The Times of Israel liveblogged Monday’s events as they unfolded.

Biden: Rebuilding from LA fires will take ‘tens of billions of dollars’

Rebuilding after the fires that left some Los Angeles neighborhoods in smoldering ruins over the past week will carry a staggering cost in the billions of dollars, US President Joe Biden says Monday in a briefing with emergency officials.

“It’s going to cost tens of billions of dollars to get Los Angeles back where it was,” the outgoing president says, as California’s largest city braced for a return of fierce winds that threaten to fan the flames that have already claimed at least 24 lives.

Biden announces aircraft carriers will be named for Clinton, Bush

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden greets former President George W. Bush, former first lady Laura Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before the a funeral for former Secretary of State Colin Powell at the Washington National Cathedral, in Washington, Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden greets former President George W. Bush, former first lady Laura Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before the a funeral for former Secretary of State Colin Powell at the Washington National Cathedral, in Washington, Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

US President Joe Biden announces that two of the Navy’s future aircraft carriers will be named for former commanders-in-chief Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

“The future USS William J. Clinton (CVN 82) and the future USS George W. Bush (CVN 83) will begin construction in the years ahead,” Biden says in a statement issued just a week before he is replaced in office by Donald Trump.

“When complete, they will join the most capable, flexible, and professional Navy that has ever put to sea,” Biden says.

The United States has a long tradition of naming some of its aircraft carriers — massive warships that are crewed by thousands of sailors and carry dozens of planes — after former presidents.

The latest line of US carriers is named for Gerald R. Ford, and another of the multi-billion-dollar ships bears John F. Kennedy’s name — the second time he has been honored in that way.

Clinton — who did not serve in the military — was president from 1993 to 2001, a period that saw US warplanes carry out strikes in Iraq and Yugoslavia, and American troops battle Somali militiamen in the infamous Black Hawk Down incident, among other conflicts.

Bush, who served as a pilot in the Air National Guard, held America’s highest office from 2001 to 2009.

His presidency was defined by the so-called “War on Terror” that he launched in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, a military effort that spanned the globe and included the devastating, long-running wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that left tens of thousands of people dead.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin hails the choice of the names, saying that the ships “will serve as lasting tributes to each leader’s legacy in service of the United States.”

“Like their namesakes, these two future carriers, and the crews who sail them, will work to safeguard our national security, remind us of our history, and inspire others to serve our great republic,” Austin says in a statement.

Head of hostage NGO believes US journalist Tice still in Syria

FILE - Marc and Debra Tice, the parents of Austin Tice, who is missing in Syria for nearly six years, speak during a press conference, at the Press Club, in Beirut, Lebanon, December 4, 2018. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)
FILE - Marc and Debra Tice, the parents of Austin Tice, who is missing in Syria for nearly six years, speak during a press conference, at the Press Club, in Beirut, Lebanon, December 4, 2018. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

The head of an American organization focused on hostage releases says he believes US journalist Austin Tice is still being held in Syria by people loyal to toppled leader Bashar al-Assad.

Speaking to Reuters in Damascus, Nizar Zakka says he believed Tice was being held by “very few people in a safe house in order to do an exchange or a deal.”

Zakka, a Lebanese businessman with US permanent residency who was held in Iran for four years until 2019 on charges of spying, is the president of Hostage Aid Worldwide.

He has traveled to Syria multiple times following Assad’s ouster by rebels on Dec. 8 in a bid to track down Tice, a former US Marine and a freelance journalist who was abducted in 2012 while reporting in Damascus on the uprising against Assad.

Zakka says his group’s own investigation had revealed Tice was still in Syria, and that “a lot of progress” had been made in his hunt in recent weeks. But he adds that Syria’s new rulers, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), had not provided much assistance.

“We were hoping that HTS would help us more, but unfortunately HTS did not help us because they had their own concerns,” he says.

Zakka says he had no information on Tice’s precise location but suspected that a deal, possibly involving pressure from Assad’s ally Russia, could see the American journalist released.

Tice was detained at a checkpoint in Daraya, near Damascus, in August 2012. Reuters was first to report that Tice managed to slip out of his cell in 2013 and was seen moving between houses in the streets of Damascus’ upscale Mazzeh neighborhood.

He was recaptured soon after his escape, likely by forces who answered directly to Assad, current and former U.S. officials said.

Tice’s mother Debra has voiced hope that upheaval in Syria will lead to freedom for her son and has expressed gratitude for efforts by journalists and other civilians searching for him, including from Hostage Aid Worldwide.

Zakka says he was in regular touch with Debra.

“She gave us all the power and the support for us to make it happen, to find Austin and to work for Austin,” he says.

Report: PM slated to meet with hostage families on Tuesday as deal appears near

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet tomorrow with the families of the hostages in Gaza as negotiations for their release appear to be reaching a conclusion, Channel 12 reports.

‘It won’t happen. Period’: Israeli official says Sinwar’s body won’t be returned as part of hostage deal

IDF soldiers carry the body of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar from the building where he was killed in Rafah, Gaza on October 17, 2024. (Courtesy)
IDF soldiers carry the body of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar from the building where he was killed in Rafah, Gaza on October 17, 2024. (Courtesy)

Israeli diplomatic reporters are sent a statement to be attributed to an “Israeli official” asserting that Jerusalem will not return slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s body as part of a hostage deal.

“It will not happen. Period,” the statement reads.

Earlier today, the Saudi outlet Al-Hadath published an unconfirmed report that Hamas is demanding the body of Sinwar in the first stage of the hostage deal.

Blinken: Important to have Trump people involved in hostage talks because they’ll have to enforce deal

US President Joe Biden, left, pauses with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, before giving a speech about foreign policy at the State Department in Washington, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
US President Joe Biden, left, pauses with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, before giving a speech about foreign policy at the State Department in Washington, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was important to include President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, in the latest round of talks because if a ceasefire can be reached, it will be up to the Trump team in part to ensure it survives beyond Inauguration Day.

“I think Steve Witkoff has been a terrific partner in this, and also President-elect Trump in making clear that he wants to see this deal go forward, and go forward before January 20th,” Blinken says in an interview with MSNBC.

“Everyone wants to know – and it’s very useful as well to have Steve a part of this – they want to make sure that the deal that the president’s put on the table and that we’ve negotiated, the Trump administration will continue to back,” Blinken said. “So creating that confidence by having Steve Witkoff’s participation, I think, has been critical.”

Under the terms of the agreement being discussed, the US is one of several guarantors and will have a key role in making sure that its first phase — which would see a halt in hostilities and the release of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian security prisoners held by Israel — is followed by the successful implementation of its second phase, which aims to prepare for Gaza’s post-conflict future, including security, reconstruction and governance.

At UN, Israel accuses Hezbollah of trying to rebuild with Iran’s help

Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, talks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, December 18, 2024. (AP Photo/ Seth Wenig)
Danny Danon, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, talks during a Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, December 18, 2024. (AP Photo/ Seth Wenig)

Lebanon’s Hezbollah is trying “to regain strength and rearm with the assistance of Iran,” Israel’s UN ambassador tells the Security Council, declaring that the terror group remains a “serious threat” to Israel and regional stability.

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a US-brokered 60-day ceasefire – starting Nov. 27 – after more than a year of conflict. The terms require the Lebanese army to deploy into south Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw forces.

Both sides have accused each other of violating the deal.

“While Hezbollah’s military capabilities were significantly reduced during the war, they are now attempting to regain strength and rearm with the assistance of Iran,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon writes to the 15-member Security Council.

Hezbollah and Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Danon’s remarks. A senior Lebanese source close to Hezbollah denies the allegations.

Danon says it was “imperative” that the Lebanese government and international community focus on “curbing the smuggling of weapons, ammunition and financial support through the Syria-Lebanon border and via air and sea routes.”

Since the ceasefire deal was reached, “there have been several attempts to transfer weapons and cash to Hezbollah,” Danon writes in the letter seen by Reuters. He says Hezbollah’s ongoing military build-up was at times close to UN peacekeeping bases and patrols in southern Lebanon.

“Despite this, UNIFIL chose to interpret its mandate leniently, opting not to take all necessary action to ensure that its area of operations is not utilized for hostile activities of any kind,” Danon writes.

IDF probe finds soldiers were killed in Gaza when their explosives detonated, bringing building down on them

A man looks at smoke rising following an explosion inside the Gaza Strip, from an observation point in Sderot, southern Israel, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
A man looks at smoke rising following an explosion inside the Gaza Strip, from an observation point in Sderot, southern Israel, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

The IDF says it has presented the families of the five soldiers whose deaths were announced earlier with an initial probe of the deadly incident this morning in the northern Gaza Strip.

According to the IDF’s probe, the team of troops from the Nahal Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit set out this morning for a mission in the Beit Hanoun area.

The troops were inside a building and preparing to use explosives for engineering activity, when the explosives detonated.

As a result of the blast, the building the troops were in collapsed, killing five and wounding 10, including eight in serious condition.

The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, the military says.

Biden says US policy helped dramatically weaken Iran, marshalled coalition to defend Israel

US President Joe Biden speaks at the State Department in Washington, DC, on January 13, 2025, as he delivers his final foreign policy speech. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP)
US President Joe Biden speaks at the State Department in Washington, DC, on January 13, 2025, as he delivers his final foreign policy speech. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP)

US President Joe Biden credits his foreign policy for helping bring Iran to its weakest state in decades.

“Did you ever think we’d be where we are with Iran?” Biden asks rhetorically during his capstone foreign policy address at the US State Department.

He recalls the “despicable” October 7 attack by Iran-backed Hamas and Tehran’s subsequent missile attacks on Israel. “Twice they failed because the United States organized a coalition of countries to stop them and I ordered US aircraft to come to the defense of Israel.”

“Now, Iran’s air defenses are in shambles,” Biden declares, pointing to its “badly wounded” Hezbollah proxy and the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria.

While Iran has moved closer than ever to acquiring a nuclear weapon during his tenure, Biden says his administration kept up the pressure on the Islamic Republic through sanctions that have left Tehran’s economy in “desperate straits.”

Biden entered office pledging to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal abandoned by his predecessor Donald Trump. But that effort never got off the ground amid what Washington said was Iran’s intransigence.

“All told, Iran is weaker than it has been in decades,” Biden asserts while urging the incoming Trump administration to “carry forward the commitment that America will never, never allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.”

