Feb. 24: War cabinet approves more talks in Qatar on hostage deal; arrests at anti-gov’t protests

21 arrested in Tel Aviv protests as police say they came for illegitimate reasons

Twenty-one people were arrested at the anti-government protest in Tel Aviv earlier this evening, the Israel Police says in a statement, alleging that they had “gathered illegally” in the street and disturbed the peace.

“Unfortunately, today we saw a number of protesters who came with the purpose of confronting the police, and not for a legitimate protest,” the statement adds.

IDF says sirens in Lower Galilee were false alarm

Sirens that sounded in the Lower Galilee a short while ago were false alarms, the IDF says. Interceptor missiles were fired amid the incident, although the IDF says this was due to a “false identification.”

Sirens had sounded in the communities of Ravid, Kalanit, and Livnim, just west of the Sea of Galilee.

War cabinet votes to send delegation to Qatar for additional hostage talks

Israel’s war cabinet has voted to send a delegation to Qatar for additional talks on a potential hostage deal with Hamas, according to Hebrew media outlets.

Citing unnamed Israeli sources, Barak Ravid of Axios says the Israeli delegation will have “a limited mandate” and the talks will focus on the technical aspects of a potential deal.

The Israeli war cabinet decided to send a delegation to Doha in the coming days for follow up talks on the humanitarian aspects of the hostage deal, a source familiar with the issue told me. He said the talks will be technical & the Israeli delegation will have a limited mandate

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) February 24, 2024

US House speaker slams Biden administration for restoring policy against Israeli settlements

This image from House Television shows House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana banging the gavel after he announced the House voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the Biden administration's handling of the US-Mexico border, at the US Capitol in Washington, February 13, 2024. (House Television via AP)

US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson blasts the Biden administration’s decision to restore a policy that considers settlements inconsistent with international law after it had been altered by the previous administration.

“The Jewish people have a historic and legal right to live in the land of Israel including in Judea and Samaria – the Biblical heartland,” the Republican speaker writes on X.

“It is an absolute disgrace the Biden administration would issue this decision, especially as Israel fights terrorists on multiple fronts that seek Israel’s destruction and as more than 130 hostages remain in Gaza,” he continues. “The Biden Administration must stop undermining Israel and facilitating efforts to delegitimize Israel. It is misguided and unconscionable.”

Speaking about the decision on Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recalled that the policy had been in place under Republican and Democratic administrations alike until it was overturned by former president Donald Trump’s secretary of state Mike Pompeo in 2019.

Ambassador David Friedman is absolutely correct. This is a shameful decision. 
 
The Jewish people have a historic and legal right to live in the land of Israel including in Judea and Samaria – the biblical heartland. It is an absolute disgrace the Biden administration would… https://t.co/ZfqO17WIQT

— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) February 23, 2024

“It’s been longstanding US policy under Republican and Democratic administrations alike that new settlements are counterproductive to reaching an enduring peace,” Blinken said on Friday.

“They’re also inconsistent with international law,” he continued, effectively revoking what became known as the “Pompeo doctrine,” which deemed settlements “not per se inconsistent with international law.”

Jacob Magid contributed to this report.

Released hostage blasted by police water cannon at Tel Aviv protest

Former hostage Ilana Grisewsky, center, takes part in a protest in Tel Aviv calling on the government to return the remaining abductees held by Hamas in Gaza, on February 24, 2024. The protesters merged with anti-government demonstrators, prompting police to use water cannons to disperse the crowds. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Freed hostage Ilana Gritzewsky was hit by a police water cannon while protesting for a hostage deal in Tel Aviv earlier this evening, Hebrew news outlet Ynet reports.

Gritzewsky was released from Gaza after 55 days in Hamas captivity in late November during a weeklong truce deal, and her partner Matan Zangauker is still held hostage.

According to Ynet, she arrived at the protest with Zangauker’s mother Einav, but the two got caught up in clashes between police forces and anti-government protesters, at which point the police deployed water cannons despite the pair being within the pre-approved boundaries of the protest route.

Speaking to Ynet, Zangauker says the two were part of a crowd of protesters who “blocked the lanes on Begin Street and held a torchlit march  as we surrounded the Kirya military base with the permission of the police.”

When the protest reached Kaplan Street, however, where a large anti-government protest was erupting into chaos as mounted police officers arrived to disperse crowds attempting to block traffic, the officer who was accompanying them left and they were hit with the water cannon, she says, adding that the police failed to coordinate with each other to prevent this from happening.

“I am the mother of a hostage, Ilana was in captivity for 55 days and came to sound the cry for her partner, and this is the treatment we receive?” Einav laments.

IDF: No troops were operating in area where 6-year-old Gazan girl was killed earlier this month – initial probe

6-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab (Family handout via AFP)

Following reports from earlier this month that a six-year-old Palestinian girl along with five of her family members and two medics who had gone to save her were killed by Israeli fire in Gaza City, the IDF says its initial investigation suggests no troops were in the area.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society accused Israel of deliberately targeting the ambulance it sent to rescue Hind Rajab after she had spent hours on the phone with dispatchers begging for help with the sound of shooting echoing around.

Family members found Hind’s body along with those of her uncle and aunt and their three children inside a car near a roundabout in the Tel al-Hawa suburb of Gaza City. Another of Hind’s uncles, Sameeh Hamadeh, said the car was peppered with bullet holes.

In response to a query on the matter, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit tells The Times of Israel that “from a preliminary investigation that was conducted, it appears that IDF troops were not present near the vehicle or within firing range of the described vehicle in which the girl was found.”

“Also, given the lack of forces in the area, there was no need for individual coordination of the movement of the ambulance or another vehicle to pick up the girl,” the IDF says.

“Every day, dozens of ambulances move without individual coordination throughout the Strip, and as long as there are no forces in the area, the movement does not require coordination,” it continues.

The IDF adds the incident has been handed over to the General Staff Fact-Finding Assessment Mechanism, an independent military body responsible for investigating unusual incidents amid the war.

The US had asked Israel to launch a probe into the incident.

Agencies contributed to this report.

Gantz on Israeli Black Panther founder Charlie Biton: He didn’t just pursue justice — he was justice

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz eulogizes the founder of the Israel Black Panthers Charlie Biton, who passed away at the age of 76.

“Charlie didn’t just pursue justice — he was justice,” Gantz writes on X, formerly Twitter. “Even when he encountered enormous difficulties, he never stopped fighting for a more just and equal Israeli society.”

“The protest he led for disadvantaged communities is a milestone in the history of the State of Israel,” he adds. “We will remember the huge heart that left us today. May his memory be a blessing.”

