March 8: Biden calls for PM to do more on aid after saying he needs ‘Come to Jesus’ talk

UNRWA report says Israel coerced some agency employees to falsely admit Hamas links

Displaced Palestinians walk around in an UNRWA school housing displaced Palestinians, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 4, 2024, (AFP)

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says some employees released into Gaza from Israeli detention reported having been pressured by Israeli authorities into falsely stating that the agency has Hamas links and that staff took part in the October 7 attacks.

UNRWA fired 12 staffers earlier this year following allegations from Israel that they actively participated in Hamas’s terror onslaught.

The assertions are contained in a report by UNRWA reviewed by Reuters and dated February 2024, which detailed allegations of mistreatment in Israeli detention made by unidentified Palestinians, including several working for UNRWA.

UNRWA communications director Juliette Touma says the agency planned to hand the information in the 11-page, unpublished report to agencies inside and outside the UN specialized in documenting potential human rights abuses.

“When the war comes to an end there needs to be a series of inquiries to look into all violations of human rights,” she says.

The document says several UNRWA Palestinian staffers had been detained by the Israeli army, and added that the ill-treatment and abuse they said they had experienced included severe physical beatings, waterboarding, and threats of harm to family members.

“Agency staff members have been subject to threats and coercion by the Israeli authorities while in detention, and pressured to make false statements against the Agency, including that the Agency has affiliations with Hamas and that UNRWA staff members took part in the 7 October 2023 atrocities,” the report says.

UNRWA declined a Reuters request to see transcripts of its interviews containing allegations of coerced false confessions.

In addition to the alleged abuse endured by UNRWA staff members, Palestinian detainees more broadly described allegations of abuse, including beatings, humiliation, threats, dog attacks, sexual violence, and deaths of detainees denied medical treatment, the UNRWA report says.

Asked to comment on ‘Come to Jesus’ hot mic, Biden chides reporters for ‘eavesdropping,’ says that PM should do more on aid

US President Joe Biden agets into his motorcade vehicle after arriving at Philadelphia International Airport, Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Asked about his revelation yesterday — caught on a hot mic — that he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that they need to have a “Come to Jesus” chat, US President Joe Biden tells reporters, “You guys eavesdropping on things.”

Asked if the remarks show his level of frustration with Netanyahu regarding the lack of humanitarian aid in Gaza and whether he needs to do more, Biden answers, “Yes, he does.

Biden on hot-mic about Netanyahu:

“You guys eavesdropping on things.” pic.twitter.com/XUOum1NANI

— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) March 8, 2024

Blinken discusses hostage talks, Gaza aid with Saudi counterpart

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is greeted by Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, February 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke earlier today with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, discussing the ongoing US efforts to secure a six-week ceasefire and the delivery of more humanitarian aid into Gaza, a State Department readout says.

“Secretary Blinken pledged to continue close coordination with regional and international partners to promote calm during the holy month of Ramadan and prepare for the post-conflict phase.”

“The Secretary affirmed continued cooperation among international partners to protect freedom of navigation in the Red Sea,” the US readout adds.

Pentagon says temporary port for Gaza aid will take ‘several weeks’ to build, may involve 1,000 US troops

Palestinian fisherman Jihad al-Hissi and his sons work on their boat at the seaport in Gaza City on January 10, 2023. (MAHMUD HAMS/AFP)

A temporary port that the United States is seeking to build to speed up aid to Gaza will take “several weeks” in planning and execution, a Pentagon spokesperson told reporters on Friday, adding that the US eventually aims to provide 2 million meals to Gazans daily.

The process may involve 1,000 US forces, but those troops will not be put on the ground, the Pentagon says. It says Washington was working through the details with partner nations in the Middle East.

Canada says it will resume funding to UN Palestinian refugee agency

People walk past the damaged Gaza City headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on February 15, 2024. (AFP)

Canada will resume funding to the UN Palestinian refugee agency, International Aid Minister Ahmed Hussen says, becoming one of the first international donors to announce such a move.

Ottawa paused funding on January 26 amid allegations that 12 staffers at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) agency actively participated in Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught.

“Canada will be lifting its temporary pause on funding [UNRWA],” Hussen says in a statement, but did not say exactly when this would happen. “UNRWA plays a vital role in Gaza.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that Ottawa was waiting for the results of an internal United Nations probe into the Israeli allegations that 12 UNRWA staff had been involved in the attacks in which around 1,200 people died, according to Israeli tallies.

A total of 16 donors, including the United States and Britain, paused their funding to UNRWA.

Hussen said Canada had reviewed the interim report of the UN investigation and looked forward to the final version.

Biden says Israel will secure temporary port for Gaza aid delivery

US President Joe Biden, left, and first lady Jill Biden walk towards guests on the South Lawn before boarding Marine One at the White House in Washington, Friday, March 8, 2024, for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and then on to Philadelphia for a campaign event. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Israel will provide security for the temporary port being built in order to receive humanitarian aid off the coast of Gaza City, US President Joe Biden tells reporters.

Israeli officials have yet to confirm this detail, though they did welcome Biden’s announcement of the maritime corridor for aid.

Biden said in his State of the Union speech last night that the US military mission to build the temporary port will not require any US boots on the ground.

Senior administration officials briefing reporters on the project before his speech, however, said that US military personnel would be operating in vessels along the shore, even though they won’t be docking.

נשיא ארה"ב ביידן לפני המראתו לפילדלפיה, בתשובה לשאלה מי יאבטח את הנמל הימי בעזה: "הישראלים"@Yoav__Zehavi pic.twitter.com/10mA53Ey43

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 8, 2024

Trump daughter-in-law takes senior Republican Party role

Lara Trump, daughter-in-law of former US President Donald Trump, attends the Republican National Committee (RNC) Spring meeting on March 8, 2024, in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Cécile Clocheret / AFP)

The Republican National Committee has elected Donald Trump allies, including his daughter-in-law, to top leadership positions, tightening the former president’s grip over the party ahead of the November election.

Trump, 77, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, put forward a slate of hand-picked candidates last month to head the RNC, which raises funds for Republican candidates and doles out electoral cash.

Michael Whatley, the leader of the Republican Party in North Carolina, and Trump’s daughter-in-law Lara Trump were elected respectively RNC chair and co-chair by voice vote at a meeting of the 168 RNC members in Houston.

Both were unopposed.

“The RNC is going to be the vanguard of a movement that will work tirelessly every single day to elect our nominee Donald J. Trump as the 47th president of the United States,” Whatley says in his acceptance speech.

“We will work relentlessly in every state to ensure that it is easy to vote and hard to cheat.”

Lara Trump, who is married to the former president’s middle son Eric, says the party has “one goal” on election day.

“The goal on November 5 is to win, as my father-in-law says, ‘bigly,'” she says. “This isn’t just about right versus left, Republican versus Democrat. It’s about good versus evil.”

The former president endorsed another ally, campaign strategist Chris LaCivita, to be the chief operating officer of the RNC.

“This group of three is highly talented, battle-tested, and smart,” Trump says in a statement.

He describes his daughter-in-law as “an extremely talented communicator” who is “dedicated to all that MAGA stands for,” a reference to his “Make America Great Again” slogan.

American Jewish singer Matisyahu says tonight’s Chicago concert canceled ‘due to threat of protests’

US-Jewish singer Matisyahu speaks at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City, January 8, 2016. (Courtesy of Amir Norman via JTA)

American Jewish singer Matisyahu announces that his concert tonight in Chicago “has been cancelled due to the threat of protests.”

“While the true details surrounding this decision remain opaque, and while the responsible parties all point fingers at one another over the decision; I can assure you there have been no threats of violence received by our security team who have been vigilant in knowing what is happening in each city,” he says in a post on social media.

The singer says he will be donating the proceeds to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum as well as United Hatzalah.

