March 8: Hostage deal activists set up protest camp outside IDF headquarters

Nova festival survivors who took psychedelic drugs may have been better protected against trauma, researchers find

At the Nova rave site in Re'im on January 16, 2025. (Photo by Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

A new study is examining the effect that recreational drugs can have on people experiencing psychological trauma through studying the experiences of survivors of the Nova music festival, where some 360 people were massacred by invading terrorists on October 7, 2023, the BBC reports.

Many of the partygoers had taken illegal drugs such as MDMA and LSD in the hours leading up to the slaughter, and researchers from the University of Haifa are examining whether this may have provided them with a degree of psychological protection against trauma.

The study, which is currently being peer reviewed, could potentially contribute to breakthroughs in the use of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the BBC says, as the treatment is still largely experimental.

One of the study’s lead researchers, Prof. Roy Salomon, tells the BBC that of some 650 survivors, two thirds had been under the influence of drugs, including MDMA, LSD, as well as hallucinogenic mushrooms and marijuana.

“We had people hiding under the bodies of their friends for hours while on LSD or MDMA,” he says.

He says that those who had been high on MDMA and nothing else were seemingly the best protected against the psychological trauma that they endured that day.

In particular, Salomon tells the news outlet that they seemed to cope better than others during the first five months following the attack.

“They were sleeping better, had less mental distress – they were doing better than people who didn’t take any substance,” he says.

Man who scaled London’s Big Ben carrying Palestinian flag resists calls to come down, after more than 10 hours atop clock tower

A protester holding a Palestinian flag gestures from the side of the Elizabeth Tower, commonly known by the name of the clock's bell "Big Ben", at the Palace of Westminster, home to the Houses of Parliament, in central London, on March 8, 2025. (Ben Stansall/AFP)

A man with a Palestinian flag who climbed London’s Big Ben clock tower early on Saturday was still perched on the famous landmark after nightfall, even as emergency crews urged him to come down.

Police say they were first alerted shortly after 7 a.m., and the man has spent the day barefoot on a ledge several metres up the historic structure.

Crowds have been watching from behind a police cordon, with supporters chanting “Free Palestine” and “You are a hero.”

Negotiators boarded a fire truck lift and used a megaphone to speak with the man, but footage on social media shows him saying: “I will come down on my own terms.”

Police closed off the surrounding area, including Westminster Bridge, tours at the Houses of Parliament were canceled.

AFP journalists at the scene earlier say the man appeared to be bleeding from his foot.

“Officers are at the scene working to bring the incident to a safe conclusion,” London Metropolitan Police force tell AFP.

“They are being assisted by the London Fire Brigade and the London Ambulance Service.”

Hamas agrees to free some living hostages for extension of ceasefire’s first phase — report

Hamas has agreed to release some living hostages in exchange for a two-month extension to the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, the Saudi Al Hadath network reports.

There is no confirmation of the claim.

According to unnamed sources, progress in recent negotiations in Cairo led to Israel’s decision to send a negotiating team to Qatar on Monday, which was announced by the Prime Minister’s Office this evening.

Hostage deal activists set up protest camp outside IDF headquarters

Anti-government, pro-hostage protesters set up tents to stay the night outside the Begin Street entrance to the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, March 8, 2025. (Noam Lehmann/The Times of Israel)

Anti-government, pro-hostage deal protesters set up camp to spend the night outside the IDF’s Kirya headquarters in Tel Aviv, as part of what some hostages’ families call “Operation Kirya Cordon.”

The largest encampment is outside the base’s main eastern entrance, on Begin Road. Smaller encampments are set up outside two entrances on Kaplan Street, on the base’s south side, and outside an entrance on Shaul Hamelech Street, on the north side, just across from Hostages Square.

The weekly Begin Road protest, which usually disperses at about 10 p.m., is still going strong, with protesters gathered around a bonfire on the road chanting: “The cabinet’s responsible for the life of the hostages.”

Earlier, the protesters were addressed by Jimmy Miller, cousin of slain hostage Shiri Silberman Bibas, and Jon Polin, father of slain hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

Silberman Bibas’s body was returned to Israel last month along with those of her young sons Ariel, 4, and Kfir, nine months, as part of the ceasefire deal with Hamas. Her husband, and the boys’ father, Yarden Bibas, was returned to Israel alive on February 1.

Speaking through a megaphone to dozens of supporters, Miller says Yarden’s wish and only comfort is that “hostages will keep coming back alive.”

People take part in a protest in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, March 8, 2025, demanding the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (AP/Ariel Schalit)

Addressing the government, Miller says: “It’s the very least you can do for us.”

Throughout the war, Miller has been an energetic fixture of hostage rallies, instantly recognizable by his orange shirt and hat — a tribute to the redheaded Ariel and Kfir. Tonight, Miller is subdued and wears black.

Polin speaks after Miller. His shirt is red — the color of Hersh’s favorite sports team, Hapoel Jerusalem — and is emblazoned with Hersh’s face and the slogan: “May his memory be a revolution.”

Polin recites a prayer asking God to give Israel’s leaders “the commitment and determination to complete the deal, even at the price of ending the war.”

Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin hold a sign with a drawing of their son Hersh, who was murdered in Hamas captivity in Gaza, during a protest urging the release of all hostages, at the Begin Gate of the IDF’s Kirya headquarters in Tel Aviv, March 8, 2025. (Yael Gadot / Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

After Khamenei rejects talks, White House says Iran can be dealt with militarily or with a deal

WASHINGTON — The White House, responding to Iran’s rejection of President Donald Trump’s call to negotiate a nuclear agreement, reiterates Trump’s assertion that Tehran can be dealt with either militarily or by making a deal.

