Nov. 21: AG slams ‘baseless’ arrest warrants, says ICC has no authority in Israeli matters

IDF says drone incident in Negev over; pro-Iran militia in Iraq says it launched drone this evening

The IDF says sirens were activated in the Mitzpe Ramon area after a suspected drone entered Israeli airspace.

The IDF says the incident is over, and there are no reports of injuries. The drone possibly crashed in an open area, although this is still under investigation by the military.

The Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq, meanwhile, claimed to have launched a drone at southern Israel this evening.

AG says ICC arrest warrants ‘baseless,’ has no authority in Israeli matters

Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara attends a ceremony marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7. Behind her stands Minister Orit Strock, at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on October 27, 2024. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara slams the “baseless” decision by the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ex-defense minister Yoav Gallant.

“On this day, the obvious must be said — the International Criminal Court lacks any authority in the matter,” Baharav-Miara says in a statement.

There was “no place” to issue arrest warrants against the leaders of a democratic country, she says, adding the decision goes against the principles of the court.

She says Israel will consider its next legal steps.

Sirens warn of suspected drone infiltration in Negev

Suspected drone infiltration sirens are sounding in the Har Hanegev area, near Mitzpe Ramon in southern Israel.

The IDF is looking into the details.

IAEA board censures Iran for failing to cooperate with nuclear watchdog

The flag of Iran flutters in the wind outside of the IAEA headquarters during the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA's Board of Governors meeting at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, on November 20, 2024. (Joe Klamar / AFP)

VIENNA, Austria — The UN nuclear watchdog’s board condemns Iran for failing to cooperate fully with the agency, the second time it has done so in just five months.

The International Atomic Energy Agency also calls on Tehran to provide answers in a long-running investigation into uranium particles found at two locations that Tehran has failed to declare as nuclear sites.

Nineteen members of the IAEA board vote for the resolution, while Russia, China and Burkina Faso oppose it, 12 abstain and one does not vote, according to diplomats who speak on condition of anonymity to describe the outcome of the closed-doors vote.

The resolution was put forward by France, Germany, and Britain, supported by the United States. It comes at a critical time, ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Trump’s first term in office was marked by a particularly tense period with Iran when the US president pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” against Tehran. In 2018, Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers and imposed even harsher sanctions that have since hobbled Iran’s economy further.

The resolution comes on the heels of a confidential report earlier this week in which the IAEA said Iran has defied international demands to rein in its nuclear program and has increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

Netanyahu aide in leak case to remain in police custody until Wednesday

Eli Feldstein, then an IDF spokesman, attends the funeral of a terror victim in the West Bank settlement of Homesh, December 17, 2021. (Sraya Diamant/Flash90)

A court extends the custody of Eli Feldstein, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicted on charges of harming state security, as part of the security documents scandal that has roiled the Prime Minister’s Office in recent weeks.

Feldstein, together with an IDF reservist non-commissioned officer charged with transferring classified information who has not been identified, will remain in police custody until Wednesday, the court rules.

Feldstein has already spent over three weeks in detention after being arrested on October 27 and was put on suicide watch earlier this week after it was reported that prison guards found a rubber strip in his cell that he could have used to hang himself.

White House says US will not execute arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during a press briefing at the White House, July 9, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Karine Jean-Pierre says the US will not execute arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Jean-Pierre calls the ICC move a “flawed process,” and explains why the US has rejected its efforts.

“In contrast to how [Chief ICC Prosecutor Karim Kahn] has treated others, including [probed Venezuelan President] Nicolas Maduro and his associates, the prosecutor failed to provide Israel with a meaningful opportunity to engage constructively and to properly consider its domestic processes,” she says.

“This calls into question the credibility of the prosecutor and his investigation,” she adds.

Separately asked to explain the administration’s decision to lobby Democrats against progressive legislation to withhold weapons from Israel, Jean-Pierre says the resolutions voted down yesterday would have been counterproductive to US efforts to secure ceasefires in Lebanon and Gaza.

“We have strong reason to believe that terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah want to see Israel in a position of weakness, and we don’t want to see that happen,” she adds.

GOP lawmaker says Senate should pass stalled bill to sanction ICC

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, speaks during the Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on online child safety on Capitol Hill, Jan. 31, 2024, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham tweets that now is the time for the US Senate to sanction the ICC following its issuance of arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The House passed legislation to sanction the court in June but the Democratic-controlled Senate has been unable to do the same to date.

Czech PM slams ICC ruling for putting democratic leaders on par with terrorists

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala arrives for the European Political Community Summit in Budapest, on November 7, 2024. (Ferenc ISZA / AFP)

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala rejects the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with slain Hamas military chief Muhammad Deif.

“The ICC’s unfortunate ruling undermines authority in other cases by equating the elected representatives of a democratic state with the leaders of an Islamist terrorist organization,” he writes on X.

IDF says it intercepted ballistic missile from Yemen

The IDF says a ballistic missile launched from Yemen was successfully intercepted by its air defenses.

According to the military, the missile was shot down outside of Israel’s borders.

Sirens had sounded in the Dead Sea area as a precaution and amid fears of falling shrapnel.

IDF soldier killed amid fighting in northern Gaza’s Jabalia, military says

Staff Sgt. Ron Epshtein, killed in the Gaza Strip on November 21, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

An IDF soldier was killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip earlier today, the military announces.

The slain soldier is named as Staff Sgt. Ron Epshtein, 19, of the Givati Brigade’s Tzabar Battalion, from Nesher.

According to a military source, Epshtein was killed by shrapnel from an artillery shell that was fired at the Jabalia area amid an ongoing operation there. Another two soldiers were lightly wounded in the incident.

Sirens triggered near Dead Sea following ballistic missile launch from Yemen

Sirens are sounding near the Dead Sea following a ballistic missile launched from Yemen at Israel.

The IDF is looking into the details.

Smotrich says he’s considering withholding PA tax funds, ending banking deal due to ICC decision

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, November 11, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says he will inform the security cabinet this evening that he is considering not transferring this month’s batch of Palestinian tax revenues that belong to Ramallah following today’s ICC decision to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

Israel is required under the Oslo Agreements to transfer the tax revenues that it collects on the PA’s behalf. The US has gone as far as to accuse Smotrich of theft when he has refused to do in the past.

Smotrich is also considering not extending the corresponding banking agreement between Israel and the PA, which expires at the end of this month.

“These steps would deal a severe blow to the PA’s economy, which could lead to its collapse,” his office says in a statement.

Smotrich will also demand in tonight’s meeting that the government implement a series of other sanctions against the PA — including the stripping of “VIP” permits allowing senior Palestinian officials to transit through West Bank crossings — which the cabinet authorized in June, his office says.

PM says US opposition to ICC decision shows world there will be consequences for those complying with it

In Hebrew and English video statements, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it is “a black day” after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for him and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

He says that decision “violates the natural right of democracies to defend themselves against murderous terrorism.”

“This is an antisemitic measure that has one goal,” he alleges, “to deter me, to deter us, from exercising our natural right to defend ourselves against our enemies who rise up against us to destroy us.”

The Hague court is doing nothing in the face of Hamas holding 101 hostages, he says, before correcting himself: “Sorry, today it issued an arrest warrant against the body of Muhammad Deif.”

He rejects the charge that Israel is starving Gazans, pointing out the “hundreds of thousands of tons of food” that have been ushered into Gaza during the war. He blames Hamas for looting aid and thus starving the population.

“Israel does not recognize and will not recognize this distorted decision,” he declares.

Netanyahu says he cherishes “the heartwarming mobilization of many friends in the world, led by our friends in the United States. They made clear that this decision will have serious consequences for the court and those who will cooperate with it in this matter.”

However, a growing list of Western countries have declared that they plan to comply with the ruling.

Netanyahu also thanks Israeli politicians across the political spectrum who spoke out against the move.

“No outrageous anti-Israel decision will prevent us – and it will not prevent me – from continuing to defend our country in any way,” Netanyahu promises. “We will not give in to pressure.”

Italy says it would arrest Netanyahu if he came to country, after ICC warrant

Italy would have to arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he came to the country, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto says, following the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court.

Ryanair extends Israel flight suspension until end of March 2025

Passengers alight a Ryanair flight at Ben Gurion International Airport, near Tel Aviv, April 11, 2018. (Moshe Shai/FLASH90)

The low-cost Irish airline Ryanair announces the extension of its suspension of Israeli flights from the end of 2024 to the end of March 2025.

Canada will abide by all rulings of international courts, says Trudeau

Canada will abide by all rulings issued by international courts, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says when asked about arrest warrants the International Criminal Court issued for senior Israel officials.

“It’s really important that everyone abide by international law,” Trudeau tells a televised news conference. “We stand up for international law, and we will abide by all the regulations and rulings of the international courts.”

