Families of the hostages, IDF soldiers, Israel’s national basketball team – along with the lunar eclipse. Just after the start of the new year, Israel Hayom photographers selected their pictures of the year.
As Yom Kippur approaches, I cannot help but return to that moment – October 7. The day everything turned upside down. The day my world shattered, when everything I knew about myself, my role as a mother, as a citizen, as a human being, was shaken to its core.
The helicopter that first flew in 1975, designed to stop Soviet tanks on the plains of Europe, is now shooting down Iranian Shahed drones over Israel and Lebanon – an example of the adaptability of a weapon serving in 18 armies. Until October 7, Israel had been reducing its attack helicopter fleet, but the Hamas assault reversed that trend. Today, Israel is seeking to double its fleet. Fifty years after its maiden flight, the Apache has not become obsolete – it has adapted.
Benny Gantz’s declaration, the limping son of the opposition, that he does not intend to boycott Netanyahu, detaches him from the bloc and may prove to be the move that decides the coming elections.
Officially, Dr. Sebastian Gorka is the deputy national security adviser and the president’s adviser on counterterrorism. Unofficially, he is one of the senior officials closest to Trump. In an interview coinciding with his visit to Israel, he offers a rare glimpse into America’s new counterterrorism doctrine and shares the most dramatic moments from Trump’s Situation Room.
The IDF is suffering from munition shortages, raising questions about its ability to carry out its missions now and in the future, a reality that did not stop the prime minister from deciding to continue the war for the time being. Israel has stepped on the mine of recognition of a Palestinian state, a mine that, paradoxically, could have been dismantled easily.
Former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot launches new party Yashar! as he weighs a run for prime minister. In an interview with Israel Hayom, he accuses Netanyahu of deliberately obstructing the military, failing to pursue hostage deals, and leading Israel into “strategic folly.”
Lt. Dr. A. rescued a wounded soldier under fire, Lt. S. evacuated combat soldiers from a hazardous zone, Lt. K. shielded a team that ran into a booby-trapped area, and Maj. N. commanded a complex engagement against terrorists. Elite recon women soldiers are shattering stigmas on the way to real equality: “They see a woman with gel polish on a battlefield and can’t believe it.”
Türkü Avci arrived from Turkey in Israel after questioning President Erdoğan's propaganda, deciding to see for herself what the Jewish state is all about. Now, after Oct. 7, she is labeled as a traitor and the "Turkish girl who sold herself to Israelis." Will she ever be allowed back?
There are two actors in the world who believe that conquering Gaza City will bring about Hamas’ defeat and the end of the war: the first is Benjamin Netanyahu. The second, ironically, is Hamas.