Aug. 30: US official says Doha talks this week ‘detailed and constructive’

Israel allegedly tells US shots were fired at WFP vehicle in Gaza due to ‘communication error’

A bullet-ridden World Food Programme vehicle in Gaza on August 27, 2024. (WFP)

Israel has allegedly told the United States that an initial review found that shots were fired at a clearly marked World Food Programme (WFP) vehicle in the Gaza Strip after a “communication error” between IDF units, the deputy US envoy to the United Nations says.

“We have urged them to immediately rectify the issues within their system,” deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood tells a UN Security Council meeting on Gaza. “Israel must not only take ownership for its mistakes, but also take concrete actions to ensure the IDF does not fire on UN personnel again.”

US military says it rescued two civilian Iranian mariners last week

Sailors assigned to a US aircraft carrier rescued two civilian Iranian mariners in international waters on August 23, the US military says in a statement.

“The Theodore Roosevelt Strike Group rescued two mariners in distress in the US Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of operations (AOR),” the US Central Command says.

Two carrier strike groups — the USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Abraham Lincoln — are currently in the Middle East. The Theodore Roosevelt Strike Group is conducting routine operations in Central Command’s area of operation.

“Aiding distressed mariners is a mission that our strike group will always stand ready to support. It is the right thing to do, and further demonstrates that the US Navy is a force ready when called upon,” the statement adds.

US blames Israel for ‘deeply troubling’ shooting of WFP vehicle, says IDF must protect aid workers

A bullet-ridden World Food Programme vehicle in Gaza on August 27, 2024. (WFP)

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller pans the shooting of a World Food Programme vehicle inside Gaza on Wednesday and in a post on X, attributes blame to Israel for the “deeply troubling incident.”

“Humanitarian workers are there to help innocent civilians, and Israel must ensure they are protected,” Miller adds.

On Wednesday, the WFP suspended the movement of its employees across the Gaza Strip, saying at least 10 bullets struck one of its clearly marked vehicles as it approached an Israeli military checkpoint.

Earlier today, US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said that Jerusalem had informed Washington that an initial review found that shots were fired at the vehicle after a “communication error” between IDF units.

“We have urged them to immediately rectify the issues within their system,” Wood told a UN Security Council meeting on Gaza. “Israel must not only take ownership for its mistakes but also take concrete actions to ensure the IDF does not fire on UN personnel again.”

Harris says she won’t change Biden’s policy on arming Israel

Democratic presidential nominee US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Democratic National Convention, August 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP/Paul Sancya)

US Vice President Kamala Harris says she won’t change US President Joe Biden’s policy of arming Israel.

Harris is pressed on the matter during a CNN interview with her running mate Tim Walz — her first since becoming the Democratic party’s presidential nominee.

Highlighting calls by progressives to withhold weapons shipments to Israel, CNN asks Harris whether she would take a different approach to the Israel-Hamas war than Biden has. Interviewer Dana Bash doesn’t mention that Biden has in fact withheld one transfer of heavy bombs, though part of it was eventually released and all other shipments have continued.

Harris begins her answer by pivoting, reiterating the remarks she made in her speech at the Democratic National Convention last week.

“I’m unequivocal and unwavering in my commitment to Israel’s defense and its ability to defend itself, and that’s not going to change,” Harris says.

“But let’s take a step back. October 7 — 1,200 people were massacred, many young people who were simply attending a music festival. Women were horribly raped,” the vice president continues.

“As I said then, I say today: Israel has a right to defend itself. We would. And how it does so matters. Far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed, and we have got to get a deal done,” she says referring to negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release agreement between Israel and Hamas.

“This war must end, and we must get a deal that is about getting the hostages out,” Harris stresses, noting that she has met with the families of the eight American hostages. “Let’s get the ceasefire done.”

Pushed again on whether she would change the current policy regarding weapons shipments, Harris responds, “No” before quickly continuing her point about the need for a hostage deal.

“When you look at the significance of this, to the families, to the people who are living in that region — a deal is not only the right thing to do to end this war but will unlock so much of what must happen next.”

“I remain committed — since I’ve been on October 8 — to what we must do to work toward a two-state solution where Israel is secure and in equal measure, the Palestinians have security and self-determination and dignity,” the Democratic presidential nominee adds.

Hackers tweet ‘F*ck Israel’ during takeover of soccer star Kylian Mbappe’s account

France's forward #10 Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring a goal during the UEFA EURO 2024 Group B qualifying football match between France and Gibraltar at the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice, southeastern France, on November 18, 2023. (FRANCK FIFE / AFP)

Hackers managed to briefly take over French soccer star Kylian Mbappe’s X account, tweeting a series of posts including one that declared, “F*ck Israel” and another that read, “Free Palestine.”

Mbappe has subsequently gotten back in control of his account and the tweets have been deleted.

Kylian Mbappe account was hacked

Here’s a thread about everything that was posted on the account while it was hacked: pic.twitter.com/XZ1TgZUqdF

— Janty (@CFC_Janty) August 29, 2024

Making it a pattern, Harris responds to anti-Israel heckler by reiterating support for hostage deal

Vice President Kamala Harris is again heckled by an anti-Israel protester during a rally in Savannah, Georgia, on Thursday evening.

As she has now several times, the Democratic presidential nominee responds by stressing her support for a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

“We are fighting for our democracy. Everyone has a right and should have their voices heard… The president and I are working around the clock. We’ve got to get a hostage deal and get a ceasefire done now,” she says to overwhelming cheers from the audience that drown out the heckler.

a Gaza demonstrator interrupts Harris's speech. Harris responds by saying, "we are fighting for our democracy. Everyone has a right & should have their voices heard … the president and I are working around the clock. We've got to get a hostage deal and get a ceasefire done now" pic.twitter.com/yffokXbViQ

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 29, 2024

Ministers vote to back PM’s stance in favor of IDF staying in Philadelphi Corridor

An Egyptian border policeman stands to guard close to Israeli tower guarding the Karem Shalom gate leading to Israel from the Philadelphi corridor, a buffer zone that separates Egypt from Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip. (Photo by CRIS BOURONCLE / AFP)

The security cabinet voted overwhelmingly last night to back Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position in favor of maintaining Israeli troops in the Philadelphi Corridor as part of the ceasefire and hostage release deal still being negotiated, a senior official in the premier’s office says.

The top panel of ministers was asked to approve a series of maps that the IDF has drawn up showing how Israel plans to maintain its troop presence in the nine-mile narrow stretch along the Egypt-Gaza border. These maps have already been adopted by the US, the official says, apparently referencing the bridging proposal submitted earlier this month by the Biden administration.

Netanyahu turned the continued IDF deployment in the Philadelphi Corridor into a new demand in the hostage negotiations last month, insisting that it was essential for preventing continued weapons smuggling, which would allow for the revival of Hamas after the war.

In last night’s security cabinet meeting, eight ministers voted in favor of Netanyahu’s position regarding the Philadelphi Corridor, while only Defense Minister Yoav Gallant voted against it, reflecting the security establishment’s push for more flexibility on the issue, fearing Netanyahu’s stance will further drag out the talks, risking the lives of the hostages.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir cast the vote’s lone abstention, ostensibly arguing that Netanyahu’s stance wasn’t hawkish enough.

During the meeting, Netanyahu told ministers that Hamas had been able to carry out its October 7 onslaught because Israel didn’t have control over the Philadelphi Corridor, the senior Israeli official says in a statement to reporters.

Netanyahu stressed that by maintaining control over the corridor, Israel will prevent another attack of that nature from unfolding since Hamas won’t be able to re-arm itself.

He also argued that this stance will actually make a hostage deal more likely because Hamas will see that it has no other choice but to compromise on this issue, just as it did when it agreed to forgo its demand for a permanent end to the war.

During last night’s security cabinet meeting, Netanyahu went after the defense establishment, claiming they had wrongly supported Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000 and the Oslo Accords of the 1990s.

