Aug. 21: USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier reaches Middle East amid fears of escalation

Trump speaks from behind bulletproof glass at first outdoor rally since attempted assassination

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, stand on stage at a campaign rally at North Carolina Aviation Museum, Wednesday, August 21, 2024, in Asheboro, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

At his first outdoor rally since last month’s attempted assassination, Donald Trump speaks from behind bulletproof glass in North Carolina at an event focused on national security. On politics, he calls his predecessor Barack Obama “nasty” for his comments the night before at the Democratic National Convention.

The event, billed as focused on national security issues, is part of Trump’s weeklong series of counterprogramming to the Democratic National Convention, which is underway in Chicago. Allies have been urging him to focus on policy instead of personal attacks against Harris as he struggles to adjust to Biden’s departure from the race.

The second night of the Democrats’ convention Tuesday was a highly energized affair that featured speeches from both Obamas, who went after Trump in particularly biting terms.

Barack Obama mocked Trump’s obsession with his crowd sizes and called Trump “a 78-year-old billionaire who hasn’t stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago.”

“It’s been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that’s actually gotten worse now that he’s afraid of losing to Kamala,” the former president said.

Discussing Obama, Trump says he was  “very nasty last night.”

“I try and be nice to people, you know. But it’s a little tough when they get personal,” he adds.

He then polls the crowd on whether he should listen to advisers who he says have told him, “Please, sir, don’t get personal. Talk about policy.”

“Should I get personal or should I not get personal?” he asks. The crowd overwhelmingly chooses the former.

Trump speaks from behind a podium surrounded by panes of bulletproof glass that formed a protective wall across the stage — part of ramped-up security measures aimed at keeping him safe after the attack by a Pennsylvania gunman on July 13.

Storage containers are stacked around the perimeter to create additional walls and block sight lines. Snipers are positioned on roofs at the venue, where old aircraft are sitting behind the podium and a large American flag is suspended from cranes.

White House: Biden stressed ‘urgency’ of finalizing hostage-ceasefire deal in call with Netanyahu

US President Joe Biden “stressed the urgency of bringing the ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure and discussed upcoming talks in Cairo to remove any remaining obstacles” in his call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier today, the White House says.

The two leaders also “discussed active and ongoing US efforts to support Israel’s defense against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, to include ongoing defensive US military deployments,” the brief US readout adds.

US House committee subpoenas Columbia for documents related to antisemitism investigation

The US House Committee on Education and Workforce has subpoenaed Columbia University for documents related to an ongoing investigation into antisemitism on campus, the Columbia Spectator reports.

According to the report, the subpoena requires interim University President Katrina Armstrong to submit a number of “priority items” to the House committee by midday on September 4.

In the letter sent to Armstrong, committee chair Virginia Foxx writes that the subpoena was being issued “due to Columbia’s repeated failure to fulfill priority requests by deadlines that elapsed prior to your accession to the University’s Presidency.”

Former Columbia president Nemat “Minouche” Shafik” resigned earlier this month amid criticism over her response to the anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian protest movement that sprung up in the wake of October 7.

The Columbia Spectator reports that documents requested by the committee include items on anti-Israel protest leader Khymani James, who said that “Zionists don’t deserve to live” and was later banned from campus; and tenured professor Joseph Massad, who on October 8 wrote an article praising the “innovative Palestinian resistance” of the October 7 terror onslaught.

Returning UN envoy Danny Danon to give first Security Council speech tomorrow

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon speaks to members of the UN Security Council during an emergency session on the Israel-Gaza Conflict at United Nations headquarters in New York on May 30, 2018. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images/AFP)

Returning UN Ambassador Danny Danon will give his first speech tomorrow morning as the UN Security Council convenes to discuss the Middle East.

“Today, I return to the UN, an institution which remains obsessively biased against Israel, and has since also become morally bankrupt,” he will say, according to his spokesperson. “But something else has shifted: Today I represent a country fundamentally changed since October 7th – a country that understands its fate lies in its hands alone.”

He will also blast the UN for its ostensible silence over the October 7 attacks:

“Any rational person would expect the Security Council to act swiftly and decisively on behalf of the murdered and kidnapped, to condemn Hamas’s terror and bloodshed, and to support Israel’s efforts to eliminate the terrorist organization responsible for such appalling horrors. But 321 days since Hamas’s massacre, all we hear from the UN is a deafening silence.”

Bomb threats emailed to over 100 Jewish institutions in Canada

A bomb threat has been sent to over 100 Jewish institutions in Canada, a spokesperson for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) tells the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Investigations have been opened into the threats in multiple cities, police tell CBC.

Canada’s B’nai Brith says such emails were sent at 5 a.m. to their offices in Toronto and Montreal, while a synagogue in Hampstead contacted police at 7:10 a.m. about an email claiming bombs were planted in their building, CBC says.

“I’m disgusted at reports that more than 100 Jewish institutions across Canada were targeted by threats today. This is blatant antisemitism,” Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says on X, adding the government is “working with them to keep Jewish Canadians safe.”

Six suspects to be charged over racist attack on Palestinian in Jerusalem’s Old City

Six suspects will be indicted over an unprovoked attack on an East Jerusalem Palestinian man last week, which was caught on footage.

Police say that a prosecutor’s statement has been filed and that charges will be submitted in the coming days against the group of suspects, between the ages of 16 and 20.

The attack in the Old City of Jerusalem occurred “without reason and with a racist motive,” according to police.

Footage shows a group of Jewish men surrounding the man and then beating him, as Border Police officers run over to stop the attack.

התיעוד המזוויע הזה שאתם רואים זה תיעוד של גזענות פר אקסלנס: חבורה של שישה יהודים צעירים קיצוניים שהסתובבו בעיר העתיקה, הבחינו בערבי תושב מזרח ירושלים שלא עשה כלום, ללא עבר פלילי, ללא שום התגרות מצידו, התנפלו עליו והכו אותו עד זוב דם רק כי הוא ערבי. אין מילה אחרת לקרוא לאירוע הזה… pic.twitter.com/7ksEFctgEZ

— Yossi Eli (@Yossi_eli) August 21, 2024

IDF says only 7 Haredi men showed up to induction offices today as part of draft process

The IDF says that just seven Haredi men showed up at induction centers today to complete screening processes ahead of enlistment.

Haredi protesters gathered outside a base in Jerusalem for new recruits earlier today to protest the draft.

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.

In all, some 70 Haredi men have shown up at induction centers after receiving draft orders, since the process began last month.

IDF says it struck Hezbollah cell that fired rockets at north

Earlier today, a cell of Hezbollah operatives that launched rockets at the northern community of Zar’it was struck by fighter jets, the IDF says.

According to the military, the operatives were spotted at a building in southern Lebanon’s Chihine.

Another airstrike earlier today targeted a building used by Hezbollah in Kafr Kila, the IDF adds.

כוח צה"ל זיהה מוקדם יותר היום חוליית מחבלים מארגון הטרור חיזבאללה, ששיגרה היום רקטות למרחב זרעית, פועלת במבנה במרחב שיחין שבדרום לבנון.
בסגירת מעגל מהאוויר, מטוסי קרב תקפו את המבנה בו פעלה חוליית המחבלים>> pic.twitter.com/6y1uCoGPNt

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 21, 2024

Parents of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin reportedly set to address DNC tonight

Jon Polin (left) and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, parents of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, speak to Channel 12 news, April 25, 2024. (Channel 12 screenshot: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

CHICAGO — The parents of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin will reportedly address the Democratic National Convention in Chicago tonight.

A spokesperson for the family declines to confirm a report in the Forward revealing the planned speech from Jon and Rachel Goldberg-Polin.

The pair have become among the most recognizable relatives of any of the 105 hostages, particularly in the US where they have regularly engaged with high-profile stakeholders to raise awareness of the plight of their son and the other 104 hostages still held in Gaza.

Several relatives of the eight American hostages are at the DNC this week, meeting with top Democrats and holding quiet conversations with organizers to try and secure a primetime speaking slot at the United Center.

Organizers are also facing pressure from pro-Palestinian activists to offer a similar speaking slot to one of the several doctors at the convention who recently returned from treating patients in war-torn Gaza who can offer a firsthand account of the humanitarian catastrophe in the enclave.

The parents of American-Israeli hostage Omer Neutra addressed the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month.

Biden and Harris phone call with PM ends, White House says

US President Joe Biden just got off the phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal, the White House says.

Vice President Kamala Harris joined in on the call, which comes after Arab mediators told The Times of Israel that the US will have to pressure Israel to withdraw from new demands regarding continued IDF presence in the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors if it wants to secure a deal.

