Live updates (closed)
The Times of Israel liveblogged Sunday’s events as they unfolded.
Police break up anti-government protest in Jerusalem, dismantle tents outside Knesset
Police officers are breaking up an anti-government protest and dismantling protest tents outside the Knesset in Jerusalem.
In footage circulating on social media, officers are seen dragging protesters apart and away.
The protest tents were set up this evening. They bore banners calling for national elections.
בינתיים במערב העיר…שוטרים גררו עשרות מפגינים ופירקו עשרות אוהלים שהוצבו על הכביש מול הכנסת. pic.twitter.com/biceKRnyo9
— نير حسون Nir Hasson ניר חסון (@nirhasson) March 10, 2024
Final voter turnout for second round of municipal elections was 46.1%, Interior Ministry says
According to the Interior Ministry, 443,595 people, or 46.1 percent of eligible voters, cast ballots in the second round of Israel’s nationwide municipal elections, which ended at 10 p.m. on Sunday.
The ministry reports that 28.76% voted in Haifa, 60.7% in Beit Shemesh, 40.57% in Ramle, 47.7 in Rehovot and 84.52% in Deir al-Asad.
Elections were held today in 35 locations where none of the candidates running for mayor managed to secure the 40% of ballots necessary to win in the first round of municipal elections two weeks ago.
The day was not a legal holiday, unlike the first round at the end of last month, and voting was being restricted to between the hours of 1-10 p.m.
“I would like to thank the thousands of residents who exhibited good citizenship and came out again today to vote,” says Interior Minister Moshe Arbel.
“Thank God, everything went as expected,” he continues, stating that collaboration between the ministry, IDF, police and National Cyber Directorate “enabled normal and continuous voting, while ensuring the purity of the elections.”
According to the ministry, the final results of the election will only be published after the double envelopes from soldiers and others unable to cast ballots at their local polling stations are counted.
In a statement earlier on Sunday, the Interior Ministry released the final audited numbers for voter participation in the first round, held on February 27. Around 3.8 million out of 7.08 million eligible voters, or 53.7 percent, cast ballots — down from 56.9% in 2018 but up from 51% in 2013.
According to Ryan Ghanem, the national election inspector, several attempts at fraud and ballot tampering were caught by polling officials, prompting the ministry to call for increased vigilance.
The ministry did not state where the alleged fraud occurred but during the first round of elections, police detained multiple suspects linked to alleged fraud in Beit Shemesh.
After weeks of uncertainty, Israel unveils revised Eurovision song ‘Hurricane’
Eden Golan (Ran Yehezkel/Kan)
Israel unveils its song for this year’s Eurovision, titled “Hurricane,” capping weeks of uncertainty over its participation in the annual song contest amid boycott calls and accusations of politicization.
The song, to be performed on stage in Malmo, Sweden, in May by Eden Golan, is about a young woman going through a “personal crisis,” says the Kan public broadcaster.
Written by Keren Peles, Avi Ohayon and Stav Beger, the song includes some of the same lyrics from the original “October Rain” submission, which Eurovision organizers initially disqualified on charges that it was too political.
“Look into my eyes and see/ People look away but never say goodbye,” sings Golan. “Who’s the fool who told you boys don’t cry/ Every day I’m losing my mind/ Holding on in this mysterious ride/ Dancing in the storm/ I’ve got nothing to hide/ Take it all and leave the world behind/ Baby promise me you’ll hold me again/ I’m still broken from this hurricane.”
The song is largely in English, except for a few Hebrew lines at the end, which say: “We don’t need big words/ Just prayers/ Even if it’s hard to see/ You always leave me one little light.”
“I ended up in a not simple year,” says Golan. “But on the other hand, I even more so want to represent the country this year, because of its meaning — it has a totally different significance — and we can bring everything we’re feeling, and everything the country is going through, in those three minutes. To speak through the song to the world.”
Israel is one of the final countries to unveil its song ahead of the contest slated for May 7-11, after Eurovision organizers disqualified its first submission on charges that it was too political. Kan originally declared that it would refuse to submit a new song or edit the lyrics, but later agreed to rewrite the original submission to satisfy the European Broadcasting Union, which hosts the competition.
Police scuffle with worshipers at entrance to Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on first night of Ramadan
While thousands of Muslims enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem to pray on the first night of the holy month of Ramadan, a video circulating on social media shows Israeli Border Police officers assailing worshipers with batons at the entrance to the Haram al-Sharif holy site, known to Jews as Temple Mount.
התחלה רעה מאוד לרמדאן. שוטרים מכים באלות מתפללים בשער אלאקצא לפני תפילת התראוויח הראשונה.
שוב הוכח מי ראש הממשלה האמיתי במדינה הזו. pic.twitter.com/KIyhysCzUn— نير حسون Nir Hasson ניר חסון (@nirhasson) March 10, 2024
In response to the video, Israel Police says it is working to “enable freedom of worship on the Temple Mount while at the same time ensuring safety and security, in accordance with instructions given by the political leadership.”
It is not exactly clear what those instructions are.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged last week that the number of worshipers allowed to pray on the Temple Mount in the first week of Ramadan would be the same as in previous years and that no restrictions would be imposed on Israeli Arabs, overruling a previous decision by ultranationalist firebrand National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees the Israel Police.
Most of the Arab population of Jerusalem, however, does not hold Israeli citizenship, and can therefore be subject to stricter limitations.
Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai was reportedly looking to limit attendance “in the initial stage” of Ramadan, adding that younger Arabs, whether Israeli or from East Jerusalem, are the main “agitators” and should therefore be barred.
Photos and videos filmed tonight and shared on X show groups of young Muslim men who were refused access to the Al-Aqsa compound praying in the alleys leading to it, and outside the walls of the Old City.
فلسطینی نوجوان مسجد اقصیٰ کے دروازے سے ملحقہ گلیوں میں عشاء کی نماز ادا کر رہے ہیں جب کہ انہیں مسجد اقصیٰ میں داخل ہونے سے روک دیا گیا ہے۔
(تصویر از سوق القطانین)#المسجد_الأقصى pic.twitter.com/HNi9IHR6TB— Asad Mansoor (@AsadMansoor222) March 10, 2024
Polls close in second round of municipal elections
Polls have closed in the second round of Israel’s nationwide municipal elections. Voting was held between the hours of 1 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Final voter turnout figures have not yet been released by the Interior Ministry but only 350,851 eligible voters, 36.4% of the total, had cast ballots as of 8 p.m.
Elections were held today in locations where none of the candidates running for mayor managed to secure the 40% of ballots necessary to win in the first round of municipal elections two weeks ago.
Netanyahu to German paper: Arab leaders publicly condemn Israel but privately back war against Hamas
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells German newspaper the Bild that leaders of Arab countries have privately voiced support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza even while publicly condemning Israel.
In an interview with the newspaper, Netanyahu says that when he talks to leaders in the region, “they basically understand [the war] and even tacitly agree with it.”
“They understand that Hamas is part of the Iranian axis of terror, which threatens them as much as it threatens us,” he adds.
Comparing the war against the Gaza terror group to the Battle of Mosul, Netanyahu says that Israel has “destroyed three-quarters of the Hamas battalions,” and that giving up now would be akin to “leaving a quarter of ISIS in Mosul.”
