March 9: Talks with Hamas focused on all hostages, not just Americans, Trump envoy says

Hezbollah chief rejects laying down weapons, admits taking heavy blows

An image grab taken from Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV on November 29, 2024, shows Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem delivering a televised speech from an undisclosed location. In the corner is a picture of slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. (Al-Manar / AFP)

In comments tonight, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem insisted his organization is alive and well, but admitted taking heavy blows during its fight with Israel, while claiming that the group is choosing to lay low for the time being to let Lebanon’s armed forces confront Israel instead.

Qassem, speaking to Hezbollah mouthpiece al-Manar for the first time since taking over the group in the wake of leader Hassan Nasrallah’s assassination by Israel, said: “The resistance is fine and continuing, but it has been wounded and has made sacrifices. Does anyone expect the resistance to continue without sacrifices? Great sacrifices, yes, but we realize that these sacrifices must be made.”

He said Hezbollah was committed to “resistance to liberate the land and confront expansionist Israel that wants to usurp the region, not just Palestine.”

He also rejected the notion of Hezbollah disarming after new President Joseph Aoun said the Lebanese state must have control over “the decisions of war and peace,” and to do this, it must “monopolize or restrict weapons to the state.”

Qassem said: “We have nothing to do with this matter. We are a resistance that considers Israel a threat to Lebanon, and there is no objection to the army and the state defending Lebanon. The resistance has the right to continue to protect Lebanon. Therefore, we do not consider the president’s words about the exclusivity of weapons to be directed at us.”

He also praised Lebanese who have “offered martyrs” to fighting Israel.

“The resistance is not a phase, but rather it is ongoing, and it is an idea that is adopted by the young and old, women and men,” he said. “We feel proud when we hear the stances of these people… There is a woman who says: ‘I have offered three martyrs, two of my sons-in-law, and two of my grandchildren, and the rest I am ready to offer, and I am ready to offer myself.’

“Or the one who says: ‘I have offered my only son and I am ready to offer more,’” he added. “This is a great example. Who can defeat these people?”

Young man critically injured by gunfire in south Tel Aviv

A man in his early twenties was critically injured by gunfire in south Tel Aviv a short time ago.

Paramedics rushed him to Holon’s Wolfson Medical Center.

Canada’s ruling party elects Mark Carney as new leader, next PM

File: Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of Canada, speaks during a press conference at the MELS studios in Montreal, Canada, on February 25, 2025. (ANDREJ IVANOV / AFP)

Canada’s Liberal Party overwhelmingly elects Mark Carney as its new leader and the country’s next prime minister, tasking the former central banker with helming Ottawa’s response to threats from US President Donald Trump.

Carney, 59, won 85.9 percent of the ballots cast in the Liberal Party leadership vote, according to the final tally.

Trump’s hostage envoy clarifies: Hamas are ‘by definition bad people’

After a round of TV interviews that he says were “misinterpreted,” US hostage envoy Adam Boehler clarifies that, in his eyes, Hamas are murderers and terrorists.

“Hamas is a terrorist organization that has murdered thousands of innocent people,” he writes on X. “They are BY DEFINITION BAD people.”

Earlier today, Boehler said that “it’s not like Hamas got the world [in negotiations] because I thought they were a bunch of nice guys.”

In his post, Boehler threatens that “not a single Hamas member will be safe if Hamas doesn’t RELEASE ALL HOSTAGES IMMEDIATELY.”

Protesters bed down for second night of hostage vigil outside military HQ in Tel Aviv

Demonstrators protest calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip outside Hakirya Base in Tel Aviv, March 9, 2025. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Protesters, including several families of hostages, are sleeping rough for a second straight night outside Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv as they maintain a vigil and protest on behalf of the 59 captives still held in Gaza.

Inside the base, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been huddling with senior cabinet members regarding a negotiating team being dispatched to talks in Qatar tomorrow. There is no word on if the meeting is ongoing.

Earlier, hundreds of protesters joined hostage families at the site to rally for a deal and put pressure on the government at the site, briefly blocking traffic and setting a bonfire.

Hamas calls power cut ‘cheap blackmail’

Hamas accuses Israel of “cheap and unacceptable blackmail” over its decision to halt the electricity supply to war-ravaged Gaza in an effort to pressure the Palestinian group into releasing hostages.

“We strongly condemn the occupation’s decision to cut off electricity to Gaza, after depriving it of food, medicine and water,” Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau says in a statement, calling the move “a desperate attempt to pressure our people and their resistance through cheap and unacceptable blackmail tactics.”

An Israeli official said the move will mainly affect a single desalination plant, the only facility in the Strip still running on a power line supplied from Israel.

Trump envoy wasting time trying to deal with Hamas, ex-ambassador Friedman says

Then-US ambassador to Israel David Friedman during a visit in the West Bank settlement of Efrat, in Gush Etzion, February 20, 2020. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)

Donald Trump’s former ambassador to Israel blasts the US president’s hostage envoy for meeting with Hamas, saying talks with the group are pointless.

“This past week, President Trump brilliantly presented Hamas with a binary choice: release all the hostages and surrender, or be destroyed. It is the only path to ending the war,” David Friedman writes on X.

“If I heard [hostage envoy Adam Boehler] correctly on the Sunday news shows, he took the unprecedented step to meet with Hamas to consider a third way — whether a deal could be struck where Hamas ‘would not be involved in governing Gaza,'” he continues.

He calls any agreement with Hamas “a waste of time” which “will never be kept.”

“Attempting one is beneath the dignity of the United States,” Friedman writes. “Adam, I know you mean well but listen to your boss. The choice must remain binary.”

Meanwhile, Boehler takes to X to praise Israel for unspecified moves, saying they have made an agreement with Hamas possible.

“Israel’s actions have opened the door to a lasting truce — prisoner releases, disarmed fighters and Hamas out of politics,” writes Boehler. “We’re close.”

Israel’s actions have opened the door to a lasting truce—prisoner releases, disarmed fighters, and Hamas out of politics. We’re close. pic.twitter.com/mXpCSyUKlB

— Adam Boehler (@aboehler) March 9, 2025

Israel uncorks power ballad ‘New Day Will Rise’ for Eurovision contest

Yuval Raphael, Israel's 2025 Eurovision representative, speaks to the media after winning 'Hakochav Haba' in Neve Ilan, near Jerusalem, January 22, 2025. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Two months ahead of the competition, Israel releases its song for the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, a slow building symphonic showstopper titled “New Day Will Rise.”

The song is performed by Yuval Raphael, who survived the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, and written by singer-songwriter Keren Peles.

It is largely in English with lines in Hebrew and French.

The chorus of the song includes the lines: “New day will rise/ Life will go on/ Everyone cries/ Don’t cry alone/ Darkness will fade/ All the pain will go by/ But we will stay.”

The Hebrew in the power ballad is taken from the biblical Song of Songs, which translates to: “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.”

“This is a powerful statement, it doesn’t matter how much fire they aim at us, our water is stronger, our love is stronger, they can’t extinguish us, they can’t burn us — it’s the most important line in the song and I didn’t even write it,” Peles tells the Kan public broadcaster.

Raphael says during the song reveal that now the song is out, “I want to give it a million percent, just let me work, let me maximize it, to make it the best version possible, so that everyone will be proud, and we’ll bring pride to this country.”

Raphael lived as a child for three years in Geneva, Switzerland, during which she learned French and wanted to incorporate it into this year’s song. The lines in French include: “You’re the rainbow in my blue sky/ My colors in the gray/ And my only wish under a sky of art/ A ray in my day/ The only song my piano can play.”

Raphael, an amateur singer, was selected to represent Israel by winning the “Hakochav Haba” (Rising Star) reality TV contest. She survived the Hamas attack by playing dead and hiding out under a pile of bodies in a roadside bomb shelter near Kibbutz Be’eri until she was rescued after eight hours.

The Eurovision song contest is scheduled for mid-May in Basel, Switzerland.

Smotrich proudly admits being fed military intel outside accepted channels

Responding to a Kan report that he has a “mole” in the IDF who feeds him sensitive information, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says in a statement that “the expectation that senior ministers will receive security information from only one pipeline is not only mistaken — its the perfect example of the ‘concept.”

The term is shorthand for the trap of allowing conceptual ideas about Hamas or other enemies to become accepted wisdom rather than being challenged. Smotrich and others charge that Israel’s assumptions about Hamas’s supposed docility helped it catch the country off guard on October 7, 2023.

“Looking for the ‘mole’?” he asks. ‘”Go into any national religious synagogue — you’ll find dozens, if not hundreds, of combat soldiers and officers of all ranks, people who dedicate their lives to serving the country and its security.”

Smotrich promises he “will continue to work in every way to learn, challenge, to hear, and to delve in — because this is the path to victory for Israel.”

National Security Council sent comptroller reams for October 7 probe, PMO says

Two weeks ago, State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman sent a letter to Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs criticizing the National Security Council for failing to cooperate with his probe into the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, according to Israel Hayom.

The outlet reports that Englman complained that the NSC was the only body that failed to submit requested documents.