This is the third time radical, pro-Palestinian protesters have succeeded in canceling Matisyahu’s US concerts over the past month.

pic.twitter.com/uzprAaeTZO

— Matisyahu (@matisyahu) March 8, 2024

Ex-Honduras president who moved embassy to Jerusalem convicted in US court for drug trafficking

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (L) and Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernández inaugurate the new Honduran embassy in Jerusalem, June 24, 2021. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

A jury in New York has found former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez guilty of trafficking hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States.

Hernandez, 55, who US federal prosecutors say turned his Central American country into a “narco-state” during his presidency in 2014-2022, faces a potential sentence of up to life in prison.

Sentencing will take place at a later date.

Hernandez is accused of having facilitated the smuggling of some 500 tons of cocaine — mainly from Colombia and Venezuela — to the United States via Honduras since 2004, starting long before his presidency.

Hernandez used the drug money to enrich himself and finance his political campaign, and commit electoral fraud in the 2013 and 2017 presidential elections, prosecutors said.

He was extradited to the United States in 2022, accused of aiding drug smugglers in return for millions of dollars in bribes.

With the guilty verdict, Hernandez follows in the footsteps of other former Latin American heads of state convicted in the United States, like Panama’s Manuel Noriega in 1992 and Guatemala’s Alfonso Portillo in 2014.

As president, he moved Honduras’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2021.

Erdogan indicates he won’t seek re-election in 2028

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart jn Ankara, on January 24, 2024. (Adem Altan/AFP)

Longtime Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicates that he won’t seek re-election when his current presidential term concludes in 2028.

Erdogan says this month’s municipal election will be the last with him at the helm. The next municipal election won’t take place until 2030. Erdogan last won re-election last year.

The 70-year-old has served as president since 2014 and was prime minister for a decade before that.

US carries out fourth airdrop in Gaza, day after reports of fatalities

Aid parcels are airdropped over the northern Gaza Strip on March 8, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

The US military carried out its fourth airdrop of aid into Gaza, a US official tells Reuters, amid an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in the crowded coastal enclave.

The US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, does not offer more details on the airdrop, including its location or number of meals delivered.

Yesterday’s airdrop led to reports of five fatalities after some of the parachutes carrying the food did not properly open, landing on several civilians below at high speeds.

US President Joe Biden, who first announced the airdrop campaign last week, announced yesterday that the US military will also build a temporary port in the coming weeks on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to enable the delivery of humanitarian aid by sea.

March 8 USCENTCOM, Royal Jordanian Air Force combined humanitarian aid drop

U.S. Central Command and the Royal Jordanian Air Force conducted a combined humanitarian assistance airdrop into Northern Gaza on March 8, 2024, at approximately 1:30 p.m. (Gaza time) to provide… pic.twitter.com/YqZM96FGc7

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 8, 2024

Top US officials meet with UN envoy to discuss her report on Oct. 7 sexual violence

Protestors gather outside the UN headquarters in New York City on December 4, 2023, to protest the international community's perceived silence on sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorists against Israeli women during the October 7 massacre. (Carli Fogel)

Biden administration officials meet with the UN’s special envoy on sexual violence in conflict, Pramila Patten, to discuss the latter’s report issued earlier this week that confirmed the sexual violence allegations made on October 7 and by hostages held by Hamas since.

Among the officials who met with Patten are US Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer, White House Gender Policy Council Director Jennifer Klein and US Deputy National Security Adviser to the Vice President Rebecca Lissner.

“During the meeting, Patten detailed the scope and methodology of her team’s January 29 – February 14 mission to Israel and the West Bank and her report on the findings of this travel,” according to a White House readout.

“The White House officials conveyed President Biden and Vice President Harris’s deep concern about the horrific reports of sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorists on October 7 and reports of ongoing acts of gender-based violence against those in captivity,” the readout adds.

“Attendees also discussed the need for all credible allegations to be investigated and steps taken, as appropriate, to hold accountable those responsible,” it continues.

“White House officials underscored the importance of preventing harm to Israeli and Palestinian civilians and shared deep concern about the loss of innocent life in this conflict and about the disturbing reports of sexual violence.”

Blinken reiterates that ball ‘in Hamas’s court’ regarding Gaza truce

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, speaks during a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, right, at the State Department in Washington, Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterates Washington’s stance that Hamas is the party holding up a possible six-week ceasefire.

“In this hour, we’re also intensely focused on seeing if we can get a ceasefire with the release of hostages, the expansion of humanitarian assistance and an environment for working on an enduring resolution,” Blinken says in remarks to reporters alongside visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

“The issue is whether Hamas will decide or not to have a ceasefire that would benefit everyone. The ball is in their court, we’re working intensely on it, and we’ll see what they do. But there’s no doubt in my mind that getting to this ceasefire with the release of hostages would be a profound benefit to everyone involved,” he says, highlighting the surge in humanitarian aid that a truce would allow.

Families of several dozen hostages reportedly receive proof their loved ones are alive

Activists protest for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip during the annual Jerusalem marathon, March 8, 2024. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)

Channel 12 reports, without citing any sources, that several dozen families of hostages in Gaza received signs of life regarding their loved ones this week.

The network says it cannot provide any additional information on the matter.

IDF says fighter jets carried out retaliatory strikes on Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon

Footage of an IDF airstrike in southern Lebanon on March 8, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

The IDF says fighter jets struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon a short while ago.

The sites included a building used by the terror group in Marwahin, infrastructure in Labbouneh and a position in Ayta ash-Shab from which rockets were fired at northern Israel earlier.

The IDF says secondary explosions were seen after the strike on the Hezbollah position, indicating weapons were stored there.

לפני זמן קצר מטוסי קרב תקפו מספר מטרות טרור בדרום לבנון.
בין המטרות שהותקפו, מבנה צבאי במרחב מרווחין, תשתית טרור במרחב לבונה ועמדה צבאית במרחב עייתא א-שעב, ממנה בוצעו שיגורים לשטח הארץ. בתום תקיפת העמדה זוהו פיצוצי משנה אשר העידו על הימצאות של אמל"ח שאוחסן בעמדה>> pic.twitter.com/SGnkZCsWPt

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 8, 2024

IDF confirms 7 soldiers wounded in northern West Bank IED blast

View of the unauthorized outpost of Homesh, in the West Bank, on November 17, 2022. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

The IDF confirms troops were wounded in the IED blast in the northern West Bank earlier today.

Three soldiers are listed in moderate condition, and four others were lightly hurt, the IDF says.

Israeli professor at Columbia says university ‘has opened probe into my advocacy’

Shai Davidai, assistant professor at the Columbia University Business School. (Daniel Davidai)

An Israeli professor at Columbia University in New York says the school “has opened an investigation into my advocacy for the Jewish and Israeli students, faculty and staff at the university.”

“This is a clear act of retaliation and an attempt to silence me,” Shai Davidai tweets.

It is unclear what the investigation is specifically about.

A video of the Columbia Business School assistant professor denouncing university president Minouche Shafik’s “cowardice” for allowing the proliferation of “pro-terror student organizations” on campus and telling parents that students were not safe went viral in October.

???????? IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT????????@Columbia has opened an investigation into my advocacy for the Jewish and Israeli students, faculty, and staff at the university.

This is a clear act of retaliation and an attempt to silence me.

If you want to know more, read my statement below pic.twitter.com/vouAtf1nHq

— Shai Davidai (@ShaiDavidai) March 8, 2024

Biden on hot mic: I told Bibi we’re going to have a ‘Come to Jesus’ meeting

US President Joe Biden speaks to Sen. Michael Bennet (C) after his State of the Union address in Washington on March 7, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

US President Joe Biden was caught on a hot mic telling Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet after his State of the Union speech last night, “I told him, ‘Bibi’ — and don’t repeat this — but ‘you and I are going to have a Come to Jesus meeting,'” referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by his nickname.

After an aide told him he was being recorded, Biden smiled and appeared to respond, “I’m on a hot mic being recorded… that was good.”

Bennet was heard praising his speech and urging Biden to continue to push Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.