Sa’ar announces Dutch FM planned trip to Israel canceled after he declared country would arrest Netanyahu

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp will not be coming to Israel next week, after saying that The Netherlands would arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he set foot in the country in the wake of the ICC issuing arrests warrants against the premier.

Gideon Sa’ar speaks with Velkamp, and the two agree that the visit will not take place, according to Sa’ar’s office.

Sa’ar also expresses his disappointment at Velkamp’s comments, and presents Israel’s position on the warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

PM’s aides built PR campaign to boost Qatar’s global image ahead of 2022 World Cup

Yisrael Einhorn (l) seen with Jonatan Urich (c) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2019. (Courtesy)

Haaretz reveals that two of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s close advisers were behind a PR campaign to boost the global image of Qatar ahead of Doha’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup.

Jonathan Urich and Yisrael Einhorn were working at their Perception PR company at the time. They partnered with another Israeli firm to create a campaign on behalf of Qatar that marketed the Gulf country as a bedrock of peace and stability.

At the time, Netanyahu was head of the opposition, but the government was maintaining his policy of courting Qatar to send tens of millions of dollars each month to Gaza in order to prevent the enclave’s economic collapse.

Urich and Perception deny the Haaretz report.

Haaretz obtained documents from the PR campaign that included the Perception logo on them. A video promoting Qatar on Einhorn’s YouTube channel was taken down after Haaretz asked Perception for comment.

Both Urich and Einhorn have been implicated in an ongoing criminal investigation into the leak of stolen classified intelligence to the Bild German daily in order to skew the public debate regarding the hostage negotiations in the public’s favor.

Gaetz withdraws as Trump’s attorney general pick

US Rep. Matt Gaetz speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard, File)

Matt Gaetz, who was nominated by US President-elect Donald Trump to be US attorney general, has pulled out of the selection process after widespread opposition including from within his Republican Party.

“While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,” Gaetz says on X.

I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance…

— Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) November 21, 2024

‘The boss is happy’: Indictment suggests Netanyahu may have known about aide’s leak of classified intel

Spokesperson Eli Feldstein is seen at an event with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the war against Hamas in Gaza, sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023, massacre. (IDF)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have been made aware by members of his staff that they had obtained a classified document and then leaked it to the foreign press in what has become known as the security documents scandal, details from the indictment of one of those aides suggest.

The indictment filed against Eli Feldstein, an aide to Netanyahu, details how an IDF reservist non-commissioned officer (NCO) working in the IDF’s military directorate leaked a highly classified document detailing Hamas’s hostage negotiations strategy to Feldstein, for him to show to the prime minister.

Feldstein leaked the document to a reporter at Channel 12 News on September 2, just days after six hostages were murdered by Hamas, to influence media coverage and the public discourse which had turned sharply against Netanyahu as a result of the slaying of the captives, the indictment says.

After leaking the document, Feldstein told Netanyahu’s spokesperson Yonatan Urich what he had done in a WhatsApp message, adding “And [we] need the prime minister for this.”

The Channel 12 reporter was unable to publish the article since the military censor blocked its publication, so Feldstein then had the document sent to the Bild German newspaper through an associate of Urich’s on September 4 in order to circumvent the military censor.

Bild published its article on September 6 with direct quotes from the classified document. After publication, Urich wrote to Feldstein “The boss is happy,” in an apparent reference to Netanyahu, who he ostensibly updated about the leak.

Yisrael Einhorn (l) seen with Jonatan Urich (c) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2019. (Courtesy)

Feldstein also received two other classified documents from the NCO in early September, and when he had all three documents together he told another Netanyahu spokesperson, Ofer Golan, on September 9 that he had them and that “[We] need to bring them to the boss.”

Those documents were ultimately not sent to the media since Feldstein and the others decided they weren’t relevant to the media discourse at the time.

Feldstein was indicted on charges of transferring classified information designed to harm state security. Urich has been questioned by the police under caution, and may be the subject of an indictment, while other suspects are also likely to be indicted. Netanyahu is not a suspect in the case.

Peace Now on ICC decision: What was presented as war with justifiable aims has become disproportionate

Responding to the ICC arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant, the dovish Israeli organization Peace Now says “Under Netanyahu’s leadership, Israel has become a pariah state, and this is a low point in our history as a people and a nation.”

“What was presented as a war with justifiable aims, such as bringing back our hostages and providing security, has become disproportionate, allegedly using unlawful means such as starvation. If the security of our country and our hostages were truly this government’s priorities, this war of destruction would have ended long ago, security would have been restored to Israel, and the hostages would be home,” says the left-wing settlement watchdog.

“Anyone who cares about our country must act now,” it continues. “Before the group of criminals running our country and ruining our future continues their madness by establishing settlements in Gaza and sentencing the hostages to death, we must take to the streets and demand an immediate end to the war, a hostage deal, and the downfall of this disastrous government!”

IDF carries out day’s fourth wave of strikes in Beirut as Lebanon says 22 killed today in Baalbek

In a fourth wave of airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs today, the IDF says it struck a Hezbollah weapons depot, a command room and other infrastructure used by the terror group.

Before the strikes, the IDF issued evacuation warnings to civilians in the area.

Lebanon’s health ministry says Israeli strikes on several locations in the eastern Bekaa Valley killed 22 people today, with state media reporting four family members killed in one village.

“Israeli enemy” strikes on five areas in the Baalbek region killed a total of 22 people, the ministry says in separate statements, with the National News Agency reporting that a strike on the village of Maqneh killed at least four members of the same family. The figures don’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.

UN envoy: Israeli strikes on Syria ‘likely the deadliest’ to date

A bombardment that killed scores in the city of Palmyra was “likely the deadliest Israeli strike in Syria to date,” a UN representative says, warning of escalating violence in the country.

At least 79 pro-Iran fighters died on Wednesday in the central city, which sits adjacent to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“Once again Israeli airstrikes on Syria have increased significantly, both in frequency and scope,” Najat Rochdi, UN deputy special envoy to Syria, tells the Security Council.

“Just yesterday, we saw dozens killed in a strike near Palmyra –- likely the deadliest Israeli strike in Syria to date,” Rochdi says.

She adds that violence remains at “troubling levels” in other areas, including northwest Syria, where she cited an uptick in pro-government drone and artillery attacks.

Since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in the country, mainly targeting the army and Iran-backed groups.

The Israeli military has intensified its strikes on targets in Syria since almost a year of hostilities with Iran-backed Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon escalated in late September.

“Clearly, the immediate priority for Syria is de-escalation,” Rochdi says. “As humanitarian aid diminishes and hostile rhetoric and actions intensify, Syrians are being driven into increasingly precarious and unsustainable conditions.”

Palestinian Authority says ICC arrest warrants for Israeli officials sign of ‘hope’

The Palestinian Authority welcomes the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants on Thursday for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“The ICC’s decision represents hope and confidence in international law and its institutions,” it says in a statement published by the official PA news agency Wafa, which urges ICC members to enforce “a policy of severing contact and meetings with internationally wanted individuals, Netanyahu and Gallant.”

Report: Soldiers briefly snuck far-right activists into Gaza for them to scope out settlement opportunities

Head of the Nachala Settlement Movement organization Daniella Weiss takes questions during a press conference at an event to promote the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza, October 21, 2024 (Jeremy Sharon / The Times of Israel)

The Kan public broadcaster reports that earlier this month, several IDF soldiers sent a jeep to pick up far-right settler activist Daniella Weiss and several of her colleagues to ferry them into Gaza’s Netzarim corridor.

The move wasn’t authorized by IDF higher-ups

Weiss is leading efforts to re-establish settlements in northern Gaza.

She tells Kan that next time she’s allowed in, she doesn’t plan on leaving, adding that if she is joined by hundreds at once, it will be harder for the army to evacuate them.

Responding to the Kan report, the IDF says it is looking into the matter, but is not aware of claims that Weiss entered Gaza. If she did, it was against protocol and will be dealt with accordingly, the military adds.

Gallant on ICC issuance of arrest warrant against him: Court legitimizes murder of babies, rape of women

Then-defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks during a press conference at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to fire him from his position, on November 5, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Former defense minister Yoav Gallant condemns the International Criminal Court over its announcement that it is issuing arrest warrants against him and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the war in Gaza.

By seeking to bring him and Netanyahu up on charges of war crimes, the international tribunal has equated Israel and Hamas “and thus legitimizes the murder of babies, the rape of women and the abduction of the elderly from their beds,” he tweets, adding that the court’s decision “sets a dangerous precedent against the right to self-defense and moral warfare, while encouraging murderous terrorism.”