The US submitted a bridging proposal last week that the Arab mediators said went too far toward Netanyahu’s demands regarding force deployment in and around Gaza.

Hostage’s brother feels ‘no other choice’ but to highlight both Netanyahu and Hamas’s stubbornness in talks

Relatives of Israeli hostages in Gaza speak on a panel organized by the Democratic Majority for Israel on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19, 2024. (Jacob Magid/Times of Israel)

CHICAGO — The brother of Israeli hostage Carmel Gat says he finds “no other choice” but to highlight Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s intransigence in the ongoing hostage negotiations in addition to that of the Hamas terror organization.

While Netanyahu announced earlier this week that he supports the latest US bridging proposal, officials told The Times of Israel earlier today that the offer goes too far toward the premier’s new demands which will hinder an agreement.

Gili Roman laments a “cycle” that has been created in the hostage talks where Netanyahu delays progress by “insisting on different tactical points” that are dismissed as marginal by Israel’s negotiating team and rejected by Hamas.

“Some of these demands are hindering progress, and if we withdraw them, we can really push Hamas into a corner,” Roman says.

“The prime minister alone is forcing the negotiation team to stand and not compromise on very technical points, and Hamas, on the other hand, is still refusing to discuss the changes that are being brought to the table and is insisting on going back to the original agreement that US President Joe Biden laid out,” the hostage’s brother continues.

Roman says that while advocating for his sister’s release abroad, his focus has been on raising awareness of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s opposition to a deal.

Many in the international community “don’t want to speak about Hamas. They don’t want to hold Hamas accountable. This is our primary goal of addressing when we’re abroad,” Roman says.

“Unfortunately, we’re getting to a point where we have no other choice but to also speak about our prime minister and our government. They are responsible for our wellbeing — both [Netanyahu and Sinwar] are accountable for where are at this moment” in the negotiations,” Roman adds.

American Airlines extends suspension of Tel Aviv services to March 29

File: American Airlines passenger jets prepare for departure, July 21, 2021, near a terminal at Boston Logan International Airport. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines is suspending flights to Israel through late March, extending a break in service that started in the early days of the war in Gaza.

A spokesperson for the airline says that customers with tickets for flights to Tel Aviv can rebook at no extra charge or cancel their trip and get a refund.

The airline says flights to Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv will be suspended through March 29. The airline updated a travel advisory on its website over the weekend.

“We will continue to work closely with our partner airlines to assist customers traveling between Israel and European cities with service to the US,” the spokesperson says.

Sderot, Ofakim will participate in Oct. 7 state memorial — report

Israeli forces walk by a burned car and a collapsed building in the southern town of Sderot, October 8, 2023, following an assault by Hamas terrorists. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The southern cities of Sderot and Ofakim, which were targeted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, will take part in the government’s planned state memorial service on the anniversary of the massacre, local government officials tell the Kan public broadcaster.

“We are happy to host the main ceremony in our city to remember the victims,” officials from Ofakim say.

The municipalities have not officially announced their participation.

Several kibbutzim along the border have rallied around a boycott of the planned ceremony, and the government is reportedly considering canceling the event.

Security cabinet to meet tomorrow in Tel Aviv amid failing efforts to reach hostage deal

The national security cabinet will meet tomorrow at the Kirya IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

The meeting will take place among intense but faltering US efforts to hammer out a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.

Democrat: Trump’s advice to Israel if elected will be ‘Go Gvir go!’

Rep. Brad Sherman at at an event organized by the Democratic Majority for Israel on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 21, 2024. (Jacob Magid/Times of Israel)

CHICAGO — Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman claims Donald Trump’s advice to the Israeli government if he is elected in November will be “Go Gvir go,” in reference to far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

“That may appeal to some in our community, but you know that Israel’s toughest battle is to remain a part of the world system and not to become a pariah country,” says Sherman at an event organized by the Democratic Majority for Israel on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

“If you’ve got a US president shouting, “Go Gvir, go!” you imperil Israel at its weakest point,” Sherman asserts.

The Biden administration has weighed sanctioning Ben Gvir over his support for settlers accused of carrying out violent attacks in the West Bank, his advancement of policies that further entrench the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and his longstanding inflammatory rhetoric against Arabs, US officials have told The Times of Israel.

PM denies report he agreed to pull IDF troops from Philadelphi Corridor at 2nd stage of hostage deal

View of the Philadelphi Corridor between the southern Gaza Strip and Egypt, on July 15, 2024. (Oren Cohen/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed in his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday to withdraw IDF troops from the Philadelphi Corridor in the second stage of a potential hostage deal with Hamas, according to Kan news.

The question of IDF deployment is a central sticking point in negotiations, as Israel insists that it must retain control over the Gaza-Egypt border, and Hamas rejects the continued presence of IDF troops.

However, Netanyahu’s office issues a response that the report is “incorrect.”

“Israel will insist on achieving all of its war goals, as defined by the cabinet — including the goal that Gaza will never again present a security threat to Israel,” the statement continues.

“That requires closing the southern border,” it concludes, referring to the border between Egypt and Gaza, currently held by the IDF.

Government mulling scrapping Oct. 7 state memorial event as boycott grows — report

The government is considering canceling a planned state memorial ceremony for the anniversary of the October 7 massacre, after several communities near the Gaza border, as well as the Hostage and Missing Families Forum, announced they would boycott the event, Channel 12 news reports.

Many of the communities griped that they had been overlooked by the government since the outbreak of war and that they had failed to restore their confidence after failing to prevent the massacre and abductions.

Incoming IDF intel chief says efforts must be directed at ‘urgent’ mission of returning hostages

Incoming Military Intelligence Directorate chief, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, speaks at a handover ceremony at the Glilot Base near Herzliya, August 21, 2024. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)

The incoming chief of the Military Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, says that Israel must dedicate its intelligence efforts to returning the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip while readying for an escalation in the north.

“We are in the midst of a just war, a hard and long [war], that may expand, and we will continue efforts to achieve its goals. We must dedicate our efforts to returning 109 hostages in the Gaza Strip. It is a national mission, ethical, of utmost importance, and urgent,” he says.

“We must continue to increase our readiness for the campaign expanding in the north, and build a good intelligence [picture] for defense and attack, and for more distant arenas, as this directorate has proved recently,” Binder continues.

Alongside fighting and preparing for escalation, Binder says the Intelligence Directorate will also need to investigate itself, make amends and improve from its mistakes.

“Where we failed, we will need to investigate and improve; where we made mistakes we will learn and change; where fractures were opened, however big they are, we will insist to fix and repent,” he says.

“The Israeli people have no other country, the State of Israel doesn’t have another IDF, and the IDF doesn’t have another Intelligence Directorate,” Binder adds.

At least 55 arrested at anti-Israel protest outside Chicago’s Israeli consulate

Demonstrators clash with police near the Israeli Consulate during the Democratic National Convention, August 20, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

CHICAGO — At least 55 protesters are arrested following violent clashes with police in Chicago on the second night of the Democratic National Convention, a situation the police chief called “a danger to our city.”

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling says that those arrested outside the Israeli Consulate, about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the United Center where Democrats were meeting, “showed up with the intention of committing acts of violence, vandalism.”

“As the Chicago Police Department, we did everything that we could to de-escalate that situation,” Snelling says during a news conference. “But there’s only so much de-escalation that you can attempt before it becomes excessive repetition.”

The intense confrontations between pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protesters and officers began minutes into the demonstration, after some protesters — many dressed in black, their faces covered — charged at a line of police who had blocked their march.

They eventually moved past the officers but were penned in several times throughout the night by police in riot gear who did not allow protesters to disperse.

Snelling says protesters showed up to “fight with the police.”

“We were not the initiators of violence, but we responded to it,” Snelling says.

Snelling says that between 55 and 60 people were arrested. Two people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, one for knee pain and one with a finger injury, Snelling says.

Two officers were injured but they refused medical attention because they did not want to leave fellow officers, Snelling says. He says three journalists were among those arrested, but he did not have details on the charges.

“Last night was a danger to our city and a danger to our citizens in this city, our residents’ property. And CPD has to protect that,” Snelling says.

Hostage talks stuck after US proposal bent too far toward Israel — officials

Families of Israeli surveillance soldiers who were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from Nahal Oz base on October 7 and their supporters demonstrate for a hostage deal, outside the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, August 21, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

The hostage deal proposal submitted last week by the Biden administration aimed at bridging the gaps between Israel and Hamas went too far to accommodate the positions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding continued IDF presence in the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors, two Arab officials from mediating country and a third official involved in the talks tells The Times of Israel.

