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The Times of Israel liveblogged Saturday’s events as they unfolded.
Deri’s neighbors hold post-Shabbat havdala ceremony with hostage families in Jerusalem
Relatives of Israelis held captive by Hamas in Gaza gather in front of the Jerusalem home of Aryeh Deri, the leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas coalition party, to call on him to support a hostage deal.
Neighbors of the Haredi politician come out of their building to perform havdala, a ceremony that marks the end of Shabbat, with the protesters, praying for the return of the hostages and the success of Israel’s soldiers in the field.
ההבדלה: https://t.co/jHdE8JsvH1 pic.twitter.com/S0oHThbUBB
— نير حسون Nir Hasson ניר חסון (@nirhasson) July 6, 2024
Report: Israel has raised new issues that may prolong talks for truce-hostage deal
Israel has made new demands that may prolong the talks for a ceasefire and hostages-for-prisoners deal with Hamas, Haaretz cites an unnamed foreign source as saying.
“Hamas had already given its approval to the latest stance presented by Israel. But in the meeting on Friday, Israel presented new issues,” the source is quoted as saying.
The outlet quotes an unnamed Israeli source familiar with the negotiations as saying Israel has displayed a “tough stance” in the talks.
Several outlets have reported that Israeli sources estimate that the talks are expected to go on for some three weeks.
Egypt to host Israeli, US delegations for Gaza ceasefire talks, says Al Qahera TV
Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV says the country will host Israeli and US delegations to discuss “outstanding issues” in a possible Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Citing a senior official, Al Qahera News says Egypt is conducting talks with the Palestinian terror group Hamas to conclude ceasefire and hostages-for-prisoners swap deals.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
IDF airs foootage of strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
Israeli fighter jets have struck Hezbollah infrastructure and an observation post in southern Lebanon’s Houla, as well as another observation post in Odaisseh, the IDF says.
It publishes footage of the strikes.
מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו תשתית טרור ועמדת תצפית של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב חולא שבדרום לבנון.
בנוסף הותקפה עמדת תצפית של הארגון במרחב אל-עדייסא שבדרום לבנון.
במהלך היום, צה"ל ביצע ירי להסרת איום באמצעות ארטילריה במרחבים יארון, מארון א-ראס ובליידא pic.twitter.com/mVRMQMaHPz
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 6, 2024
FM Katz says Iran results a ‘clear message’ to ayatollahs, urges world to blacklist IRGC
Foreign Minister Israel Katz in Jerusalem, February 19, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Foreign Minister Israel Katz comments on the win of reformist Masoud Pezeshkian in Iran’s presidential elections, casting it as a defeat for the country’s Islamist leadership and urging the international community to ramp up the pressure.
“The people of Iran have sent a clear message of demand for change and opposition to the Ayatollah regime through the elections,” Katz says on X.
“Now the world must designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization and demand the cancellation of the nuclear program and the cessation of support for terrorist organizations. This is the only chance to realize the change.”
Gantz at protest: Returning hostages, even at painful price, is the right decision
National Unity party chairman and former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz joins protesters calling for a hostage deal at the Sha’ar Hanegev Junction, not far from the Gaza border, on July 6, 2024. (Courtesy/Gantz’s office)
National Unity party chairman and former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz joins protesters calling for a hostage deal at the Sha’ar Hanegev Junction, not far from the Gaza border.
“Returning our hostages even at a painful and difficult price is the right strategic decision and it is the Jewish thing to do,” Gantz says in a statement on his WhatsApp channel.
This is not the first time that Gantz has attended a protest at the southern junction, having demonstrated there alongside fellow National Unity lawmaker MK Alon Schuster less than a week after resigning from the government last month.
Police turn on water cannons against anti-government protesters blocking Tel Aviv highway
Anti-government protesters block Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv as police use water cannons against them on July 6, 2024. (Lior Segev/Israeli Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)
Police turn out water cannons on anti-government demonstrators who are blocking the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv.
The blockage of northbound traffic follows the weekly anti-government rally on Kaplan Street, which lies just to the west of Ayalon.
Flanking a police deployment to prevent protesters from blocking the Ayalon Highway from the west, dozens of protesters reach it from the east. The blocking protesters descend from a berm, walking past a few officers onto the road as northbound traffic slows down.
The crew of at least one water cannon truck turns on the device, driving back some protesters as others chant slogans. A police officer directs traffic around the roadside disturbance. Protesters hurl a flare, causing all traffic to stop.
The scene is not unusual for protests on Kaplan Street and Ayalon Highway, where several weekly rallies have ended with a temporary shutdown of traffic and violent clashes between protesters and mounted police as well as police water cannon crews.
Haredi MK slams Netanyahu for issuing non-emergency statement on Shabbat rest day
Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu, right, with UTJ MK Moshe Gafni at a vote in the assembly hall of the Knesset on December 28, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Senior United Torah Judaism lawmaker Moshe Gafni harshly criticizes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for issuing an official statement during Shabbat in violation of traditional Jewish religious law.
