It’s been more than 150 days since Hamas captured Israeli hostages on Oct. 7 and took them into Gaza. Hamas leaders claim they don’t know where all the hostages are, or even if they are all still alive. But Nir Maman, a security expert who lives in Toronto, has his theories—including his take on why the Israel Defense Forces haven’t been able to rescue them. Maman, 47, is one of the older volunteers who’ve flocked to the Jewish State to help his native country respond to the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust. But despite his age, Maman offers a special set of skills: the married father of five is also an elite counter-terrorism expert who trains police and military in North America and Israel how to rescue hostages and conduct urban warfare. For the last four months, Maman has been deployed with an IDF light infantry reserve battalion in Hebron, in the West Bank. He’s been manning checkpoints, hunting for terrorist cells and conducting raids. He was on leave back home in Canada last week, for just 11 days, until it was cut short by a surprise summons to return to the front lines—this time, in Gaza. He spoke to _The CJN Daily _during his furlough, about what the war has been like and whether Israel can rescue the remaining hostages.

What we talked about:

Learn more about Maman and his CT707 counter-terrorism company
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Learn about other lone soldiers in the IDF on The CJN Daily and in The CJN

Credits:

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.

This Canadian lone IDF soldier describes life fighting on Israel's wartime front