In response, the Prime Minister’s Office — to which the NSC belongs — says that the organization “cooperates fully and vigorously with the State Comptroller’s Office, prior to and during the war in Gaza.”

It notes the NSC’s small size, but insists that it has immediately made available every requested document, and met with Englman’s staff whenever they wanted to. The NSC, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, has sent more than 700 documents to the Comptroller’s office and has invested hundreds of hours in preparing responses.

“The specific requests that appear in the Comptroller’s letter to the Cabinet Secretary are also being processed in an advanced manner by the NSC,” insists the PMO, “with the intention of forwarding them as soon as possible and in the most professional manner.”

Still banged up, ex-hostages leave hospital to pay homage to campaign to free them

Freed hostages Emily Damari, standing, and Romi Gonen visit Tel Aviv's Hostages Square for the first time on March 9, 2025 (Courtesy)

Freed hostages Emily Damari and Romi Gonen, released from Gaza captivity on January 19, say they left their hospital rooms Saturday night to visit Hostages’ Square after they “could not take it anymore.”

The pair post pictures of themselves at the Tel Aviv rallying point late Saturday night, Gonen in a wheelchair, her left foot wrapped in bandages and Damari with her left hand bandaged.

Both women are currently recovering at Tel Hashomer Hospital after surgeries to deal with injuries sustained on October 7, 2023.

“Yesterday at 12 AM, in the rehabilitation department of Sheba Tel Hashomer Hospital, Romi and I decided that we couldn’t take it anymore. We left the hospital bed and went to Hostages Square—for the first time,” writes Damari. “One square with so much strength, emotion, hope and prayers. I want to thank everybody again for everything you have done for us.”

“We must keep up the urgency that is felt so strongly in this place until every single one of them is home—now!” adds Damari.

She thanks everyone who has asked about them after their surgeries, adding that they have long paths to recovery but “with G-d’s help, we will get through this too.”

Troops open fire on suspects trying to enter Israel from West Bank

The IDF says troops operating near the West Bank city of Tarqumiyah opened fire on several suspects attempting to breach Israel’s security barrier and enter the country a short while ago.

Several of the suspects were hit, and no soldiers were wounded, the IDF adds.

A military source says the incident is not terror related. Every day, dozens of West Bank Palestinians attempt to illegally enter Israel for work.

US hostage envoy says Hamas offered to disarm during years-long truce

US hostage envoy Adam Boehler praises what he calls a Hamas proposal that would see a five- to ten-year truce with Israel during which the terror group would disarm and forego political power in Gaza, and claims his decision to enter direct talks with the terror group was coordinated with Jerusalem.

As he makes his rounds on Hebrew-language newscasts this evening, Boehler tells the Kan public broadcaster that Hamas “suggested exchanging all prisoners… and a five-year to ten-year truce where Hamas would lay down all weapons and where the US, as well as other countries, would ensure that there are no tunnels, there’s nothing taken on the military side, and that Hamas is not involved in politics going forward.”

He calls the proposal “not a bad first offer.”

Amid concerns that the White House is prioritizing the release of American hostages over Israeli ones, the US envoy reassures the Israeli public that the Trump administration intends to get both “Americans and Israelis out, our commitment is full.”

Boehler also says Israel was informed about his talks with Hamas before they even started, contradicting Israeli officials who say they only learned of the talks when they were already underway.

“My actions were coordinated with Israel… even though maybe there were some who said they weren’t,” he says. “My job isn’t to move Israel aside, Israel is a major ally… I want to be added to what happens to Israel, not take away.”

He dismisses conflicting narratives from Israel and Hamas on ceasefire developments, saying “that sounds a little like a game to me, that sounds like politics.”

Boehler calls US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, National Security advisor Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio “the A-team of foreign policy” from the US perspective, and asserts his confidence that the negotiators could reach an agreement in the region within “weeks.”

Trump envoy says he doesn’t care about Israeli criticism of talks with Hamas

US hostage envoy Adam Boehler says he doesn’t “really care” about Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer’s criticism of his direct talks with Hamas, while referring to Palestinian prisoners as “hostages.”

“I don’t really care about that that much — no offense to Dermer,” Boehler says during an interview with Israel’s Channel 13, appearing to escalate a scuffle that was first held privately between the two on Tuesday hours after Israel learned of the US hostage envoy’s direct talks with Hamas.

“If it was a big deal every time Dermer got a little bit upset… Ron might have a lot of big deals every day,” Boehler says. “I love Ron. We’ll work together again. It was great. I take no offense because he was doing what he was supposed to do.”

“I don’t mean to injure Ron or anyone else… Dermer runs a country with Bibi that is on its own, where they are exchanging massive amounts of hostages for one person,” Boehler says.

“And I will say, it’s a lot of hostages. We wouldn’t do that deal in the United States,” Boehler adds, revealing his views on the trades that Israel has been making with Hamas.

“I respect and understand his position. However, we also have our own interests in the US, and I believe and hope that some of those interactions [with Hamas] can speed things up,” he adds.

The senior American official, who has repeatedly referred to Israeli hostages as “prisoners,” appears to now be using the term “hostages” to describe Palestinian prisoners, adopting rhetoric common with Hamas but considered offensive in Israel and among many Americans. Hamas has referred to civilians kidnapped on October 7, including children and the elderly, as prisoners who were “arrested.”

Boehler tells i24News in a separate interview that he was the one who reached out to Hamas to hold direct talks earlier this year, not the other way around.

“We don’t think meeting somebody is a concession,” he adds.

Netanyahu’s office does not deny he’s trying to push out Shin Bet head Bar

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, on April 4, 2023. (Kobi Gideon/GPO/File)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office does not deny a Channel 12 report that he sought to push Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to quit last Thursday, saying instead that “the one who appoints the head of the Shin Bet is the government, and not the sitting Shin Bet chief.”

“This is how it’s always been done, as is customary in democratic states,” the PMO says in response to the report, seemingly trying to justify Netanyahu’s move.

Netanyahu has been reportedly preparing to fire Bar, who told senior staff last week that he won’t step down until the hostages are returned and a state commission to investigate the October 7, 2023 attacks is established.

US hostage envoy appears to backpedal after claim Trump personally okayed Hamas talks

Interviewed on Channel 12, US hostage negotiations czar Adam Boehler appears to backtrack on comments he made earlier in the day regarding whether President Donald Trump had personally approved his direct negotiations with Hamas.

CNN’s Jake Tapper asked him earlier, “So you did get sign-off from President Trump ahead of time though?”

Boehler nodded three times and answered: “Of course.”

Asked by Channel 12’s Yonit Levy whether Trump “personally signed off” on his direct talks with Hamas, by contrast, Boehler replies, “The White House did. So that’s a group of folks. But people in the White House did know about me having those discussions, yes.”

Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff signed off on Boehler’s meeting with Hamas officials, a source familiar with the matter has told The Times of Israel.

Trump himself has publicly backed the talks, saying they were to Israel’s benefit because they are aimed at releasing Israeli hostages. Israeli officials have fumed privately over the US move, and some have publicly expressed worries that the US will concentrate on getting out Americans before other hostages.

High Court says Ben Gvir can’t hire own lawyer to defend appointment opposed by AG

The High Court of Justice rejects a petition by former national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir to be allowed independent counsel in a petition against his decision to promote a police officer who is under indictment.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara denied his request for independent counsel after Ben Gvir promoted Superintendent Meir Suissa and appointed him commander of the South Tel Aviv Police Station in 2024, a step the attorney general had explicitly instructed him not to take because of Suissa’s indictment.

Suissa was indicted last year for negligent behavior over an incident in which he threw a stun grenade into a crowd of protesters in an anti-government demonstration in Tel Aviv in March 2023, injuring a woman and traumatizing her.

The High Court rules that there had been no fault with the attorney general’s decision not to grant Ben Gvir independent counsel.

Justice Daphne Barak Erez writes that it has been long-established that the attorney general is the authorized official to interpret the law for the government and its agencies, and that the attorney general’s position is binding. This authority, she writes, extends to the question of independent counsel when the government and the attorney general disagree.

“In acting as he did, the national security minister chose to take an combative approach and act contrary to the explicit instructions of the attorney general that were presented to him, while being aware of the possibility that in such circumstances the attorney general would not be able to defend his position [in court],” Barak Erez writes.

“Granting permission for separate representation in such a situation would be ‘adding insult to injury’,” she adds.

The High Court is yet to rule on the petition against Suissa’s promotion itself. The court suspended the promotion back in September last year until it makes a final ruling on the issue.

Trump’s hostage envoy says he believes Hamas would eventually lay down its arms, not be part of Gaza’s political future

Hamas terrorists stand watch over Gazans at a funeral ceremony for people killed during the war with Israel, at the Shati refugee camp north of Gaza City on February 28, 2025. (BASHAR TALEB / AFP)

US special envoy on hostages Adam Boehler tells Israel’s Channel 12 news that efforts to free captives in Gaza via direct talks with Hamas are not only focused on those holding American passports.