“I cannot claim credit for every factor that led to Iran and Russia growing weaker in the past four years. They did plenty of damage all by themselves, and Israel did plenty of damage to Iran and its proxies, but there’s no question that our actions contributed significantly,” Biden says.

He acknowledges that authoritarian regimes are now aligning more closely with one another, “But that’s more out of weakness than out of strength.”

Biden touts the coalition he put together to protect civilian ships in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks, and he urges the incoming administration to “keep the pressure” on the Iran-backed Yemeni rebels.

“Today, I can report to the American people that our adversaries are weaker than they were when we came into this job four years ago,” crediting his efforts to restore alliances.

‘Never give up’: Biden says Israel-Hamas ‘on the brink’ of hostage deal

US President Joe Biden arrives to speak at the State Department in Washington, DC, on January 13, 2025, as he delivers his final foreign policy speech. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP)
US President Joe Biden arrives to speak at the State Department in Washington, DC, on January 13, 2025, as he delivers his final foreign policy speech. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP)

US President Joe Biden says “we’re on the brink” of the hostage deal proposal he laid out in May “finally coming to fruition.”

“I have learned from my many years of public service to never, never, never, ever give up,” he says during his capstone foreign policy address at the State Department.

He says he spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, with the emir of Qatar today and that he will soon hold a call with Egypt’s president — highlighting top-level engagement often indicative of negotiations reaching their climax.

“The deal we have structured would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started,” Biden says.

It’s unclear how intentional his word choice was, given that readouts issued over the past day have referred to the deal as one that will bring a “ceasefire,” but Biden uses the term “halt” in his remarks at the State Department.

He reiterates that Palestinians in Gaza have “been through hell — so many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed.”

“The Palestinian people deserve peace and the right to determine their own futures. Israel deserves peace and real security, and the hostages and their families deserve to be reunited. So we’re working urgently to close this deal,” Biden says.

Report: Hamas demanding body of slain leader Sinwar in first stage of hostage deal

IDF soldiers carry the body of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar from the building where he was killed in Rafah, Gaza on October 17, 2024. (Courtesy)
IDF soldiers carry the body of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar from the building where he was killed in Rafah, Gaza on October 17, 2024. (Courtesy)

The Saudi outlet Al-Hadath reports that Hamas is demanding the body of slain leader Yahya Sinwar in the first stage of the hostage deal.

Israel is expected to swap hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for some 33 hostages in the emerging deal.

Israeli troops killed Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7, 2023 assault, in southern Gaza in October.

Palestinians dedicate West Bank olive grove to Jimmy Carter

Palestinian farmers fix a sign in the ground ahead of planting 250 olive trees in memory of late US President Jimmy Carter, in the West Bank city of Tulkarem Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Palestinian farmers fix a sign in the ground ahead of planting 250 olive trees in memory of late US President Jimmy Carter, in the West Bank city of Tulkarem Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Palestinian activists and residents plant a grove of 250 olive trees in a northern West Bank town in memory of the late US president Jimmy Carter, describing him as a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause.

The former president’s legacy is “rooted” among Palestinians and across the globe, says Abbas Melhem, executive manager of the Palestinian Farmers Union. Carter was one of the few world leaders who “stood firmly supporting the struggle of the Palestinians for independence and for freedom,” he says.

The advocacy group for farmers in the West Bank launched the project in collaboration with US-based nonprofit Treedom for Palestine, which plants trees to empower Palestinian farmers.

Carter, who died last month at the age of 100, brokered the Camp David peace accords between Israel and Egypt in 1978. In his later years, he was highly critical of Israel’s rule over the Palestinians, claiming that the situation in the West Bank amounted to apartheid.

“I think planting olive trees that live at least 100 years old like him is a very suitable way to honor his life and his legacy,” says George Zeidan, the Carter Center’s Director in Israel and Palestine.

4 Brooklyn yeshivas file federal complaint against New York State

Illustrative image: School buses lined up in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn on April 24, 2019. (Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images/JTA)
Illustrative image: School buses lined up in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn on April 24, 2019. (Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images/JTA)

Four yeshivas in Brooklyn allege discrimination by New York State in a complaint filed with the US Department of Education.

Bobover Yeshiva Bnei Zion, Oholei Torah, United Talmudical Academy, and Yeshiva & Mesivta Arugas Habosem file the complaint against the New York State Education Department and New York City Department of Education, alleging “targeted and discriminatory treatment.”

The complaint says New York authorities refuse to credit Jewish studies curriculum; mandate a government-approved reading list; interfere with faculty hiring; do not accommodate yeshivas’ “gender profile” in classrooms; and prohibit yeshivas from teaching in a foreign language. New York yeshivas teach in languages including Yiddish, Hebrew and Aramaic.

“Taken together, these discriminatory practices would strip the Yeshivas of their essential Jewish character,” says the complaint, which was shared with The Times of Israel. “Only the federal government can ensure that the Yeshivas can pursue their missions free from interference.”

The complaint asks the civil rights office to investigate the New York agencies for “discriminatory practices,” citing federal anti-discrimination laws that protect “religious observers against unequal treatment.” The complaint also cites federal laws that give parents the right to direct their children’s education, and argue the schools are covered by federal Title VI civil protections.

Education at New York yeshivas became a hot-button issue in 2022 when The New York Times ran a series of investigations into the massive education system, saying the schools accepted public funding but did not provide required teaching in secular subjects. At the same time, New York State passed a new law regulating secular studies in non-public schools.

The debate has largely receded from public view, but curriculum reviews mandated by the 2022 law need to be completed by the end of the 2024-2025 school year.

Critics of the yeshiva system say the schools fail to provide adequate instruction in secular subjects, including English and math, leaving graduates unprepared to enter the workforce or mainstream society.

The yeshivas’ advocates argue that schools are a cornerstone of successful communities, that students are well educated and in class longer than public school students, and that government meddling is an infringement on religious protections.

The four yeshivas in the complaint represent different Haredi communities, including the Bobover, Chabad and Satmar movements.

Netanyahu to meet Ben Gvir ahead of possible hostage deal

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (right) in the Knesset on December 31, 2024 (Chaim Goldberg / Flash 90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (right) in the Knesset on December 31, 2024 (Chaim Goldberg / Flash 90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet this evening with far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to gauge his reaction to a possible hostage-ceasefire deal, Hebrew media report.

Ben Gvir has been one of the most steadfast opponents of a deal with Hamas and has repeatedly threatened to bolt the coalition.

Ben Gvir is also reportedly convening his Otzma Yehudit faction later this evening in a bid to formulate a response to the emerging deal.

Houthis claim missile attack on Israel

A man carries a mock missile during a rally by university students and faculty denouncing strikes on Yemen and in solidarity with Palestinians, in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on January 1, 2025. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)
A man carries a mock missile during a rally by university students and faculty denouncing strikes on Yemen and in solidarity with Palestinians, in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa on January 1, 2025. (Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

The Houthis in Yemen take responsibility for this evening’s ballistic missile launch at Israel.

The Iran-backed terror group claims to have launched the missile at a “vital target” in the Tel Aviv area, and that “the operation achieved its goal successfully.”

According to the military, the missile was intercepted by air defenses, and no damage was caused.

Sirens had sounded in numerous communities in the West Bank, Jordan Valley, Afula area and near Beit Shean — and not in Tel Aviv — amid fears of falling shrapnel.

Hostage talks advanced after ‘tense’ meet between Netanyahu and Trump envoy, officials tell ToI

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets US President-elect Donald Trump's Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff at his office in Jerusalem, January 11, 2025. (Prime Minister's Office Spokesperson)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets US President-elect Donald Trump's Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff at his office in Jerusalem, January 11, 2025. (Prime Minister's Office Spokesperson)

US President-elect Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff held a “tense” meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday during which the former leaned hard on the Israeli premier to accept compromises necessary to secure a hostage deal by the January 20 US presidential inauguration, two officials familiar with the matter tell The Times of Israel.

Witkoff’s pressure on Netanyahu appears to have had an effect, with the two officials familiar with the negotiations saying that key gaps were closed during the talks over the weekend.

Spokespeople for Witkoff and Netanyahu did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter.

While the prime minister had been pushing for weeks for a temporary ceasefire that only related to the first phase of the three-stage proposal Israel submitted last May, the agreement that is being finalized is increasingly closer to the original offer, with clauses connecting the first phase with the two others, making it harder for Israel to resume fighting once the initial stage goes into place, one of the officials says.

Haaretz reports that Israel will also agree to fully withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor during the first phase — a claim that contrasts with a briefing earlier today by Israeli officials, who said Israel would not leave the corridor in the first or second phases of the deal. Over the summer, Netanyahu characterized continued Israeli control over the border strip between Egypt and Gaza as critical for Israel’s very survival, insisting that the IDF remain there indefinitely.

He added conditions regarding continued Israeli presence there to the original Israeli proposal, which significantly hampered negotiations in July, Arab and Israeli officials told The Times of Israel at the time.

Fallen soldiers’ families protest hostage deal in Jerusalem

Demonstrators protest against planned hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas, in Jerusalem, January 13, 2025. The banner reads: "You don't have a mandate to surrender to Hamas." (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Demonstrators protest against planned hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas, in Jerusalem, January 13, 2025. The banner reads: "You don't have a mandate to surrender to Hamas." (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

A right-wing group of families of fallen soldiers and hostages block the entrance of Jerusalem to protest the emerging hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza.

Holding signs that read “You don’t have a mandate to surrender to Hamas,” the demonstrators urge the government not to sign a deal that will see Israel halt the fighting and free hundreds or even thousands of Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for hostages.

Others hold up pictures of their loved ones with the caption, “Their deaths command us to victory.”

Among those demonstrating are members of the hawkish Tikva forum, a group of hostage families who want Israel to use overwhelming force to bring down Hamas.

Top-level talks to be held tomorrow morning in Doha to iron out final details of deal — report

Mossad chief David Barnea attends a ceremony in his honor, at the National Police Academy in Beit Shemesh, on July 14, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Mossad chief David Barnea attends a ceremony in his honor, at the National Police Academy in Beit Shemesh, on July 14, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

A round of Gaza ceasefire talks will be held in Doha Tuesday morning to finalize remaining details related to the deal, an official briefed on the negotiations tells  Reuters.

A deal to end the Gaza war is “closer than it’s ever been,” the official says, adding that US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, outgoing Biden administration envoy Brett McGurk and Israel’s Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar were expected to attend.

