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The Times of Israel liveblogged Friday’s events as they unfolded.
Two young men shot dead overnight in northern Arab town
Two young men were shot dead overnight in the town of Jadeidi-Makr in the Galilee.
The two were identified as cousins Amir and Ashraf Bassal, both in their twenties.
Police were investigating the murders.
Since the beginning of the year 96 Arabs have been killed in Israel in violent criminal incidents, according to the Abraham Initiatives coexistence advocacy group. It is a slightly lower number than last year’s record-breaking figures, which stood at 102 at this date.
United States braces for crushing heat wave
Vast areas of the central and eastern United States are bracing for a sweltering heat wave next week, with temperatures expected to be unseasonably high for June.
“Temperatures will soar next week from the Midwest to the Northeast, where several dozen record afternoon high and record warm morning lows are set to fall,” the National Weather Service says.
The wave is due to start Sunday in the central United States, then spread across the Midwest and Northeast before Tuesday, and will last most of the week, the weather service said.
“Heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths most years. Take it seriously,” it warns.
The capital city of Washington activated its “heat emergency” plan Friday, says Mayor Muriel Bowser, and extreme temperatures are forecast for next week. Several other major cities will also be affected, from Chicago to New York.
Two rockets from central Gaza hit area near Kissufim
Two rockets launched from the central Gaza Strip struck open areas near the southern community of Kissufim, according to the IDF.
Sirens sounded in the community amid the attack.
Hamas takes responsibility for the rocket fire, claiming to have targeted a military base.
There are no reports of damage or injuries.
Large fire sparked by rocket rages near northern communities
Firefighters are battling are large blaze between the northern communities of Bar’am and Yir’on, sparked by Hezbollah rockets earlier today.
The Fire and Rescue Service says four teams are at the scene, and there is no threat to the nearby communities.
בעקבות ירי רקטות מלבנון, שריפה פרצה סמוך לקיבוץ יראון שבגליל העליון ומאיימת להגיע לבתים@rubih67 pic.twitter.com/KtYvujzZqz
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 14, 2024
Israel-based firm among entities sanctioned by UK for aiding ‘Putin’s war machine’
LONDON — Britain has announced new sanctions designed to degrade Russia’s ability to wage war in Ukraine, targeting entities based in China, Israel, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey, as well as the Russian energy industry.
The sanctions announced at the G7 summit apply to 50 companies and individuals involved in supplying munitions, machine tools, microelectronics, and logistics to the Russian military, together with ships transporting military goods from North Korea to Russia.
A British government statement about the “crack down on Putin’s war machine” names the Israel-based firm as Texel, which has also been blacklisted by the US Treasury Department for having “supplied a Russian company with electro-optic and infrared devices following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”
Britain also says it’s targeting the “shadow fleet” of ships used to circumvent G7 sanctions on the Russia oil and natural gas industry. The UK Foreign Office says this is particularly important because taxes on oil production accounted for 31% of the Russian government’s revenue last year.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says in a statement that the UK “will always stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine in its fight for freedom.’’
Sunak adds that Russian President Vladimir Putin “must lose, and cutting off his ability to fund a prolonged conflict is absolutely vital.”
G7 leaders warn Israel against ‘actions that weaken the PA,’ urge release of tax revenues
The Group of Seven nations warn Israel to stop any “actions that weaken the Palestinian Authority,” after far-right Israeli leaders moved to withhold tax funds from the fledgling Palestinian government in the West Bank.
The statement is made in the final communique from the G7 leading industrialized nations summit in Italy.
Under interim peace accords in the 1990s, Israel collects tax revenue on behalf of the Palestinians, and it has used the money as a tool to pressure the Palestinian Authority, which administers some parts of the West Bank. Hamas violently expelled the PA from Gaza in 2007.
The G7 calls on Israel to release tax revenues in light of the PA’s “urgent fiscal needs.” The leaders also demanded Israel “remove or relax other measures to avoid further exacerbating the economic situation in the West Bank.”
The statement came a day after Israel’s firebrand finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said he would reroute some of the funds earmarked for the PA to victims of terrorism in Israel.
After the October 7 Hamas attack that triggered the war in Gaza, Smotrich froze the tax revenue transfers. But Israel agreed to send the money to Norway, which transferred it to the PA.
Smotrich has said he is ending that arrangement and is pursuing other financial measures that would handicap the PA’s already-waning ability to pay salaries to thousands of employees.
In the joint communique, the G7 leaders stress their backing of an Israeli hostage-for-ceasefire proposal that US President Joe Biden is pushing and call on Hamas to agree to the deal, which the terror group has rejected without an upfront Israeli pledge to end the war.
They also say they’re “particularly concerned by the situation” along the Israel-Lebanon border, amid intensifying fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
We recognize the essential stabilizing role played by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in mitigating that risk,” the statement says, while omitting any mention of Hezbollah.
For second time, US to remove Gaza aid pier due to choppy seas
The image provided by US Central Command shows American and Israeli forces placing the Trident Pier on the coast of Gaza Strip on May 16, 2024. (US Central Command via AP)
WASHINGTON — The US-built aid pier will be detached from Gaza’s coast for a second time due to rough seas, two US officials say, raising further questions about the viability of the sea route.
The military is detaching the causeway and moving it tonight and into tomorrow to prevent it from breaking apart again, as it did late last month when it was hit by bad weather, the officials say, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military planning.
The officials expect it will be back in place by next week and will be operating again.
IDF strikes rocket launcher that it says Hezbollah used to attack northern town
The military says it carried out a strike on a Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon’s Yaroun a short while ago, that was used in an attack on the northern community of Avivim.
Fighter jets also struck a weapons depot in Ramyeh, a building used by Hezbollah in Houla, and additional infrastructure in Aitaroun, the IDF adds.
The military also says sirens that sounded in Margaliot at 7:30 p.m. were triggered by one rocket launched from Lebanon that struck an open area.
Another 10 rockets were fired from Lebanon at Metula, setting off sirens in the town at 9:09 p.m.
No injuries were caused in the rocket attacks.
כלי טיס תקפו מוקדם יותר היום משגר של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב יארון שבדרום לבנון, ממנו בוצעו שיגורים לעבר מרחב אביבים.
בנוסף, מטוסי קרב תקפו מוקדם יותר היום מחסן אמצעי לחימה במרחב רמיה, לצד מבנה צבאי במרחב חולא ותשתית טרור במרחב עיתרון>> pic.twitter.com/UBHRq3yCkS
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 14, 2024
Barclays suspends sponsorship of UK festivals after musicians decry bank’s Israel links
File - The Barclays Bank logo is seen on a sign outside a branch of the bank in Bracknell town center on January 10, 2024. (Adrian Dennis/AFP)
Barclays says it has suspended its sponsorship of several leading UK music festivals, after an artists-led backlash at the bank’s provision of financial services to defense companies supplying Israel.
