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The Times of Israel liveblogged Friday’s events as they unfolded.
Columbia leadership rebuked by faculty panel for police crackdown on protesters
Pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protesters gather at an encampment at Columbia University campus in New York on April 25, 2024. (Leonardo Munoz/AFP)
Columbia’s embattled president came under renewed pressure today as a university oversight panel sharply criticized her administration for clamping down on a pro-Palestinian protest, saying the decision ran “contrary to the norms and traditions” of the Ivy League school.
President Nemat Shafik has faced an outcry from many students, faculty and outside observers for summoning New York police to campus on April 18 to dismantle an encampment of tents set up by protesters against Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
After a two-hour meeting on Friday, the Columbia University Senate approved a resolution asserting that Shafik’s administration had undermined academic freedom and disregarded the privacy and due process rights of students and faculty members by calling in the police and shutting down the protest.
“The decision … has raised serious concerns about the administration’s respect for shared governance and transparency in the university decision-making process,” it says.
The senate, composed mostly of faculty members and other staff, plus a few students, did not specifically name Shafik in its resolution, avoiding harsher wording that could have put her job in greater jeopardy.
There is no immediate response to the resolution from Shafik or the university.
University leaders throughout the country have said the encampments constitute unauthorized protests, jeopardize the safety of students, and at times subject Jewish students to antisemitism and harassment.
Yemen’s Houthis say they targeted Andromeda Star British ship in Red Sea
Yemen’s Houthis targeted the Andromeda Star, a British oil ship, in the Red Sea, the Iran-aligned group’s military spokesman Yahya Sarea says in a televised speech.
The Houthis also said they downed the American drone MQ9 in airspace of Yemen’s Saada province.
Paris students end Gaza protests after university agrees to ‘debate’ ties to Israel
Students at one of France’s most prestigious universities call off protests over the Gaza war after street scuffles between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups.
Administrators at the Institute of Political Studies, or Sciences Po, university in Paris have acted to douse mounting tensions at the Paris establishment as demonstrations spread across American universities over the impact of the Gaza war.
Pro-Palestinian students have staged several days of sit-ins and protests at the 150-year-old university. Some blocked entrances to the university and tents were set up at the central courtyard for a protest camp.
Hundreds of students turned out Friday and police moved in when about 50 pro-Israeli demonstrators arrived shouting and scuffles started.
With exams scheduled to start soon, the university says the pro-Palestinian students agreed to call off their action in return for an “internal debate” about the university’s ties to Israel.
Netherlands will consider resuming support to Palestinian UNRWA agency
Activists protest against United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) outside their offices in Jerusalem, March 20, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)
The Dutch government says it would consider resuming funding for the UN agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) in Gaza if the agency implements recommendations to strengthen its neutrality.
The decision follows an investigation by the former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna released on Monday into whether some UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7 attack by Hamas.
The Colonna-led review of the agency’s neutrality concluded Israel had yet to back up its accusations that hundreds of UNRWA staff were operatives in Gaza terrorist groups.
The Dutch government said it had already given its yearly donation to UNRWA in January, before the accusations against the agency came to light. It was one of several European countries that paused funding for the agency after the allegations were levied.
It said it did not foresee any additional donations in the near future, but would consider UNRWA as a potential partner if requests for aid were made.
Erdogan’s White House talks with Biden postponed, official says
US President Joe Biden, right, meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the G20 leaders summit, October 31, 2021, in Rome. (Evan Vucci/AP)
A rare meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Joe Biden at the White House has been postponed, a Turkish official says, amid tensions over the Gaza war.
The talks, previously scheduled for May 9, would be the first White House meeting between the two leaders, who last met on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Lithuania in July.
“The visit planned for May 9 was postponed because of a change in Erdogan’s program,” the official tells AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“A new date will be decided” after an exchange between the two presidents, the official added.
Erdogan’s planned visit was never officially announced by the Turkish presidency, but a Turkish official told AFP in March that it would take place on May 9.
The NATO allies are seeking to rebuild ties strained over a number of disputes, including Turkey’s delayed approval of Sweden’s accession to the NATO alliance.
“The postponement is a pretty big deal, since Erdogan has been trying — for three years now — to get invited to the White House to meet US President Biden,” says Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Program at The Washington Institute.
In a speech today, Erdogan criticized Washington for its “unconditional military and diplomatic support” to Israel.
Erdogan also lashed out at the US Senate for passing an aid package that earmarks $13 billion for Israel.
Hezbollah claims responsibility for the rocket barrage on north
Hezbollah claims responsibility for the rocket barrage on northern Israel’s Mount Hermon this evening.
In a statement, the terror group says it targeted Israeli army bases in the area with dozens of Katyusha rockets.
Hezbollah says the attack is in response to the killing of two members of the allied al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya terror group in an IDF drone strike earlier today.
In a separate statement, al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya confirms the deaths of Mosab Khalaf and Bilal Khalaf, members of the group’s armed wing, the al-Fajr Forces.
Barrage of 30 rockets fired at northern Israel, no injuries
A barrage of some 30 rockets were launched from Lebanon at the Mount Hermon area in northern Israel a short while ago, according to the IDF.
Some of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome, while others apparently hit open areas.
There are no reports of injuries in the attack.
Sirens did not sound in any towns.
A barrage of some 30 rockets were launched from Lebanon at the Mount Hermon area a short while ago, according to the IDF.
Some of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome, while others apparently hit open areas.
There are no reports of injuries in the attack.
Sirens did… pic.twitter.com/VoJoQyqJi6
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 26, 2024
Austin: Iran should question effectiveness of weapons after failed attack on Israel
Illustrative: A photographer approaches the remains of a missile that landed on the shore of the Dead Sea, a week after the April 13 missile barrage fired by Iran, on April 21, 2024. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says that Iran should question the effectiveness of its weapons systems after its failed attack on Israel earlier this month.
“They should be questioning the effectiveness of their weapons systems and their planning,” Austin tells reporters.
“Hopefully, they don’t walk away from this over-confident that they can do this at will, because I think Israel has demonstrated that it has a significant ability to defend itself,” Austin added.
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff had calls with Columbia Jewish leaders amid protests – report
Illustrative: US Vice President Kamala Harris, left and her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, attend Israel's Independence Day Reception, hosted by the Embassy of Israel to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel, at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC, June 6, 2023. (Saul Loeb/AFP)
US Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, who has been one of the main faces of the administration’s fight against antisemitism, held calls with two Jewish leaders at Columbia University as anti-Israel protests spread to campuses across the country, The Hill reports.
According to the report, Emhoff spoke with the director of Orthodox Union-JLIC at Columbia and Barnard College, Rabbi Elie Buechler, and Columbia Barnard Hillel Director Brian Cohen.
“During the calls, the second gentleman recognized that while every American has the right to freedom of speech and to protest peacefully, hate speech and calls for violence against Jews is both antisemitic and unacceptable,” The Hill quotes a White House official as saying.