“Security officials claimed that they would know how to deal with the first rocket (from Gaza), but this did not happen after Hamas began raining fire on Israel,” Netanyahu told the ministers, according to the statement from an official in his office. Hamas had been launching rockets at Israel before the Disengagement.

“Security officials also believed that they would know how to deal with the withdrawal from Lebanon and before that with the import of terrorist elements into Judea and Samaria (West Bank) as part of the Oslo Accords. These estimates were also wrong,” Netanyahu told the ministers.

Separately during last night’s meeting, the security cabinet was presented with the preliminary results of an IDF review that found that most of the no-longer-alive hostages were killed during the first six months of the war, closer to the October 7 onslaught and not in recent months, the Israeli official says.

The publication of the revelation comes amid uproar from hostage families that more of their loved ones could have been brought back alive had the negotiations not dragged on for as long as they have. Earlier this month, six hostages — who had been alive until earlier this year — were returned to Israel in body bags.

US urging Israel to make changes to its evacuation procedures inside Gaza safe zone – report

Palestinians evacuate an area in eastern Khan Younis after the Israel Defense Forces issued a new evacuation order for parts of the southern Gaza City, on August 8, 2024. (Bashar Taleb/AFP)

The US is urging Israel to make changes to the way it evacuates civilians in the Gaza Strip, NPR reports, citing a leaked US embassy memo.

According to the report, the Biden administration is pushing for the IDF to wait 48 hours between issuing evacuation orders and launching military operations in the impacted area. The memo also recommends canceling the orders once operations in the safe zone are over, allowing the civilian population to return.

The memo was issued out of concern that the increased evacuation orders issued by the IDF to civilians in the Gaza Strip in recent weeks has considerably shrunk the size of the Israel-designated humanitarian zone and driven the repeated displacement of Palestinians, NPR states.

In response, the IDF tells NPR that once it withdraws from evacuated areas within the humanitarian zone, civilians are able to return.

Some 1.9 million Palestinians of the 2.3 million Gazan population are residing in the Israeli-designated “humanitarian zone,” according to IDF assessments in July.

The zone is located in the al-Mawasi area on the southern Strip’s coast, western neighborhoods of Khan Younis, and central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah.

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

As of mid-August, the zone is just over 42 square kilometers, or 11% of the total size of the Gaza Strip.

Report: Shin Bet head warned Netanyahu in July 2023 that Israel was headed for war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, at a pre-Passover toast on April 4, 2023. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

In July 2023, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that war was almost certainly in Israel’s future unless something changed in the way the country was being run, Ynet reports.

The report comes after Opposition Leader Yair Lapid told an independent civilian commission of inquiry on Thursday that there had been multiple instances prior to October 7 in which security officials had told Netanyahu that policies being pursued by his government had eroded Israeli deterrence.

According to the report, on July 23, 2023 — one day before the government voted in favor of the first major piece of judicial overhaul legislation — Bar requested a meeting with the prime minister in which he warned him that, due to the contentious legislation and the divisions it had created in Israeli society, Israel’s enemies saw weakness, and therefore an opportunity to launch an attack that would result in war.

“Today I give you a warning of war. We don’t know the day and time that it will break out,” Bar is quoted by Ynet as having said.

He is reported to have issued the same warning to Lapid later that day.

The report adds that although Bar was certain that Israel was heading for war, he was likely referring either to a war in the north with the Iran-backed Hezbollah, or an escalation in the West Bank into a third intifada that could later expand, rather than war with Hamas.

In response to Ynet, the Prime Minister’s Office says that Netanyahu “did not receive a warning about the war in Gaza — not on the purported date stated in the article and not a minute before 6:29 a.m. on October 7.”

Referring only to the war in Gaza, the PMO does not deny that a more general warning was issued.

Hostages Families Forum blasts Netanyahu: He ‘doesn’t miss a single opportunity’ to sabotage hostage deal

The Hostages Families Forum slams Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following an overnight vote in the security cabinet to back his demand that IDF troops remain deployed along the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border even in the event of a hostage release-ceasefire deal.

“After close to a year of neglect, Netanyahu doesn’t miss a single opportunity to ensure that there won’t be a deal,” the forum states. “Not a day goes by that Netanyahu doesn’t take concrete action to jeopardize the return home of all the hostages.”

IDF: Fighter jets struck rocket launchers in south Lebanon overnight

Overnight, Israeli fighter jets struck several Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon, the military says.

As a result of one of the strikes, several rockets flew out of a targeted launcher toward Israel. The IDF says that one rocket crossed the border and impacted an open area near the Migdal Tefen industrial zone, close to the town of Kisra-Sumei.

Sirens had sounded in the area amid the incident.

There are no injuries.

Palestinian gunmen targeted in drone strike amid early morning clashes in Jenin, IDF says

A cell of Palestinian gunmen was targeted in a drone strike this morning amid clashes with troops in the West Bank city of Jenin, the IDF says.

The IDF says it will provide further information later.

Palestinian media reports that three people were killed in a drone strike on a vehicle in the Jenin area town of Zababdeh.

Trump’s former national security adviser warns UK will harm relationship with US if it imposes arms embargo on Israel

Then-US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien speaks at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Pasay City, Philippines, November 23, 2020. (Eloisa Lopez/Pool Photo via AP)

The UK government could find itself on the outs with the US if it imposed an arms embargo on Israel, former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien says.

O’Brien, who served under former president Donald Trump from September 2019 until January 2021, is reported by the Guardian as having warned that if Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government follows through with a decision it is examining to suspend licenses for arms exports to Israel, there would be “potential for a serious rift” with the US, regardless of who the president is.

The UK should “tread very carefully,” he told the Policy Exchange think tank. “The consequences of an arms embargo on Israel is something the UK really needs to think about at a time when Russia and China are posing a massive threat to the West.”

Such a move would almost certainly lead to the US Congress enforcing a counter-embargo that would see it stop supplying the UK with weapons, O’Brien warned.

In addition, the UK’s involvement in the production of F-35 fighter jets could be endangered, he said.

“The F-35 is a joint project and it is going to continue to go to Israel no matter what Turkey, the UK or any other country has to do with it,” said O’Brien, who remains a close ally of Trump. “You would hate to see a situation where the UK is no longer a partner in the F-35 project or other advanced platforms because of a very ill-advised arms embargo on Israel.”

During the same meeting with Policy Exchange, the former national security adviser said the UK should reverse its decision to remove its objection to ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan’s request for arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the Guardian adds.

“For the ICC to go after Israeli leaders is a joke … The UK should take every step necessary to shut it down,” he said, reportedly calling the international body “an impediment to peace in the region.”

One killed, one moderately injured in light aircraft crash in northern Israel

Emergency responders work to extract two men from a light aircraft that crashed in northern Israel on August 29, 2024. (Or Cohen/Israel Fire and Rescue Services, Hadera)

One person was killed and a second was moderately injured after the light aircraft they were flying crashed in northern Israel, medics say.

The plane crashed in an open area near Kfar Glikson, Magen David Adom says, and emergency responders recovered two men from inside the aircraft, which was on fire, using hydraulic tools.

One of the men, said by medics to be in his 60s, was pronounced dead on the scene of the crash, while a man in his 50s who was moderately injured received on-site emergency medical treatment.

The Israel Fire and Rescue Services says that its crews extinguished the fire, and adds that it is looking into the cause of the accident.

Turkey says it arrested over 100 suspected ISIS members this week in mass raids

Turkey has arrested over 100 suspected members of the Islamic State group this week, authorities say Friday, the latest mass detention targeting the terror organization.

The country has been hit by several major attacks claimed by IS, including a 2017 nightclub shooting that killed dozens of people.

The fresh raids took place across the country, including in the capital Ankara and Turkey’s largest city Istanbul, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya posts on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The arrest of 119 people this week follows other mass detentions, including 99 announced in early August.

Since the 2019 collapse of the self-proclaimed “caliphate,” some suspected IS members have settled in Turkey.

Turkish authorities have said that since June 2023 more than 3,600 people with suspected ties to the jihadist group have been arrested.

Two of the assailants who massacred 145 people at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow last March, an attack for which IS claimed responsibility, had spent several weeks in Turkey before heading to Russia, according to local authorities.

