Aug. 31: Hostage families fume at Netanyahu as protesters clash with cops in Tel Aviv

Major Ukrainian drone attacks reported on Moscow region, central Russia

Sounds of large blasts are being reported near the Konakovo power plant, among the largest in central Russia, as Russian authorities report large drone attacks in several different regions.

The governor of Tver, near Konakovo, says five drones were downed in the region.

⚡ A large-scale fire broke out in Konakovo, Tver Region, Russia, after a drone attack.

Local residents claim that the Konakovo power plant was the target of the attack. pic.twitter.com/GP1RpLBkPt

— BLYSKAVKA (@blyskavka_ua) September 1, 2024

Nearby, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin says in posts on Telegram that at least five drones flying towards Moscow were destroyed in the region surrounding the Russian capital.

Some 26 Ukraine-launched drones were destroyed over the border region of Bryansk in Russia’s southwest, the region’s governor, Alexander Bogomaz, says on Telegram.

More than 10 drones were destroyed over the Voronezh region and several more were downed over Kursk, Lipetsk, Ryazan and Tula regions, governors of those regions say on the messaging app.

There were no injuries or damage as a result of the attacks, according to preliminary information. Russia rarely discloses the full extent of damage inflicted by Ukraine’s air attacks.

Reuters cannot independently verify the reports. There is no immediate comment from Ukraine.

‘The country will tremble’: Hostage families urge major protests tomorrow, after more captives possibly found dead

After the IDF says it has found bodies in Gaza that possibly are of hostages, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum issues a statement calling on the public to prepare to hold sweeping protests tomorrow.

“Netanyahu abandoned the hostages. It is now a fact,” the Forum says in a self-described “dramatic” statement.

“Starting tomorrow, the country will tremble. We call on the public to prepare. The country will grind to a halt. The abandonment is over.”

The Forum says it will provide further details tomorrow morning.

IDF says it found bodies in Gaza, possibly of hostages; identification to take hours

The IDF says it has located several bodies in the Gaza Strip, which might be remains of Israeli hostages.

“At this stage, the forces are still operating in the area and carrying out a process to extract and identify the bodies, which will last several hours,” the military says.

The IDF calls on the public not to spread unverified rumors.

Protesters for hostage deal briefly block Tel Aviv highway, are confronted by right-wing activists

Protesters block Tel Aviv's Ayalon Highway amid clashes with police following a rally for a hostage deal and against the government, August 31, 2024. (Yoav Loeff/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Following the protests at Hostages Square and the nearby Begin Road, protesters calling for a hostage deal head toward an entrance of the Ayalon Highway, jumping over dividers to begin blocking the road, only to be stopped by police who push the protesters back.

As protesters gather on the side of the highway, police officers push, yell and arrest several people.

The highway ends up being briefly blocked and subsequently reopened.

The police officers stand between the demonstrators and right-wing counter-protesters who appear in the same location near the Ayalon Highway. Some anti-government protesters say a right-wing activist had used pepper spray against them.

Hostage relatives chastise Netanyahu, one calls him ‘sabotager of the state’

Members of the Bibas family hold placards of their family members held captive in Gaza, at an August 31, 2024, protest in Tel Aviv calling for a hostage deal. (Paulina Patimer/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

At the Tel Aviv protest, Devorah Idan, mother of Tsahi Idan, 49, who was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7 after his eldest daughter was killed, says that 330 days have passed, “and we’re still in the same nightmare of the massacre, the pogrom that took place in Tsahi’s house.”

Idan calls on all educators, principals, counselors, teachers and parents to educate the younger generation to understand that the greatest strategic asset of the people of Israel is its citizens, who must be educated in accordance with the Jewish values of preserving human life, mutual responsibility and social solidarity.

Michel Illouz, father of Guy Illouz, who was killed at the Supernova music festival where his was body taken captive to Gaza, addressed the prime minister, telling him there can be no victory over Hamas unless the hostages return home.

“Without them, the society will fall apart, our best minds will leave,” says Illouz, who calls Netanyahu “a sabotager of the state.”

“He’s scared of losing his job and we’re paying the price — and that’s more important to you than the lives of the hostages,” said Illouz. “My boy was killed, he won’t come back alive but those who are still alive in the tunnels of Hamas, we have to bring them home alive, now.”

Hostage’s sister injured by mounted police and hospitalized; 2 arrested amid clashes in Tel Aviv

Natalie Zangauker, center, sister of hostage Matan Zangauker, is tended to by other protesters for a hostage deal after she was pushed on the road by mounted police and injured on Begin Road in Tel Aviv, August 31, 2024. (Zohar Bar-Yehuda/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Clashes erupt between protesters and cops in Tel Aviv following a rally for a hostage deal and against the government.

