July 12: White House to reportedly host Netanyahu for meeting with Biden

Air raid sirens activated in Eilat industrial area

Air raid sirens are activated in an industrial area outside Israel’s southernmost city of Eilat, with the IDF’s Home Front Command warning of a possible missile attack.

‘Not going to change that’: Biden vows to stay in presidential race, says he’ll again beat Trump

US President Joe Biden gestures during his remarks at Renaissance High School during a campaign event in Detroit, July 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

DETROIT — Joe Biden firmly rejects speculation that he will drop out of the US presidential race, telling a rally in the battleground state of Michigan that he will beat “threat to the nation” Donald Trump.

“There’s been a lot of speculation lately. What’s Joe Biden going to do? Is he going to stay in the race? Is he going to drop out? Here’s my answer: I am running and we’re going to win. I’m not going to change that,” Biden says, to chants of “Don’t you quit.”

New Mexico judge dismisses involuntary manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin reacts after the judge threw out the involuntary manslaughter case for the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming of the Western movie "Rust," July 12, 2024, at Santa Fe County District Court in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (Pool Video via AP)

SANTA FE, New Mexico — A New Mexico judge dismisses involuntary manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin after his lawyers alleged police and prosecutors hid evidence of the source of the live round that killed “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.

Three days after Baldwin’s trial began in New Mexico, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer rules after hearing evidence, including from the prosecutor who called herself to the stand, on the defense request made earlier Friday.

Baldwin hugged his wife Hilaria Baldwin, who had been in court throughout this week’s hearings, and his sister Elizabeth Keuchler was in tears after the judge’s ruling. Baldwin then left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.

The actor’s lawyers said the Santa Fe sheriff’s office took possession of live rounds as evidence in the case but failed to list them in the “Rust” investigation file or disclose their existence to defense lawyers.

They also alleged the rounds were evidence that the bullet that killed Hutchins came from Seth Kenney, the movie’s prop supplier. Kenney has denied supplying live ammunition to the production and has not been charged in the case. He had been expected to testify against Baldwin.

Meta eases restrictions on Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts

WASHINGTON — Meta says it’s rolling back some restrictions that had applied to former US President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.

The social media company indefinitely suspended Trump’s accounts following his praise of people who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The company then reinstated his accounts in early 2023, saying it would monitor Trump’s posts for further violations that could result in another suspension of between one month and two years.

Trump, who is running against US President Joe Biden, will no longer be subject to the additional monitoring, Meta says.

“In assessing our responsibility to allow political expression, we believe that the American people should be able to hear from the nominees for president on the same basis,” Meta says in an updated blog post.

Some social media experts have long criticized Meta and other platforms for failing to moderate political content, including from political candidates.

Trump was also banned from Twitter, now called X, in 2021. Billionaire Elon Musk restored the account shortly after acquiring the company in 2022, though Trump has only posted once since then.

IDF says senior member of Hamas’s internal security forces killed in Gaza airstrike

A graphic distributed by the IDF shows Hossam Mansour, a member of Hamas's internal security forces, who the army says was killed in an airstrike on July 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The head of a department in Hamas’s internal security forces in the Gaza Strip was killed in an airstrike on Friday, the military says.

According to the IDF, Hossam Mansour also served in Hamas’s military wing, alongside his role in the terror group’s internal security forces.

The IDF says Mansour “took a significant and continuous part in the preservation and presence of Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip, while undermining Israel’s efforts in the region.”

Mansour was also one of the directors of the UK-based al-Khair foundation, an aid group that IDF charges transferred funds to terror groups in Gaza “under the guise of humanitarian activity.”

According to Hamas media, four people working for al-Khair were killed in the airstrike, reportedly at an aid distribution center in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.

IDF strikes Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon; terror group announces deaths of two operatives

Smoke from Israeli strike billows in Kfarkila in southern Lebanon on July 12, 2024. (Rabih Daher/AFP)

Israeli fighter jets struck a building used by Hezbollah, an observation post, and other infrastructure in southern Lebanon’s Kafr Kila, Taybe, and Khiam this evening, the IDF says.

It publishes footage of the strikes.

מטוסי קרב תקפו מוקדם יותר היום מבנה צבאי, תשתיות טרור ועמדת תצפית של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים כפר כילא, א-טייבה ואל-חיאם שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/NNRLwwL2IY

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 12, 2024

Hezbollah, meanwhile, announces the deaths of two members killed in recent Israel strikes in Lebanon, bringing the terror group’s toll amid the war to at least 366.

UN chief pleads for Palestinian refugee agency funding

A Palestinian woman walks past a damaged wall bearing the UNRWA logo at a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 28, 2024. (Eyad Baba/AFP)

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday pleaded for donors to fund the embattled UN agency for Palestinian refugees, warning there was no alternative despite Israeli criticism of the body.

At a pledging conference, Guterres warns that the Palestinians would lose a “critical lifeline” without the agency known as UNRWA.

“Let me be clear — there is no alternative to UNRWA,” he says.

“Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse in Gaza — somehow, appallingly, civilians are being pushed into ever deeper circles of hell.”

Philippe Lazzarini, the chief of UNRWA, says the agency will be unable to function beyond August without receiving more funding.

A UN emergency appeal for $1.2 billion for the Palestinians by the end of the year, along with an appeal for neighboring countries, has received less than 20 percent of the funding it needs, Lazzarini said.

Israel, long critical of UNRWA, alleged in January that a number of the agency’s employees participated in the October 7 attack by Hamas.

The plea comes the same day as Israel said the military located weapons and a command room used by Hamas at UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City.