“Gone are the days when we could be denied the right to defend ourselves,” Gallant continues, predicting that the court’s efforts to “deny Israel its right to achieve its goals in its just war will fail” and declaring that he is “proud” of his role in leading Israel’s military during a difficult period.

Katz, IDF chief meeting with US envoy who’s seeking to broker Lebanon ceasefire

US special envoy Amos Hochstein meets with IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Defense Minister Israel Katz in Tel Aviv on November 21, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Israel Katz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi are currently meeting with US special envoy Amos Hochstein, the Defense Ministry says.

Hochstein is in Israel to advance a ceasefire in Lebanon. The US envoy held meetings with the Lebanese side in recent days and said that “additional progress” had been made.

MK Karhi soliciting support from ministers in effort to oust AG

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi has begun soliciting ministerial signatures on a document requesting that cabinet secretary Yossi Fuchs schedule a cabinet discussion on the potential dismissal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

According to the Ynet news site, the move is aimed at showing Justice Minister Yariv Levin that there is support for his efforts to axe the attorney general.

A spokesman for Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu confirms that Karhi has been circulating the letter among members of the cabinet and that Eliyahu supports the initiative.

Multiple members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government have been calling for Baharav-Miara’s ouster in recent days.

UK respects ICC’s independence, but rejects moral equivalence between Israel and terror groups

A UK government spokesperson says, “We respect the independence of the International Criminal Court, which is the primary international institution for investigating and prosecuting the most serious crimes of international concern.”

“This government has been clear that Israel has a right to defend itself, in accordance with international law. There is no moral equivalence between Israel, a democracy, and Hamas and Lebanese Hizbullah, which are terrorist organizations,” the statement continues.

“We remain focused on pushing for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the devastating violence in Gaza. This is essential to protect civilians, ensure the release of hostages and to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza,” the UK adds.

Hungary, Argentina blast ICC decision; Italy says it’s still reviewing it; Turkey hails arrest warrants

Hungary’s foreign minister Peter Szijjártó blasts the ICC’s “shameful and absurd” decision to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.

“This decision disgraces the international judiciary by equating leaders of a country attacked by a heinous terror attack with the leaders of the terrorist organization responsible,” he says in a call with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, according to a Hungarian readout.

Argentina “declares its deep disagreement” with the decision, which “ignores Israel’s legitimate right to self-defense against the constant attacks by terrorist organisations like Hamas and Hezbollah,” President Javier Milei posts.

“We support the ICC, while always remembering that the court must play a legal role and not a political role. We will evaluate together with our allies what to do and how to interpret this decision,” Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani says in response to the ICC arrest warrants against Israeli and Hamas leaders.

Turkey, meanwhile, hails the decision as “a belated, but positive decision to stop the bloodshed and put an end to the genocide in Palestine.”

“The barbaric Israeli authorities, who target our innocent Palestinian brothers and sisters… must be brought to justice as soon as possible for their war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Turkish Justice minister Yilmaz Tunc says.

Lapid calls for regional commission based in Riyadh to hammer out Lebanon, Gaza and Saudi deals

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid speaks at the Mitvim Institute’s Strategies of Hope conference in Tel Aviv, November 21, 2024. (Lazar Berman/The Times of Israel)

Opposition leader Yair Lapid calls for a regional commission based in Riyadh to hammer out arrangements for the future of Lebanon and Gaza, and normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Speaking at the Mitvim Institute’s Strategies of Hope conference in Tel Aviv, Lapid says the current government “is extending the war needlessly, because of the prime minister’s political problems, and the fantasies of annexation and the return to Gaza from the messianic wing.”

He envisions a grand diplomatic vision that begins with a release of all hostages in Gaza, and a six-month halt to fighting in Gaza and Lebanon. Israel would state clearly that it has no intention of resettling Gaza or remaining in southern Lebanon, but has the right to operate over its borders. In the six-month period, an Emirati-Egyptian-Moroccan-PA force will enter Gaza and take over the distribution of humanitarian aid and rebuilding.

Within a month, says Lapid, Saudi Arabia will host a conference with Israel, the US, Bahrain, the UAE, Morocco, Lebanon and the PA.

A five-part deal will come out of the conference, envisions Lapid:

1) An arrangement will be put in place in Lebanon in which Hezbollah retreats 9-10 kilometers from the border, while the Lebanese Armed Forces backed by the US and France moves into southern Lebanon. A new LAF force with higher salaries trained by the UK and France will be built to secure southern Lebanon.

2) In Gaza, a body made up of the Saudis, Americans, Emiratis will oversee civil management, along with a symbolic representation from the Palestinian Authority. The PA will not be able to access funds or choose officials in the body.

3) A regional coalition will be formed to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and from achieving regional hegemony through its armed proxy network.

4) Economic and diplomatic ties with the Abraham Accords countries and Saudi Arabia will be deepened, based on the Negev Forum model of professional committees for specific topics.

5) A declaration will be made that the participants will work for a separation between Israel and the Palestinians, pending reforms in the PA. Israel will commit to refraining from the annexation of the West Bank, while the PA will commit to fighting terrorism and incitement.

Lapid calls the election of Donald Trump in the US “an opportunity for Israel. This is an administration that is not afraid of grand initiatives.” The remark appears to be a shot at the Biden administration, which Lapid has rarely criticized over the past four years.

‘Fundamentally rejecting’ ICC decision, US says it’s discussing next steps with Israel and allies

The US “fundamentally rejects” the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes perpetrated throughout Israel’s war against Hamas, a White House National Security spokesperson tells The Times of Israel.

“We remain deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants and the troubling process errors that led to this decision,” the spokesperson adds. When the ICC prosecutor announced his decision to request the arrest warrants in May, the US said at the time that he had failed to provide Israel with the opportunity to investigate the claims ahead of time.

“The United States has been clear that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over this matter. In coordination with partners, including Israel, we are discussing next steps,” the spokesperson adds.

While the Biden administration has spoken against the ICC and ICJ cases against Israel, it has to date rejected calls from Republican lawmakers to sanction the court as President-elect Donald Trump did in his first term.

‘Hague Shmague’ says Likud minister, giving ICC the middle finger

Regional Cooperation Minister David Amsalem addresses the Knesset plenum, November 4, 2024. (Noam Moskowitz, Office of the Knesset Spokesperson)

“Hague Shmague,” Likud minister David Amsalem tweets, dismissively responding to the ICC decision to issue arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant.

Amsalem adds a middle finger emoji for good measure.

האג שמאג…???????? pic.twitter.com/bpGQBqZIsk

— דודי אמסלם ???????? (@dudiamsalem) November 21, 2024

US envoy says ICC doesn’t have jurisdiction to issue arrest warrants against PM, Gallant

Stephanie Hallett, US deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Israel, speaks at the Mitvim Institute's Strategies of Hope conference in Tel Aviv, November 21, 2024. (Lazar Berman/The Times of Israel)

Stephanie Hallett, US deputy chief of mission at the US Embassy in Israel, says a response from US President Joe Biden to the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant will be coming out shortly.

“The ICC does not have jurisdiction in this instance,” says Hallett, speaking at a conference in Tel Aviv. “The complementarity principle has absolutely not been applied.”

She says that ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan “absolutely had an opportunity to get on a plane to come here and engage with Israel.”

“Instead, he chose not to get on the plane,” she notes.

Biden’s “very strong” statement will reflect these positions, she says.

Irish PM says ICC charges against Netanyahu and Hamas leader serious and significant

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris says the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants are a significant and serious step.

“The decision… is an extremely significant step,” Harris says in a statement. “These charges could not be more serious.

“Ireland respects the role of the International Criminal Court. Anyone in a position to assist it in carrying out its vital work must now do so with urgency.”

At Gaza funeral for three children, lost dreams and condemnation of US and Arab states

Illustrative - A Palestinian woman prays by a relative's tomb as others bury their dead following overnight Israeli airstrikes, at a cemetery in east Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, February 26, 2024. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)

As Areej al-Qadi tearfully kisses the bodies of her three young children killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, another mourner lashed out at the United States and Arab leaders for not ending the war.

Gazans attending one funeral after another after more than a year of devastating conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas feel abandoned and angry that their pleas for help have gone largely unanswered.

The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people and abducted 251. Ninety-seven of those remain in captivity in Gaza. Over 44,000 Palestinians have been killed since, according to Hamas health authorities. Israel says the ratio of civilians to combatants killed is roughly two to one.

Qadi says her son Abdul Aziz, 7, killed along with his brother Hamza, 5, and sister Laila, 3, while they played outside in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, had wanted to be an astronaut.

“He said to me ‘I hope a rocket comes and I can go to the moon.’ He didn’t realize that the rocket would come and tear him up into pieces,” she says.

Israel says it goes to great lengths to protect civilians and accuses Hamas of using them as human shields.

