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The Times of Israel liveblogged Monday’s events as they happened.
Hezbollah rocket damages utility pole, causing blackouts in several northern towns
One of the rockets in the latest barrage of projectiles fired toward Israel by Lebanon’s Hezbollah landed near an utility pole, causing damage that knocked out power in several communities in the north, according the Mateh Asher Regional Council.
A statement from the regional council says the Israel Electric Company is working to repair the damaged transmitter. It does not specify how many towns in the region lost power.
“We ask the public to listen to the instructions of the Home Front Command and community security officers,” the statement says.
VP Harris meets Gantz in DC, expresses ‘deep concern’ on humanitarian crisis in Gaza
US Vice President Kamala Harris “expressed her deep concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza,” but also credited Israel’s “constructive approach” in the ongoing hostage negotiations, during her meeting with visiting war cabinet minister Benny Gantz earlier today, according to a White House readout.
Harris is one of several top US officials meeting with Gantz, who embarked this week on a visit to Washington seen as partially aimed at smoothing over tensions in Israel-US ties, as the latter increasingly loses patience with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s prosecution of the war.
Netanyahu refused to sign off on Gantz’s visit, which he views as part of an effort to undermine his authority, and ordered the Israeli embassy in Washington not to provide the war cabinet minister with any assistance while Gantz is in town.
The US readout of Harris’s meeting with Gantz is largely a collection of talking points regarding the war, including a condemnation of Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught; support for Israel right to defend itself; the need for Israel to present a “credible and implementable humanitarian plan” for how it will protect civilians if it chooses to expand its ground incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah; the need for Israel to take additional measures to increase the flow of aid into Gaza; and the need for a six-week ceasefire that would allow for the release of the hostages and the entry of aid into and throughout Gaza.
Harris “expressed her deep concern about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza and the recent horrific tragedy around an aid convoy in northern Gaza,” the US readout says.
The vice president also “discussed the urgency of achieving a hostage deal and welcomed Israel’s constructive approach to the hostage talks,” it adds.
A readout from Gantz’s office was not immediately available.
Earlier today, Gantz met with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk. He will meet tomorrow with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Houthi minister: Ships entering Yemeni waters must now obtain permit
CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) – Ships will have to obtain a permit from Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Maritime Affairs Authority before entering Yemeni waters, Houthi Telecommunications Minister Misfer Al-Numair said on Monday.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against international commercial shipping in the Gulf of Aden since mid-November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza during the ongoing war with Israel, sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attacks.
The near-daily attacks have forced firms into long and costly diversions around southern Africa, and stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could destabilize the wider Middle East. The United States and Britain have bombed Houthi targets in response.
“(We) are ready to assist requests for permits and identify ships with the Yemeni Navy, and we confirm this is out of concern for their safety,” Al Masirah TV, the main television news outlet run by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement, quotes Al-Numair as saying.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
UNRWA chief: Dismantling agency would sacrifice ‘generation of children’
Dismantling the UN Palestinian refugee aid agency (UNRWA) would sacrifice a “generation of children,” its chief Philippe Lazzarini warns, during an increasingly bitter row between the UN and Israel.
Following the discovery that at least 12 UNRWA staffers directly took part in the October 7 massacre – which saw 1,200 people killed, mostly civilians, and 253 taken hostage – and at least another 30 UNRWA workers provided assistance, Israel has called for Lazzarini to resign and for the agency to be replaced.
“Dismantling UNRWA is shortsighted. By doing so, we will sacrifice an entire generation of children, sowing the seeds of hatred, resentment, and future conflict,” Lazzarini tells the UN General Assembly.
Foreign Ministry welcomes ‘explicit recognition’ by UN of Hamas sex crimes on Oct. 7
The Foreign Ministry “welcomes the explicit recognition by a UN official of sexual crimes committed by Hamas” during its October 7 massacres in southern Israel, after the United Nation’s envoy on sex crimes during conflict presented a report earlier today indicating that rape likely occurred during the October 7 Hamas onslaught against southern Israel.
The 24-page report gathers “clear and convincing” evidence that hostages were raped while being held in Gaza, and that those currently held captive are still facing such abuse.
“For the first time, a UN official explicitly acknowledges the commission of sex crimes by Hamas and other terrorist organizations on October 7,” the Foreign Ministry statement continued. “The UN also recognizes that the crimes were committed simultaneously in different areas and points to a pattern of rape, torture, and sexual abuse.”
The statement also reiterates Israeli calls for the UN Security Council to declare Hamas a terror group and impose sanctions on it.
US official on Gantz visit: ‘He’s a member of the war cabinet. There’s a war going on’
War cabinet minister Benny Gantz (L) departs the White House after meeting with US Vice President Kamala Harris on March 4, 2024 in Washington, DC.(Brendan Smialowski/ AFP)
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby is asked during a press briefing to weigh in on the controversy in Israel over war cabinet minister Benny Gantz’s meetings with top US officials in Washington against the wishes of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“This was a request by Minister Gantz to come to the United States and have meetings. He’s a member of the war cabinet. There is a war going on between Israel and Hamas. We have been dealing with all members of the war cabinet, including Minister Gantz since… he joined the war cabinet… We see this as a natural outgrowth of those discussions,” Kirby says.
“A member of the war cabinet from Israel wants to come to the United States, wants to talk to us about the progress of that war, giving us an opportunity to talk about the importance of getting humanitarian assistance increased, an opportunity to talk about the importance of this hostage deal. We’re not going to turn away that sort of opportunity,” he adds, not revealing whether the US would take up Netanyahu if he made the same request.
Publicly, the US has not framed the meetings with Gantz as a slight at Netanyahu, who has not visited the White House since returning to the premiership in December 2022. But a US official speaking on condition of anonymity says the administration is not bothered by the perception that the meetings with Gantz send a message of its displeasure over Netanyahu’s handling of the war.
IDF strikes Hezbollah sites in south Lebanon in response to deadly attack near Margaliot
In response to this morning’s deadly anti-tank missile attack near Margaliot, the IDF says it struck a series of Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon.
Sites hit by fighter jets in Bint Jbeil, Sultaniyeh, and Seddiqine included buildings used by Hezbollah and a command center, according to the IDF.
A foreign national was killed and seven others were wounded after a missile fired from Lebanon struck an orchard near Margaliot where they were working this morning.
מטוסי קרב תקפו לפני זמן קצר שורת מטרות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים בינת ג׳בל, א-סלטניה וצדיקין בתגובה לשיגורים לעבר מרחב מרגליות הבוקר. בין המטרות שהותקפו: מבנים צבאיים ומפקדה צבאית ששימשו את הארגון. pic.twitter.com/wskrHKKaWp
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) March 4, 2024
Following UN report on sexual violence, Hostage Forum pushes Netanyahu to close deal
People protest for the release of Israelis held kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in Gaza since October 7, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, March 4, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The Hostages Family Forum reacts to the release of UN report earlier today that found “reasonable grounds to believe” Hamas terrorists perpetrated sexual violence during the terror group’s October 7 massacres, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure a deal for the release of hostages held by terror groups in Gaza.
“What more needs to be said or done for Netanyahu and the cabinet members to be determined to stop the cruelty that the female hostages and male hostages endure day after day?” the forum says in a press release.
“It’s glaringly obvious that the female hostages are going through hell every moment, every minute,” the statement adds.
Presenting her team’s report earlier today, Pramila Patten, the UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict, said that hostages held in Gaza by Hamas since October 7 were likely subject to “sexual violence including rape, sexualized torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment,” and that her office believes such treatment may be ongoing.
“The people of Israel will not forgive Prime Minister Netanyahu and the cabinet if they fail to put an end to the horrific acts the hostages have already endured for 150 days,” the press release adds.
The hostages were taken when thousands of Hamas terrorists burst into Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping another 253, mostly civilians, over half of whom remain in Gaza.
White House accuses some cabinet members of creating ‘obstacles’ to Gaza aid effort
The White House accuses some Israeli cabinet members of blocking efforts to get more aid into Gaza.
“There have been some obstacles to getting the aid in that are organic to the fact that we’re talking about a war zone, but also inorganic obstacles [have been] thrown up in some cases by some members of the Israeli cabinet that have made it hard to get that aid in,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says, in a briefing with reporters.
Kirby does not name the cabinet members he is referring to, though hardline ministers from several coalition parties have pushed back on US calls to expand aid into Gaza, viewing it as a reward to Hamas or not deserved, given that the terror group continues to hold onto some 130 hostages.
“That’s why you heard the president so very clearly make certain on Friday when he was meeting [Italian] Prime Minister [Giorgia] Meloni that this is not a time for excuses. We’ve got to get more aid in,” Kirby says.
PMO statement rejects ‘fake news’ over Netanyahu’s flu
The Prime Minister’s Office “outright rejects” what it calls “fake news” regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s health, insisting that he has “contracted a seasonal flu.”
The statement adds that a large number of PMO employees also contracted the flu.
Posts circulating on social media in recent days suggested unfounded speculations, including that the prime minister was trying to dodge a discussion on security plans for the Temple Mount over Ramadan, and that he took the day off to celebrate his wedding anniversary with his wife Sara.
There were also questions as to who was in charge while the premier was unwell.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to make decisions, hold consultations, lead the war, and manage all the affairs of the state,” the statement says.
Earlier today, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel that Netanyahu had canceled his entire schedule and was home sick with the flu.