The British bank reveals it was asked by US entertainment giant Live Nation to “suspend participation” in its remaining 2024 festivals, which include this weekend’s Download event in central England.
Other high-profile festivals impacted include the Isle of Wight Festival later this month — set to be headlined by Green Day, The Pet Shop Boys and The Prodigy — and July’s Latitude Festival.
Barclaycard’s branding had reportedly disappeared Friday from the events’ websites. This comes after protests and boycott threats from bands and fans over Barclay’s links to defense firms which supply Israel, leading to accusations the bank was “complicit in the genocide in Gaza.”
Several bands, including crossover thrash metal outfit Pest Control, had already announced they were pulling out of Download and staging a benefit concert for Palestinians instead.
Live Nation stated that “Following discussion with artists, we have agreed with Barclays that they will step back from sponsorship of our festivals.”
A Barclays spokesperson confirms the move, saying the bank “was asked and has agreed to suspend participation in the remaining Live Nation festivals in 2024.”
“The protestors’ agenda is to have Barclays debank defense companies which is a sector we remain committed to as an essential part of keeping this country and our allies safe,” its statement adds.
It notes that Barclays bank branches have been repeatedly vandalized and staff intimidated, in incidents which pro-Palestinian activists have claimed responsibility for.
“The only thing that this small group of activists will achieve is to weaken essential support for cultural events enjoyed by millions,” the Barclays spokesperson adds.
“It is time that leaders across politics, business, academia and the arts stand united against this.”
Bands Boycott Barclays, a collective of musicians and industry professionals which has spearheaded the backlash, hails the suspension, calling the move “a historic victory for the Palestinian-led global BDS movement.”
Islamic Jihad claims rocket attack on Sderot area; no injuries or damage
Two rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip toward the Sderot area a short while ago, setting off sirens in the Nir Am shooting range.
According to the IDF, both rockets struck open areas, causing no injuries or damage.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
Rocket sirens sound in border town of Metula
Incoming rocket sirens sound in the northern community of Metula, the latest alert to be activated this evening in a town near the Lebanon border.
After rescue op, freed hostage urges Israelis to attend Tel Aviv rally calling for deal
Freed hostage Andrey Kozlov speaks in a video released on June 14, 2024. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Six days after being rescued from Hamas captivity, freed hostage Andrey Kozlov calls on Israelis to attend the weekly demonstration in Tel Aviv tomorrow evening urging the release of the remaining hostages.
“I am already in Israel, at home, but lots of hostages are still there in Gaza,” Kozlov says in an English-language video statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. “I saw a lot of rallies on Saturday and it gave me a lot of hope.”
“I ask you to come and support families and hostages.”
פחות משבוע אחרי שחולץ משבי חמאס: אנדריי קוזלוב קורא לציבור להגיע מחר לכיכר החטופים ולהשתתף בעצרת התמיכה במשפחות החטופים – "ראיתי עצרות רבות שנערכו בשבתות וזה נתן לי הרבה תקווה"@AnnaPines_ pic.twitter.com/vCHu1QPQ6a
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 14, 2024
IDF video shows troops securing extraction point during hostage rescue in Gaza
The IDF releases footage from last weekend showing troops of the Paratroopers Brigade’s reconnaissance unit operating near central Gaza’s Nuseirat, as rescued Israeli hostages and special forces were transferred to armored vehicles.
The video shows the paratroopers arriving at an area where the Yamam and Shin Bet officers got stuck with the rescued hostages, and securing it.
The special forces, including fatally wounded Yamam officer Ch. Insp. Arnon Zmora, and the hostages were then extracted in armored vehicles and taken to the Netzarim Corridor area, from where they were airlifted to a hospital in Israel.
UKMTO says Greek cargo ship abandoned after being attacked by Yemen’s Houthis
CAIRO — The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) says the crew of the Tutor coal carrier has been evacuated by military authorities, referring to an incident that took place 66 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s Hodeidah on June 12.
The Greek-owned cargo ship “was abandoned and was drifting in vicinity of its last reported position,” UKMTO adds in an advisory note.
Biden adviser to visit Israel next week in bid to prevent war with Hezbollah — report
Senior Advisor to US President Joe Biden Amos Hochstein in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 11, 2024 (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
WASHINGTON — A senior adviser to US President Joe Biden, Amos Hochstein, will arrive in Israel on Monday to try to prevent a recent escalation between Israel and Hezbollah from turning into an all-out war, Axios reports, citing two unidentified Israeli officials.
Senior Hezbollah figure says ramped-up attacks show Israel the cost of all-out war
A large fire sparked by a Hezbollah rocket attack burns near Kibbutz Kfar Szold in northern Israel on June 14, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)
BEIRUT — A senior official with the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah says its intensified attacks along Israel’s northern border will make it difficult for Israel to stage an all-out war on Lebanon because it knows the conflict will be costly.
The attacks are also pressuring Israel to end the war in the Gaza Strip, says Sheikh Ali Daamoush in a sermon during Friday prayers.
Shin Bet photos show preparations for hostage rescue mission, including makeup room
A handout photo released by the Shin Bet on June 14, 2024, shows a makeup room that the security service said was used as part of preparations for Operation Arnon. (Shin Bet)
The Shin Bet security agency publishes an image showing a makeup room during preparations for the hostage rescue mission in central Gaza’s Nuseirat last weekend.
A report by the Saudi-owned Asharq outlet last week quoted local residents saying that a special forces unit, including women, entered Nuseirat in disguise.
Forces of the police’s elite Yamam counter-terrorism unit and Shin Bet agents rescued the four hostages from two buildings in Nuseirat, as the IDF provided support for the mission.
Another image released by the Shin Bet shows a member of the security agency speaking with agency chief Ronen Bar, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai, head of the Operations Directorate Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk, head of the Intelligence Directorate Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, and IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, just before the operation began.
A handout photo released by the Shin Bet on June 14, 2024, shows agency chief Ronen Bar, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai, head of the Operations Directorate Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk, head of the Intelligence Directorate Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, and IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, before the start of Operation Arnon on June 8, 2024. (Shin Bet)
France ‘surprised’ by Israeli divisions over its northern de-escalation proposal
After a very public spat between the Defense and Foreign ministries over France’s stance toward Israel’s war on Hamas, a French official says that “we were surprised to read diverging statements from Israeli authorities on France’s efforts toward de-escalation in the north.”
“We remain ready to work with all relevant actors, including Israel and the United States, to that end,” says the official.