“We hope the Iran Regime puts its people and best interests ahead of terror,” White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes says in a statement, after Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Tehran will not be bullied into negotiations.

Negotiating team flying to Qatar to be led by government’s hostage point man, senior Shin Bet official

Gal Hirsch, the government's point man on missing and kidnapped citizens arrives to the funeral of late Israeli soldier Oron Shaul at the cemetery in Poriya Ilit on January 20, 2025. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)

The Israeli delegation flying to Qatar on Monday will be headed by the government’s hostage point man Gal Hirsch, and senior Shin Bet official “M.,” an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political adviser Ophir Falk will also join the delegation.

The delegation that flew to Qatar in February was made up of the same officials.

M. is flying in place of the head of the security agency, Ronen Bar, whom Netanyahu removed from his negotiating role and is reportedly looking to fire.

Monitor says 745 Alawites killed by Syrian security forces, allies since Thursday

Syrian army forces make their way to Latakia fight against fighters of former regime leader Bashar al-Assad on March 7, 2025. (Asaad Syria/Flash90)

BEIRUT, Lebanon — A Syrian war monitor says that security forces and allied groups killed 745 Alawite civilians over the past three days, revising upwards a previous toll.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the latest deaths among Alawite civilians pushed the overall toll in violence since Thursday to 1,018, as fighting killed 125 security personnel and 148 fighters loyal to ousted president Bashar al-Assad.

PM’s office says negotiators will head to Doha Monday for Gaza ceasefire talks

Protesters demand the return of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza outside the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, March 8, 2025. (Courtesy)

Israel will send a negotiating team to Qatar on Monday, says the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Israel agreed to the invitation of the mediators backed by the US, and will send a delegation to Doha on Monday in an attempt to make progress in the negotiations,” according to the PMO.

The development comes after Arabic media reports that Hamas has indicated it is willing to agree to a temporary extension of the Gaza ceasefire over Ramadan.

An Israeli official tells The Times of Israel that there is no particular progress in the talks that led to a decision and denies the reports that Hamas agreed to a Ramadan ceasefire extension.

Saudi report says Israel, Hamas reach Ramadan truce; Israeli official denies claim

According to the Saudi Al Arabiya channel, an agreement has been reached on a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel during the month of Ramadan, which ends on March 29.

The outlet is light on details and only cites “sources,’ and does not say how many hostages Hamas has to release as part of the ostensible ceasefire extension.

An Israeli official later tells Hebrew media outlets that no such agreement has been made.

Police briefly block exits at Tel Aviv protest, elderly people reportedly pushed to the ground

Police block the exits from a protest on behalf of hostages and against the government, at the Begin Gate of the IDF Headquarters in Tel Aviv, March 8, 2025.(Gilad Furst / Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Police in Tel Aviv blocked off demonstrators in a crowded area on Begin Road a short while ago, using parked trucks and rows of officers, preventing participants from leaving their protest.

Participants say the police action led to intense pressure within the crowd, and that they begged the police to let them leave the enclosed area.

Footage showed some people crawling under the trucks to get out of the enclosed area.

עוד ועוד אנשים נאצלים לזחול בין משאיות כדי לחלץ עצמם מהדוחק שנוצר עקב חסימות המפגינים המעוניינים לשוב לביתם pic.twitter.com/YQLDvc6NPG

— אלימות ישראל (@Alimut_Israel) March 8, 2025

A Channel 12 report says the decision to close in the crowds caused “dangerous overcrowding.” The move was unprovoked and unjustified, the report says, and was ordered by the police commander at the scene.

Several elderly people were pushed to the ground, the report says, “and police officers began to beat demonstrators who simply wanted to get past and had done nothing.”

After more senior district officers were alerted, the various barriers were removed and the crowds were allowed to move around. If this had not happened, “we would have seen a disaster,” Channel 12 says.

Some of the participants had simply wanted to go home, the report says, and others to join families who are holding a vigil outside the IDF Kirya Headquarters.

Freed hostage Karina Ariev at Hostages Square: ‘Start hoping again, because we’ll get you back’

Released hostage Karina Ariev addresses a rally in Hostages Square, March 8, 2025. (Paulina Patimer / Hostages Families Forum)

Freed hostage Karina Ariev, a surveillance soldier snatched by Hamas from the Nahal Oz base on October 7, 2023, opens her first speech at Hostages Square: “My name is Karina Ariev, and I am free!”

She says regaining her freedom after 477 days made her “realize I have a role in this world, and that role is to keep fighting until all my hostage brothers and sisters also get their freedom.”

Ariev recounts seeing friends at the Nahal Oz base “fight to the end and pay with their lives” during the Hamas onslaught. For 477 days after that, she was held “in awful conditions, in the dark, in the cold, with the terorists awful treatment of us,” she says.

“I know what it’s like to be in captivity. I know who Hamas is. And as someone who knows both those things, I want to say: The hostages are above all else. First we need to take care of them, and then of everything else,” she says. “Because you can’t put a price on freedom.”

“My rehabilitation can’t start until everyone is here,” she says, calling for a hostage deal.

She thanks hostage rally-goers, troops, and US President Donald Trump for securing her release. She addresses Trump in English.

Ariev and three other female surveillance soldiers were released last month as part of the ceasefire-hostage deal with Hamas. A fifth surveillance soldier was released five days later.

Like other released hostages, the surveillance soldiers have said they learned Arabic in captivity. Speaking at Hostages Square, Ariev addresses remaining captives in Arabic: “Start hoping again, because we’ll get you back.”

