Live updates (closed)
The Times of Israel livebloggied Friday’s events as they happened.
Israel reportedly behind rare strikes on civilian infrastructure in Iran
Illustrative: Explosions seen in the Iranian city of Karaj on February 24, 2023. (Screencapture/Twitter: Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Israel was behind a pair of attacks on major gas pipelines inside Iran this week, which disrupted the flow of gas to millions of people, The New York Times reports, citing two Western officials and a military strategist affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
If confirmed, the strike would amount to an escalation by Israel, which has to take largely targeted military and nuclear sites, as opposed to civilian ones.
“The enemy’s plan was to completely disrupt the flow of gas in winter to several main cities and provinces in our country,” Iran’s oil minister, Javad Owji, told Iranian media in comments on the “sabotage and terrorist attacks.
He avoids publicly blaming Israel for the blasts, which he says were aimed at damaging Iran’s energy infrastructure and stirring public upheaval.
One Western official tells NYT that the strike was largely symbolic, causing minimal harm and being easy to repair.
The two Western officials say Israel was also behind another blast yesterday inside a chemical factory on the outskirts of Tehran.
The US says Iran wasn’t directly behind Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught against Israel but that it continues to fund, arm and train proxies who have been targeting the Jewish state.
US, Arab, European ministers meet in Munich to outline post-Gaza ideas
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Bulgaria's Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov on the side of the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. (Wolfgang Rattay/Pool via AP)
Senior US, Arab and European officials met in Munich on Friday to discus progress on formulating a plan for post-war Gaza that would be linked to normalizing ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, officials and diplomats say.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and the foreign ministers of Jordan, Qatar, Germany, Britain, France and Italy were among those gathering on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference.
Officials say the meeting was the first in such a format since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7
The aim was for the US, European and Arab states to share discussions they have had on post-war Gaza, Israel-Saudi normalization, Israel’s wider integration into the region and security guarantees, a pathway towards a Palestinian state and how to reform the Palestinian Authority, a senior US official say.
Western and Arab states have shown divisions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and their response has mostly been to try to ease the humanitarian situation in the enclave.
However, with the number of civilian casualties increasing, officials say there is a sense of urgency to at least put something together for when there is an extended ceasefire.
“The Americans have been working with the Arabs so it’s good to hear what they have to say,” says a European diplomat whose foreign minister attended the meeting.
“It is useful because everybody is trying to get things moving. There’s even more urgency because of the impending attack on Rafah,” he says.
The European diplomat says that while the priority for Arab states was working with Washington, a potential victory by former President Donald Trump in November’s presidential election could alter the landscape and bring more prominence to European links.
“It’s a format that Arab states could find useful going forward,” the diplomat says.
Biden says Putin and ‘his thugs’ responsible for Navalny death
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, February 16, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
US President Joe Biden directly blames Russian leader Vladimir Putin for the reported death of Alexei Navalny in prison, describing the Kremlin critic as a “powerful voice for the truth.”
Saying he was “outraged,” Biden says he did not yet know exactly what had happened to 47-year-old Navalny, but that it was the fault of Putin and his “thugs.”
“Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,” Biden says in televised remarks from the White House.
“What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality. No one should be fooled.”
Biden, who has branded Putin a dictator over his invasion of Ukraine and treatment of opponents, says he was “looking at a whole number of options” on how to respond but did not go further.
Asked in 2021 after meeting Putin in Switzerland, what would happen were Navalny to die, Biden says he told the Russian leader that Moscow would face “devastating” consequences.
Biden hails Navalny’s achievements and sent condolences to the Kremlin opponent’s wife and children.
Biden recalls that Navalny had been poisoned while in exile and had then returned to Russia despite knowing the risks to his safety.
Navalny was “so many things that Putin is not,” he says.
“Even in prison he was a powerful voice for the truth,” Biden says. “God bless Alexei Navalny, his courage will not be forgotten.”
Trump fined $355 million in fraud trial, banned from NY business
Former US president and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump attends a "Get Out the Vote" Rally in Conway, South Carolina, on February 10, 2024. (Julia Nikhinson/AFP)
A New York judge has ordered Donald Trump to pay $355 million over fraud allegations and banned him from running companies in the state for three years in a major blow to his business empire and financial standing.
Trump — almost certain to be the Republican presidential nominee this November — was found liable for unlawfully inflating his wealth and manipulating the value of properties to obtain more favorable bank loans or insurance terms.
As the case was civil, not criminal, there was no threat of jail time. But Trump said ahead of the ruling that a ban on conducting business in New York state would be akin to a “corporate death penalty.”
Trump, who faces 91 criminal indictments in other cases, has seized on his legal woes to fire up supporters and denounce his likely opponent President Joe Biden, claiming that court cases are “just a way of hurting me in the election.”
The extent of the order by Judge Arthur Engoron threatens to shatter his personal wealth and ability to earn in the future.
The “defendants’ refusal to admit error — indeed, to continue it, according to the Independent Monitor — constrains this Court to conclude that they will engage in it going forward unless judicially restrained,” Engoron writes in his scathing order.
“Indeed, Donald Trump testified that, even today, he does not believe the Trump Organization needed to make any changes based on the facts that came out during this trial.”
It was as a property developer and businessman in New York that Trump built his public profile which he used as a springboard into the entertainment industry and ultimately the presidency.
The judge’s order was a victory for New York state Attorney General Letitia James. She had sought $370 million from Trump to remedy the advantage he is alleged to have wrongfully obtained, as well as having him barred from conducting business in the state.
IDF denies troops targeted generators while operating in Khan Younis hospital
An IDF soldier speaks to a doctor at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Febraury 16, 2024. (IDF)
The IDF denies claims that troops targeted generators at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, during operations at the medical center where hostages were believed to have been held by the terror group.
“This morning, a report was received concerning the interruption of generator activity, resulting in the failure of electrical systems within the hospital. Contrary to the allegation, IDF troops did not target the generators. The troops were instructed to ensure the continuous functioning of the hospital,” the IDF says.
Hamas had claimed several patients had died due to a lack of oxygen after when power was cut off and the generators stopped following an IDF raid.
“Despite the generator malfunction at the hospital, all vital systems continued to operate throughout the day based on the existing Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) system in the hospital,” the IDF says.
The IDF says that upon receiving reports of the generator malfunction at the hospital, troops worked to repair it, while the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit brought in a replacement generator.
“These actions were carried out in close coordination between the IDF and the hospital administration through officers of the Coordination and Liaison Administration for Gaza (CLA),” the IDF says.
The IDF says it also brought food and water to Nasser Hospital, as well as coordinated with international aid organizations to supply fuel for the medical center.
Earlier today, the IDF said it detained dozens of terror suspects at Nasser Hospital, including 20 who participated in the October 7 onslaught.
It also said it found weapons belonging to Hamas, and medications with the names of hostages written on them at the hospital.
The IDF has intelligence that hostages were held at Nasser Hospital from testimonies of released hostages and interrogations of Hamas terrorists.
Yamam head helped stave off Hamas from reaching central Israel after learning that son was killed at Nova rave
Commander of Israel Police's Yamam elite counterterrorism unit speaks about the mission to rescue two hostages from Rafah, in the Gaza Strip, February 15, 2024. (Channel 12 screenshot: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
The head of the police’s Yamam counter-terrorism unit — whose identity is barred from publication is set to retire and has accepted a job at a private Israeli intelligence agency after commanding this week’s hostage rescue operation.
On October 7, Channel 12 reports, Yamam lost nine members in the fighting in Israel.
The head of Yamam — who is referred to only as Het — lost his son at the Supernova festival.
