Aug. 8: Hostage families say PM must ‘demonstrate leadership,’ finalize hostage deal

Hostage families: Government and PM must ‘demonstrate leadership,’ finalize hostage deal

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum responds to the joint statement from the United States, Egypt and Qatar calling on Israel and Hamas to attend negotiations next week in order to conclude a ceasefire-hostage deal “without further delay.”

The group thanks the countries’ leaders “for their commitment to the release of the 115 hostages who have already been in Hamas captivity for 308 days,” before appealing to the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “demonstrate leadership” and finalize a deal “for the return of all the hostages.”

US, Egypt and Qatar call on Israel and Hamas to finalize deal ‘without further delay’

The US, Egypt and Qatar are releasing a joint statement in which they say a deal to halt fighting in Gaza and free hostages is all but completed and should be finalized without delay.

“It is time to bring immediate relief both to the long-suffering people of Gaza as well as the long-suffering hostages and their families. The time has come to conclude the ceasefire and hostages and detainees release deal,” says the statement published by Qatari state media.

According to the statement, after working “tirelessly” for months, the mediators are ready to present Israel and Hamas with a final proposal, with only the details for implementing the agreement yet to be worked out.

“As mediators, if necessary, we are prepared to present a final bridging proposal that resolves the remaining implementation issues in a manner that meets the expectations of all parties,” says the statement, which is signed by US President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

They call on Israel and Hamas to restart talks in Cairo or Doha on Thursday in one week to seal the final details and begin implementing the deal “without further delay.”

There is no comment from Israel or Hamas.

According to what details are known, the sides are heading toward agreeing to a three-phase agreement that would begin with the release of some civilian hostages and the partial withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of Gaza.

United Airlines’ flights to Tel Aviv remain suspended

View of a United Airlines flight at Ben Gurion Airport on August 3, 2013. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)

United Airlines says it has suspended its flights to Tel Aviv for the foreseeable future and plans to resume them when it is safe for its customers and crew.

Many airlines globally are revising their schedules to avoid Iranian and Lebanese airspace while also calling off flights to Israel and Lebanon amid growing fears of a possible broader conflict in the region after the killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

Syria says four troops hurt in alleged Israeli strike

Syrian state media says four soldiers were wounded in an Israeli airstrike today in central Syria, citing a military statement.

The statement says the strike also caused “material losses.”

Earlier Syrian reports claimed that explosions were heard at the Shayrat Airbase in Homs.

Israel has not commented on the alleged strike.

ABC confirms Trump-Harris presidential debate on September 10

This combination of pictures created on July 22, 2024, shows US Vice President Kamala Harris and former US president Donald Trump. (Brendan Smialowski and Patrick T. Fallon/AFP)

ABC will host a presidential debate between Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris on September 10, the US television network confirms.

“Vice President Harris and former President Trump have both confirmed they will attend,” the network says.

Report: US warned Iran it will suffer devastating blow if it launches major attack on Israel

A woman walks past a huge billboard depicting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (R) and slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh at Tehran's Valiasr square on August 8, 2024. (AFP)

The US has warned Iran that it could suffer a devastating blow if it launches a major attack on Israel, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing an unnamed US official.

The warning has been conveyed to Tehran both directly and through intermediaries, the US official says without elaborating.

“The United States has sent clear messaging to Iran that the risk of a major escalation if they do a significant retaliatory attack against Israel is extremely high,” says the official to the WSJ.

“There is a serious risk of consequences for Iran’s economy and the stability of its newly elected government if it goes down that path,” the US official adds.

The message isn’t intended to be a threat, rather a warning regarding how Israel might respond, a US official tells the Journal.

Washington doesn’t have a clear understanding of the scope and timing of the Iranian response to Israel, though the latest intelligence suggests that it may occur over the weekend, if it happens, officials tell the WSJ.

The officials are also unsure whether Hezbollah will strike separately or at the same time as Iran.

“Last time we got more of a heads up, and this time people are making their best guesses,” says a third US official.

Trump: I had more people at January 6 rally than MLK did at his ‘I have a dream speech’

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump says he got a bigger crowd at his January 6 rally ahead of the Capitol insurrection than Martin Luther King Jr. did at his bigger crowds at his rallies than Martin Luther King did for his “I have a dream speech” at the same location in 1963.

Trump on his January 6 speech: "Nobody has spoken to crowds bigger than me. If you look at Martin Luther King when he did his speech, his great speech, and you look at ours … we had more." pic.twitter.com/i9DL82vuLg

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 8, 2024

Trump: Any Jew who votes for Harris and her new friend should have their head examined

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump reacts as he speaks to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump says that Jews or Israel supporters who vote for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and “her new friend” Tim Walz “should have [their] heads examined.”

Trump has said this several times about Jews who vote for Democratic candidates.

“She’s been very, very bad to Israel, and she’s been very bad to Jewish people,” Trump says at a press conference in Florida.

He reiterates his claim that October 7 wouldn’t have happened if he was president and that we’re currently on the verge of a third world war.

Trump also claims his support from Jewish voters are “way up.”

Syrian media reports explosions near Homs military airbase

Syrian media report explosions near the Shayrat Airbase in Homs.

Some reports attribute the blasts to an alleged Israeli airstrike.

No further details are immediately available.

Trump says he’s willing to debate Harris three times

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump says he is willing to debate his Democratic rival Kamala Harris three times in September on different networks during a news conference at his Palm Beach, Florida, residence.

Trump says he wants to hold debates on Sept. 4 on Fox, Sept. 10 on NBC and Sept. 25 on ABC. He does not offer specific terms, such as whether there would be an audience, and it is not immediately clear whether his campaign had made a proposal to Harris’s camp.

The conference is Trump’s first public appearance since Harris selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate on Tuesday.

Hundreds of right-wing activists hold protest prayer service in Tel Aviv over city ban on gender-segregated public prayer

Dancers hoist a man waving an Israeli flag in between midday and evening services during a protest prayer service at Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Square, August 8, 2024. (Noam Lehmann/Times of Israel)

Hundreds of right-wing activists attend midday and evening services at Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square to protest the municipality’s apparent ban on public prayers.

During the protest, which featured calls for revenge on Palestinians, a woman was pushed aside and told she was being a public disturbance for standing amid men during the protest prayer service.

The prayer was organized two days ago in response to the municipality’s apparent ban on gender-segregated prayers in public squares.

Right-wing news outlet Channel 14 published on Monday a letter dated August 4 in which the municipality’s deputy director general said the city would discontinue COVID-era guidelines regarding prayers in public spaces.

During a protest prayer at Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Square Thursday, a crowd dances, paraphrasing Judges 16:28 to ask God help them take revenge on "Palestine, may its name be expunged." pic.twitter.com/lii8yBH1hJ

— Noam Lehmann (@insomniacalpaca) August 8, 2024

“Accordingly, all requests [to hold] prayers/gatherings in plazas etc. are denied and such we cannot approve your request,” the letter stated.

Nearly 800 people joined a WhatsApp group set up the next day to organize today’s protest prayer service.

During the service, one protester walks around Dizengoff Square with a sign reading “straight to jail with the antisemite Huldai,” referring to Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai.

Dances break out between the midday and evening prayers.

A protester holds a sign reading ‘straight to jail with antisemite [Tel Aviv mayor] Ron Huldai’ at a protest prayer in Tel Aviv’s Diizengoff Square, August 8, 2024. (Noam Lehmann/Times of Israel)

Instead of “Philistines,” the far-right activists shout “Palestine,” adding, “may its name be expunged.”

Some of those present refuse to be interviewed, saying they will speak only to Channel 14.

Adi, a resident of Tel Aviv, says she was told to leave when standing among men during the prayer. “They said I’m a Muslim, that I’m not Jewish.”

Police took her aside, saying she was causing a public disturbance.

Shlomo, a reporter for ultra-Orthodox newspaper Mishpacha, says the prayer was held to promote national unity.

“The State of Israel is the home of the Jewish people at the end of the day,” he says. “The public can’t accept” a ban on Jewish prayer in public, he says, noting the municipality’s approval for the Pride Parade and an annual Muslim prayer at Charles Clore park.

Israel’s ‘Uvda’ news program nominated for International Emmy for interview with freed hostages

Itay and Maya Regev are interviewed on Channel 12's Uvda in December 2023. (Uvda)

Israel’s “Uvda” news program is nominated for an International Emmy award in the current affairs category for an in-depth interview special with two siblings who were freed from Hamas captivity.

The TV show receives a nod for its special, directed by Yoram Zak and airing in late December, about the captivity and recovery of brother and sister Maya and Itay Regev, who were kidnapped to Gaza from the Supernova music festival and freed as part of a truce deal six weeks later.

In the same category, Brazil’s GloboNews is nominated for a special about the “shock and the grief among Israelis” following the October 7 Hamas massacre, “as well as the impact of the attack on Palestinians in the West Bank.”

In the news category, both the UK’s Channel 4 news and Al Jazeera English are nominated for their coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.

Military court rejects appeal of five soldiers accused of raping Palestinian prisoner

A military court has rejected the appeal of five soldiers accused of raping a Palestinian security prisoner, ordering that they remain behind bars.