IDF: At least 10 rockets fired from Lebanon, some intercepted by Iron Dome
At least 10 rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Western Galilee a short while ago, according to the IDF.
Some of the projectiles were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system.
There are no reports of injuries in the attack.
Footage shows Iron Dome interceptions over the Western Galilee https://t.co/V40cOvL4XW pic.twitter.com/UcYAqe551a
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2024
Blinken pressed Netanyahu-confidant Dermer on expanding aid to Gaza – US State Dept.
US Secretary of of State Antony Blinken spoke on the phone earlier today with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, pressing the Netanyahu confidant for Israel to do more to expand the amount of aid entering Gaza, due to the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Strip, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller says.
The US is pushing Israel to open additional crossings into Gaza, though Jerusalem has long resisted the step, warning that it could lead to a resurgence of Hamas activity in northern Gaza, where aid has been very limited. Israel also says it will only allow a minimal amount of aid into Gaza, where Hamas continues to hold 130 hostages.
Blinken’s call notably comes just one day before he is slated to meet with visiting war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, when the issue of humanitarian aid will be at the top of his agenda.
Given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s disapproval of Gantz’s visit to Washington, the decision to also relay the message through Dermer points to a possible US effort to ensure that it is heard clearly by all decision-makers in Jerusalem.
UN envoy cites ‘inhuman’ treatment of Palestinian detainees by Israeli forces in West Bank
Pramila Patten, the UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict, says her office collected information about “cruel, inhuman and degrading” treatment of men and women Palestinian detainees by Israeli security forces in the West Bank, “including sexual violence in the forms of body searches, threats of rape.”
She adds the comments while presenting a report into sexual crimes carried out by Hamas on October 7.
“The mission was a difficult one in terms of what we heard and the details,” she says. “We saw a catalog of the most extreme and inhumane forms of torture and other horrors.”
Incoming rocket warning sirens sound in Western Galilee communities
Incoming rocket sirens are sounding in several communities in the Western Galilee, close to the Lebanon border.
The alerts are activated in the communities of Shlomi, Betzet, Liman, Hanita, Matzuva, Rosh HaNikra, Adamit, Ya’ara, Arab al-Aramshe, Even Menachem, Eilon, Goren, Zar’it, Gornot HaGalil, Shomera, and the Achziv Miluot Industrial Zone.
???? Large Rocket Alerts [21:50:15] – 16 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — Shlomi, Ya'ara, Achziv Miluot Industrial Zone, Idmit, Arab al-Aramshe, Shomera, Lehman, Hanita, Goren, Metzuba, Zarit, Rosh HaNikra, Eilon, Even Menachem, Betzet, Gornot HaGalil pic.twitter.com/jkyg0GWtQq
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) March 4, 2024
US urges Hamas to accept temporary truce deal, promises to airdrop more aid to Gaza
The White House says a temporary ceasefire in Gaza is essential to a hostage deal and calls on Hamas to accept the terms currently on the table, as talks to secure a truce proceed in Cairo.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby tells reporters that the United States still hopes to conclude a temporary ceasefire-for-hostages deal by the start of Ramadan on March 10.
He says Hamas has yet to agree to the terms of a proposed deal that would include a six-week ceasefire in exchange for the release of some of the sick, elderly, and wounded hostages kidnapped by the Palestinian terrorists in their October 7 massacres in southern Israel.
US Vice President Kamala Harris separately tells reporters, “We’re in a window of time right now where we can actually get a hostage deal done. We all want this conflict to end as soon as possible, and how it does matters.”
Kirby also says the United States will airdrop more humanitarian supplies into Gaza and is exploring using a maritime option for getting in more aid. He says truck deliveries had been slowed by opposition from some members of Israel’s cabinet.
“Israel bears a responsibility here to do more,” he says.
Swiss police: Teen suspect in stabbing of Jewish man in Zurich sympathizes with ISIS
Police officers stand guard at the Synagoge Agudas Achim in Zurich, Switzerland on March 3, 2024. (Arnd WIEGMANN / AFP)
GENEVA, Switzerland (AP) — Swiss police say the 15-year-old suspect in the stabbing of an Orthodox Jewish man in Zurich over the weekend had appeared in a video expressing solidarity with the banned Islamic State group, and called himself a “soldier” in its self-described caliphate.
Zurich cantonal police security chief Mario Fehr tells reporters that authorities are investigating whether the teen, who is not identified, acted alone or as part of a group. Officials say the suspect was a Swiss national.
“He refers to the IS (Islamic State), describes himself as a soldier of the caliphate,” Fehr says of the video that authorities had authenticated. He denounces the stabbing Saturday as a “terrorist” and “antisemitic” attack. The suspect was arrested at the scene.
In one video, the suspect refers to the attack in Arabic and calls for a “battle against the Jews,” Fehr says.
Authorities say the 50-year-old victim was critically injured, but his life is no longer in danger. Swiss police have stepped up security around certain sites with a Jewish connection as a precaution.
UN expert on sexual violence believes hostages in Gaza are still being abused
Pramila Patten, the UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict, says that hostages held in Gaza by Hamas since October 7 were likely subject to “sexual violence including rape, sexualized torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment” and that her office believes such treatment may be ongoing.
Presenting a report into sexual crimes carried out by Hamas on October 7, Patten says that there is “clear and convincing information” that hostages brought to Gaza were raped and there is “reasonable grounds” to believe that hostages still there are still being abused.
She also says that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that “rape and gang rape” occurred during Hamas’s October 7 onslaught in “at least three locations,” including the site of the Supernova music festival, Kibbutz Re’im, and Route 232 in the area.
Evidence, she says, points to the fact that most victims in question were “first subjected to rape and then killed,” as well as “two incidents of the rape of women’s corpses.”
She notes that the music festival was the site of “brutal mass murders” and many bodies were extensively burned, while others were found “fully or partially undressed, bound, and shot.”
She says that she was in Israel and the West Bank for 2.5 weeks, meeting with 33 Israeli institutions, as well as 34 individuals, including survivors and witnesses, released hostages, first responders, and others, but did not meet with any survivor of sexual violence, noting that she was told the small number of living survivors are undergoing “specialized trauma treatment.”
Her team also viewed 5,000 photographic images and “some 50 hours of footage” of the attacks.
UN report: Reasonable grounds to believe Hamas perpetrated sexual violence including rape, gang rape, on Oct. 7
A military official at the forensic center at the Military Rabbinate's headquarters in Ramle stands in front of the remains of victims of Hamas's October 7 onslaught in Israel, October 13, 2023. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)
A team of United Nations experts reports that there are “reasonable grounds to believe” Hamas terrorists perpetrated sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, at several locations during the terror group’s October 7 onslaught on southern Israeli communities.
It also says it found clear and convincing information that Israeli hostages in Gaza have been subjected to sexual violence and that this may be continuing.
The team — led by UN special envoy for sexual violence in conflict Pramila Patten — visited Israel between January 29 and February 14 on a mission intended to gather, analyze, and verify information on sexual violence linked to the October 7 attacks.
“Credible circumstantial information, which may be indicative of some forms of sexual violence, including genital mutilation, sexualized torture, or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, was also gathered,” reads the 24-page UN report.
Thousands of Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages, mostly civilians, many during horrific acts of brutality.
“The mission team found clear and convincing information that some hostages taken to Gaza have been subjected to various forms of conflict-related sexual violence and has reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may be ongoing,” the UN report says.
The team says a “fully-fledged investigation” will be required to establish the overall magnitude, scope, and specific attribution for the sexual violence.
The UN team says it also received information from institutional and civil society sources and direct interviews about “sexual violence against Palestinian men and women in [Israeli] detention settings, during house raids and at checkpoints” after October 7.
The UN team adds that it raised the allegations with Israel’s Ministry of Justice and Military Advocate General, which said no complaints of sexual violence against members of the Israeli Defense Forces had been received.
IDF spokesperson: UNRWA staff recordings prove Hamas treated young women ‘like animals’
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in an evening press conference says that despite the “difficult content,” the military chose to release the audio recordings of UNRWA staff who participated in the October 7 onslaught, to “remind and not forget.”
“The massacre committed by Hamas on October 7 is the most documented massacre in history. Hamas terrorists filmed their own cruelty. As time goes by, more and more testimonies are revealed, more intelligence every day,” he says.
“You can hear how the terrorists entered Israeli territory, participated in the massacre, and terror, and captured ‘sabaya.'”
He explains that in one of the recordings, a Hamas terrorist, who worked as a teacher at a UNRWA school in Deir al-Balah, tells his friend that he captured a sabaya, a term used by Islamic State jihadists that means sex slave.
“Sabaya” is a term in Islam that describes women and children as the property of a Muslim man. It also means slave and handmaiden. The most difficult use of “sabaya” was by ISIS terrorists, who called the captured Yazidi women this, Hagari says.
“In the conversation, the terrorist on the other side of the line describes a woman as a noble mare,” he says.
“On October 7, Hamas treated young women with cruelty and brutality, kidnapped them from their homes, and treated them like animals,” Hagari continues.
“How they refer to the hostages as ‘sabaya’ and a ‘noble mare’ keeps us awake at night, and requires the world to shout, as it did for the Yazidi women,” he says.
Hagari adds that, via the testimonies from hostages who were released from Gaza, “we learn about the dangers the hostages are exposed to, especially the women and children.”
IDF chief said to ‘remind’ ministers: You didn’t want a ground operation in Gaza at all
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi speaks during an assessment in northern Israel, February 27, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Disagreements between ministers and IDF Chief Herzi Halevi reached new depths at a recent cabinet meeting, Channel 12 says in an unsourced report.
