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The Times of Israel liveblogged Thursday’s events as they unfolded.
Amid calls to quit presidential race, Biden says he’s polling better in Israel than in the US
US President Joe Biden claims that his polling numbers in Israel are better than they are in the US.
“Look at the numbers in Israel. My numbers are better in Israel than they are here. Then again, they’re better than a lot of other people here too,” Biden says during a press conference.
A poll published last week on Channel 12 found that 48 percent of Israelis prefer Donald Trump to be the next US president compared to 27% who prefer Biden.
A Washington Post poll of registered American voters published earlier today found Biden and Trump polling at 46%.
Contradicting polls, Biden claims support for Hamas is on the decline in the West Bank
Illustrative: Hamas supporters in the West Bank city of Hebron demonstrate on January 2, 2024, against an Israeli strike in Lebanon that killed the terror group's deputy leader. (Hazem Bader/AFP)
Biden claims that support for Hamas is decreasing, despite recent polling showing otherwise.
“If you notice, there is a growing dissatisfaction in the West Bank, from the Palestinians, about Hamas. Hamas is not popular now,” he says.
A poll released last month by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR) found that overall support for Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza stood at 40 percent, a six-point increase from the previous survey three months ago. Before the war, overall support for Hamas stood at 22%.
In the West Bank, 41% of residents said they support Hamas (compared to 35% three months ago), while 17% support Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party (compared to 12% three months ago).
In the Gaza Strip, support for Hamas today stands at 38% (34% three months ago) and support for Fatah at 24% (25% three months ago).
Biden ‘disappointed’ by unsuccessful Gaza pier endeavor
US Army soldiers stand at the US-built floating pier Trident backdropped by the coast of the Gaza Strip, June 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
US President Joe Biden acknowledges that the temporary pier he ordered be established off the coast of Gaza to deliver aid to the Strip fell flat of expectations.
“I’ve been disappointed that some of the things that I’ve put forward have not succeeded as well, like the port we attached from Cyprus. I was hopeful that would be more successful,” Biden says.
The Pentagon confirmed earlier today that the pier, hampered by bad weather and aid distribution problems, will soon shut down.
While the pier has enabled 8,100 metric tons of aid to be brought to a marshaling area on Gaza’s shore since it started operating in May, the 1,200-foot-long (370-meter) floating pier has had to be removed multiple times due to bad weather conditions.
Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said earlier today that the military unsuccessfully tried to re-anchor the pier yesterday. There is no new date for a second attempt and the effort will soon end.
Biden mixes up Harris, Trump names at outset of high-stakes news conference
President Joe Biden speaks at a news conference following the NATO Summit in Washington, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
WASHINGTON – U.S. President Joe Biden mixes up the name of his vice president, Kamala Harris, and his Republican rival Donald Trump on Thursday at a news conference where the 81-year-old aims to quell concerns that he is too old to run for re-election.
“Look, I wouldn’t have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president if she was not qualified to be president. So start there,” Biden says as he responds to a question from Reuters about his confidence in Harris.
That came a few hours after Biden mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin.”
Biden: Israel, Hamas have agreed to my ceasefire deal framework, but gaps remain
President Joe Biden speaks at a news conference following the NATO Summit in Washington, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
US President Joe Biden says that Israel and Hamas have agreed on a “framework” for a ceasefire-hostage release deal that he laid out in May.
Biden clarifies at a much-anticipated press conference that this doesn’t mean that the sides have reached an agreement, but he insists that progress is being made on bridging the gaps.
Biden doesn’t specify when Israel and Hamas agreed to his ceasefire framework, and it is also unclear how significant this development is, given that an Israeli official told The Times of Israel yesterday that the sides are still two or three weeks away from an agreement and have major gaps to bridge.
While the declaration appears more aimed at demonstrating a foreign policy accomplishment as Biden is under immense pressure to step aside, it is consistent with reporting yesterday in The Washington Post, which cited a US official who also said that Israel and Hamas have agreed on a “framework” to a deal.
An Israeli negotiating team has been in Cairo and Doha this week meeting with US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
Biden at the press conference says the US “for months has worked to secure a ceasefire in Gaza to bring the hostages home, to create a path for peace and stability in the Middle East.”
“Six weeks ago, I laid out a detailed (ceasefire) plan in writing. It was endorsed by the UN Security Council and the G7.”
“That framework is now agreed on by both Israel and Hamas, so I sent my team to the region to hammer out the details,” Biden continues.
“These are difficult, complex issues. There are still gaps to close, but we’re making progress. The trend is positive, and I’m determined to get this deal done and bring an end to this war, which should end now,” he adds.
Mossad chief backs PM’s ‘non-negotiable’ hostage deal terms, says Israel cannot win war without them – report
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) speaks to Mossad chief David Barnea at Mossad headquarters during a New Year toast on September 14, 2023. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
Amid ramped-up hostage deal negotiations in Qatar and Cairo, Ynet reports that Mossad chief David Barnea defended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “non-negotiable” conditions for a deal, and told a security cabinet meeting that without them, Israel will not win its war against Hamas.
According to the report, Barnea told the meeting’s attendees that “without the clauses that Prime Minister Netanyahu insists on, we will not be able to renew the war [after the deal], and without it, we will not win and we will not return all of the hostages.
“This is what is needed for the good of the State of Israel,” Barnea added.
Earlier this week, Netanyahu’s office introduced four non-negotiable conditions that he said must be met in order for Israel to agree to a truce and hostage release deal.
The demands declared that:
1. “Any deal will allow Israel to return to fighting until its war aims are achieved.”
2. “Weapons smuggling to Hamas from the Gaza-Egypt border will not be possible.”
3. “The return of thousands of armed terrorists to the northern Gaza Strip will not be possible.”
4. “Israel will maximize the number of living hostages who will be returned from Hamas captivity.”
Barnea addressed the security cabinet upon his return to Israel from negotiations in Qatar. Following Barnea’s return, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar departed Israel for Cairo to continue negotiations there.
According to Haaretz, Barnea told the security cabinet that insisting Israel can resume fighting in the terms of the deal will give the country leverage to prevent Hamas from changing the identities of the hostages it intends to release.
The clause will also ensure that the deal doesn’t fall apart before reaching the second phase, Haaretz adds, citing unnamed sources familiar with the contents of the security cabinet meeting.
Macron, Scholz defend Biden after he mistakenly refers to Zelensky as Putin: ‘We all slip up sometimes’
US President Joe Biden is “in charge” and on top of matters at a NATO summit with fellow leaders in Washington, French President Emmanuel Macron says after the president mistakenly referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as Russian President Vladimir Putin before correcting himself.
“I was able to talk with President Biden at length yesterday at dinner,” Macron tells reporters. “I saw as always a president who is in charge, clear on the issues he knows well.”
“We all slip up sometimes,” the French president says. “It’s happened to me and it could happen again tomorrow. I would ask for your indulgence.”
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz similarly defends Biden, telling reporters that “Slips of tongue happen, and if you always monitor everyone, you will find enough of them.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in a press conference of his own, avoids answering the question as to whether Biden was fit enough to run for the US presidency. He instead praises Biden’s role in organizing and leading what he says was a successful meeting of the NATO alliance.
