May 24: IDF reservist seriously wounded while fighting in northern Gaza

Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, speaks during the 2023 Days of Remembrance commemoration hosted by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, April 20, 2023. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

US Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt calls out those weaponizing antisemitism for political gain on both sides of the aisle.

She notes that many on the left have no problem condemning antisemitism on the right and visa versa.

“What sometimes is the problem is that some of those folks fail to see it right next to them. You can’t use antisemitism as a political weapon to score points against your opponents.

“Call it out on the other side, but also call it out next to you,” Lipstadt says.

“You’re in fact most impactful when you call out antisemitism among people with whom you agree on everything else… Those who weaponize the charge of antisemitism for partisan or political gain are undermining the overall fight against antisemitism, which puts Jews at greater risk all over the world,” her deputy Aaron Keyak adds.

11:07 pm

US envoy: I was ‘shocked’ by speed of Oct. 7 denialism, silence from rights groups

US Deputy Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor Antisemitism Aaron Keyak (L) and Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt testify about the recent rise in antisemitism and its threat to democracy before the U.S. Helsinki Commission in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on December 13, 2022 in Washington, DC. (CHIP SOMODEVILLA / Getty Images via AFP)

US Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt says she was “shocked” by the speed at which so many began denying the atrocities committed by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7.

“I was shocked by the speed with which people were complaining about Israel’s response on October 8, 9th, 10th — before there was a response. It was truly truly disturbing,” Lipstadt says during a virtual event organized by her office.

The rape and sexual mutilation was “celebrated” by some and questioned by others.

“The silence… was the most disconcerting — silence of precisely those groups from whom one would expect to have been outraged — women’s groups, progressive groups, groups that fight sexual violence, human rights groups,” she says, highlighting how those same groups were quick to speak out when the perpetrators were Boko Haram or ISIS.

“What’s the difference between that and October 7? There’s only one difference, and that difference is the perception that these victims were all Jews,” she asserts, lamenting that too many people either question that the crimes occurred because of this perception or suggest that the victims somehow deserved it.

“Some leading scholars who study this [claim the October 7 sexual violence was] an act of resistance. I’m sorry, rape is never resistance,” Lipstadt asserts.

“It’s rooted in antisemitism,” she adds.

“MeToo, except for the Jew,” Lipstadt’s deputy Aaron Keyak chimes in.

10:37 pm

US envoy: Likening post-Oct. 7 situation for Jews to 1938 is inaccurate

Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt speaks during an event on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

US Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt rejects comparisons some are making between the current situation for Diaspora Jewry and the plight of European Jews in 1938.

“I’m often asked as a historian, is this 1938? I say no, that’s a bit of an extreme position,” Lipstadt says during a virtual event organized by her office.

“I think it’s more like the early 1930s, maybe the late 1920s,” she added, referencing the destabilization of society that was taking place then and likening it to what is happening in many countries after October 7.

But Lipstadt notes two difference between then and now.

The “delivery system” for the spread of antisemitism is much more dangerous today because of social media.

But the other difference is that today, there are governments — including in the US — that have appointed senior officials to combat antisemitism, she says.

9:43 pm

US envoy: Antisemitism threatens democracy and global security

US Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt speaks at a virtual event on May 24, 2024. (Screen capture/State Department)

US Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt calls antisemitism a “threat to democracy.”

“Anybody who buys into the conspiracy myth — which is the cornerstone of of antisemitism — that Jews control the media, banks, government elections, anybody who believes that has given up on democracy,” she says during a virtual event put on by her office.

“The objects of this prejudice [Jewish people]… has cause to wonder whether the authorities protect [them],” she continues, pointing to the anti-Israel protests that have swept college campuses across the country, which have sometimes left Jewish students feeling vulnerable to harassment.

Lipstadt says antisemitism is also a threat to international security because malign actors use it to try sew disunity, particularly in democratic societies.

8:55 pm

PA backs Egyptian decision to allow transfer of piling-up Gaza aid through Israel

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, right, greets Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, during a conference at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

The Palestinian Authority gives its public backing to Egypt’s decision to allow humanitarian aid piling up on its side of the shuttered Rafah Crossing to be transferred to Gaza via Israel’s Kerem Shalom Crossing.

Egypt appears to have requested a statement of support from PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s office to present its decision to release the aid via Israel as being taken in full coordination with Ramallah.

8:38 pm

Hamas-run health ministry raises Gaza’s war death toll to 35,857

Palestinians waiting for aid trucks to cross in central Gaza Strip, May 19, 2024. (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)

A total of 35,857 Palestinians have been killed and 80,293 have been injured in the Israeli military offensive against Hamas in Gaza since October 7, the Gaza health ministry, run by the terror group, says in a statement

These figures have not be verified and only some 25,000 fatalities have been identified at hospitals. The tolls include some 15,000 terror operatives Israel says it has killed in battle. Israel also says it killed some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.

8:28 pm

Biden thanks Egypt for releasing Gaza aid, discusses ‘new initiatives’ to revive hostage talks with Sissi

US President Joe Biden meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, Saturday, July 16, 2022, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

US President Joe Biden welcomes the decision by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to allow aid piling up in Egypt to be sent into Gaza through Israel’s Kerem Shalom Crossing until Egypt’s Rafah Border Crossing is reopened.

“This will help save lives,” the White House says in a readout on the call.

Biden “also expressed his full commitment to support efforts to reopen the Rafah Crossing with arrangements acceptable to both Egypt and Israel and agreed to send a senior team to Cairo next week for further discussions,” the readout says.

Aid has been piling up in Egypt since Israel launched an operation to take over the Gaza side of the Rafah Border Crossing with Egypt on May 7.

Not wanting to be seen as complicit with Israel’s occupation of the gate, Egypt has refused to re-open Rafah until Israeli troops have withdrawn from the other side.

In the meantime, the US and Israel have urged Cairo to at least allow the growing amount of aid in Egypt to be transferred to Israel where it can be delivered into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing.

Egypt had to date refused, still deeming such a move as collaboration with Israel’s military offensive in the southern Gaza city.

The stance has led to rare criticism from the Biden administration, which had until this week only offered praise of Egypt’s role in the war — both as a mediator and as a facilitator of aid.

Biden on the call thanked Sissi “for his efforts from the beginning of the crisis to ensure the continuous flow of assistance from Egypt into Gaza,” the White House says.

“The two leaders also consulted on new initiatives to secure the release of hostages together with an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza,” the US readout says.

8:09 pm

In call with Biden, Egypt’s Sissi agrees to release Gaza aid via Israel amid continued Rafah closure

A truck carrying humanitarian aid arrives for processing at the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Gaza on April 15, 2024. (AFP)

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi agreed with US President Joe Biden by phone on Friday to temporarily send humanitarian aid and fuel to the United Nations via Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing until legal mechanisms are in place to reopen the Rafah Border Crossing from the Palestinian side, the Egyptian presidency announces.

The announcement is a win for the Biden administration, which has been pressuring Egypt in recent days to take this step.

