July 16: PM says Iran has been planning multi-front attack on Israel: ‘Sinwar fired too early’

More than 20 rockets fired at Mount Meron area, many intercepted, others spark fires

Between 20 and 30 rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Mount Meron area, according to the IDF.

Several were intercepted by the Iron Dome, while other struck open areas. Some of the rocket impacts sparked fires.

There are no injuries.

In all, around 80 rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel this evening.

US Vice President Harris seeks Aug. 13 CBS debate against Vance

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a post debate campaign rally, Friday, June 28, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill)

US Vice President Kamala Harris has asked former president Donald Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance to join an August 13 debate hosted by CBS, a Biden-Harris campaign official says.

Harris asked in a voicemail to Vance after his selection as Trump’s vice-presidential pick on Monday.

The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment and the Biden campaign did not comment.

The Democratic vice president had previously accepted terms for a CBS PARA.O debate on either July 23 or Aug. 13, while Trump’s campaign had sought a debate on Fox News that Biden’s camp had said they would not accept.

The July date for a CBS debate is now off the table, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Jets hit Hezbollah targets after barrages on north

Israeli fighter jets struck buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon’s Kafr Kila and Ayta ash-Shab a short while ago, the military says.

Additional Hezbollah infrastructure was struck in Aitaroun and Ayta ash-Shab, the IDF adds.

Meanwhile, the IDF says some 10 rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Western Galilee earlier this evening, which all struck open areas, causing no injuries.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it came as a response to the killing of three Syrian children in an Israeli strike earlier.

מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו מבנים צבאיים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים כפר כילא ועייתא א-שעב שבדרום לבנון.

בנוסף, הותקפו תשתיות טרור של הארגון במרחבים עיתרון ועייתא א-שעב שבדרום לבנון>> pic.twitter.com/SzGzcnq3aM

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 16, 2024

Iran denies ‘unsubstantiated and malicious’ reports it plotted to kill Trump

In this May 9, 2018, file photo, Iranian demonstrators burn a picture of US President Donald Trump during a protest in front of the former US Embassy in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

Iran denies plotting to assassinate former President Donald Trump after CNN reports that the United States received intelligence in recent weeks that Tehran was looking to avenge the killing of a top general.

In a statement to Reuters, Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York said “these accusations are unsubstantiated and malicious.”

“From the perspective of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Trump is a criminal who must be prosecuted and punished in a court of law for ordering the assassination of General Soleimani. Iran has chosen the legal path to bring him to justice,” Iran’s statement said.

Drones target Iraq’s Ain al-Asad airbase, which hosts US forces

Two armed drones target Iraq’s Ain al-Asad airbase, which hosts US forces and other international forces in western Iraq, two Iraqi military sources tell Reuters.

It is the first attack against US forces in Iraq since early February when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq stopped their attacks against US troops.

No casualties have been reported, say the sources.

Rocket warning sirens sound across northern Israel

Rocket warning sirens are sounding again across northern Israel.

The sirens in both the Western Galilee and Upper Galilee come after Hezbollah earlier fired some 40 rockets into Israel.

Numerous Iron Dome interceptions seen over the Mount Meron area, following a barrage launched from Lebanon.

Numerous Iron Dome interceptions seen over the Mount Meron area, following a barrage launched from Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/I5Nusb5J7z

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 16, 2024

Israel to set up port facility to replace US Gaza pier, field hospital for Palestinian children

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meets with Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, the head of the U.S. Central Command, in Tel Aviv on July 16 2024 (Shachar Yurman/Defense Ministry

Defense Minister Yoav Galant says Israel will soon replace the US military’s offshore pier for delivering aid to the Gaza Strip with a dedicated facility in a southern Israeli port.

Galant says that “Pier 28” will be established in Israel’s Ashdod port to help deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. He did not say when it would begin operating.

The American temporary pier, located off Gaza’s coast, has been beset by ongoing weather and security problems since it was installed in May. The US has said it is winding down the project, although officials say it has been a success in delivering badly needed food aid to the territory.

Gallant announced the decision after a meeting with Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, the head of the US Central Command.

“The minister emphasized the defense establishment’s commitment to working with international partners to ensure the entry of critical humanitarian aid to Gaza,” his office says.

Gallant’s office also said he has instructed the military to set up a field hospital in Israel to treat Palestinian children who are unable to leave Gaza for medical care abroad.

It said the decision was made because of the extended closure of Gaza’s Rafah crossing into Egypt. The crossing has been closed since Israeli forces captured it in early May. Egypt has refused to reopen the crossing while it remains under Israeli control.

“This is a significant short-term solution that will address immediate humanitarian needs until a permanent mechanism is established to evacuate and treat ill children,” his office said.

It was not clear when the hospital would open.

Trump to hold first post-shooting rally Saturday in Michigan

Republican US presidential candidate former president Donald Trump, left, and Republican vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance appear during the Republican National Convention, July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

White House hopeful Donald Trump on Saturday will hold his first rally since surviving an assassination attempt the previous weekend, his campaign says.

Trump and his newly announced vice presidential running mate J.D. Vance “will deliver remarks at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Saturday, July 20” at 5 p.m., the campaign said in a statement released during the ongoing Republican National Convention taking place in Wisconsin.

City in Gaza says wastewater treatment halted due to fuel shortages

Palestinians gather to fill water jugs near one of the strip's few functioning desalination plants in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, June 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Wastewater pumping stations in one of Gaza’s main cities stopped working today because fuel had run out, the local authority says, expressing fears that disease could rapidly spread.

Tens of thousands of people displaced by the Israel-Hamas war have sought shelter in Deir al-Balah, and city authorities say more than 700,000 people could be at risk from a “health and environmental crisis.”

“Deir al-Balah municipality announces the halt of water waste pumping stations because stocks of fuel necessary for their functioning are exhausted,” says a city statement.

It predicted that “roads will be flooded by wastewater” and “diseases will spread.”

Gaza has had no electricity supplies since the war was unleashed by the October 7 Hamas assault on Israel. The fuel-powered waste plants treat water that is then put into the Mediterranean.

“Nineteen pits and two large reservoirs are unusable in Deir al-Balah,” Ismail Sarsour, an official with the city’s emergency committee, says ahead of the release of the statement.

He says the stations handle wastewater for more than 140 points of shelter where tens of thousands of people have taken refuge.

The Palestinian Authority’s water department, the PWA, which is based in Ramallah in the West Bank, said recently it had arranged for tens of thousands of liters of fuel to enter Gaza.

Israel said this month that, with help from the UN children’s agency UNICEF, it has connected one desalination plant in southern Gaza to its electricity network. It is unclear if the plant has started working.

The Palestinian Authority also said that it expected electricity supplies to start again in central Gaza in the “coming days” to power public infrastructure. Israeli authorities have not confirmed the move.

Likud lawmaker co-authors bill for allowing some non-Jews burial at Jewish cemeteries

A fence in the area of the Beit She'an New Cemetery where non-Jews and people who died by suicide are buried. (Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak Lesri)

A Likud lawmaker joins a colleague from the opposition in submitting a bill to end the separate burial of non-Jews who died in battle or a terrorist attack.

The bill submitted by Ze’ev Elkin of the New Hope – The United Right party and Moshe Saada of Likud proposes to amend a 1970s law on the burial of such individuals. The sought amendment states that individuals who are not Jewish according to Halacha, the Jewish legal code, may be buried in Jewish burial sections of cemeteries if their families wish they be buried there.

The bill follows controversies surrounding the burial of some victims of the October 7 onslaught by Hamas, including Alina Plahti. She’s buried at a compound for non-Jews of the New Cemetery of Beit She’an because only her father is Jewish.

Alina Plahti (Courtesy)

The Chief Rabbinate and many Orthodox rabbis oppose mixed burial for Jews and non-Jews.

All four members of the Kapshetar family, murdered by terrorists near Sderot on October 7, are buried outside the Jewish section of a cemetery in Dimona because only the father of the family, Evgeny, could be buried inside it.

“It’s time that people who live as Jews, feel Jewish and were murdered in hostilities as Jews get to be buried as Jews in the Jewish section,” says Alex Rif of the One Million Lobby group that represents Russian-speaking Israelis.

The Kapshetar family, Evgeny, Dina, Aline 8, and Ethan, 5. (courtesy)

Rabbi Seth Farber of the ITIM advocacy group for reforming Israel’s religious services calls the bill “a significant development that would remedy a terrible injustice.”

Netanyahu says Iran has been planning multi-front ground invasion to destroy Israel; ‘Sinwar simply opened fire too early’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visiting a military base near Gaza on January 25, 2024. (Amos Ben Gershom / GPO)

At a meeting earlier today with the parents of observation soldiers murdered by Hamas terrorists at the IDF’s Nahal Oz base on October 7, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Hamas invasion was intended to be just one part of a concrete Iranian plan for a multi-front ground invasion aimed at totally destroying Israel.

Hamas’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar, said Netanyahu, simply began that effort earlier than Iran wanted. But the Iranian plan, he indicated, is still in place.

In a leaked recording of the meeting broadcast by Channel 12 news, Netanyahu is heard telling the bereaved parents:

“We discovered in the course of the [IDF] operation in Gaza that Sinwar simply opened fire too early — that Iran is planning to put us in a stranglehold of its proxies, to invade us, from Gaza, Lebanon, Judea and Samaria, Jordan.

“Simultaneous ground invasions and massive missile fire. Hundreds of thousands of missiles rockets, drones,” he elaborates.

“And [attacks] from Iran itself, which it already fired,” he adds, a presumed reference to Iran’s direct attack on Israel with hundreds of missiles and drones in April.

“The plan is not to wipe out Israel as an idea — [but] to destroy the State of Israel, to conquer the State of Israel,” Netanyahu says.

Body of six-year-old boy found in Herzliya in suspected murder, mother arrested

Police say they discovered the body of a six-year-old boy in his home in the central city of Herzliya and are investigating the incident as murder. Media reports say his mother was arrested while wandering the city with an ax.

Police say a large number of officers were dispatched to the scene after the body was found with “signs of violence.”

An ax taken from a woman who injured a security guard at a mall in Herzliya (Israel Police)

Hebrew media say that police are investigating if the killing is related to an incident earlier in the day in the city where a woman armed with an ax injured a security guard in Herzliya’s Seven Stars mall.

The woman, 33, was reportedly wandering around outside the mall covered in blood and waving the ax.

The guard was lightly injured and police detained the woman.

The Walla news site reports that the woman is the mother of the murdered boy.

No other details are immediately available.

Deputy envoy to US: Israelis aren’t willing to discuss two-state solution after Oct. 7

Minnesota delegate Aaron Eberhart walks during the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention outside the Fiserv Forum, Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — A senior Israeli diplomat tells Republican Party members that Israelis are not willing to talk about a two-state solution after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.

The stance has been voiced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other right-wing lawmakers but seems to be less common for Israel’s non-political diplomatic corps.

The position is also at odds with the policy being advanced by the Biden administration, which views the establishment of a pathway to a future Palestinian state as an essential component of its vision for how the Israel-Hamas war should draw to a close.

“On the Palestinian front, at the end of the day, yes, we are interested in finding some kind of horizon and a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” Israel’s Deputy Ambassador to the US Eliav Benjamin says in an address hosted by the American Jewish Committee on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“But let me be also very clear, especially right after October 7, talks about a two-state solution are not talks that any Israeli is willing to talk about at this point,” Benjamin says.

“The outcome of October 7 cannot be an independent Palestinian state. It will not be the outcome. Yes, we are looking for a way forward, also for the benefit of the Palestinian people — first and foremost on the economic level, we work tirelessly on this, and we will continue to do so also moving forward,” the Israeli diplomat says.

“But and here’s the big but: we do need to find a relevant and reliable partner on the other side. We need to see a real, reformed Palestinian Authority or some other entity… that is willing to denounce terrorism, to stop paying for terrorists and their families and to really move forward with the idea of coexistence,” Benjamin adds.