Biden mistakenly introduces Zelensky as ‘President Putin’ at NATO summit, corrects himself
US President Joe Biden introduces Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky during a Ukraine Compact event on the sidelines of the NATO members meeting at the Washington Convention Center July 11, 2024, in Washington, DC. He initially introduced Zelensky as President Putin. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP)
US President Joe Biden mistakenly refers to Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky as “President Putin” before correcting himself at the NATO summit in Washington.
“And now I want to hand it over to the president of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination, ladies and gentlemen, President Putin,” Biden says, referring to Zelensky, before correcting himself.
“Going to beat President Putin, President Zelensky. I am so focused on beating Putin,” Biden says while correcting himself to the sound of gasps.
Zelensky responds to Biden’s comments by saying, “I am better (than Putin).”
Biden replies: “You are a hell of a lot better,” as some in the room laugh, before Zelensky begins his own address.
Biden has been under intense scrutiny in recent days and has faced doubts, including from members of his own Democratic Party, about his reelection chances after a weak and faltering performance in a debate late last month against Republican former President Donald Trump.
Head of US aid agency says Israel pledged to improve safety conditions for humanitarian staff in Gaza
US Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power, left, talks to Robt Pellech, manager of the containers department of Ashdod port as they visit the area where cargo ships arrive, carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza Strip, in Ashdod, Israel, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The head of the US agency overseeing American humanitarian assistance worldwide says she has received Israeli pledges to allow aid workers to move more quickly and safely throughout the war-battered Gaza Strip.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Samantha Power, administrator of the US Agency for International Development, says that Israel has also taken new steps to increase the flow of aid through its port of Ashdod, just north of Gaza. The move could give donors a new option for delivering aid as the US shutters its troubled maritime pier off Gaza’s coast.
Nine months into the war between Israel and the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip, the announcement marks a small victory for international efforts to increase aid deliveries to the enclave’s desperate civilians.
“We have not seen the kind of humanitarian system to this point that has allowed humanitarians to move efficiently and safely to the degree that we need,” Power says. “This week and through this visit, we have secured an agreement.”
“My whole career has been working in and around conflict areas,” says Power, a former war correspondent and US ambassador to the United Nations. “I have never seen a more difficult conflict environment for humanitarians to work in.”
She adds that her talks with the Israeli officials focused heavily on improving the system by which humanitarian groups and the military coordinate safe passage.
There is no immediate comment from the Israeli military or COGAT, the military body in charge of coordinating aid into Gaza. Power says it will take time to implement the changes, but that the US is pushing for improvements “not a month from now, but a week from now.”
PM toughens negotiating stance as intel shows weakening of Hamas forces – report
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a debate at the Knesset plenum in Jerusalem, June 24, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Israeli and American officials say Hamas has softened some of its stances in hostage talks, according to Axios, which reports that intelligence assessments indicate the terror group wants a ceasefire due to its weakening military position.
An Israeli official involved in the negotiations tells the news site that this intelligence has led Netanyahu to toughen Israel’s demands for a deal, explaining that the premier “is trying to use Hamas’s weakness to get as much as he can out of the negotiations.”
“But there is a risk that he will go too far and the negotiations collapse,” the official says, adding that the premier wants a deal but is willing to play hardball.
Jewish Democratic representative from Illinois calls on Biden to end reelection bid
US Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL) speaks during a press conference on preventing gun violence outside of the US Capitol building on January 10, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images via AFP)
WASHINGTON — US Democratic Representative Brad Schneider of Illinois says President Joe Biden should end his reelection bid.
“The time has come, however, for President Biden to heroically pass the torch to a new generation of leadership to guide us to the future he has enabled and empowered us to pursue,” Schneider says in a statement, becoming the first Jewish lawmaker to join the growing number of Congressional Democrats calling on the incumbent president to drop out of the race after the recent debate.
IDF strikes further Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, intercepts ‘suspicious aerial target’
The military announces a fresh round of strikes on Hezbollah, saying it hit facilities used by the terror group and other related targets in southern Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces also says it intercepted a “suspicious aerial target” from Lebanon earlier this evening, resulting in no injuries or damage.
Settlers said to torch store, bulldozer in attack on northern West Bank town
Palestinians are reporting an attack by settlers on the northern West Bank town of Bazariya, where they allegedly torched a building supply store and a bulldozer.
The settlers also reportedly threw rocks at Palestinians in the village, which is near the Homesh outpost.
There are no reports of injuries or arrests.
Israeli settler militias set fire to a shop and attack Palestinian homes in the town of Bazariya, northwest of Nablus. pic.twitter.com/VCJwPL0J0x
— Wafa News Agency – English (@WAFANewsEnglish) July 11, 2024
IDF spokesman on Be’eri probe: We failed on Oct. 7 to protect the kibbutz residents
Aerial view of Kibbutz Be'eri after the Hamas massacre, October 14, 2023. (Arik Marmor/Flash90)
In a press conference on the military’s investigation on the October 7 atrocities at Be’eri, spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the IDF failed that day to protect Israeli citizens.
“We did not prepare for Hamas’s murderous terror attack,” Hagari says. “The findings of the investigation are clear: October 7 was among the toughest days the State of Israel has known since its founding. The IDF failed in its mission to defend the residents of Kibbutz Be’eri.”
He continues: “It’s painful and difficult for me to say this: The IDF needed to protect the residents of Kibbutz Be’eri, but unfortunately we were not there for many hours of the fighting. For hours the residents of Be’eri defended their families with their bodies, as they were alone against the terrorists.”
Pentagon confirms Gaza aid pier to shut down after unsuccessful attempt to reanchor it
WASHINGTON — The US military’s humanitarian pier off the coast of Gaza, which has been hampered by bad weather and aid distribution problems, will shut down soon, US President Joe Biden’s administration confirms.
While the pier has brought in 8,100 metric tons of aid to a marshaling area on Gaza’s shore since it started operating in May, the 1,200-foot-long (370-meter-long) floating pier has had to be removed multiple times because of bad weather.
Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder says the military unsuccessfully tried to reanchor the pier yesterday. There is no new date for a reanchoring, but the effort will soon end.
“The pier has always been intended as a temporary solution to enable the additional flow of aid into Gaza during a period of dire humanitarian need … the pier will soon cease operations,” Ryder says,
US officials have told Reuters that the pier operations could shift to the Israeli port of Ashdod as soon as next week, when aid meant for the pier in Cyprus could dry up.
Be’eri security team member says he spoke to Netanyahu at 11 a.m. on Oct. 7; PM told him, ‘We’ll deal with it’
Elam Maor, a member of Kibbutz Be’eri’s local security team, says he spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at 11 on the morning of October 7, in a Channel 12 interview on July 11, 2024. (Screenshot used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law.)
Elam Maor, a member of Kibbutz Be’eri’s local security team, tells Channel 12 that he spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at 11:00 a.m. on October 7, and told him that there were hundreds of terrorists inside the kibbutz.
Netanyahu, he says, assured him that the incident would be dealt with.
“Somehow you managed to get through to Netanyahu, at around 11 in the morning on that Sabbath, in a telephone call,” news anchor Danny Kushmaro marvels.
“It happened,” Maor replies.
Kushmaro: “And you told him, ‘We need help?'”
Maor: “Be’eri is alone. Be’eri is abandoned. There are hundreds of terrorists here.”
Kushmaro: “And he tells you, something like, ‘It’s okay, the IDF is on the way?'”
Maor: “Not, ‘It’s okay’. He says, ‘We’ll deal with it.’ It was 11 o’clock, and the incident was a long way from being dealt with. In fact, the additional military force arrived at Be’eri at 1:30 [p.m.].”