“What right does America have, talking about democracy, justice and equality? says displaced mourner Ra’fat al-Shaer. “Also a message to the Arab world, to the heads of the Arab nations. How long will this continue?”

People like Mahmoud Bin Hassan al-Thalatha, the father of the three children he said were killed along with other innocent people on a bustling street, say their only recourse is prayer.

“My children were martyred, the people walking were martyred, and the stall vendor was martyred while he was sitting down, they were all martyred. May God have mercy on them.”

‘There’s a headless body. We don’t know whose’: Dozens said killed in IDF strikes throughout Gaza

Dozens have been killed or are unaccounted for in Gaza after a series of Israeli strikes, health authorities, Hamas-linked officials and witnesses say.

One strike near the Kamal Adwan hospital in the north of the territory left “dozens of people” dead or missing, the facility’s director Hossam Abu Safiya tells AFP.

Israel has said there has been regular Hamas activity at the northern Gaza hospital.

Another strike was reported in a neighborhood of Gaza City, with civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal saying 22 were dead.

“There is a headless body. We don’t yet know who this is,” Moataz al-Arouqi, who lives in the area, tells AFP.

The IDF has not issued any comment on the matter.

Lebanon seeks faster Israeli pull-out, right to self-defense in truce, official says

Lebanon is seeking changes to a US ceasefire proposal to ensure a speedier withdrawal of Israeli troops from south Lebanon and to give both parties the right to self-defense, a senior Lebanese official says.

Lebanese officials requested the changes during meetings in Beirut this week with US mediator Amos Hochstein, who is working to strike a deal in the waning months of the Biden administration to end the war between Lebanese group Hezbollah and Israel.

The amendments sought by Lebanon, details of which have not previously been reported, indicate Hochstein still has work to do to seal a ceasefire agreement which he said was “within our grasp” during a visit to Beirut on Tuesday.

The Lebanese official tells Reuters that Lebanon wanted to see Israeli troops “withdraw immediately after the ceasefire is declared so the Lebanese army can deploy in all areas” and so displaced people could return to their homes.

The official adds that the Israeli position was a withdrawal within 60 days of the truce being announced.

The official says the current draft deal referred to a pull-out from “Lebanese borders” while Lebanon wanted a specific referral to “the Lebanese border” to ensure that Israeli troops would withdraw from the frontier in full, not in part.

Lebanon has also sought language in the proposal that would preserve the right of both sides “to self-defense,” the Lebanese official says, without elaborating.

Israel has insisted that, even if a truce is agreed, it will have the right to keep striking Hezbollah. Israel’s foreign minister said on Wednesday his country wanted to “enforce” that Hezbollah would stay out of southern Lebanon and not bring in weapons into Lebanon by land or through sea and airports.

The Lebanese official says there was no language in the US draft deal on Israel continuing its strikes against Hezbollah and that Lebanon rejected any breach of its sovereignty.

IDF says it struck Hezbollah command centers during day’s third wave of strikes in Beirut

During a third wave of airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs today, the IDF says it struck several more Hezbollah command centers.

The Hezbollah sites were located “in the heart of a civilian population,” the IDF says, accusing the terror group of using human shields.

Before the strikes, the IDF issued evacuation warnings to civilians in the area.

During a third wave of airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs today, the IDF says it struck several more Hezbollah command centers.

The Hezbollah sites were located "in the heart of a civilian population," the IDF says, accusing the terror group of using human shields.

Before… pic.twitter.com/ARpjrmcYYM

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) November 21, 2024

Borrell rejects claims that ICC decision was politically motivated, says it should be implemented

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, says the ICC decision was not political, rather one made by a court and thus should be respected and implemented.

“The tragedy in Gaza has to stop,” Borrell says in a statement.

“These decisions are binding on all states party to the Rome Statute, which includes all EU Member States,” he later tweets.

Jordan’s foreign minister says ICC’s decision must be respected

Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi says the ICC’s decision must be respected and implemented, adding the Palestinians deserved justice after what he termed Israel’s “war crimes” in Gaza.

FM Sa’ar phoning counterparts abroad following ICC decision

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar begins a series of phone calls with his counterparts around the world, his office says, after the International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

Sa’ar has spoken with the foreign ministers from Argentina, Czechia, Hungary and Romania, among other countries.

Israeli defense official says high likelihood for Lebanon ceasefire

There is a substantial chance of Israel reaching a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon, a senior Israeli defense official tells reporters.

The official says a United States-backed deal that would see Hezbollah gradually withdraw north of the Litani River and the Lebanese Army retake responsibility for south Lebanon is in reach.

US special envoy Amos Hochstein is in Israel today meeting separately with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz along with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, to discuss the ceasefire negotiations.

Hochstein held meetings with the Lebanese side in recent days and said that “additional progress” had been made.

Under the potential ceasefire, the Lebanese Army would be responsible for preventing Hezbollah from reestablishing itself in southern Lebanon

According to the defense official, if Israel sees Hezbollah attempting to rebuild infrastructure in southern Lebanon, it would notify the Lebanese Army via the US to act against the terror group. If no action is taken by the Lebanese Army, Israel reserves the right to act, according to the official.

The official says the IDF will also maintain the right to act to thwart any immediate threat, such as identifying Hezbollah operatives preparing to carry out an attack or a weapons shipment destined for the terror group.

Lebanese civilians will be able to return to their damaged villages in southern Lebanon under the potential agreement, and Israel does not plan to hold on to a security zone in southern Lebanon. Instead, Israel says it will act against any Hezbollah presence in southern Lebanon as necessary, either directly or by notifying the Lebanese Army via the US.

The UN peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, will likely still have a presence in southern Lebanon after a potential ceasefire is signed, though Israel does not see it as an important player in enforcing the removal of Hezbollah.

Blaming PA for ICC decision, Smotrich calls for sanctioning it into oblivion

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to level sanctions against the Palestinian Authority in the wake of the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants against the premier and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

“The PA, which consistently works to undermine the existence of the State of Israel and harm us in the international arena, is not a partner for peace; it is a burden to which an end must be put,” Smotrich declares, demanding “painful sanctions on the PA and its leaders to the point of its collapse.”

“We will not allow a hostile, hypocritical and illegitimate body to harm our leaders and fighters,” weighs in Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Yuli Edelstein, the chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee warns that the court’s decision ” sets a dangerous precedent, which could lead, during the next stage, to arrest warrants against our excellent soldiers and officers.”

Senior Israeli defense official: After extended impasse, Hamas now open to hostage deal that doesn’t end war

After months of impasse, a senior Israeli defense official says that for the first time in a long time, there is a good chance to reach a hostage deal with the Hamas terror group.

Hamas is under a lot of pressure but refuses to surrender, the official says, adding that the terror group is potentially interested in a deal.

The official says Israel is closer to reaching a deal due to a change in Hamas’s position.

Hamas is ready to agree to a deal that doesn’t include announcing an official end to the war in Gaza, according to the official.

The potential deal will include a first-stage 42-day ceasefire, in which a number of hostages will be released.

Hours later, a member of Israel’s negotiating team tells the Kan public broadcaster that the claims made by the senior defense official in a briefing with reporters were inaccurate. Kan’s source adds that he has no idea what the anonymous briefer is talking about and that no such optimism exists among those actually involved in the negotiations.

Hamas says ICC arrest warrants for Israeli officials are ‘important step toward justice’

Hamas welcomes the International Criminal Court’s issuance of arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant and urges countries to get behind it.

“(It’s) an important step toward justice and can lead to redress for the victims in general, but it remains limited and symbolic if it is not supported by all means by all countries around the world,” Hamas political bureau member Bassem Naim says in a statement.

Naim makes no mention of the warrant issued against Hamas’s former military chief Mohammed Deif, who Israel says it killed over the summer. The terror group has yet to confirm his death.

Hamas slams the Biden administration for allegedly “attempting to obstruct the proceedings for months by intimidating the court and its judges,” in a possible reference to sexual misconduct accusations against the ICC’s top prosecutor Karim Khan.

Hamas calls on the court to issue arrest warrants against all Israeli leaders, government ministers and army officers who were involved in the war and urges countries across the world to cooperate with the tribunal to bring Netanyahu and Gallant to justice.

Trump’s next national security adviser: Expect strong response to ICC’s antisemitic bias come January

In this image from video, Rep. Michael Walz, R-Fla., speaks on the floor of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Thursday, April 23, 2020. (House Television via AP)

US President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee national security adviser Mike Waltz tweets, “The ICC has no credibility and these allegations have been refuted by the US government.”

