Israel has defeated its "enemies" militarily, however, "victory has not yet been secured —we need political action to turn the defeat into a victory,” former defense minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday in a post on X/Twitter to mark the 500th day since October 7.500 ימים למלחמת ״שבע החזיתות״לפני 500 ימים, ידענו את היום הקשה ביותר מאז עצמאותנו - מתקפת הטרור הרצחנית ביום השבעה באוקטובר.מדינת ישראל כשלה במשימה הראשונה והחשובה ביותר בחוזה הבלתי כתוב עם אזרחיה - הבטחת שלומם והגנה מפני כל איום.כשר הביטחון בשבעה באוקטובר, אני נושא עמי… pic.twitter.com/huwVTJGudI— יואב גלנט - Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) February 17, 2025"As defense minister on October 7, I carry with me with immense pain the difficult feelings about the murder, loss, kidnapping, and injury of so many," he said. Gallant said that Israel has dismantled Hezbollah's power, exposed "every vulnerable point in Iran to Israeli strikes" and strengthened Israel's position against terror organizations in Syria, Yemen, and the West Bank. "Bringing the hostages home, returning the residents of the south and north safely, and ending Hamas’s reign of terror require decisive political action to transform our military achievements into victory," Gallant said.

The IDF launched a large-scale arrest operation in an Arab village of Al Arub, south of Efrat in the West Bank, during an operation overnight between Sunday and Monday, Walla reported on Monday morning.

Russia's air defense units intercepted and destroyed 90 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian defense ministry said on Monday.Thirty-eight of the drones were downed over the Sea of Azov, 24 over the southern Russia region of Krasnodar, and the rest over several other regions in the south and west of the country, as well as over the Crimean Peninsula, the ministry said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.The ministry said that its defense units also destroyed a guided missile over the Sea of Azov.

Two hostages who were released from Gaza captivity and were held together with hostage Nimrod Cohen provided updated information to the family, Cohen's father Yehuda told Ynet on Monday. "He is healthy and in reasonable condition, but he is there and will return alive. They were with him for a long time in the tunnels," Cohen told the Israeli news outlet.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Saudi Arabia on Monday ahead of expected talks with Russian officials aimed at ending Moscow's nearly three-year war in Ukraine.The talks come after President Donald Trump last week spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone and ordered top officials to begin negotiations on the war, which he repeatedly vowed to end during his presidential campaign.Rubio, who spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday, will meet Russian officials in Saudi Arabia alongside Trump's national security adviser Mike Waltz and White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, a US lawmaker and a source told Reuters. It was not immediately clear who they would meet from Russia.The talks will be among the first high-level in-person discussions in years between Russian and US officials and are meant to precede a meeting between the US and Russian presidents.