April 12: Biden expects Iranian attack on Israel soon, says Tehran will not succeed

At least 8 rockets fired from Gaza at Sderot; no casualties

At least eight rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at the southern city of Sderot, a municipality spokesperson says.

Some of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome, and there are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for the attack.

Austrian Airlines suspends flights to Tehran for six days

Austrian Airlines planes stand at Vienna-Schwechat airport in Vienna, Austria. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak, File)

Austrian Airlines, the last west European airline flying to Iran, says it is suspending all flights from Vienna to Tehran until April 18 in response to escalating tensions in the region.

Austria had continued flying for longer than its German parent Lufthansa LHAG.DE since Vienna’s closer proximity to Tehran meant it could more easily abort flights or be forced to leave staff in Tehran overnight.

Earlier today, Austria’s foreign ministry followed Germany in urging its citizens to leave Iran.

“Routes that pass through Iranian air space will also be modified,” Austrian Airlines said in a statement. “The safety of our passengers and crews has the highest priority.”

Blinken discusses need to avoid Iranian escalation in call with Jordanian FM

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi in Amman, Jordan January 7, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Jordan Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi today “to discuss the urgent need to avoid further escalation in the region by Iran, as well as diplomatic efforts to achieve an enduring end to the crisis in Gaza that provides lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” the State Department says.

“Blinken thanked Jordan for its leadership in facilitating the delivery of life-saving humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, including through joint US-Jordan airdrops and deliveries by land,” the US readout adds.

‘Israel is better than the way this war is being waged,’ says recently retired No. 2 at State Department

File: US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Seoul, South Korea, June 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

“Elections alone do not make a democracy. Leadership matters,” tweets Wendy Sherman, who recently retired from her post as US deputy secretary of state.

“I agree with [World Central Kitchen founder] Chef Andre’s comments: ‘We know Israelis. Israelis, in their heart of hearts, know that food is not a weapon of war. Israel is better than the way this war is being waged,'” she adds.

‘Escalation risk’: Germany urges its citizens to leave Iran

Germany warns its citizens to leave Iran, saying that there is a risk both of a sudden escalation in Tehran’s existing tensions with Israel and that Germans might be at risk of arbitrary arrest in the country.

“In the current tensions, especially between Israel and Iran, there is a risk of a sudden escalation,” the Foreign Office writes in a fresh travel warning issued on Friday. “It cannot be excluded that air, land and sea transport routes could be affected,” it adds.

“German citizens are at concrete risk of being arbitrarily arrested and interrogated and being given long prison sentences. Dual citizens with Iranian and German nationality are especially at risk,” the Foreign Office says.

Biden says he expects Iran counter-strike on Israel to take place ‘sooner rather than later’

US President Joe Biden walks to Marine One for departure from the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, April 5, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Asked how imminent an Iranian retaliatory attack on Israel might be, US President Joe Biden tells reporters he doesn’t want to get into classified information, but “my expectation is sooner [rather] than later.”

Biden renews ‘Don’t’ warning to Iran ahead of anticipated retaliatory strike on Israel

United States President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (unpictured) in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, April 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Asked what his message to Iran is amid intensifying speculation of an imminent strike against Israel, US President Joe Biden gives the same warning aimed at deterring Jerusalem’s adversaries that he issued after October 7: “Don’t.”

“We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel, we will help defend Israel, and Iran will not succeed,” Biden tells reporters.

UN says Israel turned back two of its humanitarian convoys seeking to deliver aid to north Gaza

File: A convoy of trucks carrying fuel and aid drive in Gaza City's Zeitoun district on November 25, 2023, on the second day of a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas. (Mahmud Hams/AFP)

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric claims Israel prevented two humanitarian convoys from reaching northern Gaza earlier today.

“Our colleagues from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs tell us that we had planned two humanitarian missions to northern Gaza today, but both were denied access by Israeli authorities,” he says.

“One of the missions was meant to deliver 20,000 liters of fuel to run backup power generators at Al-Ahli Hospital where medical personnel are still working to provide essential healthcare despite having no electricity.

“OCHA reports that within the past week, more than 40% of aid missions to northern Gaza were denied or impeded, including due to hostilities nearby.

“Humanitarian missions planned for areas south of Wadi Gaza were also denied access. Only one mission that required coordination was facilitated today by the Israeli authorities and that mission provided health support to civilians in Khan Younis,” Dujarric says.

Ireland says moving closer to recognizing Palestinian state

For illustration: An Ireland supporter holds a Palestinian flag on the stands during the Euro 2024 group B qualifying soccer match between Gibraltar and Ireland at the Argarve Stadium, outside Faro, Portugal, Oct. 16, 2023. (AP/Joao Matos)

Ireland is close to formally recognizing a Palestinian state and would like to do so in concert with Spain and other like-minded countries, new Irish prime minister Simon Harris says after meeting his Spanish counterpart.

Spain and Ireland, long champions of Palestinian rights, last month announced alongside Malta and Slovenia that they would jointly work toward the recognition of a Palestinian state. The efforts come as a mounting death toll in Gaza from Israel’s offensive to rout out Hamas prompts calls globally for a ceasefire and lasting solution for peace in the region.

“Let me this evening say our assessment is that that point is coming much closer and we would like to move together in doing so,” Harris says after meeting Sanchez, the first premier to visit Dublin since Harris became prime minister this week.

“When we move forward, we would like to do so with as many others as possible to lend weight to the decision and to send the strongest message. The people of Israel deserve a secure and peaceful future, so do the people of Palestine. Equal sovereignty, equal respect.”

Israel told the four EU countries that committed to moving towards Palestinian recognition that their initiative would amount to a “prize for terrorism” that would reduce the chances of a negotiated resolution to the generations-old conflict.

The meeting with Harris was part of a number Sanchez planned this week with EU counterparts to try to garner support for the recognition of a Palestinian state.

Sanchez said following a meeting in Oslo with his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Store earlier on Friday that there were “clear signs” in Europe that countries in the region were prepared to recognize a Palestinian state.

Sanchez has previously said he expects Madrid to extend recognition to Palestinians by July.

Harris says Dublin would continue discussions with other like-minded countries in Europe and beyond, including at next week’s meeting of EU leaders.

Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said earlier this week that he was preparing to bring a formal proposal to government on the recognition of a Palestinian state.

Since 1988, 139 out of 193 United Nations member states have recognized Palestinian statehood.

IDF says Hezbollah barrage amounted to 40 rockets

The IDF says some 40 rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel, some of which were intercepted, while others impacted open areas or fell short in Lebanon.