Dozens of far-right activists stage a protest outside the home of the IDF’s top lawyer, Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, who is heading the military prosecution of the suspects. Some of the participants are likening her to members of Hamas’s Nukhba force who carried out the October 7 onslaught.

Report: CENTCOM chief in Israel for second time this week to coordinate on potential Iran, Hezbollah attacks

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meets with United States CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael Kurilla at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, August 5, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

US Central Command chief Gen. Michael Kurilla visited Israel earlier today to advance cooperation between Israel and the US ahead of potential attacks by Iran and Hezbollah, Axios reports, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

This is Kurilla’s second visit this week.

Security cabinet convenes in underground command room at Tel Aviv military HQ

The security cabinet is meeting tonight in the IDF’s underground command room at the military headquarters, also known as “the pit,” Hebrew media reports.

This is the first time such a meeting has been held there since the night of April 13-14, when Iran launched a missile and drone attack at Israel.

Channel 12 clarifies that the meeting is not taking place in the pit due to security concerns, rather in order to drill for a potential emergency situation.

The IDF is preparing for the possibility that it will receive an order from the security cabinet to carry out a preemptive strike against Hezbollah, Channel 12 reports, without citing any sources.

Channel 13 says that the latest Israeli assessment is that Hezbollah will try and target a senior Israeli official in its response to Israel’s killing of senior commander Fuad Shukr.

Report: Sinwar interested in securing ceasefire before potential Israel-Iran escalation

Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas in Gaza, greets his supporters during a meeting with leaders of Palestinian factions at his office in Gaza City, April 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Citing unnamed “Hamas sources,” Channel 12 claims that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar passed along a message to leaders of the terror group outside of Gaza urging them to pursue a ceasefire with Israel and not to wait for the possibility of a major escalation between Israel and Iran.

Channel 12 claims that Sinwar doesn’t have particularly warm ties with Iran, anyway.

On the other hand, The Wall Street Journal reports that “When members of the group gathered to select a replacement [for Haniyeh], Sinwar — believed to be in hiding in a Gaza tunnel — interrupted the deliberations with a message: The new leader must be someone close to Iran.”

For its part, Channel 12 reports that Sinwar is facing significant pressure from his military commanders in Gaza.

Sinwar informed the Hamas leadership in Qatar that none of them are to interfere with the hostage talks other than his deputy Khalil al-Hayya and senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad, who left Gaza for Beirut shortly ahead of the war’s outbreak, Channel 12 claims.

Channel 12 also says that Sinwar is actually not happy about having been tapped by Hamas leaders to replace Ismail Haniyeh as politburo chief after the latter’s assassination on July 31.

The network explains that Sinwar feels the appointment was a trap, as he’s been given the title without the ability to carry out the duties since he is hiding underground in Gaza. Accordingly, this allows other deputies abroad who he’s not as close with — such as Zaher Jabarin — to become more dominant players within the terror group.

It should be noted that many news networks have purported to reveal what Sinwar has been thinking throughout the war, but his contact with the outside world has been heavily limited.

Haifa mayor: We’re readying for residents to be stuck in shelters for 4-6 days if Hezbollah attacks

Haifa mayor Yona Yahav tells Israel public broadcaster that Hezbollah’s arsenal “is not what it was in the Second Lebanon war. It’s very precise missiles, and they’re expected to fire 4,000 missiles at us each day.”

“That’s what we’re preparing [our citizens] for. In any case, we’re asking them to prepare enough food, enough water, because we’re expecting they’ll have to stay there [in shelters and safe areas] for four to six days,” he adds.

Iraqi forces arrest five people in connection to attack on US military base

An aerial file photo taken from a helicopter shows Ain al-Asad air base in the western Anbar desert, Iraq, December 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Iraqi security forces have arrested five people in connection with an attack this week at a military base in Iraq in which five US troops and two US contractors were wounded.

The arrests were announced by the Iraqi Security Media Cell, an official body responsible for disseminating security information.

“After in-depth legal investigations and listening to witnesses’ statements… five of those involved in this illegal act were arrested,” the Security Media Cell adds in a statement.

In Monday’s attack, two Katyusha rockets were fired at Ain al-Asad airbase in the west of the country. On Tuesday, Iraq’s military condemned what it called “reckless” actions against bases on its soil and said it had captured a truck with a rocket launcher.

The attack came as the Middle East braced for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies following last week’s killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

It was unclear whether the incident in Iraq was linked to threats by Iran to retaliate over the killing in Tehran of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Iraq is a rare ally of both the US and Iran. It hosts 2,500 US troops and has Iran-backed militias linked to its security forces. It has witnessed escalating tit-for-tat attacks since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in Gaza in October.

Iraq wants troops from the US-led military coalition to begin withdrawing in September and to formally end the coalition’s work by September 2025, Iraqi sources have said, with some US forces likely to remain in a newly negotiated advisory capacity.

UK maritime agency reports incident south of Yemen’s Mokha

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency says that it had received a report of an incident 45 nautical miles south of Yemen’s Mokha.

Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since last November in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and the Hamas terror group.

In rare missive to Lebanese people, Gallant warns IDF to fight Hezbollah ‘with all its might’ if terror group keeps escalating

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks with an officer on a tank at a military base, August 4, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issues an unusual missive to the Lebanese people, warning them Israel will fight Hezbollah “with all its might” if the terror group in Lebanon continues to escalate.

“The State of Israel wants peace, prosperity, and stability on both sides of the northern border and therefore will in no way allow the Hezbollah militia to destabilize the border and the region. If Hezbollah continues its aggression, Israel will fight it with all its might,” Gallant writes.

“Remember [Hassan] Nasrallah’s regret for the dangerous and uncalculated adventure of August 2006. Learn the lesson to avoid a dangerous adventure in August 2024,” he says.

“Those who play with fire should expect destruction,” Gallant adds.

رسالة وزير الأمن الإسرائيلي لأهل لبنان pic.twitter.com/qEZVSJOfb7

— יואב גלנט – Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) August 8, 2024

Israeli rhythmic gymnast Daria Atamanov advances to Olympic final

Israel's Daria Atamanov performs with the ribbon at the rhythmic gymnastics' individual all-around qualification during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, August 8, 2024. (Loic Venance/AFP)

Israeli rhythmic gymnast Daria Atamanov advances to tomorrow’s final in the women’s individual all-around competition at the 2024 Paris Gymnastics.

Atamanov, 18, finishes today’s qualifier in 7th place with an overall combined score of 130.450 points following her four routines in ball, hoop, ribbon and clubs. The gymnast performed her ribbon routine to Gad Elbaz’s “Shir Lemaalot.”

At tomorrow’s finals, the qualifying scores are wiped clean and each gymnast starts fresh in the four events.

“I’m really moved, all day my emotions have been all over the place,” Atamanov tells Israel’s Sports5 broadcaster just after her qualification. “I tried to give my maximum in every routine.” Now, she says, “I’m focused on tomorrow and I hope to do much better than today.”

Italy’s Meloni urges Iran to avoid escalation in Middle East during call with Pezeshkian

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrives for an informal EU leaders summit in Brussels, on June 17, 2024. (Nick Gammon/AFP)

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asks Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to avoid escalation in the Middle East during a call, her office says in a statement.

During the call, Meloni “emphasized the need to prevent the expansion of the ongoing conflict in Gaza, including with reference to Lebanon, urging her counterpart to avoid further escalation and to reopen the path to dialogue,” the Italian prime minister’s office says.

IDF says it carried out several strikes on Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon

Israeli fighter jets and drones carried out several strikes in southern Lebanon today, the military says.

The IDF says it struck a cell of operatives, a rocket launcher, buildings used by Hezbollah, and other infrastructure in Kafr Kila, Yarine, Rachaf, at-Tiri, and Houla.

Hezbollah meanwhile announces the death of a member killed in an Israeli strike today, bringing the terror group’s toll since October to 401.

מטוסי קרב וכלי טיס של חיל האוויר תקפו מוקדם יותר היום משגר, חוליית מחבלים, מבנים צבאיים ומספר תשתיות טרור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים כפר כילא, יארין, רשף, א-טירי וחולא שבדרום לבנון.

בהמשך להתרעות שהופעלו בגליל המערבי, זוהו כ-25 שיגורים שחצו משטח לבנון, אין נפגעים >> pic.twitter.com/4SogkBsClj

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 8, 2024

IDF reportedly launches new ground-op in Khan Younis after calling Palestinians to evacuate

Palestinian media report that the Israeli military has begun new ground operations in the Khan Younis area of the southern Gaza Strip.

The IDF this morning called on Palestinians to evacuate several eastern suburbs of Khan Younis, and head to the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone.

خانيونس. pic.twitter.com/OPeBaYhb32

— آلَآء (@alaa_shahwan99) August 8, 2024

US F-22s arrive to the region to counter threats from Iran, proxies

A US Air Force F-22 Raptor takes off from a South Korean air base in Gwangju, South Korea, on December 4, 2017. (Yonhap via AP)

The United States Central Command announces that US Air Force F-22 fighter jets arrived to CENTCOM’s area of responsibility today, “as part of US force posture changes in the region and to address threats posed by Iran and Iranian-backed groups.”