CNN: US received intel of Iranian plot to assassinate Trump

Mourners step over a US flags with pictures of US President Donald Trump while waiting for the funeral procession of Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad, Iraq, January 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

The United States received intelligence from a human source in recent weeks about an Iranian plot to try to assassinate former President Donald Trump, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing people briefed on the matter.

CNN reported that there was no indication that the 20-year-old who tried to assassinate Trump on Saturday was connected to the plot.

Iran has repeatedly vowed to revenge the killing of Qassem Soleimani, head of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, who was killed in a drone strike ordered by Trump.

Soleimani, 62, was killed on January 3, 2020, in a US airstrike carried out by an MQ-9 Reaper drone. He was struck while traveling from Baghdad’s international airport.

Hapoel Tel Aviv signs NBA journeyman Patrick Beverley

Milwaukee Bucks' Patrick Beverley during the first half of Game 5 of an NBA basketball series against the Indiana Pacers Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Hapoel Tel Aviv has signed NBA journeyman Patrick Beverley.

A three-time NBA All-Defensive Team member, Beverley played 26 games for the Milwaukee Bucks last season, averaging 6.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest.

The 36-year-old Chicago native will be reunited with Hapoel head coach Stefanos Dedas, who coached Beverley over a decade ago when he was playing in Russia.

Beverley will join fellow NBA vet Ish Wainright on the Hapoel roster.

“They gave me everything I asked for… I couldn’t refuse,” Beverley tells the Pat Bev Podcast of the Hapoel offer.

IDF hits launchers after 40 rockets fired from southern Lebanon

Smoke billows following an Israeli strike near the village of Kfar Kila in southern Lebanon on July 16, 2024. (Rabih DAHER / AFP)

After more than 40 rockets were launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon at Kiryat Shmona this evening, the IDF says it struck the launcher used in the attack.

The launcher, in the Jabal Blat area, was struck by a drone shortly after the rocket fire, the army says.

Separately, a Hezbollah cell was targeted in Yarine, the IDF adds.

בסגירת מעגל מהירה, כלי טיס של חיל האוויר תקף משגר במרחב בלאט ממנו זוהו השיגורים שחצו לעבר מרחב קריית שמונה הערב.

בהמשך להתרעות שהופעלו באצבע הגליל בשעות האחרונות זוהו כ-40 שיגורים שחצו משטח לבנון, חלקם יורטו, אין נפגעים>> pic.twitter.com/53sh1Y5SgZ

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 16, 2024

Tanker assesses possible Red Sea oil spill after being hit in Houthi attack

A handout picture obtained from Yemen's Huthi Ansarullah Media Center shows what they say is their targeting of CHIOS LION, a Liberia-flagged crude oil tanker, by unmanned surface vessels in the Red Sea on July 15, 2024. . (Photo by ANSARULLAH MEDIA CENTRE / AFP)

Liberia-flagged oil tanker Chios Lion was assessing damage and investigating a potential oil spill after it was attacked by Yemen’s Houthis in the Red Sea, the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) says.

An unmanned watercraft inflicted minor damage to Chios Lion’s port side on Monday as part of a swarm of attacks by the Houthis on the vessel and another ship sailing around 100 nautical miles northwest of Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah.

“While originally headed south, following the attack the vessel turned around and back north out of the threat area to further assess damage and investigate potential oil spillage,” the JMIC says in a statement.

It adds that the captain and crew were safe.

The manager of Chios Lion did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Yemen’s Houthis said they targeted Chios Lion and Bentley I with ballistic missiles, drones and booby-trapped boats in response to an Israeli airstrike on the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis on Saturday.

Since November, Houthi attacks have exacted an economic toll on global trade by forcing ship owners to route vessels away from the Suez Canal shortcut and toward the longer, more expensive route around Africa.

They also pose a risk to the environment in the form of spilled cargo such as oil and fertilizer as well as fuel used to power vessels.

Report: IDF chief demanded apology from PM for saying army not putting enough pressure on Hamas

From left -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Minister of Defense Yoav Galant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi attend a state memorial ceremony for Operation Protective Edge at the National Hall For Israel's Fallen in Mount Herzl, Jerusalem, July 16, 2024. (Shalev Shalom/POOL)

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi bristled at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a recent meeting and demanded an apology from the premier after he said there was no progress in hostage talks in recent months because the military was not applying enough pressure on Hamas in Gaza in recent months, Channel 12 reports.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Netanyahu said: “For months there was no progress because the military pressure was not strong enough and I thought that, both for the sake of the hostage deal and for the sake of the victory over Hamas, we must enter Rafah.”

Halevi expressed his ire at Netanyahu, saying “These words are serious, I demand that the prime minister apologize,” Channel 12 reports, adding that so far Netanyahu has not.

The IDF Spokesman’s Office says it does not comment on the content of closed-door meetings.

Official sources at the Prime Minister’s Office say they are not aware of any such expression by Halevi.

US indicates Israeli strikes against Hamas leaders not harming ceasefire talks

FILE - US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller during a news briefing at the State Department, July 18, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard, File)

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller indicates that Washington does not believe Israeli strikes targeting Hamas’s leadership harm the ongoing hostage negotiations.

Miller is pressed on whether the strikes harm the talks during a press briefing and begins his response by saying that he won’t speculate on the matter.

However, he then notes that the talks have still continued, even after the weekend strike targeting Hamas military leader Muhammad Deif.

“Despite various public statements that are made by both sides on this conflict from from time to time, what we have actually seen in the negotiations is [them] pushing forward to try to get a deal,” Miller says.

“Obviously, people can always pull out in negotiations for their own reasons. We hope that won’t happen. We haven’t seen it happen yet. What we have seen has made us believe we can get to a deal, which of course does not mean that we will, but we’re going to continue to try to push for one,” he adds.

Three Syrian children said among 5 killed in Israeli strikes in south Lebanon

A man shows the remain of an Israeli missile that hit a house and killed a Hezbollah fighter with two of his civilian family members, in Bint Jbeil town, south Lebanon, Tuesday, July 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Lebanese official media says separate Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killed five people including three Syrian children, with Hezbollah announcing rocket fire at Israel in retaliation for one of the raids.

“Three Syrian children” were killed “in an enemy raid that targeted farmland in the village of Umm Toot,” the National News Agency says.

It also says an “enemy” drone strike had targeted a motorcycle on the Kfar Tebnit road elsewhere in south Lebanon, killing two Syrians, prompting Hezbollah to launch “dozens of Katyusha rockets” at northern Israel in retaliation.

US Senator Menendez convicted at corruption trial, cementing political downfall

US Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey enters federal court in New York, July 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

US Senator Bob Menendez is convicted on all 16 criminal counts he faced including bribery at his corruption trial, completing the once-powerful New Jersey Democrat’s dramatic downfall.

The jury in Manhattan federal court deliberated for more than 12 hours over three days before reaching a verdict in a trial that had taken nine weeks. Menendez, 70, had pleaded not guilty to the charges, which also included acting as a foreign agent and obstructing justice.

US District Judge Sidney Stein sets Menendez’s sentencing for Oct. 29, a week before the Nov. 5 election in which he is running as an independent in a bid for another six-year term in the Senate, but is considered a long shot to win.

After the jury’s foreperson read the verdict, Menendez rested his elbows on the table, clasped his hands together, and stared straight ahead.

Shortly after the conviction, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, calls on Menendez to resign.

The trial centered on what federal prosecutors called several overlapping bribery schemes in which the senator and his wife Nadine Menendez accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars and car and mortgage payments from three businessmen who wanted his help.

In exchange for bribes, Menendez helped steer billions of dollars in American aid to Egypt, where one of the businessman, Wael Hana, had ties to government officials, according to prosecutors. Menendez also was accused of seeking to influence criminal probes involving two other businessmen, Fred Daibes and Jose Uribe.

Hana and Daibes were co-defendants in the senator’s trial and were also convicted on each of the counts they faced. Uribe pleaded guilty and testified as a prosecution witness against Menendez.

Blinken discuses hostage release deal with Thai FM; 8 Thais among the remaining captives

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed efforts to secure a hostage deal, which would include the release of eight Thai nationals, with Bangkok’s new foreign minister in a phone call earlier today, the State Department says.

Blinken thanked Maris Sangiampongsa for Thailand’s support of a June 6 joint statement backing the ceasefire and hostage deal proposed by Israel and backed by the US in May.

“They agreed to continue to work together towards a comprehensive ceasefire deal that would allow the release of the hostages, including Thai nationals, and significantly increase the levels of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza, the US readout says.

Parents of 5 female soldiers plead with Netanyahu to secure hostage deal

Families of five surveillance soldiers who were abducted from an IDF base at Nahal Oz by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, hold a press conference at which they show photographs of the five early in their captivity, July 16, 2024 (Paulina Patimer / Hostages Families Forum)

The parents of five hostage surveillance soldiers plead with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do more to secure the release of all the captives held in Gaza.

The parents release new pictures of their daughters from the early days of captivity following a meeting with Netanyahu.

In a press conference, they urge the prime minister to agree to a deal before it is too late.

They say that pictures are taken from a video clip retrieved by the IDF and first shown to them some months ago that was filmed soon after they were taken hostage.

Elsewhere in the clip, Channel 12 reports, one of their Hamas captors is seen.

Albert Ariev, father of Karina Ariev, who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, speaks at a press conference on July 16, 2024 (Paulina Patimer / Hostages Families Forum)

“My little Karina, only 19 years old, is in Gaza. Today, you see footage of Karina and her friends in their first days of captivity. It’s so vivid. Karina sitting on a mattress on the floor, with an exhausted and desperate look,” says Albert Ariev, father of Karina Ariev.

“She has a shocking bandage on her head with dried blood. On her leg, you can see fresh blood stains seeping into her pajama pants. There are strong marks of handcuffs and binding on her wrists. Swelling in her hands indicates that Karina was bound for a long time,” he says.

Surveillance soldier Karina Ariev, who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, pictured (right) in captivity in a photograph that was made public by her family on July 16, 2024 (Courtesy)

“The agreement currently on the table is the closest we’ve ever been. Since the morning of October 7. All we ask is for Karina back; we want our small family to be whole again,” he says.

“Mr. Prime Minister, this is a personal appeal to you, first, close the deal! Then you can travel safely and return safely,” says Shlomi Berger, father of Agam Berger, referring to Netanyahu’s upcoming trip to Washington.

“This is not the time for trips when your presence here, at the most critical time for our country, is essential,” he says.

Shlomi Berger, father of Agam Berger, who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, speaks at a press conference on July 16, 2024 (Paulina Patimer / Hostages Families Forum)

Father of hostage Naama Levy says she was held separately from fellow soldiers

Surveillance soldier Naama Levy, who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, pictured (right) in captivity in a photograph that was made public by her family on July 16, 2024 (Courtesy)

Addressing a press conference after the families of five surveillance soldiers held hostage in Gaza release images from the women’s first days in Gaza captivity, Yoni Levy, the father of Naama Levy, says she was held separately from her comrades.

“She wasn’t captured with the other girls, as we saw in the video with the jeep,” he says. “Naama was held for a long period by herself.”

Levy says the “latest information we have” is that Naama is “held in the tunnels and she is alive.”

“Therefore the only way to get her and the other girls out of the tunnels is a deal,” he says. “Not a military operation or anything else — only a deal will get the girls out.”

One image released today shows Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger and Daniella Gilboa sitting on mattresses on the floor of a room.

A separate picture shows Levy with a black eye and a swollen face.

Levy was seen in a video from Gaza on October 7 following her kidnapping with her hands tied and bloodied sweatpants being pushed into a jeep, giving rise to widespread speculation that she had been sexually abused by her abductors.

Yoni Levy, father of Naama Levy, who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, speaks at a press conference on July 16, 2024 (Paulina Patimer / Hostages Families Forum)

Levy’s mother Ayelet Levy Shachar says she refused a request from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accompany him on his upcoming trip to Washington.