If Israel withdrew before launching an operation against Hamas in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, the terror group would just “reposition itself and start again,” the premier adds.
Voter turnout in second round of municipal elections at 36.4% as of 8 p.m.
Voter turnout rose to 36.4 percent as of 8 p.m. on Sunday in the second round of Israel’s nationwide municipal elections, with only 350,851 voters casting ballots in 35 races across the country.
This includes 48.7% of eligible voters having gone to the polls in Beit Shemesh, 45.8% in Kiryat Gat, 39.1% in Rehovot, 37.1% in Pardes Hanna-Karkur, 34.3 in Ness Ziona, 32.6% in Ramle and 23.7% in Haifa.
Elections are being held today in locations where none of the candidates running for mayor managed to secure the 40 percent of ballots necessary to win in the first round of municipal elections two weeks ago.
The day is not a legal holiday, unlike the first round at the end of last month, and voting is being restricted to the hours of 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.
In a statement earlier on Sunday, the Interior Ministry released the final audited numbers for voter participation in the first round, held on February 27. Around 3.8 million out of 7.08 million eligible voters, or 53.7 percent, cast ballots — down from 56.9% in 2018 but up from 51% in 2013.
According to Ryan Ghanem, the national election inspector, several attempts at fraud and ballot tampering were caught by polling officials, prompting the ministry to call for increased vigilance.
The ministry did not state where the alleged fraud occurred but during the first round of elections, police detained multiple suspects linked to alleged fraud in Beit Shemesh.
TV report says Netanyahu sending assurances to Haredi parties in effort to solve draft law crisis
In an unsourced report, Channel 12 news claims Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has conveyed a message to the Haredi parties that “he will be sure to compensate them retroactively” if the High Court intervenes and decides to temporarily deny state funding for Haredi institutions in the context of the battle over drafting Haredim.
Netanyahu, according to the report, apparently believes the court might issue a ruling to this effect if the judges find that the current government policy exempting Haredim from military and national service is illegal, at which point Haredim who do not serve would be considered to be breaching the law, and they and the institutions where they study would be denied state funds.
Thus, the report says, the prime minister is assuring his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners that financial allocations for full-time Haredi Torah students will be increased to compensate for the lost funds once a new draft law is passed — the implication being that this new law will broadly maintain the current contentious blanket exemption for Haredim from military or national service.
By sending this assurance, Netanyahu, says the report, is signaling to the ultra-Orthodox parties that it is in their interests to help him find acceptable terms for a new draft law rather than bringing down the coalition and giving them justification for staying in a coalition on whose watch state funding for their institutions is being halted.
The report also says that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara is prepared to defend the state, which has sought additional time from the court to try to legislate a new draft law, provided she is persuaded by the end of this month that the government is indeed credibly seeking to advance and pass such legislation.
Thousands rally in Central Park to call for release of Gaza hostages
Thousands rally in New York City's Central Park to call for the release of the hostages held in Gaza, March 10, 2024. (Liri Agami/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
An event in New York City’s Central Park earlier today calling for the release of the hostages held by Hamas attracted more than 3,000 people, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum says.
In addition to Israeli flags, protesters at the event held the flags of more than 30 other countries to represent the nationalities of the 134 people still held captive by the terror group.
Addressing the crowd, released hostage Keren Munder calls for the release of the 134 people still captive in Gaza, saying that she doesn’t know “how much longer they can survive.”
“Their physical and mental condition was very tough,” she says of the people she met while in captivity. “A lot of time has passed since then.”
Munder, who was taken captive from her family’s home in Kibbutz Nir Oz along with her 8-year-old son Ohad and released during a weeklong truce in late November, thanks the crowd for their support of the hostages and their families and urges them to continue.
Also at the event was Gilad Korngold, whose son Tal Shoham was taken captive from Kibbutz Be’eri.
“Every day our sons and daughters are tortured, beaten and raped. We must do everything to bring them home,” says Korngold.
IDF says it struck Hezbollah rocket launcher after dozens of rockets fired at Mount Hermon
The IDF says it struck a rocket launcher in southern Lebanon’s Rachaya al-Foukhar, from which dozens of rockets were fired by Hezbollah at the Mount Hermon area earlier today.
Additionally, another rocket launcher in Kounine, used to fire dozens of rockets earlier at Mount Meron, was also struck, the IDF adds.
מטוסי קרב תקפו במרחב רשאי אל-פוחר את המשגר ממנו בוצעו שיגורים לעבר מרחב החרמון מוקדם יותר היום.
כמו כן, הותקף משגר נוסף במרחב כונין שבדרום לבנון, ממנו בוצעו שיגורים למרחב מירון במהלך היום >> pic.twitter.com/ibiWN3v8pp
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 10, 2024
Hamas’s Haniyeh: Israel to blame for collapsed truce talks, no hostage will be released without permanent ceasefire
Qatar-based Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh delivers a recorded speech, March 10, 2024. (Screenshot, X; Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh claims that Israel is responsible for the collapse of truce negotiations after talks in Cairo last week reached an impasse.
In a recorded speech, the Qatar-based leader of the terror organization says that Israel “evaded giving clear guarantees regarding the ceasefire, the withdrawal of its forces or the guarantees for the return of the displaced Gazans.”
Claiming that Hamas “showed positivity and responsibility in the course of the negotiations,” Haniyeh says that the terror group will not accept an agreement “that does not end the war or expel the enemy from Gaza.”
Pledging to ensure that Israel will not recover any of the 134 hostages still in Gaza without a permanent ceasefire deal, Haniyeh thanks the “resistance fronts” –Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, as well as other Iran-backed forces — for supporting the terror group’s fight against Israel.
“The Zionist enemy has failed in all its plans in Gaza, and our people are steadfast in their land despite the thousands of martyrs, wounded and missing people,” says Haniyeh, who left Gaza for Qatar in 2017.
Earlier, Egyptian security sources said that the country had been in contact with senior Hamas and Israeli figures in an effort to restart the negotiations for a truce during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
War cabinet to meet tonight, will discuss Ramadan preparations, stalled hostage deal
Israel’s war cabinet will meet tonight, an unnamed official tells The Times of Israel.
Among the issues on the agenda are preparations for Ramadan, humanitarian aid in Gaza, and ongoing but seemingly stalled attempts to reach a hostage deal with Hamas.
In Ramadan message, Gantz says war in Gaza is not ‘against Islam’ but against those who harm its values
Minister Benny Gantz addresses Israel's Muslim community at the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in a pre-recorded video, March 10, 2024. (Screenshot)
Seeking to calm tensions ahead of the upcoming Islamic holy month of Ramadan, war cabinet minister Benny Gantz issues a direct appeal to Muslim citizens declaring that Israel’s war in Gaza is not a war “against Islam.”
“These days, the State of Israel is in a difficult campaign that began with a murderous attack by Hamas terrorists on all Israeli citizens, including Muslims,” Gantz states in a pre-recorded message.
“Our war is not against Islam, but against those who harmed the values of Islam. Against those who committed crimes against humanity, and also sought to tear apart Israeli society and our common future.”
Declaring that Hamas wants to see Ramadan turn from a month of prayer to “a month of blood,” Gantz asserts that the Gaza-based terror group does not “represent the absolute majority of Israel’s Arab citizens.”
