Israel At War Wednesday Feb 19

 Israel at war day 502

Israeli Hostages HYD Confirmed Dead, Families Notified

The bodies of our hostages who are expected to be released tomorrow:

- Bibas Ariel. HYD

- Bibas Kfir. HYD

- Bibas-Silverman Shiri. HYD

- Lipshitz Oded. HYD

Prime Netanyahu: “Tomorrow will be a very difficult day for the State of Israel, a shocking day, a day of sorrow. We are bringing home four of our beloved hostages, fallen.

We embrace families, and the heart of an entire nation is torn. My heart is torn. Yours, too. And the heart of the entire world needs to be torn because here we see who we are dealing with, what we are dealing with, and what monsters we are dealing with.

We grieve, we hurt, but we are also determined to ensure that something like this will never happen again."

- The bodies of hostages expected on Thursday will first be handed over to the Red Cross and then to the IDF. Israel still doesn't know if there will be another Hams show of force but is preparing for the possibility. Identifying the bodies may take up to 48 hours. The bodies will be accompanied by Rabbis who will recite yizkor.

-The identification of the slain hostages who have been held in captivity for a long time may not be feasible, Dr. Chen Kugel, director of  L. Greenberg Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir, said on Wednesday. 

- Washington Post Report: The Trump Administration has halted all  US Funding for the Palestinian Authority Security Forces

- IDF drone attacked a vehicle in Ba'ita al-Sha'ab in southern Lebanon. One Hezbollah terrorist was killed in the attack.

Senior Israeli source familiar with the negotiation: “The achievement of the agreement to release six of our hostages alive in one fell swoop, alongside the return of four dead hostages tomorrow, is the result of the Prime Minister's decision to change the composition of the negotiating team.

-5 IDF reservists indicted for severe abuse of Hamas terrorist  detainees at Sde Teiman jail

- Lebanese officials tell Qatari newspaper Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed: Intensive international talks are underway, especially with France and the US, to complete the full Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon as soon as possible because "any delay will have a negative impact."

- Syria: Last week, a group of American Jews of Syrian origin visited Damascus, the neighborhoods where they lived, the Jewish cemetery, the grave of Rabbi Chaim Vital, and more. The visit was made possible with the assistance of the Syrian Emergency Task force.