Several ministers at the meeting protested to Halevi that the IDF ground operation is not effective enough, that it is too slow, and that it was a mistake to leave the tackling of Rafah to last.
Halevi responded by reminding ministers that they had not wanted any ground operation at all, the report says.
He is quoted saying: “I remind you that you didn’t want the ground incursion. If the IDF and security establishment had not pushed it, we would not be carrying out ground maneuvers anywhere in Gaza.”
The IDF Spokesman’s Office declines to comment on the report.
UN report expected to confirm evidence of sexual violence by Hamas on Oct. 7
A UN report on sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, set to be released today, is expected to present evidence proving that terrorists committed sexual crimes during their onslaught on southern Israeli communities including cases of rape, gang rape, sexual assault, and genital mutilation.
Pramila Patten, the UN’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, was in Israel last month to probe a wave of allegations of Hamas sexual violence on October 7, when thousands of terrorists burst across the border from Gaza, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping another 253, mostly civilians.
According to reports in Hebrew media, Patten’s report also confirms that female hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were subjected to sexual violence, and raises concerns that these crimes are ongoing.
It is believed that 134 hostages abducted by Hamas remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — including 20 women.
Defense chiefs warn Iran aiming for Temple Mount violence, urge ‘maximal’ access on Ramadan – TV report
In this handout photo, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (2nd left) meets with IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi (right), Mossad chief David Barnea (left) and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar (2nd right) on November 29, 2023. (Ariel Hermoni/ Defense Ministry/ File)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief Herzi Halevi, and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar are urging maximal freedom of access for Muslim worshipers to pray at the Al-Aqsa compound atop Jerusalem’s Temple Mount during Ramadan, with no limitations on Arab Israelis, given concern over efforts by Iran, as well as Hamas, to stir up violence, Channel 12 news reports.
Intelligence information points to “considerable efforts” being made by Iran to foster unrest, it says.
However, it says, Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai wants to limit attendance to 50-60,000 people, and wants only Arab Israelis over 40 to be allowed access “in the initial stage” of Ramadan, which starts next week.
For his part, far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir wants only a few thousand on the mount at any one time, and heavy restrictions on Arab Israelis, the report says.
Security chiefs held consultations on the issue last night. A cabinet discussion is supposed to be held tomorrow on the issue, the TV report says, but it is not clear whether it will happen because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has the flu.
The TV report quotes an unnamed senior security source, saying: “The desire by Iran and Hamas to set the Middle East alight via the Temple Mount, together with the irresponsible remarks by politicians and the absence of decisions, are driving us crazy.”
Hezbollah announces deaths of 3 members killed in alleged Israeli strikes
The Hezbollah terror group announces the deaths of three members killed “on the road to Jerusalem,” its term for operatives slain in Israeli strikes.
They are named as Hussein Ibrahim, Ali Suwaidan, and Abbas Ahmad Hajej, all paramedics in the terror group’s Islamic Health Authority.
Their deaths bring the terror group’s toll since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip to 232.
The announcement comes following several recent IDF strikes on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, in response to attacks on northern Israel.
Gantz arrives at White House to ‘speak openly’ with senior US officials
Upon entering the White House for his meetings with top Biden administration officials about the ongoing war in Gaza, war cabinet minister Benny Gantz tells reporters, “You should always speak openly, and that is what we will do.”
Gantz is meeting first with White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk followed by US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
Later in the afternoon, he will sit down with US Vice President Kamala Harris followed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Tomorrow, Gantz will meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
He is the most senior Israeli official to receive an invitation to Washington since the start of the war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still has not met US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office since returning to the premiership in December 2022.
Gantz’s invite struck a nerve with Netanyahu, who instructed the Israeli Embassy in Washington not to accompany the war cabinet minister during his meetings, according to an Israeli official.
גנץ בכניסה לבית הלבן: עם ידידים צריך תמיד לדבר גלוי ואנחנו נעשה את זה pic.twitter.com/klDG3Obaig
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) March 4, 2024
IDF says it struck several buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon
The IDF says it struck several buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon a short while ago.
It adds that sirens that sounded earlier in the Galilee panhandle were caused by a “suspicious aerial target” that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon, and due to an interceptor missile fired at it.
Several projectiles are also fired at the Mount Dov area, with the IDF saying it is shelling the launch sites in south Lebanon.
במהלך השעות האחרונות, מטוסי קרב תקפו מספר מבנים צבאיים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב דרום לבנון.
בהמשך להתרעה על חדירת כלי טיס שהופעלה בצפון הארץ לפני זמן קצר, לוחמי ההגנה האווירית יירטו בהצלחה מטרה אווירית חשודה שחצתה משטח לבנון>> pic.twitter.com/5TwEGPvhZf
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 4, 2024
Israel accuses UN of trying to hush up report on October 7 mass rapes by Hamas
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks on his priorities for 2024 during a press briefing at UN headquarters on February 8 , 2024 in New York. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
Foreign Minister Israel Katz says he has recalled the country’s UN ambassador for consultation over alleged UN attempts to keep quiet a report on sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas during its October 7 onslaught on southern communities.
“I ordered our ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, to return to Israel for immediate consultations regarding the attempt to keep quiet the serious UN report on the mass rapes committed by Hamas and its helpers on October 7,” Katz says in a statement.
“Despite the authority granted to him, the UN secretary general did not order the convening of the Security Council in light of the findings, in order to declare Hamas a terrorist organization and impose sanctions on its supporters,” Katz adds.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Katz also calls on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to recognize Hamas as a terror group.
The latest @UN report starkly details Hamas's atrocities on October 7th, including mass murders, rapes, and systematic sexual offenses. Yet, silence from the Chairman. It's time for action, @antonioguterres. Hamas must be globally recognized as a terrorist entity, its supporting…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) March 4, 2024
‘I’m inside with the Jews’: IDF releases recordings of UNRWA staff accused of joining Oct. 7 attack
The IDF releases audio recordings that it says incriminate two UNRWA employees who allegedly participated in the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught.
“I’m inside, I’m inside with the Jews,” Mamdouh al-Qali, an Islamic Jihad terrorist whom the IDF says was employed as a teacher in a UNRWA school, is heard saying in the recordings.
“We have female hostages. I captured one,” says Yousef al-Hawajara, a Hamas terrorist who worked as a teacher at a UNRWA school in Deir al-Balah, in the recordings released by the IDF.
Last month, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant named 12 more UNRWA staffers who participated in the massacre on October 7.
The IDF says its intelligence shows that some 450 terror operatives in Gaza, mostly Hamas members, are also employed by UNRWA.
Jerusalem has long argued that UNRWA should be disbanded, and the recent allegations have led several donor countries to announce funding freezes, leading to concerns that the agency, which says it is the main conduit for aid for millions in the Strip during the Israel-Hamas war, could stop operating in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East within weeks.
American employee of the US embassy in Jerusalem found dead; no foul play suspected
An American employee of the US embassy in Jerusalem has been found dead.
An embassy spokesperson does not disclose the identify of the deceased, but says it is not Ambassador Jack Lew and that “no foul play is suspected.”
“We have no further details to share,” the spokesperson adds.
UK’s George Galloway sworn in after by-election win dedicated to Gaza
Newly elected Rochdale MP George Galloway makes a statement to members of the media outside of the Houses of Parliament in London on March 4, 2024, after his swearing-in ceremony. (Adrian DENNIS/AFP)
Newly elected Rochdale MP George Galloway is sworn in at the Houses of Parliament in London, after being elected to the UK parliament on March 1, in a chaotic by-election marred by allegations of antisemitism.
Galloway, 69, first became an MP in 1987 and will return to the House of Commons for the first time since 2015, after winning the seat of Rochdale, in northwest England, by nearly 6,000 votes.
He was elected last week in a turbulent vote, which saw the main opposition Labour Party withdraw its candidate, Azhar Ali, after he touted a conspiracy theory that Israel had allowed Hamas to carry out its deadly attack on October 7, when thousands of terrorists invaded southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people and taking an additional 253 hostage.
Galloway, long accused by critics of stoking community tensions, put the Gaza conflict front and center of his campaign in Rochdale, which has a 30 percentage Muslim population.
“Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza,” Galloway, leader of the fringe Workers Party of Great Britain, said in his victory speech last week, referring to the Labour Party’s leader.
Haifa hospital updates on conditions of foreign workers wounded in Margaliot attack
Haifa’s Rambam hospital releases updates on the condition of three of seven people who were wounded earlier today when an anti-tank guided missile fired by terrorists in Lebanon struck an orchard near the border community of Margaliot.
One man underwent surgery and is now recovering in the intensive care unit in a serious condition, the hospital says.
Two more casualties are receiving treatment in the trauma unit, one in moderate condition and one lightly injured, according to the update.
A man in his 30s was also killed in the attack.
The victims are all foreign laborers, reportedly from Thailand.
Drone alerts, rocket sirens sound in northern communties
A suspected drone infiltration alarm is sounding in the Upper Galilee, near the Lebanon border.
The alerts are activated in the largely evacuated communities of Shamir, Sdeh Nechemia, Amir, Neot Mordechai, Lehavot Habashan, Kfar Szold, Kfar Blum and Gonen.
At the same time, a rocket siren are sounding in Lehavot Habashan and Gonen.