Kushmaro: “In retrospect, would you have told him something different?”
Maor: “I think that was the most accurate thing I could say… We were there at Be’eri alone for many hours.”
Maor commends the IDF for acknowledging and detailing its failures in today’s probe, and insists that a state commission of inquiry into the events leading up to and on October 7 is essential. Tactical and strategic lessons must be learned, he says.
US sanctions Israeli man who it appears to have confused with extremist settler
Activists from 'Tzav 9' block the Kerem Shalom crossing with southern Gaza to prevent humanitarian aid from entering the Strip, January 28, 2024. (Courtesy: Tzav 9)
In an apparent case of mistaken identity, the Kan public broadcaster reports that an Israeli blacklisted in the latest batch of US sanctions is not the settler leader that the Treasury Department accuses of interfering with aid shipments to Gaza.
Among the co-heads the Tzav 9 group that the US named today was Aviad Shlomo Sarid. While one of the group’s leaders is named Aviad Sarid, the Aviad Shlomo Sarid sanctioned by the US is a different person who is not linked to Tzav 9.
Acknowledging post-debate ‘anxiety,’ Biden campaign says race still tight in battleground states
WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign says its internal data and public polling show the presidential race remains within the margin of error in key battleground states.
“While there is no question there is increased anxiety following the debate, we are not seeing this translate into a drastic shift in vote share,” the campaign says in an internal staff memo seen by Reuters.
“Our internal data and public polling show the same thing: this remains a margin-of-error race in key battleground states,” it says in the memo.
Liberman: Be’eri probe shows state commission of inquiry needed to investigate Oct. 7
Responding to the IDF’s investigation into Hamas’s October 7 atrocities at Kibbutz Be’eri, opposition Yisrael Beytenu MK Avigdor Liberman says the findings show “there’s no other choice” but to appoint a state commission of inquiry.
Liberman says such an inquiry should begin with the prime minister, defense minister and “those chiefly responsible for the most terrible failure in the country’s history,” while decrying the probe’s focus on officers and soldiers who fought on October 7.
Top Biden aide defends beleaguered Gaza aid pier as it’s set to be dismantled
The image provided by US Central Command shows American and Israeli forces placing the Trident Pier on the coast of Gaza Strip on May 16, 2024. (US Central Command via AP)
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan downplays the pending closure of the temporary US pier established off the coast of Gaza for delivering humanitarian aid via the Mediterranean Sea.
Sullivan tells reporters that the issue now is not about getting more aid into Gaza but distributing aid throughout the Strip, indicating that other crossings still open are sufficient.
He says the US is working on addressing distribution problems spurred by lawlessness and chaos in Gaza.
Unable to withstand weather conditions, the pier has had to be taken down several times since being established in May.
While the project cost over $230 million and had limited success over less than three months in operation, Sullivan says it provided a net gain in the amount of aid delivered to Gaza, indicating that he still thought it was worthwhile.
Top prosecutor says police bypassing his office to probe supposed speech offenses
State Prosecutor Amit Aisman at the Israel Bar Association's annual conference in Tel Aviv, September 4, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
State Attorney Amit Aisman says prosecutors have recently encountered several incidents in which the police opened up criminal investigations into alleged incitement or other speech offenses without the necessary authorization from the State Attorney’s Office, or by deliberately circumventing the office’s directives.
Speaking at the Haifa Legal Conference at Haifa University, Aisman warns that such behavior is liable to harm freedom of speech in the country and says the State Attorney’s Office is examining ways in which such abuses can be curtailed.
According to the state attorney, in some cases the police leveled allegations of specific crimes against suspects that allowed the force to avoid the need to obtain the State Attorney Office’s authorization for crimes related to speech offenses.
On other occasions, the police initially asked for authorization to investigate suspected speech offenses but when they were denied permission to do so, they began probing suspects for other supposed offensives such as disturbing the public peace, suspected treason or allegations of making threats which had no connection to the actual comments the police cited. Unlike with incitement, police do not need prosecutors’ permission to probe such offenses.
“It is important to point out that these actions were carried out not only in violation of the directives of the State Attorney’s Office but also in violation of the [police’s] Investigations and Intelligence Department,” insists Aisman.
He says that as a result, the State Attorney’s Office is now looking into amending its directive on speech offenses to address the misuse of the criminal code in this way.
Aisman said efforts to obviate the need for the State Attorney Office’s approval for investigations into alleged speech offenses “will increase, in my understanding, the danger of harm to freedom of speech in the State of Israel.”
He adds: “Harming freedom of speech does harm to one of the most important values for the public interest. These are difficult and complex days for us all… But precisely in these days there is great importance for us all to preserve the public interest. At the end of the day, a democratic, orderly country which respects the dignity and rights and freedom of all its citizens is in the interest of us all.”
Civil rights groups have repeatedly complained of “political persecution” by the police against Arab citizens of Israel, in particular since the October 7 atrocities by Hamas and subsequent outbreak of war.
In April, the Adalah organization which works to protect civil rights of Arab Israelis and Palestinians under Israeli control, wrote to the attorney general and state attorney urging them to halt what it described as the police’s abuse of the criminal code “as a means of political persecution and suppressing freedom of expression,” and specifically cited the police’s use of the “conduct liable to disturb the public peace” clause of the criminal code in opening investigations and arresting Arab citizens.
US downplays release of 500-pound bombs, cites increasingly ‘positive signs’ in hostage talks
US White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan delivers the keynote address at NATO 75th anniversary summit at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, on July 9, 2024. (Drew Angerer/AFP)
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan downplays the partial release of the shipment of heavy bombs to Israel that Washington has withheld over concerns Israel would use them in densely populated areas of Gaza
“This was a simple logistical matter,” Sullivan says in a briefing, explaining that the US was only concerned about the shipment’s inclusion of 2,000-pound bombs that remain withheld, while the lighter 500-pound bombs have been released.
Sullivan also comments on the latest hostage-for-ceasefire talks, saying, “There is progress. We see the possibility that a deal will be reached, but we can’t know that for sure. Our team is in the region to discuss all these details. We think that all remaining issues can be resolved and should be resolved. The signs are more positive today than they have been in recent months.”
US announces further sanctions targeting extremist settlers and West Bank outposts
Israelis demonstrate at a protest action at Kerem Shalom border crossing on January 24, 2024. (Courtesy: Reut Ben Haim)
The Biden administration issues its fifth batch of sanctions against Israeli extremists and illegal outposts, targeting three individuals and five entities, including the anti-miscegenation Lehava group led by already-designated extremist Benzi Gopstein, an ally of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
The sanctions largely take aim at individuals and entities linked to those already sanctioned in the previous four rounds.
These include the co-heads of the already-designated Tzav 9 group, Reut Ben Haim and Aviad Shlomo Sarid. Their far-right group has led attacks on humanitarian aid convoys en route to Gaza in Israel and the West Bank. Ben Haim becomes the first women targeted using the executive order US President Joe Biden signed in February after three years of urging Israel to crack down on settler violence.
Treasury Department sanctions were also imposed on four West Bank outposts owned or controlled by other already-designated extremists “who have weaponized them as bases for violent actions to displace Palestinians,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says in a statement.
