July 21: Meeting between Biden and Netanyahu to go ahead as planned, PMO source says

Some US states’ convention delegates begin shifting support to Harris

The Democratic delegations of multiple US states have decided to back Vice President Kamala Harris for the party nomination at next month’s national convention.

“Tonight, all 168 delegates of the North Carolina Democratic Party made history,” North Carolina party chair Anderson Clayton says in a post on the social platform X.

In South Carolina, party chair Christale Spain says in an email statement Sunday night that that state’s delegation met virtually. The vice president “has been fully vetted, and she has earned our unwavering support,” Spain says.

Harris received her first delegates earlier in the day from Tennessee, when the state party posted on X that its delegation voted during a meeting to back her.

Another state where the switch was made was New Hampshire, where the 25 pledged delegates voted unanimously Sunday night to endorse Harris.

US national security adviser to meet Monday with families of American hostages

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet Monday with the families of several American hostages being held in Gaza, a White House National Security Council spokesperson tells The Times of Israel.

Trump campaign official says JD Vance won’t attend Netanyahu’s speech to Congress

US Senator JD Vance of Ohio accepts the vice presidential nomination during the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, on July 17, 2024. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP)

US Senator JD Vance of Ohio, who is Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s running mate, will not attend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday, a Trump campaign adviser tells the Kan public broadcaster.

Jason Miller is quoted stressing Vance’s backing for Israel while explaining he won’t be at the speech due to commitments relating to the campaign. An unnamed Republican source also insists that his absence is no slight.

“This is not a signal or message. JD is a true friend of Israel,” the source says.

California Governor Newsom, seen as possible rival, backs Kamala Harris

US Vice President Kamala Harris (R) waves alongside California Governor Gavin Newsom during a campaign event against his recall election in San Leandro, California, September 8, 2021. (Saul Loeb/AFP)

California Governor Gavin Newsom endorses US Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the Democratic ticket, removing a key possible rival to the nomination after Joe Biden’s shock exit from the White House race.

“With our democracy at stake and our future on the line, no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President, @KamalaHarris,” Newsom writes on X.

Biden’s senior staff learned of decision to drop out one minute before announcement

At 1:45 p.m. EST, US President Joe Biden’s senior staff was notified that he was stepping away from the 2024 race. At 1:46 p.m., that message was made public.

It was never Biden’s intention to leave the race: Up until he decided to step aside Sunday, he was all in.

His campaign was planning fundraisers and events and setting up travel over the next few weeks. But even as Biden was publicly dug in and insisting he was staying in the race, he was quietly reflecting on the disaster of the past few weeks, on the past three years of his presidency and on the scope of his half-century career in politics.

In the end, it was the president’s decision alone, and he made it quietly, from his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, sick with COVID-19, the first lady with him as he talked it through with a small circle of people who have been with him for decades.

Geologists record 3.7-magnitude earthquake near Dead Sea

A 3.7-magnitude earthquake occurred near the Dead Sea, according to the Israel Geological Institute, with the tremor felt in the Jerusalem area and parts of southern Israel.

There are no reports of injuries or damage.

West Virginia’s Manchin considers reregistering as Democrat to seek presidential nomination

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia chairs a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on the health of the electrical power grid, at the Capitol in Washington, June 1, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Though some potential challengers to Kamala Harris for the Democratic bid have already made it clear they would not run, there is some early indication that she might not be alone in seeking the nomination.

West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who left the party earlier this year to become an independent, is considering reregistering as a Democrat to vie for the nomination against the vice president, according to Jonathan Kott, a longtime adviser to Manchin.

Manchin, who repeatedly irked Democrats with his independent streak but was also a lynchpin for the Biden administration’s biggest legislative accomplishments, was the latest senator to call on Biden to drop his candidacy before the president made his announcement Sunday.

Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro backs Harris amid speculation over potential running mate

US Vice President Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (L) speak to the press while making a stop at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. (Ryan Collerd/AFP)

Democrats are quickly rallying around US Vice President Kamala Harris as their likely presidential nominee after President Joe Biden ’s ground-shaking decision to bow out of the 2024 race.

Among others, endorsements came from Biden; Bill and Hillary Clinton; prominent US senators; a wide swath of House representatives and members of the influential Congressional Black Caucus; and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who has been the subject of speculation as a potential running mate.

But the fast-moving political situation remains volatile just months before the November election.

Harris campaign, allies lobbying delegates to lock in support before DNC

WASHINGTON — US Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign officials, allies, and supporters have started making calls to secure the support of delegates for her nomination ahead of the Democratic National Convention in August, multiple sources say

The outreach, which started soon after President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid on Sunday, would be essential to ensuring Harris replaces Biden on the November 5 ballot as the party’s rival to Republican Donald Trump.

“A lot of people are working on it right now,” a source familiar with the matter says. “She has made clear she will work to earn their support,” the source says.

About 4,000 Democratic delegates, meeting in Chicago from August 19-22, will pick the Democratic Party’s nominee. Most are committed to Biden. After his abrupt announcement, they are not bound by any law or party rules to back anyone.

Biden was the party’s presumptive nominee, but he has no direct power over choosing the delegates’ formal nominee.

Harris needs the support of 1,969 of the 3,936 Democratic delegates to secure her nomination at the August convention.

Abortion rights groups including Emily’s List and Reproductive Freedom for All have been reaching out to delegates to make the case also for Harris. The vice president has been the leading voice for abortion rights in the Biden administration.

The vice president’s office declines to comment.

Gallant thanks Biden for ‘invaluable’ support during war with Hamas

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant thanks US President Joe Biden for his “unwavering support of Israel over the years.”

“Your steadfast backing, especially during the war, has been invaluable,” he adds. “We are grateful for your leadership and friendship.”

Thank you President @JoeBiden, for your unwavering support of Israel over the years. Your steadfast backing, especially during the war, has been invaluable. We are grateful for your leadership and friendship. ????????????????

— יואב גלנט – Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) July 21, 2024

Harris: ‘Honored’ to receive Biden’s endorsement, vows to ‘earn and win’ Democratic nomination

US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Westover High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on July 18, 2024. (Allison Joyce/ AFP)

US Vice President Kamala Harris says that she is “honored” to have been endorsed by President Joe Biden as he stepped down from the presidential race, and vows that it is her “intention to earn and win this nomination.”

“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump,” she adds.

She says that Biden’s “selfless and patriotic act” is a reflection of his long career, as he is “putting the American people and our country above everything else.”

“We have 107 days until election day. Together we will fight. And together we will win,” she says.

IDF says fighter jets struck Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon after earlier attacks on northern Israel

Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah rocket launchers, observation posts, and other infrastructure in southern Lebanon’s Ayta ash-Shab, Khiam, and Yarine earlier today, the IDF says.

It publishes footage of the strikes.

The strikes come following a series of Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel today.

מטוסי קרב תקפו מוקדם יותר היום עמדת שיגור, עמדת תצפית ותשתיות טרור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים עייתא א-שעב, אל-חיאם ויארין שבדרום לבנון. pic.twitter.com/Y4Wp3OU3p2

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 21, 2024

Meeting between Biden, Netanyahu to go ahead as planned, PMO source says

The meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden will still take place, according to a source in the Prime Minister’s Office. However, the exact time remains up in the air.

Netanyahu’s flight time from Israel has not changed, and he is expected to take off from Ben Gurion Airport at 9:00 a.m.

Bill, Hillary Clinton join Biden in endorsing Harris as Democratic nominee

Former US president Bill Clinton and ex-secretary of state Hillary Clinton praise Joe Biden’s decision to abandon his White House reelection bid and throw their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris to take up the baton.

Lauding Biden’s “extraordinary career of service,” the Clintons say in a joint statement that they are “honored” to join him in endorsing Harris as the Democratic nominee “and will do whatever we can to support her.”

“Nothing has made us more worried for our country than the threat posed by a second Trump term. He has promised to be a dictator on day one,” they add.

Herzog hails Biden as ‘true ally of the Jewish people’

US President Joe Biden embraces President Isaac Herzog upon landing in Israel on October 18, 2023. (Isaac Herzog/X)

President Isaac Herzog thanks Biden for his “friendship and steadfast support” for Israel throughout his long political career.

“As the first US President to visit Israel in wartime, as a recipient of the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor, and as a true ally of the Jewish people, he is a symbol of the unbreakable bond between our two peoples,” Herzog writes on X.

“I send him, Jill Biden, and all his family, my warmest wishes from Jerusalem,” he adds.

Bennett: Biden has shown ‘unwavering support’ for Israel, is a ‘true friend’ of ours

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett says US President Joe Biden is a “true friend of Israel who stood by us in our most difficult moments.”

“During my tenure as prime minister, I witnessed his unwavering support of the State of Israel,” he adds. “Thank you for everything.”

Trump: Biden ‘not fit to serve,’ ‘worst president’ ever; VP Harris will be easier to beat

US President Joe Biden, right, and Republican presidential candidate former president Donald Trump, left, during a presidential debate hosted by CNN, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP/Gerald Herbert)

Republican presidential nominee and former president Donald Trump says Biden was “not fit to run” and “is certainly not fit to serve” as president.

In comments after Biden announced he will not seek reelection, Trump also calls Biden the “worst president” in American history.

“Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve — And never was! … We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump posts on his Truth Social network shortly after Biden’s announcement.

The Republican candidate also told a CNN reporter that he believes Vice President Kamala Harris will be easier to beat than Biden.

In a phone call with CNN minutes after Biden announced his exit from the 2024 race, former President Trump responded, “He is the worst president in the history of our country. He goes down as the single worst president by far in the history of our country.” While it's unclear who…

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) July 21, 2024

Biden had sudden ‘change of heart’ about running for reelection, source says after bombshell announcement

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a source familiar with Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race tells Reuters that a last-minute change of heart led to the 81-year-old president’s bombshell announcement.

The president had told allies that, as of Saturday night, he planned to stay in the race before changing his mind on Sunday afternoon.

“Last night the message was proceed with everything, full speed ahead,” the source says. “At around 1:45 p.m. [8:45 p.m. Israel time] today, the president told his senior team that he had changed his mind.”

He announced his decision on social media within minutes.

Lapid, opposition lawmakers thank Biden for his support of Israel in wake of Oct. 7

After US President Joe Biden says he will not seek reelection, Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid shares a photo of him shaking Biden’s hand on X, and writes “Thank you.”

Thank you. pic.twitter.com/mJtvHwDIqT

— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) July 21, 2024

Labor MK Na’ama Lazimi shares an image of Biden meeting 4-year-old released hostage Avigail Idan in the White House back in April, and thanks him as well.

Thank you! @POTUS pic.twitter.com/XahZOtLyYu

— ???? Naama Lazimi – נעמה לזימי (@naamalazimi) July 21, 2024

Lazimi’s fellow Labor MK Gilad Kariv writes on X that Biden is “one of the greatest friends and supporters of the State of Israel and the Jewish people.

“Decent Israelis will remember him as someone who was a man of true responsibility and sanity when the people who were supposed to lead us failed and abandoned us,” he adds.

Biden endorses VP Harris to replace him as Democratic Party’s presidential nominee

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about conflict sexual violence before a screening of "Screams Before Silence," in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington, Monday, June 17, 2024. The presenter-led documentary film with Sheryl Sandberg, former COO of Meta, is about the rape and mutilation of Israeli women on Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Biden endorses Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement on the Democratic Party’s presidential ticket after announcing that he will not seek reelection.

“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made,” he writes on X. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”

My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best… pic.twitter.com/x8DnvuImJV

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024

Biden thanks VP Harris for being ‘extraordinary partner,’ but doesn’t endorse her as replacement

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, arrive at the celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month in the East Room of the White House, May 16, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Manuel Balce Ceneta)

In a letter announcing his decision to end his bid for reelection in November, US President Joe Biden thanks Vice President Kamala Harris “for being an extraordinary partner” throughout his three-and-a-half years as president, but does not name her directly in relation to his decision to drop out of the race.

By stepping aside, Biden clears the way for Harris to run at the top of the ticket, the first Black woman to do so in the country’s history.

It is unclear, however, whether other senior Democrats will challenge Harris for the party’s nomination, who was widely seen as the pick for many party officials — or whether the party itself would choose to open the field for nominations.

Biden’s announcement follows a wave of public and private pressure from Democratic lawmakers and party officials to quit the race after his shockingly poor performance in a televised debate last month against Republican rival Donald Trump.

TV report: Sinwar’s message to Israel was not regarded as a warning before an attack

Israelis held in Gaza: Clockwise from top left: Oron Shaul, Avera Mengistu, Hadar Goldin and Hisham al-Sayed. (Flash90/ Courtesy)

Yahya Sinwar’s message to Israel, sent a few weeks before October 7 and warning of a flare-up in the prisons and on the issue of the captives, was immediately understood by its recipients to be referring not to violence and disturbances among Palestinian security prisoners held by Israel, but to potential developments regarding Israelis held captive and/or missing, Channel 12 reports. That is how the message was defined and cataloged, the report says.

Prior to October 7, when Hamas seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still held captive, the terror group was holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014. Furthermore, in March 2023, a Russian-Israeli researcher named Elizabeth Tsurkov was kidnapped in Baghdad, and is being held by an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia.

Sinwar’s message was regarded as “highly sensitive” and was circulated in only a very limited way in the political and security echelons. It was given “the highest possible security classification… very few people” were given access to it.

The Mossad, the Shin Bet, and the IDF all held several discussions regarding the message. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant “were updated about these discussions,” the report says, and were involved in some of them.

The conclusion of these discussions was that Sinwar was indeed referring to Israeli captives and missing.

Israel “did not interpret the message as a warning ahead of an attack,” even though, as has been widely reported in the months since October 7, Israel intelligence had in its hands material relating to Hamas’s attack plans.

Elizabeth Tsurkov in an undated photo (social media; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Rather, Israel understood from the message that Hamas intended to “take charge of matters” regarding kidnapped researcher Tsurkov, and to demand the release of a large number of Palestinian security prisoners in return for her freedom.

Sinwar’s message was not circulated even to all high-ranking IDF and IDF intelligence branch officials, and was also not circulated to lower ranks. Those left out of the loop, therefore, were not able connect his message to other indications they might have raised.

The report says that “nobody” has been able to explain definitively why Sinwar would have wanted to convey the message. Intelligence materials accumulated since October 7 also provide no definite explanation. It makes no sense, the report notes, for Sinwar to have contacted Israel and potentially turned a spotlight onto Gaza just weeks before the invasion.

There are some who speculate that Sinwar may have been dealing with two simultaneous issues, the report goes on to say: planning October 7, while also attempting to maximize ongoing negotiations and contacts that it says were advancing at the time regarding the four Israelis in Gaza — the slain soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, and the living civilians Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed.

Others in the system speculate — and “this seems ridiculous,” the TV report says — that Sinwar conveyed his clandestine message “because of differences of opinion between him and [Hamas’s military chief] Muhammad Deif regarding the timing of the [October 7] attack.” According to this thesis, Sinwar “maybe wanted to prompt Israel into taking actions that would delay the attack that Hamas was planning to a later date — maybe enabling greater coordination with Hezbollah.” Sinwar “might have been interested” in that kind of delay, while Deif might have wanted the October 7 date.

Speculation aside, the bottom line, says Channel 12, is that Sinwar’s message “was not correctly interpreted.” It should, the report concludes, have turned the spotlight onto Gaza.

In bombshell announcement, Biden says he will not run for reelection in November

US President Joe Biden speaks at the 115th NAACP National Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, July 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

US President Joe Biden says he will step down as the Democratic nominee in the November presidential elections after weeks of mounting pressure.

In a statement published by the 81-year-old president, he says that he believes it to be “in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.”

pic.twitter.com/RMIRvlSOYw

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024

Gallant welcomes Netanyahu’s decision to restart hostage talks later this week

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attend a press conference at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, October 28, 2023. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant welcomes Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision to send Israel’s negotiating team back to the hostage deal talks, and stresses that there is a “limited window of opportunity for the release of the hostages.”

In a post on X, he wishes Netanyahu luck on his upcoming visit to the US, and says that “even if there are disagreements,” Israel’s security system supports him in the mission to bring home the 120 hostages still held captive in Gaza.

Channel 13 reported on Friday that Gallant was considering making a public declaration that Israel was “within reach” of a ceasefire and hostage release deal to pressure the premier, whom he was said to have accused of hindering progress, into finalizing the deal.

TV report: Sinwar personally sent clandestine message to Israel a few weeks before Oct 7

Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar speaks during a rally marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, in Gaza City, April 14, 2023. (Mohammed Abed/AFP)

Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s Gaza chief, personally sent a clandestine message to Israel a few weeks before he launched Hamas’s October 7 slaughter in southern Israel. In it, he warned Israel to expect a flare-up tied to Palestinians in Israeli prisons and on the issue of captives, Channel 12 news reports.

Stressing that it was not reporting the text word for word, the TV report says the message from Sinwar approximately stated: “A flare-up is expected in the prisons and on the issue of the captives.”

It says the message was received by Israel, and that Sinwar knew it had been received. It does not specify to whom Sinwar conveyed the message or how it was conveyed.

It notes that the message did not constitute a specific warning regarding the then-imminent October 7 invasion and slaughter, but asserts nonetheless that the text “shines a dramatic light on the events of October 7” and contains details that “in our estimation are likely to prove nothing less than historic in hindsight.”

It says its report has been approved for publication by the Israeli military censor.

More on this story here.

Protesters gather at Ben Gurion Airport ahead of Netanyahu’s departure for US

Protesters demonstrate against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming visit to the US at Ben Gurion Airport, July 21, 2024. (Tanya Zion-Waldoks/ Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Anti-government and pro-hostage deal protesters are gathering at Ben Gurion Airport to demonstrate against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ahead of his departure for the United States tomorrow morning.

Protesters have urged him not to travel to Washington unless a deal is first signed with the Hamas terror group to facilitate the return of the hostages from Gaza.

Banners referring to Netanyahu as “Mr. Abandonment,” in reference to his self-styled “Mr. Security” persona, have been posted at the entrance to Terminal 3, the airport’s main hub.

The prime minister was initially scheduled to depart for the US this evening, but the flight was pushed back to Monday morning after his meeting with US President Joe Biden was moved to Tuesday.

Air Force to redeploy gun-based air defense systems to counter Hezbollah drones

Smoke rises near the Israeli border with Lebanon, following missiles attack from Lebanon, July 21, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/ Flash90)

The Israeli Air Force is preparing to redeploy gun-based air defense systems to counter Hezbollah’s drones from Lebanon.

The IDF previously used the Vulcan, which was retired in 2006. It is not clear which system the IAF is planning to use now.

The ground-based systems would potentially be deployed to defend specific points, such as military bases or sensitive infrastructure, against Hezbollah drones. Such gun-based systems are not effective at covering wide areas.

Hezbollah has fired more than 300 explosive-laden drones at Israel during the ongoing war, and, according to the military, only half were intercepted. Around 30 of the drone impacts caused damage or casualties.

Until now, the IDF has used the Iron Dome air defense system and fighter jets, both using missiles, to shoot down Hezbollah drones.

PM holds ‘in-depth’ discussion on hostage deal efforts, negotiating team to return to talks Thursday

Ahead of his flight to Washington tomorrow, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds an “in-depth discussion” on attempts to reach a hostage deal, according to his office.

He is joined at the meeting by his negotiating team and senior security officials.

Netanyahu decides that a negotiating team will return to the talks abroad on Thursday.

The Kan public broadcaster reports that the delegation, headed by Israel’s lead negotiator Mossad chief David Barnea, will head to Doha, Qatar, where previous talks have been held.

Outrage after far-left French lawmaker says Israeli athletes not welcome at Paris Olympics

French Members of Parliament for La France Insoumise (LFI) parliamentary group, Thomas Portes (L) and Aymeric Caron talk to the press near the entrance of the Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po Paris) during an anti-Israel student protest, in Paris on May 3, 2024. (Miguel Medina/AFP)

A hard-left French lawmaker has come under fire from fellow left-wing politicians, as well as a major French Jewish group, for saying that Israeli athletes were not welcome at the Paris Olympics, due to the war with Hamas in Gaza.

France Unbowed (LFI) lawmaker Thomas Portes is “putting a target on the backs of Israeli athletes,” says Yonathan Arfi, head of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France, on X.

Portes said at a rally in support of Palestinians that “the Israeli delegation is not welcome in Paris. Israeli sportspeople are not welcome at the Paris Olympic Games.” He called for “mobilization” around the event.

He later told the Parisian newspaper that “France’s diplomats should pressure the International Olympic Committee to bar the Israeli flag and anthem, as is done for Russia.”

“It’s time to end the double standard,” Portes added.

In response, Arfi says Israeli athletes are “already the most in danger at the Olympic Games,” and recalls the 11 “murdered by Palestinian terrorists” in 1972 at the Munich Games.

Beyond the Jewish group, Portes is also criticized by nominal parliamentary allies in the Socialist Party and by conservatives.

“Of course, Israeli athletes are welcome, like all sportspeople from all over the world. Not for who they are, but for what they do,” Socialist MP Jerome Guedj writes.

France is on its highest state of security, as it gears up to host millions of visitors, athletes, and world leaders during the Paris Olympic Summer Games, which kick off on Friday.

The Paris 2024 organizing committee has already made assurances that “unprecedented” steps will be implemented to secure the Games, including the deployment of 30,000 police and gendarmes who will be reinforced by roughly 20,000 soldiers. In addition, between 17,000 and 22,000 private security agents are expected for the Olympic sites and fan zones.

Houthi leader says group ‘more capable than ever’ of carrying out attacks against Israel

Houthi leader Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi lauds the Iran-backed group’s deadly drone strike on Tel Aviv on Thursday night and vows that “Yemen is more capable than ever to deal blows to Israel.”

The semi-official Iranian news outlet Mehr News quotes al-Houthi as bragging that the “Yemeni drone attack on Tel Aviv was a major psychological blow to Israel,” in a speech delivered a day after the IDF carried out a retaliatory strike on Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Hodeida port.

“The usurping Israelis should be fearful and more concerned than ever,” he continues. “The Zionists should also know that their foolish leaders have brought them closer to growing dangers.”

The Houthi leader vows that Yemen will continue attacking Israel in solidarity with the people of Gaza for as long as the war with Hamas continues, and says it will “move to a new level of anti-Israel operations” in the immediate future.

“Attacking Yemen does not benefit the enemy,” al-Houthi adds.

Foreign pro-Palestinian activists attacked by Israeli settlers in northern West Bank

Foreign pro-Palestinian volunteers receive treatment at Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, after they were attacked by Jewish Israeli settlers in the village of Qusra, in the West Bank, July 21, 2024. (Nasser Ishtayeh/ Flash90)

Footage emerges of Israeli citizens, reportedly from the illegal settlement of Esh Kodesh, assaulting and beating international pro-Palestinian activists in the northern West Bank, injuring several of them.

Video footage shows a group of men, some masked but others with their faces visible and sporting long pe’ot, or sidelocks, and tzitzit, attacking the activists and beating them with wooden clubs.

According to the “Looking the Occupation in the Eye” organization, which campaigns against the settlements, the Israeli assailants came down from Esh Kodesh to attack the activists who were planting olive trees in the land around the Palestinian town of Qusra, south of Nablus.

פיגוע ופצועים. קוסרה
שטח b
מעצרים – 0
רמז: המחבלים שלא נעצרו נמצאים בסרטון. @IntlCrimCourt https://t.co/BQo0wB3N8E pic.twitter.com/m0yKnlzyrk

— מסתכלים לכיבוש בעיניים (@Mistaclim) July 21, 2024

IDF forces who were alerted to the incident arrived and fired shots in the air, causing the Israelis to flee the area.

According to the IDF, the injured activists were evacuated from the area by the Red Crescent for medical treatment.

The IDF forces did not arrest the assailants because they fled the scene, nor did they report the incident to the police, since some of them were masked.

“The IDF views any attack and injury to citizens very severely and works to protect public order and security in the region,” the army said.

תעשו פרצוף מופתע.
אלות, מוטות ברזל ואבנים, פצועים. מתנחלים-טרוריסטים יהודים מ״אש קודש״ התנפלו באלימות על פלסטינים ופעילים ישראלים וזרים, שנטעו עצים בכפר קוסרה (قصرة), מדרום לשכם. חיילים ירו באוויר, אבל אין אף לא עצור אחד. "גורם בטחוני" עלום מודה שהתקיפה היתה ללא סיבה, אבל לא… pic.twitter.com/G8H47HZXV8

— מסתכלים לכיבוש בעיניים (@Mistaclim) July 21, 2024

Likud MKs say coalition will lose right to exist if Hamas allowed to remain in power in Gaza

Likud MK Dan Illouz (Sharon Hasson)

Two legislators from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling party declare that the government will lose its right to be in power if it approves a deal allowing Hamas to remain in power in Gaza.

Speaking with The Times of Israel on Sunday afternoon, Likud MK Dan Illouz says that “if the war ends with Hamas still being in power then that would be something that is an existential threat to Israel and that’s not something I could be a part of.”

Asked if he would bolt the coalition if the government agrees to a deal with which he disagrees, Illouz says he will not comment on hypotheticals but insists that he had made “a very clear statement.”

Illouz was one of eight Likud lawmakers who wrote to Netanyahu over the weekend, stating that they would refuse to back the hostage deal being discussed by Israel and Hamas in indirect negotiations unless significant changes are made to the proposal.

The lawmakers insisted that “any agreement that includes the withdrawal of our forces from their current positions in the Gaza Strip is a complete defeat” and warned against withdrawing from the so-called Philadelphi Route along Gaza’s border with Egypt.

Likud MK Amit Halevi, who initiated the letter, indicates that he agrees with Illouz’s statement regarding the existence of the government and says that Israel needs to establish full control over Gaza in order to prevent Hamas’ return.

“I will not be part of a coalition that takes our soldiers out of Philadelphi,” he tells The Times of Israel.

Asked if that meant he would quit Likud or try to topple the government following such an agreement, he demurs, stating that he believes most party members and voters “think like me.”

“I think it will be horrible if our government, our coalition will lend a hand to the victory of this cruel enemy,” he adds.

Both Illouz and Halevi emphasize that their letter is not meant as a threat or ultimatum but is intended to “strengthen” Netanyahu against both internal and external pressure over the deal.

IDF: Explosive-laden drones from Lebanon struck Hanita, Ya’ara area, sparking blaze

Several explosive-laden drones launched from Lebanon struck the Hanita and Ya’ara area in northern Israel, the IDF says.

Firefighters are battling a blaze sparked by one of the drones near Hanita.

There are no injuries in the attack.

In response, the IDF says it is carrying out a wave of strikes in southern Lebanon.

At IDF Central Command, Gallant says Israel committed to dismantling West Bank terror groups

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attends a situational assessment at the IDF's Central Command, July 21, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni / Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reiterated Israel’s commitment to dismantling Palestinian terror groups operating in the West Bank during a situational assessment with incoming IDF Central Command head Brig. Gen. Avi Blot.

During the meeting, Gallant received an overview of the military’s counterterror operations in the West Bank over the last few months, his office says in a statement.

“The Central Command’s sector is one where terrorism is simmering, partly as a result of the intentions of Iran, Hezbollah and other factors that strive to undermine the situation here,” Gallant said at the end of the meeting.

“Yesterday [when the IAF struck the port of Hodeida] we operated 2,000 kilometers from the State of Israel, and now we are in the heart of the State of Israel — here too we will know how to act,” he said, elaborating on steps being taken to fight terror in the West Bank. “I instructed the Central Command, the IDF and the chief of staff to ensure that all the actions of terror battalions inside refugee camps are thwarted, and we are crushing these battalions — in Jenin, Tulkarem, Tubas and elsewhere.

“We will act accordingly, we will not allow a situation where the citizens of Israel are at risk as a result of actions by terrorists directed by Iran,” Gallant added.

Israeli intelligence firm publishes satellite images of damage to Hodeida port after IDF strike

This photo released by ImageSat International on July 21, 2024, shows damage to Hodeida Port in Yemen following an IDF airstrike on July 20, 2024. (ImageSat International)

Satellite images published by Israeli intelligence and imagery firm ImageSat International show damage to Hodeida Port in Yemen following the IDF strike yesterday.

The strike targeted fuel depots and container cranes at the Houthi-controlled post, according to the IDF, in response to the Iran-backed group’s attacks on Israel.

This photo released by ImageSat International on July 21, 2024, shows damage to Hodeida Port in Yemen following an IDF airstrike on July 20, 2024. (ImageSat International)

Air Force: Israeli fighter jets could be shot down in all-out war with Hezbollah, will need to take risks

Israeli F-35 fighter jets return to the Nevatim Airbase after carrying out an airstrike in Yemen, July 20, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

In the event of a war with Lebanon, the Israeli Air Force will need to take risks to combat Hezbollah’s air defenses, according to new assessments described to The Times of Israel.

The IAF has assessed that fighter jets may be shot down in an all-out war with Lebanon, and risks will need to be taken to obtain aerial superiority during the first days of a major conflict.

So far, amid ongoing skirmishes along the border, Hezbollah has shot down at least five Israeli drones, and in one case, fired missiles at Israeli jets without success.

The IAF has knowledge of the Iranian-made anti-aircraft systems that Hezbollah is in possession of, and has repeatedly made efforts to target them amid the ongoing fighting.

The Israeli military has plans ready in the event of an escalation with Hezbollah, although Israel’s political leadership has not yet made a decision on launching an offensive in Lebanon and turning the Gaza Strip into a secondary front. Regardless, the IAF maintains readiness for the event of a sudden escalation as a result of Hezbollah’s actions.

Deadly Houthi drone spent 16 hours in flight before reaching Tel Aviv on Friday; in vital minutes, IAF radar operators were focused on drone from Iraq

Israeli security and rescue personnel at the scene of a drone explosion in Tel Aviv, July 19, 2024. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)

The Iranian-made drone launched by the Houthis in Yemen at Tel Aviv on Friday morning traveled more than 2,600 kilometers (1,600 miles) to reach Israel, according to an Israeli Air Force probe.

The modified Iranian-made Samad-3 used a non-direct flight path, which may have contributed to it not being classified as a threat, which resulted in it not being intercepted. It struck a residential building in Tel Aviv, killing an Israeli man.

According to the IAF investigation, the explosive-laden drone apparently flew west from Yemen over the Red Sea, reaching Eritrea, before then flying north over Sudan and Egypt and reaching the Mediterranean Sea. The drone then approached Tel Aviv from the west.

It was only at this point that the drone showed up on Israeli radar as an unidentified target. In hindsight, the drone had been tracked for six minutes in a row while it approached Tel Aviv from the direction of the sea, before dropping in and out of the radar for several minutes after that, according to the probe.

The drone, according to the probe, was in the air for some 16 hours, flying at a speed of between 80 and 100 knots, or 148-185 kilometers per hour.

The IAF was aware of that the Houthis had such capabilities but had no prior information on the attack itself.

The probe found that if the target had been classified as a suspected drone when it was first identified, then the IAF would have had enough time to engage it, using fighter jets or ground or sea-based air defense systems. Instead, the target was not classified as a threat, due to a human error by the air traffic control operators, and it hit Tel Aviv.

The human operators who analyze the IAFs radar were at the time in the middle of tracking a drone launched by another Iran-backed group, from Iraq. That drone was shot down by fighter jets. The IAF has explained that the air traffic control operators also frequently see targets drop in and out of the radar, which in some cases are birds or distortions caused by clouds. Additionally, the IAF’s focus has been on targets approaching Israel from the north, east, and south, and less so from the west.

Following the attack, the IAF has now doubled the number of operators analyzing the radar systems, so that targets are not missed and are correctly classified. It has also increased aerial patrols, especially in the Mediterranean, to better detect incoming threats.

WATCH: IDF releases footage of strike on Houthi-controlled Hodeida port in Yemen

Israeli F-35 fighter jets return to the Nevatim Airbase after carrying out an airstrike in Yemen, July 20, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israeli Air Force releases footage showing yesterday’s airstrike against the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeida in western Yemen, which came following a deadly drone attack on Tel Aviv carried out by the Iran-backed group.

The video shows missiles launched by IAF fighter jets striking four large container cranes at the port, used to unload shipments.

The IAF also releases footage showing fighter jets being refueled amid the operation, dubbed Outstretched Arm, as well as the arrival of some of the aircraft back in Israel following the strike.

The strike, carried out by dozens of Israeli aircraft, targeted fuel depots and energy infrastructure at the port, in addition to the cranes.

The strike on the fuel depot is a major blow to the Houthi economy, and the cranes being taken out of service prevents the group from bringing in more Iranian weapons via the port that have been used to target Israel, along with commercial and military ships in the Red Sea.

Saturday’s strike on Hodeida Port used more force than the IAF needed, aimed at sending a message of deterrence as well as causing financial damage to the Iran-backed group and impeding its ability to import weapons.

Strikes carried out by an American-led coalition in Yemen have only targeted Houthi military infrastructure and not sites that are also used by civilians, such as the Hodeida Port which is also used to bring in humanitarian aid to the war-torn country.

The IAF believes that the strike would project a message to Israel’s enemies, especially Lebanon’s Hezbollah, that Israel is able and willing to target dual-use civilian-military infrastructure and carry out what could be considered disproportionate responses to attacks.

Meanwhile, the IAF is on high alert for reprisal in response to the airstrike. The IAF has assessed that not only the Houthis will ramp up attacks following the strike in Yemen, but so will other Iran-backed groups in the region, including those in Syria, Iraq, and the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.

Following Friday’s Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv, which killed Yevgeny Ferder, 50, the IAF assessed that the Iran-backed group in Yemen would continue to carry out attacks on Israel, regardless of an Israeli response.

The Houthis have launched more than 220 missiles and drones at the country in the past nine months. Israel, until Friday’s deadly attack in Tel Aviv, chose not to respond to those attacks.

Israel’s air defenses are not “hermetic,” officials say, warning that there will likely be more successful drone attacks on the country though the IAF is doing as much as possible to prevent them.

The IAF also says it was unfazed by the fact that social media clips showed the Israeli fighter jets, refueler tankers, and spy planes heading toward Yemen in the afternoon hours, which may have given the Houthis an early warning.

The IAF saw the social media footage, as well as the fact that the strike was carried out in daylight, as a form of deterrence, which may also impact Israel’s other enemies.

IDF: Hamas operative killed in recent Gaza City strike was behind deadly West Bank attack in 2003

The IDF says one of some 20 Hamas operatives killed in a recent airstrike in Gaza City was responsible for a deadly attack in the West Bank in the early 2000s.

According to the IDF and Shin Bet, Nimr Hamida was killed in the strike in Gaza City’s Shati neighborhood earlier this month, which the military announced last week.

Hamida was behind an October 2003 shooting attack near the West Bank town of Ein Yabrud, killing three IDF soldiers, the military says.

He was exiled to the Gaza Strip in the 2011 Shalit deal, in which Israel exchanged more than 1,000 terrorists for hostage soldier Gilad Shalit.

In recent years, the IDF says he has served as a member of Hamas’s so-called West Bank headquarters, a Gaza Strip-based unit that advances attacks against Israel from or within the West Bank.

Saudi Arabia urges ‘maximum restraint’ after Israeli strike on Houthi infrastructure in Yemen

Saudi Arabia, a major foreign player in Yemen’s nearly decade-long civil war, urges restraint in the wake of an Israeli strike that the Houthi rebels said killed 6 people. The strike came in response to a Houthi drone strike in Tel Aviv on Thursday night in which one person was killed.

The Israeli strike “aggravates the current tension in the region and halts the ongoing efforts to end the war in Gaza,” the Saudi foreign ministry says in a statement.

It “called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to distance the region and its people from the dangers of war.”

Saudi Arabia mobilized an international military coalition against the Houthis in 2015, although a truce has largely held for the past two years.

Efforts by the kingdom to broker a Yemen peace deal have faltered in the wake of an anti-shipping campaign by the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which the Iran-backed group claims is being carried out to signal solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid Israel’s war with the Hamas terror group, also backed by Iran.

The rebels have targeted nearly 90 ships since November.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has engaged in a delicate balancing act as the world’s biggest oil exporter tries to extricate itself from the war on its doorstep.

It has not joined a US-led naval coalition to deter Houthi attacks or participated in strikes on Yemen carried out by the US and Britain since January.

Sunday’s foreign ministry statement affirmed the kingdom’s “continuous support for peace efforts in Yemen to spare its people more suffering.”

Shin Bet security agents to secure Israeli athletes throughout Paris Olympics

Shin Bet security agents are departing for Paris this week where they will secure Israeli athletes throughout the Olympic Games, which begin on July 26, the UK’s Telegraph newspaper reports.

Sports and Culture Minister Miki Zohar tells the news outlet that the security team’s budget has been doubled since the Tokyo Games in 2021, and that preparations for the Games had been in the works for “more than a year.”

The guards will be armed and will work in cooperation with local French security and Parisian police forces, former Shin Bet official Lior Akerman says.

In total, 88 Israeli athletes and delegation members will receive security coverage, although they won’t all have a personal bodyguard, Zohar says.

“We try our best to make sure the athletes feel free but also safe and not afraid. We don’t want them to notice the security guards too much. We want them to feel confident so they can do their job,” he explains.

Speaking to the Telegraph, a diplomatic official says that the Israeli team is expected to participate in the games as normal, and will not miss out on any events as a result of increasing antisemitic and anti-Israel sentiment in France in the wake of the October 7 terror onslaught and the ongoing war in Gaza.

The cooperation between Israel and France is “excellent,” the diplomat adds.

The Shin Bet has accompanied the Israeli athletes to previous Olympic Games, including the London 2012 Olympics, and at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Israeli-owned International Security & Defense Systems was selected to manage security for the entire event.

Houthis say there will be ‘no red lines’ in group’s response to Israel after Hodeida port strike

A giant fire erupts at an oil storage facility following Israeli strikes in Yemen's Houthi-held port city of Hodeida on July 20, 2024. (AFP)

The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen will continue to attack Israel and will not abide by any rules of engagement, the group’s spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam tells Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV, a day after Israel struck Houthi military targets near Yemen’s Hodeida port in retaliation for a drone strike in Tel Aviv on Friday in which one person was killed.

Abdulsalam says there will be “no red lines” in the Houthis’ response to Israel. “All sensitive institutions with all its levels will be a target for us,” he says.

Earlier today, the Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the terror group’s “response to the Israeli aggression against our country is inevitably coming and will be huge.”

According to the IDF, Yemen’s Houthis in the past nine months have fired over 220 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones at Israel — mostly toward the southernmost city of Eilat — in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, where Israel is battling Hamas terrorists.

Israelis in London protest against Channel 13 owner Len Blavatnik at the Tate Modern

Protesters call on Channel 13 owner Len Blavatnik to maintain freedom of the press after the channel's board of directors appointed a former politician believed to be allied with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as head of the news network, in front of the Blavatnik Building of the Tate Modern in London, July 21, 2024. (Rotem Perry/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

A group of Israelis living in London are protesting outside the Tate Modern’s Blavatnik Building against the owner of Israel’s Channel 13 Len Blavatnik, amid what they say is his attempt to suppress freedom of the press.

Blavatnik, whom the newest Tate Modern building is named after due to his substantial donation, has come under scrutiny in Israel in recent weeks following the Channel 13 board of directors’ decision to appoint former MK Yulia Shamalov Berkovich — who is believed to be allied with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — as the head of the network’s news department.

As part of the network’s shakeup, the channel’s most-watched program “Warzone,” run by veteran political correspondent and Netanyahu critic Raviv Drucker, was abruptly canceled.

Protesters chant “Blavatnik, don’t mess with freedom of the press!” and some wear masks of his and Netanyahu’s faces.

A similar protest is also taking place outside the Blavatnik School of Government in England’s Oxford University.

Herzog to attend Olympic opening ceremony, 1972 Munich commemoration in Paris, will also visit Rome

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 will fly to Paris and Rome this week to participate in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games and to meet heads of state, his office announces.

Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog will take off on Wednesday for Paris to place a mezuzah on the Israeli building in the Olympic Village, and mark 52 years since the Munich Olympics massacre with bereaved families, the Israeli delegation, and the Olympic Committee. He will also watch the Israel-Mali soccer game.

The next day, Herzog will meet Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, President Sergio Mattarella, and Foreign Minister Antoni Tajani in Rome.

He will return to Paris that evening for a reception hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron for heads of state arriving for the opening of the games.

On Friday, Herzog will hold a working meeting with Macron. He will also meet members of France’s Jewish community, and attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

According to his office, Herzog will walk back to his hotel from the ceremony, as it takes place on Shabbat.

“It is important specifically at this time that Israel appears with all its vigor and strength on the world stage, and especially on an important stage like the Olympics,” says Herzog.

He calls Israel’s participation “an expression of the strong and exciting Israeli spirit.”

“Even in these moments, which are exciting and full of hope, we think about the hostages and their families every second,” he continues. “This is our ultimate goal and duty as a country – not to forget for a moment and to constantly act for their release, in Israel and abroad.”

Herzog will also meet Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof and Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña. as well as other world leaders.

TMZ: Bella Hadid retains lawyers after Adidas drops her from campaign for 1972 Munich Olympics retro sneaker

Model Bella Hadid arrives for the screening of the film 'L'Amour Ouf' (Beating Hearts) at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 23, 2024. (Loic Venance/AFP)

Palestinian-American supermodel and activist Bella Hadid has retained lawyers to examine her options after Adidas dropped her from an advertising campaign for retro sneakers referencing the 1972 Munich Olympics, where 11 Israeli athletes were killed in an attack by a Palestinian terror group, celebrity gossip website TMZ reports.

Unnamed sources tell TMZ that Hadid is looking to take action for what the site calls Adidas’s “lack of public accountability.”

The website says that Hadid is still under contract with Adidas, and that she is upset that the shoemaker would run a campaign associated with the violence at the 1972 games.

“Sounds like Bella’s telling people in her orbit she didn’t know what she was getting herself into when she signed on… and, she’s holding Adidas responsible for that,” TMZ says.

The German sportswear giant recently relaunched the SL72, a shoe first showcased by athletes at the 1972 Olympics, as part of a series reviving old classic sneakers.

Eleven Israeli athletes and a German police officer were killed at the 1972 Munich Games after terrorists from the Palestinian Black September group broke into the Olympic village and took them hostage.

Hadid, who was born in the United States but has Palestinian roots through her father, has been vocal about her support for Palestinian rights since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 triggered the war in Gaza. She has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza — an allegation rejected as unfounded by Israel — and been accused by Israel and US Jewish groups of antisemitism.

Levin to be acting PM while Netanyahu is in US; Katz authorized to convene security cabinet

Justice Minister Yariv Levin (second from left, flanked by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant to his right, and National Infrastructure Minister Yisrael Katz during a vote on the reasonableness limitation bill in the Knesset plenum, July 24, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Justice Minister Yariv Levin will be Israel’s temporary acting premier while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington this week.

In addition, Foreign Minister Israel Katz iss authorized to convene the security cabinet if necessary while Netanyahu is away.

Amid public tension between Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the selections are seen by some as a slight by the prime minister against his intraparty rival.

Israeli law requires an acting prime minister to step in during situations in which the leader is either abroad or temporarily unable to perform their duties.

Greece condemns attack on Israeli said to end when assailants were convinced victim wasn’t Jewish

Greece strongly condemns the attack on an Israeli visiting the country last week, which left recently discharged IDF soldier Fahad Qubati, 24, with head and facial injuries.

“Competent authorities are conducting a thorough investigation,” says the Greek embassy in Israel. “Acts of violence are unacceptable. All Israelis are welcome in Greece, which is a totally safe tourist destination.”

The attackers reportedly stopped beating Qubati only after they were convinced he was an Arab Christian, and not Jewish.

Rocket hits empty school in northern community; barrages fired from Lebanon spark fires

Screen grab from a video circulating on social media showing the impact of a rocket fired from Lebanon that hit an empty school in Kibbutz Dafna, July 21,2024 (Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

An empty school was hit in a rocket barrage fired from southern Lebanon toward Israeli communities.

The school was hit in the Kibbutz Dafna, which is largely evacuated of civilians.

There are no injuries reported.

במטח לצפון: פגיעה ישירה באולם של ביה״ס הר וגיא בקיבוץ דפנה@_Gitsis_

צילום: לפי סעיף 27 א' pic.twitter.com/JfA7U7NK7W

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) July 21, 2024

The rocket barrages also sparked a number of blazes, Army Radio reports.

Yesterday some 50 dunams were burned in a fire at the Banias nature reserve caused by rockets or their interception.

זה לא בעומק תימן, ולא מאגרי החות'ים. זו שמורת בניאס בלב הגולן בעוד לילה של אש כתוצאה מתקיפות חיזבאללה על הצפון.
צילום: אלון ענבר pic.twitter.com/XVQGAXAoQj

— יאיר קראוס (@yair_kraus) July 20, 2024

MK to hostage families who said relatives going hungry in Gaza: ‘Did you eat this morning? So everything is fine’

File: Likud MK Nissim Vaturi speaks during a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting on the ultra-Orthodox draft law at the Knesset, in Jerusalem on June 25, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum condemns deputy Knesset speaker MK Nissim Vaturi (Likud) over what it describes as an “attack” on protesters, stating that “there is no place for violent discourse and disrespectful behavior toward the families of the hostages.”

Several relatives of hostages currently held in Gaza by Hamas approached Vaturi in the Knesset this morning and challenged him over his opposition to a potential hostage-ceasefire deal.

Video showed what appeared to be Vaturi’s parliamentary assistant attempting to physically block one of the protesters from filming their interaction in a Knesset hallway.

Vaturi is one of eight Likud lawmakers who wrote to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stating that they will refuse to back the deal unless significant changes are made to the proposal.

“I and other family members approached him to ask him why he sent the letter. The event was photographed by one of the family members. Chana, MK Vaturi’s parliamentary assistant, grabbed her phone violently. The MK joined in aggressively and pushed me and Inbal, the cousin of abductee Tal Shoham,” Yuval Baron, the son-in-law of hostage Keith Siegel, is quoted as saying by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

The Times of Israel has not seen any footage of Vaturi’s direct participation in a physical altercation.

Following the confrontation, the protesters continued to follow Vaturi as he headed toward the lawmakers’ wing of the building, with one calling out that the hostages were underfed.

Turning around, Vaturi replies: “Did you eat this morning? So everything is fine.”

Last month, Vaturi charged that anti-government protesters, who have been regularly demanding early elections and the release of hostages held in Gaza, are a “branch” of Hamas. The lawmaker later attempted to backtrack.

משפחות חטופים מאשימות: עוזרת של ח"כ ניסים ואטורי מנעה באלימות שיחה איתו | כשנשאל על הרעב בשבי ענה לקרובת חטוף: "את אכלת הבוקר?"https://t.co/hHpizpwhS7 | @DaphnaLiel

צילום: מתוך חשבון הטוויטר Avigdorii pic.twitter.com/BL9twfhz8l

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) July 21, 2024

Tel Aviv Stock Exchange shares drop after Israeli strike on Houthi-controlled port in Yemen

Shares on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange drop after Israel conducted a major strike against the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeida in western Yemen yesterday, a day after a drone launched by the Iran-backed group killed a man in Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s benchmark TA-125 index and the TA-35 index of blue-chip companies both fall by 1.1%. The Tel Aviv index of the five largest banks is down 1.3% and the TA-Construction index declines 1.6%. The TA-Biomed index drops 2%.

The strike over the weekend marked the first time the Israel Defense Forces has carried out a strike in Yemen, and came after a drone launched by the Houthis group struck Tel Aviv on Friday. The Israeli Air Force strike on the Houthi-controlled port targeted fuel depots, energy-related sites, and other facilities and was aimed at preventing the group from importing Iranian weapons, as well as causing the Iran-backed rebels financial damage.

IDF says it carried out strike on Hezbollah cell in south Lebanon’s Houla

A Hezbollah cell spotted in southern Lebanon’s Houla was struck by a drone earlier today, the IDF says.

It publishes footage of the strike.

A Hezbollah cell spotted in southern Lebanon's Houla was struck by a drone earlier today, the IDF says. pic.twitter.com/wCMFiLdCQo

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 21, 2024

Shin Bet says it foiled West Bank shooting attack plot directed by Hamas members in Turkey

An attempt by Hamas to carry out a shooting attack in the West Bank, directed by members of the terror group in Turkey, was recently foiled, the Shin Bet security agency announces.

According to the Shin Bet, the cell was made up of Hamas representatives on the student council at Birzeit University in the West Bank

The Shin Bet says the cell was given instructions and funding by Hamas’s branch in Turkey.

Members of the cell were recently arrested by police’s elite Gideonim unit, and an assault rifle and thousands of dollars in cash provided by Hamas were also seized, the agency says.

After polio found in Gaza sewage, IDF says will boost soldiers, work to bring more vaccines into Strip

Palestinian children walk near stagnant wastewater on their way to a food distribution point in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on July 19, 2024 (Bashar TALEB / AFP)

A campaign to give polio vaccinations to soldiers in the Gaza Strip has begun, the IDF announces.

The move comes after the Health Ministry reported that poliovirus type 2 was found in sewage samples in the Gaza Strip last week.

Polio is primarily spread through fecal-oral contamination, sometimes by drinking contaminated water, poor sanitation and poor control of sewage.

The wide-scale vaccination campaign is for all forces in regular service and reserves, and is not compulsory.

Alongside the vaccination campaign for soldiers, the IDF is working with international organizations to bring more vaccines into the Strip for Gazans.

Government approves appointment of former Navy commander to oversee rehabilitation of north

Eli Marom in Tel Aviv on April 2, 2023 (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

The government unanimously approves former commander of the Israeli Navy Vice Admiral (res.) Eliezer Marom to oversee the rehabilitation of Israel’s northern communities that have been harmed amid fighting against Hezbollah.

The appointment was initially made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in June, as he simultaneously appointed Maj.-Gen. (Res.) Yiftach Ron-Tal to head the Tekuma Authority in the south.

Marom’s appointment as director-general of the authority rehabilitating the north was opposed by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who feared a conflict of interest because of his involvement in a sprawling alleged corruption scandal involving the purchase of navy vessels worth hundreds of millions of dollars from a German shipbuilder.

At the meeting, ministers attacked Deputy Attorney General Meir Levin for his office’s opposition to Marom, Walla reports, charging that the attorney general gets in the way of key appointments and dismissals.

Otzma Yehudit submits bill to grant soldiers, civilians immunity for actions taken on Oct. 7

Israeli security seen next to burnt cars at the entrance to the Gaza border community of Kibbutz Be'eri, October 9, 2023. (Yossi Zamir/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party submits a bill that would grant soldiers, police officers and regular citizens full criminal and civil immunity for any actions taken while fighting against Hamas’s devastating attack on October 7.

The bill comes in direct response to an investigation into three Israeli civilians recently arrested on suspicion of killing a Palestinian man on October 7 and stealing weaponry from Israeli troops. According to Walla, the chief suspect is alleged to have seized a Palestinian whom he identified as an operative in Hamas’s elite Nukhba force, interrogated him, and executed him at the end of the interrogation.

In a statement, Ben Gvir says that “whoever saved a life should receive a commendation, not a criminal investigation from the prosecutor’s office.”

“I would very much like to believe that the law is unnecessary, but unfortunately reality proves otherwise,” adds Otzma Yehudit MK Limor Son Har-Melech, who submitted the bill on behalf of the party.

According to the text of the bill, “an Israeli citizen will not be held criminally or civilly liable, will not be investigated as a suspect and will be immune from any legal action related to actions he performed or orders he gave as part of combat operations or the defense of the State of Israel on October 7-8.”

Earlier this month, Ben Gvir slammed State Prosecutor Amit Aisman over the case, calling on him to “remember that he is the attorney of the State of Israel, and not of its enemies.”

Testifying before the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee today, Aisman said that he “approved the opening of the investigation after consultations, and only after we were convinced that the evidence required the opening of an investigation, and we did so with a heavy heart.”

“Even in a combat situation, when a person does not pose a danger and is completely neutralized his death can amount to a crime,” Aisman reportedly said.

Smotrich slams potential US sanctions on him: ‘Fatal injury to Israeli sovereignty and US-Israel ties’

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich at a conference hosted by the Makor Rishon newspaper, in Jerusalem, June 30, 2024. (Sindel/Flash90)

Finance Minister slams potential United States sanctions against both him and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir as politically motivated, calling such a move a “fatal injury to Israeli sovereignty” and US-Israel relations.

Responding to reports that White House has discussed sanctioning both far-right cabinet members, Smotrich says that he is “no different than Reut Ben Haim or any other settler on whom draconian and undemocratic American sanctions have been imposed.”

Ben Haim is a leader of the US-sanctioned Tzav 9 group, which has led attacks on humanitarian aid convoys en route to Gaza in Israel and the West Bank.

“This is an unfortunate decision that stems from the internal political needs of those who claim to lead the largest democracy in the world and operate with distinctly anti-democratic tools against a brave partner who is the only democracy in the Middle East,” Smotrich declares in a statement.

Boasting of his activities on behalf of the settlement enterprise in the West Bank, Smotrich says he is proud of his efforts “to prevent the establishment of a terrorist state that would endanger the existence of the State of Israel, and I am ready to pay any price for that.”

Dismissing American and European sanctions as “a passing shadow,” he insists that imposing sanctions on a democratically elected minister in the Israeli government “constitutes a fatal injury to Israeli sovereignty and relations between the countries and this will have serious consequences in many areas.”

“I discussed this with the prime minister and things will be clarified in a way that is not ambiguous,” he warns.

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.

6 killed, 80 wounded in Israel’s Saturday strikes on Hodeida, say Yemen medical sources

Oil tanks burn at the port in Hodeidah, Yemen after Israeli strikes, July 20, 2024 (AP Photo)

Six people were killed and 80 injured in Israel’s strikes on Yemen’s Hodeida yesterday, medical sources in Yemen tell Reuters.

The Israeli Air Force struck the Houthi-controlled port in western Yemen, a day after a drone launched by the Iran-backed group hit Tel Aviv, killing an Israeli man.

It marked the first time the Israel Defense Forces has conducted strikes in Yemen.

Rocket sirens sound in northern border communities

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

Alerts are heard in Kfar Giladi, Dafna, HaGoshrim, Beit Hillel and She’ar Yashuv.

COGAT: Amount of aid entering Gaza means there’s no longer a humanitarian crisis in northern Strip

Palestinians walk past mounds of garbage and open sewage in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, north of Gaza City, on July 3, 2024 (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Israel’s civilian coordination agency for the Palestinian territories COGAT states that there is no longer a humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza due to the practically unfettered access of humanitarian aid to the region in recent weeks and months.

Head of COGAT Gen. Ghassan Alian tells the High Court of Justice that on average, 30 trucks of aid per day enter through two out of three crossings between Israel and northern Gaza, and that as a result northern Gaza “is no longer part of the discussion” regarding humanitarian concerns in Gaza.

International organizations warned earlier this year that “a full blown famine” had developed specifically in northern Gaza but those determinations were found to have been incorrect.

Alian also states that UN and international organizations are failing to make full use of the humanitarian aid that Israel has allowed through the Gaza border crossings, noting that 5,283 trucks entered Gaza during June but that only 3,414 were collected from the Gazan side of the crossings by the aid organizations.

A backlog of 1,200 trucks, which had been stuck at the crucial Kerem Shalom crossing and whose contents had not been collected by aid organizations, has been reduced to 500 trucks over the past few weeks, Alian adds.

The COGAT head also notes that Hamas is continuing its efforts to seize humanitarian aid and distribute it, in order both to make money and to preserve its role as ruler of the Gaza Strip.

This, Alian says, makes the aid distribution program more difficult but adds that Israel is continuously working to address this challenge.

Alian also says that there is no limit on the amount of medicine and medical equipment that can be brought into Gaza, and that there is also no limit on the amount of fuel “for humanitarian purposes” that can be brought in.

He adds that despite problems in May due to Egypt’s closure of the Rafah Crossing into Gaza, it has been possible for several weeks for humanitarian organizations to bring in new staff and allow staff currently in Gaza to leave.

Alian makes his comments in the fourth High Court hearing over a petition filed by the Gisha human rights organization and other groups requesting that the court order the government to allow unhindered access of humanitarian aid at scale to the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing war with Hamas.

State prosecutor: ‘Reasonable suspicion established’ before 3 arrested for killing Palestinian on Oct. 7

State Prosecutor Amit Aisman at the Israel Bar Association's annual conference in Tel Aviv, September 4, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

State Prosecutor Amit Aisman tells a Knesset panel that there was “reasonable suspicion” established before three Israeli civilians were detained on suspicion of killing a Palestinian man on October 7 and stealing weaponry from Israeli troops.

“I approved the opening of the investigation after consultations, and only after we were convinced that the evidence required the opening of an investigation, and we did so with a heavy heart,” Aisman tells the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

“This was evidence that established reasonable suspicion,” he says.

“Even in a combat situation, when a person does not pose a danger and is completely neutralized, his death can amount to a crime,” Aisman says, according to the Ynet news site.

The three civilians are not members of any security forces. According to reports, on October 7 — as thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel in a shock assault — they made their way to the Gaza border communities to join the fighting there.

According to Walla, the chief suspect is alleged to have seized a Palestinian whom he identified as an operative in Hamas’s elite Nukhba force, interrogated him, and executed him at the end of the interrogation.

According to reports, the suspect has said he never seized or interrogated a Palestinian, and maintains that the alleged terrorist was alive when he transferred him to security forces.

Ynet reported that two of the three suspects arrived at the front lines unarmed and stole weapons from the bodies of slain IDF soldiers.

PM’s departure for US delayed after Biden meeting pushed to Tuesday

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

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Joe Biden on Tuesday, the premier’s office announces.

The two were initially expected to meet on Monday. Biden has COVID-19, which may be a reason for the delay.

Netanyahu will now take off for the US on Monday morning, instead of this evening.

IDF says troops in Rafah destroyed mortars that were ready to be fired

The Israel Defense Forces says that troops operating in the southern Gaza city of Rafah located and destroyed mortars that were primed to be fired.

Additionally, the military says that soldiers “eliminated” an armed cell that was moving toward them.

Troops also destroyed tunnels and underground infrastructure in the area, the IDF says.

Separately, the military says troops raided several buildings in central Gaza and found various types of weapons.

Sirens in Betzet and Shlomi warn of suspected drone attack in north

Sirens sound in Betzet and Shlomi, warning of a suspected drone attack from Lebanon.

Two sets of alerts are heard in the northern communities in quick succession.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claim to have fired multiple ballistic missiles at Eilat

An interceptor is fired over southern Israel toward a missile launched by Yemen's Houthis, July 21, 2024 (Screen grab/Twitter used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claim to have fired “multiple” ballistic missiles toward Israel.

The rebel group says they launched the missiles toward Israel’s southernmost city of Eilat.

Earlier this morning, the IDF said a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis from Yemen was intercepted by Israel’s long-range Arrow 3 defense system.

According to the military, the surface-to-surface missile was intercepted outside of Israeli airspace. The Arrow 3 system is designed to take out ballistic missiles while they are still outside of the atmosphere.

Sirens had sounded in Eilat amid fears of falling shrapnel.

Report: Efforts underway to approve Israeli response to hostage deal before PM departs for US

Israelis protest for the release of the hostages in Tel Aviv on July 20, 2024. (Gil Cohen-Magen/ AFP)

Efforts are being made to approve the Israeli response to the potential hostage-ceasefire deal as early as today, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet the Israeli negotiating team in the coming hours before flying to the United States.

Last night, anti-government protesters gathered in cities nationwide, calling on Netanyahu not to depart for Washington until he has first signed a deal with the Hamas terror group to facilitate the return of the hostages from Gaza.

Sirens in northern towns warn of incoming rocket attack

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

Reports say a number of projectiles appear to have been fired from Lebanon.

IDF says jets hit two Hezbollah weapons depots in south Lebanon overnight

Overnight, two Hezbollah weapon depots were struck by Israeli fighter jets in southern Lebanon, the IDF says.

According to the military, the sites were used to store rockets and other weaponry.

It publishes footage of the strikes.

Overnight, two Hezbollah weapon depots were struck by Israeli fighter jets in southern Lebanon, the IDF says.

According to the military, the sites were used to store rockets and other weapons. pic.twitter.com/G0DQmaVRuc

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 21, 2024

One of the attacks was reported last night by Lebanese media near the coastal town of Aadloun, around 30 kilometres north of the Israeli border.

IDF to test siren systems in Avdon, Neve Ziv, Peki’in HaHadasha and Mitzpe Hila

The IDF says it will hold a test of siren systems in the northern localities of Avdon, Neve Ziv, Peki’in HaHadasha and Mitzpe Hila today.

The sirens will sound in Avdon at 10:05 a.m., Neve Ziv at 12:05 p.m., Peki’in HaHadasha at 2:05 p.m. and Mitzpe Hila at 4:05 p.m.

In the case of an actual attack, the sirens will sound twice, the military says.

IDF says soldier seriously wounded in south Gaza fighting

A soldier with the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion was seriously wounded yesterday during fighting against Hamas in southern Gaza’s Rafah, the IDF announces.

According to an initial probe, the soldier was hit by an anti-tank projectile fired at a building he was in.

IDF says it shot down missile from Yemen that was heading toward Israel

A ballistic missile launched by the Iran-backed Houthis from Yemen was intercepted by Israel’s long-range Arrow 3 defense system a short while ago, the IDF says.

According to the military, the surface-to-surface missile was intercepted outside of Israeli airspace. The Arrow 3 system is designed to take out ballistic missiles while they are still outside of the atmosphere.

Sirens had sounded in Israel’s southernmost city of Eilat amid fears of falling shrapnel.

Eilat has been a frequent target of missile and drone attacks by the Houthis in Yemen.

It is first attack by the Houthis since Israel carried out a major strike against the rebel-controlled Hodeida port in Yemen in response to a deadly drone strike in Tel Aviv early Friday.

תיעוד: שיגור המיירט בערבה >>@ShaniRami
(צילום: אלון וייס, קיבוץ יטבתה) https://t.co/4J3h0Jipsl pic.twitter.com/PnGcJhLIxc

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) July 21, 2024

IDF sending out first 1,000 draft orders to Haredi men Sunday with more to come

Illustrative: Ultra-Orthodox demonstrators outside the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, June 2, 2024, during a hearing on Haredi enlistment in the IDF. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The IDF is sending out 1,000 draft orders to male members of the Haredi community between the ages of 18 and 26, in the first of three such waves over a four-week period.

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

Last month, the High Court ruled that there was no longer any legal framework allowing the state to refrain from drafting Haredi yeshiva students into military service, and the attorney general ordered the government to immediately begin the process of conscription for 3,000 such men — the number the military has said it is able to process at this preliminary stage.

Guterres ‘concerned’ by Israeli strike on Houthis and risk for further escalation

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres speaks with the media as he arrives for a EU Summit in Brussels, March 21, 2024. (AP/Omar Havana)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “is deeply concerned about the reports of airstrikes earlier today in and around the port of Hodeida in Yemen,” a statement from his spokesman says.

“Israel has claimed responsibility for the strikes, noting that this is in response to previous Houthi attacks on Israel,” the statement continues.

“Initial reports indicate a number of fatalities and over 80 people injured in this attack and that there has been considerable damage to civilian infrastructure. The secretary-general calls on all concerned to avoid attacks that could harm civilians and damage civilian infrastructure.”

Guterres also “remains deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation in the region and continues to urge all to exercise utmost restraint,” the statement adds.

In latest call with Gallant, Austin acknowledges that IDF strike in Yemen followed months of Houthi attacks

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, standing right, and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, standing left, listen to the playing of the Israeli National Anthem during an arrival ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke on the phone earlier today following the Israeli strike against a Houthi port in Yemen, the Pentagon says.

It was their fourth publicized call in less than a week.

“Austin acknowledged Israel’s action followed months of Houthi attacks against the State of Israel,” the US readout says.

Austin “reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and Israel’s right to self-defense.”

Saudi Arabia denies involvement in Israeli targeting of Houthi-controlled port in Yemen

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)

Saudi Arabia is not linked to or participating in targeting Hodeidah in Yemen, Ministry of Defence spokesperson Turki al-Malki says.

Saudi Arabia will not allow its airspace to be infiltrated by any party, he adds.

Ben Gvir urges PM to threaten the US with collapsing PA if far-right ministers are sanctioned

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on the assembly hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem on June 11, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to notify the Biden administration in Washington this week that Israel will collapse the Palestinian Authority if the US goes ahead with a plan it is considering to sanction him and fellow far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich.

The statement follows a report in the Axios news site that Biden is considering the move, which US officials confirmed to The Times of Israel.

Ben Gvir says the sanctions that the US has already been imposing against Israeli extremists amount to a “serious violation of Israeli sovereignty.”

“It is no wonder that those who compromise toward the global terrorist branch from Tehran; finance terrorist regimes such as the Palestinian Authority, which rewards with fixed salaries those who kill Jews; and deprive Israel of essential weapons to deal with terrorism, seek to impose sanctions on Israeli leaders who ‘sinned’ by demanding a more determined war against terrorism,” Ben Gvir says.

The US does not finance the PA.

Ben Gvir urged Netanyahu to inform the Biden administration that if sanctions are imposed against him and Smotrich or if the sanctions against Israeli citizens continue, “the Israeli response will be the complete collapse of the Palestinian Authority, all of its institutions and its economy.”

3 people killed in Israeli strike on Houthis, 87 injured — report

An F-15 fighter is seen at an IAF airbase ahead of an Israeli strike in Yemen, July 20, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Al-Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by the Houthi terror group, updates the casualty count from today’s Israeli strike in Yemen, saying that three people were killed and 87 were wounded.

Earlier in the day, it said 80 people were wounded and none were killed.

Tehran warns Israel’s ‘dangerous adventurism’ in Yemen could spark regional war

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)

An Iran foreign ministry spokesman slammed the IDF strike on a Houthi-controlled port in Yemen, warning that Israel’s “dangerous adventurism” could spark a regional war.

Nasser Kanaani adds that Israel and its sponsors — including the US government are “directly responsible for the dangerous and unpredictable consequences of the adventurist attacks on Yemen.”

Foreign minister: An Iranian regime threatening us with destruction deserves destruction

File - Foreign Minister Israel Katz speaks during a plenum session at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 29, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Foreign Minister Israel Katz says Iran’s message of an “obliterating war” makes it worthy of destruction.

⁠”A regime that threatens destruction deserves to be destroyed,” Katz says in a post on X. He also says Israel will act with full force against Iran-backed Hezbollah if it does not stop firing at Israel from Lebanon and move away from the border.

Iran’s UN mission said on Friday that if Israel embarks on a “full-scale military aggression” in Lebanon, “an obliterating war will ensue.”

The Iranian mission also said in the post on X that in such an event “all options, incl. the full involvement of all resistance fronts, are on the table.”