Jan. 13: 120,000 attend kickoff of 24-hour rally marking 100 days since hostages taken

‘We have said everything and nothing helps,’ says sister of hostage at Tel Aviv rally

Merav Svirsky speaks at the Tel Aviv rally for the hostages on January 14, 2024. (Screen capture)

“We have said everything and nothing helps,” says Merav Svirsky, whose parents were murdered on October 7 in Kibbutz Be’eri and her brother Itai Svirsky was taken hostage.

“How can we raise kids here and promise them everything will be okay if we know that we left the hostages there?” she says at the Tel Aviv rally demanding the release of the hostages.

“How can we talk about going back to the [Gaza border] communities if their members are held over the border?”

“We need this nightmare to have a good end,” says Svirsky. “My parents won’t come back, but I want to have hope.”

War doc filmmaker at Tel Aviv hostage rally: I never thought nightmares I covered could happen here

Protesters try to block a street adjacent to Hostages Square holding signs for the release of the hostages taken by Hamas militants into the Gaza Strip in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Jan. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

War documentary filmmaker Itai Anghel speaks after midnight at the Tel Aviv rally for the hostages, sharing his experience embedded with soldiers in Gaza.

He says the soldiers’ dreams are not to destroy Hamas, but to find the hostages, to possibly hear a voice in Hebrew, to see a familiar face from the posters of the hostages and to be able to tell them, “‘We’re here, everything is okay, we’ve come to take you home,’” says Anghel.

He says that one soldier dreamed he saw hostage Noa Argamani, who he studied with at Ben Gurion University.

Anghel recalls how he walked with the soldiers in Gaza, describing their total silence as they listened for voices, for sounds from a tunnel, to perhaps let hostages know that the IDF was there.

Israeli journalist Itai Anghel reporting from Ukraine in 2022 during its war with Russia. (Courtesy: Keshet)

“I’ve covered every big conflict, Congo, Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine,” says Anghel. “Each place felt like a nightmare, but when I would come home [to Israel], it was clear that the things I documented wouldn’t happen here. Then 100 days ago, in one hour in [Kibbutz] Nir Oz, every kind of terror was there,” says Anghel, who visited the kibbutz right after the October 7 terror onslaught.

“Families were burned, rapes were committed in front of children’s parents, sometimes after they were killed. The state didn’t get to them, we didn’t get to them, and the rest of our lives will be measured by that.”

“But with the hostages, we have something we can do.”

“We know that if we don’t do what we can, it will stay with us for the rest of our lives. One hundred days is too long, and it starts to feel like the time is up, so let’s do what we can,” he says.

US-led strikes said to have damaged 20-30% of Houthi offensive capabilities

US-led strikes on the Houthis destroyed around a quarter of the Iran-backed terror group’s missile and drone-launching capabilities, according to a New York Times report.

Citing two US officials, the newspaper says 20-30% of the Houthis offensive capabilities were destroyed or damaged in the attacks, but that many of their weapon platforms are mobile and can be moved around.

The officials also say it’s been difficult to locate Houthi targets afters years in which the US and allied intelligence agencies did not make it a priority to gather such information.

Gallant rejoins war cabinet meeting after leaving in protest

After earlier storming out in protest, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has rejoined the meeting of the war cabinet.

No aides are present for this part of the meeting, according to Hebrew media outlets, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s reported refusal to let in Gallant’s chief of staff led the defense minister to angrily leave.

Released hostage urges young women held in Gaza to hold on: ‘We’ll meet here, in Israel’

Released hostage Agam Goldstein-Almog, 18, whose father and older sister were killed in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7 as she, her mother and two younger brothers were taken hostage, speaks directly to the young female hostages she and her family met while in captivity.

“Did he touch you again, did he enter the shower again, did he touch your injury, did he ask if you want to be set up with someone in Gaza?” Goldstein-Almog recalls asking. “Your body is his, that’s how he acts.”

Goldstein-Almog begs the young women to keep holding on.

“A hundred days, what to say about this round number,” she says. “A hundred days in darkness, in war, alone. My friends, I miss you. I haven’t met your families, but we’ll meet here, in Israel.”

Mother of hostage killed in Gaza calls on government to ‘wake up,’ bring back all abductees

The mother of Tamir Adar, who was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz and then killed in Gaza, calls on the government to “wake up.”

“Every day that passes endangers those who are surviving,” Yael Adar says. “Wake up, government of Israel, wake up, the only job you have is to get them back.”

“I won’t forget and I won’t forgive,” she continues. “Government of Israel, the onus is on you for what happened on your watch.”

Gallant storms out of war cabinet meeting over PM’s reported refusal to let aide in

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in Tel Aviv. December 16, 2023. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has reportedly stormed out of a meeting of the war cabinet at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv after feuding with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the latest spat between the two.

According to an unsourced account reportedly widely by Hebrew media, Gallant was angered that his chief of staff was not allowed to enter the meeting on the grounds that aides were not allowed in, even though Netanyahu had several aides present.

“Stop getting in the way of my work,” Gallant is quoted as telling Netanyahu and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi before angrily leaving.

Organizers of Tel Aviv rally for hostages report turnout of 120,000

The organizers of the Tel Aviv rally for the hostages say 120,000 people have attended tonight’s demonstration.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum also firmly denies any connection to a small group of protesters who briefly blocked Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway earlier this evening, before being dispersed by police.

The blocking of the highway came soon after a separate demonstration calling for new elections was held at Habima Square.

‘It’s been 100 days of cruelty that the world hasn’t seen since Hitler,’ freed hostage tells rally

Freed hostage Danielle Aloni addresses a rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on January 13, 2024, to mark 100 days since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 onslaught. (Screenshot)

Freed hostage Danielle Aloni, whose brother-in-law David Cunio is still held in Gaza after being kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists from Gaza during the October 7 massacre in southern Israel, says, “It has been 100 days of cruelty that the world hasn’t seen since Hitler.”