“The intent wasn’t just Edan [Alexander] and the four [dead American hostages]…it was to lead and to really enter into broader talks on all of the prisoners because the President made very clear that we’re focused on not just Americans here, American-Israelis, but Israelis overall… they are very connected and it’s important to note that.”

The comments come after some in Israel expressed concerns that the White House could pull back its pressure for a deal once it manages to get Americans out of Gaza, even if Israelis and others are still left behind.

A Hamas official told Reuters earlier in the day that Alexander had been the focus of talks with Boehler thus far.

Boehler says he “understands” Israelis’ concerns.

“We are getting all hostages, all hostages. If some Americans come out that doesn’t change our focus on getting everything out as well as ending what is basically a war right now,” he says.

“You do not need to have fear that the president of the US, or I, or anyone in our administration will forget you,” he says, addressing Israeli viewers. “We made that promise, the president made that promise, and I follow my orders from the president of the US.”

Boehler, who also speaks to other Hebrew-language newscasts this evening, is asked by Channel 12 whether he “realistically” thinks “that Hamas would eventually agree to lay down its weapons and not be part of Gaza’s political future.” He answers: “I do believe that.”

Addressing his direct talks with Hamas officials in recent weeks, Boehler predicts “there will be movement on the hostage side…and I think it’s very well set up for the Israelis to do well.”

The Trump official says he cannot confirm the reported US proposal for 10 released hostages in exchange for a 60-day ceasefire, saying “there’s a lot of things going around… that could be a possible solution… I think that should be looked at.”

He would not comment on the number of meetings held with Hamas, but said some focused on hostages, while other talks discussed Hamas’s outlook on where negotiations should go.

Defending his decision to engage directly with the terror group, Boehler says “it is hard to negotiate anything if you don’t understand the other party at all.”

Smotrich reportedly suspected of receiving information from IDF mole

Col. Erez Weiner at the Supreme Court in June 2012 (photo credit: Uri Lenz/Flash 90)

Cabinet members suspect that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has a mole in the IDF, according to the Kan public broadcaster.

Citing sources in the cabinet and the defense establishment, the outlet reports that Smotrich has shown up to cabinet meetings with specific information on plans from the IDF Southern Command, some of which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not even know.

Smotrich is a minister in the Defense Ministry in addition to his role as finance minister.

“We saw Smotrich show up sometimes at cabinet meetings with printed presentations from the army, and present information that was not revealed in the cabinet,” says a cabinet source.

The sources name Brig. Gen. (res.) Erez Winner, who commands the operational planning team in the Southern Command. Winner, a former aide de camp to then-IDF chief Gabi Ashkenazi, was accused over a decade ago of illegally collecting and secretly distributing materials aimed at defaming IDF officials as well as senior politicians as part of an internal succession battle.

During the 2014 Gaza war, Winner was also accused of feeding information to Naftali Bennett, then a political partner of Smotrich, about IDF deployments and findings via an unapproved backchannel.

Syrian leader tells Assad loyalists to surrender, as violence said to claim over 1,300

Security forces loyal to the interim Syrian government stop a vehicle for inspection at a checkpoint in Syria's western city of Latakia on March 9, 2025. (OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)

Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa says the country is confronting attempts to drag it into a civil war, as violent clashes continue to rock parts of the country.

In a video speech, Sharaa says “remnants of the former regime” have no choice but to surrender immediately.

An ambush on a Syrian security patrol by gunmen loyal to ousted leader Bashar Assad Thursday has escalated into clashes that a war monitor estimates have killed more than 1,000 people over four days, amid claims of mass executions and a campaign of ethnic cleansing.

Sharaa says those who attacked civilians will be held responsible, following intense international outcry.

In its latest toll, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor says 830 Alawite civilians were killed in “executions” carried out by security personnel or pro-government fighters in the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus.

The fighting, which is ongoing, has also killed 231 members of the security forces and 250 pro-Assad fighters, according to the Observatory, taking the overall death toll to 1,311.

The tolls have not been independently confirmed.

Report: Netanyahu tried to cajole Shin Bet head to quit at ‘tense’ meeting

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressured Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to resign during a meeting the two held last week, Channel 12 news reports.

According to the report, which does not cite any sources for the information, Bar refused to tender his resignation during the meeting — described by the channel as “extremely tense.”

According to the report, Netanyahu told Bar words to the effect of “we waited for the investigations, now it’s time to hand over the keys,” in reference to a recently released internal Shin Bet probe which found various failings surrounding the October 7, 2023 attack.

Bar has said he does not plan on stepping down from his post until all the hostages are returned and a state commission is established to probe failures surrounding the Hamas onslaught, according to previous reporting by the channel.

Ties between Netanyahu and the head of his domestic intelligence agency have deteriorated sharply in recent months, with the premier removing Bar and Mossad chief David Barnea from heading the team negotiating the Gaza truce-hostage deal.

Netanyahu is currently meeting with top ministers to discuss Israel’s stance as he dispatches negotiators to Qatar for a fresh attempt at talks aimed at freeing hostages and ending the war in Gaza.

Former Bat Yam mayor injured in car bombing says he didn’t know of threat

Former Bat Yam mayor Shlomi Lahiani arrives at the Hermon Prison to begin serving his 8-month sentence on December 27, 2015. (Basel Awidat/Flash90)

The former mayor of Bat Yam is out of the hospital after sustaining light injuries in a suspected car bombing attack in Tel Aviv hours earlier, the Ynet news site reports.

Shlomo Lahiani tells the outlet that he did not feel threatened ahead of the attack and had not been informed by the police about anyone targeting him.

“I was driving in my car and I heard a loud boom. I saw my car was covered in soot,” he says.

“There’s no doubt that something is rotten in Israeli society,” adds the ex-politician, who was forced out of office over a decade ago by convictions for bribery and tax evasion.

Gaza electricity cut will only affect lone desalination plant powered by Israel — official

An Israeli official tells The Times of Israel that Energy Minister Eli Cohen’s decision to cut off electricity to Gaza, while appearing dramatic, will only affect a single facility.

The official says electricity will no longer flow to a desalination plant near Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.

Electricity from Israel to Gaza was cut off after October 7, but in November Israel announced it was renewing supply to the installation.

Gazans mainly rely on solar panels and fuel-powered generators to produce electricity.

The affected plant serves more than 600,000 Gaza residents through tankers or the networks of Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis governorates in central and southern Gaza, respectively.

There are also fears that the power supply halt could affect water pumps and sanitation.

Former head of IDF’s foreign liaison unit named new army spokesman

Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, the outgoing head of the IDF's international cooperation unit, during a handover ceremony on August 1, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin has been appointed by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir as the next IDF spokesman, the military announces.

The appointment was approved by Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Defrin, 53, will be replacing Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, who served as IDF spokesman for the past two years. Hagari is retiring from the military after being passed over for a promotion.

Defrin began his service in the IDF as a tank commander, serving in the 7th Armored Brigade. During the 2006 Second Lebanon War, while he was the commander of the 401st Armored Brigade’s 9th Battalion, he was seriously wounded.

He later commanded the 27th Reserve Armored Brigade, before its closure in 2014, and after that he was the deputy commander of the 36th Division.

In 2016, he was appointed as Israel’s defense attaché to India.

In 2019, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and was appointed as the head of the IDF’s international cooperation unit, known as Tevel.

This was his last role in the military, before leaving last year. He will now return to command the IDF Spokespersons Unit.

Father of former hostage says US Jewish groups shrank from fight for their release

Freed hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen is reunited with his father Jonathan on his return to Israel after 498 days in captivity in Gaza, February 15, 2025. (IDF)

American Jewish organizations have failed the Israeli hostages by not sufficiently advocating on their behalf so as not to clash with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the father of released American-Israeli hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen maintains.

“History will also not look kindly on some, not all, of the leaderships of major Jewish organizations, in North America certainly,” Jonathan Dekel-Chen tells The Jerusalem Post in an interview, calling out the Jewish organizations’ “inability, unwillingness, or fear” to advocate for the hostages if it means crossing the Israeli government.

Without naming any specific organizations, Dekel-Chen says American Jewish groups should have “put the force, such as it is, of the Jewish organizational world behind prioritizing getting these hostages home above all else.”

Jewish organizations should have made clear that freeing hostages “is an irrefutable Jewish value.”

“The abandonment of that principle in favor of anything – turf wars, fear of anger from within their own communities, and their own positions in leadership, I think is an embarrassment,” he says.

“In a perfect world, the biggest single advocate for the hostages, in action and not just lip service, would be the government of Israel. That simply hasn’t happened,” he laments. “As a result, hostage families themselves have had to take it on.”

“Speaking as a historian of the Jewish people, history will not judge these leaders well for what they have already done and for what I fear they might continue to do,” Dekel-Chen says.

US, Israel ‘should probably’ join up to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, hostage envoy says

US presidential envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler speaks during a ceremony to raise the Hostage and Wrongful Detainee flag at the State Department, Thursday, March 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The White House’s top official on hostage negotiations says Israel and the US would not have trouble joining up to destroy Iran’s nuclear program.

