Live updates (closed)
The Times of Israel liveblogged Wednesday’s events as they happened.
Biden aide: Israel taking steps to protect civilians that even US might not have done
An interactive Gaza map issued by the IDF splits the Strip into hundreds of zones. The IDF said December 1, 2023, that it will be used to notify Palestinian civilians of active combat zones. (Screenshot)
WASHINGTON — White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby suggests that some of the steps the IDF has taken to prevent civilian casualties in Gaza might go further than what the US would have done if it were in Israel’s place.
Kirby highlights the map the IDF published alerting civilians as to which neighborhoods it is planning to attack, so that they can evacuate ahead of time.
“That’s basically telegraphing your punches. There are very few modern militaries in the world that would do that. I don’t know that we would do that,” Kirby says during a press briefing.
White House National Security Council Coordinator For Strategic Communications John Kirby buttons his jacket before talking to reporters in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on December 13, 2023 in Washington, (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP)
The White House spokesperson is one of several officials in US President Joe Biden’s administration who appear to be trying to walk back or soften the message voiced by the president yesterday, when he characterized Israel’s bombing campaign against Hamas in Gaza as “indiscriminate.”
Kirby says Israel has also reduced its airstrikes in the south, relying more on ground forces than it did in northern Gaza.
“They moved into southern Gaza on the ground in a way that was much smaller than they planned to do,” Kirby says. “We think that was an output of some of the advice and counsel we provided them about urban warfare.”
PMO says US’s Sullivan to meet Netanyahu, Herzog, war cabinet members during visit
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan during the latter’s visit tomorrow, the Prime Minister’s Office says.
The meeting will take place at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, the statement says, adding that Sullivan is arriving as the guest of his Israeli counterpart Tzachi Hanegbi.
Sullivan will also meet tomorrow with President Isaac Herzog, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Minister Benny Gantz, and other members of the war cabinet managing the war against Hamas, the statement says.
Hadassah to ICRC chief: Your Israel visit ‘meaningless’ if you don’t meet hostages in Gaza
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger delivers remarks during a press briefing in Avully near Geneva, on June 7, 2023. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)
Hadassah – The Women’s Zionist Organization Of America, the owners of the Hadassah hospitals in Jerusalem, sends what it says is an urgent letter to the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, who is due to visit Israel tomorrow.
In the letter, the group says the visit “is meaningless if you do not visit and treat the Israeli hostages in Gaza. We demand of you — fulfill the role for which you were established and take care of the hostages now, before it is too late.”
“It is unconscionable that for more than 60 days the ICRC has not met with the hostages held in Gaza, checked their physical and psychological condition, demanded assurances about the safety of the hostages, or delivered medicine.”
Family of Tanzanian Joshua Mollel, missing since Oct. 7, told he’s dead, body held in Gaza
Joshua Mollel (Courtesy)
Joshua Mollel, an agricultural intern from Tanzania who has been missing since Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, has been killed in captivity, the Israeli kibbutz where he had been working announces.
In a Facebook post, Kibbutz Nahal Oz says its officials have been notified that Mollel was kidnapped to Gaza and murdered, with his body currently held by the Hamas terror group.
“We send condolences to Joshua’s family. May his memory be a blessing,” the statement says.
Mollel, 21, had arrived in Israel in mid-September, his first time traveling out of Tanzania.
The Hotline for Refugees and Migrants rights group says his father, Loitu Mollel, is refusing to believe the news since his questions to authorities about the source of the information haven’t been answered.
“We hope state authorities provide an explanation to Loitu about the source of the information,” it says.
Kirby: Netanyahu said Israel-Gaza Kerem Shalom crossing likely to be opened to aid
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby speaks during a press briefing on December 13, 2023. (Screen capture/YouTube)
WASHINGTON — During his meeting earlier today at the White House with family members of American hostages held in Gaza, US President Joe Biden promised to keep them in the loop regarding efforts to bring about the hostages’ return, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says during a press briefing.
“The president is very grateful for the time that they afforded him. He was moved by their stories, by the love they feel, by the hope they still harbor and he harbors that hope too, and he… is acting on that,” Kirby says, donning a dog tag with the phrase “Bring them home now” that has been a symbol of the campaign for the hostages’ release.
Kirby reiterates that Hamas still holds young women hostage “in violation of the deal it negotiated in Doha.”
“We know what they have proven capable of doing to young women,” he says, referring to the mounting evidence of sexual violence by Hamas terrorists on October 7.
He again insists that a unilateral ceasefire with Hamas “is not the answer,” but that Hamas could end the war if it released the hostages, surrendered those responsible for the October 7 attacks and threw down their weapons.
“If they really cared about the Palestinian people the way they claimed to, they would do this. That they haven’t done it speaks volumes,” Kirby says.
In the meantime, the US continues its efforts to expand the flow of humanitarian aid into the Strip and reduce harm to civilians. Kirby says the US is in talks with Israel and the UN about the establishment of more corridors in order to facilitate the flow of aid along with “brief daily pauses” in the fighting to allow civilians to access the assistance.
He claims Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier today that Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing will likely be reopened for the entry of aid to Gaza and that the topic will be on the agenda when National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan arrives in Israel tomorrow for meetings with top government officials.
“This will be the first direct entry of aid from Israel into Gaza since the 7th of October, so it’s not insignificant,” Kirby says. “The pending opening of Kerem Shalom is one example of what’s to come out of there, but there needs to be more.”
He then comments on the harsh criticism voiced yesterday by Biden regarding Israel losing international support for its war against Hamas due to the IDF’s “indiscriminate” bombing in Gaza.
“The president yesterday reflected the reality of global opinion, which also matters. Our support for Israel is not diminished, but we have had concerns and we have expressed those concerns about the prosecution of this military campaign, even while acknowledging that it is Hamas that started this and that it’s Hamas that is continuing it,” Kirby says.
“We are seeing them act on that intent [to reduce civilian casualties] in positive ways,” Kirby says, pointing to a reduction in airstrikes as the IDF has moved further south into Gaza where it is relying more on ground troops, “which allows you to be more precise.”
Pro-Palestinians briefly hack websites of IDF, Israel Postal Company
The websites of the IDF and the Israel Postal Company were briefly hacked by pro-Palestinian hackers earlier this evening, with messages against Israel being displayed.
Both websites were taken briefly offline to repel the attacks and both are now back up.
אתר צה"ל הותקף בידי האקרים פרו-פלסטינים pic.twitter.com/axLbp4Ddgt
— יוני בן מנחם yoni ben menachem (@yonibmen) December 13, 2023
זוכרים שלפני חצי שנה נפרץ אתר דואר ישראל ע״י האקרים איראניים?
אז חשבתם שהם למדו את הלקח, שכרו שירותי סייבר ושיפרו משמעותית את ההגנה?@ohcybermycyber pic.twitter.com/wUUmoXShLU— Ron Lerman | רון לרמן (@LermanRon) December 13, 2023
Hamas’s Haniyeh: Open for talks on ending war; post-war Gaza without Hamas a ‘delusion’
Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh makes a televised address on December 13, 2023. (Screenshot: X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh says any plan for post-war Gaza that does not involve the Palestinian terror group is just a “delusion.”
“Any arrangement in Gaza or in the Palestinian cause without Hamas or the resistance factions is a delusion,” says Haniyeh in a televised speech.
Haniyeh says he is open to talks for ending the ongoing war and “putting the Palestinian house in order both in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.”
