June 26: IDF releases images showing Doctors Without Borders staffer in PIJ uniform

US man faces criminal charges for allegedly urging ‘Zionists’ to get off NYC subway train

A US man who demanded that “Zionists” identify themselves on a New York City subway train during a protest over the Israel-Hamas war, and then suggested that they get out, is charged with attempted coercion, a misdemeanor, local police say.

A video showing the man leading protesters in chanting, “Raise your hand if you’re a Zionist” on a packed subway car on June 10 drew widespread condemnation from public officials and prompted New York Governor Kathy Hochul to propose banning masks on the subway.

Anti-Zionism is a modern manifestation of antisemitism.

Example:
An Anti-Zionist declaring on a NYC subway car: “Raise your hands if you’re a Zionist. This is your chance to get out.”

Anyone threatening to purge “Zionists” (i.e. most Jews) from public places is an… pic.twitter.com/e3Wh6Ztp32

— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) June 12, 2024

She and others said the chant was antisemitic and intended to frighten Jews.

At least one person who was aboard the train complained to police, authorities say. The man who authorities say led the chants turned himself in and was given a desk appearance ticket requiring him to appear in court at a later date, a police spokesperson says. A phone message left at a number listed for the man is not returned. It is not clear if he has an attorney.

A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg says the episode remains under investigation and anyone with information should contact authorities.

Israeli forces demolish homes in West Bank hamlet, saying they were built illegally

Residents of a Bedouin hamlet in the West Bank say Israeli forces have demolished several homes which authorities say were built without permits, leaving nearly a quarter of the village, including a prominent Palestinian artist, without a home.

Israeli bulldozers and army vehicles entered Umm al-Khair in the southern West Bank early this morning and demolished at least seven homes before leaving, Palestinian residents tell The Associated Press. The soldiers then returned, they said, and arrested one resident.

Amateur videos from the village show bulldozers crashing into the walls of homes as residents look on. Israeli police officers are seen keeping Palestinians and left-wing Israeli activists away from the demolition zone.

قوات الاحتـ.ـلال تشن حملة هدم كبيرة لمنازل الفلسطينيين في قرية أم الخير بمسافر يطا جنوب الخليل pic.twitter.com/WfUyqEX3EG

— التلفزيون العربي (@AlarabyTV) June 26, 2024

Residents say five families, roughly 40 of the village’s 200 residents, have been left homeless. That allegedly includes around 30 children.

“No one expected this,” says Awdah Hathaleen, a 29-year-old teacher and lifelong resident of the village. “But the people will not leave this place.”

The demolitions included the home of Eid Suleman, an activist and artist whose work has been exhibited alongside well-known exiled Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.

Suleman says soldiers gave his family only 30 minutes to remove their belongings from the home before they demolished it, destroying his kitchen and closet and leaving dishes broken all over the ground.

“Today I am the victim of what I have been advocating against all these years in universities and communities around the world,” he claims. “My children I sent to the neighbors. I will sleep outside to stay near the clothes and dishes that are now under the sky.”

A military order given to residents said part of the village was declared a closed military zone. It called the area Carmel Farms, using the name of an adjacent fenced-off Israeli settlement.

“On one side of the fence, there are people with rights,” argues Guy Butavia, a leftist Israeli activist who joined the villagers. On the other, he asserts, “they have no rights. They cannot live on their own private land.”

The Israeli military body responsible for civilian matters in the West Bank, COGAT, says the structures that were demolished were built illegally and without permits. It adds that Israel’s highest court has ruled the structures can be removed. Palestinians in the areas have long said it is virtually impossible to get construction permits from Israeli authorities.

The demolitions are the latest in a string of demolitions in the village, which was founded by Palestinians displaced from the Negev Desert in southern Israel during the 1948 Independence War.

Since October 7, residents say settler violence has grown more common.

In swipe at Netanyahu, US praises Gallant’s ‘professional approach’ to bilateral talks

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (L) meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department in Washington, June 24, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

The Biden administration hails Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s “professional approach” to the Israel-US security partnership, in a not-so-subtle jab at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who launched a public campaign last week accusing Washington of withholding weapons from Israel.

Gallant criticized Netanyahu earlier today for initiating the spat, saying the slow-down in weapons shipments should have been addressed privately. Netanyahu responded that he had tried to deal with the issue behind closed doors for weeks but didn’t make any progress.

“The US side recognized Minister Gallant’s personal efforts and leadership to support [humanitarian] efforts [in Gaza], which have been extraordinary,” a senior administration official says during a briefing with reporters, on condition of anonymity.

Agreeing with Gallant, US says progress made in smoothing arms transfer process

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, left, meets with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (not in picture) at the Pentagon in Washington, June 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

The US agrees with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that progress has been made in transferring weapons to Israel, confirming that there had been some bottlenecks that are now being addressed.

A senior Biden administration official briefing reporters indicates that the bottlenecks weren’t intentional and that Gallant’s meetings with top officials in Washington were an opportunity for the US to speed up certain shipments while reprioritizing others based on Israel’s needs.

The comments from the senior administration official are the closest the US has come to recognizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public complaints about the issue, which has sparked a bitter dispute between the governments. Washington has repeatedly denied withholding weapons shipments from Israel beyond one transfer of heavy bombs that US President Joe Biden fears the IDF would use in the densely populated Palestinian city of Rafah.

Gallant criticized Netanyahu earlier today for publicly airing his grievances on the matter, rather than settling the issue privately. After meeting US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, the defense minister announced that he had made significant progress in addressing bottlenecks in weapons transfers.

“What he was referring to is very accurate in terms of how the discussion went,” the senior administration official tells reporters. “It’s fair to say there are bottlenecks in the system. It’s a very complex system and for good reason.”

“There are some things we are able to maybe pull up a little faster or reprioritize,” the senior US official adds. “The progress that was made was the ability to sit down with the people who do this work every day and go through every single case and where it is in the system.”

“Where there were some misunderstandings, those were clarified,” he adds.

Speaking about the one shipment of high-payload bombs, the senior administration official says that the sides have agreed to have their national security experts consult on the issue, while clarifying that Biden’s concerns about how they might be used by the IDF are “valid.”

IDF releases images showing Doctors Without Borders staffer in Islamic Jihad uniform

An image released by the IDF on June 26, 2024, showing Doctors Without Borders staffer Fadi al-Wadiya in the uniform of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF releases images showing Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket expert Fadi al-Wadiya wearing the terror group’s uniform, after Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, named him as a staffer but denied he was a terror operative.

Al-Wadiya was killed in a drone strike in Gaza City yesterday.

The organization then said in a post on X that al-Wadiya was killed while riding his bicycle to the MSF clinic where he worked.

The IDF said he was a prominent member of Islamic Jihad, involved in developing missiles for the terror group, as well as being an electronics and chemistry expert.

Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, says al-Wadiya worked for Islamic Jihad’s rocket manufacturing unit for more than 15 years.

He attaches three images showing al-Wadiya in Islamic Jihad uniform.

Adraee adds that in 2018, the same year that al-Wadiya joined Doctors Without Borders, the latter tried to leave Gaza for Iran to undergo training there with two other terror operatives.

#خاص صور تفند مزاعم منظمة #أطباء_بلا_حدود @msf_arabic :،معالج طبيعي في النهار ومخرب في الجهاد في الليل

????المدعو فادي جهاد محمد الوادية الذي تم القضاء عليه أمس والذي كان يعمل معالجًا طبيعيًا لدى منظمة "أطباء بلا حدود" عمل مخربًا بارزًا ضمن المنظومة الصاروخية التابعة للجهاد… pic.twitter.com/xc7ZSN5r4J

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) June 26, 2024

Doctors Without Borders denies IDF accusation that slain employee was a terror operative

Fadi al-Wadiya, a Doctors Without Borders member who the IDF says was a PIJ rocket expert, killed in a strike in Gaza City, June 25, 2024. (Courtesy of Doctors Without Borders on X)

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders says it has no indication that one of its employees, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, was a terror operative as claimed by the Israel Defense Forces.

Israel said yesterday that it killed Fadi al-Wadiya, who it said was a “significant operative” in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group. It said Al-Wadiya was involved in the group’s rocket arsenal, as well as in its electronics and chemistry know-how.

Doctors Without Borders, known by its French name Médecins Sans Frontières, says Israel has not provided evidence about its claim.

It says al-Wadiya was a medic and physiotherapist who worked for the group between 2018 and 2022, having resumed work with the charity during the war. It says he was killed on his bicycle while riding to work.