Emhoff’s conversations with the leaders “focused on the immediate need to address antisemitism on college campuses,” the official said, adding that the second gentleman “emphasized that no student should feel unsafe on campus and offered his support on behalf of the administration.”
Emhoff’s conversations with the leaders “focused on the immediate need to address antisemitism on college campuses,” the official says, adding that the second gentleman “emphasized that no student should feel unsafe on campus and offered his support on behalf of the administration.”
Israel said conveying message to Sinwar: Either free 33 hostages in a deal soon, or IDF enters Rafah
Left: Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas in Gaza, Gaza City, April 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana); Right: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, December 10, 2023. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP)
Reporting on today’s talks between Israel’s hostage deal negotiators and a visiting delegation of Egyptian mediators, Channel 12 news quotes an unnamed Israeli source as saying Israel has made plain to the Egyptians — and by extension to Gaza’s Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar — that this is the “last moment” for a deal because, otherwise, the IDF will begin its ground operation in Rafah.
The source further says that Israel is not prepared to let Sinwar drag out the negotiations. It’s a case of “either a deal in the near future, or Rafah.” The architect of the October 7 massacre is widely believed to be hiding in the Hamas tunnel network in the Rafah area, with hostages in close proximity as human shields.
The report confirms that Israel is prepared to settle for the release of fewer than the 40 living hostages as earlier proposed, but also that it will not agree to only 20 hostages being freed, as Hamas reportedly suggested in recent indirect contacts. Rather, says the report, Israel believes that Hamas holds 33 living hostages who meet the so-called “humanitarian” designation — that is, women, children, men aged over 50 and the sick — and is insisting that they all be freed.
The report says this could be a major sticking point if the mediation efforts make headway with Hamas, but stresses that, for now, that is not the case.
There is no mention in the report of whether this would be the first phase of a wider deal for all the hostages, of the length of the proposed accompanying truce, or of Hamas’s relentless demand that Israel halt the war altogether as a condition for any further hostage releases.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly ruled out ending the war until Hamas is destroyed as a military and governing force.
The report reiterates that Israel, as part of a deal, is now willing to allow residents to return to northern Gaza, and possibly to do so without any checks to prevent Hamas members from returning with them. It says Israel may also agree to withdraw IDF forces from the corridor it has established across the entire width of the strip, dividing northern and southern Gaza.
It says the IDF has completed all its preparations for a Rafah operation, but that the government is stalling on coordinating such an offensive with the US administration.
It also says, however, that numerous sources in the defense establishment feel strongly that “time is running out” for the hostages, that they must be the “top priority,” and the IDF can resume fighting at any time if it is required to pause in order for a hostage deal to be agreed and carried out.
Channel 12 quotes the unnamed defense sources as saying Netanyahu should be pushing a deal for the hostages as hard as he can, but fears opposition on the far-right flank of his coalition, notably from Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir.
It also says these defense sources regard tackling Hamas’s four battalions inside Rafah as less critical than securing the Gaza-Egypt border at Rafah to prevent Hamas smuggling in arms and weapons materials in order to rearm. Israel and Egypt, it says, are coordinating on a sensor system along the Philadelphi border corridor.
Finally, the report says, one reason for the still-delayed ground offensive in Rafah is concern that it will deepen international delegitimization of Israel.
IDF says senior terror leader killed in Lebanon drone strike
A senior member of the al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya terror group was killed in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon earlier today, the IDF says.
Mosab Khalaf, according to the IDF, “led and advanced many attacks” from Lebanon against Israeli targets, mostly in the Mount Dov area.
The IDF says Khalaf was also coordinating attacks with Hamas’s Lebanon branch. Khalaf was struck while driving on a highway near the town of Meidoun, some 20 kilometers from the Israeli border.
The IDF says his “elimination was carried out to cause a blow to the terror organization’s abilities to advance and carry out terror acts that it has planned recently against the State of Israel in the northern border area.”
צה"ל תקף וחיסל באמצעות כלי טיס של חיל האוויר את המחבל מצעב חלף, בכיר בארגון הטרור הג'מאעה האסלאמית בלבנון, שקידם מתווי טרור רבים כנגד ישראל>> pic.twitter.com/ishwYjsu2o
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 26, 2024
UN suspends several probes into UNRWA workers accused of taking part in Oct. 7 assault, says insufficient evidence from Israel
Video showing an UNRWA worker driving a white UN jeep, and abducting the body of Jonathan Samerano, who was killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7. (Screenshot)
UN investigators examining Israeli accusations that 12 staff members from the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA took part in the October 7 Hamas attacks have closed one case due to a lack of evidence from Israel and suspended three more, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says.
He says the inquiry by the Office for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) continues into the remaining eight cases.
In the closed case, Dujarric said “no evidence was provided by Israel to support the allegations against the staff member” and that the UN is “exploring corrective administrative action to be taken in that person’s case.”
He said three cases were suspended “as the information provided by Israel is not sufficient for OIOS to proceed with an investigation.” He says UNRWA is considering what administrative action to take.
After an initial 12 cases were raised by the Israeli government in late January, a further seven cases were brought to the attention of the UN in March and April, Dujarric says. One of those cases was suspended pending receipt of additional supporting evidence, he says, and the remaining six investigations continue.
UNRWA provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
The accusations became public in January, when UNRWA, which employs some 13,000 people in Gaza, announced that it had fired some staff and been briefed by Israel. Of the initial 12 accused by Israel, UNRWA fired 10 people and said the remaining two are dead. It was not immediately clear how they died.
Missiles reportedly fired at Red Sea ship
Missiles suspected to have been fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels landed a distance away from a ship traveling through the Red Sea on Friday, a private security firm says.
The attack follows an uptick in assaults launched by the Houthis in recent days after a relative lull in their monthslong campaign over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The private security firm Ambrey says three missiles could be seen in the attack, which landed closest to a Panama-flagged, Seychelles-registered tanker it described as being “engaged in Russia-linked trade.” The vessel was traveling from Primorsk, Russia to Vadinar, India, Ambrey says.
Those details corresponded to a tanker called the Andromeda Star, which had been previously broadcasting its location off Mocha, Yemen, according to ship-tracking data.
The Houthis did not immediately claim the missile fire, though it typically takes the rebels several hours to acknowledge their attacks. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center also reported the attack off Mocha.
Video shows Ben Gvir vehicle running red light before being hit
The car (left) of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir that was in an accident in Ramle. April 26, 2024. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)
Video taken from the dashcam of a vehicle at the scene of an accident involving National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, shows his official vehicle running a red light.
The video shows the black sedan arriving at the junction and slowing almost to a complete stop at the red light.
It then pushes into the intersection. A first vehicle manages to break in time to avoid hitting it, but a second car plowed into the minister’s vehicle, causing it to overturn.
One of Ben Gvir’s accompanying security vehicles also followed him through the red light intersection, but was not hit.
Ben Gvir had been leaving the scene of a terror attack in Ramle.
His office says his daughter and driver were also in the vehicle with him at the time and all three were lightly injured.