There were no injuries in the attack, claimed by Hezbollah.

Earlier, the IDF said air defenses shot down two explosive-laden drones launched by Hezbollah at northern Israel.

Sirens sounded amid the incident, including as a result of falling shrapnel from the interception.

Hagari says no changes to civilian instructions amid expected Iran retaliatory strike

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari delivers a press briefing following a deadly strike on World Central Kitchen volunteers in the Gaza Strip overnight, April 2, 2024. (Screenshot)

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in a press statement says IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi has concluded an assessment with CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla on the threat of an attack by Iran on Israel.

“We held a joint assessment of the situation, to ensure that our coordination is tight,” Hagari says.

He says there are still no changes in instructions to civilians amid the heightened alert of a potential Iranian attack.

“If there are any changes, we will update [the public] immediately,” Hagari says, stressing that civilians should still remain vigilant, as Israel’s air defenses are “among the best in the world, but not hermetic.”

“We have been at war for the past six months, and we have dealt with all the existing threats. Our defense is ready, and knows how to handle each threat individually. We are also ready for attack, with a variety of capabilities, to protect the citizens of Israel,” he says.

Hagari accuses Iran of “escalating the situation in the Middle East” amid the war in Gaza. “We will know how to operate wherever needed,” he says.

Responding to a question on the IDF’s threat assessments of Iran, Hagari says Tehran has been acting against Israel since the start of the war, citing attacks by its proxies in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

“We’ve been acting against them [all] since the start of the war,” he says. “Iran is escalating, pushing for regional escalation. We’ll know how to deal with the Iranian threat. We are well-prepared and will know how to respond to anything,” he says.

Hezbollah claims responsibility for rocket barrage on the Galilee Panhandle; no reports of injuries

Hezbollah claims responsibility for a rocket barrage on the Galilee Panhandle a short while ago.

In a statement, the Lebanese terror group says it fired dozens of Katyusha rockets at IDF artillery positions in northern Israel.

There are no reports of injuries in the attack.

Report: Quds force commander killed in alleged IDF strike had American blood on his hands

IRGC official Mohammad Reza Zahedi, in July 2, 2017. (Ali Khara/Fars Media Corporation, via Wikimedia CC BY 4.0)

Channel 12 news claims senior Quds Force commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi, killed in the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus in an alleged Israeli strike on April 1 that led to the current escalation, “had American blood on his hands.”

It refers to a recent incident in Jordan, apparently a drone strike in January in which US troops were killed.

Reports: US moves aircraft carrier north through Red Sea toward Israel in show of deterrence against Iran

A crew member does maintenance work on the deck of the USS aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, in the south Red Sea, February 13, 2024. (Bernat Armangue/AP)

The USS Dwight Eisenhower aircraft carrier has reportedly sailed north through the Red Sea toward Israel in a show of deterrence from the Biden administration.

The carrier would be able to intercept missiles and drones fired by Iran.

The US is also moving “additional assets” to the Mideast “to bolster regional deterrence efforts and increase force protection for US forces,” a U.S. defense official tells Fox News.

Ehud Barak: Israel stronger than Iran but would have a hard time winning drawn-out war

Former prime minister Ehud Barak. (Avshalom Sassoni‎‏/Flash90)

Former prime minister Ehud Barak says Israel is stronger militarily than Iran, but would have a difficult time defeating the Islamic Republic in a drawn-out war.

Barak tells Channel 12 that Israel’s first prime minister David “Ben-Gurion set clear rules: Israel must not enter all-out war without a superpower at its side; Israel must always seek shorter wars [because] we don’t have the luxury of long wars; Israel must always hold the moral high ground. Those three lessons apply to this day. Netanyahu is ignoring all of them.”

Numerous rocket sirens triggered in Galilee Panhandle, close to Lebanon border

The Israeli border with Lebanon, as seen from the Israeli side, April 8, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

Numerous incoming rocket warning sirens are sounding in communities in the Galilee Panhandle, close to the Lebanon border.

Footage posted to social media shows several Iron Dome interceptor missiles engaging an apparent rocket barrage.

Earlier, suspected drone infiltration sirens sounded in other nearby towns.

There are no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

Hezbollah has been carrying out daily rocket, missile and drone attacks on northern Israel amid the war in Gaza.

Middle East tensions weigh on markets

Global oil and gold prices have shot higher today as worries mounted about the conflict in the Middle East widening.

The tensions overshadowed the start of US corporate earnings season, with Wall Street stocks sliding despite banks beating expectations.

“Geopolitical worries have triggered some risk aversion, but worries about a growth slowdown have presumably triggered some residual angst about corporate earnings not living up to expectations,” says Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.

Oil prices were up more than two percent as regional tensions soared after Iran threatened reprisals over a strike in Syria this month that killed two Iranian generals.

Gold also benefited from its status as a haven investment, breaking the $2,400 per ounce level to set a fresh record.

“US stocks are falling, and gold is rising in risk-off trade as fears rise that the Israel-Hamas war could escalate if Iran directly attacks Israel, which could happen this weekend,” says Fiona Cincotta at City Index.

Investor attention had been set to focus on Friday’s start of the corporate earnings season after economic data released earlier this week largely killed off the possibility that the US Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates in June.

Equity markets took the recalibration of expectations of interest rate cuts in stride, as data showing the US economy in strong health raised hopes that companies will keep reporting strong earnings.

Poland warns against travel to Israel, Palestine and Lebanon

Poland’s foreign ministry advises against travel to Israel, the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon, it says in updated travel guidance.

“It cannot be ruled out that there will be a sudden escalation of military operations, which would cause significant difficulties in leaving these three countries,” the ministry says in a statement, amid expectations for an Iranian retaliatory strike against Israel.

“Any escalation may lead to significant restrictions in air traffic and the inability to cross land border crossings.”

IDF strikes several buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon

The IDF says it struck several buildings used by Hezbollah, where operatives were gathered, in southern Lebanon’s Ayta ash-Shab a short while ago.

Another building belonging to the terror group in Taybeh was also hit, the IDF adds.

Hezbollah fired several projectiles from Lebanon at the Upper Galilee today, which according to the IDF, caused no injuries.

The IDF says it also shelled the launch sites.

One Palestinian killed as settlers said to torch homes, vehicles in West Bank village

Footage of vehicles set aflame in the Palestinian village of al-Mughayyir on April 12, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

At least one Palestinian has been killed and 10 have been injured in an attack by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of al-Mughayyir, the official Palestinian news site Wafa reports.