Paralympics: Israel’s Adnan Milad advances to taekwondo men’s under-63kg quarterfinals, Ami Dadaon qualifies for 100m freestyle final

Israeli taekwondo athlete Adnan Milad (red) competes in the men's under63-kg tournament at the Paris Paralympics on August 30, 3034. (Keren Isaacson)

Israeli taekwondo fighter Adnan Milad wins his first match against South Korea’s Lee Dongho in the men’s under-63kg tournament at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, advancing to the quarterfinal.

Later today he will face Turkey’s Mahmut Bozteke in the semifinal. Milad, 23, lost his arm in an electrocution accident when he was 17, and was convinced to take up para-taekwondo by the father of Asaf Yasur, who won gold yesterday for Israel.

Also in Paris, Israeli swimmer Ami Dadaon finishes first in his heat and first overall in the men’s 100m freestyle qualifier in the S4 disability category, advancing to tonight’s final and setting a new Paralympic record with 1:19.33.

Dadaon, 23, won three gold medals at the Tokyo Games. Fellow Israeli Ariel Malyar — whose brother Mark is also competing in Paris in a different disability category — finishes 12th overall and doesn’t advance to the final.

IDF, Shin Bet: Commander of Hamas military wing in Jenin, 2 operatives killed in IDF drone strike, shootout

Weapons found by the IDF following clashes and a drone strike in the town of Zababdeh near the West Bank city of Jenin, August 30. 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

The commander of Hamas’s military wing in the West Bank city of Jenin was killed, along with two other operatives, in clashes and drone strikes this morning, the IDF, Shin Bet, and police say.

According to the military, amid an ongoing operation in the northern West Bank, troops spotted a cell of gunmen in a car in the Jenin area town of Zababdeh.

Inside the car was Wissam Hazem, the head of Hamas’s terror network in Jenin.

Undercover Border Police officers opened fire at the car, killing Hazem, while the other two gunmen fled, the joint statement says. A short while later, a drone struck and killed the pair.

According to Israel, Hazem was involved in numerous shooting and bombing attacks, and was advancing additional attacks.

The other two gunmen, killed by the drone, are named by the IDF as Maysara Masharqa and Arafat Amer.

The military says they were Hamas members working under Hazem, and were also involved in shooting attacks, including against Israeli communities near the West Bank security barrier.

Inside the car and on the bodies of the terror operatives, the IDF says it recovered assault rifles, a handgun, and other weapons.

No troops were hurt in the incident.

IDF says dozens of gunmen killed in Rafah over last day; Air Force hit over 30 sites across Gaza

IDF troops are seen operating in the Gaza Strip in this handout photo published on August 30, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

More than 30 sites in the Gaza Strip were struck by the Israeli Air Force in the past day, the military says in a morning update.

The targets included rocket launchers, buildings used by terror groups, weapon depots, and other infrastructure, according to the IDF.

Meanwhile, the military says that troops with the 162nd Division killed dozens of gunmen in southern Gaza’s Rafah in the previous 24 hours.

Israeli rower Moran Samuel wins women’s single sculls heat at Paralympics, advancing to final

FILE: Rower Moran Samuel after winning a silver medal at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, August 29, 2021. (Lilach Weiss/Israel Paralympic Committee)

Israeli rower Moran Samuel wins her heat and sets a new Paralympic Games best in Paris with 9:58.02 in the women’s single sculls.

Samuel is one of just two rowers who advance straight to the final, where they will be joined by four others on Sunday to battle for gold, silver and bronze.

Samuel, at her fourth Paralympics, won a bronze medal in Rio and a silver in Tokyo. The 42-year-old athlete suffered a spinal stroke at age 24 that left her in a wheelchair, and has since become one of Israel’s best-known Paralympians.

In the men’s single sculls race, rower Shmulik Daniel finishes second in his heat and will move ahead to the repechage round, scheduled for tomorrow, aiming for a spot in the final.

Daniel, 39, was wounded in 2005 with a spinal injury while serving in Har Dov during his army service and has used a wheelchair ever since.

Katz says Khaled Mashaal’s ‘death wish’ should be ‘quickly realized’ after Hamas official calls for suicide bombings

Foreign Minister Israel Katz says Israel should assassinate senior Hamas official Khaled Mashaal after the Qatar-based politburo member called for Palestinians to carry out suicide bombings against Israelis.

“Israel must ensure that the death wish of Mashaal and his fellow terrorist organization leaders is quickly realized,” Katz writes in a post on X.

He shares subtitled footage of the speech Mashaal delivered in Turkey earlier this week, in which he urged Palestinians and supporters of the Palestinian cause to engage in “actual resistance against the Zionist entity.”

מנהיג חמאס בחו"ל חאלד משעל איים אתמול בנאום מוקלט באיסטנבול שהחמאס יחזור לפיגועי ההתאבדות. הלך הזרזיר אצל ארדואן. ישראל חייבת לוודא שמשאלת המוות של משעל וחבריו לצמרת ארגון הטרור תוגשם במהרה – והפעם בלי מקצה שיפורים. pic.twitter.com/RHlXd24nvB

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) August 30, 2024

Hamas accuses Palestinian Authority of arresting its operatives in Nablus raid — report

Hamas has accused the Palestinian Authority of carrying out “an arrest campaign” against its terror operatives in the West Bank, the Qatari-owned New Arab outlet reports.

According to the report, published by the English-language edition of Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Hamas claims that the PA has, in recent days, carried out targeted arrests of its “resistance fighters, activists and released prisoners” in Nablus, in the northern West Bank.

Hamas accuses the PA, which is responsible for the civil governance of Palestinian regions in the West Bank, of cooperating with and supporting IDF operations in Jenin and Tulkarem in recent days.

The terror group did not offer any evidence to back up its claim.

IDF wraps up 3-week-long op. in southern Gaza; 250 gunmen killed, 6 km of tunnels destroyed, 6 bodies of hostages recovered

IDF troops with the 98th Division are seen operating in the Khan Younis area of the southern Gaza Strip in this handout photo published on August 30, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF has wrapped up a three-week-long operation in the southern Gaza Strip, during which the military says it demolished six kilometers worth of tunnels, killed over 250 gunmen, and recovered the bodies of six hostages.

The raid, in Khan Younis and on the outskirts of Deir al-Balah, was launched by the 98th Division in early August. The division has now been withdrawn from Gaza as it prepares for future operations.

According to the IDF, amid the operation combat engineers demolished six separate tunnels, totalling some six kilometers of underground passages.

Inside some of the tunnels, troops killed gunmen, as well as located areas where terror operatives had resided, and found weapons, the military says.

Dozens more Hamas infrastructures above ground were also demolished amid the operation, the IDF says.

The military says troops also located weapons, rocket launchers, and intelligence materials at a “central” Hamas outpost in the Deir al-Balah area.

In the Hamad Town residential complex of Khan Younis, the IDF recovered the bodies of six hostages from a Hamas tunnel last week.

The hostages were Alex Dancyg, 75, Yagev Buchshtav, 35, Chaim Peri, 79, Yoram Metzger, 80, Nadav Popplewell, 51, and Avraham Munder, 78.

IDF says civilians can return to al-Qarara suburb of Khan Younis, military op. in area is over

The IDF says Palestinian civilians can return to areas in the al-Qarara suburb of Khan Younis as the military has finished operations there.

The area had been evacuated amid an IDF operation in Khan Younis and was temporarily removed from the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone.

Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, says that the previously evacuated areas will now again be considered as part of the humanitarian zone. He publishes a map showing the changes to the zone.

#عاجل ‼️ إلى السكان والنازحين المتواجدين في البلوكات 36, 2356 وفي الجزء الشمالي لبلوك 89 وفي أحياء حمد والجلاء والقرارة

بعد أنشطة جيش الدفاع ضد المنظمات الإرهابية في المنطقة يمكنكم العودة إلى هذه البلوكات.

