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The Times of Israel liveblogged Friday’s events as they unfolded.
Arab diplomat: Hamas proposal based on discussions with US envoy Adam Boehler
Palestinians shop at Sheikh Radwan Market, west of Gaza City, before the Iftar, the fast-breaking meal, during the holy month of Ramadan, March 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
The proposal announced this morning by Hamas to release American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander and four bodies of dual nationals is based on what its officials discussed with US hostage envoy Adam Boehler earlier this month, a senior Arab diplomat tells The Times of Israel.
While the Hamas statement didn’t specify the nationalities of the four bodies being released, the Arab diplomat says they are the four remaining American-Israeli hostages — Itay Chen, Omer Neutra, Gadi Haggai and Judy Weinstein.
In exchange for the five Americans, Hamas is demanding a number of Palestinian prisoners, a resumption of aid delivery to Gaza and an Israeli commitment to enter talks regarding phase two of the deal, the diplomat says, confirming reporting in The New York Times.
Once Israel agrees in principle to the deal, Hamas is willing to negotiate the identities of Palestinian prisoners to be released, the official says.
Hamas held off on agreeing to such a proposal when its top officials met with Boehler on March 4. The existence of the talks was leaked later that day by Israel, which was furious about not being fully informed, a US official told The Times of Israel earlier this week.
Both the US and Israel have appeared to reject Hamas’s offer today.
Boehler has said the decision to launch the direct talks was taken in order to break the logjam in negotiations. Israel had been refusing for a month to hold negotiations regarding the terms of phase two, after having agreed to do so when it signed the deal in January.
While the secret US talks with Hamas were fully coordinated with Witkoff, Boehler has been the target of Israeli ire, and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer has lobbied Trump aides to have the hostage envoy barred from dealing with the issue. A senior US official told The Times of Israel yesterday that Boehler would continue assisting Witkoff in his efforts.
But Witkoff and other US officials don’t appear to be publicly standing by Boehler. Witkoff has been mum on the matter and while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Boehler’s work, the top diplomat said the direct talks with Hamas were a “one-off” and that negotiations moving forward would be held on the original channel led by Witkoff.
Witkoff revealed his own proposal for a ceasefire extension earlier today, which largely adopted previous Israeli positions, while also dismissing Hamas’s offer as disingenuous.
While Hamas appeared to come around to Boehler’s offer earlier today after its initial rejection, Witkoff’s response indicates that the reply may have come too late and that Washington is now taking a harder line.
IDF gives settlement residents all-clear after infiltration alert
The IDF’s Home Front Command gives residents of the central West Bank settlement of Haresha the all-clear after sirens had warned of a suspected terrorist infiltration.
The sirens were activated after at least two suspects were spotted outside the settlement.
The IDF says troops dispatched to the scene opened fire at the suspects, who fled the area. Troops are now searching for them.
“There is no suspicion of an infiltration into the community,” the military adds.
Turkey detains five suspects over alleged espionage for Iran — local media
Turkish police detained five suspects today on charges of espionage for the Iranian intelligence service, local media reports.
Officers carried out operations in Turkey’s largest city Istanbul as well as in Antalya and Mersin in the south, and detained five people, the DHA news agency reports.
The suspects allegedly collected information about military bases and key regions in Turkey and abroad before passing it on to the Iranian intelligence service, the report says.
There was no immediate information about the nationality of the suspects.
Two men shot dead in northern Israel’s Deir Hanna
Two young men have been shot dead in the Arab town of Deir Hanna in northern Israel, police and medics say.
“Police officers were dispatched to the scene, began searching for suspects involved in the shooting, and initiated an investigation into the circumstances of the incident,” the force says. “The background of the event is criminal, and the circumstances are under investigation.”
Siren warning of terrorist infiltration sounds in central West Bank settlement of Haresha
A siren warning of a suspected terrorist infiltration is sounding in the central West Bank settlement of Haresha, northwest of Ramallah.
The IDF Home Front Command has instructed residents to remain locked in their homes until further notice.
Further details are under investigation by the IDF.
Witkoff: Hamas is making a very bad bet that time is on its side — it is not
Steve Witkoff, White House special envoy for the Middle East, speaks with reporters at the White House, March 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP/Alex Brandon)
US special envoy to the Mideast Steve Witkoff goes public with many of the key terms of a “bridge proposal” he submitted on Wednesday in Doha, while dismissing as disingenuous the announcement Hamas made earlier today that it had agreed to release American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander.
Witkoff demands that Hamas immediately release the 20-year-old soldier, and suggests that he has given the terror group a deadline for doing so, warning of consequences if that unspecified date passes.
“Hamas is making a very bad bet that time is on its side. It is not. Hamas is well aware of the deadline, and should know that we will respond accordingly if that deadline passes,” the top Trump aide warns.
Witkoff makes the revelation in a rare statement, which begins by recalling US President Donald Trump’s recent ultimatum to Hamas to immediately release all hostages “or pay a severe price.”
Witkoff reveals that on Wednesday, he and White House National Security Council Mideast director Eric Trager arrived in Doha and presented a “bridge proposal” to extend the current Gaza ceasefire beyond Ramadan and Passover, which ends on April 19.
This “phase one extension” will allow for additional time for Israel and Hamas to negotiate a permanent ceasefire, he says.
The deal between Israel and Hamas inked in January was supposed to transition from phase one to phase two on March 2, but for nearly one month, Israel refused to hold negotiations on the terms of phase two, which would require Israel to fully withdraw from Gaza and agree to a permanent end to the war.
Accepting Israel’s stance, Witkoff’s “bridge proposal” offers that phase one be extended and that Hamas release living hostages in exchange for prisoners. Witkoff doesn’t reveal the exact numbers but says the swap will be “in accordance with previous formulas.”
An Arab diplomat told The Times of Israel yesterday that the deal would see five living hostages released.
The phase one extension offered by Witkoff would also see the resumption of humanitarian aid delivery into Gaza, which Israel halted at the original end date of the first phase about two weeks ago, with the subsequent backing of the Trump administration.
Hundreds chant for ‘resistance,’ in support of Mahmoud Khalil at Columbia
Protesters at Columbia University in New York City, March 14, 2025. (Luke tress/Times of Israel)
Several hundred protesters gather outside Columbia University in support of detained protest leader Mahmoud Khalil.
The protesters chant, “Intifada people’s war,” and “Resistance is glorious.”
“It is right to rebel, Columbia go to hell,” they chant.
The protest takes place on Broadway Ave., outside Columbia’s main gate. The campus is only accessible to those with a Columbia ID.
It’s unclear how many of the protesters are students. Many have their faces covered with masks or keffiyehs.
Police set up metal barricades all around the protest area. Two helicopters hover overhead and onlookers watch from balconies and windows on campus.
Protesters hold signs that say “Free Mahmoud” and “The people want the fall of the regime.”
