Live updates (closed)
The Times of Israel liveblogged Saturday’s events as they happened.
‘I took a bullet for democracy,’ Trump tells first rally since shooting
Former US president and 2024 presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally with US Senator and vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20, 2024. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)
Donald Trump, holding his first campaign rally since surviving an assassination attempt, dismisses concerns that he is a threat to democracy, triumphantly telling a cheering crowd: “Last week I took a bullet for democracy.”
“I’m not an extremist at all,” he continues at the rally in swing state of Michigan, dismissing his reported links to Project 2025, a radical shadow manifesto led by figures close to him that has been characterized by opponents as an authoritarian, right-wing wish list.
And he mocked the rival Democratic Party, roiled by unprecedented pressure for President Joe Biden to abandon the White House race amid concerns over his age and fitness to serve, if reelected, until 2029.
“They have no idea who their candidate is… This guy goes and he gets the votes, and now they want to take it away. That’s democracy,” Trump tells the 12,000-strong crowd of passionate supporters.
Even as he veers into his typical, rambling campaign speech, the rally represents a moment remarkable by any measure, with Trump back on stage exactly one week since a gunman tried to kill him.
PM slated to huddle with hostage negotiating team before departing for US
Demonstrators protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Israeli government and for the release of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip outside Hakirya Base in Tel Aviv, July 20, 2024. (Itai Ron/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is slated to meet with the Israeli hostage negotiating team before he departs for Washington, according to a source in Netanyahu’s office.
IDF says no fear of security incident in Eilat, reports of explosions unfounded
Following reports of explosions heard in Eilat, the IDF says no projectiles were fired at Israel’s southernmost city, and no interceptor missiles were launched.
Reports of explosions appear to be unfounded.
The IDF says there is no fear of any security-related incident.
CENTCOM says US forces destroyed Houthi UAV over the Red Sea in the past day
US Central Command (CENTCOM) says that in the past day, its forces destroyed a Houthi-operated unmanned aerial vehicle over the Red Sea.
“It was determined the UAV presented an imminent threat to U.S. and coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region,” CENTCOM writes on X. “These actions were taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure.”
IDF says it’s investigating reports of explosions heard in Eilat
The IDF says it is investigating reports of explosions reportedly heard in the southernmost city of Eilat.
There are no reports of injuries, and it is unclear what caused the reported blasts.
Right-wing activists, Brothers in Arms protesters clash after anti-government protest
Right-wing activists threw stones at protesters leaving the weekly anti-government demonstration in Tel Aviv, leading to clashes between the two groups, Hebrew media outlet Channel 12 reported.
In a video circulating online, a group of allegedly right-wing youth are seen hurling stones at protesters as they walk past before they are confronted by a group of rally-goers, of whom several are wearing Brothers in Arms shirts.
Several men then rush at each other while others try to pull them back, and one man is seen being pushed forcefully against a fence.
אלימות !! חבורת ביביסטים עכשיו זורקים אבנים על מפגינים בתל אביב pic.twitter.com/MEGMiMTrrq
— לירי בורק שביט (@lirishavit) July 20, 2024
Incensed by PM’s upcoming US trip, thousands march in Jerusalem to call for hostage deal
Thousands demonstrate in Jerusalem for a hostage deal and early elections on July 20, 2024. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)
Thousands of demonstrators in Jerusalem are marching to Paris Square in protest of Netanyahu’s government and urging an immediate hostage deal.
Incensed over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned US trip and speech to Congress this coming week, marchers fly a banner that reads: “No flight without a deal.”
The protesters come to a standstill at Paris Square, adjacent to Netanyahu’s official residence, but continue to chant before the start of a joint hostage families and anti-government rally.
“Only an end to the war will bring the hostages home,” says Mai Alvini-Peri, the grandson of Haim Peri, who was abducted by Hamas from Nir Oz on October 7 and confirmed dead by the IDF in early June.
“An end to the war will also bring an end to the government,” he adds. “So you all can understand why this war is continuing so long, and why there still isn’t a hostage deal.”
Mai Alvini-Peri, grandson of slain hostage Haim Peri, speaks to crowd of anti-government demonstrators in Jerusalem on July 20, 2024. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel)
Hezbollah says Israel strike on Houthi-controlled Yemen heralds ‘new, dangerous phase’ of war
Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group says Israel’s strike on the Houthi-controlled Hodeidah port in Yemen — which was carried out in response to a drone attack on Tel Aviv by the Iran-backed group — marked a dangerous turn nine months into Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
“The foolish step taken by the Zionist enemy heralds a new, dangerous phase of a very important confrontation across the entire region,” the Iran-backed terror group says in a statement.
IDF: Two soldiers lightly and moderately wounded in Hezbollah drone strike in northern Israel
Firefighters work to extinguish wildfires following a missile attack from Lebanon which fell close to Israel's border with Syria in the Golan Heights, on July 20, 2024. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
Two IDF soldiers are lightly and moderately wounded in a Hezbollah explosive-laden drone attack in the northern Golan Heights earlier this evening, the military says.
According to the IDF, several suspected drones entered Israeli airspace in the attack, and interceptor missiles were launched at them.
