ToI’s weekly deep dive: Behind the scenes on the hostage deal * Kfar Aza awaits its captives * How to try October 7 terrorists * Podcast: Mixed Jewish burials in war

[Times of Israel]( [Weekly Deep Dive]( Sunday, November 26, 2023 Reporter's notebook [The sole avenue of coexistence that became a Hamas killing field]( By David Horovitz Gaza workers used to pass through Erez. So did medical patients, diplomats, UN personnel. Then terrorists struck. Reservists, including a Google staffer from Denver, show ToI around Inside story Jacob Magid [Behind the scenes of the intense talks that led to the Israel-Hamas hostage deal]( A multilateral group set up by Qatar shortly after Hamas onslaught proves effective, thanks to personal involvement from Biden throughout rollercoaster US-brokered negotiations [Analysis: Deal with the devil / Why Israel agreed to the hostage deal, and how Hamas may intend to exploit it]( By David Horovitz Analysis Haviv Rettig Gur [Hostage deal, even if it fails, shows Hamas’s desperation]( The exchange rate for an Israeli hostage is no longer measured in hundreds of released prisoners but in moments of reprieve from looming destruction Together, in limbo [For 46 days, a refugee Kfar Aza family ‘sits shiva’ for its dead and awaits its hostages]( By Jessica Steinberg Nadav Goldstein-Almog and daughter Yam were killed on October 7; wife Chen Goldstein-Almog and their three younger children were taken hostage. Her brother recounts Hamas’s brutality [Freedom daubers / Street artists paint Tel Aviv wall murals about child hostages]( By Jessica Steinberg [Explainer / Red Cross ‘cannot force its way in’ to see hostages, but critics say it could do more]( By Renee Ghert-Zand [Basic services / He parks a traveling lavatory wherever hostages’ families gather to rally]( By Jessica Steinberg Inside story Jeremy Sharon [How will captured October 7 terrorists be tried, and on what charges?]( The Hamas terrorists who perpetrated the Oct. 7 atrocities could be charged with mass terrorism, murder with exceptional cruelty, assisting an enemy in war, but likely not genocide Interview [9 years after Hadar Goldin’s capture in Gaza, fight to declare him ‘kidnapped’ continues]( By Tal Schneider [Those We Are Missing]( [The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown]( [Read Here]( Inside Story [Global women’s rights groups silent as Israeli women testify about rapes by Hamas]( By Amelie Botbol Despite widespread evidence of terrorists’ systematic acts of sexual brutality on Oct. 7, most worldwide organizations either have no comment or bash IDF’s military campaign in Gaza [Domestic violence exacerbated by wartime, raising concerns over looser gun policies]( By Carrie Keller-Lynn [Israeli rights experts press UN to condemn Hamas crimes against women on Oct. 7]( By Shira Silkoff Antisemitism [ToI round-table with US Jewish students: ‘Everyone hates you and wishes you dead’]( By Cathryn J. Prince Eight students from the University of Connecticut talk about what it’s like attending university at a time when antisemitism has moved from a whisper to a shout [Antisemitic incidents surged globally since Oct. 7 but most aren’t reported. Here’s why]( By Matt Lebovic [Inside story / Citing antisemitism abroad, Jewish students stream to Israeli university as war rages]( By Gavriel Fiske Top Ops Miriam Schler [The obscene betrayal of Israelis who survived – and didn’t survive – rape]( Those who disbelieve or justify the sexual assaults on Israelis are sending a cruel message: You are definitely alone Richard Hecht [The high-stakes dilemma of conflict-zone journalism]( The rush to report is always at odds with the imperative to get the story right and the Israel Hamas war is no exception Imran Ahmed [What happens when you flag a post as antisemitic? Not much]( The platforms we have all come to rely on for news, entertainment and connection are betraying Jewish communities worldwide Erica Brown [Thanksgiving: This year in Jerusalem]( Anxiety about Israel at war, the hostages, antisemitism (the list goes on) makes it hard to give thanks, but it’s exactly the right thing to do [In the Galilee, hardy residents wonder why the government reneged on evacuating them]( By Canaan Lidor Abirim, under threat from Hezbollah to the north, is one of several towns on the official list for evacuation — but its residents are denied the benefits that would help them do so [As crops wither, farmers say fields will soon be barren without foreign workers]( By Mati Wagner [Environmental startup vows to return to devastated kibbutz and help rebuild it]( By Sue Surkes Interview [European Jewry will disappear by 2050, predicts bestselling Dutch-Jewish writer]( By Canaan Lidor Analysis Gianluca Pacchiani [Killings drop in Arab Israeli communities after October 7, but for how long?]( Increased police presence and wartime zero-tolerance policy for breaching social order are the most likely factors behind the drop in gang killings — which may only be temporary [Coalition promises Basic Law to enshrine status of Druze, won’t nix controversial law]( By Carrie Keller-Lynn [Those We Have Lost]( [Those We Have Lost]( [Stories of civilians and soldiers killed in Hamas's onslaught on Israel]( [Read Here]( [Grieving their fallen soldier sons, families donate their organs, spread life]( By Renee Ghert-Zand These are the stories of 5 regular and reserve IDF soldiers whose hearts, lungs, livers, and kidneys have given 25 people a new lease on life, during dark days of war ToI podcast [What Matters Now to Rabbi Seth Farber: Hostages and mixed burials in Jewish law]( By Amanda Borschel-Dan Health [Why doctors come volunteer in Israel at war: ‘I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t’]( By Renee Ghert-Zand Filling in for Israeli doctors called to military duty or preoccupied with emergency preparedness, these 5 physicians are picking up the slack wherever and however they are needed [Coming home: Health Ministry discloses strict protocols for treating freed hostages]( By Renee Ghert-Zand Reporter's notebook [In Tel Aviv, displaced families bring Israeli flavor to American-style Thanksgiving]( By Gavriel Fiske Archaeology [Archaeologists find earliest evidence of mass weapons production in Stone Age Israel]( By Gavriel Fiske Huge caches of uniformly designed sling stones from 7,200 years ago indicate organized production of missiles, the earliest evidence of warfare in the Southern Levant [Israel Travels / Israel’s valiant Lone Soldiers have given their lives for the Jewish state since 1948]( By Aviva and Shmuel Bar-Am [The Times of Israel was fastest-growing news website in the world in October]( By ToI Staff Site sees 604% year-on-year surge in visits, reaching 64.2 million and entering global top 50, SimilarWeb data shows; editor David Horovitz credits ‘incredibly dedicated staff’ From the blogs [In the rubble]( By Haim Watzman Ami has been murdered, but all Naama can focus on is her vision of a baby she knows is dead (Fiction) [Weekly Deep Dive]( [facebook]( [twitter]( [instagram]( [View in browser]( [Contact support](mailto:support@timesofisrael.com) [Advertise with us](mailto:advertise@timesofisrael.com) Were you forwarded this email? 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