Feb. 14: Jordan minister says Arab plan for Gaza in works, Amman can’t take more Palestinians

UN observer mission outgoing deputy force commander injured after convoy attacked in Beirut

The outgoing deputy force commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was injured on Friday after a convoy taking observer troops to Beirut airport was “violently attacked,” UNIFIL says.

The mission demanded a full and immediate investigation by Lebanese authorities and for all perpetrators to be brought to justice, it adds in a statement.

Statement:

This evening a UNIFIL convoy taking peacekeepers to Beirut airport was violently attacked, and a vehicle was set on fire. UNIFIL’s outgoing Deputy Force Commander, who was returning home after ending his mission, was injured.

— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) February 14, 2025

At least one UN peacekeeper wounded after Hezbollah supporters set UN car alight near Beirut airport

At least one United Nations’ peacekeeper was wounded after Hezbollah supporters set a UN car alight near Beirut airport, a Lebanese security source tells Reuters.

There is no immediate comment from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

Trump: I’d take a hard stance on Gaza tomorrow, but I can’t say what Israel will do

US President Donald Trump looks on during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 7, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP)

US President Donald Trump tells reporters in the Oval Office, “I don’t know what’s going to happen at 12 o’clock” — a reference to the deadline he put in place earlier this week, saying all hell should come down on Gaza if all remaining hostages aren’t released by Saturday at noon.

The deadline — issued amid frustration with the condition of the hostages released last weekend — would go against the terms of the deal that Israel and Hamas inked last month, with Trump’s help.

Israel has apparently sought to gingerly stick with the existing deal’s terms without upsetting Trump, sending messages to Hamas through mediators that it is prepared to continue with the deal if the terror group releases three hostages on Saturday as stipulated.

“If it was up to me, I’d take a very hard stance. I can’t tell you what Israel is going to do,” Trump tells reporters.

ממליצה לצפות בקטע המלא של טראמפ עונה על מה יקרה מחר ב12:00:״לא יכול להגיד לכם מה ישראל תעשה״ אומר טראמפ ומוסיף: ״ אני הייתי נוקט בעמדה אחרת, אבל זה תלוי. זה תלוי במה שביבי הולך לעשות. זה תלוי במה שישראל הולכת לעשות״ ומספר איך האמירה שלו שינתה את עמדת חמאס pic.twitter.com/fX73YsukI0

— יונה לייבזון yuna leibzon (@YunaLeibzon) February 14, 2025

He then appears to credit his deadline for having been what led Hamas to agree to release three hostages tomorrow after it had initially threatened not to do so.

“Now I understand that Hamas has totally changed. They want to release hostages again. This started with them saying, ‘We’re not going to release the hostages as we said we were,’” he tells reporters.

“I said, ‘Good, you have until 12 o’clock on Saturday to do it’… and then all of the sudden two days ago, they said, ‘No, we’ve decided we’re going to release the hostages,'” Trump continues. “But I think they should release all of the hostages.”

Jordanian minister: Arab proposal for Gaza in works, but Amman can’t take more Palestinians

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi briefs the media in Berlin, April 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Arab countries are putting together a plan that would rebuild Gaza without displacing its people, guarantee security and governance, Jordan’s foreign minister says, adding that his country could not take more Palestinians.

Arab countries were dismayed earlier this month after US President Donald Trump announced a plan to “clean out” Palestinians from Gaza and resettle most of them in Jordan and Egypt, an idea immediately rejected by Cairo and Amman and seen in most of the region as deeply destabilizing.

“Just to answer you unequivocally, 35% of our population are refugees, we cannot afford any more, we cannot have Palestinians coming to Jordan. They don’t want to come to Jordan and we don’t want them to come to Jordan,” Ayman Safadi says at the Munich Security Conference.

According to two European diplomatic sources aware of the meeting, the King told Trump that the Arab plan would be “cheaper and faster” than Trump’s proposal, something that the American leader seemed receptive to.

“We are working on an Arab proposal that will show that we can rebuild Gaza without displacing its people, that we can have a plan that will guarantee security and governance,” Safadi says, adding that Israel also had to think about how it wanted to see the region in 10 or 20 years time.

“Israelis also have to think long-term. For it to live in peace and security, its neighbors need to live in peace and security,” he says.

Saudi Arabia is spearheading urgent Arab efforts to develop a plan for Gaza’s future as a counter to US President Donald Trump’s ambition for a Middle East Riviera cleared of its Palestinian inhabitants, 10 sources have told Reuters.

Safadi warns that while the focus was on Gaza, there was a real danger of escalation in the West Bank.

Israel, viewing the West Bank as part of a multi-front war against Iranian-backed groups established around its borders, launched the operation after reaching a ceasefire in its war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Thousands of Palestinians have fled West Bank homes in the wake of the military campaign and widespread destruction.

“The West Bank is a powder keg that could explode,” Safadi said.

Vance tells Zelensky US wants ‘lasting’ peace

US Vice President JD Vance pledges that Washington sought to secure a “lasting” peace as he held a first meeting with Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss Donald Trump’s push for a deal with Moscow.

The talks in Munich were seen as a key moment for Kyiv as it tries to keep Washington on its side after Trump stunned allies by announcing peace efforts with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

“We want to achieve a durable, lasting peace, not the kind of peace that’s going to have Eastern Europe in conflict just a couple years down the road,” Vance says as the meeting wrapped up.

He says “good conversations” had been had with Zelensky about how they could reach that goal, and they would have more talks “in the days, weeks and months to come.”

Zelensky also hails a “good conversation,” saying the encounter with Vance was “our first meeting, not last, I’m sure.”

“We are ready to move as quickly as possible towards a real and guaranteed peace,” Zelensky writes later on X, adding that an envoy from Washington would visit Kyiv.

Trump rattled Ukraine and its European allies on Wednesday by agreeing to launch peace talks in his first publicly announced call with Putin since returning to office.

The dramatic thaw in relations sparked fears Ukraine could be left out in the cold after nearly three years battling against Moscow’s invasion.

US officials have insisted that Zelensky will be involved in negotiations — and the Ukrainian leader said he would be prepared to sit down with Putin after agreeing a “common plan” with Trump.

“Only in this case I’m ready to meet,” Zelensky told the Munich Security Conference before seeing Vance.

Vance said ahead of the meeting that the United States was prepared to pressure Russia, adding that Europe should “of course” be at the table.

But he also told Europe to “step up” on bolstering its own defense to allow Washington to focus on threats elsewhere in the world.

US officials have sent mixed messages over Washington’s strategy after Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth appeared to rule out Ukraine joining NATO or retaking all of its territory.

Vance met leader of Germany’s far-right AfD in Munich

US Vice President JD Vance met the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on the sidelines of a security conference, German media reports.

The talks with Alice Weidel, the AfD’s top candidate in the February 23 elections, were held outside the Munich Security Conference venue because the far-right party was not invited to the conference, reported public broadcaster ZDF.

Israeli official: Trump’s Gaza takeover plan risks harming talks by having Hamas adopt maximalist positions

Channel 12 cites an unnamed senior Israeli official who argues that US President Donald Trump’s plan to take over Gaza risks harming ongoing hostage negotiations because it encourages the terror group to take more maximalist positions.

Released surveillance soldiers hammer IDF chief for ignoring their warnings in lead-up to Oct. 7

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (left) meets with former hostage soldiers (from left) Naama Levy, Agam Berger, Liri Albag, and Karina Ariev, February 14, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Channel 12 publishes additional quotes from the meeting held earlier today between IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and the four female surveillance soldiers who were released from captivity last month.