Rubio: Hamas are savages and we need to treat them as such
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to the media during a refueling stop at Shannon Airport in Shannon, Ireland, on March 12, 2025. (Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP)
Asked about Hamas’s announcement that it has agreed to release the last living American-Israeli hostage along with the bodies of four dual nationals, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declines to say whether the Trump administration will accept the offer, while demanding that all hostages be released.
“Our priority as the US government is always that we care about all hostages,” Rubio tells reporters at a press conference during the G7 summit in Canada. “We want all the hostages released.”
He then echoes comments made earlier this week by US hostage envoy Adam Boehler regarding the trades that Israel has been making with Hamas.
“They’re ridiculous trades — 400 people for three. These are nuts,” Rubio says. “On top of that, you see the condition these people are being released in.”
“We’re sitting around as the world, sort of accepting that it’s normal and okay for you to go into a place, kidnap babies, kidnap teenagers, kidnap people who have nothing to do with any wars, that are not soldiers… and taking them and putting them in tunnels for almost a year and a half,” Rubio laments.
“We’re acting like this is a normal exchange… This is an outrage. They should all be released,” Rubio continues.
“I’m not going to comment on what we’re going to accept or not accept, other than [to say that] all of us — the whole world — should continue to say that what Hamas has done is outrageous, it’s ridiculous, it’s sick, it’s disgusting.”
“We’re just dealing with some savages. That’s it. These are bad people, terrible people, and we need to treat them as such,” he adds.
Putin calls on Ukraine’s army to surrender in Kursk region
In this grab taken from a handout footage released by the Kremlin on March 12, 2025, Russia's President Vladimir Putin visits a command point for the Kursk group of troops involved in the counteroffensive in the Kursk region, amid the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. (Handout / KREMLIN.RU / AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin calls on Ukrainian troops fighting in the Kursk region to surrender, after US President Donald Trump urged Putin to “spare” the lives of Ukrainian soldiers.
“We are sympathetic to President Trump’s call,” Putin says in televised remarks. “If they lay down their arms and surrender, they will be guaranteed life and dignified treatment,” Putin adds calling on Ukraine’s leaders to issue an order to their troops to surrender.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that forces are coming under mounting pressure from the Kremlin’s army in the western Russian region.
But the Ukrainian army dismissed claims that thousands of Kyiv’s forces were surrounded by Russian troops.
“There is no threat of our units being encircled,” the General Staff wrote in a statement on social media, which referred specifically to the western Russian region of Kursk.
Rubio says US to revoke more student visas of anti-Israel activists in coming days
The Trump administration will announce new visa revocations in the coming days for pro-Palestinian activists who have taken part in anti-Israel campus demonstrations, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says.
“In the days to come, you should expect more visas will be revoked as we identify people who we should never have allowed in because they lied to us when they said they were coming here to be students,” Rubio tells reporters during a press conference during a G7 summit in Canada.
“They didn’t say they were coming here to occupy university buildings and vandalize them and tear them apart and hold campuses hostage. If they had told us that we would never have given them a student visa. Now that they’ve done it, we will revoke those visas.”
“Every time we have a chance to revoke them, we will, because it’s not in the national interest of the United States for them to be here,” Rubio adds.
After a decade of Trudeau, Mark Carney sworn in as Canada’s new PM
Canada's Prime Minister designate Mark Carney prepares for his swearing in ceremony at Rideau Hall on March 14, 2025, in Ottawa, Canada. (Dave Chan / AFP)
Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s prime minister a short time ago, taking charge of a country rattled by a breakdown in US relations since President Donald Trump’s return to power.
Carney was sworn in at a ceremony in Ottawa, replacing Justin Trudeau who had led Canada since 2015.
In apparent about face, Rubio signs onto G7 statement backing resumption of Gaza aid
From left: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrive for the family photo during the G7 foreign ministers meeting in La Malbaie, Canada, Friday March 14, 2025. (Saul Loeb, Pool Photo via AP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has signed onto a joint statement with fellow G7 members calling for a resumption of aid into Gaza and the establishment of a political horizon for the Palestinians, and expressing concern over recent hostilities in the West Bank — all stances that have not been vocalized by the Trump administration to date.
The joint statement was still apparently softened at the State Department’s request, containing no mention of a two-state solution and keeping the line on recent West Bank hostilities vague, without any mention of settler violence, which has raged in recent years with very little government pushback.
Still, Rubio got on board with the lines regarding the West Bank, humanitarian aid for Gaza and a political horizon for the Palestinians that seemed out of step with the rhetoric that has so far come from the Trump administration.
Washington hasn’t spoken out once against settler violence since Trump took office in January, and Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office that removed a sanctions regime that his predecessor Joe Biden had put in place against violent settlers.
The US backed Israel’s decision earlier this month to begin withholding aid from Gaza, arguing that assistance shouldn’t be resumed until a “safe framework” is instituted to ensure that it can’t be diverted to Hamas.
On the issue of a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, too, the Trump administration has been largely mum, avoiding any public backing for a two-state solution, which most of the international community supports.
It was not immediately clear whether the decision to sign onto the G7 statement was made because the document is seen as symbolic and unlikely to have a tangible impact on the ground, or because the Trump administration is using it to demonstrate a shift in its positions regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The statement from the top diplomats of the US Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the EU begins by calling for the release of all hostages from Gaza and stresses “the harm inflicted on the hostages during their captivity and the violation of their dignity through the use of ‘handover ceremonies’ during their release.”
The foreign ministers “reiterated that Hamas can have no role in Gaza’s future and must never again be a threat to Israel,” the statement says.
They also “affirmed their readiness to engage with Arab partners on their proposals to chart a way forward on reconstruction in Gaza and build a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace.”
Report: Dermer, Netanyahu worked to prevent US-Hamas deal to free only American hostages
Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer attends a Knesset plenum session on January 22, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his confidant Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer worked to prevent the US from reaching a new hostage deal with Hamas that would only see the return of hostages with US citizenship, Yedioth Ahronoth reports, citing a senior US diplomatic and intelligence official.
The report, by veteran correspondent Ronen Bergman, claims that Netanyahu’s office leaked the meeting between US hostage envoy Adam Boehler and senior Hamas officials in Doha in order to create daylight between Washington and Jerusalem, in hopes that would cause Hamas to harden its positions. In turn, says the official, Netanyahu could then blame Hamas for the failure to reach a deal.
The reported effort by Boehler to directly arrange with Hamas an interim deal to release living US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander and the bodies of others was met with intense anger in Israel.
Any deal that would only see the release of hostages with a specific foreign citizenship would likely be highly controversial in the country, and seen as unfairly prioritizing certain individuals over others.
The US official tells Bergman: “Netanyahu’s inner circle launched a crazy campaign to prevent the possibility that the United States would succeed in freeing Israeli hostages.
He adds: “It became clear to us that Netanyahu and Dermer are simply afraid that it will suddenly become clear to the US who wants a deal and who doesn’t; who is reluctant and who is pushing for the continuation of the war.”
