Live updates (closed)
The Times of Israel liveblogged Wednesday’s events as they happened.
US House panel subpoenas Biden aides over his mental fitness – report
The Republican-led US House of Representatives Oversight Committee subpoenaed three senior White House aides on Wednesday demanding they sit for depositions regarding Democratic President Joe Biden’s health, Axios reports, citing letters.
The panel subpoenaed First Lady Jill Biden’s top aide Anthony Bernal, deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini and senior adviser Ashley Williams, according to Axios.
Halevi: IDF could establish yeshiva in the Jordan Valley to benefit Haredi troops
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says that the IDF could establish a new yeshiva for ultra-Orthodox recruits in the Jordan Valley that would allow them to engage in Torah study alongside their military responsibilities.
Speaking at a graduation event at the Israel National Defense College, Halevi says that the creation of the yeshiva was something “that can — and must be done.”
“Think of what could happen in war and in the economy when members of ultra-Orthodox society enlist,” he says.
Leading Sephardic rabbis ban yeshiva students from reporting at IDF recruitment centers
Ultra-Orthodox Jews walk outside an army recruitment office in Jerusalem, August 16, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Senior Sephardic rabbis in Israel have instructed yeshiva students to ignore any IDF recruitment orders that they receive in the coming weeks, and ban them from reporting at recruitment offices, even if it is to seek an exemption, according to Hebrew media reports.
The decision taken by the Sephardic rabbinical leadership stems from anger over the decision to start issuing recruitment orders to ultra-Orthodox men starting next month, as well as over the proposed law being discussed by the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, which seeks to introduce recruitment targets.
In their letter, the rabbis claim that the recruitment targets will bring about “the destruction of the Torah” and the “souls of a holy people.”
Security official claims PMO staff tampered with transcripts from cabinet meetings, security briefings – report
Israeli security officials have raised concerns that transcripts of sensitive cabinet meetings and security briefings have been tampered with, and the contents of them changed after the fact, by staff in the Prime Minister’s Office, Ynet reports.
According to the report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former military secretary Brig. Gen. Avi Gil sent a letter to Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara several months ago in which he alleged that members of Netanyahu’s office had tried to change meeting transcripts retroactively on several different occasions.
Gil was privately tipped off by unnamed staff in the PMO, Ynet states.
The report claims that one of the altered transcripts dealt with “sensitive preparations for a significant political event,” but does not elaborate further.
The report adds that neither Gil nor Baharav Miara responded to a request for comment regarding the allegations.
Netanyahu’s office, meanwhile, dismissed the report as “an absolute lie.”
“All discussions are recorded and transcribed by law, and therefore their content cannot be changed,” the PMO adds.
US partially releases shipment of heavy bombs withheld from Israel — officials
IDF vehicles transport a group of soldiers and journalists inside the southern Gaza Strip, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/ Ohad Zwigenberg, Pool)
The Biden administration has released about half of the shipment of heavy bombs it has withheld from Israel since May over concerns the IDF would use them in densely populated areas of Gaza, a US official tells The Times of Israel.
In May, the White House announced a decision to withhold a shipment of 1,800 2,000-lb bombs and 1,700 500-lb bombs, with US President Joe Biden threatening to freeze additional offensive weaponry if Israel launched a major military offensive in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah where over one million Palestinians were sheltering at the time.
Israel subsequently tailored its operations to account for the administration’s concerns of mass-civilian casualties, and the sides were on a path to resolve the issue of the withheld shipment, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
But last month, Netanyahu publicly claimed that the US had adopted a broader policy of withholding weapons shipments from Israel, infuriating the Biden administration, and setting back efforts to at least partially release the withheld shipment of heavy bombs, the Israeli official says.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant managed to patch over some of the disagreements during his visit to Washington in late June, the Israeli official adds, pointing to the subsequent US decision to release the 1,700 500-lb bombs.
Netanyahu has claimed that he only went public with the dispute over weapon transfers after months of efforts to solve the issue privately failed.
“We’ve been clear that our concern has been on the end-use of the 2,000-lb bombs, particularly in advance of Israel’s Rafah campaign, which they have announced they are concluding,” the US official says.
“Because of how these shipments are put together, other munitions may sometimes be co-mingled. That’s what happened here with the 500-lb bombs.”
“Since our main concern had been and remains the potential use of 2,000 lb bombs in Rafah and elsewhere in Gaza, the 500-lb bombs are moving forward as part of the usual process,” the US official adds.
IDF says Hezbollah operatives targeted in strike after they were seen entering building in south Lebanon
Several Hezbollah operatives spotted entering a building in southern Lebanon’s Tayr Harfa earlier today were targeted in an airstrike, the IDF says.
The operatives had been identified by troops with the 228th “Alon” Brigade using a drone. A short while later the building was struck by a fighter jet.
Separately, additional Hezbollah sites in Taybeh were struck, the IDF adds.
One rocket was also fired from Lebanon at the Shtula area this evening. According to the IDF, the projectile struck an open area.
כוח צה"ל מצוות הקרב של חטיבה 228 זיהה מוקדם יותר היום באמצעות רחפן, מספר מחבלים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה אשר נכנסו לאתר צבאי של הארגון במרחב טיר חרפא.
זמן קצר לאחר הזיהוי, מטוסי קרב תקפו את האתר בו זוהו המחבלים>> pic.twitter.com/SOERWYRjFQ— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 10, 2024
Gallant says pursuing hostage deal is right thing to do, Israel equipped to deal with accompanying risks
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks at a graduation ceremony at the Israel National Defense College, July 10, 2024. (Screenshot)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says that IDF troops operating in Gaza have created a “limited window of opportunity” for Israel to pursue a deal with Hamas in order to facilitate the return of the 120 hostages held by the terror group.
Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the Israel National Defense College, Gallant says that “the determined actions of the security system have created the conditions for the return of the hostages.”
“A limited window of opportunity will open before us to fulfill our moral and ethical duty to return the hostages,” he says. “The conditions that will be created as a result of the deal will advance our national and security interests, and regarding the risks that may arise — the IDF and security forces know how to overcome them.”