“October 7 proved to us, perhaps more than before, that Arab society is an integral part of the State of Israel. When we are in danger, we are all in the same danger and face it together,” he continues, pledging to maintain freedom of worship on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount and calling on Israel’s Muslim community to ignore “the extremists who try to incite and harm us.”
Despite pressure from National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided not to reduce the number of worshipers allowed to pray on the Temple Mount in the first week of Ramadan.
Gantz has previously declared that Israel would launch an incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah if the hostages held by Hamas are not released by Ramadan and the Biden administration, which is pushing for a temporary ceasefire prior to the start of the holy fasting on Monday morning.
US President Joe Biden has expressed concern that absent a deal, Jerusalem could erupt in violence similar to that which broke out in 2021 following a series of clashes in the Old City, including on the Temple Mount.
Netanyahu instructs prisons to prepare thousands of new spaces for security prisoners
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the finance, defense and national security ministers to prepare space for thousands of new detainees and prisoners in Israel’s prisons, his office says in a statement.
The directive comes after an IDF and Shin Bet assessment in which the security bodies concluded that thousands of terror suspects and operatives will be arrested in Gaza and the West Bank throughout 2024, which will lead to a lack of space in the prisons if preparations are not made.
According to the statement, some 4,000 terror suspects have been arrested since the start of the war against Hamas, the majority of them in Gaza.
Voter turnout remains low in second round of municipal elections, standing at 18.8% as of 5 p.m.
Voting in the Efrat mayoral elections on March 10, 2024. (Gershon Elinson/Flash90)
Voter turnout remains low in the second round of Israel’s nationwide municipal elections, with only 180,579 people, or 18.8 percent of eligible voters, casting ballots as of 5:00 p.m.
According to the Interior Ministry, the highest voting rates recorded on Sunday are in the northern villages of Deir al-Asad and Peki’in at 39.8% and 38%, respectively.
Among larger cities, 27.9% came out to vote in Beit Shemesh, 23.2% in Kiryat Gat, 19.1% in Rehovot, 15.4% in Ness Ziona, 14.4% in Ramle and only 11.6% in Haifa.
Elections are being held today in locations where none of the candidates running for mayor managed to secure the 40 percent of ballots necessary to win in the first round of municipal elections two weeks ago.
The day is not a legal holiday, unlike the first round at the end of last month, and voting will be restricted to the hours of 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.
In a statement earlier on Sunday, the Interior Ministry released the final audited numbers for voter participation in the first round, held on February 27. Around 3.8 million out of 7.08 million eligible voters, or 53.7 percent, cast ballots — down from 56.9% in 2018 but up from 51% in 2013.
Saudi Arabia announces start of Ramadan after sighting of crescent moon
Muslims walk next to the Dome of Rock Mosque at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, March 10, 2024 after Saudi Arabia declared the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Ramadan will begin on Monday, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE announce, with the Muslim holy fasting month taking place against the backdrop of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Saudi Arabia, which is home to Islam’s holiest sites, says through its official SPA news agency that the Supreme Court had announced “Monday, March 11, 2024, the beginning of the blessed month of Ramadan for this year.”
The United Arab Emirates and Qatar also announced the start date for Ramadan through their own official news outlets after the sighting of the crescent moon.
Earlier, Iran had set the beginning of Ramadan for Tuesday after its “Estehlal” or moon observation office said it had not been possible to observe “the crescent of Ramadan.”
In Saudi Arabia, the start of the holy month had been cast into doubt after some of the kingdom’s observatories reported that the moon was obscured by “cloudy weather and dust particles”.
But final confirmation of the sighting was given through the Al Majmaah University Astronomical Observatory in Riyadh.
‘He’s wrong’: Rebuffing Biden’s criticism, PM says ‘majority of Israelis’ support his policies
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, speaks to Politico, March 10, 2024. (Screenshot; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to respond publicly and directly to Joe Biden, saying in an interview that recent criticism from the US president is “wrong” and “false.”
Responding to Biden’s comments on MSNBC that Netanyahu “is hurting Israel more than helping Israel” through his policies in Gaza, Netanyahu tells Politico, “I don’t know exactly what the president meant, but if he meant by that, that I’m pursuing private policies against the wish of the majority of Israelis, and that this is hurting the interests of Israel, then he’s wrong on both counts.”
“These are not my private policies only,” Netanyahu continues. “They are policies supported by the overwhelming majority of Israelis.”
Netanyahu also says that Israelis “say the last thing we should do is install the Palestinian Authority” in Gaza, and that they support Netanyahu’s position that “we should resoundingly reject the attempt to ram down our throats a Palestinian state.”
“The majority of Israelis understand that if we don’t do this, what we will have is a repetition of the October 7 massacre, which is bad for Israel, bad for the Palestinians, and bad for the future of peace in the Middle East.”
The statement from Netanyahu’s office distributing the clip states explicitly in the title that Netanyahu is responding directly to Biden.
Hamas must hand over control of Gaza to Palestinian Authority, top Ramallah official says
An undated image of Palestinian Authority presidential adviser Mahmoud Habbash. (Mahmoud Habbash/Facebook)
Mahmoud Habbash, a top adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, says in an interview with the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya network that the new PA technocratic government, which is slated to be announced shortly, will be under the thumb of Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party alone, and there will not be room for representatives of other factions.
His statement rules out the possibility of a reconciliation between Fatah, which controls the West Bank-based PA, and the terror group Hamas, which has ruled over Gaza since 2007, after numerous unsuccessful efforts to reach an agreement over a unity government.
“Hamas must hand over the reins of power in Gaza to the Palestinian Authority,” says Habbash.
Following Hamas’s savage onslaught against Israel on October 7, in which some 1,200 were killed and 253 were taken to Gaza as hostages, Israel has launched a vast military operation inside the Palestinian enclave and vowed to eradicate the group from Gaza.
The entire PA government in Ramallah submitted its resignation on February 26, a move that came amid growing US pressure on Abbas to shake up the Authority, which would allow it to take a greater role in ruling post-war Gaza.
Gallant praises US plan to provide aid to Gaza by sea, says it will ‘advance the collapse of Hamas’s rule’
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tours the coast of the Gaza Strip, March 10, 2024. (Elad Malka/Defense Ministry)
Touring the coast of the Gaza Strip, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says plans to provide aid to the Gaza Strip via a temporary port set up by the United States will “advance the collapse of Hamas’s rule.”
“The process is designed to bring aid directly to the residents and thus continue the collapse of Hamas’s rule in Gaza,” says Gallant aboard a Dvora-class patrol boat.
“We will bring the aid through a maritime route that is coordinated with the US on the security and humanitarian side, with the assistance of the Emirates on the civil side, and appropriate inspection in Cyprus, and we will bring goods imported by international organizations with American assistance.”
“We will ensure that supplies reach here for those who need them and not for those who don’t,” he adds.
Joining Gallant was the head of the Navy, Vice Adm. David Sa’ar Salama, the head of COGAT, Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, the minister’s military secretary, Brig. Gen. Guy Markizeno, and the commander of the Ashdod Base, Cpt. Eitan Paz.
IDF says it’s investigating footage of troops killing unarmed man in Gaza City, claims video is ‘edited’
The IDF says it is investigating the circumstances of leaked footage published by Al Jazeera, in which Israeli troops are seen talking about killing an unarmed Palestinian man in Gaza City in November.