Netanyahu’s office stridently denies the account, calling it “another serious manipulation and outright fake news in the midst of negotiations, serving Hamas’s psychological warfare.”
The official tells Bergman that US President Donald Trump knew about Boehler’s meeting with Hamas.
The IDF’s 8200 signals intelligence unit found out about the meeting, says the official, adding that the Americans were surprised that Israel had found out.
The official adds that Dermer managed to thwart a planned meeting between Hamas and Boehler in January. He also tried stopping hostages’ families from meeting Trump earlier this month.
At the same time, Bergman also cites a relative of a hostage who says that in a meeting with Dermer over a year ago, the minister told families of hostages with US citizenship: “Go to America. Talk to the administration and the establishment there, so that they act. That has a much better chance of making something happen than talking to us.”
The Prime Minister’s Office says in a statement that Netanyahu “has insisted on maximizing the number of hostages alive in the deals, in the face of those who are briefing Bergman and who want to submit to Hamas’s dictates of surrender.
“Absurdly, the more the prime minister succeeds in returning the kidnapped, the greater the political criticism against him,” says the PMO, promising that the government “will continue to do everything in its power, together with the security establishment, to return all of our hostages, both living and dead.”
Somalia rejects any plan to use its territory to resettle Palestinians, minister says
Somalia rejects any proposal that would undermine the Palestinian people’s right to live peacefully on their ancestral land, its foreign minister says.
Ahmed Moalim Fiqi tells Reuters that Somalia also rejects any plan that would involve the use of its territory for the resettlement of other populations.
Leftist Jewish group JFREJ endorses Lander and Mamdani for NYC mayor
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, during an interview at his office in Manhattan, July 18, 2024. (Luke Tress/JTA)
The Jewish Vote, the electoral arm of the leftist group Jews for Economic and Racial Justice (JFREJ), endorses two candidates for New York City mayor — Brad Lander and Zohran Mamdani.
Both are seen as underdogs in the race currently dominated by former New York governor Andrew Cuomo.
Lander is the progressive Jewish New York City comptroller who has long ties to JFREJ. Mamdani is a New York State assembly member and harsh critic of Israel who has drawn the ire of mainstream Jewish organizations.
“We couldn’t be prouder to throw the weight of our 6,000 members behind Brad Lander and Zohran Mamdani,” says Audrey Sasson, JFREJ’s executive director. “Now more than ever, we need courageous, reliable leaders who will defend New Yorkers, stand up to Donald Trump and his authoritarian agenda, and invest in making NYC a true sanctuary city that takes care of people at every age and stage of life.”
Mamdani is affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America. The group’s New York branch backed a rally on October 8, 2023, celebrating the Hamas invasion of Israel, that drew outrage from New York’s democratic leadership. Mamdani’s own statement that day focused on criticism of Israel and blamed Israel for the violence.
Mamdani has said that, if elected mayor, he would arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu if he travels to New York City, and has introduced state legislation that would strip nonprofit status from charities that have any ties to settlements.
“For more than three decades, Jews For Racial & Economic Justice has been on the frontlines of the fight for a city that works for working people,” Mamdani said in a statement. “In this moment of far-right authoritarianism, political corruption and a crushing cost of living crisis, it is a profound honor to have the support of JFREJ and the Jewish Vote as we build this campaign for every New Yorker who believes in the dignity of their neighbors.”
Lander has taken a more centrist tack than JFREJ in the mayoral campaign. He acknowledged to The Times of Israel last month that he differed with the group on security funding for nonprofits, for example. JFREJ opposes the funding, including for synagogues, while Lander is in favor.
“JFREJ’s endorsement adds to the broad, diverse coalition of New Yorkers we’re building who are ready to end the Adams-Cuomo corruption and hungry for a safer, more affordable, and better run city,” Lander said in a statement.
Iraq says it has killed senior Islamic State group leader
File: Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani attends a session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on January 18, 2024. (Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
A senior Islamic State group leader has been killed by Iraqi security forces, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announces.
Abdullah Makki Muslih al-Rufayi “was considered one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world,” Sudani says on X. The jihadist, who was targeted by US sanctions in 2023, was IS’s so-called governor of the group’s Syrian and Iraqi provinces, according to the Iraqi premier.
Consumer Price Index unchanged in February, inflation trends down
BIG Fashion Glilot shopping and entertainment complex near Herzliya on March 3, 2025. (Sharon Wrobel/The Times of Israel)
The Consumer Price Index remained unchanged in February, despite expectations of a rise of 0.2%-0.3%, data by the Central Bureau of Statistics shows.
Year-on-year inflation moved down from 3.8% to 3.4%.
At the same time, prices did rise in some sectors, including a 10.5% rise in the cost of fresh fruit, a 0.7% rise in communications costs and a 0.8% rise in entertainment costs. Food (in general) and rent both rose by 0.3%.
One significant rise was in housing costs, with home buyers paying 7.7% more on average in December-January compared to the same period in 2023-2024.
Some costs that went down included fresh vegetables (7.1%) and clothing (3%).
After Netanyahu files complaint, police ‘examining’ statements of ex-Shin Bet chief Argaman
Former Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman in a television interview aired March 13, 2025. (Screen capture/Channel 12; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Police say they are examining the statements of former Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman after he threatened in an interview to release unspecified information about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he seek to act against the law and undermine the state.
Netanyahu filed a police complaint against the former security chief earlier today, accusing him of blackmail.
Addressed directly to Israel Police chief Daniel Levy, the letter charges Argaman with choosing to “blackmail a sitting prime minister with threats… as though the head of Israel’s intelligence agency were a mafia member.”
Police respond to the complaint, saying that Levy had “instructed the head of the Investigations and Intelligence Unit to examine the statements of former Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman.”
In an interview with Channel 12, Argaman disclosed that he has “a great deal of knowledge, which I can put to use” about the premier, but that he chooses to keep it out of the public sphere for the time being.
However, “If the State of Israel or if I conclude that the prime minister has decided that he is going to act in contradiction to the law, then I will not have a choice and I will say everything I know and have refrained from saying until today,” he warned.
Hostage forum fumes after PM says he will only convene meeting on Doha talks tomorrow night
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum criticizes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after his office says that Israel’s hostage talks delegation will return from Doha later today, but will not meet with the prime minister and his senior officials until Saturday night.
“The families of the hostages apologize for disturbing you on Shabbat, but their loved ones do not have time to wait!” the forum says.
“Twenty-four hours in captivity is 24 hours of hell, torment and abuse, it is 24 hours of danger of death and disappearance,” it says, pleading for the ministers to convene sooner than tomorrow night.
“For the hostages and their families, there is no Shabbat and no holidays,” it adds. “Return all 59 hostages immediately, and in one fell swoop!”