Police say they are investigating the crash.
רכב השר עובר באדום כשכלי רכב נוסעים משמאל: תיעוד התאונה שבה נפצע בן גביר@hadasgrinberg pic.twitter.com/AmCY4pGHD7
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 26, 2024
Ben Gvir lightly hurt, taken to hospital as car flips after collision; witness says he ran a red light
The vehicle of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir is involved in an accident in Ramle on April 26, 2024. (Screencapture/X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s car flipped as he was involved in a car accident while leaving the scene of a terror stabbing in the central city of Ramle, police say. Witnesses said he ran a red light.
Police say two vehicles were involved in the collision and that three people were taken to hospital after being lightly injured.
Ben Gvir’s office says the minister is in good condition and conscious, but is being taken to the nearby Shamir Medical Center for further treatment.
Pictures from the scene show his official vehicle flipped over, while another car has a smashed in front.
Police say they are investigating the cause of the crash.
השר בן גביר היה מעורב בתאונת דרכים סמוך לזירת הפיגוע ברמלה, מצבו קל
(אורלי אלקלעי) @OferHalfonKan pic.twitter.com/iDT6Aq0OIo
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 26, 2024
Channel 12 reporter Amit Segal quotes a witness as saying that Ben Gvir’s vehicle ran a red light and that there have been numerous reports in recent months that his official vehicle has committed a number of traffic violations.
In August last year, Ben Gvir was involved in another accident when his vehicle ran a red light while on the way to an interview. Hebrew media have reported that he routinely instructs his driver to flout traffic rules.
Ramle stabbing seen as a terror attack, police confirm, though assailant was ‘mentally unstable’
Police are investigating the Ramle stabbing as a suspected terror attack, Avi Bitton, the Israel Police central district chief, confirms at the scene of the attack.
He also notes, however, that the assailant was “mentally unstable.”
Bitton says the attacker stabbed the victim, aged 19, several times in the back before fleeing the scene. She has been hospitalized in serious condition.
The attacker was chased by friends and relatives of the victim for about a kilometer to a second location where he attempted to stab another woman, Bitton said.
He was then shot dead by one of those chasing back, who was carrying a licensed weapon, said Bitton.
Blinken calls US campus protests a hallmark of democracy, but decries ‘silence’ on Hamas
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference at the US Embassy in Beijing, China, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
BEIJING — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests at US universities are a hallmark of American democracy, but criticized what he called the “silence” about Palestinian terror group Hamas.
Police have clashed with students in protests over the war in Gaza and the Biden administration’s support for Israel, with nearly 550 arrests made in the last week across major universities.
Asked at a press conference in China whether he was taking on board the protesters’ message, Blinken said he understood the conflict elicited “strong, passionate feelings.”
“In our own country, it’s a hallmark of our democracy that our citizens make known their views, their concerns, their anger, at any given time, and I think that reflects the strength of the country, the strength of democracy,” Blinken said.
But he suggested critics should focus their ire on Hamas, which sparked the war with its October 7 attack on southern Israel in which about 1,200 people were killed and some 250 taken hostage.
Israel’s military response has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians and injured more than 77,000, according to Hamas health ministry figures. The number is unverifiable and includes combatants and civilians. Israel says it has killed over 13,000 gunmen.
“It is also notable that there is silence about Hamas, as if it wasn’t even part of the story,” Blinken said.
“But as I’ve also said repeatedly, the way Israel goes about ensuring that October 7 never happens again matters profoundly,” said Blinken. “And we’re working every day to try to minimize the damage that’s done to innocent people and to make sure that they have the assistance and support that they need.”
Blinken, who met Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials in Beijing on Friday, said he had discussed how China can play a constructive role in global crises, including in the Middle East, where he said Beijing can discourage Iran and its proxies not to escalate the conflict.
Blinken said he spoke to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi multiple times this month when tensions spiked between Israel and Tehran. China is the main buyer of oil exported by sanctions-hit Iran.
“I think the relationships, again, that China has can be positive in trying to calm tensions, prevent escalation, avoid the spread of the conflict, and we agreed that we’d remain in regular touch on this, and that’s certainly my intention,” Blinken said.
Erdogan denies Turkish radars used in effort to down Iranian missiles headed for Israel
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a joint statement to the media in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye/Pool Photo via AP)
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denies rumors that drones and ballistic missile strikes from Iran’s attack on Israel on April 13 were intercepted due to early detection by a NATO radar base in southeastern Turkey.
“The radar center in Kurecik [Malatya province] does not and cannot have any relationship, bond or contact with any state other than the security of our country and our alliance,” he says.
Speaking at a televised pro-Palestinian event, Erdogan also reiterates that Turkey has slashed diplomatic and commercial ties with Israel and will impose more trade restrictions.
“From a commercial perspective, the only country that imposes export restrictions on Israel in 54 product groups is Turkey,” Erdogan says.
Turkey, a staunch critic of Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip, announced that it was restricting exports of 54 types of products to Israel in early April. They include aluminum, steel, construction products, jet fuel and chemical fertilizers. In response, Israel banned products from Turkey.
Gaza baby rescued from dead mother’s womb dies after five days in incubator
File: A Palestinian baby girl, Sabreen al-Rouh, who was delivered prematurely after her mother was killed in an Israeli strike, lies in an incubator in the Emirati hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, April 21, 2024. Her uncle and a doctor said on April 26 that she had died. (AP Photo/Mohammad Jahjouh, File)
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — A baby girl who was delivered from her dying mother’s womb in a Gaza hospital following an Israeli airstrike has herself died after five days in an incubator, her uncle and the doctor who was caring for her said on Friday.
Sabreen al-Rouh died in a Gaza hospital on Thursday after her health deteriorated and medical teams were unable to save her, said her uncle, Rami al-Sheikh.
The baby suffered respiratory problems and a weak immune system, said Doctor Mohammad Salama, head of the emergency neonatal unit at Emirati Hospital, who had been caring for her. “I and other doctors tried to save her, but she died. For me personally, it was a very difficult and painful day,” he told Reuters by phone.
Sabreen’s home in the southern Gaza city of Rafah was hit by an Israeli airstrike shortly before midnight Saturday, witnesses told AFP. Her parents and 4-year-old sister were killed, news agencies reported.
First responders took the bodies to a nearby hospital, where medical workers performed an emergency cesarean section on her mother, Sabreen al-Sakani, who was 30 weeks pregnant.
Al-Sheikh told the AP that Sabreen was buried next to her father on Thursday.
“We were attached to this baby in a crazy way,” he said, speaking near Sabreen’s grave in a cemetery in Rafah.
“God had taken something from us, but given us something in return,” with the baby surviving after her family died, he said. “But [now] he has taken them all. My brother’s family is completely wiped out.”
7 rabbis, activists said arrested trying to cross Gaza border with food
Israeli police officers arrest a member of the group 'Rabbis for Ceasefire' during their march toward the Erez crossing on the border with northern Gaza Strip on April 26, 2024. (Jack Guez/AFP)
Seven rabbis and activists are arrested trying to drive a pickup truck loaded with food into the Gaza Strip from southern Israel, members of the party tell The New York Times.