White House says Palestinian prisoners, Israeli troop withdrawal have been main sticking points in deal

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on January 13, 2025 in Washington, DC.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/AFP)
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on January 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/AFP)

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says “formulas” regarding the release of Palestinian security prisoners and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza have been the main sticking points in hostage talks over the past several months and that the narrowing of disagreements on those issues has brought the sides to the brink of a deal.

“The gaps have fundamentally narrowed on the key issues — the formulas over prisoner exchanges, the formulas over the details of how Israel’s forces will be postured in their pullback from the Gaza Strip, the details over how to conduct the humanitarian surge in the wake of the guns going silent — these things now on paper,” Sullivan says during a press conference previewing US President Joe Biden’s speech later today reviewing his administration’s foreign policy over the past four years.

Sullivan says Biden will speak later today with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi after holding calls with the leaders of Qatar and Israel yesterday, with the top-level engagement an indicator that talks are reaching a climax.

“We are close to a deal, and it can get done this week,” he says before adding, “I cannot predict that it will… and if in five days it hasn’t happened, I will be the person who is probably least shocked by that.”

Asked whether all seven Americans still being held hostage in Gaza will be released in the first phase of the deal, Sullivan declines to answer, but says that the release of all US citizens is a top priority of the outgoing and incoming administrations.

Sullivan touts the administration’s Mideast policy over the past four years, saying, “We’ve stood in defense of our friends, and we’ve stood up to our enemies.”

“We built and acted alongside an unprecedented coalition to directly defend Israel in the face of Iranian aggression,” Sullivan continues. “Iran is now at its weakest point since 1979.”

He highlights the fall of Russia and Iran’s “lackey” Bashar Assad in Syria and the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

“There’s a huge opportunity for Lebanon to turn this ceasefire and the degradation of Hezbollah, into a new chapter that is brighter and built not on terrorism but on the future,” Sullivan adds.

Israeli officials detail parameters of hostage deal that will see 33 captives freed in 1st stage

Demonstrators protest calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip outside IDF headquaters in Tel Aviv, January 13, 2025.(Itai Ron/Flash90)
Demonstrators protest calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip outside IDF headquaters in Tel Aviv, January 13, 2025.(Itai Ron/Flash90)

Israeli diplomatic officials say Israel is currently in the “advanced stages of the negotiations” with Hamas for a ceasefire deal that would see the terror group release some of the hostages it is holding.

Briefing military and diplomatic reporters, the officials say there is progress in the talks, which are being coordinated by mediator countries Qatar and Egypt and the outgoing and incoming US administrations, but stress that “the deal is not finalized.”

According to the Israeli officials, the progress in the negotiations comes as a result of the fall of the Iranian-led Axis in the Middle East, with the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria and the defeat of Hezbollah in Lebanon, which led to more pressure on Hamas.

The officials also say that pressure and threats from incoming US President-elect Donald Trump have helped bring Hamas to the table, and they stress that Israel is working with both the Biden and Trump teams, including Biden envoy Brett McGurk and Trump official Steve Witkoff, and the administrations are also coordinating with each other.

The officials say that the first stage of the potential deal would see Hamas releasing 33 “humanitarian” hostages — children, women, female soldiers, the elderly and the sick. The officials say that all of the 33 are officially considered by Israel to be alive, but that Jerusalem has not currently received any confirmation of their status. Israel is also braced for the possibility that some of them are dead.

Demonstrators protest calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip outside IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, January 13, 2025. (Itai Ron/Flash90)

If the first stage is carried out, then on the 16th day of the deal coming into effect, Israel will begin negotiations on a second stage to free the remaining captives — male soldiers and men of military age — and the bodies of slain hostages, the officials say. They deny a report earlier today saying that the first Israeli hostages will only be released a week into the ceasefire taking effect.

The officials say that Israel is holding onto significant “assets,” including high-profile terrorists and territory in the Gaza Strip, to use as leverage in the second stage of negotiations to “ensure that every hostage is returned home.”

Under the complete ceasefire agreement, Israel will withdraw from most areas of the Gaza Strip and release Palestinian prisoners, including terrorists who carried out deadly attacks. High-profile “murderer” terrorists will not be released to the West Bank under the deal, the officials say, and nobody who took part in the October 7 Hamas onslaught will be freed.

The officials say that IDF troops will remain in a new buffer zone inside Gaza to better defend Israeli border communities.

Israel will not completely withdraw from Gaza until the war’s goals are achieved, among them the return of all the hostages.

During the period between the two stages, Israel will continue to hold the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, and there will be “security arrangements” for Palestinian civilians in southern Gaza seeking to return to the Strip’s north, according to the officials.

Netanyahu holds security consultation, discusses bringing hostage deal up for approval

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the assembly hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem, on December 31, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the assembly hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem, on December 31, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convenes a security consultation with the heads of the security establishment, Ynet reports.

Among the topics discussed is when to bring a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas up for approval by all the members of the government, the report says.

A deal would apparently require approval by the security cabinet and by the government, but not a Knesset vote.

Qatar ruler meets with Mideast envoys for Biden, Trump to discuss Gaza war, hostage deal

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani delivers a speech during a Mansion House Dinner hosted by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, at The Mansion House in the City of London, on December 4, 2024. (HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)
Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani delivers a speech during a Mansion House Dinner hosted by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, at The Mansion House in the City of London, on December 4, 2024. (HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)

Qatar’s ruler meets with the Middle East envoys for the incoming and outgoing US administrations, according to a statement from his office.

Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani meets with Steve Witkoff, US President-elect Donald Trump’s expected Middle East envoy, and Brett McGurk, the incumbent Joe Biden’s envoy for the region, the statement says.

It added they “reviewed developments in the Gaza Strip… as well as the latest developments in the ceasefire negotiations.”

Israel sends Hamas list of Palestinian security prisoners to be released in deal, Barghouti not among them – report

A banner with a picture of jailed Palestinian terrorist Marwan Barghouti and some fellow inmates, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, May 1, 2017. (Nasser Nasser/ AP/ File)
A banner with a picture of jailed Palestinian terrorist Marwan Barghouti and some fellow inmates, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, May 1, 2017. (Nasser Nasser/ AP/ File)

Saudi TV station al-Hadath reports that Israel has sent Hamas a list of names of hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners to be released in a hostage-ceasefire deal.

Some of the prisoners are serving life sentences, the station reports, but it says that Marwan Barghouti, the jailed Intifada leader, is not among them.

The report also says that a deal could be announced tonight or tomorrow morning, but that it would not go into effect before next Wednesday, January 22.

Turkey intel chief speaks to Hamas leaders on hostage deal talks

Ibrahim Kalin, chief advisor to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaks during an interview in Istanbul, October 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Ibrahim Kalin, chief advisor to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaks during an interview in Istanbul, October 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Turkey’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin speaks by phone with officials from Hamas’s political bureau to discuss ceasefire talks, according to a Turkish security source.

The discussion focused on “the progress made in the negotiations and the current status,” says the source in a statement, adding that the sides agreed to “resume efforts toward achieving a ceasefire.”

Hamas official says leadership meeting tonight to discuss deal, response will be ‘positive’ if no compromises on ‘fundamental points’

A Hamas official, who refuses to provide his name, tells the Qatari al-Araby al-Jadeed newspaper that the terror group will meet this evening to discuss the latest hostage-ceasefire proposal, and that its response will be “positive” if there are no compromises on what the terror group calls “fundamental points.”

Israeli officials earlier today denied a report by Saudi outlet Al Arabiya that the terror group has already responded, without reservations.

Biden speaks to Qatari leader as hostage talks near deal

US President Joe Biden, right, shakes hands with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in the Oval Office of the White House, January 31, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
US President Joe Biden, right, shakes hands with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in the Oval Office of the White House, January 31, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

US President Joe Biden held a phone call earlier today with Qatari Emir Tamim Al Thani to discuss the ongoing hostage negotiations, with the call between the two leaders further indicating that a deal is on the verge of being reached.

“Both leaders emphasized the urgent need for a deal,” the White House says in its readout, adding that Biden thanked the emir for Qatar’s efforts in mediating between Israel and Hamas.

Five soldiers killed, 10 wounded, including 8 in serious condition, in Gaza

Soldiers killed in the northern Gaza Strip on January 13, 2025: (L-R) Staff Sgt. Yahav Hadar, Staff Sgt. Yoav Feffer, Staff Sgt. Guy Karmiel, Staff Sgt. Aviel Wiseman, and Cpt. Yair Yakov Shushan. (Courtesy)
Soldiers killed in the northern Gaza Strip on January 13, 2025: (L-R) Staff Sgt. Yahav Hadar, Staff Sgt. Yoav Feffer, Staff Sgt. Guy Karmiel, Staff Sgt. Aviel Wiseman, and Cpt. Yair Yakov Shushan. (Courtesy)

Five IDF soldiers were killed and 10 others were wounded in the northern Gaza Strip this morning, the military announces.

The slain troops are named as:

  • Cpt. Yair Yakov Shushan, 23, from Ma’alot-Tarshiha
  • Staff Sgt. Yahav Hadar, 20, from Kfar Tavor
  • Staff Sgt. Guy Karmiel, 20, from Gedera
  • Staff Sgt. Yoav Feffer, 19, from Herzliya
  • Staff Sgt. Aviel Wiseman, 20, from Poria

They all served with the Nahal Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit.

Another 10 soldiers were wounded in the incident, eight of whom are listed in serious condition.

The IDF does not immediately release the circumstances of the deadly incident.

‘There will be no peace’: Hardline rabbi calls for protests against emerging hostage deal

Rabbi Dov Lior, the rosh yeshiva of the Kiryat Arba Hesder Yeshiva, speaks at Otzma Yehudit party's election campaign event in Bat-Yam, August 29, 2019. (Gili Yaari / Flash90)
Rabbi Dov Lior, the rosh yeshiva of the Kiryat Arba Hesder Yeshiva, speaks at Otzma Yehudit party's election campaign event in Bat-Yam, August 29, 2019. (Gili Yaari / Flash90)

Rabbi Dov Lior, one of the most authoritative religious leaders among Israel’s ultranationalist movement, calls on people to attend protests against a deal to release Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, which he describes as “the capitulation of the government to the dictates of releasing terrorists,” adding that it would be a “great mitzvah,” or religious act, to demonstrate against the agreement.

In a video message, Lior says that protesting is important to try and “thwart the designs of all those who want to cut off parts of our land, those who release terrorists with blood on their hands as if this will bring peace with them.”