Aid has been piling up in Egypt since Israel launched an operation to take over the Gaza side of the Rafah Border Crossing with Egypt on May 7.

Not wanting to be seen as complicit with Israel’s occupation of the gate, Egypt has refused to re-open Rafah until Israeli troops have withdrawn from the other side.

Egypt had to date refused, still deeming such a move as collaboration with Israel’s military offensive in the southern Gaza city.

The stance has led to rare criticism from the Biden administration, which had until this week only offered praise of Egypt’s role in the war — both as a mediator and as a facilitator of aid.

In an effort to break the impasse earlier this month, Israel quietly asked the Palestinian Authority to take over the Gaza side of the Rafah Crossing instead of Hamas.

But Israel conditioned the offer on officers not identifying themselves as part of the PA due to fears that this would spark opposition from far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, a US official told The Times of Israel. The offer was rejected by Ramallah, which said it would not comply unless Israel agreed to establish a pathway to a future Palestinian state — a non-starter for the hardline government in Jerusalem, the US official added.

Since that rejection, Israel and Egypt have been in talks about having Palestinians not directly affiliated with Hamas or the PA running the Rafah Crossing with assistance from international organizations, the US official said.

7:58 pm

‘Instead of discussing hostages, we’re dealing with this??’: Father of abducted soldier blasts far-right MK for TV gimmick

Eli Albag rips up a libel suit on Channel 12 on May 24, 2024. (Screen capture/X)

Far-right MK Almog Cohen uses his appearance on the Channel 12 talk-show “Ofira and Levinson” to deliver a libel suit to co-host Chaim Levinson.

Shortly after Cohen departs the panel, Eli Albag, whose daughter Liri is being held captive in Gaza, asks for the suit to be given to him.

Albag proceeds to tear up the document.

“Instead of talking about the hostages, we’re dealing with this??” he asks.

אלי אלבג, אביה של לירי אלבג באופירה לוינסון "במקום לדבר על החטופים, בזה מתעסקים?" pic.twitter.com/63Sj88CB0W

— Bravo Kilo (@BravoKiloDelta) May 24, 2024

7:41 pm

Four ICJ judges argue that court order does not require IDF halting all Rafah operations

By Yuval Yoaz

Four of the justices at the International Court of Justice argue that the key operative clause in the court’s ruling, handed down today, does not require that Israel immediately halt all military operations in Rafah, but, rather, that it specifically halt military operations that “could bring about physical destruction in whole or in part” of the Palestinians. Among the four is Israel’s Aharon Barak.

A fifth judge, South Africa’s Dire Tladi, takes the opposite view, arguing that the ruling, in “explicit terms, ordered the State of Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah.”

These are the only five of the 15 judges who pen an opinion to accompany the ruling.

The relevant clause in the ruling states that Israel must “Immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

Former Supreme Court president Barak, who serves as an ad-hoc judge on the ICJ bench in the case brought against Israel by South Africa, writes, in his dissenting opinion, that the majority decision “requires Israel to halt its military offensive in the Rafah Governorate only in so far as is necessary to comply with Israel’s obligations under the Genocide Convention.”

Therefore, according to Barak, “Israel is not prevented from carrying out its military operation in the Rafah Governorate as long as it fulfills its obligations under the Genocide Convention.”

“As a result,” Barak continues, “the measure is a qualified one, which preserves Israel’s right to prevent and repel threats and attacks by Hamas, defend itself and its citizens, and free the hostages.”

The German judge, Georg Nolte, and the Romanian judge, Bogdan Aurescu – who are both among the 13 judges who voted in favor of this measure – also support Barak’s interpretation of the decree.

It is expected that this interpretation – that Israel is not required to halt any and all operations in Rafah – will become the official position of the Justice Ministry and attorney general.

ICJ Vice President Julia Sebutinde (Uganda), who voted against all decisions today, warns against misunderstanding the court’s directive as requiring a unilateral Israeli ceasefire in Rafah. “This measure does not entirely prohibit the Israeli military from operating in Rafah. Instead, it only operates to partially restrict Israel’s offensive in Rafah to the extent it implicates rights under the Genocide Convention,” she writes.

She cautions: “… this directive may be misunderstood as mandating a unilateral ceasefire in Rafah and amounts to micromanaging the hostilities in Gaza by restricting Israel’s ability to pursue its legitimate military objectives, while leaving its enemies, including Hamas, free to attack without Israel being able to respond.”

South African judge Tladi, holds the opposite opinion: “Today, the Court has, in explicit terms, ordered the State of Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah. The Court has previously, albeit in implicit and indirect ways, ordered the State of Israel not to conduct military operations elsewhere in Gaza because such operations prevent the delivery of human assistance and cause harm to the Palestinian people. The Court has also reiterated its urgent call for Hamas to release the hostages.”

Adds Tladi: “The reference to ‘offensive’ operations illustrates that legitimate defensive actions, within the strict confines of international law, to repel specific attacks, would be consistent with the Order of the Court. What would not be consistent is the continuation of the offensive military operation in Rafah, and elsewhere, whose consequences for the rights protected under the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of Genocide has been devastating.”

7:29 pm

Hezbollah anti-tank missile damages largely evacuated northern border town

Damage is caused in the northern border community of Dovev by anti-tank guided missiles launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon on May 24, 2024. (Merom HaGalil Regional Council)

Damage is caused in the northern border community of Dovev by anti-tank guided missiles launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon, local authorities say.

Dovev has been largely evacuated amid daily attacks by Hezbollah.

7:29 pm

After ICJ ruling, Israel says it ‘has not and will not’ carry out Rafah operations that could destroy civilian population

Magistrates are seen at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as part of South Africa's request on a Gaza ceasefire in The Hague, on May 24, 2024. (Nick Gammon/AFP)

Israel’s National Security Council and Foreign Ministry issue a joint statement responding to the International Court of Justice’s ruling ordering Israel to halt Rafah operations that risk the destruction of the civilian population in the southern Gaza city.

The Israeli statement says the charges of genocide brought by South Africa against Israel at the ICJ in The Hague are “false, outrageous and morally repugnant.”

It adds: “Following the horrific attack against the citizens of Israel on October 7th, 2023, Israel embarked upon a defensive and just war to eliminate Hamas and to secure the release of our hostages. Israel is acting based on its right to defend its territory and its citizens, consistent with its moral values and in compliance with international law, including international humanitarian law.

“Israel has not and will not conduct military actions in the Rafah area which may inflict on the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part,” the statement says, echoing language used by the court in its operative clauses.

“Israel will continue its efforts to enable humanitarian assistance and will act, in full compliance with the law, to reduce as much as possible harm caused to the civilian population in Gaza.

While the statement stresses Israel’s commitment to prevent terror organizations from retaking the Rafah Crossing, Jerusalem says it remains committed to allowing aid to be delivered through the gate.

“Israel will continue to enable the Rafah crossing to remain open for the entry of humanitarian assistance from the Egyptian side of the border, and will prevent terror groups from controlling the passage.” the Israeli statement says.

Egypt has refused to reopen the crossing since Israel took over the Gaza side on May 7.

