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The Times of Israel liveblogged Sunday’s events as they happened.
Israeli couple attacked in Athens, apparently after they were heard speaking Hebrew
An Israeli couple was attacked in Greece overnight, Hebrew media outlets report, apparently after the attacker overheard them speaking Hebrew.
The attack occurred shortly after midnight between Friday and Saturday, a local Greek media outlet reports. The couple were heading to their hotel from a restaurant on Ermou Street in central Athens when the assailants attacked them in an alley.
One of the Israelis suffered light injuries to the leg and head, but neither of them required hospitalization, the reports add.
The attackers were heard speaking Arabic ahead of the incident, according to an eyewitness. One of them fled the scene after the attack and has yet to be apprehended, but the other has been charged with racist violence, the Greek media outlet adds.
In response to the reports, the Foreign Ministry says the incident is being handled by its department for Israelis abroad in coordination with the Israeli Embassy in Athens.
The Foreign Ministry adds that the apprehended suspect is known to police for having previously participated in “pro-Palestinian demonstrations.”
“The two recognized the group of Israelis after noticing them speaking Hebrew and wearing a Star of David necklace,” it adds.
Syrian asylum seeker stabs passersby in Austria, killing teen, injuring four
A 23-year-old Syrian asylum seeker stabbed several passersby in the centre of the Austrian town of Villach on Saturday, killing a 14-year old boy and injuring four other people, police say, adding that the suspected attacker had been arrested.
Further details, such as whether the attacker knew any of the victims, remain unclear, a spokesperson for the police in the southern state of Carinthia, Rainer Dionisio, says. The injured are aged between 14 and 32, he adds.
Such attacks are extremely rare in Austria. A jihadist killed four people in Vienna in a shooting rampage in 2020 that was the country’s deadliest assault in decades.
Villach is known for its carnival and is in an area that is a tourist hotspot in the summer as it includes one of Austria’s most famous lakes but otherwise attracts little attention.
“I have been in the (Carinthian police) press service for 20 years and cannot recall such an act,” Dionisio tells national broadcaster ORF.
A man whom Austrian media describes as a Syrian food delivery driver charged into the attacker with his car and prevented him from harming more people, Dionisio says.
The attack comes at a time of political upheaval in Austria as the far-right Freedom Party, which came first in September’s parliamentary election, said on Wednesday it had failed to form a coalition government. The president is now considering whether an alternative to a snap election is available.
Railing against illegal immigration and pledging to increase deportations to countries like Syria and Afghanistan, which it is currently illegal to deport people to, are central to the Freedom Party’s platform and appeal, and the party has quickly seized on the Villach attack.
“We need a rigorous crackdown on asylum and cannot continue to import conditions like those in Villach,” Freedom Party leader Herbert Kickl says in a statement.
Russian ambassador meets with freed hostage Sasha Troufanov, gives him new passport
Russian Ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov met with freed hostage Sasha Troufanov in Israel yesterday, just hours after Troufanov’s release from Hamas captivity.
The meeting took place at Sheba Medical Center in central Israel, where Troufanov was taken after an initial checkup in an army facility near the Gaza border.
“Anatoly Viktorov sincerely welcomed the release of our compatriot,” reads a statement from the Russian embassy.
It emphasizes that “Russian diplomats did not stop their efforts to free Alexander [Sasha] Troufanov for a single day. They were in constant contact with the Israeli and all interested parties in the region on this priority issue.”
The embassy stresses that the diplomatic endeavors were carried out “on the instruction of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin.”
During the meeting, in which Sasha’s mother Elena Troufanov was also present, Viktorov presented him with a new Russian passport, that “he, for obvious reasons, was unable to receive on time.”
🗓️ On February 15, Ambassador of Russia Anatoly Viktorov met with Russian & Israeli citizen Alexander Trufanov, who was released from the Gaza Strip that day.
His mother Elena Trufanova, who was also released in November 2023 with active Russian assistance, took part in the… pic.twitter.com/NTPATZWxSU
— Russia in Israel (@israel_mid_ru) February 15, 2025
Russian diplomats have engaged in talks with Hamas officials for the release of its citizens, and warned the terror group earlier this month to keep its “promises” to release Troufanov, as well as hostage Maxim Herkin, an Israeli man from the Donbas area of Ukraine who has Russian relatives.
Report: PM refuses to give approval for mobile homes and earthmoving equipment to enter Gaza
Bulldozers and trucks carrying mobile homes wait to enter Gaza at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, February 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohamed Arafat)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not give approval for the entry of caravans and heavy equipment into the Gaza Strip during last night’s security consultations, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
A political official tells the outlet: “Following a security consultation chaired by the prime minister, it was decided that the issue of caravans will be discussed in the coming days. Israel is fully coordinating with the United States.”
According to reports, the ceasefire and hostage release agreement explicitly states that supplies and equipment can be brought in to Gaza to establish at least 60,000 temporary living facilities. The details of the deal have not been published in full.
Images last week showed mobile homes and earthmoving equipment waiting at the Rafah Border Crossing from Egypt.
Last week, Hamas protested that Israel was blocking their entry and said that talks to get the ceasefire-hostage deal back on track had included discussions on a number of specific items, including the homes and equipment. Hamas released three hostages yesterday.
The apparent refusal by the premier to approve the entry of the equipment to the Strip comes as Netanyahu reportedly wants to extend the current first phase of the deal beyond the designated 42 days, which are set to end on March 1, and secure the freedom of more hostages as part of phase one, including more hostages Israel now knows are in poor health.
According to Channel 12, the premier wants Israel’s negotiators to argue to the Qatari and Egyptian mediators, with US support, that it’s also in the interests of Hamas to extend phase one.
Netanyahu has refused to allow Israel’s negotiators to engage in talks on the agreement’s second phase, which would see the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for a permanent end to the war.
Lebanon blocked Iran planes after US warnings that Israel could shoot them down, source says
Firefighters extinguish a burning UNIFIL vehicle, set ablaze by protesters, on the road leading to Beirut's international airport on February 14, 2025 (IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)
Lebanon denied permission for Iranian flights to land in Beirut twice this week after the United States warned Israel might shoot the planes down, a Lebanese security source tells AFP.
Israel has on several occasions accused Hezbollah of using the airport in Beirut to bring in weapons and money from Iran. The group — and Lebanese leaders — have denied those allegations.
The first incident occurred on Thursday, when Lebanese authorities sent word to Iran that a Beirut-bound flight should not take off.
“Through the Americans, Israel informed the Lebanese state that it would target the airport if the Iranian plane landed in Lebanon,” the source says.
“The American side told the Lebanese side that Israel was serious about its threat,” the source adds.
Lebanon’s public works and transport ministry then refused clearance for the flight, after consulting the prime minister and president, the source adds.
The message was passed on before the flight took off, says the source.
Another flight was also barred from taking off from Iran on Friday, which prompted protests in Lebanon from supporters of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, who blocked the road to the country’s only international airport.
2 arrested on suspicion of spitting at church in Jerusalem’s Old City
Jerusalem police say two men were arrested yesterday on suspicion of spitting at a church in the Old City.
Police say the two men in their 20s from the center of the country were observed walking down a street in the Old City of Jerusalem before they spat at a church and then fled the scene.
Recent years have seen increasing numbers of spitting attacks on Christians in the capital carried out by religiously observant Jews.
US shipment of heavy bombs held up by Biden administration arrives in Israel, Defense Ministry says
Trucks carrying a shipment of 2,000-lb bombs are seen driving at Ashdod Port, early February 16, 2025. (Defense Ministry)
The Defense Ministry says a shipment of heavy bombs from the United States, which had been held up by the previous administration, arrived in Israel.
Overnight, a ship carrying numerous MK-84 2,000-lb munitions was unloaded at Ashdod Port. The bombs were then loaded on dozens of trucks and taken to Israeli airbases, the ministry says.
Defense Minister Israel Katz hails the arrival of the bombs saying “The munitions shipment that arrived in Israel tonight, released by the Trump Administration, represents a significant asset for the Air Force and the IDF and serves as further evidence of the strong alliance between Israel and the United States.”