The IDF says the drones were not intercepted, and struck in northern Israel, leading to the injury of the two soldiers.
Brother of hostage Carmel Gat turns down offer to fly to Washington with PM, accuses him of intentionally delaying deal
Alon Gat, brother to hostage Carmel Gat, applauds a hostage rescue as he pushes for a diplomatic deal on June 12, 2024 (Courtesy)
Alon Gat, whose sister Carmel Gat is in Hamas captivity, tells Ynet that he turned down an invitation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fly with him to Washington next week, as he fears the prime minister is endangering his sister’s life by intentionally delaying a hostage deal.
“Netanyahu invited me on the flight and at first I thought it could help, that we would be able to impact things,” he says. “I believed that on the flight, he would announce that he was signing the deal. But as the deadline approached, we realized that this wasn’t going to happen, and instead the opposite is true — he is hindering progress and isn’t making any decisions.”
He says that he believes other families currently expected to fly with Netanyahu’s delegation will join him in his decision.
“I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I was traveling with him and that at that time, god forbid, something had happened to Carmel. I know that Netanyahu is taking his time. I don’t know how he lives with it,” he adds.
Lebanese media reports Israeli airstrike near coastal city of Tyre
Lebanese media report an Israeli airstrike near the town of Aadloun, some 30 kilometers from the Israeli border, near the coastal city of Tyre.
Footage shows the aftermath of the strike.
No further details are immediately available.
غارة على عدلون على الاوتوستراد الساحلي الجنوبي pic.twitter.com/2NgG1und5H
— Leb Now (@leb_now) July 20, 2024
Netanyahu: Strike on Houthi port shows Israel will reach its enemies, however far away
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a video statement following an Israeli strike on the Houthis in Yemen, July 20, 2024. (Screenshot/GPO)
Israel’s attack in Yemen today “makes it clear to our enemies that there is no place that the long arm of Israel will not reach,” says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video statement released on Saturday evening, shortly after the end of Shabbat. He praises the IDF and the IAF for “a determined, precise and successful operation. It struck targets 1,700 kilometers from our borders,” he notes.
“I have a message for Israel’s enemies – don’t be mistaken about us,” Netanyahu says, a day before he is scheduled to fly to Washington DC. “We will protect ourselves in every way, on every front. Anyone who harms us will pay a very heavy price for his aggression.”
Netanyahu also calls on the international community to enhance its measures against Iran and its proxies: “Anyone who wishes to see a stable and safe Middle East needs to stand against Iran’s axis of evil, and support Israel’s fight against Iran and its proxies – in Yemen, in Gaza, in Lebanon, everywhere.”
Netanyahu underscores that the strike on the al-Hudaydah port, which was used by the Houthis as an entry point for its weapons supplies, was a “direct response” to Friday’s deadly drone attack in Tel Aviv launched by the Houthis in Yemen in which an Israeli citizen was killed, and to the Houthis’ “aggression against Israel since the start of the war.”
“The port we attacked is not an innocent port,” Netanyahu emphasizes. “It was used for military purposes, it was used as an entry point for deadly weapons supplied to the Houthis by Iran. And they used that weaponry to attack Israel, to attack the states of the region, and to attack some of the world’s most important shipping lanes.”
“For the past eight months,” Netanyahu says, “the Houthis have launched hundreds of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones against Israel.”
Netanyahu thanks the US and other countries for their help in intercepting Houthi projectiles throughout this period.
“Like Hamas and Hezbollah,” says Netanyahu, “the Houthis are an integral part of Iran’s axis of evil. This axis works not only against Israel; it threatens the peace of the entire world.
“And Israel expects the international community to increase its efforts against Iran and its proxies, to thwart Iran’s aggression and to protect international freedom of navigation.”
Report: Smotrich, Levin boycotted security cabinet vote in protest of ‘last-minute update’ from defense establishment
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Justice Minister Yariv Levin did not participate in the security cabinet vote earlier today, where it approved the plans for Israel’s retaliatory strike in Yemen, Channel 12 reports.
According to the report, the two boycotted the vote in protest of what they said was the “last-minute update” it received from the defense establishment regarding the strike, which they said has turned the security cabinet into a “rubber-stamp.”
Eight Likud MKs tell PM they won’t back hostage deal proposal in its current form – report
Eight Likud lawmakers have said that they will refuse to back the hostage deal being discussed by Israel and Hamas in indirect negotiations unless significant changes are made to the proposal, Channel 12 reports.
According to the report, the lawmakers sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a set of demands for changes that they said must be made, if they are to support the deal.
The letter was signed by Likud MKs Amit Halevi, Hanoch Milwidsky, Dan Illouz, Moshe Saada, Ariel Kellner, Shalom Danino, Tally Gotliv, and Nisim Vaturi.
The list of reported demands set forth by the lawmakers includes the following stipulations:
- All hostages are to be released at once, rather than in several stages
- Israel must not withdraw from the Netzarim Corridor or the so-called Philadelphi Corridor
- There must be a significant IDF presence along every significant route in Gaza
The lawmakers were reported to have also made several additional demands, which were not expanded on in the report.
While Netanyahu himself has added several “non-negotiable” demands to the hostage deal in recent days, leading the negotiating team to reportedly pause talks until new clauses are drawn up, the Likud lawmakers were said by Channel 12 to believe his amendments still do not go far enough.