According to the report, they were among a group of some 30 people from the US and Israel, and the protest was organized by the US-based Rabbis for Ceasefire.
The Israel police declined to comment on the report.
Photos showed several of the participants being dragged away by police. Many of them were waving pieces of matzah in the air.
“We were making the point that Jewish liberation is bound up with Palestinian liberation, that we want freedom for all,” Toba Spitzer, a rabbi from Boston, Mass., who attended the protest but was not arrested, tells the NYT.
The report says the effort was symbolic and expected to fail, given Israeli restrictions on allowing people to cross into the war zone without coordination with the military.
Lebanese media reports airstrike on vehicle driving on highway
Lebanese media report an Israeli airstrike on a vehicle on the Meidoun highway in the Western Beqaa District.
No further details are immediately available.
Meidoun is some 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Israeli border.
سلاح الجو "الاسـ ـرائـ ـيلي" إستهدف سيارة على طريق ميدون مفرق السريرة بالبقاع الغربي#ملحق pic.twitter.com/jGKsOALPXc
— Mulhak – ملحق (@Mulhak) April 26, 2024
Israel tells Egypt its serious about hostage deal and Rafah offensive as talks end
Families of the hostages gather outside the Kirya Military Headquarters in Tel Aviv to demand a hostage deal ahead of a war cabinet meeting, April 25, 2024.. (Danor Aharon/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)
Talks between Israeli officials and a top-level Egyptian delegation sent to discuss efforts to reach a hostage deal with Hamas and Israel’s impending offensive in Rafah have ended.
A senior Israeli official tells Hebrew media that talks were “very good, focused, held in good spirits and progressed in all parameters.”
The official tells Ynet that the Egyptians seem willing to pressure Hamas toward reaching a deal and that “in the background, there are very serious intentions from Israel to move ahead in Rafah.”
The Israeli official says Israel warned it would not agree to foot-dragging by Hamas on the hostage deal in a bid to forestall the IDF operation and noted that reserve forces have been called up.
“This is the last chance before we go into Rafah,” the official tells Channel 12.
The official reiterates Israel’s willingness to now only accept 33 living hostages in the first stage of the deal.
The official also says Israel is willing to make further major concessions like allowing the return of residents to northern Gaza and withdrawing forces from a key corridor bisecting Gaza, Channel 12 says.
Egypt’s top intelligence official, Abbas Kamel, leads the delegation, and plans to discuss with Israel a “new vision” for a prolonged ceasefire in Gaza, an Egyptian official said ahead of the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the mission freely.
Netanyahu says ICC decisions will not affect Israel’s actions, set dangerous precedent
Judges enter the United Nations' highest court during hearings in The Hague, Netherlands on February 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that any rulings issued by the International Criminal Court would not affect Israel’s actions, but would “set a dangerous precedent.”
“Under my leadership, Israel will never accept any attempt by the International Criminal Court in the Hague to undermine its basic right to defend itself,” Netanyahu says in a statement shared on Telegram.
“While decisions made by the court in the Hague will not affect Israel’s actions, they will set a dangerous precedent that threatens soldiers and public figures.”
IDF says jets hit gathering of Hezbollah operatives near northern border
Israeli fighter jets carried out strikes against buildings where Hezbollah operatives were gathered, in the southern Lebanon towns of Tayr Harfa and Ayta ash-Shab, the IDF says.
Tanks also shelled areas near Yarine and Dhayra to “remove threats,” the military adds.
Israeli fighter jets carried out strikes against buildings where Hezbollah operatives were gathered, in the southern Lebanon towns of Tayr Harfa and Ayta ash-Shab, the IDF says.
Tanks also shelled areas near Yarine and Dhayra to "remove threats," the military adds. pic.twitter.com/q1urEWNWOt
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 26, 2024
IDF helicopter airlifts remains of Iranian missile find on desert hiking trail
An IAF helicopter removes the remains of an Iranian ballistic missile that was found by hikers near Arad, April 26, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Israeli military removed the remains of an intercepted Iranian ballistic missile found by hikers at the Ye’elim stream, close to Arad, in southern Israel earlier this week.
The missile was one of 120 fired at Israel in the Iranian attack on April 14.
An Israeli Air Force CH-53 helicopter lifted the intercepted missile out of the area to another location, where the Fire and Rescue Services removed any hazardous materials.
After it was deemed safe, the remains were taken to an army base to be further examined.
The IDF says the operation, coordinated by the Home Front Command, was “complex” due to the weight of the missile and the difficult terrain.
Woman, 18, seriously wounded in suspected terror stabbing in Ramle, attacker killed
Security officials and medics at the scene of a suspected terror stabbing in Ramle on April 26, 2024. (Magen David Adom)
An 18-year-old woman is seriously wounded in a suspected terror stabbing attack in the central city of Ramle, police and medics say.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it is taking the young woman to the nearby Shamir Medical Center.
The stabber was shot dead, MDA says.
Police say they are investigating the circumstances of the attack.
Saudi to host top Arab, EU diplomats for Gaza talks
Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud attends a session during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, January 16, 2024. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)
Top Arab and European diplomats are expected to begin arriving in the Saudi capital this weekend for an economic summit and meetings on the war in Gaza, diplomatic officials say.
The two-day World Economic Forum special meeting, scheduled to begin in Riyadh on Sunday, includes in its official program appearances by the Saudi, Jordanian, Egyptian and Turkish foreign ministers.
A Gaza-focused session on Monday is set to feature newly appointed Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Sigrid Kaag, the United Nations aid coordinator for Gaza.
French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne is among the European officials traveling to the Saudi capital during the summit for talks on the war, which erupted with Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on southern Israel.
“Discussions with European, American and regional counterparts on Gaza and the regional situation are planned in Riyadh,” a diplomatic source says.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is due to arrive on Monday to meet officials including Kaag and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, says spokesperson Sebastian Fischer.
“The visit will be about working on the many different flashpoints of the crisis in the Middle East, on de-escalation and on making progress towards a peaceful future,” Fischer tells a press conference in Berlin on Friday.
“As you all know, the Gulf states also have an important role to play here.”
Saudi Arabia’s neighbor Qatar hosts a Hamas political office and has served as a mediator in talks that have so far failed to secure a durable ceasefire and the release of many hostages seized in the October 7 attack.
Saudi Arabia has never recognized Israel, but before the Hamas attack US President Joe Biden’s administration was hoping it would do so as part of a landmark deal that would also see Riyadh and Washington ramp up their security partnership.
Russian defense chief meets Iranian counterpart on widening military cooperation
In this photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on April 26, 2024, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu speaks during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Defense Ministers' Meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan. (Vadim Savitsky/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
MOSCOW – Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has told his Iranian counterpart Gharaei Ashtiani that Moscow is ready to expand military and technical cooperation with Tehran, the RIA state news agency reports.