צ׳רלי ביטון, אדם רודף צדק, הלך מאיתנו היום.
צ'רלי לא רק רדף צדק – הוא צדק.
גם כשנתקל בקשיים עצומים, הוא לעולם לא הפסיק להיאבק למען חברה ישראלית צודקת יותר ושיוויונית יותר. המחאה שהוביל למען מגזרים מוחלשים היא אבן דרך בהיסטוריה של מדינת ישראל. נזכור את הלב הענק שלו שנדם היום.
יהי… pic.twitter.com/zHgtxJpoJX

— בני גנץ – Benny Gantz (@gantzbe) February 24, 2024

Government used residents of the south as ‘human shields,’ mother of Oct. 7 victim Tamir Adar charges

Demonstrators at Jerusalem rally hold signs with names and faces of Hamas-held hostages on February 24, 2024. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

Speakers at this week’s Jerusalem hostage demonstration are increasing pressure on the Israeli government as negotiations with Hamas seem to be nearing a breakthrough.

Yael Adar, the mother of Nir Oz resident Tamir Adar, who was murdered by Hamas on October 7, accuses the Israeli government of using the Gaza envelope residents as “human shields.”

“We believed that you [those in government] were protecting us, but you turned all of us into a human shield,” she says. “While they built tunnels, you hoped that all would be well and you told us that we were protected, but you abandoned us.”

“You started this war for the hostages, so why are you not willing to stop it to return them home?” she continues.

Mai Alvini, the grandson of 79-year-old Hamas hostage Haim Peri, accuses Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of abandoning the hostages and “blaming the families of hostages.”

“I’m sorry they kidnapped my grandfather,” he says bitterly. “I didn’t mean it, it won’t happen again.”

Mai Alvini, the grandson of Hamas-held hostage Haim Peri, speaks to Jerusalem rally for the hostages on February 24, 2024. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

He charges Smotrich with prioritizing the construction of “thousands of new housing units in Maale Adumim, Efrat and Kedar before reestablishing the kibbutzim of the Gaza envelope.”

Devorah Leshem, the grandmother of 23-year-old Romi Gonen who was kidnapped from the Supernova rave, is appealing to Netanyahu in her speech, calling for the return of the hostages after 141 days of Hamas captivity.

“My granddaughter planned to travel the world for four years, she didn’t plan to travel in Gaza,” she says.

Organizers recite the names of the 134 hostages who remain in Hamas captivity, vowing not to abandon them.

18 people arrested at Kaplan Street rally, protesters try to break through police barricade

Protesters holding torches attempt to break through a police barricade on Kaplan Street, February 24, 2024. (Iddo Schejter/Times of Israel)

Eighteen people have been arrested for failing to obey police orders at the demonstration on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv, the police say in a statement.

According to the police, the protesters blocked roads in areas outside of the demonstration’s pre-approved boundaries and confronted the police when instructed to move.

Police clash with protesters during an anti-government demonstration in Tel Aviv on February 24, 2024. (JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Protesters holding torches attempt to break through a police barricade on Kaplan Street while water cannons are deployed on crowds standing within the approved area.

Around 10 people were knocked over by mounted police as the police attempted to push back the crowds.

Police detain a protester at an anti-government demonstration in Tel Aviv on February 24, 2024. (JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Israeli troops won’t risk lives unless hostages return, IDF reserves general warns

Israelis attend a rally calling for the release of Israelis held kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in Gaza at 'Hostages Square' in Tel Aviv, February 24, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Israeli soldiers won’t risk their lives on the battlefield unless the hostages being held in Gaza are retrieved, Amiram Levin, a major general in the reserves, says in an unusual speech to thousands of people gathered on Saturday night at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square.

Levin, a former commander of the Israel Defense Forces’ Northern Command and deputy head of the Mossad, delivers this message in a speech urging the return of 134 hostages believed to be held in Gaza.

“Sadly, we are facing a period of war, maybe serious ones, and we’ll need a strong army and thousands of fighters willing to risk their lives on the battlefield, but without a moral victory, it won’t happen,” says Levin, who adds that his definition of a moral victory is “leaving no wounded and no hostages behind.”

Rockets seen intercepted over Kiryat Shmona after barrage fired from Lebanon

Multiple rockets are seen being intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system over Kiryat Shmona.

Sirens had sounded in the northern city following a barrage fired from Lebanon.

There are no immediate reports of injuries in the attack.

יירוטים ונפילות באזור קריית שמונה, חלקן ללא התרעה מוקדמת

צילום: ארז בן סימון, TPS pic.twitter.com/Q6nRs366MT

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) February 24, 2024

Founder of the Israeli Black Panthers Charlie Biton passes away, age 76

Charlie Biton in 2014 (Adam Mah / Wikipedia)

The founder of the Israeli Black Panthers movement and former Knesset member Charlie Biton passes away at 76.

Biton founded the Israeli Black Panthers in 1971 in response to discrimination faced by Israelis of Middle Eastern and North African descent.

He served as a member of Knesset for Hadash between 1977 and 1990, and then in 1990-1992 for an independent Black Panthers party.

Father of IDF soldier slain on Oct 7: Paris hostage talks bring ‘optimistic moment’

The father of a female soldier killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7 calls the weekly rally for hostages in Gaza on Saturday “an optimistic moment” because of talks in Paris on a prisoner swap between Israel and the Gaza terrorist group.

Speaking on Saturday night at the 20th consecutive rally for the hostages’ release at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, Eyal Eshel, whose daughter Roni, 19, was a surveillance soldier serving in the Nahal Oz army base, calls her death “unnecessary.”

Roni Eshel would have still been alive today had the commanders of her unit listened to her and her fellow surveillance soldiers’ warnings about unusual activity along the border by Hamas, which later turned out to be training for the October 7 onslaught on Israel, Eshel tells the thousands of people gathered on Hostages Square.

But, he adds, “this is an optimistic moment,” citing progress in talks in Paris about a prisoner swap. “Don’t let there be more unnecessary deaths, make the deal now,” says Eshel. The crowd chants back “Deal now.”

Additional talks on hostage deal to commence this week if war cabinet gives green light

The next round of talks on a hostage deal will take place this week if the war cabinet gives the green light, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

The official notes that after the delegation returned from Paris, there was optimism in Israeli media about the likelihood of a deal, but the delegation itself was more cautious.

The reduced war cabinet — just the ministers, without aides — will hear updates from the delegation by phone at 9 p.m., and the expanded war cabinet will convene tomorrow evening.

Police deploy water cannon, mounted forces against protesters marching on approved route in Tel Aviv

Police forces in Tel Aviv have started using a water cannon to disperse protesters standing on the sidewalk on Kaplan Street within the legal boundaries of the protest.