Brother of captive soldier accuses Israel of violating ceasefire and hostage release deal

Anti-government protesters demand a deal to free remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, March 8, 2025. (Pro-Democracy Protest Movement/Gilad Furst)

Yotam Cohen, brother of captive soldier Nimrod Cohen, tells some 2,000 anti-government, pro-hostage deal protesters outside the IDF’s Kirya headquarters in Tel Aviv that Israel is violating the ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas.

He adds that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his new hostage talks point man, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, are working to convince US President Donald Trump that most of the hostages are dead and the agreement is unnecessary.

Referring to Trump’s direct talks with Hamas — first reported on the Axios news site this week and later confirmed by the White House — Yotam Cohen says foreign leaders “have already understood that Israel is not so interested in releasing its hostages.”

“It’s an embarassment to be Israeli,” he says.

“The State of Israel is betraying the hostages,” he yells. “Netanyahu and Dermer are betraying the hostages.”

Cohen notes Israel’s failure to abide by the deal’s requirement to commence talks on its second phase, originally expected to start on February 3, day 16 of the first deal, as well as Israel’s failure to retreat from the Phildelphi Corridor, on the Gaza-Egypt border, on the 42nd and final day of the first phase last Saturday.

Anti-government protesters demand a deal to free remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, March 8, 2025. (Pro-Democracy Protest Movement/Rony Shapiro)

Nimrod Cohen is slated for release in the second phase, which would require Israel to withdraw from Gaza — a red line for Netanyahu’s far-right coalition partners.

“We are on day 50 of the deal, and Israel is violating the agreement,” says Yotam Cohen.

He assails politicians who say Israel should resume intense combat in Gaza: “The same military pressure that killed more than 40 hostages until now… one in six hostages,” he says, referring to a New York Times report today.

Yotam Cohen expresses hope that Netanyahu and Dermer’s “Axis of Evil” will lose to the “column of light” comprising captivity survivors — eight of whom met with Trump in Washington this week — along with White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Israeli-American Republican donor Miriam Edelson, who contributed handsomely to Trump’s campaign and is thought to have nudged him toward supporting the hostage deal.

Speaking after Cohen, Yifat Calderon, who is the cousin of released hostage Ofer Calderon, says hostages’ families plan to sleep outside the IDF headquarters tonight as an act of protest, urging the public to join.

An MC for the demonstration says tents have been prepared for protesters to camp outside each of the Kirya military base’s gates for days. He calls on participants in “Operation Kirya Cordon” to respect members of the security forces stationed outside the base.

In video message, freed hostage Eliya Cohen thanks protesters, urges politicians to forge ahead with deal

Freed hostage Eliya Cohen speaks in a video message played at Hostages Square on March 8, 2025. (Hostages Families Forum)

Released hostage Eliya Cohen thanks protesters for fighting for his freedom in a video message to demonstrators at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square.

“We have an opportunity to return everyone. You successfully brought me back, you can bring back everyone. Those who are alive and the dead. There are people there sitting underground and are simply waiting to go home. You don’t know what they are experiencing,” he says.

Cohen urges politicians to compromise, to enter the negotiating room, and not to leave until they successfully bring everyone home.

“There’s no reason in the world to continue dragging this out — not phase one, not phase two, and not phase three. Just get everyone out. Israel is strong enough to do this, and this is the time for our country to get everyone out,” he urges.

Hoping that those still in Gaza can hear him, Cohen says that the people of Israel love them and are not giving up on them.

“To all my brothers still in captivity, I know there’s a small chance you can hear me. I want you to know that the people of Israel love you, that the people of Israel are fighting for you tooth and nail, that the people of Israel are not giving up on you. You don’t know how loved you are here, and how many people love you, and are trying to bring you home. Be strong. I know what they’re telling you. I know what they’re saying to you, but it’s all nonsense. You are coming home,” he says.

“Alon Ohel, Elkana Bohbot, be strong. I love you. I want you to know that we are all united here—the families, the friends. I promise you we are doing everything so that you will return home.”

Protesters make their way to Begin Road in Tel Aviv during a rally calling for the release of all remaining hostages from Gaza, March 8, 2025. (Orna Kupferman / Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Anat Angrest says she has another video of son in captivity, doctors believe injuries ‘irreversible’

Demonstrators demanding the return of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza rally in Hostage Square, Tel Aviv, March 8, 2025. (Paulina Patimer/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Anat Angrest, whose son Matan is being held in Gaza, tells demonstrators at Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square that the family has another “shocking video” of her son in captivity.

Hamas issued a propaganda video of Matan on Friday, less than a week after his family published the first photo of him in captivity, from a previous video received from Hamas.

Angrest says that he is experiencing a “brutal lynch” in captivity.

“He looks turned off, desperate, and angry. His right hand doesn’t work, his eyes and his mouth are not symetrical, his nose is broken and there is serious uncertainty over the condition of his legs,” Angrest says, adding that the wounds are a result of battle injuries sustained on October 7, 2023, and his interrogation and torture in captivity.

“Doctors say the damage to his body is irreversible,” she adds.

Idit Ohel, whose son Alon is being held captive, tells demonstrators that released hostages have told her that Alon still “whistles,” even during the most desperate times in captivity.

Israel has plans for large-scale campaign against Hamas if talks fail — report

Israeli soldiers seen inside the northern Gaza Strip, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, on February 9, 2025. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

If Israel decides that hostage talks with Hamas are fruitless or that the terror groups’ demands are too high, it has plans for an escalatory military campaign against Hamas, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The report points at possibly cutting off electricity and water as the next stage, after Israel declared that it would not let new aid shipments into the Gaza Strip.

Citing an “Israeli security analyst briefed on the plan,” the WSJ says that Israel could then use airstrikes and raids. The analyst says that the next stage could be pushing Palestinians out of the northern Gaza Strip once again.