The network says that the meeting at times was very tense with the soldiers repeatedly criticizing the IDF’s conduct in the lead-up to October 7.

“How can you say you knew nothing? How did you not prepare for this attack? How did this happen? We warned you all! We saw it with our own eyes. We did our job as we were required to and we warned, but you dismissed us,” one of the soldiers told Halevi, referring to the repeated alerts that surveillance soldiers issued regarding intensifying Hamas activity along the Gaza border that was dismissed by their male superiors.

Halevi responded that it was “unacceptable” that the soldiers were dismissed in the manner that they were. “We teach all our commanders to treat every soldier and every complaint very seriously. You performed commendably.”

“You abandoned us. Our friends at the base fought alone and no one came to save us,” one of the soldiers responded.

“While we were held in Gaza, there were times when we were saved at the last minute. We almost died as a result of the IDF bombings,” one of the soldiers said.

Released female hostages were treated like maids, male captives still held being abused

Channel 12 publishes new testimony from the female hostages released last month, along with another testimony from released hostages about the conditions under which remaining male captives are being held.

One of the female hostages was held in the home of a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative and was tasked with taking care of his children.

Another female hostage was held with a family. The father was married to several women and was very violent toward the hostage, treating her like a maid. One of the man’s wives grew close to the female hostage staying by them and would try to protect her, even offering to do chores in her place.

The female hostages said that their captors began feeding them in the lead-up to their release. For four days leading up to that day, the captors had the hostages practice the “speech” they’d give during their propaganda release ceremony.

As for the hostages still in captivity, testimony from those who have returned reveals that one of them heard about one of his relatives being killed over the radio.

Another hostage has been shackled by his legs since his abduction and has been subjected to terrible physical abuse.

Another hostage was beaten so badly at one point that he lost consciousness, and his fellow hostages thought he was dead.

Unlike some of the other hostages who have been released, many of those still being held have not been given access to a radio or TV or the outside world.

They are told by the captors that no one in Israel is fighting for their release. One of the hostages still being held was told that his wife had moved on and that he has no one to come back to.

Freed hostage Ofer Calderon hospitalized due to pneumonia

Freed hostage Ofer Calderon raises both hands and blows kisses to friends outside the Sheba Medical Center on his return to Israel, February 1, 2025 (Eyal Hadani/AFP)

Ofer Calderon, who was released two weeks ago as part of the hostage deal, contracted the flu earlier this week, which has deteriorated to pneumonia, Hebrew media reports, adding that he has been hospitalized as a result.

‘What you call Palestine, is the land of Israel,’ Sa’ar tells Palestinian reporter at Munich confab

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar speaks at the Munich Security Conference on February 14, 2025. (Shlomi Amsaled/GPO)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says, “The Palestinians are more interested in destroying Israel” than establishing a state of their own.

“We have an enemy who has never abandoned the path of incitement,” he says in response to a question from a Palestinian reporter during an appearance at the Munich Security Conference. “What you call Palestine — this is the land of Israel.”

“One of the goals of the war is to return all of the hostages… Every hostage we return brings us closer to realizing this goal,” Sa’ar says.

IDF chief tells released surveillance soldiers he takes responsibility for their abduction

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (left) meets with former hostage soldiers (from left) Naama Levy, Agam Berger, Liri Albag, and Karina Ariev, February 14, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi told the released surveillance soldiers in a meeting earlier today that he takes responsibility for them being abducted during the October 7 onslaught.

“I want you to know that the entire IDF worked very hard to bring back the hostages, to return you, it continues to work. Soldiers dreamed of freeing you,” Halevi told Agam Berger, Liri Albag, Naama Levy and Karina Ariev, according to leaked remarks.

“I know about the very high-quality work of the surveillance soldiers, even those who are unfortunately not with us, who did outstanding work,” he says.

“In the investigations, we looked into the effect of your work on what happened, and there are things we learned that should change.

“From me personally and in the name of the commanders in the IDF, I am very sorry for everything you have been through; it’s our responsibility, and we can’t go back and change. We are very focused on learning so that this will not recur.

“From what you have told me now, I understand that you, with superior heroism, have dealt with unimaginable difficulty, both during captivity and in the way you were during the release,” Halevi adds.

Hostage advocate and GOP mega-donor Miriam Adelson reportedly met with Trump, Witkoff this week

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump embraces Miriam Adelson at an event marking one year since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, October 7, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt posts the footage of recently freed American-Israeli hostage Keith Seigel thanking US President Donald Trump for securing his release.

“God bless Keith Seigel,” she tweets.

Meanwhile, Channel 12 reports that GOP mega-donor Miriam Adelson met this week with Trump and his Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.

Adelson has reportedly been instrumental in ensuring that the hostages’ plight remains at the top of Trump’s agenda.

Channel 12 also reports that during his meeting with the four female hostages released last month, Witkoff told them that he would organize a visit for them to the White House when they feel up to it.

God Bless Keith Siegel. https://t.co/Gtao342iFj

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) February 14, 2025

Witkoff said working to secure early release of remaining phase one living hostages next week

Channel 12 reports that US President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff is working to try and secure the release of the remaining living hostages already next week.

After three hostages are released on Saturday, there will be six remaining hostages believed to be alive who are slated to be released before the end of the first phase.

The deal stipulates that those six will be released on February 22 and March 1, but Witkoff is working to move that timeline up, Channel 12 says.

Another New York prosecutor quits after order to drop mayor’s corruption case

New York City Mayor Eric Adams departs Emancipation Hall during the Inauguration of Donald J. Trump on January 20, 2025 in Washington. (Angelina Katsanis/Pool/Getty Images/AFP)

A top prosecutor who brought corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams has resigned after being ordered by the Trump Justice Department to drop the case, the latest federal attorney to quit in protest over the extraordinary demand.

Pressure was mounting meanwhile on the Democratic mayor to resign or for New York Governor Kathy Hochul to use her powers to remove him as the leader of the largest city in the United States.

Danielle Sassoon, who was appointed by President Donald Trump to be the acting US attorney for the Southern District of New York, submitted her resignation to Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday, three days after being asked to drop the case against Adams.

Hagan Scotten, an assistant US attorney for the Southern District, has followed suit today and says in a blistering email to acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove that the reasons given for dismissing the indictment of Adams did not stand up to scrutiny.

“No system of liberty can allow the Government to use the carrot of dismissing charges, or the stick of threatening to bring them again, to induce an elected official to support its policy objectives,” Scotten says.

In asking for the charges to be dropped, Bove, a former personal lawyer to Trump, says the prosecution of Adams was restricting his “ability to devote full attention and resources to illegal immigration and violent crime.”

Scotten, in his email to Bove, says “our laws and traditions do not allow using the prosecutorial power to influence other citizens, much less elected officials.

“If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion,” he says. “But it was never going to be me.”

Scotten, a decorated US Army veteran and Harvard Law School graduate, was a former clerk to conservative US Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, and Brett Kavanaugh, who was appointed by Trump to the Supreme Court.

Sassoon, a graduate of Yale Law School and a member of the conservative Federalist Society, led the high-profile 2023 prosecution of disgraced crypto tycoon Sam Bankman-Fried.

In addition to Sassoon and Scotten, several high-ranking members of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section in Washington, which handles corruption cases, have also resigned this week.

‘Dad is coming home’: Sagui Dekel-Chen’s wife posts photo of family upon learning he’ll be released tomorrow

Sagui Dekel-Chen's wife Avital and two daughters are photographed on February 14, 2025, upon learning that he is being released the next day as part of the hostage deal. (Courtesy)

“Updating everyone that dad is coming home,” Hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen’s wife Avital posts on social media alongside a picture of her and her daughters upon learning of the news that he will be released tomorrow.