Aloni tells the rally in Tel Aviv how Hamas “created a city of terror underground,” where hostages were taken in their pajamas, “without shoes, without glasses, without medicines.”

Appealing to world leaders, she yells, “How would you feel if your women were being raped, how would you act if they were shooting at your parents, if they were burning your beloved ones?”

At Tel Aviv rally, sister of presumed captive plays last message she got from her on Oct. 7

Doron Steinbrecher was alone in her Kibbutz Kfar Aza apartment on October 7 when Hamas terrorists swooped in, presumably taking her captive (Courtesy)

Speaking at the Tel Aviv rally for the hostages, Yamit Ashkenazi plays the last voice message she received from her younger sister Doron Steinbrecher, who is believed held hostage in Gaza after being abducted by terrorists on October 7.

“They caught me, they caught me, they caught me,” Doron says in a faint voice on the recording.

“I go to sleep and wake up in the morning and hear her saying that,” says Ashkenazi.

At the rally, Ashkenazi yells at the government for “twenty years of abandonment.”

“In the Gaza border communities, we believed we were safe and we stayed to bring up our children there, but you who closed your eyes, sitting in your safe houses, who talk about the day [the war] after while my sister and another 135 are there, wake up already!” she says.

“What are you waiting for, to have another 100 days to find out about another hostage killed in captivity?” Ashkenazi continues. “I don’t want my sister coming home in a coffin and no one wants their loved ones in a coffin. Take responsibility. There is no price tag for our loved ones. We’ve stopped being polite. I demand — everyone home now.”

Former Supreme Court chief Beinisch: Nations must back us because terror a threat to all

Former Supreme Court chief justice Dorit Beinisch addresses a rally at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on January 13, 2024, to mark 100 days since the Hamas-led Oct. 7 onslaught. (Screenshot)

Dorit Beinisch, a former chief justice of the Supreme Court, addresses the demonstration in Tel Aviv, telling the families of the hostages that “your scream is our scream, we hear your voices clear and strong, and we’re here to support you.”

Beinisch notes that Israel has previously experienced tough periods during war, “but October 7 shook up the nation.”

“We’re fighting a bitter enemy with no limit to its cruelty,” she adds.

Beinisch also comments on the genocide case that South Africa has brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice, denouncing it as “an embarrassment.”

“The massacre on October 7 wasn’t a fight for freedom and isn’t according to the laws of war. The nations of the world have to support us because terrorism is a threat to the world,” says Beinisch.

With her voice breaking, Beinisch calls on jurists around the world and everyone for whom the law is dear to take part and help.

“Don’t let cruelty and lies win,” she says. “I’m hopeful that the sounds of this rally will resound around the world.”

In recorded message, Macron tells rally for hostages that ‘France doesn’t abandon its children’

French President Emmanuel Macron sends a recorded message to the Tel Aviv rally for the hostages. He references Eitan Yahalomi, Mia Schem, and Erez and Sahar Calderon, freed captives who have French citizenship, while mourning Elia Toledano who was killed after being abducted on October 7.

He then refers to their parents who are still hostages. “The French nation is determined that Ohad [Yahalomi] and Ofer [Calderon] will return to their freed children, that Orion Hernandez Radoux will be released, all the hostages from the terrorist attacks from October 7 will be released.”

“France does not abandon its children. That is why the negotiations for their release must be repeated and renewed again and again,” says Macron.

Senior Hamas figure: Qatar sending medicine to Gaza, some will go to the hostages

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan speaks during a rally organized by Lebanon's Hezbollah terror group to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, May 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

CAIRO — A Hamas official thanks Qatar for sending medicine to the Gaza Strip “in light of the many risks that threaten the lives of Palestinians.”

“Some medicine will be used to treat Israeli prisoners,” Osama Hamdan, a Lebanon-based Hamas leader, tells a news conference in Beirut.

Israel had announced yesterday that it had made an arrangement with Qatar that will allow the delivery of medicines to hostages held in Gaza by Hamas, the Palestinian terror group that rules the Strip.

Hamdan says the priority is the citizens of Gaza.

“First, we believe our people are more deserving and in need of medicine, and secondly, there are security issues this presents.”

US envoy tells Tel Aviv rally that America won’t stop working for return of hostages

US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew gives at a on January 13, 2024, Tel Aviv rally marking 100 days since the hostages were abducted. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

US Ambassador Jacob Lew pledges to the crowd at Hostages Square that the United States will not stop working to bring home the hostages held in Gaza by Hamas.

He recalls that his first meeting as ambassador when he arrived in Israel two months ago was with families of the hostages.

“Sadly and maddeningly, the ordeal of their captivity continues,” he says.

He uses the Hebrew word for “now” to emphasize the US commitment to bring home the hostages swiftly.

PM dismisses statements by far-right allies that were cited at The Hague genocide hearing

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismisses statements made by far-right members of his government that were cited in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, declaring they have no bearing on Israeli operations in the field.

“Across the political spectrum, things have been said and they carry no weight –  for one reason: What matters is the government’s policy as determined by the government and the cabinet,” Netanyahu tells reporters during a press conference in Tel Aviv.

“The IDF avoids harming noncombatants, this is our policy,” he argues without explicitly condemning his political allies.

Asked about the decision to not allow Palestinian civilians to return to northern Gaza until all the hostages are returned, Netanyahu says Israel’s policies adhere to the laws of war.

“There is an international law and it says a simple thing: You remove a population to keep it away from a combat zone, and you do not return it as long as the danger exists,” he says. “There is extensive fighting in the northern Gaza Strip and we will not bring residents back while there is fighting.”

Asked if Israel intends to retain control over the Philadelphi Route, also known as the Philadelphi Corridor, which runs for 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) along the Gaza-Egypt border, Netanyahu says this is “one possibility for what I call a southern barrier.”

“We will not end the war without closing this breach. Otherwise, we will not eliminate Hamas, we will not demilitarize Gaza and then more weapons will enter through this southern breach. Obviously, we need to close it. There are several options and we have not yet made a decision,” he says.