Contacts between the countries’ military departments have increased significantly recently, Shoigu is cited as saying.
The meeting comes on the sidelines of a session in Kazakhstan of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a security grouping that includes Russia, India, China, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
UN official: Clearing 37 million tons of debris in Gaza could take 14 years
A Palestinian medic inspects blood and debris at the site of an Israeli strike on al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on April 22, 2024. (AFP)
The vast amount of rubble including unexploded ordnance left by the war between Israel and the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip could take about 14 years to remove, a United Nations official says during a briefing in Geneva.
Pehr Lodhammar, senior officer at the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), says that the war has left an estimated 37 million tons of debris in the widely urbanized, densely populated coastal enclave.
He says that although it is impossible to determine the exact number of unexploded ordnance found in Gaza, it could take 14 years under certain conditions to clear debris, including rubble from destroyed buildings.
“We know that typically there’s a failure rate of at least 10 percent of land service ammunition that is being fired and fails to function,” he says. “We’re talking about 14 years of work with 100 trucks.”
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages, mostly civilians, many amid acts of brutality and sexual assault.
Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza raises war death toll to 34,356
Palestinians bid farewell to their dead relatives at Al-Najjar Hospital, after Israeli air strikes in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah, April 26, 2024. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
Israel’s military offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 34,356 Palestinians and injured 77,368 others since October 7, the enclave’s Hamas-run health ministry says in a statement
The figures cannot be independently verified and include some 13,000 Hamas gunmen Israel says it has killed in battle. Israel also says it killed some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
A total of 261 IDF soldiers have been killed in the army’s Gaza ground operation.
Police arrest 2 protesters for violating public order at protest outside Gantz’s house
Police detain a demonstrator outside the home of war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, calling on him to resign from the emergency government, Rosh Ha'ayin, April 26, 2024. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)
Police have arrested two protesters during an anti-government demonstration outside the home of war cabinet minister Benny Gantz.
The two detainees are suspected of violating public order, with protesters lighting bonfires and setting off flares.
According to Hebrew media reports, one of the protesters was arrested after he attacked police forces and the other for trying to break through a security barrier that had been set up next to the demonstration.
The protesters are calling for the release of over 100 hostages held by terror groups in Gaza since October 7 along with the replacement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. They are also calling on Gantz to resign from the emergency government that his National Unity party joined in the days after Hamas’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel.
Blinken: China can help ‘calm tensions’ in Middle East through its influence with Iran
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference at the US embassy in Beijing on April 26, 2024. (Mark Schiefelbein/Pool/AFP)
China can play a role in reducing tensions in the Middle East, including through its influence with Iran, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tells reporters at the US embassy in Beijing.
“I think the relationships that China has can be positive in trying to calm tensions, to prevent escalation, avoid the spread of the conflict,” Blinken says, adding that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has agreed to stay in contact on the Middle East.
CENTCOM: Houthis launch anti-ship ballistic missile into Gulf of Aden, none hurt
An anti-ship ballistic missile was launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen into the Gulf of Aden yesterday, with no injuries or damage reported by US, coalition or commercial ships, US Central Command (CENTCOM) says.
In a separate operation, US Centcom adds that it engaged and destroyed one unmanned surface vessel and one unmanned aerial vehicle in a Houthi-controlled area.
The Houthis have launched more than 50 strikes on shipping, seized one vessel and sank another since November, according to the US Maritime Administration, though attacks have dropped in recent weeks as the rebels have been targeted by a US-led airstrike campaign in Yemen, while shipping through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden has declined because of the threat.
American officials have speculated that the rebels may be running out of weapons as a result of the US-led campaign against them and their steady usage of drones and missiles in the last months.
The Houthis have said they will continue their attacks until Israel ends the war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’s October 7 massacre.
IDF prepares to demolish West Bank home of Palestinian accused of murdering Israeli teen
14-year-old Benjamin Achimeir, who went missing in the West Bank on April 12, 2024 and was found murdered a day later. (Courtesy)
The IDF says it operated overnight in the West Bank town of Duma to measure the home of Ahmed Dawabsha, a Palestinian alleged to have murdered 14-year-old Benjamin Achimeir earlier this month, ahead of its potential demolition.
Israel regularly destroys the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out terror attacks.
Achimeir went missing on April 12 after setting out in the early morning hours from a farm near Malachei Shalom to go shepherding. Hours later, the sheep returned without him. His body was found a day later, and the killing was termed a terror attack.
Dawabsha, 21, was arrested on April 22.
US won’t sanction IDF units for alleged West Bank rights abuses – report
Illustrative: Soldiers from the IDF's Netzah Yehuda Battalion patrol near the Israeli-Gaza border, October 20, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Washington will not go ahead with sanctions it has been considering against Israeli military and police units alleged to have committed human rights violations against Palestinians, including the Netzah Yehuda Battalion, according to an ABC News report.
While the Biden administration has determined “gross human rights violations” were committed by Israel Defense Forces against Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the report, the relevant battalions will remain eligible for US military aid.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken shared the assessment in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, ABC reports, in which he wrote that the position “will not delay the delivery of any US assistance and Israel will be able to receive the full amount appropriated by Congress.”
Earlier this week, US President Joe Biden signed into law a $95 billion war aid measure that includes assistance for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
The legislation will send $17 billion in wartime assistance to Israel and $9 billion in humanitarian relief to citizens of Gaza and other war-torn regions — with Biden specifying at a White House event to announce the signing on Wednesday that the package “includes $1 billion for additional humanitarian aid in Gaza.”
The ABC report notes that allegations of rights abuses by IDF units took place before war erupted in Gaza on October 7, sparked by Hamas’s massacre in southern Israel.
It also notes that none of the cases involve “operations against Hamas in Gaza or against Iran or its proxies.”
Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, held separate talks with Blinken this week in an effort to prevent Washington from going ahead with the reported plans to slap sanctions on Netzah Yehuda, a Kfir infantry brigade unit designed for religious troops.
IDF detains 2 Palestinians suspected of planning terror attack at West Bank outpost
Two Palestinians suspected of attempting to carry out an attack at a West Bank farming outpost, April 26, 2024. (Screenshot: X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Two Palestinians, one of whom was armed with an axe, were detained by troops at an illegal farming outpost in the central West Bank, the military says.
The IDF says the pair planned to carry out a terror attack at the Makouk Farm, close to the Palestinian village of Wadi as-Seeq.
Additional axes and knives were found in their vehicle, according to the IDF.
The pair were handed over to the Shin Bet for further interrogation.
The Makouk Farm outpost was established by far-right activist Neriya Ben Pazi, who has been sanctioned by the United States and the European Union.
Protesters at Gantz’s home demanding hostage deal call for National Unity to leave government
Protesters gather outside the home National Union chair Benny Gantz, calling for him to leave the government, Rosh Ha'ayin, central Israel, April 26, 2024. (Pro-Democracy Movement/Ilan Faigenbaum)
Anti-government protesters, including family members of hostages held by terror groups in Gaza, have gathered outside the home of National Unity chair Benny Gantz, calling on him to leave the government.
