RSS
IDF soldiers wounded on Oct. 7, in New York for medical treatment, say support from other injured troops crucial for recovery
(New York Jewish Week) – On Oct. 7, Yonatan Pinto was stationed on the Gaza border near the Israeli communities of Nirim and Nir Oz. At around 7 a.m., as Hamas terrorists launched their surprise attack, Pinto’s tank was hit by a missile, blinding him, spraying him with shrapnel and causing serious burns to his body.
Fellow soldiers from his battalion evacuated Pinto on an armored personnel carrier, but the vehicle hit a mine and stalled, and was then attacked. The assailants fired seven projectiles at the vehicle but were fought off by the troops. Pinto, still unable to see, then ran three kilometers, holding onto a friend’s shoulder for guidance, until he reached safety. He arrived at a hospital at 3:40 p.m.
“I remember everything,” Pinto told the New York Jewish Week on Monday at a gala for Belev Echad, a New York-based nonprofit founded in 2009 that supports wounded IDF soldiers. “An eight-hour journey of trying to survive, trying to escape, all blinded.
“When I got to the hospital bed I started to let go — the adrenaline started dropping and I started feeling a little pain,” he said. “The stress started to go away but it was a relief, a huge relief. I’m saved.”
Pinto, 20, still has a long road ahead. He has undergone a number of surgeries in recent weeks to remove shrapnel and treat his eyes, and he has also started physical therapy. But he remains mostly blind, wearing dark glasses indoors and struggling to navigate using a cane.
Pinto and two other wounded soldiers, Yarden Chamo and Daniel Zaidman, came to the U.S. this week to receive further medical and psychological treatment in the New York area. The men said one of the keys to coping with the attack and its aftermath were the bonds they had formed with other wounded soldiers, both those injured on Oct. 7 and others who had tread the same difficult path before them.
“It really helps me and strengthens me,” said Chamo, who sustained injuries on Oct. 7 to his arms, legs and face, pointing to his friend Zaidman. “He knows what I’m feeling and I know what he’s feeling.” Zaidman was shot in the arm while fighting in the farming community of Netiv Ha’asara on Oct. 7 and took shrapnel to his hand and face.
“We know exactly how to help each other because we experience the same pain,” said Chamo, 21, who is still using a crutch and coping with PTSD.
Belev Echad runs a house with amenities for wounded soldiers in the Tel Aviv suburb of Kiryat Ono, and its activists visit the injured in hospitals, organize medical treatments and provide other services such as martial arts lessons. The group was assisting some 600 veterans before Oct. 7, and has added 500 more to its rolls since the attack, said Belev Echad’s director, Rabbi Uriel Vigler.
While in New York, the three soldiers, who had pink scars still visible on their skin, spoke at the nonprofit’s annual gala to raise funds for the group. Around 1,500 people, most of them Jews, packed into the the swanky Cipriani event space on Wall Street for the event, hearing the soldiers’ stories, pledging funds to the organization and sympathizing with the troops and their families. Some of the funds will go to a hyperbaric pressure chamber used to treat brain injuries, Vigler said. The gala and fundraising efforts surrounding the event raised a total of around $4.3 million. Orthodox singer Yaakov Shwekey performed and actress Swell Ariel Or of Netflix’s “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem” delivered a speech.
The event was dedicated to Raz Mizrahi, a Border Police trooper whose back was badly wounded when an attacker rammed her with a vehicle in East Jerusalem in 2021. She recovered from her injury after four months of rehabilitation, rejoined her unit, became an officer and completed her service. After her release from the military, she joined the staff of Belev Echad, becoming the keynote speaker at the organization’s New York gala last year and connecting with local Jewish communities. She last visited New York in September.
Mizrahi, 21, was at the Supernova music festival near kibbutz Re’im on Oct. 7. She sought safety in a bomb shelter with two friends as rockets streaked out of Gaza, calling her family from the scene. She was missing after the attack as her panicked family scrambled to find information; her body was identified three days later.
“I sometimes think she’s on a trip and needs to come back. I have so many conversations with her. I think that’s what I miss the most,” her mother, Nirit Mizrahi, said in a video played at the event that brought some in the audience to tears.
“Raz is not an ordinary girl. She has a light in her face,” her mother said in the video, which showed Mizrahi in interviews, at the previous year’s gala, and then showed her funeral.
“She would like us to keep living and keep laughing and not fall into sadness,” her mother said. “If I could tell her something, it would be that I’m proud of her.”
Pinto’s mother, Carmit Pinto, was also struggling with the aftermath of the attack.