"אבא חוזר": אביטל דקל חן, אשתו של שגיא שישוחרר מחר מהשבי בתמונה עם הבנות, ביניהן – שחר שנולדה בזמן ששגיא מוחזק בשבי@Itsik_zuarets pic.twitter.com/hKLrKaYReY

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) February 14, 2025

Zelensky meeting with US VP Vance underway at Munich conference

A highly anticipated meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US Vice President JD Vance is underway at the Munich Security Conference, the Ukrainian leader’s spokesman tells reporters.

“The meeting between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and US Vice President JD Vance began in Munich,” the Ukrainian president’s spokesman Sergiy Nykyforov tells journalists.

16 injured in settler attack on southern West Bank village — Palestinian Red Crescent

The Palestinian Red Crescent emergency service says it has treated 16 Palestinians who were wounded in the latest settler attack in the West Bank, this time targeting the village of Al-Maniya near Bethlehem.

BREAKING: 16 Palestinians were injured and taken to the hospital for treatment after Israeli settler terrorists attacked them on their land in the village of Al-Minya, Bethlehem.

This attack comes with the support of the terrorist Ben Gvir, who visited this land yesterday. pic.twitter.com/5Zk6pHiVNz

— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) February 14, 2025

Turkish, US top diplomats discuss Syria, Gaza and Ukraine

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US counterpart Marco Rubio discussed Syria, Gaza and the Ukraine-Russia war, as well as bilateral issues during their first in-person meeting in Munich on Friday, a Turkish foreign ministry source says.

Fidan told Rubio about Turkey’s views on measures that regional countries in the Middle East can take against Islamic State, the source says, adding he had also called for the ceasefire in Gaza to be made permanent.

The two also “extensively discussed” possible developments on the achievement of peace between Ukraine and Russia, the source says.

PM’s office says Israel working with US to free as many living hostages ASAP: ‘After that, all options on the table’

US President Donald Trump (left) welcomes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House on February 4, 2025. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issues a statement attributed to an Israeli official saying that Jerusalem is “working in full coordination with the United States to secure the release of as many living hostages alive as possible — as quickly as possible.”

“We intend to take full advantage of this opportunity,” the statement continues.

“After that, all options are on the table,” the statement adds.

Chemical weapons watchdog says found banned CS agent in samples supplied by Ukraine

The international chemical weapons watchdog says it has found the banned riot control agent CS in nine samples handed to it by Ukraine from the frontline in its war against Russia.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) says it has identified the toxic agent in samples from four grenade shells, three soil samples and two vegetation samples next to a dugout.

Ben & Jerry’s says parent Unilever mandating silence on Trump

A Monarch butterfly lands on a flower outside the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream shop, in Burlington, Vermont, July 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Ben & Jerry’s accuses its parent Unilever of demanding its silence toward US President Donald Trump, as it prepares to spin off the ice cream brand later this year.

In a Thursday night filing in Manhattan federal court, Ben & Jerry’s says Unilever ice cream chief Peter ter Kulve earlier in the day unilaterally banned it from “issuing any posts criticizing President Trump” pending further review.

Ben & Jerry’s says ter Kulve cited Unilever’s restructuring in defending his actions, saying it created a “new dynamic” in an “unprecedented time.”

Ter Kulve previously banned a planned post on hot-button issues when Trump was inaugurated on January 20 because the post mentioned Trump, Ben & Jerry’s has said.

Unilever has not immediately responded to requests for comment. Ben & Jerry’s has not immediately responded to a similar request.

Ben & Jerry’s accusations came in its lawsuit seeking to stop Unilever’s alleged efforts to dismantle its independent board and end its social activism.

Many companies have altered social policies, including on diversity, or appeared to show deference toward Trump since he began his second White House term.

Ben & Jerry’s has had a socially conscious mission since being founded by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in 1978.

Unilever bought Ben & Jerry’s in 2000. They have battled publicly since 2021, when Ben & Jerry’s halted sales in the West Bank. Its business there was later sold.

The planned spinoff comes as Unilever simplifies its product portfolio, which has dozens of brands including Dove, Hellmann’s, Knorr, Surf and Vaseline.

Zelensky says ready to ‘sit with Putin’ after Kyiv’s allies agree plan

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says he is ready to meet Vladimir Putin face-to-face once Kyiv and its allies have agreed to a plan for how they want to end the war.

“I will meet with Russians — with only one Russian guy, with Putin — only after we will have a common plan with Trump, Europe,” Zelensky says in English at the Munich Security Conference. “And we will sit with Putin and stop the war. Only in this case I’m ready to meet.”

German defense minister says Vance speech in Munich ‘not acceptable’

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius blasts US Vice President JD Vance, whose speech at the Munich Security Conference accused European governments of ignoring voter concerns on immigration and throttling free speech.

“Democracy was called into question by the US Vice President for the whole of Europe earlier,” Pistorius said from the main stage at the conference. “He speaks of the annihilation of democracy. And if I have understood him correctly, he is comparing conditions in parts of Europe with those in authoritarian regions… that is not acceptable.”

Zelensky says Trump gave him his telephone number, believes he’s key to ending war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says US President Trump has given him his cellphone number.

Speaking to the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky says he believes Trump is the key to ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Trump this week upended years of steadfast US support for Ukraine.

Zelensky is expected to meet with US Vice President JD Vance later today.

Tilda Swinton says Berlinale attendance was ‘personal’ decision amid Gaza boycott calls

'Snowpiercer,' starring Tilda Swinton (photo credit: courtesy the Weinstein Company)

British actor Tilda Swinton, known for her often eccentric and quirky roles in both independent and blockbuster films, said on Friday that she decided “in a personal moment” to attend the Berlin Film Festival despite boycott calls over the war in Gaza.

At a news conference the morning after collecting the event’s honorary Golden Bear award in recognition of her long-running career, Swinton also says she was taking a hiatus from acting for at least the rest of the year.

Asked about calls to boycott this year’s festival by the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, Swinton says she had made “a personal judgement call” to travel to the German capital.

“In a way, the most difficult thing that we are all having to cope with right now is this feeling of helplessness, this feeling of powerlessness. And so any powerful action gesture we can make feels like a good option,” she says.

“I understand absolutely that boycotting can feel, and very often is, the most powerful thing we can do,” she says.

“I decided it was more important for me to come. I was given, thanks to the festival, a platform as I am given today, which I decided, in a personal moment, was potentially more useful to all our causes than me not turning up,” Swinton says.

In her acceptance speech at Thursday evening’s ceremony, Swinton took aim at US President Donald Trump’s stated plans to make Gaza the “Riviera of the Middle East” as well as “greed-addicted” governments that enable war criminals and destruction of the planet.

Senior UAE official calls for Hamas to step down, as Arab pressure against terror group intensifies

Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash speaks to journalists in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 18, 2018. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)

The diplomatic adviser to UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed calls on Hamas to step down from power in Gaza, as the Arab push against the terror group begins to intensify.

Earlier this week, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Hamas “should relinquish power if serving Palestinian interests demands it.”

But senior UAE official Anwar Gargash appears to go further in his statement posted on X.

He says Aboul Gheit’s “rational call” is “appropriate, as the interests of the Palestinian people must come before the interests of the [Hamas] movement.

“Especially in light of the calls to displace the Palestinians from Gaza, and the war that resulted from its decisions that destroyed the Gaza Strip and tore its human and social fabric,” Gargash adds.

