'THIS IS WHO HAMAS IS': Bethany Mandel Brings Updates on Anticipated Return of Hamas Hostage Bodies
Listen to the full interview:
Listen to the full podcast:
Mandel had this to say on the reality of the brutality of Hamas:
'They held onto these bodies until the very last day, with the absolute depravity of returning Yarden, the father, with no information about what happened to his wife and children. No closure. And, you know, one of the other hostages they returned too doesn't receive nearly as much attention, but who had exactly the same thing happened to them. Eli Sharabi. They put him on a stage and they asked him, what are you looking forward to? And he said, seeing my wife and daughters, because they kept it from him for 500 days, that they had murdered his wife and daughters on October 7th. And he walked out of Gaza looking like a Holocaust survivor after being starved for 500 days. And he learned upon his return that they had murdered his entire family. Like, this is who Hamas is. Listen to them when they tell you who they are.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Representative Katherine Clark calls Israel-Hamas war in Gaza ‘genocide'
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The comments, first 'a nonpartisan Quaker organization that lobbies Congress and the administration to advance peace, justice, and environmental stewardship.' Clark made the comments in a discussion hosted by Bridget Moix, the organization's secretary general, at the Friends Meeting at Cambridge Meetinghouse. Advertisement Clark was responding to protestors at the event in her district, said Joy Lee, a spokesperson for her office, who denied that the comment amounted to a new position on the war. 'The Israeli and Palestinian people deserve security and peace. It can only be achieved through a permanent cease-fire, the immediate return of the remaining hostages, and a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza,' Lee said. 'It should not be controversial to say that Israeli children did not deserve to be kidnapped and murdered by Hamas, nor should it be controversial to say that Palestinian children, who bear no responsibility for Hamas's atrocities, do not deserve to be killed by war or starvation. Advertisement But only a handful of congressional Democrats, and none in top leadership roles, have called the Gaza war a genocide despite mounting pressure from progressive activists as the situation there deteriorates. The death toll in the war, which began after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, The UN defines genocide as 'acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group' and there is a genocide case filed by South Africa against Israel pending at the International Court of Justice. Israel has denied it is committing genocide, arguing that it is in a war with Hamas provoked by the terrorist group's 2023 attack, in which about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and 250 people taken hostage. The term genocide weighs heavily over Israel's history because of the Holocaust, a genocide in which Nazi Germany murdered six million Jews during World War II. Jim Puzzanghera can be reached at
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
High-ranking Hamas terrorist killed by IDF amid plans for Israel's takeover of Gaza City
The Israel Defense Forces killed Nasser Musa, a senior operative in Hamas's Rafah Brigade who headed the terrorist group's Military Control Department, last week in a strike near Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, the military announced on Friday. Musa, killed on Aug. 9, was responsible for the operational readiness and training of the Rafah Brigade, which carried out attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians during the war. He was a close associate of Rafah Brigade commander Mohammad Sabaneh, who was killed in May 2025. He also held multiple positions within the brigade, including in military intelligence and the observation network. 4 The Israel Defense Forces killed Nasser Musa, a senior operative in Hamas's Rafah Brigade, last week in a strike near Khan Yunis. 4 'Musa's elimination further degrades the Rafah Brigade's operational capabilities and Hamas terrorists' abilities,' said the IDF. 'Musa's elimination further degrades the Rafah Brigade's operational capabilities and Hamas terrorists' abilities,' said the IDF. Meanwhile, the IDF continues operations in Khan Yunis. On Thursday, it struck a structure used by terrorist groups to store rockets intended for attacks on Israeli targets. Troops also located and dismantled additional terrorist infrastructure and neutralized active terrorist cells. 4 Aid packages dropped from an airplane in the northern Gaza Strip. 4 Palestinians trying to gather the humanitarian aid airdropped by parachutes. AP In northern Gaza, IDF soldiers killed terrorists and demolished tunnel shafts, and 'continue to defend the civilians of the communities near the Strip,' the military added. Earlier this week, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir confirmed a new phase in the war against Hamas, focused on securing operational control of Gaza City. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will not occupy the enclave, saying the expansion of the war is aimed at destroying Hamas and freeing the local population from its regime of terror. On Thursday night, he outlined conditions for ending the fighting, including the full disarmament of Hamas; the return of all 49 remaining hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023 and of the remains of Lt. Hadar Goldin, taken in 2014; the demilitarization of the entire Strip; security control of Gaza by the IDF; and establishing 'an alternative civilian administration' in the enclave.