في هذه الأثناء ستتم ملاءمة المنطقة الإنسانية وسيتم تصنيف تلك المناطق من… pic.twitter.com/7E3UmvgaOa

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) August 30, 2024

Israel’s goalball team beats Brazil 8:4 in opening match at Paralympics

Israel's goalball team takes part in a practice at the 2024 Paris Paralympics on August 26, 2024. (Keren Isaacson)

Israel’s goalball team wins its opening match 8-4 in the group stage against Brazil at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

The Israeli team — comprised of Lihi Ben David, Elham Mahamid, Noa Malka, Gal Hamrani, Or Mizrahi and Roni Ohayon, who are all visually impaired — will face Turkey’s team tomorrow, and China on Sunday.

The members of the Israeli team wear yellow ribbons in their hair, as homage to the hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.

Ben David tells Israel’s Sports5 broadcaster following the win that in the team’s first game, they were “feeling the atmosphere, the crowd, the field — every game isn’t easy but we have something to offer and we’ve started.”

Malka adds that the team is “sure of ourselves and what we have to give — we’re starting in the group stage and ramping up every game.”

UK ‘deeply concerned’ about ongoing IDF op. in the West Bank, condemns settler violence

A firefighter extinguishes the flames of a smouldering car in the town of Zababdeh, southeast of Jenin in the West Bank on August 30, 2024, following an Israeli drone strike against Hamas's Jenin military wing commander and two operatives. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP)

The British government says it is “deeply concerned” by Israel’s ongoing military operation in the West Bank, warning that the risk of instability is serious and that there is an urgent need for de-escalation.

“We continue to call on Israeli authorities to exercise restraint, adhere to international law, and clamp down on the actions of those who seek to inflame tensions,” a spokesperson for Britain’s Foreign Office says in a statement.

“We recognize Israel’s need to defend itself against security threats, but we are deeply worried by the methods Israel has employed and by reports of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure,” the Foreign Office spokesperson says.

The spokesperson adds the UK “strongly condemns settler violence,” and that it is in no one’s interest for further conflict and instability to spread in the West Bank.

Since October 7, troops have arrested some 4,850 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,960 affiliated with Hamas.

According to the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry, more than 670 West Bank Palestinians have been killed in that time. The IDF says the vast majority of them were gunmen killed in exchanges of fire, rioters who clashed with troops or terrorists carrying out attacks.

During the same period, 27 people, including Israeli security personnel, have been killed in terror attacks in Israel and the West Bank. Another five members of the security forces were killed in clashes with terror operatives in the West Bank.

Paralympics: Tunisian boccia player Achraf Tayahi boycotts match against Israel’s Nadav Levi

Israel's Nadav Levi competes in boccia at the 2024 Paris Paralympics on August 29, 2024. (Keren Isaacson)

Tunisian boccia player Achraf Tayahi refuses to show up for his match today against Israel’s Nadav Levi at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

Tayahi also withdrew from yesterday’s match against his Brazilian opponent in protest of being placed in the same pool as the Israeli competitor.

A source in the Tunisian delegation tells the UK-based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed news site that Tayahi withdrew from the Paralympics to avoid playing against the Israeli, and his decision “represents a victory for the Palestinian cause.”

Levi, who won his first match yesterday, wins by default and is slated to compete this evening against Brazil’s Maciel Santos.

Jordan said concerned IDF ops in West Bank, settler violence may lead Palestinians to cross border in search of refuge

Illustrative: People arrive on the Jordanian side of the Allenby Bridge crossing between the West Bank and Jordan on July 19, 2022. (Khalil Mazraawi/AFP)

Jordan is concerned that Palestinians fleeing intensified IDF operations and extremist settler violence in the West Bank will seek to enter the Hashemite Kingdom, the Qatari-owned Al-Araby Al-Jadeed news outlet reports.

According to the report, Jordanian officials fear that as a result of Palestinians crossing into Jordan, sky-high regional tensions will escalate further, leading to increased security risks in the country and across the region as a whole.

Earlier this month, King Abdullah II warned that Jordan would “not allow any escalation in the region to be at the expense of Jordanians or Jordan’s security and safety.”

Echoing the king’s comments, a Jordanian security expert tells Al-Araby that “any displacement of the residents of the West Bank will pose an existential threat to Jordan, and is absolutely rejected by Jordan and the Palestinian people.”

There are also concerns among senior Jordanians that by leaving the West Bank, Palestinians could become permanently displaced, leaving their land empty and at risk of being taken over by settlers, the report states.

This possibility, combined with recent statements by Israeli government ministers that threaten the status quo on the Temple Mount, would destroy “any possibility of a political solution based on the two-state solution, which harms Jordan’s predominant interest in establishing an independent Palestinian state,” posits a Jordanian analyst.

Paralympics: Israeli duo Shahar Milfelder, Saleh Shahin advance to finals of mixed double sculls rowing

Israeli rowing duo Shahar Milfelder and Saleh Shahin advance to the finals of the mixed double sculls rowing after finishing second in their heat at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.

The rowers will aim for the medal podium at the final scheduled for Sunday.

Shahin, 41, who is Druze, was working as a security guard for the Airports Authority at a Gaza border crossing in 2005 when several terrorists attacked the crossing, killing six people and seriously wounding Shahin in his leg. Milfelder, 26, was diagnosed with cancer as a teen and had to have a portion of her pelvis removed.

Paralympics: Israel’s Adnan Milad loses 30-7 in taekwondo quarterfinals, sending him to repechage match against Iranian athlete

Israeli taekwondo athlete Adnan Milad (red) competes against Turkey's Mahmut Bozteke in the men's under-63kg tournament at the 2024 Paris Paralympics on August 30, 2024. (Keren Isaacson)

Israeli taekwondo athlete Adnan Milad loses 30-7 in the quarterfinal to Turkey’s Mahmut Bozteke at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, sending him to a repechage match against an Iranian opponent.

Milad is now slated this evening to face Iran’s Saeid Sadeghianpour, who is widely expected to withdraw rather than compete against the Arab-Israeli Paralympian.

If Milad’s opponent withdraws, the Israeli fighter will automatically advance to tonight’s bronze medal match.

Earlier a Tunisian Paralympian withdrew rather than compete against Israel’s Nadav Levi in boccia.

AfD on track to become first far-right party since WW2 to win a majority in a German state parliament, polls show

The far-right Alternative for Germany is predicted to come first in at least one of two elections in eastern German states on Sunday, in what will be the first time a far-right party has the most seats in a German state parliament since World War Two.

The 11-year-old AfD, which has greater support in the formerly communist-run east, will be unlikely to be able to form a state government even if it does win, as it is polling short of a majority and other parties refuse to collaborate with it.

But its win will pile pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s federal coalition over the economy, immigration and support for Ukraine, and its strength will complicate coalition building, and potentially allow it to block constitutional changes and appointments of some judges.

The AfD is polling 30% in Thuringia, nearly 10 points ahead of the conservatives in second place, while tying with them in Saxony on around 30-32%. The newly created far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) is set to come third in both states.

Strong gains for the two anti-establishment parties herald growing instability in Europe’s biggest economy, reflecting a fragmentation of the political landscape that could also complicate efforts to form coherent national governments.

The AfD’s signature topic of migration shot up the agenda after a knife attack a week ago in the western city of Solingen in which a 26-year-old suspected Islamic State member from Syria is accused of killing three people.

“We want to end the failure of the state, the loss of control,” AfD co-leader Alice Weidel told a campaign event on Wednesday in Dresden. “That can only be done through a sustainable change in migration and asylum policy.”

Border Police releases footage of Jenin shootout in which senior Hamas commander Wissam Hazem was killed

Border Police release footage of this morning’s exchange of fire in the West Bank town of Zababdeh near Jenin, during which senior Hamas commander Wissam Hazem was killed by undercover officers.

Another two Hamas members fled and were killed moments later in drone strikes.

The video shows the Border Police officers ambushing a car that Hazem was in, and exchanging fire with him.

The other two Hamas gunmen, Maysara Masharqa and Arafat Amer are seen fleeing.

No soldiers were hurt in the clash.