Regarding Secretary of State Blinken’s demand that Israel hand over to the Palestinian Authority tax revenues it collects on the PA’s behalf, Netanyahu says the money has been transferred to the PA: “It is sitting in their bank account.”

The PA has not withdrawn it, however, he says, “because they insist that we give money to people in Gaza, and we don’t want to give money to people who helped or could help Hamas, in the murders it carried out or will carry out. So we don’t give that money.” But the tax revenues owed to the PA, he says, “we have transferred.”

Additionally, Netanyahu expresses approval of IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi’s announcement of an internal probe into the military’s mistakes ahead of October 7, saying an external investigation into the matter would be counterproductive at this time.

He says it’s “obvious” that the military needs to examine itself operationally but when it comes to an outside probe, “I think there is no one who wants the commanders in the IDF to be looking for lawyers instead of dealing with the fighting.”

WATCH: Families of Hamas hostages kick off 24 hours of events to mark 100 days of captivity

Events to mark 100 days since Hamas-led terrorists slaughtered some 1,200 people in southern Israel and kidnapped around 240 others have begun in Tel Aviv.

Tens of thousands gather at Hostages Square, where the crowd spills out onto Shaul Hamelech Boulevard.

A livestream of the event is here:

Organizers announce that numerous world leaders have sent messages of support that will be read out over the coming day. They also say from the stage that the event is “historic” and unprecedented anywhere in the world.

The crowd is also told that all of Israel’s leaders have been invited to speak, including President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Thousands rally in Haifa to demand early elections to replace Netanyahu

This handout photo shows Moshe Ya'alon, third from left, attending a protest rally in Haifa on January 13, 2024. (People's Protest Haifa)

Thousands of demonstrators call for early elections to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at a protest rally in Haifa.

Former defense minister Moshe Ya’alon, a Netanyahu ally-turned-critic, accuses him of creating the circumstances that allowed Hamas to launch the October 7 attack on Israel in which terrorists killed some 1,200 people and abducted around 240 to Gaza.

“The ultimate responsibility of the defendant,” Ya’alon says in reference to the prime minister’s corruption trial, “owes also to his insane policy that views Hamas as an asset and the Palestinian Authority as a liability.”

“He tried to buy Gaza and [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar with suitcases of cash, which Hamas used to arm itself and grow stronger and attack our cities and kill our citizens,” Ya’alon charges.

Organized by a left-leaning group called People’s Protest Haifa, the rally at Horev Center is the second major anti-government protest in the northern coastal city since October 7. Some participants of the rally, which is headlined “Authorized for Publication: Elections Now,” plan to continue from Haifa to Caesarea to protest near Netanyahu’s private residence there.

Netanyahu: Israel ‘on the path to victory’ in war against Hamas

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Kirya military base in January 13, 2024. (YouTube screenshot; used in accordance with clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

At a press conference held at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists “no one will stop” Israel in the war against Hamas.

“What happened on October 7 will not happen again,” the premier pledges, referring to the devastating onslaught by the Gaza-ruling terror group three months ago.

Netanyahu asserts that the update to the 2024 budget set to be voted on tomorrow, which has been sharply criticized, “will enable the continuation of the war.”

“We are on the path to victory and we will not stop until we achieve victory,” he says. “We will not compromise and we will not stop.”

Netanyahu says he told visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier this week, “This is not only our war, this is also your war.”

The prime minister also says the “hypocritical attack is a moral low in the history of nations,” referring to South Africa’s genocide allegations against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

“The supporters of the new Nazis dare to accuse us of genocide,” he says, accusing Pretoria of supporting “baby-burners” while Israel is “fighting an unprecedentedly moral and just war  against the monsters of Hamas – the new Nazis.”

“Antisemitism is still alive, but the status of the Jewish people has changed — we have a state, an army and heroic soldiers who protect our people,” he says.

IDF chief says ‘time is pressing’ for hostages’ return, warns against ‘attempts to blackmail a ceasefire’

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi speaks to the press, January 13, 2024. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says the military must continue to operate in the Gaza Strip in order to bring about the defeat of Hamas and the release of the hostages the terror group is holding.

“Today we approved plans for the Southern Command to continue fighting and increase military pressure on Hamas. Pressure that will lead to the dismantling of Hamas and the return of the hostages. This pressure, and only it, has so far managed to bring about the return of many hostages,” Halevi says in a press statement in southern Israel.

“Tomorrow we will mark one hundred days since the beginning of the war. A hundred days in which the hostages are still being held in Gaza by the cruel Hamas terrorists. We are working by all means, mostly covert, in order to return them and will continue to do so until we return them all. This task is not yet complete. I know that every minute has a critical meaning and we are not indifferent to it. Time is pressing for the return of the hostages and we do not forget for a moment and do not abandon this elevated goal,” he says.

Halevi says that to “bring about real results, we must continue to operate in the enemy’s territory, not allow attempts to blackmail a ceasefire that apparently will not bring about real results.”

“We have to keep pressing and that is exactly what we are doing,” he says.

“The Hamas leadership is pinning its hopes on a cessation of hostilities and is convinced that this moment is near. For these just goals, we are determined and persistent. These goals are complex to achieve and will take a long time, we said that from the first moment. In order to dismantle Hamas, it is necessary for us to have patience,” Halevi continues.

He says that four divisions are currently fighting in the Gaza Strip. “The forces advance on the ground according to the plan, and adapt the methods of operation to the tasks, the terrain, and the enemy.”

“We have completed the dismantling of Hamas’s military framework in the northern Gaza Strip, and now the forces are embarking on missions to deepen the achievement and preserve it in this area. There are still terrorists there, there is little infrastructure, we will continue to attack, pursue and destroy,” Halevi says on northern Gaza

“We shifted the concentration of efforts to the center and south of the Strip, where we uncovered, including today, above and below ground munition manufacturing plants, including missiles destined for Israel’s home front, an actual military industry. This destruction is very important in order to prevent future force buildup, and it is important to understand that, without the maneuver on the ground, this could not be done. The forces destroy these infrastructures in a very thorough, systematic manner, and at the same time the forces continue to eliminate terrorists from the air, from the sea and in brave close-quarters combat… in a very complex area,” he says.