In video footage, mounted police can be seen pushing the protesters back as they make their way to Democracy Square, chanting “You are in charge, you are guilty” about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Adding details to reported terms of hostage deal outline, TV report claims ‘shift’ in Hamas demand for end to war

Quoting an unnamed source saying “significant progress” was made in the Paris talks on a hostage-truce deal, Channel 12 says “it is possible” that some hostages may be freed before the start of Ramadan on March 11.

It notes, however, that Hamas has to first respond to the framework terms.

Channel 12 also cites unconfirmed reports that there has been “some kind of shift” by Hamas on its demand for an end to war — which the terror group has hitherto insisted must be a condition for further hostage releases.

Adding minor new details to reports over the past few hours of the formulation between Israel, the US, Egypt and Qatar of the outline for a new deal, it specifies that the four agreed that 40 hostages would be freed in a first phase, including children, all women hostages, and elderly and sick hostages. In exchange, Israel would release hundreds of prisoners — some of them “heavy” security prisoners with blood on their hands. The truce would last some six weeks. There would be a “new deployment” of IDF forces in the Strip for the duration of the truce (rather than a withdrawal). And some Gaza women and children could return to the north of the Strip.

The number of security prisoners to be freed was not finalized. And Israel was insisting, in the longer term, on no major reconstruction of Gaza until the Strip is demilitarized, the TV report says.

If the eventual agreement reflects these terms, the TV report says, it would gain Israeli cabinet approval. If also accepted by Hamas, there would be “a high chance that, before March 11, we will see hostages freed for the first time since [the first truce collapsed at the end of] November.”

IDF says it carried out strike on Hezbollah weapons depot in southern Lebanon

The IDF says it carried out additional strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, including a weapons depot where a cell of operatives were gathered.

A military drone spotted a group of operatives entering a building known to the IDF as a Hezbollah weapons depot in the village of Matmoura. A short while later a fighter jet struck the site, the IDF says.

The IDF says it also struck a command center belonging to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force in Baraachit, and rocket launching sites and other infrastructure in Jabal Blat.

Troops also shelled areas near Rachaya al-Foukhar with artillery to “remove threats,” the IDF adds.

מוקדם יותר היום כוחות צה"ל זיהו באמצעות כלי טיס חוליית מחבלים אשר נכנסת למחסן אמצעי לחימה של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב הכפר אל מטמורה. תוך זמן קצר מטוסי קרב תקפו את המחסן בו זוהתה החולייה. לאחר התקיפה התרחשו פיצוצי משנה משמעותיים המעידים על הימצאות אמצעי לחימה במבנה >> pic.twitter.com/HI0cCeevuF

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 24, 2024

Netanyahu: IDF plans for Rafah operation to be brought to cabinet for approval next week

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the cabinet will convene next week to approve the IDF’s plans for Rafah, including the evacuation of civilians from the area.

The move comes amid ongoing hostage negotiations with Hamas.

“We are working to reach another framework for the release of our hostages, as well as the completion of the elimination of the Hamas battalions in Rafah,” Netanyahu says.

“That is why I sent a delegation to Paris and tonight we will discuss the next steps in the negotiations,” he says.

Netanyahu adds that “only a combination of military pressure and assertive negotiations will lead to the release of our hostages, the elimination of Hamas, and the achievement of all the war’s goals.”

Lambasting the government, hundreds protest outside President’s Residence in Jerusalem

On February 24, 2024, protesters march to Paris Square in Jerusalem next to banner that reads: "The ministers are responsible for the hostages' lives." (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

Hundreds of Israelis are protesting the government and demanding new elections outside the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.

Onstage, speakers from the Jerusalem-based protest organization Save our Shared Home are lambasting the government on multiple fronts, criticizing its conduct towards internally displaced Gaza envelope residents and demanding the immediate return of the 134 hostages remaining in Hamas captivity, not all of whom are alive.

Speakers are also deriding National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for his proposed restrictions on Muslim access to the Al-Aqsa compound during Ramadan.

“It’s clear to everyone that this will lead to an amplification of risk, a real flare-up in Jerusalem,” says Save our Shared Home activist Osnat Hazan about the prospect, dubbing Ben Gvir “the national security minister who is doing everything to ensure there is no national security.”

Bar Hefetz, a displaced resident of Kibbutz Nirim, is demanding new elections to replace the Netanyahu-led government.

“We need real leadership, of people who will take responsibility for everyone in this place, and not just people who vote for them,” he says.

“We will return here [to protest] so long as the government keeps running away from responsibility,” adds Save our Shared Home activist Efi Shoham.

Protesters, some carrying torches, are now marching to Paris Square near Netanyahu’s official residence, where they will be addressed by relatives of hostages.

Five protesters arrested for blocking traffic on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv

Mounted police monitor the protest on Kaplan Street, February 24, 2024. (Benny Meshy / Israel Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Five people have been arrested after a group broke away from the authorized protest in Tel Aviv and attempted to stop the flow of traffic on Kaplan Street, the police say.

According to the police statement, a group of people — who have no connection to the hostages or their families — sat in the middle of the road and refused to move even once they were informed it was illegal to do so.

After they failed to listen to repeated warnings, officers “had to take measures in order to stop the offense and remove the protesters from the road,” the police say.

“During the removal of the protesters, the police arrested five suspects for violating public order,” the statement says, adding that “the Israel Police considers the right to protest a cornerstone in a democratic country and allows protests as long as they are held within the framework of the law.”

Israel’s national security adviser: Paris talks have created possibility of progress

National Security Council chief Tzachi Hanegbi speaks to Channel 12 news, February 24, 2024 (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright law)

National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi confirms that the war cabinet will be briefed in the next few hours by the Israeli delegation that has returned from Paris, and says that the negotiating team led by Mossad chief David Barnea has indicated that it did not return emptyhanded.

“From what I’ve heard in the last few hours,” Hanegbi tells Channel 12, “it will be possible to make progress.”

Hanegbi is speaking amid reports that the Paris talks have yielded an outline for a deal in which some 40 hostages would be freed in return for hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners during a six-week temporary truce in the IDF military campaign against Hamas.

Hanegbi says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s key principles for a deal, conveyed to the Paris talks, included that “any framework must deal with [the return] of all the hostages” — including those who are dead; that it must provide for “all women and children” to be returned at the start of the process; and that the agreement “can in no way be interpreted” as providing for an end to the war.

If it is the case that these terms did not lead the mediators to “fall off their chairs,” says Hanegbi, “then apparently it would be possible to progress.”

Regarding Israel’s determination to tackle Hamas in its last remaining stronghold, the southern city of Rafah, and US concerns about civilians sheltering there, Hanegbi says: “The Americans are with us, all in,” on the principle of destroying Hamas.