As such, the talks are at an impasse, and an Arab official laments that there’s no point in holding another planned high-level gathering of negotiators later this week in Cairo unless the US pressures Netanyahu to come down from his new demands and amends its bridging proposal accordingly.

A second Arab official expresses his bewilderment at US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s repeated public insistence in recent days that Netanyahu backs the US bridging proposal, arguing that this inaccurately frames Hamas as the lone obstructionist party.

The Arab official points to comments that the Israeli premier has continued making about the need for a permanent Israeli military presence in the Philadelphi Corridor to prevent weapons smuggling from Egypt into Gaza.

A third official involved in the talks says the US bridging proposal doesn’t allow for a permanent Israeli presence in Philadelphi but also doesn’t rule out such deployment entirely.

But Netanyahu went further in comments to a group of hawkish hostage families earlier this week, talking about permanent IDF presence in Philadelphi, which was not part of the bridging proposal and harms efforts to maintain talks with Hamas, the official says.

Hamas has made clear after forgoing its demand for an up-front Israeli ceasefire commitment that it won’t accept continued Israeli presence in Philadelphi and Netzarim, “so [Netanyahu] is going to have to decide whether he wants to stick to these new demands or whether he wants to bring hostages home alive, says the official.

Israel starts term as chair of UN Conference on Disarmament

Israeli Ambassador Dan Meron chairs the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland, August 20, 2024. (Foreign Ministry)

Israel begins its term as president of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland.

Ambassador Dan Meron chaired a meeting of the group’s 65-member states yesterday.

Israel last held the four-week rotating presidency in January 2014.

The Conference on Disarmament was established in 1979 for negotiating agreements on disarmament and arms control, including nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

Iran and Syria — both leading adversaries of Israel — are members of conference.

Outgoing IDF intel chief admits failure for not warning of Oct. 7, urges state probe

Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva speaks at a handover ceremony at the Glilot Base near Herzliya, August 21, 2024. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)

Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, in his last speech as head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, says he is responsible for not providing a warning ahead of Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.

He also hints that he expects other officers to also take responsibility for their failures.

“On that Saturday we did not fulfill the most important mission which we are tasked with, providing a warning for war,” he says.

“The responsibility for the failures of the Military Intelligence Directorate is on me,” Haliva says.

Haliva is quitting the IDF over his involvement in the failures that led to Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught. Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder is replacing him.

“The responsibility and setting a personal example is a core value of the IDF, and in leadership in general. Taking responsibility is not words, it must be actions. My decision to end my role and resign from the IDF is the norm in which I was educated… it is what is expected of those marching forward and those charging at the front,” he says.

Haliva also calls for establishing a state commission of inquiry into “all aspects that led to war, so that what happened to us will not happen ever again.”

Biden to call PM, tell him to show flexibility in hostage talks — report

US President Joe Biden is expected to urge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ease his demands for a ceasefire-hostage release deal in a phone call later tonight, an unnamed source with knowledge of the details tells the Walla news site.

An Israeli official confirms to The Times of Israel that the call was set to occur.

The call comes as talks are said to be on the “brink of collapse,” amid faltering efforts to bring Hamas onboard to the latest US proposal, and Netanyahu’s hardline stance on the IDF’s continued presence on the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors.

According to Channel 12 news, Israeli officials are saying that chances for a hostage deal in the near future are “extremely, extremely low.”

Jacob Magid and Lazar Berman contributed to this report.

J Street head says Harris could move pro-Palestinian protesters to more nuanced view of war

A Democratic National Convention side event panel in Chicago on August 21, 2024. (Jacob Magid/Times of Israel)

CHICAGO — Jeremy Ben Ami, who heads the dovish Mideast lobby J Street, argues that “it is the mainstream American Jewish position to feel that this government of Israel is out of step with our values and the ways in which we view the war.”

“There’s no reason why we can’t help young people who share that view, which is the very mainstream view, to find the language to express that and to understand the history of the Jewish people,” Ben Ami says during an event on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago organized by the Jewish Democratic Council of America.

Ben Ami urges the 200-or-so in the room to avoid writing off all of the far-left pro-Palestinian protesters who have taken to the streets to protest against the war in Gaza.

Ben Ami indicates that Harris is well-equipped to move these protesters toward more nuanced positions, branding the vice president as “an incredible messenger of empathy.”

He recalls how after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month, Harris gave a press statement talking about the importance of “getting beyond a binary” regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Ben Ami says this message speaks to young American Jews, who also hold “a great deal of empathy for the Palestinian civilians of Gaza” alongside their longheld connections to the State of Israel.

The J Street chief touts the new Democratic Party ticket as one that brings “balance” to the issue, indicating that the Biden administration leaned more toward Israel.

“This party’s ticket brings a balance that recognizes that we have to have rights and freedom and safety and security for both Israelis and Palestinians — that is what separates us from the Republican Party.”

Netanyahu calls Air Force ‘our iron fist that can strike the soft underbelly of our enemies’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the Ramat David Air Force base near Haifa, August 21, 2024. (Haim Zach/GPO)

During a visit to the Ramat David Air Force base near Haifa, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel is “ready for any scenario, both on the defensive and on the attack.”

Netanyahu calls the IAF “our iron fist that can strike the soft underbelly of our enemies.”

He says that the Air Force has shown repeatedly that it undertakes heroic missions, “and if necessary, will do so again.”

Netanyahu receives a briefing from IAF’s chief of staff and the head of its air defense array on preparations for dealing with threats from the north and beyond.

Harris’s Jewish liason praises Biden’s work to prevent Israel-Hamas war spillover

Harris Campaign Jewish liaison Ilan Goldenberg speaks at an event on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention on August 21, 2024. (Jacob Magid/Times of Israel)

CHICAGO — In one of his first public appearances since being appointed the Jewish liaison of Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, Ilan Goldenberg touts the Biden administration’s efforts to prevent the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza from deteriorating into an all-out regional conflict.

Goldenberg, who stepped aside from his role of senior aide on the National Security Council to join the campaign, says he has “very little confidence” that former president Donald Trump would succeed in preventing such a regional war if he had been president in the past 10 months since October 7.

Trump argues that the October 7 onslaught wouldn’t have occurred at all if he were president because his administration’s sanction regime against Iran had left it with no funds to backroll proxies like Hamas.

Goldenberg says Harris — like Biden before her — is committed to “freedom and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.”

Rocket sirens sound in northern commmunity

Incoming rocket sirens activate in the northern community of Zarit.

Rocket Alert [18:31:37] – 1 Alert:

• Confrontation Line — Zarit
Population in the area: <500#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/Nv7wSCqrlG

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) August 21, 2024

Probe finds chopper crash that killed Iranian president caused by bad weather, carried too much weight

In this photo provided by Moj News Agency, rescue teams are seen near the site of the incident of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Varzaghan in northwestern Iran, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (Azin Haghighi, Moj News Agency via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The helicopter crash in which Iran’s late President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in May was caused by weather conditions and the aircraft’s inability to handle the weight it was carrying, Iran’s semi-official news agency reports, citing a security source informed of the final investigation results.

A preliminary report by Iran’s military had said in May that no evidence of foul play or attack had been found so far during investigations into the crash.

“The investigation in the case of Ayatollah Raisi’s helicopter crash has been completed … there is complete certainty that what happened was an accident,” the security source who was not named tells Fars news agency.

Two reasons for the accident were identified: the weather conditions were not suitable and the helicopter was unable to handle the weight, leading to it crashing into a mountain, the source adds, according to Fars.

The investigations indicate that the helicopter was carrying two individuals more than the capacity that security protocols dictate, the source tells Fars.

Raisi, a hardliner and potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the crash in mountainous terrain near the Azerbaijan border.

Gallant says 150 tunnels have been destroyed along Egypt-Gaza border, Hamas’s Rafah Brigade defeated

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meets troops along the Philadelphi Corridor, the Egypt-Gaza border area, August 21, 2024. (Ariel Heremoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says more than 150 tunnels have been demolished along the Philadelphi Corridor, the Egypt-Gaza border area, and that Hamas’s Rafah Brigade has been defeated.

“The most important thing… is to remember what the goals of the war are, to meet all the goals of the war, both regarding Hamas and also regarding the hostages, and to look north now,” Gallant says to troops stationed in the Philadelphi Corridor area.

“The Rafah Brigade has been defeated, the enemy’s Rafah Brigade has been defeated by the 162nd Division,” Gallant says.

Egyptian officials not optimistic ceasefire-hostage deal can be reached

Key mediator Egypt expresses skepticism as more details emerge of the proposal meant to bridge gaps in ceasefire-hostage release talks between Israel and Hamas, a day before negotiations were expected to resume in Cairo.

