A quiet morning swim at Hatzuk Beach took an unexpected turn when Noa Itiel spotted something glimmering beneath the surface — the missing cell phone of ex-Military Advocate General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi. What began as a routine dip in the sea quickly became the discovery that may alter the course of a sensitive investigation.
“I was swimming, and suddenly, I saw a white device on the sea floor. I called my friend over. I dove and picked it up. When I got to the shore, I tapped the screen, and my jaw dropped. I saw the familiar photo that was in the press,” Itiel recounted in an interview with Walla!. The moment, she said, instantly felt unusual. Even before she reached land, she sensed that what she had found was far from ordinary.
The find came after nearly a week of extensive search efforts. Ever since the former MAG vanished along Israel’s central coastline for several hours on Sunday, divers, police officers, and volunteers with metal detectors had combed the beach and surrounding waters without success. Despite their tireless efforts, nothing surfaced—until Friday morning, when unusually clear water revealed the phone lying on the seabed. “I swim here every day,” she explained. “We usually look for sea turtles and fish. Today, I found something totally different.”
Itiel’s instincts immediately told her to protect what she had found. “Someone approached me and said that he would give the phone to the police, but I said that I would do it myself. I knew I was holding something unusual. Maybe even something that would influence the entire investigation. I knew I had to do it correctly.” Her caution proved warranted. Police later confirmed that the device did, in fact, belong to Tomer-Yerushalmi and has since been transferred to a forensic lab for analysis.
The find carried an emotional weight for Itiel that went beyond the discovery itself. “My family lost loved ones in October. Everything connects for me. I felt that I was part of something important – maybe even a form of closure. What guided me was that the truth would come to light and that we would be united.”
Investigators are now focusing on critical questions surrounding the incident: how the phone ended up in the sea, whether it had been deactivated beforehand, and if any attempt was made to conceal evidence. Experts believe that if the device’s contents can be retrieved, they could hold key insights — possibly the most revealing element yet in a mystery that continues to captivate national attention.
{Matzav.com}
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office declared on Friday that it had ordered the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and thirty-six senior Israeli figures, accusing them of committing genocide during Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
Turkish outlets reported that the sweeping warrant list includes several of Israel’s most prominent security leaders: Defense Minister Yisroel Katz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, and Naval Forces Commander David Saar Salama.
The announcement came after a lengthy inquiry overseen by the Istanbul Court of Justice, working in conjunction with Turkey’s Justice and Foreign Ministries. Investigators claimed Israeli forces carried out deliberate and sustained attacks against civilians in Gaza, framing the actions as part of a coordinated campaign.
Prosecutors cited multiple episodes as the foundation for their charges, most notably the October 17, 2023 explosion at Gaza’s Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital — an incident later attributed to a misfired Islamic Jihad rocket. Nonetheless, Turkish authorities included it in their indictment as evidence of Israel’s alleged intent.
Another case referenced in the report was the April 1, 2024 strike that killed World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers. Then-IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said at the time that the incident stemmed from “a case of misidentification” and emphasized that “the strikes were not meant to harm WCK workers.”
The Turkish prosecutor’s office further asserted that Israeli operations deliberately damaged civilian infrastructure, hindered humanitarian relief efforts, and limited access to medical aid. It also mentioned statements related to the Sumud Flotilla, a small-scale attempt to deliver supplies to Gaza that the IDF intercepted; the shipment on board amounted to less than a single truckload of aid.
This move marks a sharp escalation in the already tense relations between Israel and Ankara. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has grown increasingly hostile toward Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza war on October 7, 2023, intensifying his rhetoric and portraying Israel as the aggressor.
Relations between the two nations had been cautiously improving before Hamas’s surprise assault on Israel last year. However, Erdogan swiftly reversed tone, denouncing Israel in March as a “terror state” following targeted strikes on Hamas sites in Gaza.
By June, he went further, asserting that Netanyahu’s government “represents the most significant threat to Middle East security.”
Despite Erdogan’s harsh denunciations, Turkey has simultaneously participated in diplomatic efforts to calm the conflict, helping mediate the Gaza ceasefire under President Donald Trump’s broader peace framework.
{Matzav.com}