He says Hamas is ready for talks that could lead to a “political path that secures the right of the Palestinian people to their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Notably, he makes no mention of an Israeli state living alongside this Palestinian state. Hamas openly seeks Israel’s destruction and has vowed to commit similar onslaughts to the one carried out on October 7 until this is achieved.
After 2-hour meet, hostage’s father says Biden assured he’s doing ‘everything’ to free captives
Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of Gaza hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, speaks to reporters alongside other relatives of American hostages taken hostage to Gaza during the October 7 terror attacks in Israel, after a meeting with US President Joe Biden in Washington, December 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden met with the families of American hostages held by terrorists in Gaza for roughly two hours at the White House earlier today, one of the individuals present at the meeting tells The Times of Israel.
“We knew this going in, but we got further affirmation that the Biden administration — the president, the secretary of state — are completely committed to gaining the release of all the hostages, including the Americans among them,” says Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui is among the 135 people still held by Hamas.
“They’re doing absolutely everything they can, through every channel and with every tool that they have to accomplish that,” Dekel-Chen says.
Biden welcomed the hostages’ relatives and made some opening remarks before the group proceeded to have a conversation about various subjects related to their loved ones being held in Gaza, Dekel-Chen says, declining to elaborate on the specific contents of the private conversation.
The group of 13 Israelis who met with Biden at the White House also have other meetings planned for today on Capitol Hill to continue raising awareness regarding the plight of the hostages.
War cabinet said to reject sending Mossad head to Qatar for new hostage deal, will wait for Hamas
The narrow war cabinet directing the war against Hamas has seen internal disagreements regarding the extent of efforts currently being taken toward talks on a new hostage deal, and decided recently against sending the head of the Mossad to Qatar to advance negotiations, Channel 13 news reports.
The report says war cabinet minister Benny Gantz is in favor of an Israeli initiative on the matter, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant believe Israel should wait for a signal from Hamas that it is interested in another deal, following military pressure.
The report cites an unnamed diplomatic official saying Mossad chief David Barnea, for now, “is not heading to Qatar, and the decision is that we are listening to suggestions if they come.”
WATCH: CCTV footage shows large rocket fragment slamming into Ashdod supermarket
CCTV footage from the Shefa Birkat Hashem supermarket in Ashdod shows the moment a large shard of a rocket fired from Gaza and intercepted by the Iron Dome system crashed through the roof into one of its aisles earlier today.
Shoppers and workers hurried to a bomb shelter and were therefore saved, with nobody hurt in the incident. One woman was treated for an acute anxiety attack.
תיעוד נפילת הטיל היום בסניף 'שפע ברכת השם' באשדוד .אבי ניסים המנכ"ל והבעלים: "זהו נס חנוכה שלנו שלמרות הנפילה הישירה איש לא נפגע, את החושך מגרשים עם אור ולכן הוריתי מיידית על תיקון הנזקים במקום בכדי שהסניף יוכל לשוב בהקדם לפעילות מלאה".
צילום: רשת המזון שפע ברכת השם pic.twitter.com/UTje0sjvwo— matan tzuri מתן צורי (@MatanTzuri) December 13, 2023
Family of Gaza hostage Tal Chaimi say they have been told he was killed on Oct. 7
Tal Chaimi (right), here with his wife Ella, was taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak. His family was told on December 13, 2023, that he was killed during the October 7 attack. (Courtesy)
The family of Gaza hostage Tal Chaimi and Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak where he lived announce in a joint statement that authorities have told the family that he was murdered on October 7.
His body is believed to be held by terrorists in the Strip.
Chaimi, 41, married to Ella and father to 9-year-old twins and a six-year-old, was a third-generation member of Nir Yitzhak, and was part of the kibbutz’s rapid response team.
He went out that morning when it appeared that terrorists were infiltrating the kibbutz.
His mother Esti succumbed to cancer three months ago.
US official: Israel has said it shouldn’t have aired photos of stripped Gazans, will change course
Palestinian men surrender to troops in northern Gaza's Jabaliya, on December 10, 2023. (Social media; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
WASHINGTON — Israel has informed US President Joe Biden’s administration that photographs published over the past week of Palestinian men stripped down to their underwear after being detained by the IDF in Gaza for suspected Hamas ties should not have been taken or disseminated, US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller says.
The Israelis “made it clear going forward that that will not be their practice, and that if they do conduct searches of detainees, they will give them their clothes back immediately,” Miller says during a briefing.
Hundreds of young and old Palestinian men were seen in these pictures and videos, which Israel has said were not formally disseminated by the IDF but that those arrested included surrendering Hamas fighters.
Miller acknowledges Israel’s security concerns for initially ordering Palestinians to strip, pointing to the history of Palestinian suicide attacks against Israel using concealed explosive belts. However, “the important thing is that they immediately return their clothes to them and that they behave in a way that’s consistent with the humane treatment of detainees,” he says.
US hails progress in Israeli aid efforts, wants Kerem Shalom crossing fully reopened
Trucks with humanitarian aid wait to enter the Palestinian side of Rafah on the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip on December 11, 2023. (Giuseppe Cacace/AFP)
WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden’s administration has identified progress in Israel’s humanitarian effort in Gaza over the past day, US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller says.
The progress has amounted to the establishment of “enduring deconfliction routes” in southern Gaza for civilians to be able to move out of harm’s way and for humanitarian aid to be able to reach those in need, Miller says.
Israel has implemented four-hour pauses in the fighting in different southern Gaza neighborhoods, Miller adds.
Miller also notes Israel’s decision to allow more fuel to enter Gaza in recent days, as well as a decision to open its Kerem Shalom Crossing for inspections, are both welcome steps.
However, he says the US would like to see Kerem Shalom also opened for the delivery of aid and notes that Israel’s cabinet is slated to discuss doing so later today.
Fully reopening Kerem Shalom “would alleviate some of the traffic” at Egypt’s Rafah Crossing, which is currently the only crossing open for the entry of humanitarian aid, Miller says, adding that opening Kerem Shalom would allow for a significant increase in the delivery of assistance into the Strip.
IDF chief hails commanders who died in Gaza ambush as ‘an expression of our spirit’
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi meets wounded troops at Sheba Hospital, December 13, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
Commenting on a deadly ambush in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood yesterday that killed nine soldiers, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says “the commanders who fell in battle are an expression of our spirit.”
“Yesterday we experienced a difficult incident, but it is an incident in which one force found itself in distress and many forces and senior commanders went into the fire, into the danger — commanders at the front — because this is what we teach in the IDF,” Halevi says at Hanukkah candle-lighting with wounded troops at Sheba Hospital.
IDF says Hamas has fired 116 rockets from designated humanitarian zone in Gaza
Palestinians displaced by the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip set up a tent camp in the al-Mawasi area designated by the IDF as a humanitarian zone, December 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
The IDF says the Hamas terror group has fired at least 116 rockets from within the al-Mawasi designated “humanitarian zone” in southern Gaza toward Israel.
It says that 38 of the projectiles fell short in the Strip.
“Hamas continues to use the humanitarian zone to carry out terrorist activities, further endangering the lives of civilians in Gaza and the State of Israel,” the IDF says in a statement.
The humanitarian zone in al-Mawasi is an area designated by the IDF on October 18 as safe for civilians within the Gaza Strip, where shelter and aid can be found.