The UNRWA headquarters had not been in use in recent months. The IDF raided the compound earlier this year, discovering a major Hamas tunnel network that passed beneath it.

US CENTCOM destroys three drones in Houthi-controlled area of Yemen

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Friday that US forces destroyed three Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicles in Houthi-controlled area of Yemen.

“It was determined these UAVs presented an imminent threat to US, coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region. These actions were taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure,” CENTCOM says.

Man shot and killed in northern Israel

A 28-year-old man is shot and killed in the northern town of Yarka, police and medics say.

Police say they are probing the suspected murder.

Magen David Adom medics say the man was already dead when they arrived at the scene.

Since the beginning of the year, at least 116 Arabs have been killed in violent criminal incidents in Israel, according to the Abraham Initiatives tally.

Many Arab Israeli community leaders put the blame for the rising murders on police, who they say have failed to crack down on powerful criminal organizations and largely ignore the violence, which includes family feuds, mafia turf wars and violence against women.

Leaders say their communities have also suffered from years of neglect by state authorities. More than half of Arab Israelis live under the poverty line, and their cities and towns often have poor infrastructure and public services.

Houthis say they targeted a vessel twice in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait

Yemenis brandishing rifles rally in the Houthi-run capital Sanaa, in solidarity with the Palestinians of Gaza on July 12, 2024. (Mohammed Huwais/AFP)

Yemen’s Houthis targeted “vessel Charysalis” twice in both the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait with a number of ballistic and naval missiles and drones, the Iran-aligned group’s military spokesman Yahya Sareesays.

The Houthi rebels, which control the most populous parts of Yemen, have staged attacks on ships in the waters off the country for months, claiming the attacks are in solidarity with Palestinians fighting Israel in Gaza.

US sanctions company developing chemical weapons for Iran

An Albanian student wears a gas mask and holds a sign during a protest against the dismantling of Syrian chemical weapons in Albania, in front of the prime minister's office in Tirana, on Thursday (AP/Hektor Pustina)

The United States imposes sanctions on Hakiman Shargh Research, a company the State Department says is involved in chemical weapons research and development for Iran, department spokesperson Matthew Miller says in a statement.

“The United States is designating the company for engaging or attempting to engage in activities or transactions that materially contribute to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by Iran,” the statement says.

“This sanctions action follows the United States’ repeated calls for Iran to remedy its noncompliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), including at this week’s meeting of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,” it says.

“The United States will continue to counter any efforts by the Iranian regime to develop chemical weapons, including those that may be used by its proxies and partners to support Iran’s destabilizing agenda of inciting and prolonging conflict around the world,” Miller says.

Report: White House to host Netanyahu for meeting with Biden

This combination photo shows US President Joe Biden, left, on March 8, 2024, in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, October 28, 2023. (AP Photo)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has received final approval that he will meet with US President Joe Biden at the White House when he travels to the US  at the end of the month to address a joint session of Congress, Channel 12 reports.

The report says the exact timing of the meeting has yet to be confirmed.

The White House had already said that the two leaders would most likely meet when Netanyahu is in Washington.

Netanyahu last met Biden when the president traveled to Israel days after Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught. They also met two weeks before the attack, but the administration chose to hold the sit-down on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York and not the White House.

Netanyahu’s trip to Washington will be his first since returning to the premiership in December 2022.

Biden has hesitated to embrace the prime minister, who formed a coalition with far-right lawmakers that have advanced a series of policies opposed by the US, including a highly controversial plan to radically overhaul the judiciary, which faced massive backlash in Israel and has been shelved since the outbreak of the war.

Poll finds 72% of Israelis think Netanyahu needs to quit over Oct. 7 failure

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a '40 signatures' discussion in the Knesset plenum, Jerusalem, June 24, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Seventy-two percent of Israelis think Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to resign over the failures of October 7, according to a Channel 12 poll.

Of those, 44% believe Netanyahu needs to quit immediately, while another 28% believe he should quit when the war ends.

The poll also found that 50% of those who define themselves as supporters of the current government believe Netanyahu must resign before the end of his term. Forty-two percent of supporters say he should see out his term.

The poll also finds that the public views Netanyahu as the Israeli most responsible for the October 7 catastrophe, when some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists stormed into Israel, killing some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking 251 hostages.

Thirty-nine percent said Netanyahu was most responsible, 18% said former military intelligence chief Aharon Haliva was mostly to blame, 10% singled out IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi, 7% voted for Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and only 4% laid the blame with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Among them, Netanyahu is the only one yet to admit culpability for the disaster.

The poll also finds broad public support for a deal with Hamas that would see a ceasefire and the return of the hostages, with 64% in favor, and 15% against. A further 21% say they don’t know.

US antisemitsm envoy heading to South America, will participate in AMIA bombing anniversary event

US Deputy Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor Antisemitism Aaron Keyak (L) and Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt testify about the recent rise in antisemitism and its threat to democracy before the U.S. Helsinki Commission in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on December 13, 2022 in Washington, DC. (CHIP SOMODEVILLA / Getty Images via AFP)

US antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt and her deputy Aaron Keyak will travel to South America next week to participate in a forum with counterparts from roughly a dozen countries and to attend a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.

In Argentina, the US envoy and her counterparts “will launch the ‘Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism,’ a set of best practices endorsed by a growing and diverse set of governments and international bodies,” the State Department says.

The two US envoys will then travel to Brazil for meetings with “local government officials, civil society, and the Jewish community of São Paulo. She will also speak with educators and human rights non-governmental organizations about the importance of Holocaust and antisemitism education,” the State Department adds.