The targeted outposts are Meitarim Farm run by already-sanctioned Yinon Levi; HaMahoch Farm and Neria’s Farm run by the already sanctioned Neri Ben Pazi; and Manne’s Farm, run by Issachar Manne, who is among the three individuals sanctioned in the latest batch.
The largest-yet batch of sanctions is the latest escalation in the administration’s effort to hold Israeli accountable for settler violence, which goes almost entirely unchecked. The outgoing head of IDF Cental Command called out settler leaders for failing to root out extremist residents who have been behind regular attacks against Palestinians, Israeli security forces and left-wing Israeli activists in the West Bank.
The Treasury Department has simultaneously issued a public advisory to financial institutions to help them better identify individuals and entities targeted under the executive order on settler violence in addition to those trying to transfer money to sanctioned parties.
Halevi: ‘We must learn from Be’eri residents’ heroism, they prevented an even greater disaster’
Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi speaks during a graduation ceremony at the IDF's officers school in southern Israel on July 11, 2024. (YouTube screenshot/used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Speaking at a ceremony for graduates of the IDF’s officers school, military Herzi Halevi comments on the IDF’s probe into the October 7 massacres at Kibbutz Be’eri ahead of its upcoming release this evening.
“We all must learn from the heroism of Be’eri’s residents, security squad and additional citizens, who with their bodies defended their families and kibbutz members for many hours when we did not arrive to defend them,” Halevi says. “Their determination prevented an even greater disaster.”
Halevi vows the army will learn from its mistakes during the fighting on October 7, saying, “We really admire all those who fought and know that in a difficult reality, mistakes also happen.”
Turning to the graduating officers, he tells them “to take upon yourselves our responsibility” to help rebuild the Gaza border communities devastated during the Hamas-led onslaught, adding that having soldiers and residents of the area work together “is the true victory.”
He then turns to the hot-button issue of ultra-Orthodox enlistment, vowing the army will work to integrate these soldiers and “know to respect their faith.”
Challenging Netanyahu, Gallant calls for state commission of inquiry to probe Oct. 7
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks during a graduation ceremony at the IDF's officers school in southern Israel on July 11, 2024. (YouTube screenshot/used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
In a challenge to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant calls for the formation of a state commission of inquiry to investigate the Hamas-led October 7 massacre and failures surrounding it.
“It must examine all of us: the decision-makers and professionals, the government, the army and security services, this government — and the governments over the last decade that led to the events of October 7,” Gallant says to applause at the graduation ceremony for IDF officers. “It needs to examine me, the defense minister, it must examine the prime minister, the chief of the staff and the head of the Shin bet, the army and all the national bodies subordinate to the government.”
He continues: “This commission of inquiry must examine the intelligence and operational failures of the events of October 7, deal with the process of managing the war, delve into the building of Hamas’s forces over the last decade, beginning with the formulation of the Hamas plan to invade the communities of the south and up to the errors made in assessing the enemy’s capabilities and in warning of its intentions, culminating in October 7.”
Netanyahu says war will continue ‘until victory, even if it takes time’; toughens terms
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a graduation ceremony at the IDF's officers school in southern Israel on July 11, 2024. (YouTube screenshot/used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Amid talks on a hostage-for-ceasefire deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows Israel will continue the war against Hamas “until we achieve all its objectives.”
“We are determined to complete the victory,” he says at a graduation ceremony of the IDF’s officers school.
Netanyahu lists the goals of the war as “the elimination of Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip, the return of all our hostages home, thwarting any future threat to Israel from Gaza,” and the return of displaced Israelis to their homes in the south and north.
“There are those who ask how long the campaign will continue,” Netanyahu goes on, months after claiming Israel was “a step away from victory” over Hamas. “I say two words: Until victory. Until victory, even if it takes time.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief Herzi Halevi speak during a graduation ceremony at the IDF’s officers school in southern Israel on July 11, 2024. (Amos Ben Gershom / GPO)
He says he is committed to Israel’s “framework for freeing our hostages, but the murderers of Hamas are still sticking to demands that contradict the framework and endanger the security of Israel.
“As the prime minister of Israel, and out of national responsibility, I am not prepared to agree to these demands. That’s why I stand firmly on the four crucial principles for Israel’s security, which exist in the framework.
He then reiterates four non-negotiable conditions for a deal that he set out on Sunday, calling them “iron principles.”
However, he toughens two of those four terms. Any deal, he says, “must allow Israel to resume fighting until all the goals of the war are achieved.” It must also prevent weapons from being smuggled into Gaza from Egypt, “primarily by means of Israeli control of the Philadelphi Route and the Rafah Crossing,” he goes on, adding the references to the Philadelphi Route and Rafah a day after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had offered leeway as regards the Gaza-Egypt border corridor.
Furthermore, says Netanyahu, any deal must prevent “the return of armed terrorists, and the entry of weapons, to the north of the Strip.” And finally, he says, any deal must, “already in the first stage of the framework, maximize the number of living hostages that will be freed.” He did not specify the “first stage” when declaring this demand on Sunday.
“I’m sure that if stand behind [these terms], we’ll achieve a deal that will free our hostages and also ensure that we will continue to fight until all aims are achieved. The way to free our hostages is to continue to pressure Hamas with all our strength,” he adds.
Oil tanker seized by Iran last year now heading for international waters
A Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker that was seized by Iran more than a year ago is headed for international waters, according to Refinitiv ship tracking data.
The Chevron-chartered Advantage Sweet was boarded by the Iranian military in the Gulf of Oman in April 2023 and its crude oil cargo confiscated and later transferred to an Iranian vessel.
In March, the US State Department called for the immediate release of the tanker after the semi-official Fars news agency reported Iran would unload about $50 million worth of crude from it.
G7 FMs slam Israel for expanding settlements, withholding PA tax revenues
ROME — Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven major democracies denounce Israel’s move to expand its settlements in the West Bank, saying it was “counterproductive to the cause of peace.”
Israel announced last month that it was going to legalize five outposts in the West Bank, establish three new settlements, and appropriate large swaths of state land where Palestinians seek to create an independent state.
The G7 — comprising the United States, Britain, Canada, Japan, France, Germany and Italy — condemns the move and urges Israel to reverse its decision. “We reaffirm our commitment to lasting and sustainable peace… on the basis of the two-state solution,” the statement says.
The G7 foreign ministers also call on Israel to release all remaining withheld tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority, saying maintaining economic stability in the West Bank is “critical for regional security.”
Rocket sirens activated in towns near Lebanon border
Incoming rocket sirens sound in a pair of Israeli communities near the Lebanon border, with anyone there instructed by the IDF’s Home Front Command to immediately take cover.
IDF says fighter jets continuing to strike Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon
The army announces further strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, saying fighter jets targeted military facilities used by Hezbollah and other “terror infrastructure” during the latest sorties.
מטוסי קרב תקפו לפני זמן קצר שורת מטרות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בדרום לבנון.
בין המטרות שהותקפו, מבנים צבאיים של חיזבאללה במרחבים יארין ורמיה, ותשתיות טרור במרחב אל-ג'יבין וטיר חרפא pic.twitter.com/hAtG9UEFe8
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 11, 2024
After Doha meetings, Israeli negotiators to head to Cairo for further hostage talks
Ronen Bar (left), head of the Shin Bet security services, speaks with Mossad chief David Barnea during the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, Jerusalem, May 5, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Israeli negotiators will depart for Cairo this evening for further mediated deliberations on a hostage-for-ceasefire deal with Hamas, says the Prime Minister’s Office. The delegation will be headed by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and will include IDF representatives.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office also says the premier met with his negotiating team this team this morning after its return from Qatar last night.