Thousands in Tel Aviv urge PM not to fly to US before finalizing hostage deal; several families to travel with him
Protesters at the Begin Gate of the Defense Ministry Headquarters in Tel Aviv urge a deal to release hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, July 20, 2024. (Gabriel Meltzer / Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)
At tonight’s demonstrations in Tel Aviv urging a hostage-ceasefire deal and opposing the Netanyahu government, thousands of people are calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to make his planned trip to the United States this week before announcing the finalization of a deal.
Channel 12 reports, by contrast, that several relatives of hostages are planning to travel with the prime minister to the US.
Among those flying are Noa Argamani, who was rescued from Gaza in an IDF operation last month, and her father Yaakov; Ditza Or, whose son Avinatan is a hostage; Bat-Sheva Yahalomi, whose husband Ohad is held, and relatives of the Bibas family including Yarden Bibas’s father.
It says that some relatives who were planning to fly with the prime minister have changed their minds because no deal has yet been announced, but does not elaborate.
IDF chief of staff tells troops in Rafah: Iran has [multiple] tentacles; we’re fighting them all
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi speaks to troops in southern Gaza's Rafah, July 19, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, during a visit to southern Gaza’s Rafah yesterday, tells troops that Iran has multiple tentacles that have to be confronted.
“It’s all connected. It’s all Iran,” he says.
“That drone [fired at Tel Aviv] is Iran. Yes, the Houthis took it, upgraded it, gave it this range or that range. And here [in Gaza] is Iran. The money for the subterranean [tunnels of Hamas] is Iran. And we are fighting Iran with great determination.
“Ultimately, there is an octopus with tentacles. You are fighting here against one tentacle, we are fighting in other places against other tentacles, and this requires excellence against each of them,” he says.
White House reaffirms Israel’s right to self-defense after Houthi drone strike in Tel Aviv
The White House has been in contact with Israel following the Houthi drone strike on Tel Aviv early Friday morning, in which one person was killed, a White House spokesperson tells the Times of Israel.
“The United States was not involved in today’s strikes in Yemen,” the spokesperson adds, but stresses that “we fully recognize and acknowledge Israel’s right to self-defense.”
TV report: Despite strike on Houthis, Netanyahu plans to fly to US as scheduled, and hopes to meet Trump
Then-US president Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House on September 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Doug Mills/Pool/Getty Images/AFP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intends to head to the US as planned this week, despite the Israeli strike on the Houthis in Yemen and its potential consequences, Channel 12 reports.
Channel 12 also says, without sourcing, that, along with his planned meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Monday, and his speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, Netanyahu is aiming to meet with Republican presidential nominee and former president Donald Trump.
US warns ICJ ruling on Israeli presence in West Bank, East Jerusalem will ‘complicate’ peace efforts
The United States criticizes “the breadth” of the top UN court’s opinion in which the International Court of Justice said Israel’s presence and control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem is illegal, with Washington saying it will complicate efforts to resolve the conflict.
“We have been clear that Israel’s program of government support for settlements is both inconsistent with international law and obstructs the cause of peace,” a US State Department spokesperson says.
“However, we are concerned that the breadth of the court’s opinion will complicate efforts to resolve the conflict and bring about an urgently needed just and lasting peace, with two states living side-by-side in peace and security,” the State Department adds.
“Moreover, the court’s advice that Israel must withdraw ‘as rapidly as possible’ is inconsistent with the established framework for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” the statement continues.
“That framework takes into account Israel’s security needs. The events of October 7 proved those security concerns are very real.”
IDF spokesman says Israel attacked Houthis alone, world should ‘stand on one front’
IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari delivers an English-language address, June 16, 2024. (Screenshot)
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in a press conference says the aircraft that participated in the attack in Yemen returned safely to Israel moments ago.
He says the attack against the Houthis was carried out by Israel alone.
“Israel expects the countries of the world to stand on one front, this is a common international interest,” he says.
Hagari says the name of the attack is “Operation Long Arm.”
Gallant: Fire burning in Hodeidah is warning that Israel will strike all who harm its citizens
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel struck the Houthis in Yemen in order to send a message after they killed an Israeli citizen in a drone strike early Friday morning.
“The fire that is currently burning in Hodeidah, is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear,” Gallant says in a statement. “The Houthis attacked us over 200 times. The first time that they harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them. And we will do this in any place where it may be required.”
The Iran-backed Yemeni rebels have launched over 200 drones and cruise missiles at Israel since November, according to the military, the majority of which have been intercepted by US forces and in a handful of cases, by Israeli fighter jets and ground-based air defense systems.
Report: Military probe finds it failed to properly respond to Nir Oz invasion on Oct. 7
A group of Israelis on an educational tour visit a house that was torched by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 attack on Israel in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on June 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The military has found that it failed to properly assess and respond to the invasion of terrorists in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, according to findings reported by Channel 12 news.
According to Channel 12, the military found that the Gaza division failed to understand the situation at the kibbutz and did not properly manage forces on the day, with troops sent to neighboring communities but not Nir Oz itself.