According to the ministry, since the beginning of the war in October 2023, over 76,000 tons of military equipment have arrived in Israel via 678 transport planes and 129 ships, the vast majority from the US.
Health officials: Hostages facing life-changing, permanent disabilities from untreated injuries
Alon Ohel, taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 from the Supernova desert rave (Courtesy)
Medical officials warn that the hostages left in Gaza may face life-changing and permanent disabilities, with information from freed captives suggesting that Alon Ohel is in danger of losing his sight.
According to the Kan public broadcaster, there are indications that Ohel, 24, who has been held by terrorists in Gaza since October 7, 2023, has shrapnel in one eye and can only see shadows out of it.
Medical officials who are in close contact with Ohel’s family tell the outlet that testimonies from freed captives indicate that he is danger of losing sight in both eyes due to his untreated injuries and ill-treatment.
Last week, his mother Idit Ohel issued a heartrending plea for his release, saying she had been told that he is being held starving in chains in a Hamas tunnel and has multiple untreated injuries.
“He has shrapnel in his eye, he has shrapnel in his shoulder, he has shrapnel in his arm. Alon was bound in chains, this entire time, and he had almost no food — at most one pita a day, over a very, very, very long time, more than a year,” the anguished mother told Channel 12.
Palestinian media: 2 killed in IDF drone strike on Hamas police officers near Gaza’s Rafah
Palestinian media outlets report two dead and others wounded in an Israeli drone strike on a group of Hamas police officers, east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
Police arrest man on suspicion of ramming traffic officer with car near Jerusalem
Police arrested a man on suspicion of hitting a traffic officer with his car outside Jerusalem earlier this morning, a spokesman says. The suspect, a Beit Hanina resident in his 20s, was transferred for questioning at the Harel police station.
Officers are investigating the incident and do not currently suspect a terror motive.
IDF says drone strike targeted gunmen approaching troops in south Gaza
The IDF confirms carrying out an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip a short while ago, saying it targeted a group of gunmen who were approaching Israeli forces in the area.
Palestinian media reported that the drone strike killed three Hamas police officers.
“The IDF continues to call on Gazans to obey the IDF instructions and not approach the forces deployed to the area,” the military adds.
Rubio arrives for meeting with Netanyahu, his first as US secretary of state
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio disembarks from his aircraft upon arrival at Ben Guiron Airport on February 15, 2025 on the first leg of his Middle East trip. (Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP)
Top US diplomat Marco Rubio arrives for a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his office in Jerusalem, as he launches his first Middle East tour in his new role.
The US secretary of state’s visit comes amid international controversy surrounding US President Donald Trump’s widely condemned proposal that the US take control of the Gaza Strip and relocate its more than two million residents.
Rubio indicated last week that he believes renewed fighting in Gaza would not ultimately end the threat that Hamas poses to Israel, though two days earlier he had appeared to back a resumption of the war.
Some 20 ultra-Orthodox Israelis detained by IDF after they illegally entered Lebanon overnight
Two of the some 20 ultra-Orthodox Israelis who were detained after illegally crossing into Lebanon on February 16, 2025 (Israel Police)
A group of some 20 ultra-Orthodox Jewish Israelis illegally entered Lebanon overnight, before being detained by IDF troops and handed over to the police.
Israel Police say that it received reports from the IDF that the suspects were detained inside Lebanon after they crossed the border.
The group was apparently trying to reach the tomb of Rav Ashi, a fourth-century Babylonian scholar who is believed buried in the hills near Manara in the Galilee panhandle.
The shrine marking his burial spot straddles the Blue Line and is situated within a militarized compound hemmed in between an IDF post and UNIFIL base.
Police note that crossing the border illegally is punishable with up to four years in jail.
Rubio, Netanyahu begin meeting in Jerusalem
(L) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on February 16, 2025 (David Azagury/US Embassy Jerusalem)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu begins his meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in his office in Jerusalem.
The one-on-one meeting will be followed by an expanded meeting, says Netanyahu’s office.
Prosecutors preparing to indict East Jerusalem teen for allegedly throwing stones at police car
Prosecutors in the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office are preparing to indict a 14-year-old resident of East Jerusalem for allegedly throwing stones at a cop car, a police spokesman says.
Police arrested the youth two weeks ago during an operation in Issawiya and brought him for questioning at the Shalem police station.
After a few days of detention, a court ordered he be released to house arrest, where he remains under restrictive conditions until Thursday.
Halevi heading to US to meet defense officials on ‘key strategic and operational issues’
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi attends a Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 28, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi will travel to the United States tonight for an official three-day work meeting, the military says.
Halevi will meet with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the commander of CENTCOM, and other senior American defense and military officials at the Pentagon to “discuss key strategic and operational issues.”
He is also set to meet with members of the Jewish community in the US.
It is Halevi’s final trip to the US as chief of staff, as he is set to step down on March 5.
While he is abroad, his outgoing deputy, Maj. Gen. Amir Baram, will fill in the role temporarily.
Hezbollah demands Lebanon reverse ban on Iranian flights landing in Beirut
Lebanese terror group Hezbollah urges the Lebanese government to reverse a decision blocking Iranian flights from landing in Beirut.
The decision to block the flights came after the Israeli military warned that Iran’s Quds Force and Hezbollah were using civilian flights to and from the airport to smuggle money to be used to rearm the Lebanese group.
Israel has on several occasions accused Hezbollah of using the airport in Beirut to bring in weapons from Iran, allegations denied by both the terror group and the Lebanese authorities.
The Iran-backed group says in a statement that it “demands that the government reverse its decision to ban Iranian planes from landing at Beirut airport and take serious measures to prevent the Israeli enemy from imposing its dictates.”
A Lebanese source told AFP that Lebanon had denied permission for Iranian flights to land twice this week, after the United States warned Israel might strike the airport.
Palestinian teen jailed for 18 years for 2023 killing of Border Police officer at checkpoint
Staff Sgt. Asil Sawaed, who died February 13, 2023, after he was stabbed by a Palestinian and shot by a comrade in East Jerusalem. (Israel Police)
The Jerusalem District Court sentences a Palestinian minor to 18 years in prison for the killing of a Border Police officer two years ago, a Justice Ministry spokesperson says.
The court convicted Muhammad Zalbani, who was 13 years old at the time, of aggravated murder for stabbing Staff Sgt. Asil Sawaed, 22 at a checkpoint near the Shuafat refugee camp.
According to the verdict, Zalbani found a knife at his aunt’s house in the Shuafat camp, and took it with him on a bus that passes through the nearby checkpoint.
The teen sat at the back of the bus, placed the knife near his leg to be able to draw it quickly, and waited for security forces to board for a routine inspection.
When officers boarded the bus to check passengers, Zalbani repeatedly stabbed Sawaed in the head and neck, the verdict reads.
A civilian security officer who boarded the bus with Sawaed opened fire at Zalbani, but accidentally hit the wounded border cop in the thigh.
Sawaed died on the way to the hospital due to excessive bleeding.
“There is no doubt that the defendant’s actions brought about, in an indirect manner, the shooting of the deceased by the security guard,” says the court in its ruling.
Lawyers say detained Gaza hospital director still in Israeli custody, despite reports he would be freed
Kamal Adwan Hospital director Hussam Abu Safiya, in an undated screenshot taken from a Democracy Now video posted to YouTube on January 14, 2025 (Democracy Now screenshot/YouTube)
Despite reports predicting he would go free in yesterday’s prisoner release as part of the hostage deal, detained Gaza hospital director Hussam Abu Safiya remains in Israeli custody, according to his lawyers.
The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, a Gaza-based Palestinian rights group representing Abu Safiya, says that Israeli authorities issued an order last week to detain the doctor without charges under a 2002 law dealing with unlawful combatants.
The decision comes after Abu Safiya’s lawyer visited him in Ofer Prison and claimed his client had been subjected to “torture and ill-treatment, including being held in solitary confinement for more than 20 days,” the group says in a statement.