The US has been deploying fighter jets and other assets to the Middle East as tensions are high amid an anticipated Iranian and Hezbollah attack on Israel

U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors arrived in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility Aug. 8 as part of U.S. force posture changes in the region and to address threats posed by Iran and Iranian-backed groups. pic.twitter.com/jnZBZdLKpt

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) August 8, 2024

Olmert accuses Netanyahu of silencing dissenting voices in the security establishment

Former prime minister Ehud Olmert arrives for a court hearing related to the Netanyahu family lawsuit against him, at the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court on June 12, 2022. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Testifying before an independent civil commission of inquiry into the events of October 7, former premier Ehud Olmert accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of silencing dissenting voices within the security establishment, leading senior officials to hold off from informing him of unpleasant facts.

“For 15 years, there has been a concept that any senior security official who says something [critical] becomes a target for slander and censure by the prime minister himself and his entire entourage. An atmosphere was created in which people do not tell [him] the facts and their opinions to avoid sparking fights that would undermine their status and ability to act,” Olmert claims.

Olmert says one of Israel’s security chiefs told him that Netanyahu “discredits and belittles” him and that Olmert had to convince him not to resign.

Olmert also defends his own record as part of the government that implemented the 2005 disengagement from Gaza, stating that contrary to claims that the pullout “exposed us to security risks” and caused terrorism, Hamas was shooting rockets at Israel “even before the disengagement and continued firing after as well.”

However, he does admit to a missed opportunity to defeat Hamas during Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009.

“I ordered the army to prepare a plan through which we would enter the Gaza Strip and establish order there,” he says. “In the first phase, we talked about the occupation of the northern part and an attempt to purge Hamas elements followed by the cleaning up of the [Philadelphi Corridor] and Rafah axis. Those forces in the south would then connect with the troops occupying the northern half of Gaza in order to eliminate the rule of Hamas in the entire Strip.”

However, “what happened is that then-defense minister Ehud Barak thought there was a chance to reach an agreement with Hamas that would allow a ceasefire or a prolonged truce,” he continues.

“I asked the commanding general how long it would take us to capture the Philadelphi Corridor, and he said 48 hours. I asked how long for Rafah was and he said three weeks. I asked how many would be killed and he said 75. At the cabinet meeting, they presented different and more inflated figures.”

“It was clear that there was a situation here a month and a half before elections, with a prime minister who resigned and an entire security establishment who opposed military action,” Olmert says, arguing that he didn’t have the legitimacy to approve the more ambitious plan for occupying Gaza.

Gallant holds situational assessment with top security officials

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant holds an assessment with military and defense officials at the Operations Division's command room at the IDF HQ in Tel Aviv, August 8, 2024. (Shachar Yurman/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held an assessment earlier today at the Operations Division’s command room, his office says.

The meeting was attended by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Defense Ministry Director General Eyal Zamir, the deputy head of the Shin Bet, and other defense officials.

The assessment comes as Israel anticipates an attack by Iran and Hezbollah on the country.

PM tells settlement leaders government is working to stop sanctions against Israeli extremists

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with settlement leaders to discuss West Bank security, sanctions against extremists, August 8, 2024. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with heads of West Bank settlements earlier today to discuss the implications of the sanctions placed on individual settlers by the US and other Western countries in recent months, the Prime Minister’s Office says.

During the meeting, Netanyahu reassured the settlement leaders that the government is “working to stop” financial and immigration sanctions from being imposed against Israeli extremists in the West Bank, and stressed that the matter was being taken seriously.

“This is a matter for the entire State of Israel, and not just Judea and Samaria,” he said.”

The meeting also focused on the security situation in the West Bank, and on the IDF’s activities in the area, which aim to clamp down on terror threats against those who live there, the PMO adds.

IDF says it located, destroyed rocket launchers near Gaza’s largest fuel depot

This infographic released by the IDF on August 8, 2024, shows the location of rocket launchers found near a fuel facility in the southern Gaza Strip. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says it uncovered and destroyed several rocket launchers in the Gaza-Egypt border area, adjacent to the Gaza Strip’s largest fuel depot.

Troops of the 605th Combat Engineering Battalion demolished the launchers last night.

The IDF says that there was no harm to the fuel depot in the operation.

“Any damage to the facility, including rocket fire from these nearby launch pits, could endanger the lives of tens of thousands of Gazan citizens in the surrounding areas. This is a further example of the systematic abuse of civilian and humanitarian infrastructure by the terror organizations in Gaza,” the IDF says.

Shin Bet says Iran once again using fake social media accounts to try and recruit Israelis

These screenshots released by the Shin Bet on August 8, 2024, show fake social media profiles run by Iranian operatives. (Shin Bet)

The Shin Bet security agency reveals a new batch of fake social media accounts it says were used by Iranian intelligence services in attempts to recruit Israeli civilians to carry out various tasks in the country.

The Iranian intelligence operatives contacted Israelis on social media and tried to get them to carry out missions that would have harmed state security, the Shin Bet says.

The profiles uncovered by the agency include Telegram users, channels, and bot accounts with the following usernames: Itamar201020, Gal01110, Mariiyam1997, PAndersion198, hadas99, Ramon_nkl96, צבא העם (people’s army), VIP EMPLOYMENT, עבודה באזור י-ם והסביבה (work in Jerusalem and the area), and דרושים עובדים – חיפה (employees wanted – Haifa).

The agency says it also discovered in several of the groups posts by an account named IRAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE, which had offered “interesting and exciting” jobs with a high salary.

The posts included links where applicants were supposed to fill out personal details.

Several civilians who were contacted by the Iranian accounts contacted Israeli security authorities and reported the suspicious messages, the Shin Bet says.

The Shin Bet calls on the public to be vigilant online, refrain from handing over personal information to unknown accounts, and report any suspicious activity.

The plans recently uncovered by the Shin Bet are not the first instances of Iranian operatives trying to target Israelis via social media.

Yemen Houthi leader says group will coordinate with ‘Axis of Resistance’ on revenge for Israeli attacks

Armed Yemenis chant slogans during a demonstration denouncing the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on August 2, 2024. (Abdallah Adel/AFP)

Yemen’s Houthi rebels will coordinate with other members of the “Axis of Resistance” in any joint operation, the group’s leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi says, using the name that Iran and its regional allies use for groups aligned with Tehran.

He says any decision to respond to Israeli attacks would be made by the axis as a whole.

Last week, Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shukr was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut, and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in a blast in Tehran, allegedly by Israel. Earlier in July, Israel struck the Houthi-controlled Hodeidah port in Yemen after a Houthi drone strike killed a man in Tel Aviv.

Times of Israel staff contributed.

Israeli sailor Gal Zukerman finishes third in kite surfing semifinal, ending Olympic run

Gal Zukerman of Israel competes in women's kite race during the 2024 Summer Olympics, August 6, 2024, in Marseille, France. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Israeli sailor Gal Zukerman finishes the women’s kite surfing semifinal race in third place and fails to advance to the final, ending her Olympic run.

All of Israel’s sailing athletes have now completed their Olympic journeys. Israel won two sailing medals at the Paris Games — gold for Tom Reuveny in the men’s windsurfing and silver for Sharon Kantor in the women’s windsurfing. Overall Israel has five total Olympic sailing medals.

Another 8 rockets fired from Lebanon, falling in open areas; IDF shelling sources of fire

Another eight rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Western Galilee a short while, falling in open areas near the northern community of Shlomi, according to the IDF.

There are no injuries in the attacks.

The IDF says it is shelling the sources of fire with artillery.

In all, more than 23 rockets have been fired from Lebanon at the Western Galilee in the past half-hour.

Harris aide asserts she opposes Israel arms embargo after far-left activists claimed she might be open to discussing idea

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally on Aug. 7, 2024, in Romulus, Michigan. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

US Vice President Kamala Harris’s national security adviser Phil Gordon tweets that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee “does not support an arms embargo on Israel.”

Ahead of a campaign rally yesterday, Harris met briefly with the founders of the Uncommitted National Movement, which led a protest vote in the Democratic Party primaries over US President Joe Biden’s support for Israel in the war against Hamas.

The Uncommitted activists said afterward that Harris indicated willingness to hold a follow-up meeting to discuss their demand for an arms embargo against Israel.

The Harris campaign issued a statement pledging that Harris will “always work to ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups.” However, the statement did not explicitly deny her opposition to an arms embargo.

In an apparent effort to further clarify her position, Gordon tweets, “Vice President Harris has been clear: she will always ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups. She does not support an arms embargo on Israel. She will continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza and to uphold international humanitarian law.”

Smotrich: My comments on starving Gazans taken out of context; I don’t endorse the policy

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on July 10, 2023. (Maya Alleruzzo/AP)

Facing a chorus of condemnations from governments abroad and American Jewish organizations, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says his comments regarding the starvation of Gazans have been taken out of context and that he was not endorsing the idea.