While Washington’s Arab allies have long opposed Hamas, many of them were growing increasingly resigned to the notion that Hamas would remain in Gaza in some form after the war due to Israel’s refusal to advance a viable alternative to the terror group.

However, the rhetoric against Hamas has intensified in recent weeks following US President Donald Trump’s calls to permanently relocate all of Gaza’s population outside of the Strip and for Washington to take over the enclave.

Trump’s plan has been widely rejected by the Arab world, but the administration is pushing those allies to advance an alternative vision rather than just rejecting the one proposed by the president.

8-year-old Palestinian lost eyesight after being shot by IDF during West Bank raid, father says

Jannat al-Matur, 8, is treated in the hospital after being shot and injured by an Israeli sniper during a West Bank raid in Sa'ir, north of Hebron, on February 11, 2025. (Screenshot/X)

Israeli troops reportedly shot and severely injured a young girl, causing her to lose her eyesight, during a West Bank raid on Tuesday.

Eight-year-old Jannat al-Matur was shot by an Israeli sniper through a window while at her home in Sa’ir, north of Hebron, her father told Palestinian media.

The sniper’s bullet grazed the girl’s head and shrapnel from the gunfire hit her face, leaving her blind.

Al-Matur’s father says that she will need to undergo surgery to restore her eyesight. She is currently in stable condition.

“Within an instant, I found myself covered in blood, bleeding and I didn’t know what happened to me,” said the child to Palestinian outlets while in the hospital.

The IDF does not comment directly on the reports but confirms that its forces were operating in the Beit Einun area adjacent to Sa’ir on Tuesday, when rioters began to throw stones at the troops.

The army spokesperson says soldiers “responded by firing at key instigators in order to eliminate the threat,” leading to multiple casualties.

COGAT says it has met ceasefire’s requirement for 600 aid trucks to enter Gaza each day

COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza, says 4,200 trucks of assistance entered Gaza over the past week, carrying food, fuel, medical supplies, tents and shelter equipment.

“This is in accordance with the terms of the deal for the return of Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity,” COGAT says. The deal stipulates that 600 trucks of aid should enter Gaza each day.

“So far, since the start of the hostage release deal, 16,800 trucks of aid entered Gaza. We look forward to and anticipate the return of all hostages to their families,” COGAT says.

4,200 humanitarian aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip this week, carrying food, fuel, medical supplies, tents and shelter equipment.

This is in accordance with the terms of the deal for the return of Israeli hostages from Hamas captivity.

So far, since the start of the hostage… pic.twitter.com/lUeltK9Hoz

— COGAT (@cogatonline) February 14, 2025

Ahead of Shabbat, religious mother of hostage arrives at site where she’ll reunite with son tomorrow

Yelena Troufanov, the mother of hostage Sasha Troufanov, has arrived at the site in Israel where she will reunite with her son when he is slated to be released tomorrow as part of the hostage deal.

Troufanov has become religious over the past year and has arrived early at the site in order to not desecrate the Sabbath.

In footage posted on social media, Yelena Troufanov can be heard asking the Israeli public to light Shabbat candles in honor of the hostages.

כדי לא לחלל שבת: ילנה טרופנוב, אימו של סשה שישתחרר מחר משבי חמאס, הגיעה לנקודה בה תיפגש עם בנה pic.twitter.com/SgmZCUglhc

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) February 14, 2025

Gazans return to ruined homes and severe water shortage

Palestinian children sit and wait next to water cans at a school turned shelter in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on February 4, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

A ceasefire has enabled some Gazans to go back to their ruined homes without fear of Israeli airstrikes, but they have returned to a severe water crisis.

“We returned here and found no pumps, no wells. We did not find buildings or houses,” says 50-year-old farmer Bassel Rajab, a resident of the northern town of Beit Lahiya.

“We came and set up tents to shelter in, but there is no water. We don’t have water, we are suffering.”

Drinking, cooking and washing are a luxury in Gaza, 16 months after the start of the war between Israel and the Hamas terror group.

Rajab says he sometimes walks 16 kilometers (10 miles) in the hope of taking a shower in Gaza City.

Some Palestinians have dug wells in areas near the sea, or rely on salty tap water from Gaza’s only aquifer, contaminated with seawater and sewage.

The Palestinian Water Authority estimates that it will cost $2.7 billion to repair the water and sanitation sectors.

Palestinians walk past destroyed vehicles as they cross the Netzarim Corridor, making their way to the northern parts of the Gaza Strip on February 9, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Palestinians were already facing a severe water crisis as well as shortages of food, fuel and medicine before the wells were destroyed in the war.

The Palestinian Water Authority says in a statement on its website that 208 out of 306 wells had been knocked out of service during the war and a further 39 were partially out of service.

WATCH: FM Sa’ar addresses Munich Security Conference on ‘prospects of Mideast peace’

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar attends a hearing of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, January 21, 2025. Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar addresses the Munich Security Conference.

He is speaking at a session called Stabilizing a Restless Region: Prospects of Peace in the Middle East.

IAEA chief sees time running out to revive Iran nuclear deal

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi during a meeting with the Japanese government in Tokyo, March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool, File)

Time is running out to get an accord to rein in Iran’s nuclear program as Tehran continues to accelerate its enrichment of uranium to near weapons grade, the UN’s nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi says.

Speaking to Reuters, Grossi says he had still not been able to have political consultations with the new US administration on the Iran issue, but that he would likely delay issuing a comprehensive report on its nuclear activities beyond March because it would add little value to what had already been reported.

“I think we are running out of time, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t do it fast. The IAEA is there and has all the information and elements, but when it comes to the policy it’s up to the countries,” Grossi says in an interview on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

Netanyahu’s office dismisses revelations of aide’s ties to Qatar as ‘complete fake news’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on December 10, 2023. Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani at Lusail Palace, in Doha on February 6, 2024. (Ronen Zvulun/AP, Mark Schiefelbein/AFP)

Recent allegations that a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was paid by Qatar to plant friendly articles in Israeli media is “complete fake news and a transparent attempt at mind-engineering,” says Netanyahu’s office.

“Just as the ugly lie about the submarines sank into the sea, so too will the vile lie about Qatar,” the PMO says, referring to Case 3000, in which Israel’s state prosecutor declined to open a criminal investigation into the prime minister over allegations of corruption in the purchase of German submarines.

Netanyahu’s former spokesman Eli Feldstein, who has been charged with harming national security in a case involving the theft and leaking of classified IDF documents, was paid by Doha to feed top Israeli journalists pro-Qatar stories, Hebrew media reported Thursday, as the premier’s critics demanded a probe of alleged Qatari influence in the Prime Minister’s Office.

FM Sa’ar meets Ukrainian counterpart Sybiha ahead of address at Munich confab

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar meets his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha in Munich.

“We discussed the developments regarding the war in Ukraine and the possibility of reaching an agreement,” Sa’ar writes on X.

Sa’ar says he also warned about the danger of Iran’s nuclear program.

Sa’ar is expected to address the Munich Security Conference shortly.

Met with Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs @andrii_sybiha. We discussed the developments regarding the war in Ukraine and the possibility of reaching an agreement. I stressed the danger of Iran's nuclear program and the need to counter it. We agreed to remain in touch. 🇮🇱🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/DVTvx4ackX

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) February 14, 2025

Vance urges European officials to stem illegal migration, says voters don’t want ‘floodgates’ open

United States Vice-President JD Vance addresses the audience during the Munich Security Conference at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

US Vice President JD Vance urges European officials to stem illegal migration on the continent during his speech Friday before the Munich Security Conference.

Vance says the European electorate didn’t vote to open “floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants.”

The vice president derides Europe for squelching free speech, saying freedom is in danger.