Justice minister delays meeting of politically fraught judge selection panel
The Judicial Selection Committee meets for the first time in over 18 months in Jerusalem, on November 16, 2023. (GPO)
Justice Minister Yariv Levin postpones a meeting of the Judicial Selection Committee that had been set for tomorrow, saying that Knesset votes on the supplementary budget for 2023 scheduled for the same day mean it would be impossible to convene the panel since he and other government and coalition representatives would be unable to attend.
The committee, which selects all judges in Israel, was supposed to have initiated proceedings for filling the open seat currently on the Supreme Court and possibly appoint a new Supreme Court president.
A new date for convening the committee has not been set.
The panel met in November for the first time since April 2022, following Levin’s 10-month refusal to convene it out of a desire to first change its composition to give the government control over judicial appointments.
Committee member and Yesh Atid MK Karine Elharrar describes Levin’s rationale for postponing the meeting as “an excuse that fell like a ripe fruit for the minister,” and calls on him to immediately set a new date for convening the panel.
“He must compose himself for the seriousness of this time and the severe shortage of judges, and act to work toward professional and independent appointments for the benefit of the Israeli people.”
IDF says troops killed Hamas gunmen who fired at them from school in southern Gaza
Troops of the 55th Brigade’s Reconnaissance Battalion have killed several Hamas operatives in a school in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, the IDF says.
It says the forces received intelligence about suspicious activity in the area, and once the Hamas gunmen opened fire at them from the school, the troops raided the complex.
According to the IDF, during the raid, the Hamas operatives opened fire with light arms and launched RPGs. “The troops engaged, waged a battle against the terrorists, and eliminated them,” it says.
A video published by the IDF shows the aftermath of the battle, with the bodies of three Hamas gunmen strewn on the grounds of the school.
The IDF says the troops found underground Hamas infrastructure in the area of the school. The underground complex, along with other observation sites belonging to Hamas in the area, were later destroyed in airstrikes by a fighter jet.
Troops of the 55th Brigade’s Reconnaissance Battalion have killed several Hamas operatives in a school in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, the IDF says.
It says the forces received intelligence information of suspicious activity in the area, and once the Hamas gunmen opened fire at… pic.twitter.com/kQkw6cgGjl
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 13, 2023
Netanyahu dismisses international pressure: ‘Nothing will stop us’ destroying Hamas
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits a detention facility in southern Israel where Hamas operatives detained in the Gaza Strip are being questioned by the IDF's 504 human intelligence unit, December 13, 2023. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits a detention facility in southern Israel where Hamas operatives detained in the Gaza Strip are being questioned by the IDF’s 504 human intelligence unit.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu gets a briefing about the unit’s work and the interrogation procedures.
He then tells the unit’s soldiers that “we are continuing until the end, until victory, until the elimination of Hamas” — even in the face of international pressure. “Nothing will stop us,” he says.
He expresses appreciation for the military’s work in Gaza, adding that “yesterday we had a very tough day” when 10 soldiers were killed in a Hamas ambush in the Strip’s north.
Biden meeting with families of American hostages at White House with top aides
US President Joe Biden responds to a reporter as he leaves after speaking in Nantucket, Massachusetts, November 24, 2023, about hostages freed by Hamas in the first stage of a swap under a four-day temporary ceasefire deal. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden is currently meeting with relatives of American citizens being held hostage in Gaza at the White House.
Joining him are US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer, the White House says.
The Biden administration is seeking to restart negotiations aimed at another pause in the Gaza fighting in exchange for the release of more hostages. A seven-day truce last month brought home over 100 hostages to their families, though 135 still remain.
Biden has spoken with the relatives of hostages several times since the start of the war, doing so even before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but this is the first time he is hosting a group of them at the White House.
Of the 135 hostages still in Gaza, seven are US citizens and one is a US Green Card holder.
Participating in the meeting are Yael and Adi Alexander, relatives of 19-year-old hostage Idan; Ruby and Roy Chen, relatives of 19-year-old hostage Itay Chen; Ronen and Orna Neutra, relatives of 22-year-old hostage Omer; Jonathan Dekel-Chen and Gillian Kaye, relatives of 35-year-old hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen; Aviva, Elan, Hanna and Shir Siegel, relatives of 62-year-old hostage Keith Siegel; and Liz Naftali, a relative of released 4-year-old hostage Avigail Idan.
Participating by phone are Jon and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, parents of 23-year-old hostage Hirsh; and Iris Haggai, daughter of 70-year-old hostage Judih Weinstein and 72-year-old hostage Gad Haggai.
FM Cohen: War against Hamas to continue ‘with or without international support’
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen says that the war against the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip will continue “with or without international support.”
“Israel will continue the war against Hamas with or without international support. A ceasefire at the current stage is a gift to the terrorist organization Hamas, and will allow it to return and threaten the residents of Israel,” Cohen tells a visiting diplomat, according to a statement issued by his ministry.
IDF general visits brigade that lost troops to Shejaiya ambush, vows to soldier on
The head of the IDF Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman (center) speaks to commanders of the Golani Brigade in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, December 13, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
The head of the IDF Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, meets with commanders of the Golani Brigade in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, after yesterday’s deadly ambush in the area during which nine soldiers were killed, including two senior commanders.
Finkelman says that “yesterday you proved in practice that ‘After me’ is not a slogan” — a common Hebrew expression symbolizing a leader taking responsibility and leading from the front — “but an order for us commanders to lead forward at the head of the forces, even when there is a heavy, very heavy price.”
“We have great challenges ahead of us. We will continue to attack the enemy as we have done here in Shejaiya and in other places, and we will continue to lead forward as commanders,” he continues.
“You are the generation of victory. You prove it every day all day. We are all inspired by you and the spirit of Golani, which will continue. We will act and win,” Finkelman adds.
Israel says clip from Gaza shows Hamas seizing Gaza aid convoy
Israel’s military liaison to the Palestinians posts footage of what it says are Hamas fighters seizing a convoy of humanitarian aid after it entered Gaza.
WATCH: Hamas violently seize a humanitarian aid convoy and shoot civilians on their way.
Gaza deserves better.#FreeGaza from Hamas pic.twitter.com/2Nyl1CGPny
— COGAT (@cogatonline) December 13, 2023
6 rockets to Ashdod said intercepted; large fragment hits supermarket, no injuries
Reports say six rockets fired by Gazan terrorists toward Ashdod have been intercepted.
Footage posted online shows that a large fragment of one of the intercepted rockets has hit a supermarket in the city, causing damage.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service confirms the supermarket was hit, saying those present adhered to the orders and stayed in a sheltered space.
It says one woman who suffered an acute anxiety attack is being treated, and that there have otherwise been no reports of casualties in the latest barrage.
A large fragment of an intercepted rocket reportedly landed in a supermarket in Ashdod pic.twitter.com/un5YbPFtfS
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 13, 2023
IDF says it’s continuing to strike Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon
The IDF says it has struck a Hezbollah cell in southern Lebanon, and that a fighter jet struck a site belonging to the terror group, in addition to strikes it reported earlier.
Several rockets were also fired from Lebanon at the Yiftah area, landing in open areas, according to the IDF.
The IDF says it is striking the source of the fire.
The IDF says it struck a Hezbollah cell in southern Lebanon, and a fighter jet struck a site belonging to the terror group.
Several rockets were also fired from Lebanon at the Yiftah area, landing in open areas. The IDF says it is striking the source of the fire. pic.twitter.com/XNGtFmUNGf
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 13, 2023
Rocket sirens sound in and around Ashdod; interceptions observed
Rocket alarms are sounding in Ashdod and nearby communities.
