Aug. 26: Israel said urging US to credibly flex military might or attack Iran’s nuclear sites

IDF still has no confirmation of West Bank kidnapping but taking report seriously — military source

The IDF still has no confirmation of the reported kidnapping in the northern West Bank, but it is taking the report seriously, a military source says.

A civilian at the Tapuah Junction reported to local security officials that he heard a woman shouting “Help!” in Hebrew from the back of a vehicle with Palestinian license plates. The vehicle then drove off.

Security authorities passed on the report to the IDF, which is now blocking roads in the area and searching for the vehicle.

IDF says it is investigating unconfirmed reports of kidnapping in northern West Bank

The IDF says it is investigating reports of a kidnapping in the northern West Bank.

A large number of troops were dispatched to the area, and several roads are being blocked, the military says.

The incident is still under investigation.

According to initial reports received by the IDF, a car with an apparently kidnapped person drove by the Tapuah Junction. The person was reportedly calling for help.

Hamas member released in November hostage deal said killed in IDF’s West Bank drone strike

Palestinian media report that among the dead in the IDF drone strike in Nur Shams is Jibril Jibril, a Hamas member who was released by Israel in a November deal with the terror group.

The deal saw Israel release Palestinian terror convicts and detainees, mostly from the West Bank, in exchange for Israeli civilians abducted by the terror group on October 7.

Jibril had been jailed for hurling explosive devices, stone-throwing, and being a member of Hamas.

استشهاد المطارد المقاوم بكتائب القسام "جبريل جبريل" من قلقيلية بقصف الاحتلال على مخيم نور شمس ،يُذكر أن الفتى جبريل أُفرج عنه بصفقة تبادل التهدئة بين المقاومة والاحتلال خلال الحرب الحالية، ونفذ عدة عمليات إطلاق نار وأصبح مطارداً منذ تحرره بالصفقة. pic.twitter.com/rRxzZjZ58C

— Newpress | نيو برس (@NewpressPs) August 26, 2024

French prosecutors extend Telegram chief’s detention

French authorities have extended the detention of Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder and chief of Telegram, after his arrest Saturday over alleged offenses related to the controversial messaging app, a source close to the case tells AFP.

The 39-year-old billionaire is being questioned on alleged offenses including fraud, drug-trafficking, cyberbullying, organized crime, promotion of terrorism, and failing to take action to curb the criminal use of the platform.

PA: At least 5 killed in IDF drone strike on West Bank refugee camp; IDF says it targeted terrorists

The Palestinian Authority health ministry says at least five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli drone strike on a building in the West Bank’s Nur Shams camp.

The IDF said it had targeted a command room belonging to local terror operatives.

IDF confirms drone strike near West Bank city of Tulkarem; several casualties reported

The IDF confirms carrying out a drone strike in Nur Shams near Tulkarem in the West Bank.

According to the IDF, the target of the strike was a command room belonging to local terror operatives.

The military says it will provide further details soon.

Palestinian media report several casualties in the strike in Nur Shams.

إصابات في قصف إسرائيلي بمخيم نور شمس في طولكرم. pic.twitter.com/mzDbc2DDfV

— شجاعية (@shejae3a) August 26, 2024

Far-right ministers secure public funds for Jewish educational tours at Temple Mount

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

The Heritage Ministry headed by Otzma Yehudit’s Amichai Eliyahu has secured NIS 2 million ($543,338) in funding for Jewish educational tours on the flashpoint Temple Mount, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

In order to secure the funding, Eliyahu’s office reached out to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who heads the heritage minister’s Otzma Yehudit party. A police representative subsequently approved the funding, following Ben Gvir’s intervention, Kan says.

Police chief may not obey AG’s blocking Ben Gvir’s promotion of cop indicted for stun grenade

Police Coastal District chief Daniel Levy attends a ceremony at the National Security Ministry in Jerusalem, July 4, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

In an interview with Channel 12, new Police Commissioner Daniel Levy refuses to commit to adhering to the directive issued yesterday by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara that blocked National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s promotion of Israel Police Officer Meir Suissa. She blocked the promotion due to Levy’s indictment last month for throwing a stun grenade that injured several anti-government protesters in March 2023.

Israel said to push US to present credible military threat or attack Iran’s nuclear sites

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (left) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr, fly to the IDF Northern Command, August 26, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi visited the Northern Command headquarters earlier today with his American counterpart, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr.

The IDF says the generals were “presented with the ongoing combat against Hezbollah during the war and the operational plans for the future.”

The pair also “discussed security and strategic issues regarding the expansion of operational tools and the strengthening of regional partnerships as part of the response to threats in the Middle East.”

“The IDF will continue to deepen its relationship with the US Armed Forces out of a commitment to strengthening regional stability and the coordination between the two militaries,” the Israeli military adds.

Halevi and Brown also met with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant today.

Channel 12 news reports that in some of the discussions, focused on Iran, Israel has expressed its desire to see the US come through with its years-long commitment to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear state — which would require a credible US military threat or military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The network also reports that the US has told Israel that it is keeping its armada in the region for the coming weeks, due to the heightened tensions.

Hezbollah attack hasn’t impacted hostage talks — White House

Negotiations underway in Cairo to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza will continue on the working group level for the next few days, as parties try to iron out some specific issues, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby reiterates.

One of the issues that will be tackled by the working groups will be around the exchange of hostages Hamas is holding and Palestinian prisoners, Kirby says. The exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah over the weekend has not had an impact on the talks in Cairo, he added.

US continues to maintain robust force posture in the Middle East, White House says

White House National Security spokesman John Kirby describes Hezbollah’s attack on Israel over the weekend as “sizable” and says Washington is continuing to maintain a robust force posture in the region.

Speaking to reporters in a virtual briefing, Kirby says US President Joe Biden was informed of the developments between Hezbollah and Israel in real time and that US officials were in constant touch with their Israeli counterparts throughout the weekend.