The challenges around the so-called bridging proposal appear to undermine the optimism for an imminent agreement that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken carried into his latest Mideast visit this week. Diplomatic efforts had redoubled as fears grow of a wider regional war after the recent targeted killings of Hamas’s leader in Tehran, and a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut and threats of retaliation against Israel.

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied it played a role in the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, but took responsibility for the drone strike that killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr.

Officials in Egypt, in its unique role as both a mediator and affected party since it borders Gaza, tell The Associated Press that the Hamas terror group will not agree to the bridging proposal for a number of reasons — ones in addition to the long-held wariness over whether a deal would truly remove Israel forces from Gaza and end the war.

One Egyptian official, with direct knowledge of the negotiations, says the bridging proposal requires the implementation of the deal’s first phase, which has Hamas releasing the most vulnerable civilian hostages captured in its October 7 massacre that sparked the war. Parties during the first phase would negotiate the second and third phases with no “guarantees” to Hamas from Israel or mediators.

“The Americans are offering promises, not guarantees,” the official says. “Hamas won’t accept this, because it virtually means Hamas will release the civilian hostages in return for a six-week pause of fighting with no guarantees for a negotiated permanent ceasefire.”

He also says the proposal doesn’t clearly say Israel will withdraw its forces from two strategic corridors in Gaza, the Philadelphi Corridor alongside Egypt and the Netzarim Corridor east to west across the territory. Israel offers to downsize its forces in the Philadelphi Corridor, with “promises” to withdraw from the area, he says.

“This is not acceptable for us and of course for Hamas,” the Egyptian official says.

Less than one-fifth of Israelis have high level of trust in government, poll finds

Protesters demonstrate against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming visit to the US at Ben Gurion Airport, July 21, 2024. (Tanya Zion-Waldoks/ Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Only 17% of Israelis place high trust in the government, and 26% in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a poll released today by the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

Some 45% express a high degree of trust in IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, and 61% indicate that they believe the IDF will win in Gaza. Somewhat paradoxically, less than half the Israeli public (44.5%) believes the country’s war aims will be achieved completely or in large part.

Most Israelis want to see the country initiate some kind of military operation against Hezbollah in the north, with almost half expressing a desire to see a large-scale operation that could ignite a regional war.

Only 28% of the public, and 21% of Israeli Jews, say the 5 IDF soldiers accused of abuse against Hamas prisoners should face criminal prosecution instead of disciplinary action by their commanders. Also, only 47% of the public says that “Israel should obey international law and maintain ethical values in war,” while 39.5% (47% of the Jewish public) say Israel should not.

Both Jewish and Arab Israelis indicated that they are more concerned about domestic tensions within Israel than external security threats.

Rocket sirens blare in Western Galilee

Incoming rocket sirens are activated in Western Galilee communities.

Sirens are sounding in Arab al-Aramshe, Zarit, and Shomera.

Rocket Alert [17:45:56] – 3 Alerts:

• Confrontation Line — Shomera, Arab al-Aramshe, Zarit
Population in the area: 4,900#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/JLQhD3DnFK

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) August 21, 2024

Gantz urges PM to let southern communities manage Oct. 7 state memorial event

MK Benny Gantz attends a rally calling for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv, August 17, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

National Unity chair Benny Gantz calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to transfer responsibility over a state memorial ceremony for the October 7 massacre from Transportation Minister Miri Regev to the communities ravaged in the assault and to the culture minister.

“The way to mark the anniversary of the October 7 massacre can’t be determined by me, nor by you, nor by minister Regev. The nature of this day should be determined by those who experienced the inferno: the residents of towns in the Western Negev, the hostages and their families, the families of fallen soldiers, and the wounded,” Gantz says in a statement.

Hostage Families Forum joins boycott of Oct. 7 state memorial ceremony

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum announces it won’t cooperate with government plans for a state memorial on the anniversary of the October 7 massacre.

The group says the “resounding failure” of the government to return hostages taken on October 7 “won’t allow it to continue trying to close the circle,” adding it will join Gaza border communities for an alternative ceremony.

“The Hostage Families Forum will join with border communities and towns on the Gaza border and south to mark the anniversary of the massacre, to demand the restoration of security, the return of the abductees, the restoration of the communities, and the investigation of the failures that led to the terrible disaster on October 7, 2023,” the group’s statement reads.

Lapid says PM won’t go to Egypt to seal hostage deal because ‘he no longer has a soul’

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid addresses his Yesh Atid party's weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, August 14, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won’t go to Egypt himself to ensure a hostage release deal is signed because “he no longer has a soul.”

“If Netanyahu is so convinced of his negotiating capabilities, he should travel to Egypt and sit there himself until a deal is reached. This is what a responsible prime minister should do when the lives of his citizens are important to him,” Lapid says in a statement.

“The only reason he doesn’t do this is because he no longer has a soul,” he adds.

The statement appears to be a response to a Channel 13 report that quoted the prime minister saying he “knows well how to conduct negotiations” with Hamas, arguing that he has “conducted negotiations with the Histadrut” labor federation.

Yad Mordechai also joins boycott of state Oct. 7 memorial event

After Nir Oz, Kibbutz Yad Mordechai announces it won’t take part in government plans to hold a state ceremony for the October 7 massacre.

“We have no intention to take part in this political production. The kibbutz will examine each invitation if and when it arrives, but it does not intend to hold ceremonies of a political nature,” it says in a statement.

Mosquitos carrying West Nile virus caught in Jerusalem, central and northern Israel

The Environmental Protection Ministry reports that mosquitoes carrying the West Nile fever virus were trapped in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ramat Hasharon, as well as in the Lower Galilee Regional Council, the Megiddo Regional Council, and the Kafr Kanna Local Council.

The ministry has instructed all authorities to further expand their monitoring and pest control efforts in urban and uninhabited areas.

It asks the public to protect themselves to reduce the risk of mosquito bites.

Kibbutz Nir Oz joins boycott of state Oct. 7 ceremony

A group of Israelis on an educational tour visit a house that was torched by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 attack on Israel in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Kibbutz Nir Oz joins several Gaza border communities ravaged by Hamas on October 7 in announcing it won’t cooperate with government plans for a state memorial on the anniversary of the assault.

“While are burying our dead who were murdered in Hamas captivity, it isn’t surprising that the Israeli government and its head hasn’t asked kibbutz members to participate in the ceremony,” a statement by the community reads.

“The setting for the ceremony is a reminder of the greatest failure that ever occurred in the State of Israel,” the statement notes.

“He who completely destroyed our trust cannot obscure this through ceremonies and use us as extras,” the kibbutz adds.

IDF strikes Hamas command room in Gaza City school

The IDF says it carried out an airstrike against Hamas operatives at a command room embedded within a school in Gaza City.

According to the military, Hamas was using the command room at the Salah ad-Din School to plan and carry out attacks against troops in Gaza and against Israel.

The IDF says it carried out “many steps” to mitigate harm to civilians in the strike, including using precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.

“The Hamas terror organization systematically violates international law, brutally exploiting civilian institutions and the population as a human shield for terror activity,” the military says.

In recent months, dozens of airstrikes have been carried out against Hamas sites embedded within schools and other sites used as shelters for civilians, according to the IDF.

The IDF adds that it will “continue to act with strength and determination against the terror organizations that use schools and civilian institutions as shelters.”

מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו לפני זמן קצר, באופן ממוקד ובהכוונה מודיעינית של אמ״ן, שב״כ ופיקוד הדרום, מחבלים של ארגון הטרור חמאס שפעלו במתחם פיקוד ושליטה במרחב ששימש בעבר כבית ספר ״צלאח א-דין״ שבעיר עזה>> pic.twitter.com/9SOuAwU7fM

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 21, 2024

Man hurt by shrapnel in Hezbollah rocket attack has foot fracture, is conscious

View of a house which was directly hit in a missile attack from Lebanon, in Katzrin, northern Israel, August 21, 2024. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)

A 33-year-old man who sustained superficial shrapnel injuries to the body and face during the Hezbollah terror group’s attack of more than 50 rockets at the northern city of Katzrin in the Golan Heights is in mild to moderate condition, Ziv Medical Center says.

He has a foot fracture and is fully conscious.

IDF says rumors of hostage rescue op untrue, urges public not to spread hearsay

The IDF says rumors circulating on social media in the last hours regarding the rescue of hostages from the Gaza Strip are false.

“In the last few hours there have been rumors about hostages that are not true,” the military says.

“Listen to the announcements of the official authorities only, and avoid spreading false rumors that harm families and the public,” it adds.