Adds the rabbi in his video message: “There was no peace, there is no peace and there will be no peace. We need to strive to clean the land of all terrorists so that the entire Land of Israel will belong to the rule of the Jewish people alone.”

Lior has called for Jewish settlements in Gaza to be rebuilt following the October 7 Hamas invasion, along with ultranationalist members of the cabinet Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

Lior backed Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party in the 2022 elections.

IDF says it intercepted one missile fired from Yemen

One missile launched from Yemen at Israel was successfully intercepted by air defenses, the military says.

Sirens had sounded in numerous communities in the West Bank, Jordan Valley, Afula area, and near Beit Shean, amid fears of falling shrapnel.

There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Sirens sounding in West Bank settlements, Afula area amid missile launch from Yemen

Sirens are sounding in several West Bank settlements following a ballistic missile launch at Israel from Yemen.

Sirens also sound in several Israeli towns near Afula.

The IDF is looking into the details.

PMO’s Hostages Directorate says Israel ready to receive potential freed captives

Supporters hold flags as freed Israeli hostages arrive in a vehicle outside an army base in southern Israel early on December 1, 2023. (Oren ZIV / AFP)
Supporters hold flags as freed Israeli hostages arrive in a vehicle outside an army base in southern Israel early on December 1, 2023. (Oren ZIV / AFP)

The Hostages, Missing Persons and Returnees Directorate of the Prime Minister’s Office says in a statement it is “routinely prepared” for any hostage deal, amid reports that Israel and Hamas were on the brink of agreeing a hostage-ceasefire deal.

“In recent weeks, the Directorate has carried out a number of preparedness exercises for various scenarios, in partnership with the relevant government offices and other professional bodies, and has ensured that they are ready to take care of the returnees and their families,” the statement says.

“Media outlets and the public are requested to respect the privacy of the families in this complicated time,” it continues.

“The Hostages Directorate keeps in continuous contact with the families with regard to all new updates on the negotiations, and will continue to accompany the families of the hostages, hoping and praying for all of their swift return home, ” the statement says.

Lebanon’s president names ICJ judge Nawaf Salam as prime minister

President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Judge Nawaf Salam delivers the court order on the request by Nicaragua to instruct Germany to cease arms sales to Israel against the background of the conflict in Gaza at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the ICJ, April 30, 2024. (Courtesy International Court of Justice / File)
President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Judge Nawaf Salam delivers the court order on the request by Nicaragua to instruct Germany to cease arms sales to Israel against the background of the conflict in Gaza at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the ICJ, April 30, 2024. (Courtesy International Court of Justice / File)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun picks Nawaf Salam, the presiding judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, as prime minister following consultations with lawmakers, the presidency says.

“The president of the republic called on Judge Nawaf Salam to task him with forming a government, knowing that he is currently abroad. It has been decided he will return tomorrow,” it says.

Court records reveal further document leaked from IDF to ex-Netanyahu aide Feldstein

People protest in support of Eli Feldstein and the Israeli soldier accused of leaking classified documents outside the Tel Aviv District Court, November 27, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
People protest in support of Eli Feldstein and the Israeli soldier accused of leaking classified documents outside the Tel Aviv District Court, November 27, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

A second document that IDF non-commissioned officer Ari Rosenfeld leaked to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aide Eli Feldstein detailed Hamas’s psychological warfare plans against Israel, court records reveal.

The information comes from transcripts of court hearings released for publication by the Tel Aviv District Court in which the nature of the second intelligence document leaked by Rosenfeld to Feldstein was disclosed.

The indictments against Rosenfeld allege that he transferred three classified documents to Feldstein in total.

Rosenfeld gave Feldstein the second document when the two met at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv on September 9, 2024, when the NCO gave Netanyahu’s aide a hardcopy of the first intelligence document he had passed to Feldstein, who subsequently leaked it to the Bild tabloid newspaper.

According to the new court records, first published by Ynet, the Hamas document leaked by Feldstein to Bild was authored by members of Hamas’s political wing.

Rosenfeld has been charged with unlawfully transferring classified information, while Feldstein is charged with the same crime but “with intent to harm state security,” a charge his lawyer has vigorously rejected.

Anti-Israel NGO seeks arrest of IDF general in Italy for alleged Gaza war crimes

Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, Head of Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) arrives to the Supreme Court in Jerusalem for court hearing on the entering of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, July 21, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, Head of Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) arrives to the Supreme Court in Jerusalem for court hearing on the entering of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, July 21, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Hind Rajab Foundation, a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel organization that has previously sought the arrest of Israeli soldiers abroad, petitions the International Criminal Court to detain Maj.-Gen. Ghassan Alian, head of the military’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), over alleged war crimes in Gaza, saying he was currently in Italy attending a meeting.

“We have filed a case against him in the International Criminal Court asking them to activate any arrest warrant that they have against him, or if not issue a new one, and we have also informed the Italian authorities,” says Dyab Abou Jahjah, the foundation’s chair, speaking to left-wing American news program Democracy Now.

Alian would be one of the most senior IDF officers targeted by the group.

The group also calls for his arrest publicly, in a post to X, accusing him of “genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Israel, which has been at war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza since October 7, 2023, when the group attacked Israel, strongly denies any such allegations, pointing to its efforts to avoid civilian casualties and to Hamas’s use of human shields in battle.

Israeli officials deny report Hamas has sent answer to hostage deal

Israeli officials deny to Hebrew media that Hamas has submitted its answer to the final draft of the hostage deal.

Both the Kan public broadcaster and the Walla news site quote senior officials as denying the Al-Arabiya report, which said the terror group had responded to the draft without reservations.

Hamas said to submit response to final hostage deal draft, without reservations

The Hamas terror group has submitted its response to the hostage deal draft, without attaching further reservations, the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news site reports.

The unsourced report does not give further details.

Multiple Hebrew media outlets interpret the one-line Al-Arabiya report, if accurate, as meaning that Hamas has accepted the deal.

Channel 12 news also says that two government ministries have been told to prepare to absorb released hostages in the coming days.

It also says that Hamas has been demanding the release of an “astronomical” number of security prisoners in exchange for 9-11 living elderly and infirm male hostages to be freed in the first phase of a deal.

Earlier reports said Doha had handed both parties a “final” draft of the agreement, following a breakthrough in the early hours of the morning in talks between Israel’s negotiating team, Qatar’s prime minister, and US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, who recently joined the negotiations.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported a short while ago that the draft was received by Israel overnight and that it was broadly acceptable to Israel. It said the draft had been approved by Hamas leaders abroad, and “everything” now depended on the agreement of Muhammad Sinwar, Hamas’s de facto leader in Gaza.

Sullivan downplays Trump threats to Hamas, says terror group already ‘seeing hell’

An electronic billboard beams an image of US President-elect Donald Trump and references his threat to unleash hell if hostages held in Gaza are not freed until his inauguration later this month, in Tel Aviv, January 8, 2025. (Oded Balilty/AP)
An electronic billboard beams an image of US President-elect Donald Trump and references his threat to unleash hell if hostages held in Gaza are not freed until his inauguration later this month, in Tel Aviv, January 8, 2025. (Oded Balilty/AP)

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan appears to dismiss the effectiveness of President-elect Donald Trump’s threats to unleash hell on Hamas if it doesn’t release the hostages by the January 20 presidential inauguration.

“I have been struck by this phrase about ‘All hell to pay’ or ‘All hell will break loose’ because if you’re a Hamas fighter sitting in Gaza, I think it would be fair to say that you have been seeing hell rain down on you for [15] months,” Sullivan says in an interview with Bloomberg.

He points to Israel’s “total smashing of Hamas battalions,” its killing of Hamas’s top Gaza leadership and its significant degrading of the terror group’s military network.

“The amount of firepower and military pressure brought to bear on Hamas has been pretty dramatic over the course of the past [15] months… combined with this looming period of transition from one president to another… has created a circumstance where we could get to a deal,” Sullivan says.

Pressed on whether the January 20 deadline pushed by the US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators has been effective in moving the negotiations, the top Biden aide indicates that it has.

Sullivan says that shortly after the November presidential election, US President Joe Biden directed his national security team to work with the incoming administration and ensure there is a “united front” on the hostage deal effort. “This is not a partisan issue. This is an American issue to get our hostages out, and all of the hostages out, bring the fighting to an end and surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” he says.

Nonprofit that runs funding for US anti-Israel groups says it’s at risk of closing due to lawsuits

NYU students participate in a anti-Israeli protest led by the 'Students for Justice in Palestine' at Washington Square Park, New York City, October 25, 2023. (Ed Jones/AFP)
NYU students participate in a anti-Israeli protest led by the 'Students for Justice in Palestine' at Washington Square Park, New York City, October 25, 2023. (Ed Jones/AFP)

A New York nonprofit that facilitates funding for anti-Israel groups across the US says its survival is threatened by lawsuits.

WESPAC, a progressive nonprofit in Westchester County, serves as a financial clearinghouse for leading anti-Israel groups including National Students for Justice in Palestine and Within Our Lifetime.

Since the October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, Jewish groups and Congress have pressured WESPAC due to its anti-Israel activities. A lawsuit in New York court, for example, is suing WESPAC, NSJP and the leader of Within Our Lifetime for damages related to protests at Columbia University.

WESPAC sends out an “urgent request” to its supporters asking for funding to cover legal expenses, claiming the group is named in four lawsuits.

“WESPAC’s work has taken on enormous significance since October 7, 2023, as the injustice of apartheid has turned to genocide in Gaza,” the group says. “The well-funded forces of darkness are now waging legal warfare against us.”

“The threat to WESPAC’s survival is real,” the message says, asking for $90,000 from supporters to “protect WESPAC from the precipice.”

In addition to private lawsuits, members of Congress have called for investigations into WESPAC’s nonprofit status, saying members of its network support Hamas, a US-designated terror group.

WESPAC serves as a fiscal sponsor for anti-Israel groups that do not have nonprofit status themselves, an arrangement that allows WESPAC to receive and disperse tax-exempt donations for those groups. Fiscal sponsorships do not require financial disclosures from the recipients, allowing the anti-Israel groups to keep their finances out of public view.

WESPAC had nearly $2.4 million in revenue between September 2022 and August 2023, the most recent period for which tax filings are available.

The group has served as a fiscal sponsor for more than a dozen anti-Israel groups across the US in recent years.