The Hezbollah terror group has carried out several attacks on northern Israel using explosive-laden drones, though there have also been numerous false alarms.
Rocket Alerts [18:47:07] – 8 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — Amir, Lehavot HaBashan, Shamir, Kfar Szold, Gonen, Neot Mordechai, Kfar Blum, Sdeh Nechemia#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/R5JQDW2KJq
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) March 4, 2024
Ben Gvir calls for end to hostage talks, accuses Hamas of ‘deliberately stalling’
National Security Itamar Ben Gvir leads an Otzma Yehudit faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, March 4, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir accuses Hamas of “deliberately stalling” negotiations for a temporary ceasefire and hostage release deal in the almost five-month-old war in Gaza, and calls for an end to the ongoing talks.
“Hamas is deliberately delaying the talks, with the aim of either continuing in Ramadan or coming to a full halt because of Ramadan,” he says during an Otzma Yehudit faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem.
“This foot-dragging does not advance the return of the hostages, this foot-dragging risks the safety of our soldiers, our position and our reputation, and puts us in a situation where they’re watching us slowly get weaker,” he says.
“We must intensify the war, this is the only way we’ll win.”
War erupted after Hamas’s brutal massacre in southern Israeli communities, when thousands of terrorists murdered some 1,200 people and kidnapped another 253 to Gaza, mostly civilians, amid horrific acts of brutality.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel launched a wide-scale offensive in Gaza, with the aim of destroying the terror group’s military and governance capabilities and returning the hostages, over half of whom remain in captivity.
Poll: 6 in 10 US adults doubt mental capability of both Biden and Trump
This combination photo shows former US president Donald Trump, left, during a rally on November 18, 2023, in Fort Dodge, Iowa; and US President Joe Biden during a Hanukkah reception at the White House in Washington, December 11, 2023. (AP Photo)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A poll finds that a significant share of US adults doubt the mental capabilities of 81-year-old US President Joe Biden and 77-year-old Donald Trump, the former president and current Republican front-runner in what could be a rematch of the 2020 election.
More than 6 in 10 (63%) say they’re not very or not at all confident in Biden’s mental capability to serve effectively as president, turning his coming State of the Union address into something of a real-time audition for a second term. A similar but slightly smaller share (57%) say that Trump lacks the memory and acuity for the job.
The findings from a new survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research point to a tough presidential election in which issues such as age and mental competence could be more prevalent than in any other political contest in modern times.
Going into the big event, just 38% of US adults approve of how Biden is handling his job as president, while 61% disapprove. Democrats (74%) are much likelier than independents (20%) and Republicans (6%) to favor his performance. But there’s broad discontent on the way Biden is handling a variety of issues, including the economy, immigration and foreign policy.
About 4 in 10 Americans approve of the way Biden is handling each of these issues: health care, climate change, abortion policy and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. But people are less satisfied by Biden’s handling of immigration (29%), the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians (31%) and the economy (34%) — all of which are likely to come up in the speech Thursday before a joint session of Congress.
Palestinian reports: 10-year-old boy shot dead by IDF troops in West Bank
Palestinian media and the Yesh Din rights group report that a 10-year-old boy was shot dead by Israeli troops in the northern West Bank village of Burin, close to Nablus.
Yesh Din says Amr Mohamed Najjar was shot as he got out of a vehicle with his family in the village center to go shopping.
The rights group says another two Palestinians are wounded in Burin, one of whom was shot and is seriously hurt and one who was allegedly beaten by troops.
The IDF says it has no immediate comment on the incident.
#عاجل| استشهاد الطفل عمرو محمد النجار (10 سنوات) برصاص الاحتلال في قرية بورين جنوب نابلس pic.twitter.com/UJSnuWmz2H
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) March 4, 2024
IDF chief announces first senior appointments since October 7
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi announces the first list of senior appointments in the military since the October 7 onslaught.
Nominations of senior officers had been on hold since the Hamas attack, save temporary appointments of those replacing slain commanders.
The list includes three new brigadier generals and 11 new colonels, as well as 26 colonels who are only moving positions at the same rank.
At a further date, discussions will be held for the appointment and promotions of lieutenant colonels and majors.
The IDF will not be appointing new commanders to roles considered sensitive and related to ongoing internal probes into the IDF’s failures in the lead-up to the October 7 attack.
US Supreme Court rules Trump can stay on Colorado ballot, removing potential barrier to White House bid
Former US president and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump gestures during a "Get Out the Vote" rally at the Greater Richmond Convention Center in Richmond, Virginia, on March 2, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP)
The US Supreme Court unanimously dismisses a state court ruling that could have barred Donald Trump from the ballot for engaging in insurrection, removing a potential hurdle to his bid to recapture the White House.
The high-stakes ruling in favor of the former president comes on the eve of the Super Tuesday primaries that are expected to cement Trump’s march toward the Republican nomination to take on US President Joe Biden in November.
It was the most consequential election case heard by the court since it halted the Florida vote recount in 2000 with Republican George W. Bush narrowly leading Democrat Al Gore.
The question before the nine justices was whether Trump was ineligible to appear on the Republican presidential primary ballot in Colorado because he engaged in an insurrection — the January 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol by his supporters.
In a 9-0 decision, the conservative-dominated court says “the judgment of the Colorado Supreme Court… cannot stand,” meaning 77-year-old Trump, the Republican White House frontrunner, can appear on the state’s primary ballot.
“All nine Members of the Court agree with that result,” they add.
Trump hailed the decision, declaring a “BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!” in a post on his Truth Social website.
Biden: Critics of US support for Israel need to better internalize Oct. 7 massacre
US President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 1, 2024. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)
US President Joe Biden says critics of his support for Israel during the Gaza war should better internalize what Hamas perpetrated on October 7.
“I don’t want to see any Palestinians killed. I think that it’s contrary to what we believe as Americans,” he tells The New Yorker in a January interview published today.
“[But] I think they have to give this just a little bit of time, understanding what would happen if they came into their state or their neighborhood and saw what happened with Hamas.”
“The pressure on the [Israeli] leadership to move with every ounce of capacity against Hamas is real. But it doesn’t mean it should be continued. It doesn’t mean it’s right. And so, I think you’re going to see—I’m praying you’re going to see—a significant downturn in the use of force.”
That downturn doesn’t seem to have come in the weeks since the interview, during which Biden also recalled how he urged Israel not to be guided by rage in its response to the October 7 attacks.
“I understand the anger and the rage… But you can’t let the rage consume you to the point where you lose the moral high ground,” he tells The New Yorker, echoing comments he made in a speech while visiting Israel less than two weeks after October 7.
During that visit, Biden tells The New Yorker, he preached caution to Israel’s war cabinet, whose members responded by pointing to how the US carpet-bombed Germany during World War II.
“That’s why we ended up with the United Nations and all these rules about not doing that again,” Biden says he told the war cabinet in response.
The New Yorker says Biden is “not counting on an epiphany from Netanyahu, [but]… is betting that an offer of Saudi normalization would be so popular with Israeli leaders that Netanyahu would have no choice but to engage it.”
New Gallup poll finds Americans’ opinions of both Israel and PA worsened in past year
A new poll from Gallup finds Americans’ opinions of both Israel and the Palestinian Authority have gotten worse in the past year, though the balance of opinion is similar to last year.
According to the poll, 58 percent of Americans have a positive view of Israel, down from 68% last year, while positive opinions of the PA dropped from 26% to 18%.
The highest drop in views on Israel is seen among young adults aged 18 to 34, where positive opinions dropped from 64% to 38% in the past year.
Gallup notes that Americans still favor Israel over the PA, with 51% sympathizing with Israel (compared to 54% last year) and 27% with the Palestinians (down from 31%).
Around half (52%) also see the war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’s October 7 massacres, as “a critical threat to US vital interests,” up from 35% two years ago.
Annual Gallup poll:
Favorable view of Israel drops to 58%, down from 68% last year and 75% in 2021.
"This is the lowest favorable rating for Israel in over two decades."
Biggest decline is among 18-34 years old — 38%, down from 64% last year. pic.twitter.com/o6fwWtYNcp
— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) March 4, 2024
For first time in Israel’s history, IDF appoints woman commander of Air Force base
Lt. Col. "Gimmel," the next commander of the Ovda Airbase is seen in an undated photo published by the IDF on March 4, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
For the first time in Israel’s history, the IDF has appointed a woman to command an Israeli Air Force base.
Lt. Col. “Gimmel” — who can only be identified by her rank and first initial in Hebrew — was nominated by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi to be the next commander of the Ovda Airbase, and she will be promoted to the rank of colonel.
Gimmel drafted to the IAF in 2003 as a transport aircraft pilot. She served in several roles over the years, including as commander of the 122nd Squadron. She most recently served in IAF operations.
Rocket fired from Gaza sets off sirens in Sderot; no reports of damage or injuries
One rocket is fired from the Gaza Strip at the southern city of Sderot, setting off sirens.
According to the municipality, the projectile struck an open area outside the city.
There are no reports of damage or injuries.
MK Danon defends Gantz’s Washington trip: ‘Any meeting between an Israeli minister and US officials is welcome’
Likud MK Danny Danon speaks to Channel 12 from the Knesset in Jerusalem, March 4, 2024. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Likud MK Danny Danon defends war cabinet minister Benny Gantz’s trip to Washington today, after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accused the US of trying to divide Israelis over the issue of Palestinian statehood.
“Let’s set a few things straight – who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. On the good side it’s us and the United States, against the bad guys, Hamas,” Danon tells Channel 12.
