Fire and smoke deep within rubble hamper rescue effort at Florida tower collapse

Flames spread among rubble of collapsed Florida condo

Fire has spread amid the rubble of the collapsed condominium in South Florida, hampering rescue efforts, officials say.

The flames are deep and firefighters have not been able to find their source, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava says during a news conference.

“We’re facing very incredible difficulties with this fire,” she says. “It’s a very deep fire. It’s extremely difficult to locate the source of the fire.”

She says 159 people remain unaccounted for, two days after the collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside.

‘We continue to have hope,’ says mayor after Florida condo collapse

Rescuers still hope to find survivors in the debris of a partially collapsed building in Florida more than 48 hours after it pancaked, with scores of people feared trapped inside.

“We continue to have hope,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava tells reporters in Surfside, adding that the toll of four dead and 159 people unaccounted for in the building, which collapsed in the early hours of Thursday, has not changed.

“We’re continuing to search. We’re looking for people alive in the rubble. That is our priority and our teams have not stopped,” she says.

Israeli delegation set to travel to Cairo to convey new position on Gaza ceasefire – report

An Israeli delegation is set to meet with Egyptian mediators next week in Cairo and convey the new government’s demands regarding the ceasefire with the Hamas terror group, sources tell the London-based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper.

Egyptian sources tell the newspaper that under the new government, headed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, the delegation will bring “new developments” to be conveyed to Hamas and other Gaza-based terror groups through Egyptian mediators.

The sources say the developments are pertaining to Israel’s position on the reconstruction of Gaza following May’s round of fighting, and Jerusalem’s demand to release Israeli captives and bodies held by Hamas.

Iran’s Khamenei grants clemency to over 5,000 prisoners

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei grants clemency to more than 5,000 prisoners to mark a Shiite religious holiday, a statement on his official website says.

The statement gives no details on the identities of the 5,156 prisoners who were pardoned or had their sentences reduced.

Clemency was granted to mark last Tuesday’s anniversary of the birth of Imam Reza, one of Shiite Islam’s most revered figures.

The anniversary of the imam’s birth is one of several religious holidays where the supreme leader grants clemency to prisoners each year.

Diaspora minister: Israel ready to help Surfside community with post-trauma care

Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai says Israel is ready to help the Jewish community of Surfside with psychological support in the wake of the collapse of a residential tower in the Florida town.

“It is one of the great disasters of the United States in recent years,” Shai tells the Kan public broadcaster. “The United States does not necessarily need help from Israel, but if the community needs care for post-trauma, we have unique experience in this and we can help.”

Man whose parents are missing amid Florida tower collapse: ‘I want answers’

Families of potential victims of the Florida tower collapse have begun to voice their frustration about the painstakingly-slow search operation at the scene.

“Not enough is being done,” says Mike Salberg, who came from New York after the accident.

Five of his family members, including his parents, are unaccounted for.

“I want answers,” he says. “The families are sidelined. We’re being told that they have the best crews, but they don’t have the ability and the capacity… 40 hours later, four dead.”

Joint List MK: Palestinian family reunification law will be Ra’am’s legacy

Amid reports that a compromise is emerging to extend legislation preventing Palestinians who marry Israelis from automatically getting citizenship, Joint List MK Ahmad Tibi says the law will be the legacy of lawmakers from the coalition’s Ra’am party.

“If the citizenship law is passed it will be remembered forever connected to the names of the members of Ra’am,” Tibi tells the Kan public broadcaster.

Under the compromise proposal, the “family reunification law” will not be changed, and hundreds of Palestinians who married Israelis before the legislation was first approved in 2003 will receive the status of residency but not Israeli citizenship, according to Channel 12 news earlier this week.

The network, which did not cite a source, said the Islamist Ra’am party would abstain rather than voting to extend the law.

A Ra’am MK said earlier this week that the Islamist party would vote against the legislation — which he denounced as “racist and anti-democratic” — if it comes up for a plenum vote.

Ra’am leader: Compromise should be reached on family reunification law

Ra’am head Mansour Abbas tells Channel 12 news that he believes there will be a compromise reached on the “family reunification law” which is testing the new coalition composed of right-wing, centrist, left-wing, and Islamist parties.

“A compromise has not yet been reached, but I believe that a way has been found to both maintain the coalition and provide a solution to the family reunification [law] crisis,” Abbas says.

Health Ministry mulling outdoor mask recommendation, restrictions on gatherings

Health officials are considering a recommendation that Israelis wear masks outdoors, as well as reimposing restrictions on the number of people who can attend gatherings, Channel 12 news reports.

In addition, the network says officials are weighing the possibility of asking the coronavirus cabinet to require those who are not vaccinated to provide a negative test result before entering certain venues. No further details were given.

On Friday, Israel reimposed an indoor mask requirement, as over 200 new COVID-19 cases were recorded the previous day, the highest daily caseload in two and a half months.

The mandate was initially lifted last week.

Police fire tear gas, attempt to disperse Istanbul Pride march

Police in riot gear are blocking streets and firing tear gas, in an attempt to disperse marchers at a Pride parade in Istanbul.

Reports say at least 25 people were detained, including an AFP photographer.