On reservist forces, Halevi says some have been released home, but says, “We will of course need you in 2024 as well.”

He says they will be re-called up with “sufficient time to prepare, along with proper recognition and compensation, for you and no less importantly for your families.”

On Hezbollah, Halevi says the Lebanese terror group has “chosen to act as a ‘Hamas shield’ under Iran’s directives, and we are exacting an ever-increasing price from it.”

“The security reality in the north is already taking shape these days. We are keeping the Radwan terrorists away from the border and damaging Hezbollah’s capabilities that it has built up over the years. We operate freely in Lebanon’s airspace and strike any threat we detect,” he says.

“The south Lebanon region is a combat zone, and it will remain so, as long as Hezbollah operates from it. Hezbollah may turn the entire country of Lebanon into a combat zone, this will have a heavy price,” Halevi warns.

On the military’s investigations of its failures, Halevi says “True investigation is the lifeblood of an army. We are constantly investigating. That’s how it is in the IDF, it’s our way to learn and improve.”

“Of course, an operational investigation does not replace an external inspection or investigation. We understand that the war will continue for a long time, so we started planning the structure of the investigations,” he says.

He says the IDF has not yet determined a date for when the investigation into the incidents that led to the October 7 onslaught will begin, but that it will happen “as early as possible.”

“We must begin to understand what happened, in order to better protect the residents of the [Gaza border communities] and in order to know how to ensure that this day will not be repeated,” Halevi says.

Thousands call for ‘elections now’ during rally at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square

A protest at Tel Aviv's Habima Square calling for an immediate general election on January 13, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Gaza-ruling Hamas terror group. (David Patish)

Thousands at Habima Square in Tel Aviv call for “elections now,” as demonstrations kick off marking 100 days since the Hamas terror onslaught in southern Israel.

Many of those in the crowd wave Israeli flags and some wear t-shirts proclaiming they are “loyal to the Declaration of Independence.”

Neta Spillman, whose brother Ilan was murdered at the Supernova festival, denounces the “hubris” of Israel’s leadership in ignoring surveillance soldiers’ warnings that Hamas was openly drilling to attack Israel before October 7.

“You, prime minister, are guilty,” she says. “How do you sleep at night.”

She asks why the hostages have not been returned, and why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still in office: “Why are the Bibas family still there, and you’re still here?”

Netanyahu must go, she says, and the State of Israel must be reborn.

Israel: Hamas has terror network in Europe, run from Lebanon; planned attack on embassy in Sweden

Hamas runs a network in Europe that is commanded from Lebanon, Israel says as its intelligence agencies release new details on the Gaza-based terror organization’s attempts to attack Israeli targets abroad.

Most of the Lebanon-based commanders, including Saleh Al-Arouri and Khalil Kharaz, were killed in recent airstrikes attributed to Israel, as it fights Hamas in the Gaza Strip and beyond.

The Hamas cells in Denmark, Germany and Holland, were arrested in December on suspicion of plotting to attack Jewish targets in Europe.

According to a statement released Saturday by the Prime Minister’s Office, the Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence agencies, together with foreign partners, have been able to build a “comprehensive and in-depth” picture of Hamas efforts to carry out attacks in Europe.

Israel has uncovered “details on theaters of operation, terror targets, and those involved in carrying out attacks – from Hamas commanders in Lebanon until the last of the attackers in the operational infrastructure,” the statement says.

The network was planning to attack Israel’s embassy in Sweden, buy UAVs, and utilize criminal organizations in Europe to support attacks, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

UK police arrest 3 at London rally for handing out flyers praising Oct. 7 onslaught

The Metropolitan Police of London say they have arrested three people for handing out leaflets praising the October 7 onslaught by Hamas, during a rally today against Israel’s ongoing military offensive against the Gaza-ruling terror group.

The flyer voices “unconditional and wholehearted support and solidarity for the Palestinian struggle, which is once more breaking out into armed resistance. As it was bound to do.”

“We communists join together with all progressive humanity in congratulating the Palestinian people and their chosen leadership on the audacious, daring and effective military action they are now taking against the last settler-colonial apartheid state, that monstrous proxy for Anglo-American imperialism, usurper of the Palestinian lands, rights and nationhood, zionist Israel,” it adds.

According to police, the three are suspected of showing support for a prescribed terror organization.

Officers have located the group distributing these leaflets.

Three people have been arrested on suspicion of showing support for a proscribed organisation which is an offence under the Terrorism Act. https://t.co/UALNBVJpV4

— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) January 13, 2024

Houthi-linked sources report new strike on Yemeni port of Hodeida

HODEIDA, Yemen — A new strike hit the Yemeni Red Sea port city of Hodeida today following rocket fire by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, security sources say.

A military source allied with the rebels tells AFP “the site from which a Houthi rocket was launched on the outskirts of Hodeida was hit,” adding that it was not clear whether the strike came from the sea or the air. A police source confirms the new strike.

IDF announces reservist killed fighting in Gaza, raising ground op toll to 187

Master Sgt. (res.) Dan Wajdenbaum. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF announces the death of a soldier killed yesterday in central Gaza, bringing the toll of slain troops in the ground offensive against Hamas to 187.

He is named as Master Sgt. (res.) Dan Wajdenbaum, 24, of the Yiftah Brigade’s 5037th Battalion, from Ra’anana.

Netanyahu to hold press conference at 7:30 p.m.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a press conference this evening at the Kirya military base, his office announces as Shabbat comes to an end.

The statement from the Prime Minister’s Office doesn’t specify what Netanyahu will address during the 7:30 p.m. press conference, which will be held as the families of hostages and their supporters hold a rally to mark 100 days since their loved ones were kidnapped during the Hamas-led October 7 atrocities.