Footage shows cars and homes torched, allegedly by the settlers, as the IDF fails to gain control over the situation.

The settler raid of the Palestinian village comes amid a manhunt for a 14-year-old Israeli boy who has gone missing from a nearby illegal outpost.

Palestinians say the settlers have used live fire against them, in addition to hurling stones, damaging dozens of homes and cars.

‘Ready for any scenario’: IDF chief assesses preparedness for Iran attack, meets CENTCOM chief

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi meets with CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla at the IDF HQ in Tel Aviv, April 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi wrapped up a “comprehensive” assessment of the military’s “readiness for all scenarios” a short while ago, before meeting CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, the army says.

The assessment and following meeting come amid heightened alert in Israel for a potential Iranian attack on the country, with Iran threatening to respond to the assassination of two generals among several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers in Syria’s Damascus last week.

“The IDF is well prepared in attack and defense against any threat. We are at war and have been on high alert for about six months. The IDF continues to closely monitor what is happening in Iran and in the various arenas, while constantly preparing to deal with existing and potential threats in coordination with the United States armed forces,” Halevi says following the assessment, in remarks published by the IDF.

“Our forces are prepared and ready at any time and against any scenario,” he adds.

The assessment was attended by Deputy Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Amir Baram, the head of the Operations Directorate, Maj. Gen Oded Basiuk, the head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, the commander of the Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, the commander of the Home Front Command, Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, and other officers, the IDF says.

The IDF says the top commanders presented their preparations “for attack and defense, while referring to possible scenarios and adjusting the operational response.”

Halevi is now meeting Kurilla, the IDF adds.

UN says waterborne illnesses spread in Gaza due to heat, unsafe water

Palestinian girls carry water containers along a street in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 3, 2024. (AFP)

Waterborne diseases are spreading in Gaza due to a lack of clean water and rising temperatures, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Gaza says.

“It is becoming very hot there,” Jamie McGoldrick tells reporters via video link from Jerusalem. “People are getting much less water than they need, and as a result, there have been waterborne diseases due to lack of safe and clean water and the disruption of the sanitation systems.”

“We have to find a way in the months ahead of how we can have a better supply of water into the areas where people are currently crowded at the moment,” he says, after making his final visit to Gaza at the end of his three-month assignment.

Contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery and hepatitis A, according to the World Health Organization.

Since mid-October, following the assault on Gaza in response to deadly attacks in southern Israel by Hamas, the WHO has recorded more than 345,000 cases of diarrhea, including more than 105,000 in children under 5.

Israel has committed to facilitating the ability of humanitarian organizations to scale up aid in Gaza, and has approved the resumption of the operation of the water pipeline in northern Gaza.

The Gaza Strip’s only natural source of water is the Coastal Aquifer Basin, which runs along the eastern Mediterranean coast from the northern Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, through Gaza and into Israel.

Its quality over the years has deteriorated rapidly, largely because it had been pumped out to meet the demands of Gaza’s population more rapidly than it could be replaced by rainwater.

New clip shows petrified Israeli hostage Noa Argamani being abducted into Gaza

Noa Argamani is abucted into Gaza on October 7, 2023. (Screen capture/X)

The Daily Mail publishes new footage of Israeli hostage Noa Argamani shortly after her abduction from the Nova Music Festival during Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.

The ten-second clip shows Argamani being manhandled by a group of terrorists who have sandwiched her on a motorcycle and put a black bag over her head.

She can be heard wailing as her abductors drive away.

Amid search for missing Israeli teen, settlers said to invade Palestinian village, open fire

Illustrative: Israeli soldiers scuffle with Jewish settlers from the Einav settlement, trying to storm the West Bank town of Deir Sharaf, near Nablus, November 2, 2023. (Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP)

Amid the manhunt for a missing 14-year-old Israeli boy who had been living in an illegal West Bank outpost, the Yesh Din rights group reports that dozens of settlers have invaded the Palestinian village of Al-Mughayyir and are clashing with residents.

Yesh Din reports that the settlers opened fire and that five Palestinians have been wounded.

Meanwhile, a settler medic group reports that three soldiers have been lightly injured upon arriving at the scene to break up the clash.

For its part, Magen David Adom says it treated two young men aged 20 and 16 who were transferred to a nearby hospital with light injuries.

Senior Hamas leader Meshaal: Current war not the final round against Israel

Former Chief of Hamas' Political Bureau Khaled Meshaal speaks during conference in the Qatari capital, Doha on May 1, 2017. (Karim Jaafar/AFP)

Khaled Meshaal, a senior official in Gaza’s ruling Hamas movement, says its six-month-old battle with Israel will “break the enemy soon.”

Meshaal, who lives in exile and heads Hamas’s political office in the diaspora, speaks at an event in Doha, Qatar, to mourn members of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s family killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza on Wednesday.

“This is not the final round,” Meshaal said, referring to the current war. “It is an important round on the path of liberating Palestine and defeating the Zionist project.”

US sanctions target Hamas spokesperson, drone program leaders

The IDF's Arabic spokesperson exposes his Hamas Abu Ubeida counterpart as Hudhaifa Kahlout on October 25, 2023. (IDF)

The United States has issued sanctions aimed at a Hamas spokesperson and leaders of the group’s drone unit, the Treasury Department said.

The European Union is simultaneously imposing sanctions targeting Hamas, the department said in a statement.

The US sanctions target Hudhayfa Samir ‘Abdallah al-Kahlut (al-Kahlut) also known as “Abu Ubeida” who has been the spokesman for the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas in Gaza, since at least 2007, the department says.

The sanctions also targeted William Abu Shanab, commander of the Lebanon-based al-Shimali unit, Bara’a Hasan Farhat assistant to Abu Shanab, the commander of the al-Shimali unit, and Khalil Muhammad ‘Azzam, an intelligence official.

“Today’s joint action reinforces our continued, collective focus on disrupting Hamas’s ability to conduct further attacks, including through cyber warfare and the production of UAVs,” Brian Nelson, Treasury under secretary for terrorism and Financial intelligence says, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles.

“Treasury, in coordination with our allies and partners, will continue to target Hamas’s facilitation networks wherever they operate, including in the cyber domain,” he says.