According to Merriam-Webster, a “Come to Jesus” moment refers to a “sudden realization, comprehension, or recognition that often precipitates a major change.”

Biden has had a checkered, decades-long relationship with Netanyahu, but those ties have come under particular strain in recent months, as Washington sours over Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza amid a growing feeling that the premier is not doing enough to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

NEW – Biden on hot mic: "I told him, Bibi, and don't repeat this, but you and I are going to have a 'come to Jesus' meeting." pic.twitter.com/1gDCdhgeXf

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) March 8, 2024

Police clear hostage family protesters who were blocking major Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway

Family members of the hostages block Route 1 on March 8, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

Traffic has resumed flowing on the Route 1 highway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv after police say they successfully cleared the road of hostage family protesters who are demanding the government do more to secure the release of their loved ones after 145 days in captivity.

Seven rockets were fired from Lebanon at Upper Galilee, IDF says

Rockets fired from Lebanon seen intercepted over Rosh Hanikra, March 7, 2024. (Screenshot/X; Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Seven rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Upper Galilee a short while ago, the IDF says.

It says two were successfully intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system, while the other five hit open areas, causing no damage or injuries.

Sirens had sounded in the communities of Dishon, Malkia and Ramot Naftali.

Radical pro-Palestinian activist vandalizes portrait of Arthur Balfour at Cambridge University

A pro-Palestinian radical activist vandalizes a historic portrait of Lord Arthur Balfour at Cambridge University on March 8, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

A radical pro-Palestinian activist has been filmed spray-painting and slashing a historic 1914 portrait of Lord Arthur Balfour at Cambridge University in the UK.

As foreign secretary in 1917, Balfour signed the eponymous Balfour Declaration that backed establishing a “national home for the Jewish people” in what was to become Mandatory Palestine. The move was seen as giving the Zionist movement official recognition and backing on the part of a major power, and has long been lamented by Palestinians.

In 2022, two women were arrested for squirting ketchup over a statute of Balfour in Parliament in London.

פעילה פרו-פלסטינית תועדה משחיתה באוניברסיטת קיימברידג' ציור היסטורי מ-1914 של הלורד בלפור@Yoav__Zehavi pic.twitter.com/64TdQNPTBp

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 8, 2024

Hostage families block main J’lem-Tel Aviv highway, demanding loved ones’ release after 154 days

Family members of the hostages block Route 1 on March 8, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

Several dozen hostage family members and supporting activists are currently blocking traffic on the Route 1 highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, demanding the immediate release of their loved ones after 154 days in captivity.

Protesters are cramped inside mock cages, demonstrating the plight of their loved ones. Others have set fire to tires, blocking cars from continuing down the road.

Hostage talks in Cairo appeared to hit a wall yesterday, but CIA chief Bill Burns was in Doha Friday in a last-ditch effort to try and salvage a deal by Ramadan, which begins early next week.

קרובי משפחות חטופים חסמו את כביש 1 עם צמיגים בוערים וכלובים וקראו לראש הממשלה: התעלם מבן גביר וסמוטריץ', החזר הביתה את מי שהפקרת כבר 154 ימים בגיהנום"@NOFARMOS pic.twitter.com/K4tWDrWg0i

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 8, 2024

Gaza hospital medic confirms US aid airdrop killed five

A general view taken from the Israeli side of the border shows aid parcels being airdropped over the northern Gaza Strip on March 5, 2024. (Nicolas GARCIA / AFP)

A medic at Gaza’s largest hospital says a humanitarian airdrop in the north of the Palestinian territory killed five people and wounded 10.

The casualties were taken to Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital after the parachutes holding the aid didn’t open properly, causing some of the packages to land on civilians at high speeds, the emergency room’s head nurse, Mohammed al-Sheikh, tells AFP.

Shocking…

Documentation by my colleague [@Hakeam_ps] reveals that an airdrop mission was done in a wrong way. A number of Palestinians (5) including 2 children were killed as the airdrop fell on their heads.

Parachutes didn’t open & descended very quickly over them pic.twitter.com/tV9SP3Tit0

— Younis Tirawi | يونس (@ytirawi) March 8, 2024

Report: Israeli officials mull arming some Gaza civilians as aid security crumbles

Displaced Palestinians prepare to transport their belongings in a car along a street in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on March 6, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas terror group. (AFP)

Israeli officials have discussed arming some civilians in Gaza to provide security protection for aid convoys into the besieged enclave, as part of wider planning for humanitarian supplies after fighting ends, the Israel Hayom daily reports.

With civil order increasingly strained in Hamas-run Gaza and municipal police refusing to provide security to convoys because of the risk of being targeted by Israeli forces, the issue of secure distribution of supplies has become a major problem.

The civilians would not be linked to militant groups including Hamas but it remained unclear who they might be, the newspaper says. It says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had postponed a decision on the issue.

The Prime Minister’s Office declines to comment on the report, which comes a week after dozens of Palestinians were killed in an incident in which crowds surrounded a convoy of aid trucks entering northern Gaza and troops opened fire at those the IDF said had tried to rush them.

The incident underlined the chaotic conditions in which aid has been delivered to Gaza, where the United Nations has warned of the growing threat of famine after more than five months of war.

“We were not carrying weapons or anything, we are civilians. We wanted to get food because we are starving here in Gaza,” says Mustafa Lolo, who said he was shot in the legs trying to get aid.

Security Council to meet Monday for session on Oct. 7 sexual violence

The UN Security Council holds a meeting on the Russia-Ukraine war, at UN Headquarters in New York City on February 23, 2024. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency session on Monday to discuss the report issued this week by the UN’s envoy on sex crimes detailing the sexual violence perpetrated by Palestinian terrorists on October 7 and against hostages who have been held since.

Requests for the session were made by Security Council members the US, UK and France.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz in a statement says he will attend the session along with relatives of the hostages still being held by Hamas and will use the opportunity to demand that the UN declare Hamas a terror organization and demand the immediate release of the hostages. (The Security Council has adopted several resolutions already demanding the release of the hostages.)

IDF launches manhunt for suspects who set off explosive device near troops in West Bank

Illustrative: Israeli soldiers clash with Palestinians during a manhunt for a Palestinian man who rammed his car into IDF troops earlier in the day, in Bethlehem on February 6, 2020. (Musa Al Shaer/AFP)

The IDF says it has launched a manhunt for Palestinian suspects who set off an explosive device near troops in the West Bank town of Silat ad-Dhahr.

According to the IDF, the soldiers were carrying out “proactive activity” in the town when they came under attack.

The soldiers were reportedly searching for gunmen who had opened fire at an army post near the adjacent Homesh outpost a short while earlier.

The IDF does not immediately provide information on injuries to troops, but first responders say three are wounded in the blast, including one listed in serious condition.

78 people killed, 104 wounded by Israeli strikes in last 24 hours — Hamas-run health ministry

Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, on March 6, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip says that 78 people were killed and 104 were wounded over the past 24 hours in Israeli strikes on different areas across the territory.

The latest figures raise the total Gaza death toll to 30,878 since the Israel-Hamas war started five months ago, according to the ministry. The overall number of wounded rose to 72,402.

Though these figures cannot be independently verified, and do not differentiate between combatants and civilians, including those killed as a consequence of the terror group’s rocket misfires. The IDF says it has killed over 13,000 operatives in Gaza, in addition to some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known by the acronym UNRWA, says that about 9,000 women have been killed in Gaza over the past five months.

Some 1,200 people were killed on October 7, most of them civilians, amid scenes of horrific brutality, and 253 others were dragged to Gaza as hostages.

UK’s Cameron says temporary Gaza harbor will take time, urges Israel to open Ashdod

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Cameron leaves at the end of a cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street in central London on November 22, 2023. (JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)

British Foreign Minister David Cameron says the US-led plan to build a temporary harbor in Gaza to bring aid into the enclave would take time, reiterating his call for Israel to open the port of Ashdod in the meantime.

“It’s going to take time to build,” Cameron tells UK broadcasters of the harbor.