7:03 pm

IDF says it killed deputy head of Hamas’s national security force in central Gaza strike

The deputy commander of Hamas’s national security force was killed in an airstrike in the central Gaza Strip yesterday, the military announces.

According to the IDF, Diaa al-Din al-Sharafa was responsible for “managing the mechanism that secures the borders of the Gaza Strip.”

“During the war, this mechanism prevented the population from evacuating from combat zones,” the IDF says.

Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas following the October 7 onslaught, including its civil authority and members of its political wing.

اللواء ضياء الدين الشرفا تقبله الله
الذي أغتاله الاحتلال في إبادته المتواصلة لغزة وتعمّده قتل كل من يخفف عن الغزيين من تأثيرات حربه الشعواء كرجال الأمن هو أسير محرر قضى17 عام في سجون الاحتلال لنيته تنفيذ عملية أنصار 2 بمحاولة ىْْـفجير سيارة مفحْخة بتاريخ 25 أغسطس عام 1993. https://t.co/8l9iZTguLC pic.twitter.com/ddsT0p7jQu

— أُمنية خالد #انقذوا_الأسرى #كتائب_القسّام (@ommniahk) May 23, 2024

6:45 pm

US hosts symposium to combat online antisemitism with tech executives

Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt speaks during an event on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

US antisemitism envoy Deborah Lipstadt hosted a symposium to combat online antisemitism with technology executives, NGOs and government representatives yesterday, the State Department says.

“In a realm where fault lines often fracture progress, we convened a diverse cohort of leaders to pinpoint challenges and create enduring solutions. The symposium served as a space where industry and NGO leaders could utilize each other’s experiences and expertise, forging a pathway toward concerted action,” Lipstadt says in a statement.

“The Symposium was a critical effort to make some headway in a space that desperately needs attention. Online antisemitism cannot go unchecked. Governments around the world are rightfully focusing their attention on this issue and we are hopeful that Ambassador Lipstadt’s initiatives in this space will have lasting impact,” Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell says.

Participating technology companies included Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok, and X.

Lipstadt was joined by counterparts from Canada and Israel along Germany’s deputy ambassador to the US took part in the symposium. They were joined by senior White House officials, Domestic Policy Council chiar Neera Tanden, Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber Anne Neuberger and Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma.

Six NGOs from around the world, including the American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, World Jewish Congress, Center for Countering Digital Hate, Cyberwell, and Decoding Antisemitism also participated.

6:40 pm

IDF releases footage showing its interception of drones launched by Iran-backed militia in Iraq

The IDF releases footage showing fighter jets intercepting three drones launched at Israel by an Iran-backed militia in Iraq last night.

The first video shows a drone launched at northern Israel being downed, and the latter clips show the interception of two more UAVs flying toward the southernmost city of Eilat.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed to have targeted the port of Haifa and a “vital target” in Eilat. According to the IDF, all three drones were downed outside of Israeli airspace.

6:38 pm

In call later today, Biden to urge Egypt’s Sissi to release Gaza aid piling up at shuttered Rafah gate

US President Joe Biden meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, Saturday, July 16, 2022, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

US President Joe Biden will hold a phone call later today with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and ask him to allow aid from Egypt to be transferred to Gaza through Israel’s Kerem Shalom Crossing, a US official says, confirming an Axios report.

Aid has been piling up in Egypt since Israel launched an operation taking over the Gaza side of the Rafah Border Crossing with Egypt on May 7.

Not wanting to be seen as complicit with Israel’s occupation of the gate, Egypt has refused to re-open Rafah until Israeli troops have withdrawn from the other side.

In the meantime, the US and Israel have urged Cairo to at least allow the aid piling up in Egypt to be transferred to Israel where it can be delivered into Gaza through Kerem Shalom.

Egypt has thus far refused, still deeming such a move as collaboration with Israel’s military offensive in the southern Gaza city.

The stance has led to rare criticism from the Biden administration, which had until this week only offered praise of Egypt’s role in the war — both as a mediator and as a facilitator of aid.

In an effort to break the impasse earlier this month, Israel quietly asked the Palestinian Authority to take over the Gaza side of the Rafah Crossing instead of Hamas.

But Israel conditioned the offer on officers not identifying themselves as part of the PA due to fears that this would spark opposition from far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, the US official told The Times of Israel. The offer was rejected by Ramallah, which said it would not comply unless Israel agreed to establish a pathway to a future Palestinian state — a non-starter for the hardline government in Jerusalem, the US official added.

Biden’s call with Sissi is also expected to touch on efforts to revive the hostage talks.

Egypt has fumed over recent reporting in The Times of Israel and CNN that it provided separate proposals to Israel and Hamas in the last round of negotiations, contributing to their collapse two weeks ago. Cairo has threatened to cease its mediation efforts over attempts to doubt its role — a threat made by Qatar last month as well.

But the US official said Egypt remains involved in the latest efforts to broker a hostage deal.

6:17 pm

IDF says it struck building in southern Lebanon being used by Hezbollah operatives

Israeli fighter jets struck a building in southern Lebanon’s Maroun al-Ras earlier today where a group of Hezbollah operatives were spotted by soldiers of the 869th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit, the military says.

In addition, the IDF says it struck another building used by the terror group in Mays al-Jabal.

Also earlier today, a “suspicious aerial target” heading toward Israel from Lebanon was shot down by air defenses, the military adds.

כוחות יחידה 869 זיהו מוקדם יותר היום מחבלים נכנסים למבנה צבאי במרחב מרון א-ראס. זמן קצר לאחר הזיהוי, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו את המבנה בו שהו המחבלים, לצד מבנה צבאי נוסף של הארגון במרחב מיס אל-ג'בל שבדרום לבנון.

אמש בוצע ירי ארטילרי להסרת איום במרחב מרווחין>> pic.twitter.com/wezLZCJzML

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 24, 2024

6:16 pm

IDF reservist seriously wounded while fighting in northern Gaza

An IDF reservist with the Bislamach Brigade’s 6828th Battalion was seriously wounded during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip earlier today, the military says.

He was taken to a hospital for treatment.

6:16 pm

Gantz speaks to Blinken after ICJ ruling, says Rafah operations will continue

By Sam Sokol

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz in a video message issued May 23, 2024, demanding the immediate establishment of a state commission of inquiry in the events leading up to October 7, 2023. (Screenshot)

Following the the International Court of Justice’s order to halt military operations in Rafah, the war cabinet minister’s office announces that Minister Benny Gantz is speaking with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on the phone from IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Israel must “continue fighting,” Gantz says in a subsequent statement.

“The State of Israel embarked on a just and necessary campaign after a brutal terrorist organization massacred our citizens, raped our women, kidnapped our children and fired missiles at our city centers,” he says, insisting that the Jewish state is “obligated to continue fighting to return its hostages and ensure the safety of its citizens, at any time and place — including in Rafah.”

“We will continue to act according to international law in Rafah and wherever we operate, and make an effort to avoid harming the civilian population. Not because of The Hague tribunal but first of all because of who we are,” he says.