At site of Katzrin rocket attack, Ben Gvir urges harsh response to Hezbollah

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (center) at the scene of a direct hit from a missile attack in Katzrin, Golan Heights, with the city's Mayor Yehuda Dua (left) and Golan Heights Regional Council head Ori Kalner on August 21, 2024. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)

Standing amidst the wreckage following a Hezbollah rocket barrage on the northern Israeli city of Katzrin in the Golan Heights, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calls for a harsh response and demands that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu give him greater influence over the management of the conflict.

“One of the reasons I am so demanding to enter the limited cabinet is what is happening here now,” the far-right minister declares. “You also have to attack, you also have to make a campaign. This is the opportunity we must not miss.”

“The State of Israel needs to respond in the most unequivocal, clearest way,” he adds.

Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon launched more than 50 rockets at Katzrin this morning. While most of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system, several hit the city, causing heavy damage to homes and injuring one person.

Ben Gvir has repeatedly demanded inclusion in the now-defunct war cabinet, stating his desire to be among those leading the decision-making in the war. To that end, he has actively thwarted legislation pushed by fellow coalition party Shas in order to pressure the premier to appoint him to the forum or any potential successor bodies.

Netanyahu is widely regarded as deeply distrusting the firebrand far-right minister and refusing to include him in such decision-making forums, due to his tendency to leak information to the press.

Consultations on the ceasefire deal currently being debated — which has been opposed by Ben Gvir — are being held in a small forum comprising Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, and Shas leader Aryeh Deri, as well as key security chiefs and negotiators.

Israeli banks refusing shekel cash deposits from West Bank, Palestinian officials claim

Israeli banks are refusing shekel cash transfers from Palestinian banks in the West Bank in a move that could soon prevent Palestinians from accessing vital goods and services, Palestinian Authority officials claim.

The office of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who in June extended a waiver that allows the country’s banks to cooperate with Palestinian banks in the West Bank, has no immediate comment.

“In the next few days, banks in Palestine will be unable to finance trade operations between Palestinian and Israeli merchants, as their ability to make financial transfers is directly connected to shipping the accumulated shekel banknotes to their Israeli counterparts,” the PA’s Monetary Authority says.

It adds this will prevent Palestinians from accessing vital goods and services as they will be unable to pay for them through official banking channels.

Fatah official charges Israel killed party member to ‘ignite a full-scale war’

A senior official from the Palestinian Fatah movement claims that Israel killed a fellow party member in southern Lebanon in order to start a regional war.

The “assassination of a Fatah official is further proof that Israel wants to ignite a full-scale war in the region,” Tawfik Tirawi, a member of Fatah’s central committee, tells AFP, referring to the killing of Khalil Makdah.

Israel has said it targeted Makdah for working out of Lebanon with Iran to transfer money and weapons to terror cells in the West Bank.

IDF confirms Lebanon strike on Fatah official, says he worked with Iran to fund West Bank terror

The IDF confirms carrying out an airstrike near the coastal Lebanese city of Sidon earlier today, killing Fatah official Khalil Makdah.

Khalil is the brother of senior Fatah official Munir Makdah, who has been accused by Israel for years of working with Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to advance attacks on Israel.

In a joint statement, the IDF and Shin Bet say that the Makdah brothers have been working out of Lebanon with the IRGC to transfer money and weapons to terror cells in the West Bank.

The military publishes footage of the airstrike.

מוקדם יותר היום, בהכוונה משותפת של שב״כ ואמ״ן, כלי טיס של חיל האוויר תקף במרחב צידון שבדרום לבנון את המחבל, ח'ליל חסין חליל אל מקדאח.

ח׳ליל הינו אחיו של מוניר אל מקדאח, תושב לבנון שפועל עבור חיזבאללה ומשמרות המהפכה האיראנים, וממשיך לנסות ולקדם פיגועים בימים אלה >> pic.twitter.com/YrO6NatMOY

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 21, 2024

In March, the Shin Bet revealed that it had foiled attempts by Iran to smuggle large amounts of advanced weapons to terror operatives in the West Bank to be used in attacks on Israeli targets.

The Shin Bet said at the time that Munir Makdah was involved in the plot.

Brooklyn bookstore accused of refusing to allow Zionists on its premises

A US bookstore has allegedly refused to host an event promoting a new book because it refuses to allow Zionists on its premises.

Joshua Leifer — a critic of Zionism and the author of new book “Tablets Shattered,” which explores debates within American Jewish life — tweets that powerHouse Books in New York’s Brooklyn borough canceled a planned conversation between Leifer and local rabbi Andy Bachman.

“My biggest worry was about synagogues not wanting to host me. I didn’t think it would be bookstores in Brooklyn that would be closing their doors,” Leifer writes.

Less than an hour before the launch event for my book Tablets Shattered, a conversation with Rabbi Andy Bachman, @powerHouseBooks in Brooklyn told me they were unwilling to host the conversation with Andy because they would not permit a Zionist on the premises.

— Joshua Leifer (@joshualeifer) August 21, 2024

Blinken discusses Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks in call with Turkish FM

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has discussed developments in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire negotiations in a phone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, a spokesman for the ministry says.

The conversation was held at the request of the US, Oncu Keceli says in a social media post. Turkey is a close supporter of Hamas and has condemned Israel’s campaign against the Palestinian terror group in Gaza as “genocide.”

Hamas calls for mass protests on Friday

The terror group Hamas calls for mass protests on Friday to mark “a day to defend Gaza, Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa.”

In a statement, the Palestinian terror group addresses in particular Muslims in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the rest of Israel, urging them to travel to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the capital’s Temple Mount and barricade themselves inside it to “thwart attempts by extremists to desecrate it.”

The call comes on the 55th anniversary of an arson attack on the third-holiest place for Muslims carried out by a Christian Australian on August 21, 1969, which destroyed parts of the structure. Even though the arsonist acted independently, some Palestinian groups at the time accused Israel of plotting the attack.

In its statement, Hamas claims Israel was “complicit,” and accuses it of attempting today to impose its sovereignty over the whole compound of the mosque, known to Jews as Temple Mount, the holiest place in Judaism and the place where the two Jewish Temples once stood.

El Al to fix prices to 4 destinations until end of 2024 to deal with Israel flight crisis

An El Al plane arrives from France at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, August 1, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg / Flash90)

As many airlines cancel flights to Israel due to the security situation, and as Israeli carrier El Al has been accused of price-hiking, Economy Minister Nir Barkat has reached an agreement with the national carrier to fix the prices of tickets to four destinations until the end of the year.

The four destinations, which will serve as hubs for flights to and from Israel, are Larnaca, Athens, Vienna and Dubai. Flights to those airports will be boosted, and tourists will have a large variety of connecting flights from there.

The fixed price for a roundtrip ticket to Larnaca will be $199; to Athens, $299; to Vienna, $349; and to Dubai, $349.

Those prices are per LITE ticket in economy class. In a statement, El Al estimates that around 80,000 such seats will be available until the end of 2024.

The state, for its part, will not tax El Al’s high revenue this year.

In war first, Israeli strike said to kill Palestinian Fatah official in south Lebanon

An Israeli strike in Lebanon’s southern city of Sidon killed a Fatah official, says a leader from the Palestinian group and a security source, marking the first such attack reported on Fatah in over 10 months of cross-border clashes.

“The Israeli strike in Sidon killed [Fatah] group official Khalil Makdah,” says Fathi Abu al-Aradat, a senior member of the Palestinian Authority president’s movement, with a security source confirming the report to AFP and adding that the strike hit his car.

Report: Netanyahu said he knows how to negotiate with Hamas since he negotiated with labor union

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly told officials that he “well knows how to conduct negotiations” with Hamas, arguing that he has “conducted negotiations with the Histadrut” labor federation, Channel 13 news reports.

In response, Histadrut spokesman Yaniv Levy tells the network that “the parallel between the negotiations [Netanyahu is] holding with the terrorist organization Hamas and [those he held with] the Histadrut is nothing less than a shame bordering on incitement.”

“Apologize now to the million workers who drive the economy, many of whom are reservists,” he adds.

In response, Netanyahu’s Likud party releases a statement condemning what it calls “another low attempt by Channel 13 to generate gratuitous hatred among us by taking things out of context” for the sake of ratings.

“The prime minister did not compare the Histadrut to the murderous terrorist organization Hamas. There is nothing in the world that can compare to the new Nazis of Hamas,” Likud continues.

“The prime minister gave an example during a closed discussion regarding the processes of various negotiations that he conducted in the past, including negotiations between friends” and he “clearly emphasized that [the Histadrut] cannot be compared to negotiations with the murderous organization Hamas.”

IDF says several drones launched from Lebanon; some downed, some impact, no injuries

Several drones were launched from Lebanon at the Upper Galilee an hour ago, setting off sirens in numerous communities.