Although Hebrew media reports claimed that Abu Safiya was one of the 333 Gazans slated for release yesterday, his name did not appear on the list distributed by Palestinian prisoners’ organizations.
Israel detained Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, along with nearly 240 others during a raid on the medical facility in December 2024, alleging that Hamas was using it as a command center.
The military said it suspects Abu Safiya of being a Hamas member.
In its current form, the Unlawful Combatants Law permits high-ranking IDF officers to issue a temporary detention order against an inmate whose release could harm state security. The order must be ratified by a civilian court within 45 days, upon which it can last for up to six months before being renewed.
Cold snap could see snowfall in Jerusalem this weekend, meteorological service says
Snow at the Dome of the Rock and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, January 27, 2022. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)
A wave of cold weather expected to hit Israel later this week could see snow fall in Jerusalem over the weekend, the Israel Meteorological Service says.
Cold weather is expected to hit Israel from Thursday, with rain on Friday and especially Saturday, and snow potentially falling — mainly in the northern hills, but also in higher areas in the center, including the capital.
Snowfall is expected in the northern Golan Heights between Thursday night and Friday morning, spreading to higher areas in the Galilee as well as the city of Safed.
The mercury will continue to drop between Friday and Saturday, with snow in the north and possibly also in places above 500 to 600 meters (1,640 to 1,970 feet) above sea level in the central hills.
It is likely to snow in the Jerusalem hills and the city itself, overnight Friday-Saturday, the IMS says.
Israel’s central hilly region, including Jerusalem, gets snowfall once every few years, though forecasts of snow often don’t pan out.
Netanyahu, Rubio hold expanded meeting with advisers
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Prime Benjamin Netanyahu hold an expanded meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, February 16, 2025 (David Azagury/US Embassy Jerusalem)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hold an expanded meeting with their advisers after a one-on-one meeting.
Netanyahu is joined by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Shas chairman MK Aryeh Deri, Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, and his top aides.
Prosecutors say Netanyahu’s lawyer used quotes from wrong individual, asks court to strike from record
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu consults with his defense lawyer Attorney Amit Hadad in a courtroom at the Tel Aviv District Court before the start of his testimony, December 23, 2024. (Reuven Kastro/POOL)
The State Attorney’s Office requests that the Jerusalem District Court strike from the record evidence brought by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s defense attorney Amit Hadad of extremely hostile comments supposedly made by an editor of the Walla news website against Netanyahu, but which turn out to have been made by a different individual.
In a hearing on Wednesday, Hadad focused on the attitude of Walla’s senior staff to Netanyahu, because a central aspect of the allegations against the prime minister is that he had an illicit quid pro quo agreement with Walla’s owner Shaul Elovitch in which Netanyahu would receive favorable coverage from Walla in return for Netanyahu making regulatory decisions which favored Elovitch’s business interests.
During the hearing, Hadad quoted tweets supposedly by Walla editor in chief Avi Alkalai in which he said he “loathed” Netanyahu and called his 2013 government “traitorous and destructive.”
Hadad used the quotes, among other hostile comments from other Walla staff, to assert that Walla was hostile to Netanyahu and that he did not receive favorable coverage from the website, as part of the defense’s strategy of undermining the claim that there was a quid pro quo agreement with Elovitch.
But the State Attorney’s Office says that following complaints from Alkalai, and after it conducted a “basic and superficial check,” it discovered that the tweets cited by Hadad had come from a different Avi Alkalai who was not connected to the Walla editor in chief. The individual with the Twitter account in question even stated on numerous occasions that he was not the Walla editor, the State Attorney’s Office says.
The prosecutors request that the quotes be stricken from the record and that the court ignore them.
Sissi tells WJC head Lauder a Palestinian state the ‘only guarantee’ for lasting Mideast peace
Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi looks on during a meeting with the visiting US Secretary of State at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo on September 18, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP)
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi tells the head of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder that the establishment of a Palestinian state is “the only guarantee” for lasting peace in the Middle East.
During his meeting with Lauder in Cairo, Sissi calls for starting the reconstruction of war-battered Gaza “without displacing its residents from their land,” according to a statement from his office.
The Egyptian leader’s remarks come as Arab countries are scrambling to come up with an alternative to a controversial plan floated by US President Donald Trump to take over Gaza, redevelop the coastal territory and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Trump’s proposal envisages permanently resettling Gaza’s Palestinian residents elsewhere, including Egypt and Jordan, drawing widespread condemnation from Arab and world leaders.
“The establishment of a Palestinian state… is the only guarantee to achieve lasting peace,” Sissi tells Lauder.
According to the Egyptian presidency statement, Lauder praised Egypt’s “wise efforts” to restore stability in the region.
The leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are set to met in Riyadh on Thursday to discuss Trump’s proposal, ahead of an emergency Arab League summit in Cairo a week later to discuss the same issue.
Netanyahu, Rubio give statements after holding meetings in Jerusalem
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio are giving statements after holding meetings in Jerusalem.
#FPLIVE: Israeli PM Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Rubio Give a Joint Statement to the Press Joint statements by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the end of their meeting in Jerusalem. https://t.co/9ebrdvwTUO
— Firstpost (@firstpost) February 16, 2025
Standing alongside Rubio, Netanyahu says ‘we’ll finish the job’ on Iran with Trump’s support
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greet each other before making a joint statement to the media at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on February 16, 2025 (Evelyn Hockstein / AFP)
US President Donald Trump “is the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, after giving the former senator an awkward one-armed hug at the outset of their joint statements to the press.
The two men, says Netanyahu, had a “very productive discussion, with our staff, on a number of issues.”
“None of them are more important than Iran,” Netanyahu declares. “Israel and America stand shoulder to shoulder in countering the threat of Iran. We agree that the ayatollahs must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons. We also agreed that Iran’s aggression in the region has to be rolled back.”
With Trump’s support, says Netanyahu, “we can and will finish the job.”
Thanking Trump, PM says ‘can’t share when gates of hell will be open’ but ‘they surely will if all our hostages are not released’
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greet each other before making a joint statement to the media at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem on February 16, 2025 (Evelyn Hockstein / AFP)
Speaking alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanks US President Donald Trump for his assistance in getting three more hostages released by terrorists in Gaza yesterday.
He says he also thanked Rubio for America’s “unequivocal backing for Israel’s policy in Gaza in moving forward.”
Netanyahu says he and Trump “are working in full cooperation and coordination.”
“We have a common strategy and we can’t always share details of this strategy with the public,” he says, “including when the gates of hell will be open, as they surely will if all our hostages are not released, until the last one of them.”
Netanyahu promises that Israel will achieve its war goals of toppling Hamas, bringing back all the hostages, and making sure Gaza doesn’t pose a threat to Israel in the future.
He adds that America’s “unequivocal support” will help Israel achieve these goals faster.
PM says he discussed Trump’s Gaza plan with Rubio, and how to work ‘to ensure that future becomes reality’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference with the US secretary of state, at his office in Jerusalem on February 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says in a statement alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the two discussed US President Donald Trump’s “bold vision for Gaza, for Gaza’s future, and how we can work together to ensure that future becomes a reality.”
He says the two also discussed the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, which Netanyahu says Israel is largely responsible for with its weakening of Hezbollah.
“If any other force in Syria today believes that Israel will permit other hostile forces to use Syria as a base” for attacks on Israel, says Netanyahu, “they are gravely mistaken.”
“Israel will act to prevent any threat from emerging in southwest Syria,” he pledges.
They also discussed Lebanon, Netanyahu says. “Israel is committed to the ceasefire and the understandings we reached in November, and expects the government of Lebanon to be equally committed.”
“Hezbollah must be disarmed,” he says, “and Israel would prefer the Lebanese army does that job,” but Israel will do what it must.
He condemns attacks on UNIFIL forces in Beirut.
Netanyahu says he and Rubio also discussed hostile international institutions, including the UN General Assembly, UN Human Rights Council, and the ICJ and ICC in The Hague. He says they discussed coordinating efforts to counter lawfare against the US and Israel, to neutralize this threat “once and for all.”
