Aug. 14: Mediators downplay Hamas refusal to join high-stakes Gaza talks set for Doha

Blinken holds calls with fellow mediators ahead of Doha summit

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held phone calls earlier today with top Qatari and Egyptian officials ahead of tomorrow’s summit in Doha, the State Department says.

In his call with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the two leaders agreed that “no party in the region should take actions that would undermine efforts to reach a deal,” according to the US readout.

The US, Egypt and Qatar have been the prime mediators in efforts to secure an agreement between Israel and Hamas halting fighting in Gaza and freeing hostages held in the enclave.

Hezbollah says two members killed in Israeli strike

The Hezbollah terror group announces the deaths of two members killed “on the road to Jerusalem,” its term for operatives slain in Israeli strikes.

The announcement comes after an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle carrying two Hezbollah operatives in Marjaayoun, and other attacks on the terror group’s sites in southern Lebanon today.

They are named as Muhammad Badreddine, from Harouf, and Hussein Chaito from at-Tiri, both in their late 20s.

Their deaths bring the terror group’s toll since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip to at least 410.

Arab official says Hamas will basically be at Doha talks, even if not at table

An Arab official speaking to The Times of Israel downplays Hamas’s refusal to attend Thursday’s hostage talk summit in Doha, explaining that the terror group has informed mediators that it is still willing to meet them immediately afterward.

The source notes that Hamas officials wouldn’t have been in the same room with the Israeli delegation anyway, as the sides have refused to hold direct negotiations.

“The format will effectively be the same as previous rounds of negotiations,” says the Arab official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Turkey trying to crank up global pressure on Israel, Erdogan tells Abbas

This handout photograph taken and released by the Turkish Presidential Press Service on August 14, 2024, shows Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, posing with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara. (Turkish Presidental Press Service / TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE / AFP)

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s office says he told visiting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Turkey will continue to support the Palestinian cause and push the international community to increase pressure on Israel.

The two leaders discussed recent developments and the steps to be taken for a lasting ceasefire and peace in Gaza, Erdogan’s office says in a post on X.

Erdogan condemned Israel’s war in Gaza, the statement says, accusing some Western countries of remaining silent on what he termed massacres in Gaza, which the president deemed “unacceptable,” his office says.

Erdogan also told Abbas that all countries, especially in the Muslim world, should step up efforts to ensure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

Abbas is set to address an extraordinary session of Turkey’s parliament on Thursday, which Erdogan compares to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the US Congress on July 25.

“We will show that Mr. Abbas has the right to speak in our parliament just as Netanyahu has the right to speak in the US Congress,” Erdogan told members of his ruling AK Party before meeting Abbas.

He said Turkey had also planned to invite Hamas head Ismail Haniyeh, before the terror leader was assassinated in Tehran.

No injuries after Kiryat Shmona targeted by Hezbollah rockets

Several rockets were fired at the Kiryat Shmona area after sirens sounded in the upper Galilee city and surrounding towns about an hour ago, the IDF says.

The rockets struck uninhabited areas and there are no reports of injuries, according to the army.

Hezbollah confirms launching the attack, saying it fired several Katyusha rockets at an army barracks.

It says the strike was carried out in response to an Israeli strike on the southern Lebanese town of Bilida that Lebanese authorities earlier said killed one person.

Israel says two Hezbollah terrorists killed in drone strike

The Israel Defense Forces confirms carrying out an airstrike in southern Lebanon’s Marjaayoun earlier this evening, which it says killed two Hezbollah operatives.

It says a drone carried out the strike, which hit a car the two Hezbollah operatives were traveling in.

The IDF confirms carrying out an airstrike in southern Lebanon's Marjaayoun earlier this evening, killing two Hezbollah operatives.

The strike was carried out by a drone.

Separately, fighter jets struck a building used by Hezbollah in Ayta ash-Shab, the IDF adds.

Meanwhile, a… https://t.co/ZvXXoNUU41 pic.twitter.com/ubJADQ6JPv

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) August 14, 2024

According to Lebanese authorities, two people were killed and four critically injured in the attack.

There is no comment from Hezbollah on the strike.

The IDF says fighter jets also hit a building used by Hezbollah in the southern Lebanese town of  Ayta ash-Shab.

White House: Hamas claim it will skip Doha talks may be posturing

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre suggests the Hamas terror group may be bluffing when it insists that it will not participate in talks set for Doha tomorrow aimed at ending fighting in Gaza and freeing hostages,

“There’s always political posturing. We see this all the time in advance of talks. That’s not new,” she says.

Jean-Pierre says the US expects the talks to go ahead as planned despite Hamas refusing to sign on, confirming that CIA Director Bill Burns and US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk will represent the United States at the talks.

“Tomorrow’s going to be an important day. We want to see a ceasefire. We want to see an end to this war, we want to see hostages come home, including American hostages, we want to see (an) increase of humanitarian aid going into Gaza,” she says. “And we believe the way to deescalate the tensions that we’re seeing in the Middle East is to get to this deal.”

Jean-Pierre refuses to comment on the US being potentially frustrated with additional Israel demands for a ceasefire, saying, “I’m not going to get into negotiations from here.”

Netanyahu demands Gantz pay back costs for March trip to meet Harris in US

Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's War Cabinet, arrives for a meeting with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP)

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is demanding that former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz pony up tens of thousands of shekels for a trip he took to the US in March on the state’s dime.

According to the PMO, Gantz’s trip to the US was “not approved, as required by the rules.”

“Before his flight, it was clarified to Gantz and his bureau that since this was a private trip, the Prime Minister’s Office will not cover the costs,” the statement reads.

The statement does not say how much the PMO is seeking from Gantz, but reports put it at NIS 70,000 ($18,000).

Gantz flew to the US in early March, holding meetings with US Vice President Kamala Harris, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, congressional lawmakers and others.

At the time, Netanyahu reportedly fumed over the trip, telling Gantz in a phone call that there is only one prime minister, according to a source close to the premier quoted then by the Ynet news site. According to the report, Netanyahu was unaware of the trip until days before.

In a response carried by Ynet today, Gantz’s office describes the trip as a “state visit with the highest importance by a sitting minister.”

“The prime minister and his people would do well to act to bring back our hostages and return northern residents home, at least with the same obsessive determination as it has chased after the outlay from Gantz’s trip,” the statement says.

A former military chief and defense minister, Gantz is Netanyahu’s main political rival in opinion polls. Gantz brought his National Unity party into the government after the October 7 attack by Palestinian terror group Hamas that triggered the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, but quit the government in June over disagreements on how the war and hostage talks were being managed.

Video posted online late Wednesday shows Gantz receiving extended applause from a large audience as he arrives for a concert performance in Caesarea, Netanyahu’s hometown.

דז'ה וו? בני גנץ הערב בקיסריה בהופעה של זהו זה. שימו לב איך מתקבל בקהל. pic.twitter.com/N9b5IrpO1i

— Yanir Cozin – יניר קוזין (@yanircozin) August 14, 2024

Rockets sirens sound in north after three said killed in Lebanon strikes

Sirens have sounded in Kiryat Shmona and surrounding areas in the Galilee panhandle warning of an incoming rocket attack.

The suspected attack comes hours after Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed three people according to authorities in Beirut, including two who died after an alleged drone strike on a vehicle in Marjaayoun.

According to the al-Arabiya news website, both people killed were members of Hezbollah.

There is no comment on either the Israeli strikes or suspected rocket launch from the military.

Saudi crown prince MBS reportedly fears he could be killed over Israel normalization

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a session on 'Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment' as part of the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, on September 9, 2023. (EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP)

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has told visiting US lawmakers that he is risking assassination by pursuing a normalization agreement with Israel, Politico reports.

The Saudi leader has discussed the threats he faces to explain why he must ensure that any deal includes a clear and irreversible path to a future Palestinian state, according to Politico, citing a former US official familiar with the discussions.