As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests in property of the designated people that are in the US or in the possession or control of US persons are blocked and must be reported to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Israel has begun meeting aid commitments but more needs to be done, White House reiterates

Trucks enter the northern Gaza Strip via a new land crossing, April 11, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Israel has begun meeting its commitments in terms of opening up additional vehicle crossings to get aid into Gaza, but more needs to be done, the White House reiterates, adding that the US continues to press them to do more.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby, speaking to reporters, also says the US is still awaiting a response from Hamas on the latest round of ceasefire and hostage release deal talks and that it cannot verify the militant group’s claim that they do not have 40 hostages.

UN wants IDF hotline for Gaza aid

File: Jamie McGoldrick, United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, visits the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on March 5, 2020. (Said Khtaib/AFP)

The United Nations needs a direct hotline to Israeli forces fighting in Gaza to combat mistrust and deliver aid safely and effectively, the outgoing UN humanitarian coordinator insists.

Rather than going through liaison bodies, the UN and other humanitarian actors “need to be speaking to people who are firing guns,” Jamie McGoldrick tells a press briefing in Geneva.

The Israel Defense Forces and humanitarian groups in Gaza need to understand each other better, he says following a final visit to the Palestinian territory at the end of a three-month posting as interim humanitarian coordinator in the Palestinian territories.

“If we have a serious security incident, we don’t have a hotline,” he says, speaking by video link from Jerusalem.

“The IDF have never worked with humanitarian organizers before in this type of environment. They don’t understand how we function, they don’t understand our language and what our purpose is. And we don’t understand their expectations.

“There’s a degree of mistrust and misunderstanding that we have to address.

“We want to work with them differently.”

He says agencies had been warning Israel about the flawed notification system before the April 1 fatal attack on staff from the World Central Kitchen charity.

“We’ve been asking for a couple of things since day one,” McGoldrick says.

“We don’t deal directly with the IDF. We need to be speaking to people who are firing guns and controlling weaponry and we have to build up an understanding.”

“The deconfliction system and the notification system are not fit for purpose.

“We have to have a hotline and the ability to speak to them.”

White House: Iranian threat to Israel ‘real’

File - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, right, visits an exhibition of the country's nuclear achievements, at his office compound in Tehran, Iran, June 11, 2023. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader, via AP, File)

Iran’s threats of reprisals against Israel after a strike in Syria this month that killed two Iranian generals remain “real” and “viable,” the White House says.

“We still deem the potential threat by Iran here to be real, to be viable,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby tells reporters.

Kirby adds that the United States is looking at its own force posture in the region in light of Tehran’s threat and is watching the situation very closely.

UN refugee chief says outflow of Gazans into Egypt would make conflict resolution impossible

A woman washes pots outside a tent pitched by a destroyed building in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on April 5, 2024. (Mohammed Abed/AFP)

The prospect of Gazans crossing into Egypt from the border town of Rafah to escape a military assault would make the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict impossible and cause an “atrocious dilemma” for the people fleeing, the UN refugee chief says

Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), says “we must fervently do everything” to avoid such an outflow of the Gazan population.

“Another refugee crisis from Gaza into Egypt, I can assure you… would make the resolution of the Palestinian refugee question as a consequence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict impossible,” Grandi tells Reuters at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.

Grandi says an attack on Rafah may make the movement of Gazans into Egypt “the only option for safety available.”

“This dilemma is unacceptable and the responsibility to avoid this dilemma lies squarely in this particular case with Israel, the occupying power in Gaza,” he says.

Grandi says UNHCR was stocking tents and supplies and working with countries in the region on coming up with their own contingency plans for the possible arrival of Gazans.

“We are looking at the region and that the possibility not only of the outflow, but also that the conflict may expand,” Grandi says.

“But I repeat, we must not arrive at that atrocious dilemma, which would be really almost the end of the road for what is really important here: ultimate peace.”

Gallant meets visiting US CENTCOM chief to discuss readiness for Iran attack

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meets with the CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla at the Hatzor Airbase, April 12, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla at the Hatzor Airbase a short while ago to discuss “readiness for an Iranian attack against the State of Israel, which may lead to regional escalation,” his office says.

Kurilla’s trip to Israel comes amid threats by Iran to respond to the alleged assassination by Israel of two generals among several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers in Syria’s Damascus last week.

“Our enemies think that they can pull apart Israel and the United States, but the opposite is true, they are bringing us together and strengthening our ties. We stand shoulder to shoulder,” Gallant says in a statement after the meeting.

“I am certain that the world sees the true face of Iran, the terrorist body that incites terror attacks across the Middle East, and funds Hamas, Hezbollah, and additional forces [proxies], and now also threatens the State of Israel,” he continues.

“We are prepared to defend ourselves on the ground and in the air, in close cooperation with our partners, and we will know how to respond,” Gallant adds.

The meeting between Gallant and Kurilla was also attended by the IDF Deputy Chief of Staff, Maj. Gem. Amir Baram, the head of the ministry’s Political-Military Bureau, Dror Shalom, and the minister’s military secretary, Brig. Gen. Guy Markizeno.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meets with the CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla at the Hatzor Airbase, April 12, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

IDF says troops join police search for missing teen in West Bank

IDF troops search for missing Benjamin Achimeir in the West Bank, April 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says troops, including special forces, are working alongside police to locate a missing 14-year-old boy in the West Bank.

Jerusalem resident Benjamin Achimeir left a farm near the outpost of Malachei Shalom in the early morning hours to go shepherding, and has not been seen since. The sheep returned to “Gal Farm” without him, police say.

The chief of the IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox, and the head of the West Bank division, Brig. Gen. Yaki Dolf, are at the scene leading the searches, the military says.

Police and military forces are blocking roads in the area.

Malachei Shalom is located near the West Bank town of Mughayir, northeast of Ramallah.

EU sanctions Hamas, PIJ military wings over sexual violence on October 7

Protestors gather outside the UN headquarters in New York City on December 4, 2023, to protest the international community's perceived silence on sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorists against Israeli women during the October 7 massacre. (Carli Fogel)

EU countries have put the military and special forces wings of Hamas and the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the bloc’s human rights sanctions list for their responsibility for widespread sexual and gender-based violence in the October 7 attack on Israel.

The EU countries say the Qassam and Al-Quds Brigades and the Nukhba Force are now subject to an asset freeze and a travel ban to the EU. The provision of funds to them, directly or indirectly, is now also prohibited. Hamas and Islamic Jihad were already designated as terrorist organizations by the EU.