He adds that pursuing a hostage deal alongside the military operation in Gaza to destroy Hamas’s capabilities is the “worthy, right and necessary” thing to do.
Report: Netanyahu’s associates considering having Gallant fired during Knesset recess
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attend a press conference at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, October 28, 2023. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)
Associates of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are considering whether Defense Minister Yoav Gallant should be fired in the coming months, due to what they say is his break from positions held by the coalition, Channel 12 reports.
According to the report, Netanyahu’s associates believe that Gallant is no longer beholden to the governing coalition, and as such must be removed from the role of defense minister. The associates have also accused him of being the source of leaks that have emerged from cabinet meetings in recent months.
The report claims that those close to the prime minister believe that if he is to be fired, it should be done during the Knesset’s upcoming summer recess, to avoid the possibility of it triggering elections.
The Prime Minister’s Office denies the report and insists that there is no animosity between the premier and the defense minister.
Gallant was fired by Netanyahu in March 2023 after he called for the government to pause its controversial judicial overhaul legislation. He was reinstated a month later when Netanyahu reversed his decision.
Head of Shin Bet’s southern district resigns over Oct. 7 failures – report
The head of the Shin Bet’s southern district has resigned from his role, making him the first member of the security agency to quit over the failures surrounding the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught, Channel 12 reports.
In a speech during his send-off from the organization, the security official said that he felt “a personal and moral obligation to ask for forgiveness from all those whose loved ones were murdered, whose children fell in battle, who were taken hostage and returned to Israel and those who are still held in captivity by the enemy, and all those who became displaced in their country,” the report says.
“Your forgiveness will not dull the failure but it will help to repair it,” the report cites him as saying. “It will never glue the fragments of the shattered heart back together, but it can strengthen the light that remains in the heart, in order to defeat the darkness.
Replacing him as head of the southern district is a senior official from the Shin Bet’s West Bank division, Channel 12 says.
New UK foreign secretary Lammy says war in Gaza has continued for ‘far too long’
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy speaking during a meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Wednesday, July 10, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy calls for an “immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages,” saying that the war has gone on for “far too long.”
The newly appointed Labour foreign minister writes on X that the “reports of civilian casualties following an Israeli strike near a school in Abassan are appalling.”
Israel has said it is investigating the reports that dozens of Palestinian civilians were killed and wounded in a strike in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis earlier this week.
According to the military, the strike targeted a Hamas member who participated in the October 7 massacre in southern Israel.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza reported that 29 Palestinians were killed and more than 50 more were wounded at the al-Awda school in the Abasan area of Khan Younis, while other reports said the strike hit the tents of displaced families outside the school.
Lammy adds that “the devastating violence in Gaza has gone on far too long” and says that the UK wants to see “urgent measures to protect civilians.”
Hamas official warns terror group could harden stance at hostage negotiations due to ‘intensifying’ IDF operations
A senior Hamas official claims Israel is “intensifying” its military operations in the Gaza Strip in an attempt to pressure the terror group into a deal, and warns that it will have the opposite effect.
In recent days, the IDF has issued evacuation warnings in Gaza City, and earlier today said it had wrapped up a two-week raid in the eastern Shejaiya neighborhood. At the same time, the IDF has been continuing to operate in southern Gaza’s Rafah, and elsewhere across northern Gaza and the center of the Strip.
The IDF is also investigating reports that dozens of Palestinian civilians were killed and wounded in a strike in Khan Younis earlier this week. The IDF said a fighter jet launched a “precision munition” during a strike against a Hamas terrorist who had participated in the October 7 massacre.
Speaking to AFP about what he says are increased military operations, Hamas official Hossam Badran says that Israel “is trying to pressure negotiations by intensifying bombing operations, displacement and committing massacres”.
As long-stalled diplomatic efforts have gathered pace, aiming for a hostage release deal and Gaza truce after more than nine months of devastating war, Badran claims Israel was trying to force Hamas’s hands.
The Israeli government is “hoping that the resistance will relinquish its legitimate demands,” which include a complete ceasefire and full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, he says, but adds that “the continuation of massacres compels us to adhere to our demands,” he said.
On Sunday, a Hamas official told AFP on condition of anonymity that the group was ready to discuss a hostage release deal with Israel even without a “complete” ceasefire.
But now, Badran says, “we cannot determine to what extent the negotiations can proceed despite the flexibility we have shown.”
IDF wraps up raid in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, says it killed more than 150 gunmen
IDF troops operate in Gaza City's Shejaiya neighborhood, in a handout image published July 10, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says it has wrapped up its two-week-long raid in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, during which combat engineers demolished eight major tunnels and killed more than 150 gunmen.
It publishes new footage showing one of the tunnels, and of it being destroyed by the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit.
In the past day, two tunnels were destroyed in Shejaiya, bringing the total amid the operation to eight, according to the IDF.
In the tunnels, the IDF says troops with the 98th Division found weapons, laptops and other military equipment used by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives.
The IDF also releases footage showing a small drone sent into a building by soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade and identifying two gunmen.
According to the IDF, tanks shelled the building, killing the pair.
IDF troops operate in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, in a handout image published July 10, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)
Family that moved to the US after surviving Oct 7. on Kibbutz Be’eri sees ‘no reason’ to return to Israel
Dekel Shalev, whose family survived the Hamas massacre at Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7, in a Channel 12 interview on July 10, 2024 (Screenshot used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)
Dekel Shalev, who survived the October 7 Hamas massacre in Kibbutz Be’eri, tells Channel 12 that she moved her family to the United States in the aftermath of the terror onslaught and that right now, she doesn’t see any reason to return to Israel to live.
Shalev, her husband and their three children, ages seven, five and three, were at home on the morning of October 7, when Hamas terrorists breached the border fence and poured into Israel’s southern communities.
The family hid inside their saferoom for 15 hours during which Hamas terrorists entered the house four separate times.
She says that her family only survived “due to luck” as the terrorists tried to break into the room where they were sheltering, but gave up without trying to shoot through the door.