“We’ve been through ups and downs. Very optimistic, but still crying. It’s not easy,” she told the New York Jewish Week. “We try to focus on the present and not on the future. To go through the medical stuff and to pray that he’ll see again.”
Pinto took a lighter tone, joking that “I’m a little bit disappointed that my first visit in America or in New York is going to be when I can’t see anything.”
“There are times I remember suddenly, ‘Oh, I can’t see,’” he added. “But then I’m saying to myself, ‘No, don’t think about it, move on.”
Despite his optimism, doctors in Israel said Pinto’s vision may or may not improve, and if it does get better, it’s unclear to what extent he will recover. Pinto’s medical files were translated to English and sent to doctors in New York, who will also assess his condition and offer an opinion on a way forward. Details about the soldiers’ procedures in the United States were kept confidential.
Pinto’s mother also said support from other wounded veterans was a crucial part of his recovery. When Pinto was first released from the hospital, friends, former teachers and others came to visit him, but at other times, he was left alone, unable to read the news or use his phone. He was reluctant at first to leave the house for physical therapy, but found a safe space with others who had gone through, or were going through, similar experiences.
“It’s not just therapy, it’s also and most importantly the people,” his mother said. “The people that know exactly what he’s been through because they’ve been through the same thing. It makes him feel good.”
Pinto said he had connected with other soldiers who were injured in different areas on Oct. 7, and had pieced together the bigger picture of the attack, and his place in the story. “I fit here — it’s not like I need to play pretend. I don’t need to make a fake smile,” he said, adding that soldiers injured in past battles knew the way forward. “These people understand me better than I probably understand myself because they’ve been through the same thing and they already got over most of the things I’m going through right now.”
Chamo, a soldier in the Golani infantry brigade, was stationed on the Gaza border on Oct. 7 when he heard the first “red alert” rocket sirens at 6:30 a.m. He and eight other soldiers were told that terrorists had attacked the nearby kibbutz of Nir Am and headed to the community in an armored personnel carrier.
On their way there, attackers opened fire on the vehicle with Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-propelled grenades. During a running battle, one of the soldiers exposed himself to fire back, was shot in his eye, and fell back into the vehicle. Before the soldiers had time to react, an attacker hurled a grenade into the carrier. One of the troopers apologized to the others and jumped onto the explosive. He was killed, but likely saved the lives of the others, who were still wounded by the shrapnel. Chamo continued fighting, gunning down another terrorist, before another grenade exploded next to him, injuring his arms, legs and face. A gas grenade then landed in the vehicle, temporarily blinding them.
“I’m injured, I have one dead, another injured in the vehicle. The soldiers who are with me are in shock,” Chamo told the rapt audience while standing next to his mother, who also accompanied him to New York. “I’m looking death in the eye, but I didn’t give up. I opened the emergency door so the gas could get out. Another terrorist stood in front of me and I eliminated him.”
The terrorists had fortified themselves in the kibbutz by that point, and before going in, Chamo sent a farewell video to his family and close friends. After an hour and a half of fighting, he received medical attention for his wounds and survived. His mother recounted to the audience how she had driven south, through rocket fire, to find her son in an emergency room covered in blood.
Chamo pointed to Shuri Moyal, a Belev Echad staff member at the event who was injured by a rocket propelled grenade blast in Gaza in 2014, as a source of support.
“I met him a month ago and I feel like he’s my older brother,” Chamo said. “He experienced it 10 years ago and now he helps me get through it like I need to. He’s showing me the way.”
—
The post IDF soldiers wounded on Oct. 7, in New York for medical treatment, say support from other injured troops crucial for recovery appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
RSS
UN Refuses to Blame Hezbollah for Attacking Peacekeepers in Lebanon
UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles drive in Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, southern Lebanon, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
The United Nations announced on Tuesday that four Ghanaian peacekeepers were wounded “most likely by non-state actors within Lebanon,” noticeably omitting any reference to the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah, which wields significant influence across the country and was identified by Israeli forces as responsible for the rocket attack.
“Four Ghanaian peacekeepers on duty sustained injuries as a rocket — fired most likely by non-State actors within Lebanon — hit their base ‘UNP 5-42’ in the east of the village of Ramyah,” the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement.
The UN force added that its “peacekeepers and facilities were targeted in three separate incidents in south Lebanon.” The attacks were so severe that three peacekeepers were transferred to a local hospital, UNIFIL noted.
The peacekeeping mission added that its “Sector West Headquarters” in the southern Lebanese village of Shama also endured an attack from several rockets on Tuesday, adding that no peacekeepers were physically harmed.