In one such meeting, he invoked former Egyptian leader Anwar Sadar who was assassinated in 1981 by Egyptian fundamentalists after striking a peace deal with Israel.

“The way he put it was, ‘Saudis care very deeply about this, and the street throughout the Middle East cares deeply about this, and my tenure as the keeper of the holy sites of Islam will not be secure if I don’t address what is the most pressing issue of justice in our region,'” one source familiar with the matter tells Politico.

It is unclear how recent this talk of assassinations is, given that the window for an Israel-Saudi normalization deal has all but shut in recent months, according to congressional sources.

The sources told The Times of Israel that any chance to reach a deal had ended in June amid the ongoing war in Gaza and the shrinking amount of floor time remaining in the Senate calendar that would be needed to ratify the US-Saudi bilateral component of a deal before the November presidential election.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected agreeing to a future Palestinian state, making any such deal a long shot.

Army says only 12 Haredi men out of 90 answered summons to enlist today

Ultra orthodox Jews clash with police during a protest against the military draft outside the Mihveh Alon military base in northern Israel, on August 14, 2024. (David Cohen/Flash90)

The IDF says that 12 Haredi men showed up at induction centers today out of 90 members of the ultra-Orthodox community summoned to complete screening processes ahead of enlistment.

The army says those who did not show up today will be called again to do so, and those who ignore multiple calls will be considered deserters and may be arrested.

The IDF is in the midst of sending out draft orders to 3,000 ultra-Orthodox men, after the High Court ruled that there was no longer any legal framework allowing the state to refrain from drafting Haredi yeshiva students into military service.

Haredi protesters gathered outside a base for new recruits earlier in the day to protest the draft. Police said 12 people were arrested as the demonstration turned violent.

New York county bans mask-wearing in public after anti-Israel protests

An anti-Israel protester wearing a Hamas headband gestures toward pro-Israel counter-protesters at Baruch College in New York City, June 6, 2024. (Luke Tress via JTA)

New York’s Nassau County, just east of New York City on Long Island, has officially banned wearing masks in public except for health or religious reasons, in a move seeking to crack down on violent protests by anti-Israel activists who cover their faces.

Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, calls it a “bill that protects the public” as he signs it into law.

The county’s Republican-controlled Legislature approved the ban on face coverings on August 5. According to legislator Howard Kopel, lawmakers were responding to “antisemitic incidents, often perpetrated by those in masks” since the Oct. 7 start of the Israel-Hamas war.

The newly signed law makes it a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine for anyone in Nassau to wear a face covering to hide their identity in public. It exempts people who wear masks “for health, safety, religious or cultural purposes, or for the peaceful celebration of a holiday or similar religious or cultural event for which masks or facial coverings are customarily worn.”

Susan Gottehrer, regional director of the New York Civil Liberties Union for Nassau, says in a statement that the law’s “so-called health and religious exceptions” will allow police officers “who are not medical or religious experts, but who do have a track record of racially-biased enforcement — to determine who needs a mask and who doesn’t, and who goes to jail.”

Government ordered to respond to petition against new acting head of TV authority

The High Court of Justice orders the government to respond to a petition demanding that its recent appointment of an acting chair for the Second Authority for Television and Radio, a key regulatory and licensing body for commercial broadcasting in Israel, be cancelled.

The petition, filed by the liberal Movement for Quality Government in Israel organization, argues that new acting chair Odelia Minnes does not meet the qualification criteria for the position established by the Law for Government Companies.

Minnes, nominated by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and approved in a cabinet vote earlier this month, has neither served in a management position of a large corporation for five years, served in a senior public post, or served in a senior position in the field of broadcasting.

The Movement for Quality Government also maintains that the manner in which the cabinet vote appointing Minnes was conducted violated numerous procedural rules, including bringing her candidacy to a vote without allowing professional officials and the Attorney General’s Office to evaluate her candidacy.

“We are witnessing an alarming trend in which the government systematically ignores the provisions of the law and the professional legal briefs of the legal advisors. The appointment of Dr. Minnes is just one example of this,” says Attorney Ariel Barzilai of the Movement for the Quality of Government.

The Movement for Governance and Democracy, a conservative group, insists however that the criteria for an acting chair are far less onerous than for a permanent chair and that the applicable law is not the Law for Government Companies but the Law for the Second Authority, which requires only that the acting chair be a member of the body’s governing council, which Minnes is.

High Court Justice Ofer Grosskopf orders the government to file its initial response by August 21.

At least two reported killed in alleged Israeli strike in Lebanon

Lebanon’s official National News Agency says at least two people were killed in an alleged Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in Marjaayoun.

Four others are critically injured in the attack, NNA reports.

None of the victims are named.

Lebanese media also report renewed Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon, including several strikes reported in the town of Ayta ash-Shaab.

There is no comment from the Israel Defense Forces.

US presses Israel to probe allegations troops using Gazans as human shields in explosive tests

US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel brands as “very disturbing” a recent report that the IDF has been using Palestinian civilians as guinea pigs to test for hidden explosives, sending them first into tunnels and buildings it fears might be booby-trapped.

“We would urge Israel to immediately and transparently investigate these allegations and hold any potential perpetrators accountable,” Patel says when asked about a Haaretz report that included the claim, which the Israel Defense Forces did not deny.

“Israel has a responsibility to comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law, but I also just want to stress that they are just reports at this point, and that is why we would encourage Israel to look into [these allegations],” he adds.

Israel reportedly draws up list of the 33 living hostages it insists be released in first stage of deal

An undated picture of four IDF surveillance soldiers held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, that was made public by their families on July 16, 2024. Behind them is a framed picture of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. From left: Liri Albag, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, and Karina Ariev. (Courtesy)

On the eve of talks in Doha aimed at finalizing a hostage-ceasefire agreement, Israel has reportedly drawn up a list of the names of the 33 living hostages it insists must be released in the first phase of a deal.

Channel 12 news says that amid speculation about Israel potentially accepting the release of only 18 living hostages in the first, six-week phase of the deal, and a further 15 bodies of hostages, Israel has in fact made clear that it is insisting on the release of 33 living hostages in that first phase.

Israel, it says, is “conveying a list” with the names of the 33 living hostages it wants freed in the first phase, all of whom meet the so-called humanitarian designation — covering women, children, the elderly and the sick — including female soldiers.

US officials said to call Gallant, Dermer, Deri to stress Gaza deal vital to avert escalation with Iran, Hezbollah

File - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convenes a meeting of the war cabinet in Tel Aviv, early morning on April 14, 2024. (Courtesy)

Ahead of tomorrow’s hostages-ceasefire negotiations in Doha, Biden administration officials have reportedly been on the phone with three Israeli political leaders — Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Shas leader Aryeh Deri — to stress the importance of finalizing a deal.

Channel 12 news, citing unnamed sources, says the calls to the three, all former members or observers in the now-defunct war cabinet, were made earlier today, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a series of meetings to prepare for the Doha talks.

The US officials highlighted the linkage between a deal and the capacity to avert escalation with Iran and Hezbollah, the TV report says.

In recent days, the report adds, the mediators have made efforts “to minimize the differences” between the sides, and today reached solutions to some of Netanyahu’s recent demands. Where no agreed solutions prove possible, it adds, the US and other mediators will offer their own bridging proposals — notably on the issue of northern Gaza, where the prime minister is demanding a mechanism to prevent the return of armed Hamas operatives.

The report says Israel’s negotiating team considers that Netanyahu has “slightly widened” their leeway in the talks.

The report says Israel and the mediators are unfazed that Hamas is saying it won’t be at the summit, and regards this stance as a tactic. Hamas representatives are in Doha in any case, and any finalized proposal will be conveyed to them.

It says the Doha talks are expected to last two days.

IDF says it hit Hezbollah rocket launchers primed for attack

Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon’s Houla that were primed for an attack on northern Israel, the IDF says.

The military says that jets also struck buildings used by Hezbollah in Rab al-Thalathine and Blida today.