According to the analyst, “The preliminary stages of escalation could take up to two months, during which time Israel could begin to remobilize its forces for a large invasion of Gaza with sufficient troops to hold ground.”

US reportedly holding talks with Hamas on proposed release of 10 living hostages, 2 month ceasefire extension

An Israeli source confirms a Sky News Arabia report last week that the US is offering Hamas a deal in which 10 living Israeli hostages would be released in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Israel is “barely involved,” and the talks with Hamas are occurring “over Israel’s head,” according to the report.

The White House’s special hostage envoy also held a meeting with Hamas in Doha, a development that reportedly led to a tense phone call with a top aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At weekly protest, anti-government activist says overhaul rallies to resume next week

Protesters demanding the return of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza gather at Habima Square, Tel Aviv, March 8, 2025. (Adar Eyal/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Speaking to some 250 anti-government protesters at Habima Square in central Tel Aviv, The Democrats lawmaker Efrat Rayten marks International Women’s Day, name-checking women’s groups active in the protest movement against the government’s plan to weaken the judiciary, and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, whom the government plans to oust as part of the plan.

Rayten also pays tribute to the “heroic women [who have fought] since the first day of the war” in Gaza.

“We are the people of tomorrow; we are the day after,” says Rayten. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies are “yesterday’s people,” she adds.

Meanwhile, Moshe Radman — a leading anti-government activist — announces that as of next Saturday night, protests against the judicial overhaul will return to Kaplan Street.

The road a few blocks away featured mass weekly anti-government demonstrations for some 10 months before the Gaza war was sparked on October 7, 2023.

Attempts to renew those demonstrations in December largely fell flat, with police on some weeks refusing to block the central route due to the relatively small number of protesters.

Protesters demanding the return of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza march from Habima Square to Begin Road with a banner reading, “The government is against the nation. The nation is in favor of life,” in Tel Aviv, March 8, 2025. (Lior Segev/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

The crowd is awash in Israeli flags. Protesters chant: “The country is ours, not Netanyahu’s.” Using the premier’s nickname, they add: “It won’t end until Bibi is arrested.”

At the end of the rally, protesters march to the anti-government, pro-hostage deal demonstration on Begin Road, in front of the IDF headquarters.

Protesters urging the release of hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza and opposing the government gather on Begin Road on March 8, 2025. (Yair Palti / Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Besides Rayten and Radman, the Habima rally also features speeches from Eyal Naveh, of the “Brothers in Arms” reservists’ protest group, and prominent anti-government activist Shikma Bressler.

Anti-government activist Shikma Bressler speaks at a rally in Tel Aviv, March 8, 2025. (Neta Dekel / Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Speakers stand in front of a sculpture of a train branded with the hashtag #QatarGate — a pun, since the Gulf country’s name sounds similar to the Hebrew word for a train conductor.

Some of Netanyahu’s top aides are suspected of inappropriate commercial ties to Qatar, which backs Hamas.

Netanyahu himself oversaw almost a decade of cash transfers from Qatar to Hamas in a bid to stabilize the Gaza Strip.

Harking to the policy — now a focal point of criticism against the government — the protest stage also featured open suitcases filled with fake $100 bills, along with three blow-up dolls dressed up as Netanyahu and what appear to be a hostage and a Qatari sheikh. Another cardboard figure with the face of slain Hamas military chief Muhammad Deif stands between Netanyahu and the sheikh, clutching a stack of bills. The mannequins and fake money are moved aside when speeches begin.

Mother of hostage Eitan Horn calls on government to help reunite him with freed brother

Ruti Strum, mother of hostage Eitan Horn and released hostage Yair Horn, speaks at a demonstration for the return of hostages in Kfar Saba, March 8, 2025. (Nuki Sharir/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Ruti Strum, mother of Hamas hostage Eitan Horn and released hostage Iair Horn, calls for the government to reunite her sons, speaking at a demonstration in Kfar Saba for the return of captives.

“I raised them together. I felt them together [while in captivity], and they were together. Why did you separate them? The government must protect its citizens and bring back everyone,” she says.

Iair Horn, 46, was abducted from his Kibbutz Nir Oz home on October 7, as Hamas terrorists swarmed through the kibbutz, killing or kidnapping one in four of the community’s residents. He was released on February 15 as part of the hostage-ceasefire deal.

Horn’s younger brother, Eitan Horn, 37 (now 38), a resident of Kfar Saba, was visiting Iair on Kibbutz Nir Oz for the holiday weekend when he was captured. Eitan remains in captivity.

Monday tree-planting event near Gaza border nixed after IDF security assessment

Avi Attar plants trees near the security wall separating Kibbutz Kerem Shalom from Gaza, May 28, 2023. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)

A tree-planting event planned for Monday morning near the border with Gaza has been called off by the IDF following a fresh assessment of the security situation, the military says.

The event by the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) near Be’eri was to dedicate a new forest commemorating those killed during the October 7 onslaught and in the war. Hundreds of bereaved families were set to participate.

The event was already postponed once by the IDF last month.

The latest announcement comes amid the fragile ceasefire in Gaza.

The IDF says there are no other changes to the guidelines for civilians.

Netanyahu to hold phone meeting on hostage release efforts with small group of ministers

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a situation assessment by telephone this evening on attempts to free the hostages from captivity in Gaza, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

According to Channel 12, a small group of ministers were invited, as was Shas party chairman Aryeh Deri.

Netanyahu offers belated thanks to Trump after tensions over Hamas meeting

Amid the most significant signs of strain between Washington and Jerusalem since Donald Trump returned to office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offers public thanks to the US president for backing Israel against Hamas.