He also hammers home the US demand that the NATO alliance step up defense spending, speaking at a time of intense concern and uncertainty over the Trump administration’s foreign policy.

The future of Ukraine is the top item on the agenda in Munich following a phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week, when they pledged to work together to end the three-year-old Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Vance is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later Friday for talks that many observers, particularly in Europe, hope will shed at least some light on Trump’s ideas for a negotiated settlement to the war.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told the conference that everyone “wants this war to end.” But “how this war ends,” he says, “will have a lasting influence on our security order and on the position of power of Europe and America in the world.”

Saudi Arabia welcomes idea of US and Russian presidents meeting in kingdom

Saudi Arabia commends the recent phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying it welcomed the idea of them meeting in the kingdom.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it could take several months to arrange a meeting between Putin and Trump, possibly in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

The two leaders spoke on Wednesday and announced their intention to meet face-to-face.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was the first foreign leader Trump called after taking office. He described the Crown Prince as “a fantastic guy” during his speech via video link to an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Putin, who visited Saudi Arabia and the UAE in 2023, said last September that he was grateful to Mohammed bin Salman for helping to organize the biggest US-Russian prisoner swap since the Cold War.

Iran accuses Israel of disrupting air route to Lebanon after Hezbollah smuggling claim stops flight from landing

Iran’s foreign ministry accuses Israel of disrupting flights between Tehran and the Lebanese capital, Beirut, after Lebanese aviation authorities refused to permit an Iranian passenger flight to land on Thursday.

The refusal came after Israel said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had been smuggling cash to Hezbollah on civilian flights.

“The threat by the Zionist Regime to a passenger plane carrying Lebanese citizens has disrupted normal flights to Beirut Airport,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei says in a statement.

Lebanese media reported that dozens of Lebanese nationals were stranded in Tehran after the Maher Air airline was informed that its flight to Beirut would not be able to land.

PM’s office declines to say whether upcoming release of 3 hostages means ceasefire will continue

The Prime Minister’s Office declines to comment on whether the release of three hostages by Hamas on Saturday means that the ceasefire is continuing or not.

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump said that “all hell is going to break out” if Hamas doesn’t release all the remaining hostages by Saturday. Israel also issued threats but was less clear on its red lines. Various statements demanded “our hostages,” nine hostages “in the coming days,” and “all of them,” or else Israel would return to war.

An Israeli official tells The Times of Israel that the strategy is deliberate. “There are some cases in which being vague is helpful,” says the official.

PM’s office clarifies that it ‘received’ the list of hostages; says it didn’t mean to use the word ‘acceptable’

After sending out a statement that the list of three hostages Hamas released today is “acceptable to Israel,” the Prime Minister’s Office erases the message and issues a correction, calling it “an unfortunate writing mistake.”

“Instead of the writing ‘this list is acceptable to Israel,’ it should have read ‘this list was received by Israel,'” claims the PMO.

The two words — acceptable and received — have the same three-letter root in Hebrew.

“This is a purely factual description that does not reflect any reference by Israel to the issue,” says the PMO.

Three hostages to be freed Saturday were all abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz; all have dual citizenships

Hamas hostages (L-R) Sasha Troufanov, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Iair Horn, set to be released from Gaza on February 15, 2025. (Courtesy)

All three hostages set for release tomorrow were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz as Hamas terrorists swarmed through the kibbutz, killing or kidnapping one in four of the community’s residents on October 7, 2023.

Sagui Dekel-Chen, who has dual Israeli-American citizenship, saw Hamas-led terrorists entering the kibbutz and was among the first to raise the alarm. He was last heard from at 9:30 a.m., according to his father, Connecticut-born Jonathan Dekel-Chen, a Hebrew University professor who also lives at Nir Oz. Sagui’s mother, Neomit, was taken captive along with her neighbors in an electric cart that was headed toward Gaza when an IDF helicopter shot at the terrorists and driver. Neomit, injured, made her way back toward the kibbutz and was eventually rescued and evacuated.

His wife Avital gave birth to their third daughter Shachar in December 2023, and he is therefore set to meet her tomorrow for the first time.

Hamas hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen with his wife, Avital, and daughters Bar, 6, and Gali, 2. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Sasha Troufanov, who has dual Israeli-Russian citizenship, was taken hostage along with three members of his family — grandmother Irena Tati, mother Yelena (Lena) and his girlfriend, Sapir Cohen. Sasha’s father, Vitaly Trufanov, was killed in the Hamas-led massacre. Yelena and Irena were released by Hamas on November 29, 2023, at the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sapir Cohen was released on November 30, 2023, as part of a week-long truce.

Sasha Trufanov and his girlfriend Sapir Cohen, taken captive along with his family from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. (Courtesy)

Iair Horn, who has dual Israeli-Argentinean citizenship, was abducted from his Nir Oz home on October 7. His brother Eitan was also abducted, is still being held, and is not on the list of the 33 hostages scheduled to be freed in the current first phase of the hostage-ceasefire deal.

Brothers Eitan (left), Yair and Amos Horn, before Yair and Eitan were taken hostage on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy Horn family)

IDF chief apologizes to recently freed surveillance soldiers for failing them on Oct. 7

Released hostage soldier Agam Berger, right, meets Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag, fellow soldiers also freed from Hamas captivity, at Rabin Medical Center, January 30, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi apologizes to the recently released hostage soldiers during a meeting this morning.

“It was wrong to have not taken you seriously, you were amazing soldiers, I apologize for what you experienced in captivity,” Halevi says to four of the five surveillance soldiers who were held by Hamas for 15 months, according to leaked remarks.

For months before Hamas’s onslaught, female surveillance soldiers reported signs of activity along the restive Gaza border, situated a kilometer from them. No action was taken by the more senior officers who received the reports, and the information was disregarded as unimportant by intelligence officials.

During the meeting, the four soldiers — Agam Berger, Liri Albag, Naama Levy and Karina Ariev — told Halevi what they went through in Hamas captivity, as well as what happened during the October 7 onslaught when they were kidnapped from the Nahal Oz army post.

מצורפת תמונה מפגישת הרמטכ״ל, רב-אלוף הרצי הלוי עם התצפיתניות ששבו משבי חמאס – אגם ברגר, לירי אלבג, נעמה לוי וקרינה ארייב: pic.twitter.com/R8PjKppQ8J

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 14, 2025

Halevi told the four that they had excelled in their role as observers and correctly warned of what could happen.

The chief of staff also told them that the military would fully investigate what happened on October 7, and that they should “be partners in the investigation” by providing testimony.

The fifth surveillance soldier released from Hamas captivity, Daniella Gilboa, was not present in the meeting.

Consumer prices increased in January, led by rise in food, fresh produce costs

Consumer prices increased in January, with Israelis facing higher costs for a range of goods and services, led by a rise in food and fresh fruit prices after a series of tax hikes that came into effect last month, data by the Central Bureau of Statistics shows.

Annual inflation over the past 12 months accelerated to 3.8 percent after declining to 3.2% in December, from 3.4% in November. The government’s target range for the annual inflation rate is between 1% to 3%.

On a monthly basis, the consumer price index (CPI), a measure of inflation that tracks the average cost of household goods, rose by 0.6% after declining 0.3% in December and 0.4% in November and accelerating 0.5% in October. The January figure compared with analysts’ expectations of an increase of between 0.5% to 0.6%.

On January 1, tax hikes came into effect to boost state income and fill a fiscal gap amid high defense expenses in the 15-month multifront war. Value-added tax rose from 17% to 18%. VAT is a consumption tax collected through the purchase of goods and services, and is levied on most consumer goods and services, except for fresh produce.