“I condemn the announcement of the Prime Minister’s Office on Friday evening, which did not contain any sign of pikuach nefesh,” he states — referring to the Talmudic principle that preserving human life overrides Shabbat-related prohibitions.
Last night, after the start of Shabbat, Netanyahu’s office released a statement that Mossad chief David Barnea had returned from hostage negotiations in Qatar and that an Israeli negotiating team would be sent for follow-up discussions next week.
The PMO’s statement was “completely unnecessary,” Gafni, the head of UTJ’s Degel Hatorah faction, complains.
It is relatively unusual for officials to publicly engage in non-emergency state business during the weekly Jewish day of rest.
In February, after Netanyahu issued a statement on Israel’s credit rating before the end of Shabbat, UTJ leader and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf called his behavior “inappropriate,” arguing that “it wasn’t an emergency situation, and it wasn’t a response that could not have been published after the conclusion of Shabbat.”
Ben Gvir pans prosecutor for probing 3 Israelis over killing of Palestinian on Oct. 7
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir at a court hearing in Jerusalem on July 2, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir slams State Prosecutor Amit Aisman, calling on him to “remember that he is the attorney of the State of Israel, and not of its enemies.”
In a statement, the far-right politician protests an investigation into three Israeli civilians recently detained on suspicion of killing a Palestinian man on October 7 and stealing weaponry from Israeli troops.
According to Hebrew media reports, on October 7 — as thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel in a shock assault — the three suspects made their way to the Gaza border communities to join the fighting there. One suspect is alleged to have seized a Palestinian whom he identified as an operative in Hamas’s elite Nukhba force, interrogated him, and executed him at the end of the interrogation. According to the Walla news site, the investigation may be restricted to the theft of weapons going forward.
“The state attorney who started working to investigate me on suspicion of ‘incitement’ against the residents of Gaza, is also the one who ordered the crazy investigation against three heroic fighters who on October 7 went out to fight in the hell of the Gaza border area — and are now suspected by Aisman of ‘murdering’ a Nukhba terrorist,” says Ben Gvir.
“It would be better for the state attorney to remember that he is the attorney of the State of Israel, and not of its enemies,” he says.
Last Wednesday, Aisman reportedly asked Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara for permission to open a criminal investigation into Ben Gvir for allegedly inciting violence against residents of Gaza, in an apparent attempt to satisfy the International Court of Justice that Israel is holding Israeli officials to account for such remarks.
Ben Gvir has made several inflammatory comments about the Gazan population since the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught that started the war, including a remark in November: “When we say that Hamas should be destroyed, it also means those who celebrate, those who support, and those who hand out candy — they’re all terrorists, and they should also be destroyed.”
This comment, as well as remarks by Ben Gvir demanding the cessation of humanitarian aid to Gaza, was cited by South Africa in its various filings to the ICJ.
IDF says it struck Hamas operatives who used UN-run Gaza school as command center
People gather to search the rubble of a collapsed building in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on what the IDF says were Hamas operatives hiding in the Al-Jaouni UNRWA school in central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, July 6, 2024. (Eyad Baba / AFP)
The IDF confirms carrying out an airstrike against a United Nations-run school in the central Gaza Strip earlier today, saying the facility was used by Hamas operatives as a command center.
Hamas health authorities have claimed 16 people were killed in the strike and some 50 were wounded.
Before carrying out the strike against UNRWA’s al-Jaouni school in Nuseirat, the IDF says it carried out “many steps” to mitigate harm to civilians, including using aerial surveillance and other intelligence.
According to the military, buildings within the school compound were used by Hamas operatives as “a hideout and as active operational infrastructure, from which terrorist operations against our forces operating in the Gaza Strip were planned and carried out.”
Several Hamas operatives were at the sites when they were struck, the IDF says.
“The Hamas terror organization regularly violates international law, while systematically exploiting civilian buildings and the civilian population as human shields for terror activity against the State of Israel,” the military adds.
UK seeks ‘balanced position’ on Israel-Hamas war, says new foreign minister Lammy
Britain's incoming Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy leaves Downing Street in London, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Thomas Krych)
Britain wants a balanced position on the war in the Middle East and will use diplomatic efforts to ensure a ceasefire is reached and hostages held by Palestinian terror group Hamas are released, its new foreign minister David Lammy tells Reuters.
Lammy is on a visit to Germany, his first international trip following the Labour Party’s thumping victory in Britain’s election on Friday, which ended 14 years of Conservative government and propelled Keir Starmer to power as prime minister.
“The time has come for the United Kingdom to reconnect with the outside world,” Lammy says in an interview in Berlin.