Rights groups file new case against German arms export to Israel

People listen to speeches during a demonstration against antisemitism and to show solidarity with Israel in Berlin, Germany, on October 22, (Markus Schreiber/AP)

Human rights lawyers have filed a lawsuit against a German government decision to approve the export of 3,000 anti-tank weapons to Israel, the second case of its kind this month filed over Berlin’s support of Israel in its war in Gaza.

Last week, Berlin lawyers said they had filed an urgent appeal to halt exports of war weapons to Israel, citing reasons to believe they were being used in ways that could violate international humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip.

The latest case, brought by five Palestinians from Gaza, was supported by lawyers from the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) in Berlin and Palestinian human rights organizations, ECCHR said in a statement.

ECCHR says the government granted export clearance for 3,000 anti-tank weapons to Israel after the Hamas attack on October 7, but an export permit application for 10,000 rounds of ammunition to Israel had yet to be approved.

“Germany cannot remain true to its values if it exports weapons to a war in which serious violations of international humanitarian law are obvious,” ECCHR Secretary General Wolfgang Kaleck says in a statement.

The lawyers have called on the Berlin administrative court to suspend the export licenses as a provisional legal protection measure.

The German government has said it examines each arms export individually and takes a number of factors into account, including human rights and humanitarian law.

Indian foreign ministry advises against travel to Iran, Israel

Demonstrators hang an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the funeral for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members killed in a strike in Syria, which Iran blamed on Israel, in Tehran on April 5, 2024. (Atta Kenare/AFP)

India has advised its citizens against traveling to Iran and Israel until further notice in view of the “prevailing situation in the region,” the Indian foreign ministry says.

It said Indians in the two countries should observe “utmost precautions about their safety and restrict their movements to the minimum.”

The advisory comes amid anticipation that Iran will conduct a retaliatory strike against Israel in the coming days for an alleged IDF strike that killed several top IRGC generals.

Lufthansa extends Tehran flights suspension until April 18, dpa reports

A Lufthansa Airbus A380 lands in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. (AP/Michael Probst)

German flagship airline Lufthansa LHAG.DE has extended its suspension of flights to and from Tehran by five days until April 18, the dpa news agency reported on Friday citing a company spokesperson.

The move apparently comes amid speculation that Iran will be conducting a retaliatory strike against Israel in the coming days.

IDF said to drop leaflets in Rafah urging Palestinians to help locate hostages held by Hamas

A leaflet dropped by the IDF over Rafah on April 12, 2024. (Courtesy)

The IDF has reportedly dropped leaflets in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of southern Gaza’s Rafah, urging Palestinians seeking refuge there to help locate hostages held by Hamas.

“If you want to protect your families and guarantee your future, do not hesitate to provide us with information about the hostages or those holding them,” the flyers, showing the names and photos of 35 hostages, read.

The leaflets include a phone number that can be contacted via the Telegram, WhatsApp and Signal messaging apps. There is also a link to a website that displays similar information.

The IDF has made use of leaflets to encourage Gazans to share information on hostages’ whereabouts throughout the war, as well as on the location of Hamas leaders, placing sizable bounties on the enclave’s arch-terrorists.

It is believed that 129 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza. Hamas has also been holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Report: Major Iran attack of 100 drones, dozens of missiles at IDF targets could come as soon as today

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei leads Eid al-Fitr prayer marking the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

A major retaliatory attack by Iran on Israel could come as soon as today, CBS News reports, citing two unnamed US officials.

The attack could possibly include more than 100 drones and dozens of missiles aimed at military targets inside the country, the officials say, while adding that Tehran might opt for a smaller-scale strike in order to avoid a dramatic escalation.

Israel has been on high alert amid multiple threats and intelligence assessments that Iran would launch a strike on Israeli targets in a bid to avenge the April 1 airstrike on an Iranian consulate building in the Syrian capital of Damascus, which killed several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, including two generals.

IDF says it neutralized explosives hidden in central Gaza school classroom

Explosives left by gunmen at a school on the outskirts of central Gaza's Nuseirat, in a handout image published April 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says troops raided a school used by gunmen in the central Gaza Strip, as part of an ongoing pinpoint operation against Hamas and other terror groups on the outskirts of Nuseirat.

At the Martyr Ibrahim al-Maqadma School, just northeast of Nuseirat, the IDF says troops of the Nahal Brigade located and neutralized several heavy primed explosives that were hidden in the classrooms and courtyard.

The IDF says the troops also located an observation post at the school that had been used by the gunmen.

When the troops arrived, the operatives had already fled, according to the IDF, leaving behind some equipment.

IDF confirms death of Hamas military wing operative in early morning West Bank raid

Palestinian men check a bullet-riddled car following an IDF raid in the al-Faraa camp near Tubas in the West Bank on April 12, 2024. (Zain Jaafar/AFP)

The IDF has confirmed the deaths of two Palestinians, including a senior member of the Hamas military wing, during an early morning raid near the West Bank city of Tubas.

Mohammad Omar Daraghmeh, the head of a local Hamas infrastructure in the northern West Bank city of Tubas, was killed during an exchange of fire with troops, the IDF says.

Amid the overnight incident, Daraghmeh shot at troops from a vehicle, who then returned fire, killing him. Several firearms and other military equipment were seized from his car.

Weapons seized from the vehicle of a senior Hamas operative in the West Bank city of Tubas, April 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Daraghmeh was a “central Hamas operative” in the Tubas area and in recent months was working on “advancing significant terror acts against Israel,” according to the IDF.

Hamas confirms Daraghmeh’s death and that he was a member of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

The IDF says the second Palestinian man, named by Palestinian media as Mohammad Shahmawi, was killed when troops opened fire on Palestinians who were shooting and throwing explosive devices at them.

Hamas says it mourned Shahmawi’s death, but does not claim him as a member of the terror group.

Since October 7, troops have arrested some 3,700 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,600 affiliated with Hamas. According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 450 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen or terrorists carrying out attacks.

Reuters contributed to this report.

IDF: First convoy of aid trucks enters northern Gaza through new land crossing

A first convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians was transferred to the northern Gaza Strip via a new land crossing last night, the Israel Defense Forces says in a statement.

The “Northern Crossing,” located on the northern border of Gaza, was built as a part of a series of steps by the IDF aimed at improving the humanitarian situation in the Strip amid the ongoing war there. It is located near Kibbutz Zikim, defense officials have said.

The IDF says the aid was “thoroughly” inspected by authorities at the Kerem Shalom border crossing on the southern Gaza border, before entering via the Strip’s north.

The statement does not say how many trucks were in the convoy.