In the call with Blinken, Gantz’s office says the pair also discussed “the efforts to ensure the return of the hostages and the prospects of advancing with a normalisation agreement with Saudi Arabia.”

Gantz insists that this is possible but has all but rejected Riyadh’s main condition of establishing a pathway to a future Palestinian state.

“Gantz conveyed his appreciation for US support for Israel and its mission of continuing to defend itself and noted that it has critical implications on the [ICJ’s] proceedings,” the Israeli readout says.

Blinken raised the importance of improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza, it adds, noting that Gantz “conveyed that Israel allows humanitarian aid to reach all parts of Gaza in parallel to the fighting.”

6:14 pm

‘Our future doesn’t depend on what gentiles say’: Ben Gvir, other far-right ministers dismiss ICJ ruling

By Sam Sokol

Ambassador of the Republic of South Africa to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, wait for judges to enter the International Court of Justice, or World Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, May 24, 2024 (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Responding to the International Court of Justice’s order demanding it halt Rafah operations to endanger Palestinian civilians, Israeli politicians accuse the tribunal of antisemitism and support for terrorism.

“There should only be one answer to the irrelevant order of the antisemitic court in The Hague: the occupation of Rafah, the increase of military pressure and the complete defeat of Hamas,” tweets National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. “Our future does not depend on what the gentiles will say, but on what the Jews will do,” he adds, quoting Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.

Had this “antisemitic court” been active during the Holocaust, “it would undoubtedly have issued orders against the Allies,” declares Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf who is in Ben Gvir’s party.

“Those who demand that the State of Israel stop the war, demand that it decree the cessation of its existence — we will not agree to that,” argues Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. “We will continue to fight for ourselves and for the entire free world. History will judge who today stood by the Nazis of Hamas and ISIS.”

Some opposition politicians also blast the court’s ruling while at the same time criticizing the Netanyahu government for mismanaging the war and the legal battle over it.

“As I warned, the decision of the Israeli government to appear before the International Court of Justice in The Hague was a serious mistake,” says Yisrael Beytenu chief Avigdor Liberman.

“The court’s decision today proves that various UN institutions and also the International Criminal Court in The Hague have become aides to terrorists all over the world and their entire role is to deter democratic countries in their fight against terrorist organizations.”

“Israel is the one that was brutally attacked from Gaza and had to defend itself against a horrible terrorist organization that murdered children, raped women and still fires rockets at innocent civilians,” says Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.

“There is no country in the world that would not react with force to such an attack. This verdict could and should have been prevented. A sane and professional government would have prevented [incendiary] statements from ministers and stopped criminals who burn aid trucks,” he declares.

For its part, the left-wing, majority-Arab Hadash party calls on the government to adhere to the ICJ ruling.

“The Israeli government must accept the verdict and stop the operation in Rafah immediately. But this is not enough – it must act to end the entire war and a hostage/prisoner exchange agreement that will result in a lasting and permanent ceasefire,” the Hadash party says in a statement.

The international community must “act against Israel as a criminal state, and immediately recognize an independent Palestinian state,” the party adds.

5:56 pm

Israel reportedly carries out large airstrike in Rafah

Palestinian media report a large Israeli airstrike in the Shaboura area of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Footage circulating online purports to show the strike.

The IDF has not yet commented on the incident.

The IDF said Wednesday that it had begun to operate against Hamas in Rafah’s Brazil and Shaboura neighborhoods, about halfway between the Israeli border and the coast.

أحزمة نارية تضرب مخيم الشابورة وسط مدينة رفح pic.twitter.com/K1Cg7Y1jbU

— أحمد حجازي 𓂆 (@ahmedhijazee) May 24, 2024

5:55 pm

World Court orders Israel to open Rafah Crossing currently shut by Egypt

By Jeremy Sharon

Israeli legal team, with Yaron Wax, Malcolm Shaw and Avigail Frisch Ben Avraham, from left, wait for judges to enter the International Court of Justice, or World Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, May 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Along with its orders regarding Israel’s military operation in Rafah, the International Court of Justice orders Israel to “maintain open” the Rafah Border Crossing between Egypt and Gaza to allow the “unhindered provision at scale” of humanitarian aid to the region.

The Rafah Crossing has been closed since the IDF launched an operation to take over the Gaza side of the gate. Israel blames Egypt for refusing to reopen the crossing since.

Egypt does not want to reopen the crossing as long as the IDF is effectively managing the other side, and Israel has struggled to recruit another body to run the gate. The Palestinian Authority rejected an offer to take over Rafah, as Israel said officers would not be allowed to formally identify as PA due to feared pushback from far-right members of Israel’s coalition.

The court also orders Israel to allow “the unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip” for commissions of inquiry, fact-finding missions, or other investigative bodies mandated by the UN to investigate allegations of genocide.

This order could prompt UN agencies to send delegations to start investigations on the genocide allegations being made by South Africa and other nations against Israel in the court.

5:36 pm

Hamas welcomes ICJ order on Rafah, but says ruling doesn’t go far enough

By Reuters and ToI Staff

The Hamas terror group welcomes the International Court of Justice’s order for Israel to halt military operations in Rafah that would risk the destruction of the civilian population sheltering there.

However, the Gaza-based terror organization tells Reuters that the ruling fell short of recognizing the ongoing fighting in other parts of the enclave.

“We believe it is not enough since the occupation’s aggression across the Gaza Strip, especially in northern Gaza, is just as brutal and dangerous,” senior Hamas official Basem Naim says.

Hamas calls on the United Nations Security Council to implement the International Court of Justice decision, he says, adding that the terror group welcomes the court’s request to allow investigation committees to reach the Gaza Strip to probe allegations of genocide against the Palestinian people.

Israel has strongly denied it has carried out acts of genocide in its war against Hamas in Gaza, which is now in its eighth month.

“Hamas pledges to cooperate with the investigation committees,” Naim tells Reuters.

War broke out between Israel and Hamas following Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, in which terrorists infiltrated Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 252, while committing widespread atrocities and sexual assault.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 35,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting since the beginning of the Israeli offensive, though only some 24,000 fatalities have been identified at hospitals. The tolls, which cannot be verified, include some 15,000 terror operatives Israel says it has killed in battle. Israel also says it killed some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.

5:30 pm

Netanyahu to consult with senior ministers, officials after ICJ order on Rafah

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issues a statement against the decision of three European countries to recognize a Palestinian state on May 22, 2024. (Screen capture)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says he will consult senior ministers in a phone call after the International Court of Justice’s order on Israel’s military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Netanyahu will speak with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, Foreign Minister Israel Katz, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and other officials.

The announcement does not mention war cabinet ministers Benny Gantz or Gadi Eisenkot.

5:22 pm

South Africa welcomes ‘stronger’ International Court of Justice order to Israel

By AFP and ToI Staff

Magistrates are seen at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as part of South Africa's request on a Gaza ceasefire in The Hague, on May 24, 2024. (Nick Gammon/AFP)

South Africa welcomes an order by the International Court of Justice to Israel to halt its offensive in the Gaza city of Rafah “which may inflict on the Palestinian group conditions of life that would bring about its physical destruction in whole in part,” and urges UN member states to back it.