The IDF says that some of the drones were shot down by air defenses, while others impacted the area.

No injuries were caused.

IDF urges evacuation of small part of Gaza humanitarian zone, says terror groups operating there

The IDF is calling on Palestinians in a small section of the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah to evacuate.

Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, publishes a map of the zones that need to be evacuated.

He says that the military will “forcefully operate” against terror groups in the area.

“For your safety, we urge you to evacuate immediately to the west. The area you are in is considered a dangerous combat zone,” Adraee adds.

The size of the humanitarian zone has changed multiple times, amid evolving IDF operations against the Hamas terror group.

The zone is currently around 42 square kilometers, or 11% of the total size of the Gaza Strip. According to IDF estimates, some 1.9 million Palestinians of the 2.3 million Gazan population are residing in the zone.

#عاجل الى كل السكان والنازحين المتواجدين في بلوكات 129, 130 في حارات المحطة ودير البلح جنوباً، من شارع صلاح الدين وحتى الشارع المحدد على الخريطة.
⭕️جيش الدفاع الاسرائيلي سوف يعمل بقوة ضد المنظمات الارهابية في تلك المنطقة.
⭕️من أجل أمنكم، نناشدكم بالإخلاء بشكل فوري غرباً.… pic.twitter.com/gpaPZY2OEo

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) August 21, 2024

IDF says Hezbollah barrage was aimed at civilians, not military base as was claimed

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the Hezbollah rocket barrage this morning was directed at the town of Katzrin, not at a military base as the terror group has claimed.

“Hezbollah launched some 50 rockets this morning at the center of the city of Katzrin. Once again, Hezbollah is firing indiscriminately at Israeli civilians,” Hagari says on X.

“Like any country that protects its citizens, we will act accordingly,” he adds.

Ex-hostage says she met those whose bodies were recovered, recounts making ‘lemon into lemonade’ amid tough conditions

Former Hamas hostage Danielle Aloni speaks at a press conference in Tel Aviv, July 18, 2024. (Hostage and Missing Families Forum)

Former hostage Danielle Aloni recounts her time in captivity alongside five of the six hostages whose bodies were recovered yesterday from the Gaza Strip, describing their hopes of being freed despite enduring horrendous conditions in Hamas tunnels.

Speaking to Army Radio, Aloni — who was released with her 5-year-old daughter, her sister and her 3-year-old nieces in a hostage deal in November, and who has three relatives still in captivity — says she spent several weeks with the group of hostages who later died and whose bodies have now been returned.

“We turned the lemon into lemonade,” she says, describing how Alex Dancyg and others would hold daily lectures on the Holocaust, the Inquisition and other historic subjects.

She says it was hard to see and breathe inside the dark, humid tunnels, and that the stench was hard to bear after several weeks of nobody showering. She says power would go out for hours at a time, and that there was no light when they moved between different locations within the tunnels.

Aloni says she has survivor’s guilt, lamenting that people she describes as perhaps “better than me” died, while she survived. She says she doesn’t know how she would have done had she stayed in the tunnels for so long, and particularly how her child would have endured the conditions.

She urges Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sign a deal to free the hostages, saying that more and more are dying and that for over 10 months now, she and many relatives are unable to resume their normal lives and put the events of October 7 behind them, since they are still experiencing the atrocities.

Lebanese media reports IDF drone strike on Palestinian camp near Sidon

Lebanese media reports an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in the Mieh Mieh Palestinian refugee camp near the coastal city of Sidon.

No further details are immediately available and the IDF has not yet commented on the incident.

مسيرة تستهدف سيارة في مخيم المية ومية في #صيدا pic.twitter.com/mknKZ0aqty

— هنا لبنان (@thisislebnews) August 21, 2024

IDF says it struck 30 targets throughout Gaza in past day, killed dozens of gunmen

Dozens of gunmen were killed amid IDF operations in Gaza, and some 30 targets were struck by the Israeli Air Force across the Strip in the past day, the military says in a morning update.

Targets hit by the IAF included buildings used by terror groups, armed terror operatives, rocket launching sites, tunnel shafts and observation posts, according to the military.

The IDF says that in Rafah’s northwestern Tel Sultan neighborhood, troops with the 162nd Division killed dozens of armed terror operatives, destroyed sites belonging to terror groups, and located numerous weapons.

In Khan Younis and on the outskirts of Deir al-Balah, the military says that troops with the 98th Division killed dozens more gunmen and raided Hamas sites.

The division also directed an airstrike on several terror operatives who had been spotted in an area from which rockets were launched at Israeli border communities several times in recent days, the IDF says.

Meanwhile, in the Netzarim Corridor of central Gaza, reservists with the 252nd Division struck buildings that the IDF says were used by Hamas to attack troops.

Vessel off Yemen ‘struck’ by three projectiles, UK agency reports

Three projectiles have hit a merchant vessel off Yemen’s rebel-held port city of Hodeida, limiting the ship’s ability to maneuver, British maritime security agency UKMTO says.

“The merchant vessel had been struck by two unidentified projectiles before being hit by a third,” United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations says, adding that there are no reports of casualties but “the vessel reports being not under command.”

Hostage’s mom suggests Hamas take sons of 5 military officials in exchange for all captives

Ditza Or holds a picture of her son Avinatan, who is being held hostage in Gaza, outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv on December 27, 2023. (Mati Wagner/Times of Israel)

Ditza Or, mother of Hamas hostage Avinatan Or, makes a televised offer to the terror group to free the remaining 109 captives in exchange for the sons of five military officials she accuses of failing to exert sufficient military pressure on the terror group.

During an interview on Channel 12 last night, Or addresses Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

“Sinwar, you scoundrel, a new deal for you,” she says. “I offer you to free 109 hostages in one go, and in return to get only five hostages.

“The first is the son of Herzi Halevi, a chief of staff [of the IDF] who doesn’t know how to win; the second is the son of [Yoav] Gallant, a defense minister who declared that we can’t win; the third is the son of Yifat [Tomer-Yerushalmi], the military advocate general who has forgotten what side she’s on; the fourth is the son of the Shin Bet chief [Ronen Bar], who knew at 4 a.m. [on October 7] that an attack was beginning and still allowed the Nova festival to continue normally even though the many hundreds who were murdered and kidnapped from there could have be saved; and the fifth is the son of [hostage negotiations team member and former IDF general] Nitzan Alon, who is so sure he can bring back [hostages] in stages.”

Or belongs to an ideological minority among the hostage families that has pushed for their loved ones to be returned via military pressure rather than through negotiation, and has directed its criticism mainly at military and other officials rather than at the government.

Both journalists who hosted the interview, as well as the Keshet production company and the three other panelists who were in the studio while the remarks were made, express reservations about the content of Or’s offer, while clarifying that they’re not in a position to directly criticize the mother of a hostage.

Police say they declared Haredi protest illegal, used force to prevent road-blocking

Ultra-Orthodox extremists protest against the drafting of Haredi men to the army, outside an IDF recruitment center in Jerusalem, August 21, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Police say they have declared the protest by Haredi extremists outside the IDF’s Jerusalem recruitment office illegal because some participants rioted, blocked nearby roads and tried to hurl public garden fences at cops.

Demonstrators also repeatedly tried to breach police roadblocks while clashing with cops and hurling insults at them.

Police subsequently used force to get demonstrators off roads and drive them away from the area of the recruitment office, the force says.

Be’eri, Kfar Aza said to join boycott of state Oct. 7 ceremony, planning their own events

Two of the Gaza border towns ravaged the most by Hamas’s October 7 onslaught have announced that they reject the government plans for a state memorial on the anniversary of the assault, instead planning their own ceremonies.

According to Ynet, Kibbutz Be’eri decided to hold its own event even before the government announced plans to hold a centralized ceremony organized by Transportation Minister Miri Regev, which drew extensive criticism from families of hostages and victims and some Gaza border communities.

“This isn’t an alternative ceremony, this is the ceremony of the community,” the outlet cites Be’eri officials as saying.

Additionally, mutiple Hebrew media reports say, Kibbutz Kfar Aza has said in a statement that it is “disappointed” by the government plans while 109 hostages are still in Hamas captivity, including five local residents.

Kfar Aza urges the government to focus its efforts on bringing the hostages home and, in terms of a memorial, “make do with lowering the flag to half-staff and standing in attention at the memorial siren, and not produce grandiose events.”

It says the kibbutz will mark the anniversary with a private community event, “in hopes that by then, we will get to hug our friends who will return from captivity.”

Medics say man in moderate condition after rocket directly hit his home in Katzrin

A man wounded by Hezbollah’s rocket attack in Katzrin is listed in moderate condition, medics say.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says the man in his 30s sustained shrapnel injuries from a direct rocket impact on his home.