Authorities have banned Istanbul Pride events since 2015, citing public security, and more recently, COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

LGBTQ groups accuse the Turkish government of waging a “hate campaign” against them, encouraging violence against a vulnerable community.

UK health minister resigns after breaking pandemic restrictions during affair with aide

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock resigns after he admitted to breaking pandemic restrictions during a newly-revealed affair with a close aide.

Last week, Hancock rejected criticism of his handling of the pandemic after private WhatsApp exchanges emerged, in which British Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared to describe him as “hopeless.”

Hancock has also previously faced allegations that he lied to Johnson and awarded a contract to an unqualified friend.

He has faced further questions about his ownership of shares in a family company that won a COVID-related contract from his ministry last year.

Parents of 21-year-old missing in Florida collapse: We aren’t getting updates but remain hopeful

Ronit Felszer and Carlos Naibryf tell CNN that their son Ilan Naibryf is missing in the Florida tower collapse.

Ilan and his girlfriend were staying in Surfside while they were visiting to attend a funeral.

Naibryf says family members of those missing are not receiving the updates from authorities they are hoping for.

Felszer says it is hard to use the word “was” when describing him, and instead says “is.”

“We’re hopeful. We have faith, but it’s difficult, it’s very difficult,” she says.

Felszer describes her son as a “loyal friend and a passionate, good, kind, generous young man,” and says the 21-year-old is set to graduate from the University of Chicago as a physics major next year.

I am in touch with the family of Ilan Naibryf. Ilan and his girlfriend Deborah (pictured below) were in the Champlain Tower that collapsed yesterday morning in Surfside.

If you hear any information about either Ilan or Deborah, please message me privately. #SurfsideMissing pic.twitter.com/NDrE5TzUeL

— Aaron Parnas (@AaronParnas) June 25, 2021

Froome’s Tour de France comeback for Israeli cycling team in doubt after crash

After a three-year absence from the Tour de France, Chris Froome’s comeback might already be over after only one stage.

The four-time champion was in a massive high-speed crash about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the finish of today’s opening stage in Landerneau.

Froome, who missed the last two Tours after a 2019 crash threatened to end his career, stayed on the road for a moment and struggled to get back on his feet.

He finally got back on his bike and finished the stage, lagging more than 14 minutes behind stage winner Julian Alaphilippe.

It is unclear whether he would be able to keep on racing and be at the start of Sunday’s Stage 2.

“Not how I planned for today to go, but I managed to finish,” he said before undergoing scans.

Froome was tasked with a role of road captain at his new Israel Start-Up Nation team, and was expected to work in support of leader Michael Woods.

Israel sending IDF search and rescue team to Florida to assist with tower collapse efforts

The Israel Defense Forces is sending a search and rescue delegation to Florida to assist with efforts following the Surfside residential building collapse.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz says he approved the team of Home Front Command soldiers to head to Florida in coordination with Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

The approval came after talks over the weekend between Israeli defense officials and officials in Miami, the statement from the Defense Ministry reads.

“As with any national mission, the IDF and the defense establishment are ready to respond, act and assist. Every effort will be made to save lives, support the Jewish community and our friend the United States,” Gantz says.

“The State of Israel has no better friend than the United States, and the United States has no better friend than Israel. In such difficult moments, we stand with our American friends and the Jewish community in Florida,” Foreign Minister Yair Lapid says.

229 new COVID cases diagnosed in Israel on Friday

The Health Ministry says 229 new cases of coronavirus were diagnosed in Israel yesterday.

In addition, 96 people have tested positive for the virus since midnight.

There are 1,147 active patients in the country, including 26 in serious condition.

The fast-spreading Delta variant that was first detected in India is believed to be responsible for 70% of the new cases in the country in recent weeks.

3 injured in two shootings in the northern town of Tamra

Three people are injured in two separate shootings in the northern town of Tamra.

Police believe there is a criminal motive behind the incidents.

All three men are in their 20s, and are being taken for treatment to the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.

The shootings come hours after a man and a woman were killed, along with their teenage daughter, in a drive-by shooting in northern Israel, near the Arab town of Ailabun.

Rivlin set to depart on US trip for meetings with Biden and senior officials

President Reuven Rivlin is set to depart for the United States, where he’ll meet with US President Joe Biden, senior members of Congress, and visit the United Nations, in his final foreign visit as head of state.

Rivlin will land in New York on Sunday, where he will hold a meeting with executives of major Jewish organizations in Manhattan along with Israel’s Ambassador to the US and UN Gilad Erdan.

On Monday morning, he will depart for Washington, where he will meet with Biden in the Oval Office. He will then head to Capitol Hill for a meeting with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, along with other Congressional leaders from both parties.

Rivlin will then return to New York for meetings at the UN with Secretary General Antonio Guterres and several foreign ambassadors.

Bennett to Florida governor after tower collapse: ‘We’ll help in any way we can’

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett speaks to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and offers his sympathies in the wake of the tower collapse in Surfside that left four dead and 159 missing.

“The United States is our greatest friend, and we stand by your side at this difficult time,” Bennett says to DeSantis, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

“We all pray for the safety of the wounded. I have instructed all parts of the Israeli government to assist in any way that may be required,” Bennett says.

The call comes after the Defense Ministry announces the IDF is sending a search and rescue team to help in the efforts.