Hostage families slam report on new Netanyahu conditions for deal

Relatives of Israelis held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza and supporters march on Route 1 towards Jerusalem, as part of a protest for their release, July 12, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Hostage and Missing Families Forum reacts angrily to reports in Hebrew media that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding up a hostage deal with new demands.

“We are horrified and shocked by this irresponsible behavior that is likely to lead to missing an opportunity that might not come back,” the forum says in a statement.

“By the time everybody comes to their senses and works together, there may be no one to bring back. We have been waiting for our loved ones for 284 days and nights. Every minute is an eternity for us and every second is hell for them. We appeal to the prime minister: we stand behind the Netanyahu deal. Now it’s your turn to stand behind the deal you put on the table.”

Senior official says Netanyahu holding up hostage-truce deal with new demands

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference at the Sheba Tel Hashomer Hospital in Ramat Gan, June 8, 2024. (Jack Guez/Pool Photo via AP)

A senior Israeli official involved in the negotiations for a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding up an agreement with new demands.

Speaking to Hebrew media, the official says that the prime minister is now insisting on the establishment of an enforcement mechanism that would prevent armed Hamas operatives from returning to northern Gaza.

“This is the moment of truth for the hostages,” the official tells Channel 12. We can reach an agreement within two weeks and bring the hostages home.”

“The prime minister’s insistence on building a mechanism to prevent the movement of armed operatives will stall the talks for weeks and then there may not be anyone to bring home,” the official says.

According to the Walla news site, Netanyahu raised the issue in a meeting with the negotiating team in a meeting Thursday night. The team told Netanyahu that they were opposed to the new condition and it was not feasible. Netanyahu told the team he insists on it.

“It is a demand that was not part of the Israeli proposal from May 27. It’s not clear why Netanyahu is raising this demand now. The security services know how to deal with the return of the armed terrorists to northern Gaza,” the official says.

Channel 12 quotes officials as saying that they believe Netanyahu is trying to delay a deal because he is likely to lose his coalition over the deal, with far-right parties vowing to quit if the agreement goes through.

FM Katz slams Erdogan vow to block NATO cooperation with Israel: ‘You decide nothing’

Foreign Minister Israel Katz in Jerusalem, February 19, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Foreign Minister Israel Katz slams Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan for saying it is not possible for NATO to continue its partnership with Israel.

“Until comprehensive, sustainable peace is established in Palestine, attempts at cooperation with Israel within NATO will not be approved by Turkey,” Erdogan says at a news conference at the NATO summit.

Katz shoots back, saying Erdogan can’t set NATO policy.

“First of all, Erdogan, you decide nothing,” Katz posts on X.

“Furthermore, a country like Turkey, which supports the murderers and rapists of Hamas and the Iranian axis of evil, should not be a member of NATO,” he adds.

Israel is a partner with NATO. Turkey has at times in the past used its veto in the military alliance to stop closer ties with Israel.

.@RTErdogan declares at the @NATO summit that he will not allow NATO to cooperate with Israel.

First of all, Erdogan, you decide nothing. Furthermore, a country like Turkey, which supports the murderers and rapists of Hamas and the Iranian axis of evil, should not be a member of…

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) July 12, 2024

Jets hit Hezbollah sites amid rocket fire on north

Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon’s Ramyeh, Jebbayn, Tayr Harfa and Kafr Kila earlier today, the IDF says.

Separately, troops spotted a Hezbollah operative in the Rashaya al-Foukhar area, from which rockets were launched at the Golan Heights in recent days. A short while later, the IDF says the operative was struck by a drone.

Several rockets were fired by Hezbollah at the Mount Dov, Margaliot and Metula areas today.

There are no reports of injuries in the attacks.

מטוסי קרב תקפו מוקדם יותר היום תשתיות טרור, עמדת תצפית ומבנה צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים רמיה, אל ג'יבין, טיר חרפא וכפר כילא שבדרום לבנון>> pic.twitter.com/tJdirInLLc

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 12, 2024

Hamas wants written guarantees Israel won’t resume Gaza war after first hostages are released

Ahmed Abdul-Hadi, the head of Hamas' political office in Lebanon, speaks during an interview with the Associated Press, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, July 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A Hamas official says that the Palestinian terror group is still insisting on written guarantees from mediators in the ongoing ceasefire negotiations that Israel will not resume the war after the first group of Israeli hostages held in Gaza are released.

While the two sides have agreed on a general framework for a deal, the main sticking point remains that Hamas wants it to result in a permanent ceasefire, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that any agreement “must allow Israel to return to fighting until all the objectives of the war are achieved.”

Ahmed Abdul-Hadi, the head of Hamas’s political office in Lebanon, tells The Associated Press in an interview that Hamas has been “flexible” on some points but continues to insist that “negotiations should continue for a permanent ceasefire until a permanent ceasefire is reached,” as opposed to the wording in the current proposal, under which the ceasefire should continue as long as negotiations continue.

“Netanyahu can stop the negotiations and thus resume the aggression” at any time, he says. “We want something in writing to ensure that negotiations continue … in order to reach a permanent ceasefire.”

He denies reports that the group’s leadership inside Gaza had pressured political leaders outside to accept the deal on the table due to the military pressure it is facing, saying that the “military situation is very solid for the resistance (Hamas) and is better than the early days of the war.”