Ayelet Levy Shachar, mother of Naama Levy, who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, speaks at a press conference on July 16, 2024 (Paulina Patimer / Hostages Families Forum)

“The prime minister asked me to join him on his flight to the US for his speech to Congress, and I explained that I cannot and will not feel comfortable joining him until I see that the negotiations regarding my Naama’s release are completed,” she says.

She urges Netanyahu to meet with them immediately. “This is not the time for trips [to the US]. This is the time to close a deal and return the hostages.,” she says.

‘Absolute chaos’: Knesset committee to hold urgent hearing as IDF announces start of Haredi draft

Israeli mounted police disperse Ultra-Orthodox Jews blocking a highway during a protest against military recruitment in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, July 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Chairman Yuli Edelstein informs members of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that there will be an “urgent” hearing tomorrow morning to discuss the IDF’s announcement that it will begin sending out initial draft orders to members of the Haredi community on Sunday.

According to a message to committee MKs obtained by the Times of Israel, Edelstein wrote that at the beginning of Wednesday’s scheduled discussion of the Haredi enlistment law, there will be an update regarding these orders, which are set to be sent a week after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said they would begin going out in August.

“As of this time, there is no indication of an orderly mechanism or clear criteria as to who is expected to receive the draft orders. Such a move is expected to provoke absolute chaos among the ultra-Orthodox,” Edelstein’s office says in a statement.

As such, Edelstein questions the legal standing of the orders and says that “it is not at all clear if this is an arbitrary selection of recruits or if there are any criteria behind the selection of those chosen for recruitment.”

Homes in Kiryat Shmona damaged in large barrage of rockets from Lebanon

Rockets fired from southern Lebanon are intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome air defence system over the Upper Galilee region in northern Israel, on July 16, 2024 (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

At least 20 rockets were fired from Lebanon at Kiryat Shmona about half an hour ago, according to the IDF.

Several of the rockets were shot down by the Iron Dome, but some struck the northern city, causing damage to buildings, according to police.

There are no reports of injuries. Meanwhile, new sirens sound in Kiryat Shmona.

🚨 Large Red Alert [19:02:39] – 11 Alerts:

• Confrontation Line — Kiryat Shmona, Manara, Kfar Yuval, Ma'ayan Baruch, Margaliot, Tel Hai, Metulla, Kfar Giladi#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/b1xTNNrkzO

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) July 16, 2024

Families release images of 5 female troops from their first days held in Gaza

An undated picture of four IDF surveillance soldiers held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, that was made public by their families on July 16, 2024. From left: Liri Albag, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, and Karina Ariev. (Courtesy)

The families of five surveillance soldiers held hostage in Gaza release images from the women’s first days in Gaza captivity.

The images show Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy. All five, abducted from an IDF base at Nahal Oz, are still held by Hamas in the Strip.

One picture shows four of the young women sitting on mattresses on the floor of a room. Two of them have bandaged heads.

They are wearing clothes, some with bloodstains, that were apparently given to them by their captors. Bottles of water are shown on the floor, in a room that is apparently above ground in Gaza. They show signs of being injured and of marks left by handcuffs. A framed picture of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is on the wall behind them.

A picture of a fifth woman, Naama Levy, with a black eye and swollen face is also released.

An undated picture of surveillance soldier Naama Levy held hostage in Gaza that was made public by her family on July 16, 2024 (Courtesy)

The families also juxtapose the newly publicized pictures of the five with photographs of them as they were before being taken hostage by Hamas-led terrorists who invaded southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Surveillance soldier Karina Ariev, who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, pictured (right) in captivity in a photograph that was made public by her family on July 16, 2024 (Courtesy)

The release of the pictures comes just before the parents of the five hold a press conference to demand a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before his trip to the US later this month.

Surveillance soldier Liri Albag who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, pictured (right) in captivity in a photograph that was made public by her family on July 16, 2024 (Courtesy)

According to Channel 12 news, a few months ago the families received the photos of their daughters being held in a home in Gaza, dressed in clothing that did not belong to them.

Surveillance soldier Agam Berger, who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, pictured (right) in captivity in a photograph that was made public by her family on July 16, 2024 (Courtesy)

The outlet says the images were initially shown to the families by the IDF spokesperson and were among materials uncovered by troops.

Surveillance soldier Daniella Gilboa, who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, pictured (right) in captivity in a photograph that was made public by her family on July 16, 2024 (Courtesy)

“As the return of their daughters and other hostages seems closer than ever, the families will demand an immediate meeting with the prime minister,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum says in a statement.

Surveillance soldier Naama Levy, who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, pictured (right) in captivity in a photograph that was made public by her family on July 16, 2024 (Courtesy)

“They will plead with him to sign the deal before his trip to Congress,” the forum says. Netanyahu is set to head to the US early Monday ahead of his Wednesday address at the Capitol.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum released harrowing footage in May showing the abduction of the five female soldiers from the Nahal Oz base by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, describing the video as a “damning testament to the nation’s failure to bring home the hostages.”

The video was taken by body cameras worn by Hamas terrorists that day as they attacked the base near the Gaza border.

US, Egyptian, and Qatari mediators have been working to reach a deal between Israel and Hamas that would see the release of the 120 hostages still held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners and a ceasefire in the ongoing war. The war began on October 7 when Hamas led a devastating invasion and massacre that killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw 251 abducted to Gaza.

Schiff warns of big Democratic losses with Biden atop ticket, NYT reports

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., speaks during the House Judiciary Committee hearing June 21, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

US Representative Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who is running for the Senate, warned donors in a private meeting on Saturday that his party was likely to suffer major losses if US President Joe Biden remained at the top of the ticket, The New York Times reports, citing two unnamed sources.

“I think if he is our nominee, I think we lose,” the Times reports, citing a person with access to a transcription of a recording of the event, a fundraiser in New York.

“And we may very, very well lose the Senate and lose our chance to take back the House,” the Times reports him as saying.

Netanyahu says Hamas under increasing pressure: I have ‘no intention of losing this conflict’

Parents, family members and friends of late Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin attend an alternative ceremony outside the state memorial ceremony for Operation Protective Edge at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery, in Jerusalem, July 16, 2024. ( Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Hamas is under growing pressure, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says at a state ceremony commemorating IDF soldiers who fell during the 2014 Gaza war, also known as Operation Protective Edge.

“It is under increasing pressure because we are striking it,” says Netanyahu. “Eliminating its senior commanders, taking out thousands of terrorists. It is under pressure because we stand firm on our just demands in the face of all pressure.”

Speaking at Jerusalem’s Mt. Herzl military cemetery, Netanyahu says that now is the time to ramp up pressure in order to bring home all the hostages and achieve Israel’s war aims.

“We will increase the pressure on Hamas,” he pledges. “And we will bring them all back, the hostages from October 7, and Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, Avera ​​Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed.”

The bodies of Shaul and Goldin were captured in the 2014 war, while Mengistu and al-Sayed entered of their own accord and are believed to be alive.

Israel, says the premier, has ” no intention of losing this conflict.”

“We will continue to repel the attempts to harm us by Iran and its proxies,” Netanyahu continues. “We will continue to strike with uncompromising strength at those who rise up to destroy us. We will reckon with all the perpetrators of the terrorist attack until the last one. We will overthrow the evil rule of Hamas. We will thwart any future threat from Gaza to the State of Israel. And we will bring all our hostages home.”

Ultra-Orthodox demonstrators block key highway after IDF announces new draft plans

Police remove ultra-Orthodox Jewish youth blocking a road to protest military recruitment in Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, July 16, 2024.(AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Ultra-Orthodox protesters are blocking Route 4 highway near Bnei Brak in central Israel after the IDF announces it will begin drafting members of the Haredi community from Sunday.

Police say the demonstration is illegal and are preparing to forcefully remove the demonstrators if they do not disperse.

Dozens of demonstrators are sitting in the road.

IDF says it will take months to locate all the tunnels across the Gaza-Egypt border

A view of southern Gaza's Rafah from the Philadelphi Corridor on the border with Egypt, June 18, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

The IDF believes it will take many more months to complete the search for Hamas’s cross-border smuggling tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border. So far, around 25 tunnels have been located.

Combat engineers are currently meticulously sweeping the entire Gaza-Egypt border area in Rafah, while expanding the so-called Philadelphi Corridor by demolishing structures within about 800 meters of the border.

Many of the Hamas tunnels in the Philadelphi Corridor area, including tunnels found within the area of the Rafah Crossing, go deep into Rafah, the Strip’s southernmost city.

The effort comes as the intensive stage of the offensive in Rafah is coming to an end.

The IDF is expected to continue working on locating the tunnels in Rafah, alongside other targeted raids across Gaza, until, in the event of a hostage deal, it may be required to withdraw from Gaza.

Meanwhile, Hamas’s Rafah Brigade is considered to be mostly dismantled at this stage, with all four of its battalions at a low level of competency, some slightly more than others.

During the Rafah operation, the IDF encountered entire neighborhoods that were booby-trapped by Hamas, and not just single buildings as it had seen in other parts of the Strip.

This, according to the IDF, was aimed at preventing troops from reaching tunnels beneath such buildings. In some cases, dozens of buildings were destroyed for the IDF to reach a hidden tunnel network.

The IDF says it isn’t counting each meter of tunnel it has destroyed, but rather focusing on the significant underground sites used by Hamas, such as command and control centers for senior officers in the terror group, weapon manufacturing sites, and communication centers.

The IDF is also working to locate Hamas’s attack tunnels that approach the Israeli border, as well as tunnel junctions that connect between various underground networks in the Strip.

IDF gearing up for end of Gaza war, says remaining Hamas fighters in ‘survival mode’

Israeli tanks stand near the Israel-Gaza border as seen from southern Israel Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

The war against Hamas in Gaza is not going to last indefinitely, according to the IDF.

The military says it is “taking advantage of every minute” until a potential hostage deal is reached, and is prepared to deal with the consequences of a truce with Hamas, which may include the IDF being forced to withdraw entirely from the Strip.

Regardless of a hostage deal, low-intensity operations against the terror group will likely continue for a long period, but there is an end in sight, sources say, as the military increasingly sees Hamas struggling to fight back.

The IDF has in recent months seen Hamas operatives and commanders more and more leave the terror group’s hideout tunnels in the Gaza Strip, and instead position command centers, staging grounds, and even makeshift weapons manufacturing within civilian sites.

In recent weeks, more than 50 airstrikes have been carried out against Hamas positions embedded within schools, hospitals, and other civilian sites used as shelters for Palestinian civilians, the IDF says.

According to military assessments, Hamas operatives are finding it difficult to remain inside tunnels for such a long period — nine months since the onset of the war — and are therefore moving to above-ground sites, while hiding among civilians.

The IDF assessments also claim that Hamas is suffering from severe morale issues as the fighting goes on, and thousands are fleeing army operations and choosing not to fight.

IDF soldiers operate at the entrance to a Hamas tunnel in Gaza in this undated photo from the 2023-2024 Israel-Hamas war. (Courtesy: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

At the same time, the terror group is also running into weapon shortages. The IDF recently recovered a document listing the current inventory of the Shejaiya Battalion, according to which it had lost more than two-thirds of its members and was running low on RPGs, assault rifles, and explosives.

The terror group has been described by the IDF as in “survival mode” in recent months, and not the same organization as it was before October 7.

Still, the IDF has also assessed that Hamas maintains the capability to attack troops in Gaza and launch rocket attacks on Israel, including long-range fire on Tel Aviv or Jerusalem.

The IDF also believes that Hamas does not possess any major rocket manufacturing capabilities anymore, after its main factories were destroyed in operations. The terror group can produce some weapons, although of a much lower quality, according to the assessments.