“God forbid. This was not said in any way. I suggest that everyone watch the video from the conference [where I made the remarks]. They did not understand what I said. I am used to being demonized all over the world,” Smotrich tells the Kan public broadcaster.

“What I said is that we must allow in humanitarian aid because no one will let us starve Gazans, but what I also said is that morally we must [condition the entry of humanitarian aid on the return of our hostages, which is also a humanitarian issue],” Smotrich says.

“The hostages are languishing in the tunnels and we pamper the Gaza Strip [with aid]. In my eyes this is immoral and unjust.”

“I stand one hundred percent behind my statement. Some people want to take my words out of context, but I was very clear about what I said,” Smotrich adds.

Speaking at a conference on Monday, Smotrich said, “We bring in aid because there is no choice.”

“We can’t, in the current global reality, manage a war. Nobody will let us cause two million civilians to die of hunger, even though it might be justified and moral until our hostages are returned,” he continued. “Humanitarianism in exchange for humanitarianism is morally justified — but what can we do? We live today in a certain reality, we need international legitimacy for this war.”

Meanwhile, a White House National Security Council spokesperson joined the State Department in calling out Smotrich.

“We unequivocally condemn these appalling comments, and call on the Israeli government to do the same,” the NSC spokesperson tells The Times of Israel.

Norway summons Israeli envoy after diplomats dealing with Palestinians stripped of accreditation

Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide addresses a media conference prior to talks on the Middle East in Brussels, Monday, May 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Norway says it has summoned an Israeli embassy official to protest Israel’s decision to revoke the diplomatic status of Norwegian envoys to the Palestinian Authority.

“A short while ago, I summoned Israel’s representative to Norway and met her at the foreign ministry to protest against this decision. The Norwegian government is now evaluating what other measures we will take,” Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide tells a press conference.

Barrage of 15 rockets fired from Lebanon at Western Galilee — IDF

A barrage of some 15 rockets was fired from Lebanon at the Western Galilee a short while ago.

According to the IDF, the rockets all struck open areas near Kibbutz Kabri.

There are no reports of injuries.

Meanwhile, fresh sirens sound in several towns close to the Lebanon border, including Ya’ara, Shlomi, and Matzuva.

The IDF is also carrying out strikes in Lebanon amid the attacks.

Bucking AG, PM moves to adopt new procedure for appointing civil service commissioner

Left: Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara at her welcome ceremony in Jerusalem on February 8, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90). Right: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on January 11, 2023. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

The government is slated to approve a new procedure for appointing the civil service commissioner on Sunday, rejecting objections raised by the Attorney General’s Office in an aim to give the premier greater say over the process, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announces.

In a statement, the PMO says that Netanyahu “will bring his proposal to appoint the next civil service commissioner just as the defense minister appoints the IDF chief of staff — by way of an examination of the candidate by the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee to the Civil Service.”

In the case of the IDF chief of staff, the defense minister recommends a candidate to the prime minister who then presents them to the cabinet for approval, and then “is brought to the Advisory Committee on Public Appointments chaired by a retired judge, which examines the appointee’s fitness in terms of integrity only,” according to the Institute for National Security Studies.

The PMO’s announcement explicitly references a cabinet meeting held in June during which ministers assailed a deputy attorney general for insisting that — in keeping with current practice — the next civil service commissioner must be appointed through a committee, and rejecting the government’s request that the prime minister appoint the commissioner directly.

Their objections came after Gali Baharav-Miara wrote to Prime Minister Benjamin to state that the role, which involves supervising civil servants, must be approved by a search committee headed by a retired Supreme Court justice, citing a 2018 government decision that was made to ensure the position’s independence. However, the process is not enshrined in legislation and was recently rejected by the government.

Smotrich signs off on partial transfer of tax revenues to PA for second straight month

Finance Bezalel Smotrich speaks during a press conference in the southern city of Ofakim, July 24, 2024. (Liron Molodovan/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich signed off on the partial transfer of Palestinian tax revenues from the month of July, a spokesperson in his office tells The Times of Israel.

This is the second consecutive month in which the Palestinian Authority has received some of its tax revenues after Smotrich refused to make the transfers for several months, bringing Ramallah to the bring of financial collapse.

Israel collects taxes on goods that pass through Israel into the West Bank on behalf of the PA and is required under the Oslo Accords to transfer them to Ramallah on a monthly basis. The tax revenues make up some 70 percent of the PA’s annual income.

Since Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, Israel has refused to transfer the portion of the tax revenues that the PA uses to pay for services and employees in Gaza, claiming that the money could be seized by Hamas. These funds make up some 40% of the monthly transfers.

For several months, Israel agreed to transfer the Gaza portion to Norway, which was to hold on to the funds until Smotrich approved their release to the PA for non-Gaza purposes. That mechanism was abandoned by Israel, though, after Norway recognized the State of Palestine in May along with two other countries.

In addition to not handing over the Gaza portion of the funds, Smotrich also deducted around NIS 100 million ($26 million) over what he asserted was the PA’s incitement to terror, saying that the money would instead be given to the families of terror victims.

The monthly transfer amounted to roughly NIS 470 million ($124.20 million), nearly double the rate of recent months, an Israeli official said, explaining that the two months’ worth of tax revenue transfer that Smotrich approved gave a boost to the Palestinian economy, along with the announcement by the EU that it would be providing $435 million in emergency aid over a two-month period that is conditioned on implementation of a series of reforms, including a revamp of the PA’s controversial prisoner payment system, which is in its final stages.

Smotrich’s decision to sign off on the July transfer also came as Israel reached an agreement with the PA for Ramallah to pay off some NIS 2 billion in debt owed to the the Israel Electric Corporation. The PA has agreed to pay off the debt in monthly sums of NIS 50 million ($13.2 million).

Israel has come under fire from the international community for withholding the PA’s tax revenues, with the US pointing out that these are Palestinian funds that Israel has no legal right to be seizing.

Knesset panel advances bill that would create national vaccine database

A woman gets her flu vaccine shot on September 5, 2023. (Clalit)

The Knesset Health Committee approves a bill for final votes in the Knesset that would authorize the Health Ministry to establish a national database of vaccines received by all Israeli citizens.

“A national vaccination database is an important step to provide essential information to citizens and healthcare providers in Israel,” says Health Minister Uriel Buso, who approved the funding for the initiative, amounting to NIS 1 million ($260,000).

The database will be used only “for the benefit of public health, ensuring citizens’ privacy,” says a Health Ministry spokesperson. The ministry’s proposal will allow anyone vaccinated to view all their vaccines.

Court orders Rabbinate to announce chief rabbi election by end of September

Israel's Ashkenazi former chief rabbi David Lau, right, and Israel's Sephardi former chief rabbi Yitzhak Yosef attend an event at a ceremony in Jerusalem, June 30, 2023. (The Chief Rabbinate of Israel)

The High Court of Justice orders the Chief Rabbinate to announce an election for new chief rabbis by October in a ruling that offers a way around an impasse over women’s representation.

The ruling is the latest development in a months-long stalemate that has prevented the succession of the previous Ashkenazi and Sephardi chief rabbis since the end of their terms on July 1.

At the root of the standoff is the Chief Rabbinate’s refusal to honor previous court rulings that instruct it to consider appointing women to one of the categories of its electing assembly of 150 people.

The reason for the refusal is that this category is defined by law as reserved for “rabbis.” In the law’s context, that designation may apply also to women versed in Jewish law, the court ruled last year on a petition, but the rabbinate is refusing to call women rabbis as per the Orthodox interpretation of Jewish law, and is therefore declining to hold an election.

In its ruling, the court asserts that it’s still committed to its position that the category needs to be used to “diversify” the system, but also states that an election may be held legally without the disputed category altogether. Sources within the Rabbinate have said they are willing to scrap the category and hold an election with an assembly of 140 delegates instead of 150.

The Rabbinate’s election committee “will set a date for the election no later than September 30, 2024,” the ruling states.

Gallant tells Israelis: Continue with routine; we’re working to give sufficient warning of any attack

Defense Minster Yoav Gallant (left) meets with Home Front Command chief Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo (center) and Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Amir Baram for an assessment, August 8, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Speaking during an assessment at the IDF Home Front Command, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel is working to provide an adequate warning of Iran and Hezbollah’s expected attack on the country.

“The public’s resilience allows us to make the right operational decisions. In the face of the enemy’s attempt to sow fear, we must continue with routine life,” he says in remarks provided by his office.

“We work to give the public a sufficient warning in real time,” Gallant adds.

IDF says it struck Hamas command centers embedded within Gaza City schools; 12 reportedly killed

The IDF says it carried out airstrikes against Hamas command and control centers embedded within two schools in Gaza City a short while ago.

According to the IDF, Hamas operatives were gathered at the Abdel Fattah Hamoud and al-Zahraa schools, in Gaza City’s Daraj and Tuffah neighborhoods, when the strikes were carried out.

Palestinian media say that at least five were killed at the Abdel Fattah Hamoud School and another seven were killed at the al-Zahraa School.

