Live updates (closed)
The Times of Israel liveblogged Wednesday’s events as they happened.
Hezbollah claims to have hit Iron Dome battery; IDF says unaware of such case
Hezbollah is claiming to have hit an Iron Dome air defense system launcher near the northern community of Ramot Naftali yesterday.
The Lebanese terror group publishes a video apparently showing a guided missile striking the launcher.
The video does not show the aftermath of the strike.
The IDF says it is unaware of any damage to an Iron Dome launcher.
It appears Hezbollah did hit the Iron Dome launcher with a guided missile. This is the first time I've observed an Iron Dome launcher being hit. Separately, Palestinian terrorist groups have been trying to do this for years, but I've never seen evidence they were successful. https://t.co/6KB518OqJ4 pic.twitter.com/j6LZdJXK4W
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) June 5, 2024
Germany gives Claims Conference $114 million for ‘acute assistance’ to Holocaust survivors
The Claims Conference secures a $114 million increase in funding from Germany for social welfare services on behalf of Holocaust survivors worldwide.
The funding is for acute assistance for the next two calendar years, the Claims Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which represents the Jewish people in compensation talks with Germany for the Holocaust, says in a statement. This brings the total budget for social welfare services in 2025 and 2026 to nearly $2 billion in funding — $972.5 million per year — the Claims Conference says.
Additionally, there is an increase of $55 million for Holocaust education through 2028, bringing the total for Holocaust education funding to $177 over the next four years.
The extra funding answers a genuine need, Greg Schneider, the Claims Conference’s executive vice president, says.
“As Holocaust survivors age and their care is more complex, we see a need for increased social welfare services globally,” he adds.
Gideon Taylor, the president of the Claims Conference, says the extra funding shows that “the commitment to this final generation of Holocaust survivors by the Claims Conference and the German government both is steadfast and unfaltering.”
Ben Gvir, Smotrich call to expand Gaza war, invade southern Lebanon in Jerusalem Day speeches
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich call to to expand the war in Gaza and invade southern Lebanon during Jerusalem Day speeches at the Western Wall.
Leading the crowd in a chant of “victory,” Ben Gvir says that Israel will only win after it “enters all of Gaza and fights until victory.”
And for victory we need to go into the north and fight Hezbollah and destroy them,” he yells, to shouts of acclaim from the largely religious nationalist crowd. “We want victory!”
Directly addressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his speech, Smotrich calls on him to “give the order” and “go to war with Hezbollah.”
“Let our heroic warriors win, restore our national honor, national pride and security and allow the heroic residents to return home safely” to rebuild, he says. “The people of Israel are behind you!”
Aharon Barak steps down from role as ad hoc judge at ICJ for personal reasons
Retired Supreme Court President Aharon Barak sworn in as Israel’s appointee to the bench at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, January 11, 2024. (ICJ)
Retired Supreme Court President Aharon Barak resigns from his role as an ad hoc judge on behalf of Israel at the International Court of Justice, citing personal reasons.
Barak was a member of the 15-judge panel at the top UN court hearing South Africa’s case accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
In a letter submitted to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Barak says his resignation stems from “personal family reasons.”
“Thank you for the trust you placed in me,” he writes.
IDF says fighter jets struck series of Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon
Israeli fighter jets struck a series of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon today, the military says.
The IDF says the targets included Hezbollah infrastructure in Naqoura and Matmoura, buildings used by the terror group in Ayta ash-Shab, and an observation post in Khiam.
Troops also shelled a number of areas in southern Lebanon with artillery to “remove threats,” the IDF adds.
מטוסי קרב תקפו לאורך היום שורת מטרות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בשטח לבנון.
בין המטרות שהותקפו, מספר תשתיות טרור במרחבים א-נקורה ואל מטמורה, מבנים צבאיים במרחב עייתא א-שעב ועמדת תצפית במרחב אל-חיאם>> pic.twitter.com/MgWVpcluVV— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 5, 2024
Putin says Russia could respond in kind against Western nations that allow Ukraine use of long-range missiles
President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow would consider responding in kind directly against Western nations that allowed Ukraine to strike Russia with their long-range missiles.
Putin was speaking to international news agency editors in St. Petersburg.
US officials first said in April that Ukraine had begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the US, and on May 30, a senior official said US President Joe Biden had lifted restrictions on Ukraine using weapons supplied by the US against targets on Russian territory, but only to defend the under-fire Kharkiv region.
Temple Mount status quo ‘has not changed, will not change,’ PMO says after Ben Gvir claimed it had
Muslim worshipers attend morning prayers for the holy month of Ramadan, at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound atop the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, April 6, 2024. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issues a statement declaring that the status quo on the Temple Mount “has not changed and will not change,” after far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir claimed that it had.
Ben Gvir said earlier today that his policy is to allow Jewish prayer at the contested Jerusalem holy site.
According to the fragile status quo that governs the flashpoint site, Muslims are allowed to pray and enter the compound with few restrictions, while non-Muslims can visit only during limited time slots via a single gate and are not officially allowed to pray.
However, police have increasingly tolerated Jewish prayer in recent years.
Pentagon says Gaza pier should be re-anchored by end of week, expected cost lowered to $230m
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows a pier installed by the US military in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
The US Defense Department’s updated assessment of the US temporary pier off the coast of Gaza has lowered the expected cost of the project from $320 million to $230 million, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh says.
“While assessments are ongoing, this estimate does include some of the costs associated with the repairs and rebuilding of the pier,” Singh says during a press briefing.
The Pentagon spokesperson says the US plans to re-anchor the pier back to the Gaza coast by the end of the week.
The pier was damaged and halted operations last month less than two weeks after it began operating due to extreme weather.
‘March of Rage’ in Tel Aviv calls for hostage deal and an end to fighting in Gaza
Protesters hold a 'March of Rage' in Tel Aviv to call for a hostage release and ceasefire deal, June 5, 2024. (Adar Eyal/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)
Thousands of people are in attendance at a protest dubbed the “March of Rage” in Tel Aviv to call for a hostage deal and an end to the war in Gaza.
The protest comes amid pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government to finalize a hostage release and ceasefire deal put forward by Israel and revealed by US President Joe Biden late last week.
A large group of protesters hold a sign proclaiming in Hebrew that “Fighting doesn’t bring back hostages, only a deal will save lives,” while others hold up posters and signs with the faces of the hostages emblazoned on them.
עכשיו בקפלן – צעדה המונית בדרישה לעסקה עכשיו pic.twitter.com/2vf4GxpKzn
— דמוקרטTV (@Democrat_TV) June 5, 2024
Attacks on journalists during Jerusalem Day flag march should be ‘fully prosecuted,’ US says
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller pans today’s attack on journalists covering the Jerusalem Day Flag March by dozens of national religious youth participants.
“Attacks of that nature should be prevented when possible and when they can’t be prevented, they should be fully prosecuted. People should be held accountable under the law,” Miller says after being asked about the attacks during a press briefing.
Breaching status quo, Ben Gvir says it’s his policy to let Jews pray on Temple Mount
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir seen during Jerusalem Day celebrations outside the Jerusalem Great Synagogue, June 5, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
In an apparent breach of the longstanding status quo on the Temple Mount, ultranationalist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir tells Radio Galei Israel that his policy is to allow Jewish prayer at the contested Jerusalem holy site.