The group says he is the sixth of its employees to be killed in Gaza since October 7.

“There is no justification for this; it is unacceptable. Healthcare workers must be protected and should not be targeted,” the group argues in a statement.

Terror groups may be able to fire rockets from West Bank to Israel in a year — report

Illustrative: A screenshot from a video published on August 15, 2023, shows a rocket that a Palestinian group calling itself the Al-Ayyash Battalion claimed to have fired from the Jenin area at the northern West Bank settlement of Shaked. (Telegram: Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

At the current rate of smuggling from Jordan, Palestinian terror groups will be able to launch rockets from the West Bank into Israel within a year, the Kan public broadcaster reports, citing senior officials in the Palestinian Authority security forces.

The sources reportedly clarify that these rockets would not resemble the primitive projectiles launched from Jenin on several occasions in the past year, but would rather be similar to the tens of thousands of projectiles fired from Gaza in recent years.

Kan reported on Friday that explosives, money and knowledge on bomb-making are being transferred from Lebanon to the West Bank via Jordan, with Iranian guidance.

This evening, the broadcaster also reports, citing a senior Jordanian source, that Amman has in recent days discovered two explosives storage sites near the capital, and suspects Iran and its proxies are behind them. One is said to be located near an airport in southeastern Amman that is used by the US military.

Israel mulls supplying power to Gaza desalination plant in effort to increase drinkable water

Israeli security officials say Jerusalem is considering a plan to supply electricity to a water desalination plant in the Gaza Strip that could help it increase production of drinkable water.

The officials say the desalination plan in the southern city of Khan Younis is not operating at full capacity because of energy shortages. Under the plan, an Israeli power line connected to the plant would help ramp up production. The plan would provide clean drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people in Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and the coastal area of al-Mawasi, where a tent camp houses tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians.

The officials say the plan has been formulated by technical experts, but still needs government approval. They have spoken on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to discuss the plan with the media before it is approved.

With water infrastructure having been damaged repeatedly in the fighting, many Palestinians in Gaza have struggled to find clean drinking water or have been forced to walk long distances to access any.

The lack of clean water is also blamed for the spread of disease in the coastal territory, as many people have taken to drinking contaminated water.

US says discussions held with Israel, UN agencies on aid distribution challenges in Gaza

The United States has been involved in discussions with United Nations agencies and the Israeli government in the past few days to try and work through security challenges the UN is facing to deliver humanitarian aid in Gaza, the US State Department says.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller tells reporters Washington is continuing to push to resolve their “legitimate concerns about the safety and security of their personnel.”

Hezbollah hits northern towns with missiles, including a home hit twice within hours

Hezbollah fired several anti-tank guided missiles at northern Israel today, causing damage, according to local authorities.

This afternoon, at least five missiles struck the evacuated town of Metula, causing damage and sparking a fire.

Later in the day, a missile was fired at Avivim, striking a home. The same home was hit by another missile several hours later.

Hezbollah has taken responsibility for a separate attack against the northern community of Even Menachem. It has also reported launching attacks against military positions in northern Israel.

There have been no reports of injuries in the attacks.

Despite declared progress, US official says withheld heavy bombs shipment to remain on hold

Illustrative: In this photo released by the US Air Force on May 2, 2023, airmen look at a GBU-57, or the Massive Ordnance Penetrator bomb, at Whiteman Air Base in Missouri (US Air Force via AP)

Despite Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declaring “significant progress” in resolving the US weapons holdup issue, an American official tells The Times of Israel that the one shipment of heavy bombs that has been withheld will remain on hold for the time being.

Gallant’s statement appears to be referring to progress in resolving a larger slowdown of arms transfers beyond the one publicly confirmed freeze.

Meanwhile, Channel 12 news reports, without citing a source, that the Biden administration reportedly conveyed a message today to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the shipment of heavy bombs it has been holding up will not be fully transferred to Israel even after the IDF operation in Gaza’s Rafah concludes, due to American distrust of the premier and anger at his making the spat public.

The report claims that the White House fears Netanyahu will use the munitions to open a new war front in the north with Hezbollah. In an attempt to appease the US, Israel has reportedly promised — in exchange for continued weapons supplies — to exhaust all diplomatic avenues before launching a full-blown war in Lebanon, and to use US arms in a “measured” way.

Germany, Netherlands urge their citizens to leave Lebanon, citing Israel-Hezbollah war fears

Germany and the Netherlands have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon, following suit after Canada issued a similar warning yesterday in light of escalating tensions between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group.

In an updated travel warning on its website, the German Foreign Ministry warns that “the security situation in the region is highly volatile,” as clashes along the Israel-Lebanon border have intensified in recent weeks.

“A further escalation of the situation and expansion of the conflict cannot be ruled out,” the travel warning continues. “This applies in particular to the southern parts of Lebanon, including the southern urban areas of Beirut as well as the Bekaa Valley, including the Baalbek-Hermel district.

“A further escalation could also lead to a complete suspension of air traffic from Rafik Hariri Airport. Leaving Lebanon by air would then no longer be possible,” it adds.

The updated travel warning is issued amid a visit by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to the region.

Like Germany, the Netherlands reiterates its call for citizens to leave Lebanon, should they have chosen to stay there after previous warnings.

“The Foreign Ministry repeats the urgent call not to travel to Lebanon,” the ministry writes on X, formerly Twitter. “Are you still there? Leave the country while there are [still] commercial flights.”

According to the Dutch Foreign Ministry website, the entirety of Lebanon is currently classified as red, meaning “do not enter.”

For Dutch citizens already in Lebanon, the foreign ministry urges them to “leave the country if it is safe to do so.”

Report: Netanyahu opposes far-right attempts to cause Palestinian Authority’s collapse

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly said he’s in favor of strengthening the Palestinian Authority, even as his far-right coalition partners Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir openly seek to advance moves against Ramallah that could cause the PA’s collapse.

“We can’t ignore the actions and activity of the Palestinian Authority, they have considerable advantages for Israel,” Netanyahu has said in recent private meetings with his coalition partners, according to Channel 12 news.

“The collapse of the PA is not in Israel’s interest at this time. We need to advance actions that stabilize the PA, in order to prevent an escalation in the streets,” he reportedly added.

Yemen’s Houthis claim to have targeted a ship in Israel’s Haifa port

Yemen’s Houthis say they have targeted a ship in Israel’s Haifa port in a joint military operation with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq.

The operation allegedly targeted the MSC Manzanillo, the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels’ military spokesman Yahya Saree says in a televised speech.

Concluding meetings, Gallant hails ‘significant progress’ in resolving US arms holdup

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in a video message from the White House, June 26, 2024. (Screenshot/Elad Malka)

After meeting US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, capping a series of meetings with top US officials, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says his visit has yielded considerable progress in resolving the matter of what Jerusalem views as insufficient American weapons shipments to Israel.

In a video statement that sums up his meetings with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Sullivan, Gallant says that “during the meetings we made significant progress, obstacles were removed and bottlenecks were addressed” regarding several issues, including the supply of munitions.

“I would like to thank the US administration and the American public for their enduring support for the State of Israel,” he adds.

Gallant says that in his meeting with Sullivan, the two “discussed developments in Gaza and the various efforts undertaken to bring the hostages back to Israel, Israel’s commitment to ensuring the safe return of Israeli communities to their homes in the north by changing the security reality in the area, and the important cooperation between Israel and the United States vis-a-vis Iranian aggression and its nuclear ambitions.”

Netanyahu’s lawyers tell court he can only testify in his corruption trial in March 2025

Benjamin Netanyahu arrives for a court hearing in his trial at the Jerusalem District Court on May 31, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

The defense team of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells the Jerusalem District Court that due to the ongoing war, the premier will only be able to testify in his corruption trial in March of next year.

In a written submission to the court, Netanyahu’s lawyers write that even in quiet times, “preparations to hear a defendant’s testimony on such a scale requires a significant period of time.

“In the current reality, in which the defense is required to prepare the prime minister for testimony in the midst of war, the necessary period of time to do so in a way that doesn’t compromise his rights and defense is significantly longer.”

Defending Gallant’s critique, Gantz accuses Netanyahu of harming ties with the US

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 party leader Benny Gantz throws his support behind Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s critique of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, arguing that the latter is “harming the strategic relationship with the United States.”

In remarks that appeared to be aimed at Netanyahu’s open accusation that Washington has been holding up arms shipments, Gallant said earlier today that “in every family — and we consider the American people our family — disagreements may arise. Yet like all families, we discuss our disagreements in-house, and remain united.”