At the start of the war, trucks only entered Gaza from Egypt’s Rafah Crossing, with the IDF later opening the Kerem Shalom Crossing from Israel to the south of the Strip. More recently, the IDF has also allowed aid trucks to use a military road in central Gaza and enter via a crossing known as Gate 96.

US officials say Washington will respond to any Iranian attack on American interests – report

Washington will respond to any Iranian attack that targets American soldiers, bases or interests, according to US officials quoted by Saudi paper Al-Hadath.

The unnamed officials quoted in the report echoed previous US comments that Washington has sent a clear message to Tehran that it was not involved in an April 1 airstrike on an Iranian consulate building in the Syrian capital of Damascus. The strike killed two generals and several other commanders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, a US-designated terror group.

The Saudi paper reports that the US officials are confident that Iran has received the message, having been told, “We are not Israel and Israel is the one that launched the attack.”

Both Tehran and Damascus have blamed Israel for the strike and vowed revenge, although Jerusalem has not commented on the matter.

A senior US administration official also quoted in the Al-Hadath report says that in the past, Iran has launched attacks using ballistic and cruise missiles and drones, both directly and through its various proxies in the region, and that these are likely the weapons it would use in a potential strike.

Iran has accumulated thousands of these weapons, developed their accuracy and range, and transferred them to terror groups and militias in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, the official adds, stressing that they could be used in either a unilateral attack or in cooperation with its proxies.

However, the US does not expect Iran to transfer shipments of chemical weapons as cruise or ballistic missiles, according to the report, given that using them would be considered an escalation and would be likely to bring a strong response from Washington and its allies.

France warns against travel to Iran, Lebanon, Israel, Palestinian territories in coming days

France has warned its citizens to “imperatively refrain from travel in the coming days to Iran, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories,” French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s entourage tells AFP.

The recommendation comes amid fears that Iran will launch a strike on Israeli targets in a bid to avenge the April 1 airstrike on an Iranian consulate building in the Syrian capital of Damascus.

In a statement on X, the French foreign ministry adds that relatives of Iran-based diplomats will return to France and that French civil servants are now banned from conducting any missions in Iran, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Blinken asks China to use its influence to dissuade Iran from striking Israel

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint press conference with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron (not pictured) at the State Department in Washington, on April 9, 2024. (Mandel Ngan/AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked Beijing to use its influence to dissuade Iran from striking Israel, during a call with his Chinese counterpart, according to the US State Department.

Concerns regarding possible retaliation by Tehran have increased following an April 1 airstrike on an Iranian consulate building in the Syrian capital of Damascus, which killed several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, including two generals.

Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, urged the US to take “a constructive role” in the Middle East during the call with Blinken, according to the US statement.

A Chinese statement after the call says Wang also “expressed China’s strong condemnation of the attack” while emphasizing the “inviolable” right to security of diplomatic institutions and the need to respect the sovereignty of Iran and Syria.

Israel has not taken responsibility for the strike, but has cited intelligence that the buildings targeted were military sites used by the IRGC, a US-designated terror group.

“China will continue to play a constructive role in the resolution of the Middle East issue… and contribute to cooling down the situation,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning adds.

“The United States side in particular should play a constructive role.”

The United States has repeatedly made public appeals for China to do more to address the crisis, including through pressure on Iran, which supports Hamas.

Hamas-run health ministry updates Gaza death toll to 33,634 since October 7

At least 33,634 Palestinians have been killed and 76,214 injured in Gaza since war erupted on October 7, the Hamas-run health ministry says in a statement.

In the past 24 hours, 89 Palestinians were killed and 120 were injured, the ministry adds.

These figures cannot be independently verified, and are believed to include both civilians and Hamas members killed in Gaza, including as a consequence of the terror groups’ own rocket misfires.

The IDF says it has killed over 13,000 operatives in Gaza, in addition to some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.

Tiberias police chief says no restrictions over Passover but visitors should stay alert

Tiberias police chief Yigal Ben Lulu makes a statement ahead of the Passover holiday, April 12, 2024. (Screenshot: Israel Police, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

While there are no changes to instructions from Home Front Command in the Sea of Galilee area, visitors should stay alert at all times over the Passover holiday, commander of the Tiberias police station, Chief Superintendent Yigal Ben Lulu, says amid the threat of an Iranian attack.

“Currently, as far as the Home Front Command is concerned, there are no crowd restrictions on the Tiberias area and the shores of the Sea of Galilee, but there’s no doubt that an aircraft or a missile infiltration in this area would pose a great challenge for us,” Ben Lulu says in a police statement.

In the event of an attack, he says, people are instructed to “lie on the ground and put your hands over your head.”

Iran has threatened to attack Israel following an April 1 airstrike on an Iranian consulate building in the Syrian capital of Damascus, which killed several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, including two generals.

Parents are recommended to remind their children of safety precautions such as “using a life belt, not going far from the shore and not drinking too much alcohol,” he adds.

The police chief notes that tens of thousands of visitors are expected to the area over the upcoming Passover holiday, amid the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, now in its seventh month.

German police detain 3 teenagers suspected of Islamist terror attack plot

German police have detained three teenagers on suspicions they were planning an Islamist-motivated terror attack, according to local prosecutors.

The trio, two girls and a boy aged from 15 to 16, are “strongly suspected of planning a terror attack and of having committed to carrying it out,” German prosecutors say in a statement.

All three are from the Duesseldorf region, and had also “committed to carrying out a crime — murder and manslaughter,” the prosecutors add.

Investigators do not provide further details on the alleged plot, saying the inquiry is still underway.

But the Bild newspaper reports that the youths were allegedly planning to carry out Molotov cocktail and knife attacks in the name of the Islamic State group.

Their targets are believed to be Christians and police, according to the report, which says the suspects were also weighing whether to obtain firearms.

Germany has been on high alert for Islamist attacks since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October, with the country’s domestic intelligence chief warning that the risk of such assaults is “real and higher than it has been for a long time.”

‘Let my people go’: Hundreds march near Gaza border to call for release of hostages held for 189 days

Protesters march near Kibbutz Urim in Israel's south to call for the release of hostages held by terror groups in Gaza since October 7. (Tanya Zion-Waldocks)

Hundreds are marching near Kibbutz Urim in the south near Gaza to raise awareness for over 100 men, women, and children held by terror groups in the Strip since October 7, according to a statement from the Pro-Democracy Protest Movement.

Marching under the banner “Let my people go” ahead of the upcoming Passover holiday, the demonstrators hold cards with numbers representing 189 days the hostages have been held captive, along with photos of the abductees.