“I believe it’s a much stronger, in terms of wording, set of provisional measures, very clear call for a cessation,” South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor tells public broadcaster SABC.

4:34 pm

ICJ orders Israel to halt operations in Rafah that risk destruction of civilian population

By Reuters and Jeremy Sharon

Presiding Judge Nawaf Salam reads the ruling of the International Court of Justice, or World Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, May 24, 2024 (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

The International Court of Justice orders Israel to halt military operations in Rafah that would risk the destruction of the civilian population sheltering there.

Israel “must immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part,” states the ruling, read out by the court’s president, Nawaf Salam.

While some are reading this as a blanket order to halt the offensive, the wording appears to include some conditionality that would allow Israel to continue operations in Rafah so long as it ensures that the conditions for Palestinians sheltering there do not deteriorate so as to risk their mass-destruction.

Judge Georg Nolte appears to adopt this understanding.

“The measure obliging Israel to halt the current military offensive in Rafah is conditioned by the need to prevent ‘conditions of life that could bring about [the] physical destruction in whole or in part’ of the Palestinian group in Gaza,” he writes in a declaration included in the full ruling.

Notably, nearly one million of the 1.4 million Palestinians sheltering in Rafah have already evacuated, amid IDF orders to do so.

4:22 pm

Responding to ‘Bring them home’ chants, Trump declares many of the hostages are dead

Former US president Donald Trump speaks to reporters at Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 in New York. (Michael M. Santiago/Pool Photo via AP)

Former US president Donald Trump responds to “bring them home” chants at a campaign rally yesterday by reiterating his belief that many of the hostages are no longer alive.

“I believe that many of the hostages that you’re waiting for — and everybody’s waiting for those hostages — many of them are dead, many of them are dead.

“Some will be alive, but many of those hostages are dead,” Trump says.

😳 Trump to pro-Israel crowd chanting “Bring Them Home”:

“I believe that many of the hostages that you're waiting for — and everybody's waiting for those hostages — many of them are dead, many of them are dead.

“Some will be alive but many of those hostages are dead.” pic.twitter.com/x9CXPZavI8

— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) May 23, 2024

3:56 pm

CIA head to meet today with Mossad chief, Qatari PM in Paris in bid to restart hostage talks

By Jacob Magid and ToI Staff

This combination of pictures created on February 13, 2024 shows (L to R) CIA Director William Burns, Mossad Director David Barnea, and Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani. (AFP)

CIA Director William Burns will meet with Mossad chief David Barnea and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani in Paris later today, an Israeli official says, confirming an Axios report.

The meeting will focus on reviving talks for the release of Israeli hostages and a cessation of fighting in Gaza after negotiations in Cairo fell apart two weeks ago.

According to Axios, Burns is in touch with his Egyptian counterpart regarding the talks, after Cairo threatened to cease its mediation efforts over attempts to doubt its role.

Qatar’s Al-Thani will also meet with French President Emmanuel Macron while in Paris, along with his Egyptian, Jordanian and Saudi counterparts.

3:14 pm

Germany’s Scholz says there’s ‘no warrant’ for ICC to arrest Netanyahu

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declines to speculate on whether Germany will execute an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, noting that no warrant had yet been issued and that Israel had an independent judiciary.

“A chamber of judges will decide,” Scholz says at a joint press conference in Berlin with his Portuguese counterpart when asked about the ICC prosecutor’s request for a warrant over alleged violations of international law amid Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

When deciding whether to issue a warrant, judges “shall bear in mind that Israel is a democratic state with a strong and independent judiciary,” he adds.

Scholz’s office was heavily criticized by the Israeli government on Thursday after German spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said the country would “of course” execute a potential ICC arrest order if the need arose.

Under the principle of complementarity, the Hague-based ICC can only prosecute crimes where the local jurisdiction is unable or unwilling to do so.

Earlier this week, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan’s office said he had recommended issuing the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant because he had not seen compelling evidence that Israeli courts were probing alleged violations of international law in Gaza.

However, if judges found that Israel was doing a credible investigation of the charges alleged by the ICC prosecutor, they could deny the request.

3:05 pm

Macron to host diplomats from Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia for talks on Gaza war

By AFP

French President Emmanuel Macron will host the foreign ministers of four key Arab states later today for talks on the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, his office says.

Joined by his own top diplomat Stephane Sejourne, Macron will discuss the situation with Qatar’s Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, Egypt’s Sameh Shoukry, Ayman Safadi of Jordan and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, the Elysee said.

3:04 pm

As Egypt refuses to open Rafah Crossing, much-needed humanitarian aid begins to rot

Egyptian Red Crescent trucks loaded with aid wait outside the Rafah border crossing with the Palestinian Gaza Strip on March 23, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas. (Khaled Desouki/AFP)

Some of the much-needed food supplies waiting to enter the Gaza Strip from Egypt have begun to rot as the Rafah Crossing remains closed for aid deliveries for the third week after Egypt refused to reopen the crossing for as long as the IDF controls the Palestinian side.

The Rafah crossing — which borders Egypt and has been the main gateway for goods and people entering and leaving Gaza — has been closed since Israel on May 7 said it had seized it from Hamas.

After the IDF took control of the crossing, Egypt ended coordination for aid trucks to pass from its territory into Gaza, insisting that the other side of the crossing be under Palestinian control before it reopens.

As a result, the backlog of aid on the road between the Egyptian side of the crossing and the town of al-Arish, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) west of Rafah and an arrival point for international aid donations, has been building up.

In an attempt by aid delivery drivers to offload rotten supplies, some of the food that would have been headed for Gaza has instead been sold at cut price on the local market in northern Sinai, leading to the confiscation of stocks of rotten eggs, say local officials from Egypt’s Ministry of Supply.

One truck driver, Mahmoud Hussein, says his goods had been loaded on his vehicle for a month, gradually spoiling in the sun. Some of the foodstuffs are being discarded, others sold off cheap.

“Apples, bananas, chicken and cheese, a lot of things have gone rotten, some stuff has been returned and is being sold for a quarter of its price,” he says, crouching under his truck for shade.

“I’m sorry to say that the onions we’re carrying will at best be eaten by animals because of the worms in them.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

2:59 pm

Military Police opens probe after soldiers filmed themselves burning a Quran and other books in Gaza

The IDF Military Police is investigating incidents in which soldiers filmed themselves burning books, including a Quran, during operations in the Gaza Strip.

Footage of the book burnings were taken by the soldiers, uploaded to social media, and later recirculated by Palestinian accounts.

One video, reportedly taken in the Rafah area, showed a soldier holding a Quran before tossing it into a fire.

[@tamerqdh] unveils alarming footage depicting Israeli soldiers burning Quran book within a mosque in Gaza.