In one of the major blunders, special forces on the way to Nir Oz encountered terrorists on the way to the battle, where an officer was killed at around 11 a.m.
The squadron was then redirected to another task, but the IDF’s Southern Command did not notify the Operations Directorate, and additional forces were not sent.
At 11:30 a.m., Egoz special forces that were dispatched to Kibbutz Kissufim and Nir Oz also encountered terrorists on the way and never arrived at their destination.
Southern Command did not find out about that incident until 1:30 p.m. Soldiers from the Shayetet special forces unit were then sent but only arrived at 2:20 p.m., by which time terrorists had managed to murder and kidnap dozens of people.
The 69-year-old kibbutz, located 2.8 kilometers (1.7 miles) from Gaza, lost more than a quarter of its 400 members on October 7, with 46 people murdered, including entire families, and 71 people taken hostage. Fourteen Thai citizens who worked at Nir Oz were also murdered that morning.
IDF releases footage of F-15s prepping for Yemen airstrikes
An F-15 fighter is seen at an IAF airbase ahead of an Israeli strike in Yemen, July 20, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF releases footage of F-15 fighter jets being prepared ahead of the strike in Yemen earlier today.
The attack also involved F-35 fighters, reconnaissance aircraft, and refueling planes. The refuelers were needed because the target was some 1,700 kilometers from Israel.
תיעוד מרגעי ההיערכות ותמונות של מטוסי בז F15 בדרכם לתקיפה בתימן pic.twitter.com/fY8RtdzAbr
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 20, 2024
TV report: Ministers were warned to expect ‘chain of responses’ to IAF strike on Yemen, but told restraint was no longer an option
A handout picture obtained from Yemen's Huthi Ansarullah Media Center show a huge column of fire erupting following airstrikes in the Yemeni rebel-held port city of Hodeida on July 20, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
When they met this afternoon to approve Israel’s strike on the Houthis in Yemen, ministers were told by security chiefs of the potential consequences, but advised that restraint was not appropriate.
“Israel recognizes and is prepared for the fact that in the wake of the attack, an active front is being opened against the Houthis that will lead to a chain of responses,” the report says ministers were told. “But in the choice between ‘trading blows’ or restraint in the fact of the Shiite axis, it is preferable to respond in order to not lose deterrence.”
Channel 12 says a senior Israeli response told its reporter that the deadly early Friday Houthi attack on Tel Aviv “crossed all red lines” and “the days of restraint are over.
The Tel Aviv strike culminated nine months of Houthi attacks, in which some 200 projectiles have been fired at Israel, the report says.
The source, the report says, said the international community needs to “turn up the pressure on the Houthis and their dispatchers in Iran.”
Israeli strike on Yemen aimed at stopping Iranian weapons from getting to Houthis
The Israeli Air Force strike against the port of al-Hudaydah in Yemen was aimed at preventing the Houthis from importing Iranian weapons, as well as causing the Iran-backed group financial damage.
According to the Israeli military, the port in the Houthi-controlled city is used repeatedly to bring in weapons from Iran, and therefore Israel sees it as a legitimate military target.
The airstrike, carried out by Israel alone, targeted fuel depots as well as other facilities at the port.
The strike comes in response to more than 220 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis at Israel in the past nine months of the war.
Houthis say Israel ‘will pay the price’ for strikes on port facility
A huge column of fire erupting following Israeli strikes in the Yemeni rebel-held port city of Hodeida on July 20, 2024. (ANSARULLAH MEDIA CENTRE / AFP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Israeli strikes on Yemen’s Houthi-held port city of al-Hudaydah will be met with “escalation,” an official of the Iran-backed rebel movement says, warning Israel will “pay the price.”
“The Zionist entity will pay the price for targeting civilian facilities, and we will meet escalation with escalation,” Houthi politburo member Mohammed al-Bukhaiti says in a post on social media.
Anti-government protesters gather nationwide ahead of PM’s US visit
Anti-government protesters gather for a rally calling for early elections at Kaplan Street, in Tel Aviv, July 20, 2024. (Omer Yelin/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)
Anti-government protesters are gathering for weekly nationwide rallies, with an emphasis on a call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to announce a deal to free hostages held by Hamas in Gaza before he travels to the United States later this week to address Congress.
In Tel Aviv, a crowd is gathering on Kaplan Street at the weekly anti-government rally, calling for immediate elections and a deal to release the hostages.
A performance art exhibit at the demonstration mocks the prime minister’s reported comments from a cabinet meeting when he said the hostages are “suffering, but not dead.”
In northern Israel, protesters are blocking the Karkur Junction, with calls to “Stop the War,” bring hostages home, and hold early elections.
Security cabinet ministers were summoned to approve Yemen attack; TV report says ‘significant response’ seen possible
From left: Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi follow Israel's strike in Yemen from the IAF operations room at the Kirya Headquarters in Tel Aviv, July 20, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
The plans for Israel’s strike in Yemen had been drawn up in advance, and were implemented in the wake of the early Friday deadly Houthi drone strike on Tel Aviv, Channel 12 reports.
It says ministers in the security cabinet approved the operation at a meeting that began at around 2:30 p.m. today, having been summoned to the meeting just 45 minutes earlier. The summons was made by National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, who ordered them not to discuss the meeting.