The former envoy to the UN says he doesn’t know whether “they invited him or he invited himself,” but stresses “any meeting between an Israeli minister and [US officials] is welcomed.”
“We need to remember that we’re in the midst of a difficult war — we had a painful reminder from the north today as well — so let’s put things in proportion,” he adds, referring to an anti-tank missile fired by terrorists in Lebanon that killed a foreign laborer near the border community of Margaliot.
“We are grateful to the US for the support, though we don’t necessarily agree with everything they ask of us or say.”
Gantz is in Washington for talks with senior officials including US Vice President Kamala Harris, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and Republican and Democratic members of US Congress.
Netanyahu home with flu, cancels today’s schedule; staff members also out sick this week
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu canceled his entire schedule today and is home sick with the flu, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
Other members of his office have also been out sick with the flu this week.
Smotrich: US wants to ‘drive a wedge’ among Israelis, Gantz helping it push Palestinian statehood agenda
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, March 4, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, who is currently in Washington, is helping the US to push its agenda of establishing a Palestinian state.
“The US government is looking for places to drive a wedge between Israelis, in order to advance its plans, with the help of Gantz,” the Religious Zionism party chair says during a faction meeting in Jerusalem.
“In this way, Gantz is working to advance their plans to establish a Palestinian state,” he adds.
Gantz’s trip to Washington for talks with senior officials reportedly infuriated Netanyahu, who did not authorize the trip.
He is set to meet with US Vice President Kamala Harris, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and Republican and Democratic members of US Congress.
Senior Hamas official tells Lebanese TV ‘no real progress’ in hostage talks, blames Israel
A senior Hamas official tells Lebanese Al Mayadeen channel that “there is no real progress” in hostage talks.
The official blames Israel’s “refusal to give clear answers regarding Hamas demands.”
Those demands – nonstarters for Israel – are a full ceasefire, the withdrawal of IDF troops from Gaza, and allowing displaced Gazans to return home before the terrorist organization gives any information on the hostages it holds.
Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been mediating in talks for a temporary ceasefire and hostage release deal in the almost five-month-old war between Israel and Hamas, which began with a shock assault launched by the Gaza terror group on southern Israel on October 7.
Government won’t restrict Arab Israeli worshipers at Temple Mount over Ramadan – report
Muslim worshipers perform Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Friday, April 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)
A week before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, the government appears set to approve recommendations from the IDF, police and Shin Bet not to put restrictions on Arab Israeli worshipers at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.
Channel 12 reports that a cabinet meeting on the issue did not take place today as planned as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was home sick with the flu, and will take place tomorrow instead.
The report adds that the security chiefs — Israel Defense Forces chief Herzi Halevi, Israel Police chief Kobi Shabtai and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar — are all in agreement about security arrangements, fearing that sweeping restrictions could amplify tensions stemming from the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
A final decision will be made in the next day or so, according to Channel 12, and ongoing daily security assessments will be made throughout the holy month, which begins around March 10.
The Temple Mount is the holiest place in Judaism, where two biblical Temples once stood, and the third-holiest site in Islam, making it a central flashpoint of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims crowd the site for prayers each Ramadan. While Israel has imposed restrictions on Palestinian access during times of heightened security tensions, it has refrained from imposing those rules on the country’s Muslim minority.
Finance Ministry says Houthi attacks not substantially impacting trade to Israel, inflation
Members of the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen march over Israeli and US flags painted on the street in Sanaa during a rally in support of Palestinians amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas terror group in Gaza, February 28, 2024. (Mohammed Huwais/AFP)
Attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on cargo ships in the Red Sea are having limited effect on trade to Israel and have not led to any significant inflationary pressures, the Finance Ministry says in a report.
The Houthis have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against international commercial shipping in the Gulf of Aden since mid-November, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza amid Israel’s war with Hamas.
Their Red Sea attacks have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa, and stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could spread to destabilize the wider Middle East.
The Finance Ministry says that with the price of maritime transport up 163% globally, Israel could be affected through higher import costs or by supply chain disruptions and a rise in commodity and energy prices.
But it says the cost of sea transport is just 3 percent of the total value of imports. And with imports just 20% of private spending, the cost of sea transport is no more than 0.6% of private spending.
The ministry says that, in the most extreme case, the jump in sea freight costs would contribute up to a 1 percentage point increase in the consumer price index (CPI) in the coming year. At the same time, it says there have been no significant disruptions in the supply chain and commodity and energy prices have been largely stable.
As a result, “inflation expectations for the coming year also remained essentially unchanged,” the ministry says.
Inflation is at a more than two-year low of 2.6%.
State commission of inquiry into 2021 Meron disaster to present report this week
Israeli rescue forces and police near a mass fatality scene during a gathering marking the Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer on Mt. Meron, in northern Israel on April 30, 2021. (David Cohen/Flash90)
The state commission of inquiry into the 2021 Meron disaster announces it will present its report on the deadly incident to the government on Wednesday, after two and a half years of work.
The document will be published immediately afterwards, the commission says.
Forty-five men and boys were killed on April 30, 2021, in a crush at the hilltop gravesite of second-century sage rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai on Mount Meron in northern Israel during the annual Lag B’Omer celebrations, after 100,000 worshipers, mostly members of the ultra-Orthodox community, crowded into the holy site despite longstanding warnings about the safety of the complex.
The commission, established in June 2021 by the Bennett-Lapid government and headed by retired judge Dvora Berliner, heard testimony from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was premier at the time, as well as numerous other officials, and received documents from relevant ministries and government agencies to determine the failures that led to Israel’s worst-ever civilian disaster.
Netanyahu denied responsibility for the catastrophe when questioned by Berliner in July 2022 as to why the safety problems with the site were never addressed during his 12-year period in office from 2009 to 2021 despite being raised on numerous occasions.
In Beirut, US envoy says war between Israel and Hezbollah would not be ‘containable’
Senior Advisor to US President Joe Biden Amos Hochstein in Beirut, Lebanon, Jan. 11, 2024 (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein says a “limited war” between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group would not be “containable.”
However, Hochstein adds that the US is “hopeful” about efforts to restore stability to southern Lebanon and northern Israel.
The US envoy is on a one-day visit to Beirut as part of diplomatic efforts to end exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel.
Hezbollah-led forces have been launching daily attacks on Israeli communities and military posts along the border since October 8.
It has marked the worst conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group since the 2006 war, fueling fears of a bigger confrontation.
Lapid: ‘Netanyahu’s government of disasters is our enemies’ dream’
Opposition leader and head of Yesh Atid MK Yair Lapid leads a faction meeting at the Knesset on March 4, 2024 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid opens the weekly faction meeting of his Yesh Atid party by saying that despite the claim of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that elections would be a gift to Israel’s enemies, the current government is the dream of the nation’s foes.
“Benjamin Netanyahu said this week that elections now are the dream of our enemies. It’s the opposite, sir, the opposite. The dream of our enemies is your government of disasters, and the dream of our enemies is that you will continue to serve as its head,” Lapid says.
“We have two choices. A bad, dangerous, decaying and toxic government, or elections that will lead to a good government, that will restore security to the people of Israel. There is nothing that scares [Hamas leaders] Sinwar and Haniyeh more than the fact that there will be an efficient, secure Israeli government with backing from the world, and a functioning economy.”
On Saturday, Netanyahu said that “general elections would mean the end of the war, [and] the defeat of Israel.”
This, he claimed, “is precisely the dream of [Hamas leader] Yahya Sinwar, precisely the dream of Hezbollah and precisely the dream of Iran… They’re just waiting for it.”
“All the cabinet members know this,” he added, implying that ministers seeking elections would thus be acting in the interests of the enemy.
Shin Bet arrests Islamic State-inspired West Bank cell that manufactured 100 explosive devices
Some of the explosive devices seized from an Islamic State-inspired cell in the West Bank in an undated photo released on March 4, 2024 (Shin Bet)
The Shin Bet security agency says it recently foiled an Islamic State-inspired attack by four West Bank Palestinians who manufactured some 100 explosive devices to be used against IDF troops.
The four suspects, arrested last month, are named by the Shin Bet as Murad Marqatan, Hasin Marqatan, Muhammad Marqatan, and Ahmed Marqatan, all residents of Tarqumiyah near Hebron.
The Shin Bet says the cell prepared some 100 explosive devices using online guides and instructions received by the head of the cell, Murad Marqatan, who contacted Islamic State operatives abroad.
The cell also had assault rifles and makeshift submachine guns, the agency says.
It says the cell planned to attack IDF troops in the West Bank.
The 100 bombs were safely detonated by police sappers, and other weapons were seized.
The four have been charged with serious security offenses, the Shin Bet says.
Arab lawmakers meet with Jordan’s Abdullah amid concerns of Ramadan tensions at Temple Mount
Tens of thousands of Muslim worshipers pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound atop the Temple Mount during the holy month of Ramadan, Jerusalem's Old City, April 17, 2023. (Jamal Awad/ Flash90/ File)
Two Arab lawmakers meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah amid concerns that the Muslim holy month Ramadan could amplify tensions stemming from the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip
MK Ayman Odeh, the head of the predominantly Arab Hadash-Ta’al alliance and party chairman Ahmad Tibi traveled to Amman and asked the Jordanian monarch to enable freedom of worship at the Temple Mount during Ramadan, Channel 12 reports.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has sought to impose sweeping restrictions to prevent West Bank Palestinians from praying at the Temple Mount during Ramadan, and is reportedly pushing for banning Arab Israeli citizens below the age of 70 from visiting the site amid the month of fasting, citing the security situation.