“The school compounds were used as command and control centers for terrorists and commanders in the Hamas terror organization,” from which they planned and carried out attacks against troops in Gaza and against Israel, the military says.

To mitigate harm to civilians, the IDF says it carried out “many steps,” including using aerial surveillance, a “precision munition,” and other intelligence.

Tehran says Israel lacks the ‘capacity and the strength’ to start a war with Iran

A cleric stands next to a poster depicting slain Hamas terror group leader Ismail Haniyeh at Tehran's Palestine square on August 8, 2024 (Photo by AFP)

Israel committed a costly “strategic mistake” with its killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week, Iran’s acting foreign minister tells AFP in an interview.

“The act that the Zionists carried out in Tehran was a strategic mistake because it will cost them gravely,” Ali Bagheri says one day after attending an extraordinary session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah.

Although Israel has not commented on Haniyeh’s death, Iran has vowed to retaliate, setting the region on edge.

Bagheri accuses Israel of wanting “to expand tension, war and conflict to other countries,” while asserting it was not in a position to fight Iran.

“The Zionists are in no position to start a war against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he says.

“They neither have the capacity nor the strength.”

The meeting on Wednesday of foreign ministers from the 57-member OIC produced a declaration holding Israel “fully responsible” for the “heinous” killing of Haniyeh, the leader of the Hamas terror group, who lived in Qatar and was a major player in talks to release the Israeli hostages held by Hamas and halt the war in the Gaza Strip.

Times of Israel staff contributed.

Netanyahu: ‘Deeply’ sorry that October 7 occured; ‘independent’ investigation after the war

A man holds up a sign with an image depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's during a protest against his government and to call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas terror group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, March 30, 2024. (AP/Maya Alleruzzo)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is “deeply” sorry that the October 7 massacre occurred.

In an interview with Time magazine, Netanyahu is asked if he would apologize for the events of the day happening on his watch.

“Apologize?” he asks back. “Of course, of course. I am sorry, deeply, that something like this happened. And you always look back and you say, Could we have done things that would have prevented it?”

Netanyahu has not formally taken responsibility for the failures that led up to the Hamas assault on southern Israel, and has attempted to cast the blame on Israel’s security chiefs.

“I’ve said that following the end of the war, there’ll be an independent commission that will examine everything that happened before, and everybody will have to answer some tough questions, including me,” he tells Time.

Netanyahu to Time magazine: I’ll stay in office as long as I believe I can help lead Israel to a secure future

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the cover of Time magazine, August 2024.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to try and stay in office for as long as he can, telling Time magazine in an interview that: “I will stay in office as long as I believe I can help lead Israel to a future of security, enduring security and prosperity.”

He also tells the magazine: “I’d rather have bad press than a good obituary.”

The prime minister, who has not directly taken responsibility for the failure before and on October 7, is asked if he were in the opposition, what would he say about a leader who presided over Israel’s worst security failures staying in power?

“It depends what they do,” he says. “What do they do? Are they capable of leading the country in war? Can they lead it to victory? Can they assure that the postwar situation will be one of peace and security? If the answer is yes, they should stay in power.”

“In any case,” he says, “that’s the decision of the people.”

Time also publishes a full transcript of the interview.

He is asked in that transcript, “Looking back, was it a mistake to allow the Qataris to transfer money into Gaza?”

Says Netanyahu: “I don’t think it made that big a difference, because the main issue was the transfer of weapons and ammunition from the Sinai into Gaza. That’s what made them—it wasn’t so much a question of money. It was a question of availability, and that’s why I insist now on cutting off this supply route for the, uh, in the post-Hamas period, so you don’t have to resupply the resurgence of terror.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the cover of Time magazine, August 2024

His primary mistake, Time says he argued in the August 4 interview, was acceding to his Security Cabinet’s previous reluctance to wage full-on war. “Oct. 7 showed that those who said that Hamas was deterred were wrong,” he says. “If anything, I didn’t challenge enough the assumption that was common to all the security agencies.”

He is also asked, in the transcript: “Why didn’t you take out Hamas earlier? You could have gone all the way in 2014?”

Replies Netanyahu, “No I couldn’t… there wasn’t a consensus. There was, in fact, a consensus among the military that we shouldn’t do it. But more importantly, you can overrule the military, but you can’t, you can’t act in a vacuum. There was no public, no domestic support for such, for such an action. There was certainly no international support for such an action, and you need both in order to — or at least one of them in order to take such an action. I think that became evident right after the October 7th massacre.”

His interviewer Eric Cortellessa then asks: “Israel’s military and intelligence services warned that your judicial overhaul was dividing Israel, and that Hezbollah and Hamas saw it as weakening Israel’s deterrence. Why didn’t you listen to them?”

Replies the prime minister: “They actually made a point to say that that’s not the case in Gaza. They said that it might affect the community overall, other parts of the Middle East, but they were quite specific that it didn’t, didn’t affect Gaza. But the more important thing is, I think that what really affected them, if anything, was the idea of someone refusing to serve. The refusal to serve because of an internal political debate. I think that, if anything, that had an effect, as it turned out…”

Does he think Hamas and Hezbollah “saw this as an opening, the fact that your society was so ruptured and divided?” he is asked.

Answers Netanyahu: “I don’t think that was the key determinant. They’re determined to wipe us off the map anyway. It’s been Hamas’s position throughout, and the plans for this attack actually preceded the judicial reform by, let me check that, but I think it’s about a year.”

Presses Cortellessa: “President Trump told me you’ve been ‘rightfully criticized’ for October 7th. Is he wrong?

Netanyahu: “I won’t get into an argument, but I would say that—criticized for what?”

“That it happened on your watch.”

Netanyahu: “Well, you know, when it happens on your watch, I suspect that I felt the same thing that President Roosevelt felt after Pearl Harbor, and President George W. Bush felt after 9/11. It happens on your watch. You try to see how it could it have been prevented. But right now my responsibility is what? To win the war, to make sure it doesn’t happen again, to destroy Hamas’s military capabilities so it doesn’t happen.”

Israeli duo finish 7th in Olympic mixed dinghy event

Switzerland's duo Yves Mermod and Maja Siegenthaler and Israel's duo Nitai Hasson and Noa Lasry compete in the medal race of the mixed 470 double-handed dinghy event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games sailing competition at the Roucas-Blanc Marina in Marseille on August 8, 2024. (Photo by NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP)

Israeli sailing duo Nitai Hasson and Noa Lasry finish 7th overall in the mixed dinghy event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, following their 5th place finish in the medal race.

Later today, kitesurfer Gal Zukerman will compete in the semifinal of the women’s Kite Foil race, hoping to earn a spot in the final.

IDF calls on Gazans to evacuate new Khan Younis neighborhoods ahead of expected operation

The IDF renews its calls to Palestinians in the Khan Younis area of the southern Gaza Strip to evacuate to the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone.

In early July, the IDF ordered Palestinians in eastern Khan Younis to evacuate, before carrying out an operation there. The military has since withdrawn.

Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, publishes a list of the zones that need to be evacuated alongside the latest announcement, which include the Khan Younis suburbs of al-Qarara and Bani Suheila, the Abasan neighborhoods, the town of Khuza’a.

Adraee says that the IDF will “forcefully operate” against terror groups in the Khan Younis area.

Some 1.9 million Palestinians of the 2.3 million Gazan population are currently in the humanitarian zone, located in the al-Mawasi area on the Strip’s coast, western neighborhoods of Khan Younis, and central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah.

#عاجل ‼️ نداء الى كل السكان الذين لم يخلوا البلدات التالية: السلقا وحاراتها، القرارة وحاراتها، بني سهيلا وحاراتها، عبسان وحاراتها، خربة خزاعة وحاراتها واحياء الشيخ ناصر، مركز المدينة، السطر والمحطة.

⭕️تواصل حماس والمنظمات الإرهابية اطلاق القذائف الصاروخية من مناطقكم نحو دوله… pic.twitter.com/aI4FJoFtzl

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) August 8, 2024

Italy’s ITA Airways further extends halt of flights to Tel Aviv until Aug. 10

An ITA aircraft stands by on the tarmac before taking off from Linate airport, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Italy’s ITA Airways further extends a suspension of its flights to and from Tel Aviv until Aug. 10 “due to the geopolitical developments in the Middle East and to ensure the safety of its passengers and crews,” the company says.

On Tuesday, the airline had extended the interruption of its connections with the Israeli capital until Aug. 8, from a previous date of Aug. 6.

Iran defector loses to old friend and former taekwondo teammate at Paris Olympics

Iran's Nahid Kiyanichandeh, right, reacts at the end of a women's 57kg Taekwondo match against Bulgaria's Kimia Alizadeh Zenozi during the 2024 Summer Olympics, at the Grand Palais, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

One wore a veil, the other fought with her head bare.

Nahid Kiyani Chandeh and Kimia Alizadeh were once friends and roommates as part of the junior Iran taekwondo team. Now an entire world separates them.

They clashed Thursday at the Paris Olympics in the 57-kilogram division and Alizadeh, who defected from Iran, lost in her bid to win a gold medal for her new country, Bulgaria.