Abdul-Hadi says that Hamas does not expect to resume its role as the ruling party in Gaza after the war but wants to see a Palestinian government of technocrats. However, he says the form that future governance in the enclave should take is “a Palestinian matter that is agreed upon by the Palestinian people” and is not on the table in the current negotiations.

“We do not want to rule Gaza alone again in the next phase,” he says. “We want to have a partnership and national consensus.”

Abdul-Hadi says a meeting between Hamas and its main rival, Fatah, is expected to take place in China later this month and that “we hope that this meeting will result in a national consensus.”

The meeting was previously scheduled to take place last month but was postponed, with the two sides trading blame for the delay.

World Court to deliver opinion on Israeli ‘occupation’ on July 19

Presiding Judge Nawaf Salam reads the ruling of the International Court of Justice, or World Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, May 24, 2024 (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

The International Court of Justice will deliver its opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s “occupation of Palestinian territories” on July 19, the ICJ says.

A record 52 countries presented arguments at what is also known as the World Court about the legal ramifications of Israel’s actions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in February after the UN General Assembly asked the ICJ in 2023 for an advisory, non-binding opinion.

At the time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the UNGA over the resolution, accusing the global body of “distorting historical facts” and declaring that the Jewish people cannot be “an occupier” in its own land.

While Israel has ignored such opinions in the past, the ICJ ruling next week could add political pressure over its devastating nine-month-old war against Palestinian terror group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The UN-affiliated ICJ is the only international court that adjudicates general disputes between nations and it gives advisory opinions on international legal issues.

Yesh Atid MK urges opposition parties to set aside Palestinian issue for several years to focus on healing country

MK Ram Ben Barak attends a discussion at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on June 28, 2023. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Yesh Atid MK Ram Ben Barak urges parties that oppose the current government to put aside their ideological differences regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in order to unite and focus on healing the country for several years.

“This will take two, three, four, five years… Only then should we deal with the ideological issues,” says Ben Barak, who lost the recent Yesh Atid primary to chairman Yair Lapid by 29 votes, in an interview with Channel 12.

This approach was the one adopted by the unity government Lapid helped lead with former prime minister Naftali Bennett.

But that coalition collapsed after just a year in June 2022, and lawmakers and analysts from both sides of the political spectrum have argued that one of the lessons of Hamas’s October 7 onslaught is that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot continue to be ignored or managed.

US House Democratic leader, Biden discuss ‘path forward’ in private meeting

US President Joe Biden walks across the stage to begin his news conference on Thursday, July 11, 2024, on the final day of the NATO summit in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Hakeem Jeffries met with US President Joe Biden to discuss House Democrats’ perspectives amid ongoing discussions over the president’s candidacy and Democrats’ “path forward,” the US House Democratic leader says in a letter.

“In my conversation with President Biden, I directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the Caucus has shared in our recent time together,” Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House, writes to his caucus.

Jeffries said he and Biden met privately on Thursday night. Many Democrats on Thursday closely watched the president’s press conference following the NATO summit in Washington, with some members urging Biden to step aside.

IDF says it killed deputy commander of Hamas’s Shejaiya Battalion

An IDF poster announcing the killing of the deputy commander of Hamas's Shejaiya Battalion, Ayman Shweidah, July 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The deputy commander of Hamas’s Shejaiya Battalion was killed in a recent airstrike in Gaza City, the military says.

According to the IDF, Ayman Shweidah was involved in the October 7 onslaught and during the war carried out numerous attacks against troops in Gaza.

Alongside Shweidah, one of the Shejaiya Battalion’s company commanders, Ubadah Abu Hain, was also killed in the strike, the IDF says.

The IDF says Abu Hain was a veteran and prominent commander in the Shejaiya Battalion, taking a significant part in the fighting.

The 98th Division recently wrapped up a two-week raid in Shejaiya, during which troops killed more than 150 terror operatives and demolished eight tunnels, the IDF has said.

Health Ministry: West Nile fever death toll reaches 31

Illustrative image of a mosquito biting through skin. (iStock by Getty Images/nechaev-kon)

The Health Ministry reports that the death toll in the current West Nile Fever outbreak has risen to 31, with 356 people diagnosed with the mosquito-borne virus.

The ministry stressed that the virus is not transmitted from person to person.

The disease is mostly spread by birds and transmitted to animals and humans by mosquito bites.

Russian passenger jet crashes flying empty crashes near Moscow, killing its crew of 3

A Russian passenger jet crashes while flying without passengers, killing its crew of three, officials say.

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 went down in the Moscow region, according to Russian emergency officials.

The authorities say the plane belonged to Gazprom Avia, a carrier owned by the Russian state-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom.

They said the plane took off from an aircraft-making plant at Lukhovitsy 110 kilometers (68 miles) southeast of the Russian capital where it had undergone repairs. It was heading to Moscow’s Vnukovo airport when it crashed.

Breaking???? Russia????????

Three people died in the crash of the Sukhoi Superjet 100NEW-95 in the Moscow region. The crew was made up of test pilots. Before the accident, the plane sent a distress signal, attempted to land, flew in circles and ran out of fuel, collapsing as it
1/2 pic.twitter.com/6UAjjKT15A

— I$lam!¢ T€rr0rist (@Jiyan2023) July 12, 2024

The Investigative Committee, the country’s top state criminal investigation agency, has launched a probe into the crash.

A Sukhoi Superjet crashed at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport in May 2019, killing 41. It was struck by lightning and made an emergency landing shortly after takeoff. The probe blamed the pilot, concluding that he landed the plane heavy with unburned fuel at excessive speed, resulting in a rough touchdown that sparked a fire.