“Israel has lawfully defended its people & borders from genocidal terrorists. You can expect a strong response to the antisemitic bias of the ICC and UN come January,” he adds in one of the first responses from an incoming Trump official to the arrest warrants issued by the ICC for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

Arab-majority Hadash party backs ICC decision, saying PM, Gallant have to pay for ‘destruction of Gaza, mass murder’

The Hadash party appears to welcome the International Criminal Court’s announcement that it is issuing arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

In a statement, the Arab faction declares “the ICC in The Hague decided based on clear evidence that the Gaza war is a war full of serious war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

“Netanyahu and Gallant are responsible for the total destruction of Gaza and the mass murder of its residents. They have to pay a price for it,” the party states, calling for an immediate end to the war.

Last week, the Knesset Ethics Committee voted unanimously to suspend Hadash-Ta’al lawmaker Ofer Cassif for six months over comments he made regarding the Israel Defense Forces and the war in Gaza, including his public support for the South African motion accusing Israel of genocide before the International Court of Justice.

Likud minister: Progressive Israeli groups contributed to decision of ICC, which would’ve arrested Churchill during WWII

With its decision to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, the International Criminal Court “has become a tool for terrorists and the axis of evil” as well as “an enemy of truth, justice and peace,” declares Justice Minister Yariv Levin.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi also slams the court, claiming that “unfortunately, progressive leftist organizations in Israel also contributed to this.” He’s apparently referring to Israeli rights groups that have reported on alleged human rights abuses committed by Israel in Gaza

“If this antisemitic tribunal had existed during World War II, it would have also issued arrest warrants against Churchill and Roosevelt and let Nazi Germany take over the world,” Karhi says.

IDF issues fresh evacuation warnings for three buildings in Hezbollah’s Beirut stronghold

The IDF issues fresh evacuation warnings for three buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs, ahead of airstrikes on Hezbollah assets.

It marks the fourth round of evacuation warnings since last night.

#عاجل إلى جميع السكان المتواجدين في منطقة الضاحية الجنوبية وتحديدًا في المباني المحددة في الخرائط المرفقة والمباني المجاورة لها في منطقة الغبيري

⭕️أنتم تتواجدون بالقرب من منشآت ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع بقوة على المدى الزمني القريب

⭕️من أجل سلامتكم… pic.twitter.com/LDXC92ybJB

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 21, 2024

Netanyahu’s office rejects ICC arrest warrant, compares it to ‘Dreyfus trial’

Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (left), announces he is seeking arrest warrants from the court’s judges for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, along with Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Muhammad Deif and Ismail Haniyeh (ICC); Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a video address, May 20, 2024. (Screenshot/GPO)

The International Criminal Court’s “antisemitic decision” to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant “is equivalent to a modern Dreyfus trial,” the Prime Minister’s Office declares in a statement.

Pledging that the court’s decision would not deter Israel from protecting its citizens, the PMO says it rejects “with disgust” the court’s “false” charges — and asserts that they stem from efforts by Karim Khan, the court’s top prosecutor, to “save his skin from the serious charges against him for sexual harassment” as well as the beliefs of “biased judges motivated by antisemitic hatred of Israel.”

“That is why the prosecutor lied when he told American senators that he would not act against Israel before he got here and heard its side. That is why he suddenly canceled his arrival in Israel last May, a few days after suspicions were raised against him for sexual harassment, and announced his intention to issue arrest warrants against the prime minister and former defense minister,” the PMO alleges.

Earlier this month, the ICC announced that it would launch an external probe into sexual misconduct accusations against Kahn.

Khan has categorically denied the accusations that he tried to coerce a female aide into a sexual relationship, and the decision to launch an external probe came with the court under pressure from US senators not to issue warrants over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza until the misconduct claims are investigated.

AP reported that Khan traveled frequently with the woman after transferring her to his office from another department at the ICC’s headquarters in The Hague.

During one foreign trip, Khan allegedly asked the woman to rest with him on a hotel bed and then “sexually touched her,” according to whistleblower documents shared with the court’s watchdog and seen by the AP. Later, he came to her room at 3 a.m. and knocked on the door for 10 minutes.

Other allegedly nonconsensual behavior cited in the documents included locking the door of his office and sticking his hand in her pocket. He also allegedly asked her on several occasions to go on a vacation together.

The Associated Press contributed to his report.

West Bank historian slain in Lebanon might have been attempting to visit tomb associated with Simeon, son of Jacob – archaeologist

Family and friends attend the funeral of Ze’ev Erlich in Ofra, in the West Bank, November 21, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Researcher Zeev Erlich, 71, who was killed yesterday after joining, in uniform, an IDF unit in Lebanon, was attempting to visit an archaeological site and tomb near the Lebanese village of Chama, southeast of Tyre and about 5.5 kilometers (3.4 miles) from the Israeli border, according to Prof. Aren Maeir of the Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology Department at Bar-Ilan University.

Erlich has just been laid to rest at the cemetery at the settlement of Ofra, where he lived.

Maeir said he has seen social media posts asserting that the tomb “is identified by some as the tomb of Simeon, the son of Jacob,” but said that there is no historical or traditional connection between the site and the biblical Simeon.

In the Bible, Simeon is one of the sons of the patriarch Jacob and the founder of the Tribe of Simeon, one of The Twelve Tribes of Israel. A site long thought to be Simeon’s resting place is located next to Route 6, east of Kfar Saba and across the Green Line from the West Bank village of Qalqilya.

At the site in Chama, “there are Roman, Byzantine and Muslim remains, and a Crusader fortress called Scandalion was built on top of them. There is a Muslim maqam (tomb marker) at the site, identified with Saint Peter,” Maeir said.

The tomb “is considered important to Shiites, since there is a tradition that Peter is one of the ancestors of the Mahdi [the Shiite messiah]. Therefore, Shiites make a pilgrimage to this place,” he added.

St. Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, is also called Simeon in Hebrew, Maeir noted.

However, associating the Chama site with a biblical Jewish figure “is something modern that is perhaps related to current ideologies,” Maeir said.

Knesset speaker says ICC warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant ‘assault on justice, truth, and the universal right of self-defense’

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana attends a plenum session in the Knesset, July 22, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

“Targeting the democratically elected leaders of Israel, the Middle East’s only democracy and the world’s only Jewish state, is nothing short of an assault on justice, truth, and the universal right of self-defense,” asserts Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.

Responding to the International Criminal Court’s announcement that it is issuing arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, Ohana declares that its “decision marks a dark day in the history of international law.”

“Rather than upholding the principles of justice, the ICC has chosen to politicize its mandate, turning itself into a tool of terrorists and those who seek to delegitimize Israel’s right to exist and defend its citizens from genocidal terror,” Ohana charges.

Arguing that “the only crimes against humanity in this war are those committed on October 7 against Israel by Hamas,” Ohana insists that “Israel will not be intimidated” and that under Netanyahu’s leadership will “continue to wage a just and determined war against those who seek our destruction.”

“Democracies worldwide should take heed of the dangerous precedent this decision sets, threatening all nations fighting the scourge of terrorism. Today it is Israel; tomorrow, it could be any democracy standing on the frontlines of justice and freedom against,” Ohana warns.

Responding to the court’s issuance of a further warrant against Hamas’s Mohammed Deif, Ohana quips that it “didn’t get the memo.” Israel says it killed Deif in an airstrike, but Hamas has never formally acknowledged the death of the shadowy head of its military wing.

Herzog pans ICC decision as ‘a dark day for justice and humanity’

President Isaac Herzog at a memorial ceremony for people who were murdered during the October 7 massacre, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, October 28, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant on war crimes charges marks “a dark day for justice and humanity,” states President Isaac Herzog.

“Taken in bad faith, the outrageous decision at the ICC has turned universal justice into a universal laughingstock. It makes a mockery of the sacrifice of all those who fight for justice – from the Allied victory over the Nazis till today,” the president declares.

The court’s decision “ignores the plight of the 101 Israeli hostages held in brutal captivity by Hamas in Gaza,” he continues.

“It ignores Hamas’s cynical use of its own people as human shields. It ignores the basic fact that Israel was barbarically attacked and has the duty and right to defend its people. It ignores the fact that Israel is a vibrant democracy, acting under international humanitarian law, and going to great lengths to provide for the humanitarian needs of the civilian population.”

By issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, the ICC has “chosen the side of terror and evil over democracy and freedom, and turned the very system of justice into a human shield for Hamas’ crimes against humanity,” Herzog charges, calling for “true moral clarity in the face of an Iranian empire of evil that seeks to destabilize our region and the world.”

IDF says Beirut strikes hit Hezbollah command centers

A man walks over the debris as a fire rages inside a building hit by an Israeli airstrike that targeted the neighbourhood of Haret Hreik in Beirut's southern suburbs on November 21, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (Photo by AFP)

The IDF says airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier today targeted Hezbollah command centers and other infrastructure.