“I am also happy that Jews went up to the Temple Mount and prayed there today,” said the minister, who took part in the annual Jerusalem Day flag march through the Arab Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City. “It is very important. My policy is very clear on this matter, Jews can be anywhere in Jerusalem, pray anywhere.”
Asked if prayers are not conducted only informally, in a whisper, Ben Gvir said: “No, no, no, no one whispered. Jews prayed on the Temple Mount. That’s the ministerial position and Jews pray on the Temple Mount and that’s a good thing.”
The Temple Mount — known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif or the Noble Sanctuary — in Jerusalem’s Old City is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam. It is also the holiest place in Judaism, as the site of the two Biblical temples.
Muslims are allowed to pray and enter the compound with few restrictions, while the Israeli government enforces strict rules on non-Muslim visitors, including Jews who can visit only during limited time slots via a single gate and are not officially allowed to pray, although police frequently tolerate limited prayer.
Addressing the media at the Damascus Gate following today’s march, Ben Gvir spoke in a similar vein, stating that he wanted to convey a message to Palestinians who keep pictures of the mount in their homes.
They hang “pictures of the Temple Mount and there are pictures of Jerusalem, and we tell them our Jerusalem. Our Nablus gate. Our Temple Mount,” he said.
“Today, according to my policy, Jews entered the Old City freely. And on the Temple Mount Jews prayed freely. We say in the simplest way, it’s ours.”
9 victims of Hezbollah drone attack in Hurfeish being treated at Galilee hospital
People injured in the explosive-laden drone attack launched by Hezbollah at the northern Israel town of Hurfeish receive treatment at the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, June 5, 2024. (Roni Albert)
Nine victims of the explosive-laden drone attack by Hezbollah on the northern town of Hurfeish are being treated at Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya.
Three are in moderate condition, with one having been taken into surgery. The other four victims have light injuries.
All the victims are suffering from shrapnel and blast injuries.
US says local guard seriously injured in shooting at US Embassy in Lebanon earlier on Thursday
A local guard was seriously injured in a shooting at the US Embassy in Lebanon earlier today, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says.
The gunman was arrested after the incident, and the US embassy remains in contact with Lebanese authorities as they investigate the incident, Miller says, adding that the mission in Beirut was closed for the rest of the day.
“The individual who was arrested was wearing what appeared to be ISIS insignia, but we are conducting a full investigation with the Lebanese authorities into the actual motivations,” Miller adds.
18 arrested during Jerusalem Day march, including suspect found to be carrying knife
Men hold Israeli flags as they dance at Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City, during the Jerusalem Day flag march, June 5, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Eighteen people were arrested during the Jerusalem Day flag march for various offenses, the Israel Police say.
In addition to the five ultranationalist youths arrested for throwing items at journalists in the Old City earlier today, 13 people were arrested for violence, threatening behavior, making threats against police officers and disorderly conduct.
One person was arrested for being in possession of a knife, the police statement adds.
German ambassador: Jerusalem Day flag march speaks of the ‘blind hate’ youth have been taught
Germany’s Ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert says the scenes of today’s Jerusalem Day Flag March through the Old City of Jerusalem “speak of blind hate” that has been the education of the young national religious participants.
“Scenes like this from Jerusalem today do not speak of the deep spiritual connection to the city that Jews have felt for thousands of years. They speak of blind hate that these kids have been taught,” Seibert tweets.
As in every year past, footage of today’s rally showed participants assaulting journalists, intimidating Palestinians and chanting racist slogans against Arabs.
Scenes like this from Jerusalem today do not speak of the deep spiritual connection to the city that Jews have felt for thousands of years. They speak of blind hate that these kids have been taught. pic.twitter.com/3dnQtxS8Zn
— Steffen Seibert (@GerAmbTLV) June 5, 2024
Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested after barricading themselves in Stanford president’s office
Pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel demonstrators were arrested after occupying a building that houses the offices of Stanford University’s president and provost, the university says.
Approximately 10 students barricaded themselves in the building while some 50 others linked arms outside, The Stanford Daily reports. The university says law enforcement officers quickly removed them and made multiple arrests.
The takeover began near dawn on the last day of classes for the spring quarter. Some protesters barricaded themselves inside while others linked arms outside, The Stanford Daily says. The group chanted “Palestine will be free, we will free Palestine.”
Within about two hours officers had broken into the building and began taking people into custody.
Hezbollah takes responsibility for attack on northern town of Hurfeish
Hezbollah takes responsibility for the attack on the northern town of Hurfeish, saying it launched several explosive-laden drones at an army position in the area.
The terror group says the attack was a response to recent deadly IDF strikes in southern Lebanon, including an attack yesterday in Naqoura that left a Hezbollah member dead.
The IDF said it was investigating why sirens did not sound amid the attack, which left at least 11 people hurt, including one in critical condition.
Dutch Christians celebrate Jerusalem Day in Nijkerk with an exhibit on city’s Jewish history
Christian supporters of Israel attend the opening of an exhibition in the Dutch town of Nijkerk, June 5, 2024. (Canaan Lidor/Times of Israel)
On Jerusalem Day, about 100 pro-Israel Christians gather in the Dutch town of Nijkerk for the opening of an exhibition on the capital of the Jewish state.
The exhibition in the headquarters of the Christians for Israel group is titled “Israel under the magnifying glass” and focuses on Jewish history throughout the ages.
“Part of the message is that Jewish presence in the Land of Israel predates 1948 by several millennia,” says Frank van Oordt, the director of Christians for Israel, which his father Karel founded about 40 years ago. It has thousands of supporters and an Israeli products shop with 20 employees and a turnover of several million dollars.
Frank van Oordt hands Dutch Chief Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs scissors to cut the ribbon of the exhibition, which features virtual reality views of Israel, an archeology-themed sandbox for children, and a short film about the destruction caused in Jerusalem by invaders and its restoration by Jews. The film also describes atrocities committed by Crusaders against Jews in the 2nd century.
“Christians have been responsible for a great deal of hate and suffering of Jewish people and that’s something we want to convey to our public,” says Frank van Oordt.
Jacobs addresses the exhibition’s title, saying in a speech: “Israel is often put under a magnifying glass to find things that aren’t there, like genocide and apartheid. Finally, here, it is under the magnifying glass to truly be observed. It’s a worthwhile effort.”
Van Oordt is asked whether it’s appropriate to celebrate Jerusalem Day when Israel is at war and has over 100 missing hostages. “Judaism teaches us it is always worthwhile to celebrate the good in life,” he says.
Fentay Alamu-Maharat, the head of public diplomacy at the Israeli embassy in the Netherlands, thanks the Christians in attendance. “As a Jew, a woman, a mother, you give me hope for a better world,” she tells the crowd, who applaud her enthusiastically.
IDF reveals 2-km Hamas tunnel running adjacent to Egypt border crossing in Rafah
This image from video released by the IDF on June 5, 2024, shows a Hamas smuggling tunnel in southern Gaza's Rafah. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF reveals a “significant” Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza’s Rafah, adjacent to the border crossing with Egypt, used by the terror group to smuggle weapons into the Strip.
According to the IDF, troops located several tunnel shafts in the area, which led to the 2-kilometer-long (1.24 miles) underground route with several paths.
Inside the tunnel, troops found several weapons, explosives, and a large amount of intelligence materials, the military says. Some parts of the tunnel were blocked by blast doors.