PM’s office blasts Hamas for rejecting ‘Witkoff proposal,’ says hostage team called back from Doha
After Hamas says it agreed to a proposal to release hostage soldier Edan Alexander — a US citizen — and the bodies of four other slain captives who are dual nationals, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasts the terror group for rejecting what it calls the “Witkoff proposal.”
“While Israel has accepted the Witkoff proposal,” says the Prime Minister’s Office, “Hamas remains firm in its refusal and has not budged one millimeter.”
The PMO accuses Hamas of engaging in “manipulation and psychological warfare.”
The Witkoff outline, which Israel says was proposed by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, would see half of the hostages released immediately, a ceasefire through the end of Passover, and a possible release of all the other hostages if an agreement is reached on ending the war.
Netanyahu is convening top aides and senior ministers on Saturday night to hear a briefing from Israel’s negotiators, who will return to Israel later today, says his office, and to decide on next steps.
Effigies of hanged Haredi soldiers crop up in two ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods
A large doll dressed as an Ultra orthodox jewish soldier hangs next to a Palestinian flag in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim, Jerusalem, March 14, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
An effigy of a Haredi IDF soldier was photographed dangling from a wire next to a Palestinian flag in the ultra-Orthodox Mea She’arim neighborhood in Jerusalem this morning, in what appeared to be an act of protest against Haredi conscription laws.
In response to a query from the Times of Israel, the Jerusalem District Police says that the hanging doll was removed by the neighborhood’s residents sometime this morning.
A doll dressed as an IDF soldier hangs next to a sign declaring, ‘We will die before we draft’ in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in Beit Shemesh, March 14, 2025. (Israel Police)
It was not clear what prompted its removal.
A similar effigy was seen strung up on mock gallows on the side of a building in Beit Shemesh, home to a large ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.
A sign hanging next to the dummy declared: “We will die before we are drafted.”
Police say that officers dismantled the scene and confiscated the doll, taking it back to the police station.
Shin Bet, police investigating suspected arson attacks in West Bank Palestinian village
The Shin Bet and Israel Police are investigating several instances of suspected arson in the Palestinian village of Khirbet Al-Marjam in the West Bank overnight, the two agencies say in a joint statement.
The suspected arson attacks occurred shortly after several Palestinians tried to steal a herd belonging to Israeli settlers near Khirbet Al-Marjam, the Shin Bet and police say.
A short while after police received a report about the attempted theft of the Israeli’s herd, Palestinians reported that a number of masked men had broken into the village, and were setting homes and vehicles on fire, the statement says, adding that IDF troops and Israeli Border Police were then dispatched to the scene.
It was then decided that the Israel Police and Shin Bet would open a joint investigation into the incident, the statement adds.
Report: Families of Edan Alexander, slain dual national hostages haven’t been notified of any changes following Hamas announcement
After Hamas announced that it was willing to release US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander and return the bodies of four slain dual nationals, Channel 12 reports, without citing any sources, that neither Alexander’s family nor the families of the unnamed slain hostages have been notified of anything new.
The report also recalls that Israel’s decision-makers have vowed since the October 7, 2023, attack, that they will not favor hostages with dual citizenship in its negotiations over those without.
There have, however, been instances where other countries have stepped in to negotiate for their hostage citizens. In particular, Russia negotiated separately from Israel for the release of three Russian-Israeli dual nationals during the weeklong true in November 2023.
Channel 12 also reports, again without citing any sources, that Hamas’s announcement appears to suggest the terror group has chosen to adopt a proposal presented by US hostage envoy Adam Boehler during unprecedented direct talks last week, rather than pursue the outline presented by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff in Doha earlier this week.
Witkoff’s proposal is said to provide for five living and 10 dead hostages to be returned to Israel by Hamas, in exchange for extending the ceasefire in Gaza for a further 42-50 days.
However, Channel 12 says Israel feels the number of living hostages is too low, and has demanded eight living hostages, instead.
PM to hold assessment at 2 p.m. after Hamas says it will release US-Israeli hostage, bodies of slain dual nationals
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a situational assessment at 2 p.m., after Hamas said it is willing to release US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander and return the bodies of four slain captives who are dual nationals.
80,000 Muslim worshipers pray peacefully at Al-Aqsa on second Friday of Ramadan
Muslim worshippers perform Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, during the holy month of Ramadan, Friday, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
Tens of thousands of Muslim worshipers visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem this morning for the second Friday prayers of Ramadan.
The Islamic Waqf, which manages the site, estimates that some 80,000 people attended the midday prayer. Israel Police does not provide a number, only saying “tens of thousands” of people were in attendance.
Police say that prayers ended peacefully and without any unusual incidents, despite fears of unrest during the Muslim holy month due to tensions over Gaza.
In a statement ahead of last week’s Friday prayers, the Prime Minister’s Office said that it would be granting entry permits into Jerusalem to a “reduced number of Muslim worshipers” from the West Bank.
Though the Prime Minister’s Office did not disclose how many West Bank Palestinians were granted permits, the proposal issued by Israeli security brass reportedly recommended a limit of 10,000.
As was the case last Ramadan, Israel allowed only Palestinian males aged 55 and older, women at least 50 years old and children aged 12 and below to enter the city for Friday prayers.
Charlie Summers contributed to this report.
Somaliland foreign minister says no talks have been held on resettlement of Palestinians
The breakaway Somaliland region is not in any talks with anyone about the resettlement of Palestinians, its foreign minister says.
“I haven’t received such a proposal, and there are no talks with anyone regarding Palestinians,” Abdirahman Dahir Adan, Somaliland’s foreign minister, tells Reuters.
Earlier today, the Associated Press reported that Israel and the US have reached out to the governments of Sudan, Somalia, and Somaliland to discuss using their territories as potential destinations for resettling Palestinians uprooted from the Gaza Strip under US President Donald Trump’s proposed postwar plan.
Sudan confirmed that it had been contacted by the US but rejected its overtures.
Hamas says it has agreed to release US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, bodies of 4 slain dual nationals
Varda Ben Baruch, whose grandson Edan Alexander is held hostage in the Gaza Strip by Hamas terrorists, wears tape marking the days since his capture, at her home in Tel Aviv, November 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Hamas in an official statement says it has agreed to a proposal to release hostage soldier Edan Alexander, who is a US citizen, as well as the bodies of four other slain captives who are dual nationals.
Alexander is a soldier who was stationed near the Gaza Strip on the morning of October 7 when he was taken captive by Hamas.
Hamas does not provide the names of the four slain dual nationals.
The terror group says it “affirms its complete readiness to initiate negotiations and reach a comprehensive agreement on the issues of the second phase while calling for the occupation (Israel) to fully implement its obligations.”
The Hamas statement indicates that the terror group has accepted a proposal thot was discussed during direct talks with US hostage envoy Adam Boehler, which had been held in recent weeks.
Those talks infuriated Jerusalem, which wasn’t fully kept in the loop, didn’t like that Boehler was discussing Israeli concessions without its knowledge and feared it would lead Washington to abandon the remaining Israeli hostages after such a deal was reached.