Het was fighting near Yad Mordechai, north of Gaza, that day when he was told his son had been killed.
Yisrael Ziv, the former IDF head of operations who also fought in the south that day and called him at one point, says Het gave him a quick overview of the ongoing battle against Hamas inside Israel.
“I asked him how he was doing,” Ziv recalls to Channel 12. “He said, ‘not so good.’ I said, ‘why, what happened?’ He said, ‘I lost my son this morning.’ I said, ‘Are you ok, are you able to fight?’ “He said, ‘What are you talking about? I’m fighting with full force.'”
Channel 12 says Het and other forces at Yad Mordechai prevented 200 Hamas gunmen heading north toward Rishon Lezion and the central Dan region.
Top UN court rejects South African request for urgent measures to safeguard Rafah
A protester waving the Palestinian flag stands outside the Peace Palace, which houses the International Court of Justice, or World Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)
The top UN court has rejected a South African request to impose urgent measures to safeguard Rafah in the Gaza Strip, but also stressed that Israel must respect earlier measures imposed late last month at a preliminary stage in a landmark genocide case.
The International Court of Justice says in a statement that the “perilous situation” in Rafah “demands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures indicated by the Court in its Order of 26 January 2024, which are applicable throughout the Gaza Strip, including in Rafah, and does not demand the indication of additional provisional measures.”
The World Court added that Israel “remains bound to fully comply with its obligations under the Genocide Convention and with the said Order, including by ensuring the safety and security of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
South Africa announced Tuesday that it had lodged an “urgent request” with the International Court of Justice to consider whether Israel’s military operations targeting the southern Gaza city of Rafah breach provisional orders the court handed down last month in a case alleging genocide.
On Thursday, Israel urged the World Court to reject what it called South Africa’s “highly peculiar and improper” request.
Israel strongly denies committing genocide in Gaza and says it does all it can to spare civilians and is only targeting Hamas operatives. It says Hamas’s tactic of embedding in civilian areas makes it difficult to avoid civilian casualties.
Even so, the court last month ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza, but the panel stopped short of ordering an end to the military offensive that has laid waste to the Palestinian enclave.
US envoy says Israel has yet to provide ‘specific evidence’ that Hamas is stealing humanitarian aid
US envoy for the humanitarian situation in Gaza David Satterfield in October 2023. (Screen capture, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Washington’s special regional envoy for humanitarian issues David Satterfield denies allegations that Hamas has stolen aid and commercial shipments into Gaza, saying that no Israeli official has presented him or the Biden administration with “specific evidence of diversion or theft of assistance.”
But, he tells an event hosted by the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace that Hamas has been using other aid delivery channels to “shape where and to whom assistance goes.”
US envoy: IDF killed Palestinian cops escorting Gaza aid convoy, leading them to refuse missions
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip after crossing the terminal border from Egypt, on January 17, 2024. (AFP)
The top US diplomat involved in humanitarian assistance for Gaza says Israeli forces earlier this month killed Palestinian police protecting a UN aid convoy in the enclave’s embattled southern city of Rafah.
As a result, Palestinian police have refused to protect convoys, hampering aid deliveries inside Gaza because of threats from criminal gangs, says David Satterfield, Washington’s special regional envoy for humanitarian issues.
“With the departure of police escorts, it has been virtually impossible for the UN or anyone else, Jordan, the UAE, or any other implementer to safely move assistance in Gaza because of criminal elements,” Satterfield tells an event hosted by the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Satterfield says the police escorts include Hamas members but also officers with no direct affiliation to the terror group.
Israel’s military did not immediately provide comment on his remarks.
Satterfield is asked if there was any truth to a report that Israeli troops killed “Hamas operatives” protecting a UN aid convoy in Rafah earlier this month.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Satterfield speaks during a meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in Beirut, Lebanon, on March 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
“The IDF (Israeli Defense Force) 10 days, two weeks ago, did indeed strike at seven, eight, or nine police officials, including a commander whose units had been involved in providing escorts,” he replies.
Such escorts were needed because of attacks on aid convoys first by “desperate” Palestinians and “then by criminal elements,” Satterfield says.
The police “certainly include Hamas elements. They also include individuals who don’t have a direct affiliation with Hamas who are there as part of the Palestinian Authority’s remnant presence and security,” he says, referring to the Western-backed body that exercises limited governance in the occupied West Bank.
On Feb. 10, Hamas and Gaza medics said that two Israeli airstrikes had killed five members of Rafah’s Hamas-run police force, including a senior officer. The same day, Israel’s military said it had struck and killed three Hamas gunmen in Rafah, including two senior operatives in the area.
It is not clear if Satterfield was referring to the Feb. 10 incident. Hamas has not said if it has stopped police escorts of aid convoys.
Satterfield says the US is working with the Israeli government and military to determine “what solutions can be found because everyone wants the assistance to continue.”
In addition to the threat posed by criminals, aid distribution is hampered by “the rising value of humanitarian assistance” leaking into the black market, Satterfield says.
IDF reportedly slated in coming days to present war cabinet with detailed plan for entering Rafah
Displaced Palestinians stand outside their tents in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 14, 2024. (SAID KHATIB / AFP)
Channel 12 says in an unsourced report that the IDF will next week present the political echelon a detailed plan for entering Rafah.
The plan apparently provides for relocating citizens to other parts of south and central Gaza, but not to the north of the strip, the network says.
It also says Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz believe that if there is no hostage deal reached by Ramadan, which begins around March 10, the IDF should go into Rafah.
Palestinian teen trying to grab humanitarian aid said shot dead by Hamas police
A riot unfolds over humanitarian aid at the Rafah Crossing on February 16, 2024. (Screen capture/Channel 12)
A Palestinian teen named Muhammad al-Araja who tried to grab from a humanitarian aid shipment at the Rafah Crossing was shot dead earlier today, apparently by Hamas police, according to unconfirmed Arabic media reports.
After the shooting, many members of the victim’s large extended family began rioting at the crossing, setting fire to parts of the complex and clashing with authorities there.
מהומות במעבר רפיח: נער פלסטיני ניסה לקחת סיוע הומניטרי מתוך המשאיות יחד עם רבים אחרים – נורה למוות, ככל הנראה בידי שוטרי חמאס
בתגובה: רבים ממשפחתו של הצעיר הגיעו למעבר – והתפתחו עימותים של המונים. גם שער הכניסה של המעבר הוצת. משטרת חמאס התערבה בניסיון לדכא את המהומות@N12News pic.twitter.com/GxGnuX4Rs0
— ספיר ליפקין | Sapir Lipkin | سابير ليبكين (@sapirlipkin) February 16, 2024
Gallant accuses Red Crescent of treating Oct. 7 perpetrators, but footage shows otherwise
A Palestinian ambulance at the Erez Crossing on October 7, 2023. (Screen capture/Defense Ministry)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant released footage earlier today of what he said showed medics from the Palestine Red Crescent treating a wounded Hamas terrorist amid the October 7 onslaught at the Erez border crossing.
But analysis of the footage indicates that the medics and ambulance at the scene were from Hamas’s military medical service.
Moreover, the Red Crescent issues a statement saying, “The medical team and the ambulance shown in the video are not of PRCS.”
“The PRCS teams and volunteers are committed to abiding by the humanitarian principles of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement particularly neutrality and impartiality,” the agency tweets. “The PRCS asserts that medical treatment is a right for everyone, and it should be provided to all those in need regardless of their affiliation.”
The Red Cross issues its own statement echoing that sentiment, tweeting that “analysis of the video has been confirmed that the individual is not in a PRCS uniform, nor is it a PRCS ambulance.