Gallant said to lose temper as Netanyahu calls vote to keep IDF on Gaza-Egypt border, fume: PM ‘can decide to kill all of the hostages’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in Tel Aviv, December 16, 2023. (Noam Revkin Fenton/ Flash90)

The latest spat in a series of bitter disagreements between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over Israel’s strategy in Gaza erupted during a security cabinet meeting last night, several Hebrew media outlets report.

The argument is reported to have broken out when Netanyahu announced that, unbeknownst to Gallant, he had decided to bring the issue of IDF deployment along the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border to a vote.

The top panel of ministers was asked to approve a series of maps drawn up by the IDF which show how Israel plans to keep its troops deployed in the nine-mile narrow stretch known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

The cabinet voted eight to one, with one abstention, to back Netanyahu’s position in favor of maintaining Israeli military presence along the Gaza-Egypt border as part of any potential ceasefire and hostage release deal. Gallant was the sole opponent. (Itamar Ben Gvir abstained in protest at a potential dilution of the IDF presence at the border.) The vote was all but symbolic since the maps had already been submitted to Hamas and to mediators Egypt and the US.

Citing senior cabinet members who were present in the meeting, Ynet reports that Gallant lost his temper, and accused Netanyahu of “forcing the maps onto the IDF” despite the defense establishment urging him to be more flexible.

“The prime minister can make all the decisions, and he can also decide to kill all of the hostages,” Gallant is reported to have fumed, according to Ynet, Yisrael Hayom and Channel 12 news.

Kan news, similarly, quoted Gallant saying, “The prime minister can bring any decision he wants to the cabinet [for approval], including a vote to kill the hostages.”

The unnamed cabinet ministers tell Ynet that unlike in previous instances, nobody jumped to Gallant’s defense, believing he had gone too far in his criticism.

Kan news reported that one of the ministers asked, “How can you speak like this to the prime minister?”

“This was the harshest clash I can recall between Netanyahu and Gallant,” one of the ministers tells Ynet. “Netanyahu isolated Gallant completely. In situations such as these, a defense minister may as well lay down his keys.״

Wider Middle East war still a ‘significant risk,’ UN peacekeeping chief says

File: United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix speaks poses for a portrait in his office at the UN headquarters in New York City on May 21, 2024. (ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

BRUSSELS, Belgium — A broader regional war in the Middle East where conflict already rages between Hamas and Israel remains a “significant risk,” the head of the UN peacekeeping force warns.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix warns against making assumptions about how regional actors will behave.

“The perception could exist that there are certain rules that neither parties want to trespass and therefore that we are in a situation that is more stable than one could think,” Lacroix says on the sidelines of an EU defense ministers’ meeting.

“There is still a very significant risk of escalation at the regional level,” he says, adding: “We are still very much in a very, very dangerous type of situation.”

Lacroix warns of the risk of an “unintended” escalation or a “misunderstanding.”

“One of the risks, in particular in southern Lebanon, is both parties not exactly understanding where the other is in terms of calculus,” he says.

‘We are another Gaza’: Palestinians survey ruins after raid on West Bank refugee camp

People walk along a street after Israeli bulldozers dug up the asphalt in the the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarem in the West Bank following a large-scale military operation on August 30, 2024. (Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Palestinian residents of the West Bank express shock and despair at the outcome of an Israeli raid on their refugee camp: bullet-riddled walls, destroyed homes and piles of concrete blocks.

“We are another Gaza, especially in the refugee camps,” says Nayef Alaajmeh, a resident of the Nur Shams camp in the city of Tulkarem, as he surveys the damage following a devastating Israeli raid on the camp that ended late on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Israeli forces launched a widespread “counterterrorism” operation in several West Bank cities and refugee camps, including Nur Shams.

At least 19 Palestinians have been killed so far in the raids, according to the Israeli military and the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah. The majority of those killed were terrorists.

The Israeli military initially sent bulldozers to tear up tarmac streets, sending clouds of dust over the targeted areas.

AFP footage shows camp residents walking cautiously through streets littered with burnt tires and other debris.

Municipality workers and residents are already working to salvage what they can.

Many residents compare the devastation to that in Gaza, where nearly 11 months of war have left much of the Palestinian territory destroyed.

“Today, we are just like Gaza, war or no war… (but) we are steadfast and the people of Gaza are also steadfast,” says Nabil Abu Shala, another resident of Nur Shams camp.

The Israeli military is officially forbidden from entering West Bank cities and refugee camps, which are autonomous zones under the control of the Palestinian Authority.

IDF says it carried out joint drill with security forces to prepare defense of north

Troops of the 91st Division carry out a drill in the Western Galilee, in a handout image published on August 30, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Earlier this week, the IDF’s 91st “Galilee” Regional Division carried out a joint drill with the police and other security bodies, which the military says is part of its efforts to increase readiness amid heightened tensions on the northern border.

The drill simulated “defense scenarios and transitioning from routine to emergency” in the Western Galilee, the IDF says.

The military says the drill was carried out alongside police, local security teams for various communities, Magen David Adom and other bodies.

The drill was the latest in a series carried out by the IDF for a potential war in Lebanon.

Israel has warned for months it can no longer tolerate Hezbollah’s presence along its border following the October 7 atrocities and has said that should a diplomatic solution not be reached, it will turn to military action to push Hezbollah northward.

Incoming police spokesperson has close ties to Likud activists, didn’t finish degree — report

Israel Police’s incoming spokesperson Aryeh Doron is closely tied to controversial Likud activists, and only completed half of a social sciences and humanities degree at the Open University, a Channel 12 news investigation finds.

Doron, who will step into the job on Monday, hosted an online panel show called “Political Wednesdays with Aryeh Doron,” where he expressed support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said he had enough of the “anyone but Bibi” campaign against him, Channel 12 finds.

Doron hosted several Likud activists, such as Itzik Zarka, who was caught on video last year shouting at anti-judicial overhaul protesters, “Ashkenazim, whores, may you burn in hell,” referring to Jews of Eastern European origin.

Doron only joined the police force three years ago, where he became the police’s point man with the Ethiopian community, the report says. Doron formed close ties with newly appointed police chief, Daniel Levy, and became the spokesperson of the Coastal District.

Channel 12 cites officers who worked with him claiming he was responsible for misconduct in the workplace, and that they “suffered” under him.

אז מי הוא סנ"צ אריה דורון, דובר המשטרה החדש?
התשובה במילה אחת: מהמקפצה.
מדובר באיש ימין די קיצוני (שזה בסדר) ופעיל ליכוד נלהב, שלא לומר ביביסט מסור עם קבלות.
בסרטונים המצורפים תשמעו אותו מפאר ומשבח את המצב המופלא במדינה ערב בחירות 2020. הוא הופיע באולפנים כאיש ליכוד רשמי.
בסרטון… pic.twitter.com/halkpUUH8a

— Ben Caspit בן כספית (@BenCaspit) August 27, 2024

Hostage talks failing over Israel’s demands, unnamed Hamas source says

Negotiations between Israel and Hamas are “heading toward collapse,” an unnamed senior source in the terror group tells the pro-Hezbollah Al-Mayadeen satellite news station.

The unnamed official says recent meetings in Qatar failed to lead to a breakthrough since Israel is insisting on maintaining a presence on the Philadelphi Corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border (which it says it needs to prevent smuggling), while it is unwilling to give up a veto on the identities of 65 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences to be released as part of a deal.

“The negotiations are heading towards collapse because of Israel’s rejection to respond to mediators’ proposals to take care of current issues,” the source says, who adds that Egypt, Qatar and the US are “frustrated” with Jerusalem’s demands.

Certain schools in south and north to be exempt from planned strike

Final preparations ahead of the start of the new year at a temporary school newly built for evacuated students, in the northern town of Rosh Pina, on August 26, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

The Israel Teachers Union declares that schools in certain northern and southern regions will be exempt from a planned strike on Sunday when the academic year is set to begin.

The organization’s exceptions committee says the decision is made due to the ongoing situation in the country and that the cases deserved to be assessed based on their merit.