In the video, troops can be heard shouting “terrorist” while opening fire inside a building in Gaza City’s Shati camp. The clip then shows a soldier outside the building saying he opened fire at a man waving his hands in the air. Afterward, the troops re-enter the building to find the body of an elderly Palestinian.
In response to a query by The Times of Israel, the IDF Spokespersons Unit says the video is “edited” and that troops at the time were operating under fire in the southern part of Shati camp, which it describes as a “complex area.”
“The location in question was attacked after shooting was carried out against our forces from the area,” the IDF says.
“During the search, weapons were found, and shooting was carried out against an unarmed man who was suspected of being a terrorist and was moving towards the soldier who came to search the house,” the response continues.
“The circumstances of the incident are under investigation,” the IDF says.
At the time of the incident, the IDF had called on the Palestinian population in northern Gaza to evacuate south for their safety.
“The IDF will continue to do everything in order not to harm civilians, alongside the severe exploitation of the terrorists to shoot at our forces under the protection of civilians, women and children,” the IDF adds.
A military source tells The Times of Israel that “the vast majority” of Hamas operatives in Gaza hide among the civilian population, “and use it as a human shield.”
“The terrorists move without weapons before and after attacking our forces, and this does not indicate that they are not terrorists,” the source adds.
Voter turnout in second round of municipal elections at 12.6% as of 4 p.m.
Israelis cast their votes at a voting station, during the second round of municipal elections, in Beit Shemesh, March 10, 2024. (Jonathan Shaul/Flash90)
Voter turnout in the second round of Israel’s nationwide municipal elections remains low, with only 12.6 percent of eligible voters casting ballots as of 4 p.m.
According to the Interior Ministry, the highest voting rates recorded on Sunday are in the northern villages of Deir al-Asad and Peki’in while the lowest were in Kafr Kanna and Mashhad, with only 1.5% voter turnout each.
In Beit Shemesh 21.5% of eligible voters have so far gone to the polls, while 17.4% voted in the southern El-Kassum Regional Council, 10.7% in Ramle and 8.94% in Haifa.
Elections are being held today in locations where none of the candidates running for mayor managed to secure the 40 percent of ballots necessary to win in the first round of municipal elections two weeks ago. The day is not a legal holiday, unlike the first round at the end of last month, and voting will be restricted to the hours of 1 p.m. to 10 p.m.
In a statement, the Interior Ministry released the final audited numbers for voter participation in the first round, held on February 27. Around 3.8 million out of 7.08 million eligible voters, or 53.7 percent, cast ballots — down from 56.9% in 2018 but up from 51% in 2013.
Egypt in talks with Israel, Hamas in attempt to restart deadlocked hostage negotiations – report
Egypt has been in contact with senior Hamas and Israeli figures as well as other mediators in an effort to restart negotiations for a truce in the Gaza Strip during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins tomorrow, two Egyptian security sources say.
Egypt’s contacts with Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and the Hamas terror organization were carried out under a mandate from the Egyptian presidency in an effort to bring the two sides’ divergent positions together, the sources say, without providing further details.
Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been trying to negotiate a deal for a ceasefire during Ramadan in return for the release of Israeli hostages who have been held in Gaza since October 7, when Hamas terrorists slaughtered some 1,200 people in southern Israel and seized 253 hostages, of whom over half remain in Hamas captivity.
The latest round of talks, not attended by Israel, broke up in Cairo this week.
Israel’s Mossad said yesterday that efforts to secure a deal were ongoing, despite dimming hopes for securing a truce before Ramadan starts.
University of Haifa announces eased admissions and scholarships for IDF reservists
Illustrative: Students at the University of Haifa, on April 11, 2016. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
For students starting next year, the University of Haifa will offer streamlined admissions and extra financial aid for IDF reserve soldiers, security personnel and civilians directly affected by the Israel-Hamas war, the university announces.
The special admissions route will include fast-track acceptance to certain programs without the usual requirement of psychometric testing. The measures also include a scholarship of $2,000 for qualified students.
For some tracks, completion of required core classes will be included in the first year of study after admission, instead of being a requirement for admission itself. This policy would enable certain students to skip a previously necessary but uncredited “preparatory” semester or year.
“This is our opportunity at the University of Haifa to thank the men and women of the reserve forces, who left everything and went out to defend the country… and let us now join them and guarantee them a way that will enable them to enter the university in the smoothest way possible,” says University of Haifa president Prof. Ron Rubin, in the statement.
The Israel-Hamas has seen an unprecedented call-up of IDF reserve forces since October 7. Many thousands of these soldiers had been enrolled in university studies and have since been released.
All the major universities have announced various aid packages designed to aid the student-soldiers in their return to the programs in which they had been enrolled in. The University of Haifa noted in its announcement that the streamlined admissions for new student reservists for next year was a “unique and first of its kind track.”
Hatred that caused Holocaust must never flourish again, Herzog says at Amsterdam Holocaust museum
President Isaac Herzog (right) at the dedication of a new Holocaust museum in Amsterdam on March 10, 2024. (President's Office)
President Isaac Herzog, attending the inauguration of the new Holocaust Memorial Museum in Amsterdam, compares the antisemitism and hatred that the Jewish people of Europe experienced in the 20th century to that which is experienced today, in the wake of the October 7 Hamas massacre.
Herzog says that the new museum, located in the historic Jewish quarter in Amsterdam, “sends a clear, powerful statement” at a pivotal moment in time.
“Remember. Remember the horrors born of hatred, antisemitism and racism. And never again allow them to flourish,” he says. “Unfortunately, ‘Never Again’ is right now. Because right now, hatred and antisemitism are flourishing worldwide, and we must fight it, together.”
He asks the attendees to join him in prayer for the “victims of the [Holocaust], and for the victims of hatred, terror, and antisemitism in the present, wherever they may be.”
He also asks that they pray for “the immediate, safe return of our hostages,” who have been held in Hamas captivity since October 7, and recites a prayer for peace.
Dozens of rockets fired from Lebanon set off sirens in Druze town of Majdal Shams – IDF
Several dozen rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Mount Hermon area a short while ago, the IDF says.
The barrage set off sirens in the northern Druze town of Majdal Shams.
Footage of the Iron Dome engaging a barrage of Hezbollah rockets fired from Lebanon at the Golan Heights, over the Durze town of Majdal Shams. pic.twitter.com/V4seiq6pP3
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 10, 2024
Less than an hour ago, another 10 rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Mount Dov area, according to the IDF.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the earlier barrage.
There are no reports of injuries in the attacks.
Rocket alert sirens sound in northern Israel
Rocket warning sirens are sounding in northern Israel.
The sirens sound in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, warning residents to seek shelter.
Rocket Alerts [16:40:26] – 2 Alerts:
• Northern Golan — Majdal Shams#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/QrGptyA3A6
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) March 10, 2024
IDF announces death of soldier in Gaza fighting, bringing ground op toll to 249
Sgt. First Class (res.) Michael Gal (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF announces the death of a soldier killed during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip today, bringing the toll of slain troops in the ground offensive against Hamas to 249.
He is named as Sgt. First Class (res.) Michael Gal, 29, of the Bislamach Brigade’s 450th Battalion, from Jerusalem.