No, it's not a PRCS ambulance. This ambulance belongs to the MMS (Military Medical Services) الخدمات الطبية العسكرية التابعة لوزارة الداخلية في حكومة حماسand equally the medical team. https://t.co/48vUjGlBEd pic.twitter.com/7L745jsCSv
— Hamzé Attar (@hamzattar) February 16, 2024
Ben Gvir said satisfied Netanyahu following his hardline approach regarding hostages
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, greets National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at the Knesset on May 23, 2023. (Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP)
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has told confidants that he is satisfied with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline approach regarding the hostage negotiations.
He claims the premier is falling in line with his policy as opposed to the one being pushed by war cabinet ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, who have indicated that the issue needs to take priority over the ongoing military campaign, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
The network says the assessment from Ben Gvir came after Netanyahu rejected a new hostage deal proposal drafted by the heads of the Mossad and Shin Bet who wanted to submit the plan during talks in Cairo this week. This decision was made without consulting Gantz and Eisenkot. Netanyahu then went on to bar the Israeli hostage negotiating team from sending anyone to a follow-up meeting in Egypt regarding the negotiations in a decision he made without consulting Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Gantz or Eisenkot, Kan says.
The decision infuriated all three of them, and Kan reports that the latter two all but threatened to bolt the government, saying during a war cabinet meeting last night that there is no point in the forum continuing to exist if important decisions regarding the hostages are made without them, Kan says.
Channel 12 reports that Netanyahu didn’t present the war cabinet with Mossad chief David B Barnea’s assessment from his Monday meeting in Cairo until hours before the war cabinet met on Thursday night, even though the premier had received the document on Tuesday.
While Gantz and Eisenkot are nearing the end of the road with Netanyahu, they recognize that leaving the government would mean Ben Gvir would be further empowered in what they view would be a major risk to Israel’s national security, Kan adds.
At global security summit, Navalny’s wife calls for Putin to be punished
Yulia Navalnaya, wife of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, reacts as she speaks during the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. (Kai Pfaffenbach/Pool Photo via AP)
The wife of Alexei Navalny leads calls on leaders at a Western security gathering for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be held accountable for the jailed Kremlin opponent’s death.
Hundreds of politicians, military officers and diplomats were in the German city of Munich for the three-day annual conference dubbed the “Davos of Defense.”
The gathering was expected to be dominated by war in Israel and Ukraine as well as fears over US commitment to defencs if former President Donald Trump is re-elected.
But it was jolted by the Russian prison service’s report that Navalny fell unconscious and died after a walk at an Arctic penal colony. Organizers broke the schedule to let Navalny’s wife Yulia Navalnaya speak.
“I thought for a long time if I should come out here or immediately fly to my children,” Navalnaya says, receiving a standing ovation as she came on stage.
“But then I thought what Alexei would do in my place. And I’m sure he would be here, he would be on this stage.”
Navalnaya says she did not know whether to believe Russian authorities. “But if this is true, I want Putin, his entire entourage, Putin’s friends, his government to know that they will bear responsibility for what they did to our country, to my family, to my husband.”
Ben Gvir pushing to bar Palestinians from Temple Mount during Ramadan — report
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visits the Temple Mount, January 3, 2023. (Courtesy Minhelet Har Habayit)
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir is pushing for a ban on Palestinians visiting the Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa compound during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins around March 10, Channel 12 reports.
As minister in charge of the police, Ben Gvir does have some authority over the policy at the Temple Mount, though, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has overruled him in the past.
Israel typically allows Palestinians from the West Bank to visit the Temple Mount during Ramadan, and the entire security establishment backs maintaining this policy next month for Palestinians above the age of 45.
Ben Gvir is even at odds with the police, which says it is okay with Palestinians above the age of 60 being allowed to pray at the Temple Mount, according to Channel 12.
The hardline minister, who has caused massive diplomatic uproar for his own visits to the Temple Mount, is even pushing for banning Arab Israeli citizens below the age of 70 from visiting the site. It’s not clear what legal authority he would have to institute such a policy. The police supports allowing Arab Israelis above the age of 45, while the Shin Bet says that there should be no limitations on Arab Israeli worshippers.
Netanyahu is slated to hold a meeting with Ben Gvir and the war cabinet on Sunday to discuss the issue further.
Last week, a US official and an Israeli official told The Times of Israel that the Biden administration is highly concerned that Ben Gvir will try and spark tensions at the Temple Mount during Ramadan next month, in what Washington fears could drag the flashpoint issue of Jerusalem into the ongoing Middle East conflict that it’s seeking to contain.
Harris reiterates to Herzog that US only will back Rafah operation if civilians can be protected
US Vice President Kamala Harris shakes hands with President Isaac Herzog as they speak to the media prior to a meeting at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, July 19, 2023. (SAUL LOEB / AFP/File)
The White House issues a readout from US Vice President Kamala Harris’s meeting earlier today with President Isaac Herzog on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
The readout is a regurgitation of US talking points on the war, with no new stances.
“The vice president reiterated her steadfast support for Israel and its right to defend itself in the face of threats from Hamas, and she again condemned Hamas as a barbaric terrorist organization that perpetrated a horrific massacre on October 7.”
“The vice president and president discussed ongoing efforts to secure the release of all hostages held by Hamas and achieve a prolonged pause in fighting.”
“The vice president also emphasized the importance of protecting civilians, increasing humanitarian assistance and ensuring proper deconfliction mechanisms to ensure that aid can reach those in need inside Gaza.”
“The vice president reaffirmed the Biden-Harris Administration’s position that a military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the more than one million people sheltering there.”
“The leaders also discussed ongoing planning for post-conflict Gaza and progress made on that front, and the Vice President reiterated U.S. positions, including that Israel must be secure, there must be no forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, and the Palestinians must enjoy their right to freedom, dignity, security, and self-determination,” the readout concludes
Biden says he does not expect Israel to launch Rafah operation while hostage talks ongoing
US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, February 16, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
US President Joe Biden appears to caution Israel against launching an operation in Rafah while hostage negotiations are ongoing.
Asked whether Israel has presented the US with a plan for how it will protect civilians in the IDF’s planned operation for Rafah after prepared remarks on the death of Russian prisoner Alexei Navalny, Biden responds, “I’ve made the case, and I feel very strongly about it, that there has to be a temporary ceasefire to get the hostages out, and that is underway. I’m still hopeful that can be done.
“In the meantime, I don’t anticipate, I’m hoping that the Israelis will not make any massive land invasion,” Biden says. “It is my expectation that’s not going to happen.”
“There has to be a ceasefire temporarily to get those hostages out. We’re in a situation where there are American hostages… It’s not just Israelis.”
“My hope and expectation is that we’ll get this hostage deal, we’ll bring the Americans home. The deal is being negotiated now, and we’re going to see where it takes us,” he adds.
Biden to speak on Navalny, White House says
Illustrative: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, right, poses for press as he sits handcuffed in court in Moscow, March 30, 2017. (AP Photo, File)
US President Joe Biden will speak at 12:30 p.m. EST Friday on the death of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in a Russian prison, the White House announces.
“The president delivers remarks on the reported death of Alexei Navalny,” the White House says in an updated daily schedule for Biden.
ICJ set to hear testimony from 52 states arguing against Israel’s control of the territories
In this Wednesday Oct. 3, 2018, image The delegations of the US, front left, and the Islamic Republic of Iran, front right, rise as judges, rear, enter the International Court of Justice, or World Court, in The Hague, Netherlands.(AP/Peter Dejong)
A record 52 states will present arguments about the legal consequences of Israel’s military control of the West Bank at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s highest legal body.