“So the crucial thing is today the Israelis must confirm that they’ll open the port at Ashdod.”

No Women’s Day in Gaza, say mothers of hungry children

A Palestinian woman mourns a relative killed during overnight Israeli strikes on Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, at the morgue of the Shuhada al-Aqsa on March 1, 2024 (AFP)

Women’s Day? At a tent in Rafah where Um Zaki says she is boiling porridge on an open flame to stave off the hunger of her six children, the holiday passes as a cruel joke.

“Now, all our days look the same. The days of feasts, happy occasions, nice food, laughter and hope, are all gone because of the war,” she told Reuters by phone. “What is Women’s Day? We are deprived of the minimal rights, we are deprived of living. Every day women die by Israeli bombs.”

International Women’s Day, March 8, is typically a major public holiday in the Palestinian territories, when Gaza families put on their finest clothes and flock to hotels and restaurants to celebrate their mothers, daughters and sisters.

Now, with Gaza’s 2.3 million residents nearly all homeless and all struggling for survival, it was painful even to think of such things.

On a day she would normally wear makeup, her face is now streaked with soot from open-air cooking fires, Um Zaki says. She started to tell of how her intimate laundry was strung outside the tent on a line for all to see. Another woman near her cried into the phone: “Women’s Day! There is no Women’s Day in Gaza. In Gaza we are close to Doomsday because of Israel!”

At least two Israelis wounded by explosive device in northern West Bank

View of the unauthorized outpost of Homesh, in the West Bank, on November 17, 2022. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

At least two Israelis are wounded by an explosive device in the northern West Bank town of Silat ad-Dhahr, adjacent to the illegal Homesh outpost, first responders say.

According to media reports, Palestinian gunmen first opened fire at an army post in the area, before the bomb was detonated.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF on the incident.

South African Jewish women march against abuse of Gaza hostages

Hostages and Missing families Forum and Bring Them Home Now campaign supporters hold portraits of missing and kidnapped Israeli girls and women during a demonstration outside the South African parliament in Cape Town on March 8, 2024, to mark International Women's day and demanding the release of female hostages taken by Hamas militants on the October 7, 2023 attacks. (Photo by AFP)

A group of South African Jewish women held an International Women’s Day march on Friday to denounce their government’s silence regarding abuse by Hamas fighters against Israeli hostages.

Organized by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), the women marched in the scorching Johannesburg sun under the banner “Me Too unless you are a Jew”.

“Jewish women are put to an extra burden of proof all over the world,” one of the organizers, Gabriella Farber Cohen, says.

“This one is not like any other women’s day, we are deeply saddened by the horrors and atrocities that were committed by the Hamas terrorists,” she says, accusing President Cyril Ramaphosa of hypocrisy.

A mix of young and old, including high school students, chanted “bring back our girls” as they waved placards with the faces of the females held captive.

“Ramaphosa constantly talks about gender-based violence… the hypocrisy is that he in 154 days has not mentioned one word, not even condemned the sexual violence that these Israeli women had to endure,” Farber Cohen says.

In December, Pretoria made a complaint against Israel in the International Court of Justice ICJ in The Hague, alleging that its assault on Gaza amounts to a breach of the Genocide Convention.

Expanding Israeli settlements a ‘war crime,’ UN rights chief warns

Palestinian laborers work at a construction site in Ma'ale Adumim, in the West Bank, on February 29, 2024. (Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

Expanding Israeli settlements beyond the Green Line constitutes “a war crime” and risks eliminating any likelihood of a viable Palestinian state, the UN rights chief warns.

Volker Turk says there had been a drastic acceleration in Israeli settlement building in the West Bank as it wages a relentless war against Hamas in Gaza.

The UN high commissioner for human rights says creating and expanding settlements amounted to the transfer by Israel of its own civilian population into what the UN views as occupied territories.

“Such transfers amount to a war crime that may engage the individual criminal responsibility of those involved,” Turk says in a report to the UN Human Rights Council.

The Israeli advancement this week of plans to build another 3,476 settler homes in the West Bank settlements of Ma’ale Adumim, Efrat and Keidar “fly in the face of international law,” he says.

Turk says that during the period covered by his report — November 1, 2022, to October 31, 2023 — some 24,300 housing units were added to existing Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

That marks the largest number on record since monitoring began in 2017. It includes nearly 9,700 units in East Jerusalem, the UN rights office said.

Turk’s report finds that the Israeli government’s policies “appear aligned, to an unprecedented extent, with the goals of the Israeli settler movement to expand long-term control over the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and to steadily integrate this occupied territory into the State of Israel.”

Iran protests crackdown sparked ‘crimes against humanity’ — UN mission

File: Iranians protest 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini's death after she was detained by the morality police, in Tehran, September 20, 2022 (AP Photo/ File)

Tehran’s violent crackdown on peaceful protests and discrimination against women and girls triggered serious rights violations, many amounting to crimes against humanity, a UN fact-finding mission concludes.

Iran was rocked by widespread demonstrations sparked by the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress rule for women based on Islamic sharia law.

Anger over her death rapidly expanded into weeks of taboo-breaking protests in an open challenge to the Islamic republic’s system of government under supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In November 2022, the UN Human Rights Council created a high-level investigation into the deadly crackdown.

In its first report, the independent international fact-finding mission on Iran says many of the violations uncovered “amount to crimes against humanity — specifically those of murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution, enforced disappearance and other inhumane acts.”

It adds that the commission of such crimes, in the context of a deprivation of fundamental rights and inflicted with discriminatory intent, “leads the mission to the conclusion that the crime against humanity of persecution on the grounds of gender has been committed.”

UN expert probes treatment of those detained by IDF, says Palestinian mission was dismissive of Oct. 7 atrocities

Israa Jaabis, a Palestinian security prisoner released by Israel, is hugged as she arrives home in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber, early on November 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

The United Nations expert on torture says she is investigating allegations of torture and mistreatment of Palestinian detainees in Israel, and was in talks to visit the country.

Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Dr. Alice Jill Edwards says she has recently received allegations of torture and ill-treatment of Palestinians being detained in the West Bank or as a result of the conflict in Gaza, where Israel is fighting the ruling Palestinian Hamas movement.

“I’m looking into that as we speak and carrying out a fact-finding investigation,” says Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

“I’m calling on … Hamas, the state of Palestine, Israel to put their torture tools down, to really have a focus on peace and a prospect of living side-by-side as neighbors in the future.”

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli diplomatic mission in Geneva, but the IDF has denied allegations in the past of mistreating detainees, saying it acts according to international law.

The UN human rights office says it has received numerous reports of mass detention, ill-treatment and enforced disappearance of Palestinians in northern Gaza by the Israeli military, and has recorded the arrests of thousands in the West Bank.

Edwards said she had also raised allegations of mass murders and mutilations of hostages and sexual violence against them with Palestinian authorities through the Palestinian Permanent Mission in Geneva.

She says she had, however, received “a disappointing reply” that “showed no empathy for those individuals who were subject to terrible atrocities on the 7th of October.”

The mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israel says Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 Israelis and abducted 253 on Oct. 7. The health ministry in Gaza says Israel has killed almost 31,000 Palestinians in its retaliatory offensive.

Liberman swipes at Netanyahu: ‘Instead of absolute victory we got absolute humiliation’

MK Avigdor Liberman speaks during a plenum session at the assembly hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem, March 6, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Yisrael Beytenu party head Avigdor Liberman takes a swipe at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s management of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, writing: “Instead of absolute victory, we got absolute humiliation.”

In a “Day 154 war status update” posted to X, Liberman charges that Israel has “lost all of its bargaining cards to pressure Hamas to release the hostages” by allowing the entry of more humanitarian aid into the coastal enclave.

“The Iranians have set up specialized centers in Gaza, the Jordanians, the Egyptians and other countries are dropping aid from the air, the US has announced the construction of a naval dock and the lax government continues to supply the Gaza Strip with water and fuel,” he writes.