“I want to get back to a balanced position on Israel and Gaza. We’ve been very clear that we want to see a ceasefire… We want to see those hostages out.”
He adds: “The fighting has to stop, the aid has got to get in, and I will use all diplomatic efforts to ensure that we get to that ceasefire.”
Lammy does not elaborate.
Times of Israel contributed to this report.
Hostage’s mom says she got sign of life, calls ministers who oppose deal ‘evil people’ out for revenge
Anat Angrest, mother of hostage Matan Angrest, speaks at the weekly rally at Tel Aviv's Kaplan Street, July 6, 2024. (Paulina Patimer/Hostage and Missing Families Forum)
The mother of a soldier who is presumed to be held hostage in Gaza calls cabinet ministers who oppose a deal with Hamas “evil people” who want soldiers to “keep dying” to satisfy their “desire for revenge.”
Anat Angrest, the mother of Staff Sgt. Matan Angrest, delivers this unusually harsh-worded message about cabinet ministers Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben Gvir and others from their parties in a speech to thousands attending the weekly rally for the hostages at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv.
Angrest also reveals that she has received a sign that her son was kidnapped alive, with troops finding a video of him filmed in Gaza after his capture.
“Wounded, he was facing the camera and addressing you, Mr. Prime Minister, saying: ‘Netanyahu, I don’t know how this happened but I’m counting on you to get me out of here,'” she says. The video is unknown to the public, though Angrest told Channel 12 last week that the family had recently seen raw footage found by IDF soldiers operating in the Strip around November that showed her son.
Addressing Israel Defense Forces soldiers, Anat Angrest says: “There’s a deal on the table and it’s only thanks to your bravery, because all that Hamas is asking for is that you stop and then we can bring them all back.”
She adds that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “can do that, perhaps he even wants to, but there are also evil forces around him who know that your brother Matan is wounded and bleeding and his life is in danger but they don’t want to rescue him, they want you to continue to fight, to get wounded, to die, to open additional fronts only to fulfill their desire for revenge.”
Although she does not name Smotrich and Ben Gvir, her words are a clear reference to their threats to topple the government if Netanyahu agrees to a ceasefire with Hamas, which they say would leave the terrorists with an image of victory that would fuel future attacks and incentivize more abductions. Hamas is demanding assurances that the war will end as a condition for any deal on hostages.
“Until when will a vocal minority that places the sanctity of revenge over the sanctity of man be the voice deciding Matan’s fate?” Angrest asks.
Prominent member of Hezbollah’s air defense unit killed in IDF strike
A Hezbollah poster featuring Maytham Mustafa al-Attar, a member of its air defense unit who was killed by the IDF on July 6, 2024. (Hezbollah media office)
A prominent member of Hezbollah’s air defense unit was killed in a drone strike in northeastern Lebanon earlier today, the Israel Defense Forces says.
According to the military, Maytham Mustafa al-Attar was considered to be “a significant source of knowledge” in Hezbollah’s air defense unit, and was involved in planning and carrying out attacks against Israel.
The IDF says al-Attar obtained his knowledge during visits to Iran, and was involved in helping the Lebanese terror group procure Iranian weapons.
Al-Attar was hit while driving near the town of Shaat in the northeastern Baalbek district, around 100 kilometers from the Israeli border.
The IDF says his killing is “a blow to the capabilities of Hezbollah’s air defense unit.”
Hezbollah has announced al-Attar’s death, which brings the terror group’s death toll amid the war in Gaza to at least 361.
Ex-hostage highlights plight of Bibas family: ‘Kfir and Ariel may not remember any other reality anymore’
Ex-hostage Danielle Aloni speaks at the weekly rally at Tel Aviv's Kaplan Street, July 6, 2024. (Paulina Patimer/Hostage and Missing Families Forum)
Danielle Aloni, who was released from Hamas captivity in November after 49 days along with her 6-year-old daughter Emilia, speaks at the weekly demonstration in Tel Aviv and highlights the plight of the Bibas family — couple Shiri and Yarden, 4-year-old Ariel and 1-year-old Kfir — who are all still hostages in Gaza.
“There is one mother who can’t cry out the cry of their children who are rotting in Hamas captivity,” Aloni tells the crowd. “Shiri Bibas can’t cry out, she is forbidden to speak.
“I know what she’s going through — I had to lie to Emilia and invent a cover story for how we arrived in this hell,” she says.
But in the case of the Bibas family, she continues, “lying is no longer possible — Kfir and Ariel may not remember any other reality anymore.”
She ends her address by urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and cabinet ministers to “not miss” the current opportunity for a hostage deal.
Hezbollah official killed in alleged Israeli strike in Baalbek
BEIRUT, Lebanon — A source close to Hezbollah says the reported Israeli drone strike that targeted a vehicle in eastern Lebanon earlier killed an official from the Iran-backed terror group.