He says the four Hamas battalions in Rafah can and will be destroyed, and the IDF will get the order to act “when we are sure” this can be done without harming noncombatants.

Netanyahu told US emissary Brett McGurk this week that “this is possible and we will do it.”

He says US President Biden has made clear to Netanyahu that if Israel has a plan that addresses US concerns about the humanitarian crisis, then the US “won’t oppose an action in Rafah.”

“We will destroy all Hamas battalions — those in Rafah and any others that rise again,” says Hanegbi.

Asked whether Hamas will be given the option of surrendering, he says, “Yes, but that option will apparently be at the crescendo, at the very end.”

Asked about the possibility of “exile” for Hamas, Hanegbi, apparently referring to Hamas’s key leaders, says “First let them surrender… Exile or not? There’ll be an argument in Israeli society… First they’ll need to put down their weapons.”

Asked about Netanyahu’s stance on a Palestinian state, Hanegbi says Israel “does not want to rule over the Palestinians. They have to rule themselves.
But when they demand a state, we explain to them that a state means sovereignty.” He adds: “We will never allow foreign sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” because Israel reserves the right to take any security action it needs to there.

As regards Israeli-Saudi normalization, Hanegbi says the US, the Saudis and Israel all want an agreement. But “Israel will not pay the price of a Palestinian state for a deal with the Saudis.”

An agreement remains possible, but as for the US political deadline of May-June, “it’s hard for me to predict.”

Hanegbi calls the two goals of the war — bringing home all the hostages and destroying Hamas — “holy.” There can be friction between them, “but ultimately each serves the other,” he says.

Hanegbi also says he expects the fighting in the north of Israel to “continue for months.”

The residents displaced from there will return to a situation where Hezbollah is not on the border,  either diplomatically or militarily, he says, adding that Israel gave the US mediator “all the backing” to achieve a diplomatic solution.

On outskirts of Tel Aviv protest, antiwar demonstrators call for ceasefire in Gaza

Protesters in Tel Aviv call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza war, February 24, 2024. (Iddo Schejter)

Adjacent to the main demonstration in Tel Aviv, several dozen demonstrators are calling for an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

The demonstrators are also demanding an end to Israel’s military presence in the West Bank and the dismantlement of settlements.

“We come here every week,” says H, who is holding a sign calling for an immediate ceasefire. “We consider this whole street a place for people to sound their voice. Do we see ourselves as part of the main demonstration? Yes, and also no.”

In Tel Aviv, former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon slams Netanyahu for evading responsibility for Oct. 7

Former defense minister Moshe Ya'alon speaks at the weekly protest in Tel Aviv, February 24, 2024. (Iddo Schejter)

Former defense minister Moshe Yaalon takes the podium at the Tel Aviv protests.

“The responsibility of the heads of the defense establishment [for October 7] is clear and they have taken responsibility, so we will let them fight now with peace of mind,” he says. “But you, Netanyahu, you are in charge, so you are guilty,” Yaalon declares, referring to the prime minister’s refusal to take responsibility for the massacre.

In Gaza, IDF chief says military pressure is ‘most effective’ way to achieve hostage deal

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi speaks to officers in the northern Gaza Strip, February 24, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

During a visit to the northern Gaza Strip earlier today, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says military pressure on Hamas is “the most effective” action to bring about a potential hostage deal with the terror group.

His comments come amid ongoing negotiations with Hamas over the release of hostages it still holds captive in Gaza.

“I don’t know where it will develop, there are those who are engaged in it, we are engaged in fighting,” Halevi says regarding the hostage deal talks.

“I want you to know one thing, there is a connection between the things. Your achievements, another battalion that you dismantle, another underground infrastructure, another neighborhood where [Hamas] infrastructure is destroyed, and the population evacuates to safe areas, all these things push us, I very much hope, to achieve the release of the hostages,” he says during an assessment with officers.

“This is the goal of war, we intend to do a great deal to realize it, and the fighting effort is the most effective action that helps those who are negotiating for the release of the hostages,” Halevi adds.

Reservist injured in Gaza war calls for others to join protests against government

Lt. Or Scheinberg speaks at the weekly protest in Tel Aviv, February 24, 2024. (Iddo Schejter)

The next speaker to take the stage in Tel Aviv is Lt. Or Scheinberg, an officer in the 7th Armored Brigade who was injured seriously during the war.

“This is our opportunity to renew the contract we have between ourselves,” Scheinberg says. “We, Jews and Arabs, the right and the left, will do this together.”

“I call on the most failed government [in our] history: leave,” Scheinberg continues.

“While we the reservists are carrying this country on our shoulders, this criminal government is sitting behind us. I call all reservists who may not feel comfortable protesting during a war to do so. I will come to the frontlines whenever I am called because I love my country, but join me now to protest this government.”

“The slogan ‘together we will win’ is repeated a lot, so let me say first that together we will enlist and only then together we will win,” he says, referring to the new draft bill.

Oct. 7 survivor at Tel Aviv protest blames Netanyahu for propping up Hamas, demands elections

Dr. Elai Hogeg Golan from Kibbutz Kfar Aza speaks on the main podium at the Tel Aviv demonstration about her experience of hiding with her family inside their home as Hamas terrorists lit it on fire from the outside on October 7.

The family escaped from the window, Golan says, and were eventually rescued by soldiers. Golan says she was hospitalized for two months following the attack because of smoke she inhaled while in the house.

Golan blames Netanyahu for the massacre, saying his funding of Hamas for years allowed the massacre to occur. Demonstrators are calling out “guilty” and “shame” in response to Golan’s speech.

Golan finishes her speech calling for elections to be held immediately. “We deserve a leader who will be worthy of these wonderful people,” she summarizes.

‘The guilty one is in Caesarea’: Protesters outside Netanyahu’s private home call for his resignation

A protestor in Caesarea holding a sign saying, '07.10.23 We won't forget, we won't forgive,' February 24, 2024. (Dany Sternfeld)

Protests in support of a hostage deal or against the government are in full swing across the country, including in Caesarea, where protesters gather outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home.

Many attendees unfurl banners accusing him of being responsible for allowing the October 7 Hamas massacre to take place and calling for his resignation.

One woman holds a sign reading “07.10.23 We won’t forget, we won’t forgive.”

Others march with a banner reading, “The guilty one is in Caesarea.”

Thousands gather outside IDF HQ in Tel Aviv to protest government, call for hostage deal

Anti-government protesters on Tel Aviv's Kaplan Street, with a banner reading "You're the leader, you are guilty," February 24, 2024. (Ofer Mariah / Israel Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Protesters are gathering outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv to demonstrate against the government.