Standing alongside Netanyahu, Rubio says Trump is clear the hostages must be released: ‘It’s not optional’; ‘Hamas must be eradicated’
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a press conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on February 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that President Donald Trump is “a man that speaks clearly and unambiguously, who makes clear his views on issues.”
The first issue Trump has been clear on, says Rubio, is that the “hostages need to come home, they need to be released.”
“That must happen. It’s not optional,” he says.
“The president has also been very bold about his view of what the future of Gaza should be,” says Rubio, referring to Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza and have the US take over the Strip.
“Not the same old tired ideas of the past,” he continues. “Something that is new, something that frankly took courage and vision in order to outline. It may have surprised and shocked many, but what cannot continue is the same cycle to repeat over and over again and wind up in the exact same place.”
Trump, Rubio says, “has been very clear that Hamas cannot continue as a government or military force, and frankly as long as it stands as a force that can govern, as a force that can administer, or as a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible.”
“It must be eradicated, it must be eliminated,” Rubio declares.
Rubio says Iran ‘the greatest single force of instability in the region’ and must be addressed
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greet each other before making a joint statement to the media at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on February 16, 2025 (Evelyn Hockstein / AFP)
On Syria, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that “replacing one destabilizing force for another is not a positive development. And that is something we will watch very carefully.”
Regarding Lebanon, Rubio says that Israeli and US goals are aligned and the same: “A strong Lebanese state that can take on and disarm Hezbollah.”
“The common theme in all of these challenges is Iran,” says Rubio. “It is the greatest single force of instability in the region.” Iran is “behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilizing activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for millions of people” throughout the region.
When he speaks of Iran, he stresses, he is referring to the regime. And the people of Iran, he says, “are victims of that regime.”
Violence in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq “all have behind them one common theme – Iran. And that must be addressed,” Rubio says.
A nuclear Iran “can never happen,” he says, adding that Trump has been very clear on that issue as well.
Rubio closes by saying that the US has “extraordinary love and respect for everything you have faced, you are facing, and continue to face. It is an extraordinary story of bravery.”
Israel, he says, “has served as an example to the world, of a pluralistic society, of free enterprise and democracy.”
“If there were more Israels in the Middle East,” he says, it would be a much safer region.
Israel, he says, is a nation that has always sought peace, “but will not allow itself to be intimidated or destroyed by its enemies.”
Hostages’ families call for 500-minute fast on Monday to mark 500 days since their loved ones were abducted to Gaza
Demonstrators protest for the release of the hostages and against the government, outside the IDF's Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, February 15, 2025. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
The families of hostages call for a fast tomorrow that will last 500 minutes, from 11:40 a.m. to 8 p.m., or from sunrise to sunset, to mark 500 days since the hostages were taken to Gaza by terrorists.
With 73 hostages left in captivity in Gaza, families will gather at the Hostages’ Families camp on Jerusalem’s Azza Street before marching to the Knesset, where Knesset committees will pause at 11:39 a.m. for the official start of the fast.
“As much as it is critical to keep pressure on our leaders to keep this deal moving forward, it is just as critical that the hostages’ families feel supported and know that they are not alone,” says Abbey Onn, whose cousin, Ofer Calderon, was recently released from Hamas captivity. “Fasting for 500 minutes is the least I can do to show solidarity with the hell the hostages and their families have been experiencing these last 500 days.”
A demonstration in support of the hostages will be held at the Knesset at 2 p.m., with a main gathering taking place at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square at 8 p.m., when the fast ends.
IDF says it shot down drone used in attempt to smuggle assault rifle from Egypt to Israel
The IDF says it foiled an attempt to smuggle an assault rifle into Israel from Egypt earlier today, using a drone.
The drone had been identified as crossing the border from Egypt into Israel, and troops dispatched to the scene shot it down.
The soldiers found that the drone was ferrying a rifle and ammunition, according to the IDF.
כוחות צה״ל זיהו מוקדם יותר היום רחפן שחצה משטח מצרים לשטח מדינת ישראל במרחב חטיבת פארן.
הרחפן הופל על ידי כוחות צה"ל שהגיעו לנקודה ואיתרו את הרחפן ועליו כלי נשק ותחמושת.
אמצעי הלחימה שהוחרמו הועברו לטיפול כוחות הביטחון pic.twitter.com/XdfeYrG6KG— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 16, 2025
In recent months there have been frequent attempts to bring weapons over the Egypt border using drones.
Palestinian media reports Israeli drone strike on car in central Gaza
Palestinian media report an Israeli drone strike on a car in the central Gaza Strip.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
Amid the ongoing ceasefire, the military has carried out several drone strikes as warnings after Palestinians have attempted to drive to the Strip’s north via unapproved routes. Northbound vehicular traffic is only permitted on the Salah a-Din road, where a private company is inspecting cars heading to northern Gaza.
Rubio meets Herzog, Sa’ar after holding discussions with Netanyahu
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, meets with President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, Israel, Feb. 16, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)
President Isaac Herzog and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meet at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. The two are having a private meeting, which will be followed by an expanded meeting with aides.
Rubio also had a one-on-one meeting with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. The meetings followed the top US envoy’s sit-down with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the two discussed expanding the Abraham Accords, bringing more embassies to Jerusalem, lawfare against Israel, fighting antisemitism, and implementing US President Donald Trump’s vision for an interconnected region with a logistical network running from India to Europe through Israel.
They also agree to set a date for a visit to Washington by Sa’ar.
IDF says it fired warning shots near crowd in south Lebanon; woman reported killed
Lebanese media reports that a woman was killed and several others were wounded by Israeli gunfire in the south Lebanon town of Houla, close to the border with Israel.
The IDF says it fired warning shots after suspects gathered in the area, where troops are still deployed. The military is currently unaware of any civilians being hit by the gunfire, but is investigating the claim.
Lebanon’s official news agency also reports that the IDF detained three civilians in the town.
The IDF has repeatedly warned Lebanese citizens not to approach areas where troops are still deployed in southern Lebanon amid an ongoing ceasefire.
The military is set to withdraw from most areas in south Lebanon where troops are still deployed on February 18, while remaining in five strategic positions.
Rubio tells Herzog Trump is ‘deeply committed’ to return of ‘every single hostage’
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) meets with President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem on February 16, 2025. (Maayan Toaf/ GPO)
Visiting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio tells President Isaac Herzog that US President Donald Trump is “strongly and deeply committed” to the return of every hostage being held in Gaza.
“On behalf of the president, I can tell you he’s strongly and deeply committed to the goal of every single hostage returning home, every single one, and not resting, not being silent, not forgetting, until all of them are home,” says Rubio in remarks ahead of a working meeting with Herzog, following sit-downs earlier today with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. “We work in very close coordination with the government here, as you know, to make that a reality, and that remains a very strong priority.”
Herzog tells Rubio that Israel is “grateful to President Donald Trump for his friendship and solidarity with the people of Israel and the State of Israel, and we are grateful for his direct involvement in bringing back our hostages.”
The president says that amid Israel’s many challenges, “we are screaming, aching, praying, working tirelessly to bring each and every one of our hostages back home. This is our biggest hope as a nation and as individuals, and I want to thank you for this effort, and that you’re carrying on this holy mission.”
Rubio tells Herzog that the core of many of the threats to Israeli security is “Iran. By Iran, I mean the regime… radical clerics who have driven that nation in the wrong direction, and have isolated it from the world, but more importantly, have created the single greatest source of destabilization and sponsor of terrorism and violence on the planet.”
IDF confirms drone strike on car in central Gaza traveling on unapproved route
The IDF confirms carrying out a drone strike in central Gaza today, saying it was a warning after suspects in a vehicle tried to drive to the Strip’s north via an unapproved route in violation of the ceasefire.
Northbound vehicular traffic is only permitted on the Salah a-Din road, where a private company is inspecting cars heading to northern Gaza.
Separately, the IDF says it fired warning shots in several areas of Gaza today after Palestinian suspects approached areas where troops are deployed.