Israel strikes Hezbollah sites throughout southern Lebanon

Israeli fighter jets struck buildings and other sites belonging to Hezbollah in Mays al-Jabal, Khiam, Bint Jbeil, and other areas in southern Lebanon this evening, the IDF says.

It releases footage of the strikes.

מטוסי קרב תקפו מוקדם יותר היום מבנה צבאי ותשתיות טרור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים מיס אל ג'בל, אל-חיאם, חג'יר ובינת ג'בל שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/0aORxKH2FG

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 26, 2024

IDF infographics show Hezbollah launched rockets from civilian areas

This infographic released by the IDF on August 26, 2024, shows rocket launch sites used in a Hezbollah attack a day earlier. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF publishes several infographics that it says show Hezbollah rocket launch sites used in yesterday’s attack on northern Israel.

Some 230 rockets and about 20 drones were fired in the attack.

According to the IDF, 90 percent of the rockets launched yesterday morning were fired from civilian areas.

“The Hezbollah terrorist organization places its terrorist infrastructure in the middle of the civilian population, using Lebanese civilians as human shields,” the military says.

Israeli officials say that Hezbollah planned to fire hundreds more, and the IDF’s preemptive strike took out more than half of the intended threats.

The rockets were aimed at northern Israel and the drones at central Israel, including the Glilot base.

No IDF bases were hit in the attack, and none of the drones made it to central Israel.

This infographic released by the IDF on August 26, 2024, shows rocket launch sites used in a Hezbollah attack a day earlier. (Israel Defense Forces)

This infographic released by the IDF on August 26, 2024, shows rocket launch sites used in a Hezbollah attack a day earlier. (Israel Defense Forces)

This infographic released by the IDF on August 26, 2024, shows rocket launch sites used in a Hezbollah attack a day earlier. (Israel Defense Forces)

Several suspected drones from Lebanon impact Upper Galilee

Several suspected drones launched from Lebanon impacted the Upper Galilee earlier this evening, the IDF says.

Several more apparent drones that were heading toward the Western Galilee from Lebanon were mostly shot down by air defenses, the IDF says. Just one impacted the area.

There are no injuries in the attacks.

Report: Gaza mediators setting aside Philadelphi Corridor for now, focusing on other issues

Unnamed senior officials tell Channel 12 news that mediators in ceasefire-hostage deal talks have decided to set aside the thorny issue of Israel’s presence in two Gaza corridors under a potential agreement, and are focusing on other matters.

The network says American mediators hope to reach agreements on other matters first, including Israel’s ability to veto the release of some Palestinian prisoners under a deal and how many living hostages Israel will get back during its six-week first phase. Channel 12 says some progress has indeed been made on these issues.

The issue of Israeli forces’ presence on the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border, and the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, will be left to the very end of talks, the report says.

Oil prices surge over Middle East tensions

Oil prices are jumping today, over escalating Middle East tensions, while stock markets are wavering, after getting a boost last week from talk of a US interest-rate cut.

The price of Brent, the global crude benchmark, rose 2.5 percent to trade at almost $81 per barrel.

Stock markets were mixed, taking a breather after rising on Friday when US Federal Reserve chief Jerome Powell signaled that a rate cut was coming.

Israel and Hezbollah traded a barrage of fire Sunday after 10 months of cross-border clashes.

Oil prices surged by more than 3% at one stage, but eased slightly, as both sides appeared to show restraint despite Sunday’s flare-up.

The oil market was also reacting to Libya’s eastern-based administration declaring that it was shutting down oil fields under its control and “suspending all production and exports until further notice.”

The move by the Benghazi-based administration, which controls most of the country’s oil fields, comes amid rising tensions after the UN-recognized government based in Tripoli replaced the central bank governor this morning.

Gallant tells visiting US military chief Iranian aggression ‘has reached an all-time high’

US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi meet in Tel Aviv on August 26, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/ Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a meeting earlier today with the chief of the American military says that Iran’s aggression “has reached an all-time high,” and that Israel and the US need to advance “joint capabilities” for all of the theaters of the war.

Gallant held a “discussion on strategic issues” with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr. — who is visiting Israel — and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, his office says.

Gallant discussed with the generals a “strategic junction” that Israel is facing during the war, his office says.

“In discussing Iran, Minister Gallant highlighted an all-time high in aggressive activities, as well as Iran’s ongoing pursuit of nuclear capabilities. In this regard, Minister Gallant emphasized that Israel and the United States must be prepared at any time to fulfill their joint commitment to prevent Iran from gaining military nuclear weapons,” the readout says.

“Iran’s aggression has reached an all-time high – to counter this, we must work together to achieve and project groundbreaking capabilities in all arenas,” Gallant is quoted as saying.

The meeting was also attended by the chief of the IDF Operations Directorate, Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk; chief of the Military Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder; head of the Israeli Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar; head of the Israeli Navy, Vice Adm. David Sa’ar Salama; and other top defense and military officials.

Police shutter office of Hadash party over screening of controversial film

Police have shuttered a branch office of the Arab-majority Hadash party, which was planning to host a screening of a controversial film.

Police issued an order closing the office for 10 hours.

The film that Hadash was hoping to screen is a sequel to the 2003 film “Jenin, Jenin.”

The widely discredited film is known for falsely alleging that the Israel Defense Forces massacred civilians in the West Bank city of Jenin during the Operation Defensive Shield military campaign at the height of the Second Intifada.

In 2022, the Supreme Court issued a final ruling barring screenings of “Jenin, Jenin.”

Now: dozens of activists protest against the Haifa police decision to place a closing ban for the Hadash party club, as they were planing to screen this evening the film “Jenin Jenin” pic.twitter.com/GZ0BIu82T3

— Oren Ziv (@OrenZiv_) August 26, 2024

Likud MK implores PM to rein in Ben Gvir after minister’s latest Temple Mount comments

MK Eli Dallal leads a joint meeting of the Special Committee for the Rights of the Child and the Special Committee for Combating Drug and Alcohol Abuse at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on April 19, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Likud MK Eli Dallal pens an open letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, imploring him to rein in National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, given the far-right cabinet minister’s latest inflammatory statements regarding Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount.