במהלך היום מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו מבנים צבאיים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים רב א-תלתין ובליידא שבדרום לבנון, ומשגר שכוון לשטח מדינת ישראל ששימש את הארגון במרחב חולא שבדרום לבנון.

כמו כן, כוחות צה"ל תקפו מבנה צבאי של הארגון במרחב א-נקורה שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/egNYiyIZKH

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 14, 2024

Another building used by Hezbollah in Naqoura, just across from the Israeli border, was struck by ground troops, the IDF adds.

There is no mention of any action in Marjaayoun, where Lebanese media report an Israeli drone struck a vehicle.

Senior Hamas official says US unwilling to pressure Israel, no reason to join talks

Hamas political official Osama Hamdan speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday Aug. 13, 2024. (AP/Malak Harb)

A top Hamas official says the Palestinian group is losing faith in the United States’ ability to mediate a ceasefire in Gaza and will only participate in talks if they focus on implementing a proposal detailed by US President Joe Biden in May and endorsed internationally.

“We have informed the mediators that … any meeting should be based on talking about implementation mechanisms and setting deadlines rather than negotiating something new,” says Osama Hamdan, a member of Hamas’s politburo. “Otherwise, Hamas finds no reason to participate.”

The US referred to Biden’s outline as an Israeli proposal and Hamas agreed to it in principle, but Israel said that Biden’s speech was not entirely consistent with the proposal itself. Both sides later proposed changes, leading each to accuse the other of obstructing a deal.

Hamdan accuses Israel of not engaging in good faith and says the group does not believe the US can or will apply pressure on Israel to seal a deal.

Documents provided by Hamdan and confirmed as authentic show that at several points Hamas attempted to add additional guarantors to the talks, including Russia, Turkey and the United Nations, but Israel’s responses always included only the existing mediators, the US, Egypt and Qatar.

He claims Israel has “either sent a non-voting delegation [to the negotiations] or changed delegations from one round to another, so we would start again, or it has imposed new conditions.”

Hamdan acknowledges “some difficulties” and delays in communicating with new Hamas head Yahya Sinwar, who is believed to be hiding deep in the network of tunnels in the Gaza Strip. But Hamdan insists that this does not pose a major barrier to the negotiations.

Ex-PM Bennett: Israel’s political leaders and security chiefs have to go

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett speaks at an Israel Hayom conference, August 14, 2024 (Screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett tells a conference that Israel’s political and military leadership must be replaced.

“We need change. The leadership is not good — it does not have good values,” Bennett tells the Israel Hayom newspaper conference in Herzliya. “The leadership often puts personal interests ahead of the good of the state, or the good of a sector above the good of the state,” he says.

Apparently referring to public comments by coalition members, he adds, “Or it insistently ignores the rest of the world and declares, ‘We’ll bomb here’ or ‘We’ll drop an atom bomb on Gaza.’ It’s childish and irresponsible behavior.”

“It will happen in the State of Israel,” Bennett goes on. “I have come to the conclusion that it must be done. The leadership must be changed… the political leadership and, honestly, the security leadership too.”

“These are people I love but they too have to be changed,” he says to applause.

In an interview published earlier today by The New York Times, Bennett made similar remarks, stating, “All the senior leadership of Israel, political and military, needs to be replaced.”

His interviewer, columnist Bret Stephens, wrote that Bennett left him “with little doubt that he’s on the verge of getting back in [to Israeli politics], with the aim of toppling the ruling coalition through parliamentary maneuvers this year and going for elections.”

IDF head says troops can keep eye on Gaza-Egypt border even if redeployed

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi speaks to troops at a Hamas tunnel uncovered in the Egypt-Gaza border area, August 14, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Visiting troops securing the Gaza-Egypt border area, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says the military can continue to operate against Hamas even if it is required to leave the so-called Philadelphi Route under a hostage deal with the terror group.

Halevi indicates that even if redeployed, soldiers will continue to have eyes on the border area, seen as a key smuggling route, and troops will carry out pin-point incursions when needed.

The decision on moving troops, he adds, is up to the political leadership.

“If it decides that we’re staying in Philadelphi, we’ll know how to stay there and stay strong. If it decides that we must monitor [the area] and carry out raids whenever we have an indication, we will know how to do it,” he adds.

A view of the Philadelphi Corridor, the Egypt-Gaza border area in Rafah, on June 18, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

Halevi says that holding the Philadelphi Route, which Israel says Hamas uses to smuggle arms from Egypt into Gaza, is “an important thing, because it deals with [Hamas’s] force build-up.”

“Hamas should know that every day it holds our hostages, it will be more bitter for it than the previous day. We will act [against Hamas] even harder until we manage to return the hostages, and after that we will not allow Hamas to even raise its head,” he says.

Hebrew media highlight report of major cyberattack on Iranian banking system; no confirmation

File: A woman uses an ATM machine at a branch of the Bank Melli Iran, at the Grand Bazaar of Tehran, Iran, June 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Three hours after the London-based Iran International reported a massive cyberattack targeting Iran’s central bank and other Iranian banks, there is as yet no additional source describing the attack and no comment from Iran.

The report by the anti-regime outlet, which alleges widespread disruption to the Iranian banking system and says the attack “could be one of the largest cyberattacks ever against Iranian state infrastructure,” is being prominently highlighted in Hebrew media.

Babak Itzhaki, Iran International’s Israel correspondent, tells Israel’s Channel 12 that the Iranian regime has been trying to cover up the attack for several hours. He claims hackers have obtained bank details and credit card details of millions of Iranians.

Noting that there is no official response from Iran to the report to date, he says he anticipates a denial by the regime.

PMO confirms Netanyahu aide Falk to join Doha talks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirms that senior political adviser Ophir Falk will be part of a delegation to talks in Doha aimed at freeing hostages and halting fighting in Gaza.

Falk will attend the talks alongside Mossad chief David Barnea, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar and IDF Maj. Gen. (Res.) Nitzan Alon, the Prime Minister’s Office says in a statement.

News reports after Falk was dispatched to a round of negotiations in July described him as Netanyahu’s eyes and ears at the talks.

“Israel will send the negotiations team on the agreed upon date, that’s tomorrow August 15th, in order to finalize the details of the implementation of the framework agreement,” government spokesperson David Mencer says in a briefing.

According to the PMO, Netanyahu held three separate “in-depth” meetings over seven hours in Tel Aviv today to discuss the talks.

In Hebrew and Arabic, prominent rabbis back ban on Jews praying, visiting Temple Mount

Jewish men pray in the Old City of Jerusalem, next to one of the gates to the Temple Mount, during Tisha B'Av, August 13, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Five prominent Jerusalem-based rabbis have issued messages reiterating the Chief Rabbinate of Israel’s prohibition on visits to the Temple Mount by Jews, following visits by Jews to the Temple Mount at the encouragement of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the previous chief Sephardic rabbi of Israel, appears in the videotaped rebuke, alongside Rabbis Avigdor Nebenzahl, Shmuel Betzalel, Simcha Rabinowitz and David Cohen, highlighting tensions over the issue between nationalist and ultra-Orthodox factions within the government coalition.

Rabbis have long proscribed visits to the Temple Mount, where Jews believe their two ancient Temples once stood, due to concerns of treading on holy ground while ritually impure. The rabbinic ruling dovetails with a status quo arrangement championed by Muslims under which Jewish access is often restricted and prayers are forbidden.

“Don’t view the ministers in question as representing the People of Israel. They don’t,” Yosef says in the video. Addressing “the nations of the world,” he adds: “Please temper the spirits. We all believe in one God, want peace between the nations. We mustn’t let radical fringes lead us.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visits the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, during Tisha B’Av, August 13, 2024. (Otzma Yehudit)

The calls are aired with Arabic-language subtitles on the website PANet, which focuses on the Arabic-speaking minority of Israel, amid worries that the visits could exacerbate tensions between Jews and Muslims. It follows Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion’s request that the rabbis speak out against the visits, Ynet reports.