White House says ‘distinct’ possibility of hostage deal this week

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during an onstage interview Tuesday evening at the 92nd Street Y, New York, on December 18, 2024. (Rod Morata/Michael Priest Photography)
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during an onstage interview Tuesday evening at the 92nd Street Y, New York, on December 18, 2024. (Rod Morata/Michael Priest Photography)

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says “there is a distinct possibility” that a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas can be inked “this week.”

He clarifies in an interview with Bloomberg that the sides have been this close before only for the talks to fall apart.

Sullivan says he spoke this morning with the Biden administration’s lead negotiator in Doha — White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk — along with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and one of the lead Israeli negotiators. “There is a general sense that this is moving in the right direction.”

“The question now over the next short while is, can Hamas get to yes?” says the top Biden aide.

With Hamas significantly weakened and isolated on the one hand, and Israel having achieved “a huge amount of its military objectives in Gaza,” Sullivan says both sides are in a position to accept the agreement on the table.

Hamas said told to respond to ‘final’ draft by midnight, reportedly gave list of living hostages to Qatar

Visitors at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. January 13, 2024. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
Visitors at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. January 13, 2024. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)

Mediators have told Hamas to respond to the “final” draft of a hostage-ceasefire deal by midnight tonight, Channel 12 reports.

The TV report also says that, according to unnamed sources, Hamas has given a list to Qatari mediators of living hostages, as Israel has been demanding, and that this list has presumably been seen by Israel.

It adds, without citing sources, that all living and dead hostages on a list of 34 names — of women, children and elderly and infirm men — published last week will be released in the first, 42-day phase of the deal if it comes to fruition. (There are now 33 relevant names on the list, with the body of hostage Youssef Ziyadne, 53, recovered by the IDF from a Gaza tunnel last week.)

There will be a “very significant” release of Palestinian security prisoners in exchange, it says, including many murderers. The IDF will withdraw from a significant part of Gaza, and displaced residents of northern Gaza will be able to return.

It says that the release of hostages would begin a week after the truce takes effect.

The report says talks on the second phase of the deal would begin 16 days after the deal takes effect. All remaining living hostages — all of them males aged under 50 — would be freed in that phase.

Regarding Hamas’s demand for an “end of the war,” the report says such language is unlikely to be used, and that instead there will be references to “a permanent ceasefire.”

In blow to Hezbollah, Salam said to secure enough support to be next Lebanon PM

Judge and President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Nawaf Salam (R) at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on July 19, 2024. (Nick Gammon / AFP)
Judge and President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Nawaf Salam (R) at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on July 19, 2024. (Nick Gammon / AFP)

The head of the International Court of Justice, Nawaf Salam, secured the support of enough lawmakers to be designated Lebanon’s next prime minister, political sources say.

The designation of Salam would mark a blow to the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, which had wanted the incumbent Najib Mikati to remain in the post.

President Joseph Aoun is required to nominate the candidate with the greatest support among lawmakers.

Sa’ar heading to Italy, Hungary on diplomatic visit

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar speaks at a press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on January 13, 2025. (Shlomi Amsalem/GPO)
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar speaks at a press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on January 13, 2025. (Shlomi Amsalem/GPO)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is leaving this evening for diplomatic visits to Italy and Hungary, his office announces.

In Italy, he is slated to meet with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and a range of other government officials, as well as local Jewish leaders. In Hungary he is scheduled to sit down with President Tamás Sulyok and Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó as well as with the Jewish community in Budapest.

The meetings are slated to address regional issues including Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and a potential hostage-ceasefire deal, the Foreign Ministry says.

Hamas official says key sticking points are troop withdrawal, size of buffer zone

IDF soldiers in southern Israel, on the border with Gaza, November 11, 2024 (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
IDF soldiers in southern Israel, on the border with Gaza, November 11, 2024 (Michael Giladi/Flash90)

A Hamas official tells CNN that the terror group “is very close” to an agreement with Israel over a ceasefire-hostage deal, but that several key sticking points remain.

The official tells the news channel that disagreements remain over Hamas’s demand that Israel withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border and commit to a permanent ceasefire.

The unnamed official also says that there is a disagreement over the size of a buffer zone that will run along Gaza’s border with Israel.

He says that Hamas is demanding that it return to the approximately 300-500 meter strip that existed before the October 7 assault, while Israel wants it to be 2 kilometers deep.

“We believe this means that 60 [square] kilometers (37 miles) of the Gaza Strip will remain under their control, and displaced people will not return to their homes,” the official tells CNN.

Tech exec-run airline announces launch of Tel Aviv-New York flights in partnership with Arkia

Techair, a new Israeli airline initiated by a forum of leading tech executives and investors, is teaming up with Israel’s Arkia to launch flights to New York starting February 8 as flagship carrier El Al maintains a monopoly status on the route and US carriers are shunning Israel.

Starting February 8, three weekly flights on the Tel Aviv-New York route will be operated with an Airbus NEO 330-900 Iberojet and Arkia crews on board for a period of three months, Arkia says in a statement.

Roundtrip tickets from Tel Aviv to New York will start at $1,199 in economy class, including luggage and two meals. Tickets for the airline will be available via the Arkia sales channels.

Since war broke out following the October 7, 2023, onslaught by the Hamas terror group, foreign airlines have repeatedly canceled and resumed their flights to and from Israel.

In recent months, US airlines completely stopped flying to Israel amid heightened fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group in southern Lebanon. Missile and drone attacks by Iran and Tehran-backed Houthis have further discouraged foreign airlines.

Hezbollah delays meeting with Lebanon president, indicating tensions over PM choice

Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivers a speech at the parliament building in Beirut on January 9, 2025 (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)
Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivers a speech at the parliament building in Beirut on January 9, 2025 (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)

The Iran-backed Hezbollah group postponed an appointment with President Joseph Aoun at which it was due to communicate its preference for the post of prime minister, political sources say, indicating tensions in the process.

The Shiite group and its ally the Shiite Amal Movement had been due to tell Aoun they wanted caretaker Prime Minister Nabib Mikati to stay in the post, which is reserved for a Sunni Muslim in Lebanon’s sectarian political system.

But the two Shiite groups delayed their meeting as it became clear that another candidate, International Court of Justice President Nawaf Salam, looked set to emerge from the process with the most support among lawmakers, the sources said.

Aoun is required to designate the candidate with the greatest support among Lebanon’s 128 lawmakers.

Haredi faction: Government must act ‘quickly, without political considerations’ to secure hostage deal

Families of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip attend a finance committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on January 13, 2025 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Families of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip attend a finance committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on January 13, 2025 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

United Torah Judaism’s Agudat Yisrael faction comes out in favor of a potential hostage-ceasefire deal, calling on the government to “act decisively and quickly, without involving political considerations or other interests.”

According to the Ynet news site, the Haredi faction additionally says that a deal is a “moral and national duty.”

“The duty to return the hostages home is not subject to dispute; it is a supreme value that transcends any political dispute. We must act immediately and bring them back without delay,” the faction says.

Lapid reiterates to PM he will provide him with political safety net to make hostage deal

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid leads a faction meeting of his Yesh Atid party at the Knesset in Jerusalem, December 23 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid leads a faction meeting of his Yesh Atid party at the Knesset in Jerusalem, December 23 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid reiterates his offer to provide Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political safety net in order to advance a potential hostage deal despite the opposition of the premier’s far-right allies.

“I want to remind Netanyahu again, he doesn’t need them,” Lapid says, referring to far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

“I offered him a political safety net for a hostage deal. This offer is valid now, more than ever. If Netanyahu wants to and can make a deal, he and I know how to close the details of the safety net in half an hour,” Lapid says.

Earlier today, National Unity leader Benny Gantz also gave his backing to the emerging agreement.

Smotrich said that the agreement would be a “catastrophe” for Israel’s national security, while Ben Gvir has yet to publicly comment.

10 coalition MKs, 7 of them from Netanyahu’s Likud, sign letter against ‘immoral’ hostage deal

People walking next to pictures of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, in Jerusalem, January 13, 2025 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
People walking next to pictures of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, in Jerusalem, January 13, 2025 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Ten coalition lawmakers have signed a letter expressing their opposition to a potential hostage-ceasefire deal, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

The signatories calling a potential agreement an “immoral step” include seven members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party.

The letter urges the premier to “not cross the most basic moral lines, do not endanger Israel’s security.”

The signatories are Likud’s Amit Halevi, Hanoch Milwidsky, Moshe Saada, Tsega Melaku, Avihai Boaron, Dan Illouz and Moshe Pessal; Otzma Yehudit’s Limor Son Har-Melech and Yitzhak Kroizer; and Religious Zionism’s Simcha Rothman.

Budget deficit narrows to 6.9% of GDP, but still higher than government target

The budget deficit narrows to 6.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in December, down from the 7.7% recorded a month earlier, according to preliminary figures released by the Finance Ministry.

December marks the third consecutive month since the outbreak of the war in October 2023 that the deficit declined.

However, the December figure is still above the government’s annual target set for all of 2024 of 6.6% as costs to finance the ongoing war continue to soar. Israel posted a fiscal deficit of NIS 136.2 billion ($37.2 billion) in 2024 versus NIS 77.1 billion a year earlier.

In December, government expenditure amounted to NIS 67 billion, taking annual spending in 2024 to about NIS 621.2 billion, a cumulative increase of 20.1% compared with 2023. War costs since the outbreak of fighting in October 2023 ballooned to NIS 124.7 billion.

State revenues amounted to NIS 47.8 billion in December, adding up to NIS 485 billion for the full year in 2024 compared to NIS 438.9 billion in 2023, marking an increase of about 10.5%.

Income from tax revenue rose by almost 28% in December year-on-year and are up 7.3% in 2024, according to figures by the Israel Tax Authority.

Russia, Iran to sign ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’ treaty on Friday, Kremlin says

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin meets with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on October 11, 2024. (Alexander SHCHERBAK / POOL / AFP)
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin meets with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on October 11, 2024. (Alexander SHCHERBAK / POOL / AFP)

Russia and Iran will sign a “comprehensive strategic partnership” treaty on Friday during a visit to Moscow by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, the Kremlin says.

“On 17 January, Vladimir Putin will hold talks with the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian, who will come to Moscow on an official visit,” the Kremlin says, adding the two leaders “will sign the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty.”

Knesset to advance Levin and Sa’ar’s revived judicial overhaul starting Wednesday

Justice Minister Yariv Levin (right) poses with his predecessor Gideon Sa'ar during a meeting on January 1, 2023 (Michael Dimenstein/GPO)
Justice Minister Yariv Levin (right) poses with his predecessor Gideon Sa'ar during a meeting on January 1, 2023 (Michael Dimenstein/GPO)

The Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee will begin procedures on Wednesday to revive Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s judicial overhaul program in the new format he announced last week.