Following their evacuation from the kibbutz, they were placed in a hotel near the Dead Sea, but after two days, they realized they still didn’t feel safe.
“We didn’t want our children to have to live in fear,” she says, explaining that they would never have been able to process the trauma of October 7 and move forward if they stayed in Israel.
The family is still connected to the Kibbutz Be’eri community, says Shalev, who is visiting Israel for her father’s birthday. During her ten-day visit, she says she returned to the remains of her family’s home in the kibbutz, for the first time since October 7.
“It wasn’t an easy experience,” she says. “It was strange, a whirlwind of emotions.”
As of now, Shalev says her family doesn’t “see any reason” to move back to Israel, and adds that both her extended family and her husband’s family are displaced across the country, with no indication as to when they’ll be able to return home.
Asked if she thinks that decision will change in the future, Shalev seems certain that it won’t.
“I think that for as long as my children are of the age that I make decisions for them, the answer is no,” she says. “If my kids want to return when they grow up, that will be up to them.”
IDF says two reservists seriously wounded in Gaza City fighting earlier today
Two IDF reservists with the Alexandroni Brigade were seriously wounded this morning during fighting in Gaza City, the military announces.
According to an initial military probe, the troops were wounded by an explosive device.
The troops were taken to hospitals in Israel for treatment.
Hostage families set out on first leg of four-day march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to call for deal
Families of hostages set out on the first leg of a four-day march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to call for a hostage deal, July 10, 2024. (Yael Gadot/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)
Families of hostages have set out on the first leg of a four-day march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to call for a hostage deal after Einav Zangauker — whose son Matan is held hostage in Gaza — alleged earlier today that the police were refusing to approve the route.
Following Zangauker’s statement, the Israel Police said it was working to approve the route, and that Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai had spoken to her to explain the difficulties with ensuring the safety of the marchers walking on Route 1 — one of the country’s busiest routes.
The march organizers received permission late in the afternoon to proceed with the first leg of the route and are appealing for the remaining days to be approved, as well, Walla news reports.
Nasrallah: If Hamas reaches ceasefire deal with Israel, Hezbollah will also cease attacks
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah says that the terror group’s goal throughout the last nine months of near-daily attacks on northern Israel is to “exhaust the enemy materially, financially and mentally,” and claims that it has achieved this.
Speaking at a memorial event for senior Hezbollah official Mohammed Nasser, who was killed in an Israeli strike last week, Nasrallah claims that the clashes on the Lebanon border have successfully distracted Israel from the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. The situation in northern Israel has “made them understand that if they want it to stop, they must stop the aggression in Gaza,” he adds.
He says that if there is a breakthrough in the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas that results in a ceasefire in Gaza, Hezbollah will “also cease” its attacks on Israel “without any discussion or negotiation.”
Hezbollah’s extensive weapons arsenal could overwhelm Israel’s air defenses in all-out war – Washington Post
Israeli security forces try to extinguish a fire near the scene of a rocket strike from Lebanon that hit a car and killed two people near Nafah Junction, in the Golan Heights, July 9, 2024. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
As Hezbollah continues to launch near-daily attacks on northern Israel, analysts believe that the Iran-backed terror group has stockpiled 130,000 to 150,000 rockets and missiles, the Washington Post says in a report examining the group’s weapons arsenal and the extent of the attacks it could be capable of launching against Israel in a full-fledged war.
According to the report, the majority of Hezbollah’s weapons are low-grade unguided munitions, but they could still overwhelm Israel’s aerial defenses if launched in large enough quantities.
Israel has “already spent a lot of Iron Dome interceptors during the war in Gaza,” Fabian Hinz, a defense and military analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, tells the Washington Post. “How many do they have left?”
In addition, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has also claimed that the group possesses precision-guided missiles, although they have never been revealed to the public.
Another weapon that could call into doubt Israel’s level of preparation is the short-range “Fatah” ballistic missile that Hezbollah has in its arsenal, the report says. The missile can travel 155 to 186 miles and contains 992 to 1,1012 pounds of explosives.
While Israel has the necessary air defense to defend itself against smaller drone and missile attacks, Shaan Shaikh, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and deputy director of its Missile Defense Project, tells the Washington Post that it may not be able to do so against Fatah missiles and others like it.
“How effective are David’s Sling and Arrow interceptors against these missiles?” he says. “Can the IDF detect, track and fire on these missiles while they’re being prepped for launch?”
UAE hands down dozens of life sentences to dissidents in mass trial, activists say
A mass trial in the United Arab Emirates of dissidents that has faced widespread criticism abroad has ended with dozens of people sentenced to life in prison, activists say.
The UAE has not immediately acknowledged the sentences. However, they had been expected to be issued in court Wednesday, activists say.
Human Rights Watch says at least 40 of the over 80 defendants received life sentences. Four others received shorter prison terms. It does not know the sentences of all of the prisoners.
“These over-the-top long sentences make a mockery of justice and are another nail in the coffin for the UAE’s nascent civil society,” says Joey Shea, a researcher focusing on the UAE for Human Rights Watch. “The UAE has dragged scores of its most dedicated human rights defenders and civil society members through a shamelessly unfair trial riddled with due process violations and torture allegations.”
The Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center, a group run by an Emirati who lives in exile in Istanbul, says sentences had been handed down. Amnesty International also criticizes the sentences.
Holon man indicted for sexually harassing Social Equality Minister May Golan
Minister May Golan at the Knesset in Jerusalem on January 3, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
A 28-year-old man from Holon has been indicted for multiple instances of sexual harassment against Social Equality Minister May Golan.
The accused, identified in the indictment as Tomer Guy, contacted Golan via Facebook Messenger on several occasions in 2023 with messages containing sexually degrading content.
In one excerpt from a message sent on July 5, 2023, and cited in the indictment, Guy referred to Golan as a “pissed-off whore” and “little slut,” while vowing that he “wouldn’t rest until we throw you and your group of garbage people into the trash can of history.”