“A local Hezbollah official” was killed in an “Israeli drone” strike on a vehicle near the eastern city of Baalbek, the source close to the group says, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reports one person was killed when an “enemy drone” targeted a vehicle in the Shaat area, around 15 kilometers (nine miles) north of Baalbek.
The area is around 100 kilometers from Lebanon’s southern border with Israel.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Report: Oct. 7 victims, families, to organize civilian inquiry into massacre
Illustrative: Israeli soldiers walking next to the destruction caused by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, near the Israeli-Gaza border, in southern Israel, November 21, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Victims of Hamas’s October 7 massacre and bereaved families are organizing a civil investigative committee to probe the failures on the day of the tragedy, Channel 12 reports.
The panel will be formed on Wednesday, and will be made up of seven former senior officials in the defense establishment and judiciary, former mayors of northern and southern communities, and a former top police officer, the report says.
The commission of inquiry will summon witnesses from murdered families, freed hostages, and those injured in the devastating onslaught to give testimonies, seeking to pressure the government to form its own state commission of inquiry, Channel 12 says.
The panel will issue recommendations at the end of the process, the report adds.
Rescued hostage Almog Meir Jan: Deal needed to free other captives so that mothers can hug their children, ‘like I can hug my mother now’
Rescued hostage Almog Meir Jan speaks in a video message released on July 6, 2024. (screenshot/Hostage and Missing Families Forum)
Almog Meir Jan, a hostage who was rescued by security forces from Gaza last month, says a deal to free the remaining captives is crucial so mothers can hug their children, “like I can hug my mother now.”
“Returning was like having a birthday, like being born again, and I really hope that all the hostages in Gaza will experience that same rebirth as I did,” he says in a video shown at the hostage demonstration in Tel Aviv.
Meir Jan expresses his condolences to the family of Arnon Zmora, who was killed in the operation to rescue him from captivity, and praises soldiers who have been wounded in the fighting.
Meir Jan emphasizes the importance of freeing the remaining captives through a deal.
“Only in Gaza, I thought that if I return alive, not if, when I return alive, the meaning of my tattoo that says ‘alive’ will receive a completely different meaning to what I intended it to in the beginning,” he says.
אלמוג מאיר ג'אן בסרטון שהוקרן בכיכר החטופים: "חשוב שנגיע לעסקה, כדי שכל האימהות יוכלו לחבק את הילדים שלהן כמו שאני מחבק את אמא שלי עכשיו"https://t.co/RwJTFTdQeN pic.twitter.com/IOZxO5R3P8
— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) July 6, 2024
Lebanese report says one killed in Israeli strike on vehicle 100 km from border
Lebanese media report one dead in an Israeli airstrike against a vehicle near the town of Shaat in the northeastern Baalbek district.
Baalbek, a Hezbollah stronghold, is located some 100 kilometers from the border.
"لبنان24": معلومات أولية تفيد بسقوط شهيد في غارة شعث – البقاع#lebanon24 #لبنان pic.twitter.com/YthSvflleI
— Lebanon 24 (@Lebanon24) July 6, 2024
Thousands gather for weekly protests amid reported progress in hostage deal talks
Anti-government protests demand immediate elections at the Amiad Junction in northern Israel, July 6, 2024. (Shay Zeltzer/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)
Amid reports in progress in a new round of talks with Hamas on a deal for retrieving hostages from Gaza, anti-government protesters gather for rallies noting the symbolic 9-month milestone since the October 7 onslaught.
As in previous weeks, thousands of protesters gather across the country from Amiad Junction in the Galilee to Mitzpe Ramon in the Negev. Most rallies are expected to draw dozens to hundreds of protesters.
The main rally is happening on Kaplan Street in Tel Aviv, where tens of thousands attend weekly anti-government rallies on weekends. Another large one occurs in Jerusalem, as well as in Haifa and Caesarea, opposite the private residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Leaders of the protest movement say they will increase the pressure on the government this coming week in a series of events starting Sunday, including at a demonstration outside the home of Arnon Bar-David, the head of the Histadrut labor union, demanding that the organization participate in protest actions.
In Tel Aviv, the anti-government rally is occurring simultaneously with another weekly rally for the hostages’ release, whose organizers say is nonpartisan. It often features criticism of the government and demands that it accept Hamas’s terms for a deal, which include a temporary ceasefire.
Thousands attend that rally on Hostages Square organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. The theme of this week’s rally on Hostage Square references the 9-month mark.
Organizers, who last week highlighted siblings of hostages, say this week’s rally focuses on mothers, with speeches by Danielle Aloni, who was released from Hamas captivity after 49 days with her 6-year-old daughter Emilia and Simona Steinbrecher, mother of Doron Steinbrecher, whom Hamas terrorists abducted on October 7 to Gaza.
Palestinian report says 13 dead in strike on Gaza school; IDF probing claim
At least 13 people have been killed in an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Nuseirat in central Gaza, the official Palestinian news agency says.