Sdot Negev, Sha’ar HaNegev, Sderot, Ofakim, Netivot, Merhavim and Eshkol council areas are excluded from the strike, in addition to a school in Kibbutz Yad Mordechai.

Schools in Kibbutz Kabri and Majdal Shams, Western Galilee High School and Nofey Golan High School will be exempt from the strike in the north.

‘We are not hesitating’: Gallant huddles with top military commanders in West Bank

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant at an assessment outside the West Bank city of Jenin during a major counterterrorism operation, August 30, 2024. (Defense Minister's Spokesperson)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with top military commanders near Jenin to receive an update on the ongoing counterterrorism operation in the West Bank, his office says.

At the meeting, Gallant says all armed operatives aiming to harm Israelis will be caught, and whoever doesn’t surrender and fights will be “hurt or killed.”

“There are many who are trying to come close to us and harm us. You saw the terror attack in Tel Aviv not long ago, these are things that can happen anywhere. It happens everywhere in the State of Israel. And we aren’t hesitating,” he says, commending cooperation between security forces on the operation.

3,577 aid pallets destined for Gaza arrive in Ashdod through sea route from Cyprus

Humanitarian aid pallets delivered using a maritime corridor form Cyprus is unloaded at Ashdod port, August 30, 2024. (COGAT)

Israel’s civilian coordination agency for the Palestinian territories, COGAT, says 3,577 humanitarian aid pallets sent by international organizations have begun unloading at the Port of Ashdod before their transfer to the Gaza Strip.

The deliveries traveled from Cyprus, utilizing a maritime corridor to the Gaza Strip established with Israel, COGAT says. Following a security inspection, the aid will enter Gaza.

COGAT adds that since the corridor opened in March, 10,700 pallets of food, water and medical supplies have been delivered, carried by 750 trucks.

IDF says 20 gunmen killed, 17 wanted Palestinians nabbed in West Bank op

IDF troops are seen amid a major operation in the West Bank, in a handout image published August 30, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says troops have killed 20 gunmen and detained 17 wanted Palestinians during an ongoing major operation in the northern West Bank.

The operation has been taking place in Tulkarem, Jenin and the Far’a camp near Tubas.

Troops have also destroyed dozens of explosive devices and seized many weapons, the IDF adds.

Iranian taekwondo athlete a no-show in fight against Israeli, handing opponent victory by default

Israeli taekwondo athlete Adnan Milad competes at the 2024 Paris Paralympics on August 30, 2024. (Keren Isaacson)

An Iranian athlete refuses to compete against Israeli taekwondo fighter Adnan Milad in a repechage round at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, handing Israel a win by default.

Saeid Sadeghianpour does not show up to face Milad in the men’s under-63kg weight class, and therefore the Arab-Israeli athlete automatically advances to the bronze medal match later tonight.

Iran forbids its athletes from competing against Israelis in international competitions.

Earlier, a Tunisian boccia player pulled out of contention to avoid facing Israel’s Nadav Levi.

Woman shot dead in Ramle, raising 2024 crime wave toll in Arab community to 153

A 20-year-old woman was shot dead in a Ramle parking lot, police and medics say, in the latest incident in the ongoing crime wave plaguing the Arab community.

Paramedics who arrived on the scene found the woman critically wounded and without signs of life, the Magen David Adom ambulance service says in a statement, adding they treated her and took her to hospital.

Doctors at Asaf Rofe Medical Center declared her dead shortly after arriving.

Police say they are investigating the incident.

The Abraham Initiatives crime watchdog says she is the eighth Arab Israeli woman to be murdered this year, and the 153rd Arab Israeli overall to have been killed since the beginning of 2024.

Ex-PM Olmert, ex-PA foreign minister propose plan for two-state solution to conflict

Former prime minister Ehud Olmert speaks during a conference in Tel Aviv, on February 7, 2018. (Flash90)

Former prime minister Ehud Olmert and former Palestinian Authority foreign minister Nasser al-Kidwa agree to cooperate on advancing peace between Israelis and Palestinians, including a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza, and the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state, according to a joint statement.

The two leaders agree to the territorial solution proposed by Olmert during his time in office based on the 1967 borders but with land swaps to account for Israeli settlements and Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem; a Palestinian capital in Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem; and the administration of the Old City by a trusteeship of five states including Israel and Palestine.

They agree that an Israeli withdrawal and a Palestinian, technocratic governing council linked to the PA is necessary in the Gaza Strip and that the West Bank and Gaza Strip should be prepared for elections within 24-35 months, the statement reads.

An Arab peacekeeping force, called the Temporary Arab Security Presence (TASP) will be needed to “stabilize” the Strip, in cooperation with the Israeli military, to prevent terror attacks from Gaza.

“Finally, they agreed on the need of a donors conference to rebuild the Gaza Strip with a serious participation of wealthy countries,” the statement reads.

Israeli swimmer wins gold in men’s 100m freestyle

Israeli Paralympian Ami Dadaon in the men's 50m breaststroke at the Paris Games on August 29, 2024. (Keren Isaacson)

Israeli swimmer Ami Dadaon wins a gold medal in the men’s 100m freestyle in the S4 disability at the 2024 Paris Paralympics with a time of 1:20.25.

In the heat earlier today, Dadaon, 23, set a new Paralympic record with 1:19.33.

Dadaon — who won three medals at the Tokyo Games — was born with cerebral palsy and started swimming at age 6. He will also compete in Paris in the 150m individual medley, 200m freestyle, and 50m freestyle.

The win marks the second medal for Israel at the 2024 Paralympics after taekwondo fighter Asaf Yasur won gold Thursday.

Talks this week discussed specifics of hostage-Palestinian prisoner exchange — report

Hostage release-ceasefire talks this week focused on the details of an exchange of captives taken on October 7 and Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, Axios reports, citing Israeli and US officials.

According to a proposal, 33 women, men over 50, or hostages with serious medical conditions would be swapped in the first stage of a deal for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, 150 of whom serve life sentences for murder, the report says.

If less than 33 hostages in the above categories are alive, Hamas will hand over the bodies of dead hostages to make up the difference, the report says, adding that mediators have transferred a list to the terror group of captives Israel qualifies for release in the first stage.

Israeli officials tell Axios negotiators are discussing a list of prisoners given by Hamas it wants to be released in the deal. While no final decision has been reached on the list, significant progress has been made on the issue, the officials say.

IDF jets strike Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon for 2nd time today

For the second time today, the IDF says fighter jets struck several Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon that were primed for attacks on Israel.

The launchers were struck in Marimin and Yaroun, the military says.

מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר בהכוונת פיקוד הצפון תקפו מספר משגרים מוכנים לשיגור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים מרימין ויארון שבדרום לבנון.

במהלך היום, צה"ל ביצע ירי ארטילרי לעבר מספר מרחבים בדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/7p2JFAonJC

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 30, 2024

Temple University probing pro-Palestinian protest that marched on campus Hillel; SJP group denies accusations of antisemitism

Temple University in Philadelphia is investigating pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel demonstrators who marched on the campus Hillel and used megaphones to “chant directly at the occupants within the building,” Richard Englert, Temple University president says.

Students among the marchers could face disciplinary action.

“We are deeply saddened and concerned by these events,” Englert says in his statement. “Targeting a group of individuals because of their Jewish identity is not acceptable and intimidation and harassment tactics like those seen today will not be tolerated.”

The demonstration, which involved both students and non-students, began at the main campus library Thursday. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, a video shot by someone at the Rosen Center, Temple University’s Hillel building, shows dozens of protesters chanting and holding signs and Palestinian flags.

University police officers guarded the entrance to the building, the Temple News student newspaper reports. There were no reports of physical altercations or arrests, according to the Inquirer.

Yesterday, Temple's chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine organized a march, demanding the university condemn Israel and divest in monetary support. pic.twitter.com/CfcYPUyTkD

— The Temple News (@TheTempleNews) August 30, 2024

In a statement, Temple Students for Justice in Palestine, which organized the demonstrator, denies accusations of “antisemitism, intimidation and harassment.”