Report: Drone stike targets motorcyclist in southern Lebanon

The pro-Hezbollah Al-Mayadeen news site reports that a motorcyclist was targeted in an apparent Israeli drone strike in the southern Lebanese town of Mari.

There are no immediate details on casualties.

Palestinians say 40 bodies recovered as IDF pulls out of two Gaza neighborhoods

People walk on rubble at the damaged UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) building complex in western Gaza City's Al-Sinaa neighborhood on July 12, 2024, following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the area. (Omar Al-Qattaa / AFP)

The Hamas-run Gaza civil defense agency says that about 40 bodies had been found in an initial search of two Gaza City districts after Israeli troops ended an offensive.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal says the bodies were found in the Tal al-Hawa and al-Sinaa districts. The agency and residents said Israeli troops had pulled out after days of battles with Hamas terrorists but this was not immediately confirmed by the military.

“Up to now, about 40 bodies have been found,” Bassal said, adding that dozens more were feared buried under the rubble.

The Hamas figures cannot be confirmed and do not differentiate between civilians and terror operatives.

Israeli forces moved into Tal al-Hawa again this week after ordering civilians to evacuate on Monday. Residents have reported widespread new destruction.

Israel has warned virtually all of Gaza City that it was now a “dangerous” combat zone.

IDF says it found Hamas command room in UNRWA HQ, alongside drone, weapons caches

Weapons found by IDF troops at UNRWA's headquarters in Gaza City, in a handout photo published July 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Troops of the IDF’s Commando Brigade have located weapons and a command room used by Hamas at UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City, the military says.

The troops raided the compound earlier this week as part of a new operation carried out by the 99th Division in western and southern neighborhoods of Gaza City.

Troops of the Commando Brigade operate at UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City, in a handout photo published July 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The UNRWA HQ has not been in use in recent months. The IDF raided the compound earlier this year, discovering a major Hamas tunnel network that passed beneath it.

In the latest operation, the IDF says the commandos captured Hamas operatives who attempted to flee the UNRWA facility, as well as engaging in battles with cells of gunmen who were holed up inside.

A Hamas drone found by IDF troops at UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City, in a handout photo published July 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Commando Brigade troops also found parts of a Hamas drone, a command room used to observe Israeli forces and dozens of weapons, including rockets, machine guns, mortars, explosive devices, grenades and drones that drop bombs, the military says.

In a nearby university building, the IDF says the commandos located an underground bomb-making lab and additional weapons.

Officials: Despite PM’s denial, negotiators have discussed pullout from Gaza-Egypt border

Despite the denial issued by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, two officials involved in the hostage talks tell The Times of Israel that Israeli negotiators have in fact been discussing the possibility of an IDF withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor between Gaza and Egypt as part of a potential ceasefire deal.

The withdrawal would be part of an arrangement that would see Egypt, with the help of the US and other international partners, bolster the border in order to ensure that Hamas cannot smuggle weapons into Gaza from Sinai, the officials say.

The arrangement would include the construction of an underground wall along the corridor to neutralize the tunnel threat, the officials add.

‘Fake news’: PM’s Office denies report Israel in talks to pull out of Gaza-Egypt border

A view of the Philadelphi Corridor, the Egypt-Gaza border area in Rafah, on June 18, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

The Prime Minister’s Office casts as “absolute fake news” a Reuters report that Israel is discussing the option of the IDF withdrawing from the Gaza-Egypt border as part of a potential ceasefire deal.

The report, which cited two Egyptian sources and a third source familiar with the matter, said Israeli negotiators are discussing installing a high-tech electronic surveillance system in the so-called Philadelphi Corridor instead.

The report came a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a new demand that Israel remain in control of the key frontier in any deal.

“The prime minister insists that Israel remain on the Philadelphi Corridor,” the PMO statement says. “He has instructed the negotiating teams accordingly, made this clear to US representatives this week, and updated the security cabinet to this effect last night.”

Labor central committee near-unanimously approves merger with Meretz

Labor party leader Yair Golan attends a party conference to approve a merger agreement with Meretz to form a new alliance called The Democrats, in Tel Aviv, July 12, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The central committee of the Labor party has near-unanimously approved the decision to merge with fellow left-wing party Meretz, with the merged party being called “The Democrats.”

Almost all members back the step, while just one votes against it and none abstain.

Also approved is a series of decisions cementing party chief Yair Golan’s control over the party.

In talks, Hamas floats independent Palestinian government to run postwar Gaza, West Bank

Senior Hamas member Husam Badran speaks during a funeral in the Burj al-Shamali camp for Palestinian refugees near the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre on December 12, 2021. (Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP)

Hamas has suggested during ceasefire negotiations that an independent government of non-partisan figures run postwar Gaza and the West Bank, a member of the Palestinian terror group’s political bureau says, with another Hamas source saying this would pave way for Palestinian national elections.

“We proposed that a non-partisan national competency government manage Gaza and the West Bank after the war,” Husam Badran says in a statement about the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas with mediation from Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

“The administration of Gaza after the war is a Palestinian internal matter without any external interference, and we will not discuss the day after the war in Gaza with any external parties,” Badran asserts.

A Hamas official tells AFP the proposal for a non-partisan government was made “with the mediators.”

The potential government will “manage the affairs of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in the initial phase after the war, paving the way for general elections,” says the official, who does not want his name disclosed.

‘A demand that will prevent a deal’: Officials said to slam Netanyahu’s toughened stance

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)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s renewed demand for any Gaza truce deal to prevent the return of weapons and armed terrorists to the Strip’s north violates prior agreements with mediators and will complicate or even thwart negotiations, according to unnamed senior security sources cited by Channel 12 news.