In total, Guy sent eight messages to Golan, each one containing similarly vulgar language to the first, and some containing descriptions of sexual acts he claimed she “wanted” from him.
Golan was initially appointed to head the ministry for the advancement of the status of women in May 2023. The ministry was absorbed into the Social Equality Ministry in January of this year, becoming the Social Equality and Advancement of the Status of Women Ministry.
Police deny hostage mother’s claim that they refused to approve route for hostage deal march
Families of the Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza march along with hundreds of supporters towards the Knesset in Jerusalem, as part of a protest calling for the immediate release of the hostages, near Jerusalem, November 17, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Following accusations that the Israel Police had not approved the route of a three-day march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem calling for a deal to free the hostages, the police say in a statement that this is not the case and that they are working to ensure that it can go ahead.
Earlier today, Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage in Gaza, said the police had refused to approve the route, despite it being the same one used by protesters at a march before a weeklong truce and hostage deal was agreed to in November.
In response, the police say in a statement that “contrary to the reports that have been circulated in the past few hours, the Israel Police is working to allow the families of the hostages to march from Begin [Road, in Tel Aviv] to Jerusalem while ensuring the safety of the marchers and those using the road.”
According to the police, Zangauker met with Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai earlier today, who told her that while “the Israel Police will do whatever is necessary for the planned march to go ahead,” securing the route in question required “the allocation of many forces and special preparation” which would take time to set up.
The statement says that Shabtai explained the difficulties that arise in securing a large march on a busy highway and the safety issues that could arise if done improperly.
Nevertheless, “the commissioner directed all the national and district Israel Police elements to be in contact with the families of the hostages as soon as possible in order to examine the possibility that the march can take place tomorrow in a format similar to the one that previously took place,” the statement adds.
IDF says it shelled Syrian Army sites that violated 1974 disengagement agreement
The IDF says tanks and artillery shelled Syrian Army sites in southern Syria that had violated a 1974 disengagement agreement.
According to the IDF, the structures erected in the Syrian Golan Heights were a violation of the Agreement on Disengagement signed in 1974 between Israel and Syria, which concluded the Yom Kippur War.
“The IDF considers the Syrian Army responsible for everything that happens in its territory and will not allow attempts to violate the disengagement agreement,” the military adds.
IDF: 30 rockets launched from Lebanon at northern Galilee Panhandle
A barrage of some 30 rockets was launched from Lebanon at the northern Galilee Panhandle a short while ago, the IDF says.
No injuries were caused in the attack.
Sirens sounded in several communities in the area.
PM tells White House envoy he wants deal, as long as red lines aren’t crossed
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) meets White House Middle East czar Brett McGurk in Jerusalem, July 10, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells White House Middle East czar Brett McGurk that he is “committed to a deal, as long as Israel’s red lines are maintained,” according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
On Sunday, Netanyahu released a list of 4 “nonnegotiables” in hostage talks with Hamas — that any potential deal must prevent weapons from being smuggled into Gaza from Egypt; must “allow Israel to go back to fighting until all the goals of the war are achieved”; and cannot allow “the return of thousands of armed terrorists to the north of the Gaza Strip.” He also said Israel would maximize the number of living hostages Hamas turns over.
Israel’s intelligence chiefs are in Doha for a four-way summit with the US, Egyptian, and Qatari officials leading negotiation efforts.
McGurk is joined in the Jerusalem meeting by US Ambassador Jack Lew, while Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer joins Netanyahu.
Gallant to White House envoy: Israel may pull out from Philadelphi corridor for solution on smuggling problem
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk last night that Israel could withdraw troops from the Philadelphi corridor as part of a hostage deal, Gallant’s office says.
“A solution is required that will stop smuggling attempts and will cut off potential supply for Hamas, and will enable the withdrawal of IDF troops from the corridor, as part of a framework for the release of hostages,” he said.
He also told McGurk that Israel wants to see the Rafah Crossing reopened, but “will not tolerate the return of Hamas to the area.”
Gallant thanked McGurk along with the Biden administration “for his personal involvement and leadership on the hostage issue,” says his office.
Hostage’s mother says police refusing to approve route for march supporting deal
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, demonstrates on Azza Street near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, while holding a photo of her son, June 27, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage in Gaza, says police have not approved the route for a march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, set to begin today, calling for a deal to free the hostages.
In a statement, Zangauker claims that after speaking with Israel Police chief Kobi Shabtai, law enforcers were acting on behalf of far-right National Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, “who opposes a deal.”
Police are apparently refusing to approve the route, even thought it was the same as one used by protesters at a march before a weeklong truce and hostage deal was agreed to in November.
Zangauker says hostage families “deserve” to march along the route with the public, and that it is “unthinkable that the police would throw us on the roads that no one passes.”
“It is our intention to march along the original route we submitted to the police yesterday, and I expect the police chief will instruct his subordinates to act accordingly,” she says.
Halevi says Hamas facing military pressure across Gaza, army not ‘treading water’
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (left) meets with the head of the 99th Division, Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram in Gaza City, July 9, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says Israel is applying military pressure on Hamas in different ways across the Gaza Strip, and that it is not “treading water.”
“We are applying military pressure in various forms. What is being done in Rafah is different from what you are doing here,” he says to officers of the 99th Division in Gaza City yesterday, amid a new operation there.
“What you are doing here is different from what is happening right now in Shejaiya, or the mission of the [Netzarim] corridor or the security area along the border,” Halevi says.
“The common denominator between the different places… is determination,” he says.
“There is no treading water or being at a standstill. You are bringing about important achievements every day,” Halevi tells the officers.
“We are planning ahead… looking for opportunities [to target] senior officials, infrastructure, and operatives, and we do it with all kinds of methods,” he adds.
Brother of hostage barred from Knesset after forcible removal on Monday
Danny Elgarat, whose brother Itzik Elgarat is held hostage by Hamas, addresses a press conference in Tel Aviv on March 13, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
The brother of hostage Itzik Elgarat, who was forcibly removed from a Knesset committee meeting earlier this week, is refused entry into the Knesset, Hebrew media says.