“I’m reaching out to you with deep and sincere concern regarding the irresponsible conduct of the National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir,” Dallal says.

“I believe that you have the power to steer the ship with discretion, responsibility and reason, but the time has come to call Minister Ben Gvir to order.”

“His belligerent behavior and provocative statements together with his delegitimization campaign and attacks on the Shin Bet weaken our ability to deal with real threats and have crossed all reasonable lines,” Dallal says.

“You must make it clear to him unequivocally: these actions and statements cannot continue,” the Likud MK says.

“We must ensure that our security policy is responsible and coordinated as you lead and make it clear to him that we need level-headed leadership at this time, and not bickering that could lead us to unnecessary crises,” Dallal adds.

IDF chief: We’re working to return displaced northern residents ‘as quickly as possible’

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi in a video statement from the IDF Northern Command in Safed, August 26, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says the military is working to return displaced residents of northern Israel to their homes “as quickly as possible,” given daily attacks by Hezbollah.

“I just finished a visit with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States military at the Northern Command. We are strengthening operational cooperation in the face of challenges and threats in the Middle East,” Halevi says in a video statement from northern Israel.

“Israel is strong and defends itself on its own, but it is always good to have a strong ally by our side, who shares common values ​​and interests with us,” he says.

“About a month ago, we eliminated the most senior military commander in Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr Mohsen, after Hezbollah killed 12 children in Majdal Shams,” Halevi says.

“Yesterday, in a preemptive action, we prevented Hezbollah from another attempt to harm the citizens of the State of Israel, in the north and center [of the country]. The vast majority of the targets we destroyed yesterday were aimed at the north of the country,” he continues.

Halevi says the IDF is “very determined to continue to harm Hezbollah, to eliminate more and more commanders, and to deprive it of assets and capabilities. We are not stopping.”

“Hezbollah has more capabilities and the work is not yet complete. Our mission is clear, to return the residents of the north to their homes in safety, and the IDF is working toward that end around the clock,” he says.

“We are determined to return the residents of the north to their homes safely as quickly as possible,” Halevi adds.

Jordan says it will take ‘all necessary measures’ to prevent Ben Gvir’s Temple Mount ‘attacks’

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, after his visit to the Temple Mount on August 13, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

Jordan issues a fiery statement condemning Itamar Ben Gvir after the far-right national security minister again declared his support for Jewish prayer rights at the Temple Mount and backed the establishment of a synagogue atop the flashpoint site.

A statement from Jordan’s foreign ministry stresses “the Kingdom’s absolute rejection and condemnation in the strongest terms of the statements of the extremist Israeli minister who fuels a policy of extremism and works to change the historical and legal status in Jerusalem and its holy sites by imposing new facts and practices supported by a fanatical exclusionary narrative.”

Jordan asserted that the Temple Mount “is a place of worship exclusively for Muslims,” claiming that Ben Gvir is seeking to divide the site.

“Jordan will take all necessary measures to stop the attacks on the holy sites and it is preparing the necessary legal files to take action in international courts against such attacks, which constitute a clear violation of international law and a dangerous escalation that Jordan will confront by all possible means,” the foreign ministry says.

Iran military chief of staff: Iranian response to Haniyeh assassination ‘inevitable’

Iranian military chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri asserts that Iran’s response to last month’s Israeli assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran is “inevitable.”

“Iran will decide how and when to take revenge. The Axis of Resistance will avenge the blood of Ismail Haniyeh, each member according to their own plan and capacity. What we saw yesterday (Hezbollah’s attack on Israel) is part of the revenge,” he says.

Additional suspected drone infiltration sirens triggered in Western Galilee

Additional suspected drone infiltration sirens are sounding in the Western Galilee.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

Threat of attack against Israel by Iran and its proxies still exists, Pentagon says

The United States continues to assess that the threat of attack against Israel by Iran and its proxy groups still exists, the Pentagon says, after Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel yesterday in retaliation for the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander.

“I would point you to some of the public comments that have been made by Iranian leaders and others… we continue to assess that there is a threat of attack,” Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder tells reporters.

Drone infiltration siren triggered in Upper Galilee

Suspected drone infiltration sirens are sounding in the Upper Galilee.

No further details are immediately available.

Meanwhile, the IDF says that sirens that sounded in the northern border community of Malkia an hour ago were false alarms.

UN aid operations in Gaza halted after repeated Israeli evacuation orders

Displaced Palestinians walk past sewage flowing into the streets of the southern Gaza's Khan Younis, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

United Nations humanitarian aid operations in Gaza ground to a halt on Monday after Israel issued new evacuation orders for Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip late on Sunday, a senior UN official says.

“We’re unable to deliver today with the conditions that we’re in,” says the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“We’re not leaving (Gaza) because the people need us there,” the official says. “We’re trying to balance the need of the population with the need for safety and security of the UN personnel.”

The official says UN staff on the ground have been directed to try and find a way to keep operating.

The official says the United Nations had relocated its main command operations for the Gaza Strip and most UN personnel to Deir Al-Balah after Israel ordered the evacuation of Rafah in the south of Gaza.

“Where do we move now?” asks the official, adding that U.N. staff had to be moved so quickly that equipment was left behind.

“The challenge is to find a place where we can reset and effectively operate,” the official says. “The space to operate is being restricted more and more than ever.”

Levin offers compromise aimed at delaying appointment of liberal justice as Supreme Court head

Justice Isaac Amit at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, January 4, 2024. (Flash90/Yonatan Sindel)

Justice Minister Yariv Levin has submitted a compromise proposal, as he continues his effort to prevent Supreme Court Justice Isaac Amit from becoming the president of the top legal panel.

Until now the role has been filled under the customary — but not legislated — seniority method. Following that method would mean that Amit would assume the presidency. But Levin views Amit as too liberal and has managed to thwart his appointment for nearly a year.