Netanyahu has repeatedly said that “absolute victory” in the war with Hamas — aimed at toppling the terror group and freeing hostages captured on October 7 — is within reach for Israel.

Finland to send 7 soldiers to participate in Red Sea crisis management

Finland will send seven soldiers to participate in crisis management operations in the Red Sea, the Finnish prime minister’s office says.

The statement comes a day after two crew members were killed in a missile attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a ship in the Gulf of Aden.

The Iran-backed group began attacking ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea last November, a campaign they say is intended to signal solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, after Israel launched a war against Hamas following the terror group’s murderous October 7 assault.

The Houthi attacks have disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa. The cost of insuring a seven-day voyage through the Red Sea has risen by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Rocket sirens sound in northern towns; no immediate reports of casualties

Rocket sirens sounded a few minutes ago in the northern communities of Netua, Avivim and Shtula near the Lebanon border.

Initial Hebrew media reports said the projectiles landed in open areas.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Rocket Alerts [13:50:46] – 3 Alerts:

• Confrontation Line — Shtula, Avivim, Netua#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/KOOheu1K1g

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) March 8, 2024

The communities have been largely evacuated of civilians since October 8, when Hezbollah-led forces began launching daily attacks on Israeli communities and military posts along the border.

The terror group says it is doing so to support Gaza amid Israel’s war with the Hamas terror group, triggered by its October 7 massacre.

UK counterterrorism official: London ‘a no-go zone for Jews’ due to pro-Palestinian protests

Pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel demonstrators wave Palestinian flags and hold placards as they protest in Parliament Square in London on February 21, 2024. (HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP)

The streets of central London are “a no-go zone for Jews every weekend” because of anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian rallies, UK counterterrorism commissioner Robin Simcox writes in The Telegraph.

Describing “skyrocketing” antisemitism in the UK since war erupted in Gaza on October 7, Simcoz says, “Inflammatory and borderline criminal rhetoric widely shared on social media. A sense that the terrorism threat is rising. Protests becoming ever more vociferous, with “from the river to the sea” beamed onto the side of Big Ben during a vote on Gaza. MPs more fearful for their safety than ever.”

He applauds his government’s efforts to tackle extremism on British soil and urges them to also target “the activities of those groups who propagate extremist narratives but who lurk just below the terrorism threshold,” mentioning religious and educational institutions.

Responding to Simcox’s article, the head of UK Jewish security group CST tells Britain’s Radio 4 that he — along with other London Jews — avoids going into the center of the city for fear of violent incidents surrounding anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protests in the area.

“I don’t go into town when there’s these demonstrations,” CST chief executive Mark Gardner was quoted by the UK Jewish News as saying.

Israel welcomes opening of maritime aid corridor from Cyprus to Gaza

Illustrative: Palestinians transport bags of flour as humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza City on March 6, 2024. (AFP)

The Foreign Ministry welcomes the launch of a maritime corridor to transfer humanitarian aid from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip, which faces widespread hunger and shortages of other essential supplies after five months of war.

“Israel will continue to facilitate the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gazans, in accordance with the laws of war and in coordination with the US and our allies around the world,” a statement reads.

The statement adds that Israel will continue to fight the Hamas terror group “until its elimination and the return of all hostages.”

War erupted in Gaza after Hamas’s October 7 massacres, which saw thousands of terrorists burst into Israel, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping another 253 to Gaza, mostly civilians, many amid horrific acts of brutality and sexual assault.

It is believed that 134 hostages taken on October 7 remain at the hands of terror groups in Gaza.

Palestinian reports: 5 Gazans killed when hit by airdropped US aid packages

A picture shows aid parcels being airdropped over the northern Gaza Strip on March 5, 2024. A joint Jordanian, French, US and Egyptian operation airdropped aid on northern Gaza on March 5, Jordanian media reported. (AFP)

Video footage circulating on social media purports to show people being hit by aid packages airdropped into Gaza by countries including the United States.

Palestinian reports cited by Hebrew media say at least five people were killed near Gaza City when hit directly by the packages, while many more were injured.

The United States military, in coordination with Jordan, Egypt and France, airdropped more than 70,000 meals into northern Gaza over the past week.

At least 5 citizens from Gaza were killed when aid packages were dropped by US planes: reports pic.twitter.com/LG7lkqBzQr

— Yosef Yisrael (@yosefyisrael25) March 8, 2024

Hezbollah announces deaths of 3 members killed in 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 Hadi Hijazi, Fadl Kaour, and Ali Marji, all from the southern Lebanon town of Blida.

Their deaths bring the terror group’s toll since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip to 238.

The announcement comes following several recent IDF strikes on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, in response to attacks on northern Israel.

UN human rights office: IDF operation Rafah ‘must not be allowed to happen’

Palestinians leave a clinic set up by Doctors Without Border (MSF) inside the Rafah Indonesian Field Hospital in the southern Gaza Strip, March 7, 2024. (Mohammed Abed/AFP)

The United Nations human rights office says that an Israeli offensive in Gaza’s border town of Rafah could not be allowed to happen because it would cause massive loss of Palestinian lives.

“Should Israel launch its threatened military offensive into Rafah, where 1.5 million people have been displaced in deplorable, subhuman conditions, any ground assault on Rafah would incur massive loss of life and would heighten the risk of further atrocity crimes,” says Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office.

“This must not be allowed to happen.”

Over a million Palestinians — most of them displaced from elsewhere — have converged on the last Gazan city untouched by Israel’s ground offensive against Hamas, sparked by the terror group’s October 7 massacres in southern Israel.

IDF: Troops in West Bank killed Islamic Jihad operative said planning major attacks

Illustrative: IDF troops operate in the West Bank, February, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says troops killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative allegedly involved in planning major attacks, in the northern West Bank village of Silat al-Harithiya overnight.

Troops of the Duvdevan commando unit and Border Police officers raided Silat al-Harithiya following intelligence provided by the Shin Bet on the suspect’s whereabouts.

According to defense authorities, Muhammad Shalabi was involved in advancing “significant terror activity” on behalf of Islamic Jihad, including shooting attacks, preparing explosive devices and delivering funds for terrorism.

The IDF says an assault rifle and other military equipment was captured at Shalabi’s home.

Troops also detained nine more wanted Palestinians during overnight raids across the West Bank, the IDF says.

Since October 7, troops have arrested some 3,500 wanted Palestinians across the West Bank, including more than 1,500 affiliated with Hamas.

EU president says she expects maritime corridor to Gaza from Cyprus to open this weekend

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides (L) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (R) shake hands at the presidential palace in Nicosia on March 8, 2024.(Iakovos Hatzistavrou/ POOL/AFP)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says she expects a maritime aid corridor to start operating between Cyprus and Gaza over this weekend, taking humanitarian supplies to Palestinians amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the coastal enclave.

Von der Leyen says a pilot test run of food aid collected by a charity group and supported by the United Arab Emirates could be leaving Cyprus as early as today from the port of Larnaca.

She arrived in Cyprus late last night to inspect facilities at the port.

IDF: Secondary blasts from strikes on Hezbollah sites indicate weapons cache

The IDF says it carried out airstrikes on Hezbollah command centers in southern Lebanon’s Mansouri and Bint Jbeil a short while ago.

It adds that last night, strikes were carried out on buildings used by Hezbollah in Tallouseh and Majdal Zoun.

The IDF says secondary blasts were seen following the strike, indicating weapons were stored at the site.

לפני זמן קצר מטוסי קרב תקפו מפקדה צבאית של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב אל מנצורי ומפקדה נוספת של הארגון במרחב בינת ג׳בל.

אמש הותקף מבנה צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב תלוסה, לצד מבנה צבאי נוסף במרחב מג׳דל זון>> pic.twitter.com/Dguw22sLob

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) March 8, 2024

UK foreign minister says Britain will work with US on Gaza aid corridor

Britain will work alongside the United States to open a maritime corridor to deliver aid directly to Gaza, UK foreign minister David Cameron announces.