Home in town along Lebanon border hit by anti-tank missile; no reports of injuries

A home in the northern border town of Shtula has been struck by an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon.

Photos from Shtula show damage to the building. There are no reports of injuries.

הנזק שנגרם לבית במושב שתולה מטיל נ"ט ששוגר מלבנון@rubih67 pic.twitter.com/Uam1XcqOYT

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) January 13, 2024

Biden says US sent ‘private’ message to Iran about Houthi attacks

US President Joe Biden speaks to the press as he departs the White House in Washington on January 13, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds)

WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden says today that the United States has delivered a private message to Iran about Iran-backed Houthis responsible for attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

“We delivered it privately and we’re confident we’re well-prepared,” Biden tells reporters at the White House before departing to the Camp David presidential retreat for the weekend.

Rocket warning sirens sound in evacuated Gaza border towns

Incoming rocket alerts sound in several Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip, which were all evacuated in the wake of the Hamas-led onslaught three months ago.

There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Israel said planning military op to take control of border between Gaza and Egypt

A photo shows a view of the wall on Egypt's eastern border with the Gaza Strip, in Rafah on December 11, 2023. (Giuseppe Cacace/AFP)

Israel has informed Egypt that it’s planning to launch a military operation to take control of the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Citing Israeli and Egyptian officials, the report says such an operation is expected to see Israel take the Rafah border crossing and station forces along the so-called Philadelphi Corridor separating Egypt and Gaza, with Israeli forces operating within the Strip.

The operation has not gotten the all-clear from Israeli leaders, according to the report, which says the timing will depend on talks with the Egyptian government as the latter works to broker a new hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli officials have reportedly sought to allay Egyptian concerns that the operation could result in accidental damage in Egypt, and that it could breach the limits on positioning troops in the area as part of the 1979 peace treaty between the countries.

The newspaper also says Egypt rejected an Israeli proposal to have Israeli troops conduct joint patrols on the Egyptian side of the border, saying it was working to install barriers and increase surveillance in the area.

“Israel does not want to be responsible for Gaza in the long term, but the question is how do you make sure that Gaza stays demilitarized?” a senior Israeli military official is quoted as saying. “It’s a real dilemma. The only way to control a geographic area is to control what’s going in and out.”

“Right now in the near term, in the next few decades, Israel needs to control the borders because of the security issues,” the official adds.

IDF strikes Hezbollah posts in southern Lebanon after attacks along border

The IDF says it carried out a wave of airstrikes on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon in response to attacks on the border.

The sites struck by fighter jets in Meiss Ej Jabal and Yarine included various infrastructure used by the terror group, according to the IDF.

Several projectiles were fired by Hezbollah at northern Israel today, which all landed in open areas according to the IDF.

The IDF says it is striking the launch sites.

Houthis release video of simulated assault on Israeli village that includes hostage-taking

Yemen’s Houthis release a video simulating an assault by the Iran-backed rebel group on an Israeli community, similar to the Hamas-led atrocities of October 7.

In the clip, Houthi commandos enter a building after storming the fake village, with one of them shooting a poster of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they do so.

Inside are a pair of men dressed in ultra-Orthodox garb, whom the Houthis take hostage before eventually blowing up the mockup.

המורדים החות'ים בתימן פרסמו תיעוד מתוך אימון שקיימו – בו הם מדמים השתלטות על יישוב ישראלי, לקיחת בני ערובה ותקיפה של יעדים ישראליים מהאוויר ומהקרקע@kaisos1987 pic.twitter.com/IWCHd4w0Bp

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) January 13, 2024

Sanders urges Biden to distance himself from Netanyahu and his ‘horrific’ war

Sen. Bernie Sanders, Independent-Vermont, walks out of the West Wing of the White House in Washington, August 30, 2023. (Susan Walsh/AP)

US Senator Bernie Sanders calls on US President Joe Biden to put distance between himself and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that being pro-Israel does not mean that Washington needs to support the Israeli premier.

Sanders says that US support for the war could be one of a number of issues that could lead to progressive Democrat voters not casting their ballots for Biden in the November 2024 presidential elections.

“I hope that he [Biden] understands that you can be pro-Israel without supporting Netanyahu and the horrific war he is waging against the Palestinian people,” Sanders tells The Guardian.

When asked about the fact that he notably has not called for a full ceasefire in Israel’s war against the Hamas terror group, gaining the ire of his progressive colleagues, and whether it could cause splits in his wing of the party, Sanders says: “I think, at the end of the day, we’ll be alright.”

Sanders has said that a permanent ceasefire could lead to Hamas repeating the terror onslaught of October 7.

A poll published last month indicated that most Americans were opposed to Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. The New York Times/Siena College poll found that 57% of Americans disapprove, 33% approve, and the rest did not know.

The poll also found a split between younger voters and older ones. The poll found that among people between 18 and 29 years old, nearly three-quarters disapproved of the way Biden is handling the conflict.

Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on October 7, killing some 1,200 people in Israel, most of them civilians, amid horrifying acts of brutality and sexual violence.

Around 240 others taken were hostage, of which 136 remain in captivity in Gaza.

Video message from Macron to open 24-hour rally calling for release of Gaza hostages

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv on October 24, 2023, as he visits Israel amid the war against Hamas. (Christophe Ena/Pool/AFP)

Organizers of the 24-hour rally calling for the release of the hostages held in Gaza say the event will open with a video message from French President Emmanuel Macron.

The central event organized by the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum Headquarters will be held at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, with rallies to be held across the country and around the world to mark Sunday’s grim milestone of 100 days in captivity for those kidnapped during the Hamas onslaught on October 7 in which some 1,200 people were murdered.

It is believed that 132 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. Four hostages were released prior to that, and one was rescued by troops. The bodies of eight hostages have also been recovered and three hostages were mistakenly killed by the military. The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed the deaths of 25 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.

One more person is listed as missing since October 7, and their fate is still unknown.