Two demonstrators are arrested, and Natalie Atedgi, the sister of hostage Matan Zangauker, is injured and taken to a hospital after being hit by a mounted police officer on Begin Road.

רגעי הדריסה של נטלי צנגאוקר ע"י פרש משטרתי
הערב על רחוב בגין
מטורף!
אין משטרה בישראל
יש מיליציה אלימה בשירות השלטון
שמתעלל בחטופים ובמשפחותיהם

קרדיט: ג׳רמי פורטנוי pic.twitter.com/JtFpIjM9qZ

— Or-ly Barlev 🎗 אור-לי ברלב (@orlybarlev) August 31, 2024

Her mother, Einav Zangauker, said earlier this evening that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is murdering the hostages” by allegedly sabotaging a deal with Hamas.

Labor MKs Naama Lazimi and Gilad Kariv are on Begin Road, attempting to protect the protesters and arguing that it is illegal to use horse-mounted police in nonviolent protests.

Labor MK Naama Lazimi and Former MK Gabi Lasky help protesters amid clashes with police in Tel Aviv following a rally for a hostage deal and against the government, August 31, 2024. (Marcelo Sznaidman/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

At Tel Aviv rally, ex-hostage says she can’t ‘start a new life here while lives are ending there’

Agam Goldstein-Almog speaks at a rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on August 31, 2024. (Paulina Patimer/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

The Tel Aviv weekly protest at Hostages Square is hosted by actor Lior Ashkenazi, who says that no child should have to start a new school year having learned or experienced what has happened over the last eleven months.

Yael Adar, mother of Tamir Adar who was killed defending Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 and his body was taken captive to Gaza, says her grandchildren — Tamir’s daughters — will go to school tomorrow for the first time without their father. Her four-year-old granddaughter is in a nursery class that includes some who were killed on October 7, another who was taken hostage, and some whose parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles were killed or taken hostage.

“She’ll see the empty chair of Ariel Bibas,” says Adar. “How do you explain that to children?”

The brother of hostage Idan Shtivi, Omri, speaks at the Tel Aviv protest and addresses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, himself a bereaved brother of Yoni Netanyahu who rescued over 100 hostages during the 1976 raid on Entebbe.

Shtivi asks how the brother of someone “who gave up his life to rescue hostages — is refusing to save the hostages. When is it Idan’s turn to be free?”

Shtivi speaks about the “huge gap between the courage of the IDF soldiers, their battles and successes, and the lack of achievement on the part of the government. It’s humiliating.”

Released hostage Agam Goldstein-Almog, who returned home after 51 days in captivity along with her mother and two younger siblings, having seen her father and older sister killed by Hamas terrorists, says she is attending the rally to show that “there is life after death.”

“But I cannot describe how difficult it is for me to start a new life here while lives are ending there,” says Goldstein-Almog. “How hard it is to look forward when their faces are before me all the time. How can I begin to process my immense loss when I’m constantly afraid of losing more people? How can I start without telling you about those still in captivity?”

The faces and names of each hostage, those presumed alive and those who were killed in captivity, are shown during the protests as the crowd of thousands call, “All of them, bring them home now!”

Sahar Calderon speaks at a rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on August 31, 2024. (Paulina Patimer/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Sahar Calderon, a released hostage whose father, Ofer Calderon, is still held hostage, cries as she talks about the impossibility of returning to normal life and school when her father is still held hostage.

“Bibi, I’m turning to you,” says Calderon, using Netanyahu’s nickname. “Do you think a 17-year-old can lead a normal life when my father is held captive? You’re betraying the hostages and your country. Please don’t abandon me a second time,” she adds, referring to October 7, when Calderon, her father and younger brother were taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Calderon talks about being separated from her father as she was released from Gaza captivity at the end of November, saying he had told her to go out and protest and talked about his fears of dying in Gaza and being forgotten.

“I feel and hear my father deep in my body, I’ll never forget him but I need the help of the country and the government,” says Sahar Calderon.

Smotrich urges crackdown also in southern West Bank, says he’ll soon advance plan to strengthen settlements

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting of his Religious Zionism party at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, July 22, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calls for the ongoing major IDF counterterror campaign in the northern West Bank to be expanded to the territory’s south as well, following the “miraculous” thwarting of a terror bombing south of Jerusalem yesterday.

Two car bombs exploded in the Gush Etzion area of the West Bank last night, in what security officials believe was a coordinated attack. Two Palestinian terrorists involved in the attacks were killed by troops at the scene.

“We are committed to expanding the operation in northern Samaria also to the Judea region and to act determinedly in the face of any threat,” says Smotrich, who is also a minister in the Defense Ministry in charge of civilian affairs in the West Bank. He uses the biblical names of the territory.