He is being taken to Ziv Hospital in Safed for treatment.

Hezbollah claims rocket barrage at Katzrin, claims to have targeted army base

Hezbollah takes responsibility for the rocket barrage on Katzrin this morning, claiming in a statement that it targeted a nearby military base.

The terror group says it launched several volleys of unguided Katyusha rockets at the army base in the Golan Heights in response to an IDF strike deep in eastern Lebanon last night.

According to the IDF, some 50 rockets were fired in the attack, with several being intercepted by the Iron Dome system and some impacting Katzrin, causing heavy damage and wounding one person.

IDF says it struck Hezbollah operative in southern Lebanon’s Beit Lif overnight

The IDF says fighter jets struck a Hezbollah operative in southern Lebanon’s Beit Lif overnight.

It publishes footage of the strike.

במהלך הלילה מטוסי קרב תקפו מחבל של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב בית ליף שבדרום לבנון.

בהמשך להתרעות על ירי טילים ורקטות שהופעלו במרחב רמת הגולן, זוהו כ-50 שיגורים שחצו מלבנון לעבר שטח הארץ, חלקן יורטו על ידי לוחמי ההגנה האווירית וזוהו מספר נפילות במרחב קצרין.

בהמשך להתרעה שהופעלה… pic.twitter.com/UjbmOVqpb2

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) August 21, 2024

Several homes hit in Katzrin as some 50 rockets fired from Lebanon; 1 injured

A home in Katzrin directly hit by a rocket fired from Lebanon on August 21, 2024. (Screenshot: Magen David Adom)

A barrage of 40-50 rockets was fired from Lebanon at the northern town of Katzrin in the Golan Heights a short while ago, according to the IDF.

Some of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses, although several impacted the city.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it is treating a man in his 30s who was lightly wounded.

Heavy damage is caused to homes in Katzrin in the attack.

כ-50 שיגורים בוצעו לעבר הגולן; תיעוד – הפגיעה הישירה בבית בקצרין@_Gitsis_
(צילום: תיעוד מבצעי מד"א) pic.twitter.com/kGnZy8gZsS

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) August 21, 2024

המטח לגולן ולגליל: יירוטים רבים בשמי הצפון, דיווחים על ארבע זירות נפילה בקצרין, גבר בן 30 נפצע באורח קל | עדכונים שוטפים >>> https://t.co/ieIhbWqx4j@rubih67 pic.twitter.com/Wij1rzleOj

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) August 21, 2024

בוקר שגרתי בצפון: מטח של עשרות רקטות, דיווח על 5 פגיעות ישירות במבנים בקצרין. אין דיווח על נפגעים בגוף. pic.twitter.com/gdNf6nkUEt

— almog boker (@bokeralmog) August 21, 2024

Haredi extremists protest outside IDF’s Jerusalem recruitment office

Over a hundred extremist ultra-Orthodox men are protesting near the IDF’s Jerusalem recruitment office, where Haredi draftees who received summonses are required to come today.

So far in other locations, only a small minority of the community members who received a call-up actually reported to the offices, amid staunch opposition to military enlistment by most ultra-Orthodox leaders who fear the army service will secularize them.

Helping to deter would-be-recruits are regular protests by hardline factions near IDF offices and intimidation toward those who do show up.

This morning, the demonstrators are shouting “We will die and not enlist,” Nazis” and “To prison and not to the army.” Some are rioting and trying to breach police roadblocks.

Police arrive with a water cannon and mounted officers, attempting to keep the protest under control.

סוער על הבוקר בירושלים. המשטרה ניסתה לחסום צעירים מלהגיע ללשכת הגיוס, אך הם פרצו את המחסומים. pic.twitter.com/jCe837vVNU

— Merav Sever (@meravseve) August 21, 2024

Alarms blare in several towns in north

Rocket and suspected drone alarms have sounded in a series of towns in the Upper Galilee and the Golan.

There are no immediate reports of impacts or injuries.

Noa Argamani to G7 in Japan: I thought ‘every night is my last,’ it’s a ‘miracle that I’m here’

Rescued hostage Noa Argamani, who was abducted with hundreds of others from the Supernova music festival during Hamas's October 7 terror onslaught, speaks during a meeting with G7 embassy representatives during a visit to Tokyo, Japan on August 21, 2024. (Photo by Richard A. Brooks / AFP)

A young Israeli woman who became emblematic of the 251 hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 says she had thought every night in captivity would be her last.

“Every night I was falling asleep and thinking, this may be the last night of my life,” Noa Argamani says in Japan on a visit with her father.

“And until the moment I was [rescued by the IDF]… I just did not believe that I was still surviving,” the 26-year-old says as she meets with senior diplomats from G7 countries in Tokyo. “And in this moment that I’m still sitting with you, it’s a miracle that I’m here.”

Argamani was among those kidnapped by the Palestinian terror group from the Supernova music festival during the brutal October 7 onslaught that sparked the ongoing war. A video that went viral showed her on the back of a motorbike screaming: “Don’t kill me!”

The video showed her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, an engineer, being led away separately.

Israeli special forces freed Argamani in a raid on Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp on June 8 along with three others — Almog Meir Jan, 22, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 41.

“Avinatan, my boyfriend, is still there, and we need to bring them back before it’s going to be too late. We don’t want to lose more people than we already lost,” says Argamani.

Rescued hostage Noa Argamani, center, who was abducted with hundreds of others from the Supernova music festival during Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught, attends a meeting with G7 embassy representatives during a visit to Tokyo, Japan on August 21, 2024. (Photo by Richard A. Brooks / AFP)

3 suspects in fatal shooting of Arab Israeli businessman in Istanbul detained in Romania

Three suspects wanted in connection with the killing of an Arab Israeli businessman in Istanbul have been detained in Romania, Turkish police say.

Abdulkadir Anas was shot dead on Sunday evening as he sat in a car. Two other men were wounded, one who remains in critical condition.

The alleged assailants escaped across the Bulgarian border within 2.5 hours of the shooting in Istanbul’s Kagithane district. They will be brought back to Turkey, police say.

The Istanbul Governor’s Office says the attack was motivated by a dispute over money. Four people said to have been involved in planning the attack were arrested yesterday.

Police, Shin Bet say Aug. 4 firebomb terror attack on cars in north was foiled in nick of time

Firebombs allegedly intended for use in a terror attack against Israeli cars on Route 85 in the north, near Gilon Junction, on the early morning of August 4, 2024. (Israel Police)

Security forces earlier this month thwarted a firebomb terror attack on Israeli cars driving on Route 85 in the north, the Shin Bet and Israel Police say in a joint statement.

Two Arab Israeli minors were arrested near Gilon Junction, west of Karmiel, at around 4:30 a.m. on August 4, after raising cops’ suspicion and being found to have filled bottles with gasoline to prepare three Molotov cocktails with the intention of hurling them toward cars driven by Jews, the statement says.

They also allegedly planned to commit arson by setting a nearby forest on fire out of a nationalistic motive, according to the statement.

Following an investigation, the pair have now been indicted at the Haifa District Court, clearing the case for publication, it adds.

Report: Hostage talks ‘on brink of collapse,’ US frustrated by Hamas’s rejectionism

Talks to bring about a ceasefire and hostages-for-prisoners are “on the brink of collapsing,” Politico reports, citing two unnamed US officials and one unnamed Israeli official.

While Washington has publicly insisted on expressing optimism, the officials reportedly say efforts to bring Hamas onboard the latest proposal — publicly endorsed by Israel — have so far been unsuccessful, with White House officials said frustrated by the Palestinian terror group’s hardline rhetoric against it.

The US outlet says this “has US officials increasingly worried that this proposal will falter just as earlier ones did, with Hamas and Israel at odds and no clear path to end fighting or bring hostages home.”

One of the sources is quoted as saying: “We don’t know if Sinwar wants this deal. But if we don’t get the deal there’s a chance that Iran attacks and this escalates into a full blown confrontation.”

The report says US officials are still hopeful Hamas may abruptly accept the deal, citing past instances in which it spontaneously agreed to truce deals after publicly opposing them.

IDF confirms overnight strikes on Hezbollah arms depots, air defenses in Bekaa Valley

The Israel Defense Forces confirms fighter jets carried out overnight airstrikes on Hezbollah weapon storage sites in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, for the second straight night.

A military statement says secondary explosions were identified after the strikes and that it also targeted Hezbollah air defenses in the area “that posed a threat” to Israeli aircraft.

The IDF accuses Hezbollah of putting military assets within populated areas, in a “cynical exploitation of Lebanese citizens,” after the Lebanese health ministry said one person was killed and at least 20 wounded in the strikes.