In photos shared by activists, the demonstrators can be seen wearing hessian sacks to represent Jewish slavery before the exodus from Egypt, which is celebrated on the Passover holiday, and yellow sashes to represent the hostages.

It is believed that 129 of 253 hostages taken on October 7 remain in captivity in Gaza — not all of them alive.

IDF: Pinpoint operation against Hamas, other terror groups in central Gaza near Nuseirat ongoing

The IDF says it is continuing a pinpoint operation against Hamas and other terror groups in the central Gaza Strip, on the outskirts of the Nuseirat camp.

The 162nd Division’s 401st Armored Brigade, Nahal Infantry Brigade, and other units, have killed several gunmen over the past day in the area, in close-quarters combat and by calling in airstrikes, the IDF says.

The IDF says the troops located and destroyed an underground rocket launcher, alongside other launchers that were primed.

The troops also raided several sites belonging to terror groups in the area, locating equipment belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad at one location, the IDF says.

Across the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Air Force struck more than 60 targets over the past day. According to the IDF, the targets included rocket launchers, buildings where gunmen were gathered, and other infrastructure.

The IDF says the 215th Artillery Regiment also shelled numerous sites over the past day, as part of support for the ground troops operating in central Gaza.

Hamas’s Jabaliya police chief killed in northern Gaza airstrike — IDF, Shin Bet

The IDF and Shin Bet say the head of Hamas’s internal security in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya was killed in an airstrike yesterday.

In addition to serving as a Hamas police chief in Jabaliya, Radwan Muhammad Abdullah Radwan, according to the IDF and Shin Bet, was an operative in the military wing of the terror group.

“Radwan gave orders to Hamas operatives and was responsible for directing armed terrorists to take control of humanitarian aid trucks in the northern Gaza Strip,” the IDF says in a statement.

It adds that his killing “degrades Hamas’s capabilities to attack and take control of humanitarian aid” in the Jabaliya area.

Another strike yesterday killed Hamed Muhammad Ali Ahmed, a commander in the Hamas military wing who was also responsible for internal security in Jabaliya, and another operative in the terror group’s Jabaliya Battalion, the IDF adds.

Report: Austin complained to Gallant that US didn’t get advance notice on April 1 strike on IRGC site in Syria

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meets with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Washington, March 26, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin complained to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that Washington was not notified before an April 1 airstrike on an Iranian consulate building in Damascus widely blamed on Israel, according to a Washington Post report.

US officials quoted in the report say Austin’s complaint was based on the fact that the strike increased risks on American forces in the region.

Israel is on high alert for retaliation from Iran for the strike, which killed several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, including two generals.

The report comes after Gallant told his US counterpart during a phone call last night that any direct Iranian strike on Israel will engender a commensurate Israeli response.

Second man killed by Israeli forces in West Bank overnight — Palestinian media

Palestinian media reports that a man was shot and killed by Israeli forces while he was driving near the West Bank city of Tubas overnight.

The report from the news agency Wafa cites the Palestinian Red Crescent as saying that Israeli security forces seized the vehicle after the strike.

Hebrew media reports name the man as Muhammad Rasool, a commander in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group.

Earlier reports from the Palestinian news agency said another man was killed and two other during the overnight raid.

J Street: ADL ‘report card’ on campus antisemitism ‘deeply unproductive’

A prominent liberal Zionist group in the US has raised “serious concerns” about an ADL report on antisemitism on American university campus released yesterday.

In a statement, J Street says that affiliated students attending universities that received F or D ratings described the report card as “absurd,” “exaggerated” and “unhelpful.”

The ADL report said that many leading higher learning institutions in the US are failing to combat antisemitism.

“We’ve been fielding frustrated responses across the country from Jewish students who find this deeply unproductive and bristle at the lack of consultation. We’ve heard from students at universities which have received F or D grades that they find the rankings detached from reality. Many Jewish students who engage in human rights advocacy and protests against the Israeli government are also deeply concerned by definitions which appear to designate pro-Palestinian activities as inherently antisemitic,” J Street U Director Erin Beiner says in the statement.

The statement adds that the ADL report “lacks nuance” and has an “over-emphasis on Israel-related activity.”

“The report is already being weaponized by right-wing groups seeking to delegitimize higher education institutions focused on DEI initiatives, which many Jewish students believe are fundamental to supporting their own communities and other minorities,” J Street says.

J Street, a liberal Israel lobby with a budget in the millions of dollars, serves as the flagship of the liberal Zionist movement in the United States.

Palestinian reports: Man killed, 2 hurt, in clashes with troops in West Bank city of Tubas

A Palestinian man was reportedly killed and two others injured in clashes with Israeli security troops during a raid in the West Bank city of Tubas this morning.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa says the man, Muhammad Issam Shahmawi, was shot in the head.

Ynet news reports that the man was a terror operative from the nearby  al-Faraa refugee camp.

Drones and snipers were also used in the raid, according to the report.

Since October 7, troops have arrested some 3,700 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,600 affiliated with Hamas.

According to the Palestinian Authority health ministry, more than 450 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time.

Malaysia authorities bring Israeli alleged mobster accused of spying to court

An Israeli man identified as Shalom Avitan (C) is escorted by Malaysian police upon his arrival at a court to face charges of possessing six handguns and 200 bullets in Kuala Lumpur on April 12, 2024. (Arif Kartono / AFP)

An Israeli man arrested by Malaysian police in Kuala Lumpur last month accused of spying has arrived in court to face charges.

Shalom Avitan, 36, was caught using a fake passport and carrying six handguns and 200 bullets at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 12, according to Malaysian police.

He is seen arriving at a Kuala Lumpur court escorted by at least a dozen security officers.

Unsourced reports on social media say Avitan pleaded not guilty, though it is not immediately clear to which charges.

Avitan is an associate of the Musli brothers crime family, and was reportedly en route to assassinate the head of a rival crime family, though Malaysian authorities didn’t buy that story.

“Police are investigating all angles including whether he is a spy. We want to know his motive for coming to Malaysia and having six handguns,” Malaysian police inspector-general Razarudin Husai said earlier this month.

According to reports, Avitan is expected to face 25 years in jail if convicted.

Malaysia, a majority-Muslim country, is a staunch supporter of the Palestinians and has criticized Israel’s actions in the Gaza war. Malaysia, which does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, is home to around 600 Palestinian refugees, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

In 2018, a Palestinian scientist was shot dead in the Malaysian capital by two unidentified men in a killing that the Hamas terror group suggested was carried out by Israel’s Mossad intelligence service. Israel denied the allegations.