“Palestinian terrorism seeks to destroy the State of Israel, and the Israeli settlement of Judea and Samaria stands at the forefront of the defense of the entire state,” he tweets. “That’s why our response must be to strengthen the settlement enterprise and thwart the formation of a Palestinian state that would endanger our security and existence.

“We are working in the field to do this, and I will soon bring to the government’s approval a strategic plan to realize these goals.”

Education minister, union head set to meet in longshot effort to avert high schools strike

Education Minister Yoav Kisch, left, and Teachers Union head Ran Erez, right (both photos Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Education Minister Yoav Kisch and Ran Erez, the chairman of the Secondary Schools Teachers Association, are set to meet in Tel Aviv at 11 p.m. along with officials from the Finance Ministry in a last-minute effort to avert the teacher’s strike Erez has called for tomorrow, the first day of the school year.

The meeting, called by Kisch, comes after Erez officially announced the open-ended strike on Thursday, which will affect high schools across the country. The discussions are expected to last deep into the night, the Calcalist news outlet reports.

The talks are seen as highly unlikely to succeed in averting the strike.

The union has been engaged in ongoing yet deadlocked negotiations with the education and finance ministries, with instructors demanding retroactive wage increases and other benefits that were agreed upon before the last school year began, but which were deferred due to Hamas’s October 7 attack and the outbreak of the still ongoing war.

The union is also seeking a collective salary agreement, a major sticking point in the negotiations, while the government has pushed for individual contracts for teachers amid a budgetary shortfall.

Despite the last-minute meeting, in a notice to union members sent today, Erez reiterated that “tomorrow, there will be no classes.”

Strikes over salary disputes delaying the start of school studies have become commonplace in Israel.

Last year, with mere hours to go before the start of the school year, high school teachers and government officials reached a deal to bump up salaries, avoiding a threatened strike that would have delayed classes.

But the government failed to honor those agreements, citing the cuts brought on by the war.

In 2022, a separate teachers union that represents elementary and middle school teachers nearly delayed the start of the school year before the treasury agreed to raise their salaries.

Official: Netanyahu jeopardizing hostage talks for the sake of 6 weeks of Philadelphi Corridor control

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is risking blowing up the hostage negotiations so that the IDF can remain in the Philadelphi Corridor for an additional six weeks, a senior Israeli official familiar with the talks tells The Times of Israel.

“The proposal he backed still requires the IDF to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor after the first phase,” the senior Israeli official says, fuming over the Thursday night security cabinet vote to back Netanyahu’s stance regarding military deployment along the nine-mile Gaza-Egypt border stretch.

“This isn’t about permanent control of the Philadelphi [Corridor]. It’s about six weeks,” the official adds, referring to the length of the first phase of the three-phase ceasefire being negotiated.

“The security establishment still believes that we can return to the Philadelphi Corridor if need be even after withdrawing,” the official says, adding that the area will be “sterile” and lined with sensors and other security measures to prevent weapons smuggling.

Meanwhile, Channel 13 news quotes unnamed senior officials from several Israeli security bodies as saying the talks are “on the brink of collapse,” and accusing the government of managing the negotiations based on “political considerations.”

Protesters gather nationwide, highlight plight of Bibas hostage kids, say PM should go to jail

A protest calling for a hostage in Nes Ziona, with backpacks featuring the faces of hostages Ariel and Kfir Bibas and the sign, 'No one starts the school year in captivity,' August 31, 2024. (Ohad Shahar/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Protesters gather throughout the country — in Tzahala, at Nahalal Junction, Hemed, Hurfeish, Karkur, Zichron Yaakov, Herzliya, Rehovot, Haifa and elsewhere — wrapped in Israeli flags, holding signs calling for elections and for the release of the hostages.

In Nes Ziona, protests revolve around the start of school on September 1, centered around an exhibit of schoolbags featuring the faces of the preschooler Ariel Bibas and his baby brother, Kfir Bibas. Another protester holds a sign mimicking a piece of looseleaf paper that reads: “What I did on my summer vacation: 1. Lived in a hotel (where evacuees are still living months after October 7) 2. I started wetting the bed again 3. A missile hit my house and destroyed it 4. My father was injured in Gaza 5. I missed my friends.”

Protesters line the side of the highway at Hemed Junction where a set of women sit with their eyes covered and wrists tied, symbolizing the female hostages held in Gaza. In Haifa, hundreds of people march, calling for elections, holding signs that accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of abandoning the hostages.

At Tzahala, there are poster board cutouts of the hostages set up in a display, as protesters hold oversized, bright red signs bordered with thumbnail pictures of each hostage and the message, “Netanyahu is torpedoing the deal” — each sign printed with dates of previous deals over the past months that were in negotiation and allegedly torpedoed by the prime minister.