The military says it is tracking such attempts and has targeted new manufacturing sites. In a recent operation, commandos raided UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City after receiving indications that Hamas was building explosive-laden drones to launch at troops. At least one such drone was found in the raid.

Also at the UNRWA headquarters, the IDF says it found evidence of Hamas recruiting new operatives. These fresh recruits are also believed by the military to be of much lower quality than its existing fighters.

Separately, while Hamas has lost several senior commanders amid the fighting, a handful still remain, according to the latest IDF assessments, including the commanders of the Rafah and Gaza City brigades, and the head of the terror group’s intelligence, operations, manufacturing, and home front divisions.

The IDF is working to kill Hamas’s top commanders, as well as members of the terror group who are considered “sources of knowledge” in the fields of engineering, chemistry, and electronics, which would help the group rebuild itself.

Meanwhile, in the past two weeks, more than 1,000 terror operatives have been killed across Gaza, according to the military.

‘You are guilty’: Netanyahu booed at ceremony commemorating fallen of 2014 Gaza war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is booed during a state ceremony to commemorate soldiers who died during the 2014 Gaza war.

“During the state ceremony to commemorate the fallen of Operation Protective Edge, a bereaved father shouted at the prime minister during a speech by the president,” says a statement from President Isaac Herzog’s office.

“The president stopped his speech and left the stage to calm the bereaved father and talk to him. After things calmed down he resumed his speech.”

According to the video from the ceremony, the father shouted “You are guilty,” and “You are responsible for all the victims,” at Netanyahu.

טקס זכרון לחללי צוק איתן, אחד המשתתפים צועק על ראש הממשלה "1800 הרוגים בגללך, ויתרת על החטופים, אתה הראש, אתה אשם" במהלך נאום הנשיא. על פי הדיווחים הרצוג ירד מהדוכן, ניגש לאב והרגיע אותו, אחר כך חזר לנאום. pic.twitter.com/ujLWF7JJWw

— Ben Caspit בן כספית (@BenCaspit) July 16, 2024

IDF increasingly confident Hamas military chief Deif was killed in strike

Palestinians inspect the damage at a site hit by an Israeli operation targeting Hamas's shadowy military commander Muhammad Deif in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The Israel Defense Forces increasingly believes that Muhammad Deif, the commander of Hamas’s military wing, was killed in Saturday’s airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip, although it is still awaiting final confirmation before making a public announcement.

The IDF believes that its intelligence indicating that Deif arrived at a compound belonging to Rafa’a Salameh, the commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade, was highly accurate, and that the pair were together in the building when it was targeted with several heavy munitions.

Salameh was killed in the strike, the IDF announced Sunday after obtaining final confirmation on the matter. It has yet to receive the same kind of information on Deif, and the IDF believes Hamas will try to hide his death for a while.

According to IDF assessments, military pressure exerted on Hamas caused Deif to venture out from the underground tunnels where he was thought to be hiding, and join Salameh, who had been at the compound for several weeks.

The military has also assessed that a very low number of civilians were harmed in the attack, despite its proximity to tent camps for displaced Palestinians in the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone.

IDF says it targeted 2 Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon drone strike

Two Hezbollah operatives were targeted in a drone strike in southern Lebanon’s Mansouri earlier today, the military says.

The IDF says the pair were struck after they were identified fleeing from a site used to launch rockets at Kiryat Shmona.

צה"ל תקף באמצעות כלי טיס של חיל האוויר שני מחבלים מארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב אל-מנצורי שבדרום לבנון.
המחבלים הותקפו לאחר שזוהו בורחים מהמרחב ממנו בוצעו אמש השיגורים לקריית שמונה.

כמו כן, כוחות צה"ל תקפו בארטילריה בכפר כילא, דיר מימס ועייתא א-שעב שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/g02LQAN1rj

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 16, 2024

IDF to start sending out draft orders to ultra-Orthodox on Sunday

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men near a sign reading 'army recruitment office' during a protest against the drafting of Haredim to the military, in Jerusalem, May 1, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The IDF says it will begin to send out initial draft orders to members of the Haredi community, starting on Sunday.

The orders are the first stage in the screening and evaluation process that the army carries out for new recruits, ahead of enlistment in the coming year.

“The orders were issued as part of the IDF’s plan to advance the integration of conscripts from the ultra-Orthodox community into its ranks,” the military says.

The IDF says it aims to recruit members of all segments of society to the military, “by virtue of it being the people’s army and in light of the increased operational needs at this time, in view of the security challenges.”

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant last week said the draft orders would begin to be sent out to the Haredi community next month.

The Haredi religious and political leadership fiercely resists and protests any effort to draft mainstream yeshiva students who are actually involved in religious study.

The issue of ultra-Orthodox conscription is among the most contentious in Israeli public discourse. Many ultra-Orthodox Jews believe that military service is incompatible with their way of life and fear that those who enlist will be secularized. Many Israelis who do serve, however, say the decades-long arrangement of mass exemptions unfairly burdens them, a sentiment that has strengthened since the beginning of the war, which has seen over 300 soldiers killed on Israel’s various fronts as well as over 300,000 citizens called up to reserve duty.

Security cabinet to meet ahead of bid to restart hostage-ceasefire talks with Hamas

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on June 23, 2024 (Screen grab/GPO)

The security cabinet is scheduled to meet at the Prime Minister’s Office tonight at 8 p.m., the office of a cabinet minister tells The Times of Israel.

The meeting will take place as attempts to restart talks over a hostage deal with Hamas continue.

Iran says it remains open to resuming nuclear deal negotiations

Centrifuges line a hall at the Uranium Enrichment Facility in Natanz, Iran, in a still image from a video aired by the Islamic Republic Iran Broadcasting company on April 17, 2021, six days after the hall had been damaged in a mysterious attack. (IRIB via AP, File)

Tehran remains open to resuming negotiations with Washington toward restoring mutual participation in a nuclear deal, Iran’s acting foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani tells Newsweek in an interview published today.

The US has said it is not expecting policy changes from Iran after voters elected reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian, and downplayed chances to resume dialogue.

US President Joe Biden took office in 2021 with hopes of returning to a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that was negotiated under former president Barack Obama and trashed by his successor Donald Trump, who imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran.

But talks, negotiated through the European Union, broke down in part in a dispute over to what extent the United States would remove sanctions on Iran.

Relations have deteriorated further since the October 7 attack on US ally Israel by Hamas, which receives support from Iran.

IDF says airstrikes hit Hamas cell at UN school, Islamic Jihad commander; Palestinians say 22 killed including civilians

A group of Hamas operatives gathered at a United Nations-run school in the central Gaza Strip was struck by fighter jets earlier today, the military says.

According to health officials in Gaza, five people were killed in the strike on the Al-Razi School in Nuseirat.

The IDF says the terror operatives were using the school to plan and carry out attacks against troops operating in Gaza.

The IDF says it took several steps to mitigate harm to civilians, including aerial surveillance and using “precision munitions.”

Separately, the IDF says it carried out a drone strike on a company commander in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s naval force, in western Khan Younis.

According to Hamas health officials, 17 people were killed and another 26 were wounded in the strike, which hit a fuel station.

The IDF says it is “looking into the reports stating that several civilians were injured as a result of the strike.”

Netanyahu meets families of slain surveillance soldiers who demand state commission of inquiry

Families of observation soldiers who were killed by Hamas terrorists at the Nahal Oz post on October 7 speak to press after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, July 17, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells families of female surveillance soldiers who were killed by Hamas at the Nahal Oz base on October 7 that the entire incident will be “thoroughly investigated,” says his office.

However, the families demand a state commission of inquiry during the 3-hour meeting, something to which the prime minister refuses to commit.

Erez Price, whose daughter Noa was killed at Nahal Oz, says the families insist on a commission of inquiry.

Despite calls from several opposition lawmakers, Netanyahu has maintained that an investigation determining the culpability of the government cannot take place while the war in Gaza is ongoing. He has also been noncommittal on establishing a state commission — the investigatory body with the greatest powers — indicating that other formats may be appropriate.

Eyal Eshel, father of slain soldier Roni Eshel, says after the meeting that Netanyahu “sat and listened to us.” He added that they were given two promises — that the command center in which many of the soldiers were killed will be maintained as a memorial, and that the memorial at Kibbutz Alumim will be kept up by the state.

The families will march in protest later today from Nahal Oz to other kibbutzim that were attacked on October 7, according to Channel 13.

During the meeting in Jerusalem, the families tell the stories of their slain loved ones. According to the PMO, Netanyahu “answered their questions and said the matter will be investigated thoroughly, and lessons will be learned at all levels — including the intelligence, operational, military, and diplomatic realms.”

Netanyahu also promises to help the families commemorate their daughters.

Herzog mediating between Levin and Vogelman over High Court president impasse

President Isaac Herzog speaks during a swearing-in ceremony for newly appointed judges at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, on June 23, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

President Isaac Herzog is mediating between Justice Minister Yariv Levin and acting High Court President Justice Uzi Vogelman in a bid to break the impasse over appointing a permanent president for the court, the Israel Hayom daily reports.

The position of president has been vacant since Esther Hayut retired last October, and Vogelman has served as acting president ever since, a situation unprecedented in the history of the court.

The position of president has always gone to the justice with the most years on the court, but Levin opposes this system and seeks to appoint a justice who will push the court in a more conservative direction.

The report says Levine has already rejected a proposal to appoint Michael Rabello, a lawyer who has represented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud party, as a Supreme Court justice in exchange for agreeing to the seniority precedent.

Herzog’s office later confirmed he was mediating.

“The president  has called publicly several times in recent days to make every effort to reach a compromise regarding appointments in the judicial system, including the appointment of a permanent president to the Supreme Court and the appointment of the missing judges,” his office said in a statement.

Belgium refuses to host Israel soccer match, citing security fears

Illustrative photo of Belgian Police patrolling the Grand Place in central Brussels on October 17, 2023, following the shooting of two Swedish soccer fans by a suspected Tunisian extremist. (AP/Martin Meissner)

Belgium will not host the Nations League match against Israel on September 6 over security fears, the Belgian Football Federation (RBFA) announces.

The city of Brussels said last month that the match would not be played at the King Baudouin stadium because it could spark demonstrations.

Authorities had deemed it “impossible to organize this very high-risk match” in the city due to tensions linked to the Israeli-Hamas war.

Other Belgian cities also refused to host the match.

The host city has not yet been designated, with Budapest being cited as an option.

Concerns were likely raised by the attack in Brussels in October in which an Islamist gunman killed two Swedish football fans before a Euro 2024 qualifier between Belgium and Sweden.

France and Italy are in the same Nations League Group A2 as Belgium and Israel.

‘Wing of Zion,’ Israel’s long-delayed ‘Air Force One,’ takes off for US with equipment ahead of PM’s visit

The official 'Wing of Zion' state airplane is seen at Ben Gurion Airport on October 20, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Israel’s new “Air Force One” — dubbed Wing of Zion — takes off from the Nevatim Airbase for the US in its first official flight, Kan news reports.

The flight is meant to bring equipment and some security personnel over ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress and meeting with US President Joe Biden next week.

The Prime Minister’s Office was surprised to discover recently that the plane could only take 60 passengers, far less than the expected complement of aides, guards, and journalists, according to Kan.

Sources in the PMO blamed Israel Aerospace Industries for constructing a plane that doesn’t meet its needs, who said in response to Kan that “the plane will fly at the set time with maximum safety, and is ready for the mission after it passed all the readiness tests from A to Z.”

The flight costs more than $200,000.

The plane, a reconfigured and upgraded Boeing 767, has been caught in political fighting in Israel for a number of years, with Netanyahu and his supporters arguing that it is a necessary safety measure, and detractors calling it a waste of taxpayer money and a symbol of corruption.