The ICJ’s six days of hearings starting on Monday come after the UN General Assembly asked the court in 2022 for an advisory, or non-binding, opinion on the occupation. While Israel has ignored such opinions in the past, it could add political pressure over its ongoing operation in Gaza.
It is part of a Palestinian push to get international law institutions such as the ICJ to examine Israel’s conduct, which has become more urgent since the October 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel and Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip.
“Politically, this will help in achieving a two-state solution. We are using the platform of the largest judicial body to advance our cause,” Omar Awadallah, a senior official in the Palestinian Authority foreign ministry, tells journalists at a briefing before the hearings.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem in the Six Day War of 1967. It withdrew from Gaza in 2005, but, along with neighboring Egypt, still controls its borders.
It is the second time the UN General Assembly has asked the ICJ, also known as the World Court, for an advisory opinion related to the occupied Palestinian territory. In July 2004, the court found that Israel’s separation wall in the West Bank violated international law and should be dismantled, though it still stands to this day.
The advisory opinion proceedings are separate from the genocide case that South Africa filed at the World Court against Israel for its alleged violations in Gaza of the 1948 Genocide Convention. In late January the ICJ in that case ordered Israel to do everything in its power to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza.
The outcome of the advisory opinion would not be legally binding but would carry “great legal weight and moral authority,” according to the ICJ.
The precise question put to the court is to give an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s “occupation, settlement and annexation … including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and from its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures.”
The general assembly also asked the 15-judge panel of the ICJ to advise on how those policies and practices “affect the legal status of the occupation” and what legal consequences arise for all countries and the United Nations from this status.
The court will hear over 50 states and three international organizations over six days of hearings including the United States, Russia, China and South Africa. While Israel has filed a written statement with the court, it has not asked to participate in the hearings. On Monday proceedings will start with submissions from the Palestinian authorities.
Fatah hails southern Israel terror attack; Abbas denounces statement, says he’s against violence
FILE - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
The Fatah movement issued a statement earlier today hailing the deadly terror attack in southern Israel as a “heroic operation in the occupied territories.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas — who also heads the Fatah movement — denounces the statement, with his office saying that it was issued by an irresponsible individual acting on his own volition.
“The president is against violence and against terror attacks,” Abbas’s office adds, according to the Ynet news site.
Egypt aborts controversial pyramid renovation plan
An Egyptian policeman walks near a pyramid in Giza, Egypt, on Nov. 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Moft)
Egypt has scuttled a controversial plan to reinstall ancient granite cladding on the pyramid of Menkaure, the smallest of the three great pyramids of Giza, a committee formed by the country’s tourism minister says.
Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, announced the plan last month, declaring it would be “the project of the century.”
But news that the ancient monument might be altered quickly drew an international outcry, prompting Egypt’s antiquities authority to review the project. The pyramids are the only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world that still remain.
Alone among the pyramids, Menkaure was designed to be clad in granite rather than limestone. Only 16 to 18 layers of granite were installed before construction was halted, apparently because of Menkaure’s death in about 2503 B.C.
Over the centuries, pilfering, weathering and collapse caused many layers to disappear, leaving only seven layers in modern times, although numerous fallen granite blocks remain strewn around the pyramid’s base.
Waziri says the project to replace the granite would proceed only after a year of scanning and documentation.
“The Menkaure Pyramid Review Committee has unanimously objected to the reinstallation of the granite casing blocks, scattered around the base of the pyramid since thousands of years ago,” the committee says in a statement.
Zahi Hawass, a former minister of antiquities who headed the committee, said it would be impossible to determine where each block had originally been. Replacing them would also require cement, which would ruin the pyramid.
Terrorist from southern Israel attack identified as 37-year-old from East Jerusalem
Fadi Jamjoom. (Courtesy)
The terrorist who carried out the shooting attack earlier today at the Re’em Junction in southern Israel is identified by the Shin Bet as Fadi Jamjoum, 37, from East Jerusalem’s Shuafat.
He holds Israeli residency.
Defense Ministry clip shows Palestinian medics treating wounded Hamas terrorist at Erez Crossing on Oct. 7
A Defense Ministry clip showing Palestine Red Crescent medics treating a wounded Hamas terrorist amid the October 7, 2023, onslaught, at the Erez border crossing. (Screen capture)
The Defense Ministry releases a clip showing Palestinian medics treating a wounded Hamas terrorist amid the October 7 onslaught, at the Erez border crossing.
The ministry says they are medics of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, although their uniform and ambulance appear to be of the Military Medical Services.
The edited video also shows how armed members of the terror group and other Palestinians in plainclothes attacked the checkpoint on the morning of October 7.
At least 10 Israeli soldiers were killed in the area of the crossing.
Moscow warns against protests after Navalny death
In this Sunday, February 24, 2019, file photo, Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny takes part in a march in memory of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in Moscow, Russia. In August 2020, the opposition leader fell ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow. The plane landed in the city of Omsk, where Navalny was hospitalized in a coma. Two days later, he was airlifted to Berlin, where he recovered. (AP/Pavel Golovkin, File)
Moscow warns people against taking to the streets to protest, hours after the death of leading Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.
Images on social media showed people laying flowers at memorials to victims of political repression in honor of Navalny, who Russian authorities said had died on Friday in the Arctic prison colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence.
The prosecutor’s office in the Russian capital says that it was aware of calls online “to take part in a mass rally in the center of Moscow” and says it was “necessary to warn against violating the law.”
Protests are illegal in Russia under strict anti-dissent laws, with authorities having clamped down particularly harshly on rallies in support of Navalny.
In Moscow, dozens laid red and white roses at the Solovetsky Stone, a monument to victims of Soviet-era repression opposite the headquarters of Russia’s FSB security services — the former home of the feared Soviet secret police.
At least one person was detained for holding up a placard that appeared to say “murderers” on it, according to a video posted by the independent Sota Telegram channel.
A handful of people were also pictured gathering to lay flowers at a bridge next to the Kremlin where Putin critic Boris Nemtsov was killed in 2015.
Police were filmed dispersing people who had gathered in the snow at a memorial in the central city of Kazan.
Some larger demonstrations also took place in Tbilisi, Yerevan and Belgrade — home to significant populations of Russians who fled the country following Moscow’s military offensive on Ukraine.
Herzog reportedly discusses hostage deal in meeting with Qatari PM on Munich security confab sidelines
Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, prime minister and minister of foreign affairs of the state of Qatar, attends the Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (AP/Markus Schreiber)
President Isaac Herzog met with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani earlier today on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, the Walla news site reports, adding that the two discussed the ongoing negotiations aimed a securing the release of the remaining Israeli hostages.
Ship ‘targeted by missile’ in Red Sea off Yemen’s Mokha — UK maritime trade agency
A crew member does maintenance work on the deck of the USS aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, in the south Red Sea, February 13, 2024. (Bernat Armangue/AP)
A ship has reported being attacked with a missile in the Red Sea, 72 nautical miles (133 km) northwest of the port of Mokha, off Yemen, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency and British maritime security firm Ambrey says.
“A Panama-flagged tanker was reportedly targeted by a missile. The vessel experienced an explosion in the vicinity of the vessel and reportedly sustained minor damage. The crew was reported safe and unharmed,” Ambrey reports.
Another vessel 3 nautical miles to the northeast of the tanker was observed altering course to port, away from the tanker, Ambrey added.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis said they will press on with attacks on Red Sea shipping in solidarity with the Palestinians, as long as Israel continues to commit “crimes” against them.