Danny Elgarat tells Haaretz he was refused entry after he passed through security and already was given a visitor’s tag.
“Someone called the Knesset sergeant-at-arms, and he came and said it was too close to the incident on Monday, that [the guards] were still traumatized,” he says, adding that he told the sergeant that he wanted to “lower the flames.”
However, the officer said it was “difficult” to change his position.
An official later tells Haaretz that Elgarat did not speak to the sergeant-at-arms, and must have spoken to someone else.
After that, Elgarat says the director general of the Knesset, Moshe Edri, came and affirmed the decision to not allow him entry.
“I could have caused a provocation, but I preferred not to do so because enough happened this week due to their lack of judgment,” Elgarat says.
“People are entering the Knesset who have been convicted of supporting terror; he’s called [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir. I thwarted terrorism my entire life and I cannot enter,” he says, referring to the far-right lawmaker’s past convictions.
Knesset guards on Monday forcibly dragged Elgarat out of a parliamentary committee meeting after he interrupted the brother of another abductee speaking out against the latest hostage agreement being negotiated between Israel and the terror group.
Parents of surveillance soldiers slain on Oct. 7 make final plea to IDF for footage, recordings
Parents of surveillance soldiers killed during Hamas’s October 7 massacre say they will petition the High Court of Justice if the military does not give them footage and recordings of their daughters on the day.
“As long as the transfer of the above documentation to my clients does not harm the security of the state, there is no good reason to continue to keep it from my clients. Second, only through the requested documentation will my clients receive answers to their unanswered questions,” a letter by the parents’ lawyers to IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi says.
The letter tells Halevi he has a duty to the families of those who fell on October 7, and that their appeal comes after all other avenues were ignored by the military.
Lawyers ask for an answer to the request within 21 days.
לאחר שפניותיהן לא נענו בידי צה"ל, משפחות תצפיתניות שנפלו במוצב נחל עוז, פנו לרמטכ"ל: "במידה ולא נקבל את קולות הקשר והתיעוד של בנותינו בתוך 21 ימים, נעתור לבג"ץ".@michalpeylan pic.twitter.com/bw07z4c65n
— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) July 10, 2024
FBI said interviewing Oct. 7 survivors, families, for case against Hamas financiers
The seal on the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building is seen June 9, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
FBI agents have taken testimonies from the survivors and relatives of victims of the October 7 massacre as the US Justice Department builds a case against financial backers of the Hamas terror group, Bloomberg reports.
The case is targeting avenues of support to the Hamas terror group, including funding from Qatar and Iran, sources familiar with the investigation tell Bloomberg.
According to the report, former hostages and the families of US citizens murdered during the devastating onslaught have provided footage and texts from those slain in order to create a detailed chronology of the massacre and identify its perpetrators.
A spokesperson for the US Justice Department declines to comment on the report.
Gantz: We demanded Israel shift focus of war to Hezbollah in March
National Unity chair Benny Gantz says he demanded Israel’s military focus be shifted to Hezbollah on the northern border in March when he was still a minister in the government’s war cabinet.
“Operational efforts should have been shifted to the north in March, as we demanded,” he tells the Aaron Institute for Economic Policy’s annual conference in Herzliya, adding that a costly deal to return the hostages held in the Gaza Strip was necessary.
“Israel cannot afford the continuation of the clashes in the north, and the loss of another year,” he continues. “The time has come to exact a price on military targets and infrastructure in Lebanon, of which Hezbollah is a part, and it is necessary to demand [Lebanon] take responsibility.”
“Unfortunately, the prime minister is hesitating and refuses to add the return of northern residents to their homes on September 1 as a goal of the war, and we are paying the price, a heavy price,” he says, referring to the date that the school year begins, and a deadline that has been floated for ensuring evacuees can return.
Gallant: 60% of Hamas terrorists killed or injured
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tells the Knesset that 60 percent of Hamas terrorists have been killed after nine months of war in the Gaza Strip, adding that the military has eliminated at least most of 24 of the terror group’s battalions.
Gallant was responding to a question regarding why Israel supplies electricity to the Gaza Strip, from Religious Zionism MK Ohad Tal.
“We have returned half of the hostages and we are determined to return the rest. The security establishment is determined to achieve the goals of the war. In order for us to be able to do these things, it is appropriate that we preserve our support on the battlefield,” he says, alluding to the need to maintain international support during the war.
IDF calls on ‘everyone in Gaza City’ to evacuate south
The IDF has dropped leaflets this morning calling on “everyone in Gaza City” to evacuate and head south toward shelters in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah.
The flyer provides instructions on safe routes to evacuate Gaza City, via the Salah a-Din road or the coastal road.
“Gaza City will be a dangerous combat zone,” the leaflets warn.
The IDF in recent days had issued evacuation warnings for several areas in Gaza City as troops carry out operations in its western and southern neighborhoods, as well as in the eastern Shejaiya neighborhood.
The latest warning covers all of Gaza City.
Some 200,000 Palestinians remain in northern Gaza, according to recent IDF estimates.
جيش الاحتلال يلقي منشورات يعلن فيها مدينة غزة منطقة قتال خطيرة ويطالب فيها السكان بالنزوح جنوبا.
هنا باقون، العمر واحد والرب واحد والله المستعان..مدينة #غزة
العاشر من يوليو 2024 pic.twitter.com/i3H9ZudADe— عاصم النبيه Asem Alnabih (@AsemAlnabeh) July 10, 2024
Gallant: 3,000 ultra-Orthodox soldiers to be drafted to IDF by next summer
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks during an assembly session in the plenum hall of the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on July 10, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Addressing the Knesset for the first time since the outbreak of the war, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vows that 3,000 ultra-Orthodox soldiers will be drafted into the military by next summer.
“Our goal is to draft all those that can be recruited according to the law. This is how we work,” he tells the plenum.
“Ultimately, the process is gradual, and has not been done for 76 years,” he says, referring to the long-time status quo, in which ultra-Orthodox men have been exempt from military service.
Gallant vows that recruitment orders “are on the way and will come out during the next few weeks.”