“Alongside the US, the UK and partners have announced we will open a maritime corridor to deliver aid directly to Gaza,” Cameron said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

People in Gaza are in desperate humanitarian need.

Alongside the US, the UK and partners have announced we will open a maritime corridor to deliver aid directly to Gaza.

We continue to urge Israel to allow more trucks into Gaza as the fastest way to get aid to those who need…

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) March 8, 2024

The British statement comes a day after US President Joe Biden said that he had instructed the military to carry out an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier “on the Gaza coast” to allow for the delivery of aid to the enclave directly from the Mediterranean Sea.

UN rights chief says settlement expansion constitutes ‘a war crime’, blocks Palestinian state

Expanding settlements in the West Bank constitutes “a war crime” and risks eliminating “any practical possibility” of a viable Palestinian state, the UN rights chief warns.

Volker Turk tells the UN Human Rights Council that establishing and continuing to expand settlements amounted to the transfer by Israel of its own civilian population into occupied territories, which “amount to a war crime” under international law.

The comments come after Israel earlier this week advanced plans for 3,426 new homes to be build beyond the Green Line.

IDF: In first Gaza operation, ultra-Orthodox troops destroy launch sites, kill Hamas gunmen

Troops of the Kfir Brigade's Netzah Yehuda Battalion operate in northern Gaza's Beit Hanoun, in a handout image published March 8, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Over the past week, the IDF says the Kfir Brigade’s Netzah Yehuda Battalion carried out an operation in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun.

The battalion, made up of ultra-Orthodox and religious troops, was placed under the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade for the operation.

It is the first time the unit, normally deployed to the West Bank, is operating in Gaza.

According to the IDF, the soldiers located and destroyed Hamas anti-tank missile launching positions, observation posts, and tunnel shafts, and killed several gunmen in Beit Hanoun.

In December, the IDF said it had completed dismantling Hamas’s Beit Hanoun Battalion, but was continuing to battle smaller cells in the area.

US warns citizens in Moscow to avoid crowds for next 48 hours amid terror alert

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The US embassy in Russia has warned that “extremists” have imminent plans for an attack in Moscow, hours after Russian security services said they had foiled a planned shooting at a synagogue by a cell from the Afghan arm of Islamic State.

The embassy, which has repeatedly urged all US citizens to leave Russia immediately, gives no further details about the nature of the threat, but says people should avoid concerts and crowds and be aware of their surroundings.

“The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and US citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours,” the embassy says on its website.

It is unclear if the warning is related to the foiled synagogue attack.

Lebanese report: Hostage talks faltered as they moved away from Paris proposal

Talks to secure a hostage deal in Cairo this week failed because they were no longer focused around the Paris proposal agreed upon by the US, Egypt, Qatar and Israel in February, according to Palestinian sources quoted by a Lebanese newspaper.

The outline reportedly includes a three-phase humanitarian pause — with 35 to 40 Israeli hostages, including women, men over the age of 60 and those with serious medical conditions, released during the first six-week phase. Israeli soldiers and the bodies of killed hostages would be released in the second and third phases.

Al-Akhbar quotes sources as saying that the talks faltered as the conversation moved away from the second and third phases and were instead focused only on the first.

“What is proposed now does not meet the minimum demands of [Hamas] or the needs of the Gaza Strip,” a Palestinian source is quoted as saying, while reiterating Hamas calls for a full ceasefire.

“There needs to be a commitment on the part of The United States, Egypt, and Qatar, in the presence of a sustainable truce that leads to a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire.”

For International Women’s Day, Putin hails female soldiers fighting in Ukraine

In a video message celebrating International Women’s Day, Russian President Vladimir Putin hails women soldiers fighting in Ukraine and those supporting his country’s armed forces.

In an address to mark the holiday, Putin said he was paying special tribute to “the women who are in the zone of the special military operation, performing combat tasks.”

Russia calls its full-scale offensive against Ukraine a “special military operation.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated all Russian women on International Women's Day and wished them mutual understanding, success and happy moments.

“Dear women, I cordially congratulate you on International Women’s Day. We look forward to it with joy and excitement.… pic.twitter.com/0HExyvGEGC

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) March 8, 2024

The Russian leader also issues a decree freeing 52 women prisoners, including those who had relatives in the military.

UN probe finds Iran responsible for ‘physical violence’ that killed Mahsa Amini in 2022

FILE - A woman holds a placard with a picture of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini during a protest against her death, in Berlin, Germany, on September 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran is responsible for the “physical violence” that led to the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022 and sparked nationwide protests against the country’s mandatory headscarf, or hijab, laws and its ruling theocracy, a UN fact-finding mission says.

The stark pronouncement comes in a wide-ranging initial report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council by the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran.

It also finds that the Islamic Republic employed “unnecessary and disproportionate use of lethal force” to put down the demonstrations that erupted following Amini’s death and that Iranian security forces sexually assaulted detainees.

The months-long security crackdown killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained.

There is no immediate comment on the report from Iran.

Iranian officials have not responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press on the mission’s findings.

Jerusalem Marathon: Runners with fake blood on their hands call for hostage release deal

Protesters with their hands covered in fake blood calling for the release of the hostages from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, during the Jerusalem marathon in Jerusalem, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Protesters at the Jerusalem Marathon are calling for the release of 134 hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip since October 7.

The protesters have their hands covered in blood, echoing a theme of past recent protests calling for a hostage release deal.

Activists protest for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip during the annual Jerusalem marathon, March 8, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90 )

In February, the water in a fountain at a central Jerusalem square outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence was dyed red, while in January protesters poured red-dyed water down a street near the premier’s home in the capital.

IDF says it hit Gaza launch strikes within minutes of rockets on Nahal Oz

IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip, in a photo cleared for publication on March 8, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Following last night’s rocket fire on the southern city of Sderot and the nearby community of Nahal Oz, the IDF says it struck the areas in the Gaza Strip from which the rockets were fired, within several minutes of the attacks.

The IDF says it also struck a weapons depot where the rockets used in the attack on Nahal Oz were likely stored, as well as a tunnel shaft, a building used by Hamas, and rocket launchers that were spotted after the attack on Sderot.

Meanwhile, the IDF says it is continuing an offensive in the Khan Younis suburb of al-Qarara, with the Bislamach Brigade killing some 15 gunmen and locating tunnel shafts in the past day.

Nearby, in the Hamad Town residential complex, the IDF says the 7th Armored Brigade located and destroyed several rocket launchers and called in an airstrike against two gunmen spotted coming out of a weapons depot; the Givati Brigade located weapons as well as killed and captured several Hamas operatives; and the Commando Brigade raided the neighborhood’s high-rise towers, killing gunmen in close-quarters combat and capturing others who surrendered.

Meanwhile, in central Gaza, the IDF says the Nahal Brigade killed some 15 Hamas gunmen over the past day, including with sniper fire and by calling in airstrikes.

With the morning update, the IDF releases footage of strikes throughout the Strip over the past day.

‘Think of our soldiers’: Hostage’s father waves off Jerusalem Marathon runners

Jon Polin, father of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, speaks at the start of the Jerusalem Marathon, addressing Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion about the event that he calls “emotional but unusual.”

“Jerusalem is Hersh’s city, a city that he loves and is proud of,” says Polin, asking runners to think of each and every soldier, the heroes who fell in battle during the last months and about the courageous soldiers who continue to fight and about the 134 hostages still held by terror groups in Gaza.

“We pray that we will today bring back all the hostages and that the soldiers will soon complete their important mission and return home safely,” says Polin, wishing a pleasant and meaningful run to all the participants.

“Amen,” answers the crowd.

“Yalla, Jerusalem,” says Polin.

Top EU official in Cyprus to check on plans to send Gaza aid by sea

A top European Union official is in Cyprus to inspect preparations to send desperately needed humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea, just hours after US President Joe Biden announced that the US military will set up a temporary port off Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to support deliveries.