Other defense and political officials have warned such restrictions could serve to greatly inflame tensions.
The flashpoint Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City is the holiest site in Judaism, revered as the location of two ancient temples destroyed in antiquity. Known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif or the Noble Sanctuary, the hilltop compound is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam.
Israel captured the Temple Mount and Jerusalem’s Old City from Jordan in the 1967 Six Day War. However, it allowed the Jordanian Waqf to continue to maintain religious authority atop the Mount. Under their 1994 peace treaty, Israel recognized Amman’s “special role… in Muslim holy shrines in Jerusalem.”
פרסום ראשון: איימן עודה ואחמד טיבי נפגשו עם מלך ירדן בעמאן בצל המתיחות באל-אקצא לפני רמדאן pic.twitter.com/umqnrVkQxx
— מוחמד מג'אדלה محمد مجادلة (@mmagadli) March 4, 2024
Hamas says it handed over list of criteria for Palestinian prisoners: ‘Ball is in Israel’s court’
A senior Hamas official tells Arab World Press that “the ball is in Israel’s court” on the hostage talks, after Hamas presented the criteria for the Palestinian prisoners it wants to see released.
The official says Hamas did not give names of specific prisoners. At least 20 Palestinians serving life sentences will be included, he says.
The source adds that Hamas is not pushing for an immediate return of Gazans to the north of the Strip because of the risk of overcrowding, but wants there to be an orderly, staged return of over 500 families daily throughout the ceasefire period, with the participation of the Red Cross and UNRWA.
Hamas official says terror group doesn’t know which hostages are still alive
Israelis rally for the release of hostages held in Gaza, at the Knesset on March 4, 2024 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
In an interview posted today, a Hamas political official tells the BBC that the organization cannot give Israel a list of living hostages because it does not itself know who is alive and where all the hostages are.
“We didn’t until now submit any list,” politburo member Basim Naim tells the BBC from Istanbul in a Sunday conversation. “But first of all, technically and practically, it is now impossible to know exactly who is still alive and who has been killed because of the Israeli bombardment or who has been killed because of starvation because of the Israeli blockade.”
He adds that the hostages “are in different areas with different groups and therefore we have called for a ceasefire to be able to collect the data.”
Naim repeats the Hamas demand that it will not agree to a deal without an end to the war and a full withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza.
As nuclear watchdog meet begins, diplomats say West avoiding serious confrontation with Iran
A person involved with security at the Uranium Conversion Facility just outside the city of Isfahan, Iran, on March 30, 2005. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)
A quarterly meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog’s main policy-making body began with Western powers again choosing not to seriously confront Iran over its failure to cooperate with the agency on a range of issues, diplomats say.
It is more than a year since the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution ordering Iran to cooperate with a years-long IAEA investigation into uranium particles found at undeclared sites, saying it was “essential and urgent” for Iran to explain the traces.
Since then the number of undeclared sites being investigated has shrunk from three to two but the list of problems between the IAEA and Iran has only grown. Iran failed to fully honor an agreement to re-install IAEA cameras at some sites and in September barred some of the agency’s most valued inspectors.
“I… deeply regret that Iran has yet to reverse its decision to withdraw the designations for several experienced Agency inspectors,” director general Rafael Grossi tells the meeting.
“Only through constructive and meaningful engagement can all of these concerns be addressed and once again I call upon Iran to cooperate fully and unambiguously with the Agency.”
Israel has long warned it will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
IDF says it hit Hezbollah compound in south Lebanon, shelled launch site of deadly missile attack
The IDF says it struck a Hezbollah compound where members of the terror group were gathered in the southern Lebanon town of Chihine a short while ago.
Earlier today, another site belonging to Hezbollah in Ayta ash-Shab was struck, the IDF says.
In response to the anti-tank missile attack on Margaliot that killed a foreign laborer and wounded seven others, the IDF says it is shelling the launch site.
The IDF says it struck a Hezbollah compound where members of the terror group were gathered in the southern Lebanon town of Chihine a short while ago.
Earlier today, another site belonging to Hezbollah in Ayta ash-Shab was struck, the IDF says.
In response to the anti-tank… pic.twitter.com/DcAWfZdOA2
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 4, 2024
Ahead of Ramadan, IDF hands out food packages to Palestinians evacuating Khan Younis area
The IDF in recent days has been handing out food packages to Palestinians evacuating from the Khan Younis area, ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan.
The packages include basic food products such as flour, wheat, oil, sugar, tea, and dates, as well as a greeting card with a Quranic verse.
Military officials say the move is aimed at driving a wedge between the civilian population and Hamas.
Some 8,500 Palestinians evacuated from the Hamad Town residential complex in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis over the past day, with the IDF saying more than 80 terror suspects were captured hiding among them.
More than 1,200 terror suspects have been captured in Khan Younis so far during the ground offensive.
Gallant says he discussed ‘rising regional challenges’ with visiting US CENTCOM chief
US CENTCOM Commander General Michael Kurilla (L) meets Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Israel in a photo released March 4, 2024 (Defense Ministry/Shachar Yurman)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says he held an “important discussion” with US CENTCOM commander Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla.
“I held an important discussion with US CENTCOM Commander General Kurilla, about rising regional challenges as a result of Iranian aggression via proxies. We underscored the importance of close cooperation between US and Israeli forces to ensuring regional stability and security,” Gallant says in a statement after the meeting in Israel.
“I thanked the general for his leadership and commitment to the powerful bond between our militaries, defense establishments and nations. We are fighting to defend our freedom and our common values,” Gallant says.
Earlier, CENTCOM announced that Kurilla had visited the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt on February 27, “where he met with representatives from several international and nongovernmental organizations, the Egyptian 2nd Field Army, and US embassy leadership to discuss the process of delivering humanitarian aid from Egypt into Gaza.” CENTCOM’s statement added: ” The administrators described the challenges, opportunities, and level of support from the international community to increase the throughput of supplies into Gaza.”
In Israel, Kurilla met with Gallant and Israel Defense Forces head Herzi Halevi for “wide-ranging discussions on security concerns both within and outside of Israel. The conversations also focused on opportunities to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” the statement read.
Kurilla also met with Mossad head David Barnea, officers from COGAT and Northern Command chief Ori Gordin during the trip.
IDF: Troops in Khan Younis found weapon depots, hideouts used by senior Hamas officials
Troops of the 98th Division operate in Khan Younis, in a handout image published March 4, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF provides new details on the 98th Division’s ongoing operation in the Hamad Town residential complex in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis.
According to the IDF, there is a significant amount of Hamas infrastructure in the neighborhood, and per its intelligence assessments, many Hamas operatives fled to the area from battles in other areas of Khan Younis.
Following a large concentrated wave of airstrikes in the area on Saturday night, the division’s Givati Brigade and 7th Armored Brigade encircled the area, while the Commando Brigade began to carry out raids against Hamas sites in the neighborhood.
The IDF says the troops have raided Hamas weapon depots, hideout apartments, and other infrastructure used by senior Hamas officials.
The military also says it has facilitated the evacuation of civilians from the area, while capturing some 80 terror suspects in the process, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives.
“The terrorists are interrogated by the troops and provide important information for the continuation of the fighting,” the IDF says.
Police said to expand search area for 9-year-old Haymanut Kasau, missing for over a week
Haymanut Kasau, 9, who went missing on February 25, 2024, from a Jewish Agency absorption center in Safed, northern Israel. (Courtesy)
Police have expanded the search area to find a 9-year-old girl from the northern city of Safed who has been missing for over a week, the Ynet news site reports.
According to the outlet, the search has expanded beyond Safed and Meron, and is now also taking place in Rosh Pina and the surrounding area.
Authorities reportedly still do not have any solid leads on Haymanut Kasau’s whereabouts.
The girl 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.
Kasau 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.
Hostages’ families hold silent procession at Knesset to mark 150 days of captivity
Israelis rally for the release of hostages held in Gaza, at the Knesset on March 4, 2024 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The families of the hostages held in Gaza and their supporters hold a silent procession at the Knesset to mark 150 days since their loved ones were kidnapped by terrorists and taken to the Strip.
It is believed that 130 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — after 105 civilians were released from Hamas captivity during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released prior to that. Three hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 11 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military.
The IDF has confirmed the deaths of 31 of those still held by Hamas, citing intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.
One more person is listed as missing since October 7, and their fate is still unknown.
Hamas is also holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
עכשיו בכנסת,
צעדה שקטה וקורעת לב.
150 ימים. pic.twitter.com/YTxb9SFinz— Noa Shpigel (@NoaShpigel) March 4, 2024
1 killed, 7 wounded by anti-tank missile fire from Lebanon at northern community
One person is killed and seven others are wounded in the anti-tank missile attack from Lebanon that struck an orchard near the border community of Margaliot, medics say.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says a man in his 30s was killed and two others are listed in serious condition. Another four men are moderately hurt, and one more victim is listed in good condition, MDA says.
The victims are all foreign laborers, apparently from Thailand.
The wounded men are being taken to Beilinson, Rambam, and Ziv hospitals, MDA adds.
UN rights chief: Essential to prevent Israel-Hamas war becoming much broader conflagration
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk delivers a speech at the opening of the 54th UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, on September 11, 2023. (Fabrice COFFRINI/AFP)
The United Nations human rights chief says it is imperative to avoid any exacerbation of the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, warning that any conflagration could have broad repercussions across the Middle East and beyond the region.