In January, price increases were seen in the costs of fresh fruit, which rose 2.5%, food items were up 1%, and home maintenance costs were 2.1% higher, according to the statistics bureau. Electricity costs for households edged up 4.1%.

These were offset by price declines in clothing and footwear, which fell 4.2%, while fresh vegetable prices were down 2%. Travel costs, including flights abroad, dropped 5.7%, and prices of hotel stays in Israel declined 5%.

In the real estate market, rents on renewal of contracts rose 2.6%, and rents on contracts for new tenants jumped by 3.3%.

Hamas says Israel will release 369 Palestinian prisoners tomorrow, 36 of them serving life sentences

Israel will release 369 Palestinian security prisoners tomorrow as part of the sixth hostage-prisoner exchange, says the Hamas prisoners’ media office, including 36 serving life sentences.

The remaining 333 prisoners slated for release in the first phase of the deal were detained in the Gaza Strip after October 7, over the course of the war.

Saudi Arabia to host leaders of 4 Arab countries, PA president at summit on Trump’s Gaza plan next week

Saudi Arabia will host the leaders of four Arab countries at a summit on February 20 to discuss Donald Trump’s proposal for a US takeover of Gaza, a source with knowledge of the preparations says.

The leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will attend the summit, which will take place ahead of an Arab League meeting in Cairo on February 27 on the same issue, the source says.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, another source says Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will also attend.

Netanyahu to meet with US Secretary of State Rubio in Jerusalem on Sunday morning

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at 10 a.m. on Sunday in his Jerusalem office.

The two will give statements after the meeting, says Netanyahu’s office.

Rubio is also scheduled to meet Opposition Leader Yair Lapid at 4:15 p.m. at the David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem.

He will also visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Sunday.

Hostages Sasha Troufanov, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Iair Horn slated for release from Gaza tomorrow

Hamas hostages (L-R) Sasha Troufanov, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Iair Horn, set to be released from Gaza on February 15, 2025. (Courtesy)

Israel has received via mediators Egypt and Qatar the names of the three hostages Hamas says it will release on Saturday, says the Prime Minister’s Office.

The three are Sasha Troufanov (29), Sagui Dekel-Chen (36) and Iair Horn (46).

The PMO says that the list is acceptable and the families of the hostages have approved the release of the names.

All three were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz as Hamas terrorists swarmed through the kibbutz, killing or kidnapping one in four of the community’s residents, on October 7, 2023.

Related – Taken captive: Sagui Dekel-Chen spotted first incoming terrorists

Related – Taken captive: Amazon employee Sasha Troufanov

Related – Taken captive: Devoted uncle and Nir Oz resident Iair Horn

‘Hope dies last’: Or Levy visits Hostages Square, days after release from Hamas captivity

Freed hostage Or Levy visits Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, less than a week after he was released from Hamas captivity, February 14, 2025. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Released hostage Or Levy visits Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, six days after his release from Hamas captivity and says he insisted on doing so despite resistance from his family and doctors.

“It’s been a week now, a week since I was reborn,” says Levy of his release last Saturday. “I’m trying to process what happened during the 491 days I missed, trying to understand what transpired in our country during that time.”

He says that during his captivity in Gaza, he didn’t know whether or not his wife Eynav was still alive.

Eynav Levy was killed in the roadside shelter near the Nova rave, where the couple had fled during the rocket onslaught on the morning of October 7, 2023, while Or was taken captive.

“It was such devastating news I received when I returned, but I promised her every day while I was there that I would stay strong for her and for the greatest gift she gave me in life — Mogi,” says Levy, referring to their three-year-old son, Almog.

“It was important for me to understand everything you’ve done and continue to do, to see the work that is far from taken for granted,” says Levy during his visit to the square. “I may be here, but I still have many brothers and sisters in the hell of Gaza, and their time is running out.”

“Alon and Eliya, I’m waiting for you,” says Levy, referring to Alon Ohel and Eliya Cohen, who were held with him and fellow released hostage Eli Sharabi. “Bring them all back! Now! Whatever it takes.”

Levy says he’s certain all the work done in the fight for the hostages helped him and the others return to their families, and thanks the public for its help and support and for never giving up.

“It truly isn’t taken for granted, and I genuinely feel that you all played a part in giving me my life back,” he says. “Hope dies last.”

‘You are the reason I am home’: Freed hostage Keith Siegel thanks Trump, asks him to ensure remaining hostages are freed

Recently released hostage Keith Siegel thanks US President Donald Trump for his involvement in the hostage release and ceasefire deal, and pleads with the president to ensure all are released, in a video message published on February 14, 2025. (Screenshot)

Recently released hostage Keith Siegel issues a video statement thanking US President Donald Trump for his administration’s work in securing his release on February 1 as part of the ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas, and asks him to ensure that the agreement remains intact until all the remaining hostages are freed.

“My name is Keith Siegel and I’m a 65-year-old American citizen. I love country music and I love pancakes on Saturday morning, but that was my previous life,” he begins, sitting in front of the camera with a yellow ribbon pinned to his sweatshirt.

“Since February 1, I am a newly released Hamas hostage. I’m a survivor. I was held for 484 days in unimaginable conditions. Every single day felt like it could be my last,” Siegel says.

“President Trump, you are the reason I am home alive,” he continues. “You are the reason I was reunited with my beloved wife, four children and five grandchildren.”

“When I was in Gaza, I lived in constant fear, fear for my life and my personal safety,” Siegel recounts. “I was starved and I was tortured, both physically and emotionally.”

He says that when the fighting between Israel and Hamas intensified, his captors treated him even worse than they usually did. “Terrorists kicked me, spat on me, and held me with no water, no light, no air to breathe,” he says.

Appealing to Trump, Siegel says that his “leadership, power and authority are necessary to enforce the ceasefire and put an end to the unnecessary daily dangers to the lives of innocent hostages and civilians.”

“I trust in your strength and leadership Mr. President,” he says. “The helpless hostages in the dark, cold tunnels in Gaza also trust you. Please bring them home.”

Israeli-American citizen Keith Siegel, who was released from Hamas captivity two weeks ago after being held captive for 484 days, recorded a video message for President Trump:

"I was held for 484 days in unimaginable conditions, and every single day felt like it could be my… pic.twitter.com/pM6vjbfdCD

— Bring Them Home Now (@bringhomenow) February 14, 2025

Hamas names three male hostages set to be released Saturday

The Hamas terror group names three male hostages who are set to be released tomorrow from captivity as part of the sixth hostage-prisoner exchange.

Israeli officials have requested that media outlets not publish the names until the families of the hostages have been notified.

IDF chief Halevi finishes meeting with four of the five ex-hostage surveillance soldiers

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi just finished meeting with released hostage soldiers Agam Berger, Liri Albag, Naama Levy, and Karina Ariev, the military says.

The fifth surveillance soldier released from Hamas captivity, Daniella Gilboa, was not present in the meeting.

The IDF does not provide further details on the meeting.

Fire erupts at Jerusalem’s First Station, forcing evacuation

Smoke pours out of an eatery that caught fire in Jerusalem's First Station, February 14, 2025. (Stuart Winer/Times of Israel)

A fire broke out at Jerusalem’s popular First Station venue earlier today, forcing an evacuation of the site, which has wooden floorboards covering much of its area.

Several fire units were rushed to the scene and tended to flames that erupted from an eatery inside the venue.

Suspect who drove into Munich crowd likely had ‘Islamist motivation,’ prosecutor says

An Afghan national has admitted to purposefully driving into a crowd of demonstrators in Munich, and authorities have determined an Islamist motive for the crime, a prosecutor says at a news conference.