There are no immediate reports of impacts or casualties.
Footage shows Iron Dome interceptions over the city.
Iron Dome interceptions over Ashdod following a rocket barrage from the Gaza Strip pic.twitter.com/ug9EeNvI70
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 13, 2023
US, Britain impose new sanctions on Hamas, including terror group’s co-founder
Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar in an interview with Sky News broadcast May 24, 2021. (YouTube screen capture)
The United States and Britain both announce sanctions on Hamas officials.
The US Treasury Department imposes the measure on eight Hamas officials and associates who have been advancing the Palestinian terror group’s finances abroad.
This is the fourth round of sanctions imposed against Hamas since the terror group’s October 7 terror onslaught in Israel, which left 1,200 dead and 240 taken hostage into Gaza.
The Hamas members designated by the US for sanctions include Gaza-based members Ismail Barhum and Nizar Awadallah; West Bank-based Hassan Al-Wardian; Lebanon-based Ali Baraka and Maher Obeid; and Turkey-based Haroun Nasser Al-Din, Jihad Yaghmour and Mehmet Kaya.
“Hamas continues to rely heavily on networks of well-placed officials and affiliates, exploiting seemingly permissive jurisdictions to direct fundraising campaigns for… funneling those illicit proceeds to support its military activities in Gaza,” US Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson says.
Britain sanctions Gaza-based Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar, as well as six others, including Baraka, the group’s head of external relations “who has publicly defended the October 7 attacks and sought to justify the taking of hostages,” the British Foreign Office says in a statement.
“Hamas can have no future in Gaza,” says British Foreign Secretary David Cameron. “Today’s sanctions on Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad will continue to cut off their access to funding and isolate them further.”
He adds: “We will continue to work with partners to reach a long-term political solution so that Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace.”
Lapid comes out against PA’s Abbas ruling Gaza, in apparent break with US
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid comes out against the return of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to ruling the Gaza Strip, in an apparent break with US President Joe Biden’s administration.
“There is no one in the world who thinks that Gaza should be handed over to Abu Mazen the day after the war,” Lapid tweets, using Abbas’s nom de guerre.
The US has called for the PA’s eventual return to Gaza, in a possible reuniting of the Strip and the West Bank under a single Palestinian governing body, which would lay the groundwork for a two-state solution. The Biden administration has clarified that the PA would have to be “revitalized” and that Arab or international forces would be needed to manage Gaza’s security for an interim period after the war.
US Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer was asked last week about whether Abbas could be part of the picture of a postwar, Gaza-ruling PA and he did not rule out the idea, hailing Ramallah’s work to maintain stability in the West Bank under very difficult conditions allegedly created by Israel.
Netanyahu has come out forcefully against any PA involvement in Gaza, saying he won’t allow it to happen under his watch.
In a series of posts on X, Lapid insists that the idea of returning Abbas to Gaza is universally rejected but that Netanyahu is purposefully sowing a rift with the US for political gain.
“He invented this unworkable idea so that he could say that he will fight against it with all his might,” Lapid writes, carefully not ruling out the idea of returning the PA to Gaza without Abbas.
“I talked about it with the American leadership, with the Europeans, with the people of the National Unity party, with whoever you want. No one understands what he is talking about. No one thinks this can happen in the near future. Nobody! They don’t understand what he wants. Who exactly is he arguing with?
“The answer is that Netanyahu is doing what he has been doing all his life: inciting and lying and producing hatred. Now it’s just that he’s doing it in the middle of a bitter war, when soldiers are being killed every day. He learned nothing from October 7. The disaster has not changed him. He is unable to admit his guilt. This man cannot continue to be the head of the country. It’s too dangerous,” Lapid says.
Zvika Klein tapped as new chief editor of Jerusalem Post
Zvika Klein is announced as the new chief editor of the Jerusalem Post, succeeding Avi Mayer who was at the helm for some nine months.
Until now the newspaper’s Diaspora affairs correspondent and deputy editor-in-chief, the Israeli-American Klein had previously been the Diaspora affairs reporter for the Makor Rishon newspaper for a decade.
Big Mazal Tov to @ZvikaKlein on his appointment as new Editor-in-Chief of @Jerusalem_Post. You'll be hard-pressed to find someone as knowledgable as him in diaspora affairs, modern antisemitism and Israeli affairs.
In other words, right man at the right time for the right job! pic.twitter.com/EzOfhWLlL7
— Arsen Ostrovsky 🎗️ (@Ostrov_A) December 13, 2023
Thank you Lahav https://t.co/npvVCSpGVH
— Zvika Klein צביקה קליין (@ZvikaKlein) December 13, 2023
Palestinian poll: Support for Hamas has tripled in West Bank, 88% want Abbas to resign
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, right, and then Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, left, speak as they head the first cabinet meeting of the new coalition government at Abbas' office in Gaza City, March 18, 2007. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
A wartime opinion poll among Palestinians published today shows a rise in support for the Hamas terror group, even in the devastated Gaza Strip, and an overwhelming rejection of Western-backed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, with nearly 90% saying he must resign.
The PA administers parts of West Bank and governed Gaza until a takeover by Hamas in 2007. The Palestinians have not held elections since 2006, when Hamas won a parliamentary majority.
The polls shows 57% of respondents in Gaza and 82% in the West Bank believe Hamas was correct in launching its October 7 onslaught, in which some 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians, were murdered and over 240 were taken hostage. A large majority believes Hamas’s claims that it acted to “defend” the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and win the release of Palestinian security prisoners. Only 10% say they believed Hamas has committed war crimes, with a large majority saying they did not see videos showing the terrorists committing atrocities.
Overall, 88% want Abbas to resign, up by 10 percentage points from three months ago. In the West Bank, 92% call for the resignation of the octogenarian who has presided over an administration widely seen as corrupt, autocratic and ineffective.
At the same time, 44% in the West Bank say they support Hamas, up from just 12% in September. In Gaza, the terror group enjoys 42% support, up from 38% three months ago.
Support for the PA has declined further, with nearly 60% now saying it should be dissolved.
With survey results indicating a further erosion of the PA’s legitimacy, at a time when there’s no apparent path toward restarting credible negotiations on Palestinian statehood, the default for postwar Gaza is open-ended Israeli control, says pollster Khalil Shikaki.
“Israel is stuck in Gaza,” Shikaki tells The Associated Press ahead of the publication of the survey’s results by his Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, or PSR. “Maybe the next [Israeli] government will decide that Netanyahu is not right in putting all these conditions, and they might decide to withdraw unilaterally from Gaza. But the default for the future, for Israel and Gaza, is that Israel is in full reoccupation of Gaza.”
The survey was conducted among 1,231 people in the West Bank and Gaza from November 22 to December 2, with an error margin of 4 percentage points.
Soldiers killed in Shejaiya ambush buried
Family and friends of Israeli soldier Major Roei Meldasi mourn over his grave during his funeral in Afula, December 13, 2023. (AP/Ariel Schalit)
Funerals have begun for many of the 10 soldiers killed in battles in Shejaiya yesterday, including senior officers Col. Yitzhak Ben Basat and Lt. Col. Tomer Grinberg, who are mourned by some of the army’s top brass.
On X, President Isaac Herzog eulogizes the fallen troops as the “best of the best, heroes among heroes who fell in battle to defend their people and homeland, and leave behind a gaping absence… in all of our hearts.”