Hundreds line the main street in Caesarea, where Netanyahu owns a second home, holding flags, drums and signs calling for the premier to be sent to jail. In nearby Karkur, protesters block the main intersection as they call for the government to be disbanded immediately. Police forces eventually block protesters and arrest one person.

Protesters for a hostage deal in Caesarea on August 31, 2024. (Alon Banki/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Doubling previous numbers, report says 6,000 Gazans – including 3,800 trained Hamas terrorists – broke into Israel on Oct. 7

Gazans at a burning Israeli military vehicle on the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, October 7, 2023. (REUTERS/Yasser Qudih)

Twice as many Gazans breached the border into Israel on October 7 than previously reported, Channel 12 says, citing data compiled by the IDF’s Gaza Division.

The report says some 3,800 trained and armed Hamas terrorists smashed through the border fence, among a total of 6,000 Gazans who crossed into Israel that day.

Hitherto, figures made public indicated that some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists participated in the invasion, massacre and hostage-taking that day.

The TV report also says that the border was breached in 119 places — again, about double the hitherto widely cited figure of 60 breaches in the Gaza-Israel fence.

Additionally, 1,000 terrorists inside Gaza were involved in firing rockets at Israel that day, the report says, meaning that a total of some 7,000 Gazans took part in the onslaught.

Some 5,000 rockets were fired at Israel that day, 3,000 of them in the first four hours of the onslaught.

Channel 12 says the data has been submitted to Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.

In response to the report, Channel 12 quotes the IDF Spokesman’s Office saying that the IDF’s operational probe of the events surrounding October 7 has not yet been completed, and is continuing in accordance with situational assessments and operational needs. When it is completed, the spokesman’s office says, the findings will be made public.

IDF says soldier seriously injured today in central Gaza

An IDF reservist with the Jerusalem Brigade’s 9207th Battalion was seriously wounded during fighting in the central Gaza Strip earlier today, the military announces.

The reserve soldier was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Soldier killed, 3 injured in shootout with Hamas gunmen in West Bank’s Jenin

Staff Sgt. Elkana Navon. (Israel Defense Forces)

An Israeli soldier was killed and three others were wounded during clashes with Hamas gunmen in the West Bank city of Jenin this morning, the military announces.

The slain soldier is named as Staff Sgt. Elkana Navon, 20, a squad commander in the Bislamach Brigade’s 906th Battalion, from Petah Tikva.

According to an initial IDF probe, troops carrying out a raid in Jenin encountered two gunmen, considered to be prominent members of the Hamas terror group. The soldiers exchanged fire with the two terror operatives from a close range, killing both of them.

Four soldiers were hit by the gunmen, including Navon who later died. One of the wounded troops, an officer, is listed in serious condition.

Paralympic swimmer Mark Malyar dedicates medal to IDF soldiers: ‘Thanks to them we can train’

Israeli swimmer Mark Malyar poses for a photo with his bronze medal in the men's 100m backstroke at the Paris Paralympics on August 31, 2024. (Lilach Weiss Rosenberg)

Paralympic medal winner Mark Malyar dedicates his bronze medal in the men’s 100m backstroke to the IDF soldiers fighting to protect the State of Israel.

“I want to thank the soldiers and everyone who protects us, thanks to them we can train and we can get to this point, we’re able to live thanks to them,” he tells Israel’s Sport5 broadcaster shortly after his win.

“It felt great to see the flag go up, I feel amazing,” he adds shortly after the medal ceremony.

Malyar won three medals at the Tokyo Games, and is slated to compete in three additional races in Paris.

Israel says Islamic Jihad’s chief in central Gaza was killed in Thursday strike

The commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s central Gaza brigade, Muhammad Qatrawi, was killed in an airstrike in the Strip on Thursday, the IDF and Shin Bet announce.

Qatrawi was involved in numerous rocket attacks on Israel from central Gaza and was responsible for many other attacks against troops and the country, the military says.

He previously served as the deputy commander of Islamic Jihad’s Central Camps Brigade, as well as an intelligence officer, according to the IDF and Shin Bet.

The IDF releases footage of the strike.

‘We are dismantling the terrorism,’ says IDF chief Halevi on tour of Jenin op

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (second from right) meets with senior officers in the West Bank city of Jenin, August 31, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi held an assessment in the West Bank city of Jenin earlier today, amid an ongoing operation there, the military says.

Halevi was joined by the head of the Central Command, Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth; the commander of the West Bank division, Brig. Gen. Yaki Dolf; and the commander of the Menashe Regional Brigade, Col. Ayub Kayuf.

“We are dismantling the terrorism that comes from the refugee camps in Judea and Samaria,” Halevi is quoted by the IDF as saying.

Israel’s Mark Malyar wins bronze medal in swimming at Paralympic games

Israel’s Mark Malyar wins a bronze medal in the 100-meter backstroke in the S8 disability at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, giving Israel its third medal of the games.