“It’s not so hard for us to partner with Israel and take out (Iran’s) nuclear capability,” Adam Boehler tells FOX News Sunday. “We probably should do it.”

He makes the comments in response to a question on the seriousness of US President Donald Trump’s ultimatum to Hamas last week for it to immediately release all hostages or face destruction. Boehler recalls the Trump-ordered assassination of Iran Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani.

Trump might “make it seem like an empty threat until he carries it,” Boehler says.

Boehler denies reporting that his talks with Hamas have fallen apart, calling them “very productive.” The Trump envoy says he “identified some opportunities to come together.”

“We also discussed what an end might look like,” he continues, adding that the talks “did orient toward a long-term truce” in which Hamas would agree to disarm, not be part of the governance of Gaza and no longer threaten Israel. Hamas to date has pledged to do none of those things publicly.

Defending the talks amid Israeli criticism, Boehler says, “dialogue doesn’t mean giving things,” insisting that Jerusalem “was kept informed.”

While a Western official told The Times of Israel that Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer “lashed out” at Boehler after learning of the talks after-the-fact, Boehler says he was able to put the Netanyahu confidant “at ease” and convince him “that I wouldn’t go off the rails,” adding that “Israel is our best ally.”

Addressing Israeli concerns that the US will pivot elsewhere after securing the release of American hostages, Boehler insists Trump wants to “bring everybody home.”

Jerusalem surprised by White House hostage envoy saying US not acting on Israel’s behalf in talks

Senior Israeli officials were surprised to hear US hostage envoy Adam Boehler’s comments today that the US is not “an agent of Israel,” an Israeli source tells The Times of Israel.

Boehler appeared on CNN defending his direct talks with Hamas terror group officials after the revelation of the US side channel sparked a tense conversation between him and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

“I understand the consternation and the concern. I wasn’t upset,” he said of the dialogue with Dermer. “At the same time, we’re the United States. We’re not an agent of Israel. We have specific interests at play.”

‘We’re looking to White House’ after Israel left our sons in Gaza, mother of hostage says

Anat Angrest, left, Viki Cohen, center and Einav Zangauker speak at a protest outside the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on March 9, 2025 (Courtesy Shift 101)

Hundreds of protestors are continuing to hold a sit-in outside Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, after protesters camped out at the site overnight as part of a campaign to pressure the government to make a deal to free all the remaining hostages.

Protestors take shifts, some spending the night in tents on the street, others join in the morning and afternoon.

The protestors, who man the vigil in shifts, are joined by protesters from the female-led movement Shift 101, including Einav Zangauker, Anat Angrest and Viki Cohen, all of them mothers of hostage men who accuse the country of abandoning their sons.

“Today, we find ourselves with our eyes on the White House,” says Angrest, mother of hostage soldier Matan Angrest. “Here, across from the Defense Ministry, I ask what soldiers will go to war, what mothers — like us, will send their children if they know that if they will fall into captivity, the state will leave them there. Our children, Matan [Zangauker] and Nimrod [Cohen] were left behind and the state doesn’t even speak to us about a plan to bring them back. We will entrench ourselves in every kind of protest there is, until the prime minister will understand that there is no other path to a complete victory, only with the return of the hostages,” she says.

Viki Cohen, the mother of Nimrod Cohen, another soldier who was taken hostage on October 7, 2023 after battling on the Gaza border, asks, “how could it be that the state of Israel abandoned [Nimrod] when he was fighting in a broken tank and continues to abandon him until today. Our longing has grown and we’re exhausted from this journey, we’ve said everything, we’ve pleaded, we’ve met with everyone possible — and there’s no one to listen to us. The government doesn’t listen — you do listen. Remember that our soldiers are our children, and we the mothers don’t give up.”

Macabit Meir, aunt of hostage twins Ziv and Gali Berman, says that the family doesn’t know what to expect from the Israeli negotiating team leaving Monday for Doha, but fears that only some hostages may be included in whatever deal they hash out.

Cabinet okays NIS 4b plan to boost Druze, Circassian communities over five years

A man rides his bicycle past a mosque in the Circassian village of Kfar Kama in the northern Galilee region, on December 21, 2022. (Jalaa Marey/AFP)

The government approved a five-year plan worth approximately NIS 3.9 billion ($1.1 billion) to resolve housing and planning issues that have afflicted the Druze and Circassian communities in northern Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announce in a joint statement.

The plan is touted by the Prime Minister’s Office as the country’s largest ever focusing on the Druze and Circassian minorities, who number about 150,000 and 5,000, respectively, and mainly live in northern Israel.

“These actions reflect the strength of our bond with the Druze community. They fight alongside us, shoulder to shoulder; we have a unique alliance,” Netanyahu says in a pre-recorded video distributed by the PMO.

The five-year program, formulated in cooperation with relevant government ministries, will allocate NIS 650 million ($179 million) for planning and housing, establish a planning committee for Druze and Circassian localities, and accelerate urban and detailed planning, says the PMO. NIS 450 million ($124 million) will be invested to align the education system with future job markets, according to the PMO.

The plan also seeks to improve electricity connections and subsidize new construction for discharged soldiers and young couples, as well as strengthen local authorities by investing over NIS 1 billion to increase their budgets, organizational efficiency, and develop new income sources through economic projects.

US hostage point man to appear on Israeli TV after Hamas talks bombshell

US special envoy on hostages Adam Boehler will make the rounds on Hebrew-language newscasts this evening, according to Walla’s Barak Ravid.

Boehler appeared on US Sunday morning news shows earlier to discuss hostage talks and his direct meetings with Hamas officials, which angered Israeli leaders.

Israel is sending a negotiating team to Qatar tomorrow to engage in talks on the future of the ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza.

IDF head visits Israeli positions inside Syria

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir meets with officers in southern Syria, March 9, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir visited troops inside southern Syria earlier today, the military says.

The IDF says Zamir toured the area and held an assessment with officers, including the chief of the Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, and the commander of the 210th Bashan Regional Division, Brig. Gen. Yair Peli.

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.”

Zamir’s visit to Syria comes as the IDF comptroller, Brig. Gen. (res.) Ofer Sarig, is carrying out an inspection of the Northern Command’s readiness, discipline and routine activities.

Iran says it’s open to talks with US on nuclear weaponization, but won’t discuss end to ‘peaceful’ program

Iran would consider negotiations with the US if the aim of talks was to address concerns Tehran could militarize its nuclear program, the country’s UN mission says in a post on X.

However, it says that it will never agree to talks whose aim is the dismantlement of what Iran contends is its peaceful nuclear program.

If the objective of negotiations is to address concerns vis-à-vis any potential militarization of Iran’s nuclear program, such discussions may be subject to consideration. However, should the aim be the dismantlement of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program to claim that what Obama…

— I.R.IRAN Mission to UN, NY (@Iran_UN) March 9, 2025

Netanyahu huddles with new IDF chief

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is meeting with new IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir in Jerusalem, the Prime Minister’s Office says.

The two are joined by Netanyahu’s military secretary Maj. Gen. Roman Gofman and his chief of staff Tzachi Braverman.

Netanyahu is expected to convene his security cabinet shortly to decide on the mandate to be given to the negotiating team flying to Doha tomorrow.

Sa’ar calls Syria’s leadership ‘jihadists in suits,’ urges Europe to turn away

In the wake of the killing of hundreds of Alawites in Syria, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar says European countries must “wake up” and drastically change their approach to the new Syrian government, whose leaders he calls “jihadists in suits.”

“Over the weekend, the masks came off when [Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s] men mercilessly massacred their own people — the citizens of the so-called ‘New Syria,'” Sa’ar tells German media outlet Bild, referencing the around 745 Alawite civilians reportedly killed after clashes erupted between Sharaa’s forces and militants loyal to deposed president Bashar al-Assad.

“Europe must raise its voice: against the massacre, against the barbaric murder of civilians, against this distilled evil of the jihadists,” says Sa’ar. “It must wake up. It must stop granting legitimacy to a regime whose first actions — unsurprising, given its well-known terrorist background — are these atrocities.”

Israel has repeatedly declared its mistrust of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist faction that led the campaign that toppled Assad and that emerged from a group that was affiliated with al-Qaeda until it cut ties in 2016. Europeans, meanwhile, have cautiously welcomed Sharaa, easing sanctions on Damascus, though HTS remains a proscribed group.

“The international community in general, and Europe in particular, has flocked to Damascus in recent months to shake hands” with Sharaa, Sa’ar complains.

But, he says, the new rulers “were jihadists and have remained so, even if they now wear suits.”

Deal with Hamas possible within weeks, US envoy Boehler says, but ‘it’s not like Hamas got the world because I thought they were a bunch of nice guys’

US hostage envoy Adam Boehler in a CNN interview on March 9, 2025. (CNN screenshot)

US hostage envoy Adam Boehler defends his direct talks with Hamas terror group officials, amid private but intense criticism from Jerusalem, saying, “We’re the United States. We’re not an agent of Israel.”