Government earmarks NIS 25 million to establish Jewish National Identity Authority
File: Noam chair Avi Maoz speaks during a function at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on March 20, 2023. (Erik Marmor/Flash90)
Government ministers have voted to allocate NIS 25 million (roughly $7 million) for the establishment of a Jewish National Identity Authority headed by MK Avi Maoz, a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Office.
The vote was conducted over WhatsApp, Hebrew media outlet Ynet reports, and comes just two days before the 2024 state budget must be submitted to a vote in the Knesset.
Hebrew daily Haaretz reports that at least NIS 5 million of the earmarked funds are expected to be used for projects that are already addressed by other government bodies.
According to the report, NIS 2 million will be used to promote a stronger connection to Jerusalem, though a Jerusalem Affairs Ministry already exists. An additional NIS 3 million will go toward the “issue of Jewish national identity in the Negev and the Galilee,” even though the Negev and Galilee Ministry deals with exactly that subject.
Maoz, the far-right MK who will head the authority, is a divisive figure in Israeli politics, and the sole Knesset representative of the anti-LGBTQ Noam party.
After the vote, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slammed the government for allocating the funds to Maoz’s new authority rather than to evacuees, soldiers or “businesses that collapsed during the war.”
“A government that has lost its way,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
IDF says it struck and killed Hezbollah anti-tank missile squad in southern Lebanon
The IDF says it struck and killed a Hezbollah anti-tank missile squad in southern Lebanon’s Chebaa today.
The cell was spotted by soldiers monitoring surveillance cameras, who called in an airstrike before it managed to carry out an attack, the IDF says.
Also earlier, the IDF says an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon at the Malkia area struck a military vehicle, causing damage but no injuries.
In another incident, a Hezbollah drone crashed in an open area in the Mount Hermon region, causing no damage or injuries according to the IDF.
IDF says troops carried out logistics supply drill to prepare for potential Lebanon ground offensive
An IAF transport plane drops equipment during a logistics drill, in a handout image published March 10, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Over the past week, the IDF carried out a logistics supply drill as part of its preparations for a potential ground offensive in Lebanon.
In the exercise, forces practiced delivering equipment, water, fuel, and ammunition to simulated “maneuvering forces” in Lebanon amid fighting, the IDF says.
The IDF says the drill included “loading and unloading equipment from Air Force aircraft and transporting equipment using vehicles on the ground” to the front lines.
So far, amid the war in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Air Force has carried out airdrops of some 110 tons of equipment to troops, according to the IDF. Thousands more logistical supply operations were carried out using convoys of trucks.
“The IDF is prepared to carry out identical operations in the northern sector as well, with high intensity and under fire if required,” the military says.
The drill comes amid repeated attacks by Hezbollah and allied Palestinian terror groups in Lebanon on northern Israel, with fears of a wider conflict.
Israel has warned it can no longer tolerate Hezbollah’s presence along its northern border following Hamas’s October 7 atrocities in the south, and has warned that should a diplomatic solution not be reached, it will turn to military action to push Hezbollah northward.
Foreign Minister Katz speaks with PM ahead of UN Security Council session on Hamas sexual violence
Then-energy minister Israel Katz speaks at a conference in Tel Aviv, March 13, 2023. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with Foreign Minister Israel Katz before the diplomat takes off for New York with dozens of family members of hostages held by Hamas.
The families will participate in an emergency UN Security Council session on Monday about the report on Hamas sexual violence prepared by special envoy Pramila Patten. The families will also meet with Patten.
Gal Hirsch, the government point man on hostages held by Gaza terror groups, will also make the trip.
“I congratulate and wish success to all members of the delegation in the national effort to free our abductees and fight for Israel’s position and justice,” says Netanyahu in a statement.
“Although we achieved an important political achievement in the form of an immediate meeting of the Security Council, we are not stopping here,” says Katz. “The findings of the report describing what happened to our women on October 7 is the most serious thing that has been put before the UN having to do with Israel.”
“The people of Israel will not accept what happened, and we will not stop until the UN declares Hamas a terrorist organization,” says Katz.
The delegation is set to take off in the wee hours of Monday morning.
White House exploring how to force Netanyahu out – report
File - US President Joe Biden is greeted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) after arriving at Ben Gurion International Airport, on October 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Growing frustration with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s handling of the ongoing war in Gaza has led US officials to explore what can be done to force the collapse of his government, according to an unconfirmed US news report.
An Israeli expert who frequently consults for US officials is quoted by New York Magazine as saying, “I have been asked by a serious administration figure what it is that will force the Netanyahu coalition to collapse. They were interested in the mechanics, what can we demand which will collapse his coalition.”
A US expert quoted in the reports says that White House realizes that “Netanyahu is in a corner of his own making. He has no room to maneuver. He is screwing us. The politics of this have to completely change, and I think time is running out.”
The report comes hours after the release of a hard-hitting MSNBC interview with US President Joe Biden, in which he highlighted deep concerns in Washington over civilian deaths in Gaza, asserted that Netanyahu is doing more harm than good to Israel and its interests, and called the planned IDF operation in southern Gaza’s Rafah a “red line.”
#BlowForHostages: Reform, Liberal Jews blow shofars in London in show of solidarity
Photographers watch Jewish people and supporters blow shofars and whistles in London, March 10, 2024 to show solidarity with the 130 hostages held in Gaza by terror groups since October 7.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Jewish people and supporters are blowing shofars — the ram’s horn used by Jews ahead of and during the High Holy Days — and whistles in London to show solidarity with the 130 hostages held by terror groups in Gaza since October 7.
The blowing lasted for 155 seconds, marking the 155 days they have spent in captivity.
The event is announced by Reform and Liberal Jewish communities in the UK.
Reform and Liberal Judaism are supporting #BlowForHostages.
On Sunday 10 March, synagogues and locations around the world will sound shofars and whistles to make the call to #BringThemHome – including at a flagship event in London.
Register here: https://t.co/1vDSXxiPPQ pic.twitter.com/baMfmfiT4z
— Reform Judaism (@ReformMovement) March 6, 2024
Poll: 75% of Jewish Israelis back Rafah operation
Palestinians walk past stalls set up in a street in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on March 10, 2024, as Muslims prepare for the holy month of Ramadan. (Mohammed Abed/AFP)
A new poll finds that around three-quarters of Jewish Israelis support an expansion of IDF operations in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where more than half of the Strip’s 2.3 million people are sheltering in the area amid the ongoing war with Hamas, while two-thirds of Arab respondents disagree.
A political orientation breakdown in the Israel Democracy Institute survey shows that 45 percent of Jewish respondents who identify as left-wing support such a move, while the center and right-wing back it to a much greater extent.
The poll also finds that Israeli are split on Jerusalem’s standing in the international arena. “The share of Arab respondents who rate Israel’s international situation as negative (63%) is larger than the equivalent share of Jewish respondents (44%),” IDI says.
Looking at Israel-US relations specifically, the poll indicates divided public opinion on whether the Jewish state can continue to rely on support from Washington. Around 40% say fully or to a large extent, 34% say a moderate extent, and 20% were pessimistic about continued backing from Washington.
On expected changes to ultra-Orthodox draft exemptions, a hot topic in Israel at the moment, a large chunk of Jewish respondents (70%) think that changes should be made to the exemption given to Haredim, with the number jumping even higher (86%) among secular Jewish respondents. But only 19% of Haredi respondents voice support for the changes.