Protesters stand behind a large banner saying, “Israel needs leadership,” along with placards calling for the government to be replaced.
Chants can also be heard among the crowd calling for the release of over 100 hostages held in Gaza since October 7, with signs reading “If there’s no [hostage] deal, leave the government.”
"אתה שותף – אתה אשם"
כעת סמוך לבית גנץ בראש העין
משפחות חטופים ואזרחים
פותחת לייב pic.twitter.com/y25r1IQnxp— Or-ly Barlev ???? אור-לי ברלב (@orlybarlev) April 26, 2024
Gantz and his National Unity party joined an emergency war government in the days following October 7, with the aim of achieving a broader, more representative government amid the aftermath of the Hamas massacre and the ensuing outbreak of the war in Gaza.
University heads deplore US campus protests, invite Jewish students and faculty to Israel
Israel’s Association of University Heads has expressed “deep concern” over the “recent surge of severe violence, antisemitism, and anti-Israel sentiment” in protests across numerous leading universities in the United States.
“These disturbing events are often organized and supported by Palestinian groups, including those recognized as terrorist organizations. This troubling development has led to a climate where Israeli and Jewish students and faculty members feel compelled to hide their identities or avoid campuses altogether for fear of physical harm,” the group says in a statement.
American students protesting the Israel-Hamas war are demanding schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies enabling its months-long conflict. Some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus, partly prompting a heavier hand from universities.
“Extreme situations may require measures beyond the conventional tools available to university administrations… Freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate are vital to the health of any democracy and are especially crucial in academic settings. However, these freedoms do not include the right to engage in violence, make threats against communities, or call for the destruction of the State of Israel.” the statement continues.
“We offer our support to the Jewish and Israeli students and faculty facing these difficult circumstances. We will do our best to assist those of them who wish to join Israeli universities and find a welcoming academic and personal home,” the notice concludes.
The Association of University Heads is the umbrella governing body for Israel’s major universities.
Anti-Israel protesters ‘occupy’ university building in Paris, calling for Gaza ceasefire
Anti-Israel protesters flash the victory sign as they take part in the 'occupation' of a building of the Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po Paris) by students in support of Palestinians, with a barricade blocking the entrance in Paris on April 26, 2024.(Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP)
Anti-Israel protesters have “occupied” a building of the Institute of Political Studies in Paris, as authorities in the US work to shut down pro-Palestinian student encampments in universities across America.
Unconfirmed reports on social media say students from all over Paris gathered to protest the ongoing war in Gaza and to urge French President Emmanuel Macron to push for a ceasefire.
Other reports say the protests have turned violent, with police using tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds.
???????? FRENCH STUDENTS JOIN PRO-PALESTINE PROTEST MOVEMENT
Students from all over Paris gathered to protest Israel’s actions in Gaza and demand Macron push for a ceasefire.pic.twitter.com/R4JjeQutZP
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 26, 2024
‘Screams Before Silence’: Sheryl Sandberg releases documentary on Hamas sex crimes on October 7
A documentary about Hamas’s sexual crimes on and after October 7 has been published on YouTube, featuring testimonies from survivors, released hostages and first responders.
The aim of the film, titled ‘Screams Before Silence’ and fronted by former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg, is to highlight sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas during and after the terror group’s devastating massacre on southern Israel, when terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 253, triggering an ongoing war in Gaza.
Clips from the hour-long film have been published in recent months, including interviews with female hostages released in a November truce.
Warning — the documentary includes graphic content.
In March, the United Nations published a report indicating that rape and gang rape likely occurred during the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught, and said that there is “clear and convincing” evidence showing that hostages were raped while being held in Gaza and that those currently held captive are still facing such abuse.
COGAT: 344 aid trucks transferred to Gaza yesterday, including 100 to north of Strip
A total of 344 aid trucks were inspected and transferred into Gaza via Israel yesterday, according to COGAT, the Defense Ministry body responsible for civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, COGAT says that 100 of those trucks were coordinated for transfer into northern Gaza, where an estimated 300,000 civilians are sheltering amid the ongoing war with Hamas.
#AidforGaza – April 25???? pic.twitter.com/MzEUsscB8O
— COGAT (@cogatonline) April 26, 2024
The UN’s top humanitarian official for Gaza said yesterday that Israel has taken steps to improve the delivery of aid to the enclave, but added that further urgent measures are needed to increase the volume of food and other critical items needed in the territory.
Report: Blinken expected in Israel on Tuesday to discuss Rafah operation, hostage deal
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to arrive in Israel on Tuesday, according to an unsourced Hebrew media report.
This would be Blinken’s seventh trip to the region since war erupted in Gaza after Hamas’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel.
The Kan broadcaster reports that Blinken is coming to Israel to discuss the looming IDF operation in Rafah, along with efforts to secure a deal to pause the fighting and free over 100 hostages held by terror groups in Gaza since October 7.
Israeli civilian killed in overnight Hezbollah missile attack on Lebanon border
Sharif Sawaed, killed in a Hezbollah missile attack on the Lebanon border, early April 26, 2024. (Courtesy)
An Israeli civilian contracted by the military was killed in an anti-tank missile in a Hezbollah attack on the Mount Dov area on the border with Lebanon overnight, the IDF says.
The man is identified as Sharif Sawaed, a resident of the Bedouin town of Sallama near Karmiel.
Sawaed had been carrying out “infrastructure activity” for the IDF in the Mount Dov area when the missile attack occurred, the military said.
Hezbollah said it had targeted two IDF vehicles in the area.
Sawaed’s death was declared shortly after he was hit by one of the two anti-tank missiles.
Following the attack, the IDF said it struck Hezbollah sites in Chebaa, including a weapons depot and a rocket launcher, and additional sites in Kfarchouba and Ain al-Tineh.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war raging there since Hamas’s October 7 massacre.
So far, the skirmishes on the border have resulted in nine civilian deaths on the Israeli side — including this morning’s fatality — as well as the deaths of 11 IDF soldiers and reservists.
Poll: National Unity dropping from wartime peak, but still leading over Likud
Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Benny Gantz. (Yonatan Sindel, David Cohen/Flash90)
War cabinet minister Benny Gantz’s National Unity party is continuing to lose support after a rise in recent months following Hamas’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza, according to a new poll.
If elections were held today, National Unity would get 29 seats — down two from last week’s survey but still up from its current 12 seats, the Maariv poll finds.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party stays stable at 21 in this week’s poll, which is higher than earlier in the war but still much lower than the 32 Knesset seats it currently holds.
The poll says that the split between camps remains stable, giving 50 mandates to the right-wing bloc and 61 to the opposition, with nine seats to mainly Arab parties, in the 120-member Knesset.
Conducted by Panel4All, the poll also finds that between the two leaders, 45 percent prefer Gantz as prime minister while 36% believe Netanyahu is more suitable to lead the country.