The official adds that his country “has shared Israel’s pain and grief since the October 7 barbaric terrorist attacks.” Forty-six French citizens were killed in the attacks, including two hostages. Another two French citizens are still being held in Gaza.
“France calls once again on Hamas to release all remaining hostages and reaffirms its strong commitment to Israel’s security,” says the official.
G7 leaders to say Gaza operations of UNRWA, other UN agencies must go unhindered
Damaged headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza City on February 15, 2024, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. (AFP)
BARI, Italy — G7 leaders say the UN Palestinian refugee agency must be allowed to work unhindered in Gaza, in the draft of an end-of-summit statement seen by AFP.
“We agree it is critical that UNRWA and other UN organizations and agencies’ distribution networks be fully able to deliver aid to those who need it most, fulfilling their mandate effectively,” the Group of Seven nations says.
Soldier moderately hurt after being hit by car in West Bank; terror not suspected
This handout photo shows emergency personnel near the Rantis checkpoint in the West Bank after an IDF soldier was struck by a car, June 14, 2024. (Magen David Adom)
An IDF soldier was injured after being hit by a vehicle near the Rantis checkpoint in the West Bank, the military and medics say.
The soldier, aged 33, was taken to a hospital in good-to-moderate condition, the Magen David Adom ambulance service says.
The IDF says it has launched a pursuit for the suspect who fled the scene.
According to a military source, the incident is not believed to be a terror attack.
Soldier in serious condition after suffering heatstroke during training
An IDF soldier is listed in serious condition after suffering from heatstroke during a routine exercise at a training base this morning, the military says.
Another soldier was also hospitalized due to the heat, and he is listed in good condition, the IDF adds.
Temperatures in Israel reached highs of around 37°C (98°F) in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem today, with Eilat at 49°C (120°F)
Foreign Ministry defends France after Gallant’s ‘incorrect and inappropriate’ attack
Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz, right, shakes hands with his French counterpart Stephane Sejourne as they pose for a picture before a meeting in Jerusalem, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
A rare public spat opens up between leading Israeli ministries, as senior Foreign Ministry officials denounce an attack on France by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
“We disapprove of Defense Minister Gallant’s attacks on France,” say the diplomats in a statement.
“Beyond the existing disagreements between Israel and France, the statements against France are incorrect and inappropriate,” they say.
Earlier today, Gallant rejected joining a trilateral framework proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron to defuse escalations on Israel’s northern border.
“As we fight a just war, defending our people, France has adopted hostile policies against Israel,” said Gallant. “In doing so, France ignores the atrocities committed by Hamas against Israeli children, women and men.”
French authorities last month banned Israeli defense firms from exhibiting at one of the world’s largest defense fairs.
The Foreign Ministry points out that France took “an active role” in defending Israel against Iran’s drone and missile attack in April.
“From the start of the war,” the diplomats say, “France has taken a clear line of denunciation and sanctions against Hamas, and takes an aggressive line in everything having to do with sanctions in the EU against Iran and its missile and drone project, and was a partner in the IAEA Board of Governors decision to advance a sanctions process against Iran’s nuclear program.”
The Foreign Ministry adds that French authorities are vigorously fighting antisemitism and protecting Jews there.
“The Foreign Ministry will continue to fight to protect Israel’s interests on the northern border with all the relevant players,” the diplomats finish pointedly.
US to sanction far-right Israeli group behind attacks on aid convoys en route to Gaza
Activists blocking the Nitzana goods crossing are forcibly removed by police during protests against the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza by Israel, April 11, 2024. (Courtesy Tzav 9)
The Biden administration will later today announce sanctions against a far-right Israeli group that has been behind attacks on humanitarian aid convoys en route to Gaza, a US official confirms to The Times of Israel.
The sanctions will target Tsav 9, a group with ties to Israeli army reservists and Israeli settlers over activities including blocking, harassing and damaging aid shipments.
The financial sanctions will be imposed under an executive order on West Bank violence Biden signed in February, which was previously used to impose financial on violent settlers involved in attacks on Palestinians and Israeli peace activists. Today will be the fourth batch of sanctions issued under the executive order.
“We’re using the authority to sanction an ever-broadening selection of actors, targeting individuals and entities that threaten the peace, security and stability of the West Bank regardless of religion, ethnicity or location,” Aaron Forsberg, director of the State Department’s office of sanctions policy and implementation, tells Reuters.
On May 13, members of Tsav 9 looted and then set fire to two aid trucks near the West Bank city of Hebron.
Tsav 9 — Hebrew for Order 9, a reference to call-up orders for Israeli military reservists — said after the May 13 incident it acted to stop supplies from reaching Hamas and accused the Israeli government of giving “gifts” to the terror group.
An aid convoy heading to the Gaza Strip that was attacked by protesters in the Hebron Hills region, May 13, 2023. (Video screenshot; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
“For months, individuals from Tzav 9 have repeatedly sought to thwart the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, including by blocking roads, sometimes violently, along their route from Jordan to Gaza, including transiting the West Bank,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says in a statement seen by Reuters.
“They also have damaged aid trucks and dumped life-saving humanitarian aid onto the road.”
The move freezes any assets the group holds under US jurisdiction and bars Americans from dealing with it.
Palestinians and human rights groups have long accused the Israeli military and police of deliberately failing to intervene when settlers attack Palestinians in the West Bank.
Israel arrested four of those involved in the May 13 attack, including a minor, according to lawyers. However, there have been no reports of indictments filed.
“We’ll continue to use all tools at our disposal to promote accountability for those who attempt to undertake or perpetrate such heinous acts,” Forsberg says. “We have raised this at all levels of the government of Israel and we expect that Israeli authorities will do the same.”
Right-wing activists look at damaged trucks that were carrying humanitarian aid supplies on the Israeli side of the Tarqumiyah crossing with the West Bank on May 13, 2024, after the trucks had been vandalized by other activists to protest against aid being sent to Gaza while Israeli hostages are being held there by terror groups. (Oren Ziv/AFP)
Deliberations of the measure against Tzav 9 were first reported last month in The Times of Israel.
The convoy attacks in the West Bank largely started in April when Israel agreed to expand the aid route from Jordan to ensure that more assistance gets into Gaza.
Individual members of the Israeli security forces are believed to be tipping off the far-right activists regarding the location of the aid trucks once they’re en route to Gaza, enabling their interception by those who have blocked the convoys from proceeding, and looting their contents.
Early on in the war, when the attacks were happening regularly near Israel’s Kerem Shalom and Nitzana crossings into Gaza, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir signaled to police, which are under his jurisdiction, to take a lax approach to the crackdown, an Israeli official said.