“He has admitted that he deliberately drove into the participants of the demonstration,” prosecutor Gabriele Tilmann says.

“I’m very cautious about making hasty judgements, but based on everything we know at the moment, I would venture to speak of an Islamist motivation for the crime,” she adds.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad says it will release male hostage on Saturday

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad says it will release one of the male hostages it holds captive this Saturday.

Israeli officials have requested that media outlets not publish the names until the families of the hostages have been notified.

Man attacked, lightly injured in his backyard in Gan Ner, close to the West Bank

An Israeli man in his 60s was attacked by another Israeli in the northern community of Gan Ner, close to the West Bank security barrier, medics and military sources say.

The suspect hit the 62-year-old with a hoe in the victim’s backyard before fleeing the scene.

IDF troops and police officers are searching the area. A military source says the circumstances of the incident are not immediately clear.

Magen David Adom says it is taking the man to HaEmek Medical Center in Afula with light injuries.

Residents of the town have been instructed to remain in their homes until further notice.

Man apprehended with ‘suspicious object’ on his person in Tamra, northern Israel

Police forces operate outside the city of Tamra, northern Israel after apprehending an individual with a suspicious object on his person, February 14, 2025. (Israel Police spokesperson)

The Israel Police says that it apprehended an individual at the entrance to the city of Tamra, in northern Israel, a short while ago, who had a “suspicious object” on his person.

Police were alerted to the suspect, who was accompanied by several others, when they were seen acting in a suspicious manner near some vehicles at the entrance to the city.

While examining the suspects, police say they noticed that one of them had a suspicious object on him and began taking steps to arrest him.

The suspect “refused to identify himself, appeared stressed, and did not cooperate,” the police say.

A large number of security forces, including sappers, were dispatched to the scene, the statement adds, and the circumstances of the incident are under investigation.

Update: Police subsequently determined that the background of the incident was not terror-related.

Red Cross ‘very concerned’ about conditions of remaining Gaza hostages

A crowd surrounds Red Cross cars as they arrive at the site for the handover of Thai and Israeli hostages in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Thursday Jan. 30, 2025.(AP/Jehad Alshrafi)

The International Committee of the Red Cross, which is partially facilitating the hostage-prisoner exchanges between Israel and Hamas, says it is “very concerned” about the conditions of the remaining captives held by the Gaza terror group.

The statement comes as Israel prepares for the expected release of three hostages on Saturday.

“The latest release operations reinforce the urgent need for ICRC access to those held hostage. We remain very concerned about the conditions of the hostages,” the Red Cross says in a statement on X, referring to last week’s release of Eli Sharabi, Or Levy, and Ohad Ben Ami, who all appeared gaunt, frail, and unsteady on their feet.

“We have consistently reiterated that release and transfer operations should be carried out in a dignified and safe manner,” the organization insists. “The ICRC will continue our efforts to see all hostages released, until the last hostage is returned.”

After 16 months of waiting, uncertainty, and unimaginable worry, 21 hostages have finally been released and reunited with their loved ones. pic.twitter.com/SQKuTGXlHS

— ICRC in Israel & OT (@ICRC_ilot) February 14, 2025

The Red Cross has faced heavy criticism in Israel since October 7, 2023, for its failure to secure any meaningful aid for the 251 hostages taken by terrorists that day — whether by monitoring their conditions or providing them with basic humanitarian assistance, including medicine.

The emaciated appearance of the hostages last week shocked the families of captives and the world, and prompted the ICRC to call on Hamas to ensure subsequent swaps are more private and dignified.

However, the organization had previously said that it has no control over how Hamas conducts itself during the handover process.

WaPo: Netanyahu wants to ‘seize the moment’ to tackle Iran; he and Trump discussed possible US support for Israeli military action

US President Donald Trump, right, meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, February 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump have discussed a variety of ways in which the US can support Israel in its bid to tackle Iran’s nuclear program, according to the Washington Post.

Citing Israeli and US officials, senior Washington Post columnist David Ignatius asserts that unless diplomatic pressure is successful in forcing Iran to abandon its nuclear facilities, Israel is prepared to destroy them “with or without US support.”

“Israel wants to seize the moment,” Ignatius writes, citing American and Israeli officials: “If Iran won’t agree to a Libya-style abandonment of its nuclear facilities, Israel is prepared to bomb those facilities — with or without US support, the officials said.”

Accordingly, he reports, there are a number of options on the table for the US to support Israel, from diplomatic pressure in the form of a “coercive ultimatum” to “active military support.”

The two leaders met in Washington last week. Ahead of his meeting with Trump, Netanyahu had said that Iran would be among key topics that the two would discuss.

The Post says the two discussed “several possible levels of American backing, ranging from active military support for a kinetic strike — such as intelligence, refueling or other assistance — to more limited political backing for a coercive ultimatum.” It notes that the US “has already provided Israel with bunker-busting munitions that could severely damage Iranian centrifuges and other uranium-enrichment equipment buried in a mountain fortress in Fordow, near Qom.”

The Washington Post said Wednesday that the US intelligence community recently presented assessments that Israel is considering strikes on Iran’s nuclear program, and that the attacks could come this year.

Trump has said he wants to negotiate a solution but has also reimposed his maximum pressure strategy of strict sanctions on Iran.

“I think we’re gonna make a deal in Iran,” he told Fox News on Monday. “I think they’re scared. I think Iran would love to make a deal and I would love to make a deal with them without bombing them.

“Everyone thinks Israel, with our help or our approval, will go in and bomb the hell out of ’em. I would prefer that not happen,” he told the cable network.

Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai nominated to become IDF deputy chief of staff

Chief of the IDF Ground Forces, Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai attends an Israel Hayom security conference in Jerusalem, December 1, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Defense Minister Israel Katz announces that he has nominated Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai for the position of IDF deputy chief of staff, replacing Maj. Gen. Amir Baram when he finishes his time in the role at the end of February.

Yadai will serve under incoming chief of staff Eyal Zamir, who will step into the role on March 5.

Yadai most recently served as the head of the IDF Ground Forces but resigned in September 2024 for personal reasons. At the time of his resignation, the IDF said that he was nevertheless planning to submit his candidacy for “significant positions.”

Along with Zamir and Baram, Yanai was one of three senior generals interviewed by Katz as a possible contender for IDF chief of staff.

“I am convinced of Maj. Gen. Yadai’s ability to make a significant contribution in the role of deputy chief of staff to reinforce the IDF’s strength in force buildup and offensive capabilities in the face of the many security challenges we face these days,” Katz says.

Russian drone strike hits Chernobyl, causes significant damage to radiation shelter

A Russian drone attack caused significant damage to the radiation shelter of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says.

Chernobyl was the site of the world’s worst civil nuclear catastrophe when one of its four reactors exploded in 1986. That reactor is now enveloped by a protective shelter, known as a sarcophagus, to contain the lingering radiation.

The Russian drone struck the shelter of the destroyed power unit at the plant, causing a fire that has since been extinguished, he says.

“As of now, radiation levels have not increased and are being constantly monitored,” Zelensky says, adding that an initial assessment had found significant damage.

“The only country in the world that attacks such sites, occupies nuclear power plants, and wages war without any regard for the consequences is today’s Russia,” he says.

Report: Pentagon threatening to withhold military aid from Egypt unless it accepts Trump’s Gaza plan

The US is attempting to pressure Cairo into accepting President Donald Trump’s vision for the postwar Gaza Strip and the relocation of Palestinians to Egypt, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports.