Before carrying out the strikes, the IDF issued evacuation warnings to civilians.

Overnight, additional Hezbollah command rooms were struck in Beirut, according to the IDF.

מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר, בהכוונת אגף המודיעין תקפו במרחב הדאחייה שבביירות מפקדות טרור ותשתיות צבאיות נוספות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה.

התקיפות נגד תשתיות ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בדאחייה, מהוות חלק נוסף בפגיעת צה״ל ביכולות הארגון להוציא לפועל מתווי טרור נגד כוחות צה״ל ואזרחי ישראל >> pic.twitter.com/CTtC8gvZzP

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 21, 2024

Eli Feldstein and second suspect in Prime Minister’s Office leaks case charged with harming state security

Israelis protest in support of Eli Feldstein and the Israeli soldier accused of leaking classified documents, outside the court in Tel Aviv, November 21, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The State Attorney’s Office indicts Eli Feldstein, a central suspect in the Prime Minister’s Office security documents scandal, and another key suspect in the affair on charges of harming state security and transferring classified information.

Feldstein, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is charged with transferring classified information with intent to harm the state, while the second person to be charged, an IDF reservist noncommissioned officer, is charged with transferring classified information.

According to Israel’s Penal Code, the punishment for someone convicted of unlawfully transferring classified information with intent to harm the state is life imprisonment. The punishment for unlawfully transferring classified information is seven years in prison.

The prosecution accuses Feldstein of unlawfully receiving a classified document and leaking it to the Bild German tabloid newspaper.

Eli Feldstein, a spokesman in the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is the main suspect in an investigation launched in late October 2024 of alleged illegal access and leaking of classified intelligence material. (Kan screenshot, used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)

Hundreds of people, including coalition ministers and MKs, have been demonstrating at the Tel Aviv court building in support of Feldstein and the second suspect, denouncing the probe against them and their ongoing detention.

Yehoshua Feldstein, the suspect’s father, tells the protesters that the document he allegedly gave to Bild was already in public circulation. “He’s a righteous man; he’s a true hero of Israel,” Feldstein’s father says.

Avital, the wife of the second key suspect, tells a Channel 12 reporter outside the court that her husband “is someone whose whole life is dedicated to the people of Israel… All he’s ever done is given of himself for the country.”

Information released by the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court on Sunday demonstrated that the apparent motivation behind Feldstein’s leak was to alleviate public pressure and criticism against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the murder of six high-profile hostages by Hamas in late August.

Related: Netanyahu aide leaked stolen doc to try to ‘skew hostage deal debate’ in PM’s favor

The court indicated that Feldstein leaked the document to Bild in order to influence the public discourse over the fate of the Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza; have Hamas leader Sinwar blamed for the impasse in hostage release negotiations; and imply that protests demanding the release the hostages were playing into Hamas’s hands.

Netanyahu is not a suspect in the case.

Government ministers slam ‘antisemitic’ ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan at the Cour d'Honneur of the Palais Royal in Paris on February 7, 2024. (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP)

Members of Israel’s government issue harsh condemnations of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, accusing it of antisemitism in the wake of its decision to issue arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

The court has “once against shown that it is antisemitic through and through,” declares far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

“The answer to the arrest warrants is applying sovereignty over all the territories of Judea and Samaria and settlement in all parts of the country and severing ties with the terrorist [Palestinian] authority, along with sanctions,” he tweets.

“This is modern antisemitism in the guise of justice,” tweets Transportation Minister Miri Regev, calling the warrants “a legal absurdity.”

“Israel will not apologize for protecting its citizens. This is not a crime, this is our national and moral duty,” she argues.

Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf characterizes the warrants as “antisemitic accusations against all citizens of Israel” — pledging that Jerusalem will “not be deterred and will continue to fight murderous terrorism.”

MK Avi Maoz, a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, calls the court’s decision “hypocrisy of the worst kind.” The far-right politician accuses the court of “ingratiating itself to murderous dictatorships and ignoring serious global corruption” in order to go after a country in the middle of an “existential war.”

“Simply antisemitism, always antisemitism,” says Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, citing a verse from the Book of Numbers that states that the Jews are “a people that dwells alone, not reckoned among the nations.”

Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu states that it was “lucky that Churchill didn’t have to ask for permission from The Hague before saving Europe from the Nazis.”

“The court in The Hague has marked itself as the successor of the court of Sodom,” says Settlements and National Projects Minister Orit Strock, comparing the ICC to the wicked Biblical city. “I expect the nations of the free world to withdraw from it in disgust, before they are stained with this terrible stain.”

Opposition leaders slam ICC over ‘shameful’ Netanyahu, Gallant warrants

An exterior view of the International Criminal Court, or ICC, in The Hague, Netherlands, on April 30, 2024. (AP/Peter Dejong)

Leaders of Israel’s political opposition slam the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

“Israel is defending itself against terrorist organizations that attacked, murdered and raped our citizens. These arrest warrants are a reward for terrorism,” Opposition Leader Yair Lapid declares.

The International Criminal Court’s decision constitutes “moral blindness and [a] shameful stain of historic proportion that will never be forgotten,” National Unity chief Benny Gantz, a former member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet, tweets.

The ICC has “provided further proof of the double standards and hypocrisy of the international community and the UN institutions,” adds Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman, who had previously served as defense minister under Netanyahu.

“The State of Israel will not apologize for protecting its citizens and is committed to continuing to fight terrorism without compromise.”

“This is a shameful decision of the International Court in The Hague,” weighs in The Democrats chief Yair Golan. “Israel had and will always have the right to defend itself against our enemies.”

Netanyahu meeting with US Lebanon envoy Hochstein over ceasefire talks

Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to US President Joe Biden, speaks with Lebanon's Hezbollah-aligned Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (not in picture) in Beirut, Lebanon, November 19, 2024. (AP/Hassan Ammar)

The meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US special envoy Amos Hochstein on a ceasefire in Lebanon starts in premier’s Jerusalem office.

Hochstein was in Beirut this week to advance an agreement to halt fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

He will meet with Defense Minister Israel Katz at 4 p.m.

Salvo of 15 rockets fired at northern Israel, some intercepted

A barrage of 15 rockets was fired from Lebanon at the Western Galilee a short while ago.

According to the IDF, some of the rockets were intercepted, and several impacts were identified.

ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for alleged Gaza war crimes

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attend a vote on the state budget at the Knesset plenum in Jerusalem, March 13, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

In a massive legal bombshell, the International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, the first time the court has ever issued such warrants against leaders of a democratic country.

The three judges of the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I issue the warrants unanimously on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes that the court’s prosecutor Karim Khan alleges were committed during the prosecution of the current war against Hamas in Gaza.

Both Netanyahu and Gallant will be liable for arrest if they travel to any of the more than 120 countries that are party to the ICC.

The court also issues a warrant for Mohammed Deif of the Hamas terror group over the October 7, 2023, massacre that sparked the war. Israel says it killed Deif in an airstrike, but Hamas has never formally acknowledged the death of the shadowy head of its military wing.

The decision turns Netanyahu and the others into internationally wanted suspects and is likely to further isolate them and complicate efforts to negotiate a ceasefire to end the 13-month conflict. But its practical implications could be limited since Israel and its major ally, the United States, are not members of the court.

The ICC says Israel’s acceptance of the court’s jurisdiction was not required.

Report: Activists push into court building ahead of PMO leak charges; Border Police sent in

Israelis protest in support of Eli Feldstein, a former spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and an Israeli soldier, suspects in a case of stolen and leaked classified IDF documents, outside the magistrate's court in Tel Aviv, November 21, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Dozens of activists and protesters have pushed into the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court building where charges are to be filed against the suspects in the Prime Minister’s Office leak case, the Ynet news site reports.

Several hundred people have been demonstrating outside the court.

The report says that reinforcements from the Border Police have been called in to bolster court security.

IDF issues fresh evacuation orders in Beirut

The IDF is calling on Lebanese civilians near three buildings in Beirut’s southern suburb to immediately evacuate ahead of airstrikes on Hezbollah assets.

Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, publishes maps alongside the announcement, which call on civilians to distance themselves at least 500 meters from the sites.

The planned strikes come after overnight the IDF says it struck several Hezbollah command centers in Beirut. Another three Hezbollah targets were struck this morning.

#عاجل إلى جميع السكان المتواجدين في منطقة الضاحية الجنوبية وتحديدًا في المباني المحددة في الخرائط المرفقة والمباني المجاورة لها في المناطق التالية:
????الحدث
????حارة حريك

⭕️أنتم تتواجدون بالقرب من منشآت ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع على المدى الزمني القريب… pic.twitter.com/5hIbsDopK4

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 21, 2024

Iran says Western censure resolution will ‘weaken’ cooperation with IAEA

Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami, right, tries to listen to a journalist at the conclusion of his joint press conference with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 14, 2024. (Vahid Salemi/AP)

A resolution put forward by Western countries to censure Iran’s nuclear program at the International Atomic Energy Agency “will weaken and disrupt” interactions between the UN body and Tehran, it warns ahead of the vote.