Cabinet votes to confirm Eyal Zamir as next IDF chief of staff
Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (left) and incoming chief Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir, in an undated photo. (Israel Defense Forces)
The government cabinet officially votes to confirm Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir as the next Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, clearing the final hurdle for him to step into the role next month.
Zamir will be taking over for outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, who announced his resignation over the military’s failure to prevent Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.
The handover will take place on March 5.
Hamas says IDF drone strike on Gaza policemen is a ‘serious violation’ of ceasefire
Hamas says an Israeli airstrike that killed three of its police officers today near the southern Gaza city of Rafah constitutes “a serious violation” of the ceasefire in effect since January 19.
“The treacherous firing carried out by a Zionist drone this morning east of Rafah city, targeting police elements tasked with securing the entry of aid… is considered a serious violation of the ceasefire agreement,” Hamas says.
The IDF said earlier that the drone strike “targeted a group of gunmen who were approaching Israeli forces in the area.”
Netanyahu says Zamir’s time as IDF chief will be one of ‘great achievements’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) with outgoing military secretary to the prime minister, Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir, at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on September 8, 2015. (Haim Zach / GPO)
Speaking at a cabinet meeting during which ministers approved Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir as the next Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he expects that during his tenure Israel will attain great achievements.
“Even when he served as my military secretary, I was impressed by Eyal Zamir’s commitment to the country, his commitment to the IDF, and the fact that his approach is geared to offense,” Netanyahu says in the cabinet meeting, according to remarks issued by his office.
Netanyahu says he and Defense Minister Israel Katz fully support Zamir’s nomination.
“We expect that during his service, perhaps even in the near future, we will achieve all these great achievements, which will change not only the situation of Israel, but also the face of the entire Middle East,” Netanyahu says.
Katz in the meeting says the IDF needs “a strong and victorious army, and I am convinced by Eyal Zamir’s ability to lead the IDF to the defeat [of Israel’s enemies] and victories on all fronts.”
“I am sure that he will navigate the IDF wisely and responsibly and will work to implement the lessons from October 7, to strengthen the IDF. His success is our success,” Katz adds.
Witkoff says talks on 2nd phase of ceasefire to continue this week: ‘Phase two is absolutely going to begin’
US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, left, and US National Security Adviser Michael Walz, walk after speaking to the media outside the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, February 4, 2025. (AP/Alex Brandon)
Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, says that talks on phase two of the hostage release-ceasefire deal with Hamas will continue this week in a “location to be determined.”
Speaking to Fox News, Witkoff says he held “very productive and constructive” phone calls today with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Adbulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad.
He says he discussed with the leaders “the timing of phase two, the positions of the parties so that we can understand where we stand, and we will continue the talks later this week” in either Cairo or Doha.
He adds that phase two “is a little bit more intricate and complicated in terms of how we bring the two sides together on this.”
Witkoff explains that the second phase of the deal “contemplates an end to the war, but it also contemplates Hamas not being involved in the government and being gone from Gaza. So, we’ve got to square those two things.”
The deal itself does not stipulate that Hamas will no longer be in power at the end of phase two, but both the Biden and Trump administrations said they would not accept such a result, as has Israel.
“But phase two is absolutely going to begin,” he adds.
Steve Witkoff, enviado especial de 🇺🇸Estados Unidos a Oriente Medio desmiente al presidente de 🇺🇦Ucrania, Zelensky. pic.twitter.com/7EPZ9bSBGO
— Ada Jitza Cortés 🇺🇸🇵🇷 (@ajitza) February 16, 2025
Witkoff says in the live TV interview that phase two will include the release of 19 IDF soldiers. “We believe all of them are alive,” he adds. Those include Edan Alexander, the last living US citizen still held by Hamas.
Israel does not believe there are 19 living IDF soldiers held captive in Gaza. Currently there are fewer than 10 active duty IDF soldiers believed to be held alive in the Strip, as well as a number of bodies of soldiers. Hamas often refers to any adult Israeli men as IDF soldiers, and it was not clear if Witkoff was echoing that categorization.
There are 59 hostages being held who are not included in the first stage of the ceasefire — 35 of whom Israel has declared dead.
Axios reporter Barak Ravid later tweets that Witkoff told him instead that “the vast majority of the 19 young men Hamas is holding hostage and that are part of phase 2 of the Gaza deal are civilians who were kidnapped from their homes,” adding that actually “only three or four of them are soldiers.”
In reality, the majority of the young living men remaining in Hamas captivity were kidnapped from the Nova music festival.
Witkoff says “some others” will be released in the second phase, but does not elaborate. He says the phase also includes the release of bodies still held by Hamas. The terms of the deal stipulate, however, that all remaining living hostages will be released in phase two and that bodies will be released in phase three.
Reiterating his reflections from his visit to Gaza last month, Witkoff says the enclave is too dangerous for civilians to return to, given the thousands of unexploded bombs and buildings on the verge of collapse.
“There’s utter destruction. This affects phase three, which is the theoretical reconstruction of Gaza. We’re going to have to get to a reconstruction, but the devil will be in the details,” he says.
After Witkoff comments, PM says security cabinet will discuss phase 2 of ceasefire tomorrow
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on February 9, 2025. (GPO/Screenshot)
After US special envoy Steve Witkoff says on Fox News that talks on phase 2 of the hostage release-ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas will begin this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office releases a statement saying that he told Witkoff he would convene the security cabinet tomorrow to discuss the second phase.
Talks on the second phase were supposed to begin last week.
Heads of Shin Bet, Israel Police meet on arms smuggling, terror, Iran spies, Arab organized crime
Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar (right) holds a meeting with Israel Police chief Daniel Levy (third from left) on February 16, 2025. (Courtesy Shin Bet)
Shin Bet director Ronen Bar and Police Commissioner Daniel Levy held a meeting today to discuss cooperation between their two agencies, spokespeople say in a joint statement.
The two agency heads discussed a plethora of security issues at the meeting, among them weapons smuggling, combating terrorism, Iranian espionage and countering organized crime in Arab communities.
Israel airstrike reported near village in northeastern Lebanon
Lebanese media reports an Israeli airstrike near the village of Harbata in the Baalbek District in northeastern Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley.
Harbata is located some 100 kilometers from the border with Israel.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF on the strike.
الطيران الحربي الاسرائيلي شن غارة على #البقاع الشمالي pic.twitter.com/NT2PMowye4
— هنا لبنان (@thisislebnews) February 16, 2025
Israel dispatches negotiating team to Cairo to discuss current phase of hostage deal
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference with the US secretary of state, at his office in Jerusalem on February 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructs a negotiating team to head to Cairo tomorrow for talks on the continuation of the first phase of the hostage deal with Hamas, his office announces.
The Prime Minister’s Office stresses that the decision was made “in coordination” with US special envoy Steve Witkoff, who spoke with Netanyahu earlier today.
After tomorrow’s security cabinet meeting, says the PMO, the team will “receive instructions on the continuation of the negotiations on phase two subjects.”
Rubio hails release of 3 more hostages, warns Hamas it is ‘playing with fire’
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem on February 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/ POOL/ AFP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hails this weekend’s release of American-Israeli citizen Sagui Dekel-Chen along with two other hostages, while demanding that Hamas immediately release all 73 remaining hostages, including American-Israeli Edan Alexander and the bodies of four other US citizens.
“The fact that these terrorists continue to hold hostages and even dead bodies reflects their sick depravity. I call on our partners to help impress upon Hamas’ leaders that they are playing with fire,” Rubio says in a statement issued by his office while he is traveling in Israel.
IDF confirms airstrikes on Hezbollah facilities in northeastern Lebanon
The IDF confirms carrying out airstrikes deep in Lebanon a short while ago, saying it targeted Hezbollah facilities where activity by the terror group was identified.
The Hezbollah sites included rocket launchers and other weapons, according to the military.
“The activity of terror operatives at these sites is a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF says.
Lebanese media reported that the strikes were carried out near the village of Harbata, in the Beqaa Valley, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Israel.
Hezbollah chief says it is Beirut’s ‘responsibility’ to ensure Israel withdraws from Lebanon
Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem gives a televised speech on December 14, 2024. (Press TV screenshot: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem says Lebanon’s government is responsible for making sure Israel honors a withdrawal deadline under a fragile ceasefire agreement, while also blaming Israel for a stoppage on flights from Iran.