Many Muslims object to prayers and even visits by Jews to the Temple Mount, which is a holy site for both Judaism and Islam. In recent years, authorities have allowed a growing number of visits by Jews, which were once rare and now number thousands annually. The issue is widely seen as volatile and at risk of sparking violence.

Nationalists, including the far-right Ben Gvir, argue that Israel should flex its sovereignty over the site by expanding Jewish access and prayer, dismissing the rabbinical objections as politically expedient.

In a video of Ben Gvir visiting the site Tuesday, he says that “great progress” toward “governance and sovereignty” has been made, adding: “Our policy is to enable Jewish prayer.”

Jewish worshipers are seen prostrating themselves while praying at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, August 13, 2024 (Video screenshot)

Videos shared on social media on Tuesday, which marked the traditional anniversary of the temples’ destructions, showed groups of Jews singing the Israeli national anthem inside the compound. Some carried the Israeli flag and others prayed at the edge of the holy site.

Hamas to skip Doha talks, but open to meet mediators afterward

Hamas says it will not take part in a new round of Gaza ceasefire talks slated for tomorrow in Qatar, but mediators expect to consult with the Palestinian terror group afterward.

“Going to new negotiations allows the occupation to impose new conditions and employ the maze of negotiation to conduct more massacres,” Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri tells Reuters.

“Hamas is committed to the proposal presented to it on July 2, which is based on the UN Security Council resolution and the Biden speech and the movement is prepared to immediately begin discussion over a mechanism to implement it,” said Abu Zuhri.

Hamas’s absence from the talks, however, does not eliminate the chances of progress since its chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya is based in Doha and the group has open channels with Egypt and Qatar.

A source familiar with the matter says Hamas wants the mediators to come back to them with a “serious response” from Israel. If that happens, the group says, it will meet with mediators after the Thursday session. An official briefed on the talks process says mediators expect to consult with Hamas.

Netanyahu confirms sending team to Doha talks, approving mandate

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirms that he has approved an Israeli delegation to the Qatari capital of Doha for talks aimed at a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza.

The statement notes that Netanyahu has also approved “the mandate for conducting the negotiations.”

The statement does not detail who will participate in the talks for the Israeli team.

Earlier, Channel 12 reported the delegation would be led by Mossad chief David Barnea, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar and IDF Maj. Gen. (Res.) Nitzan Alon.

Army Radio reports that senior Netanyahu adviser Ophir Falk will also travel to Doha with the team.

After Falk joined talks in July, reports claimed that Netanyahu had sent him to “supervise” Barnea, underlining distrust between the Israeli negotiators and the premier in Jerusalem.

Tensions have largely emerged around constant lobbying by the Israeli team for Jerusalem to expand its mandate to make concessions in order to clinch a deal. In comments published by Channel 12 news last week, one negotiator reportedly said the Doha talks would be doomed if they are not given expanded guidelines.

Four troops hurt by roadside bomb during West Bank raid

Four IDF soldiers were wounded in this morning’s counter-terrorism operation in the northern West Bank city of Tubas after their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb, the military says.

Two soldiers who had been in the David light armored vehicle at the time of the attack were listed in moderate condition, and another two soldiers were lightly hurt.

The 12-hour operation in Tubas, the nearby town of Tamun and the Far’a camp wrapped up earlier today.

Amid the operation, five Palestinian gunmen were killed, including four in a drone strike, according to the military and Palestinian media.

According to the IDF, a “senior” member of a terror group in the area, who was wanted by Israel, was killed in an exchange of fire with troops.

Hamas identified one of the gunmen as a member of the terror group.

The military says it also seized five M-16 assault rifles and one makeshift submachine gun, along with other weapons, including explosive devices.

Three wanted Palestinians were also detained, the IDF adds.

Mosquitoes with West Nile collared in Tel Aviv area

The Environmental Protection Ministry reports that mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus were captured in Tel Aviv, Ramat Hasharon, the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council in the Jerusalem foothills and the Yoav Regional Council southeast of Tel Aviv.

The ministry instructs all authorities to further expand their monitoring and extermination efforts, both in urban areas and in uninhabited regions.

It asks the public to take steps to protect themselves from mosquito bites.

Berlin condemns Temple Mount visits, says status quo under jeopardy

Germany joins international condemnation of a visit by two Israeli ministers to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, saying it expects the Israeli government to halt deliberate provocations at the flashpoint holy site, known to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

“We reject unilateral steps that jeopardize the historical status quo of the holy sites in Jerusalem,” the Foreign Ministry in Berlin posts on social media platform X, a day after National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and fellow minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf visited the compound and claimed Jews could pray there, despite a status quo arrangement prohibiting Jewish services at the site.

“We expect the Israeli government to stop such deliberate provocations,” the statement adds, warning that the actions could set the region in flames.

Mossad, Shin Bet heads to lead Israeli team in Doha talks — report

Mossad head David Barnea, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and military envoy Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon will be dispatched by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow for talks aimed at reaching a truce and hostage release in Gaza, Channel 12 news reports.

A US source familiar with the negotiations says CIA director William Burns is scheduled to take part in the talks.

However it remains unclear if Hamas will participate.

The talks will be held in the Qatari capital of Doha, according to a source close to Hamas and a second source close to the talks.

Rockets slam into Kiryat Shmona without warning

Two rockets launched from Lebanon struck the northern city of Kiryat Shmona a short while ago, causing damage, the municipality says.

A spokesman for the city says no sirens sounded before the rockets impacted.

עיריית קריית שמונה מסרה כי "זוהו שתי נפילות בעיר, ללא אזעקות. נגרם נזק". צוותי מד"א יצאו לסריקות בסביבת העיר. לא דווח על נפגעים. pic.twitter.com/R6jihgnRKH

— חדשות המוקד (@hamoked_il) August 14, 2024

No injuries are reported in the attack, which is claimed by Hezbollah.

Sirens sounded in Kiryat Shmona and nearby towns nearly an hour ago, during which one rocket fired from Lebanon was intercepted by air defenses, according to the IDF.

After newborn Gaza twins allegedly killed in strike, IDF says it does not target civilians

A relative mourns 4-day-old twins allegedly killed in an Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, as he holds their birth certificates, at a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The IDF says it has no information regarding reports from the Gaza Strip that a Palestinian man’s twin newborns and wife were killed by Israeli shelling.

Joumana Arafa, a pharmacist, had given birth by Cesarean section over the weekend and announced the twins’ arrival on Facebook.

On Tuesday, her husband Mohammad Abu Al-Qumsan went to register the births at a local government office. While he was there, neighbors called to say the home where he was sheltering, near central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, had been bombed.

Along with his wife and newborns — a boy, Asser, and a girl, Ayssel — the alleged strike also killed the twins’ maternal grandmother.

In response to a query on the incident, the Israeli military says that “the details of the incident as published are currently not known to the IDF.”

Mohammad Abu Al-Qumsan (center), prays next to the bodies of his 4-day-old twin children, killed in the Gaza Strip, at a hospital in Deir al-Balah, August 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

“The IDF is fighting the murderous Hamas terror organization in Gaza after the massacre on October 7. Unlike the Hamas terror organization, the IDF operates against military targets only and employs various measures to reduce harm to civilians,” the military adds.

AP contributed to this report.

US, UK and German envoys in Tel Aviv join families to push for swift hostage deal

From left, British Ambassador to Israel Simon Walters, American Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew and German Ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert hold a press conference at the Hostages and Missing Families Forum's Tel Aviv headquarters on August 14, 2024. (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)

The US, British and German ambassadors to Israel say at a press conference that Israel and Hamas must reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza soon, as there might not be other opportunities to win the freedom of hostages held in the Palestinian enclave since October 7.

US Ambassador Jack Lew, German Ambassador Steffen Seibert and British Ambassador Simon Walters make the comments at a special press conference at the Hostages and Missing Families Forum’s Tel Aviv headquarters.

