Almog lost his eyesight, and his mother, sister, and aunt were among the 60 injured Israelis.
“Sami Jaradat’s continued imprisonment will never bring my family back, but his release can bring the hostages back home alive,” Almog explained.
Emotional meeting between Agam Berger and her family at Beilinson Hospital in Israel. Photo: Haim Zach (GPO)
Almog knows firsthand what it means to be on the receiving end of a hostage-prisoner exchange.
Just two weeks after marking the 20th anniversary of the Maxim restaurant attack, another tragedy struck his family. On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists brutally murdered Nadav and Yam and abducted Chen, Agam, Gal, and Tal from the Almog-Goldstein family in Kfar Azza.
Fifty-one days later, in November 2023, they were released from Hamas captivity in a temporary ceasefire deal.
Under the current ceasefire agreement reached earlier this month, Hamas will release a total 33 Israeli hostages, eight of whom are deceased, according to the terrorist group. In exchange, Israel will free over 1,900 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom were serving multiple life sentences on terrorism offenses. Thursday saw the release of three Israelis — including IDF surveillance soldier Agam Berger, 20, and civilians Arbel Yehoud, 29, and Gadi Mozes, 80 — and five Thai nationals, who were working in Israeli kibbutzim when they were abducted.
“This is a bad deal, very bad, but the alternative is that much worse,” Almog said. “We must look ahead, put today aside, and recognize that releasing prisoners serves a greater purpose.”
However, Almog expressed hope that Israel would move toward a more decisive and uncompromising approach in its fight against terrorism.
“I sincerely hope that as a country, we will have the wisdom to decisively thwart terrorism,” he said, emphasizing the need to break free from the ongoing cycle of prisoner exchanges.
“I don’t want us to find ourselves trapped in a cycle of releasing terrorists, only for them to return to terror, and then repeat the process again and again,” he added.
Almog has previously addressed the UN Security Council, urging action against the so-called “pay-for-slay” scheme, in which terrorists and their families receive monthly stipends from the Palestinian Authority. The terrorist behind the murder of Almog’s family received $3,000 a month while behind bars, making him almost a millionaire by the time of his release.
Still, Almog concluded with a deeply uplifting message for the returning hostages, confident that they would have a chance at a good life, drawing from his own experiences since the terror attack.
Oran Almog. Photo: Facebook
After his release from the hospital, he began a long rehabilitation process, culminating in third place at the World Blind Sailing Championship with Etgarim, a nonprofit founded by disabled veterans and rehabilitation experts, and supported by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ). He was chosen to light a torch at Israel’s Independence Day ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the state and, despite his disability, insisted on enlisting in the IDF, serving in an elite unit. Today, he is a managing partner at a financial technology fund, works with Etgarim, and shares his story globally through lectures.
“I know the hostages will be able to return, to live, and to live well. With enough support — and a great deal of willpower — it is truly possible to rebuild life, even after the deepest catastrophes,” he said.
The post ‘A Bad but Necessary Deal’: Five Members of His Family Were Murdered — Today, Their Killer Walks Free first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Canada Is Evaluating Ties With Israel After Qatar Attack, Foreign Minister Says
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand speaks during a High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution at UN headquarters in New York City, US, July 28, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
Canada is evaluating its relationship with Israel after the attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar, foreign minister Anita Anand said on Wednesday, in the latest sign of unhappiness with the Israeli government.
Anand reiterated that Canada considered the attack to be unacceptable, especially given Qatari attempts to mediate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Anand made her comments when asked whether Canada might follow the lead of the European Commission, which said it would propose the suspension of trade-related measures in a European Union agreement with Israel.
“We are evaluating our relationship with Israel,” Anand told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the ruling Liberal Party in Edmonton.
Asked specifically whether Canada was considering any kinds of sanctions against Israel, she replied: “We will continue to evaluate our next steps.”
Canada has noticeably hardened its line on Israel under Prime Minister Mark Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau in March. Carney announced in July that Canada would recognize Palestinian statehood, angering Israel.
Trudeau was generally supportive of Israel‘s campaign against Hamas, while occasionally criticizing actions of the Israeli military.
Carney on Tuesday condemned the Israeli airstrike, calling it “an intolerable expansion of violence” that risked escalating conflict throughout the region.
He said last month that Israel‘s plan to take control of Gaza City was “wrong”.
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Iran Says More Talks Needed to Bring About IAEA Inspections
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran, Iran, July 12, 2025. Photo: Hamid Forootan/Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
A new agreement between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog does not guarantee inspectors’ access to Iranian nuclear sites and Tehran wants further talks on how inspections are carried out, the country’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reached a deal on Tuesday on resuming inspections at sites including those bombed by the US and Israel but gave no specifics, and Tehran said the deal was off if international sanctions were re-imposed.
“I have to reiterate the agreement does not currently provide access to IAEA inspectors, apart from the Bushehr nuclear plant,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told state TV in an interview.
“Based on reports that Iran will issue in the future, the nature of access will have to be discussed at an appropriate time,” he added.
Diplomats said the devil would be in the details of Tuesday’s agreement. No joint press conference was held in Cairo to provide details on what the IAEA has been calling “modalities” regarding the resumption of inspections.
The agreement comes against the backdrop of an ongoing threat by European powers to re-impose international sanctions against Iran that were lifted under a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers.
The IAEA‘s Grossi said in a statement on Wednesday that the “technical document” agreed provided for “a clear understanding of the procedures for inspection, notifications, and implementation.”
“These include all facilities and installations in Iran and also contemplates the required reporting on all the attacked facilities, including the nuclear material present at those.”
While Iran‘s enrichment sites have been badly damaged or destroyed, it is less clear what has happened to the stockpile, which includes uranium enriched to up to 60 percent purity, a short step from the roughly 90 percent required for weapons-grade.
Araqchi said the IAEA‘s board of governors’ meeting on Wednesday would be crucial concerning how cooperation with the IAEA develops.
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Israel Attacks Sanaa, Al-Jawf in Latest Strikes on Houthis in Yemen
Smoke billows following an Israeli air strike in Sanaa, Yemen, Sept. 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Israel struck the Yemeni capital Sanaa and the northern province of al–Jawf on Wednesday, with the Iran-backed Houthis rebels who control much of Yemen saying it killed nine people and wounded 118 others in an initial toll.
The strikes are the latest in a series of attacks and counterstrikes between Israel and Houthi terrorists in Yemen, part of a spillover from the war in Gaza.
The Israeli military said it had struck military camps, the headquarters of the Houthi military “propaganda” department, and a fuel storage site.
The Houthi’s military spokesperson denied in a statement later that Israel targeted missile launchers. “Its strikes targeted purely civilian targets,” he said.
He added that two newspapers were targeted, with journalists and passers-by falling between dead and wounded.
Sanaa residents told Reuters the attack was on a hideout between two mountains that is used as a command and control headquarters. The extent of any damage was not immediately clear.
The Israeli strikes also targeted the Houthi defense ministry, witnesses said.
The attack came days after an Aug. 30 strike on Sanaa killed the prime minister of the Houthi-run government and several ministers, in the first such assault to target senior officials.
“The strikes were carried out in response to attacks led by the Houthi terror regime against the State of Israel, during which unmanned aerial vehicles and surface-to-surface missiles were launched toward Israeli territory,” the Israeli military said.
The Iran-aligned Houthis, an internationally designated terrorist group, have attacked vessels in the Red Sea in what they describe as acts of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
They have also fired missiles towards Israel, most of which have been intercepted. Israel has responded with strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including the vital Hodeidah port.