The Israeli military says it was looking into the report.
Protests get underway across country, demanding hostage deal, elections
Anti-government protesters march in the northern city of Haifa, with a banner reading, "The government of Israel against the people of Israel. Elections now," on July 6, 2024. (Pro-Democracy Protest Movement/Eilat Markovitch)
Anti-government protesters are gathering nationwide, calling for immediate elections and a deal to return hostages held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
In the northern city of Haifa, protesters are marching, carrying a banner reading: “The government of Israel against the people of Israel. Elections now.”
According to pro-democracy activists, hundreds have also gathered at the HaOgen and Karkur junctions, demanding the government reach a “deal now.”
In Rehovot, protesters hold signs demanding the Knesset “return the mandate to the nation and go to elections.”
Group of hostage families demand PM agree to proposed hostage deal: ‘Don’t you dare break our heart again’
A group of relatives of hostages held in Gaza urges the government to accept the current proposal for a deal to return their loved ones, in a weekly address in Tel Aviv.
Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage, says she feels hope for the first time in months “that I can hug my Matan” and that the opportunity for a deal cannot be missed.
“[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, we saw how you torpedoed deals again and again at the moment of truth. Don’t you dare break our heart again,” she says.
She adds the prime minister has a duty to return the hostages she says he abandoned on October 7.
“Only public pressure will bring a deal. Take to the streets with us,” she says.
Danny Elgarat, whose brother Itzik is held captive, declares that the public is with the hostage families and backs a deal, citing repeated opinion polls.
“The people believe that the country won’t recover without a return of all the hostages. A group of extremists in the government, cut off from the people, want to sentence them to death. Leadership is expected to act according to the will of the people and to hear the cry of the public,” he says.
Ayala Metzger, whose father-in-law Yoram is held hostage, calls on those close to Netanyahu to stop him from torpedoing a deal.
“It is your duty to ensure this deal is carried out. You can’t miss this opportunity. If Netanyahu raises difficulties or puts sticks in the wheels of the negotiations, come out to the public and tell the truth,” she says.
Two rockets fired from Gaza strike open areas
Two rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip at the southern city of Sderot a short while ago.
According to the IDF, both rockets struck open areas.
There are no reports of injuries.
Sirens sounded in Sderot and nearby towns amid the attack.
Rocket alert sirens sound north of Gaza border
Incoming rocket alert sirens are sounding in communities north of the Gaza Strip.
The sirens are activated in Sderot, Ibim, and Nir Am.
Red Alert [16:59:34] – 4 Alerts:
• איבים, שדרות, ניר עם
• Gaza Envelope — Nir Am Shooting Range#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/gdzPrmxgDc— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) July 6, 2024
Dr. Yitzhak Yifat, paratrooper in iconic Six Day War photo, dies at 81
From left, Israeli paratroopers Tzion Karasenti, Yitzhak Yifat and Chaim Oshri standing at the Western Wall after Israel captured the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, June 7, 1967. (David Rubinger/GPO)
Dr. Yitzhak Yifat, 81, one of three paratroopers who appeared in an iconic photo at the Western Wall after Israel captured it during the 1967 Six Day War, dies, Hebrew media reports.
Yifat, a gynecologist from Kiryat Malachi was immortalized in David Rubinger’s iconic photo as the young, fresh-faced lad in the middle, gazing up at the Western Wall following the military’s victory at the important holy site.
He was pictured next to fellow paratroopers Tzion Karasenti and Chaim Oshri.
Reports say he died of an illness, but do not go in to detail.
Rocket fired from Gaza hits open area
One rocket launched from the Gaza Strip at the border community of Nahal Oz struck an open area, according to the IDF.
There are no reports of injuries.
Sirens sounded in Nahal Oz amid the attack.
Rocket sirens activate in Nahal Oz on Gaza border
Incoming rocket sirens are sounding in the Gaza border community of Nahal Oz.
Red Alert [15:30:38] – 1 Alert:
• Gaza Envelope — Nachal Oz#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/H7pHEhoA2k
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) July 6, 2024
Weekly anti-government protest in Tel Aviv to focus on backing hostage deal
Demonstrators protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Israeli government and for the release of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip in Tel Aviv, June 29, 2024. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)
The pro-democracy Hofshi B’Artzenu protest group says the main anti-government protest at Tel Aviv’s Democracy Square this evening will be dedicated solely to supporting a proposed hostage deal, in light of renewed negotiations.
“Advancing the deal is a moral step, the most urgent and important at this time, and we must do everything in our power to prevent this critical opportunity from being thwarted,” the group says in a statement.
In recent months, the anti-government protest has demanded immediate elections and for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be ousted from his role.
The protest will begin at 7:30 p.m., then participants are asked to go to the Begin Gate of the Kirya Defense Ministry headquarters for a rallying in support of hostage families.