“It is the responsibility of the Lebanese state… to make Israel withdraw on February 18,” Qassem says in a televised address.
Israel troops are slated to withdraw from south Lebanon this week, following an already extended deadline, though they are expected to remain at five key strategic points in the area.
He adds, without evidence, that Beirut’s decision to halt flights from Iran was “implementing an Israeli order.”
Qassem also calls for broad participation in the February 23 funeral of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, as a show of the party’s strength.
At Yad Vashem, Rubio says antisemitism is embedded in ‘international organizations’
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, February 16, 2025. (Oren Ben Hakoon/POOL)
In remarks during his visit to Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the “ancient poison” of antisemitism “hides behind geopolitics and embeds itself in international organizations, and in the curriculums of our colleges and universities.”
The accusation is one of the most far-reaching lobbed by a Trump official to date.
“We stand here today reminded why it can never be ignored, why it always starts with what some believe as the wild ideas of a random person with no power and no influence; but left unchecked and unchallenged, it can turn into the tragedy that is commemorated here in this building today,” Rubio says.
Netanyahu: Trump and I have ‘joint strategy’ on when ‘the gates of hell will open’ on Hamas
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference with the US secretary of state, at his office in Jerusalem on February 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP)
Speaking at the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu stresses that he and US President Donald Trump are in lockstep on the future of Gaza and what to do about Hamas.
“President Trump and I are working in full cooperation and coordination,” says Netanyahu, shortly after stressing the same point in a joint statement to the press, alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “I cannot go into all the details — but we have a joint strategy, including when and how the gates of hell will open if all of our hostages, all of them, are not released and do not return home.”
He also insists that the two leaders have common goals: “Not only the release of the hostages, the elimination of Hamas, and of course ensuring that Gaza will not again be a threat to Israel, plus the president’s plan that says that Gaza will be completely different.”
He says the “joint strategy” can create “a totally different future” for Israel. Never in Israel’s history, he argues, has there been such potential to eliminate threats and create opportunities for the Jewish state.
Netanyahu also takes a not-so-veiled swipe at the Biden administration.
“We faced administrations, let’s be honest, I will be a diplomat for a moment — much less sympathetic. Administrations that also pressured us from all sides to make dangerous concessions, withheld from us all sorts of things that were important to us,” he says.
Netanyahu takes credit for cultivating the relationship with Trump and his circle, and says that it was not done for partisan reasons, but for Israel’s best interests.
High Court demands government defend appointment of civil service commissioner
Former High Court chief of justice Esther Hayut and High Court justices arrive for a court hearing in Jerusalem, October 6, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The High Court of Justice issues a conditional order, instructing the government to defend its decision for appointing a civil service commissioner on an ad hoc basis and in a non-competitive manner.
The decision is the latest in a long-running legal dispute, in which the government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have sought to handpick a new head of the Civil Service, who has broad authority, including powers over senior appointments in the Civil Service.
Following petitions by several government watchdog groups, the High Court orders the state to explain why a new commissioner should not be chosen by a search committee that evaluates several candidates, instead of the government’s preferred method of choosing one candidate and simply having that individual vetted.
The court also orders the government to explain why it wants to use the same ad hoc process it used in 2018 to appoint the new commissioner, when it resolved in 2018 to formulate a permanent process for making the appointment.
The court adds that its order from December 2024 — that the government freeze the process of appointing a new Civil Service commissioner — and the legal proceedings against its decision are underway.
Any responses the petitioners or the government may wish to file must be submitted by February 26, and a hearing will be held in the first half of March.
The first petitions were filed against the government’s desire to appoint a commissioner without a search committee back in August last year, but were re-filed after the government slightly modified its decision.
In the meantime, the government appointed a temporary commissioner, a matter that was also the subject of petitions, with several groups claiming he was unqualified. The High Court ruled that the temporary appointment, Roi Kahlon, could stand, but that he could only serve for three months.
Netanyahu to US Jewish leaders: Trump’s plan for Gaza is ‘the only plan I think can work’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, in Jerusalem, February 6, 2025.(Conference of Presidents)
Speaking at the Conference of Presidents in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he believes the Gaza plan put forward by US President Donald Trump is the most realistic plan for the region.
“Trump has presented a bold new vision, the only plan I think can work,” Netanyahu tells the North American Jewish leaders, calling it “right on the dot.”
Gazans who want to leave the Strip and live elsewhere should be allowed to do so, he adds.
An Israeli official says that Netanyahu spoke at length today with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Trump’s plan for Gaza.
The official calls the plan a vision of “voluntary emigration and creating a different Gaza.”
Trump has said that the two million residents of Gaza should permanently be resettled elsewhere and the Strip rebuilt as a tourist mecca — something resoundingly rejected by the US’s Arab allies.
Witkoff: Trump wants 2nd phase if it will see hostages released and lives saved
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Steve Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East, at the White House on February 11, 2025 in Washington, DC.
(Al Drago / Getty Images via AFP)
Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff tells Channel 12 news that the US president “wants to see the second phase if it results in hostages being released and lives being saved, and it can lead to peace.”
“That’s what his policy program is about,” he adds. “It’s about peace through strength.”
Witkoff says that “Hamas had threatened earlier in the week not to release any hostages, and guess what? They backed up and they released. That’s a good thing that happened because the president made that threat.”
The US envoy says that “we’re grateful for the fact that three people came out alive yesterday. Hopefully hostage release[s] will continue this weekend.”
Witkoff says that he has “talked to the Israelis, the Qataris, and the Egyptians this morning, about setting forth a schedule pursuant to which we would — in a very substantive way — begin second phase talks. Everybody is receptive to that, so hopefully that’s what’s going to be happening this week.”
Earlier today, in an interview with Fox News, Witkoff publicly confirms for the first time that during his recent visit to Israel, he watched the “horrific” footage that Israel has compiled from Hamas’s October 7 onslaught. “I’ve got some context that was important for me to have.”
Asked about Trump’s controversial plan to takeover Gaza, Wiktoff says people get attacked for coming up with “new and unique proposals.”
“But it also encouraged a lot of conversation. Now you have the Egyptians saying we have a plan, the Jordanians are saying we have a plan, and people are actually engaging in really important cogent discussions about what would happen there,” he says.
Egypt and Jordan have yet to introduce any such plan, but Cairo has said it is working on one for the post-war management of Gaza that will allow Palestinians to remain in Gaza.
“The president’s position is, why are we going to necessarily default to… the same policy prescription that has been implemented for the last four or five decades and hasn’t worked?” Witkoff says in the Fox News interview. “Maybe we need to explore new policy prescriptions that ultimately [provide] a better life for Gazans and Palestinians.”
Trump’s goal is to address where Gaza’s population of roughly two million can be relocated, Witkoff says: “The obvious answers are, in some respects, Egypt, in some respects, Jordan, but in some respects, other countries who have called us up and voluntarily said, ‘We want to participate in this humanitarian effort.’ That is to be commended.”
Witkoff does not elaborate on which countries have offered to participate in the relocation of Gazans.
Asked about efforts to combat the threat of Tehran, he says: “All roads lead to Iran in this Middle Eastern conflict [but that] the largest issue is the nuclear.”
“The president has said they will not get a bomb,” Witkoff says, adding that such a result would lead to regional arms race that would devastate the region. “The president has also said this can be solved diplomatically. If Iran shows an interest in solving it diplomatically, the American government remains open to those discussions.”
Girlfriend of freed hostage Sasha Troufanov: He prayed I would find someone else to love
Sapir Cohen, girlfriend of Sasha Troufanov, who was released from captivity in Gaza after 498 days on February 15, 2025, speaks to the press on February 16, 2025. (Hostages Families Forum)
Sapir Cohen, the girlfriend of Sasha Troufanov, one of the three hostages freed from Gaza yesterday, says Sasha told her he prayed for her to find another man that she could love, as he did not want her to wait for him, since he believed he would never come home.