“Thank you President Trump for once again boldly supporting Israel in our just war against the monstrous Hamas terrorists,” writes Netanyahu on X, sharing a Thursday post by Trump in which he again warns Hamas that if it doesn’t free the hostages it is holding in Gaza, “there will be hell to pay later.”

Trump also shared photos of his White House meeting with eight released Israeli hostages.

Thank you President Trump for once again boldly supporting Israel in our just war against the monstrous Hamas terrorists. https://t.co/n49QOk3zsH

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 8, 2025

The Netanyahu post — which comes days after a top confidant “lashed out” at the US hostage envoy for meeting with a senior Hamas delegation in Doha — could be an attempt to smooth out any simmering bad feelings between the sides. Netanyahu and his government have sought assiduously to avoid any public daylight between the two allies.

IDF probing video of troops pushing Palestinian man’s car down valley

The IDF says it is investigating after footage published by Palestinian media shows Israeli troops pushing a Palestinian man’s car down a valley.

The incident occurred in the southern West Bank town of Surif. According to Palestinian media, the driver was arrested before the troops pushed his car down the valley.

“The incident is being investigated,” the IDF says in response to a query by The Times of Israel.

????هذا ما فعله جنود الاحتـ ـلال بمركبة شاب فلسطيني بعد اعتقاله في بلدة #صوريف شمال مدينة #الخليل! pic.twitter.com/UINHUIot6U

— وطن. يغرد خارج السرب (@watanserb_news) March 8, 2025

عاجل | قوات الاحتلال تعتقل سائقاً وتُلقي مركبته في وادٍ ببلدة صوريف شمال الخليل. pic.twitter.com/dZfcoPytsy

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) March 8, 2025

IDF says it seized, destroyed weapons in ‘targeted raids’ in southern Syria

IDF troops locate and destroy weapons in southern Syria, in a handout photo issued on March 8, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Over the past week, the IDF says it carried out several “targeted raids” in southern Syria, during which troops captured and destroyed numerous weapons.

The weapons included rifles, ammunition, rockets, and other military gear.

The IDF has described its presence in southern Syria’s buffer zone as a temporary and defensive measure, though Defense Minister Israel Katz has said that troops will remain deployed to nine army posts in the area “indefinitely.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that southern Syria must be completely demilitarized, warning that Israel would not accept the presence of the forces of the new Syrian Islamist-led government near its territory.

IDF troops operate in southern Syria, in a video issued by the military on March 8, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Group of hostage families say Netanyahu ready to ‘bury’ captives for his own interests

Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is being held hostage by Hamas, addressing crowds in Tel Aviv at a protest urging an urgent deal to free all the hostages, March 8, 2025. (Gill Beeri / Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

At their weekly press conference in Tel Aviv, a group of hostage families assail Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of sabotaging talks on the second phase of the hostage-ceasefire deal for his own interests, warning that renewed fighting will kill the remaining living captives.

“We are in an emergency, and we mustn’t be blinded by reports: the war could resume this week,” says Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage in Gaza.

Zangauker adds that the continuation of war is in the prime minister’s interest, as it would allow him to extend his ongoing criminal trial, put off a state commission of inquiry into the handling of the war, and maintain his government with his far-right allies.

Yifat Calderon, the cousin of Ofer Calderon, who was released last month in the deal, accuses Netanyahu of halting negotiations for the second phase of the deal.

“Netanyahu is prepared to bury the hostages for his personal and criminal interests,” she says.

Omri Lifshitz says the fate of his captive father, Oded, whose body was returned last month, “cannot be allowed to happen again” to other hostages.

“Netanyahu — if the war is renewed, hostages will be killed because of you. Their blood will be on your hands,” he said, calling on US President Donald Trump to not allow the prime minister to “bury them” and prevent the deal from being derailed.

532 Alawites killed by Syrian security forces, allies since Thursday, monitor says

Syrian government forces are deployed amid heightened security in Damascus, Syria, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

BEIRUT, Lebanon — A Syrian war monitor says security forces and allied groups killed 532 Alawite civilians over the past days, revising upwards a previous toll of 340.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that “532 Alawite civilians were killed in the Syrian coastal areas and the Latakia mountains at the hands of security forces and allied groups” since Thursday, when deadly clashes broke out between security forces and gunmen loyal to toppled president Bashar al-Assad.

Protesters demand return of hostages, chant against government as weekly rallies begin

Protesters demand the return of all hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, with a sign quoting a biblical passage, "And they wept until they had no more strength to weep," in Rehovot, March 8, 2025. (Pro-Democracy Movement/Roby Yahav)

Protesters begin to rally in cities and junctions across the country as weekly hostage demonstrations and anti-government protests get underway.

In Rehovot, protesters chant for a one-phase deal to bring back all the hostages held by terror groups in Gaza in one go.

At the HaOgen Junction near Netanya, protesters form a human chain, holding up pictures of each hostage still held in Gaza with the inscription, “Don’t leave me behind.”

Israeli official says Jerusalem unaware of progress on second phase Gaza ceasefire talks

Israel is unaware of progress in talks with Hamas on the second phase of the hostage-ceasefire deal, an Israeli official tells Hebrew media outlets.

The comment comes shortly after the terror group spokesperson said he saw “positive indicators” for launching talks.

Khamenei says Iran won’t discuss nuclear deal under pressure from ‘bullying country’

In this photo released by an official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei salutes in a meeting with a group of air force officers in Tehran, Iran, February 7, 2025. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says that Tehran will not negotiate under pressure from a “bullying country,” a day after US President Donald Trump said he had sent a letter to the country’s top authority to negotiate a nuclear deal.