Hamas gives initial nod to truce-hostage deal, drops demand for immediate commitment to end war
Palestinians asses the damage following an Israeli strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 6, 2024. (Eyad Baba/AFP)
Hamas has given initial approval for a US-backed proposal for a phased truce and hostage exchange deal in Gaza, dropping a key demand that Israel give an up-front commitment for a complete end to the war, a Hamas and an Egyptian official says.
The apparent compromise by the terror group could help deliver the first pause in fighting since last November and set the stage for further talks on ending a devastating nine-month war. But all sides cautioned that a deal is still not guaranteed.
The two officials, who spoke on conditions of anonymity to discuss the ongoing negotiations, say Washington’s phased deal will first include a “full and complete” six-week ceasefire that would see the release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. During these 42 days, Israeli forces would also withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza and allow the return of displaced people to their homes in northern Gaza, the pair said.
Over that period, Hamas, Israel, and the mediators would also negotiate the terms of the second phase that could see the release of the remaining male hostages, both civilians and soldiers, the officials say. In return, Israel would free additional Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The third phase would see the return of any remaining hostages, including bodies of dead captives, and the start of a years-long reconstruction project.
Hamas still wants “written guarantees” from mediators that Israel will continue to negotiate a permanent ceasefire deal once the first phase goes into effect, the two officials say.
The Hamas representative tells The Associated Press the group’s approval came after it received “verbal commitments and guarantees” from the mediators that the war won’t be resumed and that negotiations will continue until a permanent ceasefire is reached.
“Now we want these guarantees on paper,” he says.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
IDF soldiers find long-range rockets, demolish tunnels in Gaza City’s Shejaiya
Rockets found by the IDF in Gaza City's Shejaiya, in a handout image published July 6, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Troops with the IDF’s 7th Armored Brigade located long-range rockets during recent operations in Gaza City’s Shejaiya.
The IDF says the finding “indicates renewed attempts by the enemy to establish itself in the area.”
The army says the soldiers also located and demolished tunnel shafts and booby traps in Shejaiya.
IDF troops battling Palestinian gunmen in West Bank’s Balata camp
IDF troops are carrying out a raid in the Balata camp near the West Bank city of Nablus.
A military source says troops returned fire at Palestinian gunmen amid the operation. Palestinian media report several wounded.
No IDF soldiers have been hurt so far.
Top US intelligence official: Israel-Hamas war serves as recruitment tool for terror groups
Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research Brett Holmgren testifies during a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on the "Annual Worldwide Threats Assessment" in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 11, 2024. (Mandel NGAN / AFP)
A top US intelligence official says the Israel-Hamas war and anger over US support for Israel is encouraging recruitment to terror groups, in an interview with The Washington Post.
Brett Holmgren, the assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research, highlights arrests of individuals throughout Europe accused of planning terror attacks on Jewish and Israeli sites.
According to Holmgren, the October 7 massacre by Hamas terrorists served as “a generational event that terrorist organizations in the Middle East and around the world use as a recruiting opportunity.”
Man beaten to death at mosque in northern city of Tamra
A man was beaten to death at a mosque in the northern city of Tamra, police and medics say, in a suspected murder.
Paramedics who arrived on the scene found the Lod resident, in his 50s, unconscious and suffering from critical wounds, and were forced to declare him dead on the scene, a Magen David Adom ambulance service statement says.
Police say they are investigating the incident.
Yair Netanyahu: ‘The High Court and the prosecution are destroying the country’
Yair Netanyahu arrives for a court hearing in Tel Aviv, on November 29, 2022. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Yair Netanyahu, the prime minister’s son, shares a video slamming the State Prosecutor and Supreme Court over the arrest of three men suspected of killing a Palestinian man on October 7 and stealing weapons from Israeli troops.
The video shared on his Instagram story shows former far-right Knesset lawmaker Michael Ben Ari, who is representing one of the suspects in the case, saying, “This is not Sodom. It is beyond Sodom. Murdering a Nukhba terrorist? What are these words? October 7. Hundreds of children burnt. Set aflame. Women raped. Their organs plucked from them. And they are dealing with this?”
“The High Court and the prosecution are destroying the country,” Netanyahu captions the post.
Yair Netanyahu is known for his provocative online presence and has faced legal action over his social media activity.
IDF says it hit Hamas rocket launcher near shelter in Gaza humanitarian zone, civilians were warned ahead of strike
An airstrike was carried out yesterday against a Hamas rocket launcher positioned within the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone, the military says.
According to the IDF, the rocket launcher was located in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, adjacent to a shelter for displaced Palestinian civilians.
Before carrying out the drone strike, the military says it carried out “many efforts” to mitigate harm to civilians, including warning civilians in the area ahead of time.