The video captures a soldier tossing the Quran into flames as the mosque is set ablaze. pic.twitter.com/qTuYZ0rejm

— Younis Tirawi | يونس (@ytirawi) May 21, 2024

Another image, reportedly from Aqsa University in Gaza City, shows a soldier posing in front of a bookshelf that was set on fire.

Exclusive:

Israeli soldiers set fire Aqsa University [@AqsaUniversity]’s library in Gaza City and took pictures of themselves in front of the flames. pic.twitter.com/9TFMsAM2LG

— Younis Tirawi | يونس (@ytirawi) May 23, 2024

Responding to incidents, the IDF says the Military Police have launched probes, the findings of which will be submitted to the Military Advocate General for review.

It says the “severe” incidents are “inconsistent with the values of the IDF and its protocols.” On the Quran burning, the IDF says it “respects all religions and condemns such behavior completely.”

IDF Spokesperson Adm. Daniel Hagari put out a statement several months ago calling on soldiers not to film themselves if the documentation does not serve an operational purpose, saying such actions violate the military’s commands.

Despite this, and calls by other top officers, troops continue to take and share such footage online.

2:17 pm

Brazil’s Lula says hostages must be released for sake of peace after IDF recovers body of Brazilian-Israeli Michel Nisenbaum

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Brazil says he will continue to fight for the return of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, after the IDF said it had recovered the body of Brazilian-Israeli national Michel Nisenbaum, 59, along with two others in an overnight operation.

“I learned with immense sadness of the death of Michel Nisenbaum, a Brazilian hostage held by Hamas,” Lula says on X. “I met his sister and daughter, and I know the immense love that his family had for him.”

He pledges that “Brazil will continue to fight and we will remain engaged in efforts to have all hostages released so that we can have a ceasefire and peace for the people of Israel and Palestine.”

Soube, com imensa tristeza, da morte de Michel Nisembaum, brasileiro mantido refém pelo Hamas. Conheci sua irmã e filha, e sei do amor imenso que sua família tinha por ele. Minha solidariedade aos familiares e amigos de Michel. O Brasil continuará lutando, e seguiremos engajados…

— Lula (@LulaOficial) May 24, 2024

2:16 pm

IDF says elite LOTAR troops uncovered building used for rocket storage in north Gaza’s Jabaliya

Long-range rockets found by troops in northern Gaza's Jabaliya, in a handout image published May 24, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Troops of the elite LOTAR unit, operating under the 460th Armored Brigade in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya, located a building used to store rockets, the IDF says.

The military says the building was locked and some of the rockets found inside were long-range.

Footage released by the IDF shows the logo of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the wall of the room where the rockets were found.

Troops of the elite LOTAR unit, operating under the 460th Armored Brigade in northern Gaza's Jabaliya, located a building used to store rockets, the IDF says.

The military says the building was locked and some of the rockets found inside were long range.

Footage released by… pic.twitter.com/WqXsKEj6sU

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) May 24, 2024

1:49 pm

EU’s Borrell urges Israel, European nations not to ‘intimidate’ ICC judges

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell urges Israel “not to intimidate” or “threaten” the judges of the International Criminal Court, whose chief prosecutor Karim Khan is seeking arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as for three of Hamas’s senior leaders.

“I ask everyone, starting with the Israeli government, but also certain European governments, not to intimidate the judges, not to threaten them,” Borrell says during an interview with Spanish public television TVE, calling for “respect for the International Criminal Court.”

Earlier this month, ICC officials warned against efforts to try and sway the court after reports that Israel and its allies were trying to dissuade the court from issuing the arrest warrants.

1:47 pm

UK Labour chief Starmer says he will recognize Palestinian state in peace process when the time is right

Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer speaking during the weekly session of Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) in the House of Commons, in central London on February 21, 2024. (Jesica Taylor/UK Parliament/AFP)

Britain’s opposition leader Keir Starmer says he wants to recognize a Palestinian state if he wins power in an upcoming general election, but cautions that such a move would need to come at the right time in a peace process.

Ireland, Spain and Norway announced this week that they would recognize a Palestinian state on May 28, prompting an angry response from Israel which said this amounted to a “reward for terrorism” and recalled its ambassadors from the three capitals.

The Labour Party has been engulfed by an internal battle over its policy on the war in Gaza since the October 7 massacre carried out by Hamas in southern Israel and the resulting war in Gaza.

Starmer has faced criticism from some traditional Labour voters for only gradually shifting the party’s position towards supporting a ceasefire in Gaza.

The party’s stance led to 10 senior party lawmakers quitting their policy roles and was blamed for a handful of disappointing results in this month’s local elections in some areas with large Muslim populations.

Asked if he thought Palestine should be a state, Starmer tells the BBC: “Yes, I do, and I think recognition of Palestine is extremely important. We need a viable Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel, and recognition has to be part of that.”

Starmer says recognition of a Palestinian state would need to come at the right time in a peace process, but “I absolutely believe in it,” arguing a two-state solution was essential for lasting peace in the region.

The two-state solution has long been the framework of British foreign policy and international efforts to resolve the conflict, but the peace process has been moribund for years.

The current Conservative government, and other big European states such as France and Germany, have also voiced support in principle for a Palestinian state, but with the timing of recognition forming part of a broader peace process.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

1:22 pm

Activists rally at Spanish embassy in Tel Aviv to celebrate Madrid’s recognition of a Palestinian state

By Noam Lehmann

Protesters from various Israeli left-wing groups rally outside the Spanish embassy in Tel Aviv to demand Madrid immediately recognize Palestinian statehood after saying it would do so, May 24, 2024. (Noam Lehmann/The Times of Israel)

About two dozen people gather outside the Spanish embassy in central Tel Aviv to congratulate the country on its recognition of Palestinian statehood.

Protesters carry signs and chant in Hebrew, Arabic and Spanish, calling on Spain to “stop considering – recognize” an independent Palestinian state, as Madrid’s decision to do so has not yet come into effect.

Several of the attendees also sported signs calling for other countries in the EU to follow Spain’s lead.

Spain’s recognition of Palestinian statehood, announced earlier this week in tandem with the governments of Norway and Ireland, is set to take effect May 28.

Several left-wing organizations are represented, including the Israeli-Palestinian civil society group Combatants for Peace; the binational communist party Hadash; and the Young Communist League of Israel.

At one point, a passerby assails the activists, telling them she is from Kibbutz Reim — one of the Gaza border communities attacked in Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught in southern Israel, in which nearly 1,200 people were killed and over 250 taken hostage, sparking the ongoing war that has devastated Gaza.

The rally ends with a chorus of “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido” (“the people united will never be defeated”), a Spanish-language Chilean protest song.

Some 20 Israeli protesters outside the Spanish embassy in central TLV Fri morning:

'Good morning dear ambassador, recognize Palestine now!' pic.twitter.com/LGoyBZhYrS

— Noam Lehmann (@insomniacalpaca) May 24, 2024

Eli Gozansky, a Hadash activist, tells The Times of Israel that protesters hoped to convince EU member states “to make one diplomatic step to press Israel, which has the most extreme government ever,” to accept a political settlement creating a Palestinian state alongside an Israeli state, with Jerusalem as a joint capital, and address the plight of Palestinian refugees.