Under the new proposal submitted by Levin, conservative justice Yosef Elron would serve for a year as Supreme Court chief followed by Amit who would serve for another year.

Three new justices would also be appointed — a conservative, a liberal and a third judge from the district court system who would have support from both political camps.

Supreme Court Justice Uzi Fogelman slams the proposal, saying it will “harm the conduct of the judicial system.”

British maritime agency reports incident 61 nautical miles southeast of Yemen’s Mokha

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) says it had received a report of an incident 61 nautical miles southeast of Yemen’s Mokha.

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

Tens of thousands expected to attend alternative Oct. 7 memorial ceremony not organized by government

Channel 12 reports that tens of thousands of Israelis are expected to attend an alternative ceremony marking the first anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 onslaught that is being organized by the victims of the attack who do not want to participate in the official event being organized by the government.

Families of hostages and other victims of October 7 have fumed at the government’s decision to charge Transportation Minister Miri Regev with organizing the state event.

Several Gaza border communities have accused the government of using the official ceremony to avoid responsibility for the role it played in failing to prevent Hamas terror assault, and for failing the communities in the aftermath of the massacre.

Regev dismissed the criticism as “noise,” further intensifying criticism from the families of the victims and the hostages, who accused her of dismissing their concerns and ignoring their pain. She also said that others were welcome to hold tribute ceremonies of their own, but compared this idea to a contentious annual joint Israeli-Palestinian memorial ceremony, which is demonized by the Israeli right.

The alternative October 7 memorial ceremony will be held at Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park and will be co-emceed by Hanoch Daum and Rotem Sela, Channel 12 says.

‘You showed us how much you despise us’: Northern mayors tear into minister over insufficient support

Education Minister Yoav Kisch and the Home Front Command chief reportedly held a heated meeting with the mayors of northern towns earlier today, with the municipal leaders fuming at Kisch over what they felt was the IDF’s insufficient strike on Hezbollah yesterday, which they felt did not go far enough in restoring deterrence against the Lebanese terror group.

Education Ministry representatives at the meeting told the northern town mayors that their communities would receive support based on the needs of each individual municipality, Kan reports. The border towns are slated to soon decide whether they will reopen their schools or whether classes will be held in other locations due to the security situation.

Mateh Asher Regional Council chair Moshe Davidovitch lashed out at Kisch, saying he wouldn’t reopen schools that aren’t fully protected, Kan says.

“I’m done with the show. We don’t start a school year in an unprotected place. We won’t allow another Majdal Shams,” he say, referring to a Druze town with limited bomb shelters, where by a Hezbollah drone killed children playing soccer last month.

“The residents will suffer because [of this decision], but later they will be thankful that no one was hurt. Yesterday you showed us how much you despise us,” Davidovitch said, according to Kan.

“This government will never, ever be forgiven. The fact that you abandon us and burn us alive will forever be recorded. You abandon us and toss us to the dogs. The residents don’t matter to you. I’ve decided that I will no longer communicate with the government. We shouted, and we got nothing. I’m saying this in the name of all the municipality heads. I don’t care about anything except our residents — the children who wet the bed [out of fear], the residents who died in this war,” he declared.

Royal Jordanian airlines to resume flights to Beirut, state news agency says

Illustrative: Royal Jordanian Airlines Airbus A320 in March 2009. (CC BY-SA Björn Strey - IMG_0499 X, Wikimedia Commons)

Jordan’s flag carrier Royal Jordanian is set to resume flights to the Lebanese capital Beirut starting tomorrow morning, Jordan’s state news agency reports.

Jordan’s carrier briefly suspended flights to Beirut yesterday after tensions between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-aligned Hezbollah terror group escalated earlier in the day.

IDF says it demolished 700-meter Hamas tunnel on outskirts of Gaza’s Deir al-Balah

A Hamas tunnel located on the outskirts of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip was demolished by combat engineers, the IDF says.

The tunnel was some 700 meters long, according to the military.

It had been located and later demolished by the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit and 603rd Combat Engineering Battalion.

Also in the Deir al-Balah area, the IDF says troops with the Paratroopers Brigade’s 202nd Battalion located a cache of weapons in a home, including anti-tank projectiles and other military equipment. Some of the weapons were hidden in a bedroom with a baby crib, the army says.

Israeli jets strike buildings used by Hezbollah in south Lebanon

Israeli fighter jets struck buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon’s Tayr Harfa and Kafr Kila, the IDF says.

The military publishes footage of the strikes.

במהלך היום, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו מבנים צבאיים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים כפר כילא וטיר חרפא שבדרום לבנון.

כמו כן, כוחות צה"ל תקפו בארטילריה במרחבים שבעא ועייתא א-שעב שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/fA9NvZmB06

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 26, 2024

Gaza war death toll climbs to 40,435, Hamas health ministry says

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 40,435 Palestinians have been killed and 93,534 have been wounded in Israel’s war against Hamas, which was sparked by the terror group’s October 7 onslaught on Israel.

The toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 17,000 combatants in battle and some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 attack. Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.

Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 340.

Egyptian official reiterates opposition to IDF presence in Rafah, Philadelphi

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

Egypt reiterates that it has not accepted an Israeli presence in the Rafah border crossing or Philadelphi corridor, state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV quotes a senior source as saying.

A key sticking point in Gaza ceasefire talks mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar has been Israel’s insistence on a presence in the so-called Philadelphi Corridor, a narrow 14.5-kilometer-long (9-mile-long) stretch of land along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, in order to prevent Hamas from smuggling in arms.

Times of Israel staff contributed.

Report: Hezbollah held off on targeting Mossad base with precision-guided missiles at last minute, fearing Israeli response

Hezbollah considered striking the IDF military base that houses the Mossad intelligence agency with precision-guided missiles but decided against it at the last minute due to concerns that doing so would elicit a strong reaction from Israel, Army Radio reports.

The Glilot base near Herzliya is home to the Mossad headquarters along with several IDF intelligence units, including the high-profile signals intelligence group Unit 8200.