Hamas has also been holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Protesters gather in London for pro-Palestinian march; UK government adviser: Those chanting ‘jihad’ should be arrested

Activists and supporters wave flags and carry placards during a National March for Palestine in central London on January 13, 2024. (Henry Nicholls/AFP)

Protesters have gathered in central London for a “National March for Palestine” amid Israel’s war against the Hamas terror group.

Previous protests have seen anti-Israel chants and a number of arrests, however many in the British Jewish community believe that policing has not gone far enough.

The UK government’s independent adviser on political violence and disruption tells The Times that demonstrators shouting “jihad” should be arrested.

“Clearly, shouting ‘jihad’ in the street in the wake of the pogrom on October 7 is not using the interpretation of the word meaning inner struggle,” Lord Walney tells the newspaper.

“Anyone of reasonable mind would know this and I am strongly of the view that people who are chanting ‘jihad’ should be arrested,” he says.

Police have said that around 1,700 officers will be on duty.

“Where officers see people engaging in activity that suggests support or membership of a proscribed organization, such as Hamas or Hezbollah, action will be taken,” London’s Metropolitan Police says in a statement.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, who is leading the policing operation, says that “those who intentionally push the limits of what may cross the line into criminality will face the consequences.”

Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on October 7, killing some 1,200 people in Israel, most of them civilians, amid horrifying acts of brutality and sexual violence.

Around 240 others taken were hostage, of which 136 remain in captivity in Gaza.

Hamas has also been holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

‘A call to action’: Sheryl Sandberg, Mayim Bialik, Ginnifer Goodwin in video on Oct. 7 sexual violence

The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum Headquarters representing the families of those abducted to Gaza, releases a video featuring Mayim Bialik, Sheryl Sandberg and Ginnifer Goodwin on the atrocities carried out against women by terrorists during the Hamas-led onslaught on October 7.

The video features the women describing testimony reported by The New York Times and The Telegraph of the widespread sexual violence against women and children during the devastating assault.

The video can be watched here.

“The video, featuring Mayim Bialik, Sheryl Sandberg, Ginnifer Goodwin, Kathy Ireland, and Patricia Heaton, is not just a recount of the atrocities but a call to action,” the organization says in a statement. “It serves as a stark reminder that silence and denial only serve to further violate the victims. It is a plea to the world to acknowledge these heinous crimes and to stand in solidarity with the survivors and those still held captive.”

“We call upon the global community to not just watch but to act. We urge everyone to speak out for the women held hostage, still enduring atrocities at the hands of their captors, and demand their release. We must bring them home,” the forum says.

The video is released as the hostages’ families and their supporters ready to mark 100 days since their loved ones were kidnapped to Gaza, where they are still held captive.

Some 3,000 Hamas terrorists stormed into southern Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking another 240 hostages amid acts of unimaginable brutality.

Sirens sound in Netiv HaAsara, warning of incoming rocket fire

Sirens sound in the Gaza border community of Netiv HaAsara, warning of incoming rocket fire.

The community was last targeted some 11 hours ago.

The towns close to the Strip have been largely evacuated of civilians since the devastating October 7 onslaught by the Hamas terror group, 99 days ago.

Gaza hostage’s daughter walks through Hamas tunnel installation: ‘I’m shaking. They haven’t left this for 100 days’

Ela Ben Ami, holding a poster of her father Ohad who is held hostage in Gaza, at the exit of a simulation tunnel inaugurated during a rally marking a hundred days since Israelis were taken hostage by the Hamas terror group on October 7, in an initiative of the Israeli Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum at the Hostages Plaza in Tel Aviv on January 13, 2024 (Marco Longari / AFP)

Ela Ben Ami, whose parents were taken hostage from their home in Kibbutz Be’eri by Hamas terrorists on October 7, visits the reconstruction of a Gaza tunnel at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square.

Her mother Raz was released during the November temporary ceasefire, but her father Ohad remains in Gaza. The two were kidnapped separately and were not held together.

“I am shaking. For nearly 100 days [the hostages] haven’t been able to leave this,” she tells Channel 12, holding a poster of her father.

Many of the hostages are believed to be held in Hamas tunnels deep under Gaza.

“I know that my [father] is injured. He has vertigo but I don’t know now what medications he would need,” she says in reference to the announcement yesterday that vital medications will be transferred to the hostages in the coming days.

“I don’t know if she went through this,” Ela says of her mother. “She hasn’t told me. But I now know why she can’t sleep at night, she is in a terrible condition,” she says.

Ela Ben Ami calls on government members to come to Tel Aviv and experience the tunnel installation and understand why a deal must be made immediately for the hostages to be released.

She also asks for the public to come to the square from 8 p.m. this evening for 24 hours of events to mark 100 days since the hostages were seized during the brutal onslaught in which terrorists slaughtered some 1,200 and kidnapped approximately 240 more.

“I call on everyone to come to the square, to stand with us so that we aren’t alone,” she says.

Hamas-run health ministry says 23,843 Gazans killed since October 7

People mourn over the shrouded bodies of loved ones killed during Israeli strike on Rafah on January 13, 2024, in the yard of Al-Najjar hospital in the southern Gaza Strip. (AFP)

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says 23,843 Palestinians have been killed and 60,317 have been wounded in the enclave since October 7.

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 8,500 operatives in Gaza, in addition to some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.

Houthis vow ‘strong and effective response’ to US-led strikes

A Yemeni youth holds a mockup rocket during a protest following US and British strikes, in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on January 12, 2024. Behind him, people hold up signs with the Iran-backed rebel group's slogan, 'God is great, death to America, death to Israel, curse on the Jews, victory for Islam.' (Mohammed Huwais/AFP)

An official of Yemen’s Houthi group Ansarullah says that there were no injuries in the latest strike by the US against Houthi forces in Sana’a, and vowed a “strong and effective” response.

“There were no injuries, no material nor human losses,” Nasruldeen Amer tells Al Jazeera.

The US-led strikes on targets linked to the Iran-backed group were launched in response to a recent campaign of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in the vital Red Sea.