A previous bill at the heart of Levin’s original judicial overhaul plan that would have given the ruling coalition almost complete control over all judicial appointments was voted through committee in March 2023, but was never brought for its final two readings in the Knesset due to massive public protests and backlash. It has remained frozen ever since.

The committee on Wednesday will deliberate and vote on whether to withdraw the original bill from the Knesset plenum and bring it back to the committee for renewed deliberation and amendments to its provisions.

The hearing will not, however, deal with the content of the new proposals themselves.

Levin’s new proposals, made together with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, would change the composition of the Judicial Selection Committee and reduce the influence of the judiciary on that panel; create a distinctive method for passing quasi-constitutional Basic Laws; make Basic Laws immune to judicial review; and make judicial review over regular legislation significantly more difficult.

Hamas confirms progress in hostage-ceasefire talks: ‘Our prisoners will soon be free’

A screen grab from a UGC video obtained on November 24, 2023 shows the transfer by Israeli forces of Palestinian prisoners from the Damon prison in Dalyat al-Karmel to the West Bank prison of Ofer, ahead of a planned release in exchange for Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza by Hamas since October 7th. (ANONYMOUS / AFP)
A screen grab from a UGC video obtained on November 24, 2023 shows the transfer by Israeli forces of Palestinian prisoners from the Damon prison in Dalyat al-Karmel to the West Bank prison of Ofer, ahead of a planned release in exchange for Israeli hostages held captive in Gaza by Hamas since October 7th. (ANONYMOUS / AFP)

The Hamas terror group confirms that progress has been made toward a hostage-ceasefire deal.

“We renew our pledge with our steadfast and patient people and with our heroic prisoners in the prisons, and we affirm that their freedom is near,” the group says.

The statement comes after a breakthrough was apparently achieved in talks in Doha overnight.

A Qatari official said Israel and Hamas have both been handed a “final” draft of the proposal, although an Israeli official later denied the claim.

A potential deal is expected to see hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including terror convicts, released to secure the freedom of hostages held in the Strip.

It is believed that 94 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 40 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.

Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.

US unveils new rules on exporting AI chips, with Israel among nations that could have limited access

The United States unveils new export rules on advanced computing chips used for artificial intelligence, aiming to facilitate sales to allied nations and further curb access to countries like China.

The restrictions, which also include rules on weights for closed AI models, build on curbs announced in 2023 on exporting certain AI chips to China, which the United States sees as a strategic competitor in the field of advanced semiconductors.

But the framework raises concerns of chip industry executives who say the rules would limit access to existing chips used for video games and restrict in 120 countries the chips used for data centers and AI products.

Israel, Mexico, Portugal, Israel and Switzerland are among the nations that could have limited access.

However, according to CNN there are no new restrictions for countries including Australia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says on a call with reporters previewing the framework that it’s “critical” to preserve America’s leadership in AI and the development of AI-related computer chips. The fast-evolving AI technology enables computers to produce novels, make scientific research breakthroughs, automate driving and foster a range of other transformations that could reshape economies and warfare.

“As AI becomes more powerful, the risks to our national security become even more intense,” Raimondo says. The framework “is designed to safeguard the most advanced AI technology and ensure that it stays out of the hands of our foreign adversaries but also enabling the broad diffusion and sharing of the benefits with partner countries.”

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan stresses that the framework will ensure that the most cutting-edge aspects of AI will be developed within the United States and with its closest allies, instead of possibly getting offshored like the battery and renewable energy sectors.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Red Sea tanker hit by Houthis in August is salvaged, averting what could have been among largest oil spills in history

This photo released by the European Union's Operation Aspides naval force shows the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion burning in the Red Sea following a series of attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (European Union's Operation Aspides via AP)
This photo released by the European Union's Operation Aspides naval force shows the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion burning in the Red Sea following a series of attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (European Union's Operation Aspides via AP)

A risky operation to salvage an oil tanker attacked by Houthis in the Red Sea and avert what could have been one of the largest oil spills in recorded history has been completed, British maritime security company Ambrey and Greece say.

The 900-foot Greek-registered MT Sounion, carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil, was struck by several missiles and drones and caught fire on Aug. 21, triggering fears of an oil spill that could cause catastrophic environmental damage in the area.

Months later, the vessel has been declared safe and its cargo has been removed, said Ambrey, which led the salvage operation.

Greece had urged all nations to assist with the case, with political negotiations extending from the Houthis, who eventually allowed salvage teams to tow the ship, to Saudi Arabia, a key player in the region.

In mid-September, Sounion, which was hit 58 miles off the Yemeni coast, was towed to a safe location 150 miles to the north by a flotilla of seven salvage vessels escorted by the European Union’s naval force Aspides.

Extinguishing the fires on board took three weeks in difficult climate conditions, Ambrey said, and the vessel was later towed north to Suez for the cargo to be removed.

Palestinian former Shin Bet informant indicted for killing 83-year-old woman in Herzliya terror attack

The scene of a deadly terror stabbing in Herzliya on December 27, 2024. (Magen David Adom); inset: Ludmila Lipovsky, 83, who was murdered in the attack. (Courtesy)
The scene of a deadly terror stabbing in Herzliya on December 27, 2024. (Magen David Adom); inset: Ludmila Lipovsky, 83, who was murdered in the attack. (Courtesy)

An indictment is filed against Ibrahim Shalhoub, from the West Bank city of Tulkarem, on terrorism charges for murdering 83-year old Holocaust survivor Ludmila Lipovski in Herzliya last month.

Shalhoub, 28, was a former informant for the Shin Bet domestic security service, who was allowed to move to Israel after his identity was exposed.

According to the indictment, shortly after he was allowed to take up residency in Israel, Shalhoub’s family severed times with him, and he decided to carry out a terror attack.

He bought a long kitchen knife two days before he carried out the murder, and the next day went to scope out an appropriate site for his terror attack, eventually deciding on an assisted living complex in the city.

The following day, he armed himself with his new knife and another knife and made his way to the site he had inspected the previous day.

When he saw Lipovski waiting to be picked up by her daughter, “he drew his knife and stabbed her in the upper body approximately 11 times” while calling out “Allah is great” and praying in Arabic.

Shalhoub did not stop stabbing Lipovski until he was shot and wounded by a security guard from the Israel Post Office who was close by and ran to the scene.

Shalhoub fell down after being shot, but then attempted to get back up and attack the security guard before being shot a second time.

Lipvski was taken to hospital but died a short time afterwards.

The State Attorney’s Office has requested Shalhoub be held in prison until the end of legal proceedings against him.

“The defendant is accused of carrying out a murderous terrorist attack, a security offense punishable by life imprisonment, which was committed with severe violence and cruelty,” the State Attorney’s Office said in requesting Shalhoub be kept in detention.

He faces life in prison if convicted.

Otzma Yehudit to vote with coalition again after Smotrich, Ben Gvir announce progress in budget talks

Religious Zionisn party head MK Bezalel Smotrich (right) with head of the Otzma Yehudit party MK Itamar Ben Gvir at a vote at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on December 28, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Religious Zionisn party head MK Bezalel Smotrich (right) with head of the Otzma Yehudit party MK Itamar Ben Gvir at a vote at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on December 28, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

In a joint statement, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announce that “significant progress” has been made in budget talks, and Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party will resume voting alongside the coalition in the coming days.

Ben Gvir has been voting against the coalition over his demand for a larger budget for the police force, which he oversees as national security minister.

Man injured in ‘violent incident’ on Jerusalem’s Jaffa Street; police say not suspected to be terror

Paramedics evacuate man injured in violent incident in downtown Jerusalem to the hospital on January 13, 2025. (Magen David Adom)
Paramedics evacuate man injured in violent incident in downtown Jerusalem to the hospital on January 13, 2025. (Magen David Adom)

A 25-year-old man was injured in what responders describe as a violent incident on Jaffa Street in downtown Jerusalem.

Magen David Adom paramedics are taking the injured man, who they found unconscious, to Shaare Zedek Medical Center. He sustained a severe stab wound, medics say.

Police do not suspect a terror-related motive and are investigating the incident.

Sa’ar says doesn’t expect major elements of unveiled judicial overhaul to undergo further changes

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar speaks at a press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on January 13, 2025. (Shlomi Amsalem/GPO)
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar speaks at a press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on January 13, 2025. (Shlomi Amsalem/GPO)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says he does not expect the major elements of his recently unveiled new judicial overhaul plan to undergo any further negotiations or changes.

The foreign minister says he and Justice Minister Yariv Levin “negotiated it for a very long time, we started the talks… before the war began,” when Sa’ar still sat in the opposition.

“It took us a long time to achieve this formula,” Sa’ar says in response to a question from The Times of Israel at a press conference alongside his Danish counterpart in Jerusalem. “Of course, during legislation, things can change, but I don’t see that the big elements in this suggestion — I don’t see how they will be changed.”

Sa’ar rejoined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in September 2024, and the minister is reportedly planning to soon rejoin the prime minister’s Likud party, which he left in 2020. Sa’ar, who served as justice minister in the last government, was a vocal and vociferous critic of Levin’s original judicial overhaul proposals for giving the executive branch too much power over the judiciary, while still backing reforms to the system.

Gantz backs hostage deal, in swipe at Smotrich, says not bringing them home would be ‘catastrophe’

National Unity chair Benny Gantz seen at the Knesset on December 18, 2024 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
National Unity chair Benny Gantz seen at the Knesset on December 18, 2024 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

National Unity leader Benny Gantz says his party gives full backing to the emerging hostage-ceasefire deal, swiping at Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who said it would be a “catastrophe.”

“Reaching a plan to return our hostages is a supreme value and a strategic necessity — failing to return them and abandoning them is a national catastrophe,” Gantz says in a statement.

“National Unity will give full political backing to the plan for their return,” he says.

Hostage’s brother to Smotrich: By going against deal you’re sacrificing, executing injured soldier

Ofir Angrest, brother of hostage Matan Angrest, speaks at a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset, November 18, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Ofir Angrest, brother of hostage Matan Angrest, speaks at a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset, November 18, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The brother of a hostage held in Gaza blasts Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for saying a hostage deal would be a “catastrophe,” saying the leader of the far-right Religious Zionism is “sacrificing and executing” the captive soldier.