Meanwhile, fighting continued in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, where the IDF says troops with the 98th Division battled several cells of gunmen over the past day, as well as located and destroyed weapons and infrastructure.
In one incident in Shejaiya, the military says soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade spotted a Hamas cell attempting to ambush them. By the end of an exchange of fire, all of the Hamas operatives were killed and no troops were wounded, according to the IDF.
In another incident in Gaza City, an airstrike was carried out against a three-man cell armed with RPGs that had been identified by the paratroopers, the military says.
In southern Gaza’s Rafah, troops with the 162nd DIvision continued to battle gunmen, destroy Hamas targets — including tunnels — and locate weapons over the past day, the IDF adds.
At least 4 suspected drones launched from Lebanon, IDF says; 2 intercepted, 2 hit open areas
At least four suspected drones were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel this morning, the military says.
Two were shot down by air defenses over the Galilee Panhandle area, while the other two struck open areas near the northern community of Beit Hillel, according to the IDF.
There are no injuries in the attack.
Sirens had sounded in several communities amid the incident.
The IDF releases footage showing one of the drones being intercepted.
בהמשך להתרעות על חדירת כלי טיס עוין שהופעלו בצפון הארץ בשעה 8:14, לוחמי ההגנה האווירית יירטו בהצלחה מטרה אווירית חשודה שחצתה משטח לבנון, אין נפגעים>> pic.twitter.com/E2h4Z3sv86
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 6, 2024
Rocket sirens sound in Kiryat Shmona
Sirens sound in Kiryat Shmona, warning of incoming rocket fire.
Two soldiers were wounded in a Hezbollah rocket barrage on the northern town yesterday.
There have been multiple rocket and drone sirens in communities close to the Lebanese border this morning.
Iran presidential election turnout at 49.8%; reports say over 600,000 spoiled ballots
Combination of photos showing Iranian presidential election candidates Masoud Pezeshkian, left, and Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former senior nuclear negotiator, during their campaigns, in Tehran, Iran. (AP/Vahid Salemi)
Iran’s electoral authority says turnout in the vote won by reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian stood at 49.8 percent.
Pezeshkian received more than 16 million votes and ultraconservative Saeed Jalili more than 13 million out of about 30 million votes cast, electoral authority spokesman Mohsen Eslami says.
The number of spoiled ballots was reported to be over 600,000.
Bodies of Israeli man and his partner found in Philippines after two weeks of searches
The bodies of an Israeli man and his girlfriend have been found in the Philippines after around two weeks of searches, Hebrew-language media reports.
The bodies of Yitzhak Cohen, 37, and his partner Geneva Lopez, 27, were found in Capas in Tarlac district.
The bodies were identified by relatives of the pair, and the Israeli embassy is assisting in the transfer of Cohen’s coffin to Israel.
A burned-out SUV believed to belong to the couple was found last month.
Inside, police discovered partially burned documents belonging to Lopez, reports said. Cohen is believed to have been the last person to drive the car.
The couple lived in the city of Angeles, north of the capital Manila.
גופות הישראלי יצחק כהן ובת זוגו הדוגמנית אותרו בפיליפינים, אחרי כשבועיים של חיפושיםhttps://t.co/VjAdpz9A50 pic.twitter.com/Y7bMViIdpH
— ynet עדכוני (@ynetalerts) July 6, 2024
Sirens warn of rocket and drone attacks on northern border towns
Sirens sound in multiple northern border communities, warning of incoming rocket fire and suspected drone infiltration.
It is the second wave of sirens within just a few minutes.
IDF says jet hit multiple Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon overnight
Israeli fighter jets and drones struck several Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight, the IDF says.
The targets included a building used by the terror group in Kafr Kila, several operatives in Bint Jbeil, and other infrastructure in Bint Jbeil and Yarine, according to the military.
במהלך הלילה מטוסי קרב וכלי טיס של חיל האוויר תקפו מספר יעדי חיזבאללה בדרום לבנון.
בין היעדים שהותקפו, מבנה צבאי במרחב כפר כילא, מספר מחבלים שזוהו במרחב בינת ג׳בל ותשתיות טרור במרחבים יארין ובינת ג׳בל pic.twitter.com/IDHGyzfTjT
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) July 6, 2024
Sirens in northern border communities warn of suspected drone attack
Sirens warn of a suspected drone attack in communities close to the northern border.
Last night, two IDF soldiers were lightly wounded and a building was damaged by a rocket impact in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona as Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel continue.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there, leading tens of thousands of Israelis to be displaced from their homes. Israel has regularly warned it is ready to go to war if need be to secure its northern border.
So far, the skirmishes on the border have resulted in 10 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 15 IDF soldiers and reservists. Huge amounts of damage have been done to border communities and the surrounding areas.
Hezbollah has named 360 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon, but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 65 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed. Tens of thousands have also fled their homes in southern Lebanon.