In Doha, the team headed by Mossad director David Barnea discussed with the heads of the American, Qatari, and Egyptian teams “the parts of the deal dealing with the return of the hostages and the ways to implement the proposal.”
Netanyahu’s office stresses that conversations only examined ways to bring the hostages home while “ensuring that all the war aims” are achieved.
Israel sent UNRWA list of 100 employees who are Hamas terrorists — report
Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike on a school run by UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees, in Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, May 14, 2024. The Israel Defense Forces later said the strike targeted a Hamas command room based out of the school, killing numerous terror operatives. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
The Foreign Ministry has sent a letter to UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini that lists 100 employees of the UN refugee agency for Palestinians who are allegedly Hamas terrorists, according to the German daily Bild.
The report says the letter states that the names are part of a “broader list” of UN workers who are members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but will not be released publicly “for reasons of confidentiality.”
According to the newspaper, which says the allegations raise fresh questions about Berlin’s funding of the UN agency and notes that the remains of murdered Israeli-German hostage Shani Louk were found in an UNRWA building, Israel is calling for the alleged terrorists to be immediately canned.
Kibbutz Be’eri calls for state commission to investigate Oct. 7: Still questions after IDF probe
In its first response to the IDF probe on the October 7 onlslaught, Kibbutz Be’eri says the findings “helped kibbutz members understand a little the depth and complexity of the fighting in different areas of the kibbutz.”
“We see great importance in the acceptance of blame and responsibility by the IDF for its complete failure to protect us,” a statement from the kibbutz says.
The kibbutz says, however, that residents did not receive “an adequate answer to a few key questions,” calling for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry “that will not leave any stone unturned, examine the conduct of all the actors and provide us with answers with which it will be possible to start rehabilitating and draw operative conclusions for the future, so the incomprehensible loss we experienced will never again by experienced by any other citizen.”
At NATO summit, Erdogan calls for sanctions on Israel, slams US support against Hamas
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said US President Joe Biden and his administration are complicit in what he alleges are Israeli war crimes and violations of international law during in the Gaza conflict, and he calls for sanctions against Israel.
In an interview with Newsweek during the NATO summit in Washington, Erdogan says Israel’s “brutal murder” of civilians, and its strikes on hospitals, aid centers and elsewhere constitute war crimes, without mentioning his ally Hamas or the terror group’s use of such facilities for military purposes.
“The US administration, however, disregards these violations and provides Israel with the most support. They do so at the expense of being complicit in these violations,” Erdogan is quoted as saying.
“At this juncture, who will impose what kind of sanction against Israel for violating international law? That is the real question and no one is answering that,” he days.
US announces another $100 million in aid for Palestinians
The United States announces that it is providing $100 million in additional aid for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
A statement from USAID says the funding will assist the United Nations’ World Food Program. It also says that through the funding, it will provide “logistics support for the safe and efficient delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid across Gaza,” without elaborating. Aid agencies have complained that goods are not reaching people in Gaza because of the dangerous security situation and growing lawlessness that is complicating aid delivery.
A statement from the US aid agency says the additional funding brings US contributions to the Palestinians since the war began to more than $774 million.
Mossad chief said to return to Israel after talks; cabinet to meet; Hamas: We have not received any updates
Mossad chief David Barnea attends a ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem on Holocaust Remembrance Day, May 5, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Mossad chief David Barnea has returned to Israel after talks in Qatar on the emerging ceasefire-hostage deal with Hamas, Channel 12 reports.
Barnea held talks with with mediators that lasted for some four hours, the report says.
There are no immediate details on the talks.
The report says the Israeli cabinet will meet later this evening on the negotiations.
Meanwhile, Hamas says in a statement that mediators have not yet provided the group any updates regarding Gaza ceasefire negotiations.
It also says that Israel continues to “stall” to gain time and thwart the current round of ceasefire talks.
Separately, an Israeli security delegation is holding talks in Egypt aimed at finding a way to reopen the Rafah crossing and prevent arms being smuggled into Gaza from Egypt across the border, the Walla news site reports.
The report cites and Israeli official as saying that the talks in Cairo are not part of the negotiations with Hamas, but are being conducted by Egypt and the US as a way to address Israeli security concerns.
‘People were slaughtered in their homes; those who failed in IDF should resign’: Be’eri families respond to IDF probe on Oct. 7 events at kibbutz
Residential homes, severely damaged during Hamas's October 7 onslaught on southern Israel, line a street in the Olives Neighborhood of Kibbutz Be'eri on January 1, 2024. (Canaan Lidor/Times of Israel)
The IDF presents the results of its probe into the Hamas onslaught and battle on October 7 in the border community of Kibbutz Be’eri to the surviving residents and family members of those who were killed and abducted.
The extensive probe also investigated one of the most controversial incidents of the day, during which IDF tanks shelled the house of resident Pessi Cohen where Hamas was holding hostages. The probe will be made public later in the day.
The IDF held a presentation at one of the hotels at the Dead Sea, where displaced members of Be’eri have been staying since October 7. The army also sent individual representatives to the families of those killed in the kibbutz.
The military will also set up a website where the findings will be made publicly available, and it will be updated over time with additional investigations into the battles on October 7.
Reaction from the families following the presentation was mixed.
“The IDF acted irresponsibly regarding the Gaza border communities and the leadership needs to draw the appropriate conclusions,” Sharon Sharabi, whose brothers Eli and Yossi Sharabi were taken hostage, tells Channel 12. Yossi was later killed in captivity.
“People were slaughtered in their homes. The top command should draw conclusions and those who failed should resign,” he says.
Another resident tells the channel that the IDF probe appeared to be “serious and thorough.”
The fighting at Be’eri, one of the largest Gaza-border communities, included numerous incidents and many different Israeli units were involved. In all, 101 civilians and 31 security personnel were killed in Be’eri — a community of around 1,000 residents — and a further 30 residents and two more civilians were taken hostage by the Hamas terrorists, 11 of whom still remain in Gaza.
Memorial for Kibbutz Be’eri’s victims of the Hamas-led October 7 assault, erected at the entrance to the David Dead Sea Resort, on Thursday June 20, 2024. (Gavriel Fiske/TOI)
The probe, carried out by Maj. Gen. (res.) Mickey Edelstein, a former commander of the Gaza Division, covers all aspects of the fighting in the kibbutz that day, including the incident at Cohen’s house.
As the IDF fought to regain control of the Gaza border communities, Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram, the commander of the IDF’s 99th Division, ordered a tank to fire on Cohen’s home, where terrorists were holding 14 hostages.
The tank fired two shells toward the house. Of the 14 who had been held hostage, 13 were killed in the intense firefight between Israeli troops and the Hamas terrorists. It remains unclear how many of the 13 had been harmed by the tank fire.
The probe provides a large number of details of the incident at Pessi Cohen’s house.
Before the war, Hiram was tapped to be the next commander of the Gaza Division, a move that appears to currently be on hold, subject to the results of the Be’eri investigation. Leaks to Hebrew media have said he will be largely exonerated for his conduct on the day.
The IDF hopes to present all the battle investigations by the end of August.