“I want to stand here and show you who you are sacrificing — Sgt. Matan Angrest, kidnapped, seriously injured, lost all his friends, whom you are executing,” Ofir Angrest tells Smotrich at a Finance Committee meeting at the Knesset, according to the Ynet news site.

“Every day another family loses a son and is broken. This is the time to push for the return of my brother and all the hostages,” he says.

Matan Angrest was taken hostage from Nahal Oz on October 7.

Matan Angrest was taken hostage on October 7, 2023, from his tank unit at the Nahal Oz army base. (Courtesy)

Sa’ar confirms progress in negotiations: ‘Israel wants a hostage deal, soon we’ll know if the other side wants the same thing’

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar (right) and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen speak at a press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on January 13, 2025. (Amy Spiro/Times of Israel)
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar (right) and Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen speak at a press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on January 13, 2025. (Amy Spiro/Times of Israel)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says that progress has been made in ongoing negotiations to reach a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas.

“Progress was made; we see some progress in the negotiations,” Sa’ar says at a press conference in Jerusalem alongside his visiting Danish counterpart, Lars Løkke Rasmussen.

“Israel wants a hostage deal. Israel is working with our American friends in order to achieve a hostage deal, and soon we will know whether the other side wants the same thing,” he adds.

Asked about a timeline for a potential deal, Sa’ar says, “There is progress, I said it looks much better than previously… but I don’t want to say more than that, because I realize there are families that are sensitive to every word and every sentence.”

Sa’ar says that Israel is working with both the outgoing Biden administration and incoming Trump administration, and “I hope that within a short time we will see things happening, but it is still to be proved.”

Israeli official denies Israel received draft of final proposal for hostage-ceasefire deal

Demonstrators hold signs during a protest calling for the immediate release of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Demonstrators hold signs during a protest calling for the immediate release of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israel has not received a draft proposal for a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and return its hostages, an Israeli official says.

Earlier, an official briefed on the negotiations said Qatar had handed Israel and Hamas a “final” draft of a ceasefire and hostage release agreement designed to end the war in Gaza.

Likud MK shouts at hostage’s father: ‘Your contemptible words are putting your son in Hamas-ISIS dungeons for many more years’

Likud MK Eliyahu Revivo shouts at the father of hostage Nimrod Cohen at the Knesset on January 13, 2025 (Screen grab/Knesset TV)
Likud MK Eliyahu Revivo shouts at the father of hostage Nimrod Cohen at the Knesset on January 13, 2025 (Screen grab/Knesset TV)

Likud MK Eliyahu Revivo shouts at the father of hostage Nimrod Cohen, saying that his “contemptible words are putting your son in the Hamas-ISIS dungeons for many more years” during a meeting of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee at the Knesset.

Revivo makes the comment after Yehuda Cohen told a Knesset panel that he was willing to go to the International Criminal Court to tell them that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was responsible for crimes against not only Palestinians, but also Israelis.

Cohen notes that 400 soldiers have been killed fighting in Gaza. He says, “If these [ICC] arrest warrants can make Netanyahu abandon his personal interests and make a deal including the very last hostage, then that is what I will do.”

Cohen says that he is making the statement as the father of a soldier held hostage in Gaza who also has a daughter serving in the IDF and another son who is an officer in the reserves.

He is interrupted by Revivo, who points a finger at him and shouts.

Nimrod Cohen, a soldier then aged 19, was taken hostage to Gaza on October 7 from Nahal Oz.

Committee chair MK Simcha Rothman then calls a break in the proceedings.

Smotrich: Hostage deal would be ‘catastrophe for national security,’ says he won’t be part of it

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announces a compensation plan for evacuees returning to their homes in northern Israel, at a press conference on January 5, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announces a compensation plan for evacuees returning to their homes in northern Israel, at a press conference on January 5, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says his Religious Zionism party “will not be part of” the emerging hostage-ceasefire deal, which he calls a “catastrophe for Israel’s national security.”

“We will not be part of a surrender deal that would include releasing terrorists, stopping the war and dissolving the achievements that were bought with much blood, and abandoning many hostages,” Smotrich says in a statement.

“This is the time to continue with all our might, to occupy and cleanse the entire Strip, to finally take control of humanitarian aid from Hamas, and to open the gates of hell on Gaza until Hamas surrenders completely and all the hostages are returned.”

A political source told the Walla news outlet yesterday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was trying to assess if Smotrich would resign from the government if there were to be a deal that would see hundreds of terror convicts freed from Israeli prisons in exchange for hostages.

The report says the premier believes there’s a high probability far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir will quit the government if there is a hostage deal, so Netanyahu is hoping to convince Smotrich to, at most, vote against an agreement without quitting the coalition.

Politicians won’t be allowed to make speeches at ceremony for 80th anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation

People visit the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland, on February 15, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)
People visit the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland, on February 15, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)

Politicians and world leaders will not make speeches at the main commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp later this month, says the director of the site.

“There will be no political speeches at all,” Piotr Cywiński, director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial and museum, tells the Guardian.

“We want to focus on the last survivors that are among us and on their history, their pain, their trauma and their way to offer us some difficult moral obligations for the present,” he says.

It is the first time world leaders have not been permitted to speak at a significant anniversary of the liberation of the camp.

Cywiński also says the discussions over whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be in danger of arrest if he attended were a “media provocation,” claiming there was never an indication that the Israeli premier planned to attend.

The Polish government said last week it would ensure that Israel’s highest representatives can participate freely and safely in the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp later this month, after the country’s president asked for a guarantee Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not be arrested over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Netanyahu is currently not planning on attending the commemoration, an aide to the premier told The Times of Israel. Cywiński tells the Guardian that a sizable Israeli delegation is nonetheless expected to attend.

Polish media reported last month that Netanyahu would avoid attending events commemorating the 1945 liberation of the Nazi camp later this month, fearing he could be arrested due to Poland’s commitment to respecting an International Criminal Court warrant issued for him over the war in Gaza.

Qatar handed ‘final’ draft of hostage-ceasefire deal to Israel and Hamas for approval, official says

People walking next to pictures of hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, in Jerusalem, January 12, 2025 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
People walking next to pictures of hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, in Jerusalem, January 12, 2025 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Mediator Qatar has handed Israel and Hamas a “final” draft of a ceasefire and hostage release agreement designed to end the war in Gaza, an official briefed on the negotiations tells Reuters.

A breakthrough was reached in Doha after midnight following talks between Israel’s negotiating team, US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy and Qatar’s prime minister, the official says.

The war in Gaza was sparked by the devastating attack by Hamas-led terrorists on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Ninety-four of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 40 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.

Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.

Israeli officials tell media hostage deal is close, awaiting Hamas approval; coming days said to be ‘pivotal’

People attend a rally calling for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at Central Park in New York City, on January 12, 2025. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)
People attend a rally calling for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at Central Park in New York City, on January 12, 2025. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)

Israeli officials briefing news outlets say that there has been a breakthrough overnight, with a potential hostage-ceasefire deal apparently close if it is approved by Hamas.

The details of a potential hostage-ceasefire deal have been agreed upon, with mediators waiting for final approval from the Palestinian terror group, Channel 12 news reports.

The outlet says that the development is “dramatic” and that its reporting has been approved by the censor.

According to Channel 12, the proposal is similar to the three-stage deal that was discussed last May.

Talks have largely revolved around a proposed three-stage deal in which “humanitarian” cases, including women, children, men over 50 and the infirm would be released first. Then, on the 16th day of the ceasefire, talks will begin to secure the release of men of military age, followed by a third stage that would see discussions on the governance and reconstruction of the Strip.

An official involved in the negotiations in Doha tells Army Radio: “There is cautious progress; it seems the direction is positive.”

An Israeli official tells Channel 13 that “if Hamas responds soon, all the details can be finalized within days.”

The official adds that “Israel has come a long way” in the negotiations.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that US and Arab mediators made significant progress overnight toward brokering a deal, but officials say an agreement has not yet been reached.

Three officials acknowledge progress has been made and say the coming days will be critical for ending more than 15 months of fighting that was sparked by Hamas’s devastating attack on October 7, 2023. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the talks.

One of the three officials and a Hamas official say there are still a number of hurdles to clear. On several occasions over the past year, US officials have said they were on the verge of reaching a deal, only to have the talks stall.

One person familiar with the talks says there was a breakthrough overnight and that there was a proposed deal on the table.

Israeli and Hamas negotiators will now take it back to their leaders for final approval, the person says.

The person says mediators from the Gulf country of Qatar had put renewed pressure on Hamas to accept the agreement, while US President-elect Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, was pressing the Israelis. Witkoff recently joined the negotiations and has been in the region in the past several days.

The person says the mediators handed off the draft deal to each side and that the next 24 hours would be pivotal.

An Egyptian official says there had been good progress overnight but that it would likely take a few more days, and that the sides were aiming for a deal before Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration. A third official says the talks were in a good place but had not been wrapped up. That official also assessed that a deal was possible before the US presidential inauguration.

A Hamas official, however, said a number of contentious issues still need to be resolved, including an Israeli commitment to ending the war and details about the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. The official was not authorized to brief media and spoke anonymously.

The Egyptian official confirmed that those issues were still being discussed.

Iran claims 1,000 new long-range attack drones delivered to army

Interceptor missiles are fired at Iranian drones and missiles launched at Israel, as seen over Tel Aviv on April 14, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
Interceptor missiles are fired at Iranian drones and missiles launched at Israel, as seen over Tel Aviv on April 14, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

A thousand new drones were delivered to Iran’s army, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reports, as the country braces for more friction with Israel and the United States under incoming US president Donald Trump.

The drones were delivered to various locations throughout Iran and are said to have high stealth and anti-fortification abilities, according to Tasnim.

“The drones’ unique features, including a range of over 2,000 kilometers, high destructive power, the ability to pass through defense layers with low Radar Cross Section, and autonomous flight, not only increase the depth of reconnaissance and border monitoring but also boost the combat capability of the army’s drone fleet in confronting distant targets,” the news agency adds.

Earlier this month, Iran started two-month military exercises, which have already included war games in which the elite Revolutionary Guards defended key nuclear installations in Natanz against mock attacks by missiles and drones.