Israeli negotiating team arrives in Qatar for hostage deal talks
The Israeli team lands in Doha, Qatar, ahead of a summit on hostage talks with senior US, Egyptian, and Qatari officials, according to Kan news.
Israel’s delegation is led by Mossad chief David Barnea, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, and IDF hostage point man Nitzan Alon.
Levin, Smotrich reject court office request for public funds for lawyers to defend Oct. 7 terrorists
Justice Minister Yariv Levin attends a swearing in ceremony for newly appointed judges at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, on June 23, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich both blast requests from the Israel Court’s Administration to provide funding for private legal representation for unlawful terrorist combatants suspected of carrying out the October 7 atrocities.
“I stand by my decision, which was taken at the beginning of the war: the Justice Ministry will not finance [this], the Public Defender’s Office will not represent the Nukhba terrorists,” Levin vows in a statement to the press.
Smotrich makes similar comments, describing the request as “crazy” and saying he has instructed officials in the Finance Ministry not to provide any funding for the purpose of legal representation for the alleged terrorists.
“We are losing our sense of values, Israeli citizens will not fund from their money the legal defense for such disgusting enemies,” says the finance minister.
The hundreds of Hamas and other terrorist operatives suspected of perpetrating the October 7 atrocities who are currently being held by Israel have yet to be charged, but they have appeared before at least one court, either physically or by video link, for dealing with requests by the state to extend their detention.
The Israel Courts Administration says in response to the uproar that the courts are empowered to appoint defense attorneys for those who do not have legal representation and that suspects who “appear frontally” before the court are required by the law to have legal representation in order to hold such a hearing.
The courts processing these cases therefore issued decisions based on these laws to appoint private defense attorneys for the suspected terrorists, after the Public Defender’s Office refused to provide them with legal counsel. The funding for such representation must come from state funds, the law stipulates.
“The Israel Courts Administration turned to the Justice Ministry to examine how these judicial decisions will be implemented, and to find a funding source, and the issue is still under discussion,” the administration says.
The administration underlines that the judicial decisions appointing private attorneys for the alleged terrorists were taken because the law requires such representation for frontal hearings.
“The courts are not the ones who determined the legal situation,” the court administration says.
Noa and Nir Baranes named as couple killed in Hezbollah rocket barrage
Noa (right) and Nir Baranes, who were killed in a rocket barrage in the Golan Heights on July 9, 2024. (Courtesy)
Noa and Nir Baranes are named as the victims of yesterday’s deadly Hezbollah rocket attack on the Golan Heights.
The couple from Kibbutz Ortal, both aged 46, are survived by their three children.
They were killed when a Hezbollah rocket struck their car near the Nafah Junction, just south of their hometown.
Hezbollah claimed to have targeted a nearby army base.
Their deaths bring the toll of attacks from Lebanon amid the war in Gaza to 28, which includes 12 civilians.
FM Israel Katz meets Blinken and Austin at NATO Summit
Foreign Minister Israel Katz (right) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington, DC, July 9, 2024. (Foreign Ministry)
Foreign Minister Israel Katz met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last night as the 2024 NATO Summit opened in Washington, DC, his office says.
Katz also met with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly last night.
He will meet US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen today, as well as South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and more foreign ministers.
His focus in the conversations is on Iran, according to the Foreign Ministry: “Our enemy is also your enemy. The Iranian missiles and UAVs that threaten us are being sent to Russia and threaten you too. Crippling sanctions must be imposed on Iran, and the Revolutionary Guards must be declared a terrorist organization.”
Rescued hostage sues US nonprofit with ties to journalist who held him captive
Rescued hostage Almog Meir Jan is reunited with his family at Sheba Medical Center, June 8, 2024. (IDF)
Rescued hostage Almog Meir Jan is suing US nonprofit the People Media Project, which has ties to the journalist that held him captive, Fox News reports.
Jan was held by Abdallah Aljamal, a spokesman for the Hamas-run labor ministry in Gaza who has contributed to several news outlets in the past, and was a correspondent for the Palestine Chronicle, which is run by the nonprofit.
“Under the leadership of Defendants [editor-in-chief] Ramzy Baroud and [People Media Project governor] John Harvey, Defendant Palestine Chronicle employed Hamas Operative Aljamal and offered him its US platform to write and disseminate Hamas propaganda, ultimately subsidized, through its status as a tax-exempt charitable organization, by US taxpayers,” the court filing set to be submitted to Washington state’s western district court reads, as cited by the report.
The filing says that the defendants “knowingly and willfully procured and disseminated Hamas propaganda to the Palestine Chronicle’s readers in the United States.”
“Following the Hamas terror attacks of October 7, while Hamas Operative Aljamal imprisoned Plaintiff, Defendants permitted Hamas Operative Aljamal to use their platform to whitewash Hamas’s crimes and attract international support for its terrorist cause.”
“By providing this platform to Hamas Operative Aljamal and compensating Hamas Operative Aljamal for his propaganda, Defendants aided, abetted, and materially supported both Hamas Operative Aljamal and Hamas itself in their acts of terrorism, including kidnapping and holding Plaintiff hostage for 246 days, in violation of international law,” the filing adds, according to the report.
Jan was rescued along with 27-year-old Andrey Kozlov and 40-year-old Shlomi Ziv by Israeli special forces who raided the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. All three were seized on October 7 along with dozens of others at the Nova outdoor music festival where terrorists massacred over 360 people.
Another Israeli hostage, 26-year-old Noa Argamani, was rescued from a nearby building during the same operation.
Shas backs away from its bill, says it will resume voting with coalition
Shas leader MK Aryeh Deri with Israeli minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir during a Shas party meeting, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on January 23, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)
Shas will return to vote with the coalition after the Otzma Yehudit party tanked an amendment to the Religious Services Law, sparking a dispute between the two coalition factions.
In a statement, the ultra-Orthodox Shas says it tried to pass the bill “to boost the status of the rabbis in Israel who sacrifice their lives in this period” and “to improve the conditions of employees at religious councils.”