The rally does not have one clear demand. Protesters are calling for a deal to release the hostages held by the terror group Hamas, others call for early elections, the dismissal of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or a diplomatic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

There are also calls against the government, particularly against a bill that would exempt ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students from mandatory military service.

At the demonstration’s start, attendees stand for a moment of silence for the over 500 soldiers that have been killed since October 7 and the beginning of Israel’s war against Hamas.

“It’s not as strong as it was before,” one demonstrator, Amit, tells The Times of Israel, referring to the anti-judicial overhaul protests that occurred weekly on Saturday nights before the breakout of the war.

“But now it’s more important than ever. Before it was an argument over the nature of democracy, now it concerns people’s lives.”

FM Israel Katz accuses UN of ‘cooperating with Hamas’ after call for arms embargo on Israel

The United Nations is “cooperating with Hamas terrorists” and ignoring the crimes committed against Israelis, Foreign Minister Israel Katz charges after a group of UN experts called for an arms embargo on Israel earlier today.

“Since the October 7 massacre, the UN has cooperated with Hamas terrorists and is trying to undermine Israel’s right to defend itself and its citizens,” he says in a statement condemning the move.

“Ignoring the war crimes, sexual crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Hamas terrorists constitutes a stain that cannot be erased on the UN as an organization and personally on the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres himself.”

Israel is defending itself against the terrorists of Hamas, a murderous terror organization that calls for Israel's destruction.

On October 7th, Hamas massacred more than 1,200 people and committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, and sexual crimes, as well as taking… pic.twitter.com/7SOBSetbGz

— Lior Haiat 🇮🇱🎗️ (@LiorHaiat) February 24, 2024

IDF announces death of soldier killed in north Gaza, raising ground op toll to 238

Maj. Eyal Shuminov, killed in fighting in northern Gaza, February 24, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF announces the death of an officer killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip over the weekend, bringing the toll of slain troops in the ground offensive against Hamas to 238.

He is named as Maj. Eyal Shuminov, 24, a company commander in the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion, from Karmiel.

EU’s top diplomat slams Smotrich for ‘inflammatory and dangerous’ plan to construct new settlement homes

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a press conference at the end of an Informal Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, on February 12, 2023. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP)

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell condemns the announcement by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich last week that the committee in charge of approving settlement construction in the West Bank will convene to approve thousands of new housing units across several settlements

“The announcement by Israeli Minister Smotrich to build 3,300 new units in illegal West Bank settlements is inflammatory and dangerous,” Borrell writes on X, formerly Twitter.

“Settlements make Israelis and Palestinians less safe, fuel tensions, obstruct peace efforts, and constitute a grave breach of international law,” he adds.

According to Smotrich, who is also a minister within the Defense Ministry, the committee will approve plans to build 2,350 units in Ma’ale Adumim, 300 in Keidar and 694 in Efrat.

The announcement came after a deadly terror attack outside of Ma’ale Adumim on Thursday in which one person was killed and 11 others were injured.

UK Conservative MP suspended from party for Islamophobic comments about London’s mayor

Deputy Chairman of Britain's Conservative party and MP Lee Anderson attends the opening day of the annual Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, northern England, on October 1, 2023. (Justin Tallis/AFP)

Britain’s ruling Conservative party suspends the former deputy chairman from the parliamentary group after he refused to apologize for saying London’s Labour mayor Sadiq Khan was controlled by Islamists.

Pressure had been growing on UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Tories to act following lawmaker Lee Anderson’s contentious remarks yesterday, which have been widely condemned as racist and Islamophobic.

It comes as incidents of Islamophobia and antisemitism have spiked dramatically across the UK amid increased polarization since the October 7 massacre carried out by Hamas in southern Israel and the subsequent outbreak of the war in Gaza last October.

“Following his refusal to apologize for comments made yesterday, the chief whip has suspended the Conservative whip from Lee Anderson MP,” a spokesperson for Tory lawmaker Simon Hart says.

Hart’s chief whip position makes him responsible for internal Conservative Party discipline.

On the right-wing GB News channel Friday, Anderson claimed Islamists had “got control” of Khan, who was the first Muslim mayor of a Western capital when first elected in London in 2016.

“He’s actually given our capital city away to his mates,” added Anderson, the Tory MP for a seat in northern England.

His remarks prompted a flood of criticism from across the political spectrum, with Labour Party chairwoman Anneliese Dodds calling them “unambiguously racist and Islamophobic.”

Within hours, Hart’s office issued a statement announcing Anderson’s suspension. The MP has yet to comment on the decision.

Anderson will now sit as an independent lawmaker in parliament.

War cabinet set to vote by telephone tonight on Paris hostage-for-truce deal outline — TV report

People walk by photographs of civilians held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, February 14, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Channel 12 reports that war cabinet ministers are to vote by telephone tonight on whether to endorse the Paris hostages-for-truce outline.

It says the deal apparently provides, in a first phase, for the release of some 40 hostages in return for the release of Palestinian security prisoners and a truce in the fighting of some 6 weeks. These would be female, elderly and ill hostages.  The number of Palestinian prisoners has not been finalized, it says, but is likely to be in the hundreds.

These details largely match earlier reports from other sources.

The TV report says there would be provision for further talks on the release of additional hostages.

It says the goal is for the deal to be finalized by the start of Ramadan.

Senior official cautions that a hostage deal is still ‘far’ off, confirms Hamas eased demands

A senior political official tells reporters that despite an initial framework for a hostage deal being agreed by negotiators in Paris, “we are still far from a deal.”

The official confirms that Hamas has softened its demands, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called “ludicrous.”

“Hamas has given up some of its demands due to the tough stance taken by Prime Minister Netanyahu,” the official says.

Navalny’s body given to his mother: Navalny spokesperson

Women lay flowers to pay tribute to Alexei Navalny at the monument, a large boulder from the Solovetsky islands, where the first camp of the Gulag political prison system was established, near the historical Federal Security Service (FSB, Soviet KGB successor) building in Moscow, Russia, on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

The body of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been handed to his mother, more than a week after he died in an Arctic prison colony, his spokesperson says.

“Alexei’s body was given to his mother. Thank you to everybody who demanded this with us,” Navalny spokesperson Kira Yarmysh says on X.

IDF strikes Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon

The IDF says it struck several more Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, including a building where operatives were gathered.

An army drone spotted a group of operatives entering a building known by the military to be used by Hezbollah in the town of Blida earlier today. A short while later, a fighter jet struck the building, the IDF says.

Fighter jets struck several more buildings used by Hezbollah in Rab el-Thalathine, Ayta ash-Shab and Blida, the IDF says.

The IDF says it also shelled several locations in south Lebanon with artillery to “remove threats.”