Tehran has launched a number of drone and missile attacks on Israel since the start of the war sparked by the October 7 onslaught by its proxy, the Hamas terror group.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Protesters outside Levin’s home: ‘The people want a hostage deal and instead the coalition brings back the judicial overhaul’

Protesters demonstrate outside the home of Yariv Levin in Modiin on January 13, 2024 (Adar Eyal/Pro-democracy protest movement)
Protesters demonstrate outside the home of Yariv Levin in Modiin on January 13, 2024 (Adar Eyal/Pro-democracy protest movement)

Protesters rally outside the Modiin home of Justice Minister Yariv Levin, demonstrating against the government’s renewed plans to overhaul the judicial system.

“The people of Israel are waiting with bated breath for a hostage deal, and the Israeli government instead sees this as an opportunity to restore the judicial overhaul,” protest organizers say in a statement.

“The people of Israel cannot remain silent when the Israeli government decides to destroy the foundations of democracy and the future of the country,” organizers say.

Levin and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar put forward a new plan for a judicial overhaul last week.

They hope to pass their new proposals into law by the end of February — a very short timeframe for such consequential legislation — but they will not need to start from the beginning of the legislative process, neither the planned changes to the Judicial Selection Committee nor for doing away with the seniority system for the election of Supreme Court president.

The ministers intend to use previous legislation on overhauling the Judicial Selection Committee that was on the cusp of being passed in its final Knesset readings in March 2023, and bring it back to the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, where it will be amended with the details of the new proposal.

It would then need to be approved in committee before coming to the Knesset for back-to-back second and third readings.

1.5 meter sandbar shark found dead on Hadera beach

A dead sandbar shark found on a beach in Hadera, January 13, 2025 (Ilia baskin/Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
A dead sandbar shark found on a beach in Hadera, January 13, 2025 (Ilia baskin/Israel Nature and Parks Authority)

The body of a 1.5 meter (5 foot) long, 60 kilogram (132 pound) sandbar shark is found on a beach in Hadera in central Israel.

An initial examination reveals a small fishing hook and torn fishing line in the shark’s mouth.

Samples from several organs will be sent to laboratories to test for pathogens.

“The bycatch from fishing in Israel directly damages protected natural values, including sharks and sea turtles,” says Yaniv Levy, director of the Sea Turtle Rescue Center at the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, who was involved in the initial postmortem. Bycatch refers to maritime creatures accidentally caught and then discarded by anglers.

“In fact, they endanger spectacular and rare animals that are found in the Mediterranean Sea. We see these damages in sea turtles that come to us after being caught on fishing hooks and fishing nets,” Levy says.

Adult dusty and sandbank sharks are common around the Hadera power plant in the winter months, where the water is uncharacteristically warm.

Several weeks ago, the corpse of a pregnant female sandbar shark washed up with fishing hooks in its stomach.

Report: Israel submitted plan to hostage deal negotiators for buffer zone along Gaza border

IDF soldiers in southern Israel, on the border with Gaza, November 11, 2024 (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
IDF soldiers in southern Israel, on the border with Gaza, November 11, 2024 (Michael Giladi/Flash90)

Israel has submitted a plan to Doha mediators detailing Israeli presence in the Gaza Strip during and after the various phases of a potential hostage-ceasefire deal, Al-Quds Al-Arabi reports.

London-based Qatari news outlet says Israel has requested a buffer zone of around a kilometer and a half along the Gazan border that will remain under Israeli control. Previously a 300 meter area had been considered a buffer zone – while there was no Israel Defense Forces presence there, there was an understanding that troops would fire on those who entered.

The report says agreement has been reached on the various areas from which the IDF will withdraw in the first and second phases of the deal, noting that the cautious optimism from the United States stems from the fact that the current formulation for an agreement would see all hostages and agreed-upon Palestinian prisoners released in the first two stages.

The report says topics still under discussion include the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released and where those serving severe sentences would be released to. Israel has said it needs to know how many of the hostages are alive before it agrees to a figure.

However, the outlet says that agreements have been reached on the management of humanitarian aid within the Strip.

IDF downs drone over southern Israel that was launched from Yemen

A drone launched at Israel from Yemen was intercepted a short while ago by the Israeli Air Force, the military says.

An IAF helicopter shot down the drone near the southern community of Gvulot, a military source says.

No sirens sounded in towns, “according to protocol,” the IDF adds.

Report: Former PA minister traveling to Qatar to meet with mediators on list of prisoners to be freed in potential hostage deal

A Palestinian Authority source tells the Ynet news site that a former minister is traveling to Qatar to ready the list of Palestinian prisoners to be released as part of a potential hostage-ceasefire deal.

Palestinian Prisoners Club director Qadura Fares “went to Qatar to meet with the negotiating team and prepare the list of Palestinian prisoners who will be released as part of a hostage deal,” the source says.

The Prisoners Club is a Palestinian organization that advocates on behalf of Palestinians in Israeli jails. While the organization used to be financially supported by the Palestinian Authority, Ramallah has reportedly ceased funding the body for at least five years.

Yesterday, Fares said the first stage of a potential hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas will entail the release of 25 Israeli hostages in exchange for 48 Palestinian security prisoners who were freed in the Shalit deal in 2011 and incarcerated again since, along with 200 prisoners serving life sentences, and another 1,000 detainees including women, children and wounded prisoners.

Rocket sirens sound in Gaza border community; IDF says false alert

Sirens sound in a community close to the Gaza border.

The Israel Defense Forces later says it was a false alert.

New Lebanon president starts consultations on naming prime minister

Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivers a speech at the parliament building in Beirut on January 9, 2025 (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)
Newly elected Lebanese president Joseph Aoun delivers a speech at the parliament building in Beirut on January 9, 2025 (ANWAR AMRO / AFP)

New Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will begin parliamentary consultations today over designating a prime minister to form a government that will have to face major challenges in the crisis-hit country.

The consultations, a constitutional requirement under Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system, come just days after Aoun’s election amid foreign pressure for swift progress — particularly from the United States and Saudi Arabia.

The small Mediterranean nation had been without a president since October 2022, run by a caretaker government despite a crushing economic crisis and a war between Hezbollah and Israel, sparked by the Lebanese terror group.

Names floated for the post of prime minster, which is reserved for a Sunni Muslim, include current caretaker premier Najib Mikati, anti-Hezbollah lawmaker Fouad Makhzoumi, and Nawaf Salam, presiding judge at the International Court of Justice in the Hague.

Aoun’s consultations with political blocs begin with a meeting with powerful parliament speaker and Hezbollah ally Nabih Berri.

A source close to Hezbollah tells AFP that both the group and Berri’s Amal movement supported Mikati.

The incumbent’s re-designation is “part of the accord reached with the Saudi envoy to Lebanon… that led Hezbollah and Amal to vote for Aoun as president” last week, the source says on condition of anonymity as the matter is sensitive.

Saudi Arabia and the United States are among key countries driving diplomatic efforts to end the presidential vacuum.

Riyadh has restored its interest in Lebanon’s political scene after years of distancing itself in protest at the influence of the Iran-backed Hezbollah, which was heavily weakened in its latest devastating war with Israel.

Mikati, who has already formed three governments and has good relations with Lebanon’s political parties and several foreign countries, has denied any such prior arrangement exists.

One of the country’s richest men, Mikati has headed the country in a caretaker capacity throughout the presidential vacuum.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Seoul says 300 North Korean soldiers killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine

Around 300 North Korean soldiers have been killed and 2,700 injured while fighting in Russia’s war against Ukraine, a South Korean lawmaker says, citing information from Seoul’s spy agency.

Seoul has previously claimed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sent more than 10,000 soldiers as “cannon fodder” to help Moscow fight Kyiv, in return for Russian technical assistance for Pyongyang’s heavily sanctioned weapons and satellite programs.

Over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv had captured two North Korean soldiers, releasing video of the injured combatants being interrogated and raising the possibility of a prisoner swap for captured Ukrainian troops.

“The deployment of North Korean troops to Russia has reportedly expanded to include the Kursk region, with estimates suggesting that casualties among North Korean forces have surpassed 3,000,” lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun tells reporters after a briefing from the spy agency.

This includes “approximately 300 deaths and 2,700 injuries,” Lee says, after a briefing from Seoul’s National Intelligence Service.

The soldiers, reportedly from North Korea’s elite Storm Corps, have been ordered to kill themselves rather than be taken prisoner, Lee says.

“Notably, memos found on deceased soldiers indicate that the North Korean authorities pressured them to commit suicide or self-detonate before capture,” he says.

He adds that some of the soldiers had been granted “amnesty” or wanted to join the Workers’ Party of North Korea, hoping to improve their lot by fighting.

One North Korean soldier who was about to be captured shouted “General Kim Jong Un” and attempted to detonate a grenade, Lee says, adding that he was shot and killed.

The NIS analysis also revealed that the North Korean soldiers have “a lack of understanding of modern warfare,” and are being used by Russia in a manner leading to “the high number of casualties,” the lawmaker says.

Death toll from Los Angeles fires rises to 24

The number of people confirmed dead in fires that are burning through the US city of Los Angeles has risen to 24, according to authorities.

The County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner publishes a list of fatalities without giving details of any identities. Eight of the dead were found in the Palisades Fire zone, and 16 in the Eaton Fire zone, the document says.

IDF says it struck Hezbollah sites after truce mechanism was notified but failed to address threats

Unverified footage carried by Lebanese media purports to show Israeli airstrikes in the village of Houmine al-Faouqa, in the Nabatieh District, January 12, 2025. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Unverified footage carried by Lebanese media purports to show Israeli airstrikes in the village of Houmine al-Faouqa, in the Nabatieh District, January 12, 2025. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The IDF says it has struck several Hezbollah targets tonight, including a rocket launcher, an unspecified military site, and “routes along the Syria-Lebanon border used to smuggle weapons to Hezbollah.”

The military says that before the strikes, it made the threats known to an international mechanism set up as part of the ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, but “the threats weren’t addressed.”

“The IDF continues to act to remove any threat to the State of Israel and will operate to prevent any attempt by Hezbollah to rebuild its forces in accordance with the ceasefire understandings,” the IDF adds.

Lebanese media report additional Israeli airstrikes in Beqaa Valley, near border with Syria

Lebanese media report additional Israeli airstrikes in the Janta area in the Beqaa Valley, close to the border with Syria.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF on the strikes.

Lebanese media report IDF airstrikes in Nabatieh District, some 17 km north of Israel border

Lebanese media report Israeli airstrikes in the village of Houmine al-Faouqa, in the Nabatieh District.

The village is located north of the Litani River, some 17 kilometers (some 10.5 miles) from Israel’s border.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

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