“Astonishingly, [National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir] chose to overturn the law and create an unnecessary rift in the right during a war due to political considerations,” the statement reads.
“As such, Shas shows responsibility and will not create a crisis at this moment that may harm the national efforts for a hostage deal, and therefore will vote together with the coalition. The Shas faction will continue to do everything to protect the Jewish identity of the State of Israel,” it says.
Additionally, Otzma Yehudit asserts that the bill will only be approved if Ben Gvir is allowed to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closed forum for managing the war, referring to small ad hoc consultations the premier holds with the defense minister and relevant officials regarding key decisions on the war.
“Just yesterday it was proven, with the abandonment of security in the north, how necessary the presence of Minister Ben Gvir is in the forum for managing the war,” the party says in a statement, referring to the deaths of two civilians during a Hezbollah rocket barrage on the Golan Heights.
“Until this happens, Otzma Yehudit will continue to disrupt the work of the coalition. At the same time, regarding the opposition’s votes today, Otzma Yehudit will not let the opposition win and pass laws and will vote against the laws that the opposition will propose,” it says.
Biden seeks political boost through ceasefire-hostage deal, Israel’s US envoy says
Part of the reason US President Joe Biden is pushing for a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas is in order to gain credit if his efforts are successful, Israel’s Ambassador to the US Mike Herzog tells Army Radio.
“Biden will see it as an achievement and will want to take credit. It’s is not the main reason, but of course there is a political dimension to it,” Herzog says.
Herzog also acknowledges disputes between Washington and Jerusalem regarding the Israel-Hamas war but asserts that overall relations are “strong.”
“Most of the things that we are dealing with are not disclosed to the public, but are very important,” he adds.
Culture minister warns coalition falling apart, blaming Ben Gvir
Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar attends a ceremony for the Israeli Olympic delegation and the Paralympic delegation competing at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on June 19, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)
Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar warns the coalition is crumbling from the inside and that right-wing parties were likely to be out of power for a long stretch if elections were held today.
“The disintegration of the coalition is unfolding before our eyes. Coalitions collapse from within. If there are elections, the chance for us to form a government is very low and we will be thrown into opposition for many years,” he tells the Kol Berama radio station.
Zohar says National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir would be responsible if early elections are called after his far-right Otzma Yehudit party tanked a Shas-backed amendment to the Religious Services Law on Monday, sparking a dispute between the two parties.
“This is an absurd and illogical situation. I expect people to come to their senses,” Zohar says.
IDF raids UNRWA HQ in Gaza City it says was used by terror groups
Over the past day, IDF troops raided UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City, which the military says was used by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to carry out attacks against troops.
The raid was carried out by the Commando Brigade and elite Multi-Domain Unit, which yesterday joined the 99th Division in the ongoing operation in southern and western areas of Gaza City.
The IDF says it first opened a humanitarian corridor for civilians to leave the UNRWA facility area.
During the raid, troops killed and detained several gunmen and located a large amount of weaponry, according to the IDF.
Also in the past day, the IDF says troops with the 98th Division killed dozens of gunmen in Gaza City’s eastern Shejaiya neighborhood, amid a separate operation there.
A tunnel was also demolished in Shejaiya, the military says.
Meanwhile, operations also continue in southern Gaza’s Rafah, where the IDF says troops with the 162nd Division killed several terror operatives, located weapons, and destroyed tunnels in the past day.
Separately, several drone strikes were carried out against Hamas operatives in the central Gaza Strip, who according to the IDF were involved in digging tunnels and launching missiles at troops in Gaza.
אוגדה 99 ממשיכה בלחימה במרחב העיר עזה. לוחמי צק"ח הקומנדו והיחידה הרב-מימדית הצטרפו הלילה לפעילות במטה אונר״א במרחב, אשר משמש את מחבלי החמאס והגא״פ להוצאת פעולות טרור נגד כוחותינו במרכז הרצועה>> pic.twitter.com/1HHodZkB4R
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 10, 2024
Protesters partially block junction near Tel Aviv, calling for elections, hostage deal
Anti-government protesters wave banner reading, "Enough of the government of destruction" at the Morasha Junction, central Israel, July 10, 2024. (Danor Aharon/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)
Anti-government protesters partially block the Morasha Junction near Tel Aviv, calling for immediate elections and a deal to free hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
Protesters wave a banner reading, “Enough of the government of destruction,” and burn tires on the road, before police arrive on the scene to disperse them.
Police say they have detained nine protesters for questioning over the disturbances, and reopened the road.
IDF strikes Hezbollah air defense facilities in northeastern and southern Lebanon
Two facilities belonging to Hezbollah’s air defense unit were struck in Lebanon overnight, the IDF says.
The sites were located in the village of Janta in the northeastern Baalbek District, and in Baraachit in southern Lebanon, according to the military.
Separately, fighter jets also struck a Hezbollah weapons depot in Kafr Kila, the IDF says.
It publishes footage of the latter strike.
במהלך הלילה, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו שתי תשתיות טרור של מערך ההגנה האווירית של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים ג'נתא שבעומק לבנון וברעשית שבדרום לבנון.
כמו כן, מטוסי קרב תקפו מחסן אמצעי לחימה של הארגון במרחב הכפר כילא שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/6Y2mxJGUGl
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 10, 2024
The strikes come after a Hezbollah rocket attack yesterday killed two Israeli civilians.
Dutch police nab suspect after Christian-Zionist group’s HQ vandalized with ‘Free Gaza’
Dutch police arrest a 33-year-old woman from Arnhem on suspicion that she participated in the vandalization of a Christian-Zionist community center near Utrecht.
The woman is perhaps tied to Extinction Rebellion, a far-left environmentalist group that has recently demonstrated outside the Christians for Israel headquarters in Nijkerk near Utrecht, the VeluweFM radio station reports.
The vandalism earlier this week includes the scrawling of the slogan “Free Gaza” on the three-story building that houses the Christians for Israel group and subsidiaries, such as the Israel Product Center. The building features a large Israeli flag at the entrance.