France’s historic Rouen cathedral catches fire
Smoke billows from the spire of Rouen Cathedral in Rouen, northern France on July 11, 2024. (Photo by Patrick STREIFF / AFP)
The spire of the gothic cathedral of the French city of Rouen in Normandy caught fire today during renovation works, television images showed.
The cathedral, one of France’s finest, was painted several times by impressionist artist Claude Monet in the 19th century.
Television images on BFM channel showed a dark plume of smoke rising from the spire and people in the streets below looking up in horror.
The scene was reminiscent of the devastating fire at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris in 2019, which also started during renovation works.
The Rouen cathedral spire had been surrounded by scaffolding and a white cover for several weeks.
The local prefecture, which exercises state authority in the region, said the cathedral had been evacuated and emergency services were on the scene. A security cordon was in place around the building.
The prefecture said there were no reports of casualties and the extent of the damage was unclear for now.
Rocket warning sirens sound near Ashkelon
Rocket warning sirens are sounding near the southern city of Ashkelon.
The sirens are heard in the moshav of Nir Israel, just north of the city.
Red Alert [14:01:00] – 1 Alert:
• Western Lakhish — Nir Israel#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/e5un5G7qqH
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) July 11, 2024
Gallant meets with White House Mideast envoy Brett McGurk
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (R) meets with White House Mideast envoy Brett McGurk in Tel Aviv on July 11, 2024 (Shira Keinan/Defense Ministry)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meets with White House Mideast envoy Brett McGurk at his office in Tel Aviv to discuss the ongoing talks for a ceasefire-truce deal with Hamas and US weapons shipments to Israel.
“The two discussed the progress achieved in discussions regarding an agreement for the release of hostages, with an emphasis on the security measures required to prevent weapons smuggling into Gaza,” Gallant’s office says in a statement.
“During their discussion, Coordinator McGurk updated Minister Gallant regarding the delivery of critical munition, some of which will be sent to Israel in the coming days. This discussion was a follow-up to meetings the minister had with McGurk and other senior US leadership in DC,” the statement says.
Hamas says Gaza toll at 38,345
A Palestinian man walks on the rubble of destroyed buildings after the Israeli military withdrew from the Shejaiya neighborhood, east of Gaza City on July 10, 2024 (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says the Palestinian death toll since the terror group launched the October 7 attack on Israel now stands at 38,345.
The figure cannot be independently verified and includes more than 15,000 Hamas gunmen Israel says it has killed in battle. Israel also says it killed some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
IDF downs fresh barrage of drones from Lebanon
Several suspected drones heading toward Israel from Lebanon were shot down by air defenses a short while ago, the IDF says.
According to the military, the drones did not enter Israeli airspace.
Yemen Houthi rebels fired an Iranian missile at Norwegian-flagged ship, debris analyzed by US shows
In this photo taken and released by the semiofficial Fars News Agency, a Noor missile is launched from the coast to the sea during Iranian naval maneuvers in the Oman Sea, near the port town of Bandar Jask, Iran on May 11, 2010. (Hossein Zohrevand/Fars News Agency, File)
Yemen’s Houthi rebels likely fired an Iranian-made anti-ship cruise missile at a Norwegian-flagged tanker in the Red Sea in December, an assault that now provides a public evidence-based link between the ongoing rebel campaign against shipping and Tehran, the US military says.
A report by the US Defense Intelligence Agency released Wednesday linked the attack on the Strinda, which set the vessel ablaze, to Tehran, the Houthi’s main backer in Yemen’s nearly decadelong war. The findings correspond with those of a Norway-based insurers group that also examined debris found on the Strinda.
It comes as the Houthis continue their monthslong campaign of attacks over the Israel-Hamas war, targeting ships in the Red Sea corridor, disrupting the $1 trillion flow of goods passing through it annually while also sparking the most intense combat the US Navy has seen since World War II.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Strinda was coming from Malaysia and was bound for the Suez Canal and then on to Italy with a cargo of palm oil when it was struck by a missile Dec. 11. The attack sparked a major fire on board that the crew later extinguished without anyone being hurt.
Debris found on board later was analyzed by the US military. The DIA compared the pieces of the engine from the missile found on board to the Iranian Noor anti-ship ballistic cruise missile.
“The Iranian Tolu-4 turbojet engine, used in the Noor (missile), has unique features — including the compressor stage and stator — that are consistent with engine debris recovered from the… Houthi attack on the M/T Strinda,” the DIA report says. A stator is the stationary portion of an engine.
Flydubai flight with two Israelis on board makes emergency landing in Pakistan
Illustrative: People stand on the tarmac next to a Flydubai airline after it landed at Kabul International Airport in Kabul on November 15, 2023. (AFP)
A Flydubai flight to Sri Lanka carrying two Israeli citizens among the passengers made an emergency landing in Karachi, Pakistan, overnight, the Foreign Ministry says.
Israel does not have diplomatic ties with Pakistan.
The ministry says that it worked, together with others, to ensure the welfare of the Israelis.
The ministry says a short while later, the flight resumed its journey with the Israelis on board.
One critically wounded in explosive drone attack in northern Israel
One person is critically wounded as a result of an explosive-laden drone impact near Kibbutz Kabri in the Western Galilee, medics say.
According to the IDF, several drones that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon impacted areas in the Western Galilee.
Separately, several more suspected drones were shot down by air defenses over the Upper Galilee an hour ago, the IDF adds.
לאחר רצף האזעקות: דיווח ראשוני על פצוע קשה בקיבוץ כברי שבגליל המערבי pic.twitter.com/fszNXTGewN
— ישראל היום (@IsraelHayomHeb) July 11, 2024
AG said to want to hear from police commissioner candidate on alleged building irregularities
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara arrives at a Jerusalem Day conference at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem, June 5, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has said that she will need to hear directly from Police Deputy Commissioner Avshalom Peled about allegations over his former conduct before making a recommendation as to whether he should be appointed police commissioner, Hebrew media reports.
Baharav-Miara made her comments in a brief to the Advisory Committee for the Appointment of Senior Officials in the Civil Service, which is currently considering Peled’s candidacy for the position after he was nominated by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.
Parts of the attorney general’s brief were leaked to the press, which reported that she refrained from telling the committee whether she supported Peled’s appointment since she wishes to first hear what he has to say over an incident in which he was questioned by the Department for Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) over building irregularities at his home.
According to a report in Haaretz, Peled repeatedly contradicted himself in testimony he gave to DIPI over the allegations.
In her brief to the advisory committee, Baharav-Miara reportedly stated that a police commissioner should be able to serve as a role model and be free from any blemish.
Washington Post says ‘framework agreed’ for hostage-truce deal; Hamas, Israel to cede control of Gaza in 2nd phase of deal
IDF soldiers walk in the southern Gaza Strip, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/ Ohad Zwigenberg, Pool)
Israel and Hamas have agreed on a “framework” for a hostage release and truce deal and are negotiating how to implement it, the Washington Post reports, saying that a key step was both parties agreeing to accept an “interim governance” of Gaza by a Palestinian Authority-backed force in the second stage of the deal.
The report, in an op-ed from commentator David Ignatius, cites a senior US official as saying that “the framework is agreed” and the parties are now “negotiating details of how it will be implemented.”
The report says officials caution that although the framework is in place, a final agreement probably isn’t imminent, and it will take time to hammer out all the details.
“The stumbling block has been the transition to [Phase 2], in which Hamas would release the male soldiers who remain as hostages and both sides would agree to a ‘permanent end to hostilities’ with ‘a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza,'” Ignatius writes.