Another reason the base wasn’t attacked is due to internal tensions between the military head of Hezbollah’s south Lebanon operations, Hezbollah’s general operations chief and the terror group’s intel chief, Army Radio says, without elaborating.

Fuming Palestinians claim Ben Gvir announced plans for synagogue on Temple Mount

Palestinians protest after Friday prayers during Ramadan, at the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound and Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, April 7, 2023. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)

The Palestinian Authority says a remark from National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir expressing support for a synagogue being placed atop the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is tantamount to an explicit call for the Al-Aqsa Mosque to be razed and replaced with a Jewish house of worship.

In a statement, the PA’s foreign ministry calls on allies from the international arena to “pressure Israel to force it to put an end to Ben Gvir’s practices, statements and provocative stances.”

Speaking to Army Radio earlier in the day, Ben Gvir said Jews would not be prevented from praying atop the Temple Mount, currently banned as part of a status quo agreement governing the sensitive site.

After noting that even he cannot do whatever he wants at the compound, like waving an Israeli flag, he was asked if he would also want a synagogue there if it were possible, to which he answered in the affirmative.

A statement from Hamas claims, however, that Ben Gvir announced plans “to build a synagogue inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” urging Palestinians to mass at the site “to confront the occupation’s plans.”

In a statement, the mufti of Jerusalem speaks out against “the threat of a synagogue” at the site and Jews visiting the site praying or dancing.

Such moves “push the region toward an explosion that will affect the entire world,” it says.

Nahal Oz siren a false alarm — IDF

The IDF confirms that a rocket siren that sounded near the Gaza border a short time ago was a false alarm.

The alarm was activated in Nahal Oz, one of several communities devastated on October 7 and still largely evacuated.

Sirens blare near Gaza border

Rocket sirens are sounding in Nahal Oz near the Gaza border.

There is no immediate word on a possible attack. Sirens that sounded in a neighboring community yesterday were determined to be a false alarm.

German leader vows to sharpen knife control after deadly stabbing

People place flowers near the scene of a knife attack in Solingen city center, Germany, August 24, 2024. (Henning Kaiser/ dpa via AP)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says a deadly knife attack Friday was an act “terrorism against us all,” pledging swift action to tighten weapons controls and deport migrants.

A 26-year-old Syrian man with links to the Islamic State group is accused of stabbing three people to death and wounding another eight at a street festival in western Germany’s Solingen. IS claimed the attack was “revenge” for Muslims “in Palestine and everywhere”

“This was terrorism, terrorism against us all,” Scholz says at a press conference in Solingen.

“We will now have to tighten up the weapons regulations… in particular with regard to the use of knives,” Scholz adds. “I’m sure this will happen very quickly.”

Germany will also have to “do everything we can to ensure that those who cannot and must not stay here in Germany are repatriated and deported,” Scholz says.

Rocket sirens sound in north for first time since Sunday morning attack

Rocket sirens are sounding in several communities in northern Israel, the first such scare since a massive barrage Sunday morning.

People in Zar’it, Shomra, Adamit, Hanita and Arab al-Aramshe in the western Galilee are told to seek shelter.

Hamas commander said seriously hurt in Sidon strike

Lebanese media outlets report that the intended target of an alleged Israeli drone strike near the coastal city of Sidon was a Hamas official.

The reports name him as Nidal Hleihil.

According to the Annahar outlet, two missiles struck Hleihil’s car as he left his house and headed to his vehicle.

The report says he was seriously injured in the strike.

Mediators said pushing for partial ceasefire deal, days-long humanitarian truce as talks founder

Mediators attempting to reach a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza are reportedly pursuing alternative ways to halt hostilities, even if only temporarily, after talks in Cairo on Sunday ended without a breakthrough.

The Qatari-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports that a new proposal has been submitted that would see a partial agreement on the first phase of the ceasefire, while negotiations on the remaining aspects of a comprehensive deal would be conducted at a later stage.

In parallel, mediators are also working to reach a humanitarian truce ranging from four to seven days to distribute polio vaccines and other types of aid. Israel delivered vaccines for 1.255 million people via the Kerem Shalom crossing on Sunday, days after a case of polio was identified in Gaza for the first time in 25 years.

The World Health Organization and UNICEF, the UN child welfare agency, have said that fighting in Gaza must pause for at least seven days to vaccinate some 640,000 children.

The Qatari paper further reports that the US administration is pressuring both Israel and Egypt to reopen the Rafah Border Crossing as early as possible, whether in the framework of a ceasefire-hostage release deal with Hamas, or following a phased withdrawal of the IDF forces from the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border.

The paper does not specify who would man the Rafah crossing on the Gazan side in the case of an Israeli withdrawal.

Iran says Israeli deterrence no longer exists after Hezbollah barrage

Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Nasser Kanaani speaks during a press conference in the capital Tehran on December 5, 2022. (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP)

Iran says Israel’s deterrent power has been lost and the strategic balance in the region has now shifted against it, claiming that a Hezbollah attack Sunday caught Israel off-guard, despite what Jerusalem says was preemptive action that partially thwarted the assault.

“Despite the comprehensive support of states like the United States, Israel could not predict the time and place of a limited and managed response by the resistance. Israel has lost its deterrence power,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani wrote on X.

Kanaani added that Israel “now has to defend itself within its occupied territories” and that “strategic balances have undergone fundamental changes” to the detriment of Israel.

This photo taken from a position in northern Israel shows a Hezbollah drone intercepted by Israeli air defense over north Israel on August 25, 2024 (Jalaa Marey / AFP)

Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel early on Sunday, as Israel’s military said it had struck Lebanon with around 100 jets to stymie a larger attack, including plans to bomb a sensitive military site near Tel Aviv.

Most rockets and drones were intercepted by Israeli air defenses or landed in uninhabited areas, though a small number caused damage to homes, the IDF said. A navy soldier was killed during the attack, apparently by a misfiring interceptor rocket.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said the group’s barrage, a reprisal for the assassination of the terror group’s military commander Fuad Shukr last month, had been completed “as planned.” Israel killed Shukr in an airstrike in Beirut, days after a Hezbollah rocket killed 12 Israeli children in a village on the Golan Heights.