In an interview with Fox Business, Trump says, “There are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal” to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

New York Times report spotlights Gaza fighting’s deadly consequences for hostages

A combination showing all 59 hostages still in Gaza, 24 of whom are thought to still be alive.

The New York Times calls attention to the Israel-Hamas war’s cost on the lives of hostages kidnapped on October 7, 2023, amid talk that fighting may renew in the Gaza Strip.

Thirty-seven hostages have been killed since being captured, and it is unclear why the report puts the number at 41.

The report does not detail how each hostage was killed, but says some were killed by Hamas, some by Israeli fire, while the causes were unknown for others.

Two Israeli officials tell The Times that a few of the captives were definitely killed in the first few days of the war, which was sparked by the massacre, but that many others were killed following a week-long hostage-truce deal in November 2023, when the terror group freed 105 civilians.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are still holding 59 hostages, including 58 of the 251 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023.

They include the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF. Hamas has so far released 30 hostages — 20 Israeli civilians, five soldiers, and five Thai nationals — and the bodies of eight slain Israeli captives during a ceasefire that began in January.

Four hostages were released before that in the early weeks of the war. Eight hostages have been rescued from captivity by troops alive, and the bodies of 41 have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors, and the body of a soldier who was killed in 2014.

The body of another soldier killed in 2014, Lt. Hadar Goldin, is still being held by Hamas and is counted among the 59 hostages.

Qatar’s PM says attack on Iran’s nuclear sites would contaminate region’s water

Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends the 163rd GCC Ministerial Council meeting with Egypt in Mecca on March 6, 2025. (Amer HILABI / AFP)

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani warns that an attack on Iran’s Gulf coast nuclear facilities would leave countries across the region without water.

In an interview with right-wing United States media personality Tucker Carlson, who is close to US President Donald Trump, the premier says Doha had simulated the effects of an attack,

The sea would be “entirely contaminated,” and Qatar would “run out of water in three days,” he said.

The construction of reservoirs since then had increased water capacity, he added, but the risk remained for “all of us” in the region.

“No water, no fish, nothing… no life,” Sheikh Mohammed adds in the interview published on Friday, the same day that Trump said he had invited Iran to nuclear talks.

Alluding to military action, Trump says he would “rather see a peace deal” but that “the other will solve the problem.”

Qatar, which sits 190 kilometers (120 miles) south of Iran, relies heavily on desalination for its water supply, as do other Gulf Arab countries in the arid desert region.

Iran has a nuclear power plant at Bushehr on the Gulf coast, though its uranium enrichment facilities, key to building atomic weapons, are located hundreds of kilometers (miles) inland.

Hamas sees ‘positive indicators’ for starting talks on second phase of hostage-ceasefire deal

Hamas members parade an Israeli hostage before transferring him to the Red Cross, as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, February 22, 2025. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

CAIRO, Egypt — Hamas sees “positive indicators” for launching talks over the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire talks, the terror group’s spokesperson says in a statement.

Last Saturday, the first phase of the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas drew to a close. Talks regarding terms of a potential second phase were supposed to have begun on February 3, but Israel has largely refused to engage in them, as phase two requires Israel to fully withdraw from Gaza and agree to a permanent end to the war in exchange for the remaining living hostages.

Thai media says 3 Israelis allegedly attempted to rape two Finnish women at Phuket hotel

Three Israeli tourists allegedly attempted to rape two Finnish tourists in Phuket, Thailand, according to Thai media reports.

Israel’s Embassy in Thailand is unaware of the incident, the Ynet news site reports.

The three Israelis are said to have followed the two Finnish women to their hotel room, broke in, and tried to rape them.

A passing Russian tourist who witnessed the alleged attack and intervened was injured in the face, the reports say. He has been hospitalized in a stable condition, according to the reports.

The three suspects fled the scene, the reports add.

Trump’s Scottish golf course vandalized with pro-Palestinian graffiti

LONDON — US President Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland has been daubed with pro-Palestinian graffiti, with a protest group claiming responsibility.

Local media shows images of red paint scrawled across walls at the course with the slogans “Free Gaza” and “Free Palestine” as well as insults against Trump.

“Gaza is not for sale” is also painted on one of the greens and holes dug up on the course.

Palestine Action says it caused the damage, posting on the social media platform X: “Whilst Trump attempts to treat Gaza as his property, he should know his own property is within reach.”

Last month, Trump enraged the Arab world by declaring unexpectedly that the United States would take over Gaza, resettle its over 2-million Palestinian population, and develop it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

Police Scotland says it is investigating.

The most expensive golf course in Britain, Trump's Turnberry golf resort, got a visit by Palestine Action.

No longer can ordinary people sit by whilst the American adminstration arms Israel and makes plans to ethnically cleanse Gaza.

Palestine belongs to Palestinians. pic.twitter.com/GdUGWEQM2B

— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) March 8, 2025

Indian man killed, Israeli and Indian woman gang-raped in Karnataka attack

Tunghabhadra Canal (T.R. Shankar Raman / Wikipedia)

A man was killed, and an Israeli and an Indian woman were gang-raped near Hampi in India’s Karnataka, local media reports.

The attack happened on Thursday evening when the 29-year-old woman who was hosting travelers took her guests — two Indian men, a US man and a 27-year-old Israeli woman — on a stargazing trip at the Tungabhadra Canal.

According to Indian reports, three men on a motorbike approached the group and asked for directions to a gas station before demanding money.

The three attackers threw the three men into the canal and sexually assaulted the two women.

One of the Indian men drowned.

Two local men have been arrested, police tell Indian media outlets.

An average of nearly 90 rapes a day were reported in India in 2022. A number of high-profile cases of rape and murder in recent years led to widespread protests.