But Boehler’s remit is specifically to try and free American hostages worldwide and his effort was approved by US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff when the main track of negotiations was stuck due to Israel’s refusal to accept the terms of the current deal’s second phase.
There hadn’t appeared to have been a breakthrough in Boehler’s direct talks — which ended after Israel learned about them and leaked their existence to the media, according to two US officials — and the hostage negotiations had returned to their original channel led by Witkoff with mediation from Qatar and Egypt in Doha.
Hamas’s decision to suddenly accept a proposal to release the American hostages points to an attempt to divide the US and Israel by daring Jerusalem to deny an opportunity to free American hostages.
Katz says IDF will stay at 5 key points in southern Lebanon, despite talks on border disputes
Defense Minister Israel Katz visits an IDF position in south Lebanon on December 22, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
Defense Minister Israel Katz says the IDF will stay at five strategic points in southern Lebanon “indefinitely,” regardless of negotiations over 13 disputed points on the border.
During an assessment yesterday with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and other top military officials, Katz “clarified that the IDF will remain at the five points that control the buffer zone in Lebanon, indefinitely, for the sake of protecting the residents of the north, and this is without any connection to future negotiations on points of dispute on the border,” his office says.
Katz instructed the IDF to fortify its positions at the five strategic points and prepare to stay there for a long period, his office adds.
Kremlin calls for further diplomatic efforts on Iran’s nuclear program after talks in China
The Kremlin calls for further diplomatic efforts on Iran’s nuclear program, as diplomats hold talks on the issue in China.
“It is necessary to further continue diplomatic efforts to resolve this problem,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tells journalists, condemning what Russia claims are “illegal” sanctions against Iran.
IDF says it struck terror operatives trying to plant bombs near troops in central Gaza
The IDF says it carried out a strike against a group of terror operatives who were spotted attempting to plant bombs in the ground, near where troops were operating, in the central Gaza Strip earlier today.
Syrian Druze clerics enter Israel to visit revered shrine for first time in decades
Druze boys hold flags near Israeli soldiers guarding a border barrier in the village of Majdal Shams, on the Israeli side of the Golan Heights, as people wait for the arrival of a delegation from the Syrian side of the Golan, on March 14, 2025. (John Wessels/AFP)
Several dozen Syrian Druze clerics cross the armistice line on the Golan Heights into Israel on Friday, to conduct their community’s first pilgrimage in decades.
On board three buses escorted by Israeli military vehicles, the clerics cross at Majdal Shams in the Golan, and head to northern Israel where they will visit the shrine and meet the leader of Israel’s Druze, according to a source close to the delegation.
The delegation of around 60 clerics is due to meet the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community, Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, in northern Israel.
They are then set to head to the tomb of Nabi Shuaib in the Galilee -– the most important religious site for the Druze.
A source close to the delegation says that the visit follows an invitation from the Druze community in Israel, but that it was met with “strong opposition” from other Druze in Syria.
The Druze account for about three percent of Syria’s population and are heavily concentrated in the southern province of Sweida.
Israel is home to around 150,000 Druze, with most holding Israeli citizenship and serving in the army.
However, of the some 23,000 living in the Golan Heights, most do not hold Israeli citizenship and still see themselves as Syrian nationals.
PM files police complaint against former Shin Bet chief Argaman, accusing him of blackmail
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu files a complaint with the police against former Shin Bet chief Nadav Argaman, accusing him of “threatening and blackmailing a sitting prime minister” during an interview aired on Channel 12 last night.
In the interview, Argaman claimed to be sitting on a trove of information that would compromise the prime minister and threatened to make it public if Netanyahu breaks the law.
Freed hostage soldier Agam Berger returns home to Holon, more than a month after release from captivity
Released hostage Agam Berger and her parents Meirav, left, and Shlomi aboard a helicopter on the way to Rabin Medical Center on January 30, 2025. (IDF)
Freed hostage Agam Berger returns home to Holon, more than a month after she was released from captivity on January 30.
Berger, an IDF surveillance soldier, was kidnapped from the Nahal Oz military outpost by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023.
Hundreds of people are seen lining the streets of Holon, waving Israeli flags and cheering as her car passed, as they welcome her home in a ceremony organized by the city’s municipality.
In brief comments from inside her car, Berger calls for Israel to “do everything so that everyone can come home.”
“I’m waiting for you all,” she says of the hostages still in Gaza. “It’s not a holiday without them, even with all the happiness there is here.”
חודש וחצי אחרי ששוחררה משבי חמאס בעזה שבה היום התצפיתנית אגם ברגר לביתה בחולון. בשבועות האחרונים מאז שוחררה מבית החולים היא שהתה בכפר המכביה ומדי פעם שבה הביתה לסופי שבוע. הפעם היא חוזרת באופן רשמי ובעיריית חולון ארגנו לה קבלת פנים סמוך לביתה שנמצא ליד המדיטק בעיר@OferHalfonKan pic.twitter.com/kjsHS1zK8s
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 14, 2025
PM asks to reschedule, cancel upcoming hearings in criminal trial due to state budget vote, visit from Argentina’s Milei
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Tel Aviv District Court for the 17th day of his testimony in his corruption trial, March 12, 2025. (Yair Sagi/POOL)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked to cancel the scheduled hearings in his ongoing criminal trial in two weeks due to a planned visit to Israel by Argentine President Javier Milei, Hebrew media reports.
The request filed to the Jerusalem District Court cites Netanyahu’s participation in a number of tours that Milei is expected to take during his visit.
The Walla news site reports that at the same time, Netanyahu has also asked to move one of his days of testimony next week to Tuesday instead of Wednesday, due to a series of discussions in the Knesset about the upcoming vote on the 2025 state budget.
Amid personnel shortages, IDF planning to draft soldiers with lower medical scores to combat service
In an attempt to deal with its personnel shortages, the IDF is planning to draft soldiers with lower medical profiles to combat service, the Ynet news site reports.
The military has said that it currently requires some 12,000 new soldiers — 75 percent of whom will be combat troops — for current and future challenges.
When soldiers are recruited they are given a medical profile that determines where they can serve.
A profile of 97 means the soldier is perfectly healthy and fit for combat service; 82 indicates they have a slight health problem that prevents them from serving in elite units; 72 means they have a moderate health problem preventing them from serving in infantry units but are eligible for other combat units, such as the Armored Corps, Artillery Corps, light infantry brigades, and aerial defense array; and a profile of 64 indicates they have a more serious health problem that makes them unfit for combat roles, aside from the Military Police’s Erez Battalion which operate some West Bank checkpoints.
According to the Ynet report, the IDF plans to draft those with a profile of 64 to the Armored Corps and the Border Defense Corps’ light infantry battalions.
Other efforts are being made to handle the personnel shortages, including opening new units for ultra-Orthodox men — who mainly don’t serve — as well as encouraging more women to serve in combat roles.