US sanctions against Houthis over Red Sea attacks take effect
Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, hold up their weapons to protest against Saudi-led airstrikes, as they chant slogans during a rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, March 26, 2015. (photo credit: AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
US “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” sanctions against Houthis for their ties to attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea took effect on Friday, the US Department of Treasury says in a statement on its website.
The US government last month said it was returning the Yemen-based rebel groups to the global list of terrorist groups in an effort to stem attacks on international shipping.
IDF says it uncovered meds with names of hostages on them during Gaza hospital op
Screenshot showing medication packages from IDF video shot inside a tunnel beneath Khan Younis where 12 hostages were held. The video was released on February 7, 2024. (Courtesy of IDF)
The IDF says that during operations at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, troops found medications with the names of hostages on them.
“The origin of the medication and their use is under investigation,” the IDF says.
Defense minister reveals identities of 12 UNRWA staffers who ‘actively participated’ in Oct. 7 onslaught
Israeli graphic on 12 UNRWA staffers it alleges participated in the October 7 onslaught.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant publicly reveals the identities of 12 UNRWA staff who he says “actively participated” in the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught.
The October 7 attack saw some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists burst across the border into Israel from Gaza by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages of all ages — mostly civilians — under the cover of a deluge of thousands of rockets fired at Israeli towns and cities.
Israeli graphic on 12 UNRWA staffers it alleges participated in the October 7 onslaught.
Among the staff who took part in the attacks are teachers working at UNRWA schools.
“In addition to these 12 workers, we have significant indications based on intelligence, that over 30 UNRWA workers participated in the massacre, facilitated the taking of hostages, looted and stole from Israeli communities, and more,” Gallant says in a briefing with foreign press.
Gallant says that UNRWA has “lost legitimacy and can no longer function as a UN body,” and has therefore instructed the IDF and defense establishment to transfer responsibilities of aid delivery in the Strip to other humanitarian organizations.
Israeli graphic on 12 UNRWA staffers it alleges participated in the October 7 onslaught.
According to Gallant, of the 13,000 UNRWA employees in Gaza, at least 12% are affiliated with the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups.
“1,468 workers are known to be active in Hamas and PIJ. 185 UNRWA workers are active in the military branches of Hamas and 51 are active in the PIJ military branch,” he says.
Gallant says Rafah civilians won’t be sent to Egypt as their fate remains unclear
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant makes comments to the media on February 5, 2024. (Screenshot/GPO)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel will not be evacuating Palestinian civilians from southern Gaza’s Rafah to Egypt, although it remains unclear where they will be sent to when the IDF launches its expected offensive in the area.
“The State of Israel has no intention of evacuating Palestinian civilians to Egypt. We respect and value our peace agreement with Egypt, which is a cornerstone of stability in the region as well as an important partner,” Gallant says in a briefing with foreign press.
He says the IDF and defense establishment are “thoroughly planning future operations in Rafah, which is a significant Hamas stronghold.”
“There were 24 [Hamas] battalions in Gaza, we have dismantled 18 of them. Now, Rafah is the next Hamas center of gravity,” Gallant says.
He says that “the IDF takes extraordinary measures to avoid civilian casualties, and is operating in accordance with international law.”
First victim from southern Israel terror attack identified as Yishai Gartner, 23
Yishai Gartner. (Courtesy)
The first victim from today’s terror attack in southern Israel has been identified as 23-year-old Yishai Gartner, a yeshiva student from the ultra-Orthodox settlement of Modi’in Illit.
One other Israeli was killed and four were injured, including a 16-year-old who is in critical condition.
Nasrallah says Israel will pay ‘in blood’ after deadly IDF counter-strikes in Lebanon
An image grab from Hezbollah's al-Manar TV taken on January 5, 2024, shows the head of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group Hassan Nasrallah delivering a televised speech, with a picture of killed Hamas's deputy chief Saleh al-Aruri to his left. (Al-Manar/AFP)
The Iran-backed Hezbollah signaled it will escalate attacks on Israel in response to the deaths of 10 Lebanese civilians killed in Israeli attacks this week, saying Israel would pay a price “in blood.”
Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border since the Gaza war erupted in October, in their deadliest confrontation in nearly 20 years.
“The response to the massacre should be continuing resistance work at the front and escalating resistance work at the front,” Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah says in a televised speech.
“Our women and our children who were killed in these days, the enemy will pay the price of spilling their blood in blood,” he said.
Earlier today, Hezbollah announced that two of its members were killed, while the allied Amal group says three members died in the strike.
The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday it had eliminated a senior Hezbollah commander in the terror group’s elite Radwan Force responsible for a March 2023 bombing in northern Israel, along with his deputy, in a strike in southern Lebanon the previous night.
WHO trying to get access to Gaza hospital after raid
Weapons found by IDF troops searching the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis on February 16, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)
The World Health Organization (WHO) says it was trying to get access to Nasser Hospital, Gaza’s largest functioning medical facility, following an Israeli raid on the facility.
“There are still critically injured and sick patients that are inside the hospital,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic says of Nasser Hospital in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
“There is an urgent need to deliver fuel to ensure the continuation of the provision of life-saving services…We are trying to get access because people who are still in the Nasser medical complex need assistance.”
Israel’s military called the raid on Nasser Hospital “precise and limited” and said it was based on information that Hamas terrorists were keeping hostages in the facility, with some bodies of captives possibly there.
It said on Thursday that it had arranged the transfer of medical supplies and fuel to the hospital in coordination with international organizations.
US envoy blasts ‘abhorrent’ terror attack in southern Israel
Israeli security forces seen near a terrorist who was killed at the scene of a shooting attack in Southern Israel. February 16, 2024. (Nati Shohat/FLASH90)
US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew condemns the Palestinian terror attack that took place earlier today at Re’em Junction in southern Israel in which two were killed and four were injured.
“I am appalled by today’s terror attack that resulted in the deaths of two individuals and critical injuries of others. I offer my sincere condolences to the families affected by this tragedy. Such senseless terrorism is absolutely abhorrent,” Lew tweets.
US House committee subpoenas Harvard over antisemitism investigation
Pro-Palestine, anti-Israel supporters gather for a rally at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on October 14, 2023. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP)
A US House of Representatives committee says it was subpoenaing Harvard for failing to produce priority documents related to the committee’s antisemitism investigation, a move the university said was “unfortunate” and “unwarranted.”
Harvard University was asked last month to turn over a raft of material, including documents and other items showing its responses to discrimination, to reports of antisemitic acts, and recruitment and retention of Jewish students.
“Harvard has provided fulsome and good faith responses across 10 submissions totaling more than 3,500 pages that directly address key areas of inquiry put forward by the Committee,” a university spokesperson tells Reuters in an emailed statement. Over 2,500 pages of these documents related to the committee’s antisemitism inquiry.
Harvard and other US colleges have simmered with tension over responses to the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught on Israel and Israel’s subsequent offensive in Gaza that aims to wipe out the Palestinian terror group.
Republican Representative Virginia Foxx, who chairs the House Education and the Workforce Committee, says that “quality — not quantity — is the committee’s concern.”
Foxx says more than 1,000 of the shared documents were already publicly available, and that Harvard had also failed to make substantial productions on two of four priority requests in its most recent response.
The subpoenas order the Harvard officials to produce a series of documents by 5 p.m. ET on March 4.
“While a subpoena was unwarranted, Harvard remains committed to cooperating with the committee and will continue to provide additional materials, while protecting the legitimate privacy, safety and security concerns of our community,” the university says.
Claudine Gay resigned as president of Harvard last month following allegations of plagiarism and a backlash over her congressional testimony on antisemitism.