“This kind of way gives hope, and when there is hope, the people will respond,” says Gozansky.

“Both people are now in a very deep hole,” Gozansky adds, bemoaning what he describes as the “revenge psychology” that has taken root in Israel.

“An eye for an eye will leave us all blind,” says Gozansky.

A Spanish embassy worker had come to speak to the protesters “just to understand who we are politically,” Gozansky notes.

12:55 pm

Suspected drone infiltration sirens in northern Israel were false alarm – IDF

Suspected drone infiltration sirens that sounded in northern Israel a short while ago were false alarms, the military says.

The alerts were activated in several communities in the Galilee Panhandle.

12:28 pm

Iran says no evidence of foul play in helicopter crash that killed Raisi

By AFP

In this photo provided by Moj News Agency, rescue teams are seen near the site of the incident of the helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Varzaghan in northwestern Iran, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (Azin Haghighi, Moj News Agency via AP)

Iran’s army has so far found no evidence of criminal activity in a helicopter crash that killed the country’s president Ebrahim Raisi and seven others, state media reports.

The 63-year-old died on Sunday after his helicopter went down in the country’s mountainous northwest while returning from a dam inauguration on the border with Azerbaijan.

“No bullet holes or similar impacts were observed on the helicopter wreckage,” says a preliminary report by the general staff of the armed forces published by the official IRNA news agency.

“The helicopter caught fire after hitting an elevated area,” it says, adding that “no suspicious content was observed during the communications between the watch tower and the flight crew.”

Raisi’s helicopter had been flying on a “pre-planned route and did not leave the designated flight path” before the crash.

The report says the wreckage of the helicopter had been found by Iranian drones early on Monday but the “complexity of the area, fog and low temperatures” hindered the work of search and rescue teams.

The army says “more time is needed” to investigate the crash and that it will provide additional details later.

12:16 pm

IDF says rocket sirens in northern Israel earlier were false alarm

Rocket sirens that sounded in northern Israel a short while ago were false alarms, the military says.

The alerts were activated in Kiryat Shmona and several nearby communities in the Galilee Panhandle.

12:14 pm

Lapid: Each day that passes reduces chance that hostages will return alive

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says the news of the deaths of three hostages, whose bodies were recovered by the IDF in an overnight operation, is “heartbreaking,” and calls for the release of those still in captivity.

“There are still 125 hostages in Gaza,” he says, counting the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin among those taken on October 7, as well as Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who were captured after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

“With each passing day, the chance of bringing them home decreases,” he continues. “We need to do everything we can to bring them home as soon as possible.”

12:00 pm

Macron mourns death of French-Mexican hostage killed and taken to Gaza on Oct. 7

French President Emmanuel Macron says he received news of the death of French-Mexican national Orión Hernández Radoux “with immense sadness,” after the IDF recovered his body from Gaza overnight and says the French government is assisting his family.

“France remains more committed than ever to the release of all the hostages,” he adds.

J’apprends avec une immense tristesse la mort de notre compatriote Orión Hernández-Radoux, otage du Hamas depuis le 7 octobre.

Je pense à sa famille et à ses proches. Nous sommes à leurs côtés.

La France reste plus que jamais engagée pour la libération de tous les otages.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 24, 2024

11:52 am

Father of murdered hostage Hanan Yablonka says he found out about son’s death via rumors online

Reuben Yablonka, the father of Hanan Yablonka, tells Channel 12 that he found out about his son’s death and the recovery of his body from Gaza before the IDF could inform him due to rumors circulating online.

“At 7 a.m., I woke up to all these messages… There were more than 300 messages,” he says.

Trying to verify if the rumors he was being asked about were true, Yablonsky says he phoned his daughter.

“She didn’t want to tell me, but they were saying in messages on Telegram that Hanan had been murdered,” he says.

“When the IDF phoned me at 8:30 and asked to come here, I realised that everything was true,” he adds.

11:41 am

Hagari apologizes to family of hostage Matan Zangauker after interrogation of his abductor aired without their knowledge

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says he has apologized to the family of hostage Matan Zangauker after footage published yesterday of the interrogation of a terrorist who had kidnapped the 30-year-old on October 7 was not first shown to his relatives.

The interrogation clips were initially leaked to the British tabloid The Daily Mail, and only hours later were unofficially released by the IDF.

“Yesterday, videos were published from the interrogations of two terrorists who participated in the terror onslaught on October 7. In one of the interrogations, the name of 24-year-old Matan Zangauker was mentioned, who was kidnapped from Nir Oz with his girlfriend Ilana,” Hagari says in a press conference.

“The information that was said during the interrogation was not presented to Matan’s family before the publication due to a human error,” he says.

Hagari says the military investigated the incident, and he spoke with Einav and Yaron, Matan’s parents to “personally apologize.”

11:11 am

Herzog: It is our duty as a country to bring all the hostages back home

President Isaac Herzog says in a statement that his “heart goes out” to the families of the hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza, and thanks the IDF for enabling their return to Israel for burial.

“It is our duty as a country to return all of them — the living and those we must bring to burial in Israel,” he says. “May the memories of Hanan, Orión and Michel be a blessing.”

11:10 am

Netanyahu reiterates ‘national and moral duty’ to rescue hostages after bodies of three recovered

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extends condolences to the families of Orión Hernández Radoux, Hanan Yablonka, and Michel Nisenbaum after the IDF said it had recovered their bodies from Gaza in an overnight operation.

“We have a national and moral duty to do everything we can to return our hostages — the living and the deceased — and that is what we are doing,” he says.

“I congratulate the IDF and security forces who acted with great courage in the heart of enemy territory to return them to their families and for burial in Israel,” he adds.

10:46 am

IDF recovers bodies of hostages Orión Hernández Radoux, Hanan Yablonka, Michel Nisenbaum, all slain on Oct. 7

L-R: Hostages Michel Nisenbaum, Orion Hernandez, Hanan Yablonka. Their bodies were recovered from northern Gaza's Jabaliya in an operation announced May 24, 2024. (Courtesy)

The Israel Defense Forces has recovered the bodies of three more hostages from the northern Gaza Strip in an overnight operation, the military announces.

Orión Hernández Radoux, 30, Hanan Yablonka, 42, and Michel Nisenbaum, 59, were all killed on October 7, according to new “reliable intelligence” discovered amid the war, the military says. Until recently, there had been no information as to their status and they were believed to be alive.

The bodies of the three were kidnapped from the Mefalsim area, according to the IDF, at the same location where Hamas terrorists murdered and abducted four more hostages whose bodies were recovered last week from a tunnel in Jabaliya.

Hernández Radoux, a Mexican-French national, was the boyfriend of Shani Louk, one of the four hostages whose bodies were found last week. Hernández Radoux and Yablonka — along with Louk and two more hostage bodies recovered last week — were at the Supernova music festival near the border community of Re’im when it was attacked by Hamas terrorists.

They had fled to the Mefalsim area where they were murdered and kidnapped.