IDF releases footage of Gaza airstrike on Hamas cell armed with RPGs, assault rifles

The IDF releases footage showing the identification of a cell of Hamas operatives armed with RPGs and assault rifles in the central Gaza Strip, and a subsequent airstrike carried out against them.

According to the IDF, troops of the 179th Reserve Armored Brigade spotted the Hamas cell and ambushed them.

After the cell entered a structure the IDF says was used by Hamas as a command center, the reservists called in an airstrike, killing them and destroying the building.

The IDF releases footage showing the identification of a cell of Hamas operatives armed with RPGs and assault rifles in the central Gaza Strip, and a subsequent airstrike carried out against them.

According to the IDF, troops of the 179th Reserve Armored Brigade spotted the… pic.twitter.com/gQ0DQaNuC6

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) January 13, 2024

Iran-backed Houthis say US strikes will have no significant impact on their Red Sea capabilities

Iranian protesters burn a Union Jack flag and a US flag during a demonstration in solidarity with the Palestinians and Iran-backed Yemeni rebels following US and British forces strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, in front of the British embassy in Tehran on January 12, 2024. (Atta Kenare/AFP)

Yemen’s Houthis’ spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam tells Reuters that US-led strikes on Yemen, including the latest one on a military base in Sanaa, had no significant impact on the Houthi capabilities to continue preventing Israel-affiliated vessels from passing through the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.

The comments come after the US military hit another Houthi target in Yemen that it had determined was putting commercial vessels in the Red Sea at risk, a day after the US and Britain launched multiple airstrikes targeting the group.

The US-led strikes were launched in response to a recent campaign of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in the vital Red Sea maritime route, which did not only target vessels linked to Israel.

The Iran-backed group says it is carrying out the strikes in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid the war between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the terror group’s devastating October 7 onslaught.

UK defense chief: Iran must tell Houthis, Hezbollah to ‘cease and desist’

Britain's Defence Secretary Grant Shapps speaks during a press conference in London, December 11, 2023. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)

UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps says Iran needs to tell Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis and its other proxies in the Middle East to “cease and desist.”

In an interview with The Telegraph, Shapps warns that a “limit has been truly crossed.”

When asked what message he would send to Iran, Shapps said: “You must get the Houthi rebels, others who are acting as proxies for you, Lebanese Hezbollah are obvious examples, [and] some in Iraq and Syria, you must get these different organizations to cease and desist because we are, the world is, running out of patience.”

“We see you, we see through what you’re doing. We see how you’re doing it, particularly the Houthi rebels, and no good can come from it,” Shapps says.

The comments were published hours after the US military struck another Houthi-controlled site in Yemen that it had determined was putting commercial vessels in the Red Sea at risk, a day after the US and Britain launched multiple airstrikes targeting Houthi rebels.

The US-led strikes were launched in response to a recent campaign of drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in the vital Red Sea maritime route.

Israel carrying out air strikes in central, southern Gaza – Palestinian media reports

People look for salvageable items amid the rubble following Israeli strikes in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on January 13, 2024 (AFP)

A Hamas-linked news agency says an Israeli strike hit a bus in the central Gaza town Deir al-Balah.

It was unclear if there were people on the bus at the time.

There is no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces.

The Shehab news agency also reports fighting in north Gaza’s Beit Lahia, and strikes on Gaza City’s Al-Daraj neighborhood and in Rafah in the south of the enclave.

Shin Bet: Terrorists who attacked West Bank settlement were teens with no prior security offenses

Palestinian terrorists breach a fence at the West Bank settlement Adora, January 12, 2024. (Screen grab via Kan used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The three Palestinian terrorists who attacked the southern West Bank settlement of Adora are teenagers with no prior security offenses, the Shin Bet security agency says.

The agency identifies the trio, from the nearby town of Idna, as family members Udai Abu Jahisha, 16, Muhammad Arafat Abu Jahisha, 16, and Ismail Abu Jahisha, 19.

“The three have no previous arrests or security background,” the Shin Bet says.

The Palestinian Authority health ministry says it was notified of their deaths, indicating the bodies are being held by Israeli authorities.

The trio, armed with an assault rifle, knives and other weapons, infiltrated into Adora’s industrial zone last night and shot a soldier before being killed by other forces.

IDF says it hit 3 south Lebanon terror cells readying to carry out attacks on Israel

The IDF says it struck three terror cells in southern Lebanon last night, which were preparing to carry out attacks on northern Israel.

An attack helicopter targeted two cells in southern Lebanon’s Marwahin, and special forces and artillery struck an anti-tank missile squad in Yaroun, the IDF says.

The incidents come amid repeated attacks by Hezbollah on northern Israel in recent months.

IDF says troops destroyed multiple rocket launching sites, tunnel shaft in Gaza

Troops operating in the West Bank in an undated photo released January 13, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

Troops of the 646th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade operating in the central Gaza Strip located two Hamas rocket launching sites, with projectiles prepared for launch in the immediate time-frame, the IDF says.

Footage shared by the IDF shows the launchers being destroyed, with at least one of the rockets flying out due to the blast.

The IDF says operations continue in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, with the 7th Armored Brigade destroying a Hamas tunnel shaft in a building used as a weapons depot.

The 7th Brigade killed several Hamas gunmen with tank shelling in the area, the IDF adds.

Also in Khan Younis, the IDF says the Paratroopers Brigade spotted Hamas gunmen opening fire from a building and fleeing. It says the soldiers called in an airstrike, killing one of the operatives, while the second fled to another building, where he was later killed by another aircraft.

In northern Gaza, where the IDF says it has defeated Hamas’s organized fighting force, troops of the 401st Armored Brigade located and destroyed a number of rocket launching positions in the al-Atatra neighborhood, according to the military.

Troops of the 646th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade operating in the central Gaza Strip located two Hamas rocket launching sites, with projectiles prepared for launch in the immediate time-frame, the IDF says.