Boehler, who held several secret meetings with Hamas before Israel learned about it and the talks were leaked to the press, also claims that a deal to release all of the hostages could be reached within weeks. “It was a very helpful meeting,” he says.

Boehler is asked on CNN what it was like for him, as a Jewish American, to sit down with “antisemitic murderers.” In response, he says that his job requires him to have dialogue “with anybody, and that includes a lot of people that I would classify as not so good people, to help other Americans.”

Sitting with people like Hamas, he goes on, when “you know what they’ve done, it’s hard not to think of it.” However, that’s not “the most productive” approach, he says. “The most productive [approach] is to realize that every piece of a person is a human and to identify with the human elements of those people and then build from there. But it definitely feels a little odd knowing what they really are.”

He confirms that “of course” President Donald Trump signed off on his talks with Hamas ahead of time.

He says he understands why Israel might be upset over the talks, saying he has spoken to Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer about the contacts.

“I do understand” why the Israelis might be upset, he says. “I spoke with Ron, and I’m sympathetic. He has someone that he doesn’t know well, making direct contact with Hamas. Maybe I would see them and say, ‘Look, they don’t have horns growing out of their head. They’re actually guys like us. They’re pretty nice guys’,” Boehler says, apparently referring to Hamas.

“He doesn’t know me, and there are big stakes,” Boehler says of Dermer. “He lives in a country where, if it sets certain precedents, then it will hurt or help a lot of other people.”

Therefore, “I understand the consternation and the concern. I wasn’t upset. At the same time, we’re the United States. We’re not an agent of Israel. We have specific interests at play. We did communicate back and forth. We had very specific parameters which we [followed],” Boehler says.

What he wanted to do, he says, “is jumpstart some negotiations that were in a very fragile place.”

He adds that he “wanted to say to Hamas, What is the endgame that you want here? Not the dream endgame, but what do you think is realistic at this point.”

But he says Israel does not think that his interaction with Hamas will sway the talks against Israel.

“Israel knows walking out of that, that it’s not like Hamas got the world because I thought they were a bunch of nice guys,” he says.

Speaking of chances for a breakthrough following the meetings, Boehler says, “Something could come together within weeks. There is enough there to make a deal between what Hamas wants and what they’ve accepted, and what Israel wants and it’s accepted.”

“I think there is a deal where they can get all of the prisoners out, not just the Americans,” he adds. Hamas says the talks with the US are centered on only those hostage holding American citizenship.

He takes a moment to recognize the American hostages, but mispronounces the name of Edan Alexander, the sole living American hostage, as Adi.

“With respect to the Hamas situation, I do think there’s hope. I think that Israel has done a wonderful, masterful job eliminating Hamas, Hezbollah, a number of other enemies that makes things possible that weren’t possible before,” Boehler adds.

“You could see something like a long-term truce where we forgive prisoners, where Hamas lays down their arms, where they agree that they’re not part of the political party going forward. I think that’s a reality that’s real close,” he says.

Asked if he’ll meet Hamas again, Boehler responds, “You never know. Sometimes you’re in the area, and you drop by.”

Israel stops electricity supply to Gaza to ratchet up pressure on Hamas

Palestinians conduct electric works in the Gaza Strip to increase power to a water desalination plant in coordination with Israel, July 2, 2024 (Video screenshot)

Energy Minister Eli Cohen has instructed the Israel Electric Corporation to immediately cut off the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip, in an apparent bid to pile pressure on the enclave where 59 hostages kidnapped from Israel are still held.

“We will employ all the tools available to us so that all the hostages will return, and we will ensure that Hamas won’t be in Gaza on the ‘day after,'” says Cohen in a video statement.

Cohen’s office circulates a letter sent to the IEC ordering it to stop selling electricity to Gaza power stations.

The move comes after Israel announced it was halting the entry of goods into Gaza over what it called Hamas’s refusal to accept a proposal to extend the initial stage of the ceasefire and hostage release deal, and threatened “additional consequences” and a return to war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that he was prepared to raise the pressure and would not rule out cutting off all electricity to Gaza if Hamas didn’t budge on its demands in talks to free the hostages and end the war.

Syria forming independent commission to probe Alawite killings, leadership says

Syria has formed an independent committee to investigate the clashes that occurred in the coastal region, the Syrian presidency says.

The clashes, which a war monitoring group says have already killed 1,000 people, mostly civilians, have continued for a fourth day in deposed president Bashar al-Assad’s coastal heartland.

Hamas spokesman says conditions for second stage of deal haven’t changed

In an interview aired by al Jazeera early Sunday morning, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem says that the terror group is sticking to its conditions for a second phase to the ceasefire with Israel — a hostage-prisoner exchange, Israel’s complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and a guarantee of no return to war, stressing that Hamas “rejects extending the first stage of the ceasefire agreement.”

Qassem says he does not “rule out the possibility of meeting with representatives of the US administration.”

“Hamas understands that Washington has the ability to pressure” Israel on these conditions, he adds.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced late Saturday that he would send a delegation to Doha on Monday in an attempt to move negotiations forward; meanwhile there have been unprecedented direct talks between Hamas leaders and US hostage envoy Adam Boehler in recent weeks, apparently focused on hostages with US citizenship.

According to Qassem, Hamas “does not mind the release of Israeli prisoners with American citizenship,” but adds that it will be “within a comprehensive agreement.”

Rubio says Syria must punish Islamists, foreign jihadis behind Alawite massacre

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. (Photo by SANA / AFP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says “radical Islamist terrorists” behind “massacres” of minorities in Syria must be held to account by the country’s interim administration.

“The United States condemns the radical Islamist terrorists, including foreign jihadis, that murdered people in western Syria in recent days,” Rubio says in a statement.

“The United States stands with Syria’s religious and ethnic minorities, including its Christian, Druze, Alawite, and Kurdish communities, and offers its condolences to the victims and their families,” he adds.

“Syria’s interim authorities must hold the perpetrators of these massacres against Syria’s minority communities accountable.”

The violence against minorities erupted after gunmen loyal to ousted leader Bashar al-Assad, a member of the Alawite minority, attacked the new security forces.

War monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights later reported that security forces and allied groups killed at least 745 Alawite civilians in Latakia and Tartus provinces.

Former Bat Yam mayor reportedly hurt by car bomb

FILE: Shlomo Lahiani, former mayor of Bat Yam, appeals to the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on October 26, 2015, against an 8-month prison sentence for bribery, fraud, breach of public trust and perjury. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Several reports in Hebrew-language media claim one of the victims of the Tel Aviv car bombing was Shlomo Lahiani, the former mayor of Bat Yam, a suburb directly south of the city.

According to the reports, Lahiani, who led the city from 2003 to 2014, was lightly injured when his car exploded on the Ayalon highway.

Lahiani, 58, was jailed in 2015 after pleading guilty to tax offenses and for accepting bribes of some NIS 900,000 (around $250,000).

Lahiani was targeted with car bombs in 2024 and in 2021, both of which were discovered before they went off, according to a Kan report last year.

Police have concluded that the explosion was not terror-related, according to Channel 12 news.

Netanyahu claims government critics getting away with misogyny

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, March 9, 2025 (screenshot/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his weekly cabinet meeting to decry attacks on female ministers in his government, days after Opposition Leader Yair Lapid came under fire for comments that seemed to mock the appearance of Settlements Minister Orit Strock.

“Yesterday was International Women’s Day,” says Netanyahu in footage released by his office. “We respect women wherever they are.”

“It is interesting that at this time we are hearing ugly, savage attacks against government officials. Against Minister Strock, against [Transportation Minister Miri] Regev, misogynistic attacks that would certainly be condemned from wall to wall if they were not directed at our government officials,” he adds.

Netanyahu claims his government is committed to advancing the status of women in the country. Critics say he has failed to take action aimed at ending domestic violence and partners with ultra-Orthodox political movements who bar women from holding office.

Lapid was criticized last week after he said during a radio interview that “I look at Orit Strock — and just for that I deserve a raise — and God’s with her,” referring to the Orthodox politician’s religious zeal.

Lapid claimed he was not referring to her looks.

In late 2022, Netanyahu ushered in a cabinet with only six female ministers out of 32, three of whom were added after the government’s swearing-in. The previous administration had nine in a 27-minister government.

Car bomb detonates on Tel Aviv highway; two injured

Two people have been injured by a suspected car bomb in southern Tel Aviv, authorities say.

The explosions occurs on the southbound lanes of the Ayalon Highway near the La Guardia interchange, according to police, who say they are probing what was behind the blast.

Footage shows several cars badly damaged on the highway, which was reportedly shut, jamming an already busy afternoon commute.

זירת פיצוץ הרכב בכביש איילון דרום באזור מחלף לה גווארדיה.
צילום: תיעוד מבצעי מד"א pic.twitter.com/Si3RKBNOpc

— הארץ חדשות (@haaretznewsvid) March 9, 2025

The Magen David Adom rescue service says it treated two people in their mid-30s while responding to a burning car on the highway.

One victim is in moderate condition, while the second person is described as having light injuries.

Car bombs in Israel are commonly associated with underworld crime rather than terrorism.