Lew tells reporters that the three ambassadors have made common cause in freeing their own countries’ hostages as well as those who are citizens of other nations — adding that it remains a high priority of the Biden administration to reach a ceasefire-hostage release deal.

“We also need to reach a diplomatic solution in the north. The meeting tomorrow is very important, it needs to bring a solution. We don’t know how many more opportunities we will have to reunite hostages with their families and have a doorway to stability in the area,” he says, stressing that there is no time to lose and that the United States calls on “all parties to reach a deal now.”

Seibert says this week is “potentially decisive” for the fate of the hostages ahead of a summit meant to clinch a deal scheduled for tomorrow, likely in Doha, Qatar.

The “eyes of millions” are pinned on tomorrow’s talks, which would open up the possibility of finding a political solution to the fighting in the north and allow tens of thousands of displaced Israelis to return home,” he says, adding that “the Hamas terrorists could have and should have returned the hostages a long time ago.”

Switching to Hebrew, Seibert speaks about the unimaginable suffering of the families of the hostages, calling their experience “unbearable” and calling on all parties, including Iran, to refrain from actions that would jeopardize the talks.

He includes National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit to the Temple Mount yesterday, which he calls a “provocation.”

Walters tells reporters in Tel Aviv that his country welcomes efforts to secure a hostage deal, stating that “there cannot be further delay.”

“15 of August is the time to achieve a deal. We urge Iran to refrain from hurting the effort and they will pay a price if they will harm the process,” he says.

The conference comes days after US President Joe Biden spoke to the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, and the UK to discuss de-escalating tensions in the Middle East and reaching a ceasefire in Gaza. The five leaders then issued a joint statement that endorsed a call from the United States, Qatar, and Egypt to renew talks for a hostage-truce deal as soon as possible.

Municipal boundaries announced for first new West Bank settlement since 2017

Illustrative: A crane lowers a caravan to the ground in a new settlement meant to resettle the evacuees of the illegal Netiv Ha'avot outpost in the Etzion bloc in the West Bank, on May 9, 2018. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)

The municipal boundaries for the first West Bank settlement to be formally established by the government from scratch since 2017 are announced, allotting the new Nahal Heletz settlement some 148 acres of land southwest of Jerusalem next to Bethlehem.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who advanced the establishment of the settlement, says it will help connect Jerusalem to the Etzion settlement bloc, and says he will continue to “fight against” a Palestinian state by “establishing facts on the ground.”

“Connecting Gush Etzion and Jerusalem by establishing a new settlement is an historic moment,” says Smotrich.

“No anti-Israelism or anti-Zionism will stop the continued development of the settlements. We will continue to fight the dangerous idea of a Palestinian state, and establish facts on the ground. This is my life’s mission.”

The establishment of Nahal Heletz was formally approved by the government in June this year along with the retroactive legalization of four illegal outposts.

Zoning plans and construction permits will still need to be obtained before construction on the new settlement can begin, a process that typically takes several years.

Peace Now, which campaigns against the settlements, concurs with Smotrich that Nahal Heletz is deliberately designed to interrupt Palestinian territorial contiguity and constitutes another step in what it says is Israel’s “de facto annexation” of the West Bank.

The West Bank village of Battir, one of the last farming villages to use irrigation systems from Roman times (photo credit: AP/Sebastian Scheiner)

The organization also notes that the new settlement will be built on land it says belongs to Battir, home to ancient hillside agricultural terraces that have been designated a world heritage site by UNESCO.

“The settlement that will be established will be an enclave in a Palestinian zone, and will bring about friction and security challenges,” says Peace Now.

Lapid: Israel heading for economic disaster, Netanyahu and Smotrich are lying to the public

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid leads a Yesh Atid faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on July 15, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Opposition leader Yair Lapid warns in remarks delivered at a Yesh Atid faction meeting that Israel is heading for an economic disaster at the hands of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

“The finance minister and prime minister both issued statements yesterday in which they said that the lowering of Israel’s credit rating is a result of the war,” Lapid says, referring to the decision by Fitch to downgrade Israel’s rating from A+ to A. “That is a lie. Both of them are lying to the public.”

“Already by last July, months before the war, rating companies issued a negative forecast for the Israeli economy, and said that if the reckless mismanagement of the economy continued, the rating would be lowered,” Lapid continues, warning that without “a responsible government that will pass a responsible budget” the rating would continue to drop.

Israel’s middle class would be impacted the most by a weak economy, Lapid says, appealing to Yesh Atid’s core voter base.

“In an economic crash, there will also be a security risk,” he says. “The Israeli economy is the thing that pays for the security expenses. An economic crisis will lead to the fact that at our worst moment, we will have no way to finance our security needs.”

He says that the government will be unable to do what is needed in order to repair the economy, and claims the only thing that has saved Israel from disaster until now is the fact that when he left office after his brief tenure as prime minister, he left the economy in good shape.

“The day I left the Prime Minister’s Office, the State of Israel had a budget surplus,” he says. “We left them billions of shekels in the coffers. All they had to do was manage it responsibly, and they just couldn’t.”

In Moscow, Abbas says PA will not agree to Russia’s exclusion from Middle East peace process

The Palestinian Authority will under no circumstances agree to Russia’s exclusion from the Middle East peace process, PA President Mahmoud Abbas says in an interview with Moscow’s state news agency TASS.

Russia “has always sought and is seeking ways for a peace solution” and is striving for “a just solution to the Middle East issue in accordance with international law,” Abbas claims.

“And let’s not forget its role in the ‘Middle East Quartet.’ The United States has always wanted to exclude Russia from this process. Under no circumstances shall we agree to Russia’s exclusion from any Middle East settlement platform, because it takes a truly fair position on the Middle East issue based on international law,” he adds.

The PA leader is in Moscow on an official visit, during which he sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia is not currently involved in mediation efforts between Israel and the terror group Hamas, but hosted reconciliation talks between Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Abbas’s Fatah, in late February.

11-year-old who was badly injured in Majdal Shams strike regained full consciousness, hospital says

An 11-year-old girl who sustained a severe head injury in the Hezbollah terror group’s attack on Majdal Shams on July 28 has regained full consciousness, Rambam Medical Center in Haifa says.

Of those injured in the attack, Kai Marai’s condition was considered the most severe. She has improved at a rate that “even surprised the doctors,” says a hospital spokesperson. She is now classified as moderately injured.

Marai was injured by shrapnel to her head in the rocket strike, which claimed the lives of 12 children. She will remain hospitalized for a few more days.

Another child, a 12-year-old boy who was lightly injured in the incident, is still hospitalized and is expected to be discharged in the coming days.

“It is still very difficult for me to address the horrific event,” says Haifa Marai, Kai’s mother. “I am a teacher at the school in Majdal Shams, and I teach in a class where many of my students were killed in the disaster.

“I thank the medical team that saved my daughter’s life, who now faces a long rehabilitation, and I thank all the citizens of Israel who supported, helped, and prayed for the recovery of the children.”

12 arrested at Haredi anti-draft protest outside military base in northern Israel

Ultra-Orthodox Jews clash with police during a protest against the drafting of Haredi yeshiva students to the IDF, outside the Mihve Alon military base, in northern Israel, August 14, 2024. (David Cohen/Flash90)

Twelve people have been arrested at a protest in northern Israel against the conscription of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students into the IDF.

The protesters gathered near the Michve Alon training base, Kan news reports, after they were issued draft summons and instructed to report to the Tiberias recruitment center.

In a statement, the Israel Police says that hundreds of protesters “blocked traffic routes and lit a fire near the gates of an IDF base.”

The police statement adds that the demonstration turned violent, as participants threw objects at police forces attempting to disperse the unauthorized protesters and at IDF soldiers guarding the base.

The 12 arrested individuals were detained on suspicion of violating public order, the statement adds, and efforts to remove the remainder of the protesters are ongoing.