Addressing the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Volker Turk says the war in Gaza, which has been raging since the devastating Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel, has already spilled over.
“I am deeply concerned that in this powder keg, any spark could lead to a much broader conflagration,” says Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“This would have implications for every country in the Middle East, and many beyond it.”
Turk describes the military escalation in southern Lebanon between Israel, Hezbollah and other terror groups as “extremely worrying.” Hezbollah-led forces have been launching daily attacks on Israeli communities and military posts along the border since October 8.
IDF says sirens for suspected drone infiltration were false alerts
Suspected drone infiltration sirens that sounded in the Galilee Panhandle were false alarms, the IDF says.
2 wounded by anti-tank missile fire from Lebanon at northern town
Two Thai nationals, foreign workers, are wounded as a result of an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon near the northern community of Margaliot, medics say.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says one of the men, in his 30s, is listed in moderate-to-serious condition while the other man, aged 29, is lightly hurt.
Meanwhile, sirens sound in the Galilee Panhandle, warning of a suspected drone infiltration.
Sirens sound in towns close to Lebanon border, warning of suspected drone attack
Sirens sound in multiple communities close to the Lebanon border, warning of a suspected drone infiltration.
Most of the communities have been largely evacuated of civilians since Hezbollah-led forces began launching daily attacks on Israeli communities and military posts along the border on October 8.
The Iran-backed terror group says it is doing so to support Gaza amid Israel’s war with Hamas, triggered by the terror group’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel.
Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi warned last week that Hezbollah would “pay a very high price” for its continued attacks on northern Israel.
PM’s office denies report that Biden refused call from Netanyahu after deadly Gaza aid chaos
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denies an unsourced report in Sky News Arabia that US President Joe Biden refused to accept a phone call from the Israeli leader after the deadly Gaza City melee during which dozens of Palestinians were killed and hundreds more wounded while swarming aid trucks, telling The Times of Israel that is it “fake news.”
Israel, says the PMO, “did not request a phone call from Biden after the incident, and the Americans, who in any case do not blame Israel for the incident, did not request a phone call with the prime minister.”
The Israeli military on Saturday promised an exhaustive and truthful investigation into the deaths of Palestinians queuing for aid in Gaza this week, an incident that has drawn condemnations and calls for an international inquiry.
Hamas accused Israeli troops of shooting at the crowd of thousands, while the IDF says many of the casualties were trampled in a chaotic crush for the food aid, and that its troops fired only at a few individuals who rushed toward them in a threatening manner.
There have been multiple reports of growing White House frustration with Netanyahu.
Hamas-run health ministry says Gaza death toll passed 30,530
Palestinians inspect the debris of a house destroyed by an Israeli strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 4, 2024 (MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)
At least 30,534 Palestinians have been killed and 71,920 have been wounded in Gaza since October 7, the Hamas-run health ministry in the Strip says.
The terror group’s figures are unverified, don’t differentiate between civilians and combatants, and list all the fatalities as caused by Israel — even those believed to have been caused by hundreds of misfired rockets or otherwise by Palestinian fire.
Israel has said it killed some 13,000 Hamas members in Gaza fighting, in addition to some 1,000 killed in Israel in the aftermath of the terror group’s October 7 invasion and onslaught.
Alternative Israel Prize event honoring traditional categories to be held by universities
Mellanox founder Eyal Waldman speaks at the Knesset on March 3, 2024 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
An event handing out awards in the traditional Israel Prize categories of humanities, science and technology will be organized for Independence Day by the Association of University Heads, the organization says in an announcement.
It comes amid a growing row after the recent announcement by the government that this year for the first time, the annual Israel Prize would be awarded only in two newly created war and volunteer-related categories, instead of the traditional selection honoring lifetime achievements in the fields of social sciences, humanities, life and exact sciences, art, and special contributions to the State of Israel and Israeli society.
The cancellation of the categories by Education Minister Yoav Kisch apparently came as a result of the nomination of a prominent government critic Mellanox founder Eyal Waldman for the entrepreneurship award.
“Cancellation of the awards in the humanities, science, entrepreneurship and innovation at the Israel Prize ceremony is an expression of distorted priorities,” the Association of University Heads says in a statement, noting that breakthroughs in these areas serve to protect the nation and increase national resilience during times of “serious and unending threats to the State of Israel and its citizens.”
The event will include leading scientists, intellectuals, former Israel Prize and Nobel Prize winners, business and technology leaders, students and “everyone who cherishes science and the humanities,” the statement says.
The event “is not intended to damage the status and dignity of those who will be selected at this year’s ceremony under the theme of heroism,” the statement says.
Further details about the event will be released at a later date.
Yesterday, tech billionaire Waldman — whose daughter Danielle and her boyfriend Noam Shai were murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Supernova massacre on October 7 — told the Knesset Science Committee that he had been told that an associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had actively ensured he would not get the award.
Waldman said that his potential nomination for the award “did not go down well with Education Minister Yoav Kisch, the prime minister’s associates, and perhaps the prime minister himself.”
Businessman Shlomi Fogel, an associate of the premier, denied the allegation.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
‘Significant progress’ toward Gaza truce, hostage deal in Cairo talks – Egypt state-linked media
Mediators and envoys from the Hamas terror group have made “significant progress” toward a truce in Gaza, Egyptian state-linked TV reports as the talks in Cairo entered a second day.
Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been pushing for a ceasefire in the almost five-month-old war between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the terror group’s devastating October 7 attack, with the latest proposal calling for a six-week halt to fighting and a hostage release.
Israel did not send a negotiating team to Cairo after receiving an unsatisfactory response from Hamas on the latest framework, hammered out in Paris last weekend. The Gaza-based terror organization refused to address Jerusalem’s demand to provide a list of living hostages and to lock down how many Palestinian security prisoners Israel must release for every hostage freed, an Israeli official said.
Amid mission to protect Red Sea shipping, Greece seeks key role in EU defense – minister
Greece, host of the headquarters of the EU operation to shield ships from Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, hopes to play a more central role in ensuring security of the 27-nation bloc, the defense minister says.
“We have to be able to defend ourselves,” Nikos Dendias tells Reuters, adding that the European Union could achieve that in cooperation with NATO and other allies.
“What we’re trying to do is have a home-grown defense industry in Greece and Europe which could service the needs of the European Union.”
The EU’s Red Sea naval mission, dubbed “Aspides,” which in Greek means “Shields,” was launched last month to guard vessels from attack by Iranian-aligned Houthi militants in support of Palestinian terror group Hamas in its war with Israel.
Report: Hamas believes 1st Ramadan weekend is more attainable target for deal; Sinwar out of contact for a week
Yahya Sinwar (C), Hamas's Gaza Strip chief, waves to supporters in Gaza City, on April 14, 2023. (MOHAMMED ABED / AFP)
An unnamed Hamas official tells the Wall Street Journal that while there is slow progress on an agreement for a temporary ceasefire and hostage deal, it seems unlikely that it will be reached before Ramadan’s expected start on March 10, and instead may come to fruition by the first weekend of the Muslim holy month.
The report also says Egyptian and Qatari officials say there has been no contact with the Gaza leader of Hamas, Yahya Sinwar, for at least a week.
Yesterday, Israel did not send a negotiating team to Cairo after receiving an unsatisfactory response from Hamas on the latest framework for a hostage deal hammered out in Paris last weekend. The Gaza-based terror organization refused to address Jerusalem’s demand to provide a list of living hostages and to lock down how many Palestinian security prisoners Israel must release for every hostage freed, an Israeli official said.
Unnamed officials cited by Channel 12, Ynet and others said Jerusalem suspects Sinwar has no intention of reaching an agreement in the coming days and hopes to escalate violence over Ramadan.
In such a scenario, Israel is wary of an escalation not just along its borders with Gaza and Lebanon, but also across the West Bank, where tensions are high, as well as in Jerusalem, where clashes over the Temple Mount and access to the holy site are feared.
Lazar Berman contributed to this report.
IDF says it killed Islamic Jihad cell responsible for weekend rocket fire at Hatzerim, Be’eri
Troops operating in Gaza in an undated photo released by the military for publication on March 4, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says it struck and killed a group of Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists who fired rockets at Be’eri and Hatzerim on Saturday, within 30 minutes of the attack.
At least four long-range rockets had been fired toward Hazterim near Beersheba and one projectile at Be’eri on the border. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.
The IDF says the Nahal Brigade spotted the cell behind the attack shortly after, and directed an airstrike against them.
Over the past day, the IDF says Nahal troops have killed 15 gunmen in central Gaza, with sniper fire and by calling in airstrikes and tank shelling.
In southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, the IDF says the 98th Division has encircled the Hamad Town residential complex, and is carrying out raids in the area of the neighborhood.
The IDF says the 7th Armored Brigade facilitated the evacuation of civilians from the area, while capturing some 80 terror suspects in the process, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives.
במרכז הרצועה חוסלו תוך פחות מ-30 דקות המחבלים ששיגרו רקטות למרחב בארי וחצרים; כוחות אוגדה 98 במתקפה במערב חאן יונס >> pic.twitter.com/DbXoecST0v
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 4, 2024
Teen shot and killed during IDF operation near Ramallah – Palestinian reports
A Palestinian teen was shot and killed during an Israel Defense Forces operation near Ramallah, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.
The report says he was killed during a raid on the al-Am’ari refugee camp.