Netanyahu included that demand in a list he issued yesterday of new conditions for a deal.

The network cites sources familiar with the talks as saying that in its May 27 response to mediators, Israel gave up its initial demand to maintain control of the so-called Netzarim Corridor, which currently splits the Strip in two and prevents the return of gunmen to the northern part.

“The demand to monitor everyone moving north is a retraction of our concession on the matter,” one source is quoted as saying. “The IDF will know how to deal with the situation even if armed fighters return to the north, and we can find a solution with the Americans.

“This is a demand that will prevent a deal,” the source says. “In the best case, it is an obstacle that will make the continuation [of talks] more difficult, and in the worst case, it is aimed as a spoke in the negotiations’ wheel and at eliminating the ability to reach a deal.

“We are in a crucial two days for the deal to succeed. It’s either now or in a very long time, perhaps never. Prime Minister Netanyahu added demands that deviate from the agreements with the mediators.”

IDF says rocket alert in Gaza border area was false alarm

Rocket sirens that sounded in the southern community of Kerem Shalom a short while ago were determined to be false alarms, the military says.

AG asks High Court to reject petition against Ben Gvir due to parallel investigation

Composite photo: Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben Gvir, left, during a faction meeting at the Knesset on November 21, 2022; Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara speaks at Tel Aviv University on September 28, 2022. (Flash90)

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has asked the High Court of Justice to reject a petition that accuses National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir of handing out gun licenses in violation of regulations.

Baharav-Miara says the issue must not be discussed in court while a criminal probe is ongoing against Israel Avisar, the ministry’s Firearm Licensing Department director, for fear of the proceedings being used to disrupt that investigation.

The attorney general — who also serves as legal adviser to the government and would normally represent a government minister in proceedings against them — adds that she cannot at this time approve Ben Gvir’s request for private counsel since the ongoing investigation has thus far prevented the gathering of professional and legal opinions on the petition’s subject matter.

Ben Gvir and Baharav-Miara have sparred numerous times since the current government was formed.

Dutch court rejects demand for expanded export ban on jet parts that may go to Israel

A Dutch court rejects a demand by rights groups to order the Netherlands to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts that might end up in Israel.

The case, started by rights groups including the Dutch arm of Oxfam, followed another district court ruling in February that the Netherlands cannot send F-35 parts to Israel over concerns the jets could be involved in alleged violations of international humanitarian law in the war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza.

The groups claimed that the Dutch state stopped the direct export of parts to Israel but continued to deliver fighter jet parts to the US and other countries, from which they could then be sent on or used in planes destined for Israel, and that this should also be stopped under the earlier order.

However, The Hague district court says in a press release that the groups’ interpretation of the February ruling is too broad and the Dutch state is complying with the export ban as ordered.

Report: Progress made on potential reopening of Rafah crossing

Lebanon’s Al Akhbar daily reports that negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal have seen progress on reopening the Rafah Border Crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

Egypt and Palestinians will run the key passageway, according to the reported non-final understanding, though with Israeli presence.

The report says that in the first stage, sick Gazans will be allowed to leave the Strip for medical treatment.

Israel has demanded control over the crossing to prevent Hamas from re-arming.

Ministers to vote Sunday on extending mandatory IDF service to 3 years

The government will vote Sunday on extending mandatory service for IDF soldiers to three years from the current 32 months, a source with knowledge of the matter tells The Times of Israel.

The move comes days after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant urged the government to pass the measure.

The security cabinet has approved the service extension, which once okayed by a forum of all government ministers will be in force for eight years, Channel 12 reports.

Sam Sokol contributed to this report.

Despite PM’s new demand, Israel said in talks for tech system on Gaza-Egypt border, IDF withdrawal

A view of the Philadelphi Corridor, the Egypt-Gaza border area in Rafah, on June 18, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

Israeli and Egyptian ceasefire negotiators are in talks about an electronic surveillance system along the border between Gaza and Egypt and an Israeli withdrawal from the area if a ceasefire is agreed, according to two Egyptian sources and a third source familiar with the matter, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made a new demand that the Jewish state remain in control of the key frontier.

The question of whether Israeli forces stay on the border is one of the issues blocking a potential ceasefire and hostage deal because both the Palestinian terror group Hamas and Egypt, a mediator in the talks, are opposed to Israel keeping its forces there.

Netanyahu said yesterday that any deal with Hamas must prevent weapons from being smuggled into Gaza from Egypt, “primarily by means of Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah Crossing.”

Israel is worried that if its troops leave the border zone, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, Hamas’s armed wing could smuggle in weapons and supplies from Egypt into Gaza via tunnels that would allow it to re-arm and again threaten the country, similar to what it did for years before carrying out the October 7 onslaught.

A surveillance system, if the parties to the negotiations agree on the details, could therefore smooth the path to agreeing a ceasefire — though numerous other stumbling blocks remain.

Discussions around a surveillance system on the border have been reported before, but the source says for the first time that Israel is engaging in the discussions as part of the current round of talks, with a view to pulling back forces from the border area.

The source familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, says the discussions are about “basically sensors that would be built on the Egyptian side of the Philadelphi [Corridor].”

“The idea is obviously to detect tunnels, to detect any other ways that they’d be trying to smuggle weapons or people into Gaza. Obviously, this would be a significant element in a hostage agreement.”

Asked if this would be significant for a ceasefire deal because it would mean Israeli soldiers would not have to be on the Philadelphi Corridor, the source says: “Correct.”