IDF confirms Lebanon drone strike, says Hezbollah operative targeted

The IDF confirms carrying out a drone strike in southern Lebanon a short while ago, targeting a Hezbollah operative.

The operative was “involved in the rehabilitation of terror infrastructure and directing Hezbollah terror operations in southern Lebanon,” the military says.

Lebanese media reports Israeli drone strike on car; no comment from IDF

Lebanese media reports an Israeli drone strike on a car between the southern Lebanon towns of Khirbet Selm and al-Jumayjimah.

Casualties are reported in the strike.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

بالصورة.. غارة من مسيّرة على سيارة في بلدة #خربة_سلم وسقوط اصابات pic.twitter.com/zInWL8GlS3

— هنا لبنان (@thisislebnews) March 8, 2025

France, Germany, Italy and UK give support to Arab-backed plan for reconstruction of Gaza

An AI image of the reconstructed Gaza Strip from Egypt's "Early Recovery, Reconstruction, Development of Gaza" program, March 4, 2025 (Egyptian Presidency)

The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy and Britain say they support an Arab-backed plan for the reconstruction of Gaza that would cost $53 billion and avoid displacing Palestinians from the enclave.

“The plan shows a realistic path to the reconstruction of Gaza and promises – if implemented – swift and sustainable improvement of the catastrophic living conditions for the Palestinians living in Gaza,” the ministers say in a joint statement.

The plan, which was drawn up by Egypt and adopted by Arab leaders earlier this month, has been rejected by US President Donald Trump and Israel, although there have been mixed signals from Washington.

It is a counter to Trump, who triggered global outrage by suggesting the US “take over” Gaza and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” while forcing its Palestinian inhabitants to relocate to Egypt, Jordan or other countries.

The Arab plan envisions an independent committee of technocrats running Gaza for six months before handing off control of the Strip to the Palestinian Authority. It provides for Palestinians to remain in the Strip while it is being rebuilt, as opposed to Trump’s proposal that the entire population be relocated.

It offers international peacekeeping troops to be dispatched in Gaza through a UN Security Council resolution. In the meantime, Egypt and Jordan will train Palestinian Authority police officers so that they can then be dispatched to Gaza to uphold law and order, the plan says.

However, the Arab proposal does not address Hamas, instead maintaining that armed groups in Gaza can only be fully addressed through a political process that establishes a Palestinian state.

Protesters against judicial overhaul to march in Tel Aviv this evening

Shikma Bressler delivers a speech during a rally against goverment's judicial overhaul bills outside of the Knesset, in Jerusalem on July 23, 2023. (Gili Yaari /Flash90)

Leaders of protests against the government’s judicial overhaul will hold a march in Tel Aviv this evening, apparently for the first time in 17 months.

The protest comes after Justice Minister Yariv Levin began the process of removing Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara from her post, accusing her of having politicized her office and repeatedly thwarting the will of the government, and amid a coalition push for the firing of Shin Bet head Ronen Bar.

“Just as we stopped the coup in 2023 and just as we enlisted in the military and reserves and stopped the collapse of the state in 2024, so in 2025 we will prevent destruction again and stop the coup and the abandonment of the hostages,” the protest leaders say in a statement, according to Hebrew media.

The protest leaders will gather tonight at 6:45 p.m. at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square and then march to join the hostages’ families’ protest at IDF Headquarters’ Begin Gate.

The march will be led by prominent figures from anti-overhaul protests, including Shikma Bressler, MK Efrat Rayten, Moshe Radman Abutbul and Yaya Fink.

Protests against the judicial overhaul were frozen in the wake of the October 7, 2023, terror onslaught, with many of the activist organizations taking a leading role in many civil society initiatives.

IDF says it carried out strike on ‘suspects’ who collected drone flown from Israel to south Gaza

The IDF says it detected and tracked a drone flying from Israel into the southern Gaza Strip overnight.

This morning, after the device was picked up by “suspects” in southern Gaza, an Israeli Air Force drone carried out an airstrike against them.

According to Palestinian media, two people were killed in the Israeli strike.

In recent weeks, there have been several attempts to smuggle contraband into the Gaza Strip, with the IDF saying suspects on the Israeli side load up drones with weapons or drugs and fly them over the border.

Man climbs partway up London’s iconic Big Ben carrying Palestinian flag

A protester holding a Palestinian flag gestures from the side of the Elizabeth Tower, commonly known by the name of the clock's bell 'Big Ben,' at the Palace of Westminster, home to the Houses of Parliament, in central London, on March 8, 2025 (Ben STANSALL / AFP)

A man has climbed partway up London’s iconic Big Ben holding a Palestinian flag, British media reports.

Images on social media show the barefoot man holding the flag while standing on a ledge of the clock tower, a few meters from the ground.

According to reports, police and emergency services are on the scene.

A Pro Palestine protestor climbs Big Ben pic.twitter.com/i31Vigt44G

— London & UK Street News (@CrimeLdn) March 8, 2025

Toronto police say searching for 3 suspects in pub shooting that injured at least 12

Toronto Police say they are searching for three male suspects in a shooting that injured at least 12 people at a pub in the Canadian city.

None of the injuries were life-threatening, police post on X, saying six of those injured have gunshot wounds.

The victims in the shooting were from their 20s to mid-50s, the post says. “Toronto Police is deploying all available resources to locate and arrest those responsible.”

“I am deeply troubled to hear reports of a shooting at a pub in Scarborough,” Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow posts on X, adding that the police chief assured her “all necessary resources have been deployed.”