The statement also says the IDF carried out additional strikes on Hezbollah targets yesterday, including a rocket launcher used in an attack on Moshav Ya’ara.

Michelle Obama says Democrats on fence about Harris have a ‘Goldilocks complex’

Former US first lady Michelle Obama speaks on the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, on August 20, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP)

CHICAGO — Former first lady Michelle Obama calls out those in the Democratic Party with a “Goldilocks complex,” who are on the fence about voting for Vice President Kamala Harris in November.

“The minute something goes wrong, the minute a lie takes hold, we cannot start wringing our hands,” she says in a speech that has riled up the Democratic National Convention more than any other yet.

“We cannot get a Goldilocks complex about whether everything is just right,” Obama says as much of the packed United Center remains on its feet.

“We cannot indulge our anxieties about whether this country will elect someone like Kamala — instead of doing everything we can to get someone like Kamala elected,” she says.

Emhoff sprinkles references to his Jewish heritage into DNC speech

US Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff approaches the podium to speak on the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, on August 20, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP)

CHICAGO — Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff sprinkles references to his Jewish heritage into his speech on the second night of the Democratic National Convention.

Emhoff — the first Jewish spouse of a president or vice president — recalls taking the bus to Hebrew school, bringing Vice President Kamala Harris to High Holiday services and touting her Passover brisket as he tells the story of his upbringing and the growth of his relationship with the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.

“Over the past decade, Kamala has connected me more deeply to my faith — even though it’s not the same as her’s,” says Emhoff.

“Kamala has fought against antisemitism and all forms of hate, and she encouraged me to take up fight that’s personal to me,” he continues.

Emhoff also cracks several jokes — one about how his mother is the only person in the world who thinks Kamala is the lucky one for marrying him; and another about his grandmother’s plastic-covered couches.

He talks about Harris’s close relationship to his two children from his first marriage, highlighting how they call her “Momala.”

Israeli consulate in Chicago denounces pro-Palestinian demonstrators who charged police line

The Israeli consulate in Chicago releases a statement denouncing the pro-Palestinian demonstrators who violently clashed with police outside the building housing the diplomatic mission.

“We are appalled to see violence during the protest in front of our offices. This is anything but peaceful and completely contradictory to the spirit of the DNC. This vocal minority does not represent the vast bipartisan majority of Americans who stand strong in support of Israel,” the statement says.

“It was incredibly heartwarming to see many Americans countering this hate in front of our office, echoing the strong bond between America and Israel,” it adds, while thanking law enforcement.

DNC: pro-Israel counter-protesters are blocked by police not far from where a massive protest is taking place at the Israeli Consulate in Chicago right now.

Video by @peterhvideo and @FreedomNTV pic.twitter.com/jjLTH5plZq

— Oliya Scootercaster ???? (@ScooterCasterNY) August 21, 2024

The consulate also hits out at Mayor Brandon Johnson for “the ongoing support he has been giving to the anti-Israel protests in Chicago, particularly during the DNC, and his continued disregard for the large pro-Israel and Jewish community in the city.”

Bernie Sanders calls to end the ‘horrific war in Gaza, bring home the hostages’

US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont speaks on the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, on August 20, 2024. (Charly Triballeau/AFP)

CHICAGO – Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont calls for ending the “horrific war in Gaza, bring[ing] home the hostages and demand an immediate ceasefire” in an address to the Democratic National Convention.

The line receives loud applause from the packed crowd at the United Center.

Schumer ends DNC address by slamming Trump as ‘a guy who peddles antisemitic stereotypes’

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer points to a "Foundation to Combat Antisemitism" pin on his lapel as he speaks on the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, on August 20, 2024. (Mandel Ngan/AFP)

CHICAGO — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer closes his speech on the second night of the Democratic National Convention by speaking out against antisemitism, using the opportunity to attack Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

“As the highest ranking Jewish elected official in American history, I want my grandkids and all grandkids to never face discrimination because of who they are,” he says to applause.

“But Donald Trump – this is a guy who peddles antisemitic stereotypes. He even invited a white supremacist to Mar-a-Lago for dinner,” he says, referring to Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, who the former president hosted alongside rapper Kanye West.

“Unfortunately, [Trump’s] prejudice goes in all directions,” Schumer says, highlighting the former president’s ban on immigration from mostly Muslim-majority countries.

The top Democratic senator points to the blue square pin on his suit — part of a campaign raising awareness to combat antisemitism.

4 detained after protesters charge line of cops outside Israeli consulate in Chicago

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators clash with police near the Israeli consulate during the Democratic National Convention, August 20, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

CHICAGO — Police handcuff at least four people and lead them away from a pro-Palestinian demonstration after protesters charge a line of officers on the second night of the Democratic National Convention.

A small crowd of a few dozen protesters chanted “Let them go!” outside a Chicago skyscraper that houses the Israeli consulate while police penned demonstrators in on the street, preventing them from marching. Officers with wood clubs pushed protesters back, shouting “move.”

Some demonstrators set an American flag on fire in the street as the celebratory roll call for Vice President Kamala Harris took place 2 miles away. Others carried Palestinian flags, while many others wore black and covered their faces.

BREAKING: Heavy clashes, mass arrests as Protesters against DNC push against Chicago Police line outside Israeli Consulate pic.twitter.com/pixV0eKYTp

— Oliya Scootercaster ???? (@ScooterCasterNY) August 21, 2024

A man in Chicago Bulls hat, his face covered by a balaclava, called on protesters to “shut down the DNC.” The group, which is not the same coalition of over 200 groups that organized Monday’s protests, advertised the demonstration Tuesday under the slogan of “Make it great like ’68,” invoking the anti-Vietnam War protests that seized the city during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Dozens of Chicago police officers are posted outside the building, where law enforcement had closed down most of the entrances, allowing commuters to come in only one entrance where armed officers were also posted. Many of the building’s shops were closed. Martha Hill, a spokeswoman for the Metra commuter rail service, says train service is running as normal.

At DNC, rabbi outlines ‘redemption story’ that includes Israelis and Palestinians living in peace

Rabbi Sharon Brous for the invocation at the Democratic National Convention on August 20, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

CHICAGO — A Los Angeles rabbi touts a future in which Israelis and Palestinians “live in dignity and in peace,” in an invocation kicking off the second night of the Democratic National Convention.

“We have gathered together this week to craft a redemption story for America,” says Sharon Braus, who heads the non-denominational IKAR congregation.

“My faith is sustained by a redemption story. A people beleaguered and bereft, traversing the desert of a journey from degradation to dignity, from darkness to light,” she says alongside Imam Talib Shareef who delivers an opening prayer after her

“Holy One, help us write America’s redemption story… This story counters extremism with capaciousness and compassion.”

“It rejects the inevitability of war, affirming that every one of us, Muslim and Jew Christian, Black, white, Latino, AAPI, queer and straight, Israeli and Palestinian deserves to live in dignity and in peace,” she says to cheers from the gradually filling seats at the United Center.

Slated to address the crowd later tonight are former president Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Senator Bernie Sanders.

Lebanese health ministry says 1 killed, 19 wounded in Israeli strikes on Bekaa Valley

Lebanon’s health ministry says early Wednesday that Israeli strikes in the country’s east killed one person, just over a day after similar strikes in the area.

“Israeli enemy strikes on the Bekaa” Valley killed one person “and wounded 19 others,” the health ministry says, noting the toll was provisional and without saying if they were civilians or fighters.

The strikes around midnight come little more than a day after similar raids in the Bekaa region that Israel said targeted “Hezbollah weapons storage facilities.”

Hezbollah announces deaths of 4 members after Israeli strike on cell of operatives

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

The announcement comes following an Israeli airstrike on a cell of Hezbollah operatives at a building in southern Lebanon’s Matmoura earlier today.

Their deaths bring the terror group’s toll since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip to at least 419.

Lebanese media reports several Israeli airstrikes in Baalbek

Lebanese media report several Israeli airstrikes in eastern Lebanon, in the Baalbek District.

The reports say explosions are heard as Israeli fighter jets flew over the area.

غارات معا دية عنيفة تستهدف البقاع pic.twitter.com/Aqw6TqYWmv

— مصدر مسؤول (@fouadkhreiss) August 20, 2024

The IDF last night struck Hezbollah weapon depots in the Baalbek area in response to a deadly drone attack on northern Israel.

أعمدة الدخان تتصاعد من البقاع بعد سلسلة غارات إسرائيلية https://t.co/cbvvJmzvSj pic.twitter.com/dc1sSj3Nwd

— Ali Bk (@Bk_Hanas) August 20, 2024