The two Egyptian security sources, also speaking on condition of anonymity, say Israeli negotiators have spoken about a high-tech surveillance system.

Egypt is not opposed to that, if it is supported and paid for by the United States, according to the two Egyptian sources. They say though that Egypt would not agree to anything that would change border arrangements between Israel and Egypt set out in the countries’ peace treaty.

IDF: Rocket launched from Lebanon hit open area; second siren was false alarm

One rocket launched a short while ago from Lebanon struck an open area near the northern community of Adamit, the IDF says.

Sirens sounded in the community amid the incident. There are no injuries.

Meanwhile, a siren that sounded in Avivim a short while ago was determined to have been a false alarm, the IDF adds.

IDF says it found arms-producing lathes in Gaza City, killed many gunmen in Strip

This handout picture released on July 12, 2024 shows an Israeli soldier operating in the Gaza Strip. (Israel Defense Forces)

During operations in Gaza City, the IDF says troops with the 99th Division have located lathes used to manufacture weapons, along with cash belonging to terror groups.

Several gunmen were also killed amid the fighting in Gaza City, according to the army.

In southern Gaza’s Rafah, the IDF says that troops with the 162nd Division killed numerous more gunmen in clashes and by calling in airstrikes.

Meanwhile, several rockets were fired from northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun at the Lachish Regional Council area in southern Israel yesterday, setting off sirens in the town of Nir Israel, near Ashkelon.

The IDF says the rockets struck open areas, and in response, airstrikes were carried out against sites belonging to terror groups in the area of the launch.

In intense heat, activists for hostages continue protest march to Jerusalem

Activists for the hostages in Gaza take part in a march to Jerusalem with yellow smoke to call attention to the plight of the abductees, near Shoresh, July 12, 2024. (sha_b_p@/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Activists for the hostages, including relatives of captives, embark on day 3 of a protest march to Jerusalem, leaving Shoresh and walking in blistering heat with signs calling for a deal to free the remaining abductees from Hamas captivity.

A water cannon is used to cool down activists for the Gaza hostages taking part in a march to Jerusalem in blistering heat, near Shoresh, July 12, 2024. (Oded Engel/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Demonstrators are splashed with water to cool them down, as they carry signs urging the government to “Seal the deal,” with yellow smoke in the background.

Activists for the hostages in Gaza take part in a march to Jerusalem with yellow smoke to call attention to the plight of the abductees, near Shoresh, July 12, 2024. (Oded Engel/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Joining the march are dozens of religious left-wing activists who where shirts emphasizing the Jewish commandment of redemption of captives.

The march is expected to reach the capital tomorrow evening.

Poll: Ben Gvir is the preferred successor to Netanyahu among backers of PM’s current bloc

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, greets National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at the Knesset on May 23, 2023. (Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, is the preferred candidate among voters of current coalition parties to lead the right-wing, pro-Benjamin Netanyahu bloc after the current prime minister is no longer in politics, a new poll shows.

The Maariv survey, conducted on July 10-11 by Lazar Research Institute along with Panel4All, finds that 24% of respondents prefer Ben Gvir, followed by ex-Mossad chief Yossi Cohen (14%) and Bezalel Smotrich, head of the fellow far-right Religious Zionism party (11%).

The poll also asks a representative sample of 500 Israeli adults (margin of error: 4.4%) who they would vote for if elections were held now, showing similar results to other recent surveys, with Benny Gantz’s National Unity at 24 Knesset seats to Likud’s 20, and with the current coalition parties only winning 50 seats, down from their current 64 in the 120-member parliament.

If a new right-wing party is introduced that includes former premier Naftali Bennett, Yisrael Beytenu chief Avigdor Liberman, Yossi Cohen, New Hope chief Gideon Sa’ar and former minister Ayelet Shaked, it would become the largest party with 27 seats, followed by Likud with 18 and National Unity with 16.

A significant plurality among the public, 34%, believe Bennett should head such a party, with 11% backing Liberman, 9% saying Cohen, 8% Sa’ar and 5% Shaked. The other 33% say they don’t know.

Asked who is better fit to be prime minister, Gantz leads Netanyahu by five percentage points (43%-38%), while Bennett leads Netanyahu by 13 points (48%-35%).

IDF says it struck Syrian army post in response to rocket attack

The IDF says it struck a Syrian military post in southern Syria’s Tasil overnight, in response to a rocket attack.

The rocket fired late last night struck an open area in the southern Golan Heights, causing no injuries.

First lady says Hamas sexual violence on Oct. 7 ‘has taken the human race many steps backward’

Michal Herzog speaks during a ceremony at the president's house for representatives of diplomatic delegations to Israel, in Jerusalem. September 20, 2022. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)

First Lady Michal Herzog issues a heartfelt plea for the world to do more to free the female hostages still being held in Gaza by the Hamas terror group, more than nine months after the October 7 attack.

“We need to face the facts,” Herzog writes in a column in Time magazine, elaborating on Hamas’s documented sexual violence during the onslaught. “This weaponizing of women’s bodies, this weaponizing of sexual assault and rape in warfare since Oct. 7, has taken the entire human race many steps backward. Civilization is failing these captives right now. And it is failing every one of us.”

“Where is the public outcry? Where is the outrage? Where is the vocal conviction, across the board, that this type of violence against women is unacceptable and will not pass in silence?… Where is the demand, wall to wall, that they must be brought home now?” demanded President Isaac Herzog’s wife.