IDF posts footage of troops battling Hamas in southern Gaza
The IDF releases footage of the Givati Infantry Brigade operating in southern Gaza’s Bani Suheila, on the outskirts of Khan Younis, during which it says the troops have killed numerous Hamas operatives.
According to the IDF, the Givati soldiers, along with special forces, combat engineers and tanks, have battled Hamas gunmen in close-quarters combat. The soldiers have also directed several airstrikes amid the fighting.
The IDF says in Bani Suheila, the troops have located and destroyed Hamas infrastructure, including communication sites and meeting rooms used by the terror group.
Meanwhile, the IDF says the elite Egoz unit is operating deep within Khan Younis, locating “significant” Hamas tunnel shafts, and striking anti-tank missile positions, observation posts, weapons depots and operatives with guided munitions.
The IDF publishes footage of the Givati Infantry Brigade operating in southern Gaza’s Bani Suheila, on the outskirts of Khan Younis. It says the troops have killed numerous Hamas operatives in the fighting. pic.twitter.com/LFcTfQ5Smy
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 13, 2023
Army confirms hitting Hezbollah in Lebanon
The IDF confirms striking Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon in response to rocket fire on northern Israel earlier.
It says fighter jets hit a number of sites belonging to the terror group, and ground forces stuck several terror cells along the Lebanon border.
The strikes come after rockets were fired from Lebanon at Rosh Hanikra, all of which landed in open areas, according to the IDF.
Projectiles were fired at other areas along the northern border, the IDF adds.
There are no reports of injuries in the attacks.
Gazan injured in fighting hospitalized in Petah Tikva — report
A Gazan man captured by Israel after being injured in intense fighting inside the Strip is being treated in an Israeli hospital, Channel 12 news reports.
According to the report, the man was arrested and taken to a holding facility with other captured Gazans, but authorities requested he be moved to a hospital given the severity of his injuries, apparently sustained during a gun battle with troops.
He is currently hospitalized at Sharon Hospital in Petah Tikva, which is one of several facilities supposed to treat security inmates needing hospital care, the channel say.
Authorities tell Channel 12 they expect to return the man to the holding area in the coming days once he is well enough.
The report notes that the Health Ministry signed off on treating him, despite Health Minister Uriel Buso earlier ordering that public hospitals be barred from treating “terrorists.”
A source tells the channel that the man is stable and under heavy guard.
In October, riots broke out at a hospital after rumors surfaced that a Hamas member who took part in the October 7 onslaught of southern Israel was being treated there.
Man suspected of torching hostage families’ tent after becoming ‘angered by signs,’ cops say
Damage from alleged arson at a tent where families of Israelis killed and taken hostage on October 7 have been sleeping, near the Knesset, December 8, 2023 (Times of Israel)
Police say they have arrested a man suspected of torching a tent where families of hostages held in Gaza have been sleeping as they keep vigil outside the government quarter in Jerusalem, after he was angered by social media posts showing protest signs he disagreed with.
The man, identified in court as Noah Yohanan, a 59-year-old resident of Kiryat Gat, is ordered to remain behind bars for at least five more days after police present a preliminary charge sheet. He was arrested Friday, a day after the fire, according to police.
Authorities do not say why Yohanan may have been angered by the signs, or what they said, but some media reports claim he is a backer of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose handling of the war and the hostage crisis has been criticized.
According to police, Yohanan went to the tent with a backpack and matches. After scoping out the area, he set a fire and then quickly made his getaway, as can be seen in security camera footage released to media outlets.
כתב אישום יוגש נגד נוח יוחנן בגין הצתת מאהל משפחות החטופים והנרצחים מול הכנסת ביום חמישי. בתיעוד מהאירוע ניתן לראות את יוחנן מגיע ברגל, מבעיר אש במתחם ובורח@VeredPelman pic.twitter.com/oxNZODk7Qy
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) December 13, 2023
Police say formal charges are expected in the coming days.
Videos show aftermath of apparent Israeli strike on south Lebanon
Pictures and video from southern Lebanon near the border with Israel show thick black plumes of smoke rising into the air after apparent Israeli strikes, which come as rocket fire targeted the border town of Rosh Hanikra.
An Israeli air strike on the town of Muhaibib#Lebanon pic.twitter.com/jsMk6ApCda
— Rayan Mrad (@ryanmurad17) December 13, 2023
The Israeli strikes reportedly take place near Naqoura, across the frontier from Rosh Hanikra.
مراسل المنار :
هذه بعض الغارات الجوية التي نفذها الطيران الحربي المعادي في أطراف بلدة #الناقورة والتي إستهدفت أيضا أطراف #البستان و #مروحين و #راميا pic.twitter.com/yJJMVYbmmU
— علي شعيب || Ali Shoeib 🇱🇧 (@alishoeib1970) December 13, 2023
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
According to Channel 12 news, a projectile fired from Lebanon at Rosh Hanikra landed in an open area.
Army says hundreds arrested in ongoing Jenin raid
The IDF says a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin is still ongoing after some 30 hours, during which troops have detained hundreds of suspects and seized weapons.
Reservist troops and Border Police officers have so far scanned around 400 buildings in the Jenin refugee camp.
Yesterday, as the operation began, an IDF drone strike killed four Palestinian terror operatives hurling explosives at the troops, the army said.
Palestinian authorities said a fifth man injured in clashes with troops died overnight.
The army says four soldiers were injured by shrapnel following a controlled explosion. They were hospitalized with minor injuries.
According to the IDF, troops have so far detained hundreds of wanted Palestinians for questioning and seized more than 30 weapons, ammunition, and other equipment.
It adds that the forces also destroyed six labs used by local terror groups to manufacture explosive devices, along with numerous explosives, several tunnel shafts, and four war rooms used by operatives to observe IDF operations.
The IDF says troops are also continuing to operate in the Jenin area.
In other areas of the West Bank, the IDF says troops detained 17 wanted Palestinians and seized firearms.
Rocket siren in Rosh Hanikra on Lebanon border
A rocket siren has sounded in Rosh Hanikra, on the Lebanon border on Israel’s coast.
The apparent attack would be the first on the northern border today, after hostilities on the frontier intensified significantly earlier in the week.
Biden to meet with families of all eight US hostages — White House
US President Joe Biden meets with victims' relatives and first responders who were directly affected by the Hamas attacks, October 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The White House says US President Joe Biden will meet with family members of all eight Americans still unaccounted for and presumed to be held by Hamas in Gaza later today.
The meeting will be the first the president will have in-person at the White House with families of hostages, though some will attend virtually, a US official says. Biden previously met with families of October 7 victims on a short trip to Israel.
Biden will be joined in the meeting by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer, the official adds.
Saying Israel ‘flattening’ Gaza, Russia urges international summit to solve conflict ‘forever’
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov leaves at the end of a news conference in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023. (AP/Boris Grdanoski)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is calling for an international conference of world powers and Arab representatives to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for good.
“The only way for this problem to be solved forever, and to be solved in a just way, is to hold an international conference with all five permanent members of the UN Security Council,” Lavrov tells Russian senators.
He says the conference should include representatives of countries from the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Gulf Cooperation Council. It’s unclear if he thinks Israel should be part of the conference.
The “continuing injustice against the Palestinian people, to whom the creation of a Palestinian state was promised… fuels very serious terrorist and extremist sentiments,” he says.
Lavrov also accuses Israel of “flattening” residential areas of Gaza, calls the situation there “horrific” and casts doubt on Israel’s claims of how many combatants it has killed versus civilians.