Efforts to set up a sea route for aid deliveries come amid mounting alarm over the spread of hunger among Gaza’s 2.3 million people, as the war between Israel and Hamas, sparked by the terror group’s October 7 massacres, continues into its sixth month.

Hunger is most acute in northern Gaza, which has been isolated for months and suffered long cutoffs of food supply deliveries.

Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Union’s powerful executive arm, arrived in Cyprus late last night to inspect facilities at the port of Larnaca, where aid ships are expected to depart for Gaza.

IDF investigation into Gaza crush: Shots fired at people who approached troops – not aid convoy

This IDF infographic released March 8, 2024, shows details on a February 29 incident in Gaza City, during which dozens of Palestinians were killed while rushing aid trucks. (Israel Defense Forces)

An IDF investigation into a February incident in Gaza City in which dozens of Palestinians were killed as they swarmed humanitarian aid trucks has found that Israeli troops did not open fire on the convoy itself.

Rather, shots were fired at several Gazans who moved toward soldiers and a tank at an IDF checkpoint, endangering troops, according to the military probe.

Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, head of IDF Southern Command, presented the report to IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi on Tuesday, the IDF statement says.

The IDF says it will continue to investigate the circumstances of the incident, adding that the military “places great importance on the humanitarian effort to enable the transfer of humanitarian aid to the Strip and improve the existing systems.”

Hamas has blamed the IDF for the deaths. The military says most of the casualties were caused by a stampede and being run over by the supply vehicles. Gunmen also opened fire in the area as they looted the supplies.

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report. 

US, UK, France heed Israel’s call to push for emergency UNSC session on Hamas Oct. 7 sex crimes

The area of ​​the Supernova festival where hundreds of Israelis were killed and kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in the October 7 terror onslaught, October 12, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

At Israel’s request, the United States, the United Kingdom and France have submitted an official request for an emergency UN Security Council session on special representative Pramila Patten’s report accusing Hamas of sexual crimes on October 7 and beyond, the Foreign Ministry says in a statement.

“I welcome all of the countries that backed our request to convene an emergency session of the Security Council,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz says, adding that the aim of the session will be to “discuss the grave findings and to issue an unequivocal call for the immediate release of all the hostages in Gaza.”

“This is a great victory for justice and morality and an important step on the way to bringing the hostages home,” he says.

Israeli officials have been pushing for UN chief Antonio Guterres to call the emergency session, though usually member states lodge these requests.

Israel is calling on the UN Security Council to designate Hamas as a terrorist organization and condemn its sexual atrocities on and since 10/7.

Anything else will tell the Hamas rapists: keep going. pic.twitter.com/JWiyqGce5m

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) March 6, 2024

The United Nation’s envoy on sex crimes during conflict presented her team’s report at the UN earlier this week indicating that rape and gang rape likely occurred during the October 7 Hamas onslaught against southern Israel, that “clear and convincing” evidence shows that hostages were raped while being held in Gaza, and that those currently held captive are still facing such abuse.

The 24-page report, based on more than two weeks of meetings on the ground, states that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that Hamas committed rape and sexual abuse during its murderous rampage on October 7, and that there is an even higher standard of evidence to indicate that hostages kidnapped by Hamas that day were subject to rape in captivity.

Amy Spiro contributed to this report.

US conducts self-defense strikes against 4 Houthi cruise missiles in Yemen, downs drones

DUBAI – US Central Command (CENTCOM) says it conducted self-defense strikes on Thursday against four mobile Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM) and one Houthi unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

CENTCOM says its forces shot down three UAVs launched toward the Gulf of Aden from areas controlled by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.

March 7 Red Sea Update

Between the hours of 3:35 p.m. and 4:55 p.m. (Sanaa time), United States Central Command (CENTCOM) conducted self-defense strikes against four mobile Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM) and one Houthi unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Houthi-controlled… pic.twitter.com/WBrJ0kmiTJ

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 8, 2024

The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea since November in what they say is a campaign in solidarity with Palestinians during the war in Gaza, triggered by Hamas’s October 7 massacre.

Jewish interim CEO of prestigious San Francisco arts center resigns over antisemitism

The exterior of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California, May 12, 2013. (JCruzTheTruth via Creative Commons)

(JTA) – The Jewish interim CEO of a prestigious arts center in San Francisco is resigning from her position, calling her decision “a direct result” of antisemitism that she has experienced in the wake of a protest by pro-Palestinian artists exhibiting.

In a resignation letter posted on LinkedIn yesterday, Sara Fenske Bahat writes, “While this was long in the cards, in the last few weeks the climate around Israel-Palestine in the Bay Area became untenable.”

The controversy at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, which has drawn criticism from local officials, is the latest in turmoil roiling the arts and culture world since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. Across the country, pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel creatives have taken to increasingly aggressive tactics in their efforts to protest what they characterize as inappropriate support for Israel by institutions with which they are associated.

“The vitriolic and antisemitic backlash directed at me personally since that night nearly three weeks ago has made being here intolerable,” Bahat writes. “I no longer feel safe in our own space, including due to the actions of some of our own employees.”

Jerusalem Marathon kicks off with 40,000 running in honor of security forces

Thousands of runners take part in the annual Jerusalem marathon, March 8, 2024. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)

The Jerusalem Marathon kicks off in the capital this morning, with some 40,000 runners in six different categories reportedly participating in the annual event despite the ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.

מרתון בעיר הבירה | מרתון ירושלים ה-13 בסימן הוקרה לכוחות הביטחון וההצלה החל הבוקר. על פי המארגנים משתתפים בו כ-40,000 רצים, בהם רבים מכוחות הביטחון ומילואימניקים, ועוד כ-1,200 רצים מחו"ל@lianwildau
צילום: אלטרנטיבה 1 pic.twitter.com/KXeMgN7dAS

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 8, 2024

The marathon route includes Jerusalem landmarks such as the Israel Museum, the Supreme Court, the President’s Residence, the walls of the Old City, the Armenian Quarter, the Tower of David, the Khan Theater and the Sultan’s Pool.

The Jerusalem Municipality announced in January that the annual marathon would take place as planned despite the war and as a tribute to the IDF, security forces and rescue teams.

Registration in the marathon was free for IDF soldiers, security forces and rescue teams, including reservists who served or are currently serving. Spouses and children of reservists who served or are serving also received a 50 percent discount on registration fees.

Jessica Steinberg contributed to this report.

Biden on Houthis: ‘I won’t hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people’

Both Democrats and Republicans stand to applaud as President Joe Biden speaks about former Rep. John Lewis, as he delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Thursday March 7, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Turning to Iran, US President Joe Biden says in his State of the Union address that “creating stability in the Middle East also means containing the threat posed by Iran.”

“That’s why I built a coalition of more than a dozen countries to defend international shipping and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea,” he continues. “I’ve ordered strikes to degrade Houthi capabilities and defend US forces in the region.”

“As commander-in-chief, I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and military personnel,” he warns.

Biden in SOTU: Only two-state solution will guarantee Israel’s security, peace with Saudi Arabia

US President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Thursday March 7, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

US President Joe Biden in his State of the Union Address, speaking about Israel, asserts that “as we look to the future, the only real solution is a two-state solution.”

“I say this as a lifelong supporter of Israel and the only American president to visit Israel in wartime,” he notes.

“There is no other path that guarantees Israel’s security and democracy. There is no other path that guarantees Palestinians can live with peace and dignity. There is no other path that guarantees peace between Israel and all of its Arab neighbors, including Saudi Arabia,” Biden adds.

Biden announces US will build pier off Gaza coast enabling maritime aid shipments

US President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, March 7, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

US President Joe Biden announces his plan to establish a maritime corridor for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza directly from the Mediterranean Sea.

“Tonight, I’m directing the US military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters,” he says in his State of the Union address.

“No US boots will be on the ground.”

“This temporary pier would enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day.”