Iran asserts nuclear program is peaceful; China says issue has reached ‘critical juncture’
BEIJING, China — Iran’s deputy foreign minister says he had held “constructive” talks in Beijing today and insisted that Tehran’s nuclear program is “peaceful”.
“We had a very constructive and positive meeting today,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi tells top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, accusing “some countries” of creating “an unnecessary crisis.”
“The comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue is an important achievement achieved through dialogue and negotiation,” Wang Yi says, referring to the 2015 nuclear deal, adding: “… The situation has reached a critical juncture again.”
Hostage families pen letter to Trump asking for help, say Israeli government has abandoned them
A group of released hostages meets US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on March 5, 2025. (White House/X)
Looking to ramp up the pressure on all parties working to negotiate a deal between Israel and Hamas, several families of hostages sent a letter to US President Donald Trump asking for his help, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
Lishi Miran Lavi, wife of hostage Omri Miran; Liran Berman, the older brother of twin hostages Gali and Ziv Berman; Dalia Kushner, sister-in-law of hostage Eitan Horn and released hostage Iair Horn; Yotam Cohen, brother of captive soldier Nimrod Cohen, and Einav Zangauker penned the missive, the report says.
“For more than a year and a half, the Israeli government has been playing with the lives of our loved ones,” they wrote. “Assurances were given and violated. Hopes were given and trampled on. While the prime minister and his government members evade, hide, and bide their time, our hostages are being severely tortured, and we saw the results of the terrible abuse when they returned to us in coffins or emaciated and tortured.”
Trump, who last week met with a group of freed hostages in the Oval Office, has reportedly been moved by the condition of some hostages who returned after months of being starved and abused by their captors.
Families of some hostages, as well as some of those who have been released, have increasingly extolled Trump as their hope and savior while accusing the government of being ineffective and bogged down in a coalition quagmire.
“When there is no one left to rely on, we turn to you, President Donald Trump,” they implored. You are the only person who can now get involved and bring an end to this nightmare.”
The families accused the government of “abandoning the lives of our sons and daughters out of stubborn insistence on positions that have no relation to a security threat” and of saying one thing to them behind closed doors and “telling a completely different story to the public.”
“If it doesn’t act immediately to return all the living hostages — we will reveal to the people everything that they said to us. All the broken promises.”
Police rescue caged monkey near southern Bedouin town
A caged monkey rescued by police near the southern Bedouin town of Segev Shalom, March 14, 2025. (Israel Police)
Police say that yesterday officers rescued a monkey caged in an open area near the southern Bedouin town of Segev Shalom.
Over the past week, police have been combating the illegal possession of animals, rescuing a total of eight monkeys and three lions.
The monkey rescued in the south was given to Nature and Parks Authority officials for care and will be transferred to an animal rescue shelter, police say.
UAE embassy hosts Knesset speaker Ohana, Ra’am chair for Iftar meal
The United Arab Emirates’ embassy in Israel hosted Israeli public figures and diplomats from several countries for a Ramadan Iftar break fast last night.
Photos posted by the UAE’s Hebrew-language Facebook page show Knesset speaker Amir Ohana of the Likud party and Ra’am chair Mansour Abbas attending the event.
שגרירות איחוד האמירויות בישראל ארגנה ארוחת איפטאר בתל אביב שהיתה על ידי מגוון רחב של אורחים ביניהם אמיר אוחנה, יו"ר הכנסת, ומנצור עבאס, חבר כנסת ומנהיג הרשימה הערבית המאוחדת.
???????????????? https://t.co/K6Lra0s1Tq pic.twitter.com/Rejam9sLPr— איחוד האמירויות בעברית (@uaeinhebrew) March 14, 2025
3 terrorists killed, over 100 wanted Palestinians nabbed in West Bank op this week
IDF troops operate in the West Bank, in a handout photo published March 14, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says troops killed three terror operatives and detained over 100 wanted Palestinians during operations in the West Bank over the past week.
Soldiers also seized dozens of weapons and questioned dozens more suspects.
The IDF has been carrying out a major offensive in the northern West Bank, dubbed Operation Iron Wall, since January 21.
In the past week, the offensive focused on the towns of Arraba and Qabatiya near Jenin, the military adds.
Amid efforts on Haredi draft law, Katz says ‘the world of Jewish Torah can never be harmed’
Haredi men study at the Kamenitz Yeshiva, in Jerusalem on September 9, 2024 (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
At an ultra-Orthodox Purim event, Defense Minister Israel Katz declares that “The world of Jewish Torah can never be harmed,” after mentioning the government’s work on Haredi conscription legislation.
Last night, Katz attended the event hosted by Haredi figure Yossi Rosenboim, where he was filmed making the comment. Those in attendance applauded the statement.
The dispute about the ultra-Orthodox community serving in the military is one of the most contentious in Israel, with decades of governmental and judicial attempts to settle the issue having failed to achieve a resolution.
The Haredi religious and political leadership fiercely resists any effort to draft young men, many of whom study in Yeshivas and have in the past been granted exemptions from serving. The issue has come to a head in light of recent High Court rulings demanding an end to blanket exemptions, and public pressure has risen due to the manpower shortages caused by the long ongoing war.
China calls for lifting of ‘illegal unilateral sanctions’ on Iran
BEIJING, China — China’s Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu calls for an end to “illegal unilateral sanctions” on Iran, after meeting diplomats for talks on Tehran’s nuclear program.
“We conducted in-depth exchanges of views on the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions. We emphasised the necessity of ending all illegal unilateral sanctions,” Ma tells reporters shortly after discussions with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi.
Iran slams US ‘hypocrisy’ over sanctions on oil minister
Mohsen Paknejad (R), then-Iran's nominee for oil minister, attends a parliament session in the capital Tehran, on August 17, 2024, as Iran's president defends his cabinet selection. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran slams what it calls US “hypocrisy” after President Donald Trump’s administration announced new sanctions on its Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad.
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei says in a statement that the move demonstrates US “hypocrisy,” as Washington has repeatedly called for nuclear talks with Tehran.
He adds that the sanctions serve as “another clear proof of the falsity of these statements and another sign of its hostility to development.”
On Thursday, the US Treasury Department said Iran “continues to use the proceeds from the nation’s vast oil resources to advance its narrow, alarming self-interests at the expense of the Iranian people.”
The sanctions also designate three entities engaged in the Iranian oil trade in China and name three shipping vessels as blocked property for their use in the transactions.
“These entities provide services to the ghost fleet vessels… enabling Iran’s attempts to disguise its illicit oil trade,” US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement.
The latest sanctions come after the Trump administration sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging negotiations and warning of possible military action if Iran refused.
Baqaei says Iran will conduct “a thorough assessment” before responding to the letter which was delivered Wednesday to Tehran by a senior United Arab Emirates diplomat.