Newsweek
4 hours ago
- Newsweek
Map Reveals Deadliest Wars This Year
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Since returning to the White House in 2025, President Donald Trump has sought to cast U.S. diplomacy as a global peacemaker, reviving his ambition for a Nobel Peace Prize. In June, the president wrote on Truth Social that he wouldn't receive a Nobel Peace Prize "no matter what" he accomplished — whether in Russia-Ukraine or Israel-Iran — but added that public recognition was what truly mattered to him. Washington has taken an active role in brokering ceasefires and mediating disputes across the globe, though major wars continue in some parts, and is currently pushing for an end to the Sudan conflict, which ranks among the world's deadliest in new tallies. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) recently released its latest update on global conflicts, covering the 12 months up to August 8, 2025. The data tracks full-scale wars, protests, targeted attacks, and non-violent military or political actions shaping conflict dynamics Below are five places in the world where the deadliest conflicts continue to take place. Ukraine ACLED data shows Russian remote strikes on Kyiv doubled in 2024 from the year before, with further escalation in early 2025. Drone attacks in the first seven months already outpace 2024's total by nearly 25 percent. About a third of strikes in both years caused civilian casualties, but 2025's have been deadlier, killing over 100 people—more than twice the annual toll of the previous three years. In May, the United Nations said it had documented atrocities in Ukraine, including the killing of civilians in populated areas, strikes on hospitals and other protected sites, executions and torture of prisoners of war, the exploitation of children for sabotage, and rights abuses in Russian-occupied territories such as forced citizenship, denial of services, and property seizures. Palestine Gaza saw its highest reported civilian death toll since early 2024, according to ACLED, partially due to increasing Israeli strikes but mostly tied to aid distribution incidents. Over a quarter of July's deaths—nearly 700—were recorded, especially near U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, it said. The strip has witnessed a surge in displacement due to a deepening humanitarian crisis with no sight of a truce between Israel and Hamas after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire and subsequent negotiations collapsed last month. The war has killed over 60,000 people since it erupted after the Hamas October 2023 attack, according to the local health ministry. Sudan Sudan's conflict has killed tens of thousands and displaced over 12 million, according to ACLED, creating one of the world's largest humanitarian crises. Famine and attacks on health facilities have left millions without basic aid. The United Nations Security Council has expressed deep concern over the impact of the conflict, including attacks on humanitarian operations and reports of widespread sexual violence by militias since the country plunged into civil war in 2023. Sudanese army soldiers parade in the streets of eastern Sudan's city of Gedaref on August 14, 2025 to mark the 71st anniversary of the formation of the Sudanese army. Since it began in April 2023,... Sudanese army soldiers parade in the streets of eastern Sudan's city of Gedaref on August 14, 2025 to mark the 71st anniversary of the formation of the Sudanese army. Since it began in April 2023, the Sudanese war between the regular army and its paramilitary rival, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their Myanmar recorded the highest number in state repression incidents, which ACLED said have steadily risen globally and peaked in 2024. Despite announcing a ceasefire in April, the military has escalated violence, which has continued since the 2021 coup, according to ACLED and Reuters. Syria The civil war-torn country has faced repeated outbreaks of violence, underscoring the fragility of its transitional period following the ouster of longtime autocratic ruler Bashar Assad by rebels. The U.S. has backed Syria's new president and reconstruction plan by agreeing to lift sanctions. Deadly sectarian and retaliatory clashes between militias and government troops have erupted across Syria, particularly in coastal and southern regions. Israel carried out repeated airstrikes across southern Syria, including in areas near the capital, aiming to prevent military threats.