IDF: Fighter jets hit Hezbollah sites in south Lebanon after rockets fired at Mount Dov
Overnight, Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon’s Kfarchouba, as well as additional sites in Markaba, the military says.
The strikes came after two anti-tank missiles were launched from Lebanon at the Mount Dov area on the border.
The IDF says it shelled the launch sites with artillery and tank fire. It adds that a rocket launcher in Chebaa was also hit by tank shelling.
לפני זמן קצר מטוסי קרב תקפו תשתית טרור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב כפר שובא, לצד תשתית טרור ומבנה צבאי של הארגון במרחב מרכבא שבדרום לבנון >> pic.twitter.com/QwrilxY3PV
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 25, 2024
Report: Egypt’s intel chief leading delegation from Cairo in Tel Aviv today for Gaza hostage deal talks
An Egyptian delegation expected in Israel today to continue talks to reach a temporary ceasefire and hostage release deal in the ongoing war in Gaza is reportedly headed by Abbas Kamel, head of Egypt’s Intelligence Directorate.
Qatari-owned outlet Al-Arabi Al-Jadid reports that Kamel will meet with Mossad chief David Barnea and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi during the visit.
Cairo is working to secure a deal that prevents a long-pledged Israeli operation to dismantle the remaining Hamas stronghold in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, according to an Egyptian official quoted in the report.
Ahead of the meetings, Hebrew media reported last night that Israel’s war cabinet had authorized the country’s negotiating team to discuss this more flexible approach with the Egyptian delegation.
Israel is reportedly willing to come down from its original demand for Hamas to release 40 living hostages in exchange for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza after the terror group refused an offer crafted by Qatari, Egyptian and US negotiators that would have seen it free that many abductees.
In call with Jordanian king, France threatens extended sanctions on violent settlers
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech on Europe in front of the slogan "A powerful Europe" in an amphitheatre of the Sorbonne University in Paris, on April 25, 2024. (Christophe Petit Tesson/POOL/AFP)
In a call with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, French President Emmanuel Macron says Paris is considering extending sanctions on Israeli settlers behind violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
The two leaders “firmly condemned recent Israeli announcements about settlements” in the West Bank, “which are contrary to international law,” Macron’s office says in a statement.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry, is reportedly pushing to begin the process of legalizing 68 illegal outposts in the West Bank in what would be one of the most dramatic expansions for the settlement movement in decades.
Tensions have mounted in the West Bank since Hamas’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza. The Palestinian Authority health ministry says that more than 480 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time.
In February, France announced sanctions against 28 Israelis who were accused of committing violent acts against Palestinians in the West Bank, banning them from French territory.
Macron and King Abdullah also spoke about the “catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza,” and expressed “great concern about the prospects of an Israeli offensive on Rafah, where more than 1.5 million people are seeking refuge, and reiterated their opposition to such an operation,” the statement says.
“The two also insisted on the necessity of an immediate and durable ceasefire to allow massive deliveries of urgent aid and the protection of civilian populations,” it adds.
Macron also “repeated that the liberation of hostages held by Hamas was an absolute priority for France.”
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Columbia drops midnight deadline for dismantling anti-Israel camp, citing ‘progress’ in talks with protesters
Pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protesters gather at an encampment at Columbia University campus in New York on April 25, 2024. (Leonardo Munoz/AFP)
Columbia University has retreated from a midnight (0400 GMT Friday) deadline for anti-Israel protesters to abandon an encampment there as more college campuses in the United States battled to prevent encampments from taking hold.
“The talks have shown progress and are continuing as planned,” the office of Columbia University president Minouche Shafik says in a statement. “We have our demands; they have theirs.”
Authorities across the US have been taking an increasingly hardline approach in shutting down anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian student encampments before they can take root, as they pop up at universities throughout the country calling for divestment from Israel amid the war in Gaza.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Trump claims deadly 2017 rally of white nationalists ‘was a little peanut’ compared to anti-Israel campus protests
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump leaves State Supreme Court in New York, on Thursday, April 25, 2024, during his trial on charges of allegedly falsifying business records. (Jefferson Siegel/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Donald Trump claims the 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was “nothing” compared to ongoing anti-Israel campus protests, the latest instance in which he has downplayed a racist incident that was one of the most criticized moments of his presidency.
Speaking in a Manhattan courtroom hallway at the day’s end of his criminal hush money trial, Trump blames US President Joe Biden for student protesters who have set up encampments as they call for a ceasefire in the war Israel launched after Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught.
Biden has recently, as he often does, publicly brought up the Charlottesville rally that sparked his decision to run against Trump in 2020, where torch-wielding white supremacists marched to protest the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, chanting “You will not replace us!” and “Jews will not replace us!”
“We’re having protests all over. He was talking about Charlottesville,” Trump says. “Charlottesville was a little peanut. And it was nothing compared — and the hate wasn’t the kind of hate that you have here.”
Trump has tried to pin reported instances of antisemitism around the campus protests to Biden. But in invoking Charlottesville, Trump again raised his history of courting extremists and his repeated refusal to disavow groups like the Proud Boys, some of whom would go on to participate in the attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The Biden administration quickly condemned the comments. “Minimizing the antisemitic and white supremacist poison displayed in Charlottesville is repugnant and divisive,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates says.
Hundreds of white nationalists descended on the city on August 11 and August 12, 2017. Clashes between white nationalists and anti-racism protesters broke out both days, prompting authorities to declare the gathering on August 12 an “unlawful assembly” and to order crowds to disperse. It was after that announcement that a man rammed his car into a peaceful group of counter-protesters. One woman died; 35 others were injured.
Days after the deadly rally, Trump told reporters that “you had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.”
The anti-Israel protests that have swept across college campuses in recent days come as tensions rise in the US over the nation’s role in the Israel-Hamas war, particularly as deaths mount in Gaza. Several hundred have been arrested thus far.
Ilhan Omar visits suspended daughter at Columbia’s ‘anti-war encampment’
Squad Rep. Ilhan Omar is seen visiting her daughter during an anti-Israel protest at Columbia University.
A video uploaded to her Instagram account shows her greeting Isra Hirsi’s friends, including one Jewish pro-Palestinian activist wearing a yarmulke.
Hirsi was one of several students suspended after more than 100 anti-Israel protesters were detained by police last week at Columbia.
I had the honor of seeing the Columbia University anti-war encampment firsthand.
Contrary to right-wing attacks, these students are joyfully protesting for peace and an end to the genocide taking place in Gaza.
I’m in awe of their bravery and courage. pic.twitter.com/yC6hcBMwCP
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 25, 2024
Majority of Americans have little or no confidence in Netanyahu — poll
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits an Air Force F-15 base on April 11, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
A slight majority of Americans (53 percent) have little or no confidence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do the right thing regarding world affairs, including 25% who have no confidence in him at all, according to a Pew Research Center survey.
This compared to 21% of Americans who said they have some confidence in Netanyahu and 9% of Americans who said they had a lot of confidence. Fifteen percent of respondents said they had never heard of him.