IDF says Hezbollah fired 35 rockets in barrage on Kiryat Shmona and neighboring town
The IDF says there were 35 rockets fired in this morning’s barrage from Lebanon on Kiryat Shmona and the nearby community of Kfar Szold.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack.
Several of the rockets were intercepted, the IDF says, while others impacted the area, causing damage in Kiryat Shmona and sparking a fire near Kfar Szold.
In response, fighter jets hit several sites belonging to the terror group in Odaisseh and Kafr Kila, the military says. The IDF says it also shelled the launch sites with artillery.
מטוסי קרב תקפו מוקדם יותר היום תשתיות טרור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים אל עדייסא וכפר כילא שבדרום לבנון>> pic.twitter.com/1K0JPQHZCR
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 14, 2024
Philippines: Rescue underway for crew of Greek-owned vessel hit by Houthis; one sailor still missing
MANILA/ATHENS — The Philippines says the crew of a Greek-owned vessel that was damaged in an attack by Yemeni Houthi rebels in the Red Sea should be rescued within the day although one sailor is still missing.
The attack near the Yemeni port of Hodeidah on Wednesday caused severe flooding and damage to the engine room and left the Tutor, a Liberia-flagged coal carrier, unable to maneuver. It was taking in water and was in need of rescue.
The Iran-aligned Houthis have taken responsibility for the boat and missile attack on the Tutor. The Houthis have made repeated drone and missile strikes on ships in the shipping channels of the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden since November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.
The 22 crew members on board are mostly Filipino, Hans Cacdac, the Philippines Department of Migrant Workers Secretary, tells a press conference in Manila.
“Rescue is forthcoming within the day,” he says, adding that he can not disclose further information for security reasons.
Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. says the country’s authorities are coordinating with the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) to take the crew members to Djibouti and bring them back home.
PANOORIN: Pahayag ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. kaugnay sa lagay ng mga Filipino seafarer na nakasakay sa barkong MV Tutor.
Matatandang inatake ng Houthi rebels ang naturang barko nitong Miyerkoles, Hunyo 12. (1/2) | via Kenneth Paciente pic.twitter.com/rsOKsLGJFx
— PTVph (@PTVph) June 14, 2024
The Houthi campaign in the Red Sea region has disrupted global shipping, cascading delays and costs through supply chains. The US-designated terror organization has sunk one ship, seized another vessel and killed three seafarers in separate attacks.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
WATCH: Hamas smashed holes in walls of Gaza homes for terror operatives to move between buildings
This handout image released by the IDF on June 14, 2024, shows a hole in a wall of a home in southern Gaza's Rafah, used by Hamas operatives to move between buildings. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Israeli military releases footage showing how Hamas smashed holes in walls of homes in southern Gaza’s Rafah, to allow terror operatives to move between buildings to fight IDF troops.
The IDF says troops of the Nahal Brigade found several such holes in dense neighborhoods of Rafah.
The Nahal troops have also killed numerous gunmen and located many tunnel shafts and weapons in the Rafah area, the military says.
Nahal forces also directed an airstrike on a booby-trapped building in the area. The military says it identified secondary blasts after the building was hit by a fighter jet, indicating explosives were hidden there.
Gallant says Israel won’t join Macron’s trilateral task force to defuse Hezbollah tensions
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant delivers a statement to the press at the Kirya base in Tel Aviv, May 15, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant rules out joining an initiative promoted by French President Emmanuel Macron in which France, the United States and Israel would form a contact group to work on defusing escalating tensions with Hezbollah on the northern border.
“As we fight a just war, defending our people, France has adopted hostile policies against Israel,” Gallant says in a statement. “In doing so, France ignores the atrocities committed by Hamas against Israeli children, women and men.”
“Israel will not be a party to the trilateral framework proposed by France,” he writes.
His statement comes after Macron yesterday announced that the three countries had agreed to work together to step up efforts to push forward a roadmap presented by Paris earlier this year to de-escalate the conflict, which has been building since Hamas’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel.
Amid growing calls to limit arms sales to the IDF and divest from Israeli defense companies on the backdrop of the ongoing war in Gaza, French authorities last month banned Israeli defense firms from exhibiting at one of the world’s largest defense fairs.
That decision came days after an Israeli strike targeting two top Hamas terrorists in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah sparked a fire in a complex housing displaced Palestinians, killing dozens of civilians and triggering international outrage and protests in France.
Hundreds gather for annual ‘SlutWalk’ in Jerusalem in protest of rape culture
Israelis take part in the annual SlutWalk protest in central Jerusalem, on June 14, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Hundreds of young Israelis, some wearing just bras and shorts, stage a “SlutWalk” in central Jerusalem to protest rape culture and victim blaming and defend women’s right to dress as they want without being assaulted.
There are no reports of violence at the annual event, now in its 12th year.
The format of the event was changed this year given the ongoing war in Gaza, with a gathering in Jerusalem’s Zion Square followed by a gathering at a local bar.
מחאת "צעדת המופקרות" בכיכר ציון בירושלים.
השנה בלי צעדה אבל עם קריאות ושלטים נגד אלימות מינית, האשמת הקורבן והתעלמות המשטרה והממשלה מאלימות כלפי נשים, כך לדברי המארגנות.
הן התעקשו לקיים את האירוע לנוכח האלימות שננקטה כלפי נשים במלחמה בעוד אלימות בבתים נמשכת pic.twitter.com/z2defH3iDb— vered pelman (@VeredPelman) June 14, 2024
Unlike liberal Tel Aviv, Jerusalem is conservative and home to religiously observant Jews, Muslims and Christians.
In March 2015, a girl was killed and six other people wounded when an ultra-Orthodox Jew attacked a Gay Pride parade in the Holy City.
The SlutWalk movement was sparked in Canada in 2011 after a police officer caused outrage during a speech to university students by stating that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.”
Agencies contributed to this report.
Air defenses downed 11 of 16 explosive-laden drones fired by Hezbollah in past 72 hours — IDF
In the past 72 hours, Hezbollah launched 16 explosive-laden drones from Lebanon at Israel, the military says.
According to the IDF, 11 of the drones were shot down by air defenses.
It publishes footage of some of the interceptions.
במהלך 72 השעות האחרונות, ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה שיגר 16 כלי טיס עוינים לעבר שטח ישראל.