Lebanon drone strike said to miss target

Lebanese media say that there are apparently no injuries in the reported Israeli drone strike on a car near Sidon.

The Hezbollah-linked al-Mayadeen outlet says the target of the strike survived, while al-Ahkbar reports that the car was empty when it was hit.

معلومات عن استهداف سيارة في صيدا اوتستراد الشماع – مدخل عبرا#جنوب_لبنان pic.twitter.com/qAFRoqzqXw

— nbnlebanon (@nbntweets) August 26, 2024

🇱🇧/🇮🇱 Israeli drones targeted a car in Sidon at noon today. According to local sources, the target of this terrorist act was to assassinate one of the commanders of the Hamas movement in southern Lebanon, but he survived the attack.#Lebanon #Israel pic.twitter.com/0c5HGCkxCT

— IWN (@A7_Mirza) August 26, 2024

Ben Gvir snaps back at Gallant for ‘going soft’ on Hamas, urges war against Hezbollah

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir is hitting back at critics from within the governing coalition after he came under fire for declaring that Jews could pray on the Temple Mount, accusing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of failing to sufficiently take on the Hamas or Hezbollah terror groups.

“Gallant went soft when faced with Hamas and is dragging Israel into a feckless deal,” he says, referring to talks toward an agreement to free hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a halt to fighting in the enclave.

“Gallant has chosen to keep on with destructive policies of the defeatist [military] conception against Hezbollah in the north as well,” he writes, calling for Israel to launch a “decisive war” against the Lebanese terror group.

Earlier, a statement attributed to “those around Ben Gvir” and carried by Hebrew media accused Interior Minister Moshe Arbel of being a “radical leftist” who constantly sucks up to “the left, Arabs, the judicial system. and in the case of the Temple Mount, to Hamas and the Waqf.”

Gallant and Arbel had warned that Ben Gvir’s comments could endanger Israel, with the latter calling for him to be sacked.

Pope says Lebanese ‘paying price’ for Israel-Hamas war

This photo taken and handout on August 26, 2024 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Francis during a meeting with relatives of victims of the catastrophic explosion at Beirut's port four years ago. (VATICAN MEDIA / AFP)

Pope Francis says Lebanon is “paying a price” for Israel’s war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza, a day after a heavy exchange of fire between the IDF and Hezbollah terror group spread across southern Lebanon.

“I also feel the pain of witnessing once again the great number of innocent people daily losing their lives because of the war in your region, in Palestine and Israel, for which Lebanon is paying a price. Every war leaves our world worse than it was before,” the pontiff says during a meeting with relatives of victims of the massive August 2020 port blast in Beirut.

Hezbollah has fired thousands of rockets at Israeli communities over the past 10 months in support of Hamas, drawing Israeli counterstrikes on southern Lebanon and raising the specter of all-out war on a second front.

The pope also urges “truth and justice” over the catastrophic explosion at Beirut’s port four years ago, set off when a large shipment of ammonium nitrate stored there for years caught fire.

Nobody has been held responsible for the blast, which killed more than 220 people, injured at least 6,500 and devastated swaths of the capital. Officials from Hezbollah have been accused of threatening judges investigating the explosion to thwart the inquiry.

“All of us know that the issues are complex and difficult, and that opposing powers and interests make their influence felt. Yet truth and justice must prevail over all else,” Francis says. “Four years have now gone by. The Lebanese people, and you above all, have a right to words and actions that manifest responsibility and transparency.”

Israeli drone strike reported near Sidon in Lebanon

Lebanese media reports an Israeli drone strike on a car in the Aabra suburb of the coastal city of Sidon.

No further details are immediately available.

#عاجل استهداف سيارة في منطقة #عبرا في #صيدا pic.twitter.com/nU7z1qHYbG

— Annahar (@Annahar) August 26, 2024

Defense minister says national security being sapped by Ben Gvir’s moves

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, center, speaks to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir after a Knesset vote in Jerusalem, February 15, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir is endangering Israel by raising the prospect of allowing Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, a move that would upend a longstanding status quo agreement and spark widespread anger in the Muslim world.

Gallant does not directly call for Ben Gvir to be removed from his post, despite the far-right politician’s attempt to engineer Gallant’s sacking last year. But he makes plain that keeping the politician in power could come back to hurt Israel, noting that undermining the status quo is “dangerous, unnecessary and reckless.”

“Ben Gvir’s actions endanger Israel’s national security and its international standing,” Gallant writes on Twitter. “The action the IDF took yesterday to thwart a Hezbollah attack strengthened Israel, Ben Gvir’s statements weaken it.”

Israel destroys Khan Younis rocket launcher used in Rishon Lezion attack

A Hamas rocket launcher used in an attack on central Israel last night was destroyed in an airstrike, the military says.

The rocket fired by Hamas in the attack struck an open area near the city of Rishon Lezion. The terror group claimed to have attacked Tel Aviv.

According to the IDF, the launcher was located near a school in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis by troops of the 98th Division operating in the area, who directed a drone to strike it.

Footage published by the IDF shows strikes hitting the launcher, along with another structure used by the Hamas terrorists who fired the rocket, the army says.

The IDF says that secondary explosions were seen following the strike on the launcher, “indicating the presence of additional rockets in the launcher that was struck.”

Troops of the 98th Division have been operating in Khan Younis and on the outskirts of Deir al-Balah over the last day, killing dozens of gunmen and locating weapons, the army says.

In Rafah, troops with the 162nd Division killed dozens more gunmen over the past day as they swept through the southern Gaza city’s Tel Sultan neighborhood, according to the IDF.

At the same time, reservists with the 252nd Division used a tank to shell enemy fighters from the Netzarim Corridor of central Gaza, killing several gunmen, the military adds.

