Prime Minister held a press conference on Monday evening, at which he answered questions in Hebrew. At the end of the presser, Netanyahu took a question in English. This was his response: “I want to ask you something: What has changed in the last five days? What has changed? “One thing: These murderers executed six of our hostages. They shot them in the back of the head. That’s what’s changed. “And now after this we’re asked to show seriousness? We’re asked to make concessions? “What message does this send Hamas? It says ‘Kill more hostages. Murder more hostages. You’ll get more concessions! “The pressure internationally must be directed at these killers; at Hamas. Not at Israel,” Netanyahu emphasized.

President Biden has made it clear that Hamas is responsible for the deaths of American-Israeli citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages, a US official stated on Monday. This response came after Biden faced criticism for earlier comments suggesting that Prime Minister Netanyahu wasn’t doing enough to secure a hostage deal. “The President has been clear that Hamas is responsible for killing Hersh and the others and Hamas leaders will pay for their crimes,” the official emphasized. Biden is also urging the Israeli government to act with urgency in securing the release of the remaining hostages. A statement from the Whitehouse reads: “Today, President Biden and Vice President Harris met in the White House Situation Room with the U.S.

In yet another act of sadistic cruelty, the Hamas terror group released a video on Telegram on Monday afternoon featuring the six hostages executed in cold blood last week. The video shows short clips of each of the hostages confirming their identities and then ends with the threat to release their final messages in the coming hours. The threat comes as the levayos of the victims are still taking place. The levaya of slain US-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin is taking place on Monday afternoon in Jerusalem. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

There was great anger among numerous Israelis on Sunday following the Histadrut’s announcement calling a general strike on Monday to “protest”  against the government rather than against Hamas for the heinous executions of six hostages. Fortunately, unlike the last time the Histadrut abused its power and shut down the country in a politically motivated strike, almost all cities and companies refused to join the strike, and several legal appeals were filed against it, forcing Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David to capitulate and tell the Labor Court in Bat Yam that he will end the strike on Monday at 6 p.m. rather than Tuesday morning. However, the Court ruled early Monday afternoon that the strike must end by 2:30 p.m.

B’Chasdei Hashem, a possible mass-casualty bombing at the entrance to the yishuv of Ateret in Binyamin was averted in the pre-dawn hours of Monday morning. At about 4:30 a.m., security officers discovered an unoccupied car at the entrance to the yishuv. IDF soldiers and police officers called to the scene discovered that the car was equipped with two large gas canisters connected to a detonator. Military and police bomb sappers immediately began feverishly working on neutralizing the explosive device and baruch Hashem, managed to do so before it exploded. Meanwhile, as the day began, the entrance of the yishuv was closed off and Highway 465, which crosses Binyamin, was blocked to traffic between the British Police Junction and Neve Tzuf.

The United States is preparing to offer a final “take it or leave it” proposal for a ceasefire and hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas, according to a Washington Post report citing a senior official from President Biden’s administration. This deal was being formulated in collaboration with Egypt and Qatar before the discovery of the bodies of six young hostages, which has now cast doubt on Hamas’s seriousness in negotiations. Despite this grim development, the official stressed that it does not derail the process but rather adds urgency to concluding it. However, the discovery has complicated matters, necessitating a renegotiation of the lists of hostages and Palestinian prisoners involved in the exchange.

Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Sunday, reacting to the murder of six hostages at the hands of Hamas who were found in a tunnel beneath Rafah, in southern Gaza – including American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin. The murders, Trump said, “happened because Comrade Kamala Harris and Crooked Joe Biden are poor Leaders. Americans are getting slaughtered overseas… They have blood on their hands! Sadly, this is the total lack of ‘Leadership’ that Kamala and Biden represent.” He added: “Our Country and our amazing people are not safe under Joe Biden, and will be less safe under Kamala Harris. This terror would have never happened if I were President, and it will stop the day I am back in the Oval Office.” (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Tens of thousands of Israelis surged into the streets Sunday night after six more hostages were found dead in Gaza, chanting “Now! Now!” as they demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cave to Hamas demands to bring the remaining captives home. The mass outpouring appeared to be the largest such demonstration in 11 months of war and protesters said it felt like a possible turning point, although the country is deeply divided. Israel’s largest trade union, the Histadrut, further pressured the government by calling a general strike for Monday, the first since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that started the war.

Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich, a member of Israel’s political-security cabinet, visited the site of the terror attack on Sunday morning near Chevron in which three police officers were murdered by terrorists, including one whose daughter was murdered battling Hamas terrorists in Sderot on October 7. Smotrich said at the site of the attack: “Here, where three police officers were murdered in cold blood, I appeal to the Prime Minister, members of the government and security officials: We’re a step away from an October 7th in Yehudah and Shomron, chalilah. We have an opportunity to do this time what we didn’t do in Gaza on the night between October 6th and 7th.

A nationwide general strike, announced by Histadrut chief Arnon Bar-David, will begin tomorrow morning, with Ben Gurion International Airport set to be closed, a spokesman for the labor federation confirmed on Sunday. The strike will commence at 6 a.m., with the airport closure scheduled for 8 a.m., when all takeoffs and landings will be halted. The duration of the airport’s closure remains uncertain, with the spokesman stating that it is “unclear” how long Israel’s only international hub will be shuttered. A full list of workplaces set to participate in the strike will be announced later, the spokesman added.