Combat engineers later demolished the tunnel.
Along the so-called Philadelphi Corridor, adjacent to the southern city of Rafah, the IDF has located so far some 20 tunnels that cross into Egypt. Another 82 tunnel shafts leading into the tunnels have been located in the corridor area.
Hamas has been known to use such tunnels to smuggle weapons into Gaza, despite attempts by Egypt to thwart them in the past decade. A “high-level” source speaking to Egyptian state media last week denied such tunnels still exist.
IDF confirms attack on Hurfeish, investigating why no warning siren sounded
The Israeli military confirms the attack on Hurfeish, saying that several “projectiles” launched from Lebanon struck the area.
The IDF says it is investigating why sirens did not sound amid the attack.
According to initial assessments, at least one explosive-laden drone hit the area, wounding 11 people, including one critically.
Hurfeish is located several kilometers from the Lebanon border.
Hamas delegation concludes meeting with Qatari PM, Egyptian intelligence chief in Doha
A Hamas delegation just wrapped up a meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel in Doha during which they discussed the latest Israeli hostage deal proposal, an official familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel.
Al Thani and Kamel met earlier with CIA chief Bill Burns who is also in Doha to advance the hostage-ceasefire deal.
Haniyeh says terror group will respond ‘seriously and positively’ to hostage deal based on total, permanent ceasefire
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh says the terror group will deal ‘seriously and positively’ with any ceasefire agreement that is based on the total halt of war, complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and the release of Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for the hostages it is holding.
Hamas has yet to formally respond to the Israeli hostage release and ceasefire deal proposal, which was presented by US President Joe Biden late last week.
MDA says 11 injured, one critically, in possible drone hit in Hurfeish, northern Israel
Magen David Adom director-general Eli Bin tells Channel 12 news that 11 people are wounded in the attack in Hurfeish, including one in critical condition.
Three people are listed in moderate condition and the rest are lightly hurt, Bin adds.
The IDF has not yet commented on the incident, believed to be an explosive-laden drone attack.
UN nuclear watchdog passes resolution against Iran over lack of cooperation
The UN nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution on Wednesday calling on Iran to step up its cooperation with the watchdog and reverse its recent barring of top inspectors, diplomats at the closed-door meeting say.
The resolution, proposed by Britain, France and Germany and initially resisted by the United States, which feared Iran would respond as it has to previous resolutions by escalating its nuclear activities, was passed with 20 countries in favor, two against and 12 abstentions, the diplomats say.
Medics responding to reports of injuries in possible drone impact in Hurfeish, northern Israel
Medics are responding to reports of injuries in a possible explosive-laden drone impact in the northern town of Hurfeish.
No sirens had sounded amid the incident.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
Ben Gvir: Jerusalem Day celebration shows Hamas that ‘Jerusalem is ours, Temple Mount is ours’
Ultranationalist National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir declares that this year’s Jerusalem Day celebration sends a message to Hamas that “Jerusalem is ours.”
“The Damascus Gate is ours. The Temple Mount is ours. And God willing complete victory is ours,” he says at the beginning of the annual flag march, flanked by Otzma Yehudit MKs and Social Equality Minister May Golan (Likud).
In a message directed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ben Gvir says “Don’t stop. We are winning!”
Sullivan: Israel reconfirmed today that it stands by hostage deal proposal
Israel has repeatedly reconfirmed its commitment — including as recently as today — to the hostage deal proposal it made last week that would lead to a permanent ceasefire with Hamas, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says.
Sullivan recognizes that there are voices in the Israeli government who have come out against the proposal.
“Israel’s a raucous democracy, so there’s a lot of talk and a lot of chatter, but the Israeli government has reconfirmed repeatedly — as recently as today — that that proposal is still on the table and now it’s up to Hamas to accept it. The whole world should call on Hamas to accept it,” Sullivan tells NBC’s “The Today Show” in an interview from Paris.
Sullivan:
ceasefire/hostage deal ”still a live proposal. It’s still an Israeli proposal. The Israeli government has reconfirmed repeatedly.. that that proposal is still on the table, and now it’s up to Hamas to accept it, and the whole world should call on Hamas to accept it.” pic.twitter.com/zjlFYZMZjg
— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) June 5, 2024
Jerusalem Day revelers chant en masse for Israel to reoccupy the Gaza Strip
Flag March co-founder Meir Indor goes up onstage to address crowd at a Jerusalem Day rally before the flag march sets out to the Old City on June 5, 2024. (Charlie Summers / The Times of Israel
Israelis gathered outside the Heichal Shlomo building in Jerusalem for the annual Flag March are chanting en masse for Israel to reoccupy and settle the Gaza Strip.
“We are returning to Gush Katif!” shouts a singer from the stage to cheering and dancing from the crowd, who repeat after him.
One of the founding organizers of the Flag March, Meir Indor, goes up to speak, telling the crowd that “in order to attain security, the Jewish people must control the land.”
He notes that bereaved families and some families of Hamas-held hostages are present at the march, and have requested that the march’s name be changed from “Flag Dance” to “Flag March.”
IDF says it has ‘operational control’ over new areas in central Gaza after launching operation yesterday
A mortar launcher located by troops in central Gaza's Buriej, June 4, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The military says it has established “operational control” over the east Bureij and east Deir al-Balah areas in the central Gaza Strip today, after launching a new operation in the area yesterday.
Troops of the 7th Armored Brigade and Kfir Infantry Brigade killed several gunmen in battles and by calling in airstrikes, and also located tunnel shafts, the IDF says.
Hours into the operation, the IDF says troops located a mortar launcher hidden in a small structure with a United Nations logo on it.
Police say five arrested for attacking journalists in Jerusalem’s Old City
Police strive to maintain order amid clashes during the annual Jerusalem Day flag march in the Old City of Jerusalem, June 5, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The Israel Police says that five suspects have been arrested for attacking journalists in Jerusalem’s Old City earlier today ahead of the Jerusalem Day flag march.
The suspects, all ultranationalist Jewish youths, “threw objects at journalists who were standing nearby,” the police say.
Negotiations with Hamas will ‘only be conducted under fire,’ Gallant vows
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (right) is seen boarding a two-seater F-15 fighter jet at the Tel Nof Airbase in central Israel, June 5, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vows, following a flight over the Gaza Strip and the northern border in a fighter jet, that hostage negotiations with Hamas will “only be conducted under fire.”
“The strikes and the plumes of smoke where the IDF attacks are clearly visible to the eye, both in the Gaza Strip and in the north,” says Gallant after being taken by the IAF’s 133rd Squadron over Gaza and the Lebanon border in an F-15 jet.
“We are in a process where we will continue and wear down the enemy. Any negotiations with the Hamas terror organization will only be conducted under fire,” he adds.
Ben Gvir confidant Bentzi Gopstein hands out ‘Kahane was right’ stickers at Jerusalem Day rally
Kahanist activist Bentzi Gopstein at annual Jerusalem Day Flag March before it sets out to the Old City on June 5, 2024. (Charlie Summers/The Times of Israel)
Kahanist activist Bentzi Gopstein, a Ben Gvir confidant, set up a stand advertising his far-right anti-intermarriage organization Lehava at a rally of thousands ahead of the annual Jerusalem Day Flag March and is passing out stickers that read: “Rabbi Kahane was right.”