Hezbollah chief says Israel could have avoided killing civilians
Supporters of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group raise their fists and cheer, as they listen to a speech by Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah who appears via a video link, during a rally to mark 'wounded resistant's day,' in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group says that Israel’s “aggression” that killed several civilians in southern Lebanon was intentional.
“The enemy could have avoided killing civilians in southern Lebanon,” says Hassan Nasrallah.
The terror chief claims in a televised speech that his group’s response to Israel’s attacks would be an “increase in resistance.”
Gantz: We will launch Rafah op if hostages aren’t returned
Minister Benny Gantz attends a press conference at the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, November 22, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
National Unity chair and war cabinet minister Benny Gantz says, “There will not be a ceasefire of even one day until the hostages are returned.”
“The fighting will continue until our goals are achieved. It can continue even in the month of Ramadan. Either the hostages will be returned, or we will extend the fighting to Rafah,” Gantz says in a statement.
At least 3 rockets fired from northern Gaza land in sea, IDF says
Trails of rockets fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, on January 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
At least three rockets were fired from the northern Gaza Strip toward the southern coastal city of Ashkelon, though all of the projectiles landed in the sea, according to the IDF.
Sirens had sounded in the border community of Zikim and Ashkelon’s southern industrial zone.
Israel will coordinate with Egypt on displaced Palestinians, not harm Cairo’s interests, Katz says
Foreign Minister Israel Katz (L) speaks at the Munich Security Conference on February 16, 2024. (Boaz Arad/Facebook)
Israel will coordinate with Egypt regarding Palestinians displaced by the fighting in Gaza and will find a way to not harm the country’s interests, Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz says.
“The state of Israel will have to deal with Rafah because we can’t just leave Hamas there,” Katz says on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
When asked where the displaced Palestinians in Rafah would go, he suggests Khan Younis, just north of Rafah, but says that Israel “will coordinate with Egypt” to ensure Cairo’s interests are not harmed.
Pro-Palestinian groups file legal action against German politician who expressed support for IDF’s Gaza op
Green party's Volker Beck speaks in a debate of the German parliament Bundestag on the gay marriage in Berlin, Germany, Friday, June 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Pro-Palestinian activists have filed criminal charges against a German politician for suspected incitement of hate and denial of war crimes in Israel’s war in Gaza, they say.
The charges against Volker Beck, a former member of parliament and head of the German-Israeli Society, were brought by Palestinian solidarity groups Palestine Speaks and Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East.
“This is the first step in holding public figures who publicly make genocidal statements legally accountable,” the group writes on its Instagram.
The charges, filed at five prosecutor offices across Germany, cite Beck’s statements on social media, in opinion pieces and media interviews in which he expressed support for Israel’s military operation in Gaza, calling for making humanitarian aid conditional on Hamas freeing Israeli hostages.
Beck rejected the claims as “nonsense.”
“There is no genocide in Gaza and I do not advocate genocide,” he told Reuters, adding that he had filed complaints against the groups for defamation.
“These people have a disturbed relationship with the rule of law if they believe that many complaints lead to more investigations.”
Germany has staunchly defended Israel’s right to defend itself since the Hamas attacks on October 7, underscoring its duty to stand by the country’s side in atonement for the Holocaust in which six million Jews died.
The government has faced accusations — including from prominent Jewish residents in Germany — of allowing guilt to blinker its response to Israel’s retaliation, which has caused a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Berlin has shifted towards a more critical stance of its ally as the Palestinian civilian death toll has mounted, stressing the need for Israel to adhere to international law.
The International Court of Justice last month ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, in a case brought by South Africa.
Israel has denied allegations of genocide.
IDF carries out large exercises on northern border to boost readiness for Hezbollah war
Reservists carry out a drill in northern Israel, in a handout image published February 16, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says it is continuing to increase its readiness on the northern border, carrying out large exercises amid the winter weather.
The 146th and 210th Divisions have been carrying out drills with reservists, while the Golani Brigade began this week the “procedure for increasing readiness on the northern border,” the army says.
The exercises have simulated fighting and medical evacuations along Israel’s northern border, in “complex” and hilly terrain and amid winter weather, according to the IDF.
The IDF says this week, as part of its efforts to increase readiness, the chief of the Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, held meetings with Israeli Air Force officials at the Ramat David Airbase, following plans approved by Gordin and the IAF chief, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar.
FM Katz: World must pressure Iran and Hezbollah to withdraw from South Lebanon
Foreign Minister Israel Katz speaks at the Munich Security Conference on February 16, 2024. (Boaz Arad/Facebook)
Israel will be forced to remove the Hezbollah terror group from the border in southern Lebanon if efforts to reach a diplomatic solution to ease the tensions fail, Foreign Minister Israel Katz says.
“The world must pressure Iran and Hezbollah to withdraw from South Lebanon and implement UN resolution 1701,” Katz says, speaking at the Munich Security Conference.
Addressing the ongoing war against Hamas, Katz says Israel has no plans to deport Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
“We have no intention to deport any Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip,” Katz said, adding that Israel did not want to rule Gaza after it ends its war against Hamas that has been governing the territory.
Israel is poised to launch an assault on the last remaining Hamas stronghold in Rafah, which is home to more than 1 million displaced people in Gaza, sparking fears they could be forced into Egypt.
During his talk, Katz was also set to disclose further evidence of the links between UN agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, and terrorists in Gaza.
Macron says recognizing a Palestinian state ‘not a taboo’ for France
French President Emmanuel Macron arrives to welcome King Abdullah II of Jordan before a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on February 16, 2024. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
President Emmanuel Macron says that France is not opposed to recognizing a Palestinian state.
“The recognition of a Palestinian state is not a taboo for France,” he says, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a plan for international recognition of such a state, following reports of the move in The Washington Post.
Netanyahu after Re’em attack: The murderers want to kill us all
The body of a terrorist lies at a bus stop as Israeli police investigate the site of a terror shooting attack at the Re'em junction near Kiryat Malakhi in southern Israel, Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the shooting attack at the Re’em Junction shows that “the murderers want to kill us all.”
“I send my condolences from the bottom of my heart to the families of those murdered in the attack at Re’em Junction, and pray for the well-being of the wounded,” Netanyahu says after two people were killed and four wounded in the attack.
“This attack reminds us that the whole country is a front and that the murderers, who come not only from Gaza, want to kill us all,” he says.
“We will continue to fight until complete victory with all our strength, on every front, everywhere, Until we restore security and peace to all citizens of Israel.”
Macron warns Israeli offensive in Rafah would be turning point
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes King Abdullah II of Jordan before a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on February 16, 2024. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
An Israeli offensive in Rafah “could only lead to an unprecedented humanitarian disaster and would be a turning point in this conflict,” French President Emmanuel Macron says.
“I share the fears of Jordan and Egypt of a forced and massive displacement of the population,” Macron adds, speaking at the Elysee Palace along with Jordan’s King Abdullah II who echoes the comments, saying the “catastrophic consequences” of such an offensive could not be accepted.
Herzog meets Germany’s Steinmeier in Berlin
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (R) receives his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog at the Presidential Bellevue Palace, on February 16, 2024 in Berlin. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)
President Isaac Herzog meets with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin.
Herzog is in Germany to take part in the 60th Munich Security Conference.
During his meeting with Steinmeier, the president emphasized the humanitarian duty of securing the release of the hostages, and accordingly updated him on the current situation, Herzog’s office says.
He also expressed Israel’s gratitude for the firm support it has received from Germany in the wake of the October 7 Hamas massacres.