מתוכם, מערכות ההגנה האווירית ומטוסי הקרב יירטו 11 כלי טיס עוינים בהצלחה>> pic.twitter.com/W7pE6y8zvM— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 14, 2024
Cabinet to discuss extending law raising exemption age for IDF reservists on Sunday
Israeli reserve soldiers train with their unit in urban warfare in northern Golan Heights, on March 27, 2024. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
The cabinet is set to discuss extending an emergency bill delaying retirement for IDF reservists on Sunday, less than a week after the coalition voted to apply “continuity” to a bill from the previous Knesset lowering the current age of exemption from mandatory service for Haredi yeshiva students.
The proposal, a Defense Ministry-backed “draft Security Service Law,” calls to extend a temporary measure raising the exemption age for reserve military service from 40 to 41 for enlisted soldiers and from 45 to 46 for officers until the end of the year.
Specialists such as doctors and air crews will be required to continue serving until they reach 50, instead of 49.
The current measure, which was passed by the Knesset late last year, is set to expire at the end of the month.
According to the draft extension prepared by the Defense Ministry, due to “a very high volume of deaths and injuries as a result of the war, the IDF still needs a significant amount of manpower” and “the extension of the temporary order is required, at this stage, to allow the IDF to keep in service the reserve officers who cannot be replaced” without harming their units’ operational capabilities.
“How much can we continue to walk all over the reservists who have put themselves in danger for us for over 200 days this year?” asks National Unity MK Matan Kahane. “How detached can you be? On Sunday, the government is going to approve a law to extend reserve service and raise the exemption age for reserve duty. Just last week the coalition voted in favor of a law exempting our ultra-Orthodox brothers from military service.”
US military considering taking down Gaza aid pier amid weather concerns — report
The image provided by US Central Command shows American and Israeli forces placing the Trident Pier on the coast of Gaza Strip on May 16, 2024. (US Central Command via AP)
The US military is reportedly considering temporarily dismantling its floating pier off the coast of Gaza amid concerns over sea conditions, weeks after it was damaged by bad weather.
CNN cites US officials as saying a decision on whether to move the pier to the Israeli port of Ashdod will be made today.
The US military-built pier, designed to carry aid into Gaza by boat amid the ongoing war, was reconnected to the beach in the Strip last week after it broke apart in storms and rough seas.
The section that connects to the beach in Gaza, the causeway, was rebuilt nearly two weeks after heavy storms damaged it and abruptly halted what had already been a troubled delivery route.
Agencies contributed to this report.
IDF won’t stop until goals are reached, Southern Command chief tells troops in Rafah
Chief of the IDF Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, is seen in southern Gaza's Rafah on June 12, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The chief of the IDF Southern Command Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman while visiting troops in southern Gaza’s Rafah this week, says the military will not stop until its objectives are achieved in the Strip.
“The plan is clear going forward. With the quality of the forces and the quality of the commanders here, we continue to move forward until we achieve our goals,” Finkelman says in a video released by the army, from the general’s visit to Rafah on Wednesday.
Finkelman held an assessment with the commander of the 162nd Division, Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen, and the commanders of the brigades operating in the city in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF adds.
Israel-born Dutch senator fails security check, loses ministerial appointment
Gidi Markuszower (Robin van Lonkhuijsen/via JTA)
Following a classified report by the Dutch secret service, the Israel-born senator Gidi Markuszower will not be appointed cabinet minister, the leader of the Netherlands’ largest political party says.
“The content of the report about Gidi Markuszower was the reason for me to end his candidacy,” Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom, writes on X. Lawmaker Marjolein Faber is replacing Markuszower as his Party for Freedom’s candidate for immigration and asylum minister, Wilders says.
Markuszower, who in 2010 pulled out of an election race following a report by the AIVD secret service about his alleged contacts with an unnamed foreign intelligence service, is not immediately responding to a request for comment on the subject. Dutch media report the AIVD security service flagged Markuszower in a security screening following his candidacy.
Markuszower, 46, an anti-immigration, pro-Israel firebrand, is the subject of intense media coverage in the Netherlands, where some prominent journalists suggest he is a foreign agent and criminal. His appointment as senator in 2017 passed without objections by the AIVD, and he is expected to continue serving in that role.
Hezbollah claims responsibility for firing dozens of rockets at Kiryat Shmona area
Hezbollah claims responsibility for launching dozens of Katyusha and Falaq rockets at the northern city of Kiryat Shmona and the nearby town of Kfar Szold.
In a statement, the terror group says the attack is a response to a deadly IDF strike in southern Lebanon’s Jannata last night, in which at least two civilians were reportedly killed.
The IDF has not yet commented on the strike.
Mother of captive soldier: Noa Argamani told us female hostages were held as slaves in luxury villa
Three girls hold signs calling for the return of hostage Liri Albag from Gaza as people attend 24-hour rally marking 100 days since the October 7 Hamas onslaught, at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, on January 14, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
The mother of Liri Albag, a 19-year-old female soldier abducted on October 7, shares information about her daughter that she received from Noa Argamani, who was rescued from captivity in Gaza last week.
“Noa said that they were slaves, and so were the [female soldiers], including Liri,” Shira Albag says in a statement. “They cleaned the yard, did dishes and prepared food that they were not allowed to eat.”
She says her daughter was held in a luxury villa and was only allowed to shower after a month in captivity. After 40 days, according to Shira Albag, Liri was moved into Hamas’s network of underground tunnels.
“There it’s much worse, there’s no fresh water, and not much food,” she says, adding that the hostages have no clean clothes and no way to wash and dry their garments, “not even underwear.”
A still from footage showing the capture and abduction of Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniela Gilboa and Naama Levy at the Nahal Oz base on October 7, 2023. (The Hostages Families Forum)
She says that hostages released in November in a weeklong truce had said the female hostages “cried on the 50th day that they miss their mothers.”
“I don’t want to imagine what they’re going through now,” she adds.
A video taken by Hamas terrorists’ body cameras of the abduction of five female soldiers from the Nahal Oz base on October 7, including Albag, was released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum last month.
All five are still held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
Property in Kiryat Shmona damaged in rocket barrage from Lebanon; no injuries reported — police
Police say damage was caused to a property in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, following a rocket barrage launched from Lebanon.
It says there are no reports of casualties.
The IDF has not yet commented on the attack.
A video posted to social media shows multiple interceptions over the northern city.
קרית שמונה כעת pic.twitter.com/XTOfx2N4Oy
— לירי בורק שביט (@lirishavit) June 14, 2024
Rocket alert sirens sounding again in northern border communities
Rocket alert sirens are sounding again in a number of northern border communities, warning of incoming rocket fire.
Sirens are sounding in largely evacuated towns and cities including HaGoshrim, Misgav Am, Kfar Giladi, Tel Hai, Kiryat Shmona and Metula.