Gantz issues a statement saying “Minister Gallant is right — over the past few months, we have solved many of the problems with our friends behind closed doors, including on the matter of the munitions.

“This is what I did in my trip to Washington in March, and this is what the defense minister is doing now,” he continues.

“The unnecessary friction the prime minister is creating for political reasons may give him a few points in his [political] base, but harms the strategic relationship with the US, which is an integral part of our ability to win the war.”

Netanyahu swipes back at Gallant, justifying decision to open public spat with the US

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) delivers a recorded statement on the war with Hamas in Gaza (Screenshot/GPO); Defense Minister Yoav Gallant delivers a statement to the press, May 15, 2024. (Screenshot)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hits back at Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who took a swipe at the premier’s public spat with the United States while visiting the White House.

In remarks that appeared to be aimed at Netanyahu’s open accusation that Washington has been holding up arms shipments, Gallant said that “in every family — and we consider the American people our family — disagreements may arise. Yet like all families, we discuss our disagreements in-house, and remain united.”

In response, various Hebrew media outlets quote “associates” of Netanyahu as responding that “when the disagreements aren’t resolved for many weeks in private rooms, the prime minister of Israel needs to speak openly to bring what the fighters need.”

Senior IDF officer convicted of series of sexual offenses for filming nude soldiers, civilians

Dan Sharoni, an IDF officer accused of sexual offenses, during a court hearing at a military court in Beit Lid, July 24, 2022. (Gideon Markowicz/Flash90)

A senior IDF officer accused of filming his female subordinates while nude without their knowledge has been convicted by a military court of dozens of counts of sex offenses and invasion of privacy.

Lt. Col. Dan Sharoni was arrested in 2021 for his actions, which included collecting sexual images of soldiers and some civilians over the course of at least eight years.

A military court has convicted Sharoni of 67 offenses in total: 23 counts of indecency, 39 counts of privacy violation, three counts of illegally hacking a computer, one count of attempted indecency — for a case in which he installed a hidden camera in someone’s room but ultimately only photographed them fully clothed — and one count of conduct unbecoming a soldier.

The IDF says the court “fully accepted the testimonies of the victims of the crime, and rejected the defendant’s version that he acted out of a non-sexual motive.”

According to an indictment in December 2021, Sharoni used numerous hidden cameras, including some placed inside phone chargers, to film soldiers under his command, often installing them in their barracks and showers. He was also accused of taking soldiers’ phones for seemingly innocuous reasons and looking through them to see if they had nude or intimate photos on them and then copying those to his own device.

The indictment listed 49 victims, both female and male, though there may have been others. The majority were soldiers, though he also installed the devices in homes, including his own, and thus also filmed civilians. In addition, he was accused of entering some of his victims’ rooms while they slept and masturbating while filming them.

According to the charge sheet, Sharoni committed his crimes from 2013 to 2021, while he served in three different units in the military. In many of the cases, the victims were soldiers and officers with whom Sharoni had close relationships.

Amid the trial in 2022, a plea deal was signed with Sharoni. This was later nixed following opposition from many of the victims.

No immediate date is set for his sentencing trial. Until then, the IDF says Sharoni is due to undergo a sexual risk assessment.

Sharoni has been dismissed from his position and his military service has been frozen since November 2021. He had been held in jail until being released to house arrest last year.

Defense Ministry reviews refusal to add religious text to soldiers’ military headstones

Cpt. Israel Yudkin (Courtesy)

Following an outcry, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant instructs a ministerial panel to examine allowing an acronym for the phrase “may God avenge his blood” on military headstones.

The decision, reported by Ynet, follows a controversy involving the ministry’s refusal to allow the family of Cpt. Yisrael Yudkin, a Haredi soldier who fell in Gaza last month, to add to his military headstone the Hebrew letters Hey, Yud and Daled, which form the acronym for Hashem Yikom Damo, a standard formulation in Judaism for Jews who were killed or otherwise lost their lives at the hands of others in connection with their faith.

The ministry’s initial refusal owes to regulations that limit permissible text on military headstones in the interest of uniformity, according to ministry spokespeople.

The issue is now under the review of the ministry’s Public Committee for Commemorating Soldiers, a body made up of defense establishment officials and representatives of bereaved families.

A bill for permitting the formulation is being reviewed at the Knesset, per the initiative of Yulia Malinovsky, a lawmaker for the Yisrael Beytenu opposition party. Simcha Rothman, a coalition MK, is among the politicians who criticized the refusal, calling it “a case of shooting one’s own foot.”

Rothman’s remark references efforts to encourage enlistment by Haredi soldiers, tens of thousands of whom are not recruited as per a blanket exemption — which the High Court of Justice voided Tuesday — for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students. Some advocates of the exemption say that, in addition to other complications with recruiting Haredim, the army is not doing enough to accommodate their special needs.

Netanyahu tours Lebanon border with top IDF brass, promises ‘victory’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and the head of the IDF’s Northern Command Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin visit the northern border with Lebanon, June 25, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the border with Lebanon, where he observes a military drill there and asserts Israel will achieve victory on this front as well, if war erupts with Hezbollah.

Netanyahu hails the exercise by the 55th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade and the soldiers’ “determination to defend the country,” according to a statement from his office.

The visit is attended by Netanyahu’s military secretary, Roman Gofman, the head of the IDF’s Northern Command Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, and other lower-ranking commanders.

Herzog: Situation with Hezbollah may get out of control, world ‘barely lifting a finger’

President Isaac Herzog, center, and his wife Michal, right, meet members of the security squad of Kibbutz Hanita in the north, June 25, 2024. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

President Isaac Herzog has concluded a two-day stay in bombarded northern Israel, accusing the world of not doing enough to deescalate the situation with Hezbollah.

“The international community should not be surprised if the situation gets out of control, because the international community is barely lifting a finger, barely doing anything to contribute to the full security of Israeli residents, after repeated violations of international treaties and agreements from Lebanon and from Hezbollah,” Herzog says, according to a statement from his office.

During his two days in the north, Herzog slept in Safed, visited an army base and several communities, and met with mayors of border towns that have been evacuated for almost nine months.

Israeli minister signals end to decades-long boycott of far-right French party

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli speaks at the AJC Global Forum in Tel Aviv, on June 14, 2023 (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli tweets a clip showing a speech by a leader of a far-right French political party with antisemitic ties, breaking a decades-long boycott of the party by Israeli officials.

Chikli brands the video, in which National Rally president Jordan Bardella speaks out against a two-state solution, as “dramatic” and adds Hebrew subtitles so that Israelis can understand his message.

The party was founded in 1972 by Jean-Marie Le Pen, who has been repeatedly convicted of antisemitic hate speech, and by Pierre Bousequet, a former commander in the Nazi Party’s Waffen-SS.

Since Le Pen’s daughter Marine took the helm in 2011, she has attempted to scrub the party’s past and win mainstream acceptance. She distanced herself from her father’s antisemitic rhetoric and expelled him from the party in 2015. Meanwhile, she has honed in on Muslims — who make up 11 percent of the French population — as a threat to the country.

But even as Marine Le Pen has publicly denounced antisemitism, her supporters still disproportionately harbor antisemitic attitudes, according to some experts.

National Rally is making significant strides toward gaining greater legitimacy. Serge Klarsfeld, a Holocaust survivor and co-founder of the Association of the Descendants of French-Jewish Deportees, supports voting for it to keep out the far-left. He is on record as saying last year that the party had addressed its antisemitic past and is “legitimate.”

Contacted by the Haaretz daily, a spokesman for Chikli says he is “in excellent contact with National Rally and we are thrilled at the prospect of establishing a productive dialogue with them.”

Chikli has also involved himself in American politics, telling Kan radio in April that “if I were an American citizen with the right to vote, I’d vote for [Donald] Trump and Republicans.”

נאום דרמטי של מועמד מפלגת RN (מרין לה פן) לראשות ממשלת צרפת ברדלה: תמכנו לאורך השנים בפתרון שתי המדינות, אולם העמדה הזו התיישנה לאור זוועות חמאס ב-7 באוקטובר. הכרה במדינה פלסטינית בעת הזו תהיה פרס לטרור והענקת לגיטימציה פוליטית לתנועה שחרטה על דגלה את השמדת ישראל.@J_Bardella ???????? pic.twitter.com/SZOk9aknIP

— עמיחי שיקלי – Amichai Chikli (@AmichaiChikli) June 24, 2024

Gallant meets Sullivan, threatens Hamas with ‘consequences’ if it doesn’t accept proposed deal

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, left, meets with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (not in picture) at the Pentagon in Washington, June 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Visiting the United States, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant threatens Hamas that it will “bear the consequences” if it doesn’t accept a UN-endorsed proposal for a hostage and truce deal.