US-Hamas talks focused on Edan Alexander, only living hostage with American citizenship, terror official says

File: Former US president Donald Trump poses for photos with family members of Edan Alexander, a hostage held by Hamas, after visiting the gravesite of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, October 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Meetings between Hamas leaders and US hostage negotiator Adam Boehler in recent days have focused on the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, a senior Hamas official tells Reuters.

“Several meetings have already taken place in Doha, focusing on releasing one of the dual-nationality prisoners. We have dealt positively and flexibly, in a way that serves the interests of the Palestinian people,” says Taher Al-Nono, political adviser to the leader of Hamas, confirming that talks took place over the past week.

Nono says the sides had also discussed how to see through the implementation of the phased agreement that went into effect on January 19.

“We informed the American delegation that we don’t oppose the release of the prisoner within the framework of these talks,” Nono tells Reuters.

Alexander, a 21-year-old New Jersey native who served in the IDF, is believed to be the last living American hostage held by Hamas in Gaza, though the bodies of several Americans are also believed held in Gaza. In total there are 24 living hostages and 35 bodies held by Hamas or its allies in Gaza.

Nono praises what he described as an “important role” played by US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff in reaching the January 19 ceasefire agreement that halted the fighting in Gaza.

“We hope that he will work to succeed in the negotiation of the second phase,” Nono says.

Katz says Israel will soon allow Syrian Druze to enter Israel for work in the Golan Heights

A street vendor awaits customers by his banana stall in the Druze-majority Jaramana city in the Damascus countryside on March 2, 2025. (Bakr Alkasem/AFP)

Defense Minister Israel Katz says Israel will soon allow Syrian Druze to enter Israel for work in the Golan Heights.

Katz in a statement says he “salutes” members of the Druze and Circassian communities in Israel for “their loyalty and bravery and their contribution to Israel’s security in difficult and crucial times.”

“We will continue to strengthen them and also protect their brothers in Syria against any threat,” he says.

The remarks come as the government approves an aid plan for the Druze and Circassian communities in Israel.

“We will soon also allow Druze laborers from Syria to come to work in the Golan Heights communities in Israel,” Katz adds.

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

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani speaks on the sideline of the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos on January 21, 2025. (MICHAEL BUHOLZER / POOL / AFP)

Qatar’s prime minister has warned that an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities would “entirely contaminate” the waters of the Gulf and threaten life in Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait.

The three desert states, facing Iran on the opposite side of the Gulf, have minimal natural water reserves and are home to more than 18 million people whose only supply of potable water is desalinated water drawn from the Gulf.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani warns that an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites would leave the Gulf with “no water, no fish, nothing … no life.”

US President Donald Trump has said he wants to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran and has suggested to Tehran that the two countries open talks. Trump has also reinstated a “maximum pressure” campaign that was applied during his first term as president to isolate Iran from the global economy and drive its oil exports to zero.

Sheikh Mohammed urged a diplomatic solution to avoid a military strike on Iran that would trigger a “war that will spread all over the region.”

“There is no way that Qatar would support any kind of military step… we will not give up until we see a diplomatic solution,” he says in an interview with US conservative media personality Tucker Carlson that was posted on Friday.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and its supreme leader said on Saturday that Iran would not be bullied into negotiations.

Qatar assessed several years ago that it was at risk of running out of potable water after three days in the event of an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites, Sheikh Mohammed says.

The Gulf Arab state, where temperatures reach 50°C in the summer, has since built 15 of the world’s largest concrete water reservoirs to boost its emergency water supply.

Qatar’s prime minister specifically mentioned his country, Kuwait and the UAE, and said some of Iran’s nuclear sites were closer to Doha than they were to Tehran. Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant is on the Gulf coast at Bushehr.

Ex-chief rabbi says death toll from rockets would have been higher if ultra-Orthodox not studying in yeshivas

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef in Safed on September 17, 2024 (David Cohen/Flash90 )

Former Sephardic chief rabbi Yitzhak Yosef claims that Hamas and Hezbollah missiles fired at Israel since October 7 would have killed and wounded many more people if there had not been large numbers of ultra-Orthodox men engaged in full-time Talmud study.

“What would have happened if there had been no yeshiva students? What would have happened if there had been no Torah? How many would have been killed and injured,” he asks. “God protects us in the merit of those who learn Torah.”

Yosef is a longtime opponent of efforts to draft yeshiva students. Last week, his brother, current Chief Rabbi David Yosef, condemned his brother’s rhetoric, stating that members of the ultra-Orthodox community needed “to speak kindly and convey criticism without harsh words and threats like ‘we will leave the country.”

“No,” the chief rabbi stated. “We are not leaving the country. We are here and this is our country.”

Last March, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef warned that ultra-Orthodox Jews would leave Israel en masse if the government ends exemptions of mandatory military enlistment enjoyed by the community.

“If they force us to go to the army, we’ll all move abroad,” Yosef said during a weekly lecture. “We’ll buy a ticket… We’ll go there.”

PM opens new light rail line in Jerusalem, says wars not hampering development

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (third from left) and Transportation Minister Miri Regev (second from left) at the inauguration ceremony of the Jerusalem light rail’s new Red Line, March 9, 2025. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu inaugurates an extension of the Jerusalem light rail, opening the new Red Line, saying that despite Israel’s ongoing conflicts, the country was still pressing ahead with infrastructure development

As Israel fights on seven fronts, determined to achieve victory, says Netanyahu at the inauguration ceremony, “we are not giving up on building the country and strengthening our capital.”

The infrastructure project adds 22 stations and 22 kilometers of distance from Neve Ya’akov in the north to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in the south, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

The new line is “much more than just tracks and carriages — it is a lifeline that connects the city, eases transportation, strengthens the local economy, and allows tens of thousands of families to reach their workplaces, schools, healthcare centers, and commercial hubs much faster,” the prime minister says at the ceremony, alongside Transportation Minister Miri Regev.

“The Jerusalem of tomorrow will not only be the holiest city in the world, but also one of the most connected, smartest, and most advanced cities in the world,” continues Netanyahu.

The prime minister also addresses future expansions including the Green Line, which would connect Mount Scopus to Har Homa, and a Blue Line, which “will cut across Jerusalem from south to north.”

Knesset to debate possible Israeli withdrawal from World Health Organization

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus looks on during a press conference on the World Health Organization's 75th anniversary in Geneva, on April 6, 2023. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)

Following President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States will withdraw from the World Health Organization, Israeli lawmakers are set to meet to discuss the possibility of Israel following suit.

According to the Knesset website, the Knesset Health Committee will hold a debate special on “Israel’s withdrawal from World Health Organization” on Monday. The Walla news site reports that the debate is slated to be held at the request of members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud as well as MKs from the far-right Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit parties.

“The organization’s policy is often tainted with antisemitism and clear discrimination against Israel, and constitutes a serious violation of the legitimacy of the State of Israel as a sovereign state,” Walla quotes the lawmakers as arguing.

The organization has been highly critical of Israeli actions in Gaza, particularly attacks on hospitals. Israel said Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza were using hospitals as staging grounds for attacks.

High Court agrees to hear petition against government control over judicial ombudsman

The High Court of Justice agrees to hear a petition filed by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel against a recently passed law granting the coalition control over the appointment of a judicial ombudsman, the official with responsibility for investigating complaints of misconduct against judges.

Justice Yosef Elron orders the state to file its response by April 2. Elron rejects, however, the petition’s demand for an interim order freezing implementation of the law.

Movement for Quality Government in Israel filed its petition on Thursday, arguing that the new law allows the coalition to directly influence the appointment of the ombudsman and that it therefore harms the independence of the judges.

The petition also argues that the fact that the law was passed while ombudsman position is vacant means the legislation has an “illegitimate retrospective” component, and that it was designed to allow this specific coalition to assert influence over the current appointment process.

The new law “undermines the independence of the judiciary,” Movement for Quality Government says, and argues that its immediate implementation would cause “serious, real, and irreversible damage” to democracy.

“The amendment violates the principle of judicial independence, which is enshrined in the Basic Law: Judiciary,” the organization asserts.

Proponents of the legislation, including Justice Minister Yariv Levin, argued that the former system whereby the justice minister and the Supreme Court president had to agree on a candidate gave too much power to the judiciary over the appointment of an official who is supposed to hold judges to account.

US Secret Service shoots armed man near White House; Trump out of town

The White House is seen in the late afternoon in Washington, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

An armed man believed to have traveled from Indiana was shot by US Secret Service agents near the White House after a confrontation early this morning, according to authorities.

No one else was injured in the shooting that happened around midnight about a block from the White House, according to a Secret Service statement. US President Donald Trump was in Florida at the time of the shooting.

The Secret Service received information from local police about an alleged “suicidal individual” who was traveling from Indiana and found the man’s car and a person matching his description nearby.

“As officers approached, the individual brandished a firearm and an armed confrontation ensued, during which shots were fired by our personnel,” the Secret Service said in a statement.

The man was hospitalized. The Secret Service said his condition was “unknown.”