Citing Egyptian sources in Washington, the London-based news outlet alleges that the Pentagon recently warned Egyptian military officials that it may begin restricting military aid if Cairo doesn’t fall in line and accept Trump’s plan.

In particular, the sources say that supplies needed for routine maintenance and spare weapons parts could be on the chopping block.

Trump first suggested on January 25 that Egypt and Jordan should take in Palestinians from Gaza. In the days that followed, he proposed a US takeover of Gaza and a potential permanent displacement of Palestinians from the enclave with no right of return.

He has continued to insist that both Jordan and Egypt will come around, although the Egyptian foreign ministry said earlier this week that it plans to present an alternative vision for the reconstruction of Gaza that ensures Palestinians remain on their land.

Vance threatens US sanctions, possible military action to push Putin into Ukraine deal

US Vice President JD Vance says the US could hit Moscow with sanctions and potential military action if Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree to a peace deal with Ukraine that guarantees Kyiv’s long-term independence, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“There are economic tools of leverage, there are of course military tools of leverage” the US could use against Putin, Vance says in an interview with the newspaper.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday discussed the war with Russian President Vladimir Putin and separately with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, and told US officials to begin talks on ending the nearly three-year-long conflict.

The phone calls came shortly after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Ukraine’s military allies in Brussels that a return to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders — before Russia annexed Crimea — was unrealistic and that the US does not see NATO membership for Kyiv as part of a solution.

Ukrainians on Thursday worried that Trump was preparing to sell out their country following his phone call Putin.

However, Trump on Thursday said that Ukraine would be involved in peace talks with Russia. He told reporters at the White House that Ukraine would have a seat at the table during any peace negotiations with Russia over ending the war.

Kyiv said it would be premature to speak with Moscow at a security conference on Friday.

“I think there is a deal that is going to come out of this that’s going to shock a lot of people,” the newspaper quotes Vance as saying.

“The president is not going to go in this with blinders on,” Vance says. “He’s going to say, ‘Everything is on the table, let’s make a deal.’”

US hostage envoy argues Hamas walked back hostage threat after Trump warned of hell

FILE - Adam Boehler speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House, April 14, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

US hostage envoy Adam Boehler argues that Hamas walked back from its threat not to release three hostages this weekend as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement with Israel because of President Donald Trump’s threat to rain hell down on Gaza if all remaining captives aren’t freed by Saturday at noon.

“At the end of the day, the president has seen movement, and who knows what would happen if he wasn’t there,” Boehler tells Fox News.

“But it’s not enough,” he clarifies. “We still have seven Americans that are there, and we’re not going to stop until that’s [not] the case. I hope that Hamas is hearing loud and clear from the president of the United States that they’ve got to address that issue immediately.”

Asked if Trump’s threat remains in place, Boehler responds, “That’s the current message of the president United States.”

But the hostage envoy then adds that Trump “reserves the right to change or adjust as he sees fit.”

The 17 hostages slated to be returned in phase one of the Gaza ceasefire deal as of February 8, 2025 after the first five rounds saw 16 captives freed. Row 1 (L-R): Ariel Bibas, Kfir Bibas, Shiri Bibas, Sasha Trufanov; Row 2: Shlomo Mantzur, Ohad Yahalomi, Oded Lifshitz, Tsahi Idan; Row 3: Hisham al-Sayed, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Yair Horn, Omer Wenkert; Row 4: Itzik Elgarat, Eliya Cohen, Avera Mengistu, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem-Tov. (All photos courtesy)

US House panel demands Columbia University turn over disciplinary records for anti-Israel protesters

Pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel demonstrators march through the Columbia University campus in New York City to mark a year since the Hamas terror group's onslaught on southern Israel that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, October 7, 2024. (Kena Betancur/AFP)

The US House Committee on Education and the Workforce denounces Columbia for its handling of anti-Israel protesters and demands the university turn over disciplinary records for the activists.

The 6-page letter addressed to the university leadership says that the university promised students, faculty and Congress that it would address campus antisemitism, but has failed to do so.

“Columbia’s continued failure to address the pervasive antisemitism that persists on campus is untenable, particularly given that the university receives billions in federal funding,” the letter says.

The letter cites campus disturbances last year, such as protesters’’ takeover of a campus building in the spring, and incidents this semester including the disruption of an Israeli professor’s class.

The committee accuses Columbia of failing to properly discipline those responsible, creating a “hostile environment for members of Columbia’s Jewish communities.”

The letter demands Columbia turn over disciplinary records by the end of this month for 11 different protest incidents that took place between April and January.

The House committee has grilled the heads of Columbia and other top universities over anti-Israel activism for more than a year. The Trump administration has put further pressure on universities since taking office.

Columbia has repeatedly condemned protest activities that violate campus rules in recent weeks, and disciplined some students, including for the disruption of the Israeli professor’s class.

Meeting Modi, Trump names Israel as a waypoint on proposed US-India trade route

US President Donald Trump speaks with the press as he meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on February 13, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP)

Continuing a push from his predecessor Joe Biden, US President Donald Trump says he and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi “agreed to work together to help build one of the greatest trade routes in all of the history.”

“It will run from India to Israel to Italy and onward to the US, connecting our partners, roads, railways and undersea cables,” Trump says while meeting Modi at the White House.

In 2023, Biden and Modi announced plans for a transportation corridor that would link India to the European Union via Middle Eastern countries, including Israel.

Hamas forced surveillance troops to watch torture videos of male hostages, says mother

From left to right: The mothers of freed surveillance soldiers Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, Liri Albag and Karina Ariev speak with Channel 12 news in an interview aired on February 13, 2025. (Channel 12 screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The female surveillance soldiers recently freed from Gaza were forced by Hamas to watch videos of male hostages being tortured, according to one of their mothers.

Speaking with Channel 12 news alongside three other mothers of the surveillance troops, Shira Albag quotes her daughter Liri as saying “I got out of the hell that we went through there, but the men, the soldiers, are going through worse than us.'”

“The terrorists also made a point to show them videos and share with them all sorts of things that they [the male hostages] were going through there, that they starved… all sorts of things that are really tough,” Shira Albag says. “Even today when they’re here, we don’t know everything exactly that they went through.”

In a portion of the interview aired Wednesday, the mother of released soldier hostage Daniella Gilboa detailed how Hamas forced her daughter to fake her death for a propaganda it filmed while she was in captivity, leading to rumors she had been killed.

Trump says US will sell F-35 stealth fighter jets to India

F-35 Lightning II Aircraft assigned to the 158th Fighter Wing, Burlington Air National Guard Base, prepare for takeoff, in Burlington, Vermont, April 13, 2022. (Staff Sgt. Cameron Lewis/U.S. Air National Guard via AP)

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump says that the United States will sell F-35 fighter jets to India, which would join the elite club of countries with the state-of-the-art stealth planes.

“Starting this year, we’ll be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars. We’re also paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F-35 stealth fighters,” Trump tells a joint news conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The advanced fighter jet is considered a key get for India, which has tightened its defense ties with the US over the last several years, including new port agreements and technology sharing. But the F-35 had not been on the list, in part due to India’s heavy use of Russian-made weapons systems.

The Joint Strike Fighter program is the United States’ most expensive weapon system. The Government Accountability Office has estimated the program will ultimately cost taxpayers $1.7 trillion total. There are eight development international partners in the F-35 program, and the US has signed letters of foreign military sales with 12 additional overseas customers, including Israel, South Korea and Singapore.

The F-35 has also been a target of Elon Musk. In a November “X” post admiring drone swarms, Musk said, “Meanwhile, some idiots are still building manned fighter jets like the F-35.”