Rockets were fired from Lebanon today at Arab al-Aramshe, Hanita and the Mount Dov area. The IDF says it shelled the launch sites with artillery.

רחפן צה"לי זיהה במהלך היום חוליית מחבלים הנכנסת למבנה צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב הכפר בליידא שבדרום לבנון, מטוס קרב תקף לפני זמן קצר את המבנה בו זוהו המחבלים >> pic.twitter.com/AfDwfBLCAg

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 24, 2024

Hamas source: Deal sees 6 week truce, 200-300 prisoners in exchange for 35-40 hostages

Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on February 24, 2024. (Atia Mohammed/Flash90)

A Hamas source tells the AFP news agency that the new plan being discussed proposes a six-week pause in the conflict and the release of between 200 and 300 Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for 35 to 40 hostages being held by Hamas.

The comments reflect similar numbers reported by Saudi news outlets.

Rocket warning sirens sounds in Kiryat Shmona

A rocket warning siren sounds in the northern border town of Kiryat Shmona.

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.

US said to ask Israel to stop targeting Hamas police officers escorting aid convoys in Gaza

Palestinians loot a humanitarian aid truck as it crosses into the Gaza Strip in Rafah, December 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair, File)

The US has asked Israel to stop targeting Hamas policemen who are escorting aid convoys in Gaza, the Axios news site reports.

The report, citing three US and Israeli officials, comes after aid groups suspended deliveries to northern Gaza this week saying that the convoys were being overrun by hungry crowds who were looting the aid.

According to Axios, the Biden administration asked Israel to stop targeting members of the Hamas-run civilian police force, warning that a “total breakdown of law and order” is significantly exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.

US officials say at least 11 Hamas policemen have been killed in Israeli strikes in recent weeks.

The report says Israel rebuffed the American request, saying that a clear goal of the war was to end all Hamas control in Gaza and that Israel was working on alternative plans to ensure law and order.

Report: Israel to inform ICJ it is complying with orders handed down in genocide case

Judges and parties sit during a hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, January 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

Israel will send a formal notification to the International Court of Justice on Monday that it is complying with provisional measures handed down by the court, the Ynet news site reports.

The court issued six orders last month, including one that Israel report on its compliance.

Ynet says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered those involved to submit a “sparse” report, detailing how Israel is complying with orders.

The document being drafted by the Foreign and Justice Ministry will focus on the orders to “prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide,” take immediate steps to “enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” and “to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence” pertaining to allegations of genocide.

The court also ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power to prevent the commission” of genocidal acts, and said that Israel must “ensure with immediate effect” that the army isn’t carrying out genocidal acts.

However, Israel already insists that it is not carrying out genocidal acts against the Palestinians in Gaza, and explained this position at length both in oral arguments in The Hague and in material submitted to the court, and there is little it can practically do to show further compliance with these orders.

The court had given an interim ruling that at least some of Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing war against Hamas could fall within the terms of the Genocide Convention and said it must therefore take a series of preventative measures.

However, the court did not take the action most desired by South Africa and feared by Israel — that of ordering an immediate, unilateral ceasefire that would have stymied the war effort and indicated that the court believes genocide is actively taking place.

Footage shows airstrikes, tanks shelling Hamas operatives in Khan Younis

The IDF releases footage showing airstrikes and tank shelling on Hamas operatives who were spotted by drones operated by the Paratroopers Brigade in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.

According to the IDF, the gunmen were killed in the strikes.

Also in western Khan Younis, the IDF says the paratroopers located a Hamas weapons depot with a large number of explosive devices, mines, grenades, ammunition, rockets and other military equipment.

The brigade has killed many more Hamas gunmen in western Khan Younis recently, including in close-quarters combat and by ambushing the operatives with sniper fire, the IDF says.

Hamas said to no longer be demanding complete IDF withdrawal from Gaza, permanent ceasefire in truce talks

Families of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza gather around a table at 'Hostage Square' in Tel Aviv, February 24, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The Saudi A-Sharq network reports that the Hamas terror group has softened some of its key demands as efforts to reach a hostage release deal continue.

Citing sources with knowledge of Hamas positions, the report says that Hamas has lowered the number of Palestinian security prisoners it is demanding to be released under the next phase of the deal; it is no longer demanding the complete withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza and appears to accept an initial truce of six weeks instead of demanding a permanent cease-fire.

Hamas is, however, demanding that Israeli troops withdraw from major population centers and allow displaced Gazans to return home. Northern Gaza was largely evacuated during the fighting.

While the report said that Hamas was no longer demanding the release of some 1,500 prisoners in exchange for the next batch of 40 Israeli hostages, it did not give details on the terror group’s current demands.

However, another Saudi Channel Al-Haddad reported that Hamas is now asking for some 200-300 Palestinians to be freed in the first phase.

It is believed that 130 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released prior to that. Three hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 11 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military.

Report: US wants hostage deal in place before Ramadan; Hamas yet to agree on framework

Hostage families call for the release of their loved ones at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, February 10, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The US is hoping that a hostage release deal and truce can be agreed upon before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Axios news site reports.

The report comes after Israeli negotiators return from Paris and officials say they have agreed to a framework for the deal.

However, Axios reports that moving to detailed negotiation still depends on Qatari and Egyptian negotiators getting Hamas to agree to the framework they presented at the talks in Paris.

According to Axios, the updated framework proposes that Hamas release some 40 hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a six-week ceasefire and the freeing of hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners held by Israel.

The sources tell Axios that while this is similar to a previous framework, the current one is far more detailed.

Brazil’s Lula doubles down, accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during the inauguration of the Gentileza transportation terminal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, February 23, 2024. (AP/Bruna Prado)

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva alleges that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, doubling down on harsh rhetoric after stirring controversy last week by comparing Israel’s war with the Hamas terror group in Gaza to the Holocaust.

Lula writes on X, formerly Twitter, that he will not give up his “dignity for falsehood,” an apparent reference to calls for him to retract his previous comments.

“What the Israeli government is doing is not war, it is genocide,” he writes. “Children and women are being murdered.”

Israel has vehemently pushed back against genocide claims, saying its war is targeting Hamas, not the Palestinian people. It holds Hamas responsible for civilian deaths, arguing that the group operates from civilian areas.

In response to Lula’s initial comments last week, Israel declared him a persona non grata, summoned Brazil’s ambassador and demanded an apology.

Israeli official say Paris negotiators reached ‘outline’ for hostages-for-truce deal

Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet security services, left, with Mossad chief David Barnea at the annual IDF memorial ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War at Yad La-Shiryon, September 27, 2023. (Jonathan Shaul/Flash90)

The Israeli delegation returns from talks in Paris with cautious optimism that a deal can be reached to temporarily halt the fighting with the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip and see Israeli and foreign hostages released.