Pope Francis reups call for humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza
Pope Francis delivers a blessing during the Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Pope Francis is renewing his call for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and for the return of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7.
“May both sides involved have courage to take up the negotiations again, and I ask everyone to take on the urgent job of getting humanitarian aid to the population of Gaza. They are at the end of their rope and really need it,” he says at the end of his weekly general audience.
“Free all the hostages immediately who saw some hope in the ceasefire a few days ago. May this great suffering for the Israelis and the Palestinians end. Please no to arms and yes to peace,” he adds.
Francis has sought to maintain the Vatican’s traditional neutrality in conflicts, but he has angered Israelis in particular with his generic reference to the war degenerating into “terrorism” without explicitly condemning Hamas for its initial attack.
Army publishes video of troops battling in ‘complex’ heart of Gaza’s Shejaiya
The IDF has released new footage showing troops of the Golani Infantry Brigade operating in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood in recent days.
Yesterday, nine soldiers were killed during an ambush and battle against Hamas operatives in the area.
The IDF says the brigade has been working to clear Shejaiya of Hamas infrastructure over the past week, saying it is an “advanced stage” of the operation to deprive the terror group of its abilities and kill its operatives.
The IDF releases footage showing troops of the Golani Brigade operating in Gaza City's Shejaiya neighborhood in recent days. Yesterday, nine soldiers were killed during an ambush and battle against Hamas operatives in the area. pic.twitter.com/o1QQ90PvrT
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 13, 2023
It says the kasbah, the main commercial area in the heart of Shejaiya, is “a dense and complex area to maneuver in,” adding that Hamas operates within civilian sites in the area, and that the neighborhood has many tunnels beneath it.
In remarks provided by the IDF following yesterday’s battle, in which nine soldiers were killed including two senior officers, the commander of the 36th Division, Brig. Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa is quoted saying: “Golani does as Golani does: the commanders are at the front, charging forward and leaving no one behind.”
EU head pushing for sanctions on ‘extremist’ settlers
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen is backing sanctions on “extremist” Israeli settlers responsible for attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.
“I am in favor of sanctioning those involved in the attacks in the West Bank. They must be held accountable. This violence has nothing to do with the fight against Hamas and must stop,” the European Commission president tells EU lawmakers.
Rockets continue to fly at south
Rocket sirens were heard in Kissufim and Nahal Oz minutes ago, as attacks on communities near Gaza’s border appear to pick up pace.
The attacks come an hour after alarms were heard in other communities several kilometers from the Gaza border.
There have been no reports of injuries or damage.
Netanyahu reported to huddle with political advisers, eyeing Sa’ar
In this August 26, 2012 photo, then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) speaks to then-Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar as they arrive at the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Uriel Sinai/Getty Images, Pool, File)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held at least two meetings with top Likud lieutenants and advisers last week to discuss political maneuverings, Haaretz reports, including prying National Unity minister Gideon Sa’ar away from party head Benny Gantz.
The meetings took place despite Netanyahu insisting that his focus and that of his government remain on defense matters, while bashing any trace of political jockeying as unseemly given the national emergency.
According to the report, Netanyahu and Co. are pleased with hawkish rhetoric from Sa’ar, a former Likud minister, in recent weeks and want to absorb him back into their camp. Sa’ar was pushed out of Likud after challenging Netanyahu for the leadership of the party several years ago.
Netanyahu’s political future was also discussed, according to the report.
The paper says recent messaging from Netanyahu likening the toll of October 7 to that of the Oslo Accords came out of one of these political-planning meetings.
Some commentators have viewed Netanyahu’s statement as an attempt to lessen criticism of his responsibility for the events of October 7. Other reports say Netanyahu’s comments had come in response to Michaeli arguing that only a peace deal and a vision of a two-state solution could resolve the current situation.
Defense Ministry asks Knesset for reservist stop-loss stopgap
The Defense Ministry is interested in the possibility of raising the age for retirement from Israel Defense Forces reserve duty by a year, to keep soldiers and officers from leaving in the middle of a war.
The move is presented in a proposal to the Knesset, which must approve any such extension.
Currently, soldiers can bow out at 40, officers at 45 and special roles, including positions like drivers, at 49.
According to reports in Hebrew-language media, the retirement moratorium would be in place for a year.
Families of hostages create human chain to confront MKs ahead of budget votes
Tomer Aloni at a human chain protest for hostages outside the Knesset on December 13, 2023. (Jessica Steinberg/ Times of Israel)
In Jerusalem, hundreds of supporters and family members of hostages held in Gaza are lining up in a human chain stretching from the Prime Minister’s Office to the Knesset, with the aim of speaking to Knesset members as they arrive for budget votes.
Some family members of hostages slept in tents set up along Eliezer Kaplan Street, after marching with torches to the Knesset last night.
“This helps,” says Tomer Aloni, pointing to the human chain. Aloni’s cousin, Tsahi Idan, was abducted by Hamas terrorists from his home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, after his eldest daughter, Maayan, was killed in the family’s safe room.
He says the chain also gives a morale boost to Idan’s wife and two surviving children.
Families of hostages and supporters hold torches as they march toward the Knesset on December 12, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
“Everything helps, every sign, every picture you see in Israel and abroad, and the connections to anyone who can help,” he says.
The human chain is organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which plans on remaining outside the Knesset on Wednesday until midday, “even in the rain,” says an organizer.
“We want answers from the government,” says Aloni.
Lawmakers are set to approve an update to the 2023 budget allocating extra billions to the war and recovery effort. The measure will also free up hundreds of millions of shekels for special interests unconnected to the national emergency, such as settlements and Haredi education, critics say.
Tanker traversing Red Sea strait dodges missiles fired from Yemen
Yemen's Mayun Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and mainland Yemen are seen in this May 8, 2021 satellite photograph from Planet Labs Inc. (Planet Labs Inc. via AP)
Two missiles fired from territory held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels missed a commercial tanker near the key Bab el-Mandeb Strait today, a US official says.
An American warship also shot down a suspected Houthi drone flying in its direction during the incident, says the official. No one was hurt in the attack, the official says.
The ship that was targeted, the Marshall Islands-flagged Ardmore Encounter oil and chemical tanker, was traveling north toward the Suez Canal in the Red Sea, satellite tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed.
The vessel had been coming from India and had an armed security crew aboard it, according to data transmitted by the ship.
Ardmore Shipping Corp., which owns and operates the ship, does not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company trades on the New York Stock Exchange and shares were slightly up in aftermarket trading to $13.64 a share.
The Houthis do not immediately acknowledge the attack. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which provides warnings to sailors in the Middle East, earlier reported an incident in the same area of the Ardmore Encounter. It also reported an incident occurring off the coast of Oman.
UKMTO WARNING 005/DEC 23
INCIDENThttps://t.co/a6eYax4Zi0#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/xXSK6mh1hV
— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) December 13, 2023
Golani commander Grinberg remembered for relationships with troops, young daughter
Lt. Col. Tomer Grinberg embraces his daughter, Arbel, in July 2023. (IDF Spokesperson)
Israel’s airwaves are awash in praise for Tomer Grinberg, the commander of the vaunted 13th Battalion of the Golani Brigades, who was killed in battle along with several soldiers in Shejaiya.
A video making the rounds shows Grinberg rallying his troops days after the October 7 Hamas onslaught, in which the battalion lost some 40 fighters.