Many religious youth crowd the stand to receive stickers and shirts with pictures of the late extremist rabbi Meir Kahane, whose Kach party is outlawed in Israel and is classified as a terror group.
In April, the United States sanctioned Gopstein alongside other settler activists citing his organization’s destabilizing activities in the West Bank.
Gopstein declines to be interviewed.
Far-right activist Baruch Marzel claims attacks on Arabs in Old City don’t represent Jerusalem Day march participants
Baruch Marzel (R) is seen backstage at a rally before the Jerusalem Day Flag March, June 5, 2024. (Sam Sokol / The Times of Israel)
Far-right activist Baruch Marzel, a founder of the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party, distances the annual Jerusalem Day flag march from this morning’s attacks on Arabs by Jewish extremists in Jerusalem’s Old City, claiming that those involved in the violence did not represent the event’s participants.
The march’s organizers work closely with the police to keep things calm and safe, he tells The Times of Israel while wearing a sticker extolling the late extremist rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the Kach party, which is considered a Jewish terror group and is outlawed in Israel.
Critics of the march, which celebrates the reunification of East and West Jerusalem in 1967’s Six Day War, argue that parading through predominantly Arab areas of the Old City antagonizes the city’s Palestinian population, and often leads to violence against its residents by ultranationalist Jewish youth.
In Jerusalem Day address, Religious Zionism MK links annual flag march to Gaza war
Addressing the Jerusalem Day flag marchers at their rallying point at the Great Synagogue, Religious Zionism MK Ohad Tal links the annual march to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
“We’re celebrating in the shadow of war, a war that they call the Al Aqsa Flood,” he says, using Hamas’s name for the October 7 terror assault.
“They want to cut our connection to this place. They won’t succeed. We will beat our enemies and return our hostages and we will be victorious,” he declaims to a thunderous cheer.
In visit to Kiryat Shmona, Netanyahu met with Likud mayoral candidate while snubbing city’s mayor
While visiting Kiryat Shmona earlier today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the city’s Likud mayoral candidate, but not with incumbent Mayor Avichai Stern, despite claiming that he had not held any “civilian meetings” while in the battered northern city.
The Likud candidate, Eli Zafrani, shared images on Facebook of the briefing he attended with Netanyahu.
Kiryat Shmona didn’t hold local elections in February when most of the country did because it’s largely empty of residents, who were evacuated due to ongoing attacks from Hezbollah across the border in Lebanon.
Zafrani’s attendance at the security briefing and tour contradicts a claim from the Prime Minister’s Office earlier that civilian officials were not invited to the tour.
The PMO put out the statement after Netanyahu was criticized for not meeting with Stern.
Netanyahu had only visited Kiryat Shmona for a “military tour and a security situation assessment on the northern border,” the statement read. “Civilian meetings were not arranged with him, including not with the mayor of Kiryat Shmona. Civilian officials were not invited to the tour.”
הבוקר ליוויתי את ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו לסיור בגזרה הצפונית כולל סיור באתר השריפה בהרים מסביב העיר שכמעט ופגעה בבתים…
Posted by אלי זפרני on Wednesday, June 5, 2024
Thousands celebrate Jerusalem Day with dancing, music outside the Great Synagogue
Thousands of teenagers gather in front of Jerusalem’s Great Synagogue ahead of the Jerusalem Day Flag March, June 5, 2024. (Sam Sokol / The Times of Israel)
Thousands of teenagers gather in front of Jerusalem’s Great Synagogue for today’s Jerusalem Day march. Waving flags, they are dancing and singing religious and nationalist songs – including one in which the Biblical Samson calls on God to help him avenge himself on the Philistines.
Some activists with the far-right Otzma Yehudit party are passing out stickers extolling National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir with the message — “flying the flag with power.”
Israeli journalist attacked by right-wing youths in Jerusalem’s Old City ahead of flag march; 5 said arrested
Haaretz reporter Nir Hasson was attacked by right-wing youths while reporting in the Old City of Jerusalem ahead of the Jerusalem Day Flag March, the news outlet reports.
According to Haaretz, Hasson was knocked to the ground by several assailants and kicked until Border Police officers intervened.
Channel 12 reports five suspects arrested.
כתב ״הארץ״ ניר חסון מגונן על עיתונאי ומוכה בעצמו בעיר העתיקה בירושלים
צילום: מאיה לוין / NPR pic.twitter.com/KjfvSHCVq8
— Bar Peleg (@bar_peleg) June 5, 2024
The attack is one of several attempts by National Religious youth to prevent journalists from filming them ahead of the annual flag march later today. An Arab photojournalist sustained a minor cut on his forehead earlier after he was shoved by a police officer.
Sam Sokol contributed to this report.
US to present proposal for reopening of Rafah Crossing in coming days – report
A Palestinians stranded in Egypt waits to cross Rafah crossing to the Gaza Strip at Rafah, Egypt, after a temporary truce came into effect, November 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
With discussions about reopening the Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza ongoing, an Egyptian source tells the Lebanese Al Akhbar outlet that Cairo is expecting a detailed US proposal in the coming days.
France is also now actively participating in the talks, adds the source.
One solution Israel is exploring is the involvement of the European Union at the crossing, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
Yesterday, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the US, Israel and Egypt held a “constructive” meeting in Cairo.
Egypt has refused to reopen the crossing so long as Israeli forces are managing the Gazan side. Israel has sought to install local Palestinians at the gate, but has refused to allow them to publicly identify as being linked to the Palestinian Authority, hampering the effort to advance a solution, officials familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel last week.
IDF to begin presenting investigations into failures leading up to October 7 next month
Israeli soldiers deploy in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct. 10, 2023 (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The Israeli military says it will begin to present its investigations into its failures in the lead-up to the Hamas terror group’s October 7 massacre next month.
According to the IDF’s schedule, during the first week of July, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi will be presented with the investigation into the development of the military’s perception of Gaza, with an emphasis on the border, starting from the 2018 Hamas-led Gaza border riots.
This investigation includes the IDF’s intelligence assessments of Hamas from 2018 until the outbreak of the war, and the military’s conception of its own defenses and its operational plans against threats in Gaza.
Additional IDF probes into October 7 will be based on the conclusions of this investigation.
The IDF also plans to present the findings of the investigation to the public once completed and reviewed by Halevi.
Meanwhile, the IDF also plans to present the investigations into the battles between October 7 and 10, when troops restored control over the communities and army bases in southern Israel that had been invaded by Hamas.
There are some 40 battle locations, being investigated by more than 20 commanders.
Each battle investigation or set of investigations will be presented upon completion, and not all simultaneously, as some events on October 7 have proven to be more complex than others to probe.
For example, the IDF probe into the onslaught and battle in the border community of Be’eri, during which tanks shelled a building where Hamas was holding hostages, will be presented in early July, according to the schedule.
The IDF hopes to present all the battle investigations by the end of August.
The probes are aimed at drawing operational conclusions for the military and will not look into the policies of the political leadership, avoiding a fight with government leaders who have insisted that investigations wait until after the end of the war against Hamas.
The investigations, by units seen as having had a role in the failure to notice Hamas preparations or adequately prepare for the terror group’s October 7 onslaught, are being carried out concurrently with ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip. Any major developments in the war are expected to slow the pace of the probes.