An Israeli official quoted by Hebrew multiple media sites says that an “outline of an agreement” was reached by the Israeli, American, Egyptian and Qatari representatives for a temporary ceasefire in the Gaza war, sparked by the terror group’s October 7 massacres.

“There were good talks, there’s significant progress,” Channel 12 quotes the official as saying. “We have a basis on which to build a plan and the negotiations.”

Haaretz quotes informed sources saying that the progress at the Paris summit will enable the sides to present to Hamas an updated framework for a deal. “Continuing progress is now up to Hamas,” it quoted an unnamed foreign diplomat saying.

The Israeli source says that the outline will first be presented to the war cabinet for approval, followed by the wider cabinet. The Maariv newspaper reports that the war cabinet is set to meet tonight to hear updates from Paris.

The next stage of the talks, according to the Israeli source, will focus on the central issue of which hostages held by terror groups in Gaza and which Palestinian security prisoners will be released in the truce, along with the specifics of the duration of the truce and the IDF’s deployment while it is in force.

The reports note that these details are yet to be agreed upon.

Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar were in Paris for the talks.

IDF: Fighter jet downs ‘suspicious aerial target’ heading into Israeli airspace from Lebanon

The IDF says a “suspicious aerial target” that was heading toward Israeli airspace from Lebanon was downed by a fighter jet a short while ago.

Amid the incident, suspected drone infiltration alarms sounded in the Upper Galilee.

The target was shot down over Lebanon.

Earlier, several rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel, landing in open areas near Hanita, according to the IDF.

There are no reports of damage or injuries.

Rocket Alerts [13:16:49] – 3 Alerts:

• Confrontation Line — Yir'on, Avivim, Baram#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/4UYhqxMxCw

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) February 24, 2024

Drone infiltration alert sounds in communities on northern border

Sirens warning of a suspected drone infiltration are sounding in the Upper Galilee, near the Lebanon border.

The alerts are activated in the largely evacuated communities of Dishon, Dalton, Iftach, Malkia, Alma, Rehaniya and Ramot Naftali among others.

🚨 Large Rocket Alerts [13:16:49] – 14 Alerts:

• Confrontation Line — Yir'on, Avivim, Baram, Mevuot Hermon Regional Council, Iftach, Ramot Naftali, Kerem Ben Zimra, Dalton, Alma, Malkia, Dishon, Jish (Gush Halav), Ramat Dalton Industrial Zone, Rehaniya pic.twitter.com/dkWxIeVzQT

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) February 24, 2024

The alerts come hours after the Israel Defense Forces announced it had struck a number of Hezbollah positions overnight.

The Hezbollah terror group has carried out several attacks on northern Israel using explosive-laden drones, though there have also been numerous false alarms.

IDF says troops find mortars in UNRWA bags, tunnel shaft near top Hamas officer’s home

Troops of the 7th Armored Brigade operate at the entrance to a Hamas tunnel in Khan Younis, in a handout image published February 24, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Troops of the IDF’s 7th Armored Brigade raided the home of a senior Hamas intelligence officer in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, locating a tunnel shaft and weapons nearby, the military says.

The tunnel was later destroyed.

In the same area, the IDF says the troops located a cache of mortars in repurposed UNRWA bags, and other weapons and military equipment.

Amid the 7th Brigade’s operations in Khan Younis, the IDF says the troops spotted eight Hamas operatives approaching them, before eliminating them with an Iron Sting guided mortar.

The IDF publishes footage of the strike.

UN experts call for arms embargo on Israel: ‘International law does not enforce itself’

A group of United Nations experts has called for an arms embargo on Israel, arguing that any transfer of weapons or ammunition to Israel that would be used in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip “is likely to violate international humanitarian law and must cease immediately.”

In a statement released yesterday, the UN experts say that all countries have a responsibility not to sell weapons “if it is expected, given the facts or past patterns of behavior, that they would be used to violate international law.”

Arms exports to #Israel that would be used in #Gaza likely to violate international humanitarian law and must stop immediately, UN experts warn: "All States must do their part to urgently end the unrelenting humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza":https://t.co/zzIvaKy74b pic.twitter.com/Vej6xNajnm

— UN Special Procedures (@UN_SPExperts) February 23, 2024

The statement also celebrates a February 12 ruling handed down by a Dutch court ordering The Netherlands to stop delivering parts for F-35 fighter jets used by Israel in Gaza.

The team of dozens of independent experts who backed the statement includes Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese, who was officially banned from Israel earlier in the month over her apparent justification of Hamas’s brutal October 7 massacres.

Italian PM: If Russia hadn’t invaded Ukraine, Hamas wouldn’t have launched October 7 massacres

This handout picture released by the Palazzo Chigi Press Office shows Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arriving in Kyiv on February 24, 2024 to preside over a G7 virtual meeting on Ukraine on the second anniversary of the Russian invasion. (Handout/Palazzo Chigi press office/AFP)

Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine laid the ground for Hamas’s October 7 massacres in southern Israel, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says.

“If Russia had not invaded Ukraine, in all likelihood Hamas would not have launched such an attack against Israel. It was inevitable that such a serious violation of international law, moreover at the hands of a permanent member of the UN Security Council, would have cascading consequences on other areas of the world, from the Middle East to the Balkans, up to Africa,” she says in an exclusive interview with Italy’s Il Giornale newspaper.

“This is the game we are playing, and we must be aware. If international legality is not re-established in Ukraine, the outbreaks of conflict will continue to multiply,” she adds.

She also expresses support for a two-state solution, which she says is “in everyone’s interest, both Israel and Palestine.”

The interview is published as Meloni arrives in Kyiv to preside over a G7 summit marking two years since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

IDF maps homes of Ma’ale Adumim attackers ahead of demolition

IDF troops measure the home of a Palestinian terrorist in the West Bank town of Za'atara, east of Bethlehem, early February 24, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says it measured the homes of three Palestinian terrorists who carried out a deadly shooting attack near the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adumim on Thursday, ahead of their potential demolition.

Troops operated in the town of Za’atara, east of Bethlehem, and mapped out two homes belonging to the gunmen, the IDF says.

Israel regularly destroys the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks.

The town and an adjacent village are home to Ahmed Al-Wahsh, 31, and brothers Muhammad Zawahra, 26, and Kathem Zawahra, 31, who are accused of carrying out the attack.

The trio opened fire with automatic weapons at Israelis waiting in traffic while heading toward Jerusalem on the Route 1 highway near the az-Za’ayyem checkpoint, killing Matan Elmaliah and wounding 11 others.