“In 10 years, there will be [another] hero commander of the 13th, with hero troops. Some of you will be parents, some of you will be who knows where. He’ll dispatch the force on Yom Kippur. And they will tell about you and see pictures of our dead,” he says in the video, comparing his soldiers to those who fought in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, whom they presumably had heard stories about.
“You are no less heroic than them,” he continues. “You’re not spoiled. You don’t seem to be the iPhone generation.”
"גדוד 13 גיבורים, עוד יספרו את הסיפור שלכם": התיעוד המרגש של סא"ל תומר גרינברג, שנפל בקרב בשג'אעיה | לידיעה המלאה >>> https://t.co/Dw1R6x8hqN@ItayBlumental @ela1949 pic.twitter.com/2zLQ4Ro7v6
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) December 13, 2023
Grinberg took over the battalion over the summer. At the time, the army distributed a picture of him hugging his overjoyed 4-year-old daughter at the handover ceremony.
A video of his daughter pointing to a picture of “daddy” on the front page of Israel Hayom also makes the rounds.
סא"ל תומר גרינברג ז״ל, גיבור ישראל.
pic.twitter.com/JHx78ThRG2— Gil Solomon 🎗️ (@Soloph0ne) December 13, 2023
“I have a lot to tell her. I hope she’s not mad. I haven’t been home in a month,” he told Channel 13 in an interview several weeks ago.
Baruch Ben Yigal, whose son served under Grinberg and was killed in 2020, tells Radio 103FM that he feel like he “lost another son.”
“Since Amit died, Tomer made sure to come over and take part in any ceremony in Amit Ben Yigal’s memory. Thank you, dear Tomer. Grinberg family, you are now part of our family,” he tells Ynet.
Grinberg will be laid to rest at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem at 3 p.m. today, the army says.
Rocket alarms go off in Nir Oz
Rocket sirens are sounding Nir Oz, a largely evacuated community near the border with Gaza.
This is the fourth time in as many hours that rockets have been fired at the Gaza border region.
There are no reports of injuries or damage in any of the attacks.
Iran executes man who killed powerful cleric amid protests
Iran has executed a bank guard who was convicted of fatally shooting a senior cleric in April following months of unrest, state media report.
Ayatollah Abbas Ali Soleimani, 77, was the most senior member of the clergy who was killed after protests and a bloody security crackdown on demonstrators. The protesters were enraged by the death in September of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested by the country’s morality police. The protests gradually died in early months of the year.
The execution took place in northern city of Babol in Iran’s Mazandaran province, just north of the capital, Tehran, in the presence of the victim’s family, state-run outlet IRNA says.
Authorities offered no motive for the attack in April in Babolsar, a town near the place of the execution.
Soleiman had served on the Assembly of Experts, an 88-seat panel overseeing the post of Iran’s supreme leader. He had also once served as the personal representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Iran’s restive southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan.
Though Shiite clergy have long held an important role in Iran, particularly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, discontent has increased in recent years during waves of nationwide protests over economic, political and civil rights issues.
IDF announces two more troop deaths, including high-ranking Golani officer
Col. Itzhak Ben Basat (left) and Sgt. Eran Aloni, killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, December 12, 2023. (Courtesy)
The IDF announces the deaths of two more soldiers who were killed yesterday fighting in the northern Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll in the ground offensive against Hamas to 115.
The two are named as Col. Itzhak Ben Basat, 44, head of the Golani Brigade’s commander’s team, from Sde Ya’akov; and Sgt. Eran Aloni, 19, of the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, from Ofakim.
Both were killed during the same battle in which seven members of the Golani Brigade were killed when they were ambushed in Shejaiya, a Gaza City suburb.
Ben Basat, who was set to retire from the IDF but decided to stay on when the war broke out, is the most senior officer to have been killed in the ground offensive against Hamas. He previously served as head of the Yiftah Brigade.
Over 250 strikes in Gaza over past day, IDF says
The IDF says it carried out more than 250 strikes in the Gaza Strip over the past day, targeting Hamas operatives and infrastructure belonging to the terror group.
In one incident, the IDF says troops of the Bislamach Brigade and the Border Defense Corps’ 636th Combat Intelligence Collection unit identified a Hamas cell in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood preparing to fire rockets at Israel.
The soldiers directed an airstrike on the cell, the IDF says, releasing footage of the strike.
The IDF says it carried out more than 250 strikes in the Gaza Strip over the past day, targeting Hamas operatives and infrastructure belonging to the terror group.
In one incident, the IDF says troops of the Bislamach Brigade and the Border Defense Corps' 636th Combat… pic.twitter.com/xLK2KwmM46
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) December 13, 2023
Downpours bring flooding fears to Israel, Gaza
Palestinian children play in the rain in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on December 12, 2023. (MAHMUD HAMS / AFP)
Heavy rains across the region are sparking fears of flooding in both Israel and the Gaza Strip, as a low-pressure system moves through the area.
Readings from Israel’s meteorological service show areas near the Gaza border getting nearly 30 mm of the wet stuff over the past 24 hours, around a quarter of the average for December.
According to al-Jazeera, areas in south Gaza have experienced flooding due to the rains.
In Israel, the Nature and Parks Authority announces that several popular hiking paths are being closed due to flash flood worries.
Closures include all of Ein Gedi National Park aside from the first waterfall from the entrance, rappeling sites and hiking paths along normally dry river beds in the Judean Desert, and hiking paths along cliffs in the Arbel nature reserve near the Sea of Galilee in the north.
Nahal Bokek and the Yotvata Hai Bar nature reserve in the south are also closed due to the weather.
The rain is expected to taper off throughout the morning, giving way to dry, chilly conditions.
Rocket alarms heard in Sderot
Rocket sirens are going off in Sderot and surrounding communities.
The apparent launch is the third such attack into areas of Israel bordering Gaza in the last two hours.
Rocket alarms go off near Gaza border
Rocket sirens are sounding in Ein Hashlosha and Nirim, two communities adjacent to central Gaza.
The attack is the second of the day.
Palestinians raise toll in Jenin raid to 7, including boy allegedly kept from hospital
Israeli soldiers are seen during an army operation in the Jenin camp, West Bank, December 12, 2023. (AP/Majdi Mohammed)
A Palestinian man injured in intense clashes against Israeli soldiers in the West Bank’s Jenin has died of his wounds, Ramallah says.
According to Palestinian health authorities, seven people were killed in the fighting that broke out early Tuesday as troops raided the Jenin refugee camp and carried out drone strikes against suspected terror targets.
Aside from the four people killed announced Tuesday morning and the man who died of his wounds overnight, the Palestinian toll includes two other deaths on Tuesday: a man shot in the leg and an ill 13-year-old boy, both of whom they say died after being prevented from reaching a hospital.
In a scene filmed by a small scrum of gathered press, the boy’s father was seen carrying him to the hospital on foot in a bid to get him treatment.
Ahmed Mohammad Sammar (13 years old), a sick #child, was martyred after the #Israeli occupation obstructed his access to receive treatment at Martyr Khalil Suleiman #Hospital during the aggression on Jenin and its Camp. This raised the death toll of #martyrs in the city to seven… pic.twitter.com/LRk5vNwVe9
— State of Palestine – MFA 🇵🇸🇵🇸 (@pmofa) December 12, 2023
Fighting in the eponymous refugee camp adjacent to Jenin is continuing Wednesday morning according to Palestinian reports and footage shared online.
Schools in the area are being shuttered and students are being switched to distance learning in light of the fighting, the official Palestinian news outlet WAFA says.