Opposition party heads take aim at Netanyahu and coalition for enabling Ben Gvir

Criticism is continuing to pour in against National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, though much of the pushback is aimed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the rest of the government for keeping the far-right politician in a position of power.

“The whole region sees Netanyahu’s weakness against Ben Gvir,” Opposition Leader Yair Lapid writes on X. “He can’t control the government even when it comes to a clear attempt to destabilize our national security.”

Benny Gantz, head of the opposition National Unity party, says he expects little from Netanyahu “who allowed an irresponsible arsonist to bring us down into an abyss in exchange for political quiet.”

“But there are responsible parties in the government and coalition who are expected to do something,” says Gantz, a former war cabinet minister. “Condemnations and nice words won’t suffice here, and history will judge you for being part of this dangerous endeavor.”

Israel says US shipments of arms, equipment during war top 50,000 tons

US-supplied military equipment arriving in Israel, December 2023 (Defense Ministry Spokesperson's Office)

Five hundred transport planes and 107 ships have delivered more than 50,000 tons of armaments and military equipment from the United States to Israel since the start of the war, the Defense Ministry says.

The military equipment delivered to Israel since the beginning of the war includes “armored vehicles, munitions, ammunition, personal protection gear, and medical equipment,” according to the ministry.

The deliveries are “crucial for sustaining the IDF’s operational capabilities during the ongoing war.”

The “large-scale logistical effort” has been carried out by the ministry’s Directorate of Production and Procurement, the ministry’s mission to the US, the IDF’s Planning Directorate, and the Israeli Air Force.

Ben Gvir says Jews can pray on Temple Mount; Netanyahu insists status quo unchanged

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, after his visit to the Temple Mount, during Tisha B'Av, August 13, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says in a statement that “there is no change to the status quo on the Temple Mount,” after National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir claims that Jews can legally pray at the flashpoint site.

The statement does not mention Ben Gvir, who told Army Radio today that Israeli law does not discriminate between religious rights for Jews and Muslims at the holy site.

“The policies on the Temple Mount allow prayer, period,” Ben Gvir says.

“It’s not like I do everything I want on Temple Mount,” he adds. “If I did everything I wanted on Temple Mount, the Israeli flag would have long been flying there.” Asked if he would put a synagogue on the site if he could, he answered, “Yes, yes, yes, yes.”

“The premier knows that when I joined the government I said in the simplest way that there will be no discrimination at the Temple Mount, just like Muslims can pray at the Western Wall,” says Ben Gvir, who raised hackles with a high-profile visit to the site earlier this month.

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)

While Israeli law technically allows Jews to pray anywhere in the country, courts have long upheld police discretion to enforce a ban on Jewish prayer as part of a sensitive status quo agreement governing the site.

Following the interview, Interior Minister Moshe Arbel calls on Netanyahu to remove the far-right firebrand from his post overseeing police, warning that his “lack of thinking could be paid for in blood.”

Ben Gvir’s “irresponsible comments put into doubt Israel’s strategic alliances with Muslim states as part of an alliance against the evil Iranian axis,” he says.

Arbel hails from the Shas party, one of two ultra-Orthodox coalition factions that have blanched at Ben Gvir’s attempts to increase the Jewish presence on the site. Many ultra-Orthodox follow longstanding rabbinic prohibitions on visiting the compound, revered by religious Jews as sacred ground.

Army, police drill for attacks in Galilee, Eilat as Iran-backed threats loom

People at the site of a damaged house following a missile attack from Lebanon, in Moshav Manot, northern Israel, August 25, 2024. (Flash90)

Security forces are holding drills to simulate a response to an enemy assault or terror attack on Israel’s northern and southern borders, as the country braces for more violence with both Hezbollah and Iran threatening to hit Israel.

Statements from the army and police claim that the military drill in the eastern Galilee and police exercise in Eilat were planned well in advance, cautioning residents not to be alarmed by the simulations.

In the north, parts of which have been largely evacuated of civilians, the army says residents may notice large numbers of military vehicles moving around. “As well, the exercise will include forces simulating an enemy,” the IDF says in a statement.

The Upper Galilee Regional Council notes that residents may also be stopped at temporary checkpoints, and some roads could be blocked off during the duration of the exercise, set to end at 4 p.m.

In Eilat, police will drill to prepare how to respond to an enemy assault or terror activity in the resort city. The exercise will take place from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The drills come a day after Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and some 20 drones at northern Israel, while hinting it could carry out further action to avenge the killing of the terror group’s military chief. The assault was partially stymied by a preventative Israeli sortie that took out thousands of launchers, the IDF said.

Eilat, a resort city on the Red Sea, has been targeted a number of times by explosive drones launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and Iraq-based militia groups supported by Tehran. Iran has vowed to respond to the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month, which it blames on Israel.

Greek tanker in Red Sea still on fire three days after Houthi attack

The Greek-flagged ship Sounion has been on fire since August 23 after an attack by Yemen’s Houthis with no obvious signs of an oil spill, EU Red Sea naval mission Aspides says in a post on X.

The EU mission publishes photos dated Sunday showing fire and smoke coming out of the vessel’s main deck.

Update on M/V SOUNION:

The MV SOUNION has been on fire since August 23rd.

An EUNAFOR ASPIDES 🇪🇺 unit transiting the area reported that there are fires on at least 5 locations observed on the main deck of the vessel. It is estimated that these are located around the hatches of… pic.twitter.com/ta0IuLhIoY

— EUNAVFOR ASPIDES (@EUNAVFORASPIDES) August 26, 2024

The Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous regions, said on Thursday that they attacked the Sounion oil tanker in the Red Sea.

Fires were observed on at least five locations on the main deck of the vessel, Aspides said. Part of the superstructure is also on fire.

Satellite image captured by European Space Agency’s Copernicus Satellite 2 showed smoke visible at sea in the vicinity where Sounion was last detected.

Reuters was able to locate the image from matching the last location for MV Sounion seen from LSEG ship tracker.

Aspides said on Thursday that the oil tanker carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil poses an environmental hazard.