According to Ignatius, a key development is that both Israel and Hamas have now “signaled their acceptance of an ‘interim governance’ plan that would begin with Phase 2, in which neither Hamas nor Israel would rule Gaza.”
He says security would be provided by a US-trained force, backed by moderate Arab countries.
The force would be drawn from a 2,500-strong group of PA supporters already vetted by Israel.
Hamas has told mediators that it is “prepared to relinquish authority to the interim governance arrangement,” a US official tells the Post.
Hamas seized control of Gaza from the Fatah-dominated PA in 2007 during a bloody coup and the two Palestinian groups have remained at odds ever since with Hamas the de facto regime in Gaza.
According to the report, both sides are motivated to end the fighting, with Israel wanting to prepare its forces for a possible confrontation with Iran and its proxies. It also quotes a US official as saying that Hamas is in “rough shape” in its underground lairs and low on ammunition and supplies.
IDF says it killed terrorists behind rocket barrage from Rafah
The IDF says it killed the terrorists behind this morning’s rocket barrage from southern Gaza’s Rafah on Israeli border communities.
According to the IDF, the airstrike was carried out within half an hour of the rocket attack.
The IDF says it also struck additional targets in the area of the launch site.
Five rockets were launched in the attack, and all were shot down by the Iron Dome.
בסגירת מעגל מהירה של חיל האוויר ואוגדה 162, כלי טיס תקף וחיסל תוך 30 דקות את המחבלים שביצעו הבוקר את השיגורים לעוטף עזה ממרחב רפיח.
בנוסף, כוחות חטיבת האש 215 וחיל האוויר תקפו מהקרקע ומהאוויר, בארטילריה ובאמצעות כלי טיס ומטוסי קרב, מטרות טרור במרחב ממנו בוצעו השיגורים pic.twitter.com/6jcM7omcmz
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 11, 2024
Man to be charged with looting evacuated homes in Kiryat Shmona
View of a house that was hit from a rocket fired from Lebanon into the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona, seen on June 24, 2024. (David Cohen/Flash90)
Police say that charges will be filed against a man caught apparently looting homes that had been evacuated in the northern town of Kiryat Shmona.
Police say the 37-year-old resident of Kiryat Gat in southern Israel was arrested last week after being seen behaving suspiciously.
Police found in his possession jewelry, laptops and tablets.
One of the houses looted had been damaged in a rocket strike, police say.
Drone infiltration alert sounding in the north
A drone infiltration alert is sounding in northern Israel.
Sirens sound in the communities of Ramot Naftali, Malkia, Dishon, Iftah and parts of the Mevuot Hermon Regional Council.
Nearly all Jews surveyed in 13-country EU poll say they’ve experienced antisemitism
A protester holds a placard reading 'Twelve years old and already a victim of antisemitic hate' at a rally to condemn the alleged antisemitic gang rape of a 12-year-old girl outside the Paris city hall, June 19, 2024. (Alain Jocard / AFP)
In a survey of nearly 8,000 people who self-identified as Jews from 13 European countries, 96% of respondents say they encounter antisemitism in their daily lives.
Some 37% of respondents say they were harassed and 4% say they were attacked in the previous year because they are Jewish. The survey is published today by the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union.
Most respondents say they worry for their own (53%) and their family’s (60%) safety and security.
Three-quarters feel that people hold them responsible for the Israeli government’s actions because they are Jewish, they say in the survey, which took place before the Hamas attacks on October but includes information on antisemitism collected from Jewish organizations in 2024.
Just over half of respondents indicate they think that “criticizing Israel” is “probably antisemitic.” A pattern of “always noting who is Jewish among [one’s] acquaintances” is deemed as such by 64%, and not considering Jewish citizens as compatriots is indicated as “definitely antisemitic” by 91% of respondents.
The countries surveyed are: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden.
Netanyahu said exploring proposal to bring Gideon Sa’ar’s faction back into coalition
New Hope party leader Gideon Sa'ar leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, July 1, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been discussing a proposal in recent days to try and bring New Hope chair Gideon Sa’ar and his four-seat party into the coalition, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
The report comes amid increasing tensions in the current 64-member coalition, with the far-right Otzma Yehudit party currently boycotting government votes.
The report says Netanyahu is considering offering Sa’ar the post of justice minister, a portfolio he has held in the past.
However, the report says that Netanyahu’s confidants believe that Sa’ar will only be tempted into the coalition if he is made defense minister.
Netanyahu’s relationship with current Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is increasingly strained, but the report says the premier is hesitant to fire him in the middle of a war.
Sa’ar denies the report, telling Kan he is not in talks with Netanyahu and has not demanded to be defense minister.
Sa’ar’s party left the coalition in March after after dissolving his political alliance with Benny Gantz and after his demands to be appointed to the high-level war cabinet were not met.
IDF intercepts 5 rockets fired at southern Israel from Gaza
The Israel Defense Forces say that a barrage of five rockets fired at southern Israel from the Rafah area was intercepted.
Earlier, rocket warning sirens had sounded in the communities of Holit, Avshalom, Yevul, Dekel, Sdeh Avraham, Yated and Kerem Shalom.
Red Alert [09:21:02] – 7 Alerts:
• Gaza Envelope — Holit, Avshalom, Yevul, Dekel, Sdeh Avraham, Yated, Kerem Shalom#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/WYUer2iKic
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) July 11, 2024
Biden, Starmer discuss Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, meets with US President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, D.C, during his visit to the United States to attend the NATO 75th anniversary summit, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden discussed their ambition for an immediate Gaza ceasefire to get hostages out and to get humanitarian aid in, according to a UK government statement this morning.
The two leaders also discussed the situation in Ukraine in a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, the statement adds.
IDF says it killed 2 senior Hamas operatives in central Gaza strike, found arms cache in UNRWA site
IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip in a picture released on July 11, 2024 (Israel Defense Force)
The IDF and Shin Bet say that they killed two senior Hamas operatives in an overnight strike in central Gaza.
They identify them as Hassan Abu Kuik, the head of operational security for the central Gaza region in the Hamas internal security forces, and Naser Mehanna, a team commander in Hamas’s military intelligence.
The IDF says that Abu Kuik was active in Hamas’s military wing and a member of its Emergency Bureau. It says he led dozens of terror acts against Israel.
In addition, the IDF says its Commando Battalion continues to operate in the UNRWA headquarters in central Gaza, finding large quantities of weapons, including explosive drones, IEDs, grenades, sniper rifles, mortar shells, rockets and RPGs. Soldiers also called in an airstrike on gunmen firing on troops from within the compound.
The IDF says fighting is also continuing in the southern town of Rafah where troops and airstrikes killed dozens of Hamas gunmen of the past day. Troops also found and destroyed several tunnels and booby-trapped underground facilities.
IDF strikes truck used to transport Hezbollah rocket launcher
The IDF says it carried out a drone strike overnight against a truck in southern Lebanon’s Ayta ash-Shab which was used by Hezbollah to transport a launcher that fired a rocket at the Shtula area last night.
Separately, fighter jets struck several Hezbollah sites in Rab al-Thalathine, Odaisseh, Ramyeh and Khiam, the IDF adds.
במהלך הלילה כלי טיס של חיל האוויר תקף במרחב עייתא א-שעב משאית אשר נשאה את המשגר ממנו בוצע הירי לשתולה אתמול.