There is no comment from the IDF.
Jewish pilgrims enter Nablus to visit Joseph’s Tomb without coordinating with IDF
Eleven vehicles carrying Jewish pilgrims entered the West Bank city of Nablus overnight to visit Joseph’s Tomb, without prior coordination with the Israel Defense Forces.
At one point, the pilgrims got out of their vehicles and began to sing and dance in the street.
The Walla news site reports Israeli troops rushed to the scene to escort the group out of the Palestinian city.
It is unclear if the group reached the tomb.
At least one gunman opened fire toward the vehicles as they left Nablus, but there were no reports of injuries.
Busloads of Orthodox Jews visit Joseph’s Tomb under IDF protection on a monthly basis, and the pilgrimages almost always spark violent clashes with Palestinian locals.
The IDF bars Israeli citizens from entering Palestinian cities without prior authorization and protection, and some criticize the monthly incursions by the pilgrims as an unnecessary provocation that places Israeli soldiers at risk.
The shrine, regarded by some as the final resting place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, is located inside Area A of the West Bank, which is officially under complete Palestinian Authority control, though the Israeli military regularly enters, despite Palestinian opposition.
כ-10 רכבים, בהם מיניבוסים, של אזרחים ישראלים ניסו להיכנס הלילה למתחם קבר יוסף בשכם ללא אישור. צה"ל חילץ את כלל האזרחים מהמתחם – אין נפגעים@Doron_Kadosh pic.twitter.com/d69ioEjfrO
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) March 4, 2024
Fresh aid convoy tries for northern Gaza after Saturday bid largely stopped short — report
A convoy of aid trucks made its way to northern Gaza Sunday, the New York Times reports, quoting a Palestinian businessman involved in the initiative.
According to the report, only one out of 16 trucks sent to northern Gaza on Saturday made it to its destination, with the other 15 being cleaned out in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp.
According to COGAT, 277 aid trucks entered Gaza on Sunday, the Times reports.
The report does not say how many trucks were aiming for northern Gaza or if any of them made it there.
According to the Times, Israel has begun sending in convoys arranged by the Palestinian business community after the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees and the World Food Program said they could no longer deal with the crisis.
Aussie sheep ship shoots for Israel again after initial shot stopped short
A view of the MV Bahijah, loaded with 14,000 sheep and 2,000 cattle, off the coast of Western Australia, February 1, 2024 (Screenshot: Sky News Australia, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Around 14,500 livestock have set sail from Australia to Israel, two months after their first voyage was curtailed by the threat of attack by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.
The livestock were loaded onto the same ship they first sailed on, the MV Bahijah, over the weekend and left Fremantle on Sunday, says Geoff Pearson, the head of livestock at farm group WAFarmers.
He says around 14,000 sheep and 500 cattle were on board and the remaining cattle would be exported on other ships in the coming weeks.
The agriculture ministry says it had approved the shipment.
“The exporter intends to transport the livestock to Israel without passing through the Red Sea,” it says in a statement.
The livestock had endured weeks of limbo aboard the vessel in January and February as a solution was sought to get them to Israel without overly extending the voyage. Eventually it turned back to Australia.
Activists and some politicians branded the animals’ treatment as torture and demanded a swift end to the live sheep trade, but the government and industry say they have been in good condition and health.
The route from Australia around Africa to Israel takes around 33 days, industry figures say.
Four telecom cables under Red Sea cut, affecting 25% of traffic, Hong Kong firm says
Hong Kong-based HGC Global Communications says four of its undersea telecommunications cables beneath the Red Sea have been cut, affecting some 25 percent of traffic.
The company says it is taking steps to mitigate the damage, including rerouting traffic around the globe and distributing other traffic via the 11 still operable cables in the Red Sea.
It’s unclear how Israeli service providers may be affected.
The firm says clients in the Middle East are asking for “contingency rerouting options from Hong Kong networks to West-bound.”
Haley bests Trump in DC for first primary win
Nikki Haley has won the Republican primary in the District of Columbia, notching her first victory of the 2024 campaign.
Her victory Sunday at least temporarily halts Donald Trump’s sweep of the GOP voting contests, although the former president is bound to pick up several hundred more delegates in this week’s Super Tuesday races.
Despite her early losses, Haley has said she would remain in the race at least through those contests, although she has declined to name any primary she felt confident she would win. Following last week’s loss in her home state of South Carolina, Haley remained adamant that voters in the places that followed deserved an alternative to Trump despite his dominance thus far in the campaign.
The Associated Press declared Haley the winner Sunday night after DC Republican Party officials released the results.
Washington is one of the most heavily Democratic jurisdictions in the nation, with only about 23,000 registered Republicans in the city. Democrat Joe Biden won the district in the 2020 general election with 92 percent of the vote.
US says Central Command chief held talks on Gaza aid at Rafah, in Israel
CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla (left) and IDF chief Herzi Halevi meet in Tel Aviv on May 30, 2023. (IDF)
The US Central Command says its chief Gen. Michael Kurilla visited the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt and met with senior Israeli officials during a trip to the region last week.
Kurilla was at Rafah on February 27, “where he met with representatives from several international and nongovernmental organizations, the Egyptian 2nd Field Army, and US embassy leadership to discuss the process of delivering humanitarian aid from Egypt into Gaza. The administrators described the challenges, opportunities, and level of support from the international community to increase the throughput of supplies into Gaza,” Centcom says in a statement.
In Israel, Kurilla met with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israel Defense Forces head Herzi Halevi for “wide-ranging discussions on security concerns both within and outside of Israel. The conversations also focused on opportunities to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” the statement reads.
Kurilla also met with Mossad head David Barnea, officers from COGAT and Northern Command chief Ori Gordin during the trip.
Kurilla’s swing through the region also included stops in Jordan and Syria. In Jordan, he once again held talks on getting humanitarian aid into Gaza.
“These are challenging times in the CENTCOM region, and we rely on the professionalism, commitment and competence of our Service-members as well as the strength of our relationships with our partners to solve them,” he says in a statement.
Home of Dee family killer said demolished in Nablus raid
The blown-up home of terrorist Moaz al-Masri in Nablus, March 4, 2024. (screen capture: Telegram)
Palestinians report that the Nablus home of a Hamas terrorist accused in the killing of an Israeli-UK mother and her two daughters in an attack last year has been blown up in an overnight operation.
Pictures and videos show the home of Moaz al-Masri, on the fourth floor of an apartment building, reduced to a shell. Other floors appear intact and undamaged.
تغطية صحفية: لحظة تفجير قوات الاحـــتلال منزل الشـــ ـــهيد معاذ المصري في نابلس pic.twitter.com/IBHVTbhBMA
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) March 4, 2024
There is no immediate comment from the Israel Defense Forces.
تغطية صحفية: منزل الشــ ــهــيد معاذ المصري بعد تفجيره من قبل قوات الاحـــتلال بمدينة نابلس pic.twitter.com/I5cLHLHU4W
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) March 4, 2024
According to the IDF, Al-Masri was part of a cell that opened fire at Lucy Dee, 48, and her daughters Maia Dee, 20, and Rina Dee, 15, as they drove through the northern Jordan Valley on April 7, 2023. The daughters were declared dead at the scene, while Lucy was rushed to a hospital in critical condition but died three days later.
Moaz al-Masri, Hassan Qatnani and Ibrahim Jabr were killed in an Israeli military raid in early May, following a lengthy manhunt. Hamas said the three were members and claimed responsibility for the attack.
In June, the army published pictures of soldiers mapping the al-Masri home for demolition.
Troops map the home of Moaz al-Masri, the Hamas terrorist who killed 3 members of the Dee family in a West Bank shooting, on June 13, 2023 (Israel Defense Forces)
As a matter of policy, Israel regularly demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks as well as their accomplices. The efficacy of the policy has been hotly debated even within the Israeli security establishment, while human rights activists denounce the practice as unjust collective punishment.
The demolition process generally takes several months, as the home needs to be mapped out, the High Court must address potential appeals by the family, and security forces often wait for an optimal time to enter Palestinian cities or neighborhoods for the operation.
The Dee family, Rabbi Leo and Lucy in the center, Rina (L) and Maia top row. Lucy, Rina and Maia were killed in a terrorist attack in the West Bank on April 7, 2023. (Courtesy)
The three members of the Dee family were dual Israeli-British nationals who lived in the West Bank settlement of Efrat, just south of Jerusalem, after moving to Israel some eight years ago.
Emanuel Fabian contributed to this post.
Hezbollah claims to shell border town, fight Israeli troops
The Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon claims to have shelled areas near the Israeli border community of Zarit.
There are no reports from the Israeli side of an attack, or of injuries or damage. No sirens sounded, according to the IDF’s Homefront Command.
Over the last three hours, the Iran-backed terror group also claimed to have confronted two separate groups of troops on the border in the area near Zarit and several kilometers to the east near Qatmoun.
There is no comment from the Israeli military.
Bus drivers said attacked near Jerusalem-area settlement
Two bus drivers required medical attention after being attacked by a gang of youths near the settlement of Givat Ze’ev, according to reports.
The drivers for the Elektra-Afikim bus company, which runs public lines to the settlement, had been idling at a rest area for buses near the settlement, just north of Jerusalem, when a group of young men began throwing stones and bottles at them, reports say.
Video from the scene shows a broken window at the back of one bus and police at the scene.
In response, Elektra-Afikim has canceled service between Jerusalem and the settlement for the night, according to the reports.
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