Deficit swells to 5.6% of GDP – NIS 13.4 billion – over past 12 months
The deficit swelled to 5.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or NIS 13.4 billion, in February over the prior 12 months, as the government pours billions of shekels into the ongoing war with the Hamas terror group while tax revenue continues to decline, according to preliminary figures released by the Finance Ministry today.
The deficit rose from 4.8% in January as the government has been forced to increase both military and civilian spending to fund the war. Israel, which posted a budget deficit of 4.2% in 2023, has set a deficit target of 6.6% of national output for 2024.
In February, government expenditure amounted to NIS 49.2 billion, taking spending since the start of the year to NIS 90.5 billion, an increase of 43.6% compared with the same period in 2023. War costs since the start of 2023 stood at NIS 17.3 billion.
As in previous months following the outbreak of the war, tax revenues declined last month, shrinking 1.2% billion year-on-year to NIS 35.4, according to Israel Tax Authority data. Direct taxes fell by about 6.2% in February versus the same month in 2023, while indirect taxes grew 6.8% during the same comparative period.
Net income from real estate taxation plunged 37% to NIS 1.2 billion in February versus the same month in 2023. Income from purchase taxes dropped 37% in February year-on-year and income from capital gains taxes slumped 37% year-on-year.
‘Hamas is terrorist’: London police arrest, release Iranian activist at pro-Palestinian rally
A counter-protester at a pro-Palestinian rally in London was arrested yesterday after he carried a sign reading “Hamas is terrorist organization,” according to local media reports and social media posts.
Videos on social media show exiled Iranian activist Niyak Ghorbani being wrestled to the ground by five local police officers and handcuffed.
More proof that Britain is racing in a very dangerous direction: yesterday there was another anti-Israel demonstration in London, one brave guy came there with a sign showing a simple fact: "Hamas is terrorists"… guess who the British police arrested?! pic.twitter.com/Mh1fsld9vs
— יוסף חדאד – Yoseph Haddad (@YosephHaddad) March 10, 2024
Ghorbani is quoted as telling The Daily Mail, “I think the police are totally wrong. It is a total double standard. It is one rule for the Palestinian protesters and another for me. It is hypocrisy.”
Ghorbani posts on X, formerly Twitter, that he was released without charges.
I was released without any charges, but Hamas supporters are freely roaming the city!
It's shameful!#HamasTerrorist https://t.co/2lkXOKKjQ8 pic.twitter.com/fHSRXgl07i
— Niyak Ghorbani (نیاک) (@GhorbaniiNiyak) March 9, 2024
The protester had a similar encounter at a rally last month, according to The Daily Mail, when he was attacked by a pro-Palestinian mob while holding an anti-Hamas sign.
The UK officially designated Hamas as an Islamist terrorist group in 2021.
IDF: Attack helicopter struck Hamas site in Gaza used by October 7 terrorists
The IDF says an attack helicopter struck a Hamas site in the Hamad Town residential complex in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis that was used by terrorists who participated in the October 7 onslaught.
The strike killed four operatives, according to the IDF.
The IDF says troops of the Givati Brigade also captured a cache of weapons at a Hamas hideout apartment in the area.
The soldiers seized mortars, explosive devices, assault rifles, and ammunition, the IDF says.
Weapons captured by IDF troops in the Hamad Town residential complex in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, in a handout image published on March 10, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Givati troops are operating in the eastern part of Hamad, where the IDF says Hamas uses the high-rise towers for terror activity.
‘It’s as if the earth swallowed her’: No leads on 9-year-old missing from north for 2 weeks
Police search for 9-year-old Haymanut Kasau, at a forest in the northern city of Safed, March 10, 2024. (David Cohen/Flash90)
Police are continuing the search for 9-year-old Haymanut Kasau from the northern city of Safed who has been missing for two weeks, though there are currently no leads, Hebrew media reports.
“This is one of the biggest mysteries I’ve come across in my career… it’s as if the earth has swallowed the girl,” a police official is quoted as saying by the Mako news site.
“We won’t be able to look for the girl forever. We’ve invested tremendous efforts in the past two weeks, but we’re still at the starting point. If there isn’t significant progress soon, we’ll move on to the intelligence level,” he adds.
Haymanut was last seen in security footage at 7:45 p.m. on February 25 handing out municipal election leaflets outside the Jewish Agency absorption center, where she has lived for the past three years since immigrating with her family from Ethiopia.
Haymanut Kasau, 9, who went missing on February 25, 2024, from a Jewish Agency absorption center in Safed, northern Israel. (Courtesy)
She stands at 1.20 meters (3’11”) and is slim with dark hair and dark eyes.
She was wearing pink pants, a black skirt, and a white shirt at the time of her disappearance.
Hamas says Gaza death toll passes 31,000
Palestinians walk past the rubble of buildings hit in an Israeli strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on March 10, 2024. (Mohammed Abed/AFP)
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says the Palestinian death toll in the Strip has reached at least 31,045.
The latest toll includes 85 fatalities over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 72,654 people have been wounded in Gaza since the war began on October 7, sparked by Hamas’s brutal massacre in southern Israel.
These figures cannot be independently verified, do not differentiate between civilians and combatants and also include hundreds killed by the terror group’s own misfired rockets.
The IDF says it has killed more than 13,000 Hamas terrorists in battle, plus some 1,000 gunmen inside Israel on October 7.
Police, Shin Bet: 13 Arab Israelis charged with planning terror attacks for Hamas
Police and the Shin Bet say 13 Arab Israelis from northern Israel are being charged with planning terror attacks on behalf of Hamas.
The suspects, mostly from Sakhnin, purchased weapons from operatives in the West Bank, according to a joint police and Shin Bet statement.
One of the members of the cell maintained contact with Hamas operatives in the Gaza Strip, which provided him with instructions on how to manufacture explosives, and instructed him to recruit additional members, the statement says.
Four firearms, ammunition, and other equipment were seized.
Indictments against the suspects, some of whom were involved in rioting during the May 2021 Gaza war, are to be filed today.
Additionally, one West Bank Palestinian accused of weapons dealing was arrested.
Diplomats concerned Iran’s nuclear program getting stronger amid Gaza war – report
American and European diplomats are concerned that Iranian elements that want to push Iran’s nuclear program forward are being strengthened during the Israel-Hamas war and Iran’s decision to reduce its cooperation with the IAEA, The Guardian reports.
At the IAEA quarterly conference last week, Western powers did not issue new resolutions blasting Tehran, largely because of a desire to avoid potential escalation as the West tries to contain the fallout from the ongoing war in Gaza.
But, according to British paper, delegates at the IAEA meeting issued warnings about the trajectory of Iran’s nuclear program.
IAEA director Rafael Grossi warned that the organization has lost “continuity of knowledge about [Iran’s] production and stock of centrifuges, rotors, heavy water and uranium ore concentrate.”
Blaming the US, Russian delegate Mikhail Ulyanov said the situation was “full of danger and risks getting out of control,” according to The Guardian.
Also last week, conservatives dominated Iran’s parliamentary elections.