Iran president-elect says will ‘extend hand of friendship to everyone’
Reformist candidate for the Iran's presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian is greeted by his supporters as he arrives to vote at a polling station in Shahr-e-Qods near Tehran, Iran, July 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iran’s reformist president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian says he will “extend the hand of friendship to everyone” in his first remarks since being declared winner of a runoff vote against ultraconservative Saeed Jalili.
“We will extend the hand of friendship to everyone; we are all people of this country; we should use everyone for the progress of the country,” Pezeshkian says on state television.
Senior Hamas source: Truce would continue during 1st phase of deal for so long as talks continue
Israeli mothers and activists take part in a protest march to mark nine months to the war between Israel and Hamas and for the release of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, July 5, 2024. The banner reads: A mother never gives up. (Jack Guez/AFP)
A senior Hamas source says that a revised hostage-ceasefire deal proposal agrees that talks to release Israeli soldiers and remaining men would start in a 16-day period during the first phase of the agreement.
The source says that the proposal ensures that mediators would guarantee a temporary ceasefire, aid delivery, and withdrawal of Israeli troops as long as indirect talks continue to implement the second phase of the agreement.
The terror group has dropped a demand that Israel first commit to a permanent ceasefire before signing the agreement, and would allow negotiations to achieve that throughout a first six-week phase, the source tells Reuters on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.
The comments come as efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza were gathering momentum as Mossad chief David Barnea traveled to and from Qatar for negotiations and Hamas briefed Hezbollah on its latest proposal.
Hamas on Friday announced that it rejects the presence of foreign forces in Gaza, potentially derailing plans for the Strip’s postwar governance. According to Walla news, Barnea informed Qatari mediators that Israel rejects Hamas’s demand for a written commitment from mediators that the negotiations regarding the second phase of the ceasefire can extend indefinitely if needed.
Iranian reformist Pezeshkian wins presidential election
Iranian reformist Pezeshkian has won the run-off presidential election, the Interior Ministry says.
Moderate Pezeshkian expected to win Iran’s presidential race, Iranian source says
The low-profile moderate Masoud Pezeshkian, who has pledged to open Iran to the world and deliver freedoms its people have yearned for, is expected to win the run-off presidential vote, an Iranian source tells Reuters.
“The vote counting has ended and the rival candidates have been informed about the result. Pezeshkian is around three million votes ahead of his hardline rival Saeed Jalili,” says the source, who asked not to be named.
Earlier, the interior ministry said that Pezeshkian was leading the race in early results, adding that the initial reports showed turnout was around 50%, higher than the first round.
The run-off follows a June 28 ballot with historically low turnout, when over 60% of Iranian voters abstained from the snap election for a successor to Ebrahim Raisi, following his death in a helicopter crash.
The vote is a tight race between low-key lawmaker Pezeshkian, the sole moderate in the original field of four candidates, and hardline former nuclear negotiator Jalili, a staunch advocate of deepening ties with Russia and China.
Videos on social media showed supporters of Pezeshkian dancing in streets in several cities and motorists honking car horns to cheer his victory.
???????? Celebrations in support of Pezeshkian continue in Iran. pic.twitter.com/OflUOUm9PF
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) July 6, 2024
Biden: I’m the guy who put together a Mideast peace plan that may come to fruition
Asked during the ABC interview if he’s “the same man today that you were when you took office three and a half years ago,” Biden says: “In terms of successes yes.”
“I was also the guy who put together a peace plan for the Middle East that may be coming to fruition,” he says, apparently referring to efforts to broker Israeli-Saudi normalization and, possibly, work to reach a ceasefire in the ongoing Gaza war.
“I was also the guy that expanded NATO. I was also the guy that grew the economy. All the individual things that were done were ideas I had or I fulfilled, I moved on.”
???????????? BIDEN TO STEPHANOPOULOS: I'M THE MAN WHO GETS THINGS DONE
"I was also the guy who put together a peace plan for the Middle East that may be coming to fruition.
I was also the guy that expanded NATO.
I was also the guy that grew the economy.
All the individual things… https://t.co/XdkUy1VuJD pic.twitter.com/OkroL1ONhu
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 6, 2024
Bernie Sanders congratulates Jeremy Corbyn on reelection
US Sen. Bernie Sanders congratulates Jeremy Corbyn, who headed the Labour Party as it was inundated with antisemitism scandals, for retaining his seat in British Parliament after running as an independent candidate in this week’s election.
“Corbyn made the mistake of believing that the Labour Party should represent labor – and was expelled. His constituents disagreed,” Sanders tweets. “Now he’s back.”
Congrats to Jeremy Corbyn for winning his seat as an Independent in the UK elections with a strong grassroots campaign.
Corbyn made the mistake of believing that the Labour Party should represent labor – and was expelled. His constituents disagreed.
Now he’s back.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) July 5, 2024
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