The demonstrations at Temple University are part of a resurgence in campus protests as students return to school. At the University of Michigan, police broke up a pro-Palestinian “die-in” Wednesday and arrested four people. At Baruch College in New York last Saturday, protestors called to “bring the war home.”

A representative from Hillel at Temple did not return JTA’s request for comment.

Egyptian media reports brawl between 4 Arab Israelis and hotel worker in Taba

Egypt's Taba Border Crossing, outside Eilat, August 6, 2023. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

An Egyptian hotel worker and four Arab Israeli tourists are injured in a brawl in the Egyptian town of Taba near the border with Israel, Egyptian media reports.

An unnamed security source tells local media that the employee was seriously injured in the fight with the four Israelis at the unnamed hotel.

The background of the incident is not immediately clear.

‘There are people alive there!’: Gallant tells cabinet they are abandoning hostages, in fresh leaked quotes from cabinet meeting

FILE - A Palestinian flag is seen with the background of a section of the wall in the Philadelphi corridor between Egypt and Gaza, on the background, near the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, Sunday, July 1, 2007. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)

Channel 12 news reports more leaked quotes from last night’s cabinet meeting, when Defense Minister Yoav Gallant fumed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for bringing a vote to approve a series of maps drawn up by the IDF, which show how Israel plans to keep its troops deployed in the nine-mile narrow stretch known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

According to the leaked quotes, Netanyahu announced he wanted to bring the decision on remaining on the Philadelphi Corridor for a vote, to which Gallant questioned why it is relevant.

“The significance of this is that Hamas won’t agree to it, so there won’t be an agreement and there won’t be any hostages released,” Gallant said, the report says.

Netanyahu replied: “Yes, this is the decision.”

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer then suggested that the cabinet vote on maps of IDF deployments presented in negotiations in Cairo, but Gallant claimed that those maps were not what the IDF wanted, rather, it was what the prime minister imposed.

“I imposed? I imposed?” Netanyahu responded.

“Of course, they had their own plan. Of course, you imposed it. You are running the negotiations by yourself since the war cabinet disbanded. We learn of decisions only after they’re made. The negotiators sketched the maps as you wanted, but they had a different position,” Gallant said.

Netanyahu then banged his hands on the table, demanding an immediate vote on the maps.

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi also raised his objections: “The IDF will know how to enter and return to the Philadelphi Corridor at the end of the first six weeks of a ceasefire. There are enough constraints in the talks, you don’t need to add another.”

“There is no logic to this vote right now. In any case, the negotiations are currently focused on (other issues) and not the Philadelphi Corridor,” Mossad spy agency director David Barnea said.

Gallant then told the cabinet they faced a choice: to remain in the corridor or to return the hostages.

“You are deciding to stay in the Philadelphi Corridor. Is this logical to you? There are living (hostages) there!” Gallant said.

Dermer replied, “The prime minister can do as he likes,” to which Gallant responded, “The prime minister can make all the decisions and can also decide to kill all the hostages.”

At this point, ministers called out Gallant for speaking to the prime minister in such a manner.

Gallant then told Netanyahu he would eventually cave to Sinwar’s demands.

Netanyahu shot back that he doesn’t take directions from anyone.

Gallant accused the cabinet of abandoning the hostages by making the decision, adding he would vote against the measure.

He again turned to the premier and asked, if he has between withdrawing from the Philadelphi Corridor or bringing back the hostage, which would he choose.

Netanyahu stressed that only a determined negotiating stance would bring back the hostages.

Pressed again on the question by Gallant, the prime minister said he was choosing to remain in the Philadelphi Corridor.

While Gallant went on to acknowledge that he had lost the argument this time, he predicted that the ministers would come around to his position.

“Hopefully it will happen sooner rather than later,” the defense minister said.

Taba hotel brawl occurred after Israeli tourists tried to avoid paying for services

CAIRO, Egypt — Three Arab-Israeli tourists and four Egyptian workers were wounded Friday in a hotel fight in the Egyptian seaside town of Taba, state-linked media reports.

One of the workers sustained “serious injuries” and was being treated at the local hospital, along with “three Arab 48 tourists,” a security source tells Al-Qahera News.

“Arab 48” is a term that refers to Palestinians and their descendants who remained in Israel following its creation in 1948.

Friday’s fight broke out between hotel staff and the tourists “who attempted to obtain services from the hotel without charge,” the channel reports.

Al-Qahera News, which is linked to state intelligence, reports security authorities were investigating the incident.

A high-level security source denies Israeli media reports describing the altercation as a “stabbing operation.”

The incident occurred in the Egyptian town of Taba in South Sinai, which is on the border with Israel and a popular tourist destination for Israelis.

US aid group admits unauthorized individuals took control of Gaza convoy in deadly incident yesterday

Illustrative: A man carries a humanitarian aid package provided by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in central Gaza City on August 27, 2024. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

A US-based aid group admits that a group of individuals, that the Israeli military claims were armed, took control of an aid convoy in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday, without the aid group vetting them or coordinating with the IDF.

Yesterday, the IDF said a convoy of aid trucks from the American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) organization entered the southern Rafah area with Israeli coordination. During the drive, the military said a group of gunmen took over the vehicle at the front of the convoy, in what the IDF described as a hijacking attempt.

The IDF said it was able to determine that it could strike the car with the gunmen without harming the rest of the convoy. It then carried out the strike, killing at least four.

Anera in a statement says that after the convoy departed the Kerem Shalom crossing, “four community members with experience in previous missions and engagement in community security” with their transport company, Move One, “stepped forward and took command of the leading vehicle, citing concern that the route was unsafe and at risk of being looted.”

“The four community members were neither vetted nor coordinated in advance,” Anera admits.

The organization claims that “the four individuals were not perceived by the convoy as a hostile threat” and that the Israeli strike “was carried out without any prior warning or communication.”

No Anera employees were hurt in the incident, and the convoy made it to its destination.

The IDF said yesterday that “the presence of armed men in a humanitarian convoy without coordination is against the procedures and makes it difficult to secure the convoys and their workers and thus also harms the humanitarian effort in Gaza.”

Gazan TikToker who posted about his ‘Tent Life’ killed in airstrike

In this undated photo provided by Helmi Hirez, Mohamed (Medo) Halimy, left, and twin brothers Mohammed Hirez, center, and Helmi Hirez, right, stand on a beach in Gaza. (Helmi Hirez via AP)

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — It was another day of war in Gaza, another day of what 19-year-old Palestinian TikTok star Medo Halimy called his “Tent Life.”

As he often did in videos documenting life’s mundane absurdities in the enclave, Halimy on Monday walked to his local internet cafe — rather, a tent with Wi-Fi where displaced Palestinians can connect to the outside world — to meet his friend and collaborator Talal Murad.

They snapped a selfie — “Finally Reunited” Halimy captioned it on Instagram — and started catching up.

Then came a flash of light, 18-year-old Murad says, an explosion of white heat and sprayed earth. Murad felt pain in his neck. Halimy was bleeding from his head. A car on the coastal road in front of them was engulfed in flames, the apparent target of an Israeli airstrike. It took 10 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. Some hours later doctors pronounced Halimy dead.

“He represented a message,” Murad says, still recovering from his shrapnel wounds and reeling from the Israeli airstrike that killed his friend. “He represented hope and strength.”

The Israeli military didn’t respond to a request for comment on the strike.

Tributes to Halimy pour in from friends as far afield as Harker Heights, Texas, where he spent a year in 2021 as part of a US State Department initiative that sends students from around the world to American high schools.

“Medo was the life of the hangout … humor and kindness and wit, all things that can never be forgotten,” says Heba al-Saidi, alumni coordinator for the US government-sponsored Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study program and a friend of Halimy’s. “He was bound for greatness, but he was taken too soon.”

His feed is also flooded by hundreds of thousands of posts from his TikTok followers, expressing grief as if they, too, had lost a close friend.

US envoy to UN says attacks and threats against humanitarian groups must stop after shooting of WFP vehicle in Gaza

US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield urges Israel to “take concrete actions to ensure UN personnel are fully protected” after the shooting of a World Food Programme vehicle inside Gaza on Wednesday.