Adding to the concern is the real possibility of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
20 East Jerusalem residents arrested for incitement, supporting terrorism ahead of Ramadan
File - Tens of thousands of Muslim worshipers attend the last Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan, at the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound atop the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, April 14, 2023. (Jamal Awad/Flash90)
Police arrested 20 East Jerusalem residents on suspicion of incitement and support for terrorism over the past two weeks, according to a statement released this morning as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins.
“From past experience, there are those who want to use the month of Ramadan to spread rumors and ‘fake news,’ while publishing a distorted version of reality on social networks,” Israel Police says in a statement.
“Among them are terrorist organizations and terrorist elements, who take advantage of the holiday to incite and spread false information regarding the reality in Jerusalem, the Old City and in particular the Temple Mount.”
Some indictments have been made and the investigation is ongoing, the statement adds.
Religious Services Ministry chief says he’d leave Israel if Haredim are drafted
Echoing Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, Religious Services Ministry director-general Yehudah Avidan says he would leave the country if the government begins to draft Haredim.
“If they give me the order, I will leave the country,” Avidan tells national broadcaster Kan, following Yosef’s statement on Saturday evening that those who learn Torah are must not be drafted “under any circumstances, no matter what” and that if yeshiva students are forcibly enlisted, the Haredim would “go abroad.”
Lapid: ‘If Haredim go abroad they’ll find they have to work for a living’
Continuing his criticism of Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef’s declaration that Haredim would “go abroad” if forcibly enlisted in the IDF, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid declares that members of the ultra-Orthodox community, many of whom do not work, would find it difficult to adjust to life outside of Israel.
“If the Haredim go abroad, they will find that the ultra-Orthodox there work for a living, not even dreaming that someone will finance them,” Lapid tells Army Radio — referring to the fact that only 55.8 percent of Haredi men in Israel work for a living.
Yeshiva students, who receive government stipends for their studies, often view integration into the secular world as a threat to their religious identity and community continuity.
Responding to Shas’s condemnation of his previous criticism of Yosef, Lapid on Sunday morning releases a statement declaring that “if 66,000 ultra-Orthodox youth enlist, the IDF will get 105 new battalions that are needed for Israel’s security.”
IDF confirms south Lebanon strike that killed family of 5, including 3 Hezbollah members
The IDF says fighter jets struck several Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon overnight, including infrastructure in Ayta ash-Shab, an anti-tank missile post in Maroun al-Ras, and a site where Hezbollah operatives were spotted in Khirbet Selm.
Five members of a family, including three Hezbollah members, were killed in the Khirbet Selm strike.
The IDF says fighter jets struck several Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon overnight, including infrastructure in Ayta ash-Shab, an anti-tank missile post in Maroun al-Ras, and a site where Hezbollah operatives were spotted in Khirbet Selm.
Five members of a family, including… pic.twitter.com/mpX1tFZyVu
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 10, 2024
IDF: Iron Dome intercepts 7 of 37 rockets fired from Lebanon in 2 volleys
Some 37 rockets were fired in two volleys from Lebanon at the Mount Meron area a short while ago, according to the IDF.
In the first barrage of 30 rockets, one projectile was intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system, the IDF says.
In the second barrage, seven rockets were fired, with six of them being successfully downed, it says.
There are no reports of injuries or damage. Hezbollah claims responsibility for the attack, saying it fired dozens of Katyusha rockets at the town of Meron.
It says the barrage is a response to the deaths of civilians in a reported Israeli strike in southern Lebanon’s Khirbet Selm last night. Five members of one family were reported killed in the strike.
Hezbollah announced that three of them, Jaafar Marji, Ali Marji, and Hassan Marji, were members of the terror group.
Hezbollah fired barrages of rockets from Lebanon at the Mount Meron area a short while ago. There are no reports of injuries. pic.twitter.com/AyFZvvIiXT
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 10, 2024
IDF says Hamas operative who killed soldier on Friday died in Khan Younis airstrike
The Hamas operative who killed Maj. (res.) Amishar Ben David during a battle in southern Gaza on Friday was killed in an airstrike, the IDF says.
The IDF releases footage of the strike, which it says was directed by troops of the Egoz commando unit.
The Commando Brigade is continuing its operations at the Hamad Town residential complex in Khan Younis, where the IDF says troops are engaged in “intense fighting” against Hamas gunmen.
The IDF says the Maglan commando unit raided several apartments used by Hamas, and captured seized weapons.
At one of the apartments, two Hamas operatives surrendered to the troops, the IDF says.
Also in Khan Younis, the IDF says the Bislamach Brigade killed 17 gunmen, and the 7th Armored Brigade killed several more operatives, including by calling in airstrikes.
Meanwhile, in central Gaza, the Nahal Brigade killed 13 gunmen over the past day, including with sniper fire and by calling in airstrikes and tank shelling, the IDF says.
Airstrikes were also carried out against a site from which rockets were fired at troops inside Gaza, as well as Hamas infrastructure in Jabaliya and Beit Hanoun in the northern part of the Strip, the IDF adds.
UTJ: Jewish nation has ‘no right to exist’ in Israel without full-time Torah scholars
The Jewish people have “no right to exist” as a nation in the land of Israel without the merit of full-time yeshiva students, the United Torah Judaism party says in a statement.
Responding to criticism of Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef — who on Saturday evening declared that if yeshiva students are forcibly enlisted, the Haredim would “go abroad” — the ultra-Orthodox party declares that those who learn Torah have “sustained us through thousands of years of exile.”
“We have no right to exist as a nation, God forbid, in the Land of Israel, without Torah scholars engaged in full-time study,” the party declares.
Speaking on Saturday evening, Yosef also declared, “Without the Torah, without the kollels, without the yeshivas, the army will have no success.”
Rocket warnings sound in northern Israel near Lebanon border
Rocket warning sirens are sounding in northern Israeli communities near the Lebanon border, in what appears to be a large barrage.
Two rounds of sirens a few minutes apart go off in largely evacuated communities including Zivon, Dovev, Meron, Or Haganuz, Kfar Hoshen, Baram and Merom Hagalil Regional Council.
???? Large Rocket Alerts [09:12:37] – 12 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — Jish (Gush Halav), Baram, Zivon, Kerem Ben Zimra
• Upper Galilee — Meron, Bar Yochai, Or HaGanuz, Safsufa (Kfar Hoshen), Marom HaGalil Regional Center#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/xUoKwGXYp0— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) March 10, 2024
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war against the Hamas terror group there.
‘While you’re watching, bombs are dropping’: Anti-Israel protesters set to gather in LA ahead of Oscars
Pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protesters are planning to demonstrate in Los Angeles today ahead of tonight’s Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood.
Hundreds of protesters are expected to protest the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, sparked by Hamas’s October 7 massacres, near the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
The protest is being organized by groups including Writers Against the War on Gaza LA (WAWOG), Film Workers for Palestine, SAG-AFTRA Members for Ceasefire and the anti-Zionist Jewish Voice for Peace, under the banner “While you’re watching, bombs are dropping,” which also circulated during the Super Bowl last month.
View this post on Instagram
“The Oscars are coming up this Sunday—the same day that Israel has threatened to invade Rafah, where 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering,” JVP says in a post on Instagram.
“We will not be distracted by the entertainment industry. We WILL continue to call for a permanent ceasefire and Palestinian liberation. Let’s mobilize and take the streets to show that we refuse to look away from this ongoing genocide! Ceasefire NOW!”
Police have beefed up their already extensive presence.