The report notes that this decision-making forum is required to approve actions that could potentially lead to war. It says that, in this case, “there is of course the possibility of a significant response.”
Channel 12 says Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara insisted that the security cabinet be convened to approve the attack.
The cabinet meeting lasted for four hours. The attack was carried out while the ministers were gathered.
It is extremely unusual for cabinet meetings to convene on Shabbat.
The decision in principle to carry out the operation had been taken earlier, the report notes, to ensure that the window of opportunity was not missed.
The operation was subjected to military censorship until the past few minutes.
Israel informed the United States ahead of the operation, the TV report says, as well as other allies — “presumably” including Egypt and others in the region who would need to not be surprised.
Group of hostage families say PM continues to sabotage hostage deal
A group of hostage families say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is sabotaging a deal to free their loved ones and warn they will protest his visit to the United States later this week if he doesn’t announce an agreement.
Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sabotaged a deal because “it is more important to him to save his seat than rescue lives.”
Zangauker says a deal could have already been reached but the prime minister has delayed discussions and raised new demands.
Mati Danzig, the son of captive Alex Danzig, says that if Netanyahu travels to the United States this week without announcing a hostage deal, relatives will also travel to make the world hear that the premier is “the obstacle to a deal.”
Yifat Calderon, the cousin of hostage Ofer Calderon expresses support for Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, defense officials, and Israeli negotiators, urging them not to allow Netanyahu to sabotage a deal.
“If Netanyahu again sabotages a deal, come out to the public with the truth,” she says.
Strike on Houthi-controlled Yemen approved by Gallant this morning
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (center) meets with top defense officials before approving Israeli airstrikes on Yemen, July 20, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
The Israeli airstrike in Yemen in response to Houthi attacks on the country was approved this morning by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Gallant’s office releases photos from a meeting the minister held this morning with senior military officials, during which the strike was approved.
IDF confirms strike on ‘Houthi terror regime’ in response to attacks on Israel
The Israel Defense Forces in a statement confirms it carried out airstrikes in Yemen a short while ago.
“Fighter jets struck military targets of the Houthi terror regime in the area of the Al Hudaydah Port in Yemen, in response to the hundreds of attacks carried out against the State of Israel in recent months,” the IDF says.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi follow Israel’s strike in Yemen from the IAF operations room at the Kirya Headquarters in Tel Aviv, July 20, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
The military says there is no change to instructions for Israeli civilians.
It says it will provide further details soon.
The strike apparently marks the first time Israel has ever carried out a strike in Yemen.
NOT GAZA
THIS IS YEMEN AFTER ISRAEL STARTED BOMBING CIVILIANS! pic.twitter.com/zLloYmzsHU
— The Saviour (@stairwayto3dom) July 20, 2024
Report says Israeli jets alone struck Houthi port city
Israeli fighter jets alone conducted strikes on the Houthi-controlled port city of al-Hudaydah in Yemen, a senior Israeli official tells the Walla news site.
An earlier report by the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya claimed that the attack was a joint effort by Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
Houthis say people killed, wounded in Israeli strikes on fuel depot
AL-HUDAYDAH, Yemen — The Houthi-run health ministry blames Israel for a series of strikes on a fuel depot in the rebel-held Yemeni port city of al-Hudaydah, adding that the strikes caused casualties.
🚨 ارتفاع أسعار العبايات و الطرح
في أسواق #الحديده جراء الأقبال شديد عليها
من قبل القيادات الحوثيه و اذنابهمو هذي النتيجة الطبيعية حينما تكون
مطية تتحكم بك الأطراف الخارجية pic.twitter.com/TWlPFNSof9— 𝐒𝐋𝐌𝐀𝐍🇸🇦 (@slman1884) July 20, 2024
“The Israeli enemy’s raids on oil storage facilities in the port of Hodeida” have led to deaths and injuries, the health ministry says in a statement carried by Houthi-run media, without specifying a toll. Israel has yet to comment on the strikes.
#اليمن 🇾🇪
الغارات الإسرائيلية استهدفت خزانات النفط في ميناء الحديدة. pic.twitter.com/2dBaJTSQmm
— رؤى لدراسات الحرب (@Roaastudies) July 20, 2024
IDF strikes Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon
Rocket launchers in southern Lebanon’s Deir Seryan, used by Hezbollah in attacks on northern Israel earlier today were struck by fighter jets, the IDF says.
The IDF says it struck another Hezbollah rocket launcher in Aitaroun.
בסגירת מעגל מהירה, מטוס קרב של חיל האוויר תקף את המשגר ממנו זוהו השיגורים במרחב דיר סירין שבדרום לבנון, לעבר רמת הגולן מוקדם יותר היום.
בנוסף, הותקף משגר נוסף של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב עיתרון שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/KXXCTFCtvX— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 20, 2024
Saudi report says joint Israeli, US, UK strikes targeted Yemeni port
The Al Arabiya outlet, citing unnamed sources, says the strike against the fuel depot and oil refineries at the port of Al-Hudaydah in Yemen, was carried out jointly by Israel, the US, and the UK.
The report also claims that 12 Israeli aircraft, including F-35 fighter jets, participated in the attack.