There’s no immediate comment from the IDF.
Aussie cricketer walks back plan for pro-Gaza messages on shoes at first Test
Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja will not wear shoes with messages highlighting the plight of people in Gaza when the first Test against Pakistan begins on Thursday, captain Pat Cummins says.
During training this week, the 36-year-old opening batsman Khawaja had hand-written slogans “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” on his footwear.
The Pakistan-born Khawaja had reportedly said he would wear the shoes for the opening Test in Perth.
But Cummins tells reporters “I spoke to him just quickly and he said he won’t be.”
“Just kind of drew attention to the ICC rules, which I don’t know if Uzzie was across beforehand,” he says, using a nickname for Khawaja. “Uzzie doesn’t want to make too big of a fuss.”
The International Cricket Council, the sport’s governing body, bans any messages during matches that relate to politics, religion or race.
Troops killed in successive explosions in north Gaza’s Shejaiya — reports
IDF troops inspect a tunnel shaft in a school in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, in a handout image published on December 8, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
Seven of the eight troops killed in Gaza announced this morning died in a series of blasts while searching buildings in the Gaza City suburb of Shejaiya, according to a notice from the Golani Brigade cited in Hebrew media reports.
“While carrying out searches to clear buildings in the heart of the Shejaiya Kasbah, considered a crowded area overflowing with terror targets, there was a large explosion in one of the building and several soldiers from the 13th battalion were wounded,” the Walla news site quotes the notice saying.
According to the missive, a second blast went off when a second group attempted to come to the aid of the injured soldiers.
A third force then attempted to reach a group, and it was hit by an explosive as well.
According to the Kan public broadcaster, soldiers initially responded to gunfire from the apparently booby-trapped building.
Rocket warning sirens sound in evacuated kibbutz near Gaza
Rocket warning sirens are activated in Kibbutz Kissufim, which has been evacuated amid the ongoing war in Gaza against Hamas.
IDF announces 8 troops killed fighting in Gaza, including Golani battalion commander
Clockwise from top left: Lt. Col. Tomer Grinberg, Maj. Roei Meldasi, Sgt. Achia Daskal, Maj. Moshe Avram Bar On, Maj. Ben Shelly, Sgt. First Class Rom Hecht, Staff Sgt. Oriya Yaakov and Cpt. Liel Hayo, who were killed fighting against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip on December 12, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Israel Defense Forces announces that eight soldiers were killed yesterday fighting in the Gaza Strip, bringing the death toll in the ground offensive against the Hamas terror group to 113.
They are:
Lt. Col. Tomer Grinberg, 35, the commander of the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion, from Almog.
Maj. Roei Meldasi, 23, a company commander in the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion, from Afula.
Maj. Moshe Avram Bar On, 23, a company commander in the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, from Ra’anana.
Sgt. Achia Daskal, 19, a soldier in the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, from Haifa.
Cpt. Liel Hayo, 22, a platoon commander in the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, from Shoham.
Maj. Ben Shelly, 26, a squad commander in the Israeli Air Force’s Unit 669, from Kidron
Sgt. First Class Rom Hecht, 20, of the Israeli Air Force’s Unit 669, from Givatayim.
Staff Sgt. Oriya Yaakov, 19, of the Combat Engineering Corps’ 614th Battalion, from Ashkelon.
The army says another three soldiers were seriously wounded.
Biden says doesn’t know ‘for fact’ that no hostages being held in Hamas tunnels
US President Joe Biden speaks during a joint press conference with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House in Washington, on December 12, 2023. (Mandel Ngan/AFP)
US President Joe Biden is asked about reports that Israel has begun pumping seawater into Hamas tunnels in Gaza.
“With regard to the flooding of the tunnels… There (are) assertions being made that there [are] no hostages in any of these tunnels, but I don’t know that for a fact,” Biden says in response to a question on the matter during a press conference at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky.
“I do know that, though, every civilian death is an absolute tragedy, and Israel has stated its intent to match its words with actions,” the American president adds.
White House ‘urgently’ pressing Israel to reopen Gaza crossing for aid deliveries
Illustrative: A fuel truck enters the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, in Rafah in the southern Palestinian enclave, following a truce, on August 8, 2022. (SAID KHATIB / AFP)
The Biden administration doubles down on its request that Israel reopen the Kerem Shalom Crossing so that more aid can be delivered into Gaza.
Israel did agree to begin conducting inspections of aid trucks at Kerem Shalom yesterday, but a White House National Security Council spokesperson tells The Times of Israel that this step is insufficient on its own.
“We have made this request for quite some time now, the spokesperson says, noting that US President Joe Biden raised the request during his call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week.
“The Israeli government’s answer has been that they can build the capacity of Rafah to get enough humanitarian assistance in, but [we] have definitively reached the conclusion that that is not the case,” the NSC spokesperson says.
“It is a question we are making with a level of urgency and immediacy now, that we would hope for a response from the Israeli government on soon,” the spokesperson adds. “Kerem Shalom should be open indefinitely, but at the least it should be open for as long as there is the humanitarian need.”
Discussing the matter earlier this week, Netanyahu did not rule out the possibility that he would heed the US request, acknowledging that Israel’s international bandwidth to prosecute the war against Hamas is greater when it allows more aid into Gaza.
In the early days of the war, Netanyahu took a different approach, asserting that no aid would be allowed into Gaza, as long as the hostages remain there.
But after a two-week siege and mounting international pressure, Israel agreed to allow aid to come in through Egypt’s Rafah crossing.
It later agreed to allow fuel in as well, with Netanyahu arguing that Israel would have to stop fighting if disease began to spread in the Strip.
However, Kerem Shalom has remained closed since the war’s outbreak, as Jerusalem has sought to “disconnect” from Gaza more directly.
Israel has argued in recent days that it has the capabilities in place to allow in more aid and that the bottleneck is due to Egypt and UN, but the NSC spokesperson appears to reject that argument.
PA envoy hails ‘historic’ UN General Assembly vote for Gaza ceasefire
Palestinian Authority Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour, flanked by representatives of Arab countries, speaks to the press after a UN Security Council meeting on a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, at UN headquarters in New York on December 8, 2023. (Charly Triballeau/AFP)
UNITED NATIONS — The Palestinian Authority’s envoy to the United Nations says the overwhelming vote in favor of a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, in which 153 countries backed a downing of arms, marks a “historic day.”
“Today was a historic day in terms of the powerful message that was sent from the General Assembly. And it is our collective duty to continue in this path until we see an end to this aggression against our people,” says the PA Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour.
IDF says aircraft and tanks struck sites in Lebanon, Syria after rocket attacks on north
The IDF says aircraft and tanks completed a series of strikes in southern Lebanon and Syria in response to rocket attacks on northern Israel earlier.
In Syria, the IDF says it hit Syrian Army infrastructure, including an observation post, and in Lebanon, it says it hit a Hezbollah rocket launcher.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for several rocket and missile attacks from Lebanon today. Meanwhile three rockets were also fired from Syria, apparently by an Iran-backed group.
כלי טיס וטנקים של צה"ל תקפו לפני זמן קצר מספר תשתיות צבאיות ועמדה צבאית של צבא סוריה בשטח סוריה.
בנוסף מטוס קרב של חיל האוויר תקף לפני זמן קצר תשתית צבאית וכוחות צה"ל תקפו עמדת משגר של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בשטח לבנון pic.twitter.com/Z2UjxBn3xB
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 12, 2023
read more: