War in Israel: Update on Current Situation
04/30/2025
April 30, 2025 – October 7 War, Day 572, 59 hostages remain in captivity
Tonight begins Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. The Jewish State is celebrating amid a terrible war. Yesterday, the country stood still for two minutes at 11 am to mark Yom Hazikaron, the memorial day for fallen soldiers. We are sending out the Israel Update today because the Israel Office will be closed tomorrow for the holiday.
- 318 soldiers were killed between Yom Hazikaron 2024 and Yom Hazikaron 2025.
- 25,420 soldiers have fallen in all of Israel’s wars, including during the pre-state period.
In a moving ceremony at the Wailing Wall, President Isaac Herzog said:
This year, perhaps more than ever, the siren’s sound is also a true alarm, commanding us: unite and come together. Do not tear apart from within. Do not destroy our home.
It rises further and further, like a terrible cry, a wail, a scream that pierces the gates of Heaven. For the fallen men and women, the murdered; for the many wounded in body and soul; for our kidnapped brothers and sisters—the beloved, the tormented—held in captivity and distress for more than a year and a half.
From here, I call out to our brothers and sisters in the hands of murderers: A whole nation is missing you, worrying for you, crying your cry. A nation tormented beyond measure. A nation that knows—deep in its soul, burned with longing and anxiety—that the wound cannot heal until you return. Until you return to us. Here, at the place where our soldiers swear to defend the homeland and the freedom of Israel—we too swear, I swear: not to rest and not to be still. Not to rest and not to be still. Not even for a moment. To act with all our might, by every means, to take one more step, and another, until all of you come home. Every single one.
Three new reports highlighting various aspects of Federations Israel Emergency work have been released:
IDF Activity
- Fighting continues in Gaza. Last week, three soldiers fell in battle.
- On Sunday, the Air Force launched a pinpoint attack on a building in Beirut’s Dahiyeh neighborhood, where Hezbollah is headquartered. The target was a storage facility holding a large quantity of precision missiles, in violation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon. Israel continues to respond to every violation of the agreement by Hezbollah.
- Sporadic rocket fire, mainly from the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, continues. These missiles are typically intercepted by Israel’s defense systems. Using open-source data, the HonestReporting NGO has mapped the terror tunnel network running under Gaza. The newly released interactive site can be seen here.
Hostages
- According to most reports, negotiations over a hostage deal are at an impasse. Nonetheless, media reports note that Egypt said that a deal is close. One Israeli government official, while averring that “not everything the Egyptians say is true,” acknowledged that there has been some progress, with the duration of the potential ceasefire Hamas’ future role in Gaza both still needing to be resolved.
- Hamas has expressed a willingness to sign an all-encompassing deal that would see a release of all 59 remaining hostages in exchange for a very large number of Palestinian prisoners, plus a full Israeli pull-out from Gaza and a five-year ceasefire that would leave Hamas in power.
- Israel says that it won’t accept any deal that:
- leaves Hamas in power
- allows Hamas to maintain its weapons
- doesn’t allow IDF forces to be stationed at several points that it deems critical to Israel’s security
- Israel, for its part, has stated that it is willing to pursue a partial deal that would entail the release of some hostages in exchange for a shorter-term ceasefire.
Hostages
- While hostage and ceasefire negotiations continue, the sides seem to be at an impasse. Hamas is demanding an internationally-backed agreement that will see a permanent ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal, in exchange for a release of all hostages. Israel, on the other hand, will not consider a deal that leaves Hamas in power, or that denies the IDF a security presence in buffer zones and other militarily strategic areas that are vital for the country’s security.
- Israel’s negotiating team, led by Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, is set to depart for further talks in the coming days.
- Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad continue to release “sign-of-life” videos of hostages they are holding; they sent out three in just the past week. While families have welcomed any proof that their loved ones are alive, the psychological toll of seeing them in captivity is heavy.
Yom Ha’atzmaut 2025
- To mark Israel’s Independence Day, the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics has released several facts, including:
- The country’s population has, for the first time, surpassed the 10 million mark, and now stands at 10,094,000 people. This is 12 times the population of Israel in 1948.
- 77.6% are Jewish and 20.9% are Arabs.
- 27% are under 14 years old, and 13% are over 65.
- 45% of the world’s Jewish population now lives in Israel
- 4 out of Jews in Israel were born in the country.
- 91% of Israelis say they are either “happy” or “very happy” with their lives. 67% say the same about their financial situation.
Other Developments
- Israel has denied involvement in a blast that ripped through Iran’s Shahid Rajaee port last weekend. Iranian media says at least 50 were killed and more than 1200 injured.
- In the first time a government minister has discussed a time-frame for the war, Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer said, “A year from now, the seven-front war… will be over. Israel will have won. And I think you will see many peace agreements, either that have been forged or will be forged in the coming years…..”
- Following weeks of political and legal maneuvering, including attempts by the government to fire him, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar announced on Monday that he will resign from his position on June 15. Speaking at an event commemorating fallen Shin Bet operatives, Bar conceded that “all the systems collapsed and the Shin Bet, too, failed in providing an early warning” on October 7. As the Shin Bet head, he continued, “I took responsibility for this—and now, on this special evening, symbolizing remembrance, bravery, and sacrifice, I have chosen to announce the fulfillment of that responsibility and my decision to end my tenure as head of the Shin Bet.”
The Yoms
- As it is Yom Ha’atzmaut, we will conclude with a short, famous Israeli poem, by Tzur Ehrlich. While it loses something in translation, it is worth contemplating:
Two remembrance days each year,
One week apart, we calculate in sum,
The price of having our own state, And the price of having none.
For Further Reading