Gantz raps PM for not meeting mayor on visit to Kiryat Shmona; PM’s office: No civilian meetings were held
War cabinet minister Benny Gantz blasts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for visiting Kiryat Shmona without holding a meeting with Mayor Avichai Stern.
“You can’t make political considerations in time of war. I urge him to call the mayor now, apologize, and invite him to a meeting in his office together with all the members of the city council, to hear the voice of all the city’s residents,” Gantz says in a statement.
In response to the criticism, the Prime Minister’s Office describes Netanyahu’s visit as a “military tour and a security situation assessment on the northern border” only.
“Civilian meetings were not arranged with him, including not with the mayor of Kiryat Shmona. Civilian officials were not invited to the tour,” the PMO statement reads.
PM sues journalists, activist for allegedly spreading ‘lies and falsehoods’ over health
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on May 27, 2024 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu files a defamation lawsuit against journalists Ben Caspit and Ori Misgav, and activist Gonen Ben Yitzhak, alleging the three have spread lies about his health.
The prime minister is seeking compensation of up to NIS 500,000 ($135,000), in his claim to the Ramle Magistrate’s Court.
The defendants “spread false and malicious information against the prime minister,” the suit claimed, stating that the three made the following claims: “The prime minister is sick with pancreatic cancer, is unfit [to serve in his role], and more. Remarks that are lies and falsehoods. The prime minister is a perfectly healthy person for his age.”
The prime minister’s health has been under scrutiny since July when he underwent surgery to implant a pacemaker following a fainting spell at his home in Caesarea. It was only after the surgery that Netanyahu’s chronic heart condition, a transient heart block, was revealed to the public.
Netanyahu had not revealed that he had fainted before the heart monitor was implanted, nor that he had a history of cardiac electrical conduction problems.
In October 2022, Netanyahu felt unwell during prayers toward the end of Yom Kippur and underwent a series of tests at Shaare Zedek Medical Center, which reportedly came back normal.
His health was back in the headlines earlier this year when his office announced that he had come down with a bout of flu, forcing him to cancel meetings related to the running of the war in Gaza.
Protocols for the disclosure of the prime minister’s health were developed by the Prime Minister’s Office in 2010, but are not enshrined in law.
Hamas health ministry in Gaza says 36,586 Palestinians killed in war
At least 36,586 Palestinians have been killed and 83,074 injured in Israel’s military offensive against Hamas since October 7, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says.
These figures have not been verified and only some 24,000 fatalities have been identified at hospitals. The tolls include some 15,000 terror operatives Israel says it has killed in battle.
Israel also says it killed some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Biden showing signs of cognitive decline, US lawmakers tell WSJ
US President Joe Biden checks his watch before delivering remarks on the Middle East, from the State Dining Room of the White House, May 31, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
US President Joe Biden, 81, shows signs of cognitive decline in closed-door meetings, reports the Wall Street Journal, basing its months-long investigation on interviews with more than 45 people.
The White House and other Democrats pushed back forcefully on the report.
The majority of those who expressed concern were Republicans, said the WSJ, but some Democrats also revealed that Biden had shown signs of decline.
The article says the accounts describe “an unevenness” in meetings, though “not the caricature of an addled leader that some of his political opponents draw.”
In a key January meeting on Ukraine military aid, according to the WSJ, “the president moved so slowly around the Cabinet Room to greet the nearly two dozen congressional leaders that it took about 10 minutes for the meeting to begin, some people who attended recalled.”
Attendees also had trouble hearing Biden, as he read general points that had already been agreed upon from notes and repeatedly deferred to others.
“You couldn’t be there and not feel uncomfortable,” an attendee says. “I’ll just say that.”
Democrats in attendance disagreed with that characterization. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says Biden was “incredibly strong, forceful and decisive.”
In other key meetings, including during May 2023 negotiations on raising the debt ceiling, Republicans said at times the president was sharp and spontaneous, while on other days he would repeat stories and bring up issues that were already solved.
Biden’s challenger former president Donald Trump, only 3.5 years his junior, has also faced scrutiny for confusing names of officials and seeming to nod off during his criminal trial.
Clashes erupt in Old City ahead of Jerusalem Day flag march, protesters chant ‘Death to Arabs’
Activists comfort a man in the Old City amid violent clashes break out in the Old City of Jerusalem between national religious youth and Arabs, June 5, 2024. (The Times of Israel/Sam Sokol)
Violent clashes break out in the Old City of Jerusalem’s Arab quarter just inside the Damascus gate ahead of this afternoon’s nationalist Jerusalem Day flag march.
National Religious youth throw stones and attack local Arab residents. The smell of gas wafts on the air as police try to separate the two sides.
The nationalist youths attack journalists to prevent them from filming while a police officer shoves an Arabic photojournalist, who sustains a minor cut on the forehead.
A marcher tries to knock down a Times of Israel reporter’s phone while filming the violence.
Protesters chant “Death to the Arabs.”
Otzma Yehudit halts coalition support while PM ‘hides’ details of ceasefire-hostage deal proposal
Otzma Yehudit party leader National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir leads a faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on June 3, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir announces his Otzma Yehudit party will not vote with the coalition in the Knesset until Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reveals details of an Israeli ceasefire-hostage deal proposal.
“As long as the prime minister continues to hide the details of the deal, Otzma Yehudit will disrupt his coalition,” Ben Gvir tweets.
Ben Gvir and other far-right lawmakers have asserted they will not agree to a deal with Hamas that ends the war in exchange for the release of hostages.
US President Joe Biden laid out a number of the Israeli offer’s key elements in a high-stakes speech last Friday, which triggered shockwaves in Jerusalem where Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners threatened to bring down the government if the premier advanced the proposal.
The deal would see the remaining living female, elderly, and sick hostages abducted during the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught released during a six-week first phase. The second phase of the deal would see a permanent end to the war; and Biden said Hamas would not remain in power in Gaza, but did not detail how that would come about.
Also during the first phase, Israel and Hamas would hold negotiations regarding the terms of the permanent ceasefire and the release of the remaining living hostages in the second phase. The third phase would see the release of the bodies of hostages and the commencement of an internationally backed reconstruction plan for Gaza.
Columbia Law Review shut down after it publishes article accusing Israel of genocide
Illustrative: People gather to protest the banning of Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace at Columbia University on November 20, 2023 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images via AFP)
NEW YORK — Student editors at the Columbia Law Review say they were pressured by the journal’s board of directors to halt publication of an academic article written by a Palestinian human rights lawyer that accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and upholding an apartheid regime.
When the editors refused the request and published the piece Monday morning, the board — made up of faculty and alumni from Columbia University’s law school — shut down the law review’s website entirely. It remained offline Tuesday evening, a static homepage informing visitors the domain “is under maintenance.”
The episode at one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious legal journals marks the latest flashpoint in an ongoing debate about academic speech that has deeply divided students, staff, and college administrators since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Several editors at the Columbia Law Review describe the board’s intervention as an unprecedented breach of editorial independence at the periodical, which is run by students at Columbia Law School. The board of directors oversees the nonprofit’s finances but has historically played no role in selecting pieces.
In a letter sent to student editors Tuesday and shared with The Associated Press, the board of directors says it was concerned that the article, titled “Nakba as a Legal Concept,” had not gone through the “usual processes of review or selection for articles at the Law Review, and in particular that a number of student editors had been unaware of its existence.”