“Thank God I have the privilege to stand here today,” says Cohen in comments to the media at the Sheba Medical Center. “Last night, Sasha told me that during all this time [since he was taken hostage and held in Gaza], he prayed for me to find a man I love, prayed that I wouldn’t wait for him. He didn’t want me waiting for a man he thought would never return home. He didn’t believe he would survive.”
Cohen was also taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, along with Sasha’s mother and grandmother, and freed with them in November 2023. She says she has now realized the dreams she’d had since October 7, “dreams I never thought in my life I would have: coming home alive from captivity in Gaza and getting to hug Sasha again. God protect us.”
She thanks all those who were part of the effort to bring them all home, as well as soldiers and the families of the bereaved.
“To call them soldiers is to minimize what you did,” she says. “You are a model that shows what unity is, for showing that it is possible.”
Sasha’s mother, former hostage Yelena Troufanov, whose husband Vitaly was killed on October 7 at their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, says she received her heart and soul back with Sasha’s release home.
“He came home in one piece,” says Troufanov. “He was shot in both legs and for us, it is a miracle that he is standing and walking.”
Troufanov thanks all those who supported and helped her throughout the last months, including the Russian government, the Hostages Forum and her son’s friends.
“I didn’t know them before and today they are my friends,” she says.
Rubio says Israel must act in its own ‘national interest’ when it comes to Iran
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem on February 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/ POOL/ AFP)
Asked whether the Trump administration supports an Israeli strike on Iran, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says, “Israel will always have to act in what they believe is their national interest and their national defense, so I’m not going to speak about whatever strategies they may [have] on this or any other topic.”
While not an explicit green light, the remark appears to be a departure from the Biden administration’s approach to such a possibility, in that it seemed to oppose the idea more clearly.
Despite Washington’s willingness to pursue a diplomatic path to dealing with the Iran nuclear threat, Rubio tells CBS’s “Face the Nation” that there has been no outreach from Iran.
“Ultimately, we’ve seen in the past that efforts that Iran has undertaken diplomatically have been only about how to extend the timeframe, but continue to enrich [weapons-grade uranium] — in addition to sponsor terrorism, in addition to building these long-range weapons, in addition to sowing instability throughout the region,” Rubio says, appearing to take a harder line on the Islamic Republic than Trump has publicly.
“Ideally, I would love to wake up one day and hear the news that Iran has decided not to pursue a nuclear weapon, not to sponsor terrorism, and re-engage in the world as a normal government. We’ve had no indication of any of that – not just now, but for 30 years,” Rubio adds.
Netanyahu to US Jewish leaders: Trump and I are ‘reshaping the Middle East’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations gathering in Jerusalem, February 16, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Speaking at the Conference of Presidents in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his meeting earlier this month in the White House with US President Donald Trump was “one of the most consequential meetings” between an Israeli prime minister and a US president.
“We are reshaping the Middle East,” he says.
The IDF has “decimated much of Hamas,” Netanyahu says. “We haven’t finished the job yet, but we will. Israel will destroy Hamas as a military force.”
Netanyahu endorses what he calls a “bold new vision” for Gaza’s future, suggesting that Gazans should have the option to leave if they so choose.
“Not forcible eviction, not ethnic cleansing,” he insists, “but a choice for those who want a different future.”
Trump has been publicly pushing for the permanent relocation of two million Gazans outside of the Strip, something that most observers see as impossible, and most Arab allies have refused to entertain.
Netanyahu reiterates his frequent vow to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, stating that this goal is shared by Trump and his administration.
“Iran’s GDP has hardly grown while its leaders spend tens of billions of dollars on Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. They do nothing for their people, yet they remain the world’s greatest sponsor of terror,” he says.
Netanyahu concludes his address by touting Israel’s strength after 16 months of fighting: “Today, everyone recognizes Israel’s strength. The US-Israel alliance is stronger than ever, and the Jewish people stand more resilient than ever.”
Wife of freed hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen: He only learned we’d survived Oct. 7 a day before his release
Avital Dekel-Chen, whose husband Sagui Dekel-Chen was released from captivity in Gaza after 498 days on February 15, 2025, speaks to the press on February 16, 2025. (Hostages Families Forum)
Avital Dekel-Chen, the wife of released hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, says in a tremulous statement at Sheba Medical Center that she can hardly believe that the love of her life, the father of her children, came home to them.
“He is here, really here, standing on his legs with a huge smile and happiness in his heart,” says Dekel-Chen.
Dekel-Chen shares that Sagui, a dual US-Israeli citizen, did not know what had happened to his family on October 7 until the day before he was released.
“That’s when he found out that we were alive,” she says. “How did he succeed in surviving? Love.”
Dekel-Chen says she felt like she was still in the sealed room in her Nir Oz home for all these months, just waiting for Sagui to come rescue her.
“Yesterday, when I finally saw him, I felt we can finally leave the sealed room as a family, three girls, mom and dad, to be rehabilitated.”
Dekel-Chen talks about the fear and terror she experienced on October 7, 2023, waiting in their Kibbutz Nir Oz sealed room with her two little girls, while also in an advanced stage of pregnancy.
“I waited for him for hours to come back, to take us out,” she says. “I found myself getting on a bus alone without him, with our two little girls on this journey that was the longest of my life.”
Dekel-Chen says that some people warned her about possible endings to her story and others said the ending would ultimately be a good one.
“And I knew that no matter how many days it would be, that Sagui would come home,” says Dekel-Chen. “I said if there’s anything that can overcome this, it’s the love and connection that Sagui and I have.”
Dekel-Chen speaks of all the other fathers with young children still held hostage, and all the other hostages, whom she says must be brought home. She talks about the huge sense of pain for all the friends she lost, and all the soldiers who fell in battle.
She says that Sagui said to her yesterday that “it’s nice that everyone keeps writing” that he and the other two hostages freed Saturday were released after 498 days. But really, he told her “‘it’s more accurate to say we were there for over 43 million seconds of hell.’ They don’t count days or hours – they count seconds.”
“And Sagui asked me to say to the entire nation of Israel, ‘Thank you very much.'”
Sagui Dekel-Chen’s father, Jonathan Dekel-Chen, also speaks about the family’s home community, Kibbutz Nir Oz, which was destroyed on October 7, and still has 20 hostages being held captive in Gaza.
“We can all agree that it’s not a perfect deal,” says Dekel-Chen, a native of the US who was very active in the struggle for the hostages and his son. “But if all return home, then we will be able to try and heal everyone.”
Katz slams repair activity in Gaza buffer zone despite it being coordinated with IDF
Defense Minister Israel Katz at the IDF Southern Command headquarters in Beersheba with (R) outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and (L) incoming chief Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir on February 13, 2025. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
Palestinians were allowed by the IDF to enter an Israeli-controlled buffer zone in the northern Gaza Strip earlier today to carry out repairs on civilian infrastructure.
Defense Minister Israel Katz, however, was apparently unaware of the coordinated activity, and rushed to say in a statement that “the directive to the IDF is clear and unequivocal: Anyone who infiltrates into the buffer zone in Gaza, risks their life, and that is how the IDF should act.”
“Our duty is to protect the lives of IDF soldiers and residents and communities in the south in the face of any threat and danger, and we will not compromise on security,” Katz adds.
Katz’s statement came after footage circulating on social media showed excavators and backhoe loaders operated by Gazans in the IDF’s buffer zone in the Strip’s north, just a few hundred meters from the Israeli border fence.
Military sources say that the engineering activity in the buffer zone, by a private Palestinian company, was being supervised by the IDF and troops had escorted the Gazans to the area.
All of the Gazans who entered the buffer zone to repair the civilian infrastructure underwent a security screening, according to the sources.
חיילים ששומרים על הפרימטר בעזה טוענים כי צוותי תשתיות של חמאס (מחבלים!) עובדים בשעה זו בתוך מרחב האבטחה (כדי לחבר אינטרנט) כשצה"ל לטענתם מאבטח אותם.
בצהל בודקים.