Hostages’ families say Jerusalem protest tent repeatedly vandalized

Loudspeaker cables which were cut two weeks ago during a hostage families rally in Jerusalem on July 7, 2024 according to volunteers with the Jerusalem Hostages and Missing Families Forum. (Courtesy of the Jerusalem Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

The hostage families’ tent outside the Prime Minister’s Residence in Jerusalem has been subject to repeated acts of vandalism over the past few weeks, according to the Jerusalem branch of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Ofek Lugasi, an activist who often spends his nights in the encampment, tells The Times of Israel that he discovered last night that the air conditioning pipe had been cut through.

“This isn’t the first time that this has happened. There was another morning that we woke up and had to call the air conditioning repairman, as we did today,” he says.

“We feel that violence against the work of bringing back the hostages is escalating further and further,” says Tom Barkai, who heads the Forum’s Jerusalem branch. She adds that the lock to the families’ warehouse next to the tent was also broken last night.

Barkai notes that two weeks ago during a Saturday night hostages rally, someone cut the group’s loudspeaker cables, making it impossible for many participants to hear speeches by those onstage.

“It is important for us to point out that our struggle for the return of the hostages is the most important issue in our view, especially in these critical moments,” she continues.

Knesset committee advances bill to prevent Israeli funding of terror suspects’ legal defense

The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee votes to send a bill prohibiting the Public Defender’s Office’s from providing legal representation to those defined by law as illegal combatants for its first reading in the Knesset plenum.

According to the text of the bill, the legal bills for anyone suspected or accused of terrorism following October 7 will be paid for from frozen Palestinian Authority tax funds held by Israel rather than from the state budget.

Last week, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich both harshly condemned the Israel Courts Administration over its request for funding for legal representation for captured combatants suspected of carrying out the October 7 atrocities in southern Israel.

Their comments came after it emerged that courts dealing with Palestinian detainees captured during the ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza ruled that the prisoners needed legal representation when appearing before them.

Since the Public Defender’s Office has refused to represent these detainees, the courts ordered that they be given private counsel in accordance with Israeli law, which also stipulates that funding for such legal representation come from the state.

Finance Ministry warns enlisting Haredim to IDF will damage efforts to integrate them into workforce

An ultra-Orthodox man walks past a sign for the IDF recruitment office in Jerusalem, August 16, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The Finance Ministry warns that enlisting working ultra-Orthodox men into the army will damage efforts to integrate this group of the population into the labor market.

In a report on the economic impact of recruiting ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, men to the IDF, the Finance Ministry says that the focus on enlisting the working ultra-Orthodox male population would likely negatively impact their integration into the employment market in the future in light of the fear of entering the pool of those designated for recruitment.

Instead, the Finance Ministry urges the IDF to create clear and transparent criteria for recruiting ultra-Orthodox young men that will meet the needs of the army and will not affect their behavior.

Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry estimates that adding 1,000 ultra-Orthodox recruits to combat military service will translate into savings of 10 to 14 reserve days a year per person and will lead to annual savings of NIS 1.3 billion, according to the report.

Republican Jewish Coalition welcomes Trump’s VP pick: ‘Vance will always stand with the Jewish community, Israel’

Republican US vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance, center, and his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance arrive on the floor during the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum, July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

MILWAUKEE — The Republican Jewish Coalition hails Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s pick of Sen. JD Vance to be his running mate.

“A son of Middletown, Ohio, Marine Corps veteran, and successful businessman, JD Vance’s life story is the quintessential American dream. We know Senator Vance will serve our country with distinction as vice president as he has in the US Senate. We also know Senator Vance will always stand with the Jewish community and with America’s key strategic ally Israel,” the RJC says.

While some more hawkish Republicans have expressed concerns over Vance’s isolationist-leaning foreign policy views, the RJC says, “We were proud to endorse and actively support Senator Vance for the US Senate in 2022. He is an incredibly important voice in support of our shared conservative values and principles.”

Liberal Jewish groups blast Trump’s VP pick: Vance voted against Israel aid, promoted antisemitic conspiracies

Republican US presidential candidate former president Donald Trump, left, and Republican vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance appear during the Republican National Convention, July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

MILWAUKEE — Liberal Jewish groups express alarm over Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s selection of GOP Sen. JD Vance to be his running mate.

“J.D. Vance is a far-right extremist who denied the 2020 election results, supports a national abortion ban and voted against aid to Israel during its war with Hamas,” says Democratic Majority for Israel CEO Mark Mellman in a statement.

“As Vice President, he’ll advance a MAGA agenda, whose north star is sowing division and hatred. He promoted the ‘Great Replacement Theory’ – the antisemitic conspiracy that inspired the Tree of Life murderer – and calls one of the most odious members of Congress, Marjorie Taylor Greene, a ‘friend,'” Mellman adds.

“Despite some of his statements on Israel, he abandoned our ally after the October 7th terrorist attacks in opposing the emergency aid package for Israel and Ukraine. He was one of just 15 Republican senators to vote against the aid in April,” the DMFI chief notes.

Vance “embodies why the vast majority of Jewish Americans continue to support Democrats and reject Republican extremism,” Jewish Democratic Council of America chief of staff Sam Crystal says in a separate statement.

“Vance has said it is ‘right‘ for American Jews to be ‘ashamed’ of voting for President Biden, defended Trump after dining with antisemitic white supremacist Nick Fuentes,” says a statement from J Street.

“He has implied that Palestinian refugees are ‘terrorist sympathizers’ and described providing humanitarian aid to Palestinian citizens as ‘stupid,'” J Street adds.

Watchdog files High Court petition requesting IDF immediately draft 63,000 ultra-Orthodox men

Protest against the drafting of ultra-Orthodox Jews to the Israeli army, in Jerusalem, June 2, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The Movement for Quality Government in Israel files a petition to the High Court of Justice requesting that it order the government and the IDF to immediately draft 63,000 ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students into military service, accusing the IDF of ignoring the court’s ruling.

“The IDF is crassly trampling on the principle of equality and the rule of law, while brazenly ignoring repeated High Court rulings,” says Movement for Quality Government chairman Eliad Shraga.

The High Court of Justice ruled in June that the government is obligated to conscript ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students into military service since all legal frameworks for exempting them have expired. Although the court did not stipulate how and in what timeframe Haredi yeshiva students should be drafted, the attorney general instructed the government to “act immediately” to begin the process of drafting some 4,800 students for the 2024 enlistment year.

The army and defense ministry have been engaged in discussions on how to implement the ruling but have yet to issue conscription orders to any yeshiva students eligible for the draft.

The new petition emphasizes the IDF’s stated need for increased manpower due to the current war and the losses it has sustained, and calls on the court to reject putative plans to selectively draft only some yeshiva students who fit certain criteria, arguing that this would constitute an illegal form of selective enforcement of the law.

The petition also alleges that the army has held secret meetings with rabbinic leaders of the community to formulate a conscription plan to implement the selective enforcement model, so that yeshiva students who work, in violation of the terms of the previous military service exemptions, or are married with children, or have smartphones, will be drafted.

The National Insurance Institute confirmed earlier this month that the army had sought information on which yeshiva students eligible for the draft had received salaries while supposedly studying, ostensibly to target them for conscription.

Last week, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced that the military will begin the process of drafting ultra-Orthodox men starting in August, “in accordance with the [IDF’s] absorption and screening capabilities, and after a significant process of refining the existing data regarding potential recruits is carried out.”

UK’s Royal Academy apologizes for teens’ artworks on Gaza war with swastika, genocide claim

A leading British art institution has apologized for displaying works by young artists that appear to equate Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza to Nazism, the UK’s Jewish news reports.

One picture was a drawing of women in headscarves, one of them screaming, with a swastika above them.

The 16-year-old artist said he was “inspired by the recent conflict in Gaza” and draws “many parallels with the Nazi’s [sic] and Chinese oppression.”

Another image from the exhibition was a photo of an individual holding a sign saying: “Jews say stop genocide on Palestinians: Not in our name.” Israel has strenuously denied all accusations of genocide.

The artworks were part of an annual exhibition of pieces by British children aged four to 19.

In a statement to the Jewish News, the Royal Academy says that it was aware of concerns about the artworks and had received guidance on the matter.

“We have made the decision to remove these two artworks from display. We apologise for any hurt and distress this has caused to our young artists and to our visitors,” the Royal Academy says in a statement to the UK’s Jewish News.

“We will learn from this experience and we are reviewing our processes, so we can continue to celebrate the creativity of young artists in a safe and responsible way,” the statement says.

However, the newspaper says the Royal Academy is continuing to display in a separate exhibition a piece by member Michael Sandle, entitled “THE MASS SLAUGHTER OF DEFENCELESS WOMEN & CHILDREN IS NOT HOW YOU DERADICALISE GAZA,” depicting a pilot in an Israeli plane. The drawing is also for sale via the academy, with a price tag of £17,000 (approximately $22,000).

The worst thing isn’t that a child learnt to
compare Jews to Nazis because of his parents or others around him.

It’s that @royalacademy judges awarded this with a place in their Summer Show, despite it breaching the internationally adopted definition of antisemitism. pic.twitter.com/ClMuJirVWr

— Alex Hearn (@hearnimator) July 15, 2024

After Katz nixes FM visit, Norway says still seeking dialogue and contact with Israel

Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide talks to media as he arrives to attend an informal meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs at Czernin Palace in Prague, Czech Republic on May 31, 2024. (Michal Cizek / AFP)

After Foreign Minister Israel Katz revealed that he rejected multiple requests from his Norwegian counterpart to visit Israel, Oslo says that “Norway seeks dialogue and engagement and maintains ongoing contact with Israel on multiple levels.”

“In the context of an upcoming visit to the region, Foreign Minister [Espen Barth] Eide, had proposed a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Katz,” says Eide’s spokeswoman Mariken Bruusgaard Harbitz. “We understand that Minister Katz is not ready for this meeting now.”

“We will continue to engage other interlocutors in both Israel and Palestine, as all perspectives on the current dramatic situation should be heard.”

Katz pointed to Norway’s recognition of a Palestinian state, failure to list Hamas as a terrorist organization, and backing of the case against Israel at The Hague for his refusal to let Eide into the country on an official visit.

Far-right minister says party will topple government if IDF withdraws from Gaza security corridors

Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock attends a protest of families of Israeli soldiers killed in the Gaza Strip calling for the war to continue, outside the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, May 5, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock threatens to bring down the government if the IDF withdraws from two important security corridors in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking during a visit to the Kerem Shalom crossing on the Gaza border, the far-right minister says that her Religious Zionism party is “pressuring within the government, in the strongest way a party can pressure.”

“We explicitly said that if the IDF leaves the Netzarim Corridor and the Philadelphi Corridor… we will not be in the government, we are dismantling the government,” she says.

On Friday, Netanyahu’s office rejected a Reuters report that Israel is considering the option of withdrawing from the Gaza-Egypt border as part of a potential ceasefire deal, calling it “complete fake news.”

In recent remarks, the prime minister laid down what he said were nonnegotiable terms for a hostage and ceasefire deal with Hamas, one of which concerns maintaining Israeli control of the the Philadelphi Corridor, which runs along the Egypt-Gaza border. He has also seemed to indicate that the IDF will 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.

However, the Netzarim and Philadelphi corridors are not specified as locations where Israeli troops will be allowed to remain, according to the text of the proposed deal recently published in full by The Times of Israel.

In fact, the document calls for the “withdrawal of Israeli forces eastwards away from densely populated areas along the borders in all areas of the Gaza Strip including Gaza valley (Netzarim axis and Kuwait roundabout)…”

CIA head says Hamas’s Sinwar under growing pressure from terror commanders to end war – report

Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas in Gaza, greets his supporters during a meeting with leaders of Palestinian factions at his office in Gaza City, April 13, 2022. (AP Photo/ Adel Hana/ File)

CIA director Bill Burns told a closed-door conference over the weekend that the agency assesses Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is under increasing pressure from the terror group’s commanders to accept a hostage-ceasefire deal, CNN reports.