“We stand firmly behind the President’s deal, which Israel has accepted, and now Hamas must accept — or bear the consequences,” Gallant says, according to a transcript of his remarks sent by his office.

Gallant, who is meeting US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan at the White House, adds that Israel is “committed to bringing the hostages home, with no exception.

“But let it be known that our war is not with the people of Gaza. Our war is not with the people of Lebanon. Our war is against Hamas, Hezbollah and their backer – the Iranian regime,” he continues. “We only fight those who seek to harm us.”

The defense minister also says Jerusalem, and he personally, are “committed to facilitating the delivery of essential humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Hailing the “powerful and enduring bond” between the two nations and Israel’s appreciation for Washington’s “overt and covert” support throughout the war, Gallant acknowledges the differences exposed by the public spat over US munitions allegedly withheld from the Jewish state.

“In every family — and we consider the American people our family — disagreements may arise. Yet like all families, we discuss our disagreements in-house, and remain united,” he says, in a remark interpreted by some as a veiled jab at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who initiated the public tiff.

‘Be quiet and shame on you’: FM Katz snaps back at ‘war criminal’ Erdogan

After Turkey’s president accused Western powers of backing what he charged were Israeli plans to attack Lebanon and “spread war” throughout the region, Foreign Minister Israel Katz calls Recep Tayyip Erdogan a “war criminal.”

“Erdogan announced his support for Hezbollah against Israel’s threats,” writes Katz on X. “Erdogan is a war criminal who slaughters innocent Kurds across the Syrian border and tries to deny Israel its right to self-defense against a terror organization attacking from Lebanon under Iran’s orders.”

“Be quiet and shame on you!” Katz finishes.

Erdogan, a vocal critic of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza following the terror group’s devastating attack on October 7, has often expressed support for the Palestinian terrorist organization as defenders of their homeland.

Erdogan has also met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul, after which he encouraged Palestinians to unite against Israel.

Netanyahu meets Edelstein over comments seen as imperiling coalition

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, attends a Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee meeting alongside Likud MK Yuli Edelstein at the Knesset on June 13, 2023. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein, following the comments made by the veteran Likud lawmaker which reportedly caused the coalition’s ultra-Orthodox members to reconsider their participation in the government.

According to the Ynet news site, Edelstein was spotted entering the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem less than a day after a harsh phone call between the two, in which Netanyahu warned him that his promise to advance an ultra-Orthodox enlistment bill only “with broad agreement” threatened to topple the government.

Following Edelstein’s statement, multiple Hebrew media outlets reported that the Shas and United Torah Judaism parties were weighing leaving the government while remaining in the coalition.

The meeting also comes only hours after Edelstein appeared to assert his independence from the coalition on the issue of Israel Defense Forces enlistment, delaying a vote on a Defense Ministry-backed “draft Security Service Law” due to what he said was a failure to reach a “broad consensus” on the matter.

Those close to Netanyahu have been harshly critical of Edelstein, Ynet reports, quoting a senior Likud official alleging that “there is complete coordination between Edelstein and [Defense Minister Yoav] Gallant on the dissolution of the government and bringing elections forward to November.”

Speaking during this morning’s meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Edelstein said that he has no interest in passing a law “on the bayonets of the coalition.”

“I have no personal, factional, party or coalition interest in passing it on. Either we’ll agree on something or not, but we’re all together,” he said.

Netanyahu meets US Senator Fetterman, praises his ‘moral clarity’ on Israel-Hamas war

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, meets US Senator John Fetterman in Jerusalem, June 26, 2024. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US Senator John Fetterman, a leading pro-Israel voice among Democrats since October 7.

“We’ve been through dire times in these months of anguished war, and during that time I can say that Israel has had no better friend than Senator John Fetterman,” says Netanyahu during their meeting in Jerusalem.

“I want to thank you for your courageous statements that show moral clarity and moral courage, and you just say it the way it is. And we appreciate this friendship at all times, but especially at these times,” continues the prime minister.

“Welcome friend, welcome.”

“We stand with Israel through this,” says the Pennsylvania senator, dressed in his trademark hoodie and shorts, “and I’m so sorry for what’s been done to this nation.”

Fetterman, who had endorsed Bernie Sanders, was an icon for progressives who appreciated his liberal positions and brash style. But since the Hamas onslaught, Fetterman has employed that persona to defend Israel from attacks on the American left, winning praise from conservatives and scorn from his erstwhile liberal supporters.

Iron Dome downs rocket fired from Gaza at southern Israel

A rocket launched from the central Gaza Strip at southern Israel a short while ago was intercepted by the Iron Dome, the military says.

Sirens had sounded in the border communities of Nirim and Ein Hashlosha.

There are no reports of injuries.

Minister skips Knesset vote due to another minister being seated closer than her to PM

Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel at a conference in Jerusalem, on February 25, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Science Minister Gila Gamliel of the ruling Likud party has boycotted a vote in the Knesset plenum after finding out that the party’s Social Equality Minister May Golan is seated closer than her to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hebrew media reports.

Gamliel’s absence didn’t affect the vote, in which the coalition thwarted in a preliminary reading legislation proposed by the opposition’s Avigdor Liberman, which would set mandatory IDF enlistment for all Israeli citizens of all communities.

She later returns to the plenum after coalition whip Ofir Katz (Likud) slammed her in a lawmakers’ WhatsApp group, saying no MK can go against coalition discipline and skip a vote without prior approval or without coordinating with an opposition MK who will also be absent.

Gamliel also reportedly got an explanation for Golan’s seat change — the latter wanted to move away from the air conditioner since she had felt cold.

IDF says it struck multiple Hezbollah targets in Lebanon today

Israeli fighter jets earlier today struck a building used by Hezbollah, an observation post, and additional infrastructure in southern Lebanon’s Kfarchouba, Ayta ash-Shab and Khiam, the military says.

It publishes footage of the strikes.

מטוסי קרב תקפו מוקדם יותר היום מבנה צבאי ועמדת תצפית, לצד תשתית טרור נוספת של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים שובא, עייתא א-שעב ואל-חיאם שבדרום לבנון.

בנוסף, צה"ל תקף בירי ארטילרי במרחבים שבעא, כפר שובא, כפר חמאם ואל מטמורה שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/t5oJyqMG0X

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 26, 2024

The IDF says it also shelled several more areas in south Lebanon with artillery.

Russia says its drafting big treaty with Iran

An image shared by Iranian official press agency IRNA to highlight growing economic ties between Tehran and Moscow. (IRNA)

MOSCOW, Russia — Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says that Moscow is working on what she called a big treaty with Iran.

Her comment appears to be a reference to a comprehensive bilateral cooperation agreement that is being negotiated between Tehran and Moscow.

In January, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that a new interstate treaty reflecting the “unprecedented upswing” in Russia-Iran ties was in the final stages of being agreed.

In special address, hostage families demand PM stand by own proposal for deal to bring back captives

From right to left: Freed hostage Louis Har, and hostages' relatives Sharon Sharabi, Mor Korngold, Ruby Chen, and Orly Gilboa at a press conference in Tel Aviv, June 26, 2024. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Hostage family members call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fulfill the ‘Netanyahu deal’ currently on the table and approved by the Biden administration, in a press conference held at the Hostages and Missing Families Forum headquarters in Tel Aviv on Wednesday afternoon.

“We need Hamas to say yes and we need our prime minister to keep his eye on the ball and get this deal done,” says Ruby Chen, father of Itay Chen, a soldier who was killed on October 7 and his body taken hostage to Gaza.

Chen says it’s crucial to “get this to the finish line” given the current geopolitical considerations, including the possibility of war with Hezbollah.

His words are echoed by Orly Gilboa, mother of Daniela Gilboa, one of 16 women still held in captivity and one of the female surveillance soldiers taken hostage, who asks Netanyahu for a meeting with the hostage families.

Gilboa notes that as the hostages reach the nine-month mark of captivity, nine months is usually a time associated with birth and new beginnings.

“I can’t stop the terrible thought that I might be a grandmother soon or might already be,” says Gilboa, referring to the sexual abuse experienced by the women in Hamas captivity.