Nisenbaum, from Sderot, was also killed next to Mefalsim with the other hostages. He had been driving to the Gaza Division’s base near Re’im to collect his granddaughter who was staying with his non-commissioned officer son-in-law.

The IDF says the bodies of the three hostages were recovered in a joint operation carried out by the military and Shin Bet, following the analysis of “precise intelligence” that had been obtained in recent days.

After the bodies were identified at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute overnight, family members were notified by military representatives, the IDF adds.

10:09 am

Katz announces Spanish consulate in Jerusalem will be prohibited from serving West Bank Palestinians

Foreign Minister Israel Katz says that the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem will no longer provide services to Palestinians from the West Bank following Spain’s announcement that it will recognize an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, and after a Spanish minister ended a speech by saying “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea.”

“I have decided to sever the connection between the Spanish mission to Israel and the Palestinians, and to prohibit the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem from providing services to Palestinians from the West Bank,” he says in a statement.

Referring to Spain’s Labor and Economy Minister Yolanda Díaz, who drew allegations of antisemitism for her use of the phrase “Palestine will be free from the river to the sea,” Katz says that if “this ignorant hate-filled person wants to truly understand what radical Islam wants, she should learn about the 700 years of Islamic rule in Al-Andalus — modern-day Spain.”

Tras el reconocimiento por parte de España de un Estado palestino y el llamado antisemita de la Vicepresidenta del Gobierno español a no conformarse con reconocer un Estado palestino "y liberar Palestina desde el río hasta el mar", he decidido cortar la conexión entre la…

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) May 24, 2024

9:40 am

World Court to deliver ruling this afternoon on South Africa’s bid for halt to Rafah offensive

By AFP and ToI Staff

The International Court of Justice will issue its ruling this afternoon on a bid by South Africa to order Israel to implement a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as the IDF presses on with its offensive in Rafah.

Pretoria has urged the International Court of Justice to order an “immediate” stop to Israel’s war against Hamas, including in the southernmost city of Rafah, where Israel believes four of Hamas’s six remaining battalions to be located, along with many of the hostages.

The ruling will be delivered by ICJ President Judge Nawaf Salam at 4 p.m. Israel time, and can be watched live:

In an unsourced report Thursday, Ynet said officials believe there is a low chance the ICJ will reject South Africa’s request for a cessation of hostilities, a medium chance that the court will accept South Africa’s original demand to halt the war in Gaza, and a medium-to-high chance that it will focus its ceasefire order on Rafah.

The report also assessed that there was a high chance the court would issue additional orders to increase humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

9:27 am

IDF says Gaza rocket launch point targeted in drone strike after projectiles fired at Ofakim area

IDF soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip in an undated photo cleared for publication on May 24, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

A rocket launching position used to fire two projectiles at the Ofakim area in southern Israel last night was targeted in a drone strike, the military says.

The strike comes as troops continue to operate in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya, in Rafah in the Strip’s south, and in the Netzarim Corridor in the center of the territory.

In Jabaliya, dozens of gunmen were killed and rocket launchers, tunnels, and weapon depots were located; in Rafah, in the past day troops uncovered several weapons depots and tunnels; and in the Netzarim Corridor, several terrorist cells that had launched mortars at troops in Gaza were killed in strikes, the IDF says.

8:00 am

Biden administration weighs formation of post-war Gaza peacekeeping force, with US official serving as civilian advisor

The Biden administration could endorse the formation of a Palestinian or Arab peacekeeping force in postwar Gaza, with a US official serving as its top civilian advisor, Politico reports, citing four US officials with knowledge on the matter.

According to the report, the US expects to play a prominent role in rebuilding and rehabilitating the Gaza Strip once Israel’s war against Hamas has concluded but is still working to define what exactly this would look like.

One option being considered is to appoint a US official to serve as a civilian adviser to a Palestinian peacekeeping force. According to the report, the US is also working to persuade Egypt, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates to join the force, should it be formed.

The US adviser would not be located in Gaza itself, the unnamed officials tell Politico, as the Biden administration is not keen to be seen as responsible for the day-to-day running of the Palestinian enclave. Instead, the officials suggest that the advisor could be located in Egypt or Jordan.

The possibility of comprising a peacekeeping force was discussed in a classified State Department document obtained by Politico from March of this year.

The document suggests that the peacekeeping force should not be “a US-commanded mission” as it would likely “encounter fierce resistance by the Palestinian people given US support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.”

Instead, the document suggests the force should be comprised of some 2,000 Palestinian members and an additional 1,000 members from Arab countries, with an “appropriately senior officer” from either Israel, Egypt of a reformed Palestinian Authority at its helm.

The report adds that the US currently favors Egypt as the contender to lead the force.

7:20 am

World Bank warns Palestinian Authority facing risk of financial collapse

By AFP and ToI Staff

The World Bank building in Washington, Monday, April 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

The Palestinian Authority is facing the possibility of financial collapse, the World Bank says in a new report, as revenue streams run dry and economic activity drops precipitously against the backdrop of the war in Gaza.

“The fiscal situation of the Palestinian Authority has dramatically worsened in the last three months, significantly raising the risk of a fiscal collapse,” the World Bank says in a statement.

“Revenue streams have largely dried up due to the drastic reduction in clearance revenue transfers payable to the Palestinian Authority and a massive drop in economic activity.”

In the coming months, the authority’s deficit is expected to reach $1.2 billion, doubling the funding gap of $682 million at the end of 2023.

The Palestinian economy is projected to contract between 6.5 and 9.6 percent, although the Bank notes that the outlook remains “highly uncertain.”

“Increased foreign assistance and the accumulation of further arrears to public employees and suppliers are the only available financing options for the Palestinian Authority,” the World Bank says.

The report comes days after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to cut off the transfer of funds to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah after the announcement by Norway, Spain and Ireland that they will unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state.

The far-right minister also said he will not extend the indemnity given to Israeli banks that transfer funds to banks in the West Bank, which is due to expire on July 1.

6:49 am

Iran-backed militia in Iraq claims credit for launching drone shot down by IDF

Shortly after the Israeli military said fighter jets downed a drone heading toward Israel from the east, an Iran-backed militia group in Iraq took credit for the attack, claiming to have launched a drone at the Haifa port.

According to the IDF, the drone was intercepted before entering Israeli airspace.

The Iran-backed group has claimed numerous drone attacks amid the ongoing war, with the IDF reporting downing many of them.

Last night, another two drones were launched by the militia at Eilat. The IDF said fighter jets downed both outside Israeli airspace.

5:53 am

IDF says fighter jets intercepted drone heading toward northern Israel ‘from the east’

The military says that fighter jets shot down an unmanned aircraft approaching northern Israel “from the east.”

A statement from the Israel Defense Forces stresses the drone did not enter Israeli skies.

The IDF also notes that shrapnel from an interceptor missile sparked a fire after making impact near Safed. It says no one was injured and that the matter is being investigated.

3:17 am

US House speaker says Netanyahu to ‘soon’ address joint session of Congress