The report is based on the account of an individual who was present at the discussion at the annual Allen & Company summer retreat in Sun Valley on Saturday.

The CIA declines to comment, CNN says.

Burns is playing a key role in the ongoing efforts to reach a potential hostage-ceasefire deal.

CIA Director William Burns testifies during a US Senate hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 11, 2024. (Mandel Ngan/AFP)

Hostage families to release images of 5 female troops from their first days held in Gaza

A still from footage showing the capture and abduction of Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy at the Nahal Oz base on October 7, 2023. (The Hostages Families Forum)

The families of five surveillance soldiers held hostage in Gaza say they will release images from the women’s first days in Gaza at 7 p.m.

The images will apparently show Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, and Naama Levy. All five are still held by Hamas in the Strip.

According to Channel 12 news, a few months ago the families received the photos of their daughters being held in a home in Gaza, dressed in clothing that did not belong to them.

The outlet says the images were initially shown to the families by the IDF spokesperson and were among materials uncovered by troops.

“As the return of their daughters and other hostages seems closer than ever, the families will demand an immediate meeting with the prime minister,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum says in a statement.

“They will plead with him to sign the deal before his trip to Congress,” the forum says. Netanyahu is set to head to the US early Monday ahead of his Wednesday address at the Capitol.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum released harrowing footage in May showing the abduction of the five female soldiers from the Nahal Oz base by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, describing the video as a “damning testament to the nation’s failure to bring home the hostages.”

The video was taken by body cameras worn by Hamas terrorists that day as they attacked the base near the Gaza border.

US, Egyptian, and Qatari mediators have been working to reach a deal between Israel and Hamas that would see the release of the hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian security prisoners and a ceasefire in the ongoing war, which began on October 7 when Hamas led a devastating attack that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 abducted to Gaza.

Clockwise, from top left: Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev, Naama Levy, Agam Berger and Liri Albag, who were taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)

3 rockets fired from Gaza toward Sderot, nearby towns

Three rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at Sderot and nearby towns.

According to local authorities, two struck open areas, and the third was intercepted.

There are no reports of damage or injuries.

3 Israelis arrested for allegedly carrying out tasks for Iran against Israeli national security

Illustrative: A cybersecurity expert talks about Iran hacking techniques, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, September 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

The Shin Bet announces that three Israeli citizens were arrested over the past two weeks on suspicion of carrying out actions in the sphere of national security
in Israel, under the direction of Iranian intelligence agents.

According to the investigation, one of the suspects — Elimelech Stern, a 21-year-old resident of Beit Shemesh — was in contact through the Telegram application with a profile named “ANNA ELENA.”

It was via this profile that Stern was asked to carry out various tasks, including hanging signs in Tel Aviv, hiding money in various places in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, delivering packages to the doorsteps of Israeli civilians containing a severed head of an animal or a doll next to a knife and a threatening message, setting fire to a forest and more.

Investigators said that Stern agreed to carry out the activities as asked, with the exception of committing murder and setting a forest fire.

The Shin Bet says Stern was paid in cryptocurrency, and that he recruited two other Israelis to help him.

“The use of the method of contacting Israeli citizens through social networks, under the false representation of the identity of the person making the request, is a well-known method of operation of the Iranian intelligence agencies,” the Shin Bet says in the statement.

A screen grab of a conversation said to be between an Israeli man and Iranian intelligence (Shin Bet)

Last year, two Israelis were cleared of charges that they spied for Iran, while a third was convicted on a related charge, wrapping up a case that began with serious espionage accusations against five nationals with either personal or family ties to the Islamic Republic.

Sirens warn of rocket fire at Gaza border towns

Sirens sound in a number of communities close to the Gaza border, warning of incoming rocket fire.

Among the localities in which the alerts are heard is Sderot — the first time in some two weeks that sirens have been heard there.

Police reopen roads to Eilat after brief closure; reports of shooting false

Police say that their investigation into a possible security event in Eilat has been completed and all roads to the southern city are now open.

A police statement also notes that reports of a shooting incident in Eilat are erroneous, and reminds the public “not to spread false messages that cause panic.”

Pentagon: Gaza aid pier still in Ashdod due to weather conditions over weekend

US Army soldiers gesture as trucks loaded with humanitarian aid arrive at the US-built floating pier Trident before reaching the beach on the coast of the Gaza Strip, June 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The Pentagon says that the US-built aid pier is still in Ashdod Port, as conditions over the weekend kept it from being re-anchored off the coast of Gaza.

“No matter what,” says Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh, “the aid that is in Cyprus or on our ships right now will get into the people of Gaza in some way, via either the temporary pier and that being re-anchored or through Ashdod in some way.”

She emphasizes that the pier was always meant to be temporary, and will be shut down at some point for good.

Singh says almost 20 million pounds of aid have reached Gaza through the floating pier, which she calls “a success.”

She stresses that the only consideration about reconnecting the pier is environmental conditions and not any diplomatic disagreement with Israel.

Third stage of war focuses on assassinating Hamas leaders, inciting Gazans against terror group — Arab report

Palestinians inspect the damage at a site hit by an Israeli operation targeting Hamas's shadowy military commander Muhammad Deif in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

Israel has entered into a third stage in its war against Hamas in Gaza, focusing on airstrikes targeting top terror leaders based on intelligence information, according to an Arab media report.

An anonymous source cited by the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat news outlet says the IDF has its sights set on “not only well-known leaders, but also elements who participated in the October 7 attack, others involved in clashes, launching rockets and shells, and others, and even elements who pay the salaries of activists from Hamas, Qassam, Islamic Jihad, and other factions.”

The source adds that recent evacuation orders issued by the IDF indicate “a desire to incite the residents of Gaza against Hamas,” without giving details.

The report comes after the IDF targeted Muhammad Deif, the elusive commander of Hamas’s military wing, and Rafa’a Salameh, another top commander in the terror group, in an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip over the weekend. Salameh has been confirmed dead, while Deif’s fate is still unclear.

US officials have reportedly told their Israeli counterparts that the Biden administration supports limited operations that prioritize “high-value” Hamas targets over large-scale offensives.

US intelligence places Sinwar hiding in tunnels under Khan Younis — report

Hamas's Gaza Strip leader Yahya Sinwar in a tunnel in southern Gaza's Khan Younis, October 10, 2023 (IDF Spokesman)

US intelligence officials believe Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is hiding in underground tunnels in the Khan Younis area, CNN reports.

According to an anonymous source cited by CNN, CIA Director Bill Burns also told a closed-door meeting over the weekend that the Hamas leader is coming under increasing pressure from commanders in the terror group’s military wing to accept a hostage-ceasefire deal and end the ongoing war in Gaza.

The CIA declines to comment on the report.

In May, two officials told The Times of Israel that recent intelligence assessments had placed Sinwar under the Khan Younis area, some five miles north of Rafah.

Israel has made eliminating Sinwar a key element of its goal to destroy Hamas.

In February, the IDF released footage of what it said was Sinwar walking through a tunnel with several family members, the first time he was apparently spotted since going into hiding before the devastating October 7 onslaught he’s accused of orchestrating in southern Israel, triggering the ongoing war in Gaza.

Jacob Magid contributed to this report. 

Police block roads leading into Eilat to investigate possible security incident

Illustrative: A view of the resort city of Eilat and its hotel strip. (Oleg Zaslavsky/Shutterstock.com)

Police and security forces have blocked the main roads leading into the southern city of Eilat as they investigate a possible security incident.

In a statement, police advise the public to avoid the area until further notice.

Jewish Republican leads prayer for hostages at first day of RNC

Leora Levy of Connecticut speaks during the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 15, 2024. (Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)

MILWAUKEE (JTA) —Leora Levy, a Jewish Republican from Connecticut, leads a prayer at the first day of this year’s Republican Party convention.

Her comments include one of the rare mentions of Israel on the convention’s first day, as she leads a hushed and somber crowd in praying for the release of hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7.

“O Lord our God, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem, your eternal city, and for all the children of Abraham, we remember and pray for freedom for the hostages kidnapped and held so cruelly against their will,” Levy says. “Lord, please keep them in your sight and hasten the day of their freedom.”

In prayer at RNC a former US Senate candidate Leora Levy prays for Israel, fails to mention Jesus once.

“Bless Jerusalem, children of Abraham, and the hostages [of Israel].”

Follow: @AFpost pic.twitter.com/ahV3bJF6v8

— AF Post (@AFpost) July 15, 2024

Levy, who is on the national leadership of the Republican Jewish Coalition and is a former candidate for Senate, also uses a traditional Jewish phrase to mourn a retired fireman who was killed during an assassination attempt against Trump on Saturday.

“We pray for Corey Comperatore and his family,” she says. “May his memory always be a blessing.”

Apart from Trump campaign signs in Hebrew distributed by the RJC, Israel and Jews didn’t make many appearances at the conference yesterday. The day was instead dedicated to the economy, the revelation of Trump’s vice presidential pick JD Vance and the triumphant arrival of Trump, who appeared to thunderous applause with a bandage on the ear grazed by a bullet during the assassination attempt.

UTJ chair: Mob attack on IDF officers in Bnei Brak ‘doesn’t represent the Haredi public’

United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf condemns Monday evening’s attack on two senior IDF officers in the Haredi-majority city of Bnei Brak and insists that the perpetrators “do not represent the ultra-Orthodox public and the city’s residents.”

The officers, who were in in the majority-Haredi city for a meeting over the establishment of a Haredi brigade in the army, were set upon by dozens of ultra-Orthodox rioters who shouted “murderer” and other epithets while surrounding their car and throwing bottles and other objects.

“There is no place for acts of violence that are completely contrary to our holy Torah,” Goldknopf tweets, quoting the proverb: “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.”

Several weeks ago, Goldknopf was himself attacked in Jerusalem by Haredi protesters angry about the potential conscription of yeshiva students into the military.

Police protect the car of Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf during a demonstration against the conscription of Haredi yeshiva students to the military, in Jerusalem’s Mea Shearim neighborhood on June 30, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Despite footage showing demonstrators throwing stones at his car, striking the vehicle and hurling insults as he passed by, Goldknopf told The Times of Israel that he didn’t intend to file a police complaint, adding that the attackers “don’t represent the Haredi public or the Jerusalem Faction” — an extremist group.

Asked at the time by a Radio Kol Chai reporter if he was worried by the violence, Goldknopf had a different answer from his statement today. “Not at all,” he said. “Everyone can go their own way. If they think that is the correct path, let them continue.”

‘A real Jew does not call an IDF officer a murderer’: Politicians condemn last night’s Haredi mob attack

Screen capture from a video on social media showing an attack on two senior IDF officers by Haredi rioters in Bnei Brak, July 15, 2024. (Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Politicians from both the coalition and opposition condemn last night’s mob attack on two senior Israel Defense Forces officers in Bnei Brak, declaring that such actions do not represent Jewish or Israeli values.

The officers, who were in the majority-Haredi city for a meeting over the establishment of a Haredi brigade in the army, were set upon by dozens of ultra-Orthodox rioters who surrounded their car and shouted “murderer” and other epithets.

“A real Jew does not call an IDF officer a murderer,” tweets Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman, a former defense minister.

The attack “does not represent even a fraction of the ultra-Orthodox public” and efforts to “establish new frameworks adapted to the lifestyle of the ultra-Orthodox public” in order to increase their enlistment must be continued, says Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Attacking IDF officers is “not Jewish, not Israeli and does not represent the majority of the ultra-Orthodox public,” declares ex-war cabinet minister and National Unity chairman Benny Gantz, a former IDF chief of staff.

“The extremist discourse that is taking over Israeli society is dangerous and deserves a sharp and clear condemnation from the entire leadership — but more importantly, a root canal. It’s time to turn off the poison machines, before disaster strikes,” he says.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calls the IDF officers the “holy of holies of Israeli society” and pledges that the “police will work to locate the offenders and bring them to justice.”