“But Israel must also do its part. Israel must allow more aid into Gaza and ensure that humanitarian workers aren’t caught in the crossfire,” Biden stresses.

Biden urges Israel to protect Gaza civilians, warns against using aid as ‘bargaining chip’

US Vice President Kamala Harris stands as House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., listens as US President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol, Thursday March 7, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

After stressing his support for Israel amid the October 7 terror onslaught, US President Joe Biden says that, “Israel has an added burden because Hamas hides and operates among the civilian population.

“But Israel also has a fundamental responsibility to protect innocent civilians in Gaza,” he says.

“This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of whom are not Hamas,” Biden says.

“Thousands and thousands are innocent women and children. Girls and boys also orphaned. Nearly 2 million more Palestinians under bombardment or displaced. Homes destroyed, neighborhoods in rubble, cities in ruin. Families without food, water, medicine. It’s heartbreaking.”

“To the leadership of Israel I say this: Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip. Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority,” the US president asserts.

Biden pledges in State of the Union not to rest until hostages returned home

President Joe Biden speaks during the State of the Union address on Capitol Hill, Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Biden turns his State of the Union speech to the war in Gaza.

“I know the last five months have been gut-wrenching for so many people, for the Israeli people, the Palestinian people, and so many here in America,” he says.

“This crisis began on October 7th with a massacre by the terrorist group Hamas. One-thousand and two hundred innocent people women and girls men and boys slaughtered, many enduring sexual violence. The deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Two-hundred and fifty hostages taken,” Biden says, taking a minute to recognize the relatives of American hostages in the congressional chamber for the speech.

“I pledge to all the families that we will not rest until we bring their loved ones home,” he says.

“Israel has a right to go after Hamas,” Biden asserts.

“Hamas could end this conflict today by releasing the hostages, laying down arms, and surrendering those responsible for October 7th.”

“We’ve been working non-stop to establish an immediate ceasefire that would last for at least six weeks,” Biden says.

“It would get the hostages home, ease the intolerable humanitarian crisis, and build toward something more enduring.”

Biden says US economy ‘envy of the world’

US President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2024. (Photo by SHAWN THEW / POOL / AFP)

US President Joe Biden touts the strength of the US economy during his State of the Union speech to Congress, pointing to the country’s post-pandemic recovery.

“Folks, I inherited an economy that was on the brink,” he tells the joint session of the House and Senate at the Capitol.

“Now our economy is literally the envy of the world. Fifteen million new jobs in just three years — a record. Unemployment is at 50-year lows,” he says.

Biden opens SOTU warning Americans that ‘freedom and democracy under assault’

US President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Washington. Standing at left is Vice President Kamala Harris and seated at right is House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. (Shawn Thew/Pool via AP)

US President Joe Biden warns during his State of the Union speech that democratic values were under attack in the United States and abroad.

“Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War, have freedom and democracy been under assault at home as they are today,” he tells Congress at the Capitol. “What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack both at home and overseas.”

Biden vows he will not “bow down” to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, fiercely criticizing rival Donald Trump from the first moments of his State of the Union address.

“My predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, ‘Do whatever the hell you want,'” Biden tells the joint session.

“I will not bow down,” Biden says. “In a literal sense, history is watching.”

Footage indicates Iranian Red Crescent has established shelters in Gaza for displaced Palestinians

Volunteers distribute food to Palestinian children in an Iran-funded shelter in southern Gaza in footage that aired on the Kan public broadcaster on March 7, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

The Iranian Red Crescent has established shelters for displaced Palestinians in northern and southern Gaza, recent footage uncovered by the Kan public broadcaster reveals.

The footage shows the Iranian flag plastered on a sign hung at one of the shelters where food was being distributed to children.

The president of the Iranian Red Crescent has claimed that his organization has donated tens of thousands of tons of food and medical equipment to Gaza since the outbreak of the war.

In November, Arabic media reported that Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi rejected a request from his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi for Tehran to donate aid to Gaza, as Cairo feared the Islamic Republic would use this to gain a foothold in the enclave. The recent footage raises questions regarding the accuracy of that reporting.

Hamas official: Freed hostage got plastic surgery, thinking she wasn’t pretty enough to have been assaulted

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan is interviewed on the Hezbollah-linked Mayadeen TV on March 6, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan in an interview with the Hezbollah-linked Mayadeen TV said yesterday that one of the Israeli hostages underwent plastic surgery after her release because she thought she might not have been attractive enough to have been sexually assaulted.

Hamdan blasted the report compiled by the United Nation’s envoy on sex crimes, which indicated that rape and gang rape likely occurred during the October 7 Hamas onslaught against southern Israel, that “clear and convincing” evidence shows that hostages were raped while being held in Gaza and that those currently held captive are still facing such abuse.

“The UN report has three essential problems that necessitate the dismissal of [UN envoy Pramila Patten] who published it,” Hamdan said, according to translations from the Middle East Media Research Institute.

“The first problem is that the report is not based on any evidence. The second issue is that only the Israeli narrative was heard, not the counter-narrative, which includes many details about what happened – none of those were adopted,” Hamdan said.

“The third scandal is that what was written in the report is the opposite of the facts. She wrote that the Israeli women who were taken captive by the resistance were [sexually assaulted].”

“When these women were released, they said themselves that they were not attacked. I can say as an anecdote that one of them underwent cosmetic surgery because she thought that she was not assaulted because she was not pretty enough. In other words, they say one thing, and then the committee says the opposite. This is a scandal in the halls of the UN,” Hamdan said, without citing any proof for his allegations.

Osama Hamdan Rejects UN Report on Hamas’s Sexual Violence on October 7: The Woman who Wrote It Should Be Fired; One Female Hostage Had Cosmetic Surgery because She Thought She Was Not Pretty Enough to Be Sexually Assaulted #Hamas #Gaza #Palestinians @USGSRSGPatten pic.twitter.com/4wwzB17Euv

— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) March 7, 2024

CIA chief arrives in Qatar after quietly spending day in Egypt to push mediators on hostage deal

Protesters call for the release of hostages held by terrorists in Gaza, outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, March 7, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

US Central Intelligence Agency Director Bill Burns has reportedly arrived in Qatar after quietly spending the past day in Egypt, as the Biden administration makes what may be a last-ditch attempt to secure a hostage agreement before Ramadan begins at the beginning of next week.

The talks appeared to reach an impasse earlier today as a Hamas delegation left Cairo without any breakthrough reported in the talks being brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the US.

Burns was not planning to make a stop in Israel during his regional tour, a US official told CNN, adding that there was also not slated to be another four-way meeting in Doha with the intelligence chiefs from the US, Egypt and Israel along with Qatar’s prime minister.

CNN said hopes were fading for a deal to be reached before Ramadan but the Walla news site said US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told visiting hostage families in Washington on Wednesday that the US would continue working to secure a deal even after the holy month begins around Monday.

Sullivan told the families that the deal on the table was reasonable and that the US would continue to try and put pressure on Hamas via Egypt and Qatar over the weekend, Walla said.

An Israeli official told the Ynet news site, though, that Jerusalem’s assessment is that Hamas has made a decision to stonewall and allow the war to continue into Ramadan.

UN hails US plan to establish Gaza maritime aid corridor

International focus should be on large-scale distribution and entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza by land, but any way to deliver more aid is “obviously good,” the United Nations says after the US announced plans to build a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza.

“Any way to get more aid into Gaza, whether by sea or airdrop, is obviously good,” says UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric when asked about the plan for a temporary port on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to receive humanitarian assistance.

Delivery of aid by land, however, is more cost- and volume-effective, Dujarric says, and “we need more entry points and we need a larger volume of aid to come in by land.”

The UN has warned that at least 576,000 people in Gaza – one-quarter of the population – are on the brink of famine.

Some aid can enter Hamas-run Gaza via the Rafah crossing from Egypt and Kerem Shalom from Israel.

Before the conflict, Gaza relied on 500 trucks with supplies entering daily.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.