צילום: פורום עוטף ישראל. pic.twitter.com/gATXk60ASF— almog boker (@bokeralmog) February 16, 2025
High Court rejects petition demanding full text of Gaza ceasefire deal be published
Demonstrators protest for the release of the hostages and against the government, outside the IDF's Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, February 15, 2025. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
The High Court of Justice rejects a petition demanding that the full agreement between Israel and the Hamas terror group for the ongoing ceasefire and hostage release agreement be published, ruling that Basic Law: The Government entitles the government to conduct secret diplomacy.
Although part of the agreement was published, an Appendix B that include maps and other details outlining the parameters of the deal was not made public by government.
The Israel Democracy Guard (IDG) organization filed a petition arguing that the citizens of Israel have the right to know the nature of the agreements that were signed between the government of Israel and the Hamas terror organization.
IDG asserted that this right should override concerns and claims of the government about security risks regarding publication of the deal, since Hamas itself is fully aware of the terms of the agreement it signed.
The state argued that publishing the details of the agreement would endanger its implementation, and therefore state security and the country’s foreign relations; that the right of the public to know was not absolute; and that Basic Law: The Government entitles it to keep such matters secret.
The court notes that the petition stemmed from “a deep concern for the wellbeing of the hostages being held by Hamas,” and concedes that transparency of government action and the right of the public to receive information about what its representatives do “are the foundation stones of democratic governance” which are founded within Israeli law.
However, it ultimately rules that these principles are relative and not absolute, and subject to conditions stipulated in law, including Basic Law: The Government, which expressly entitles the government to keep secret decisions relating to state security and foreign relations.
The court says, as it has repeatedly, that it defers to the government and the security services regarding claims about national security, and therefore rejects the petition.
Katz tells US senators: Israel will never agree to establishment of Palestinian state
Defense Minister Israel Katz (third from left) meets with visiting US senators at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on February 16, 2025. (Ariel Hermoni/ Defense Ministry)
Defense Minister Israel Katz tells a bipartisan group of visiting US senators that Israel “will never agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state which would endanger its existence.”
In a statement from his office, Katz says he told the group — led by Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and including Deputy Mideast Envoy Morgan Ortagus — that Israel’s main priorities are clear: “Preventing Iran attaining a nuclear weapon, releasing the hostages, and eliminating Hamas in Gaza.”
Following that, he says, Israel is seeking to reach a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia.
Katz tells the group that Trump’s plan for Gaza — in which he suggested the US “take over” the Strip, permanently displace its two million residents and rebuild it as a tourist hub — is “the only one that can guarantee security for the citizens of the south and the State of Israel.”
The other senators in attendance were Democrats Sheldon Whitehouse, Richard Blumenthal, Adam Schiff, and Andy Kim, as well as Republicans Joni Ernst, Dan Sullivan, and John Cornyn.
Sa’ar met with Egyptian FM in Munich over the weekend
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar meets with ambassadors from European Union countries, February 11, 2025. (Yuval Yosef/GPO)
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar met quietly with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend, The Times of Israel has learned.
The next stage of hostage talks will take place in Cairo this week, after recent rounds were held in Doha.
Sasha Troufanov: Time to end game of ‘Russian roulette’ and bring all hostages home
Freed hostage Sasha Troufanov, center, with his mother Yelena, left, and his girlfriend Sapir Cohen in an Israeli Air Force helicopter on the way from the Gaza border area to Sheba-Tel Hashomer Medical Center near Tel Aviv, February 15, 2025. (IDF)
Sasha Troufanov, who was freed yesterday from close to 500 days of Hamas captivity, calls for an end to the cruel “Russian roulette” game being played with the lives of the hostages and bring them all home.
Troufanov met today with Mor Korgold, the brother of hostage Tal Shoham, who was taken hostage from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7 and is slated to be freed in the first stage of the ceasefire deal. Tal was kidnapped along with his wife, two children, mother-in-law, and a number of other relatives who were freed in November 2023.
Korngold posts a photo of himself with Troufanov on Instagram, writing that the pair “sat and talked and ate the first food Sasha wanted (and it was surprising).”
Korngold writes on the platform that when Troufanov heard he was active on social media, “he asked me to send a message in his name.”
“The time has come to end the game of Russian roulette and save everyone,” the freed hostage says, according to the message. “I thank all of my friends and those who fought for my return and I ask you to keep up the struggle to bring everyone back.”
PM denies Rubio, Witkoff pressured Israel to send delegation to phase 2 talks
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a press conference at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on February 16, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP)
The Prime Minister’s Office denies a Channel 12 report that it took pressure from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff to convince Benjamin Netanyahu to send a team to Cairo tomorrow to discuss the second phase of the Gaza hostage release/ceasefire deal with Hamas.
“The conversation on the second phase deals with the ‘day after,'” says the PMO, “and it will be led by the political echelon.”
Trump says he could meet with Putin ‘very soon’ on Ukraine
US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 Summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 7, 2017. (AP /Evan Vucci, File)
US President Donald Trump says he believes he could meet “very soon” with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
Speaking to reporters, Trump says he is working hard to achieve peace, and he believes both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky want to stop fighting.
His comments come as the United States and Russia are preparing for initial talks in Saudi Arabia in the coming days.
Trump: I told Netanyahu to ‘do whatever you want’ on hostage release-ceasefire deal
US President Donald Trump waves as he arrives on Air Force One to attend the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, February 16, 2025, in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Chris Graythen/ Pool via AP)
US President Donald Trump says he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “You do whatever you want,” with regard to the hostage release-ceasefire deal.
Trump does not specify when he conveyed this message to Netanyahu.
Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Trump is asked about the Saturday deadline he imposed for Hamas to release all of the hostages, which passed without incident.
Trump, for the first time, explicitly says that he made the threat because Hamas had said it would not be releasing the three hostages that it was slated to release on Saturday, under the terms of the deal.
Over the past several days, US officials have argued that it was Trump’s threat that led Hamas to back down from its own threat not to release any hostages.
But the Trump threat would have contradicted the terms of the deal, which only stipulated Hamas release three hostages on Saturday, not all of them.
Trump, when he first made the threat of “hell raining down” on Hamas, clarifies that he is leaving it up to Israel to decide what to do.
Trump tells reporters that Hamas agreed to deliver the three hostages, including an American citizen — Sagui Dekel-Chen — because of this threat.
He also notes that the hostages released this weekend “were in pretty good shape,” unlike the ones released a week ago, whom Trump says looked like “Holocaust survivors.”
As for the next steps in the hostage deal, Trump says, “That’ll be up to Israel… in consultation with me.”
Trump says could meet Putin ‘very soon’ as Saudi talks loom
US President Trump says he could meet “very soon” with Vladimir Putin, adding he believes his Russian counterpart genuinely wants to stop fighting in Ukraine.
“No time set, but it could be very soon,” Trump tells reporters, hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to play down expectations of upcoming high-level talks in Riyadh on ending the war.
With Rubio set to lead a high-level American delegation at the discussions with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia’s capital in the coming days, a flurry of diplomacy is taking place as the brutal Ukraine war nears its third anniversary.
Trump, addressing reporters after a flight on Air Force One, says his team has been speaking “long and hard” with Russian officials, including his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff whom the president says met with Putin for about three hours recently.
“I think he wants to stop fighting,” Trump says of Putin.
Asked whether he believes Putin wants to seize the entirety of Ukraine, Trump says: “That was my question to him. If he’s going to go on… that would have caused me a big problem.”
Seinfeld to ‘ambushing’ activist: ‘I don’t care about Palestine’
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who has been outspoken in his support for Israel since the Oct. 7 attack, is asked for a selfie by a man at a public event.
When Seinfeld agrees, the man flashes a V sign for the camera and declares, “Free Palestine!”
With Seinfeld momentarily silent, the man turns to him. “Maybe?”
“I don’t care about Palestine,” Seinfeld then quips as he walks away.
The activist frowns at his camera. “That’s sad.”
"I don't care about Palestine"
– Jerry Seinfeld
— 𝐍𝐢𝐨𝐡 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐠 🇮🇷 ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) February 16, 2025
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