Malyar, 24, who won two golds and a bronze in the Tokyo games, came third behind Inigo Llopis Sanz of Spain and Japan’s Kubota Kota.

Another medal for Israel!
Mark malyar wins bronze 🥉 in Paris!
Amazing achievement!!!! pic.twitter.com/l9UVKlYjMD

— Alex Fighting for Truth #JusticeForMalkiRoth 🎗️ (@Fight4Truth134) August 31, 2024

Swimmer Ami Dadaon won a gold medal on Friday, while taekwondo fighter Asaf Yasur won gold on Thursday.

Malyar has cerebral palsy and began swimming as part of his physical therapy.

‘Mr. Death’: Hostage families say Netanyahu has condemned their loved ones to die

Family members and supporters standing next to pictures of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip, during a protest outside the Prime Minister's official residence in Jerusalem, August 30, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

In a statement read out in front of the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, family members of the hostages accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government of knowingly condemning the hostages to death.

“Netanyahu and his partners in the cabinet decided to torpedo the [hostage-ceasefire] deal due to the Philadelphi spin, and as such knowingly condemn the hostages to death,” the statement says.

Einav Zangauker, mother of Hamas hostage Matan Zangauker, calls Netanyahu “Mr. Death.”

“This is a crime against the people, against the State of Israel and against Zionism,” she says. “Netanyahu is not Mr. Security, he is Mr. Death. He is undermining the deal in cold blood.”

The statements come after Netanyahu reportedly told ministers that he prioritized maintaining troops in the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border over saving the lives of those held in by Hamas.

Mass rallies are planned for later tonight calling on the government to reach a deal.

Ex-IDF intel chief urges all Israelis to demonstrate against government’s ‘abandonment of the hostages’

Institute for National Security Studies chairman Amos Yadlin, a former head of IDF Military Intelligence. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Former IDF military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin denounces the security cabinet vote on Thursday night that backed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence on maintaining the IDF’s deployment along the Philadelphi Corridor during the first six-week phase of any hostage-ceasefire deal, which Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told ministers would likely doom a deal and therefore doom the hostages.

Yadlin, a former Labor Party candidate for defense minister, tells Channel 12 that the decision means that the government has essentially said it will not uphold its “moral obligation” to bring home women, children and the elderly “who were kidnapped from their homes” on October 7, as well as soldiers.

“The hostages have been abandoned,” Yadlin says, calling the government’s stance “unacceptable.”

He says every Israeli should today “go out and demonstrate” against what he calls a “scandalous” situation.

Explosive-laden drone from Lebanon hits near northern community, no injuries

An explosive-laden drone launched from Lebanon an hour ago struck near the northern community of Beit Hillel, the IDF says.

There are no injuries in the attack. Sirens had sounded in several communities in the Galilee Panhandle amid the incident.

Separately, the IDF says it struck a building in southern Lebanon’s Markaba where a group of Hezbollah operatives were spotted.

Fighter jets carried out the strike on the building a short while after the Hezbollah members were identified by troops of the 869th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit.

הבוקר, כוחות יחידת האיסוף 869 זיהו מחבלים נכנסים למבנה צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב מרכבא שבדרום לבנון. זמן קצר לאחר הזיהוי, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו את המבנה ממנו פעלו המחבלים.

במהלך היום כוחות צה"ל תקפו בירי ארטילרי תשתיות טרור בדרום לבנון>> pic.twitter.com/xjU6OqknPN

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) August 31, 2024

Health official says polio vaccine campaign begins in Gaza

A nurse administers Polio vaccine drops to a young Palestinian patient at the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on August 31, 2024. (Jihad Al-Sharafi/AFP)

A health official says a polio vaccination campaign has begun in Gaza after the war-torn territory recorded its first case of the disease in a quarter of a century.

Local health officials along with the UN and NGOs “are starting today the polio vaccination campaign in the central region,” Moussa Abed, director of primary health care at Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, tells AFP.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that Israel had agreed to a series of three-day “humanitarian pauses” in Gaza to facilitate vaccinations, though officials had earlier said the campaign was expected to start on Sunday.

After beginning in central Gaza, vaccines are set to be administered in southern Gaza and then in northern Gaza.

The campaign, which involves two doses, aims to cover more than 640,000 children under 10.

Jewish students attacked at University of Pittsburgh campus, one person arrested

The Cathedral of Learning towers over the University of Pittsburgh campus in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh Monday, July 8, 2019. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

One person was arrested after an attack on a group of Jewish students on the University of Pittsburgh campus, the school says in a statement.

Two of the students were treated at the scene for injuries after the suspect, who was not identified, attacked them using a bottle near Pitt’s Cathedral of Learning, according to a statement released late yesterday.