Germany bans far-right magazine, accusing it of spreading hatred against Jews and immigrants

Germany’s top security official bans a far-right magazine, accusing it of stirring up hatred against Jews, people with immigrant roots and parliamentary democracy.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser bans Compact magazine and the company that publishes it, Compact-Magazin GmbH, as well as a film production company, Conspect Film. Police raided properties and apartments in four German regions linked to the organizations, their management and shareholders, her ministry says.

Faeser describes Compact as “a central mouthpiece of the right-wing extremist scene.” She says in a statement that “this magazine agitates in an unspeakable way against Jews, against people with a history of migration and against our parliamentary democracy.”

“Our signal is clear: We will not allow who belongs in Germany and who doesn’t to be defined by ethnicity,” Faeser adds.

Compact is run by far-right figure Jürgen Elsässer and produces the monthly magazine of the same name, which has a circulation of about 40,000, as well as an online video channel, Compact TV. It also runs an online shop selling books, CDs, DVDs and other merchandise.

Compact has been published since 2010. In its annual report for 2023, Germany’s domestic intelligence agency said that it “regularly disseminates… antisemitic, anti-minority, historically revisionist and conspiracy theory content.”

It said a main feature is agitation against parliamentary democracy in general and the German government in particular, and quoted Elsässer as saying on Compact’s home page last year that “we want to topple this regime.”

The strength of the far right has caused increasing concern in Germany in recent months.

Katz says he nixed Norway FM’s request to visit, over Palestinian state recognition, refusal to declare Hamas a terror group

Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide talks to media as he arrives to attend an informal meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs at Czernin Palace in Prague, Czech Republic on May 31, 2024. (Michal Cizek / AFP)

Foreign Minister Israel Katz says he turned down Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide’s request to visit Israel over Oslo’s recognition of a Palestinian state, refusal to recognize Hamas as a terror organization, and support for South Africa’s case against Israel in The Hague.

According to Katz, Eide has asked several times since May, when Norway, Spain, and Ireland coordinated recognition of a Palestinian state.

He finally approached Katz at last week’s NATO summit in Washington, and told Katz, “We have a lot to discuss.”

“You’ve also done a lot to us,” responded Katz, according to his office.

Eide can’t visit the Palestinian Authority either until Israel consents.

University students form human chain in march to Prime Minister’s Office for hostage deal

As part of a demonstration for a hostage deal, Hebrew University students in a human chain hold up a banner outside the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem which reads: 'Students demand a hostage deal!' on July 16, 2024. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)

Dozens of Hebrew University students are demanding a hostage deal in a protest outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.

The students formed a human chain and marched from the entrance of the university’s Givat Ram campus to Kaplan Street.

Shay Dickmann, the cousin of Hamas-held hostage Carmel Gat, addresses the crowd before they set out.

“Now there is a chance that all the hostages will once again be with us. There is a deal on the table, a deal that our own government presented,” she said.

Sasha Ariev, the sister of Hamas captive Karina Ariev, also joins the demonstration.

“We have come to the closest point we’ve ever been at [to a deal],” she says while urging the government to sign off on a deal.

Student demonstrations are also being held in Tel Aviv and Haifa.

“The semester ended, we are supposed to be out for summer vacation but for the hostages there is no freedom, they’re not out for summer vacation, they are still in Gaza,” says Ella Lotan, a Hebrew University student and one of the demonstration organizers.

According to Lotan, students at Tel Aviv University blocked the entrance to their campus this morning.

2 senior IDF officers attacked in Bnei Brak by Haredi rioters, who call them ‘murderers’

Screen capture from a video on social media showing an attack on two senior IDF officers by Haredi rioters in Bnei Brak, July 15, 2024. (Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Dozens of ultra-Orthodox rioters attacked two senior Israel Defense Forces officers in Bnei Brak last night, Hebrew media reports.

Maj. Gen. David Zini, head of the Training Command and General Staff Corps, and Brig. Gen. Shay Tayeb, head of the Personnel Directorate’s Planning and Personnel Management Division, were in the majority-Haredi city for a meeting over the establishment of a Haredi brigade in the army amid discussions over the formulation of a controversial draft exemption law for the ultra-Orthodox community.

The officers held discussions in the Tel Aviv suburb with Rabbi David Leybel, a proponent of programs that support members of the ultra-Orthodox community entering the workforce.

According to the Walla news site, the rioters surrounded the two officers as they left the meeting.

The crowd shouted derogatory statement such as “murderer” at the officers and would not let them leave.

The Kan public broadcaster says bottles and other objects were thrown at the officers’ vehicle.

The outlet says the two were eventually escorted from the area by police.

בני ברק: מפקד פיקוד ההכשרות בצה"ל, אלוף דוד זיני, ורח"ט תומכ"א תא"ל שי טייב, הותקפו אמש על ידי עשרות חרדים קיצונים שחסמו את רכבם, זרקו עליהם בקבוקים וקראו לעברם "רוצח". האירוע התרחש בסיום פגישה שהשניים קיימו עם הרב דוד לייבל שפועל בימים האחרונים להקמת החטיבה החרדית בצה"ל

בכירי… pic.twitter.com/hTnSwdXcZE

— איתי בלומנטל ???????? Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) July 16, 2024

In apparent swipe over Haredi draft exemption bill, Edelstein invites PM to committee discussions

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, attends a Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee meeting alongside Likud MK Yuli Edelstein at the Knesset on June 13, 2023. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein appears to swipe at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ultra-Orthodox allies over the contentious Haredi draft exemption bill.

“There is only one place where a conscription law is drafted, and that is in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee,” Edelstein writes on X. “We start working on the wording of the sections on Wednesday, everyone is invited — from citizens to the prime minister.”

The statement comes as the Kan public broadcaster reports that ministers were told by Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs at the most recent cabinet meeting that “we achieved a significant breakthrough on the way to [the bill’s] approval.”

According to the Walla news site, Netanyahu has been holding talks on the matter in recent days with Haredi leaders.

Netanyahu has warned Edelstein that his promise to advance the bill only “with broad agreement” puts the government at risk of falling.

Police say Gazan man stabbed officer during West Bank overnight raid, was shot dead

Police say a Gazan man stabbed an officer near the West Bank city of Ramallah overnight and was shot dead.

According to police, the Palestinian alleged assailant ran toward the troops with a knife, stabbing a Border Police officer and lightly wounding him.

Troops on the scene shot the 19-year-old attacker dead.

The troops were carrying out an operation in Al-Bireh alongside the Shin Bet and Israel Defense Forces, the statement says.

No details are given on the reason the Gazan man was in the West Bank.

IDF: Targets hit in Gaza airstrikes include sniper positions, observation posts, booby-trapped buildings

Troops operating in the Gaza Strip in an undated photo released by the military on July 16, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

More than 40 targets in the Gaza Strip were struck by fighter jets and drones over the past day, as part of support for ground forces, the IDF says.

According to the military, the targets included sniper positions, observation posts, buildings used by terror groups, booby-trapped buildings, and other infrastructure.

The strikes come as troops continue to operate in southern Gaza’s Rafah, where the IDF says it located several tunnels and killed gunmen over the past day.

Troops are also operating in the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, carrying out raids against Hamas infrastructure, the IDF adds.

PM told IDF to stop recording discussions at military HQ in first days of war – report

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a security cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv, October 7, 2023. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered that security consultation and cabinet discussions held in the underground operations center of military headquarters in the first days of the war were not recorded, Haaretz reports.

The outlet says the Israel Defense Forces complied with the premier’s directive to stop the automatic recording equipment in the days following October 7.

The report says the order from the Prime Minister’s Office was received by the office of Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, which in turn transferred the directive to the Operations Directorate of the military.

Haaretz says that Netanyahu preferred to hold discussions in his own office at the defense headquarters in Tel Aviv so that he was not reliant on military recordings.

In response, the PMO tells Haaretz that “in accordance with the provisions of the regulations for the work of the government, all government meetings and ministerial committees have recordings and transcriptions made by the Prime Minister’s Office stenographers only.”

Last week, two other Hebrew media outlets suggested Netanyahu has been attempting to leave his conversations regarding the management of the war in Gaza untraceable.

According to the Ynet news site, senior figures in the security establishment fear that efforts are being made to edit the minutes of wartime discussions held with Netanyahu after discovering discrepancies between transcripts of the meetings and what the figures had heard in real time.

Officials from the Prime Minister’s Office reportedly approached Netanyahu’s former military secretary, Maj. Gen. Avi Gil, to warn him that people from the premier’s inner circle were attempting to tinker with the meeting records. The report said one of the meetings, whose records were tampered with, dealt with “sensitive preparations for a significant political event,” but it did not elaborate further.

Gil later sent a letter to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara expressing his concerns on the matter.

Senior political sources told Ynet they could not be assured that the audio was recorded for meetings held at Netanyahu’s offices in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, the Kan public broadcaster reported that Netanyahu has been holding sensitive discussions on the war via phone calls on the WhatsApp app, which does not allow conversations to be recorded.

Hostages’ relatives block Tel Aviv highway: ‘Whoever abandoned them, must return them’

Hostage families and other protesters block the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv on July 16, 2024 (Aviv Atlas/Pro-democracy protest groups)

Demonstrators demanding the return of hostages block the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv, demanding a deal to secure their return.

The protesters, many of them relatives of those held in Gaza, hold a banner depicting the faces of the hostages with the statement, “whoever abandoned them, must return them.”

The protesters, blocking the road at the Ha’Shalom Interchange on the southbound highway, shout “stop the world, our children and parents are there.”

The protest comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with the families of the IDF surveillance soldiers killed on the Nahal Oz military base during the October 7 Hamas assault.

Fighter jets hit Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon overnight, IDF says

Overnight, Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon’s Houla, Kafr Kila, and Bani Haiyyan, the IDF says.

Troops also shelled areas near Blida, Deir Mismas, and Rmeish with artillery to “remove threats,” the military adds.

Victims lightly wounded in West Bank shooting are man and 2 teens, says Magen David Adom

Vehicle damaged in a shooting attack near the West Bank town of Bayt Lid, July 16, 2024 (Magen David Adom)

The Magen David Adom emergency service says the three wounded in a shooting attack near the West Bank town of Bayt Lid are a man and two teens.

The 32-year-old man, 16-year-old boy and 15-year-old boy were hurt by glass shards after their vehicle came under fire.

The military says troops are searching for the assailants.

Bayt Lid is located near the settlement of Shavei Shomron.

Three lightly wounded in suspected shooting attack on vehicle in West Bank

Three Israelis are lightly wounded in a suspected shooting attack near the West Bank town of Bayt Lid, authorities say.

The victims were hurt by glass shards after their vehicle came under fire, a military source says.

IDF troops are searching for the assailants.

Bayt Lid is located near the settlement of Shavei Shomron.

Trump appears at Republican National Convention with bandage on his ear

Republican US presidential candidate former president Donald Trump, left, and Republican vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance appear during the Republican National Convention, July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Republican US presidential nominee Donald Trump makes his first public appearance at the party’s convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin since a weekend assassination attempt.

Trump has a large bandage on his right ear where he was shot on Saturday at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Top Israeli, US officials meet at White House, after weeks’ delay due to Netanyahu criticism

Top US and Israeli officials held a meeting at the White House earlier today focused on combating the threats posed by Iran, according to a US readout.

It was the latest gathering of the US-Israel Strategic Consultative Group. It was supposed to meet last month, but the US postponed the sitdown after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly accused the Biden administration of withholding weapons from Israel.

The US team was headed by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and the Israeli team was headed by National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer. They were joined by senior representatives from their respective foreign policy, defense and intelligence agencies.

Hanegbi and Dermer held a smaller meeting just with Blinken earlier today as well.

During the Strategic Consultative Group, “Sullivan affirmed President [Joe] Biden’s ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, including in the face of ongoing and reckless attacks against Israel by Lebanese Hezbollah. He emphasized that Israel has every right to defend itself against these attacks, and affirmed US support for a diplomatic resolution that permits Israeli and Lebanese families to safely and securely return to their homes,” the White House readout says.