Agencies contributed to this report.
Hostage freed in November recalls her ‘first hug’ with brother, partner rescued in February Rafah raid
Clara Marman, who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and released in late November, talks to Channel 12 about reuniting with her brother and partner after they were rescued from Gaza in a daring February commando raid, March 10, 2024. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Clara Marman, 62, who was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and released in a late-November temporary truce, tells Channel 12 about the first moments of family reunion after her partner and her brother were rescued from Gaza by Israeli special forces last month.
“Our first hug — all five of us together — reminded me of our hug in the safe room [on October 7] when they came to kidnap us,” Marman says, recalling the day Hamas terrorists rampaged through southern Israeli communities including Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, killing some 1,200 people and dragging another 253 back to Gaza, mostly civilians. Marman and four other members of her extended family were hiding together in her safe room when the kibbutz was invaded.
Marman’s sister Gabriela Leimberg, 59, and 17-year-old niece Mia Leimberg were also were released on November 28 as part of the temporary ceasefire deal. Her partner Norberto Louis Har, 70, and brother Fernando Marman, 60, were extracted from Hamas captivity in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 12.
“We’re all back and we’re all in relatively good condition. Of course, we’re still recovering,” Marman tells Channel 12. She adds, “My happiness can’t be complete until all of the hostages are free.”
From L-R: Gabriela Leimberg kisses her brother Fernando Marman, Clara Marman next to her partner Louis Har, at the Sheba Medical Center, February 12, 2024 (Courtesy)
Marman says that the families whose relatives are still held by Hamas in Gaza are “completely broken,” specifically mentioning the 19 women still held by terror groups.
A United Nation report on Hamas’s sex crimes against Israeli civilians during the October 7 attacks presented last week found “clear and convincing” evidence that hostages currently held captive are still facing such abuse.
It is believed that 130 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive.
Dutch Jewish anti-Zionist group calls for Herzog’s arrest during Amsterdam visit
A Dutch Jewish anti-Zionist group is calling President Isaac Herzog to be arrested in Amsterdam for “the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against the Palestinian people.”
“The Dutch state is obligated under international law to do everything in its power to prevent genocide which includes arresting, questioning, and prosecuting responsible heads of state,” Erev Rav says in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Jewish antizionist community Erev Rav and foundation @EAJGnieuws, with the help and support of foundation Plant een Olijfboom, have reported president of ‘Israel’ to the International Criminal Court… 2/8
— Erev Rav (@ErevRavNL) March 9, 2024
The group also says that it is organizing a protest with the Dutch Palestinian Community and Socialist International while the president is in Amsterdam today on a one-day visit.
Herzog is set to attend the opening of the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam, an honor that the venue told media was organized before Hamas’s October 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.
It said in a statement that it recognized that Herzog’s attendance raised questions, but added that he represented the homeland of Dutch Holocaust survivors who emigrated to Israel.
“We express our deep concern regarding the upcoming opening of the Dutch National Holocaust Museum, where President Herzog is scheduled to attend,” Erev Rav says.
Dutch King Willem-Alexander is also set to meet Herzog today. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte will also attend the opening.
According to a statement from the president’s office last week, his one-day visit will focus on efforts to release the hostages held by terror groups in Gaza since October 7, and on the rise of antisemitism since the outbreak of the ensuing war.
Polls to open this afternoon for second round of municipal elections in 35 locales
Ballot envelopes for the municipal elections in Jerusalem -- yellow for the mayor; white for the council -- pictured at a warehouse on February 22, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Voters are set to go to the polls for a second round of voting today in 35 cities and towns across the country where none of the mayoral candidates managed to secure the 40 percent of ballots necessary to win last month’s municipal elections.
Polls will be open between 1 p.m. and 10 p.m. in locales including Haifa, Beit Shemesh, Ariel, Rehovot and Ramle.
The day will not be a national holiday, unlike the first round.
Report: PM dragging feet on providing written assurance to US that weapons being used per int’l law
F-35i fighter jets are seen at the Nevatim Air Base in southern Israel, in an undated handout photo. (Israel Defense Forces)
Representatives from Israel’s security establishment urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Thursday war cabinet meeting to sign onto a letter providing assurances to Washington that Israel will use US weaponry in accordance with international law and will not block US-backed humanitarian aid into Gaza, the Walla news site reports.
The Biden administration asked Israel to sign the letter two weeks ago in accordance with a White House memo adopted on February 8, which instituted a new policy whereby countries that receive security aid have to provide written assurances that they will use it in line with international law. All aid recipients were already required to adhere to this stipulation, though, the written commitment was new.
The memo states that the White House has 180 days to notify Congress that countries are abiding by this new condition, but that timeline shrinks to 45 days when it comes to aid recipients engaged in active conflict.
Because the administration has until March 25 to notify Congress, it is seeking the signed Israeli letter in the coming week, Walla reports, adding that aid will be suspended if the letter isn’t received.
The Israeli security establishment representatives during the war cabinet meeting that failure to sign the letter soon would turn a technical matter — given that Israel already is required to abide by international law — into a diplomatic incident, Walla says.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant responded by offering to sign the letter himself, but Netanyahu held off on making a decision, requesting an additional consultation on the matter before he’ll likely make a decision on Sunday, according to the report.
Israel blasts Canada and Sweden for resuming funding to UNRWA before probe completed
People walk past the damaged Gaza City headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on February 15, 2024. (AFP)
Israel condemns Canada and Sweden for resuming their funding to UNRWA, saying decisions to do so “after having received the intelligence-based information about [UNRWA’s] employees who participated in the 7 October massacre and prior to the completion of the work of the investigative bodies and the publication of their findings is a serious mistake that constitutes tacit agreement and support by [Ottawa and Stockholm] to ignoring the involvement of UNRWA employees in terrorist activity.”
But the statement from Israel’ Foreign Ministry appears to be part of a mixed messaging campaign, given that a senior Israeli official reached out to The Times of Israel to assert that Jerusalem opposes dissolving UNRWA mid-war, in an apparent effort to warn countries not to permanently sever their funding.
“The return to funding UNRWA will not change the fact that the organization is part of the problem and will not be part of the solution in the Gaza Strip,” the Foreign Ministry adds.
“Israel calls on the governments of Canada and Sweden to stop the funding and not to support an organization whose ranks include hundreds of members of the Hamas terrorist organization.”
US dispatches vessel to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea
US Army Vessel (USAV) General Frank S. Besson (LSV-1) departs Joint Base Langley-Eustis on March 9, 2024. (US CENTCOM/X)
The US Army Vessel (USAV) General Frank S. Besson (LSV-1) has departed Joint Base Langley-Eustis en route to the Eastern Mediterranean to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea, the US Central Command said in a statement early on Sunday.
Besson, a logistics support vessel, departed “less than 36 hours after President Biden announced the U.S. would provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea,” the statement adds.
It is “carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies,” CENTCOM says, referencing the project announced by US President Joe Biden in his State of the Union speech on Thursday.
Lebanon says family of five killed in Israeli strike on southern Lebanon; IDF yet to comment
An Israeli strike killed a family of five and injured nine other people in a village in southern Lebanon near the border with Israel, Lebanese security sources say.
There is no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group and Israel have traded deadly cross-border fire on a near-daily basis since war broke out in October between Israel and the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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