“The alleged perpetrator, who has no known Pitt affiliation, was immediately arrested by Pitt Police and is in custody,” the statement says. There was no information about what charges the suspect might face.

University leaders were in contact with the Hillel University Center as well as the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.

There was no ongoing threat to the public and counseling was made available.

“To be clear: Neither acts of violence nor antisemitism will be tolerated,” the statement said. “Local and federal partners are supporting Pitt Police in this ongoing investigation.”

The attack comes amid a surge of antisemitism on US campuses following the October 7 Hamas assault in Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.

Pittsburgh was the scene of the 2018 Tree of Life massacre, where a white supremacist murdered 11 Jews in the synagogue complex, the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report

Four arrested at ‘picnic’ protest outside home of minister Yoav Kisch

Police arrest four people outside the home of Education Minister Yoav Kisch.

The anti-government demonstrators refuse to move away from his home to a police-designated protest spot.

In recent days, anti-government demonstrators have attempted to skirt police orders blocking them from protesting outside the homes of government ministers and MKs, by claiming to be having picnics in public areas.

יס"מ הגיעו. ארבעה עצורים על אכילת ג'חנון בהוד השרון https://t.co/BLzfZV5LPo pic.twitter.com/7LcUSUdlxw

— Liron Samuels לירון סמואלס (@LironSamuels) August 31, 2024

Hamas says Gaza toll at 40,691

Palestinians who retuned briefly to eastern Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip to check on property, carry away some items they were able to salvage after Israeli troops pulled out from some blocks in the area on August 29, 2024 (Eyad Baba/AFP)

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says the Palestinian death toll since the terror group launched the October 7 attack on Israel now stands at 40,691.

The figure cannot be independently verified and includes more than 17,000 Hamas gunmen Israel says it has killed in battle. Israel also says it killed some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.

Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad praise West Bank car bombings

The remains of a car bomb that exploded in the West Bank settlement of Karmei Tzur, early August 31, 2024. (Courtesy)

Terror group Hamas issues a statement praising what it called a “double heroic operation” after two car bombs exploded in the Gush Etzion area of the West Bank late last night, in what security officials believed was a coordinated attack. Two Palestinian terrorists involved in the attacks were killed by troops at the scene.

Hamas says it “is a clear message that resistance will remain striking, prolonged and sustained as long as the brutal occupation’s aggression and targeting of our people and land continue.”

The group, however, does not claim direct responsibility for the attacks.

Hamas ally Islamic Jihad similarly says it “congratulates” the perpetrators of what it called a “coordinated attack.”

FIFA again delays review of Palestinian call to suspend Israel from world soccer

The Israeli team poses prior to the Group D soccer match between Israel and Japan, at the La Beaujoire stadium, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, July 30, 2024, in Nantes, France. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)

World soccer’s governing body FIFA has delayed again its decision on a Palestinian bid to have Israel suspended from international soccer over the war in Gaza.

FIFA says late yesterday that it would now consider the Palestine Football Association’s (PFA) proposals against the Israel Football Association (IFA) in October.

The PFA had submitted a proposal to suspend Israel in May, with FIFA ordering an urgent legal evaluation and promising to address it at an extraordinary meeting of its council in July.

FIFA said last month the legal assessment would now be shared with its council by August 31.

The Zurich-based body said it had now moved the assessment back to October.

“FIFA has received the independent legal assessment of the Palestine Football Association’s proposals against Israel,” FIFA says.

“This assessment will be sent to the FIFA Council to review in order that the subject can be discussed at its next meeting which will take place in October.”

FIFA declined to give further details of the assessment, or when in October the meeting would take place.

The PFA did not respond to requests for comment.

IDF says ongoing West Bank raid now focused on Jenin

An Israeli army helicopter flies above Jenin in the West Bank during a raid on August 31, 2024. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP)

The IDF’s ongoing major operation in the northern West Bank is now largely focusing on the Jenin area, after raids in Tulkarem and Far’a concluded.

Troops this morning raided the Jenin’s refugee camp, where they neutralized dozens of explosive devices that were planted along the roads, according to the military.

There have been fierce clashes between IDF troops and Palestinian gunmen in the Jenin area this morning.

So far amid the major operation launched earlier this week, the IDF says troops have killed at least 26 gunmen and detained another 30 wanted Palestinians.

IDF detains 6 for involvement in attacks, says no fear of additional car bomb

Israeli army vehicles in the city of Hebron in the West Bank on August 31, 2024. (Hazem Bader/AFP)

Israeli forces have detained six Palestinians who are suspected to have been involved in last night’s dual car bombing attacks in the West Bank.

Their connection to the attacks in the Gush Etzion area is being looked into.

The IDF has meanwhile encircled Hebron and towns in the area, where the two terrorists came from, as it searches for additional suspects and investigates the attack.