Kiyani Chandeh, the current world champion, came out on top of a very tense fight that was settled by a referee decision after the athletes, both 26, finished tied with seven points each in the decisive third round.

Alizadeh had a three-point lead in the decider with six seconds left, but Kiyani Chandeh leveled with a kick to the head and was handed the victory by superiority.

Alizadeh was the first Iranian female athlete ever to win an Olympic medal when she claimed bronze in Rio de Janeiro as an 18-year-old.

Her win catapulted her to fame, but she grew frustrated with life in Iran. As she announced she was leaving her country four years ago, she accused Iranian officials of sexism and criticized wearing the mandatory hijab headscarf.

At the time, she described herself as “one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran.”

Israel’s deficit balloons to 8.1% of GDP amid heavy war spending

Illustrative: New Israeli shekel bills, September 24, 2023. (Hadar Youavian/Flash90)

Israel’s fiscal deficit widens to 8.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or NIS 8.5 billion ($2.2 billion), in July over the prior 12 months, as the government continues to pour billions of shekels into funding the months-long war with Hamas and the heated conflict with Hezbollah, according to preliminary figures released by the Finance Ministry.

It marks the fourth month that the deficit is above the government target of 6.6% of national output set for 2024. Israel posted a budget deficit of 4.2% in 2023.

The deficit was 7.6% of GDP in June, 7.2% in May, and 7% in April, amid growing military and civilian spending.

In July, government expenditure amounted to NIS 49.4 billion, taking spending since the start of the year to about NIS 350 billion, an accumulative increase of 33% compared with the same period in 2023. War costs since the outbreak of the fighting triggered by the October 7 Hamas onslaught ballooned to NIS 88.4 billion.

“The increase is mainly due to high expenses for the defense and security system as well as for civil ministries because of the war in addition to rigid payments resulting from agreements,” the Finance Ministry notes in the report.

The July figures show that state revenues amounted to NIS 40.9 billion, up from NIS 39.1 billion during the same month last year. Total revenue from the beginning of the year amounted to about NIS 277.8 billion compared to NIS 269.4 billion in the corresponding period last year, marking an increase of about 3.1%.

Norway says Israeli diplomatic steps extreme, ‘will have consequences’

Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide addresses a media conference prior to talks on the Middle East in Brussels, Monday, May 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Norway’s foreign minister says that Israel’s decision to revoke the diplomatic status of Oslo’s envoys to the Palestinian Authority was an “extreme action” that would “have consequences.”

“Today’s decision will have consequences for our relationship with the Netanyahu government. We are considering what measures Norway will take to respond to the situation that the Netanyahu government has now created,” Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide says in a statement, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli drone strike reported on vehicle in southern Lebanon

Lebanese media report an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle between the southern Lebanon villages of Yarine and Jebbayn.

Causalities are reported in the attack.

السيارة المستهدفة بين #الجبين و #يارين pic.twitter.com/98C2etgxhI

— kataeb.org (@kataeb_Ar) August 8, 2024

Cops again question Hadera police commander on suspicion of obstruction of justice

The Department for Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) questions Hadera police chief Superintendent Amit Pollack under caution for a second time this week, this time on suspicion of obstruction of justice after he allegedly lied to investigators when he said his cellphone was broken.

Pollack was questioned under caution by DIPI earlier this week on suspicion of abuse of power, assault, and obstruction of justice over an incident in April when Pollack and other officers violently arrested several people, including senior citizens and IDF veterans, over a planned protest to be staged outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Caesarea.

DIPI says that Pollack had told its investigators that his phone was broken so he couldn’t give it to them for the investigation, but when DIPI conducted checks “in accordance with the law and subject to a court order” it transpired that “this claim was apparently incorrect.”

For this reason, DIPI officials arrived at Pollack’s home on Wednesday night to seize his phone.

A statement by Pollack’s lawyer on Wednesday night accused the DIPI officials of arriving at nine o’clock at night, disturbing his children and creating panic in the home.

DIPI rejects this claim, describing it as “baseless.”

A video published by Kan News on Wednesday showed an investigator requesting the phone from Pollack’s wife outside the home and asking her calmly to take the children inside so as not to create a scene.

תיעוד | חוקר מח"ש הגיע לביתו של מפקד תחנת חדרה והתעמת עם אשתו: "תעשו את זה בפני הילדים?" >>> https://t.co/s5jROixKpo@moyshis pic.twitter.com/5R6VKmxkum

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) August 8, 2024

Islamic State, al-Qaeda material found at 2nd suspect’s home in foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift shows

FILE - Taylor Swift performs at Wembley Stadium as part of her Eras Tour on Friday, June 21, 2024 in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)

Authorities found Islamic State group and al-Qaeda material at the home of the second and final suspect in a foiled plot to attack now-canceled Taylor Swift shows in Austria. No other suspects are being sought after the two were arrested, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner says in Vienna.

“The situation was serious, the situation is serious. But we can also say: A tragedy was prevented,” he says.

Austrian security authorities said the second suspect, a 17-year-old Austrian citizen with Turkish and Croatian roots, was arrested by special police forces near the stadium where the concerts were supposed to take place this week. A 19-year-old Austrian had also been arrested. The suspects’ names were not released in line with Austrian privacy rules.

Austrian security officials alleged the two young men wanted to commit an attack outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using knives or self-made explosives.

They tell reporters at a press conference in Vienna that the main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian with North Macedonian roots, fully confessed his attack plans. They said he was “clearly radicalized in the direction of the Islamic State and thinks it is right to kill infidels.”

The second suspect was employed a few days ago by a facility company providing services at the venue during the concerts. Investigators said they found extensive material related to the Islamic State group and al-Qaeda at his home.

The cancellations of three sold-out concerts this week devastated Swifties across the globe, many of whom had dropped thousands of euros on travel and lodging in Austria’s expensive capital city for the sold-out Eras Tour shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Ernst Happel Stadium, which sat empty Thursday morning aside from media filming outside.

Hamas says Gaza toll at 39,699

A woman in comforted outside Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis following an Israeli strike in the southern Gaza Strip on August 7, 2024 (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says the Palestinian death toll since the terror group launched its October 7 attack on Israel now stands at 39,699.

The figure cannot be independently verified and includes more than 15,000 Hamas gunmen Israel says it has killed in battle. Israel also says it killed some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.

Ben Gvir appears to call on Netanyahu to launch preemptive strikes

Israeli minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir attends a conference called 'Israel's return to the Temple Mount,' at the Knesset on July 24, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

Far-Right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir appears to call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch preemptive strikes.

“Mr. Prime Minister, Eshkol did not wait,” Ben Gvir posts on X, an apparent reference to former prime minister Levi Eshkol, who led Israel during the 1967 Six Day War.

Israel is bracing for Iran and the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah to respond to the assassinations of top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Israel has not claimed Haniyeh’s killing.

Air France extends suspension of Beirut flights until Aug. 11

An Air France Airbus A320 approaches for landing in Lisbon at sunrise, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

Air France has extended its suspension of flights between Paris and Beirut until August 11, it says.

The French airline has canceled all flights to Lebanon since July 29 and earlier this week extended that decision until August 8.

Israel’s Daria Atamanov in 6th after first routine in rhythmic gymnastics

Israel's Daria Atamanov performs with the ball in the rhythmic gymnastics' individual all-around qualification during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, August 8, 2024. (Gabriel BOUYS / AFP)

Israeli rhythmic gymnast Daria Atamanov performs her first of four routines in the qualifier for the women’s all-around competition at the 2024 Paris Gymnastics.

Atamanov, 18, is awarded 32.700 for her ball routine, placing her sixth so far out of the 18 who’ve performed so far. She will soon also perform the hoop, then later today the ribbon and then the clubs. The top 10 gymnasts following all four apparati will advance to tomorrow’s final.

Harris indicates she won’t be discussing Israel arms embargo with progressive supporters

Democratic presidential nominee US Vice President Kamala Harris greets supporters at a campaign rally Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, in Romulus, Mich. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

After a pair of far-left activists from the Uncommitted movement declared that US Vice President Kamala Harris had shown openness to meet with them to discuss an Israel arms embargo, Harris’s campaign issues a statement indicating that she won’t be doing so.

“Since October 7, the vice president has prioritized engaging with Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian community members and others regarding the war in Gaza,” says a statement from Harris’s campaign.

“In this brief engagement, she reaffirmed that her campaign will continue to engage with those communities.”

The vice president has been clear: she will always work to ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups. The Vice President is focused on securing the ceasefire and hostage deal currently on the table.”

“As she has said, it is time for this war to end in a way where: Israel is secure, hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinian civilians ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, and self-determination.”

Chemical substances found at home of Austrian Islamist suspected of planning attack on Taylor Swift concerts

Outside view of the Ernst Happel stadium in Vienna on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024 (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)

Austria’s intelligence chief says chemical substances were found at the house of a 19-year-old Austrian suspected of planning an attack on upcoming Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna.

Franz Ruf, the public security director at Austria’s Interior Ministry, says in an interview with public broadcaster ORF’s Oe1 program that following the arrest of two suspects earlier this week, investigators found chemical substances and technical devices at the 19-year-old suspect’s house.