IDF: Rocket sirens in Kissufim were false alarms
Rocket sirens that sounded in the southern community of Kissufim a short while ago were determined to be false alarms, the military says.
Rocket sirens activated in Kibbutz Kissufim near Gaza border
Incoming rocket sirens sound in the Gaza border community of Kibbutz Kissufim.
Red Alert [18:26:38] – 1 Alert:
• Gaza Envelope — Kissufim#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/RsAqPevNX4
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) July 20, 2024
Saudi-owned outlet says Israeli military struck Houthi-controlled city
Unnamed sources cited by the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya outlet say the strike in the Houthi-controlled al-Hudaydah in western Yemen was carried out by the Israeli military.
Reports in Yemen say the strike targeted a fuel depot at the port of al-Hudaydah.
According to reports in Yemen, the strike targeted a fuel depot. pic.twitter.com/3UOKpuXSgT
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 20, 2024
Airstrikes reported in Houthi-controlled city in Yemen, day after deadly Tel Aviv drone attack
An explosion amid airstrikes in Houthi-controlled al-Hudaydah in western Yemen, July 20 2024 (Screen grab used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Airstrikes are reported in the Houthi-controlled city of Hodeida in western Yemen a short while ago.
Images and video circulating on social media show flames and smoke rising from a targeted site.
العدو الصهيوني يضرب مخازن ميناء الحديدة
مردودة يابني يهود pic.twitter.com/oxpUdlvrxJ— عبدالوهاب صلاح الجلال (@A7jalal) July 20, 2024
There is no comment from Israel.
The reported strikes come a day after a Houthi drone struck Tel Aviv, killing an Israeli man. Israel had threatened a response.
https://twitter.com/alialhababi200/status/1814679092614119916
IDF: Around 45 rockets fired from Lebanon at northern Israel in past hour
Some 45 rockets were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel in the past hour, the IDF says.
The first barrage of some 30 rockets targeted the northern Golan Heights, at 3:35 p.m.
According to the IDF, some of the rockets were intercepted while others impacted open areas.
Some of the rocket impacts sparked fires.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for that barrage.
A barrage of 10 rockets was fired at the Western Galilee and another five rockets were fired at the Upper Galilee shortly before 4 p.m., the IDF says.
The Gaza Strip-based Hamas said its Lebanon branch carried out the rocket fire on the Western Galilee.
No injuries were caused in the attacks.
Hezbollah says it fired dozens of rockets at Dafna
Hezbollah takes responsibility for a rocket attack on northern Israel a short while ago.
In a statement, the terror group claims to have fired dozens of rockets at the community of Dafna, in response to an IDF strike in southern Lebanon earlier today that reportedly wounded civilians.
🚨 חזבאללה נוטל אחריות לירי עשרות רקטות קטיושות לעבר המושבה דפנה (הארגון טוען שפגע במושבה לראשונה), בתגובה לתקיפת הרכב במחוז נבטיה ופציעתם של מספר ילדים סורים.
חזבאללה עבר מהתקפות על בסיסי ומוצבי צה"ל בצפון, לירי ישיר על היישובים, המושבים והקיבוצים. חלקם לא פונו עד כה. pic.twitter.com/aq3d6tNgRk
— Asslan Khalil (@KhalilAsslan) July 20, 2024
Rocket sirens blare in Kiryat Shmona, several northern communities
Incoming rocket sirens sound in several northern communities.
Sirens sound in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona; the Upper Galilee communities of Even Menachem, Netua, Shomera, and Zarit; and the Galilee Panhandle communities of Sde Nechemia, Amir, Beit Hillel, and Kfar Blum.
Red Alert [15:57:57] – 5 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — Kiryat Shmona, Sdeh Nechemia, Amir, Beit Hillel, Kfar Blum#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/WSogqmdj7K
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) July 20, 2024
IDF: Over 150 terrorists killed in Gaza City operation over past week
Weapons found by IDF troops in Gaza City, in a handout image published July 20, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Over the past week, more than 150 terror operatives were killed during an operation in Gaza City, the IDF says.
The raid, launched earlier this month, is being led by the 99th Division, with the Alexandroni, 8th, and Commando brigades, and elite Multi-Domain Unit.
During the first week of the operation, troops had raided UNRWA’s headquarters, where Hamas had regrouped.
In recent operations, the IDF says the troops raided several multi-story buildings in Gaza City where Hamas operatives were holed up.
The forces located weapons, equipment belonging to Hamas’s naval forces, and intelligence materials, the army says.
In addition to the estimated 150 gunmen, the IDF says troops demolished more than 100 sites belonging to terror groups and located an underground weapons manufacturing site.
Rocket sirens sound in Galilee Panhandle, northern Golan
Incoming rocket alerts are sounding in the communities of She’ar Yeshuv and Snir in the Galilee Panhandle, and El Rom in the northern Golan Heights.
Red Alert [15:35:47] – 4 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — Shear Yeshuv, Snir
• Northern Golan — El Rom#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/avckOhnk62— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) July 20, 2024
French alleged neo-Nazi sympathizer jailed for two years for online threats in lead up to Olympics
The Olympic torch is seen during a relay in the courtyard of the Louvre museum, July 14, 2024 in Paris. (AP/Christophe Ena)
PARIS — A French alleged neo-Nazi sympathizer was sentenced to two years in prison after making threats online and was suspected of wanting to target the Olympic torch relay, authorities say.