Footage shared by the IDF shows the launchers being destroyed, with at… pic.twitter.com/EqtISYz5pt

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) January 13, 2024

IDF: Troops thwarted ‘significant attack’ at West Bank settlement Adora

Palestinian terrorists breach a fence at the West Bank settlement Adora, January 12, 2024. (Screen grab via Kan used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The IDF confirms a soldier was wounded in last night’s shooting attack at the southern West Bank settlement of Adora.

According to the IDF, a reservist tasked with guarding Adora received an alert of an infiltration into the settlement’s industrial zone, and quickly reached the scene.

“When the soldier arrived to check the alert, he was hit by the terrorists’s gunfire,” the IDF says, adding that he dispatched additional forces to search for the terrorists.

The soldier was moderately hurt and taken to a hospital for further treatment.

The IDF says reservists guarding the settlement and additional troops searched for the assailants, eventually killing all three in the Adora industrial zone.

It says the terrorists were carrying an M16 assault rifle, a number of knives, a pickaxe, and other weapons.

The commander of the Judea Regional Brigade says the troops foiled a “significant attack,” while hailing the quick action of the settlement’s security team that alerted them of the incident, to the reservists who reached the scene and killed the attackers.

“Recently, we have trained our forces and systems a lot for this moment, and in the moment of truth, the terrorists met a powerful, complete, and sharp edge, and this is what will do to anyone who wants to harm us,” says Col. Yishai Rosilio.

IDF says residents of Adora in West Bank can leave their homes, 12 hours after terrorist infiltration

Palestinian terrorists breach a fence at the West Bank settlement Adora, January 12, 2024. (Screen grab via Kan used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Residents of the West Bank settlement Adora are told they can leave their homes, some 12 hours since they were told to barricade themselves inside after a cell attacked a group of soldiers patrolling there.

“The infiltration incident at Adora is over,” the Home Front Command of the Israel Defense Forces says.

Last night, an Israeli was wounded when he was shot in the settlement.

After a brief manhunt, the three Palestinians who carried out the attack were killed by security forces, the military said.

Video footage showed the three crawling under the outer perimeter fence of the settlement.

Hostages’ families plan 24 hours of action to mark 100 days their loved ones have been held in Gaza

Relatives of Israeli hostages from the Bibas family stand at the exit of a simulation tunnel inaugurated during a rally marking 100 days since Israelis were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7, in an initiative of the Israeli Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, at the Hostages Plaza in Tel Aviv on January 13, 2024. (Marco Longari / AFP)

With Sunday marking 100 days since the hostages were kidnapped to Gaza, their relatives and supporters were preparing for 24 hours of action to draw attention to their plight.

A recreation of a Hamas tunnel is set to be formally unveiled at Hostages Square this afternoon.

The events will formally begin at 8 p.m. this evening with a rally in Tel Aviv featuring speeches from US Ambassador Jack Lew and former Chief Justice Dorit Beinisch.

Released hostage Raz Ben-Ami, whose husband Ohad is still held in Gaza, will speak for the first time since her release. Nobel Laureate Aaron Ciechanover and Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau will also speak.

The rally will then hear from television presenter Maayan Adam, whose sister Mapal was killed by terrorists at the Nova rave, the family of Avera Mengistu, who has been held in Gaza since 2014, the family of Sasha Trufanov who is still held in Gaza while his relatives were released, Linor Abargil, freed hostage Danielle Aloni, and Yahya Mahamid from advocacy group Diploact, will also speak.

There will also be video messages from world leaders.

According to organizers, events in the following hours will include a reenactment of 06:29 a.m. (the time the onslaught began on October 7) at the Nova party with the party’s DJs and DJ Skazi; an overnight session for the youth of the Gaza border area with local artists; a mass gathering at hostages square in Tel Aviv; a 100-minute strike in the economy; and speeches by President Isaac Herzog, cabinet members, and other leaders.

A rally is also scheduled for Sunday on the Jerusalem Promenade, and in cities around the world including London, New York and Paris.

American military confirms striking Houthi radar site in Yemen

WASHINGTON — US forces conducted a strike against a Houthi radar site in Yemen, the American military says, adding the latest action aimed to degrade the rebel movement’s ability to attack maritime vessels.

“This strike was conducted by the USS Carney (DDG 64) using Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles and was a follow-on action on a specific military target associated with strikes taken on Jan. 12 designed to degrade the Houthi’s ability to attack maritime vessels, including commercial vessels,” the US Central Command says in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

Singer and ‘Fauda’ actor Idan Amedi released from ICU after being seriously hurt in Gaza

Singer and actor Idan Amedi is interviewed in the Gaza Strip by Channel 12 news on January 9, 2024, shortly before being wounded while serving as a reserve soldier in the war against the Hamas terror group. (Channel 12 screenshot; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Singer and “Fauda” actor Idan Amedi, who was seriously wounded earlier this week while fighting in Gaza, has been released from the intensive care unit at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan.

He is now being treated in the hospital’s trauma ward.

In a message from Sheba on Wednesday, Amedi said he was improving, after reportedly sustaining shrapnel wounds all over his body while serving as an IDF reservist in the Combat Engineering Corps.

US officials confirm fresh attack on Houthis in Yemen

The US military is carrying out an additional strike against the Houthis in Yemen, a day after launching a wave of attacks on nearly 30 locations in the country to degrade the Iran-backed rebel group’s ability to strike Red Sea shipping, two US officials tell Reuters.

The officials, who speak on condition of anonymity, declined to provide further details.

According to two US officials who speak anonymously to The Associated Press to discuss an operation that hadn’t yet been publicly announced, the strike targeted a Houthi-controlled site in Yemen that they have determined was putting commercial vessels in the Red Sea at risk.

The first day of strikes on Friday hit 28 locations and struck more than 60 targets. However, the US determined the additional location, a radar site, still presented a threat to maritime traffic, one official says.

Houthi TV reports US and British strikes in Yemeni capital

CAIRO — The United States and Britain are targeting the Yemeni capital Sanaa with raids, the Houthi rebel movement’s TV channel Al-Masirah reports early on Saturday.