This morning, troops demolished a bomb-making lab in Hebron.

The military says that there is no fear of a third car bomb — as some media outlets reported — and the incident in Gush Etzion is considered to have ended.

The two cars that exploded in Gush Etzion are believed by the IDF to have been packed with makeshift explosive devices.

Car bombers identified as Palestinians from Hebron

Israeli security forces at the scene of a car bomb explosion in the the Gush Eztion Junction in the West Bank, on August 31, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Palestinian Authority health ministry names the two terrorists who carried out the car bombing attacks in the West Bank last night and were killed by Israeli forces.

They are named as Muhammad Marqa and Zahdi Afifa, from Hebron.

The ministry says it was notified of their deaths by the PA’s General Authority of Civil Affairs, indicating that their bodies are being held by Israel.

Iran police commander dismissed after detainee reported tortured to death in custody

Iran’s police force has dismissed the commander of a city in the northern province of Gilan after the death in custody of a detainee, state media report.

Mohammad Mir Mousavi, 36, was arrested on July 22 after being involved in a fight in Lahijan, police say in a statement carried by the official news agency IRNA.

“The police commander… was dismissed due to insufficient oversight of the conduct and behavior of staff,” the police say .

“Due to the complexity of the matter, the final conclusion on the cause of Mohammad Mir Mousavi’s death depends on the medical examiner’s final report, the statement says.

The police say the station commander and several officers involved in the incident had been suspended.

“The behavior of some law enforcement officers was against the professional policy of the police and that is not acceptable in any way, so they were referred to the judicial authority,” the statement adds.

The Norway-based Kurdish human rights organization, Hengaw, on Wednesday said Mir Mousavi “was killed under torture in the detention center.”

"Mohammad Mousavi" was tortured and killed in Iran by the Islamic Republic. What do you think? pic.twitter.com/pxWRaCMmM0

— فیلیپ مارلو⁦⁦⁦⁦⁦⁦⁦⁦⁦⁦⁦⁦⁦⁦⁦⁦⁦⁦⁦⁦⁦ (@khodn98) August 28, 2024

On Thursday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered an investigation into the case.

Dismissals of members of the security forces are rare in Iran.

In 2022, the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who had been arrested in Tehran for an alleged breach of the country’s strict dress code for women, sparked months of deadly nationwide protests.

Brazil block on social network X comes into effect

Photo illustration photo taken on August 29, 2024, shows the logos of Brazil's Federal Supreme Court (L) and social media platform X (former Twitter) on a screen in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Mauro Pimentel/AFP)

A block on Elon Musk’s X social network in Brazil starts to take effect early this morning after a Supreme Court judge ordered its suspension, according to AFP.

Access to the platform, formerly known as Twitter, was no longer possible for some users in the South American country, who are presented with a message asking them to reload the browser without being able to log in successfully.

IDF says Gaza airstrike hit terror cell planting explosives in buildings

IDF troops are seen operating in the Gaza Strip in this handout photo published on August 31, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Reservists with the 252nd Division called in an airstrike against a building in Gaza City where they spotted a terror operative working to place booby traps, the IDF says in a morning update.

The army says the building was located close to where the reservists were operating. A fighter jet struck the building.

Separately, a cell of gunmen was killed by the division, and several sites used by terror groups were destroyed in the past day, the IDF says.

In southern Gaza’s Rafah, the IDF says troops with the 162nd Division continued operations in the past day, locating many weapons and killing several cells of gunmen.

Heavy clashes between IDF, Palestinian gunmen reported in Jenin

An Israeli army armored jeep blocks a road leading to a hospital in Jenin in the West Bank on August 30, 2024, where ambulances are checked before reaching the medical facility. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP)

Palestinian media report heavy clashes between gunmen and Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Jenin this morning.

The IDF has been carrying out a major raid in the northern West Bank since early Wednesday.

Further details are not immediately available.

IDF briefly shuts Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs after West Bank car bombs

The Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron, on December 30, 2019. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)

Israeli authorities briefly closed off the Tomb of the Patriarchs, known to Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque, in the West Bank city of Hebron, following last night’s car bombing attacks.

The two terrorists had set out from the Hebron area.

“After the attack, security screenings at the Cave of the Patriarchs for the entry of Palestinian and Israeli worshipers were made more strict, and the area was closed for a short period due to security reasons,” the IDF says.

The IDF says that following an assessment, the holy site was reopened to all worshipers, “under strict screenings.”

The shrine is one of the holiest sites in Judaism, revered as holding the graves of biblical patriarchs Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, and Leah. It is also revered by Muslims and parts of the compound are used as a mosque.

Arab-Israeli tensions run high in Hebron, and in 1994 the cave became the site of the most infamous Jewish terror attack on Muslims when Baruch Goldstein opened fire on mosque-goers, killing 29 and injuring 25.