IDF drone crashed off coast of Palmachim Beach due to technical error, military says

An IDF unmanned aerial vehicle crashed in the sea off the coast of Palmachim Beach this morning, due to a technical error, the military says.

The IDF says the UAV was retrieved by troops, and the incident is under investigation.

Hochstein: Gaza ceasefire will help prevent wider regional war, no more time to waste

US special envoy Amos Hochstein, gestures as he meets with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, in Beirut, Lebanon, August 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Visiting Beirut, US Special envoy Amos Hochstein warns that the clock is ticking for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal that could also help end the 10 months of cross-border clashes between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group.

He tells a news conference that he and parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, discussed “the framework agreement that’s on the table for a Gaza ceasefire, and he and I agreed there is no more time to waste and there’s no more valid excuses from any party for any further delay.”

“The deal would also help enable a diplomatic resolution here in Lebanon and that would prevent an outbreak of a wider war,” Hochstein says.

“We have to take advantage of this window for diplomatic action and diplomatic solutions. That time is now.”

PA’s Abbas to address Turkish parliament in special session Thursday, Erdogan will attend

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to visit the Turkish capital Ankara and address the Turkish parliament in a special session tomorrow, Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will attend the parliamentary assembly, which will be opened by Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuşopen at 3 p.m.

In his speech, Abbas, who will be traveling to Ankara after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier this week, is expected to discuss issues pertaining to Palestinians in the West Bank, as well as efforts to bring about an end to Israel’s war against the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip.

In Beirut, US envoy Hochstein says he believes war between Israel and Hezbollah avoidable

US envoy Amos Hochstein says that he believes a war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group can be avoided.

Hochstein arrived in Beirut today amid a concerted push by the US to prevent regional tensions from spiraling into an all-out war.

When asked at a news conference after meeting Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a strong Hezbollah ally, whether Israel and Hezbollah can avoid a war, Hochstein replies: “I hope so, I believe so.”

Lebanese media reports motorcycle hit in alleged Israeli drone strike

Lebanese media report an alleged Israeli drone strike against a motorcycle near the town of Aabbassiyeh in the Tyre District.

No further details are immediately available.

غارة اسرائيلية استهدفت دراجة نارية عند مفرق العباسية في مدينة صور #جنوب_لبنان pic.twitter.com/mnHbteKhKx

— Nour Ajini (@AjiniNour) August 14, 2024

IDF says it struck a Hezbollah target in south Lebanon after rockets fired at northern Israel

Israeli fighter jets struck a building used by Hezbollah in Ayta ash-Shab in southern Lebanon a short while ago, the IDF says.

מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו לפני זמן קצר מבנה צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב עייתא א-שעב שבדרום לבנון >> pic.twitter.com/SS8vhz5OcB

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 14, 2024

Meanwhile, several rockets were fired toward the border community of Manara this morning.

The IDF says the rockets struck open areas, causing no injuries.

Hezbollah took responsibility for the attack, saying it targeted a military base in the area.

The IDF also says that suspected drone infiltration sirens that sounded in the Western Galilee this morning were false alarms.

Shas MK says Ben Gvir should focus on crime rather than visiting Temple Mount

Shas MK Yinon Azoulay lambastes National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for comments he made yesterday atop the Temple Mount, in which he declared that Jewish prayer was allowed at the flashpoint site, in violation of the status quo observed by the government.

Ben Gvir is a “completely intemperate person, who does not care about the security of the country,” Azoulay declares. “Instead of taking care of ascending Temple Mount, he should take care of crime.”

Otzma Yehudit claims it was told it didn’t need to show up to Knesset session, opposition violated agreement to let bills pass

Otzma Yehudit denies that its lawmakers were intentionally absent from the Knesset plenum today after the opposition defeated a coalition-backed bill in a 21-20 vote.

In a statement responding to claims that the party had intentionally boycotted today’s session due to internal disagreements within the government, Otzma Yehudit says the opposition had violated an agreement whereby all items put to a vote today would automatically pass.

“It was agreed that the laws would be passed by consent only, and that there was no obligation to show up,” the far-right party says. “Unfortunately, the opposition violated the decision and took advantage of a situation in which only around 20 coalition MKs were present and voted to overturn the legislation.”

Air France says it plans to resume Beirut flights Thursday after suspending route on July 29

Air France and its Transavia subsidiary expect to resume service to Beirut Thursday, which has been suspended since July 29 because of tensions in the Middle East, the French carrier says.

“At this stage, and subject to the evolution of the security situation at destination, the airline plans to resume its flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Beirut on Thursday, August 15, 2024,” Air France says in a communique.

“The continuation of operations will be subject to a daily assessment of the local situation,” it adds.

Opposition defeats coalition-backed bill for the first time, after Otzma Yehudit lawmakers fail to show up

Lawmakers attend a plenum session in the Knesset, July 24, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A series of bills that were expected to come to a vote in the Knesset plenum today have been pulled from the schedule after the coalition failed to secure a majority in the first vote of the day.

A traffic bill put forward by the government was defeated 21-20 in its first vote, making it the first time the opposition gained a majority over the coalition since the government was sworn in at the end of 2022.

Hebrew media reports that the government is lacking a majority in the plenum after Otzma Yehudit lawmakers failed to attend the session.

Bennett to NYT: Israel ‘foolish’ to engage with Iran’s proxies rather than addressing root cause of the threat

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett at a court hearing in a defamation lawsuit against Rabbi Yosef Mizrahi at the Magistrate's Court in Tel Aviv, September 11, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett tells the New York Times that he believes Israel has failed to address the root cause of the regional threats that it faces, and has instead become occupied by fighting Iran’s various proxies rather than tackling Tehran itself.

Employing his oft-used comparison between Iran and an octopus — Tehran being the head and its proxies the tentacles — Bennett says that “the head of the octopus is much weaker, much more vulnerable and feeble, than its arms.”

“So how foolish are we to engage in war with the arms when we could engage with the head?” he asks.

Iran has built “an empire of rockets and terror” surrounding Israel, the former prime minister says, warning that the only way to prevent the threat of Israel’s extinction is to “topple the Iranian regime before it fully acquires a nuclear weapon.”

Further criticizing the strategy Israel has employed throughout the last 10 months of war with Hamas,  Bennett tells the Times that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promise of “total victory” contradicts the reality on the ground.

“I see words that send one message and actions that are the contrary,” he says.

“I know there is a body count of Hamas combatants,” he says of Israel’s estimation that it has killed more than 15,000 terror operatives inside the Gaza Strip as of May. “When you count bodies, you are assuming a finite number of combatants, but you have a population of one million to draw on. They could have recruited another 10,000 in the meantime.”

Hinting at a planned return to politics, Bennett says “all the senior leadership of Israel, political and military, needs to be replaced.”

Gaza man loses wife, newborn twin babies; says he was told a shell hit their house

Mohammad Abu Al-Qumsan (center), prays next to the bodies of his 4-day-old twin children, killed in the Gaza Strip, at a hospital in Deir al-Balah, August 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A Palestinian man lost his twin babies and wife in what he was told was the shelling of their home in the Gaza Strip, as he went to get birth certificates for the newborns.

Mohamed Abuel-Qomasan’s wife, Joumana Arafa, a pharmacist, had given birth by cesarean section over the weekend and announced the twins’ arrival on Facebook.

On Tuesday, he had gone to register the births at a local government office. While he was there, neighbors called to say the home where he was sheltering, near central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, had been bombed.

Along with his wife and newborns — a boy, Asser, and a girl, Ayssel — the strike also killed the twins’ maternal grandmother.

As he sat in a hospital, stunned into near-silence by the loss, he held up the twins’ birth certificates.

“I don’t know what happened,” he said. “I am told it was a shell that hit the house.”

The IDF rarely comments on individual strikes and did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident.

Previously, the IDF has said that it carries out “many warning measures before its actions to avoid harming civilians.”

“Every strike by the IDF is based on intelligence indications of terror infrastructure or the presence of terrorists in the area of ​​the attack,” the IDF has said.