???? Large Red Alert [11:00:49] – 11 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — HaGoshrim, Misgav Am, Kfar Giladi, Shear Yeshuv, Kfar Szold, Tel Hai, Kiryat Shmona, Metulla, Ghajar#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/xiC5NGhTIi
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) June 14, 2024
IAF investigating drone crash in northern Israel yesterday due to ‘technical fault’
An Israeli Air Force drone crashed yesterday in the Jezreel Valley region in northern Israel, the military says.
The IDF says the unmanned aerial vehicle fell out of the sky due to a “technical fault.”
The military adds that troops collected the remains of the UAV, and that the IAF is investigating the incident.
Rescued hostage’s mother: Almog Meir Jan was held in the home of wealthy Gazans, ‘he didn’t starve’
Rescued hostage Almog Meir Jan is reunited with his family at Sheba Medical Center, June 8, 2024. (IDF)
Rescued hostage Almog Meir Jan’s mother Orit Meir is quoted as saying that her son was held in the home of wealthy Gazans during his eight months of captivity.
“He got food once or twice a day, not always tasty, not healthy – but he didn’t starve,” she is quoted as saying by the Ynet news site.
Meir Jan was rescued from Gaza along with Andrey Kozlov, Shlomi Ziv, and Noa Argamani last weekend from in a heroic operation by Israeli forces.
Rescued hostage Almog Meir Jan raises his hands in celebration as he is escorted from an IDF helicopter on arrival at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, June 8, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
The rescued hostage’s mother also points out that her son was held with Kozlov and Ziv for the entirety of his captivity: “He was not alone.”
Reports this week since the rescue have detailed the psychological torture the hostages endured since they were kidnapped on October 7, including being told by guards that Israel did not care about them at all, or that their loved ones had deserted them.
“He thought that I had moved on with my life, he did not know that I fought for him and the other hostages,” Orit Meir says.
Meir Jan, 21, Kozlov, 27, Ziv, 40 and Argamani, 26, were abducted from the Supernova music festival near the Re’im kibbutz on the morning of October 7, when some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages in a murderous rampage in southern Israel.
Anti-tank missiles from Lebanon spark fire in two houses, old bus in northern border town
A fire is raging in Metula after two houses and an old bus being used as a residential unit caught fire when terrorists in Lebanon fired anti-tank missiles at the northern border town a short while ago.
There are no reports of injuries in the attack.
Posts on social media show the blaze, with Hebrew media reporting that six missiles were fired in the barrage.
המטח למטולה: שישה טילי נ"ט שוגרו ושני בתים נפגעו. אוטובוס ישן ששימש למגורים עלה באש, והתפשטה שריפה במרחב שלו@rubih67 pic.twitter.com/SxKw6eyYjP
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 14, 2024
Report: US intel for hostage rescue was secondary to Israeli information gathered in Gaza before operation
Hostages Almog Meir Jan and Andrey Kozlov are seen being rescued by forces of the Yamam unit, in central Gaza's Nuseirat, June 8, 2024. (Israel Police)
Intelligence provided by the United States that helped plan last week’s successful rescue of four hostages held by Hamas in Gaza was secondary to information gathered by Israeli operatives in Gaza before the raid, the Washington Post reports.
The US provided overhead imagery to help Israel plan the daring daylight rescue, according to American and Israeli officials quoted in the report.
Intelligence provided by the US can only be used for locating Israeli hostages held by terror groups in Gaza since October 7, including eight Americans, along with the Hamas leadership, according to an agreement with the Biden administration. The Iran-backed group is designated a terror organization by the US.
The report also quotes American officials as saying that members of the US elite operations force JSOC, which has “deep experience in hostage rescues,” have been working closely with counterparts in Israel since Hamas terrorists murdered some 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 to Gaza, mostly civilians, on October 7.
The officials are quoted as saying that back in October, plans were made — but ultimately not executed — for JSOC forces to deploy in Gaza to rescue US citizens held by Hamas.
“If we managed to unilaterally get information that we could act on, and we thought we could actually get US people out alive, we could act, but there was genuinely very little information specifically about US hostages,” says one of the US officials quoted by the Washington Post.
The report points to the importance — and dearth — of human intelligence from within Gaza, which is gradually increasing as the war continues, including from interrogating detained Hamas operatives and scouring documents and digital files discovered during ongoing maneuvers in the Strip.
Illustrative: IDF soldiers inside a Hamas data center in a tunnel under a compound of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) in Gaza City, February 8, 2024. (Jack Guez/AFP)
Intelligence gleaned from these sources was used in Saturday’s hostage rescue operation, along with in previous operations to recover the bodies of hostages, the Washington Post reports.
It is believed that 116 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released prior to that. Seven hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 19 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military.
The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 41 of those still held by Hamas, citing new intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.
One more person is listed as missing since October 7, and their fate is still unknown.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
Anti-tank missiles fired at northern community from Lebanon; fire reported, no casualties
A number of anti-tank missiles are fired at the northern city of Metula from Lebanon, according to Hebrew media reports.
There are no immediate reports of casualties, though posts on social media say a building was damaged by one of the missiles, sparking a fire.
Warning sirens do not sound, as anti-tank missiles do not have a predictable trajectory. They are also fired at short range, meaning there isn’t enough time to take shelter before impact.
זו מטולה 09:00 בבוקר בעיניי לבנוני ממוצע.
פלא שהם טוענים שניצחו?פגיעת 5 טילי נ"ט.
אש ותמרות עשן והחלאות שותקים. pic.twitter.com/WK1Ty5YewC
— HolySmoke???? (@HolySmokexxxx) June 14, 2024
IDF troops locate, destroy explosives stockpiled by Hamas in Rafah
Troops operate in the Gaza Strip, in a handout photo published June 14, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Israeli military says its 162nd division is continuing operations in the Rafah area in southern Gaza, eliminating a number of terrorists and locating weapons and underground tunnel shafts.
Troops from the Nahal Brigade also found and destroyed several explosives stockpiled by Hamas, the Israel Defense Forces says in a statement.
Also in southern Gaza, Maglan commandoes called in an airstrike to down a drone they had identified moving towards them, the military adds.
In the center of the Strip, troops from the IDF’s 99th division identified a number of Hamas operatives in a building in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, calling in an airstrike, according to the statement.
The IDF says that artillery and aircraft also destroyed the sites from which several rockets were fired toward Israeli communities last night.
Over a million Muslim pilgrims begin hajj in Mecca, amid prayers for Gaza
Muslim worshippers pray around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca on June 12, 2024, ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage. (Fadel Senna/AFP)
MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AFP) – More than a million Muslim pilgrims are in Mecca for the start of the annual hajj pilgrimage, held against the grim backdrop of the ongoing war in Gaza and in exhausting summer heat.