“I just want a bright future for my daughter,” says Gilboa.

Chen adds that while it’s known that hostages who are dead will be the last to be returned home in any deal, it is crucial to bring those bodies home for a proper burial.

He refers to a thought he shared previously with the other hostage families, referring to the loss of the prime minister’s brother, Yoni Netanyahu, in the raid on Entebbe, which took place on July 4, 1976.

“They had an official funeral and shiva, and after 30 days, a grave and somewhere to go on Memorial Day,” says Chen. “Look me in the eyes and ask me where I was on Memorial Day. I don’t want another Memorial Day like that. Itay was a hero and there is nothing more Jewish or traditional than that his soul will rest in the soil of Israel, so we can cry on it.”

Mor Korngold, the brother of Tal Shoham, still held hostage in Gaza after his wife and children, as well as three other family members, were taken hostage from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, were released at the end of November, said he doesn’t know if he can remain living in Israel, voting in elections, raising a family and building a home if he can’t trust the government to provide security and to bring the hostages home.

“The prime minister says he only wants a partial deal, what, am I only a partial citizen, do I only pay half of my taxes?” asks Korngold. “I can’t live here if we don’t bring our hostages home. Stop dealing with minor details and stand behind this deal.”

Grenade suspected to have caused explosion at office of coexistence group

The office of the Abraham Initiatives coexistence organization following an explosion, in Lod, June 26, 2024. (Abraham Initiatives)

A grenade was suspected by police to have caused an explosion at the office of the Abraham Initiatives in Lod early this morning, the coexistence organization says in a statement.

Images released by the group show damage to the office. No injuries were reported in the incident.

“The Abraham Initiatives expect the police and law enforcement to carry out a speedy and fundamental investigation into the serious incident, and bring the perpetrators to justice,” the statement reads.

The organization, founded 35 years ago, works to advance equality between Jews and Arabs, while also acting as a watchdog for the spiraling crime wave plaguing the Arab community in Israel.

Hamas replies to Hanegbi’s plan to replace it: ‘No meddling in the future of our people’

National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi (L) speaks during the Herzliya Conference, June 24, 2024. (Ronen Topelberg)

Hamas responds to statements made yesterday by National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi that Israel’s plan for the “day after” the war in Gaza will be rolled out in the coming days.

“We affirm that the fate of our Palestinian people, and the future of the Gaza Strip after defeating this criminal aggression will be decided by the Palestinian people themselves and no one else… Their brave resistance will cut off the hand of the occupation that tries to interfere in the fate and future of our people,” the terror group replies in a statement.

Speaking at the Reichman University Herzliya Conference, Hanegbi said that the Israel Defense Forces plan has “been sharpened” in recent weeks, and that “we will see a practical expression of this plan” shortly.

“We don’t have to wait for Hamas to disappear, because it is a long process,” said Hanegbi. “We can’t get rid of Hamas as an idea, there we need an alternative idea.”

The alternative put forth by Hanegbi is a government based on locals who are willing to live alongside Israel, backed up by moderate Arab states.

In response to Guardian report, IDF says it does not target all Hamas media journalists

After a British newspaper reports that Israel is targeting journalists who work for Hamas media outlets, citing senior IDF spokespeople, the military spokesperson’s office says that a Radio France interview with Colonel (res.) Olivier Rafowicz does “not reflect official IDF policy.”

“It is to be clarified that the IDF does not see Hamas’ media networks, or journalists, as such, as members of Hamas military wing,” says the IDF in a statement. “Accordingly, IDF does not target journalists as such.”

Rafowicz had said in the interview that there is “no difference between the political and the military wing of Hamas.”

“Al-Aqsa network was never identified as part of Hamas’ military wing,” the IDF continues, “and while certain Al-Aqsa network employees, including some who work or describe themselves as journalists, have been identified as members of Hamas military wing or as individuals who participate directly in hostilities, this does not project to all other employees.”

Citing the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists, The Guardian reported that some 30 percent of the 103 Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza since October 7 are “affiliated with or closely tied to Hamas.”

Erdogan: West backs Netanyahu’s plans to ‘spread war’ throughout Middle East

A smoke plume billows during Israeli bombardment of the village of Khiam in south Lebanon near the border with Israel on June 26, 2024. (Rabih Daher/AFP)

ISTANBUL, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Western powers of backing what he said were Israeli plans to attack Lebanon and “spread war” throughout the region.

“Israel is now setting its sights on Lebanon and we see that Western powers behind the scenes are patting Israel on the back and even supporting them,” he tells lawmakers from his ruling AKP party.

Prime Minister Benjamin “Netanyahu’s plans to spread the war to the region will lead to a great disaster,” he says.

His remarks came as concern soared over the escalating cross-border exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbolla — which the terror group launched on October 8 — fuelling fears it could descend into fully-fledged war.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Julian Assange lands in Australia, ending 14-year-long legal battle

SYDNEY, Australia — A plane carrying Julian Assange lands in the Australian capital Canberra on Wednesday, Reuters footage shows, bringing to an end a 14-year legal battle for the Wikileaks founder.

Assange has touched down safely in Canberra. Welcome home #Assange pic.twitter.com/qrZpBC7gmp

— Rufus (@Macr0pus_Rufus) June 26, 2024

Two ultra-Orthodox toddlers drowned, stabbed to death in New Jersey township – US media

Two toddler girls were killed in the ultra-Orthodox township of Lakewood, New Jersey, unspecified sources tell NBC New York.

The two girls, under three years old, were drowned and stabbed in a residential home, according to the sources.

Police have arrested a woman in connection to the double homicide, according to the report.

According to a New Jersey ultra-Orthodox website, The Lakewood Scoop, the woman is an “unstable relative” of the girls.

Releasing a statement, the Lakewood ultra-Orthodox community says: “Our community has experienced a devastating tragedy and we understand that many of you have contacted us and wonder why we did not post about it. We want to assure you that our decision not to share the news is deliberate and guided by the wisdom of our rabbis who advised us to prioritize sensitivity and compassion at this difficult time.”

“In times of tragedy, our focus should be on supporting the families and individuals affected, rather than spreading news for clicks or attention. We believe that some things are too painful and hurtful to share without justifiable reason, and we choose to follow our elders’ instructions and the principles of common sense and the Torah,” it added.

Committee vote on extension to IDF reservists’ service postponed

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein (center) chairs a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, June 26, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee delays a vote on a Defense Ministry-backed “draft Security Service Law” which would extend a temporary measure raising the exemption age for reserve military service from 40 to 41 for soldiers and from 45 to 46 for officers for several additional months due to a manpower shortage amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

The decision came after the committee fails to reach the “broad consensus” chairman Yuli Edelstein demanded on the measure, which is meant to compensate for the IDF’s manpower shortage amidst ongoing fighting in Gaza.

“I refused to mobilize the coalition. There will be no situation that the extension of this law will pass on the bayonets of the coalition,” Edelstein says. “Either we all reject the IDF’s request or we all agree on something. I have no personal, factional, party, or coalition interest in passing it on. Either we’ll agree on something or not, but we’re all together.”

National Unity MK Gadi Eisenkot tells the committee that he would support an extension of two weeks to the temporary measure while it attempts to hammer out a compromise on the issue of ultra-Orthodox enlistment but that the way the measure was sent to the committee at the last minute “does not convey seriousness.”

Speaking with The Times of Israel following the meeting, Yesh Atid MK Moshe Tur-Paz says that he believes that “the army hasn’t shown us that it’s done its best to bring the soldiers that already on its lists to serve and therefore because we think the army and the government must do much more to bring the ultra-Orthodox to be part of the service we didn’t vote today.”

“I said during the discussion that I spoke with several officers in the reserves and they told me that soldiers at 40 or 45 years old don’t need the change of the law in order to serve, they are volunteers by any measure and they come because it is important,” he continues. “But to tell them they must come by law while others are not serving at all is not the right thing to do.”

NATO picks Dutch PM Mark Rutte as next chief as alliances faces uncertainty

The Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrives to attend an informal EU leaders summit in Brussels, on June 17, 2024. (Nick Gammon/AFP)

BRUSSELS, Belgium — NATO allies select Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as NATO’s next boss, as the war in Ukraine rages on its doorstep and uncertainty hangs over the United States’ future attitude to the transatlantic alliance.

Rutte’s appointment became a formality after his only rival for the post, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, announced last week that he had quit the race, having failed to gain traction.