The share of Americans who have no confidence in Netanyahu has increased 11 percentage points since 2023, including an 8-point increase in the share who have no confidence in him at all. In 2023, 26% of Americans said they had never heard of Netanyahu.
Fifty-one percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents have much more positive views of Netanyahu than Democrats and Democratic leaners (13%) do.
Older Americans are significantly more likely than younger ones to have positive views of Netanyahu, the survey says.
Pew surveyed 3,600 American adults between April 1 and April 7.
WCK workers killed in IDF strike memorialized at Washington National Cathedral ceremony
Yo-Yo Ma plays the cello as, front row from left, Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, Sen. Chris Van Hollen D-Md., Katherine Wilkins, Assistant Secretary of State Julieta Valls Noyes and Suzy George, look on, at the National Cathedral, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Celebrity Chef Jose Andres called seven aid workers killed by Israeli forces in Gaza “the best of humanity” on Thursday during a memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral that was attended by hundreds, and punctuated by grief and ongoing questions about the attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel mistakenly killed the seven people working for Andres’ charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) in an airstrike earlier this month, prompting worldwide condemnation and a demand by US President Joe Biden to make it easier to get aid into Gaza or risk a shift in US support.
Andres told Reuters in an interview earlier this month that the Israeli attack targeted them “systematically, car by car.”
At today’s service he praised each of the workers — Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha, John Chapman, Jacob Flickinger, Lalzawmi Frankcom, James Henderson, James Kirby, and Damian Sobol — during an emotional eulogy, his voice cracking repeatedly.
“The seven souls we mourn today were there so that hungry people could eat,” he says, referring to residents of Gaza. “They risked everything to feed people they did not know.”
Chef Jose Andres, founder of the American NGO World Central Kitchen, speaks during the World Central Kitchen’s memorial service at the National Cathedral, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
“They were the best of humanity. Their examples should inspire us to do better, to be better,” he says.
Andres says WCK continues to demand an investigation into the actions of the Israeli forces against its workers, and that the official explanation was not good enough.
“There is no excuse for these killings. None,” he says.
The service included readings and prayers from the Muslim, Jewish and Christian traditions and a musical tribute by renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
More than 500 people attended, including families of the victims, WCK staff, U.S. officials and diplomats from more than 30 countries, according to a WCK representative.
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff represented the White House, while Biden was traveling in New York.
Pro-Palestinian legal group files federal civil rights complaint against Columbia over arrest of anti-Israel protesters
New York Police Department officers in riot gear stand guard as pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel demonstrators chant slogans outside the Columbia University campus, April 18, 2024, in New York City. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
A pro-Palestinian legal group has filed a federal civil rights complaint against Columbia University following last week’s mass arrest of anti-Israel protesters after the school called police to clear demonstrator encampments, the group says.
Palestine Legal, an organization that seeks to protect the rights of people in the US to speak out on behalf of Palestinians, urged the US Education Department to probe the school’s actions, which it alleges were discriminatory against those who are pro-Palestinian.
Columbia University declined to comment.
Last week, the university tried to shut down campus demonstrations by force when Columbia President Minouche Shafik took the unusual move of inviting New York City police to enter the campus. More than 100 people were arrested.
Protests have since continued at Columbia and spread to other US campuses where hundreds have been arrested in the last week.
US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said earlier today he was following reports of allegations of antisemitism on college campuses. Earlier this month, a former Cornell University student pleaded guilty to posting online threats, including of death and violence against Jewish students on campus.
Second gentleman phones Hillel director, Orthodox rabbi at Columbia to express support amid anti-Israel protests
Tents erected at the pro-Palestinian demonstration encampment at Columbia University in New York, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
US Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff spoke earlier this week with Columbia University’s Hillel director along with an Orthodox rabbi affiliated with the school against the backdrop of the anti-Israel protests that have left many Jewish students there feeling unsafe.
During the calls with Hillel director Brian Cohen and Orthodox Union-JLIC Elie Buechler, “the second gentleman recognized that while every American has the right to freedom of speech and to protest peacefully, hate speech and calls for violence against Jews is both antisemitic and unacceptable,” according to a White House readout. “The conversations also focused on the immediate need to address antisemitism on college campuses.”
“The second gentleman emphasized that no student should feel unsafe on campus and offered his support on behalf of the administration,” the readout adds.
Buechler last week sent a message to Jewish students urging them not to come on campus over fears for their safety. Columbia Hillel took a different approach, telling students that it would remain open to serve them while urging the school to be more proactive in ensuring Jewish students’ safety.
USC cancels graduation ceremony after mass arrests at anti-Israel protest
University of Southern California protesters confront University Public Safety officers as tempers get heated during a pro-Palestinian occupation on the University of Southern California campus, April 24, 2024 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
The University of Southern California cancels its main stage graduation ceremony as college officials across the US worried that ongoing pro-Palestinian campus protests against Israel could disrupt May commencement ceremonies.
USC announces the cancellation of the May 10 ceremony a day after more than 90 protesters were arrested on campus. The university says it will still host dozens of commencement events, including all the traditional individual school commencement ceremonies where students cross a stage and receive their diplomas.
Tensions were already high after the university canceled a planned commencement speech by the school’s pro-Palestinian valedictorian, who has advocated for Israel’s eradication, citing safety concerns.
“We understand that this is disappointing; however, we are adding many new activities and celebrations to make this commencement academically meaningful, memorable, and uniquely USC, including places to gather with family, friends, faculty, and staff, the celebratory releasing of the doves, and performances by the Trojan Marching Band,” the university says in a statement.
The Los Angeles Police Department said more than 90 people were arrested Wednesday night during a protest on the campus for alleged trespassing. One person was arrested for alleged assault with a deadly weapon.
IDF says Israeli troops to secure Gaza aid pier that US is constructing
US Army soldiers load an AC unit aboard the USAV Monterey at the pier of the Joint Base Langley-Eustis during a media preview of the 7th Transportation Brigade deployment in Hampton, Virginia, on March 12, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt / AFP)
After the Pentagon confirmed that the United States military had begun construction of a pier to boost deliveries of aid to the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army announces that it will provide security for the operation.
The IDF in a statement says it has approved “collaborative efforts” for the Joint Logistics Over The Shore project, known as JLOTS.
“The IDF will operate to provide security and logistics support for the JLOTS initiative, which includes the establishment of a temporary floating pier to deliver humanitarian aid from the sea into Gaza,” the military says.
“The IDF’s involvement in the JLOTS initiative is one of many humanitarian aid efforts, further demonstrating the IDF’s commitment to working with the international community to ensure the continuous entry of humanitarian aid to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip,” it adds in a statement.
Pentagon confirms US military has begun building Gaza aid pier
WASHINGTON — The United States military has begun construction of a pier to boost deliveries of desperately needed aid to Gaza, the Pentagon says.
“I can confirm that US military vessels… have begun to construct the initial stages of the temporary pier and causeway at sea,” Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder tells journalists.
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