“They also discussed developments with respect to Iran’s nuclear program, and discussed mutual coordination on a series of measures to ensure that Iran can never acquire a nuclear weapon,” the readout continues.

The sides discussed ongoing efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release deal, with the Israeli side reaffirming its support for the proposal laid out by Biden in May.

Netanyahu said Saturday that he hasn’t moved a “millimeter” away from the Biden-backed Israeli proposal.

However, he listed a series of new demands that appeared to go further than what was written in the text of the proposal obtained by The Times of Israel.

Vance: I said some bad things about Donald Trump 10 years ago; I was wrong

Republican Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance speaks as Republican US presidential candidate former president Donald Trump listens at a campaign rally at Wright Bros. Aero Inc. at Dayton International Airport, November 7, 2022, in Vandalia, Ohio. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

Donald Trump’s newly-announced vice presidential candidate JD Vance acknowledges his strongly worded past attacks against Trump, reiterating that he had been “wrong.”

Critics have pointed to numerous awkward remarks one-time “Never Trump guy” Vance has made in the past, including calling the billionaire an “idiot,” “noxious” and “reprehensible,” and suggesting he was “America’s Hitler.”

“I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical asshole like Nixon who wouldn’t be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he’s America’s Hitler,” Vance wrote privately to an associate on Facebook in 2016.

Now, Vance tells Fox News: “I said some bad things about Donald Trump ten years ago, but I think it’s actually important to be able again to admit that you’re wrong.”

This isn’t the first time the Ohio senator has recanted his former stance.

“Like a lot of people, I criticized Trump back in 2016,” Vance said in 2021. “And I ask folks not to judge me based on what I said in 2016, because I’ve been very open that I did say those critical things and I regret them, and I regret being wrong about the guy.”

Biden commits to second debate with Trump in September

US President Joe Biden pledges to meet Donald Trump for another presidential debate in September, after he was heavily criticized for his performance in their previous encounter last month.

“I’m going to debate him when we agreed to debate… in September,” Biden tells NBC in an interview, adding that he doesn’t “plan on having another performance on that level.”

Saudi Arabia wants to fully recognize Israel in exchange for arms, nuclear facility — Biden

US President Joe Biden says Saudi Arabia wants to normalize relations with Israel in exchange for security guarantees from the United States.

“I got a call from the Saudis — they want to fully recognize Israel,” Biden says in an interview on “360 with Speedy.”

Riyadh has not publicly gone this far, and its officials have reiterated that their country will not normalize relations with Israel unless Jerusalem agrees to establish a pathway to a future Palestinian state — a condition Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has flatly rejected.

Biden doesn’t mention the Palestinian condition, and instead asserts that what Saudi Arabia wants in exchange for normalizing relations with Israel is a guarantee that the US will provide them weapons “if they’re attacked by other Arab nations — one just around the corner.” He appears to be referring to Riyadh’s Mideast rival Iran, which is not an Arab country.

The US president says Washington would also establish a civilian nuclear facility in Saudi Arabia, which the US army would operate “so they can move away from fossil fuels.”

This appears to be the most detail any US official has publicly given regarding the terms of the defense guarantees sought by Saudi Arabia, particularly the nuclear component.

“That’s a big game changer in the whole region,” Biden says.

A Democratic lawmaker and a senior Republican Senate aide told The Times of Israel last week, though, that the window has closed for the Biden administration to broker a normalization deal before the November presidential election, because there is not enough time left for the Senate to hold the hearings necessary to approve the defense guarantees for Saudi Arabia.

US authorities said concerned about ‘retaliatory acts of violence’ after Trump rally shooting

The US Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation remain “concerned about the potential for follow-on or retaliatory acts of violence” following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, CBS News reports, citing a bulletin seen by the network.

The report adds that “some online communities have threatened, encouraged, or referenced acts of violence in response” to the Saturday shooting at Trump’s rally.

Biden: No one’s done more for Palestinians than me, but Hamas are bunch of thugs

US President Joe Biden claims he’s done more for the Palestinians than anyone else.

“I’m the guy that did more for the Palestinian community than anybody,” he says in an interview on “360 with Speedy,” highlighting his efforts to get humanitarian aid into Gaza through Egypt.

“I’m the guy that opened up all the assets… I got the Egyptians to open the border to let goods, medicine and food through,” Biden says. “I’m the guy that’s been able to pull together the Arab states who agreed to help the Palestinians with food and shelter.”

“I have been very supportive of the Palestinians, but Hamas — they’re a bunch of thugs,” says the president of the terror group, which committed the October 7 onslaught that started the still-ongoing war in Gaza.

“I was over there eight days after the massacre. I saw photos of mothers and daughters being tied in a rope, kerosene poured on their head and then burned to death. Nothing’s happened like that since the Holocaust. It’s just not appropriate,” he adds.

Asked why Arab and Muslim Americans would continue backing him amid his support for Israel, Biden responds, “[for the] same reason why Arab Americans have agreed to support me [until now]. Becuase it’s the best way to keep peace, the best way to put things together.”

Biden touts his support for a two-state solution and notes his strong working relationships with Arab leaders, including Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Jordan’s King Abdullah.

“I’ve been able to work with the Arab countries very well. I don’t have a prejudice bone in my body. The Arabs are good people. They need help now,” Biden says.

Biden stands by identification as a Zionist as Israel-Hamas war drags on

US President Joe Biden walks over to speak with reporters at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, July 15, 2024, as he heads to Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

US President Joe Biden says he identifies as a Zionist — a distinction he hasn’t publicly highlighted since February as the Israel-Hamas war drags on.

“You don’t have to be a Jew to be a Zionist, and a Zionist is about whether or not Israel is a safe haven for Jews because of their history of how they’ve been persecuted,” Biden says in an interview with Complex Networks’ Speedy Morman on “360 with Speedy.”

“If there weren’t an Israel, every Jew in the world would be at risk. There’s a need for it to be strong, and there’s a need… after World War II… for Jews to have a place that was their own,” Biden says.

Biden has voiced these beliefs before, but he indicates that he has not moved away from them amid recurring spats with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government before and after the outbreak of the war.

Asked if he identifies as a Zionist, Biden responds that he does, but then laments that the term is often misinterpreted.

“Now, you’ll be able to make a lot of that because different people don’t know what a Zionist is,” he says, before asking the interviewer whether he even knows what a Zionist is. Morman smirks and declines to answer.

Biden stresses that he continues to supply Israel with defensive weapons while denying Jerusalem 2,000-lb (900-kg) bombs that he fears would be used in civilian areas.

4 days after mixup, US unsanctions innocent Israeli, blacklists similarly-named activist

Right-wing activists from the Tzav 9 movement block the road to prevent humanitarian aid from reaching the Gaza Strip, April 25, 2024. (Tzav 9)

Four days after wrongly sanctioning an Israeli man after confusing him with a similarly-named right-wing activist, the US Treasury finally fixes the error and puts the correct individual on its blacklist.

On Thursday, Washington issued its fifth batch of sanctions against Israeli extremists and illegal outposts, targeting three individuals and five entities.

They included the co-heads of the already-designated Tzav 9 group, Reut Ben Haim and Shlomo Sarid. Their group has led attacks on humanitarian aid convoys en route to Gaza in Israel and the West Bank, charging that no aid should reach the Strip as long as hostages are being held there.

Shortly after the US announcement, it was revealed that the Treasury Department had confused Sarid with an uninvolved Israeli named Aviad Shlomo Sarid, listing the latter’s ID number and birthdate, instead of the information of the Sarid who heads Tzav 9.

Aviad Shlomo Sarid, who lives in the West Bank’s Revava, has since had his bank account and credit card blocked, even though his identity appeared on the blacklist in error.

Now, the Treasury has replaced him on the list with the correct personal information of the Tzav 9 co-head, whose full name is Shlomo Yehezkel Hai Sarid.

Commenting to the Israel Hayom daily, Sarid doubles down on his activism, saying he and his group “will continue to do everything to change the policy of aiding Hamas, which harms our soldiers, until all hostages are returned.”

He says Tzav 9 now has a new objective, “fighting the draconian sanctions set by the American administration against legitimate protest activists in an independent, seemingly democratic ally, without basis, advance notice or an appeal option.” He calls on the Israeli government to “wake up and defend its citizens.”

US Secret Service head says she won’t resign after ‘unacceptable’ Trump rally shooting

US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle speaks during a Republican National Convention security news conference, June 6, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle says the shooting that injured Donald Trump at a rally is “unacceptable,” and that she will not resign her post.

“I am the director of the Secret Service, and I need to make sure that we are performing a review and that we are giving resources to our personnel as necessary,” Cheatle tells ABC News.

Biden tells NBC his mental fitness is ‘pretty damn good’

Joe Biden defends his decision to stay in the US presidential race despite concerns about his age, saying in an interview with NBC that his mental sharpness is “pretty damn good.”

“I’m old,” Biden tells the US broadcaster, according to a transcript. “But I’m only three years older than Trump, number one. And number two, my mental acuity has been pretty damn good.”

US prosecutor to appeal dismissal of Trump documents case

Special Counsel Jack Smith will appeal a judge’s dismissal of the criminal case against former US president Donald Trump on charges of mishandling classified documents, the prosecutor’s spokesman says.

“The Justice Department has authorized the special counsel to appeal the court’s order,” Peter Carr says in a statement.

Biden says it was a mistake to say ‘it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye’

US President Joe Biden says it was a mistake for him to use the term “bullseye” in reference to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, according to an excerpt of an interview with NBC News.

Biden told donors in a private call several days before Trump was shot by a gunman that “it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye,” according to a Politico report.

IDF says its troops mistakenly shot and injured 2 Israelis in West Bank, incident probed

The IDF acknowledges that troops mistakenly shot and wounded Israelis in the West Bank after falsely identifying their vehicle as a threat.

“After an initial examination, it was concluded that the gunfire was mistakenly directed at an Israeli vehicle,” the military says in a statement, adding that the incident is being probed.

The IDF says two Israelis were lightly injured and taken to the hospital for treatment. Earlier reports said three were wounded, one moderately.

3 Israelis said injured from IDF fire in West Bank, in apparent error

Three Israelis have been injured from IDF fire after likely being falsely identified as suspects near a West Bank military checkpoint near the settlement of Beit El, Hebrew media outlets report.

The reports, which say the details are initial, say one of the casualties is in moderate condition and has been taken to a hospital in Jerusalem, while the other two are lightly hurt.

Details of the incident are reportedly being checked.

IDF says some 20 rockets launched from Lebanon, most intercepted; no injuries

Around 20 projectiles were launched from Lebanon not long ago, with the majority of them intercepted over Israel, the military says.

Incoming rocket sirens sounded at 11:30 p.m. in the northern communities of Kiryat Shmona, Margaliot and Manara. Nine minutes later, alerts blared again in Kiryat Shmona as well as Metula and several other towns.

The IDF says there are no reports of injuries.

Hebrew media says some of the rockets landed in the evacuated city of Kiryat Shmona, including one that hit a shopping mall.

Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for launching “dozens” of rockets, saying it is in response to Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon.

French soldier injured in Paris stabbing attack, 10 days before Olympics; suspect held

A soldier guarding a major Parisian railway station has been injured in a knife attack by a man who was then arrested, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin says.

The soldier’s life is not in danger, Darmanin says on X, while a police source tells AFP that he suffered a shoulder wound.

The attack at the Gare de l’Est station in northern Paris comes less than two weeks before the start of the Olympic Games in the French capital.

“Thoughts to the soldier injured tonight at the Gare de l’Est,” Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu writes on X, paying tribute to the French troops protecting citizens.

He says the soldier is part of a special military operation to protect sensitive sites in Paris that was launched following the 2015 Islamist attacks on the satirical Charlie Hebdo newspaper.