Ben Gvir claims to cancel Arab Israeli actor’s lecture to police; star’s associates say it was postponed for logistical reasons

Arab Israeli actor Hisham Suliman seen during the final of the VIP season, of the Big Brother reality show at Neve Ilan studio outside Jerusalem, March 2, 2019. (Shlomi Cohen/Flash90)

Far-right National Security Minister Ben Gvir claims he has barred an Arab Israeli actor from giving a lecture to Israel Police, saying “whoever harms, incites and insults Israeli soldiers, and acts against the country should not be a lecturer.”

Ben Gvir has said that “Fauda” actor Hisham Suliman made remarks in the past that amount to backing attacks on IDF soldiers.

But associates of Hisham Suliman tell Channel 12 that the lecture, which he has given on a regular basis for many years, was postponed due to logistical reasons.

“While the country is in flames, it’s time for Ben Gvir to deal with what is really important,” they say.

In an interview with the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper in 2015, Suliman was asked what he thinks about the kind of Palestinian terrorist that he depicts in “Fauda” and responded that Palestinians in the West Bank “have the right to fight against the occupation.”

“I don’t accept their way and don’t see it as heroism, but they have the right to fight,” he said at the time. “I seek peace and do not justify harming civilians. But a soldier who is in the West Bank and someone attacks him — I don’t think it’s terrorism.

“If he is in the West Bank and fights the Palestinians and abuses them, he implements the occupation. He shouldn’t be there.”

Last year, Ben Gvir cited the remarks as the reason for banning Suliman from an anti-drug event.

Top Shas rabbi: Army service forbidden also for Haredim who don’t attend yeshiva

Rabbi Moshe Maya speaks during a rally which marks one year since the death of Rabbi Shimon Hirari in Tel Aviv on February 28, 2016. (Yaacov Cohen/Flash90)

A top spiritual leader of the Shas Haredi movement reiterates his opposition to military service by any member of his community, including those who are not studying Torah.

“It’s forbidden for those who don’t study to go to the army. Those who do will end up violating the Shabbat,” Moshe Maya, a senior member of the Shas Council of Torah Sages, tells Kol Baramah radio following the High Court of Justice’s ruling Tuesday ordering the army to begin drafting hitherto exempted Haredi yeshiva students.

Maya, who also opposes enlistment for yeshiva students, repeats positions outlined in a letter he had undersigned with other top Shas rabbis in April.

The exemption by government decree that the court declared nullified applies annually to tens of thousands of students of yeshivas, religious seminaries.

Thousands of Haredim who do not attend yeshiva are also believed to be exempted under false pretenses. Some view their enlistment as an interim step toward resolving the Haredi draft controversy.

The rabbis’ letters indicate a divergence between the movement’s old guard and the younger and more pragmatic political echelon.

Maya, an 85-year-old former lawmaker, expresses the commonly-held view in Haredi circles that the study of Torah and prayers for Israeli soldiers and hostages constitutes a major contribution to the war effort.

“If not for the Torah students, there would be many more fatalities,” Maya says.

Iran said not enthusiastic over Iraqi militias’ plans to directly back Hezbollah in war against Israel

Illustrative: A member of Kataeb Hezbollah, attends the funeral of Abu Baqr al-Saadi, a senior commander of the armed group who was killed in a strike carried out a day earlier by an American drone that targeted his car in Baghdad, February 8, 2024. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP)

Iran has expressed reservations over plans by Iraqi militias to support Hezbollah if war were to erupt with Israel in Lebanon, the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Aqsat reports.

Four informed sources tell the outlet that a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps officer met with leaders of the militias in Baghdad to discuss and consider the plans but have yet to approve them.

According to the sources, Iran was interested in proposals to supply Hezbollah, which included redeploying Iraqi militias in Syria and transferring weapons by a single truck, instead of a convoy, so as to not attract Israeli strikes.

According to the report, the militias were also prepared to travel to Lebanon to back Hezbollah, but the Iranian officer thought their proposal was “too enthusiastic at the moment.”

According to the report, Hezbollah has rejected the groups’ offer to take part in a possible war.

The officials say the IRGC “agreed to attend the meeting at the pressing demand of Hezbollah in Lebanon because it was necessary to observe the reaction of Iraqi factions, which don’t always have the most accurate assessments.”

Two sources who were at the meeting tell the outlet that it was up to Iran to decide if the groups would join a potential war against Israel.

Palestinian gunmen who fired on Israeli town last month arrested, police say

A Palestinian gunman behind shooting attacks from the West Bank against the Israeli town of Bat Hefer in May, was detained earlier this month, police announce.

A joint IDF, Shin Bet and police statement says Amar Nasrallah was arrested on June 5 in the Tulkarem camp.

During his interrogation, “Amar admitted that he was a member of a terror cell that carried out shooting attacks on towns near the [border] fence, and in addition incriminated other suspects belonging to the cell,” the statement says.

Footage published by police shows officers shooting Nasrallah as he allegedly attempted to flee. He was wounded and captured.

A Palestinian gunman behind shooting attacks from the West Bank against the Israeli town of Bat Hefer in May, was detained earlier this month, police announce.

A joint IDF, Shin Bet and police statement says Amar Nasrallah was arrested on June 5 in the Tulkarem camp.

During his… pic.twitter.com/XcYxgHZIeu

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) June 26, 2024

American-Jewish journalist Evan Gershkovich stands trial in Russian court for espionage

US journalist Evan Gershkovich, accused of espionage, looks out from inside a glass defendants' cage prior to a hearing in Yekaterinburg's Sverdlovsk Regional Court on June 26, 2024. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP)

YEKATERINBURG, Russia — US journalist Evan Gershkovich appears in a Russian court for the start of his closed-door trial for espionage, 15 months after his shock arrest on charges he, his employer, and the White House reject as false.

The Wall Street Journal correspondent became the first Western journalist to be charged with spying in Russia since the Cold War when he was detained in March 2023 on a reporting trip to the Urals city of Yekaterinburg.

Gershkovich, who is Jewish, smiles and greets journalists in Yekaterinburg’s Sverdlovsk Regional Court with a barely audible “hi,” as he stands inside the glass defendants’ cage.

He wears a dark checked shirt and jeans, his head shaven, according to an AFP reporter in the courtroom.

Russian prosecutors accuse Gershkovich of working for the CIA and “collecting secret information” about the country’s main tank manufacturer in the Urals — claims Washington says are fabricated.

The Kremlin has provided no public evidence for the allegations, saying only that he was caught “red-handed.”

If convicted, Gershkovich could face up to 20 years in a penal colony.

The 32-year-old spent almost 15 months in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo prison following his arrest.

The US State Department says the accusations against him have “zero credibility,” while The Wall Street Journal says he was arrested for “simply doing his job.”

Washington has accused Moscow of arresting its citizens on baseless charges to use them as bargaining chips to secure the release of Russians convicted abroad.

Moscow said last week, days after the trial date was announced, that it was waiting for a response from Washington on ideas Russia had presented for a possible prisoner swap.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Hamas arms smuggler killed in drone strike, IDF says

IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip, in an image released on June 26, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

A Hamas operative involved in smuggling arms to the terror group through the Rafah border crossing and via tunnels crossing into Egypt was killed in an airstrike, the military announces.

According to the IDF, Wissam Abu Ishaq was targeted in a drone strike in the southern Gaza Strip yesterday.

It says that he was involved in running weapons to Hamas, and in recent years, smuggled arms through the Rafah Crossing and cross-border underground routes.

Since Israel’s takeover of the Egypt-Gaza border area, military officials say Hamas is no longer able to smuggle weapons into the Strip.

A separate airstrike overnight targeted a rocket launching site in southern Gaza’s Rafah, the military says.

The IDF says fighter jets and other aircraft struck dozens more targets across Gaza in the past day, including booby-trapped buildings, buildings used by terror groups, tunnels, and cells of gunmen.

Mosquitos with West Nile fever caught near Ben Gurion Airport, Ramat Gan, Environmental Protection Ministry says

Illustrative image of a mosquito (nechaev-kon; iStock by Getty Images)

Environmental Protection Ministry says it captured mosquitos infected with West Nile fever near Ben Gurion Airport and in Ramat Gan.

Three people have died from the virus in an ongoing outbreak in Israel.

PM calls in Edelstein for clarification over Haredi draft bill comment

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought clarifications, alongside other members of the coalition, from Likud MK Yuli Edelstein over comments on an ultra-Orthodox enlistment bill, Channel 12 reports.