US, Israel have spoken to 3 East African countries about resettling Gazans under Trump plan — report
Palestinians shop at Sheikh Radwan Market, west of Gaza City, before the Iftar, the fast-breaking meal, during the holy month of Ramadan, March 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
The US and Israel have reached out to officials of three East African governments to discuss using their territories as potential destinations for resettling Palestinians uprooted from the Gaza Strip under President Donald Trump’s proposed postwar plan, American and Israeli officials say.
The contacts with Sudan, Somalia, and the breakaway region of Somalia known as Somaliland reflect the determination by the US and Israel to press ahead with a plan that has been widely condemned and raised serious legal and moral issues.
Because all three places are poor and, in some cases, wracked by violence, the proposal also casts doubt on Trump’s stated goal of resettling Gaza’s Palestinians in a “beautiful area.”
Officials from Sudan say they have rejected overtures from the US, while officials from Somalia and Somaliland tell The Associated Press that they were not aware of any contacts.
Under Trump’s plan, Gaza’s more than 2 million people would be permanently sent elsewhere. He has proposed the US would take ownership of the territory, oversee a lengthy cleanup process, and develop it as a real estate project.
China, Iran, Russia kick off talks in Beijing over Iran’s nuclear program
Senior diplomats from Iran, Russia and China have gathered in Beijing for talks on Tehran’s nuclear issues, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reports, days after Iran rejected US “orders” to resume dialogue over the Iranian nuclear programme.
In 2015, Iran reached a deal with the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany and agreed to limit its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. But in 2018, Donald Trump, a year into his first term at the White House, pulled out of the pact.
Last week, Trump said he had sent a letter to the Iranian leadership suggesting talks with the Islamic Republic, which the West fears is rapidly approaching the capability to make atomic weapons. But Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he would not negotiate with the US while being “threatened” and that Iran would not bow to US “orders” to talk.
Judge releases suspect who shot municipal worker during attack by ‘Death to Arabs’-shouting mob
Ahmad Nijam lies on the ground after being shot in downtown Jerusalem on March 12, 2025. (Screen capture/X)
A Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court judge has ordered that a Jewish suspect who shot an Arab municipal worker in the capital be released to house arrest, despite the apparent lack of justification for opening fire.
Ahmad Nijam, 41, was shot in the leg on Wednesday night in downtown Jerusalem after coming under attack by a mob of young Jewish extremists who chanted “Death to Arabs,” witnesses report.
Speaking to Channel 13, Nijam recalls how members of the mob approached him and demanded to know why he was hanging around an area generally frequented by Jews. Several people threw water bottles at him and another member of the group demanded — without cause — that he open his backpack.
At one point, the suspect ordered Nijam to drop to the ground before shooting him — a seemingly clear violation of open-fire regulations.
Footage from the scene shows Nijam writhing in pain, as the suspect and another individual wearing an IDF uniform stand several meters away without providing any assistance.
https://twitter.com/Mistaclim/status/1900135400510829008
An acquaintance of Nijam begins filming the incident and calls police who arrive at the scene along with a Magen David Adom ambulance.
Before they get there, though, the suspect can be seen fleeing the area.
Police managed to track him down shortly thereafter and arrested him.
Nonetheless, officers summoned Nijam for questioning under caution on Thursday immediately after he was released from the hospital.
Nijam tells Channel 13 that police during the questioning demanded to know what he was doing out so late at night.
For his part, the suspect claims that he opened fire after he spotted Nijam shouting “Allahu Akbar” at a group of Jewish revelers. Other witnesses have not corroborated this testimony.
Nonetheless, Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court Judge David Shaul Gabai Richter ordered later Thursday that the suspect be released to house arrest.
In his decision, Richter appeared to justify the suspect’s actions, explaining that everyone is “on edge” amid the ongoing war.
“Although this is was an incident in which a weapon was used… I do not believe that the defendant can be deemed a… criminal,” he wrote.
Netanyahu said seeking contract with Tesla to provide cars for Israeli officials
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Tesla CEO Elon Musk ride a Cybertruck, as Sara Netanyahu (C) sits in the back seat at a Tesla plant in Fremont, California on Sept. 18, 2023. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posts a link to an article revealing that Israel has asked Elon Musk’s Tesla to submit a bid to provide electric cars to government officials.
The report cited a “senior Israeli government source,” and Netanyahu’s tweeting of the article indicates that the source came from his office.
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 13, 2025
Halevi: Failures at Nir Oz must be ‘etched into IDF consciousness’
Channel 13 publishes a partial recording of former IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi’s comments to members of Kibbutz Nir Oz during the army’s presentation of its investigation into the October 7 massacre of the community.
“I heard the harshest statement about October 7 from one of your members,” Halevi can be heard telling the kibbutz residents in the recording.
“I say it in every conversation I have with commanders so that everyone in the IDF will remember it — that the first soldier arrived at Nir Oz after the last terrorist had left,” the former army chief says.
“This is a terrible and damning statement, and we repeat it so that it will be etched into the consciousness of the IDF.”
UN Security Council to condemn Syria violence, say diplomats
The United Nations Security Council has agreed to a statement condemning widespread violence in Syria’s coastal region and calling on Syria’s interim authorities to protect all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religion, diplomats say.
The Russian and US-drafted presidential statement is due to be formally adopted on Friday, the diplomats said. Such statements are agreed by consensus. It comes after the 15-member council met behind closed doors on Syria on Monday.
Several days of violent clashes in Syria’s coastal region pitted loyalists of deposed President Bashar al-Assad against the country’s new Islamist rulers. A war monitoring group said more than 1,000 people had been killed.
Entire families including women and children were killed in Tartus and Latakia – where members of Assad’s minority Alawite sect lived – as part of a series of sectarian killings by rival groups, the UN human rights office said on Tuesday.
“The Security Council calls on the interim authorities to protect all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religion,” reads the statement, seen by Reuters. “Syria’s interim authorities must hold the perpetrators of these mass killings accountable.”
Syria’s interim President Ahmed Sharaa said mass killings of members of Assad’s minority sect were a threat to his mission to unite the country, and promised to punish those responsible, including his own allies if necessary.
“The Security Council welcomes the Syrian interim authorities’ public condemnation of instances of violence and calls for further measures to prevent its recurrence,” reads the council statement.
It also “reaffirms its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria and calls on all States to respect these principles and to refrain from any action or interference that may further destabilize Syria.”
The statement does not identify any countries. However since Assad was ousted in December, Israel has carried out extensive airstrikes on Syrian military bases and moved forces into a UN-monitored demilitarized zone within Syria, in what it has said was a defensive and indefinite measure.
The Security Council statement also stresses the importance of countering terrorism in Syria and expresses “grave concern over the acute threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters,” urging Syria to take “decisive measures to address the threat.”
IDF troops shoot dead two suspects trying to cross into Israel from Jordan
The IDF shot dead two suspects from Jordan who crossed into Israel near the northern town of Beit She’an, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
The two suspects were part of a group of eight who were trying to cross into Israel together. The other six suspects were arrested by Israeli troops.