Paris, Berlin, London and Washington have formally submitted a text condemning Iran for alleged lack of cooperation with the agency and its nuclear observers.

A formal vote is scheduled for today at the UN nuclear watchdog’s board of governors meeting at its Vienna headquarters.

The submission of the resolution comes a week after a visit to Iran by the head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi.

“This inappropriate action of the three European countries to issue a resolution against Iran will only weaken and disrupt interactive processes between the agency and Iran,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says in a statement carried by the foreign ministry.

Independent Oct. 7 commission to present findings next week

Retired district court judge Gideon Ginat, the chairman of the independent civil commission of inquiry on October 7. (Civilian Commission of Inquiry)

The independent Civilian Commission of Inquiry investigating the government’s failures on and leading up to Hamas’s October 7, 2023, will release its findings on Tuesday.

In a statement, the civilian probe states that its decision to publish its report comes in response to reports that the government is looking to establish its own “political commission of inquiry.”

In anticipation, members of the independent probe have sent letters to dozens of senior political and military officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding “their response to the findings and serious recommendations that will appear in the commission’s final report.” It set a deadline of Monday at noon.

According to probe official Ofer Rosenbaum, the months-long investigation has found evidence of “numerous and fundamental failures” by both coalition and opposition officials over the course of the past decade.

“We call on [Israel’s] elected officials to reverse their decision to establish a political investigation committee and to respond to the many claims that were brought up before the civil investigative commission. If their response is not received by the time the report is published, the committee will be forced to publish its conclusions without their response,” he adds.

Netanyahu is reportedly mulling the possibility of setting up an alternate “special committee” to probe October 7 in an effort to prevent the establishment of a state commission of inquiry. Netanyahu has previously implied that he viewed a probe of October 7 as a bureaucratic nuisance.

The independent probe was established in July by groups representing survivors and victims of the Hamas massacre in response to Netanyahu’s repeated refusal to establish a government investigation.

Likud ministers taking part in protest outside court in Prime Minster’s Office leak case

At least two Likud ministers are seen taking part in protests outside a Tel Aviv court where two suspects in the Prime Minister’s Office leak scandal are due to be charged.

Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi join hundreds rallying in support of Eli Feldstein, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and another suspect whose name has not been released for publication.

Karhi posts a video of himself addressing the crowd, saying that the IDF soldier who leaked the information to Feldstein was acting correctly and the judicial system is acting immorally.

“Last Sabbath we read about the laws of Sodom, which adopted warped values of morality and justice. I call on you not to judge those who acted responsibly to safeguard Israel’s security according to the laws of Sodom,” he says.

הגעתי היום להפגנה מחוץ לבית המשפט בתל אביב כי אי אפשר עוד לשתוק,
צפו בדבריי המלאים:
"אני רוצה לשאול את בית המשפט הנכבד שאלה אחת פשוטה: אם הנגד שאתם דנים בו היום היה מעביר מידע לראש הממשלה בליל שמחת תורה כאשר אף אחד מגורמי המודיעין לא עשה זאת והיה מציל את עם ישראל מהטבח הנורא,… pic.twitter.com/GKf1pettC8

— ????????שלמה קרעי – Shlomo Karhi (@shlomo_karhi) November 21, 2024

Ex-justice minister Ayelet Shaked barred from entering Australia amid fears of incitement

Then-Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked at a conference of the Srugim news website, in Jerusalem, on October 30, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Former justice minister Ayelet Shaked is barred from entering Australia, where she was slated to address a conference organized by the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council.

Shaked was denied a visa because she might “incite discord,” The Australian reports — noting that the act used to prevent her entry stipulates that people may be barred if it is believed that they may “vilify a segment of the Australian community, or incite discord in the Australian community or in a segment of that community.”

Speaking with the paper, Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council chief Colin Rubenstein condemns the visa ban as “a disgraceful act of hostility towards a democratic ally.”

“It is extraordinary that a government that refuses to take any meaningful action against an Iranian ambassador who effectively calls for genocide would act so undiplomatically towards a friend,” he says.

“The Australian Government’s decision to refuse a visa to Ayelet Shaked is both baffling and deeply offensive,” tweets Jeremy Leibler, the president of the Zionist Federation of Australia.

“Ayelet is a former Justice Minister in the most diverse and centrist Israeli government in history, which included an Israeli Arab party and minister. This refusal is particularly perplexing given that this very same government granted her a visa less than two years ago,” he writes.

“How is it conceivable that our government has granted a visa to a Palestinian man from Gaza who reportedly has had close family connections and personal interactions with terrorist organizations, yet refuses entry to a former government minister of a democratic nation and one of our Australia’s friends?”

Speaking with Channel 12, Shaked slams what she describes as Australia’s “extreme anti-Israeli and pro-Palestinian government, part of which is even antisemitic, which for political reasons and because I oppose a Palestinian state, does not allow me to attend a strategic dialogue between Israel and Australia.”

“These are dark days for democracy,” she states.

Shaked’s visa ban comes on the heels of an incident in Sydney in which a car was burned and dozens of others were defaced with anti-Israeli graffiti.

In an overnight tweet, the Israeli embassy declared that it was “appalled by the antisemitic attack” and that words were “no longer enough.”

“It’s time for action,” the embassy stated.

Medics say one person killed in rocket attack on Nahariya

Medics at the scene of a deadly rocket strike in Nahariya on November 21, 2024 (Magen David Adom)

The Magen David Adom rescue service says one person has been killed by rocket fire from Lebanon at the northern Israeli city of Nahariya.

MDA says the man, in his 30s, was found without signs of life and medics were forced to declare him dead.

Medics say he suffered multiple shrapnel wounds.

The IDF says that some 10 rockets were fired at the city. While most of them were intercepted some hit Nahariya.

תיעוד היירוטים כעת מגזרת נהריה

קרדיט: רץ ברשת לפי סעיף 27א' | אנו מכבדים זכויות יוצרים לפי ס׳ 27א לחוק זכויות יוצרים, לכן אם זיהיתם יצירה שלכם, אנא צרו עמנו קשר למתן קרדיט בדוא"ל: CONTACT@NWS.REPORT pic.twitter.com/ELhd1OrlGJ

— NWS news (@nws_report) November 21, 2024

Airstrikes hit Beirut after IDF issues evacuation warnings

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs on November 21, 2024, as the war between Israel and Hezbollah continues. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)

Renewed strikes hit Hezbollah’s southern Beirut stronghold, footage shows, after the Israeli military warned people to evacuate the area.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency reports “three violent strikes on Haret Hreik” neighborhood. Three strikes on the same area were also reported at dawn.

Hundreds protest outside courthouse in support of suspects in Prime Minister’s Office leak case

Israelis protest in support of Eli Feldstein and an Israeli soldier accused of leaking classified documents, outside the court in Tel Aviv, November 21, 2024.(Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Hundreds of people gather outside the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court in support of the suspects in the Prime Minister’s Office leak scandal.

Eli Feldstein, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and another suspect whose name has not been released for publication are expected to be charged today.

The supporters wave signs reading “Stop the persecution,” and chant “Eli is a hero.”

One man carries a sign reading “Leftist judiciary stop abusing our soldiers, go to Gaza.”

The two are suspected of transferring classified information to harm the state, collecting classified material to harm the state, and conspiring to commit a crime, among other charges.

Feldstein is suspected of leaking a classified document to the German newspaper Bild in order to change the public discourse over the fate of the Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza; have Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar blamed for the impasse in hostage release negotiations; and imply that protests demanding the release the hostages were playing into Hamas’s hands.

אלפי אנשים מחוץ לבית המשפט המחוזי בתל-אביב, באו למחות כנגד שימוש במערכות אכיפת החוק ובמשטרה החשאית ככלים להשגת מטרות פוליטיות.

אומרים לא לחקירות פוליטיות! pic.twitter.com/tECWLTLWAv

— אביעד אברהמי – Aviad Avrahami (@AviadAvrahami) November 21, 2024

Herzog warns toxic political discourse tearing country apart

President Isaac Herzog speaks at Higher Education Conference in Herzliya on November 21, 2024 (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

President Isaac Herzog warns that the escalating political discourse in Israel risks tearing the country apart.

Speaking at the Higher Education Conference in Herzliya, Herzog blasts “disparaging and humiliating treatment toward hostage families.” Families of hostages held in Gaza have been threatened online, harassed verbally, and pushed around by police at demonstrations.