Edelstein, issued a statement Tuesday saying the legislation will only advance “with broad agreement.”

“Or the law won’t pass it all,” he declared.

According to the report, Netanyahu was surprised by the remarks, which appeared to match the view of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who voted against the first reading of the bill in the Knesset.

Coalition members say that Edelstein was misunderstood, and would not help the opposition vote down the bill if it came to a vote, Channel 12 reports.

IDF jets strike Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon overnight

Israeli fighter jets struck a series of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon’s Shebaa and Matmoura overnight, the military says.

The IDF publishes footage of the strikes.

במהלך הלילה מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו מספר תשתיות צבאיות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב שבעא ואל מטמורה pic.twitter.com/Ir4PLxaELs

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 26, 2024

Prominent Israelis including ex-PM Barak to New York TImes: Don’t let Netanyahu address Congress

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks against the US-led international nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 before a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 3, 2015. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)

A group of prominent Israeli figures, including former prime minister Ehud Barak call on Washington to withdraw an invitation to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress on July 24, in a New York Times opinion piece.

The article casts the invitation as a “terrible mistake,” warning the speech “will not represent the State of Israel and its citizens, and it will reward his scandalous and destructive conduct toward our country.”

While such an invitation would usually be welcomed as a sign of close ties with the United States, the group says such an invitation should have been dependent on a plan to end the war in Gaza, rescue the hostages, and fresh elections in Israel, tasks Netanyahu has failed to accomplish.

“Inviting Mr. Netanyahu will reward his contempt for US efforts to establish a peace plan, allow more aid to the beleaguered people of Gaza and do a better job of sparing civilians,” the article reads.

“Time and again, he has rejected [US] President Biden’s plan to remove Hamas from power in Gaza through the establishment of a peacekeeping force. Such a move would very likely bring in its wake a far broader regional alliance, including a vision to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is not only in Israel’s interest but also in the interest of both political parties in the United States. Mr. Netanyahu constitutes the main obstacle to these outcomes.”

The article slams Netanyahu for his “authoritarian remaking of Israel” and says the speech to Congress will allow the prime minister “to boast to his constituents about America’s so-called support for his failed policies.”

“His supporters in Israel will be emboldened by his appearance in Congress to insist that the war continue, which will further distance any deal to secure the release of the hostages, including several US citizens,” it adds.

“Giving Mr. Netanyahu the stage in Washington will all but dismiss the rage and pain of his people, as expressed in the demonstrations throughout the country. American lawmakers should not let that happen. They should ask Mr. Netanyahu to stay home.”

The piece is submitted by David Harel, the president of Israel’s Academy of Sciences and Humanities; Tamir Pardo, a former Mossad spy agency director; Talia Sasson, a former prosecutor in the State Attorney’s Office; Ehud Barak, a former prime minister; Aaron Ciechanover, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2004; and writer David Grossman.

Parents of Hamas hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin feel widespread support, but leaders ‘not doing enough’

Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, parents of Hamas hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, tell Channel 12 they do not feel alone in their struggle but abandoned by global leadership.

“We have tremendous support from regular people all over the world and here in Israel, and we see in the polls recently week after week the rising support for a deal to get done, no matter what it takes, to get the hostages home, so I don’t feel forgotten, I don’t feel alone,” Rachel said, adding she still feels pain over her son’s absence.

Rachel also says she watched last night for the first time a video of her son’s gruesome abduction, which was released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum Monday.

“I knew that it would be hard for me,” she says, adding that her daughter told her not to watch it, due to the graphic content.

“It in a way took us back to October 7, in some sort of psychological way,” she says, adding it “dug deeper into that trauma.”

“It’s obvious that all of our leaders are not doing enough” to get the hostages released, she states.

Norway’s largest pension fund divests from US firm over Israel ties

A Caterpillar tractor clearing land for Israeli homes in the West Bank, in 2012. (Oren Nahshon/Flash90)

OSLO, Norway — Norway’s largest pension fund says it had divested from US industrial group Caterpillar because of the risk its equipment was being used by the Israeli army in Gaza.

“For a long time, Caterpillar has supplied bulldozers and other equipment that has been used to demolish Palestinian homes and infrastructure to clear the way for Israeli settlements,” Kiran Aziz, head of responsible investments at KLP, says in a statement.

“It has also been alleged that the company’s equipment is being used by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) in connection with its military campaign in Gaza following the Hamas attack on October 7 last year,” she adds.

Because of this, there is a “risk that the US company may be contributing to human rights abuses and violation of international law in the West Bank and Gaza,” KLP says.

The fund says that since Caterpillar “cannot provide us with assurances that it is doing anything in this regard, we have decided to exclude the company from investment.”

KLP — not to be confused with Norway’s massive sovereign wealth fund — said that earlier this month it owned Caterpillar stock valued at 728 million kroner ($68.6 million), which it had now divested.

The fund has around $90 billion under management.

In April 2021, KLP excluded companies linked to Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including telecom equipment giant Motorola.

AIPAC cheers as Jewish vote hailed as key to Bowman defeat

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee says the defeat of Jamal Bowman in the Democratic primary for New York’s 16th Congressional District “once again shows that the pro-Israel position is both good policy and good politics — for both parties.”

The group, which poured money into the campaign, congratulates George Latimer on his “resounding victory over an anti-Israel detractor.”

“This triumph by a strong pro-Israel candidate represents a major victory for the Democratic mainstream that stands with the Jewish state and a defeat for the extremist fringe,” AIPAC says in a statement.

Democratic Majority for Israel PAC says it targeted Black and Hispanic voters in the district with pro-Latimer ads.

“Like other races this cycle, George Latimer’s victory and Jamaal Bowman’s defeat demonstrate in dramatic fashion our long-time contention that being pro-Israel is not just wise policy, but also winning politics,” DMFI PAC head Mark Melman says.

Haile Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, says in a statement that Jews make up 13% of the district’s voters, who “overwhelmingly supported George Latimer and helped to unseat Jamaal Bowman.”

“Tonight’s result demonstrates the critical role that Jewish voters have – and will continue to have – on the outcome of elections. It also demonstrates that Jamaal Bowman was out of step with the Democratic Party, his constituents, and Jewish voters, and he lost his seat in Congress as a result,” she says.

A group called Westchester Unites, which ran a Jewish get-out-the-vote campaign, says likely Jewish voters had cast early ballots at four times the rate of non-Jews. At one synagogue, 87% of eligible voters cast a ballot prior to election day. The group, a project of the Orthodox Union’s Teach Coalition, estimates that 9% of all eligible Democratic party primary voters were Jews.

“Jews across the country are concerned about rising antisemitism and their safety. The need to have elected officials who care about our well-being and represent these issues has never been greater,” says Dan Mitzner, director of government affairs for Teach Coalition. “We tapped into this feeling and gave the NY-16’s Jewish community the tools and information to take action through voting – and they responded and acted in historic numbers.”

Jews for Jamaal, meanwhile, says the group is “devastated” by Bowman’s defeat.

“Bowman’s positions on social justice and human rights at home and abroad are popular with Democratic voters, and outside groups spent historic amounts of money to confuse and drown out the voices of NY-16 constituents,” it says in a statement.

Latimer celebrates primary win as Bowman attacks AIPAC, vows to keep fighting to free Palestine

Westchester County Executive George Latimer speaks at his primary election night party, June 25, 2024 in White Plains, NY. (AP/Jeenah Moon)

In a victory speech after defeating Israeli critic Jamal Bowman in the Democratic primary for New York’s 16th Congressional District, George Latimer calls for more civility following the contentious election.

“We have to fight to make sure we don’t vilify each other and we remember that we’re all Americans, and our common future is bound together,” he tells supporters at an event in White Plains.

“We argue, we debate, we find a way to come together,” says Latimer, who got into the race at the urging of Jewish leaders and had heavy financial backing from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

The centrist adds that all representatives had a duty to find ways to work across political divides and prevent the country from splintering.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., speaks during a primary election night watch party, Tuesday, June 25, 2024, in Yonkers, New York. (AP/Yuki Iwamura)

Bowman meanwhile concedes defeat and vows to keep battling for his policies, including in the Middle East.

“We will continue to fight for a free Palestine now, and God help us build a better world where everyone understands when we say ‘Free Palestine,’ it is not antisemitic,” he says.

Bowman angered many Jews in his district after October 7 with his harsh criticism of Israel, and pro-Israel advocacy groups poured a record amount of funding into the primary contest. The race was seen as a referendum between the progressive and centrist wings of the Democratic Party, which are split over the Israel-Hamas war.