Germany approves military Red Sea deployment to protect shipping against Houthi attacks
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gives a press statement on the frigate "Mecklenburg-Vorpommern" after his visit to the German Navy in Rostock-Warnemünde Monday, June 5, 2023. (Kay Nietfeld/dpa pool via AP)
The German government has approved the deployment of armed forces in a European Union naval mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant ships from attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia, a government spokesperson says.
Many commercial shippers have diverted vessels following attacks by the Houthis, who control much of Yemen and say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians as Israel and Hamas wage war in Gaza.
“The ongoing escalation of violence and the threat to life and limb of the crews of ships, particularly in the southern Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait, require a robustly equipped military operation,” the government spokesperson says during a regular press conference in Berlin.
Germany’s participation still hinges on parliamentary approval. A vote on the matter is scheduled for next Friday and is widely expected to go through.
Parliamentarians are to receive a motion for a mandate running up till the end of February 2025 with an upper limit of 700 soldiers deployed, the spokesperson says.
In early February, a German air defense frigate was sent to join the EU mission. France, Greece and Italy are among the countries that will participate in the mission, named Aspides, meaning protector.
They will be mandated to protect commercial ships and intercept attacks, but not take part in strikes against the Houthis on land.
Death toll in shooting attack rises to 2
Israeli security at the scene of a shooting attack in southern Israel on February 16, 2024. (Nati Shohat/FLASH90)
The Kaplan hospital says that a second victim of the shooting attack in southern Israel has died of their wounds.
Four others are wounded, two in serious condition and two in moderate condition.
The attacker was shot and killed.
Jailed Russian opposition leader Navalny is dead — prison service
FILE - Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny takes part in a march in memory of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in Moscow, Russia, on February 29, 2020. (AP/Pavel Golovkin, File)
Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is dead, the prison service of the Yamalo-Nenets region where he had been serving his sentence says.
In a statement published on its website, the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District says that Navalny “felt unwell” after a walk, and “almost immediately lost consciousness”.
It says that medical staff had been called, but that they were unable to resuscitate Navalny. It said the reason of death was being established.
Hospital says one person dies of wounds in shooting attack
The Kaplan hospital says one of the people injured in the shooting attack has died of their wounds.
The hospital says four of the victims were brought to the hospital where one was declared dead on arrival.
Among the wounded, the hospital is also treating one person in a serious condition who is on a ventilator and one person in moderate condition.
Medics say six wounded in shooting attack; 1 person critical, 3 serious, 2 moderate
The scene of a shooting attack at Re'em Junction in southern Israel on February 16, 2024 (Magen David Adom)
The Magen David Adom rescue service says its medics are treating six people wounded in a shooting attack at a bus stop in southern Israel.
The wounded are being transferred to the Assuta Hospital in Ashdod and the Kaplan Hospital in Rehovot.
MDA says medics are trying to resuscitate a 20-year-old man in critical condition.
They are also treating a 20-year-old man, a 16-year-old boy and a 65-year-old man in serious condition.
Two other people, including a 65-year-old woman, are in moderate condition.
Police say the terrorist arrived at the scene in a vehicle and opened fire on a bus stop until he was shot and killed by a civilian at the scene.
Police say that a large force is conducting searches at the scene to ensure no other terrorists are involved.
At least three people injured in suspected shooting attack in southern Israel
At least three people are seriously injured in a suspected shooting attack at a bus stop in southern Israel, police and Hebrew media reports say.
The incident takes place at Re’em Junction just north of Kiryat Malachi.
Reports say the shooter has been “neutralized.”
Sattelite images show Egypt building a wall near Gaza Strip border, clearing land
This handout satellite picture taken and released by Maxar Technologies on February 15, 2024 shows machinery building a wall along the Egypt-Gaza Strip border in Rafah, Egypt. (Photo by Handout / Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies / AFP)
Egypt is building a wall and is leveling land near its border with the Gaza Strip ahead of a planned Israeli offensive targeting Rafah, satellite images analyzed today by The Associated Press show.
Egypt hasn’t publicly acknowledged the construction but has warned Israel not to forcibly expel the Palestinians now displaced in Rafah into Egypt.
But the images from the Egyptian side of the border in the Sinai Peninsula suggest Cairo is preparing for just that scenario, something that could threaten its 1979 peace deal with Israel.
Cairo officials did not respond to requests for comment Friday from the AP. The satellite images, taken Thursday by Maxar Technologies, show construction ongoing on the wall, which sits along the Sheikh Zuweid-Rafah Road some 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) west of the border with Gaza.
The images show cranes, trucks and what appear to be precast concrete barriers being set up along the road.
World Health Organization trying to get access to Khan Younis hospital amid IDF raid
The World Health Organization (WHO) says it was trying to get access to the biggest functioning hospital in Gaza, the Nasser Hospital, after an Israeli raid.
“There are still critically injured and sick patients that are inside the hospital,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic says.
“There is an urgent need to deliver fuel to ensure the continuation of the provision of life-saving services… We are trying to get access because people who are still in Nasser medical complex need assistance.”
Israel’s military called the raid on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis “precise and limited” and said it was based on information that Hamas had kept hostages in the facility, with some bodies of captives possibly there.
the IDF later said it had arrested more than 20 Hamas terrorists who took part in the October 7 massacres inside the compound and found weapons, including mortar shells and grenades.
IDF says more than 20 terrorists who took part in Oct. 7 massacres arrested in Khan Younis hospital
Weapons found by IDF troops searching the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis on February 16, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)
The Israel Defense forces say that troops continue to carry out searches in the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis and have so far apprehended more than 20 terrorists who took part in the October 7 massacres.
Forces from the elite Maglan and naval commando unit also found mortars, grenades and other weaponry belonging to Hamas inside the medical facility, the IDF says.
In addition, dozens of suspects have been taken for questioning.
IDF troops entered the hospital yesterday, saying they had information that hostages had been held there and some bodies may still be at the site.
The military says it will “continue to operate in accordance with international law against the Hamas terror group, which has systematically operated from within hospitals and other civilian infrastructures.”
Hamas says 112 killed in Gaza in last 24 hours, war death toll at 28,775
Palestinians mourn over the body of a person killed in an apparent Israeli strike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, at al-Najar hospital on February 16, 2024 (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says 112 people were killed in the Strip in the last 24 hours, bringing the Palestinian death toll in the war to 28,775.
These figures cannot be independently verified, and are believed to include both civilians and Hamas members killed in Gaza, including as a consequence of the terror groups’ own rocket misfires. The IDF says it has killed nearly 11,000 operatives in Gaza, in addition to some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Hamas says 4 patients died after power cut at Khan Younis hospital being searched by IDF
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says four patients in the intensive care unit died early this morning because electricity was cut, stopping oxygen supplies for them.
The ministry had earlier warned that six patients in the ICU and three infants in incubators were in danger because fuel for generators was on the verge of running out.
“The Israeli occupation is responsible for the lives of patients and staff as the compound now is under its full control,” the ministry says.
There was no immediate comment from the IDF.
Israeli troops, tanks and snipers have surrounded Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis for at least a week and soldiers moved into the hospital yesterday after the military said it had “credible intelligence” that Hamas had held hostages there and that the hostages’ remains might still be inside. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesperson, said forces were conducting a “precise and limited” operation there and would not forcibly evacuate medics or patients.
Later Thursday, Hagari said troops were still searching the hospital. He said dozens of terrorists were arrested from the hospital grounds, including three who participated in the Oct. 7 attack. He also said troops found grenades and mortar shells, and that Israeli radar determined that terrorists fired mortars from the hospital grounds a month ago.
A released hostage told The Associated Press last month that she and over two dozen other captives had been held in Nasser Hospital.