Ruf said these are now being evaluated. Just a few weeks ago, the suspect had uploaded to an internet account an oath of allegiance to the current leader of the Islamic State group militia, he adds.

The cancellations devastated Swifties across the globe, many of whom had dropped thousands of euros on travel and lodging in Austria’s expensive capital city for the sold-out Eras Tour shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Ernst Happel Stadium, which sat empty Thursday morning aside from media filming outside.

Report: Police not probing far-right mob break-in to IDF bases

Right-wing Israelis demonstrate next to the Sde Teiman military base near Beersheba on July 29, 2024. (Menahem Kahana / AFP)

Police are not probing the recent break-in to two IDF bases by a far-right mob, a senior police official tells the Haaretz daily.

Last week, far-right lawmakers and activists breached the Sde Teiman base after nine soldiers were taken from there by Military Police for questioning for allegedly abusing a Palestinian detainee.

They then broke into the Beit Lid base, where the soldiers were taken for questioning.

The officer says police have made no arrests and have no intention of probing the incidents, as the IDF has not requested any investigation.

Police say they are waiting for the IDF to supply evidence of a crime.

However, a security official tells Haaretz that police have ample evidence, including films taken by officers at the scene.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has been accused of ordering police not to intervene in the base invasions.

Israel revokes accreditation for Norwegian diplomats dealing with Palestinian Authority

Representatives from Norway and the Palestinian Authority sign agreements in Ramallah on November 30, 2022. (Wafa)

Israel revokes the diplomatic accreditation of eight Norwegian diplomats based in Tel Aviv who dealt with the Palestinian Authority.

A Foreign Ministry statement says the move is in response to “a flurry of recent anti-Israel and unilateral steps taken the government of Norway,” including recognizing a Palestinian state and recent “severe comments by senior Norwegian officials.”

The Norwegian ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem and informed that the diplomats would have their accreditation revoked in seven days and their visas in three months.

Israel gave them the option to apply for new accreditation to the embassy in Israel.

“There is a price for anti-Israeli conduct. Instead of fighting Palestinian terrorism after October 7 and supporting Israel’s fight against the Iranian axis of evil — Norway chose to award the murderers and rapists of Hamas in the form of recognition of a Palestinian state,” says Foreign Minister Israel Katz.

Oslo also “joined the unfounded lawsuit against us at the ICC,” Katz says.

“Norway conducts a unilateral policy on the Palestinian issue – therefore I ordered the termination of any representation toward the Palestinian Authority on behalf of the Norwegian embassy in Israel. Those who attack us and conduct a unilateral policy against us will pay a price,” he says.

Quake with 7.1 magnitude hits western Japan, tsunami alerts issued

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 hits western Japan, triggering tsunami advisories for several regions in the southwestern Japanese islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, public broadcaster NHK reports.

Study finds Ukranian forces have advanced 10 kilometers into Russia

In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, a Russian soldier fires from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Ukrainian troops have advanced up to 10 kilometers (six miles) into Russia in possibly the most serious border incursion of the conflict, the Institute for the Study of War says.

Ukrainian forces stormed into Russia’s southwestern Kursk region on Tuesday morning, deploying around 1,000 troops and more than two dozen armored vehicles and tanks, according to the Russian army.

Kyiv has not officially commented on the operation.

Russia’s top general vowed yesterday to crush the incursion and push the Ukrainian fighters back to the border.

“Ukrainian forces have made confirmed advances up to 10 kilometers (six miles) into Russia’s Kursk Oblast amid continued mechanized offensive operations on Russian territory,” the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says in its latest update.

“The current confirmed extent and location of Ukrainian advances in Kursk Oblast indicate that Ukrainian forces have penetrated at least two Russian defensive lines and a stronghold,” it adds.

The advance has centered on the logistical hub of Sudzha, a town of around 5,000 inhabitants located eight kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

There have been scant updates from officials in Moscow.

IDF hits dozens of terror group targets in Gaza strikes over past day

IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip in a picture released for publication on August 8, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

Dozens of targets belonging to terror groups in the Gaza Strip were struck by the Israeli Air Force over the past day, the military says.

Among the targets was a rocket launching site in northern Gaza, used in a recent attack on southern Israel, according to the IDF.

Meanwhile, during operations in southern Gaza’s Rafah, the IDF says troops with the 162nd Division raided Hamas sites, killed gunmen in close-quarters combat, and demolished infrastructure belonging to terror groups, including a booby-trapped building in the Tel Sultan neighborhood.

In the Netzarim Corridor of central Gaza, the 252nd Division is also continuing operations. The IDF says reservists with the division’s Jerusalem Brigade directed an airstrike against an observation post in the area.

Responding to reports, IDF says no known incident of harm to Gaza aid worker in recent days

A bundle of humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip with the logo of World Central Kitchen (WCK) on a truck at the Kerem Shalom border crossing in southern Israel, on May 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

Responding to reports of the death of a member of the World Central Kitchen organization in the Gaza Strip, the IDF says that “according to a preliminary examination and the information emerging from the conversation with the WCK organization, there is no known incident of harm to an employee of the organization while working in the last few days.”

“The IDF examines each unusual incident individually,” the military adds in response to a query.

WCK said that Nadi Sallout was killed in the Deir al-Balah area, while apparently off duty. It did not assign blame for his death.

New Gaza hostage-ceasefire proposal could put an end to escalating Mideast tensions — Qatari report

Western officials have circulated a new Gaza ceasefire-hostage release proposal in the past four days that could put an end to escalating tensions in the region, according to a Qatari-owned media outlet.

The unsourced Al-Arabi Al-Jadid report says that Western and Arab officials close to both Israel and Iran have reviewed the proposal, which would potentially prevent both Tehran and its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, from launching threatened retaliation attacks on Israel.

The draft is said to include a ceasefire and Israel’s withdrawal of troops from Gaza to achieve a “sustainable calm,” along with a hostage and prisoner exchange and a framework for the reconstruction of the Strip.

American and Western efforts to prevent an escalation in the region after the assassinations last week of Hezbollah’s top military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran are driving progress, according to the report.

The report adds that Hamas’s promotion of Yahya Sinwar to lead the terror group’s politburo, replacing Haniyeh, could be a positive development in terms of coming to an agreement as he represents the “demands of the resistance.”

It echoes reports by The Washington Post and Politico in the past day citing officials as saying that Iran could be reconsidering its promised major attack amid diplomatic pressure.

IDF hits Hezbollah targets in overnight strikes

The Israel Defense Forces say that overnight jets attacked and destroyed several Hezbollah “terror infrastructure” sites in southern Lebanon.

The IDF publishes footage of the strikes.

במהלך הלילה מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו והשמידו מספר תשתיות טרור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים בינת ג׳בל, מג׳דל זון וא-דויר pic.twitter.com/C3XwNTOY72

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 8, 2024

Nagasaki mayor defends Israel snub at atomic bomb memorial

Nagasaki City Mayor Shiro Suzuki speaks to the media at the City Hall in Nagasaki on August 8, 2024, a day before the annual memorial to mark the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP)

Nagasaki’s mayor says it was “unfortunate” that US and British ambassadors have refused to attend a ceremony marking the 1945 atomic bombing of the Japanese city because Israel was snubbed.

But he defends the decision not to invite Israel to Friday’s annual event, repeating that it was “not political” but to avoid possible protests related to the Gaza conflict.

“It is unfortunate that they have communicated to us that their ambassadors are not able to attend,” Shiro Suzuki tells reporters.

“We made a comprehensive decision not for political reasons. We want to conduct a smooth ceremony in a peaceful and solemn environment.”

On August 9, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing 74,000 people including many who survived the explosion but died later from radiation exposure.

This came three days after the first nuclear bomb on Hiroshima that killed 140,000 people. Japan announced its surrender in World War II on August 15, 1945.

The United States, Britain, France, Italy and the European Union — plus reportedly Canada and Australia — are all sending diplomats below ambassador level to the ceremony.

Only the US and British embassies made an explicit link to Nagasaki’s decision not to invite Israel’s ambassador Gilad Cohen, although a source tells AFP that Italy’s move was also a direct consequence.

The British embassy says leaving out Israel created “an unfortunate and misleading equivalency with Russia and Belarus — the only other countries not invited to this year’s ceremony.”

A spokesperson for the French embassy called Suzuki’s decision “regrettable and questionable,” while the German mission criticized “placing Israel on the same level as Russia and Belarus.”

Cohen, who attended a similar memorial ceremony in Hiroshima on Tuesday without incident, said last week that the Nagasaki decision “sends a wrong message to the world.”

Report: Iran believed to be reconsidering attack on Israel

A man crosses a street as motorists drive past a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service in Tehran on April 19, 2024. (AFP)

Iran may be reconsidering launching a large-scale attack on Israel, US officials tell Politico.

The officials say that the Biden administration has been working with Middle East allies to press Tehran to rethink its plans.

Iran has been warned that a multi-pronged attack on Israel could lead to a direct confrontation between the two countries.