The Metropolitan Police Department will investigate because the shooting involved law enforcement officers. A message left for the police department wasn’t immediately returned.

Smotrich says government setting up ‘migration administration’ to oversee exodus of Gazans

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends the Land of Israel Caucus at the Knesset in Jerusalem, March 9, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says that the government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, is working to establish a “migration administration” that will oversee the exodus of Palestinian residents from the Gaza Strip.

Addressing the Knesset Land of Israel Caucus, Smotrich says that the issue of the budget for such an undertaking “will not be an obstacle” to the task, which he calls logistically “complex.”

According to the Ynet news site, Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock, a member of Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionism party, says that the removal of the security threat from Gaza cannot be achieved “except through a voluntary migration plan.”

In an interview with “Meet the Press” on Channel 12 last month, Smotrich claimed that Israel was actively in touch with Washington to discuss the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s plan to move residents of the Gaza Strip abroad.

“The process of emigration from Gaza will begin in the coming weeks,” Smotrich stated. “Gazans will have nothing to look for in Gaza in the next 10-15 years. After we return to fighting and all of Gaza looks like Jabalia — they will have nothing to look for there at all.”

In a joint appearance with Prime Minister Netanyahu during his recent state visit, Trump called for permanently relocating the entire population of the Gaza Strip, insisting the Palestinians “have no alternative” but to leave the “big pile of rubble” that is Gaza after over 15 months of Israeli bombardment targeting Hamas.

Afterward, Defense Minister Israel Katz said he had instructed the military to prepare a plan that would enable Gazans seeking to leave the Strip voluntarily to do so.

In January, Smotrich said that he was working to turn Trump’s ideas about Gaza into an actionable policy. He has previously stated that Israel should occupy Gaza and “encourage” half of the Strip’s 2.2 million Palestinians to emigrate within two years.

Government approves new ambassadors to China, Poland

Israeli Ambassador to South Africa Eli Belotserkovsky on October 7, 2023. (Screen capture/X)

The government unanimously approves the appointment of new ambassadors to China and Poland, the Foreign Ministry announces.

Eli Belotserkovsky is officially appointed Israel’s ambassador to China. He will also serve as non-resident ambassador to Mongolia. Belotserkovsky, a former ambassador to South Africa and Ukraine, was recalled from South Africa in November of 2023, following that country’s call to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has also served as chargé d’affaires at the Israeli Embassy in Russia.

Yaakov Finkelstein is appointed Israel’s ambassador to Poland, after serving in the Foreign Ministry’s Europe Division and as consul general in Mumbai.

The two career diplomats were selected by the Foreign Ministry for the posts last week and approved by Foreign Minister Gidon Sa’ar.

New head of the IDF Southern Command to take up role on Wednesday

Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, Head of the IDF Personnel Directorate, attends a ceremony held at the IDF Central Command headquarters in Jerusalem on July 8, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor will enter the role of head of the IDF Southern Command on Wednesday, the military says.

Asor, the former head of the Personnel Directorate, is replacing Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, who is resigning over his part in the failures that led to Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.

He was appointed by new IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir last week.

Israel releases trove of pre-state name change records

Israel opens to the public hundreds of files containing official records of name changes made under the pre-state British Mandate government, announces the Prime Minister’s Office.

“This information can be particularly useful for researchers and genealogy enthusiasts tracing their family origins,” says the PMO.

Many new immigrants Hebraicized their names after arriving in the country.

The “Palestine Gazette,” the official newspaper of the British Mandate government of Palestine between 1920 and 1948, comprises some 700 files containing official records of name changes approved by the Mandate government’s Immigration and Travel Department, as well as other government-issued orders and announcements from the period.

For the past decade, the Israel State Archives has worked to digitize the document, which provides vast information on municipal laws, approved trademarks, information on transportation, sanitation, postal services, and more. The collection is now digitally available on the agency’s website.

The completion of the project marks the 50 millionth page scanned for public access by the national archive, according to the PMO.

Education minister slams ‘confused’ university chiefs for threats to strike if AG fired

Education Minister Yoav Kisch hold a press conference on the new AI program in the education system at the Education Ministry in Tel Aviv, February 3, 2025. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Education Minister Yoav Kisch derides the heads of Israel’s major universities as “confused” after they threaten to go on strike if the government fires Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

The government “will not be deterred” by such threats, Kisch writes in a response to the threat, arguing that Baharav-Miara “is not above public criticism and is not immune from impeachment proceedings when she acts in a way that goes beyond her professional role and turns her into the opposition to the elected government.”

The state “will not allow the use of state resources and academic institutions for political protests under the guise of a struggle over values,” and contrary to the university administrators’ claims, firing Baharav-Miara will not endanger democracy but rather will strengthen it, he continues.

“True democracy exists when the will of the public is expressed and is not repeatedly blocked by non-elected parties,” he argues, stating that “academic institutions are supposed to be places of critical thinking, not a tool for political confrontation.” He says that rather than “trying to impose a political agenda on the general public,” the university heads would be better off focusing “on improving higher education” in Israel.

Activist arrested in northern Israel for scuffling with education minister’s guards

Mayor Avichai Stern visits kids at a school in the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona, as schools reopened for students evacuated durting the war with Hezbollah, March 9, 2025. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

Police detained a close adviser to the mayor of Kiryat Shmona this morning after he allegedly scuffled with the security detail for Education Minister Yoav Kisch during his visit to the northern city.

Pe’er Laredo, an adviser to Mayor Avichai Stern, apparently tried to enter a teachers’ room where Kisch was located, and physically confronted guards who blocked him at the door.

Kisch, a Likud politician who publicly opposed Stern’s reelection, had been touring the schools in Kiryat Shmona, which reopened this morning for the first time since residents were evacuated from the city in wake of Hezbollah’s war on Israel following October 7.

Laredo tells Ynet that he wanted to speak to Kisch about safety risks that still required fixing in the city’s schools, but that his guards stopped him when he tried to enter.

“After a year and a half of being evacuated from our homes, I arrived to welcome the children and bring my child back to school. It’s insane that I find myself at the police station,” Laredo said to the Hebrew news outlet. “Minister Kisch came to cut a ribbon and continue with the political spin. He forgot that election season is over.”

Stern, who recently won reelection against his Likud-backed opponent Eli Zafrani in delayed elections, opposed Kisch’s visit and deemed it a cheap PR stunt.

“Sadly, after doing all he could to keep the schools from reopening at the right time and trying to take credit for the vital assistance we received from the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee, the minister of education now asks to come and have his picture taken on the backdrop of the hard work of the Kiryat Shmona municipality and civil society to prepare schools [for reopening],” Stern said.

“It’s a shame that such motivation to visit the city was nowhere to be found for the past year and a half,” he remarked.

Kisch’s office claims that the Education Ministry had been attempting to set up a tour of Kiryat Shmona in cooperation with the municipality, but was repeatedly rejected. The statement also accuses Stern of “sending thugs to confront the minister, who were arrested by Shin Bet security guards.”

Police say Laredo will be brought to court in Kiryat Shmona today, where a judge will rule on their request to extend his detention.

IDF confirms Gaza drone strike, says targets were trying to plant bomb near troops

The IDF confirms carrying out an airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip earlier this morning, saying it targeted a group of terror operatives attempting to plant a bomb near troops.

Palestinian media reports said two were killed in the strike, in Gaza City’s eastern Shejaiya neighborhood.

The strike was carried out by an Israeli Air Force drone, and not artillery shelling as Palestinian media reported.

Schools reopen for evacuated students in northern Israel

Of the some 16,000 students who were evacuated during the war with Hezbollah in the north, 63.7% of them have returned to school today, according to the Hebrew news outlet Ynet.

The news site also reports that 83.3% of evacuated teachers have returned to teach in the north.

A ceasefire with Hezbollah went into effect in November and the government has been working to return the 60,000 evacuated residents to their homes.

However, many face difficulties in returning due to the widespread destruction.

Thai police says reports Israelis detained for attempted rape are incorrect; suspects are two Germans and a Turk

Thai police say that reports yesterday that that three Israeli tourists had been arrested for attempting to rape two Finnish tourists on the Island of Phuket were false.

Police tell Thailand’s The Nation that the three people arrested in the incident were two Germans of Turkish origin and a Turkish citizen.

A Russian tourist was injured as he tried to fight off the three men in the incident.

Hamas confirms it held several meetings with US over Gaza ceasefire deal

FILE - Adam Boehler speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House, April 14, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Several meetings have taken place between leaders of Hamas and US hostage affairs envoy Adam Boehler, Taher Al-Nono, the political adviser of the Hamas chief, confirms to Reuters.

Israel has been angered by the reports that the US met separately with Hamas and offered concessions without getting consent from Jerusalem.

Universities threaten to strike if government fires AG: ‘Unprecedented danger to rule of law’

Attorney-General Gali Baharav Miara (center) and Justice Minister Yariv Levin at a farewell ceremony for retiring acting Supreme Court President Uzi Vogelman, at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on October 1, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/POOL)

The presidents of Israel’s eight research universities send a letter warning they will go on strike if the government fires the attorney general, saying the move is an unprecedented danger to the rule of law in Israel.