Lebanese terror groups say 5 members killed in overnight IAF strike
Lebanese terror groups say five of their members were killed in an overnight Israeli strike.
Hezbollah announces that two of its members were killed, while the allied Amal group says three members died in the strike.
Hezbollah announces two deaths in its ranks: total 205 pic.twitter.com/tk28jZWh6F
— GPA (@RealKON_) February 16, 2024
Pasukan perlawanan Lebanon "Amal" mengumumkan kabar duka atas nama:
– Ali Hasan Issa, bergelar Falah, dari desa Jabshit, lahir tahun 1971.
– Muhammad Husain Said, bergelar Abu Maryam, dari desa Al-Qusaybah, lahir tahun 1995. pic.twitter.com/itGlOYuM63— Laricya ???? (@LaricyaMalakian) February 16, 2024
The IDF says it hit a Hezbollah military compound in the town of Qantara.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.
So far, the skirmishes on the border have resulted in six civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of ten IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 205 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 32 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and at least 30 civilians, three of whom were journalists, have been killed.
IDF says warplanes bombed Hezbollah military positions, several killed
Hezbollah fighters parade during a ceremony to commemorate the party's fallen leaders in the Lebanese village of Jibshit, about 50 kilometers south of the capital Beirut on February 15, 2024. (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT / AFP)
The Israel Defense Forces say that overnight warplanes bombed a Hezbollah military building in the town of Qantara in southern Lebanon, killing “several terrorists.”
The IDF says it also hit other military infrastructure near the town.
The military and the Lebanese terror group have been trading fire across the border for the last four months since Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza following the October 7 massacre in southern Lebanon.
Rocket from Lebanon hits chicken coop in northern community
A rocket fired from Lebanon overnight scored a direct hit on a chicken coop in the community of Margalit on the northern border.
Video from the scene shows extensive damage. The Ynet news site says there were some 9,000 birds in the enclosure and many of them were killed.
בעקבות הירי לעבר אצבע הגליל אמש: נזק נגרם ללול במושב מרגליות@CBeyar pic.twitter.com/IUbih5VW5l
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) February 16, 2024
IDF carries out airstrikes across Gaza as ground offensive pushes on
IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip, in a handout image published February 16, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Israel Defense Force says it carried out widespread airstrikes across the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours, while ground forces killed numerous terrorists as fighting continues.
The military says the air force hit Hamas targets including the terror group’s operational headquarters, military buildings, launch positions and other targets. Strikes were also carried out to support ground troops.
In the southern city of Khan Younis, which has been a focal point of recent fighting, the Paratrooper Brigade continued to raid terror targets, killing two Hamas operatives and neutralizing an explosive device. Also in Khan Younis, the 7th Brigade of the IDF Armored Corps, killed 12 terrorists.
The military said fighting also continued in central Gaza, where Nahal Brigade soldiers also killed several terror operatives.
חיל האוויר תקף ביממה האחרונה מטרות רבות של ארגון הטרור חמאס ברחבי הרצועה. בין המטרות שהותקפו, מפקדות מבצעיות של הארגון, מבנים צבאיים, עמדות שיגור ומטרות נוספות. כמו כן, הותקפו מהאוויר מספר מטרות על מנת לסייע לכוחות הקרקעיים הפועלים ברצועה>> pic.twitter.com/8CzUX4x8uf
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 16, 2024
New poll shows anti-Netanyahu bloc with 76 seats, Smotrich’s Religious Zionism out
Left: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich at the Knesset on November 20, 2023. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90); Right: Minister Benny Gantz attends a press conference at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, November 22, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
A national poll by the Maariv newspaper today indicates that the current opposition, along with Benny Gantz’s National Unity party (previously in the opposition but now a member of the emergency government), could secure 76 of the Knesset’s 120 seats if elections were held today, with the bloc loyal to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu far behind at 44.
The poll projects Gantz’s party with 40 seats, while Netanyahu’s Likud party is at 18 seats.
The most significant change in the poll was that far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party does not pass the 3.25 percent electoral threshold necessary to enter the Knesset. Last election, Smotrich, running on a joint ticket with ultranationalist Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party, received 14 seats. Current polls have the two running separately. Ben Gvir received 10 seats.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party received 12 seats, Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu had 10 and Aryeh Deri’s ultra-Orthodox Shas party was at 9.
The ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party remained at 7 seats, Arab lists Ra’am and Hadash-Ta’al both received 5 and the left-wing Meretz — not currently in the Knesset — got 4.
Smotrich, polling at 2.9%, the Arab Balad party, with 1.4% and Labor at 1% fail to cross the threshold.
IDF says paratrooper killed, several others wounded during battle in southern Gaza
Staff Sgt. Noam Haba of the Paratrooper Brigade's 202nd Battalion, who the IDF announced was killed fighting in southern Gaza on February 15, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Israel Defense Forces announces a soldier was killed fighting in southern Gaza, raising the death toll in the ground offensive against Hamas to 234.
The soldier is named as Staff Sgt. Noam Haba, 20, of the Paratroopers Brigade’s 202nd Battalion, from Jerusalem.
The IDF says that in the same battle in which Haba was killed, other soldiers were wounded, including a fellow member of the 202nd Battalion who was seriously hurt.
All of the wounded troops were taken to hospitals for medical care.
White House: Biden told PM he’s ‘working tirelessly’ to free hostages, reiterated stance on Rafah op
US President Joe Biden, left, meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, to discuss the the war between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 18, 2023. (Miriam Alster/Pool Photo via AP)
The White House issues a statement on US President Joe Biden’s phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the two discussed hostage negotiations, humanitarian conditions in Gaza and the prospect of an Israeli operation in Rafah.
“The president reaffirmed his commitment to working tirelessly to support the release of all hostages as soon as possible, recognizing their appalling situation after 132 days in Hamas captivity,” the readout says.
“The president and the prime minister also discussed the situation in Gaza, and the urgency of ensuring that humanitarian assistance is able to get to Palestinian civilians in desperate need,” it adds.
On Rafah, the statement says Biden “reiterated his view that a military operation should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the civilians in Rafah.”
Top Biden officials discuss rising antisemitism, Islamaphobia with Jewish, Arab and Muslim youth
Several top Biden administration officials held a roundtable discussion with young leaders in the Jewish, Arab and Muslim American communities in New York earlier today regarding the rise of antisemitism and Islamaphobia since October 7.
Leading the conversation were US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, and US ambassador for international religious freedom, Rashad Hussain.
“During the conversation, participants shared their personal stories, discussed the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and described the impact of the sharp rise in antisemitism, Islamophobia and other forms of hate on their families and communities,” says a White House readout.
For their part, the US officials “described efforts to seek peace, security and dignity for both the Palestinian people and the Israeli people and to address the recent increase in hate-fueled rhetoric and violence.”
“They emphasized the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to bringing communities together and fostering interfaith dialogue to form solutions and forge paths forward,” the readout adds.
Despite ban, Defense Ministry employing Palestinians to work on new Gaza barrier — report
Hundreds of Palestinian laborers from the West Bank are working in Israel to help build a new barrier along the border with Gaza, even though they remain barred by the security cabinet from doing so, the Ynet news site reports, citing the testimony of soldiers deployed to the area.
Responding to the report, the Defense Ministry says it employs contractors “in accordance with security guidelines, classification and the sensitivity of the work,” and that the laborers were from a pool of workers “approved for work on essential projects.”
Israel sharply restricted Palestinian entry to Israel after the Hamas attacks of October 7, in which thousands of Gazan terrorists rampaged across southern Israel, slaughtering some 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages.
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