IDF forced to carry out airstrike to destroy engineering vehicle accidentally left behind in Gaza — report

An IDF Combat Engineering truck-mounted drill rig is seen at Palestine Square in Gaza City's Rimal neighborhood, December 19, 2023. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel) 

The IDF was forced to strike one of its own engineering vehicles that troops accidentally left behind in Khan Younis before pulling out of the southern Gaza Strip this week, Army Radio reports.

According to the report, the 98th Division left behind a truck-mounted drill rig that is used by the IDF to uncover Hamas tunnels.

Army Radio says that it remains unclear how it was forgotten, but once the IDF found out, the vehicle was struck by the Air Force.

The report says that the IDF is considering disciplinary measures against those involved in the incident.

The IDF withdrew the 98th Division from Khan Younis earlier this week, as the military shifts to a new phase of the war with smaller, targeted raids, while it prepares for an offensive in Rafah.

In response to the report, the IDF says that the incident, “which does not comply with procedures and orders,” is being investigated.

Iran could retaliate ‘on Israeli soil’ in next 24 to 48 hours, according to US intelligence — report

A US official is quoted as saying that Israel is preparing for a direct attack from Iran — “possibly on Israeli soil” — in the next 24 to 48 hours, citing American intelligence reports.

The Wall Street Journal report quotes an unnamed US source as saying Israel is preparing for a possible strike on either southern or northern Israel.

However it also quotes a source close to the Iranian regime as saying that no final decision has been taken by Tehran.

Iran has threatened to attack Israel following an April 1 airstrike on an Iranian consulate building in the Syrian capital of Damascus, which killed several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, including two generals.

Israel has not taken responsibility for the strike, but IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari has pointed to Israeli intelligence proving the building was not an embassy, but rather “a military building of Quds forces disguised as a civilian building in Damascus.”

The Quds Force is the foreign operations arm of the IRGC, which is classified as a terror organization by the US.

The WSJ report also notes that US government employees in Israel and their families have been restricted from traveling to areas outside of central Israel, Jerusalem and Beersheba — avoiding the north and the south of the country — until further notice.

Unverified posts on social media in recent days have shown Iranian threats of simulated attacks on targets in Israel including the nuclear facility in Dimona and the small airport in Haifa, which only operates flights to Cyprus.

Home Front Command gives all-clear in West Bank settlement after suspected terrorist infiltration

An all-clear is given in the West Bank settlement of Neve Daniel, after suspected infiltration sirens sounded there earlier this morning.

“Fears of terrorist infiltration. . . have been ruled out. Residents can leave their homes and move around the area without restriction,” the IDF Home Front Command says.

Home Front Command warns of suspected terror infiltration in West Bank settlement

Residents of the Neve Daniel settlement are instructed to remain in their homes due to what the IDF Home Front Command says is a suspected terror infiltration.

US military says it destroyed Houthi anti-ship missile fired from Yemen

The US military says it has destroyed an anti-ship ballistic missile launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.

US Central Command says in a written statement that no injuries or damage were reported to US, coalition or merchant vessels.

Argentine court rules Iran ordered 1990s terror bombings of Israeli embassy, AMIA center

The aftermath of the bombing at the Argentinian Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 1994. (AFP)

BUENOS AIRES — An Argentine court says Iran had ordered the deadly 1992 attack on Israel’s embassy in Buenos Aires and the 1994 attack on the Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) Jewish center, local media reports.

The ruling also implicates the Lebanese Shiite terror movement Hezbollah, declares Iran a “terrorist state” and calls the attack against the AMIA — the deadliest in Argentina’s history — a “crime against humanity,” according to court documents cited by media reports.

House Speaker Mike Johnson negotiating with White House to advance Ukraine and Israel aid

US House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill, April 10, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

WASHINGTON — US House Speaker Mike Johnson is negotiating with the White House as he prepares for the treacherous task of advancing wartime funding for Ukraine and Israel through the House, a top House Republican says.

House Republican Leader Steve Scalise tells reporters that Johnson has been talking with White House officials about a package that would deviate from the Senate’s $95 billion foreign security package and include several Republican demands. It comes after Johnson has delayed for months on advancing aid that would provide desperately needed ammunition and weaponry for Kyiv, trying to find the right time to advance a package that will be a painful political lift.

“There’s been no agreement reached,” Scalise says. “Obviously there would have to be an agreement reached not just with the White House, but with our own members.”

Johnson is being stretched between a Republican conference deeply divided in its support for Ukraine and two presidential contenders at odds over the US’s posture towards the rest of the world. President Joe Biden has repeatedly chastised Republicans for not helping Ukraine, saying they are doing the bidding of Russian President Vladimir Putin and hurting US security. Meanwhile, Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican candidate, has said he would negotiate an end to the conflict as he tries to push the US to a more isolationist stance.

The Republican speaker is set to travel to the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Friday to meet with Trump and has been consulting him in recent weeks on the Ukraine funding to gain his support — or at least prevent him from openly opposing the package.

Pentagon chief tells Gallant of ‘full US support to defend’ Israel from Iranian attack

File: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (L) and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant give a joint press conference in Tel Aviv on December 18, 2023. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke with his American counterpart Lloyd Austin, according to a Pentagon statement that says the latter stressed “ironclad US support for Israel’s defense in the face of growing threats from Iran and its regional proxies.”

“Secretary Austin assured Minister Gallant that Israel could count on full US support to defend Israel against Iranian attacks, which Tehran has publicly threatened,” the readout adds.

There is no immediate statement from Gallant’s office on the phone call.

US official predicts Iran attack on Israel won’t be big enough to draw America into war

WASHINGTON — The United States expects an attack by Iran against Israel but one that would not be big enough to draw Washington into war, US official says.

The White House said earlier that Washington did not want conflict to spread in the Middle East and the US had told Iran it was not involved in an airstrike against a top Iranian military commander in Damascus.

The White House added that it warned Iran to not use that attack as a pretext to escalate further in the region.

‘No consensus’ in Security Council on full UN membership for Palestinians, says chair

UNITED NATIONS — Members of the UN Security Council have failed to reach a consensus on a longshot bid by Palestinians for full UN membership, according to the body’s chair.

“There was no consensus” during a closed-door meeting, says Maltese Ambassador Vanessa Frazier, who holds the council’s rotating presidency for April. “However, the majority were very clearly in favor to move on with membership.”