Hamas says 92 killed in past 24 hours, taking Palestinian toll in Gaza to 29,606

A woman mourns relatives killed in overnight Israeli strikes, outside the Al-Najjar hospital in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 23, 2024. (Mohammed Abed/AFP)

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says 92 people were killed in the enclave in the past 24 hours, taking the Palestinian toll in the war to  29,606.

These figures cannot be independently verified, and are believed to include both civilians and Hamas members killed in Gaza, including as a consequence of terror groups’ own rocket misfires. The IDF says it has killed over 12,000 operatives in Gaza, in addition to some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.

Sirens sound in northern border towns warning of suspected drone attack

Sirens warning of a suspected drone attack from south Lebanon sound in a number of communities close to the northern border.

The alerts come shortly after the Israel Defense Forces announced it had struck a number of Hezbollah positions overnight.

IDF says it struck several Hezbollah positions in south Lebanon overnight

Overnight, the IDF says it struck several Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon.

Sites hit by fighter jets in Jabal Blat included rocket launching positions and other infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah, according to the IDF.

In Ayta ash-Shab, the IDF says it struck a Hezbollah observation post.

The IDF also says it shelled areas near Hanine and Marwahin with artillery to “remove threats.”

Meanwhile, this morning two rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Adamit area. Both apparently landed in open areas, causing no injuries.

במהלך הלילה, מטוסי קרב תקפו עמדות שיגור ותשתיות טרור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב ג'בל בלט. בנוסף, הותקפה עמדת תצפית של הארגון במרחב עייתא א-שעב.

כמו כן, צה"ל תקף בארטילריה להסרת איום במרחב חנין ובמרחב מרווחין pic.twitter.com/g0AYmnJJDy

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 24, 2024

IDF says intensive fighting ongoing in Khan Younis, Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood

Troops operate in the Gaza Strip in an undated photo released by the military on February 24, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says many Hamas operatives have been killed over the past day during intensive fighting in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis and in a large operation in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood.

In Zeitoun, the IDF says the 401st Armored Brigade, using a drone, spotted a Hamas cell planning to fire anti-tank missiles. The troops quickly called in an airstrike, the IDF says, releasing footage of the incident.

The IDF says many more Hamas operatives were killed in Zeitoun over the past day, during gun battles and by airstrikes.

Troops also located many Hamas weapons, along with documents, the IDF says.

In central Gaza, the IDF says the Nahal Brigade also killed many Hamas gunmen over the past day, including by calling in airstrikes.

In Khan Younis, the IDF says intensive fighting continues, with the Givati Brigade killing many Hamas operatives with sniper fire, and the 7th Armored Brigade killing numerous more operatives with tank shelling and by calling in airstrikes.

לוחמי צוות הקרב של חטיבה 401 זיהו באמצעת רחפן חוליית מחבלים שהתכוננה לשיגור נ"ט לעבר כוחותינו, זמן קצר לאחר מכן הכווינו כלי טיס לעבר החולייה והיא חוסלה.

במהלך היממה האחרונה, חיסלו הלוחמים בפשיטה על זיתון מחבלים רבים בתקיפות אוויריות ובהיתקלויות בשטח >> pic.twitter.com/dSjlqKogXC

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 24, 2024

Rocket sirens sound in town close to Lebanon border

Sirens sound in Adamit near the Lebanon border, warning of incoming rocket fire.

The towns close to the northern border have been largely evacuated of civilians since October 8, when Hezbollah-led forces began launching daily attacks on Israeli communities and military posts along the border.

The terror group says it is doing so to support Gaza amid Israel’s war with the Hamas terror group, triggered by its October 7 massacre.

Brothers arrested on suspicion of stabbing mother, sisters in Ramle

Two brothers have been arrested on suspicion of stabbing their mother and two sisters at a home in Ramle, police say.

The victims are in various conditions ranging from light to serious.

The three have been taken to the Shamir Medical Center.

Police say the two suspects, aged 18 and 20, were arrested after they fled the scene.

US military says it destroyed seven Houthi missiles targeted at Red Sea

The US military says that it had destroyed seven mobile anti-ship cruise missiles that the Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen was preparing to launch at targets in the Red Sea.

Houthi attack on freighter Rubymar caused significant damage to ship, US says

An attack by Yemen’s Houthis on the freighter Rubymar caused significant damage to the ship and an 18-mile (29-km) oil slick, the US military’s Central Command says.

Rubymar, a Belize-flagged, British-registered and Lebanese-operated cargo ship carrying combustible fertilizer, was damaged in Sunday’s missile strike claimed by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

The group’s military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement the following day that the ship is now at risk of sinking.

“The ship is anchored but slowly taking on water,” Central Command says in a statement.

The Rubymar was transporting over 41,000 tons of fertilizer when it was attacked, the statement added.

Netanyahu’s post-war plan for Gaza gets cool US reception

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says Washington had been “consistently clear with our Israeli counterparts” about what was needed in post-war Gaza, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented his plan to the security cabinet and later released it to the public overnight in Israel.

“The Palestinian people should have a voice and a vote… through a revitalized Palestinian Authority,” he says, pushing the US position for a reformed PA to take over the governance of Gaza. Netanyahu has rejected the idea repeatedly.

His post-war plan is based on principles broadly accepted by the public and his office said the document will serve as the basis for future discussions regarding the post-war management of Gaza. It calls to install “local officials” unaffiliated with terrorists to administer services in the Strip instead of Hamas, for Egyptian cooperation to end smuggling into Gaza, for Arab countries to fund reconstruction of the Strip and for no role for UNRWA. It also calls for Gaza to be demilitarized and for its population to be “de-radicalized.”

The plan lays out that the IDF would have “indefinite freedom” to operate throughout Gaza to prevent any resurgence of terror activity. It states that Israel will move forward with its already-in-motion project to establish a security buffer zone on the Palestinian side of the Strip’s border, adding that it will remain in place “as long as there is a security need for it.”

This plan is directly at odds with one of the Biden administration’s own principles for post-war Gaza, which states that there will be no reduction in the enclave’s territory.

Kirby says this afternoon in a press briefing that the US doesn’t “believe in a reduction of the size of Gaza… we don’t want to see any forcible displacement of Palestinians outside Gaza and, of course, we don’t want to see Gaza dominated or ruled or governed over by Hamas.”

Asked about the plan during a visit to Argentina, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he would “reserve judgement” until seeing all the details, but that Washington was against any “reoccupation” of Gaza after the war.

“Gaza… cannot be a platform for terrorism. There should be no Israeli reoccupation of Gaza. The size of Gaza territory should not be reduced,” Blinken says in Buenos Aires.

Netanyahu’s plan was swiftly rejected by the Palestinian Authority.