Crowds of robed worshippers will circle the Kaaba, the black cubic structure at Mecca’s Grand Mosque, with many expressing sadness eight months into the Israel-Hamas war.
“Our brothers are dying, and we can see it with our own eyes,” a tearful 75-year-old Zahra Benizahra from Morocco tells AFP.
Belinda Elham of Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, says she will “pray every day so that what’s happening in Palestine ends.”
Saudi King Salman issued a decree earlier this week to host 1,000 pilgrims “from the families of martyrs and the wounded from the Gaza Strip,” bringing to 2,000 the number of Palestinian pilgrims to be given the special honor at this year’s hajj, the official Saudi Press Agency reports.
However, the Gulf kingdom’s minister in charge of religious pilgrimages, Tawfiq al-Rabiah, warned last week that “no political activity” will be tolerated, and it was unclear how pilgrims might express solidarity with the Palestinians.
The hajj, one of the world’s largest religious gatherings, involves a series of rituals in Mecca and its surroundings in western Saudi Arabia that take several days to complete.
Muslim worshippers walk at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca on June 11, 2024, ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage. (Fadel Senna/AFP)
One of the five pillars of Islam, it must be performed at least once by all Muslims who have the means to do so.
Last year’s hajj drew more than 1.8 million pilgrims, according to official figures, after authorities lifted pandemic-era restrictions and scrapped age limits. About 1.5 million had arrived by late Monday for this year’s hajj, according to official media.
As has been the case for several years, the gathering falls this year during the hot Saudi summer, with officials predicting average highs of 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit).
Mitigation measures this year include misting systems and heat-reflective road coverings.
A text message sent to pilgrims yesterday instructed them to “drink water regularly, more than 2 liters daily” and to “always carry an umbrella,” warning that temperatures could climb to 48 degrees Celsius.
Days after National Unity quits wartime government, poll finds Israelis prefer Gantz as PM over Netanyahu
This combination photograph created on May 30, 2024 shows (L) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on May 12, 2024, and (R) Minister Benny Gantz on May 18, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel and Miriam Alster/Flash90)
National Unity chair Benny Gantz would beat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if elections were held today, according to a new poll released days after his party’s long-anticipated withdrawal from the government.
The Maariv poll, which also comes on the backdrop of Israel’s rescue of four hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza last weekend, gave Gantz 41 percent to Netanyahu’s 35%, staying stable over the past week.
Respondents also prefer Gantz as premier over Yisrael Beytenu chair Avigdor Liberman, with 42% to 21% respectively, according to the poll.
However the gap between Netanyahu and Liberman, the poll finds, is only two percentage points, with 37% supporting the premier compared to 35% for the Yisrael Beytenu leader.
The poll shows little movement in the overall blocs, giving 52 seats to Netanyahu’s ruling coalition and 58 to the opposition. This means that if elections were held today, neither bloc would be able to form a coalition without support from the Arab parties.
Eight months into the war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel, the survey finds that an overwhelming majority of Israelis believe the country has failed in global PR around the ongoing conflict.
The Maariv poll was conducted yesterday by Panel4All and has a 4.4% margin of error.
Rocket alert sirens sounding in northern city of Kiryat Shmona
Rocket alert sirens are sounding in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, warning of incoming rocket fire.
The sirens follow a day of intensified attacks on the northern border with Lebanon yesterday, with Hezbollah launching a barrage of rockets and a swarm of explosive-laden drones at Israel’s north, setting off sirens in numerous communities, sparking fires and injuring two people.
The Lebanon-based terror group says the attacks came in response to the killing of a senior commander in an Israeli airstrike earlier in the week.
Red Alert [07:08:34] – 1 Alert:
• Confrontation Line — Kiryat Shmona#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/yvkoggGogj
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) June 14, 2024
Rocket sirens sound in north
Rocket alarms are sounding in northern Israel, following a brief overnight lull in apparent attacks.
Sirens are triggered in Dishon, Ramot Naftali, Malkiyeh, Yiftah, and the Mevo’ot Hermon government zone in the southern portion of the Galilee panhandle.
Iraqi group claims drone attack on Ramat David air base
An Iran-backed militia in Iraq says it launched drones at the Ramat David air base in northern Israel.
There are no reports of drone attacks on the base or warning sirens reported by the Israel Defense Forces Homefront Command.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq makes the claim, an umbrella group of militias allied with Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The group claims attacks on Israeli targets on a near-nightly basis, though actual attacks are much rarer.
Ohio county drops bid to divest from Israel bonds after warning from state AG
Ohio’s Cuyahoga County will no longer consider a resolution seeking to divest from its ownership of $16 million worth of State of Israel Bonds, after the state’s attorney general warned the move could violate Ohio law.
Council Vice President Cheryl Stephens and Councilman Patrick Kelly say they are withdrawing their resolution, which had touched off an impassioned debate within the council and the larger Cleveland metro area, according to Cleveland.com.
However, the pair are continuing to urge county Treasurer Brad Cromes to drop all foreign investments, as the resolution had called for, “until a thorough review of the policy can be conducted,” they say in a letter to Cromes and county executive Chris Ronayne.
Earlier Thursday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost warned in a letter to Ronayne that approving the resolution would violate a 2016 law prohibiting boycotts of Israel.
Ohio holds over $260 million in Israel Bonds, making it among the largest public holders of the asset in the US.
According to Cleveland.com, divesture would cost the county some $95,000.
US says it destroyed Houthi missiles, drones over Red Sea
The US military says it destroyed two Houthi patrol boats, one uncrewed surface vessel and one drone over the Red Sea over the last 24 hours.
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who control most areas of Yemen, launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen into the Red Sea, the US Central Command says in a statement, adding there was no damage or injuries from those missiles.
June 13 U.S. Central Command Update
In the past 24 hours, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed one air defense sensor in a Houthi controlled area of Yemen.
Then, USCENTCOM forces successfully destroyed one Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed surface… pic.twitter.com/cnbPOQzcyT— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) June 14, 2024
It adds that Polish-operated bulk cargo carrier M/V Verbena, flying under a Palauan flag, was hit for a second time. Authorities earlier reported that a sailor was seriously injured in a missile strike on the ship.
“The Houthis claim to be acting on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza and yet they are targeting and threatening the lives of third country nationals who have nothing to do with the conflict in Gaza,” CentCom says.
UN leads calls for release of staffers detained by Houthis over alleged spy ring
The heads of six UN agencies and three international humanitarian organizations are issuing a joint appeal to Yemen’s Houthi rebels for the immediate release of 17 members of their staff who were recently detained along with many others also being held by the Iranian-backed group.