The eight were identified by IDF cameras, and troops nearby were alerted. When the soldiers arrived at the scene, two of the suspects jumped out of the bushes. The sudden movement led the troops to believe that they were under threat, so they opened fire.
The pair of suspects succumbed to their wounds, while the other six were taken into custody for questioning.
Citing an initial IDF assessment, Kan says that all of the suspects appeared to be migrants looking for work.
No IDF soldiers were injured during the incident.
Settlers said torching homes in central West Bank Palestinian village
Palestinians from Khirbet al Marajim report that dozens of settlers have invaded their village in the central West Bank village and have set several homes on fire.
The village is located adjacent to Duma, which was targeted in a deadly settler firebombing in 2015 that took the lives of an 18-month-old baby and his parents.
عاجل| مصادر محلية: مستوطنون يحرقون عددًا من المنازل في خربة المراجم، قرب قرية دوما، جنوب نابلس. pic.twitter.com/HWbXwPCr9h
— Alhadath Newspaper|صحيفة الحدث الفلسطيني (@Alhadath_news1) March 13, 2025
????????????BREAKING – A horrifying video shows a Palestinian family trapped inside their home in Khirbet al-Marajim, Duma, as Israeli settlers attack and attempt to set it on fire. pic.twitter.com/X5MeQNsUDM
— Ihab Hassan (@IhabHassane) March 13, 2025
Saudi Crown Prince tells Putin kingdom committed to facilitating Ukraine dialogue
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call the kingdom remains committed to facilitating dialogue and supporting a political resolution to the Ukraine crisis, the Saudi state news agency reports.
Saudi Arabia recently hosted separate meetings between U.S. and Russian officials, as well as US and Ukrainian officials.
Johns Hopkins University says it’s laying off 2,000 employees due to Trump cuts
Illustrative -- The Maryland Hall at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland on Jan. 12, 2011 (Wikimedia Commons)
The prestigious Johns Hopkins University says it is being forced to lay off more than 2,000 employees in the aftermath of the Trump administration’s massive reduction in foreign aid funding.
“This is a difficult day for our entire community. The termination of more than $800 million in USAID funding is now forcing us to wind down critical work here in Baltimore and internationally,” the school — a top research institute barely an hour’s drive from the US capital — says in a statement.
Hamas renews call for Israel to abide by truce requirement for IDF to withdraw from Philadelphi
IDF troops operate along the Philadelphi Corridor at the Gaza-Egypt border in August 2024. (IDF)
Hamas has renewed a demand for Israeli troops to withdraw from south Gaza, accusing Israel of seeking to breach the terms of a ceasefire in talks on the next phase of the accord.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem tells AFP that Israeli forces should have pulled out of a strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border under the first phase of the ceasefire that started on January 19.
Hamas has accused Israel of keeping troops in the strategic Philadelphi Corridor. Israel has insisted it needs to maintain control of the corridor to prevent weapons smuggling into the Palestinian territory from Egypt.
Qassem indicates that the corridor had become one of the sticking points at Qatari-US mediated talks in Doha on the next phase of the ceasefire.
“Reports indicate new proposals are being presented aimed at circumventing the Gaza agreement,” Qassem tells AFP.
“Meetings are continuing with mediators in Doha. We adhere to what was agreed upon and to entering into the second phase,” he adds.
But he insists that Israel must also fulfill its obligations “withdrawing from the entire Gaza Strip” and “begin the withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor” for any second phase deal to end the war.
“Israel has not implemented the humanitarian protocol of the Gaza agreement,” Qassem adds. Israel has stopped humanitarian aid from entering Gaza since March 2 to back its demand that Hamas release all remaining hostages held since the 2023 attacks.
“We do not want to return to war again, and if the occupation resumes its aggression, we have no choice but to defend our people,” the spokesman says.
Thousands gather in Hostages Square to read Book of Esther on Purim eve
Reading the Book of Esther on Purim night, March 13, 2025 in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square (Paulina Patimer / Hostages Families Forum)
Thousands come to Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square on Thursday night for the Purim eve reading of the Book of Esther, which tells the story of the biblical heroine Queen Esther saving the Jewish people from extermination in what is now modern-day Iran.
The gathering, which includes Israelis from different communities, sectors and denominations, includes a call for the return of the 59 remaining hostages in one release.
Meirav Leshem Gonen, mother of freed hostage Romi Gonen participates in the event.
Meanwhile, hundreds gather at Begin Road, a short walk away from Hostages Square, where hostage family members and supporters are spending a sixth night in the encampment as they continue calling for the release of all the remaining hostages in Gaza.
Columbia University announces suspensions, expulsions for last year’s ‘Hind’s Hall’ building takeover
Demonstrators from Columbia University's pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel encampment unfurl a banner as they barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall, a campus building which has been occupied in past student movements, and name it after a Palestinian child allegedly killed in Gaza, April 30, 2024 in New York City. (Alex Kent/Getty Images North America/Getty Images via AFP)
Columbia University in New York City announces student punishments for the takeover of a campus building by anti-Israel protesters last year.
The university’s judicial board issued “multi-year suspensions, temporary degree revocations, and expulsions,” for the takeover of Hamilton Hall — briefly renamed Hind’s Hall by the protesters — the university says.
There are no details about the number of students punished.
Columbia is under heavy pressure from the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress over anti-Zionist activism on campus.
A Congressional investigative committee has demanded the university turn over all disciplinary records related to anti-Zionist activism.
The administration has cut $400 million in funding to Columbia and threatened billions more.
Federal immigration agents detained a campus anti-Israel activist leader on Saturday, setting off furious backlash.
A major protest by dozens of groups is planned for the campus gates tomorrow.
Iranian chief rabbi reads the Book of Esther at the Tomb of Mordechai and Esther
Footage has emerged of Iran’s Chief Rabbi Yehuda Gerami reading from the Book of Esther and dancing with students at the Tomb of Mordechai and Esther in the city of Hamadan for the holiday of Purim.
According to the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation Kan, Rabbi Gerami and his students danced outside the tomb complex before the afternoon Mincha prayer on the eve of the Purim holiday. The rabbi later read Esther from the megillah scroll in accordance with the Purim custom.
According to a tradition dating back to at least the 1100s, Mordechai and Esther were buried in a mausoleum in Hamadan, believed to be the ancient city of Shushan mentioned in the Book of Esther. The tradition is not generally believed outside the Iranian community.
Some 8,500 Jews live in Iran, primarily in Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz.
פורים בקהילה היהודית באיראן: רב הקהילה, יהודה גראמי, התפלל ערבית וקרא מגילה בקבר מרדכי ואסתר בעיר המדאן. הרב רקד עם תלמידיו – שחלקם לומדים לדיינות ורבנות, מחוץ למתחם הקברים@kaisos1987 pic.twitter.com/BXO2mURCPV
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 13, 2025
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