“I, along with millions of other women, haven’t given up. Not on these young women. And not on our humanity. I call upon every person to speak out for all the hostages—women and men—still being held by terrorists and help bring them home.”

IDF announces death of reservist in Hezbollah drone attack Thursday

Sgt. First Class (res.) Valeri Chefonov. (Israel Defense Forces)

An IDF reservist was killed in yesterday’s Hezbollah explosive-laden drone attack near the northern community of Kibbutz Kabri, the military announces.

The slain soldier is named as Master Sgt. (res.) Valeri Chefonov, 33, the vehicle management officer of the 228th “Alon” Brigade’s 9308th Battalion, from Netanya.

Hezbollah launched several drones from Lebanon in the attack, which the IDF said impacted in the Western Galilee, including one near Kabri. The terror group claimed to have targeted an Israeli army position.

Chefonov was taken to a hospital in critical condition, and his death was declared a short while later.

British security firm says merchant vessel reported two explosions off coast of Yemen

CAIRO — British security firm Ambrey says that a merchant vessel reported two explosions about 21 nautical miles (39 km) west of Yemen’s Mocha.

One “missile” impacted the water and another exploded in the air, the vessel reported to Ambrey, adding that both explosions occurred within 0.5 nautical miles of the vessel.

“The vessel was withholding its automatic identification system transmissions at the time. Ambrey is investigating the vessel’s affiliations with the Houthi target profile,” the Ambrey advisory says.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been launching drone and missile strikes in shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November, claiming that they are acting in solidarity with Hamas amid the war in Gaza.

In dozens of attacks, the Houthis have sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least three seafarers.

US won’t provide Israel with 2,000-lb bombs for fear of ‘great human tragedy,’ Biden says

US President Joe Biden indicates that he has no plans to remove the hold he placed on a shipment of 2,000-lb bombs for Israel.

“I know all this criticism about how I wouldn’t provide the weapons they needed. I’m not providing the 2000-lb bombs. They cannot be used in Gaza or any populated area without causing great human tragedy and damage,” he says during a press conference.

But he then asserts that he is still helping to secure Israel in other ways, pointing to the Iranian missile and drone attack that he helped thwart with European and Arab allies.

“I was able to unite the Arab nations as well as Europe and nothing happened. It sent an incredible lesson to what was going on for the Middle East,” he says.

Biden indicates that ending war in Gaza doesn’t mean ending hunt for Hamas’s leadership

President Joe Biden speaks at a news conference following the NATO Summit in Washington, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

US President Joe Biden suggests that ending the war does not mean Israel won’t be able to continue going after Hamas’s leadership.

“It’s time to end this war. It doesn’t mean walk away from going after [Yahya] Sinwar and Hamas,” Biden says in a press conference.

US officials privately told The Times of Israel in May that the administration would still support Israel going after Hamas’s leadership after the war is over, but this appears to be the furthest Washington has gone in saying this publicly.

Biden reiterates what he told the war cabinet when he visited shortly after October 7.

“Don’t make the same mistake America made after bin Laden. There’s no need to occupy anywhere. Go after the people who did the job… Don’t think that’s what you should be doing, doubling down. We’ll help you find the bad guys — Sinwar and company,” he says.

Biden: There’s a lot I wish I’d been able to convince the Israelis to do

File: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) meets with US President Joe Biden in Tel Aviv, October 18, 2023. (Miriam Alster/ Flash90)

US President Joe Biden acknowledges that he has been frustrated with the Israeli government at times over its handling of the war in Gaza.

He recalls his visit to Israel days after “the massacres that occurred at the hands of Hamas” on October 7 — a trip that saw him convince Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow aid into Gaza after imposing a siege on the Strip during the first weeks of the war.

“We pushed [getting aid in] really hard. Israel occasionally was less than cooperative,” Biden says.

“I know Israel well, and I support Israel, but his war cabinet is one of the most conservative war cabinets in the history of Israel,” he continues, apparently confusing the broader cabinet with the now-defunct small panel of ministers that included moderate ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, who left the emergency government last month.

“There’s a lot of things that in retrospect, I wish I had been able to convince Israelis to do,” he says.

Biden says his plan for post-war Gaza will pave way for two-state solution

US President Joe Biden says the plan he is pushing for the post-war management of Gaza will begin a process leading to a two-state solution with Arab nations helping secure the Strip during a transitional period.

“There’s no ultimate answer other than a two-state solution,” Biden says during a press conference.

“What was able to be done in terms of the plan I put together was that there would be a process for a two-state solution, and we get the Arab nations to — from Egypt all the way to Saudi Arabia — to be in a position where they would cooperate in the transition, so that they can keep the peace in Gaza without Israeli forces staying in Gaza,” the president says.

“The question that has been from the beginning [is], what’s the day after in Gaza? And the day after in Gaza has to be… no occupation by Israel of the Gaza Strip as well as the ability for us to access, get in and out as rapidly as you can all that’s needed there,” he says, apparently referring to a freer flow of humanitarian assistance into the Strip.

Erdogan says going forward, Turkey won’t approve NATO cooperation with Israel

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says NATO cannot be allowed to continue its partnership with the Israeli administration.

“Until comprehensive, sustainable peace is established in Palestine, attempts at cooperation with Israel within NATO will not be approved by Turkey,” Erdogan says at a news conference at the NATO summit.

Turkey also continues its diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, he says.

Erdogan adds that he has instructed Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to begin restoring relations with Syria.

Regarding F-16 sales to Turkey, Erdogan says: “I talked to Mr. Biden. ‘I will solve this problem in 3-4 weeks’ he said.”