The IDF has accused Hamas of using Palestinian civilians in Gaza as human shields and published evidence showing that the terror group uses hospitals, schools, mosques, and other civilian sites for terror purposes.

UAE tells Israel it will only assist in postwar Gaza peacekeeping efforts if PA reinstated to govern enclave – report

Several Arab states have informed Israel that they are not prepared to play any peacekeeping role in postwar Gaza, Army Radio reports, citing sources familiar with ongoing discussions on the matter.

According to the report, the United Arab Emirates has told Israel that it is prepared to send military forces to assist in peacekeeping efforts in the Gaza Strip once Hamas has been removed from power, but only if the Palestinian Authority is reinstated as the ruling authority in the enclave.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed repeatedly that he will not allow the PA, headed by Mahmoud Abbas, to take over the running of the Strip.

Palestinian media reports five killed by IDF fire in ongoing raid in West Bank’s Tubas and Tamun

Palestinian media outlets report that so far, five Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire amid an ongoing raid in the northern West Bank city of Tubas and the nearby town of Tamun.

The IDF said earlier it was clashing with gunmen and had carried out a drone strike on a group of armed Palestinians in the area.

IDF says ‘suspicious aerial target’ downed off coast of Acre, no sirens activated

An interceptor missile was launched toward a “suspicious aerial target” off the coast of Acre a short while ago, the IDF says.

No sirens sounded.

The IDF says it is still investigating the incident.

An interceptor missile was launched toward a "suspicious aerial target" off the coast of Acre a short while ago, the IDF says.

No sirens sounded.

The IDF says it is still investigating the incident. pic.twitter.com/sDK74w9hvT

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) August 14, 2024

Defense Ministry rehabilitation department says over 10,000 soldiers treated since Oct. 7

The Defense Ministry rehabilitation department says it has received some 10,056 soldiers since the beginning of the war on October 7.

According to the Defense Ministry, some 3,500, or 35%, are suffering from PTSD or other mental disorders caused by trauma.

Another 37% are suffering physical trauma to their limbs, the ministry says.

Among the 10,056 soldiers, around 68% are reservists.

The rehab department is also working with some 62,000 wounded veterans from previous wars. It forecasts that by 2030, the department will be treating some 100,000 people, with at least half of them suffering from PTSD.

IDF: Air Force struck targets in Gaza around rocket launch position used in yesterday’s failed attack on Tel Aviv

IDF soldiers seen operating in the Gaza Strip in this handout image released for publication on August 14, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israeli Air Force struck more than 40 targets across the Gaza Strip in the past day, the military says.

The targets hit by fighter jets included various Hamas infrastructure, including buildings used to launch anti-tank missiles, as well as cells of gunmen, according to the IDF.

The IDF also says it struck sites near a rocket-launching position, used in yesterday’s attempted attack by Hamas on Tel Aviv. According to the IDF, the two rockets were fired from a route in Khan Younis, used to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

Troops meanwhile continue to battle Hamas in southern Gaza’s Rafah and Khan Younis, and the Netzarim Corridor in the Strip’s center.

IDF says fighter jets struck Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon overnight

Last night, Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon’s at-Tiri, and a building used by the terror group in Kafr Kila, the military says.

The strikes came after more than 40 rockets were fired by Hezbollah at northern Israel on Tuesday evening.

צה"ל תקף משגר ומבנה צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בדרום לבנון

מטוסי קרב תקפו אמש, משגר ומבנה צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים כפר כילא וא-טירי שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/K1crlynJhz

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 14, 2024

Military source: Drone strike carried out against gunmen in West Bank town of Tamun

A drone strike was carried out against a group of gunmen in the West Bank town of Tamun a short while ago, according to a military source.

The strike comes amid an ongoing IDF raid on the area.

IDF launches counterterrorism op in West Bank city of Tubas, says one Palestinian gunman killed

The IDF says it launched a counterterrorism operation in the West Bank city of Tubas and the adjacent town of Tamun this morning.

So far, the troops have killed a Palestinian gunman and wounded others amid exchanges of fire, the military says.

Several wanted Palestinians have also been detained, and weapons have been seized.

The IDF says it will provide further details on the operation later.

UTJ-affiliated newspaper says party must reconsider its place in government after Ben Gvir’s latest Temple Mount visit

An influential newspaper aligned with the United Torah Judaism political party calls for the Haredi party to reconsider its place in government following National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s contentious visit to the Temple Mount yesterday.

A front-page item in the Yated Ne’eman daily edition blasts the ultranationalist minister for “endangering Jewish lives” by visiting Temple Mount on the solemn Jewish fast day of Tisha B’av and insisting that Jewish prayer was permitted at the site, in direct contradiction to the status quo upheld by the Israeli government.

“Jews going up to the Temple Mount is like throwing a match into an oil well,” reads the newspaper’s editorial. “The Temple Mount may turn into a volcano that covers the entire Middle East with ash.”

מתקפה מחר של עיתון יתד נאמן החרדי ליטאי נגד בן גביר והעולים להר הבית: "העלייה להר היא כמו השלכת גפרור לבאר נפט. הר הבית עלול להפוך להר געש שיכסה בעשנו את כל המזרח התיכון. אי אפשר לתת לכל דמות קיקיונית לסכן את כולנו. חובה לסגור את ההר, לנעול ולאטום. לאף אחד אין זכות לספסר בדמנו" pic.twitter.com/CQtjD95v9Y

— יואלי ברים yoeli brim (@yoeli_brim) August 13, 2024

Like UTJ and Shas, the newspaper follows the Haredi school of thought that states Jews may no longer ascend Temple Mount — the site of the two destroyed Temples — as its holiness precludes setting foot there nowadays.

The editorial calls for UTJ to examine whether it can continue serving as partners in a governing coalition that includes Ben Gvir and his Otzma Yehudit party, saying he cannot be allowed to continue “endangering us all.”

Russian region declares state of emergency as Kyiv pushes incursion

Ukraine is continuing to pound the Russian border region of Kursk with missiles and drones, as Kyiv presses an incursion that US President Joe Biden calls a “real dilemma” for the Kremlin’s leader.

Four Ukraine-launched missiles were destroyed over Kursk and the whole region was under air raid alerts on and off most of the night, its regional acting governor says.

Kyiv said on Tuesday it had taken control of 74 settlements in Kursk, a week after thousands of Ukrainian soldiers launched a startling attack through the Russian border.

In the Russian border area of Belgorod, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov declares a regionwide state of emergency, citing continued attacks by Ukrainian forces.

“The situation in the Belgorod region continues to be extremely difficult and tense,” Gladkov says in a video posted on the Telegram messaging app.

Daily shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces destroyed houses, killing and wounding civilians, he adds.

“Therefore, we are making a decision, starting today, to declare a regional emergency situation throughout the Belgorodd region … with a subsequent appeal to the government to declare a federal emergency situation,” he says.

Home Front Command to hold pre-planned drill near Lod

The Israel Defense Forces says the Home Front Command will hold a drill around the central city of Lod Wednesday, noting that the exercise was planned in advance, indicating it is not tied to preparations for a possible large scale Iranian attack on Israel in the coming days.

The army says the drill will take place throughout the morning and early afternoon, noting that people should not worry if they see increased military vehicle activity in the area.

The Home Front Command often holds large scale drills near Ben-Gurion Airport in Lod, simulating terror attacks, missile strikes, earthquakes and other natural disasters as well as other catastrophes that Israeli civilians may face.

UCLA cries foul over judge’s order to shutter campus if protesters bar Jews

Illustrative: Police patrol as workers clean up anti-Israel graffiti at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus after police evicted pro-Palestinian protesters, May 2, 2024. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP)

The University of California, Los Angeles is protesting a judge’s ruling that it cannot hold classes if pro-Palestinian protesters are barring Jews from campus, saying complying will harm the school.

