July 28: Cabinet reportedly weighing multiple paths on Gaza, including full occupation

UN: Over 5,000 Gazans under 5 have been treated for malnutrition in past month

Over 5,000 children under five-years old in the Gaza Strip have received outpatient treatment for malnutrition this month, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq says, adding that the Strip’s only four treatment centers are overwhelmed and nearing collapse.

Haq says during a briefing that of the UN’s 17 requests to Israel on Sunday to transfer humanitarian aid from the Kerem Shalom Crossing into southern Gaza, three were denied outright, two were later cancelled after being approved while four were impeded but still succeeded in their mission.

Explaining why most aid is looted after entering Gaza before reaching its intended destination, the UN spokesperson says the supply of humanitarian assistance is unpredictable and Gazans lack confidence it will reach them.

“The only way to mitigate for this situation is by having a sustained flow of aid over a period of time. This was evident during the ceasefire, when such incidents did not occur,” Haq says.

3 soldiers who refused to return to fighting in Gaza have prison sentences commuted

Illustrative: IDF troops of the Nahal Brigade operate in the Gaza Strip, in images released on June 5, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Three soldiers of the Nahal Infantry Brigade who were given prison sentences for insubordination after refusing to return to fight in Gaza will not be jailed after public outcry.

The commander of the Nahal Brigade met the three troops this evening to “hear their claims,” the IDF says.

The IDF says that during the conversation, “the brigade commander expressed his appreciation to the troops for their work in the war, while emphasizing that troops are expected to maintain military discipline in times of war and fulfill their mission, fighting on the battlefield.”

“In light of the unique circumstances,” the Nahal Brigade commander decided to commute their prison sentences, the military says, and instead, the soldiers will be required to stay on their base for a prolonged period.

The three soldiers will still be dismissed from combat duty. They are set to be transferred to non-combat roles in the army, alongside “support and treatment from their commanders and mental health officials,” an IDF official adds.

The troops claimed they could not return to another round of fighting in Gaza due to “a deep internal crisis,” after several of their comrades were killed.

The IDF had initially determined that they were fit for combat and sentenced them to jail for insubordination, leading to protests against the move.

French lawyer for Netanyahu alleges that Hezbollah put a bounty on his head

Olivier Pardo, a French lawyer, arrives at the Judicial Court in Paris on November 4, 2022. (Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)

French authorities opened an investigation after a lawyer for Benjamin Netanyahu said there was a contract on his head due to his work defending the Israeli prime minister, the Paris prosecutor’s office says.

Olivier Pardo told investigators that a former convict, Rudy Terranova, told him on July 16 that he had been approached to carry out a hit on the lawyer, a source close to the case said, confirming a report in the newspaper Le Parisien.

Terranova said he was approached to carry out the job while on a trip to Senegal by members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, a key ally of Israel’s arch-foe Iran.

He said they targeted Pardo because of his work for Netanyahu, who has been the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) since November 2024, accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes over Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

Pardo tells AFP that he was “calm, it’s one of the risks of my job when you defend causes which have sparked debate in France.”

“I am confident that the judiciary will determine whether this is a real or a phantom menace,” says the lawyer, who counts prominent French politicians including the far-right figure Eric Zemmour among his other clients.

According to Le Parisien, Terranova was taken into custody last week in connection with the case. A former gang member, Terranova was convicted in 2004 of violence considered to be motivated by Islamist radicalism.

Prominent Palestinian activist shot dead during clash with Israeli settlers in West Bank

Awdah Hathaleen (Eldad Rafaeli)

Awdah Hathaleen, 31, a prominent Palestinian activist featured in the film “No Other Land,” was allegedly shot and killed earlier this evening near the village of Umm al-Kheir, during clashes with Israeli settlers in the West Bank, at whom a group of Palestinians were allegedly throwing stones.

Hebrew media outlets identified one of the Israelis involved in the clash as Yinon Levi, an extremist settler on whom the United States, under the Biden administration, placed sanctions — measures that were lifted by US President Donald Trump.

Levi allegedly shot toward a group of Palestinians near the settlement of Carmel in the South Hebron Hills. Hathaleen was seriously wounded in the upper body during the clash and later succumbed to his injuries at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.

At least two other Palestinians were reportedly wounded in the incident. The Ynet news site reported that Levi was in the area doing permitted construction on a new neighborhood in Carmel, when, according to his account, dozens of rioters threw stones at him and several other Israelis, from nearby Umm al-Khair.

In a statement, the Israel Police say that it is investigating the incident and that an Israeli citizen involved in the shooting was detained at the scene and later arrested by police. Four Palestinians were also detained by the IDF, as well as two foreign tourists, police add.

Following the alleged killing, Labor MK Gilad Kariv asserts that the current Israeli government and the IDF have allowed “armed Jewish militias to operate unchecked.”

“[National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir has paralyzed the police, [Defense Minister Israel] Katz has blocked the Shin Bet’s operations, and the army continues to turn a blind eye,” Kariv writes on X.

“The bloodshed is already a terrible disaster and demands action, but let no one be under any illusion—this will not stop at the Green Line,” he warns.

Cabinet reportedly weighing multiple paths on Gaza, including full occupation

Israel’s cabinet is considering a full military occupation of the Gaza Strip, alongside a tightened siege on certain city centers within the territory, reports Channel 12 news.

On the agenda for discussion in tonight’s limited security cabinet meeting are the possibility of conquering the Strip or imposing a siege on cities where Hamas is active, according to the TV network.

A siege would mean halting the entry of aid, shortly after Israel announced it would dramatically increase access to aid in the Strip. Officials are also reportedly considering cutting off electricity to the Strip.

If carried out, the plan would mean that IDF troops would operate in areas where hostages are believed to be held – a move largely avoided by Israel until now. The IDF recently claimed it already holds control over some 75 percent of the Gaza Strip.

Regarding talks for a truce with Hamas, a senior security official tells the network: “The US needs to put a gun on the table and force Qatar to choose between Hamas’s interests and its own. The US is the only actor that can bring Hamas back to the negotiating table. If it doesn’t act, the situation will remain unchanged.”

Hamas has said that it remains interested in negotiating a deal. The terror group denies claims by Israel and the US — which the two countries cited as the reason for pulling their teams from Doha last week — that they are being unserious in the talks.

Dermer and Hanegbi meeting today in Florida with Witkoff

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi are meeting today with US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Florida, a source familiar with the matter says.

The trio are seeking to coordinate, after both the US and Israel pulled their negotiators out of Doha last week, citing frustration with Hamas’s response to the latest Gaza ceasefire and hostage release proposal, the source says.

An Arab diplomat and second source involved in mediation efforts say the gaps between the two sides are still bridgeable and that Egypt and Qatar are urging the US to allow for proximity talks to resume in Doha.

Witkoff said last week that the US would explore “alternative options,” and US President Donald Trump indicated that he would support Israel moving ahead with military operations to try and “get rid of” Hamas — something it has been unable to do in nearly 22 months of fighting.

Addressing UN confab on 2 states, PA PM urges Hamas to free hostages, cede Gaza control and weapons

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa speaks during a UN conference on a two-state solution, at UN headquarters on July 28, 2025, in New York City. (TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa calls for the release of all hostages and for Hamas to end its control of Gaza and transfer its weapons to the PA, during an address to a UN conference aimed at promoting a two-state solution.

“All countries bear the responsibility to act now to end the war against our people in Gaza and throughout Palestine, to ensure the release of all hostages and prisoners, and to ensure the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces,” he says.

Mustafa adds that the PA is prepared to welcome and coordinate with an international Arab force that will help stabilize Gaza after the war.

While Israel has expressed openness to assistance from Arab countries like the United Arab Emirates, those countries have conditioned such support on the PA’s involvement, which Israel has long rejected, likening the more moderate Ramallah to Hamas.

“We must all work to reunify the Gaza Strip with the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, without occupation, siege, settlements, forced displacement or annexation,” Mustafa says. “We must rebuild Gaza with and for our people, end the occupation, achieve Palestinian independence, and implement the two-state solution, where Palestine and Israel live side by side, in peace and security, towards achieving regional peace, security, and prosperity.”

Hezbollah operative killed in Israeli drone strike in Lebanon, says military

A Hezbollah operative in the terror group’s artillery array was killed in an Israeli Air Force drone strike in the Bint Jbeil area of southern Lebanon earlier today, the military says.

Israeli negotiators still in contact with Arab mediators, awaiting US decision, says diplomat

Contact between mid-level Israeli negotiators and Egyptian and Qatari mediators has continued on a daily basis since Israel and the US decided to recall their teams from Doha last week, an Arab diplomat tells The Times of Israel.

The US is still deciding whether to proceed with the negotiations, and US President Donald Trump has indicated that he supports Israel moving ahead with military operations against Hamas. But he has also expressed growing alarm at the humanitarian situation in Gaza that has resulted from such military operations, leading to questions regarding the coherence of Washington’s policy.

The Arab diplomat says Egypt and Qatar are still waiting for directives from US special envoy Steve Witkoff, while simultaneously working independently to revive the negotiations.

Witkoff is reportedly meeting today with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, who departed Israel yesterday for the US.

85-year-old man dies of wounds sustained in Iranian missile attack last month

Israeli security and rescue forces at the scene of a ballistic missile impact in Rehovot, June 15, 2025. (Yossi Aloni/ Flash90)

An 85-year-old man who was wounded when his home was hit by an Iranian missile in Rehovot during last month’s 12-day war has died of his wounds, according to Hebrew media reports.

The reports do not identify the man, who was reportedly rescued in moderate condition from the building and treated at Kaplan Medical Center in the city, where his condition was said to have fluctuated over the past six weeks.

Two weeks ago, Philippine national Leah Mosquera succumbed to her wounds, one month after being injured in the same missile attack.

Today’s death brings the number of victims killed in Israel by Iranian missiles to 30.

Minister says without swift victory in Gaza, there’s ‘no point’ to right-wing government

Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock attends a Religious Zionism faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 27, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Settlement and National Projects Minister Orit Strock (Religious Zionism) declares that there is “no point” to a right-wing government leading Israel if it cannot bring about a swift victory in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking to Israelis wounded in the war at a tent encampment near the Knesset, Strock says her party’s position is that unless the government can lead Israel to victory “not in a time frame of years, but in a time frame of days, of a few weeks,” then “we have nothing to do there,” the Ynet news site reports.

Without a swift victory, “we don’t see any point in having a right-wing government. We are determined that this is the time to lead to victory and nothing else.”

Strock’s comments come less than a day after Religious Zionism chairman and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sent a message to party lawmakers signaling that he would keep them in the coalition for now, despite disagreeing with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to ramp up humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Strock has previously praised the government as having ushered in a “miracle period” of settlement expansion.

After phone call, Herzog refutes Dutch PM’s characterization of their conversation

Prime Minister of the Netherlands Dick Schoof reacts during a press conference at NATO headquarters, in Brussels, May 21, 2025. (JOHN THYS / AFP)

In a rare move for Israel’s titular head of state, President Isaac Herzog takes to X to dispute Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof’s accounting of their call earlier today.

Schoof says he told Herzog that if the European Union determines tomorrow that Israel is not in compliance with humanitarian agreements with the bloc, then the Netherlands will support the suspension of Israel’s participation in the EU Horizon research program.

“If that proves to be the case tomorrow in Brussels, the Netherlands will also press for further European measures, for example, in the realm of trade,” writes Schoof, adding that there may be Dutch measures as well.

“Sorry Prime Minister, with all due respect — this tweet does not reflect the spirit and details of the call,” responds Herzog to the post.

“Nor does it reflect my crystal clear position that it will be a HUGE mistake if EU takes such steps especially in light of Israel’s ongoing and upgraded humanitarian efforts,” he adds.

The normally genteel Herzog also notes that Schoof did not mention Israeli hostages in Gaza or call for their release.

Unauthorized home of relative of slain hostages said bulldozed in Negev

Israeli bulldozers have been used to destroy a building reportedly belonging to members of the extended Ziyadne family — four of whom were kidnapped on October 7.

According to reports, state authorities have destroyed the home in an unrecognized Bedouin village in the Negev of Khaled Ziyadne, whose brother Yousef was taken hostage and murdered in captivity.

Israel Hayom cites a statement from the Israel Lands Authority saying that only the kitchen and a storage area were destroyed, as part of the implementation of a court decision from 2023 to evacuate an unauthorized home.

Yousef Ziyadne was kidnapped while working at Kibbutz Holit on October 7, along with his children Hamza, Bilal, and Aisha. Bilal and Aisha were freed in November 2023, and Youssef and Hamza were slain in captivity and their bodies retrieved by the IDF in January 2025.

Soliman Ziyadne, a member of the extended family, writes on Facebook that the family has “gone through bereavement, loss and kidnapping… and now they’re destroying their home. Because in this country, even if you’re a hostage, a victim, a fighter or an exemplary citizen, if you’re an Arab you have no privileges.”

Bedouins who live in unrecognized villages in the Negev regularly face evictions and demolitions, as Israel has been trying for decades to move them to recognized towns and cities connected to the grid.

Last year, the Israel Land Authority said it would not serve a demolition notice to rescued hostage Farhan al-Qadi, though the state has earmarked much of his village to be razed.

Palestinian journalist says Israeli prison guards beat, filmed him naked during detention

Israeli security forces on guard at the Ofer prison, outside of Jerusalem, February 8, 2025. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)

A prominent Palestinian journalist who was arrested this month by Israel in the West Bank says he was beaten and filmed naked by prison guards during his nine-day detention.

Maan editor-in-chief Nasser al-Laham was arrested on suspicion of incitement and providing services to a terror organization, held in Ofer Prison, and then released without any charges nine days later.

Laham tells Haaretz that he was questioned over his part-time work as an analyst on the pro-Hezbollah al-Mayadeen, his work at the Palestinian news outlet Ma’an, and posts made from an X account under his name that he says does not belong to him.

“They didn’t find any incitement in what I wrote in Al-Mayadeen and Ma’an, so they started searching Twitter and social media,” he says.

“In Ofer, it doesn’t matter if you’re guilty or not guilty, what matters is that you’re Palestinian,” he says, alleging that he was beaten and cursed after being stripped naked and blindfolded by guards, who filmed him and threatened to use it for blackmail.

After eight days in Ofer, Laham says police did not request to extend his remand and he was unconditionally released.

Responding to the Haaretz report, the Israel Prisons Service claims in a statement that its guards operate in accordance with the law and that the rights of all prisoners are maintained. If a complaint is submitted, it is fully investigated, IPS says.

The agency has faced longstanding accusations of misconduct against Palestinian inmates, which have intensified since far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben Gvir began overseeing the IPS as national security minister in December 2022.

Houthis release propaganda clip of kidnapped crew members from sunken ship

This handout picture released by Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah Media Centre on July 8, 2025, reportedly shows a view of damage to the Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Eternity C after it was attacked by the Houthis at sea. (ANSARULLAH MEDIA CENTER/ AFP)

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis release video footage of kidnapped crew members from the Eternity C cargo ship, which the rebels sank earlier this month, claiming in an accompanying statement to have “rescued” the mariners.

The European Union’s Operation Aspides naval task force said earlier this month that 15 out of the 25 crew were still missing — with four of them presumed dead.

In the video, the Houthis show pictures of 10 crew members they claim to have “rescued.” The video appears to show the moment the mostly-Filipino crew were pulled from the sea wearing life-jackets.

“Eleven crew members were rescued at sea, including two injured, who were provided with medical care. One body, found aboard the ship before it sank, was transported to the hospital morgue,” the Houthis say in a statement.

The captive crew members, who appear coached on what to say, are filmed claiming that the ship was headed to the Israeli port of Eilat and at the end of the video, nine of them said in chorus: “We are sorry, Palestinians.”

US blasts France for UN two-state conference, mum on Saudi co-hosts

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud and French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speak during a press conference during the United Nations conference on a two-state solution at UN headquarters on July 28, 2025, in New York City. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

The Trump administration tears into today’s “unproductive and ill-timed” UN conference co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia to promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“This is a publicity stunt that comes in the middle of delicate diplomatic efforts to end the conflict,” the State Department says in a statement. “Far from promoting peace, the conference will prolong the war, embolden Hamas, and reward its obstruction and undermine real-world efforts to achieve peace.”

The statement reiterates another one that was made by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, calling such efforts to advance a two-state solution “a slap in the face to the victims of October 7.”

While the US will not participate in the ongoing UN confab, it says it will continue its efforts to advance peace in the region.

The State Department again calls out French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state in September, noting that the announcement was welcomed by Hamas. It was also welcomed by the more moderate Palestinian Authority, which backs a two-state solution with Israel.

Macron’s announcement “reflects a pattern of counterproductive gestures that only embolden Hamas, encourage its obstruction of a ceasefire, and greatly undercut our diplomatic efforts to end the suffering in Gaza, free the hostages, and move the whole Middle East towards a brighter and more prosperous future.”

The US statement avoids criticizing Saudi Arabia, which helped engineer Macron’s announcement and is co-hosting this week’s UN conference. Trump has a close relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has pledged to invest billions in the US economy.

The US statement takes no position regarding the two-state solution more broadly. Trump officials have avoided weighing in on the matter, but have not criticized the Israeli government as it has taken steps in the West Bank aimed at foreclosing such a framework.

EU proposes cutting Israeli access to research funds; Israel: ‘Regrettable and unjustified’

The facade of the Berlaymont building, which houses the European Union Commission headquarters, seen in Brussels on February 18, 2025. (Nicolas TUCAT / AFP)

The European Commission proposes partially suspending Israel’s access to the Horizon research funding program, following calls from EU governments to increase pressure on Israel over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

“While Israel has announced a daily humanitarian pause in Gaza fighting… the situation remains severe,” the European Commission says in a statement. “The proposed suspension is a targeted and reversible action.”

Brussels says the proposal will mean halting access to funding for Israeli start-ups involved in fields that include drone technology, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. Last year, Israel was in the top three countries for the number of companies vying for funding, along with Germany and France.

The suggestion will be discussed by the EU’s 27 countries tomorrow, and would need the approval of the majority of member states to go into force.

Responding to the move, the Foreign Ministry calls the recommendation “mistaken, regrettable, and unjustified.”

“At a time when Israel is fighting Hamas’s jihadist terrorism, any such decision only serves to strengthen Hamas and therefore undermines the chances of reaching a ceasefire and a framework for the release of hostages,” says the Foreign Ministry.

“Israel will work to ensure that this recommendation is not adopted by the EU Foreign Affairs Council, and we hope that will indeed be the case. Either way, Israel will not yield to pressure when it comes to its national interests,” adds the ministry.

Multiple EU countries said last week that Israel was not living up to common understandings that had been reached on increasing aid supplies to Gaza, and asked the Commission to put concrete options on the table.

Germany’s Merz says Berlin holding off on any measures against Israel

Speaking after a meeting of his security cabinet, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says that there was no decision to take any measures against Israel.

“For now, we want to await the foreign minister’s trip and the talks that will be held with the Israeli government in the coming days,” he says. “However, we reserve the right to take such steps.“

German FM Johann Wadephul is slated to be in Israel on Thursday.

IDF soldiers shot Palestinian who threw brick at them in Hebron, says military

IDF troops shot a Palestinian who hurled a brick at them in the West Bank city of Hebron a short while ago, the army says.

The military says the suspect was “neutralized,” and no soldiers were injured.

Netanyahu convening close aides and ministers for meeting on Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is convening his close circle of aides and ministers for a discussion on Gaza, the offices of one of the ministers tells The Times of Israel.

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi are in Washington, DC to meet top White House officials, according to Hebrew-language reports.

Woman wounded by stray gunfire near Western Wall, say police

A woman was wounded by apparent stray gunfire near the Western Wall, say police, who are investigating the incident.

In a statement, police say that the woman was lightly wounded and brought from the Old City to a hospital for treatment.

Police forces are collecting evidence and examining the incident, the statement adds.

Lamenting children ‘are clearly starving to death,’ Vance says Israel must do more to get aid into Gaza

Vice President JD Vance speaks at the Metallus Inc. plant, July 28, 2025, in Canton, Ohio. (AP/Lauren Leigh Bacho)

US Vice President JD Vance laments the “heartbreaking cases” of children starving to death in Gaza and says Israel must do more to get aid into the Strip.

“I don’t know if you’ve all seen these images. You have got some really, really heartbreaking cases. You’ve got little kids who are clearly starving to death,” Vance tells reporters during a visit to Canton, Ohio.

“Israel’s got to do more to let that aid in,” he stresses. “And we’ve also got to wage war on Hamas so that those folks stop preventing food from coming into this territory.”

Over the weekend, The New York Times quoted two senior Israeli military officials who acknowledged that Jerusalem does not have proof that Hamas is systemically stealing aid, beyond anecdotal cases. The IDF swiftly denied the report.

Vance says the US wants to make sure Palestinian civilians in Gaza get food, while adding that it also wants to ensure that Hamas “gets the hell out of Gaza.”

Israel’s war in Gaza is ‘strategic failure,’ says Lapid, offering ‘roadmap’ to end fighting

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid speaks at a Yesh Atid faction meeting at the Knesset, on July 14, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has “failed in the war in Gaza,” asserts Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, stating that his assessment is based on “intelligence and operational information” shared with him by virtue of his position.

“It’s a total disaster. This is a strategic failure which is leading to an operational and political failure,” Lapid tells reporters at a press conference in Tel Aviv, adding that “the Israeli government no longer knows why soldiers continue to die in Gaza.”

If the war is not ended immediately, the hostages will not return home, Israeli soldiers will continue to be killed, and the “humanitarian disaster” in Gaza will get even worse, he warns.

Lapid insists that there is an alternative, however, calling for comprehensive hostage deal, after which Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza and continue the “work of eliminating Hamas” from the perimeter of the Palestinian enclave. Civil governance will be taken over by “a coalition of moderate Arab countries led by Egypt,” he adds.

“I have laid out a well-organized political plan, a road map that will lead us to the end of the war. I have held discussions on it with the American administration, with the Gulf states, with the Egyptians. There are gaps, but there is willingness — there is something to talk about,” Lapid continues.

“Only the Netanyahu government refuses to discuss the question of how the war will end. It has not presented any plan, any political vision. A government that is not even willing to mobilize the ultra-Orthodox is a government that does not really want to win and cannot really win.”

Turning to the humanitarian situation, Lapid insists that “the management of humanitarian aid in Gaza has collapsed” and that Israel “needs to make sure that there is no hunger in Gaza,” both out of pragmatic considerations and because such a policy is in line with Jewish values.

Lapid also warns that “economic and legal sanctions” against Israel could be implemented, while anybody who fought “will have to hope that they are not arrested the moment they leave Israel’s borders.”

Reports: Palestinian run over, another shot in south Hebron Hills clashes with settlers

A Palestinian man was run over by an Israeli driver and another man was shot and seriously wounded in clashes near the village of Umm al-Kheir in the South Hebron Hills in the West Bank, according to Palestinian reports.

A local Palestinian from the area tells The Times of Israel that the man was run over by an Israeli bulldozer, and afterward, another Israeli shot a different Palestinian who was in the area.

The Palestinian who was shot, Awdah Hathaleen, a resident of southern Hebron Hills, later died of his wounds, according to reports.

In video footage from the scene, an Israeli armed with a handgun is seen confronting Palestinians and firing into the air, with a bulldozer visible behind him.

ינון לוי, מתנחל שהוטלו עליו סנקציות בגין אלימות קשה כלפי פלסטינים, יורה לעבר תושבים במסאפר יטא. עודה הדאלין, חבר שסייע לנו לצלם את אין ארץ אחרת, נורה בפלג גופו העליון ומצבו קשה. תושבים אמרו שלוי הוא היורה pic.twitter.com/awwvSVkE7J

— Yuval Abraham יובל אברהם (@yuval_abraham) July 28, 2025

The IDF tells The Times of Israel in a statement that “terrorists threw stones at Israeli civilians near the settlement of Carmel in the Judea Brigade sector. One of the armed civilians opened fire at the assailants. There are known reports of casualties.”

IDF and police forces were dispatched to the scene upon receiving the report. No injuries were reported among the Israeli forces. The incident has been transferred to the Israel Police for further handling.

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עכשיו: פצוע ירי ופצוע דריסה בכפר אם אלח'יר שבמסאפר יטא. על פי הדיווחים, שני תושבי הכפר נפצעו קשה, אחד מירי ואחד מדריסה על ידי טרקטור. התושבים הותקפו על ידי מתנחלים שפלשו לכפרם וביצעו שם עבודות על אדמות הכפר. pic.twitter.com/48HW976zxw

— מחוץ לעדר (@masafering) July 28, 2025

Jordan highlights Israeli absence from UN conference on two-state solution

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi speaks during a conference on the two-state solution at UN Headquarters on July 28, 2025. (AP/Adam Gray)

A Jordanian official highlights Israel’s absence from today’s UN conference on a two-state solution.

While Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa is present, Israel sent no delegation to engage with peace proposals or represent its position.

“The Palestinians are ready to negotiate today,” claims Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s deputy foreign minister. “But we do not have an Israeli partner to negotiate with.”

He adds that since the Israelis “are not willing to sit at the table and negotiate a two state solution,” then “they cannot veto us from doing what we all believe in and recognize the Palestinian state as a statement of commitment to that solution.”

Merz says Germany will organize airlift of humanitarian aid to Gaza

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz leaves after a press conference on home and foreign policy in Berlin, Germany, July 18, 2025. (John MACDOUGALL / AFP)

Germany will organize an airlift of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, says Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“The German government, in cooperation with Jordan, will immediately establish an airlift for humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Merz says, adding that Berlin will work with Paris and London on the initiative.

Troops uncovered weapons, tunnel around school building in northern Gaza, says IDF

IDF troops operate in the Jabalia area of Gaza in a photo cleared for publication on July 28, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says that troops of the 401st Brigade uncovered weapons hidden in a building that formerly served as the Al-Rafi’i school in the Jabalia area of northern Gaza, and dismantled a nearby underground terror tunnel.

According to the military, the tunnel — approximately 400 meters (1,300 feet) long — was located adjacent to the school building and was neutralized during the operation. Soldiers also took down military structures used by terrorist cells that, the IDF says, had been attempting to target Israeli forces operating in the area.

The activity was carried out under the command of the 162nd Division, as part of ongoing Israeli efforts to dismantle Hamas infrastructure in Gaza.

Putin discusses Syria and Iran in phone call with Netanyahu

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Kremlin in Moscow on January 30, 2020. (Maxim Shemtov/ Pool/ AFP/ File)

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Syria and Iran in a phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, the Kremlin says.

It says Putin stressed the importance of upholding Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and restated Russia’s readiness to help negotiate a solution to the Iranian nuclear issue.

The Prime Minister’s Office confirms the call to The Times of Israel, saying that Iran and Syria were both discussed but declining to provide any further details.

The pair last spoke on June 13, the day that Israel launched preemptive strikes against Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile facilities, which Moscow denounced.

British court rules UK must ask Israel to help Palestinian family leave Gaza

A Palestinian family stuck in Gaza despite having permission to join a relative in Britain are given a lifeline as London’s High Court rules that officials must reconsider their refusal to ask Israel to let them leave.

The Palestinian couple and their four children were given permission to enter the United Kingdom to join their relative, a British citizen, earlier this year. To get their visas, the family need to travel across Israel to Jordan to provide biometric data — but Israel will only give permission to leave at the request of another state.

The Foreign Office argued that Britain can offer such support only in exceptional circumstances and urged caution over “expenditure of political and diplomatic capital.”

But Judge Martin Chamberlain rules that officials had failed to consider whether having the right to enter the UK constituted an exceptional circumstance. The Foreign Office does not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jenni Whitaker, a lawyer representing the family, says they hope the foreign ministry will now “do the right, just and humane thing and urgently agree to assist our clients.”

Riot police clash with anti-Israel protesters as Israeli ship docks in Rhodes; passengers disembark safely

Scuffles broke out between riot police and demonstrators on the Greek island of Rhodes today during a protest against the war in Gaza while an Israeli cruise ship was docked at the island, local media reports.

Television footage shows a small number of protesters chanting “Freedom for Palestine” near the port, with riot police pushing them back and minor scuffles breaking out. The cruise ship passengers disembarked in Rhodes without incident, Greek media says.

Anti-war activists had called for demonstrations on the island during a scheduled stop by the Israeli cruise ship, the Crown Iris, which was reportedly carrying more than 600 tourists. But representatives of local businesses on the island had opposed the protest.

Last week, the Crown Iris left another Greek island, Syros, early without its passengers disembarking after more than 150 protesters demonstrated at that island’s port.

Ένταση στο λιμάνι της Ροδου με την άφιξη Ισραηλινών τουριστών, πολλες προσαγωγές.

Συνελήφθη υποψήφια βουλευτής της Πλεύσης ελευθερίας. pic.twitter.com/gAPnUnxu1A

— Ακροκεντρώος (@akrokentrwos_2) July 28, 2025

Israel in ‘constant contact’ with Egypt, Qatar over ceasefire talks, says official

Illustrative: Palestinians carry sacks of flour unloaded from a humanitarian aid convoy that reached Gaza City from the northern Gaza Strip, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israel’s hostage negotiating team is in “constant contact” with Egypt and Qatar, which are in touch with Hamas, an official in the Prime Minister’s Office tells The Times of Israel.

A diplomat based in the Gulf tells Haaretz that Hamas surprised Israel and the mediators by demanding the release of 30 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences for each of the living Israeli hostages, instead of 20.

Israel released 30 lifers and 20 other Palestinian prisoners in January to free five Israeli female surveillance soldiers.

“It’s not over yet, and it hasn’t blown up,” the diplomat says, referring to talks between Israel and Hamas.

Israel recalled its negotiating team for consultations after Hamas gave its answer to a Qatari ceasefire proposal on Thursday.

At the same time, an Israeli team has been in Cairo for the last two weeks discussing the humanitarian aid influx into Gaza that started in recent days, an Egyptian diplomat tells The Times of Israel.

Opening confab, UN chief demands end to Israeli ‘unilateral actions’ that undermine 2-state solution

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Israel-Iran conflict at the UN headquarters in New York on June 20, 2025. (ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says Israel’s creeping annexation of the West Bank is illegal and the wholesale destruction of the Gaza Strip is intolerable and both must stop.

“Let’s be clear: The creeping annexation of the occupied West Bank is illegal. It must stop. The wholesale destruction of Gaza is intolerable. It must stop,” he tells a conference at the UN on a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

“Unilateral actions that would forever undermine the two-state solution are unacceptable. They must stop,” Guterres said.

Netanyahu: ‘We are not giving up’ on any of our goals, ‘for even a minute’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with members of the IDF's Military Intelligence Directorate on July 28, 2025. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

Speaking to the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel still has two tasks to complete — the elimination of Hamas and the return of all the hostages in Gaza.

“We are not giving up on that for even a minute. These are two intertwined goals.”

He says the fight against Iran’s axis is not over, and that Israel still has to defeat Hamas and the Houthis — “this group in the south, these savages. We will deal with them too.”

Netanyahu adds that Israel has to preserve its achievement of eliminating the Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile threats.

French FM: There is ‘no alternative’ to a two-state solution

Saudia Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud (front, 3L) speaks with UN chief Antonio Guterres as French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (5R) looks on as they gather at a UN conference on a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, at UN headquarters, July 28, 2025, in New York City. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot says there is “no alternative” to a two-state solution for the Israelis and Palestinians as he opens a conference on the stalled peace process at the United Nations.

“Only a political, two-state solution will help respond to the legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security. There is no alternative,” he says.

Jewish father and young son attacked near Milan by mob chanting ‘Free Palestine’

A Jewish father and his six-year-old son were targeted by a mob yesterday chanting “Free Palestine” and “Murderers” at a cafe in a rest area next to Milan. According to reports in Italian media, several people joined in the chants and the father was pushed to the floor and repeatedly kicked.

The two were both wearing a kippa and entered the cafe to use the restroom.

The incident began as one cashier yelled “Free Palestine” as the father and son were about to enter the restrooms, and other joined in the chants.

“I wasn’t afraid and responded,” the father said, according to La Repubblica daily. “I was angry. I’m not rude or violent, but when you must defend yourself, you must do it.”

At that point, the man started to film what was happening, and then accompanied his son to use the restroom.

????ALERTE INFO

???????????????????? #Italie Lors d’une halte dans une station-service italienne sur la route des vacances, une famille juive ✡️ venue de France ???????? portant la kippa a été prise à partie par plusieurs clients italiens, dont le caissier de la station-service. Sous les cris de… pic.twitter.com/SfUshPxpq1

— Les Spectateurs (@SpectateursFr) July 28, 2025

When the father and son left the restroom, the father said that some 15 or 20 people were waiting for them, demanding that he delete the video. When he refused, he found himself on the floor — while a bystander took the child to a corner to protect him.

The video of the incident, widely circulating on social media, shows people chanting “Free Palestine” and “Murderers,” with one man yelling, “We are not in Gaza, we are in Italy.”

The police arrived after 10 minutes.

“My Italian son-in-law served as an interpreter,” the man said. “I heard the police say the word Netanyahu, but I was just shocked. Afterward, he explained to me that they said [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu should be told to stop the bombing. But I’m not Israeli, I’m French.”

Spain says it will airdrop 12 tons of food into Gaza this week

Spain says it will airdrop 12 tons of food into Gaza this week as the threat of famine stalks the Palestinian territory after 21 months of war.

The operation is a rare example of a European nation joining Middle Eastern countries in sending aid by air.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, one of the most virulent critics of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, tells a news conference that the delivery will take place from Jordan on Friday using Spanish air force planes.

“The famine in Gaza is a shame for all of humanity and stopping it, therefore, is a moral imperative,” he says.

The defense ministry says the 12 tons will be delivered in an operation similar to another carried out in March 2024, when Spain delivered 26 tons of food to Gaza.

Starmer: Hamas cannot play a role in governing future Palestinian state

US President Donald Trump meets with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, at Trump Turnberry golf club on July 28, 2025 in Turnberry, Scotland. (Christopher Furlong/Pool Photo via AP)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says Hamas can play no part in any future government of a Palestinian state, as he discussed the need for a ceasefire in Gaza with Donald Trump during a meeting at the US president’s Scottish golf resort.

Starmer is facing domestic pressure to follow France in declaring that the UK will recognize a Palestinian state.

Speaking alongside Trump, Starmer describes the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “absolutely intolerable” and says food aid needs to be moved into the enclave quickly.

“We need to galvanize other countries in support of getting that aid in, and yes, that does involve putting pressure on Israel, because it absolutely is a humanitarian catastrophe,” he adds.

Iran ‘interjected themselves’ into latest Hamas ceasefire talks, says Trump

US President Donald Trump meets with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, at Trump Turnberry golf club on July 28, 2025, in Turnberry, Scotland. (Christopher Furlong/Pool Photo via AP)

Speaking alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer following their meeting, US President Donald Trump says that Iran “interjected themselves” into the latest round of ceasefire-hostage release talks in Qatar.

“I think they got involved in this negotiation, telling Hamas and giving Hamas signals and orders. And that’s not good,” he says.

If Iran restarts its nuclear program, says Trump, “we’ll wipe it out faster than you can wave your finger at it.”

“We will do that gladly. Openly and gladly,” he adds.

Tehran, he continues, has been “talking about things that they shouldn’t be talking about” in recent interviews.

On the situation in Gaza, Trump says he has seen “real starvation” there. “You can’t fake that.”

Israel has a lot of responsibility, he adds, but is “hampered” by the fact that 20 hostages are still being held by Hamas.

He says that “food centers” will be set up in Gaza where “the people can walk in, and no boundaries.”

“We’re not going to have fences where they see the food from 30 yards away, and they see the food, it’s all there, but nobody’s at it because they have fences set up that no one can even get it. It’s crazy what’s going on over there.”

Trump: We don’t want to risk hostages’ lives by ‘riding roughshod’; kids are starving, ‘you can’t fake that’

US President Donald Trump, right, speaks with the media as he greets Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, July 28, 2025. (AP/Jacquelyn Martin)

Speaking after meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland, US President Donald Trump says the location of some hostages in Gaza are known to Israel and the US.

“We know where they have them in some cases,” says Trump. “You don’t want to go riding roughshod over that area because that means those hostages will be killed.”

“Now there are some people that would say, well, that’s the price you pay,” he continued. “But we don’t like to say that, we don’t want to say that. And I don’t think the people of Israel want to say that either.”

Trump says that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are in touch to come up with “various plans” to free hostages held in Gaza.

“Hamas has become very difficult to deal with in the last couple of days because they don’t want to give up these last 20, because they think as long as they have them, they have protection,” he says, reiterating comments he has made in recent days referring to the 20 living hostages still being held in Gaza.

“But I don’t think it’s going to work that way,” he adds. He says that the hostages are in “deep trouble.”

Trump says a major priority right now is aid to Gazans, but Hamas is stealing much of it: “Before we get to phase two, which is what’s going to happen afterwards, we want to get the children fed.”

“So much, when you do something there, gets taken by Hamas. Or somebody.”

“The United States will be helping with the food,” he also says. “We have a lot of access to food. We’ve got a lot of food ourselves. We can save a lot of people. Some of those kids — that’s real starvation stuff. I see it. And you can’t fake that.”

New aid convoy enters Druze-majority Sweida province in south Syria

This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on July 28, 2025, shows Syrian Red Crescent trucks carrying aid arriving at Busra al-Sham in Syria's southern Daraa province before crossing the buffer zone into Sweida province. (SANA / AFP)

A new humanitarian aid convoy reached southern Syria’s Druze heartland today, official media reports, as the United Nations warns the humanitarian situation in Sweida province is critical after deadly violence.

Clashes in the Druze-majority Sweida province, which began on July 13 and ended with a ceasefire a week later, initially involved Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin tribes, who have been at loggerheads for decades.

But government forces intervened on the side of the Bedouin, according to witnesses, experts and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, which claimed the violence killed more than 1,400 people, mostly Druze, and accused government personnel of summarily executing more than 250 Druze civilians.

State television says today’s Syrian Red Crescent convoy is the third of its kind to reach the province, publishing images of trucks crossing into the region.

State news agency SANA says the 27-truck convoy “contains 200 tons of flour, 2,000 shelter kits, 1,000 food baskets” as well as medical and other food supplies. The effort is a cooperation between “international organizations, the Syrian government and the local community.”

Although the ceasefire has largely held, the UN’s humanitarian agency, OCHA, says that the humanitarian situation in Sweida province “remains critical amid ongoing instability and intermittent hostilities,” and that the violence had displaced at least 176,000 people.

Israel, which intervened with airstrikes aimed at assisting the Druze community amid the violence, also sent in aid supplies last week.

Gantz: Arab nations, not IDF soldiers, need to manage the Gaza Strip

MK Benny Gantz leads a faction meeting at the Knesset on July 14, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Israeli soldiers’ job is to protect Israel and not Gazans, declares Blue and White-National Unity chairman Benny Gantz, arguing that the Palestinian enclave requires an outside Arab administration to manage civil affairs.

“The role of IDF soldiers is to protect Israeli communities and residents, not Gazans. I have warned, and am warning again — we are heading toward a situation where our children will be dealing with sewage in Gaza,” he writes on X.

“Reports from the field about soldiers tasked with securing food convoys and infrastructure work are serious and alarming; this is not their mission. It is time to pursue a solution that includes an administration of Arab countries to manage Gaza,” he adds.

“Security control will remain and must remain in our hands. But our fighters must not risk their lives to take care of Gazans.”

Trump: Hamas doesn’t ‘want to give hostages,’ so Israel will need ‘a different way’; Gaza ‘is a mess’

US President Donald Trump speaks with the media at the Trump Turnberry Golf Courses, in Turnberry, southwest Scotland, on July 28, 2025. (Christopher Furlong / POOL / AFP)

Speaking at his golf resort in Scotland, US President Donald Trump says that Hamas doesn’t want a ceasefire deal, and as a result Israel must fight differently in Gaza.

“They have totally changed now,” he says of Hamas. “They don’t want to give hostages.”

“I always said when you get down to the final 20, you won’t release them, because that’s like their shield,” he says of the last 20 living hostages held by Hamas. “Very unfair. And so something’s going to have to be done.”

Standing beside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife, Victoria, Trump says that Hamas “were really unwilling to talk” in Doha.

“Now possibly the fight will have to be a little bit different,” he says, adding that he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “you’re going to have to now maybe do it a different way.”

At the same time, he says, a ceasefire in Gaza is still possible.

“Hamas did a horrible thing, and they paid a big price,” says Trump.

Asked about Israel’s protection of civilians in Gaza, Trump says that “no one has done anything great over there. The whole place is a mess.”

“They have to get food and safety right now,” he adds.

Starmer calls Gaza “an absolute catastrophe.”

“People in Britain are revolted seeing what they’re seeing on their screens,” the prime minister continues.

Asked about the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump says he is “disappointed” in Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that he will shorten the 50-day deadline he gave him for agreeing to a ceasefire.

20 more aid boxes airdropped into Gaza today, says IDF

A military transport aircraft drops humanitarian aid over Al-Zawayda, in the central Gaza Strip, July 28, 2025. (Eyad BABA / AFP)

The IDF says 20 more humanitarian aid packages were airdropped by Jordan and the UAE into the Gaza Strip today, as part of ongoing efforts to alleviate worsening humanitarian conditions in the enclave amid growing reports of widespread food shortages.

According to an IDF statement, the operation was carried out under the direction of Israel’s political leadership in coordination with the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. It was led by the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT).

The aid packages, which included food, were delivered to both northern and southern Gaza over the past several hours.

The IDF says it will continue to expand its humanitarian operations in cooperation with international partners, while pushing back on what it describes as “false claims of deliberate starvation in Gaza.”

בעזה מדווחים על הצנחת סיוע הומניטרי מהאוויר – גם הפעם מדובר בסיוע שהגיע מאיחוד האמירויות pic.twitter.com/wpNv5oQODV

— ספיר ליפקין | Sapir Lipkin | سابير ليبكين (@sapirlipkin) July 28, 2025

Sissi issues appeal to Trump: Only you are ‘capable of stopping the war’

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi speaks during a press conference after his meeting with the French president at the Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt, on April 7, 2025. (Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP)

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi issues an impassioned call for US President Donald Trump to intervene to put an end to the fighting in Gaza, saying “the time has come to end the war.”

In a video address on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Sissi says Trump “is the one capable of stopping the war, bringing in aid and ending this suffering.”

“Therefore, I am making a special appeal to His Excellency President Trump: please make every effort to stop the war and bring in aid,” he declares.

The US president said today that a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which mediation by the US, Egypt and Qatar has so far failed to secure, is “possible.”

Trump ‘not particularly’ convinced by Netanyahu’s denial of starvation in Gaza; Hamas stealing a lot of food

US President Donald Trump meets with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, at Trump Turnberry golf club on July 28, 2025, in Turnberry, Scotland. (Christopher Furlong/Pool Photo via AP)

With bagpipes in the background, US President Donald Trump says he doesn’t know if he agrees with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s assessment yesterday that there is no starvation in Gaza.

“Based on television, I would say not particularly, because those children look very hungry,” he says, standing alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and wife Victoria at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland.

“You have a lot of starving people in Gaza,” says Trump, repeatedly highlighting the US contribution to aid in Gaza.

“We gave $60 million, no one said even thank you,” says Trump. “Other nations have to step up.” He says that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised him that European nations would contribute as well.

Trump says he is “looking for getting people fed right now.”

Trump bemoans that aid has been commandeered by Hamas: “We’ve given a lot of money to Gaza for food and everything else. A lot of that money is stolen by Hamas, and a lot of the food is stolen.”

Starmer and Trump say they will be focusing on Gaza in their meeting. Trump says he won’t take a position on a Palestinian state, but that he doesn’t mind Starmer taking a position.

COGAT: Viral image of emaciated 5-year-old with genetic illness falsely used to accuse Israel of starving children in Gaza

5-year-old Osama al-Rakab is seen receiving medical treatment, left. COGAT says a viral image of him, right, was used to falsely accuse Israel of starving children in Gaza. (Screen capture: COGAT via X)

The Defense Ministry agency responsible for coordinating aid deliveries to Palestinian territories says a viral photo of 5-year-old Osama al-Rakab has been falsely used to accuse Israel of starving children in Gaza.

According to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), al-Rakab suffers from a serious genetic illness that is unrelated to the war. On June 12, Israeli authorities coordinated his exit from Gaza via the Ramon airport, along with his mother and brother, and he is currently receiving medical treatment in Italy, COGAT says.

“Tragic images rightfully stir strong emotions, but when they’re misused to fuel hatred and lies, they do more harm than good,” reads the statement on COGAT’s English-language X account. “Don’t let compassion be exploited for propaganda. Check the facts before parroting blame.”

The statement does not address broader reports of widespread food insecurity and malnutrition in Gaza, which have been raised by multiple international aid organizations. Rather, it focuses on correcting what it says is a specific misuse of a personal tragedy for misinformation.

A photo of 5-year-old Osama al-Rakab has gone viral, used to falsely depict Israel as responsible for his condition, claiming Israel is starving children.#TheFacts: Osama suffers from a serious genetic illness unrelated to the war. On June 12, we actively coordinated Osama's… pic.twitter.com/7IY826P0JZ

— COGAT (@cogatonline) July 28, 2025

In first, 2 major Israeli human rights groups accuse Israel of ‘genocide’ in Gaza

Illustrative: Palestinians carry sacks of flour unloaded from a humanitarian aid convoy that reached Gaza City from the northern Gaza Strip, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights publish new reports accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, making them the first major Israeli human rights organizations to do so.

“An examination of Israel’s policy in the Gaza Strip and its horrific outcomes, together with statements by senior Israeli politicians and military commanders about the goals of the attack, leads to the unequivocal conclusion that Israel is taking coordinated, deliberate action to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip,” reads a statement on the report by B’Tselem. “In other words: Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. ”

Physicians for Human Rights says its report also describes “a deliberate, cumulative dismantling of Gaza’s health system, and with it, its people’s ability to survive. This amounts to genocide.”

At a press conference in East Jerusalem, Orly Noy, chair of B’Tselem’s executive board, says: “This crime must be stopped immediately. The responsibility lies first and foremost with Israel, but also with the international community, which must use every means to stop the crimes that are still taking place just 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) from here.”

Yuli Novak, executive director of B’Tselem, says: “The definition of genocide is a coordinated attack with the intent to destroy a group. For the past 22 months, we have witnessed unprecedented destruction of civilians, deliberate starvation, and mass forced displacement. Gaza’s residents are displaced, bombed, and starved, stripped entirely of their humanity and rights.”

Israel has not responded to the report but has repeatedly rejected accusations of genocide, saying it takes steps to mitigate harm to civilians and accusing Hamas of embedding itself in civilian infrastructure including schools and hospitals.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed allegations that Israel is pursuing a deliberate policy of starving Gaza’s civilian population.

Germany says it’s set to ‘increase pressure’ on Israel if no progress made on Gaza hunger crisis

Illustrative: Palestinians carry sacks of flour near Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on July 27, 2025, after trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered into northern Gaza. (BASHAR TALEB / AFP)

Germany says it is prepared to take steps to pressure Israel over the soaring hunger in Gaza, without elaborating.

“The chancellor was very clear in the phone conversation with the Israeli prime minister… that the federal government is prepared to increase the pressure if progress is not made,” a German government spokesperson says, referring to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s phone call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday.

“In principle we are prepared to take further steps, which is also the purpose of this afternoon’s security meeting,” he says, referring to a meeting of the German security cabinet.

Thailand, Cambodia agree to ‘immediate and unconditional’ ceasefire, says Malaysia PM

Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (C), Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet (L) and Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai (R) pose for photos as they shake hands following a press conference after talks on a possible ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia in Putrajaya, Malaysia, July 28, 2025. (Mohd Rasfan / POOL / AFP)

Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to an “immediate and unconditional” ceasefire from midnight to resolve deadly border clashes, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says.

Anwar, who chaired the talks as head of the ASEAN regional bloc, says both sides have reached a common understanding to take steps to return to normalcy.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai have agreed to “an immediate and unconditional ceasefire with effect from… midnight of 28 July,” Anwar says, reading out a joint statement.

Hun Manet and Phuntam hail the outcome of the meeting and shake hands at the conclusion of the brief press conference.

The fighting began Thursday after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Both sides have blamed each other for starting the clashes, which killed at least 35 people and displaced more than 260,000 people on both sides.

Reservist who worked in body identification unit found dead in suspected suicide: ‘He saw very difficult things’

Reservist Ariel Meir Taman is seen in an undated photo. (Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

An IDF reservist was found dead last night at his home in southern Israel, the military announces.

Hebrew media outlets identify the soldier as Ariel Meir Taman, who had previously served in the IDF’s Military Rabbinate, where he worked in the identification of fallen soldiers. Several outlets have reported the incident as a suspected suicide.

Military Police has opened an investigation into the circumstances of his death. The findings will be transferred to the Military Prosecutor’s Office for review, the IDF says.

In the wake of a recent string of suicides among both active-duty and reserve soldiers, Walla News reports that the Jerusalem Institute of Justice appealed to Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman MK Boaz Bismuth today to urgently convene a discussion on the issue.

Taman’s death marks yet another case in a concerning trend that has reignited debate over mental health in the military amid the ongoing psychological toll of the war.

One of Taman’s acquaintances told Hebrew media that the late reservist “saw very difficult things in his position in recent years.”

The acquaintance eulogized Taman: “He was everything — a man of giving and kindness. He gave [part] of himself to everyone, always put others before himself.״

IDF strikes in Gaza said to kill 33 overnight and this morning; no comment from IDF

People survey the damage from a reported Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 28, 2025. (Screen capture: X/Palestinian Information Center)

Arab media outlets report 33 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip overnight and this morning.

According to the reports, 15 people were killed in strikes on various locations overnight. The Qatari Al-Araby channel reports three people were killed in a strike on an apartment in the Al-Daraj neighborhood in western Gaza this morning.

And another strike in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis this morning is said to have killed 15 people.

The numbers cannot be verified.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

#شاهد.. دمار كبير في منزل عائلة نوفل عقب قصف طائرات الاحتلال وارتكابها مجزرة مروعة راح ضحيتها 15 شهيداً وعدد من المصابين بالقرب من صناعة الوكالة بالحي الياباني غربي مدينة خانيونس جنوب قطاع غزة فجر اليوم pic.twitter.com/VR1LYCkv3Z

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) July 28, 2025

US said to have used some 25% of its THAAD interceptor missiles to protect Israel during Iran war

In this image courtesy of DVIDS, a US Air Force Airmen offloads a THAAD launcher from a C-17 GlobeMaster III at Nevatim Air Base, Israel, for an exercise, March 1, 2019. (Robert DURR / DVIDS / AFP)

The United States used up about a quarter of its high-end THAAD interceptor missiles to help down missiles Iran launched at Israel during last month’s 12-day war, according to two sources familiar with the operation cited by CNN.

According to the report, US forces fired between 100 and 150 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense rockets, each of which costs roughly $12.7 million.

Meanwhile, the US produced just 11 THAAD interceptor rockets last year and is expected to produce 12 this year, CNN says.

The network also cites figures from the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, a Washington-based think tank, indicating that THAAD interceptors were responsible for about half the Iranian missiles downed during the war. The rest of the interceptions were via Israel’s own Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 interceptors system, according to the think tank.

Foreign media reports indicated during the war that Israel was running low on Arrow interceptors, with a US official cited by The Wall Street Journal saying Israel was weeks away from running out of Arrow-3 missiles. Israel denied the reports.

Iran launched over 500 ballistic missiles at Israel during the war last month, 201 of which were shot down, according to the JINSA.

The strikes killed 29 people and wounded over 3,000 in Israel, and also damaged 2,305 homes in 240 buildings — including two universities and a hospital — leaving over 13,000 Israelis displaced.

UN nuclear watchdog to visit Iran within next 2 weeks, Tehran says

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, center, visits an exhibition of Iran's nuclear achievements, in Tehran, Iran, April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran via AP)

The United Nations nuclear watchdog will make a visit to Iran within the next two weeks, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says, a few days after the watchdog’s director said Tehran is ready to restart technical conversations.

Baghaei adds that a manual regarding the future of Iran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency will be presented, based on a recent parliamentary bill restricting such cooperation.

The bill was passed following Iran’s 12-day war with Israel last month, in which Israel targeted Iran’s nuclear program.

Shortly before the war, the IAEA issued a scathing report accusing Iran of violating nuclear safeguards, angering the Islamic Republic.

Katz celebrates demolition of Holon buildings hit in Iranian missile attack, angering residents

Defense Minister Israel Katz speaks at a ceremony in Holon, July 28, 2025. (Screen capture: Ynet)

Defense Minister Israel Katz celebrates the demolition of buildings damaged in an Iranian missile attack last month in Holon, provoking the ire of affected residents.

The June 19 strike wounded over 20 people, including one who was seriously hurt, according to the Magen David Adom ambulance service.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the demolition, Katz hails the 12-day war against Iran as “the grandest operation in Israeli history,” and says “we plan to surprise the ayatollah regime in Iran in the future as well.”

Katz says the government knew the war would be difficult for Israel’s residents.

“It was clear to us that the resilience of the Israeli home front is an important factor,” he says. “We prepared well for this damage, and still — the images of ruined buildings and displaced families are difficult and complex.”

“You are the real heroes,” he tells the residents, “and we are committed to doing everything to let you return to life quickly. Today we demolish so we can build and be built — it’s part of the victory.”

Also at the ceremony, Holon Mayor Shai Kenan says a new road called Rising Lion Way, named for Israel’s operation against Iran’s nuclear program, would be paved in the neighborhood.

Yulia, a tenant of one of the impacted buildings, tells Army Radio that the celebratory nature of the ceremony was in poor taste.

“Maybe I should wear a wedding dress,” she says sarcastically. She adds that when she saw the notice for the ceremony — adorned with the slogan Am Yisrael Chai (The nation of Israel lives) — “it took me a day to process that it’s real. It’s incredibly disgusting. The municipality is detached from reality.”

Noam She’altiel, another resident whose home was destroyed, tells the Ynet news site: “I did not imagine that this would be how we’d say goodbye to our first home. There is champagne and food [at the ceremony] and it’s gross.”

In a statement, the Holon municipality tells Ynet that the event “is all about home, community empowerment and new beginnings,” and is meant to honor the affected residents and first responders.

“The municipality will not cooperate with attempts to create a divisive discourse at the expense of the ceremony, which is being held in a similar fashion to events in other cities,” it says in a statement.

Protesters demanding a hostage deal rallied outside the ceremony, Hebrew media reports.

Iran launched over 500 ballistic missiles at Israel during the war last month. The strikes killed 29 people and wounded over 3,000 in Israel. In all, there were 36 missile impacts and one drone strike in populated areas, causing damage to 2,305 homes in 240 buildings, along with two universities and a hospital, and leaving over 13,000 Israelis displaced.

בחולון הרסו הבוקר מבני מגורים שניזוקו קשות מפגיעת טיל איראני, והעירייה ערכה טקס לציון האירוע – שלא עבר חלק. לפני הריסת הבתים שוטרים פינו ממתחם הטקס דייר שביתו נפגע, לאחר שהפריע לראש העיר שי קינן בנאומו. בנוסף, תושבים קראו לשר הביטחון ישראל כ"ץ שנכח באירוע לפעול לשחרור 50 החטופים… pic.twitter.com/XT6Q9N57OP

— כלכליסט | Calcalist (@calcalist) July 28, 2025

"לבוא ולפתוח אירוע על הכאב שלנו הכי קל לך": תושב בניין שנהרס מפגיעת טיל בחולון בטקס הריסת הבניינים, בנוכחות שר הביטחון ישראל כ"ץ@ifatglick pic.twitter.com/62FWGrxg00

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) July 28, 2025

Over 120 trucks of food distributed by Gaza aid agencies on 1st day of ‘tactical’ pauses, Israel says

People carry food parcels and bags in the al-Mawasi camp in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, that were picked up from the Rafah corridor on July 27, 2025. (AFP)

Israel says more than 120 truckloads of food aid were distributed by the UN and aid agencies in the Gaza Strip on the first day of a partial pause in fighting.

Yesterday, Israel declared a “tactical” pause in military operations in parts of Gaza and promised to open secure routes for aid, urging humanitarian groups to step up food distribution.

“Over 120 trucks were collected and distributed yesterday by the UN and international organizations,” COGAT, the Defense Ministry agency overseeing civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories, says on X.

Bangkok gunman kills 5 people at food market, local police official says

At least six people were killed at a market in a shooting incident in the Thai capital Bangkok on Monday, a police official says.

The number of fatalities includes the gunman who took his own life, Charin Gopatta, Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, tells Reuters.

Four security guards at the Or To Ko market, which sells agricultural produce and local food, were killed by the gunman, as well as a woman, according to the Erawan Emergency Medical Center, which monitors Bangkok hospitals.

Likud minister: ‘Zero’ chance of bringing back hostages in a deal

Education Minister Yoav Kisch attends a meeting of the Knesset Education, Culture, and Sports Committee in Jerusalem, May 12, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Education Minister Yoav Kisch, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, says there is no chance of bringing back the hostages in a deal, blaming intransigence by Hamas.

“The possibility of bringing back the hostages through a framework [for a deal] is zero,” Kisch tells the Kan public broadcaster. “What we need to focus on is how to achieve the war goals knowing that Hamas will not release hostages.”

Kisch also says Israel was forced to boost the flow of aid into Gaza due to international pressure stemming from reports of soaring starvation in the Strip. The minister dismisses those reports as part of “Hamas’s fallacious hunger campaign,” which he says was “unfortunately echoed by no small number” of Israeli organizations.

The measures Israel announced Saturday night to increase the flow of aid — including opening “humanitarian corridors” and pauses in fighting in densely populated areas for 10 hours a day — “don’t help us tactically on the ground in the fighting against Hamas,” says Kisch.

“The main point is that I don’t think it’s a maneuver that will be with us for very long,” he adds.

Speaking to the same outlet, Likud lawmaker Moshe Saada says he thinks Netanyahu’s strategic goal in Gaza is “military government, conquering the Strip, staying in the Strip, a humanitarian city and encouraging migration.”

Saada adds that Netanyahu has refrained from those steps till now “because he was trying to bring back the hostages.”

Women’s prayer group clashes with Western Wall ushers over alleged smuggling of Torah scroll into compound

Ushers from the Western Wall Heritage Foundation clash with activists from Women of the Wall, a group that supports women’s rights to pray as they wish and that holds monthly services at the gender-segregated holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The Foundation says one of its ushers was taken to a hospital after the women allegedly attacked him when he tried to prevent them from using a Torah scroll smuggled in from outside in a baby carrier.

Videos released by both the Foundation and Women of the Wall show an usher sitting against the wall with his head in his hands. In the footage released by the prayer group, a man identifying himself as the usher’s boss accuses one of the women of having elbowed the usher.

Other ushers can be seen trying to grab a bundle — apparently the smuggled Torah scroll — from the hands of one of the women. The clash subsides and the women begin their prayer as several police officers watch them.

עימותים בכותל המערבי בין סדרני הקרן למורשת הכותל לבין נשות הכותל על רקע הכנסת ספר תורה@VeredPelman

(צילום: נשות הכותל) pic.twitter.com/EjfdMxjWJN

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) July 28, 2025

There are over 100 Torah scrolls in the Western Wall compound, according to the Foundation’s website, but none of them are located in the women’s section, in accordance with Orthodox customs observed by the Foundation.

The prayer group, established in 1988, decries the arrangement. In 2023, it had a minor win when the High Court ruled that security guards in the Western Wall were not permitted to search visitors for Torah scrolls.

2 US Jews said detained in Iran on suspicion of spying for Israel amid war; 1 still in prison

Two American nationals are among at least 35 Jews who were detained in Iran on suspicion of spying for Israel following the 12-day war last month, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

One of the American citizens was released on bail in the past few days, and the other is still in prison, according to the report.

The American who was released on bail is a Jew of Iranian ancestry from Los Angeles, and the other American left Iran for New York 30 years ago, Kan says.

Both were reportedly in Iran to visit relatives.

An unidentified source involved in efforts to free the two American Jews is quoted as saying that “the two Americans arrived in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

According to Kan, Iranian authorities in recent days released 11 members of the Jewish community accused of spying for Israel.

The number of Jews still detained for alleged spying in Iran is now five, Kan says.

Smotrich reportedly says party won’t quit coalition over Gaza aid, touts upcoming ‘strategic maneuver’

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, right, attends a Knesset conference discussing Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip at the Knesset in Jerusalem, July 22, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told lawmakers from his Religious Zionism party overnight that the faction would not quit the coalition despite the government’s announcement that it would facilitate the entry of aid into Gaza, contrary to the party’s position, Hebrew-language media reports.

“It’s wrong to make political considerations during a war,” Smotrich reportedly wrote to his faction members, adding: “We’ll be judged for results — defeating Hamas.”

He is also said to have added: “We’re promoting a good strategic maneuver, which should not be elaborated right now. We’ll know soon if it succeeds and where we’re headed.”

Hebrew media reported yesterday that Smotrich held an extraordinary faction meeting to weigh quitting the government over the aid announcement, which followed intense international pressure amid growing global outrage over reports that significant portions of Gaza’s population are severely malnourished and experiencing famine-like conditions.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who also opposes the flow of aid into Gaza, convened a similar meeting of his own Otzma Yehudit party, according to the reports.

Ben Gvir is courting Smotrich to form a bloc within the coalition against aid to Gaza, Channel 12 reports.

However, the network quotes a senior coalition source as saying: “The method of ceaseless threats weakens those making the threats, but [it] mainly [weakens] the government on the eve of historic decisions.”

“[We] can’t have the public in Israel and the world thinking that everything that happens is the result of blackmail by Smotrich and Ben Gvir,” the sources is quoted as saying. “If it goes on like this, it’s better to agree on [new] elections and in the months till then do what is really needed on the Gaza, hostages and normalization fronts.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to have the military enact daily “humanitarian pauses” in fighting and increase aid delivery to the Gaza Strip was made without the input of Smotrich and Ben Gvir, according to a report published Sunday

Ex-hostage on entry of aid into Gaza: ‘When there’s less food, then there’s also less for the hostages’

Freed Israeli hostage Iair Horn in seen in Kfar Saba, Israel, on July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

As Israel increases humanitarian aid in Gaza, a former Israeli-Argentinian hostage knows first-hand what that could mean for captives of the Hamas terror group.

Iair Horn, who spent a year and a half in captivity, says hostages could tell when more aid was available because they would receive more food.

“When there’s less food, then there’s also less for the hostages. When there’s aid, there’s a possibility you might get a cucumber,” says Horn, 46.

Hamas terrorists kidnapped Horn from his home at Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with 251 other people, during the group’s cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023. He was released Feb. 15 after 498 days in captivity. For most of that time, he was held in an underground cell in a tunnel with several other hostages, including his younger brother Eitan Horn, 38.

“I’m not a politician, and I’m not getting into those things because I don’t understand them. What I understand is very simple: I want my brother back,” Horn says. “My life is frozen right now. I live in a nightmare that every day they are kidnapping me anew.”

Ministers set to gather at UN for postponed French-Saudi conference on two-state solution

Illustrative: Riyad Mansour. the Palestinian Authority's envoy to the United Nations (at podium), speaks during a meeting of the UN General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York City on June 12, 2025. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

Dozens of ministers will gather at the United Nations today for a delayed conference to work toward a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, but the US and Israel are boycotting the event.

The 193-member UN General Assembly decided in September last year that such a conference would be held in 2025. Hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, the conference was postponed in June after Israel attacked Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites, and ballistic missile program.

The conference aims to lay out the parameters for a roadmap to a Palestinian state, while ensuring Israel’s security.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told newspaper La Tribune Dimanche in an interview published yesterday that he will also use the conference this week to push other countries to join France in recognizing a Palestinian state.

France intends to recognize a Palestinian state in September at the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly, President Emmanuel Macron said last week.

“We will launch an appeal in New York so that other countries join us to initiate an even more ambitious and demanding dynamic that will culminate on September 21,” Barrot said, adding that he expected Arab countries by then to condemn Hamas and call for its disarmament.

The US will not attend the conference at the United Nations, says a State Department spokesperson, describing it as “a gift to Hamas, which continues to reject ceasefire proposals accepted by Israel that would lead to the release of hostages and bring calm in Gaza.”

The State Department spokesperson adds that Washington voted against the General Assembly last year calling for the conference and would “not support actions that jeopardize the prospect for a long-term, peaceful resolution to the conflict.”

Israel is also not taking part in the conference, “which doesn’t first urgently address the issue of condemning Hamas and returning all of the remaining hostages,” says Jonathan Harounoff, international spokesperson at Israel’s UN mission.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Settlers said to torch vehicles, vandalize property in Taybeh, in the West Bank

Israeli settlers reportedly torch vehicles and vandalize property in the majority-Christian Palestinian village of Taybeh, in the West Bank

Footage from the incident shows several cars up in flames and Hebrew graffiti daubed onto the walls of a home in the Ramallah area village.

There are no reports of arrests, which are highly rare in such incidents that have taken place almost unchecked on a near-daily basis in the West Bank.

While the Trump administration hasn’t weighed in on most other settler attacks on Palestinians, the targeting of Christians has sparked US ire, and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee even paid a solidarity visit to Taybeh earlier this month after the town endured several incidents of extremist violence.

مستوطنون يحرقون مركبات ويخطون شعارات عنصرية خلال مهاجمة بلدة الطيبة شرق رام الله pic.twitter.com/MB4PNv8SmB

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) July 28, 2025

Starmer expected to press Trump on ending Gaza war in Scotland talks Monday

US President Donald Trump, right, speaks to Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at a North Atlantic Council plenary meeting during the the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo Kin Cheung, Pool)

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer will press Donald Trump on ending “the unspeakable suffering” in Gaza when they meet at the US president’s golf resort in Scotland today, a Downing Street spokesperson says.

The meeting at Turnberry, southwestern Scotland, comes as European countries express growing alarm at the situation in Gaza, and as Starmer faces domestic pressure to follow France’s lead and recognize a Palestinian state.

Starmer is expected to “welcome the president’s administration working with partners in Qatar and Egypt to bring about a ceasefire in Gaza,” a Downing Street spokesperson says.

“He will discuss further with him what more can be done to secure the ceasefire urgently, bring an end to the unspeakable suffering and starvation in Gaza and free the hostages who have been held so cruelly for so long,” they add.

Man killed, three others injured in shooting in Muqeible, northern Israel

A man in his 30s was shot dead in the Arab town of Muqeible in northern Israel earlier tonight, and three others were moderately and lightly injured.

The shooting victim is identified in Hebrew media reports as Ibrahim Ziadat, and the injured men are said to be his relatives.

Police have opened a criminal investigation into the incident.

In total, 147 members of the Arab community have died in violent circumstances since the beginning of the year amid an unrelenting crime wave plaguing Arab locales throughout Israel.

Houthis threaten to target any ships that do business with Israeli ports

Yemen’s Houthis say they will target any ships belonging to companies that do business with Israeli ports, regardless of their nationalities, as part of what the rebel group calls the fourth phase of its military operations against Israel.

In a televised statement, the Houthis’ military spokesperson warns that ships will be attacked if companies ignore their warnings, regardless of their destination.

“The Yemeni Armed Forces call on all countries, if they want to avoid this escalation, to pressure the enemy to halt its aggression and lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip,” he adds.