Police say no suspicion of criminal involvement in Kfar Saba car fire that killed man

Emergency services at the scene of a car explosion in Kfar Saba on March 8, 2025 (Magen David Adom)

Police say there is currently no suspicion of criminal involvement in a car fire that caused the death of a man in the central city of Kfar Saba.

It was initially reported that the man was killed when the car exploded.

Police say in a statement that laboratory tests have ruled out the presence of explosives, and say that the man was injured while he was outside the vehicle.

Zelensky: Deadly strikes show ‘Russia’s goals unchanged’ in Ukraine

This handout photograph taken and released by the National Police of Ukraine on March 8, 2025, shows Ukrainian policemen at the site of a Russian strike in Dobropillia, Donetsk region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Handout / National Police of Ukraine / AFP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the latest Russian airstrikes that killed at least 12 people demonstrate that Russia’s objectives remain “unchanged” and new sanctions are needed.

“Such strikes show that Russia’s goals are unchanged. Therefore, it is very important to continue to do everything to protect life, strengthen our air defense, and increase sanctions against Russia,” Zelensky writes on the Telegram social media channel about the overnight strikes.

Over 300 Alawite civilians killed by Syria security forces, allies since Thursday, monitor says

This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows members of the Syrian security forces entering the western city of Baniyas in Syria's coastal Tartous province to reinforce government troops in clashes with militants loyal to deposed ruler Bashar al-Assad, on March 7, 2025. ( SANA / AFP)

A Syria war monitor reports that more than 300 Alawite civilians have been killed in recent days by the security forces and their allies, as authorities clash with militants loyal to the former government of Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitor of unclear funding, reports that “311 Alawite civilians were killed in the coastal region… by security forces and allied groups” since the clashes began on Thursday, bringing the overall death toll to 524 people, including 213 security personnel and militants.

Yesterday, Defense Minister Israel Katz hit out at Syria’s Islamist rulers, calling the country’s new president an al-Qaeda terrorist. His comments came after the reports of the executions.

“[Abu Mohammed] al-Julani switched his robe for a suit and presented a moderate face,” Katz said in a statement, using the nom de guerre of interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. “Now he’s taken off the mask and exposed his true face: A jihadist terrorist of the al-Qaeda school who is committing horrifying acts against a civilian population.”

“Israel will defend itself against any threat from Syria,” Katz added, while vowing the military would continue to occupy a buffer zone along the border and keep working to keep southern Syria demilitarized.

Pope Francis spent quiet night in hospital, Vatican says

Candles are lit at the statue of John Paul II outside the Gemelli University Hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized with pneumonia, in Rome on March 04, 2025. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)

Pope Francis spent a quiet night in hospital, the Vatican says, as the 88-year-old head of the Catholic Church battles pneumonia.

“The night was calm, the pope is resting”, it says in its brief morning update on the Argentine, who has been in a special papal suite at Rome’s Gemelli hospital since February 14.

The Argentine pontiff has suffered several respiratory crises since his admission, most recently on Monday, but for several days now the Vatican has described his condition as “stable.”

On Thursday Francis released an audio message — the first time the world has heard his voice since his admission to hospital — in which he thanked those praying for his recovery.

The pontiff sounded weak and breathless despite marking three weeks of treatment in hospital.

He was still in a “complex clinical condition” so “the prognosis remains guarded”, the Vatican said yesterday.

Palestinian media reports 2 killed in Israeli strike near south Gaza’s Rafah

Palestinian media reports two people were killed in an Israeli airstrike near the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

There is no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces.

Man killed in Kfar Saba car explosion

Emergency services at the scene of a car explosion in Kfar Saba on March 8, 2025 (Magen David Adom)

Medics say a man was killed when a car exploded in the central town of Kfar Saba.

The man was pronounced dead on the scene.

There is no comment from the Israel Police on the incident.

IDF says Gaza border rocket siren was false alarm

The IDF says that an earlier rocket siren in the Kerem Shalom area near the Gaza border was a false alert.

IDF targeted Hezbollah arms caches and rocket launchers in Lebanon strikes overnight

The IDF said Friday night it carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon, saying it targeted Hezbollah military sites.

The sites had been used to store weapons and rocket launchers, the military said, adding that the strikes were carried out due to the sites posing a threat to Israel.

“The weapons and the rocket launchers in the military sites posed a threat to the State of Israel and constituted a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF said.

US carries out first firing squad execution since 2010

A South Carolina man convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s parents with a baseball bat was put to death by firing squad Friday in the first such execution in the United States in 15 years.

Brad Sigmon, 67, was executed by a three-person firing squad at the Broad River Correctional Institution in the state capital Columbia, South Carolina prison spokeswoman Chrysti Shain says.

Shain says the fatal shots were fired at 6:05 p.m. and Sigmon was pronounced dead by a physician at 6:08 p.m.

Journalists who witnessed the execution from behind bulletproof glass said Sigmon was wearing a black jumpsuit with a small red bullseye made of paper or cloth over his heart and was strapped into a chair in the death chamber.

In a final statement read out by his attorney, Gerald “Bo” King, Sigmon said he wanted to send a message of “love and a calling to my fellow Christians to help us end the death penalty.”

A hood was then placed over Sigmon’s head. About two minutes later, the firing squad — volunteers from the South Carolina Department of Corrections — fired their rifles through a slit in a wall about 15 feet (five meters) away.

Sigmon had a choice between lethal injection, the firing squad or the electric chair.

Islamic nations adopt Arab counter to Trump’s Gaza takeover plan

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation adopts the Arab League’s counter-proposal to US President Donald Trump’s plan to take over Gaza and displace its residents, two ministers say.

“The emergency ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation adopted the Egyptian plan, which has now become an Arab-Islamic plan,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty says, in comments echoed by his Sudanese counterpart.