The Paris public prosecutor’s office says in a statement the 19-year-old man was convicted after a swift trial overnight Friday on charges of sharing bomb-making instructions on social media, posts inciting hate and death threats as well as posts with personal information that put people at risk.
The man — detained on Wednesday morning at his home in the Alsace region of eastern France — ran a group called “French Aryan division” on the social media channel Telegram, the statement says.
The prosecutor’s office says his alleged comments that triggered the probe by its unit, dedicated to fighting online hate, didn’t specifically target the Paris Olympics, which kick off with a high-security opening ceremony on Friday.
IDF strikes building in Gaza humanitarian zone used to fund Hamas
The IDF struck a building in the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in the Gaza Strip yesterday, which it says was used by a Hamas-linked company to funnel funds to the terror group.
The building in the Deir al-Balah area housed offices of the Elkahira company, which according to the IDF, was a “central part of the infrastructure used to store and transfer large amounts of funds to terror organizations in the Gaza Strip, as well as to carry out terror activities” since the beginning of the war.
The IDF says the strike was carried out after it ordered the evacuation of Palestinian civilians in the area. It also says a fighter jet launched “precision munitions” in the attack, to mitigate harm to civilians.
In a separate attack on Thursday, the IDF says it killed an employee of Elkahira who had transferred funds to terror groups in Gaza, including the military wing of Hamas.
Report: White House mulling sanctions on far-right ministers Ben Gvir, Smotrich
Far-right leaders Itamar Ben Gvir (R) and Bezalel Smotrich (L) at the 'victory conference' at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, January 28, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The White House National Security Council discussed sanctioning far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, three US officials tell Axios.
According to a senior US official, US President Joe Biden declined a recommendation by senior White House officials to undertake the measure earlier in the year when he first signed an executive order allowing sanctions on Israeli settlers.
According to the report, the idea was raised again at the NSC this week, but US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew suggested “engaging with Smotrich” instead of boycotting him in order to change his behavior.
The inclusion of entities involved in settlement construction in current US sanctions was also considered, the report says.
Additionally, those present in the discussion were unanimous in supporting overturning the Trump administration’s policy of labeling products made in West Bank settlements as “made in Israel,” the officials tell Axios.
The White House declined to comment on the report.
Not wanting to legitimize many of his extremist views regarding the Palestinians, the Biden administration has imposed an effective boycott of Smotrich, refusing to meet with him or Ben Gvir.
The Biden administration has been particularly frustrated over Smotrich’s reported efforts to block enforcement against illegal settlement construction and his withholding of hundreds of millions of dollars in Palestinian tax revenues from the Palestinian Authority.
Lebanese media reports casualties in strike on vehicle in southern Lebanon
Lebanese media report a strike against a vehicle in the southern village of Borj al-Mlouk.
Casualties are reported in the strike.
The village is located about 4 kilometers north of the Israeli border.
معلومات عن اصابة اطفال في الغارة التي استهدفت خيمة للنازحين السوريين في منطقة #برج_الملوك #جنوب_لبنان pic.twitter.com/aL7l3PjUvm
— nbnlebanon (@nbntweets) July 20, 2024
Palestinians claim 13 killed in central Gaza strikes overnight
Palestinians walks near tents used as shelter along a street covered with stagnant wastewater in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on July 19, 2024. (Bashar Taleb/AFP)
At least 13 people were killed in three Israeli airstrikes that hit refugee camps in central Gaza overnight into Saturday, according to Palestinian health officials.
Among the dead in Nuseirat Refugee Camp and Bureij Refugee Camp were three children and one woman, according to Palestinian ambulance teams that transported the bodies to the nearby Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. The 13 corpses were counted by AP journalists at the hospital.
The latest casualties follow a rare moment of hope in war-ravaged Gaza after medical teams recovered a live baby from a heavily pregnant Palestinian mother killed in an airstrike that hit her home in Nuseirat late Thursday evening.
Heavily pregnant Ola al-Kurd, 25, was killed along with six others in the blast but was quickly rushed by emergency workers to Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza in the hope of saving the unborn child. Hours later, doctors told The Associated Press that a baby boy had been delivered.
The still-unnamed newborn is stable but has suffered from a shortage of oxygen and has been placed in an incubator, Dr. Khalil Dajran says. The baby boy’s father was wounded in the same strike but survived.
EU Middle East peace envoy vows to pursue ‘necessary’ two-state solution
The European Union’s Middle East peace envoy Sven Koopmans in, August 2022. (YouTube screenshot; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s stubborn opposition to a Palestinian state does not deter the European Union’s Middle East peace envoy from believing a two-state solution remains achievable.
Sven Koopmans, in an interview with AFP, says with the Israel-Hamas war ongoing and Israel needing international support, Netanyahu’s government cannot indefinitely disregard European views on resolving the conflict.
Netanyahu and some ministers in his right-wing government staunchly oppose the creation of a Palestinian state, which many argue has become even more urgent since Hamas’s October 7 massacre that sparked the devastating war.
“I think that recently he was very explicit about rejecting the two-state solution,” Koopmans says.