בנוסף, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו מספר אתרים צבאיים במרחבים רב א-תלתין ואל עדייסא>> pic.twitter.com/CYMt9MQm9e
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 11, 2024
Montreal police dismantle anti-Israel encampment at McGill University; 1 arrested
MONTREAL — McGill University has closed its downtown campus as Montreal police descend in large numbers to help clear a pro-Palestinian encampment that has been there for weeks.
McGill president Deep Saini calls the encampment at the Canadian university, one of many that had sprung up on campuses across North America since the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught that started the war in Gaza, “a heavily fortified focal point for intimidation and violence, organized largely by individuals who are not part of our university community.”
Under pounding rain, pro-Palestinian protesters carry their belongings off campus, as bulldozers and security forces dismantle the encampment that had been on the school’s lower field.
“That was officially the last stand. There’s nobody in the encampment anymore,” says protester Félix Burt, 20, standing a block from McGill’s lower field, where a pile of tents and wooden pallets were what remained of the protest site.
A Montreal police spokesman says one person was arrested on for assault on a security agent.
In Quebec City, Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry tells reporters “it was time” to remove protesters from the encampment.
Déry says the atmosphere on campuses has become “toxic,” and expresses hope that things will be calmer by the time fall classes begin.
Zaina Karim, a McGill student who wasn’t inside the camp when the dismantlement began, says protesters will persist until the university discloses and cuts its ties with Israel.
“This is not the end at all,” Karim says.
Campus protesters have demanded the university end its investments connected to Israel’s military and cuts ties with Israeli institutions over the offensive in Gaza.
IDF says investigating why Hezbollah drone that hurt soldier didn’t trigger alarms
An IDF soldier was lightly wounded as a result of an explosion-laden drone impact in the Golan Heights last night, the military says.
According to the IDF, three drones were launched from Lebanon in the attack, and impacted near the Beit Hameches junction in northern Israel.
The IDF says it is investigating why sirens did not sound and why it failed to intercept the drones.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility.
White House says US ‘cautiously optimistic’ about Gaza hostage talks
WASHINGTON — The United States is “cautiously optimistic” about Gaza hostage-for-ceasefire talks, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby tells CNN, adding that gaps between the two sides can be narrowed.
“We are cautiously optimistic that things are moving in a good direction,” Kirby says when asked if a ceasefire deal was close.
“There are still gaps remaining between the two sides. We believe those gaps can be narrowed, and that’s what Brett McGurk and CIA Director Bill Burns are trying to do right now,” he adds.
First US Senate Democrat calls for Biden to drop out of race
Democrat Peter Welch speaks at an event on October 5, 2022, in Winooski, Vermont. (AP Photo/Wilson Ring, File)
WASHINGTON — Peter Welch becomes the first Democratic senator to publicly call on US President Joe Biden to ditch his reelection bid as concerns rise over his age and fitness.
“For the good of the country, I’m calling on President Biden to withdraw from the race,” the Vermont senator says in an opinion piece in the Washington Post.
Schumer said privately signaling to donors he’s open to replacing Biden as candidate
US President Joe Biden, center, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, left, talk to reporters before a lunch with Senate Democrats on his budget and political agenda, at the Capitol in Washington, March 2, 2023. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON — Democratic US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has privately signaled to donors that he’s open to a Democratic presidential candidate other than President Joe Biden, Axios reports.
US Treasury chief cautions visiting FM against any further withholding of PA funds
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies before a House Financial Services Committee hearing at Capitol Hill in Washington on July 9, 2024. (Chris Kleponis/AFP)
WASHINGTON – During their meeting Wednesday in Washington, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged visiting Foreign Minister Israel Katz to ensure that Jerusalem regularly transfers funds belonging to the Palestinian Authority, after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich withheld tax revenues from Ramallah for three months.
“Yellen emphasized the need for Israel to maintain economic stability in the West Bank by regularly transferring clearance revenues to the PA and ensure correspondent banking relations between Israeli and Palestinian banks remain uninterrupted,” says a readout from the US Treasury Department.
Earlier this month, Smotrich agreed to partially release the tax revenues from the past three months and sign a waiver extending indemnity to Israeli banks so they can continue corresponding with Palestinian ones for another four months, though the US had been urging him to sign an extension for at least one year and commit to all future tax revenue transfers.
Smotrich agreed to take those steps after the Israeli cabinet passed a series of sanctions against the PA and measures to expand settlements in the West Bank.
During the meeting with Katz, Yellen also indicated the US would continue using the executive order that President Joe Biden signed in February to sanction violent settlers amid Israel’s failure to crack down on regular attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.
Katz sought the meeting with Yellen to urge the US to further expand its sanction regime against Iran, an Israeli official says.
“Yellen outlined Treasury actions to disrupt Iran and its proxies including Hezbollah and Hamas,” the US readout says.
“Yellen welcomed additional information sharing with Israel and noted that ongoing collaboration to combat terrorist financing has yielded fruitful results with respect to countering Iranian financial and military support to Hamas, Hezbollah and its other regional partners and proxies,” the US readout adds, stressing that the treasury secretary “reaffirmed [her office’s] strong commitment to Israel’s security.”
Haredi leader to yeshiva students: Don’t go to IDF draft offices or answer summons
Rabbi Dov Lando attends a meeting to discuss the enlistment of ultra-Orthodox Jews in the military, Bnei Brak, April 5, 2024. (Shlomi Cohen/Flash90)
Rabbi Dov Lando, a top leader of Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, declares that yeshiva students should “not show up at [IDF] draft offices at all.”
Lando’s order leads the front page of today’s edition of Yated Ne’eman, which is affiliated with the non-Hasidic Degel Hatorah faction of United Torah Judaism, a key coalition partner of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The situation at the moment is that the courts have declared war against the Torah world, and it is they who opened a front and came to change an arrangement that has existed for years, ordering the army to start the process of actually recruiting yeshiva members,” the rabbi writes, referring to the recent High Court ruling.
He adds that “because the army’s hands are bound in iron chains by the judges, and any compliance with the courts’ edicts amounts to surrender in their war on God and his Torah, yeshiva members are therefore instructed to not show up at draft offices at all or answer any summons.”
Lando concludes by saying he’s signing the order “with worry and apprehension.”
PA pays 80% of employees salaries after Israel releases funds — official
The Palestinian Authority was able to pay its employees 80 percent of their salaries this month after Israel partially released hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenues it had been withholding since April, a PA official tells The Times of Israel.
Palestinian public sector employees were receiving roughly half of their salaries for at least the past three months, as Israel’s withholding of tax revenues brought the PA to the brink of financial collapse.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich agreed to release the funds after Israel’s security cabinet approved a series of sanctions against the PA and measures to expand Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The PA official says the partial release of the tax revenues provides some financial breathing room to Ramallah for the first time since the outbreak of the war when Israel first began withholding tax revenues and denying entry permits to some 150,000 Palestinians working in Israel and the settlements.
However, the PA official stresses that Israel is still withholding roughly half of the monthly tax revenue transfers, which prevents Ramallah from paying its employees their full salaries employees.
Moreover, the PA fears that it could find itself in the same dire position it was in several weeks ago if Smotrich chooses to again hold the tax revenue transfers “for ransom” in subsequent months, the official says, urging the Biden administration to pressure Israel to commit to permanently transferring the funds in full.
The tax revenues make up 70% of the PA’s annual income.
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