Unacceptable: Yesterday activist group ‘Extinction Rebellion’ vandalised the office building of Christians for Israel in Nijkerk, The Netherlands.https://t.co/aZJ2QTB88l pic.twitter.com/J9cXxwqF4K
— Sander ????????????????????????????️ (@Sander85433622) July 8, 2024
Report: Netanyahu mulled Europe stopover but will fly directly to US amid ICC fears
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a debate at the Knesset plenum in Jerusalem, June 24, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considered, then decided against, visiting the Czech Republic and Hungary on the way to the United States when he travels to address Congress on July 24, the Kan public broadcaster reports, amid fears the International Criminal Court was readying an arrest warrant against him.
If the International Criminal Court accepts its chief prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant, the Czech Republic and Hungary must arrest Netanyahu. Both countries have called the request “unacceptable.”
Netanyahu reportedly mulled the stopovers after it was understood that the prime minister’s plane, Wing of Zion, was unable to make a transatlantic flight while carrying a full load of passengers.
Instead of the stopovers, the prime minister will travel directly with a limited entourage to Washington, DC, the report says.
ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan announced in May that he was seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant due to suspected crimes of “causing extermination, causing starvation as a method of war including the denial of humanitarian relief supplies, deliberately targeting civilians in conflict.”
He also said he was seeking arrest warrants for Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh, Yahya Sinwar, and Mohammed Deif.
Suspected Houthi attack targets vessel in Gulf of Aden
A suspected attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels targets a ship in the Gulf of Aden, the latest assault blamed on the group on the crucial maritime trade route.
The captain of the ship reported an explosion in close proximity to the vessel off the coast of Nishtun, Yemen, close to the country’s border with Oman, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center says. The ship, whose name and flag were not released, and all crew are safe, the UKMTO says in a warning to mariners.
The explosion took place in the farthest reaches of the waterway earlier targeted by the rebels, the center says.
It does not elaborate on what caused the explosion, though the Houthis have been known to use drones and missiles as well as bomb-carrying drone boats.
IDF announces commando killed during fighting in central Gaza
Sgt. First Class Tal Lahat, of the IDF's Maglan commando unit, who was killed during fighting in central Gaza on July 9, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
An Israeli soldier was killed yesterday during fighting in central Gaza, the military announces.
The slain soldier is named as Sgt. First Class Tal Lahat, 21, of the Maglan commando unit, from Kfar Saba.
His death brings Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip to 327.
Anne Frank statue in Amsterdam vandalized with red ‘Gaza’ graffiti
A statue of Anne Frank in the Amsterdam neighborhood where she lived for much of her life has been vandalized.
Images of the statue show the word “Gaza” written in red paint on the pedestal.
The Center for Information and Documentation on Israel says that a police report was filed.
Nog meer "antizionisme": het beeldje van Anne Frank op het Merwedeplein in Amsterdam, waar de Joodse dagboekschrijfster woonde tot het moment dat ze in 1942 onderdook, is beklad met rode verf en de tekst 'Gaza'. Er is aangifte gedaan bij de politie. pic.twitter.com/2HBMwRai7Z
— CIDI ????️ (@CIDI_nieuws) July 9, 2024
Home Front Command reports suspected terror infiltration in settlement near Jerusalem
The IDF’s Home Front Command has instructed residents of the Anatot settlement near Jerusalem to shelter in their homes, saying terrorists are suspected of having infiltrated the community.
White House warns Iran against meddling in anti-Israel protests
WASHINGTON — The White House accuses Tehran of trying to take advantage of Gaza-related protests in the US and describes such behavior as unacceptable, following a warning by the top US intelligence official that Iran was trying to stoke discord in American society.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre says freedom of expression is vital to American democracy, but the government also has a duty to warn citizens about foreign influence operations.
“Americans across the political spectrum, acting in good faith, have sought to express their own independent views on the conflict in Gaza. The freedom to express diverse views when done peacefully is essential to our democracy,” she says.
“At the same time, the US government has a duty to warn Americans about foreign malign influences. … We will continue to expose attempts to undermine our democracy in our society just as we are today.”
US antisemitism envoy hails Meta’s new policy against derogatory use of ‘Zionist’
Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt speaks during an event on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
The Biden administration’s antisemitism envoy hails Meta’s announcement that it will ban derogatory references to “Zionists” in cases where the term is used to refer to Jews or Israelis rather than supporters of the movement to establish a Jewish polity.
Deborah Lipstadt says the move “is an important step in mitigating the rampant spread of online antisemitism. It also recognizes the alarming, widespread use of ‘Zionists’ as a cover for expressing hatred of Jews in general.”
“Dialogue between governments, the private sector and civil society is crucial in turning the tide of rising hate, and we are proud to have had Meta and other social media companies around the table at the Symposium for Countering Online Antisemitism that my office convened earlier last month,” she adds.
IDF says probing reports that over 2 dozen Gazans killed in strike on Hamas terrorist
A van carrying injured Palestinians arrives at Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on July 9, 2024, after an Israeli strike that the IDF says targeted a Hamas operative who part in the October 7 terror onslaught. (Bashar Taleb/AFP)
The IDF is investigating reports of dozens of Palestinians killed and wounded in a strike in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis earlier today.
According to the IDF, a Hamas terrorist who participated in the October 7 onslaught was targeted in the strike.
The IDF says a fighter jet launched a “precision munition” during the strike against the Hamas terrorist.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza reported that 25 Palestinians were killed and more than 50 more were wounded at the al-Awda school in the Abasan area of Khan Younis.
The IDF says it is investigating the reports, adding that the school where Palestinians were sheltering is close to the site of the strike.
Last week, the IDF called to evacuate eastern Khan Younis, including the Abasan area.
Israeli airstrikes reported in Lebanon’s Baalbek after deadly Hezbollah rocket attack
Lebanese media reports a series of Israeli airstrikes in the Nabi Chit area in the northeastern Baalbek District.
No further details are immediately available.
The reported strikes come following a deadly Hezbollah rocket barrage on northern Israel earlier today.
read more: