July 28: Security cabinet authorizes Netanyahu, Gallant to decide on response to Golan attack

Lebanese media reports IDF strikes on oft-targeted towns of Houla and Markaba

Lebanese media reports Israeli airstrikes near the southern Lebanon towns of Houla and Markaba.

No further details are immediately available.

Houla and Markaba are areas that the IDF has targeted numerous times in the past nine months, and it does not appear to be Israel’s response to the deadly Hezbollah rocket attack on Majdal Shams.

Israeli FM likens Erdogan’s threat to Iraq’s Saddam Hussein: ‘Remember how that ended’

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

Foreign Minister Israel Katz responds to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s threat to invade Israel, comparing him to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

“Erdogan is going down the path of Saddam Hussein and threatens to attack Israel. He should just remember what happened there and how that ended,” writes Katz on X.

Hussein’s regime was toppled by a US-led invasion in 2003, and he was executed by an Iraqi court after being captured and tried.

Security cabinet empowers Netanyahu, Gallant to decide on response to Golan strike

The security cabinet meeting ends after over four hours.

The forum gives Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant authority to decide on the scale and timing of Israel’s response to yesterday’s deadly rocket attack in the Golan, says Netanyahu’s office.

After ministers objected to the cursory manner in which the strike on Yemen was approved last week, in today’s meeting, every minister was given ample time to speak, according to Yedioth Ahronoth.

The report says, however, that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir abstained from the vote.

The hostage talks were discussed, but another meeting will be set to focus on Israel’s next steps in that regard, according to the paper.

Final child killed in Golan rocket attack identified as Jifara Ibrahim, 11

Jifara Ibrahim, 11, killed in a rocket strike from Lebanon on the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights on July 27 2024. (Courtesy)

More than 24 hours after the Hezbollah rocket attack on a soccer field in the Golan town of Majdal Shams, authorities confirm that Jifara Ibrahim, 11, is the final fatality.

Ibrahim had been missing since the strike killed him and 11 other children.

Lebanese FM claims he was told Israeli reprisal, Hezbollah reaction to be ‘limited’

Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib says Beirut has received “calming” messages from relevant countries that Israel’s retaliation for yesterday’s deadly rocket attack on Majdal Shams will be “limited,” as will Hezbollah’s subsequent response, according to Hebrew media.

Bouhabib told Saudi-owned Al Hadath news earlier today that Hezbollah is ready to withdraw beyond the Litani River — which runs some 29 kilometers (18 miles) north of the Israel-Lebanon border — if Israel halts its “violations.”

Harris condemns Golan rocket attack, vows ‘ironclad’ support for Israel’s security

US Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks at a campaign event in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/ Stephanie Scarbrough)

US Vice President Kamala Harris condemns the Hezbollah rocket attack that killed a dozen children on a soccer field in Majdal Shams over the weekend, says her national security adviser, Phil Gordon.

“Israel continues to face severe threats to its security, and [Harris’s] support for Israel’s security is ironclad. The US will continue working on a diplomatic solution to end all attacks once and for all, and allow citizens on both sides of the border to safely return home,” adds Gordon.

Turkey’s Erdogan issues open threat to invade Israel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks during a military parade, in the Turkish-occupied area of the divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/ Petros Karadjias)

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens to invade Israel in support of the Palestinians.

“We must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these things to Palestine,” says Erdogan, one of the most bitter critics of Israel on the international stage, referring to the war against Hamas in Gaza.

“Just as we entered [Nagorno-]Karabakh, just as we entered Libya, we might do the same to them. There is nothing we can’t do. We must only be strong.”

Turkey is a member of NATO, which includes the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, and other close Israeli allies.

Israeli Judoka to skip his first bout after Algerian rival disqualifies himself

Israel's Tohar Butbul competes in the judo men's -73kg quarterfinal bout during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on July 26, 2021. (Amit Shisel/Israel Olympic Committee)

Israeli judoka Tohar Butbul will advance automatically tomorrow to the round of 16 in the men’s under-73kg weight class after his opponent in the initial round, Algeria’s Messaoud Redouane Dris, disqualifies himself from the competition.

Dris, who reportedly was always planning to pull out of the competition rather than face the Israeli, shows up for his weigh-in tonight at 73.4kg, over the limit for the weight class, and is therefore disqualified. Dris can be punished by the International Judo Federation if he intentionally backed out of the match for political reasons.

In a statement, the Olympic Committee of Israel says, “The Israeli delegation will continue to compete with the Olympic values in mind. We believe this kind of behavior has no place in the world of sport.”

Gantz urges response to Golan attack, saying it could include ‘tearing Lebanon apart’

National Unity party head Benny Gantz at a press conference at the Knesset in Jerusalem, July 24, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ FLASH90)

Former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, head of the centrist now-opposition National Union party, says Israel must react to the rocket attack on Majdal Shams in a extensive way, stressing that this could include “hitting Lebanon hard and also tearing Lebanon apart.”

Speaking to Channel 12 news, Gantz adds: “The IDF is ready. I assume that is what we will see.”

But he also criticizes the government, which he left last month, for what he says is the lack of a “full strategic plan of action.” He says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “can’t continue playing for time. Time brings with it only mishaps.”

Once again, he calls for signing a ceasefire and hostage deal, which he expects will also calm the northern front and enable Israel to focus on a regional response to the threat emanating from Iran.

Netanyahu said angry at Gallant for allegedly taking ownership of response to Golan attack

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in Tel Aviv, December 16, 2023. (Noam Revkin Fenton/ Flash90)

The long-ongoing tensions between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant have reportedly crept into the discussions on how to respond to Hezbollah’s deadly strike on Majdal Shams yesterday.

The Kan public broadcaster says Netanyahu was irked by Gallant’s statement last night that he had huddled with security chiefs to discuss “options for action.”

The premier took particular offense with Gallant’s remark that he had “determined the courses of action and instructed the defense establishment accordingly,” the report says.

Kan reports that Likud ministers subsequently received messages from Netanyahu’s direction the the prime minister is very angry at Gallant and that his office believes the defense minister wants to make decisions and manage the war on his own.

Macron calls Netanyahu, strongly condemns Golan attack, urges avoiding escalation

French President Emmanuel Macron condemns “in the strongest terms” the rocket attack in Majdal Shams in a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the French readout.

Macron emphasizes that “France is fully committed to doing everything possible to avoid a new escalation in the region by sending messages to all parties to the conflict.”

He does not mention Hezbollah.

Media cites conflicting assessments on whether Israel-Lebanon front is heading to war

Hezbollah’s response to an impending Israeli strike in Lebanon will determine the extent of escalation in the north, an Israeli official tells Haaretz.

“We will have to wait and see,” says the official, shortly after the security cabinet met to determine Israel’s course of action after Saturday’s rocket strike in the Golan that killed 12 children.

Western diplomats tell the paper that there is a significant effort to head off an Israeli reaction that will spark a full-blown war in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, a security official tells the Israel Hayom daily that though there may be several days of significant escalation, Israel is not interested in a war against Hezbollah right now. The goal is to effect a strategic change in the north.

Officials also believe that Israel’s response in the north will affect hostage talks, but they are not sure the direction — whether it will spur Hezbollah and Iran to push Hamas into a deal, or the opposite, says Israel Hayom.

Channel 12 news reports that Israel is considering various alternatives, all of which could hurt Hezbollah more than Israel has thus far, but which could also affect other fronts. The network says the next few days could be significant and intense.

It cites a security source saying the need to exact a price from Hezbollah currently trumps the fear of all-out war, and that all top security and political officials agree on need to strike hard. The army is ready “at the push of a button,” it claims, adding that Jerusalem is considering striking non-Hezbollah strategic targets in Lebanon.

Channel 12 reports that some in the ongoing discussions, such as far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, favor full-on war, but Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and others disagree.

The network also cites an unnamed diplomatic source as saying “war is also on the table,” though it notes it does not know how serious this intention is.

‘It was their rocket’: White House blames Hezbollah for rocket carnage, works for diplomatic solution

The White House declares that Hezbollah was responsible for yesterday’s deadly rocket attack in Majdal Shams, adding that it should be “universally condemned.”

“It was their rocket, and launched from an area they control,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson says in a statement.

“Our support for Israel’s security is ironclad and unwavering against all Iran-backed threats, including Hezbollah,” she notes, adding that the Iran-backed terror group “started firing at Israel on October 8, claiming solidarity with Hamas, another Iran-backed terror group.

“The United States is also working on a diplomatic solution along the Blue Line that will end all attacks once and for all, and allow citizens on both sides of the border to safely return to their homes,” Watson says.

Lebanese FM: Hezbollah ready to withdraw to behind Litani River if Israel stops attacks

Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib, left, shakes hands with Iranian interim foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani before their meeting in Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2024. It was Kani's first official diplomatic visit since his predecessor died in a helicopter crash the previous month. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Commenting on a possible escalation between Israel and Hezbollah following yesterday’s deadly rocket attack on Majdal Shams, Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib says that Hezbollah is ready to withdraw beyond the Litani River — which runs some 29 kilometers (18 miles) north of the Israel-Lebanon border — if Israel halts its “violations.”

In an interview with the Saudi-owned Al Hadath news channel, Beirut’s top diplomat adds that Israel must “think carefully” before striking Lebanon, and that an escalation will affect Israel and the whole region.

Hezbollah is barred by UN Security Council Resolution 1701 from maintaining a military presence south of the Litani. The Shiite terror group has blatantly violated that resolution and regularly launches attacks on Israel from near the border.

In a separate interview, Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt tells Al Jazeera that he had a conversation with US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein and told him that Hochstein’s task is “not to relay Israeli threats, but to seek mediation.” The remark appears to refer to earlier reports that quoted diplomatic sources in Beirut and Washington saying that an Israeli attack on Lebanon is “inevitable.”

Jumblatt, a prominent figure in Lebanese politics, absolves Hezbollah of any responsibility in the Majdal Shams attack, and adds that “we are counting on the efforts of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to reach a serious ceasefire with the American envoy [Hochstein] in southern Lebanon.”

IDF airs images it says prove Hezbollah fired deadly rocket that hit Majdal Shams

These images, released by the IDF on July 28, 2024, show shrapnel from a Falaq-1 rocket launched by Hezbollah at Majdal Shams. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF releases evidence showing shrapnel found at the scene of the rocket strike in Majdal Shams yesterday matching an Iranian-made Falaq-1 rocket, which in Lebanon is exclusively used by Hezbollah.

This image shows the flight path of a Hezbollah Falaq-1 rocket fired at Majdal Shams on July 27, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Iranian-made Falaq-1 has a 50-kilogram warhead and a range of 10 kilometers, according to the IDF.

The IDF also publishes the flight path of the heavy rocket, launched from the Chebaa area in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah said yesterday that it launched a Falaq rocket at an IDF base near Majdal Shams, although once reports emerged of civilian casualties in the town, the terror group changed course and denied its involvement. The denial has been strongly rejected by Israel.

Report: Families of kids killed in Golan rocket attack refuse to meet Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has unsuccessfully tried to organize a meeting today or tomorrow between the premier and several relatives of the children killed in the Hezbollah rocket strike on Majdal Shams, Haaretz reports.

The unsourced report says senior members of Netanyahu’s office contacted a few relatives, and were told that the families prefer not to meet the prime minister.

Haaretz says the Prime Minister’s Office has not responded to a request for comment.

Mossad chief returns from meeting mediators in Rome, with hostage talks to continue

Mossad chief David Barnea at a Memorial Day ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, May 12, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

Talks regarding a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal will continue “in the coming days,” the Prime Minister’s Office says, after Mossad chief David Barnea returns from Rome.

Barnea met in Rome with CIA chief William Burns, Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel, and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.

The four negotiators discussed Israel’s updated demands that it gave to the mediators over the weekend, according to the PMO, which oversees the Mossad.

UN chief condemns deadly attack on Golan, without mentioning Hezbollah

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 condemns rocket fire from Lebanon that killed 12 children in the Golan Heights, without mentioning terror group Hezbollah.

Calling on all parties to “exercise maximum restraint,” Guterres sends his “deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives,” adding that “civilians, and children in particular, should not continue to bear the burden of the horrific violence plaguing the region,” according to a statement by the office of his spokesperson.

Anger as Hezbollah-affiliated network is allowed to broadcast from Majdal Shams

A reporter for Hezbollah-aligned Lebanese outlet Al Mayadeen broadcast today from Majdal Shams, a day after a rocket fired by the terror group on a soccer field in the Druze town in the Golan Heights killed 12 children.

The channel’s Hanaa Mahameed broadcasts from the town, with an onscreen strip saying it is in “the occupied Syrian Golan.” Israel seized the territory from Syria in 1967, after the latter attacked Israel, and Jerusalem annexed it in 1981. Most of the international community does not recognize the annexation.

היי מדינת ישראל, אני רק הערה

ערוץ אלמיאדין *המקורב לחזבאללה* משדר *היום* ממג'דל שמס שב"גולן הסורי הכבוש", כך כתבו למעלה במסך, יום אחרי הטבח שביצע חזבאללה במקום. pic.twitter.com/ILwQ5An7mo

— עומרי חיים | Omri Haim (@HaimOmri) July 28, 2024

The reporter falsely claims the kids were hit by an Israeli strike.

The incident draws criticism and scrutiny of the fact that, while Al Mayadeen’s broadcasts in the country were temporarily banned in November, this measure expired in January.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi says: “The military is invited to take [Mahameed] and throw her across the border. Letting a Hezbollah reporter broadcast from the scene of the massacre Hezbollah committed is absurd on every level.”

He adds that shutting down Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera was prioritized earlier this year, but that further barring Al Mayadeen from operating in Israel is still in process.

US Senate majority leader says Israel has right to defend itself against Hezbollah

US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says Israel has the right to defend itself against Hezbollah, when asked about a Saturday rocket attack on a soccer field in the Golan Heights that killed 12 children and teenagers, raising fears of a wider regional war.

“Israel has every right to defend itself against Hezbollah like they do against Hamas,” Schumer tells CBS News in an interview.

Haniyeh calls for protests in support of Gaza and Palestinian prisoners on Aug. 3

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh speaks during a press briefing after his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in Tehran, Iran, March 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Hamas politburo leader Ismail Haniyeh announces that Saturday, August 3, will be a “national and international day in support of Gaza and [Palestinian] prisoners.”

In a statement published by the terror group, Haniyeh calls for “mass participation” in marches and demonstrations to demand a halt to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, and for an end to the alleged abuse of “heroic” Palestinian security prisoners being held in Israeli detention.

“We look forward to August 3 being a decisive day of visible action in all parts of Palestine, in refugee camps, in the diaspora, in the Arab and Islamic world, and among all free people of the world, in support of our people in the Gaza Strip and our detainees in the prisons of the occupation,” the Hamas leader writes.

One week ago, Al Jazeera reported that Qaddura Fares, an official from the rival Fatah movement who heads the Ramallah-based Palestinian Commission for Detainees’ Affairs, had called for protests on August 3 to shed light on the plight of Palestinian prisoners inside Israeli jails.

At the end of June, there were over 9,100 Palestinian security prisoners detained in Israel, according to Israel Prison Service data.

MK pans Russian parliament for condemning Knesset rejection of Palestinian state

MK Ze'ev Elkin attends the funeral of Israeli soldier Yossi Hershkovitz, at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem on November 12, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

New Hope MK Ze’ev Elkin condemns the Duma, Russia’s parliament, after it releases a statement claiming that a Knesset resolution rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state “blatantly violates the principles and norms of international law that constitute the basis for a Middle East settlement.”

The Knesset on July 18 voted overwhelmingly to pass the resolution ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to the United States.

According to the Duma, which is widely seen as a rubber stamp for Russia’s authoritarian President Vladimir Putin, “such an unlawful position defended by radical circles of the Israeli authorities contradicts not only the expectations of a significant part of Israeli society, but also the spirit of the Oslo Accords signed earlier by Israel.”

Elkin, who grew up in Soviet Ukraine, responds in a statement: “After the terrible massacre of October 7, the absolute majority of the Israeli public and the absolute majority of the representatives of the Knesset understand that the State of Israel cannot afford to establish a Hamas terrorist state in the heart of Israel.

“The one authorized to decide on the future and security of the State of Israel is the Israeli parliament and not the parliament in Moscow. I would suggest that the members of the Russian Parliament initiate a debate to consider the question of how, after all the crimes against humanity that Hamas committed on October 7, the official Russian leadership still receives the leaders of Hamas with the honor of kings in Moscow as welcome and honored guests.”

‘Propaganda’: Ben Gvir denies report that Hamas sent him footage of hostages being tortured

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir attends a conference called "Israel's return to the Temple Mount," at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on July 24, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Security Minister denies receiving footage of Israeli hostages being tortured, after The Telegraph reports that Hamas sent him such material in a bid to pressure him to ease the conditions of Palestinian security detainees.

According to the British daily, a video sent to Ben Gvir showed “hostages being tortured while Hamas warn that harsher conditions for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel are affecting the well-being of hostages in Gaza.”

“Hamas did not send me any video and I refuse to cooperate with Hamas propaganda: you should only talk to Hamas through gunsights,” Ben Gvir says in response.

“The terrorist organization Hamas did not look for any excuse on October 7 to murder, rape, kidnap and abuse living civilians and even corpses, and even murdered hostages in captivity. Hamas must be defeated, and we must not submit to its dictates that demand surrender: the territory of the Gaza Strip must be occupied permanently, humanitarian aid must be stopped, and it must be defeated,” he declares.

“The conditions of terrorists in prisons have indeed worsened and the summer camps have stopped and I am proud of that,” Ben Gvir adds. “I have no intention of submitting to the dictates of Hamas.”

IDF says officer and soldier seriously injured in fighting with Hamas in Khan Younis

An IDF officer and a soldier with the 7th Armored Brigade’s 82nd Battalion were seriously wounded earlier today amid fighting with Hamas operatives in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, the military says.

The pair were brought to hospitals for treatment.

Israeli judoka Gefen Primo loses in repechage, ending her individual Olympic run

Hungary's Rekka Pupp celebrates after defeating Israel's Gefen Primo during their women -52 kg repechage round match in team judo competition at Champ-de-Mars Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP/Eugene Hoshiko)

Israeli judoka Gefen Primo loses to Hungary’s Réka Pupp in the repechage round at the 2024 Paris Olympics, ending her individual Olympic run.

A tearful Primo tells Israel’s Sport5 channel a few minutes after losing her final match that “it’s not easy” to accept the loss.

“I wanted things to end differently,” she adds. “I’m sorry that it ended this way,” she says, sending thanks to her family and supporters.

Earlier, Primo beat South Korea’s Jung Ye-rin in her initial match, then won against Switzerland’s Binta Ndiaye in the round of 16 before losing to reigning Olympic champion Kosovo’s Distria Krasniqi, sending her to the repechage match.

Image released of Netanyahu huddling with ministers, security brass on response to Golan strike

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convenes a security cabinet meeting on July 28, 2024, to discuss Israel's reaction to the deadly Hezbollah strike in the Golan Heights a day earlier. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office releases a photograph of the ongoing security cabinet meeting called to discuss Israel’s reaction to the deadly Hezbollah strike in the Golan Heights yesterday.

Netanyahu is joined by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, Netanyahu’s Chief of Staff Tzachi Braverman, Mossad chief David Barnea (who returned from talks in Rome), Shin Bet director Ronen Bar, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Netanyahu’s military secretary Roman Goffman, and other members of the IDF General Staff.

Security cabinet convening to decide on response to Hezbollah’s deadly Golan strike

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is convening his security cabinet to decide on the Israeli response to Hezbollah’s rocket strike yesterday that killed 12 children on a soccer field.

Various officials and reports suggest the government is expected to okay a major retaliation, though its extent remains to be seen, as well as whether it will trigger an all-out war with the powerful Iran-backed Lebanese terror group.

Druze community mourns as thousands flock to Majdal Shams following fatal rocket strike

People at the scene of a Hezbollah missile attack that killed 12 children at a soccer field in the Druze village of Majdal Shams the previous day, in the Golan Heights, July 28, 2024. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)

In Druze villages in the Golan Heights, locals are observing a day of mourning following the death of 12 children in a rocket strike from Lebanon.

Black flags fly on the lamp posts along the main streets of Masa’ada, Buqa’ata and Majdal Shams, where businesses are shuttered and locals are wearing black.

The gesture is a demonstration of the strong family and friendship ties that unite the dozen-odd Druze villages of the Golan.

Thousands from across the region travel to Majdal Shams for the funerals of 10 of the victims (the 11th victim is buried in Ein Qiniyye and the 12th victim’s body is still missing).

“There is no difference between Druze villages and indeed between the Druze of the Golan or the Druze of the rest of Israel or even the region. We are all hurting, and we feel the pain of our Jewish brethren as well,” says Ali Faraj, a 59-year-old man from the Druze village of Hurfeish in the Galilee who is in Majdal Shams for the funerals.

Report: Netanyahu freezes plan to fly sick Gazan kids abroad for treatment in wake of Golan attack

A plan to send some 150 sick Gazan children abroad to receive medical treatment will be postponed in the wake of the deadly Hezbollah strike on the Golan that killed 12 kids and teens, the Kan public broadcaster.

The report says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who earlier this month vetoed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s decision to treat the children at a field hospital near the Israel-Gaza border, has now ordered the move frozen for the time being.

It says the kids had been set to be flown tomorrow afternoon from the Ramon airbase to the United Arab Emirates.

Ex-hostage says Gazan doctors purposely caused her pain, poured chlorine into gunshot wound

Released hostage Maya Regev speaks in a Knesset committee meeting in Jerusalem on April 2, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Former hostage Maya Regev, who was released in November along with her brother in a deal after weeks in Hamas captivity, sheds light on the cruelty of Gazan doctors who treated her after she was shot in the leg on October 7.

“They would really hurt me,” she tells Channel 12 news. “When changing bandages, when they wanted to see the wounds, they would purposely cause pain. [The doctor] would take chlorine, alcohol, and sometimes even something like apple cider vinegar, and would pour it in [the wound] and apply pressure.”

She says that one day, he took a small knife and started cutting into her exposed flesh in the wound, ignoring her pleas to stop. “I wanted to kick him in the face, but he had a pistol and I had nothing, so I shut up,” she says, adding that she had feared at one point that the physicians were going to amputate her leg.

On one occasion, she got the captors to bring in her brother Itay — who was released together with her — and fellow hostage Omer Shem-Tov, who remains in captivity, to be with her for the bandage-changing. She describes how Shem-Tov cared for her, calmed her down and blocked her mouth so she wouldn’t scream, which she was forbidden from doing.

Sitting alongside Shem-Tov’s mother Shelly, Regev says that was the last time she saw Omer. Shelly says: “Omer is alive, and he must return home.”

Regev says she returned from Gaza with many infections, a fungus growing inside her bone, and other signs of medical negligence. Even eight months after her release, her road to recovery is still long.

She says that on the top of the list of things she wants to do is to walk on two legs again, but that with every additional surgery that dream seems to get farther away.

In Majdal Shams, some demand ‘Lebanon burn’ for fatal rocket strike; others blame Israel

Zak Amr stands at the soccer field where a rocket hit in Majdal Shams on July 28, 2024. (Canaan Lidor/Times of Israel)

Shaking his fist, Samir Halabi articulates the rage and thirst for revenge that is on the minds of many in Majdal Shams.

“Lebanon needs to burn. Nasrallah needs to burn!” Halabi, a 52-year-old radio show host from the Druze town in the Golan, cries out in Hebrew as journalists begin gathering in front of him and locals assemble behind.

“How can this be? We love you Bibi but you have to start acting up,” he says, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by his nickname.

“Hit Majdal Shams and you’ve hit Odem, El-Rom, Tel Aviv! There is no difference, respond as if they murdered 12 kids in Tel Aviv!” he bellows as locals applaud.

Others express the same sentiment more calmly.

“In this part of the world, the response should be 10 times in magnitude,” says Zaki Amr, a local 29-year-old who is one of the first people who treated the 12 fatalities, all of them children, from a rocket that hit a soccer field yesterday evening in Majdal Shams.

Locals visit the soccer field where the victims were playing, following their funerals. Scooters and an ATV for children are scattered around the crater caused by the rocket, said by the IDF to be an Iranian-made Falaq-1.

Nay Ibrahim speaks to a reporter in Majdal Shams on July 28, 2024. (Canaan Lidor/Times of Isral)

But a third local, Nay Ibrahim, blames Israel for the strike, which killed her cousin Johnny and wounded her brother Ajun.

“I don’t think the rocket came from Lebanon. I think Israel sent it so we are also a part of their war,” she tells The Times of Israel.

IDF urges Gazans to evacuate Bureij, as response brews for rockets fired from area

Following rocket attacks from central Gaza’s Bureij, the Israeli military is calling on Palestinians in the area to evacuate and head toward the designated “humanitarian zone.”

Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, publishes a list of the zones that need to be evacuated alongside the announcement.

Adraee says that the IDF will “forcefully operate” against terror groups in the Bureij area following the rocket attacks.

As Lebanon braces for Israeli response, an airline reschedules some returning flights

Lebanon’s Middle East Airlines (MEA) says in a statement that it has delayed the return of some flights from tonight to tomorrow morning, without stating a reason.

Israel has vowed swift retaliation against the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon after 12 children and teenagers were killed by a rocket strike in the Golan Heights.

Lebanese report: Israeli response to Golan attack inevitable, efforts made to limit it

An Israeli retaliatory strike in Lebanon in response to yesterday’s Hezbollah rocket attack on Majdal Shams is inevitable, according to diplomatic sources in Washington and Beirut quoted by the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International.

Efforts will be made to limit the scope of the response and avoid Israel targeting large cities with a high population density, including Beirut, so as not to drag Hezbollah into an escalation, say the diplomatic sources.

IDF says Hezbollah fired 2 rockets at evacuated town, hit a home; group takes responsibility

Two rockets were launched from Lebanon at the evacuated northern border community of Shtula a short while ago, the IDF says.

One of the rockets struck a home, according to media reports.

There are no reports of injuries.

Hezbollah takes responsibility for the attack, as well as for earlier fire toward the Manara area.

חיזבאללה ממשיך לטווח את הצפון: דיווח ראשוני על נפילת רקטה בשתולה, לא דווח על נפגעים. צוותי מד"א בדרכם. @mda_israel @WallaNews s pic.twitter.com/POkFr3ZJsb

— יואב איתיאל מדווח כי (@yoavetiel) July 28, 2024

Rambam Hospital: 3 kids injured in Golan attack are in serious condition, 2 moderately hurt

Rambam Hospital in Haifa says three of the five children who were taken there after yesterday’s rocket attack on Majdal Shams underwent surgeries during the night and are in serious condition.

The other two children are in moderate condition.

All five are at the Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital at Rambam.

Britain condemns deadly Golan strike, says Hezbollah ‘must cease their attacks’

The UK condemns yesterday’s strike in the Golan Heights “that has tragically claimed at least 12 lives,” writes Foreign Secretary David Lammy on X.

He adds that “we are deeply concerned about the risk of further escalation and destabilisation.”

“We have been clear Hizballah must cease their attacks,” warns Lammy, after Israel placed the blame squarely on the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group.

Warning against war, Egypt expresses ‘support’ for Lebanon without mentioning Hezbollah

Egypt warns against a war in Lebanon, saying it could “lead to the region sliding into a comprehensive regional war.”

In a post on X, Egypt’s foreign ministry “stresses the importance of supporting Lebanon, its people and its institutions and sparing it the scourge of war.”

Cairo repeats its demands for an “immediate and comprehensive ceasefire that will end the human suffering in the Gaza Strip as soon as possible, and enable the international community to contain the repercussions of the crisis.”

Egypt does not mention Hezbollah or condemn the rocket attack in the statement.

Girl, 7, is discharged from hospital months after being injured in Iran’s attack

Amina Hassouna, 7, is accompanied by family and staff as she is discharged from Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba on July 28, 2024, 3.5 months after being injured in Iran's attack on Israel. (Soroka Medical Center)

The 7-year-old girl who was the only person in Israel who sustained significant injuries in Iran’s direct rocket and drone attack on April 14 is discharged from Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.

Amina Hassouna was injured in the head when shrapnel from an intercepted ballistic missile fell directly on her family’s home in the Bedouin town of Al-Fura, near Arad, in the southern Negev region.

She was hospitalized in Soroka with a severe and complex head injury. A multidisciplinary team stabilized her condition; she later underwent a series of neurosurgeries in collaboration with other departments in the medical center.

Hassouna’s head injury was “severe, complex and devastating,” says Dr. Miki Gideon, head of pediatric neurosurgery at Soroka, who operated on the girl during her prolonged hospitalization. “However, there was no doubt that we would fight for her life, and with great joy and the efforts of all the teams, we succeeded in our mission.”

Gideon says that seeing Hassouna “fully conscious, communicating and smiling” fills “our hearts with hope and strengthens our hands.”

Safed hospital says 2 children injured in rocket attack in critical condition

Ziv Medical Center in Safed says two children injured in yesterday’s rocket attack on Majdal Shams are in critical condition; one child is in moderate condition in the pediatric intensive care unit.

All of the patients have abdominal injuries, chest injuries, and limb fractures.

There are also six children aged 2-15 in mild condition, mainly suffering from shrapnel injuries. An additional child is stable with shrapnel injuries, after abdominal surgery.

There are also three injured adults in the hospital, all in moderate condition.

Those wounded in the attack were taken to several hospitals in the area.

MKs extend temporary measures to control growing prison population

Illustrative: View of Gilboa Prison, near the Jordan Valley, December 5, 2022. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

In their final votes prior to the start of the Knesset recess, lawmakers pass two bills extending two temporary measures regulating the imprisonment of unlawful combatants and the use of expanded administrative release in order to control the country’s rapidly growing prison population.

The first bill, approved in its third reading 14-3, extends for four months a temporary order detailing how long those defined by law as illegal combatants may be held before meeting an attorney or being granted a hearing before a judge. Under the amended extension, the maximum period in which a district judge may prevent such a prisoner from meeting with a lawyer is reduced from 90 to 75 days. Temporary confinement orders will also need to be renewed more frequently.

The second bill passes 12-3 and extends an order allowing the Prison Service commissioner to commute sentences should prison capacity exceed the legally mandated limit, except for inmates convicted of violent crimes and security prisoners. The bill further maintains the incarceration standard, the maximum prison population, at 14,500.

Despite this, there are reportedly 21,000 prisoners currently being held in Israeli prisons.

Last year, the Knesset approved an incarceration emergency, allowing the country’s correctional system to continue housing prisoners in what would otherwise be considered illegally cramped conditions.

Report: French police detain teen over online threat against Herzog ahead of Olympic opening ceremony

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)

A 15-year-old boy has been detained in France in connection with an online threat against President Isaac Herzog, Le Parisien reports.

The report says the teen lives with his parents in Ivry-sur-Seine.

According to the report, the teenager confessed to threatening Herzog, who was in Paris for the opening of the Olympic Games.

French newspaper L’Équipe reported Friday that authorities were alerted to the threat via the French government’s Pharos website, on which users can report illegal online content.

The threat was investigated by the anti-terrorism unit of the regional police, the newspaper said.

Gallant: Hezbollah will face the consequences of deadly attack on Majdal Shams

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a video message on July 28, 2024 (Screenshot: Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Hezbollah will face the consequences of its deadly attack on Majdal Shams yesterday “even with its ridiculous denials.”

“I went to the Northern Command to see the response plans. This is Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy in the region. Hezbollah will not go unpunished for this incident, even with its ridiculous denials,” Gallant says in a video statement from the Northern Command base in Safed.

He says that Hezbollah launched the rocket, and “will bear the price and will pay a heavy price for its actions.”

France condemns deadly rocket attack on north ‘in the strongest possible terms’

Druze women mourn near the coffins of loved ones after a Hezbollah rocket strike on a soccer field that killed 12 children in Majdal Shams on July 28, 2024 (Menahem Kahana / AFP)

France “condemns in the strongest possible terms” the rocket attack that killed 12 children in the Golan Heights.

“France calls for everything to be done to prevent a further military escalation and will continue to work with the parties to this end,” says the Foreign Ministry, stressing the country’s advisory against travel to Israel or Lebanon.

IDF chief holding assessment and approving plans for Lebanon, military says

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi meets with members of the General Staff Forum at the IDF HQ in Tel Aviv, July 28, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi is currently holding an assessment and approving plans for Lebanon, the military says.

The meeting comes as Israel is readying to respond to Hezbollah’s deadly rocket attack on Majdal Shams yesterday.

It is attended by the deputy IDF chief of staff and the chiefs of the Northern Command, Military Intelligence Directorate, Operations Directorate, Air Force, and other generals, the IDF adds.

Mossad chief heads to Rome for hostage-ceasefire deal talks

Mossad chief David Barnea at a Memorial Day ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, May 12, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

Mossad chief David Barnea left this morning on a trip to Rome for talks on a potential hostage-ceasefire deal, Hebrew-language media reports.

He is set to meet with CIA director Bill Burns, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani, and Egyptian spy chief Abbas Kamel.

Israel relayed a new proposal for a hostage release deal with Hamas to the White House yesterday. But sources cited by Hebrew media said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest demands could thwart the negotiations.

Members of the negotiating team told Hebrew-language media on Friday that Netanyahu was “taking a dangerous bet on hostages’ lives” by toughening Israel’s negotiating stance.

Israeli judoka Gefen Primo loses quarterfinal to reigning Olympic champion

Kosovo's Distria Krasniqi and Israel's Gefen Primo (blue) compete in the judo women's -52kg quarterfinal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Champ-de-Mars Arena, in Paris, July 28, 2024. (Luis ROBAYO / AFP)

Israeli judoka Gefen Primo loses her match in the quarterfinal at the 2024 Paris Olympics to Kosovo’s Distria Krasniqi, the reigning Olympic champion.

Primo will still have a shot to vie for a bronze medal in the repechage round later today. There she will face Hungary’s Réka Pupp.

Israeli swimmer Anastasia Gorbenko qualifies for semifinal in women’s 100m breaststroke

Israeli swimmer Anastasia Gorbenko swims in the women's 100m breaststroke at the Paris Olympics on July 28, 2024. (Simona Castervillari/Israeli Swimming Association)

Israeli swimmer Anastasia Gorbenko qualifies for the semifinal in the women’s 100m breaststroke after finishing seventh overall in the heats at the Paris Olympics.

Gorbenko will swim this evening in the semifinal, hoping to make it to tomorrow’s final, the same day she’ll also compete in the 400m individual medley.

Swimmer Leah Polonsky finishes 19th in the women’s 200m freestyle, failing to advance to the semifinal, while Adam Maraana finishes 28th in the men’s 100m backstroke and also does not advance to the semifinal.

Norway urges citizens in Lebanon to leave the country

Norway’s embassy in Lebanon urges its citizens to leave the country, reiterating existing travel warnings.

“The conflict between Hezbollah in Lebanon and Israel has escalated,” says the embassy in an Arabic-language social media post. “Norwegian authorities remind you of travel guidelines that encourage all Norwegian citizens to leave the country. In case the situation worsens, travel options outside Lebanon may become limited. In such a situation, the Norwegian Embassy will have very limited resources to assist Norwegian citizens in leaving the country.”

Since October 7, Norway’s Foreign Ministry has advised against “travel that is not strictly necessary to all of Israel,” but has issued no new warnings in the wake of recent escalations in the north.

University of Haifa tells staff not to work above 5th floor of iconic tower amid spiraling tensions in north

Temporary emergency protocols have been adopted by the University of Haifa for the next few days, with the educational institute citing a heightened sense of caution and the concerns of staff and students.

While Haifa is south of the “confrontation line” of communities bordering the Lebanese border that are currently subject to stricter protocols, the university has decided on a day-to-day basis to restrict gatherings over 100 participants (affecting planned graduation ceremonies) and “for reasons of caution” instructing staff who work above the fifth floor of the campus’ iconic 30-story Eshkol Tower to work from home.

The location of hazardous material used for university research is also being re-evaluated while all other university activities, such as exams for the summer semester, are proceeding as usual.

On behalf of the university’s leadership, special condolences for Haifa’s population of Druze students were also sent out this morning.

At the Technion, which as a result of a delayed start to the school year is still in the midst of its spring semester, there have been no changes to university activities.

לא שוכחים אפילו לרגע אחד. אוניברסיטת חיפה מאירה את מגדל אשכול במספר 133, כמספר החטופים והחטופות בעזה, ״כדי להזכיר שהם והן לא יחגגו את חג הפסח הזה עם משפחותיהם. אנו מצטרפים לתפילה שישובו הביתה עכשיו! @UofHaifa @WallaNews #BringThemHomeNow pic.twitter.com/PMtS0aw6j7

— יואב איתיאל מדווח כי (@yoavetiel) April 21, 2024

Hezbollah clearing out key Lebanese sites ahead of potential Israeli strikes, security sources say

Hezbollah is on high alert, two security sources tell Reuters, as tensions spiral following a deadly attack by the terror group on a soccer field in northern Israel.

The security sources says Hezbollah preemptively cleared out some key sites in both Lebanon’s south and the eastern Bekaa Valley in the event of a possible attack by Israel.

Israel has said the Iran-backed terror group will “pay the price” after 12 children were killed in a rocket attack yesterday.

Netanyahu arrives back in Israel after US trip; security cabinet to meet at 4 p.m.

A plane that will carry Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu back to Israel sits on the tarmac at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, Pool)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lands back at Ben Gurion Airport, after moving his return flight up by several hours in the wake of the deadly rocket strike in the Golan Heights yesterday.

He will convene his security cabinet at 4 p.m.

IDF says rocket fired at Gaza border town struck open area

One rocket was fired from the northern Gaza Strip at the border community of Netiv Ha’asara a short while ago, setting off sirens.

The IDF says the rocket struck an open area, causing no injuries.

Israeli judoka Gefen Primo advances to quarterfinals in Paris; Baruch Shmailov defeated

Israel's Gefen Primo and Switzerland's Binta Ndiaye (blue) compete in the judo women's -52kg round of 16 bout of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Champ-de-Mars Arena, July 28, 2024. (Luis ROBAYO / AFP)

Israeli judoka Gefen Primo beats Switzerland’s Binta Ndiaye in the round of 16 in the under-52kg weight class at the 2024 Paris Olympics, advancing to the quarterfinals.

Primo will next face Kosovo’s Distria Krasniqi — who won the gold in Tokyo in 2021 — in the quarterfinal later today, to battle for a spot in the semifinal for a shot at a medal.

Israel’s Baruch Shmailov loses his second match to Tajikistan’s Nurali Emomali, failing to advance to the quarterfinal and ending his individual Olympic run.

Blinken says ‘every indication’ rocket was fired by Hezbollah, stands by Israel’s right to defend its citizens

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (left) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attend a press conference at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo on July 28, 2024. (David Mareuil / POOL / AFP)

Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo alongside the US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says there is “every indication” that the rocket that killed 12 children in the Golan was fired by Hezbollah.

“Every indication is that indeed the rocket was from Hezbollah,” he says. “We stand by Israel’s right to defend its citizens from terrorist attacks.”

Israel says that the rocket that hit Majdal Shams yesterday was fired by the Lebanese terrorist group, while Hezbollah denies that it was responsible.

Blinken and Austin met with Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko and Japanese Defense Minister Kihara Minoru for a 2+2 dialogue before speaking to reporters.

The secretary stresses that a ceasefire in Gaza is the best way to end the fighting in the north.

“One of the reasons that we’re continuing to work so hard for a ceasefire in Gaza is not just for Gaza,” he continues, “but also so that we can [advance] an opportunity to bring calm, lasting calm, across the blue line between Israel and Lebanon. We’re determined to bring the Gaza conflict to a close. It’s gone on for far too long. It’s cost far too many lives.”

“It’s so important that we help defuse that conflict,” says Blinken, “not only prevent it from escalating, prevent it from spreading, but to defuse it because you so many people in both countries, in both Israel and Lebanon, who’ve been displaced from their homes.”

Blinken says that the Biden administration is “in conversations” with Israel, emphasizing again Israel’s right to defend its citizens and America’s “determination “to make sure they are able to do that” without the conflict spreading.

“The best way to do that in a sustained way is to get that ceasefire in Gaza that we’re working so hard on virtually every minute of the day,” Blinken concludes.

Haifa hospital says four children in intensive care after Madjal Shams rocket attack

Residents rush to help injured children moments after a rocket attack hit a soccer field in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, July 27, 2024. (Hassan Shams/AP)

Rambam Hospital in Haifa says four out of the five children who were taken to the medical center after yesterday’s rocket attack on Majdal Shams underwent surgeries during the night.

Four are hospitalized in the intensive care unit and one child is in the pediatric surgery department.

Those wounded in the attack were taken to a number of hospitals in the area.

Rocket sirens sound in Gaza border community Netiv Ha’asara

Sirens sound in Netiv Ha’asara near the Gaza border, warning of incoming rocket fire.

Tel Aviv Stock Exchange shares drop following deadly Hezbollah rocket attack

Shares on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange drop following yesterday’s deadly rocket attack on the northern Druze town of Majdal Shams that killed 12 children and teens.

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s benchmark TA-125 index falls 2.1 percent and the TA-35 index of blue-chip companies is down 1.8%. The TA-90 index, which tracks the shares with the highest capitalization not included in the TA-35 index plunges almost 3% and the TA-Construction index dives 4%.

Yesterday, 12 children and teens were killed when a rocket hit a soccer field in the northern Druze town in the Golan Heights. The IDF has said that the rocket was an Iranian-made Falaq-1 with a warhead of over 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of explosives.

Lebanon asks US to urge restraint from Israel after 12 children killed by Hezbollah rocket

Mourners carry the coffins of 10 of the 12 children killed in a Hezbollah rocket attack in Majdal Shams on July 28, 2024 on July 28, 2024 (Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

The Lebanese government has asked the United States to urge restraint from Israel, Lebanon’s foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib tells Reuters, as tensions build following a Hezbollah rocket attack that killed 12 children in northern Israel.

Bou Habib says the US had asked the Lebanese government to pass on a message to Hezbollah to show restraint as well.

Knesset passes bill granting monetary benefits to those held hostage in Gaza

Demonstrators rally for the release of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip outside Hakirya Base in Tel Aviv, July 27, 2024 (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Just one day before the beginning of its summer recess, the Knesset gives its final approval to an amendment to the National Insurance Law providing monthly compensatory benefits to people still held hostage or missing since October 7.

The bill, which passes its second and third readings in the Knesset plenum 17-0, will stay in effect until October 2026, with the possibility of additional year-long extensions at the discretion of the labor minister and the Knesset Labor and Welfare Committee.

The legislation constitutes a legislative extension of a soon-to-expire temporary measure passed earlier this year which provides payments to those held captive by Hamas in Gaza. It is intended to protect those held in Gaza from financial difficulties and debt.

Under the new law, monthly payments are to be determined based on the average income of those eligible for the last three months prior to their kidnapping or disappearance, with payments capped at NIS 50,000 ($13,665). Those without an income will also receive benefits under the law.

Israeli swimmer Denis Loktev advances to semifinal in men’s 200m freestyle at Paris Olympics

Swimmers, including Israel's Denis Loktev (bottom) compete in a heat of the men's 200m freestyle swimming event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, July 28, 2024. (Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP)

Israeli swimmer Denis Loktev advances to the semifinal in the men’s 200m freestyle at the Paris Olympics, finishing 6th in his heat and 14th overall.

The semifinal will be held this evening, and if he advances, the final is tomorrow.

Fellow Israeli swimmers Anastasia Gorbenko, Leah Polonsky and Adam Maraana will also compete today.

‘You abandoned us for 9 months and now you’re here?’: Mourners yell at ministers at Majdal Shams children’s funeral

Mourners carry the coffins of 10 of the 12 children killed in a Hezbollah rocket attack in Majdal Shams on July 28, 2024. (Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

Government ministers at the funeral of 10 of the 12 children killed by a Hezbollah rocket are shouted at by members of the crowd who say that they “have no shame” by attending after nine months of attacks from the Lebanon-based terror group.

“You abandoned us for nine months and now you are here?” a man shouts at Economy Minister Nir Barkat and Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman, to applause from the crowd.

“You have no shame. A boy went to play football and didn’t come home,” he yells at the Likud ministers.

Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is also yelled at by mourners: “Get him out of here! We don’t want him!”

A number of opposition lawmakers are at the funeral, including Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and Labor leader Yair Golan.

Israeli judokas Baruch Shmailov, Gefen Primo win initial matches at Paris Olympics

Israel's Baruch Shmailov and Morocco's Abderrahmane Boushita (blue) compete in the judo men's -66kg round of 32 bout of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Champ-de-Mars Arena, in Paris, July 28, 2024. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)

Israeli judokas Baruch Shmailov and Gefen Primo both win their initial matches at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Shmailov wins against Morocco’s Abderrahmane Boushita in his first match in the men’s under-66kg weight class at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He will next face Tajikistan’s Nurali Emomali in the round of 16.

Boushita walks off the mat without shaking Shmailov’s hand following their match.

Primo beats South Korea’s Jung Ye-rin in the women’s under-52kg weight class and advances to the round of 16.

Shmailov and the rest of the men’s judo team are coached by Oren Smadga, an Olympic medalist who chose to attend this year’s Games just a few weeks after his IDF soldier son was killed while fighting Hamas in Gaza last month.

Germany condemns Hezbollah rocket attack: ‘Appalling that children who simply wanted to play football were killed’

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock delivers a statement to the media prior to the start of a European Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on May 27, 2024. (François Walschaerts/AFP)

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock condemns the Hezbollah rocket attack which killed 12 yesterday, and says it is important that any response is decided with “cool heads.”

“It is appalling that children and young people who simply wanted to play football were killed. My condolences to their families,” Baerbock writes on X.

“For months, Israeli citizens have been under fire from Hezbollah and other extremists. The perfidious attacks must stop immediately. It is important to act with cool heads. Far too many people have died already in this conflict,” Baerbock writes.

White coffins of children killed in Hezbollah rocket attack carried through streets of Majdal Shams

Mourners surround the coffins of 10 of the 12 children killed in a Hezbollah rocket attack in Majdal Shams on July 28, 2024 (Menahem Kahana / AFP)

The funeral procession begins for 10 of the 12 children killed in yesterday’s Hezbollah rocket attack on a soccer field in Majdal Shams.

Young people carry flower wreaths and photos of their friends and relatives as the small white coffins are carried through the streets of the Druze town in the Golan Heights.

The Ynet news site reports a number of relatives and friends of the victims have been taken by ambulance for treatment after they were overwhelmed by emotion.

ההלוויה קורעת הלב במג'דל שמס pic.twitter.com/kRXH4o8TIT

— yayafink (יאיא פינק) (@yayafink) July 28, 2024

Safed hospital says three children hospitalized there in serious condition

Ziv Medical Center in Safed says three children injured in yesterday’s rocket attack on Majdal Shams are in serious condition in the pediatric intensive care unit.

The children (ages 11, 12, 14) are sedated and intubated, all with abdominal injuries, chest injuries and limb fractures.

Thirteen children aged 2-15 are in moderate condition, mainly suffering from shrapnel injuries. Their condition is stable.

There are also three injured adults in the hospital, all in moderate condition.

Those wounded in the attack were taken to a number of hospitals in the area.

Local council coordinating Arabic-speaking social workers to go to Majdal Shams

Residents and paramedics rush to help children moments after a rocket attack hit a soccer field in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, July 27, 2024. (Hassan Shams/AP)

The Ynet news site reports that local authorities in the eastern Galilee are coordinating to send dozens of Arabic-speaking social workers to Majdal Shams.

The social workers and social work interns are from across the country, and will work with hundreds of people — eyewitnesses to the devastating Hezbollah attack on a soccer field in which 12 children were killed, as well as relatives and friends of the victims.

Thousands gather in Majdal Shams for funerals of children killed by Hezbollah rocket strike

Thousands gather for the funerals of children killed by a Hezbollah rocket attack on Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights, July 28, 2024 (David Cohen/Flash90)

Thousands of people have gathered in Majdal Shams for the start of the funerals of the children killed in yesterday’s Hezbollah rocket attack.

עצב כבד במג'דל שמס: מאות בני אדם צועדים ונפרדים בדברי שבח מ-12 הילדים שנרצחו >>@einavkerner pic.twitter.com/eUAgycxqj6

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) July 28, 2024

ברחבת בית העם במג׳דל שמס כרגע: תהלוכה עם קריאות:
״אמא צועקת איפה הבן שלי, ספרו לי שאינו בין המתים״ pic.twitter.com/rluZDfZ1iP

— Fadi Amun | فادي أمون | פאדי אמון (@FadiAmun) July 28, 2024

Searches underway for 11-year-old missing since deadly Hezbollah attack

Searches are underway for a child who has been missing since the deadly rocket attack on Majdal Shams yesterday.

Relatives of 11-year-old Jifara Ibrahim have searched all the hospitals and surrounding areas, but the child has not been located, the Ynet news site reports.

It is believed that the child was at the soccer field when it was hit by a Hezbollah rocket.

Foreign Ministry: Hezbollah ‘crossed all red lines’ with deadly rocket attack that killed 12 children

Druze women mourn near the coffins of loved ones after a Hezbollah rocket strike on a soccer field that killed 12 children in Majdal Shams on July 28, 2024 (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The Foreign Ministry says Hezbollah “crossed all red lines” with a deadly rocket strike that killed 12 children.

“Saturday’s massacre constitutes the crossing of all red lines by Hezbollah. This is not an army fighting another army, rather it is a terrorist organization deliberately shooting at civilians,” the ministry says in a statement.

In Majdal Shams, Gallant says entire nation stands with the town, Hezbollah will pay the price

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visits the scene of a deadly Hezbollah rocket attack in Majdal Shams, July 28, 2024 (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

In a visit to the scene of the deadly rocket attack in Majdal Shams, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tells local leaders that the entire country is standing with them.

“The entire State of Israel is with you in this terrible tragedy,” Gallant tells Dolan Abu Salah, head of the Majdal Shams council. “Hezbollah is responsible for it and they will pay the price.”

Twelve children were killed in a rocket attack on the Golan Druze town yesterday.

Funerals of children killed in Hezbollah rocket attack set to begin at 11 a.m. in Majdal Shams

Druze women mourn near the coffins of loved ones after a Hezbollah rocket strike on a soccer field that killed 12 children in Majdal Shams on July 28, 2024 (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The funerals of most of the children killed in yesterday’s Hezbollah rocket attack are set to begin at 11 a.m. in Majdal Shams.

Two cousins are among the 12 children and teens killed in the strike on a soccer field.

Iran warns Israel against any ‘new adventure’ in Lebanon after deadly rocket attack

A man stands near a damaged gate after a Hezbollah rocket strike on a soccer field that killed 12 children in Majdal Shams on July 28, 2024 (Menahem Kahana / AFP)

Iran warns Israel against what it called any “new adventure” in Lebanon, in a statement issued by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani.

“Any ignorant action of the Zionist regime can lead to the broadening of the scope of instability, insecurity and war in the region,” he says, adding that Israel will be responsible for “the unforeseen consequences and reactions to such stupid behavior.”

Israel has vowed Tehran-backed Hezbollah will pay a “heavy price” after yesterday’s rocket attack which killed 12 children at a soccer field in Majdal Shams. The IDF has said the military is increasing its readiness for “the next stage in the fighting in the north.”

The military has said that the rocket was an Iranian-made Falaq-1 with a warhead of over 50 kilograms of explosives.

Hospitals say a number of children in serious condition after deadly Hezbollah rocket attack

Youth walk next to a shelter damaged from shrapnel at a soccer field that was hit by a rocket, killing multiple children and teenagers, in the Druze town of Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A number of children injured in yesterday’s rocket attack on Majdal Shams are in serious condition in pediatric intensive care units in the north, many with life-changing injuries.

Prof. Salman Zarka, director of Ziv Medical Center in Safed, says 30 injured arrived in the aftermath of the attack, with 15 still hospitalized.

He tells Channel 12 news that three of them are in serious condition. A number are expected to undergo additional surgeries throughout the day.

“Sadly we are used to mass casualty events, but it’s children. It’s a massive tragedy for the area,” he tells Channel 12.

Professor Danny Eitan, director of Children’s Intensive Care Unit at the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa says there are three children in serious condition in the pediatric intensive care unit who underwent surgery overnight.

“A difficult evening and night. Five injured arrived at Rambam, of which four were taken to surgery and then transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit,” he tells Channel 12.

“Most of the injured arrived with multi-system injuries from shrapnel,” he says. “At the moment, three people are still in serious condition, sedated and ventilated in the pediatric intensive care unit.”

“They underwent surgery for a large part of the night. They have multi-system injuries, to their heads and bodies. In the coming days we will focus on stabilizing them. We hope for a speedy recovery,” he says.

“It’s been a long time since we saw a group of children who were affected by such severe trauma,” he says.

Children killed in Hezbollah rocket attack on Majdal Shams soccer field are named

(Top row, L-R) Ameer Rabeea Abu Saleh, 16, Iseel Nasha’at Ayoub, 12, Hazem Akram Abu Saleh, 15, Milad Muadad Alsha’ar, 10 (Middle row, L-R) Alma Ayman Fakher Eldin, 11, Naji Taher Alhalabi, 11, Johnny Wadeea Ibrahim, 13, Yazan Nayeif Abu Saleh, 12 (Bottom row, L-R) Fajer Laith Abu Saleh, 16, Vinees Adham Alsafadi, 11 Nathem Fakher Saeb, 16, who were killed in a Hezbollah rocket attack on Majdal Shams on July 27, 2024

Eleven of the twelve children killed in yesterday’s Hezbollah attack on Majdal Shams are named by Arabic and Hebrew media:

• Alma Ayman Fakher Eldin, 11
• Milad Muadad Alsha’ar, 10
• Vinees Adham Alsafadi, 11
• Iseel Nasha’at Ayoub, 12
• Yazan Nayeif Abu Saleh, 12
• Johnny Wadeea Ibrahim, 13
• Ameer Rabeea Abu Saleh, 16
• Naji Taher Alhalabi, 11
• Fajer Laith Abu Saleh, 16
• Hazem Akram Abu Saleh, 15
• Nathem Fakher Saeb, 16

Twelve children and teens were killed when a rocket hit a soccer field in the northern Druze town yesterday afternoon. The IDF has said that the rocket was an Iranian-made Falaq-1 with a warhead of over 50 kilograms of explosives.

Residents and first responders described scenes of bloody carnage on the soccer field. Though a warning siren had sounded, it was too short an alert for the victims, who were unable to flee in time.

The attack was the single deadliest Hezbollah attack since the terror group began attacking northern Israel on October 8.

IDF chief: Military increasing readiness for ‘next stage of the fighting in north’

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi speaks with members of the Druze community after a deadly Hezbollah rocket attack on the northern Golan Heights town of Majdal Shams, July 27, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi says the military is increasing its readiness for “the next stage in the fighting in the north,” following yesterday’s deadly Hezbollah rocket attack on Majdal Shams.

“We know exactly where the rocket was launched from. We examined here on the wall of the soccer field the remains of the rocket, and we know to say that it is a Falaq rocket with a fifty-three-kilogram warhead. This is a Hezbollah rocket. And whoever fires such a rocket into an urban area wants to kill civilians, wants to kill children,” Halevi says in a video statement from the scene.

“We are greatly increasing our readiness for the next stage of fighting in the north, as we are simultaneously fighting in Gaza. We know how to attack even very far from the State of Israel. There will be more challenges, we will raise our readiness,” he says.

“When required we will act strongly. Our duty is to return the residents to the north safely to their homes, in the entire north, the Galilee and the Golan Heights… it is a hard day, we will work for better days,” Halevi adds.

Witness to Majdal Shams attack: ‘There is disaster, there is tragedy, and there is what happened to us’

Youth walk next to a shelter damaged from shrapnel at a soccer field that was hit by a rocket, killing multiple children and teenagers, in the Druze town of Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A witness to the deadly rocket attack on the northern Druze town of Majdal Shams in which 12 children and teens were killed yesterday, says it goes beyond normal understanding of what constitutes a tragedy.

“We are taking 12 children to the cemetery in one day,” Zolan Abu Salah tells Army Radio.

“There is sadness, there is disaster, there is tragedy, and there is what happened to us yesterday,” he says.

The IDF has said that the rocket that struck the soccer field was an Iranian-made Falaq-1 with a warhead of over 50 kilograms of explosives.

IDF says fighter jets struck Hezbollah targets across Lebanon overnight

Israeli fighter jets struck a series of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon overnight, the IDF says.

The targets included weapon depots and other infrastructure in Shabriha and Burj el-Shemali near Tyre; the Beqaa Valley; and southern Lebanon’s Kafr Kila, Rab al-Thalathine, Khiam, and Tayr Harfa, according to the military.

מטוסי קרב תקפו במהלך הלילה שורת מטרות טרור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה ברחבי לבנון.

בין המטרות שהותקפו בעומק ובדרום לבנון, מצבורי אמל"ח ותשתיות טרור במרחבים שבריחה, בורג' א-שמאלי, בקאע, כפר כילא, רב א-תלתין, אל-חיאם וטיר חרפא pic.twitter.com/nUpOGqTWtK

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 28, 2024

US intelligence said to confirm Hezbollah behind Majdal Shams strike, but unclear if it was the intended target – report

US intelligence officials are reported to concur with the Israel Defense Force’s assessment that the rocket that struck Majdal Shams, killing 12 and injuring dozens more, was launched by Hezbollah, despite the Iran-backed group’s insistence that it had nothing to do with the deadly strike.

Speaking to the Associated Press, a source close to US intelligence officials says they have no doubts that Hezbollah carried out the attack on the Golan Heights, but that it was not clear if the terror group intended the target or misfired.

The source was not authorized to comment publicly on the matter.

Following the attack, the White House National Security Council in a statement said the US “will continue to support efforts to end these terrible attacks along the Blue Line, which must be a top priority. Our support for Israel’s security is iron-clad and unwavering against all Iranian-backed terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah.”

IDF: Soldier succumbed to wounds sustained in Rafah fighting last week

Sgt. Yonatan Aharon Greenblatt (Israel Defense Forces)

An IDF soldier critically wounded last week in southern Gaza’s Rafah succumbed to his injuries over the weekend, the military announces.

The slain soldier is named as Sgt. Yonatan Aharon Greenblatt, 21, of the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion, from Beit Shemesh.

Greenblatt was hit by an anti-tank projectile fired at a building he was in in Rafah on July 20, and taken to a hospital in critical condition.

His death brings Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip to 331.

Lebanese reports: Additional Israeli airstrikes carried out overnight across south Lebanon

Lebanese media outlets report Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas across southern Lebanon, including in Abbasiyah, Khiyam and Kafr Kila, hours after initial reports stated that strikes were being carried out in the town of Burj el-Shemali, some three kilometers from Tyre.

Other reports, quoted by Israel’s Army Radio, say the IDF has targeted the Chebaa area, from where the IDF said earlier that the deadly rocket was fired into Majdal Shams.

Footage of the purported strikes has been posted to social media.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

Israel struck several areas in southern Lebanon including Tyre, Kafrkila, Beeqa and Khyam. pic.twitter.com/5bT9nQ0By9

— Pulse Network (@Pulsenetwork5) July 28, 2024

Lebanese media reports Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon

Lebanese media reports Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, following a deadly Hezbollah rocket attack on the Druze town of Majdal Shams.

Some reports claim that the strikes are being carried out in the town of Burj el-Shemali, some three kilometers from Tyre.

Social media users post footage of what they say are the Israeli airstrikes.

Other reports, quoted by Israel’s Army Radio, say the IDF has targeted the Chebaa area, from where the IDF said earlier that the deadly rocket was fired into Majdal Shams.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

An IDF spokesman said late Saturday that the attack was directed by Ali Muhammad Yahya, who is the commander of a rocket launching site in the Chebaa area.

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— Rochex R. Robinson Bonilla (@RochexRB27) July 27, 2024

IDF chief says Hezbollah attack will be met with ‘very, very significant response’ from Israel

In a visit to Majdal Shams earlier tonight, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi told community leaders that the deadly attack on the Druze town would be met with a “very, very significant response” from Israel.

“We will hit Hezbollah hard,” he vowed, adding that the Lebanon-based terror group “does not distinguish between killing Druze or Jews.”

When Israel strikes, he warned, “Hezbollah may shoot here more, and caution must be taken to follow the Home Front Command and Northern Command’s instructions.

“We want to deliver a hard blow to Hezbollah, without having any more casualties here,” he added.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has cut short his trip in the US by a few hours and is expected back in Israel early Sunday afternoon, has also vowed Hezbollah will pay a “heavy price” for the attack. The decision-making security cabinet is set to convene later on Sunday afternoon.

UN officials call for ‘maximum restraint’ on all sides after Hezbollah strike kills 12

Residents and paramedics rush to help children moments after a rocket attack hit a soccer field in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, Saturday, July 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Shams)

The United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon and the head of a UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon call for all sides to show “maximum restraint” in the aftermath of a Hezbollah strike that killed at least 12 children and teens in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in northern Israel.

The officials warn that the near-daily clashes on the Israel-Lebanon border have the potential to “engulf” the region in “catastrophe beyond belief.”

Hezbollah began attacking Israel on October 8 in what it said was a show of support for Hamas and Gaza following the October 7 terror assault in southern Israel.

‘This has gone on for too long’: Gantz visits Majdal Shams following deadly Hezbollah strike

National Unity leader Benny Gantz meets with Druze community leaders in Majdal Shams following a deadly Hezbollah strike that killed at least 12 people, most of them children or teens, on July 27, 2024. (Office of Benny Gantz)

National Unity party leader Benny Gantz visited Majdal Shams after the deadly Hezbollah attack on the Druze town, his office says in a statement, where he paid a condolence call to Mayor Dolan Abu Saleh and community leader Sheikh Muafak Tarif.

He was accompanied by National Unity MK Michael Biton, former MK Mufid Mari and Golan Regional Council head Uri Kellner.

Israel has a “moral obligation in the south to bring home the hostages, and we have a strategic obligation to restore security to the north and the people to their homes,” he told the Druze community leaders. “This has gone on for too long.”