“In order to preserve the status quo and provide student editors some window of opportunity to review the piece, as well as provide time for the Law Review to determine how to proceed, we temporarily suspended the website,” the letter continues.
Those involved in soliciting and editing the piece say they had followed a rigorous review process, even as they acknowledged taking steps to forestall expected blowback by limiting the number of students aware of the article.
In the piece, Rabea Eghbariah, a Harvard doctoral candidate, accuses Israel of a litany of “crimes against humanity,” arguing for a new legal framework to “encapsulate the ongoing structure of subjugation in Palestine and derive a legal formulation of the Palestinian condition.”
Eghbariah says in a text message that the suspension of the law journal’s website should be seen as “a microcosm of a broader authoritarian repression taking place across US campuses.”
IDF announces creation of new counter-terror unit for Gaza border towns
Members of a new counter-terrorism unit, LOTAR Otef, attend a ceremony marking its formation on June 3, 2024 in southern Israel. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF announces the formation of a new counter-terrorism unit that will operate in Gaza border communities, made up of residents of the area who are ex-special forces.
The unit, known as LOTAR Otef — referring to Otef Aza or the Gaza envelope — was established Monday, per the instructions of Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and “as part of learning the lessons that have emerged from the initial investigations into the events of October 7,” the IDF says.
The unit will be commanded by a lieutenant colonel reservist and will be subordinate to the Gaza Division.
The IDF says the unit will consist of reservists who previously served in special forces, live in Gaza border communities or nearby towns, and who will be ready for sudden events.
It says that unit members will undergo specific training for “the challenges of the area.”
Hundreds of reservists have already applied to serve in LOTAR Otef, and in the coming weeks, they will begin training, the IDF says.
NYT reports Diaspora Ministry funded fake social media accounts to spread pro-Israel content
The Facebook logo is seen on a cell phone in Boston, October 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)
The Diaspora Affairs Ministry paid last year for a campaign using fake social media accounts to target US lawmakers and the American public with pro-Israel messaging, The New York Times reports, citing four current and former members of the ministry, and documents on the activities.
The campaign was launched in order to garner public support for the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. It was first reported on by Israeli media watchdog FakeReporter in March, but The Times report links the effort directly to the government.
Tel Aviv marketing firm Stoic was paid $2 million by the ministry to carry out the operation, which, at its height, used hundreds of accounts posing as Americans to make posts, that focused on Black and Democratic representatives with calls to continue to approve military aid to Israel, the report says.
AI chatbot ChatGPT was used to create posts, which included three fake English-language news sites with pro-Israel articles, according to the report.
Social media firm Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has “disrupted the operation” since last week, The Times reports.
IDF says raised call-up cap needed for Rafah op, nothing to do with northern clashes
The decision by the Israeli government to raise the number of reservists the IDF is authorized to call up in case of need — from 300,000 to 350,000 — has nothing to do with tensions in northern Israel, according to the military.
Rather, the IDF says the reason for increasing the cap relates to the operation in southern Gaza’s Rafah taking more personnel than initially planned.
Amid the war in the Gaza Strip, the IDF called up a total of 287,000 reservists, although many of them have already been released from duty for now. It marked the largest-ever call-up of reservists in Israel’s history.
The cap was initially set at 300,000, before being raised to 360,000 in the early weeks of the war. It was then dropped back to 300,000, and is now being expanded to 350,000.
‘Suspicious aerial target’ downed over Metula, army says
A “suspicious aerial target” that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon, thought to be a drone, was intercepted by air defenses over Metula this morning, the military says.
Another interceptor was launched at a second target a short while later, the IDF adds.
There was no damage or injuries in either incident.
A "suspicious aerial target" that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon, thought to be a drone, was intercepted by air defenses over Metula this morning, the military says.
Another interceptor was launched at a second target a short while later, the IDF adds.
There was no… pic.twitter.com/tkFeRIhB3f
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 5, 2024
Government raises cap on number of reservists IDF can draft to 350,000
Illustrative: An IDF reservist prepares equipment ahead of a drill, in a handout image released on April 24, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
As tensions ramp up along the northern border, the government raises the number of reservists the IDF is authorized to call up in case of need from 300,000 to 350,000.
According to a copy of the decision published by Army Radio’s Shahar Glick, the decision will remain in effect until August 1.
In a statement delivered at the Lebanese border this morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel is “prepared for an extremely powerful action in the north.” Yesterday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said that Israel is close to making a decision regarding Hezbollah’s daily attacks on northern Israel amid the Gaza war.
Large blazes broke out in northern Israel earlier this week, some of which were sparked by Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks, prompting calls for military action by some members of the coalition and generating concerns that Israel may soon find itself engaged in ground operations on two fronts.
Amid the war in the Gaza Strip, the IDF called up a total of 287,000 reservists, many of whom have already been released from duty for now. It marked the largest-ever call-up of reservists in Israel’s history.
Far-right candidate stabbed in German city, days after attack that killed police officer
BERLIN, Germany — A member of a German far-right party was stabbed and wounded in the southwestern city of Mannheim, German news agency dpa reports, only days after a knife attack killed one police officer and left five people injured in the same city.
Dpa reports that a candidate with the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, caught somebody trying to tear down an election poster on Tuesday evening.
When he confronted that person, he was attacked with a knife. Dpa reports that the candidate was still in a hospital with non-life-threatening cuts.
The candidate, who was campaigning for Sunday’s local elections in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, where Mannheim is located, was not identified. The attacker was detained, dpa reports.
“We are shocked and dismayed,” local AfD leader, Markus Frohnmaier, tells dpa.
Mannheim police confirmed that an incident took place Tuesday night and said they would release more details later, dpa reports.
Tel Aviv court approves 35-day extension of Al Jazeera ban, finding close ties with Hamas
File: Employees at Al Jazeera's offices in Jerusalem, August 8, 2017. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
The Tel Aviv District Court approves the temporary ban on the Al Jazeera news network in Israel ordered by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi on May 5, finding that there is a “close connection” between the channel and Hamas and that the Qatari network does “actual damage” to Israeli security.
The court reduces the ban from 45 days to 35 days requested by Karhi however, because Al Jazeera was not granted a hearing before the ban was enacted.
The outlet was banned from broadcasting in Israel and its website taken offline in accordance with an emergency law allowing for foreign outlets deemed to be violating national security to be temporarily blocked.
The court rules that “convincing, clear, and unambiguous evidence” has been presented to it regarding “the close, long-term connection between the Hamas terror organization and the Al Jazeera media network,” while Hamas “advances its goals through the channel.”
The court finds that Al Jazeera’s broadcasts include “clear incitement” and that the channel “describes in ‘real-time’ the positioning of IDF forces.”
The State Attorney’s Office says in a statement, “It was determined that there is no doubt the channel’s broadcasts do real damage to Israel’s security.”
The ban will now expire at midnight this coming Sunday, June 9. Karhi’s office said he is now working to extend the ban for a 45-day period.
* A previous version of this entry incorrectly stated that the ruling pertained to a request for an extension to the order banning Al Jazeera.
PM says Israel ‘prepared for an extremely powerful action in the north’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (second right) visits Kiryat Shmona on the border with Lebanon, June 5, 2024. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
Israel is “prepared for an extremely powerful action in the north,” warns Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a visit to Kiryat Shmona on the border with Lebanon, where fighting between the IDF and Hezbollah has escalated significantly in recent days.