“We warn of the unprecedented danger to the rule of law if the attorney general is fired,” the letter says.

“In Israel’s democracy, the attorney general is the most important guardian against potential harm by the government against the rights of the citizens and individual residents in the country,” they write.

The letter comes after Justice Minister Yariv Levin began the process of removing Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara from her post last week, accusing her of having politicized her office and repeatedly thwarting the will of the government.

Palestinians say 2 killed in Israeli ‘shelling’ in Gaza

Palestinian media reports two dead by Israeli “artillery shelling” in Gaza City’s eastern Shejaiya neighborhood.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

Israeli forces are still deployed to a buffer zone along the Gaza border amid the ceasefire, and the IDF has repeatedly warned Palestinians against approaching the area.

Swastikas sprayed on MDA ambulance in Jerusalem

A swastika spray-painted onto a Magen David Adom emergency service vehicle in Jerusalem on March 9, 2025. (Magen David Adom)

Several swastikas were spray-painted onto Magen David Adom vans last night in Jerusalem, according to spokespeople for the emergency service.

At around 3 a.m. this morning, a team of paramedics in Jerusalem were dispatched to the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim to treat a patient in his apartment.

When they returned to their vehicles outside, the medics were shocked to find that someone had painted swastikas over the Star of David logo on both vans.

An MDA spokesman said the organization filed a complaint with the police.

“This is a serious and shocking incident that has no place in our society,” says MDA CEO Eli Bin in a statement. “We trust that the enforcement agencies will bring those responsible for this heinous act to justice.”

Syria leader issues plea for national unity, peace after more than 1,000 killed in clashes

This handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on March 8, 2025, shows Syrian forces manning a checkpoint in the coastal city of Latakia. (SANA/AFP)

Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa call for peace and national unity after days of clashes between security forces and loyalists of the former government that have killed more than 1,000 people, most of them Alawite civilians, amid reports of executions.

“We must preserve national unity (and) civil peace as much as possible and, God willing, we will be able to live together in this country,” Sharaa says in a speech delivered from a mosque in Damascus.

Two killed in shooting incidents overnight in Arab community

Two people were killed in overnight shootings that took place in the so-called Triangle region, an Arab-majority area in northern Israel, police and medics say, bringing the death toll of Arab Israeli murder victims to 50 since the start of the year.

Khaled Jamal Ghanem, in his 30s, was shot while at a cafe in Zemer. Magen David Adom paramedics took him to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in nearby Hadera, but he succumbed to his wounds.

Later at around dawn, Ahmad Nuseir Zahalka, also in his 30s, was fatally shot while driving to work in Kafr Qara.

Police opened investigations into both shootings and have not yet arrested any suspects.

Police seize illegally held lion cub, two monkeys seen in viral driving videos

Police launch a probe after videos circulate of people driving with a monkey and a lion cub on March 5, 2025 (Screencapture/ X)

Police say they have found and confiscated a lion cub and two monkeys that were seen in videos that circulated last week of people driving with the animals in their cars.

The lion was found in the southern Bedouin village of Bir Hadaj, while the monkeys were found in the nearby town of Tel Sheva. The animals have been handed over to the Israel Nature and Parks Authority for care.

Police launched the probe after videos were posted online of people driving with a monkey and a lion cub in their cars — the monkey chained on the car dashboard and the lion cub in a passenger’s lap — in breach of animal welfare laws.

Iran to hold joint naval drill with Russia, China

Image from video provide by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on March 18, 2023, shows warships during a Russia, China and Iran joint naval exercise in the Arabian Sea. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

Joint naval drills organized annually between Iran, Russia and China will start tomorrow in the southeastern Iranian port of Chabahar, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reports.

IDF drilling surprise attack against air base in northern Israel

IAF soldiers prepare an F-16 for a combat sortie (photo credit: Nati Shocat/ Flash 90)

Under the orders of new IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the military this morning launched a snap drill simulating infiltration attacks against IDF bases and posts.

As part of the drill, the Ramat David Airbase in northern Israel will practice a scenario of a surprise infiltration attack from multiple directions, the military says.

Separately, Zamir ordered the IDF comptroller, Brig. Gen. (res.) Ofer Sarig, to carry out a surprise inspection of the Northern Command.

The comptroller will look at the readiness, discipline, and routine activities of the units in the Northern Command, the IDF says.

IDF says sirens that sounded near Gaza were false alarm

Warning sirens that sounded earlier this morning in the Gaza border community of Holit were apparently activated due to Israeli military activity in the area, the IDF says.

Further details are under investigation, the military adds.

UN nuclear watchdog’s ability to monitor Iran’s nuclear program hindered by US aid cuts — report

The UN nuclear watchdog’s ability to monitor Iran’s nuclear program has been disrupted after US President Donald Trump suspended two programs that provide aid to international nuclear inspectors, the New York Times reports, citing current and former US government nuclear experts.

The two programs were suspended by a sweeping executive order signed by Trump on the first day of his presidency that froze all US foreign aid programs for 90 days.

Citing unnamed sources, the Times says that the two programs are intended to support the International Atomic Energy Agency by recruiting and training atomic inspectors, and supplying it with the equipment and sophisticated lab devices needed for examining samples.

According to the Times, one of the programs has since been restored, although the other remains frozen.

While the IAEA declines to comment on the reported aid cuts, the US State Department, which is supposed to fund the programs, tells the Times that US national security is a top priority, and that “certain US assistance to programs that support International Atomic Energy Agency efforts and capabilities to inspect nuclear facilities worldwide, including in Iran, are continuing.”

The State Department does not say, however, whether any of the programs have been frozen or cut.

Trump administration ends Iraq’s waiver to buy Iranian electricity

The Trump administration has let a waiver allowing Iraq to pay Iran for electricity lapse, a State Department spokesperson says, adding Washington will not allow Tehran any degree of economic or financial relief.

“The President’s maximum pressure campaign is designed to end Iran’s nuclear threat, curtail its ballistic missile program, and stop it from supporting terrorist groups,” the spokesperson says.

“We urge the Iraqi government to eliminate its dependence on Iranian sources of energy as soon as possible.”

The waiver expired on Saturday.

US envoy Witkoff said expected to attend Doha hostage deal talks later this week

US special envoy Steve Witkoff, center, accompanied by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, speaks with reporters at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Doha this week amid efforts to extend the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas, Axios reports, citing two US officials familiar with the matter.

The report comes after Israel confirmed that a negotiating team will depart for Qatar on Monday on “the invitation of the mediators backed by the US.”

According to Axios, the Trump administration hopes to extend the first phase of the previously agreed upon hostage deal, which ended last Saturday, until the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Jewish holiday of Passover.

This appears to be in line with a plan that Israel has endorsed, but which Hamas has so far rejected in favor of pursuing the terms of a potential second phase of the deal, which would require Israel to withdraw fully from Gaza and agree to a permanent end to the war in exchange for the remaining living hostages.

The talks in Doha with Witkoff in attendance will be the first since US President Donald Trump took office, as the first phase of the ceasefire deal was negotiated under his predecessor, president Joe Biden.

Man who climbed London’s Big Ben with Palestinian flag comes down from clock tower after 16 hours

A man who climbed Big Ben’s Elizabeth Tower at London’s Palace of Westminster waving a Palestinian flag early on Saturday has come down after 16 hours, Sky News reports.

Local media reports that he shouted “free Palestine.”

Emergency crews had gone up in a crane to negotiate with the man, and he came down after earlier telling negotiators he would come down “on his own terms,” according to the Sky News report.

One dead, 16 injured after bus overturns in southern Israel — emergency services

One person is dead and at least 16 others are injured after a bus overturns on Israel’s Route 40 highway, near Kiryat Gat in southern Israel, the Magen David Adom emergency service says.

Magen David Adom says it declared a man’s death at the scene of the accident, and began providing medical treatment to those injured, including two people moderately hurt and 14 who sustained light injuries.

Qatar calls to bring ‘all of Israel’s nuclear facilities’ under supervision of UN nuclear watchdog

The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that Doha has urged the UN nuclear watchdog to bring “all of Israel’s nuclear facilities” under its supervision.

The Qatari ambassador to Austria, Jassim Yacoub al-Hammadi, delivered a statement on the matter during a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna earlier this week.

Israel has never publicly acknowledged that it possesses nuclear weapons, but is widely believed to have around 90 in its arsenal, according to an assessment from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in June 2024.

“Hammadi underscored the need for the international community and its institutions to uphold their commitments under resolutions of the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly, the IAEA, and the 1995 Review Conference of the NPT, which called on Israel to subject all its nuclear facilities to IAEA safeguards,” the Qatari statement says.

The Qatari ambassador also appealed for “intensified international efforts” to bring Israel into the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non-nuclear state,” the foreign ministry says, adding that “all Middle Eastern countries, except Israel, are parties to the NPT and have effective safeguard agreements with the Agency.”