Bowman had made AIPAC a focus of his campaign, and keeps up his attacks against the group after conceding defeat.

“We should be outraged when a super PAC of dark money can spend $20 million to brainwash people into believing something that isn’t true,” he says. “They spent a record amount of money, the most in US history, to beat this Black man.”

Trump proxy Boebert wins primary for House seat after switching Colorado districts

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., speaks during a House Committee on Natural Resources hearing on America's Energy and Mineral potential, Wednesday, February 8, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

US Rep. Lauren Boebert has won Tuesday’s Republican primary in a US House race that she jumped into last year, surviving a scandal over a video of her at a Denver theater and accusations of carpetbagging after fleeing what could have been a tough reelection bid in her current district.

In two other closely watched GOP contests, Attorney Jeff Hurd won the primary for the 3rd Congressional District seat currently held by Boebert, and political consultant and talk radio host Jeff Crank defeated Colorado GOP Chairman Dave Williams in the 5th District.

Boebert built national hard-line conservative stardom through a take-no-prisoners political style in the House. That clout likely made it easier for her to weather the scandals of the last year, which included the video of her vaping and causing a disturbance at a musical production of “Beetlejuice.”

Boebert is expected to also win the November general election in the district, which sweeps across a wide expanse of ranches, ghost towns and conservative parts of the Denver metro area that make up much of the plains of eastern Colorado. Its voters overwhelmingly backed former President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

She said she switched districts to ensure another Republican could win her seat, which she nearly lost in 2022, and she blamed outside groups for targeting her. But she had already become a fundraising magnet for that other district’s Democratic candidate, who has pulled in millions that may help him flip a seat that has leaned Republican in recent years.

Boebert entered her election night gathering in the evening toting a pair of reflective gold sneakers sold by Trump and a white “Make America Great Again” hat with his signature across the bill.

Hurd, a softer-spoken and less hard-line conservative, will face Adam Frisch, the Democratic candidate who lost to Boebert by only 546 votes in 2022. That narrow margin was largely attributed to Boebert’s divisiveness among voters, and Hurd is considered to have the advantage in the general election in the Republican-leaning district.

Still, Frisch’s near victory in 2022, which caught national attention and showed donors he had a path to flip the seat, has helped him raise over $13 million dollars. It’s one of the biggest House campaign chests in the nation and far overshadows Hurd’s $1 million.

AP calls NY primary race for Latimer, spelling defeat for anti-Israel incumbent Bowman

Composite photo: Rep. Jamaal Bowman (left), a New York Democrat at a campaign stop in White Plains, New York, on June 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey); Westchester County Executive George Latimer speaks in White Plains, New York, March 20, 2023. (Tania Savanna/The Journal News via AP)

The Associated Press has called the primary race between incumbent Jamal Bowman and George Latimer for the challenger in a Democratic battle that highlighted the party’s deep divisions over the war in Gaza.

Latimer, a pro-Israel centrist, holds 55 percent of the vote, with 51% of ballots counted.

With the victory, Latimer has almost certainly ousted one of the most liberal voices in Congress and one of its most outspoken critics of Israel. Bowman has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, where thousands of Palestinians have died in military strikes.

Latimer is a former state legislator who has served as Westchester County executive since 2018.

Bowman had been seeking a third term, representing a district in New York City’s northern suburbs. His defeat is a blow to the party’s progressive wing and a potential cautionary tale for candidates trying to shape their messaging around the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Missile strikes near ship off Yemen, UK monitor says

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations says it has received a report of an incident 52 nautical miles south of Yemen’s Aden, as a merchant vessel’s captain reports a missile impacting the water in close proximity to a ship.

UKMTO adds that the crew are reported safe and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been carrying out regular attacks against ships traversing the vital waterway for months as part of a campaign meant to support Hamas in Gaza.

Incumbent Bowman falls behind to AIPAC-backed challenger in NY primary

An early lead claimed by Rep. Jamal Bowman in his Democratic primary battle has been reversed as more votes are counted in the closely watched race.

With 27 percent of votes counted, challenger George Latimer leads 55.8% to 44.2% to unseat the congressman.

Polls had predicted a handy victory for Latimer, 70, who has been in politics for more than three decades. He was in the state legislature for years before becoming the Westchester County executive in 2018.

Bowman, a former school principal, has faced a torrent of negative ads funded by the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC after he accused Israel of genocide in its war against Hamas,

Israel critic Bowman takes early lead as polls close in closely watched NY primary

Polls have closed in New York, where a hotly contested Democratic primary has focused attention on congressional attitudes toward Israel.

Jamal Bowman, a vociferous critic of Israel who represents the 16th District in the suburbs north of New York City, is facing a tough challenge from local leader George Latimer, whose campaign has been heavily backed by the America Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Early returns give Bowman a sizable lead with over 78 percent of the votes, though only some 5 percent of votes have been counted so far, the lions share of them from the Bronx, where Bowman is expected to perform better than in the wealthier suburbs of Westchester County to the north.

AIPAC’s allied super PAC has spent nearly $15 million on the primary, according to Federal Election Commission records. The cash paid for a torrent of ads attacking Bowman, who has accused the influential pro-Israel lobbying group of trying to buy the race.

The winner of the primary will be the prohibitive favorite to win in the general election. The district, which includes parts of Westchester County and a small piece of the Bronx, is a Democratic stronghold.

The primary fight has emerged as a case study of where Democratic voters might stand on Israel and has exposed the ever-simmering tensions between the party’s liberals and centrists.

Army says drone crashed near Eilat, indicates failed interception

The Israel Defense Forces confirms a drone went down near Eilat, but does not say it was intercepted.

In a statement, the army says it tracked the drone as it approached Israel from the direction of the Red Sea.

“The vessel impacted in offshore territory adjacent to Eilat,” the statement says, noting that it did not enter Israeli airspace.

“In addition, during the incident, an interceptor was fired at the vessel,” the statement says, without noting if the effort was successful.

The statement appears to confirm videos which showed an interceptor missile crashing into the water shortly after being fired from somewhere near the city, and a separate object exploding as it appears to hit the water near the city.

⚡️Looks like a failed interception in Eilat pic.twitter.com/4HXCHAvo7E

— Middle East Observer (@ME_Observer_) June 25, 2024

⚡️Some sort of hit on Eilat

pic.twitter.com/DV18cL7wcV

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) June 26, 2024

Iraqi group claims responsibility for drone attack on Eilat

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a consortium of Iran-backed militias, claims responsibility for launching a drone at Eilat.

In a statement posted online, the group says it targeted a “vital target” in the Red Sea city.

‘Target’ aimed at Eilat shot down before reaching city, municipality says

The city of Eilat says in a statement posted online that an object targeting the city was successfully shot down.

The statement, citing security officials, says the intercepted “target” did not cross into Eilat’s airspace.

A UAV was successfully intercepted above the Red Sea near Eilat. pic.twitter.com/g2BrHlXPfN

— Israel News Feed (@IsraelHatzolah) June 25, 2024

There is no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Drone alert sounds in Eilat, video shows explosion near city

The IDF’s Homefront Command has issued an all-clear after sirens sounded in Eilat some 10 minutes ago warning of a drone attack on the Red Sea city.

Video footage posted online appears to show a projectile exploding near the city.

Interceptor fired over Eilat a short time ago may have been targeting a drone. pic.twitter.com/94Gy8dqzbg

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) June 25, 2024

תיעוד: יירוט במפרץ אילת@Itsik_zuarets pic.twitter.com/KZgjnPz79g

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) June 25, 2024

Arson reportedly suspected as large blazes put out near Jerusalem hospital, base

A fire burns on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem on June 25, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Firefighters have managed to bring a large blaze that broke out near a hospital and military base on Jerusalem’s Mount Scopus under control after some three hours, authorities say.

According to the Fire and Rescue Service, two fires broke out in the area just before 10 p.m. and were bolstered by high winds, threatening Hadassah Hospital and the Oferet military base.

Firefighters aided by police and troops managed to create defensive lines around both the hospital and the base, the service said earlier.

According to an uncofirmed Channel 12 news report, authorities suspect the blazes were started by Molotov cocktails hurled from the nearby Palestinian neighborhood of Issawiya.

“During the night and into the morning, multiple crews will remain to finish putting out the fire and to prevent blazes from starting back up and defend the area from more fires being started or firebombs being thrown,” the fire service says in a statement.