Their appeal is echoed by a statement from several dozen nations and the European Union ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Yemen where UN special envoy Hans Grundberg said the Houthis were holding all those detained in the crackdown incommunicado.
The statement calls their detentions “unprecedented — not only in Yemen but globally.”
They asked the Houthis to confirm the exact whereabouts of those detained and for immediate access, citing international humanitarian law which requires all parties to armed conflict to respect and protect humanitarian personnel.
“The targeting of humanitarian, human rights, and development workers in Yemen must stop,” the joint statement says. “All those detained must be immediately released.”
The Houthis said Monday they had arrested members of an “American-Israeli spy network,” days after detaining the staffers from the UN and aid organizations.
Maj. Gen. Abdulhakim al-Khayewani, head of the Houthis’ intelligence agency, announced the arrests, saying the spy network had first operated out of the US Embassy in the capital Sanaa. After it was closed in 2015 following the Houthi takeover of Sanaa and northern Yemen, he said, they continued “their subversive agenda under the cover of international and UN organizations.”
Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, strongly condemns the abuse and detention of current and former USAID staff as well as UN and NGO employees and demanded their immediate release,
“These detentions are an affront both to diplomatic norms and to the dedication the individuals have shown to supporting the people of Yemen,” she says in a statement. “The Houthis’ attempts to spread disinformation regarding the roles of USAID, the US government, the UN, and other international organizations working to improve the lives of the Yemeni people through the use of forced and fraudulent `confessions’ is deplorable.”
Top Hamas official: Nobody has any clue how many hostages still alive
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan speaks during a rally organized by Lebanon's Hezbollah terror group to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, in the southern suburb of Beirut, May 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan says nobody knows how many of the 116 remaining hostages kidnapped on October 7 are still alive.
“I don’t have any idea about that,” the Beirut-based terror official tells CNN. “No one has an idea about this.”
He also blames Israel for the mental state of four hostages recently rescued, after a doctor said they were subject to constant physical and emotional abuse while in captivity.
“I believe if they have mental problem, this is because of what Israel have done in Gaza,” he says, adding the wild claim that the abductees looked better coming out of Gaza than when they were kidnapped.
Rescued hostage Almog Meir Jan raises his hands in celebration as he is escorted from an IDF helicopter on arrival at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, June 8, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Hamdan defends the group’s rejection of truce terms, saying Israel needs to agree to a full ceasefire before any negotiations on freeing hostages.
Hamas needs “a clear position from Israel to accept the ceasefire, a complete withdrawal from Gaza, and let the Palestinians to determine their future by themselves, the reconstruction, the (lifting) of the siege … and we are ready to talk about a fair deal about the prisoners exchange,” he is quoted saying.
He also rejects a recent Wall Street Journal report that claimed Hamas’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar welcomed Gazan civilian deaths as a “necessary sacrifice.”
“It was fake messages done by someone who is not Palestinian and (it) was sent (to the) Wall Street Journal as part of the pressure against Hamas and provoking the people against the leader,” CNN quotes him saying. The network adds that no evidence was given.
Cal State LA president decries vandalism, assaults after protesters trash building
A student protester waves a Palestinian flag atop turned over utility carts at California State University, Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. (Keith Birmingham/The Orange County Register via AP)
The campus president of California State University, Los Angeles says three employees and a student were assaulted during the takeover of an administration building by pro-Palestinian protesters Wednesday, who left behind significant damage.
“I am saddened, and I am angry,” says Berenecea Johnson Eanes in a statement to the school community. “Campus community: Know that we will recover from this, but also know that I am committed to doing everything we can to ensure this will never be allowed to repeat. I cannot and would not protect anyone who is directly identified as having participated in last night’s illegal activities from being held accountable.”
Eanes said she has engaged with protesters who have occupied the campus encampment for some 40 days.
“So long as the encampment remained non-violent, I was committed that the university would continue to talk,” the president wrote. But in the wake of destruction and theft that occurred Wednesday, a line was crossed and “those in the encampment must leave.”
No arrests or injuries were reported in the takeover, which ended early Thursday.
After a takeover of a Cal State L.A. building by pro-Palestinian activists, who smashed windows, trashed offices and left graffiti, we're getting a first look at the damage. Why were they allowed to loot the building for hours? This morning at 6 from ABC7 https://t.co/PZa2qKHM55 pic.twitter.com/yQ59veU8PP
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) June 13, 2024
Images from the scene showed graffiti on the building, furniture blocking doorways and overturned golf carts, picnic tables and umbrellas barricading the plaza out front.
Eanes said the vandalism would affect “admissions, records, accessible technology, basic needs, new student and family engagement, Dreamer resources, and educational opportunity programs. It will take time to restore all those spaces and divert significant resources that would otherwise go to academics, student services, or operations.”
The university has announced that all main campus classes and operations will be remote until further notice.
Islamic Jihad names Jenin terror leaders killed in clash with IDF
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group says two senior leaders of its Jenin branch were killed in an Israeli raid Thursday.
The Jenin Battalion, an offshoot of the group’s al-Quds Brigade armed wing, says Mohammed Jaber Shalabi and Mohammed Asri Fayyad were killed in a clash with Israeli troops in Qabatiya, just south of Jenin.
Both were members of the Jenin Brigade’s military council, it says, naming Shalabi as a close companion of Jenin Brigade’s founder Jamil al-Amouri, who was killed in a 2021 clash.
The IDF said earlier that special forces commandos had killed two “senior” Palestinian gunmen in Qabatiya during a 13-hour raid in the city. One soldier was lightly hurt in the clashes.
Several suspects were arrested in the Jenin area during the operation, and combat engineers uncovered explosive devices planted under roads, the army said.
US, allies willing to step up pressure on Iran after nuke watchdog report
The US State Department says Washington and its allies are prepared to continue to increase pressure on Iran if Tehran does not cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog.
Iran has rapidly installed extra uranium-enriching centrifuges at its Fordo site and begun setting up others, an International Etomic Energy Agency report said earlier in the day.
The State Department said the report showed that Iran aimed to continue expanding its nuclear program “in ways that have no credible peaceful purpose.”
Woman reported killed in fiery south Lebanon strike
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reports that a woman was killed in a reported Israeli strike on a home outside of Tyre in southern Lebanon.
Earlier reports on the fiery attack on a home on the outskirts of the village of Janata said at least seven people had been wounded in the strike.
???? ???????? #Breaking: Massive explosion heard across south Lebanon. Initial reports indicate an Israeli airstrike targeted a residential building in Janata, near Tyre. #Lebanon #Israel pic.twitter.com/sMDaFCKQP0
— Ali Hashem علي هاشم (@alihashem_tv) June 13, 2024
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