“Whoever thinks that he can harm us and we will sit with our hands clasped has made a major mistake,” says Netanyahu.
Large blazes broke out in northern Israel earlier this week, some of which were sparked by Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks.
“The ground burned yesterday and I am happy you put it out,” he tells firefighters, “but the ground also burned in Lebanon.”
Netanyahu also meets with IDF forces from Brigade 769 to discuss operations against Hezbollah.
IDF says fresh Gaza op targeting terrorists in eastern Bureij, Deir al-Balah
An Israeli tank operating in the Gaza Strip, in images published on June 5, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF’s new operation in the central Gaza Strip is focusing on the eastern areas of Bureij and the east of Deir al-Balah, the military says.
The IDF had previously battled Hamas in Bureij in January, but until now, had not operated in the Deir al-Balah area.
The new offensive is being carried out by the 98th Division, which had until recently been deployed to northern Gaza’s Jabaliya. Before that, the division fought Hamas in Khan Younis, in the Strip’s south.
The IDF says the operation is being carried out following intelligence on operatives and infrastructure belonging to terror groups above and below ground in the area, several kilometers from the Israeli border.
As ground troops pushed into the east Bureij and east Deir al-Balah areas, a large wave of airstrikes was carried out, targeting weapon depots, underground infrastructure, buildings used by terror groups, and other sites, the IDF says.
The military says several Hamas operatives were killed in the strikes.
The new offensive comes as the IDF continues to operate in southern Gaza’s Rafah and in the Netzarim Corridor in the central part of the Strip.
Iran’s Guards chief threatens response after adviser killed in alleged Israeli strike in Aleppo
The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami threatens retaliation after an alleged Israeli strike killed an Iranian adviser in Aleppo, Syria, Monday night.
“Israel must wait for a response to the killing of Iranian military adviser Saeed Aviar in Syria,” Salami is quoted as saying by Iranian media outlets.
In April, Iran launched around 300 missiles and drones at the Jewish state, almost all of which were downed by Israel and its allies, after an alleged Israeli strike that killed a top IRGC commander and several officers in Damascus.
Human Rights Watch alleges Israel used white phosphorus in residential areas in Lebanon
File: A shell that appears to be white phosphorus from Israeli artillery explodes over a house in al-Bustan, a Lebanese village along the border with Israel, on October 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
BEIRUT — A global human rights group claims that Israel has used white phosphorus incendiary shells on residential buildings in at least five towns and villages in conflict-hit southern Lebanon, possibly harming civilians and violating international law, in a report published yesterday.
Human Rights Watch says in its report that there was no evidence of burn injuries due to white phosphorus in Lebanon, but that researchers had “heard accounts indicating possible respiratory damage.”
Human rights advocates say it’s a crime under international law to fire the controversial munitions into populated areas.
Israel maintains it uses white phosphorus only as a smokescreen and not to target civilians. In response to a Washington Post report in December, the Israel Defense Forces stressed the military only uses legal weapons and white phosphorus is only allowed to be used in urban areas “in certain exceptional cases.”
The white-hot chemical substance can set buildings on fire and burn human flesh down to the bone. Survivors are at risk of infections and organ or respiratory failure, even if their burns are small.
The HRW report includes interviews with eight residents in conflict-hit southern Lebanon, and the group says it has verified and geolocated images from almost 47 photos and videos that show white phosphorus shells landing on residential buildings in five Lebanese border towns and villages.
The Lebanese Health Ministry says at least 173 people have required medical care after exposure to white phosphorus.
The researchers found that the controversial incendiaries were used in residential areas in Kfar Kila, Mays al-Jabal, Boustan, Markaba, and Aita al-Shaab, towns that are among the hardest hit in eight months of fighting.
The New York-based rights group alongside Amnesty International also accused Israel of using white phosphorus in residential areas in October 2023, less than a month after the Hezbollah terror group began launching attacks on northern communities on October 8.
In its report, HRW calls on the Lebanese government to allow the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute “grave international crimes” within Lebanon since October 2023.
“Israel’s recent use of white phosphorus in Lebanon should motivate other countries to take immediate action toward this goal,” HRW Lebanon Researcher Ramzi Kaiss says.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Netanyahu won’t attend state Jerusalem Day ceremony where government critic is to recite memorial prayer
Former MK Shai Hermesh at a committee meeting in Knesset on November 14, 2012. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
The Prime Minister’s Office announces Benjamin Netanyahu won’t take part in the official state Jerusalem Day ceremony at Ammunition Hill, claiming the premier is busy with matters relating to the ongoing war.
“The prime minister is busy with the war in the north and the south and therefore is prevented from taking part in the ceremonies this evening,” the statement reads.
The decision not to take part in the ceremony comes after Netanyahu initially was said to have barred former MK Shai Hermesh, from the now-defunct Kadima party, from taking part in the ceremony. The decision was later reversed, and Hermesh will read a memorial prayer at the event.
Hermesh was a former Israel Defense Forces soldier who fought in Jerusalem during the Six Day War. He and his family live in Kfar Aza, where Hamas terrorists rampaged as part of their October 7 attack, in which Hermesh’s son Omer was murdered.
According to Hebrew media reports last week, Hermesh was considered a particularly suitable candidate to read a memorial prayer during a state ceremony at Ammunition Hill on Jerusalem Day, which marks the city’s reunification following the 1967 war. However, he was blocked from participating over a column he wrote in the Haaretz daily describing the government as being “held hostage by a group of messianists,” referring to some ministers as convicted criminals and referencing Netanyahu’s corruption trial.
IDF jets strike Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon overnight
Two Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon’s Zibqin and Ayta ash-Shab were struck by fighter jets overnight, the military says.
Three buildings used by the terror group in Odaisseh, Blida, and Markaba were also struck, the IDF adds.
בחמישה מרחבים שונים: צה"ל תקף יעדי טרור של חיזבאללה במהלך הלילה.
במהלך הלילה מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו שני משגרים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים זבקין ועייתא א-שעב.
במקביל, הותקפו שלושה מבנים צבאיים של הארגון במרחבים אל עדייסא, בליידא ומרכבא pic.twitter.com/R7qOZJwcDg— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 5, 2024
Drone alerts that sounded in Upper Galilee were false alarm
The Israel Defense Forces says incoming drone alerts that sounded in Upper Galilee communities in northern Israel were a false alarm.
Shots fired at US embassy in Beirut; Lebanese army returns fire, injuring gunman
A gunman has fired shots at the US Embassy in Beirut, the Lebanese army says.
The army says it fired back and injured the attacker who was then taken to a hospital for treatment.
Incoming hostile drone alerts sound in Kiryat Shmona, surrounding towns
Incoming hostile drone alerts are sounding in several communities in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel.
The alerts are sounding in the city of Kiryat Shmona and 14 other surrounding towns.