Trump ad meant to highlight tough Mideast stance appears to criticize Israeli response to Oct. 7

A new attack ad from US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump seeks to put an exclamation point on his oft-repeated claim that the October 7 attack would not have happened with him in charge thanks to his tough stance vis-a-vis Iran while president, but seems to stumble along the way.

The video opens with footage of Israel bombing Gaza run in reverse, which appears as a voiceover intones “Before thousands were brutally killed, including Americans,” which would normally be seen as a reference to devastation in Gaza, given the footage and toll of “thousands.”

But despite appearing to criticize Israel’s war against the Hamas terror group, the line is more likely a hamfisted reference to Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed, given Trump’s political positions and the theme of the ad.

pic.twitter.com/IoQo2twFy4

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 26, 2024

The ad, which does not ever directly reference the October 7 attack, goes on to point a finger at Iran for allegedly helping plan the Hamas attack and at US President Joe Biden for agreeing to unfreeze billions of dollars for Tehran.

The ad claims “Trump played hardball with Iran,” and that he ensured the Mideast remain peaceful while keeping the US “out of endless wars,” over a picture of him meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

It closes with a recording of Trump threatening “When I’m back in the White House, our enemies will know, if you spill a drop of American blood, we will spill a gallon of yours.”

After drone alert, army says it shot down suspicious object, reportedly from Syria

The Israel Defense Forces confirms that it intercepted a “suspicious object” after drone alert sirens sounded in the southern Golan Heights.

The army says the object was successfully shot down “after being identified in the [air]space.”

According to Army Radio, military officials believe the object was launched from Syria, a fairly rare occurrence.

The suspected attack occurred near the Sea of Galilee, near the borders with Jordan and Syria, and far south of the area normally targeted by Lebanon-based Hezbollah.

IDF gives all clear after drone alert

The Home Front Command says residents of the southern Golan Heights have the all-clear, after drone alert sirens sounded in communities near the Sea of Galilee.

“The incident has ended,” it says in a short statement.

According to unconfirmed reports in Hebrew media,  a suspicious object was shot out of the sky.

The alert occurred in a location well south of those normally targeted by Hezbollah in Lebanon, in an area near the borders of both Jordan and Syria.

Drone alerts sound near Sea of Galilee

Drone alert sirens are sounding in the southern Golan Heights and areas around the Sea of Galilee, where many families are vacationing for the last week of summer break.

The sirens are activated in Hamat Gader on the Israel-Jordan border, as well as the communities of Tel Katzir, Haon and Ein Gev ringing the Sea of Galilee to the northwest.

Iranian foreign minister vows ‘calculated’ response to Israel over Haniyeh killing

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says he referenced his country’s planned retaliation over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in a conversation with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani by telephone.

“Iran reaction to Israeli terrorist attack in Tehran is definitive, and will be measured & well calculated,” Araghchi writes on the social platform X. “We do not fear escalation, yet do not seek it — unlike Israel.”

Tajani says in a statement he “called for restraint and to pursue a constructive approach, in order to stop the cycle of military actions in the region, which only risks bringing more suffering.”

“It is important that Iran exercises moderation towards Hezbollah in order to avert an escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border, where Italian soldiers of the UNIFIL contingent are operating, and towards the Houthis in order to avoid an increase in tensions in the Red Sea area, where Italy plays a leading role in the (European Union’s) Aspides mission,” he says in the statement.

US official: Cairo hostage talks were constructive, all sides interested in inking deal

A US official tells The Times of Israel that the hostage talks held in Cairo the past several days have been “constructive and were conducted in the spirit of reaching a final and implementable agreement with all sides share that sentiment.”

“The process will continue over the coming days through working groups to further address remaining issues and details,” the US official says.

Notably, US officials appear to be the only party in the talks who sound hopeful about their trajectory.

Despite the US official’s optimistic framing, the Biden administration had last week indicated it was aiming to have a deal reached by now.

On August 16, the US submitted what it branded as a “final bridging proposal” to Israel and Hamas, adding that lower-level negotiating teams would subsequently meet to work out the disputes between the sides before top officials reconvened this weekend to ink a deal.

But midway through last week, talk of an imminent finalization of the deal dissipated. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters after visiting the region that additional agreements on implementing the agreement would have to be reached if Hamas agrees to the US proposal, appearing to add another step in the process until a ceasefire would take effect.

Indeed, the fact that lower-level “working groups” are again reconvening suggests the sides are not yet ready for their top decision-makers to finalize a deal.

Still, a US source familiar with the negotiations explains that progress has been made over the past four days in Cairo.

The sides negotiated based on the US bridging proposal, which incorporated details from US President Joe Biden’s May 31 speech and UN Security Council Resolution 2735, which have served as the framework for talks along with subsequent clarifications from Hamas and Israel, the source explains.

This past Thursday, an Israeli negotiating team met US and Egyptian mediators in Cairo in an effort to narrow the remaining gaps and clarify outstanding issues that Jerusalem had with the bridging proposal. The US and Egyptian mediators then held bilateral consultations the next day. On Saturday, Qatari and Egyptian mediators sat down with senior Hamas negotiators to walk them through each clause of the US bridging proposal, identifying any outstanding issues and answering any questions that the terror group had, the US source says.

On Sunday, Israeli negotiators rejoined the talks with the US and Egyptian mediators to further narrow gaps, the source adds, stressing that the talks were ongoing.

Egyptian security sources say hostage-ceasefire talks in Cairo have ended without agreement

CAIRO — Talks over a possible Gaza deal have ended without agreement in Cairo, with neither Hamas nor Israel agreeing to several comprises presented by mediators, two Egyptian security sources say.

IDF says explosive detonated on civilian bus in the West Bank, no injuries caused but bus damaged

The IDF says an explosive was detonated on a civilian bus near the West Bank Palestinian village of Marah Rabah, located south of Bethlehem, a short while ago, causing damage to the bus but no injuries.

It says that it has set up roadblocks in the area and is searching for the perpetrators.