The ruling “would improperly hamstring our ability to respond to events on the ground and to meet the needs of the Bruin community,” UCLA spokesperson Mary Osako says.

US District Judge Mark Scarsi’s ruled earlier that the university is prohibited from providing classes and access to buildings on campus if Jewish students are blocked from it,  after three Jewish students alleged in a lawsuit that they experienced discrimination on campus during pro-Palestinian protests because of their faith and that UCLA failed to ensure access to campus for all Jewish students.

UCLA had argued that it has no legal responsibility over the issue because protesters, not the university, blocked Jewish students’ access to the school. The university also worked with law enforcement to thwart attempts to set up new protest camps.

Osako says UCLA is considering all available options moving forward.

“UCLA is committed to fostering a campus culture where everyone feels welcome and free from intimidation, discrimination, and harassment,” Osako says in a statement to The Associated Press.

Pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel demonstrators watch police activity behind a makeshift barricade on the UCLA campus Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Yitzchok Frankel, a UCLA law student who filed the lawsuit, celebrates Scarsi’s order.

“No student should ever have to fear being blocked from their campus because they are Jewish,” Frankel says in a statement. “I am grateful that the court has ordered UCLA to put a stop to this shameful anti-Jewish conduct.”

Squad’s Ilhan Omar beats out primary challenge

Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar has survived a primary challenge for her congressional seat, beating out former city council member Don Samuels 56 percent to 43%, according to nearly complete results released by the state.

Omar is a sharp critic of the Israeli government’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. With the win, she avoids the fate of two fellow members of the progressive ‘Squad’ of anti-Israel lawmakers who lost their primaries against candidates backed by groups that support Israel.

Minor quake rattles Syria for second time in days

A European monitoring agency says an earthquake has been felt near Homs in central Syria, the second temblor to jostle the area in days.

Preliminary data from the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre shows the 4.0 magnitude quake occurred in the same region where a stronger tremor measuring 5.5 on the Richter Scale was felt late Monday.

The German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) places the magnitude at 4.1.

The epicenter is estimated to be some 55 kilometers northeast of Homs

There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the early morning shaking, and it’s unclear if the quake was felt in northern Israel, which was slightly rattled in Monday’s quake.

Syria said 65 people were injured in Monday’s trembler, three seriously.

Omar holds slight lead as first votes trickle in from Minneapolis area

Minnesota election officials have begun releasing initial results for the state’s 5th congressional district primary, showing Rep. Ilhan Omer holding a razor-thin lead over challenger Don Samuels in the closely watched race.

With just under 10 percent of precincts from the Minneapolis-area district reporting, Omar has 50.8% of the approximately 6,000 votes counted, to Samuels 47.6%, a difference of fewer than 200 votes, according to tallies posted by the state.

Omar, among the Congress’s most strident anti-Israel voices, narrowly beat out former Minneapolis City Council member Samuels, a more centrist liberal, in the 2022 primary.

Primary results for anti-Israel Rep. Ilhan Omar expected to be slow coming in

Rep. Ilhan Omar, Democrat-Minnesota, left, talks during a press conference to call for a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza on Capitol Hill, in Washington, October 20, 2023. (Mariam Zuhaib/AP)

Polls have closed in Minnesota, where Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar is hoping to avoid the fate of fellow members of the anti-Israel ‘Squad’ who lost primary challenges.

Unlike the races that saw New York’s Jerome Bowman and Missouri’s Cori Bush pushed off the ballot in favor of more moderate Democrats, Omar’s main challenger, Don Samuels, does not appear to be backed by the deep pockets of the United Democracy Project. The super political action committee, affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, poured millions into defeating Bowman and Bush.

Results from the Omar-Samuels race are expected to take a while. Hennepin County, which includes all of Minneapolis and all but a few communities in the district, didn’t release any results from the presidential primary in March until 9:40 p.m., when the county released nearly all its votes.

County officials say they expect a similar timeline for Tuesday’s primary due to a legislative change enacted this year that allows for ballots to be dropped off until 8 p.m. local time, which has resulted in slower results reporting.

The winner in the overwhelmingly Democratic district will face Republican Dalia Al-Aqidi, an Iraqi American journalist and self-described secular Muslim who calls Omar pro-Hamas and a terrorist sympathizer.

Omar narrowly defeated Samuels in a 2022 primary.

Former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels poses outside his home on Nov. 10, 2023, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)

A Somali American and Muslim — she came under fire from the Jamaican-born Samuels and others in her first term for comments that were widely criticized for invoking antisemitic tropes and suggesting Jewish Americans have divided loyalties. This time, Samuels has criticized her condemnation of the Israeli government’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

While Omar has also criticized Hamas for attacking Israel and taking hostages, Samuels says she’s one-sided and divisive. He’s also been stressing the public safety issues he focused on in 2022. The big issue at the time was policing in Minneapolis, where a former police officer murdered George Floyd in 2020.

US army says it destroyed Houthi vessels in Red Sea

The US military says it destroyed two Houthi vessels in the Red Sea over the past day.

The vessels “presented a clear and imminent threat to U.S. and coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region,” the US military’s Central Command says on X.

No other details are provided.

Harris campaign targeted by foreign influence operation, FBI says

US Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign said it was notified by the FBI last month that it was “targeted by a foreign actor influence operation,” a campaign official says.

“We have robust cybersecurity measures in place, and are not aware of any security breaches of our systems resulting from those efforts,” the official says, adding that the campaign remains in communication with authorities.

The FBI does not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The bureau said on Monday that it was investigating after Republican rival Donald Trump’s presidential campaign said that it had been hacked.

The Trump campaign blamed Iran and pointed to a Friday report from Microsoft researchers that indicated that Iranian government-tied hackers tried breaking into the account of a “high-ranking official” on a US presidential campaign in June.

The Iranian government has denied hacking the Trump campaign.

US officials says base in Syria unscathed following Iran-backed attack

Projectiles launched in the direction of a US airbase in a gas field in Syria’s Deir al-Zour province did not hit the facility, two US officials say.

A security source earlier told Reuters that an Iran-backed militia targeted the base with six shells, all of which fell in the vicinity of the US base, adding that the US-led coalition responded to the attack with artillery.

The US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, says the projectiles did not hit the base and there were no injuries. The official cites initial reports that can change.

Missile attack said to target US base in Syria

A missile attack has targeted a US airbase in Conoco gas field in Syria’s Deir al-Zor province, Syrian state media reports.

The attack is the latest suspected strike from Iran-backed groups targeted US troops in Irfaq and Syria. On Friday, a drone struck on another base housing US troops in Syria. minorly injured eight , Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder says eight servicemembers were treated for brain injuries and smoke inhalation “out of an abundance of caution.”

Three of them have since returned to duty.

Despite moving troops, jets and arms to the region in a bid to deter an Iranian attack on Israel, Ryder says the soldiers stationed in Syria remain focused on the mission of battling the Islamic State.

Sirens sound in southern town, IDF says false alarm

Rocket alert sirens have sounded in the small community of Holit in southern Israel near the border with Egypt.

There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the possible attack.

The IDF’s Home Front Command later announces the siren was a false alarm.

Two dozen rockets fired at north, no reports of injuries — IDF

A barrage of some 25 rockets was launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon at the Upper Galilee in northern Israel a short while ago.

Sirens had sounded in the Mount Meron area, including the towns of Hurfeish, Elkosh, Fassuta, and Beit Jann.

The IDF says that the rockets struck open areas, and there have been no reports of injuries.

Footage posted to social media shows some of the rocket impacts.

A barrage of some 25 rockets was launched by Hezbollah at the Upper Galilee in northern Israel a short while ago.

Sirens had sounded in the Mount Meron area, including the towns of Hurfeish, Elkosh, Fassuta, and Beit Jann.

The IDF says that the rockets struck open areas,… https://t.co/E7oLakMACg pic.twitter.com/pZWbKb0otc

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) August 13, 2024

Hezbollah takes responsibility for the attack, claiming to have targeted a military base in the area.