???? Large Red Alert [09:26:29] – 15 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — Ma'ayan Baruch, Misgav Am, Malkia, Iftach, Kfar Yuval, Kfar Giladi, Tel Hai, Manara, Kiryat Shmona, Mevuot Hermon Regional Council, Beit Hillel, Dishon, Metulla, Margaliot, Ramot Naftali pic.twitter.com/yxRD3dyATp
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) June 5, 2024
Smotrich: Hostage deal has price tag nation cannot afford; Oct. 7 had ‘nothing to do with me’
Religious Zionism party leader Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting in northern Israel, May 19, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reiterates his opposition to a ceasefire and hostage deal announced by US President Joe Biden, in an interview with Kan radio.
Smotrich says he opposes a deal in which hostages are exchanged for terrorists with “blood on their hands” and one that doesn’t ensure the military can eliminate Hamas in Gaza.
“There are prices that a nation that loves life cannot afford,” he says.
Smotrich also says that the October 7 massacre “has nothing to do with me, it was an insane intelligence-operational failure,” appearing to lay the blame on security forces. Earlier in the war he accepted responsibility for the state’s failures during the onslaught.
“Those who are responsible should have gone home a long time ago. This was the IDF’s conception. Who is briefing against me in the newspapers? The heads of the IDF, the same people who failed on October 7 are not ashamed to criticize me today,” he says.
Liberman says Iran ‘planning a Holocaust for us in the next two years’
Yisrael Beytenu party leader Avigdor Liberman leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on May 27, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The Islamic Republic of Iran is “planning a Holocaust for us in the next two years,” hawkish opposition MK Avigdor Liberman tells Army Radio, arguing that Tehran plans to repeat its recent April 13 missile attack, only on a march larger scale, in the future.
“We are in the midst of an Iranian extermination program,” the Yisrael Beytenu party chairman says, arguing that if Iran is allowed to create a “nuclear umbrella,” it will use the deterrence it has obtained to launch a devastating strike.
“Israel will be attacked with the aim of destroying it from several fronts with tens of thousands of missiles at the same time. They are planning a holocaust for us in the next two years,” he says.
This April, Iran launched around 300 missiles and drones at the Jewish state, almost all of which were downed by Israel and its allies. Following the strike, Liberman said that Israel had no alternative but to hit back at Iran and must seek “maximal coordination” with the US in doing so.
Liberman has been a harsh critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza and the north, stating in January that Israel’s military must “close off” a swath of southern Lebanon and push the Hezbollah terror group north of the Litani River, even if it means 50 years of occupation.
“We will not annex anything, and we will not build settlements, but we will release the territory only when there is a government in Beirut that knows how to exercise its sovereignty,” he said at the time.
Demonstrators urging hostage deal block roads around country
Demonstrators demanding a a deal to free hostages held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip block the Kfar HaYarok Junction in Tel Aviv, June 5, 2024. (Pro-Democracy Protest Movement/Eitan Slonim)
Nationwide demonstrations begin urging a deal to release hostages held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Demonstrators block roads at the Kfar HaYarok Junction in Tel Aviv, Ra’anana Junction, and Karkur Junction, demanding the government reach an agreement to free the captives immediately.
Report: Egypt unhappy over rate of aid entering Gaza, wants Israel to fund supplies
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid are pictured at the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on May 28, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)
Egypt is not satisfied with the rate of humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip and proposed that Israel should fund the supplies entering the enclave, Kan public radio reports, citing an Egyptian official.
The report says the idea was proposed to the United States and Israel in recent days. From Egypt’s perspective, Israel is responsible for the situation in the Strip and therefore should be completely responsible for trucks crossing into the enclave.
The Rafah border crossing, a key entry point for aid, has been closed since Israeli forces seized its Gazan side from Hamas in early May, with Egypt refusing to allow goods through while Israel controls the terminal.
Since then, Egypt and Israel have blamed each other for the blocking of aid deliveries through Rafah. The Egyptian authorities have refused to coordinate with the Israelis, preferring to work with international or Palestinian bodies.
The two sides held talks with US officials Sunday to discuss the reopening of the crossing.
The World Central Kitchen (WCK) organization said on Tuesday that it is bringing trucks of food aid into Gaza “at a fairly good clip” and is able to distribute them to its community kitchens in different areas of the territory through close coordination with the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) agency of the Defense Ministry.
Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.
9 soldiers hurt, including 2 seriously, by exploding ordnance at IDF base in south
Nine soldiers were wounded due to exploding ordnance at the Tzeelim base in southern Israel yesterday, the military says.
An IDF statement says two soldiers were seriously wounded, another two were moderately hurt and the other five were lightly injured. They were all taken to hospitals for treatment.
The IDF adds that it is investigating the circumstances of the blast.
IDF says rocket sirens in Nahal Oz were false alarm
The Israel Defense Forces says rocket alerts that sounded in Kibbutz Nahal Oz near Gaza were a false alarm.
Rocket alerts activated in kibbutz along Gaza border
Rocket warning sirens are activated in Kibbutz Nahal Oz near the border with Gaza.
Top Biden aide: Israel accepted ceasefire proposal, ‘ball is in Hamas’s court’
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
A response from Palestinian Islamist terror group Hamas on Israel’s ceasefire proposal that US President Joe Biden revealed on Friday is still being awaited, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan tells reporters on Tuesday.
“We are waiting for a response from Hamas” through the Qatari mediators, Sullivan tells reporters during a briefing aboard Air Force One.
He also notes Biden acknowledged “Hamas may choose they think it’s just better to let the war and the suffering and the violence continue.”
“That wouldn’t be terribly out of character for a vicious and brutal terror group, but what we hope they do in the end is see that the best pathway to an end to this war, the return of all the hostages, a surge of humanitarian assistance, is to accept this proposal,” Sullivan adds.
“The onus is on Hamas and will remain on Hamas until we get a formal response from them.”
He also pushes back against a reporter who claimed both Israel and Hamas rejected the proposal.
“I take issue with the end of your question when you said Israel rejected the proposal. The prime minister’s own adviser went out publicly and said they accepted the proposal. They have reaffirmed that they have accepted the proposal… [it] is a proposal Israel accepted before and continues to accept today,” Sullivan says. “The ball is in Hamas’s court.”
War cabinet said to demand US guarantees that Israel will be able to resume Gaza war
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) and his team meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2R) and members and observers in the war cabinet, at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, November 3, 2023. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
The war cabinet has decided to demand US guarantees that Israel will be allowed to continue the war against Hamas if the terror group violates a hostages-for-ceasefire agreement, according to the Kan public broadcaster.
An unnamed government official is quoted saying the unanimous Israeli decision is likely to reduce the prospects for a deal to free the hostages held in Gaza.
AIPAC names Elliot Brandt as successor to veteran chief Howard Kohr
AIPAC Vice CEO Elliot Brandt, who the pro-Israel lobby announced on June 5, 2024, will takeover as the new CEO at the end of the year. (AIPAC)
AIPAC announces that its Vice CEO Elliot Brandt will takeover as head of the pro-Israel lobbying group when longtime chief Howard Kohr steps down at the end of the year.
“The board has chosen someone who thoroughly understands the strategic challenges and opportunities facing AIPAC, possesses the skills and insight necessary to successfully lead us forward, and demonstrates deep passion for, and commitment to, our work to strengthen and expand the US-Israel relationship,” says a statement from AIPAC, which noted Brandt’s nearly three-decade-long tenure with the organization.
Rocket sirens sound in kibbutz near Lebanon border
Incoming rocket sirens sound in Malkiya, a kibbutz near the border with Lebanon, with anyone there instructed to immediately take cover.
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