The officials also note that Iran has been urged to recalibrate its response to the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran given that it now seems likely he was killed in a covert operation with a bomb placed in his room and not in a direct missile strike, as originally believed. They also note that no Iranians were killed.

The officials say that they believe Iran will nevertheless respond, but it may be more measured and not immediately.

IDF demolishes West Bank home of Palestinian who carried out deadly Gan Yavne stabbing

The home of Palestinian terrorist Mamoun Faiz Muhammad Khalil after being destroyed by IDF troops in the West Bank town of Dura, August 8, 2024 (Courtesy)

Overnight, the IDF demolished the home of Mamoun Faiz Muhammad Khalil, a Palestinian terrorist who carried out a stabbing in the central town of Gan Yavne on March 31, killing an Israeli man and wounding others.

In the attack at a mall in Gan Yavne, 34-year-old Lidor Levi was killed and two others were seriously hurt. Khalil, 19, was shot dead by police.

IDF troops, including combat engineers, operated in the West Bank town of Dura overnight to demolish his home.

At the demolished home, the military left behind a poster reading: “Hamas = ISIS.”

As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks.

IDF: Top Hamas operative who directed West Bank terror killed in recent Gaza strike

A senior Hamas member in the Gaza Strip who was involved in directing attacks in the West Bank, was killed in a recent airstrike, the IDF announces.

According to the military, Nael Sakhel was targeted on July 24, and a few days later, it received intelligence that he was killed.

Sakhel had been a member of Hamas’s so-called West Bank headquarters for more than a decade, the IDF says. The Gaza Strip-based unit is charged with directing attacks on Israel from or within the West Bank.

According to the IDF, Sakhel was involved in funding and providing weapons to terror cells in the West Bank.

Sakhel had first been detained by Israel in 2003 and sentenced to life over involvement in a suicide bombing in Israel. He was then released and exiled to Gaza in a 2011 deal, in which Israel exchanged 1,027 terror convicts for captive soldier Gilad Shalit.

Australia’s Qantas scraps non-stop flight to London amid Mideast tensions

In this photo taken November 1, 2019, a Qantas Boeing 737-800 takes off from Sydney's Kingsford Smith airport in Sydney. (PETER PARKS / AFP)

SYDNEY — Australian airline Qantas scraps its non-stop Perth to London flight, saying the decision is being taken as a “precaution” due to tensions in the Middle East.

The flight, usually a non-stop 17-and-a-half hour journey, will now refuel in Singapore, allowing it to carry a full load of passengers on a route that avoids contested airspace.

It is the second time this year the airline has been forced to redirect flights due to unrest in the Middle East.

The return service — London to Perth — will continue to fly non-stop on a readjusted path due to prevailing winds.

Qantas joins other airlines including Lufthansa in redirecting flights from the area.

EU says 2024 ‘increasingly likely’ to be hottest on record as 13-month heat streak ends in July

It is “increasingly likely” 2024 will be the hottest year on record, despite July ending a 13-month streak of monthly temperature records, the EU’s climate monitor says.

Last month was both the second-warmest July and the second-warmest month globally in record books with average global temperature of 16.91 degrees Celsius — only 0.04C below July 2023, according to Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

Kamala Harris to anti-Israel hecklers: Pipe down unless ‘you want Trump to win’

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally on Aug. 7, 2024, in Romulus, Michigan. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Anti-Israel protesters chanting about “genocide” in Gaza attempt to interrupt Kamala Harris’ campaign speech outside Detroit.

“Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide, we won’t for genocide,” the group of demonstrators chants.

At first, Harris says to those trying to disrupt her, “I am here because I believe in democracy and everybody’s voice matters.”

“But I am speaking now,” she says, sparking cheers from most of the audience.

The chants against Israel over the war in Gaza sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack, which strikes at the heart of parts of suburban Detroit, such as Dearborn, continues until Harris’ tone changes.

“If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that,” she tells them sternly. “Otherwise, I’m speaking.”

It’s then that the majority of the audience picks her up, chanting: “We’re not going back! We’re not going back!”

Pro-Palestinian protesters were escorted out of Vice President Kamala Harris’ rally in Detroit, Michigan, after chanting in the middle of her speech, “Kamala, Kamala, you can’t hide. We won’t vote for genocide.” pic.twitter.com/1hR0yjj7I1

— Grady Trimble (@Grady_Trimble) August 8, 2024

US ‘appalled’ by Smotrich for suggesting starvation of Gazans could be justified

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a Religious Zionism faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, July 15, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

The Biden administration says it’s “appalled” by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s comments earlier this week suggesting that starving the entire population of Gaza could be justified in order to secure the release of the Israeli hostages.

“We are appalled by these comments and reiterate that this rhetoric is harmful and disturbing,” a State Department spokesperson says in a statement to The Times of Israel.

US President Joe Biden and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have repeatedly stressed “the need to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, remove any obstacles to the flow of aid and restore basic services for those in need,” the statement adds.

Speaking at a conference on Monday, Smotrich said, “We bring in aid because there is no choice.”

“We can’t, in the current global reality, manage a war. Nobody will let us cause two million civilians to die of hunger, even though it might be justified and moral until our hostages are returned,” he continued. “Humanitarianism in exchange for humanitarianism is morally justified — but what can we do? We live today in a certain reality, we need international legitimacy for this war.”

Hezbollah appears increasingly set to strike Israel ‘independent’ of Iran — report

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah speaks to his supporters through a screen, during a ceremony to commemorate the death of top commander Fuad Shukr, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike a week earlier, in Beirut, Lebanon, August 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Mustafa Jamalddine)

Hezbollah appears increasingly set to act against Israel “independent” of an expected Iranian response to the recent killing of two terror leaders, CNN reports, citing two sources familiar with intelligence on the matter.

One of the sources says Hezbollah is moving at a faster clip than Iran in readying an attack, which the Lebanese terror organization looks to launch in the coming days. According to the US news network, multiple officials say Iran seems to still be hashing out its retaliation plans, with one US military official quoted as saying Tehran has already made some — but not all — of the expected preparations for a large-scale attack against Israel.

The second source says that unlike Iran, Hezbollah can likely initiate an attack with few to no advanced signs as Lebanon border Israel. The source adds that it’s unclear how or if the Islamic Republic and its Lebanese proxy are cooperating on a potential attack, and that some officials believe they may not be on the same page about how to proceed.

World Central Kitchen says Palestinian staffer was killed near Gaza’s Deir al-Balah

The World Central Kitchen says a Palestinian staff member was killed in Gaza on Wednesday, four months after seven staffers were killed by Israeli strikes in an attack that drew widespread condemnation.

The WCK identifies the person as Nadi Sallout, saying in a post on X that he was “an integral member of our warehouse team from the early days of our response in Rafah and a humanitarian at his very core.”

The organization says it is still learning the details of the incident but that it believes he was off duty at the time. He was killed near Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, it adds, without assigning blame for his death.

Israeli airstrikes hit a convoy of aid vehicles traveling through Gaza on April 1, killing seven WCK staff, including citizens of the United States, Australia, Britain and Poland. The Israel Defense Forces later called the strikes “serious mistake, which stemmed from a serious failure,” and dismissed two senior officers and formally censured several others over the incident.

One of our Palestinian colleagues, Nadi Sallout, was killed tonight near Deir al-Balah, Gaza. He was an integral member of our warehouse team from the early days of our response in Rafah and a humanitarian at his very core. We are still learning the details of this tragedy, but… pic.twitter.com/XlBmenqYig

— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) August 7, 2024

Austrian chancellor says ‘tragedy prevented’ after serious threat to Taylor Swift concerts

The security situation surrounding a planned attack on Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna was very serious and a tragedy was averted, Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer says.

“Thanks to the intensive cooperation of our police and the newly established DSN with foreign services, the threat was identified early on, combated and a tragedy prevented,” Nehammer says in a post on social media platform X.

Home of Hadera police chief reportedly raided amid probe over violent arrests near PM’s home

The Department for Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) has conducted a search at the home of the head of the Hadera Police, Chief Superintendent Amit Pollak, and confiscated his phone, Hebrew media outlets report, in a move that sparks criticism from cabinet ministers.

Earlier this week, DIPI questioned Pollak under caution on suspicion of abuse of power, assault and obstruction of justice over an incident in April when he and other officers violently arrested several people, including pensioners and IDF veterans, who put a mock cardboard tank on a truck as part of a protest that was scheduled for that evening outside of Prime Minsiter Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Caesarea.

According to Ynet, Pollak’s lawyers say DIPI conducted the search at nine o’clock at night, waking up children in the house and causing panic, while accusing the unit of treating the Hadera police chief as “a member of an organized crime group and not a respected and outstanding police officer.”

DIPI says in response that the statement from Pollak’s lawyers isn’t accurate, but won’t further elaborate because the investigation is still underway.

Ynet reports further that DIPI searched for Pollak all day, but that he avoided them, leaving them no choice but to go to his home.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says in response that he fully backs Pollak, asserting his only sin was to “preserve public order and uphold the law,” adding “DIPI will not threaten police officers.”