“Now, that means that he has a different point of view from much of the rest of the world.”
The Dutch diplomat says one side’s rejection of “the outcome that we believe is necessary” does not mean efforts to seek a solution should cease.
Last month, the European Union invited Israel to discuss Gaza and human rights.
Israel agreed to a meeting after July 1, when Hungary, which supports Netanyahu’s government, assumed the EU presidency.
“It is important that we have that discussion,” Koopmans says.
“I am sure that in such a meeting, there will be very substantive discussions about what we expect from our partner Israel.
“And that relates to things that we do not see at present.”
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Incoming drone alerts, rocket sirens sound in northern towns
Sirens warning of an incoming hostile aircraft and rockets sound in the northern communities.
Incoming drone alerts sound in Ghajar, Dafna, She’ar Yeshuv, and Kibbutz Dan, while incoming rocket sirens sound in Kibbutz Dan.
Red Alert [11:54:26] – 1 Alert:
• Confrontation Line — Ghajar#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/yOHpIPIcP6
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) July 20, 2024
IDF kills several terror operatives as Rafah clashes continue
IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip, in images cleared for publication on July 20, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF troops operating in southern Gaza’s Rafah killed numerous gunmen over the past day, the military says in a morning update.
The IDF says troops of the Givati Brigade engaged in several clashes with terror operatives, and the 401st Armored Brigade is carrying out “significant activity” against Hamas sites and operatives in Rafah’s northwestern Tel Sultan neighborhood.
Meanwhile, in the Netzarim Corridor in the Strip’s center, the IDF says reservists with the Alexandroni Brigade raided several Hamas sites and called in an airstrike against a group of gunmen in a building.
IDF downs suspected drone over southern Lebanon
A suspected drone was shot down by Israeli air defenses over southern Lebanon earlier today, the IDF says.
The IDF says the target did not cross into Israel.
Meanwhile, fighter jets struck several buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon’s Houla this morning, the IDF adds.
הבוקר, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו מבנים צבאיים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב חולא שבדרום לבנון.
מוקדם יותר היום, לוחמי ההגנה האווירית יירטו בהצלחה מטרה אווירית חשודה בשמי לבנון.
המטרה לא חצתה לשטח הארץ ולא הופעלו התרעות על פי מדיניות pic.twitter.com/eNVts71qwA— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 20, 2024
Trump speaks with Ukraine’s Zelensky, pledges to ‘end the war’
US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says he spoke by phone with Ukraine leader Volodymyr Zelensky, and pledged to end the European country’s war with Russia.
“I appreciate President Zelensky for reaching out because I, as your next President of the United States, will bring peace to the world and end the war that has cost so many lives and devastated countless innocent families,” Trump says in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“Both sides will be able to come together and negotiate a deal that ends the violence and paves a path forward to prosperity.”
The United States has provided tens of billions of dollars in military assistance for Kyiv since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 — though a Trump victory in the November election would put Washington’s continued support into question.
Zelensky confirms the call, during which he congratulated Trump on formally becoming the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, as well as wishing the 78-year-old well after an attempt on his life a week ago.
“We agreed with President Trump to discuss at a personal meeting what steps can make peace fair and truly lasting,” Zelensky says in a post on X. “I noted the vital bipartisan and bicameral American support for protecting our nation’s freedom and independence.”
Russia jails US reporter Gershkovich for 16 years
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom in Yekaterinburg, Russia, June 26, 2024. (AP)
US reporter Evan Gershkovich has been sentenced by a Russian court to 16 years in prison for “espionage,” a verdict slammed as “despicable,” “disgraceful” and a “sham” by Western governments and his employer.
Gershkovich was sentenced after just three court sessions in a secretive closed-door trial in the Urals City of Yekaterinburg, the city where he was arrested while on a reporting trip in March 2023.
After the sentencing, US President Joe Biden said Gershkovich was “targeted by the Russian government because he is a journalist and an American.”
“We are pushing hard for Evan’s release and will continue to do so,” he added in a written statement published by the White House.
The Wall Street Journal correspondent, who pleaded not guilty, became the first journalist in Russia to be charged with spying since the Cold War when he was detained in 2023.
Both Washington and Moscow say talks over a prisoner swap are ongoing.
Biden won’t give Netanyahu ‘satisfaction’ of quitting before PM’s speech to Congress — report
US President Joe Biden speaks at the 115th NAACP National Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, July 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
As US President Joe Biden considers stepping down from the race against Donald Trump, a consideration has been Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to Washington and speech before Congress, The New York Times reports.
According to the paper, aides believe Biden won’t give Netanyahu “the satisfaction” of announcing he is removing himself from the running prior to his speech, due to their tense relationship over the war against Hamas in Gaza.
The paper says Biden has not yet made a decision to withdraw and describes him as frustrated and exasperated with the concerted campaign by top Democratic officials to pressure him into quitting. But it also says he increasingly realizes he may have no choice but to do so.
Rocket sirens activate in community near Gaza due to false alarm
Rocket sirens were activated in the community of Talmei Yosef, near the Gaza Strip, a short time ago.
The military says the sirens were the result of a false alarm. No rocket was launched and no damage occurred.
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