Jurisdiction over the city remains with the Palestinian Authority and the population is predominantly Muslim. There is, however, a small Jewish population in scattered settlement enclaves under Israeli military protection.

IDF, Shin Bet believe Friday night West Bank bomb attacks were coordinated

IDF troops examine the wreckage of a car bomb in the West Bank settlement of Karmei Tzur, early August 31, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF and Shin Bet believe that the two Palestinian terrorists who attempted to carry out concurrent car bombing attacks in the Gush Etzion area of the West Bank last night were coordinated.

The two terrorists set out together from the Hebron area and headed toward the Etzion settlement bloc to carry out the attack at two locations, according to the initial probe.

One car bomb was set off at a gas station at the Gush Etzion junction, while the second terrorist breached the Karmei Tzur settlement and his car exploded there.

Both terrorists were killed. Their identities and affiliations are not immediately known.

At the gas station, a soldier was moderately wounded and a reservist officer who is the head of a local security team was lightly hurt as troops opened fire at the terrorist. The commander of the IDF’s Etzion Regional Brigade, Col. Gal Rich, was also lightly hurt but did not require hospitalization.

In Karmei Tzur, a local security officer chased after the terrorist in his own car. He rammed into the terrorist’s car, before getting out and opening fire, killing him. The car then exploded.

IDF shelling targets in south Lebanon villages amid rocket fire – report

Israeli troops are shelling targets in the south Lebanon villages Deir Seryan and Taybeh, Hezbollah affiliated Al-Manar TV network reports, according to the Ynet news site.

The reported shelling comes amid continued rocket fire by the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group overnight and this morning toward Israeli towns and military positions along the border.

Rocket sirens sound in northern border communities

Sirens sound in communities close to the northern border with Lebanon, warning of incoming rocket fire.

Alerts are heard in Malkia and Misgav Am.

7 US troops hurt in raid with Iraqi forces targeting Islamic State

Seven US troops were injured during a joint raid with the Iraqi military targeting suspected Islamic State group operatives in Iraq’s western desert, The Associated Press reports.

A US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the operation yet to be made public, tells the news agency that five American troops were wounded in the raid, while two others suffered injuries from falls in the operation.

One who suffered a fall was transported out of the Mideast, while one of the wounded was evacuated for further treatment, the official says.

“All personnel are in stable condition,” the official says.

It wasn’t immediately clear why it took two days for the US to acknowledge it took part in the raid in which 15 ISIS operatives were killed.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Residents of West Bank settlement Karmei Tzur told they can leave their homes, hours after terror attack

The remains of a car bomb that exploded in the West Bank settlement of Karmei Tzur, early August 31, 2024. (Courtesy)

Residents of Karmei Tzur are told they can leave their homes, hours after two separate but possibly linked terror attacks in the West Bank, one of them at the settlement.

The Home Front Command says there are no longer restrictions on residents’ movement.

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 who attempted to attack them, the military said.

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

In the second incident, a Palestinian rammed a car through the entrance to Karmei Tzur. IDF troops opened fire at the attacker. One of the members of the local security team, in his own car, crashed into the attacker and killed him. The guard himself was lightly hurt.

A short while later, the assailant’s car exploded due to a bomb planted in it.

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.

Barrage of some 40 rockets fired from Lebanon at Western Galilee overnight

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

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

It added that troops shelled the launch sites with artillery.

Meanwhile, the IDF said it struck several Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon.

Ship targeted by 2 suspected missiles from Yemen’s Houthis as oil tanker burns

Two missiles suspected to have been fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted a ship in the Gulf of Aden late Friday, splashing down nearby without causing any damage, authorities say.

The attack comes after the Houthis repeatedly assaulted and then boarded a Greek-flagged oil tanker in the nearby Red Sea, planting explosives on it they later detonated. That attack, the worst in weeks, risked a major oil spill as the rebels’ campaign disrupts the $1 trillion in goods that pass through the Red Sea each year over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, as well as halting some aid shipments to conflict-ravaged Sudan and Yemen.

The attack Friday saw two missiles “exploding in close proximity to the vessel” some 240 kilometers (150 miles) east of Aden, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center says.

The ship “reports all crew are safe and proceeding to next port of call,” the UKMTO says. “Investigations are ongoing.”

US CENTCOM says it conducted raid in Iraq, 15 Islamic State operatives dead

US Central Command (CENTCOM) says its forces conducted a partnered raid with the Iraqi Security Forces in western Iraq in the early hours of Aug. 29, resulting in the deaths of 15 Islamic State (ISIS) operatives.

“The ISIS element was armed with numerous weapons, grenades, and explosive “suicide” belts,” CENTCOM says. It also adds that there were no indications of civilian casualties in the raid.