UNIFIL claimed that one of its bases has been targeted by so-called “non-state actors” twice over the past week. In addition, the international force said that “when a UNIFIL patrol was passing through a road northeast of the village of Khirbat Silim, an armed person directly fired at the patrol”
“The pattern of regular attacks — direct or indirect — against peacekeepers must end immediately,” UNIFIL concluded.
The UN force’s apparent refusal to name Hezbollah received widespread scrutiny on social media, where many users noted that the Iran-backed terrorist organization has been involved in active combat near UNIFIL facilities and is by far the most powerful and widespread non-state actor in Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Tuesday that Hezbollah was responsible for the rocket attacks on both Ramyah and Shama.
According to the IDF, the UNIFIL base in Shama, was hit by several rockets launched by Hezbollah from the Maaliyeh area. A source from Italy’s defense ministry told AFP that “Hezbollah was responsible for the attack,” which involved eight rockets hitting the headquarters of the Italian contingent of UNIFL. No injuries were reported.
Last month, the IDF said that Hezbollah had fired dozens of rockets and missiles at Israeli communities and forces from terrorist compounds embedded near UNIFIL posts in southern Lebanon. Israeli officials have repeatedly warned UN peacekeepers that Hezbollah is weaponizing their presence in the Iran-backed terrorist organization’s war against the Jewish state, using them as human shields.
Despite its omission of Hezbollah, UNIFIL has not shied away from calling out Israel for allegedly attacking peacekeepers in the region.
In an October statement bemoaning “escalation” of violence in southern Lebanon, the UN force stated that “rockets continue to be launched towards Israel” without naming Hezbollah, which has been targeting northern Israel with barrages of rockets, missiles, and drones for the past year. However, in the next sentence, UNIFIL blasted “incursions from Israel into Lebanon.” The mission also condemned the IDF for allegedly firing “its weapon toward an observation tower at UNIFIL’s headquarters.”
Israeli officials have long accused the UN more broadly of having a bias against the Jewish state. Last year, the UN General Assembly condemned Israel twice as often as it did all other countries. Meanwhile, of all the country-specific resolutions passed by the UNHRC, nearly half have condemned Israel, a seemingly disproportionate focus on the lone democracy in the Middle East.
Weeks following last year’s Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, the UN adopted a resolution calling for a “ceasefire” between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group. The UN failed to pass a measure condemning the Hamas atrocities.
On Tuesday, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric de la Rivière refused to assign blame to any party for allegedly ransacking and looting 90 humanitarian aid trucks in Gaza. Hamas, which rules Gaza, has a long history of stealing humanitarian aid intended for the civilians of the beleaguered enclave, although it’s unclear who was responsible for the recent looting.
“When people, when armed people, try to take over control of a vehicle and goods, we’re not asking questions and they’re not wearing insignias,” he said to reporters.
The spokesperson added that the UN will not accept any security from Israel, stating that its employees would be “an even greater target if we were surrounded by armed soldiers.” Nonetheless, he insisted that the Jewish state still “has a responsibility” to ensure that the UN’s workers and humanitarian aid are safe.
The post UN Refuses to Blame Hezbollah for Attacking Peacekeepers in Lebanon first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Netanyahu, in Gaza, Vows Retribution for Those Who Harm Hostages, Offers Safe Passage and Reward for Info
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a memorial ceremony for those murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and those who fell in the “Iron Sword” war, at the Knesset, the Parliament, in Jerusalem, Oct. 28, 2024. Photo: DEBBIE HILL/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed during a trip to Gaza on Tuesday to “hunt down” terrorists who harmed the hostages being held in the Palestinian enclave, offering a hefty financial reward and safe passage for anyone willing to provide information leading to an abductee’s return.
“To those who are holding our hostages: Anyone who dares to harm our hostages will have blood on their head. We will hunt you down and get you,” Netanyahu said in a video in Hebrew recorded on Gaza’s beach along the Mediterranean Sea.
However, the Israeli premier added, “whoever brings us a hostage will be given a safe way, for him and his family, to leave. We will also give a reward of $5 million for each kidnapped person. You choose — the choice is yours — but the result will be the same. We’ll get them all back.”
ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו ושר הביטחון ישראל כ”ץ, יחד עם הרמטכ”ל רב אלוף הרצי הלוי וראש השב”כ רונן בר ביקרו היום מסדרון נצרים שבעזה.