“All attacks and threatening rhetoric against the UN and humanitarian NGOs need to stop,” Thomas-Greenfield writes on X.

On Wednesday, the WFP suspended the movement of its employees across the Gaza Strip, saying at least 10 bullets struck one of its clearly marked vehicles as it approached an Israeli military checkpoint.

https://twitter.com/USAmbUN/status/1829592749361992071

Hostage families to PM: Announce publicly you’ve given up on hostages for the sake of IDF presence on Philadelphi Corridor

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum, responding to leaked quotes from last night’s cabinet meeting, demands that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly declare that he has given up on the lives of hostages for the sake of a continued IDF presence on the Philadelphi Corridor.

“The quotes from the cabinet meeting should prevent sleep for every Israeli citizen,” the forum says. “Every citizen knows that if they were to be kidnapped from their bed in their pajamas on a Saturday morning, their prime minister would do everything to keep his seat, even at the cost of leaving them to die in the Hamas tunnels in Gaza.”

The forum says it would have been better for the country if other ministers responded like Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to the vote called by Netanyahu to back his stance that the IDF remain deployed on the corridor that runs the length of the Gaza-Egypt border. Gallant, who cast the only vote against Netanyahu’s stance, accused the cabinet of condemning the hostages to death to maintain the IDF’s presence on the Philadelphi Corridor, according to quotes reported by Channel 12.

“We demand the prime minister hold a press conference in which he announces he has decided to give up on the lives of hostages and the return of the fallen and murdered for appropriate burial, in exchange for a corridor that all the defense officials have determined it is possible to leave from for a certain period,” the forum says.

Rocket sirens sound in Western Galilee communities

Incoming rocket sirens sound in the Western Galilee communities of Eilon, Goren, Arab al-Aramshe, and Manot, after a 21-hour lull in the north.

Rocket Alert [22:57:00] (5):

• Confrontation Line — Eilon, Goren, Arab al-Aramshe (2nd), Manot
Population: 6,400 pic.twitter.com/TxHAmoKxa1

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) August 30, 2024

IDF jets strike Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon building

Israeli fighter jets struck a building in southern Lebanon’s Tayr Harfa where the IDF says it identified a group of Hezbollah operatives.

It publishes footage of the strike.

כוח צה"ל זיהה מוקדם יותר היום, מספר מחבלים נכנסים למבנה צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב טיר חרפא שבדרום לבנון. זמן קצר לאחר מכן, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו את המבנה הצבאי ובתוכו המחבלים.

בנוסף, בוצע ירי ארטילרי לעבר מרחבי שיגור במרחב שבעא שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/cLjv689Cnx

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 30, 2024

Meanwhile, a series of sirens sound in several upper and western Galilee communities.

Broadcast regulator forbids hostage advocacy ad from airing on TV

The Second Authority for Television and Radio, Israel’s commercial broadcast regulator, forbids a 20-second video spreading awareness of hostages held in Gaza from airing on TV.

The video by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum shows the point of view of someone walking through a tunnel in Gaza, while women, men, and a baby scream in the background.

Several images, including a terrified face and what appears to be a silhouette of a pregnant woman flicker throughout the video. Halfway through the video, a caption appears reading: “Over nine months have passed.”

הקולות האלו הם לא רק בראש שלנו.
הם קיימים עמוק במנהרות בעזה.

למעלה מ-9 חודשים מאז שנחטפו, את ההמשך אפשר רק לדמיין….

חייבים להחזיר אותם הביתה. עכשיו. pic.twitter.com/qVuOPNdUTl

— מטה המשפחות להחזרת החטופים והנעדרים (@BringThemHome23) August 30, 2024

IDF says suspect ‘neutralized’ after opening fire in West Bank settlement; local authorities say car explodes at nearby gas station

The IDF says it has received reports of an apparent Palestinian terrorist who opened fire in the West Bank settlement of Karmei Tzur.

One suspect was “neutralized” at the scene, but the incident is still ongoing, the IDF says.

A suspected terrorist infiltration siren is sounding in Karmei Tzur amid the incident.

Shortly before the shooting, local authorities reported that a car exploded at a nearby gas station.

It is unclear if the incidents are connected.

Three hurt in shooting and ramming attack in West Bank, medics say

Two people have been wounded by gunfire at a gas station at the Gush Etzion Junction in the West Bank, and another person was hurt after being hit by a car at the entrance to the nearby Karmei Tzur settlement, medics say.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it is taking to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem a 24-year-old in moderate condition and a 34-year-old in good condition after they were shot at the gas station.

At the gas station, a vehicle reportedly exploded. MDA says that the apparent terrorist was shot and “neutralized” by Israeli forces at the scene.

Surveillance camera footage purportedly shows the moment a car exploded at a gas station in the Gush Etzion area of the West Bank this evening pic.twitter.com/fNPctrzsHN

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) August 30, 2024

Separately, MDA says its medics are treating a man who was lightly wounded after being hit by a car that breached Karmei Tzur.

The second attacker was also “neutralized,” MDA says.

The IDF reported earlier that a suspect opened fire in Karmei Tzur before being shot.

Army says it killed 2 terrorists in Gush Etzion area, 2 car bombs exploded

The IDF says it killed two Palestinian terrorists as two suspected car bombs were detonated in the Gush Etzion area of the West Bank this evening,

In the first incident, a car exploded at a gas station near the Gush Etzion junction.

Troops dispatched to the scene shot dead a terrorist who had arrived in the vehicle and attempted to attack them, the military says. Footage posted to social media shows the moment that the suspect was shot.

תיעוד | המחבל שביצע את הפיגוע בצומת הגוש מנסה לברוח ולתקוף לוחם – ונורה@ItayBlumental pic.twitter.com/iRfWljUOyN

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) August 30, 2024

Two men were moderately and lightly wounded by gunfire amid the incident, medics say, likely as a result of friendly fire while forces shot the alleged terrorist dead.

In the second incident, a Palestinian rammed a car into a guard at the entrance to the settlement of Karmei Tzur, lightly injuring him, according to medics.

The IDF says troops dispatched to the scene shot the attacker dead, and are continuing to search for additional possible suspects.

The car used in the attack at Karmei Tzur also exploded, though the IDF is still looking into the circumstances.

תיעוד פסיכי: זה מה שנשאר מרכב התופת של המחבל בתוך כרמי צור, מאחורה הרכב של הרבש"צ pic.twitter.com/dyUgNE2kC5

— איתי בלומנטל 🇮🇱 Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) August 30, 2024

The IDF also says that it cannot confirm the two attacks are related at this stage.

IDF says barrage of 40 rockets fired from Lebanon at Galilee

A barrage of some 40 rockets was fired from Lebanon at the Western Galilee earlier tonight, the IDF says.

The military says some of the rockets were intercepted and others impacted the area, though no injuries were caused.

It adds that troops shelled the launch sites with artillery.

Meanwhile, the IDF says it struck several Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon in the last few hours.

IDF brigade head slightly wounded as troops responded to West Bank attack

Col. Gal Rich, the commander of the Etzion Regional Brigade, is seen at the scene of an attack in the West Bank, early August 31, 2024. (Courtesy)

The commander of the IDF’s Etzion Regional Brigade, Col. Gal Rich, was slightly wounded amid tonight’s attempted attacks in the West Bank, a military source says.

Rich was hit in the arm by gunfire while troops shot dead a Palestinian terrorist at a gas station at the Gush Etzion junction.

He is being treated by medics and is said to be in good condition.

An image from the scene shows the brigade commander investigating the attack.

US official says Doha talks this week ‘detailed and constructive’

A US official tells The Times of Israel that working level meetings this week in Doha have been “detailed and constructive.”

“All parties were represented in the meetings this week and consultations are ongoing,” the official says, adding that the sides are “are now discussing the nuts and bolts of implementation” of the ceasefire agreement.

“We will not negotiate those details in public, but the work is ongoing and continuous,” the US official adds.