ראש הממשלה נתניהו: “החמאס לא יהיה יותר בעזה. מי שיעז לפגוע בחטופינו – דמו בראשו. נרדוף ונשיג אתכם.” pic.twitter.com/EwFB2hd9aE
— ראש ממשלת ישראל (@IsraeliPM_heb) November 19, 2024
Netanyahu made the comments during a visit to the Netzarim Corridor, which splits Gaza between north and south, along with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) director Ronen Bar.
“Hamas will no longer be in Gaza,” Netanyahu said, vowing that the Palestinian terrorist group that had ruled Gaza won’t have a future role governing the enclave, which borders southern Israel. He added that Israel had destroyed the Islamist group’s military capabilities.
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists launched the ongoing war with their invasion of southern Israel last Oct. 7. During the onslaught, the terrorists murdered 1,200 people, wounded thousands more, and kidnapped over 250 hostages while perpetrating mass sexual violence against the Israeli people.
Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities.
Katz said on Tuesday that the return of the 101 hostages still being held by Hamas terrorists remains the “most important mission,” promising that Israel will “complete its mission” in Gaza.
“We need to make sure that Hamas does not rule here ‘the day after,’” he added.
On Monday, Netanyahu reportedly told the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of Israeli’s parliament, known as the Knesset, that he believes about 50 of the 101 remaining hostages in Gaza are still alive.
The remarks came after Netanyahu on Sunday called an emergency meeting following Hamas’s rejection of all proposals for ceasefires and hostage release deals currently on the table, according to Israel’s Channel 13 News.
Hamas’s leadership has severed all contact with those actually holding the hostages for security reasons “to protect the important negotiation card,” the Qatari-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed news outlet reported this week, citing a Hamas source.
Talks over a potential ceasefire and hostage release deal brokered by the US, Egypt, and Qatar have floundered in recent weeks, with American officials questioning whether Hamas wants an agreement. The terrorist group has insisted any arrangement must include an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, an outcome that Jerusalem firmly opposes until its war goals are achieved.
The post Netanyahu, in Gaza, Vows Retribution for Those Who Harm Hostages, Offers Safe Passage and Reward for Info first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israel’s Operations in Lebanon Enabling Steps to Return Displaced Citizens to Their Homes: Think Tanks
Smoke billows over Khiam, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from Marjayoun, near the border with Israel, Oct. 29, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
Israel’s expanded military operations against the Iran-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon have enabled Jerusalem to take steps to return displaced Israeli citizens to their homes in the northern part of the country, according to researchers at two leading US think tanks.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), in conjunction with the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project (CTP), explained the developments on Sunday in their daily Iran Update, “which provides insights into Iranian and Iranian-sponsored activities that undermine regional stability and threaten US forces and interests.”
According to the report, “Israeli Army Radio reported that the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] has removed all military checkpoints and roadblocks on roads near the Israel-Lebanon border that have been closed to civilians over the past year.”
This was able to happen because of Israeli operations in Lebanon that have reduced the threat of anti-tank fire and other munitions targeting northern Israel.
“The IDF’s re-opening of roads along the border,” ISW and CTP explained, “indicates that the IDF has assessed that Israeli operations have significantly reduced the threat of anti-tank fire and other short-range munitions enough to allow civilians to return to previously targeted areas.”
Specifically, it has been Israel’s ground operations in Lebanon, and “control of Lebanese territory” that have led to these steps, according to an IDF official who spoke to Israeli Army Radio.
In mid-September, the Israeli war cabinet expanded its war goals to include returning tens of thousands of Israeli citizens to their homes in the north after they were forced to flee amid unrelenting fire from Hezbollah in neighboring southern Lebanon.
“The possibility for an agreement is running out as Hezbollah continues to tie itself to Hamas, and refuses to end the conflict,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said at the time. “Therefore, the only way left to ensure the return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes will be via military action.”
On Oct. 8, 2023, Hezbollah joined Hamas’s war on Israel, pummeling northern Israeli communities almost daily with barrages of drones, rockets, and missiles from southern Lebanon, where it wields significant political and military influence. One such attack killed 12 children in the small Druze town of Majdal Shams.
About 70,000 Israelis have been forced to evacuate Israel’s north during that time due to the unrelenting attacks. Most of them have spent the past 13 months living in hotels in other areas of the country.
Since Israel began its widened campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, it has achieved major successes. It has taken out the entire top echelon of Hezbollah, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah, along with his successor. This, along with other successful operations, has put significant pressure on Hezbollah to come to a diplomatic agreement to end hostilities — which could happen in the coming weeks.
The post Israel’s Operations in Lebanon Enabling Steps to Return Displaced Citizens to Their Homes: Think Tanks first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login