The president also pans “accusing the head of the Shin Bet and the IDF Chief of Staff of treason and an attempted coup, accusing the Attorney General of being an enemy of the state that is trying to kill us, and threats of firing all day long.”

On Sunday, members of the government attacked Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara for perceived leniency toward anti-government protesters. Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi called for her to be fired while invoking principles of Jewish law associated with attempted murder to justify his position.

Herzog also lambasted anti-Netanyahu demonstrators for firing flares at the prime minister’s home, and for accusing him of treason.

“The physical and verbal violence – towards the Attorney General, towards the head of the Shin Bet, towards the IDF Chief of Staff, towards the Prime Minister – is simply horrifying,” laments Herzog.

“What the hell is happening to us?” he asks. “Does this make sense? Haven’t we suffered enough? Haven’t we already understood that this harms the country’s security?”

“Don’t we understand that this is how you break up a country?” he continues, calling the incidents “absolute madness” that must be stopped.

“There are those who sacrifice themselves for the country, and pay with their lives every day,” says Herzog. “And there are those who are destroying the country, and I pledge that I will fight them with all my might.”

“I warn you – you are destroying the country. This madness must be stopped now.”

Halevi orders probe into IDF ‘operational discipline’ after civilian researcher was allowed into Lebanon where he was killed

Israeli researcher Zeev Ehrlich seen in IDF uniform before entering southern Lebanon, near the Israeli border with Lebanon, November 20, 2024. He was killed in a Hezbollah attack a few hours later in southern Lebanon. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi appoints a team of experts to probe operational discipline across the military following the incident in which a 71-year-old Israeli civilian was killed along with a soldier during a gun battle with Hezbollah operatives, after entering southern Lebanon accompanied by a senior IDF officer but without the required army approvals.

Halevi appoints Maj. Gen. Moti Baruch (reserves) to lead the probe, which will “formulate a detailed situational picture regarding the maintenance of operational discipline, the orders and procedures of the army, the rules of conduct and the norms used in army units on the two main combat fronts in the north and south,” the IDF says.

The probe will start today and the team will present its findings to Halevi within two weeks, the statement says.

Baruch’s probe in in addition to a military investigation into the incident led by  the chief of the IDF Northern Command Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin and a separate probe by military police.

According to an initial IDF probe, the chief of staff of the Golani Brigade, Col. Yoav Yarom, allowed Israeli researcher Zeev Erlich, 71, to enter the western sector of southern Lebanon to examine an archaeological site — an ancient fortress — where they were ambushed by Hezbollah operatives.

Sgt. Gur Kehati, 20, of the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion, was also killed in the incident.

War monitor says 68 pro-Iran fighters killed in reported Israel strikes on Syria’s Palmyra

Sixty-eight pro-Iran fighters were killed in Israeli airstrikes yesterday on the Syrian city of Palmyra, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor says.

Those killed in the strikes included 42 fighters from pro-Iran Syrian groups, 26 foreign fighters, most of them from the Iraqi Al-Nujaba movement, which is supported by Iran’s IRGC, and four from Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the monitor says.

There was no immediate confirmation of the figures.

Yesterday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported that 36 people had been killed and 50 injured without identifying the dead.

The Israeli military declined to comment when asked about the attack.

SOHR, run by a single person, has regularly been accused by Syrian war analysts of false reporting and inflating casualty numbers as well as inventing them wholesale.

????????Israel strikes Syria's Palmyra, killing 36 and injuring more than 50. pic.twitter.com/VByVOyWXyy

— Intel Slava (@Intel_Slava) November 20, 2024

Airstrikes hit Tyre after evacuation warnings

A photo taken from the southern Lebanese city of Tyre shows smoke billowing from an area targeted by an Israeli airstrike in al-Hawsh on the outskirts of the coastal city on November 21, 2024, as the war between Israel and Hezbollah continues. (Photo by KAWNAT HAJU / AFP)

Several airstrikes are reported in the coastal Lebanese city of Tyre.

The strikes come shortly after the IDF issued evacuation orders for several neighborhoods, saying it was going to strike Hezbollah targets.

IDF says it killed 9 gunmen in 2-day West Bank raid

Troops operate in Jenin in the West Bank, in a handout image released by the IDF on November 21, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israel Defense Forces say that troops killed nine Palestinian gunmen during a two-day raid in the West Bank city of Jenin.

The military says three armed men who had carried out a series of shooting attacks were killed in a drone strike. The military says that after the strike, secondary explosions were seen, indicating that there were weapons stored at the site.

The military publishes footage of the strike.

במבצע של 48 שעות לסיכול טרור במרחב ג׳נין: תשעה מחבלים חוסלו מהקרקע ומהאוויר, הושמדו עשרות מטענים ונעצרו מבוקשים.

לפרטים המלאים:https://t.co/2cakGMpgqj pic.twitter.com/0eOenQi9jn

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 21, 2024

In addition, six other gunmen were killed in clashes with troops, the army says.

Hamas claimed at least three of the slain gunmen.

The IDF says it also destroyed four facilities used to manufacture explosives, recovered weapons caches, and detonated bombs buried under the roads.

In first, Russia said to fire intercontinental ballistic missile at Ukraine

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on October 26, 2022, a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile is test-fired as part of Russia's nuclear drills from a launch site in Plesetsk, northwestern Russia. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP, File)

Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile from its southern Astrakhan region during a morning attack on Ukraine, Kyiv’s air force says, the first time Russia has used such a powerful, long-range missile during the war.

The strike comes after Ukraine used US and British missiles to strike targets inside Russia this week, something Moscow had warned for months would be seen as a major escalation.

The Russian attack targeted enterprises and critical infrastructure in the central-eastern city of Dnipro, the air force says.

It was unclear from the statement what the intercontinental ballistic missile targeted and whether it caused any damage.

The missiles have a range of thousands of kilometers and can be used for delivering nuclear warheads, though they can also have conventional warheads.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down six Kh-101 cruise missiles during the attack.

“In particular, an intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation,” the air force says, detailing types of weapon used in the attack.

It did not say what kind of intercontinental ballistic missile was fired.

US Lebanon envoy Hochstein to meet Netanyahu today

US special envoy Amos Hochstein gives a statement to the media after his meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP/Bilal Hussein)

US envoy Amos Hochstein, seeking to broker a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war, will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, the Prime Minister’s Office says.

The announcement comes after Hebrew media outlets reported that Hochstein had arrived in Israel yesterday evening and held talks with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

Rocket fired from Gaza at border community intercepted, no injuries

One rocket launched from the southern Gaza Strip at the Israeli border community of Keren Shalom a short while ago was intercepted by air defenses, the IDF says.

Sirens sounded in Kerem Shalom amid the incident. There are no reports of injuries.

IDF hit Hezbollah Beirut targets in overnight strikes after lull of several days

Overnight, the IDF launched airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs after a lull of a few days amid the visit of US special envoy Amos Hochstein to Lebanon.

Before the strikes were carried out on the Hezbollah stronghold, the IDF issued evacuation warnings.

الغارة الإسرائيلية التي استهدفت #حارة_حريك، كما وثقها أحد المواطنين عبر عدسته pic.twitter.com/32TgVEDfLK

— Lebanon Debate (@lebanondebate) November 21, 2024

IDF issues evacuation order for Tyre neighborhoods ahead of strikes

The IDF has issued evacuation warnings for areas east of the coastal Lebanese city of Tyre ahead of airstrikes.

Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, publishes maps alongside the announcement, which calls on civilians in Burj el-Shemali, al-Housh, and Maashouq to immediately evacuate and head north or the Awali River.

“Hezbollah’s terror activities force the IDF to act forcefully against it in these areas, and we do not intend to harm you. Anyone who is near Hezbollah elements, facilities or weapons is putting his life in danger,” Adraee says.

#عاجل بيان عاجل إلى سكان #جنوب_لبنان في القرى التالية:

????برج الشمالي
????معشوق
????الحوش

????نشاطات حزب الله الارهابي تجبر جيش الدفاع للعمل ضده بقوة في هذه المناطق ولا ننوي المساس بكم

????من أجل سلامتكم عليكم إخلاء منازلكم فورًا والانتقال إلى شمال نهر الأولي. لضمان سلامتكم، يجب عليكم… pic.twitter.com/azcV4Ko8K3

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 21, 2024

Soldier killed alongside civilian researcher in south Lebanon identified as Gur Kehati

Sgt. Gur Kehati (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF releases the name of a soldier who was killed yesterday during an incident in which a civilian researcher entered southern Lebanon without required approvals and was also killed.

The slain soldier is named as Sgt. Gur Kehati, 20, of the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion, from Nir Banim.

Kehati was killed alongside Ze’ev Erlich, 71, who entered southern Lebanon yesterday with a senior officer to visit an archaeological site. Two Hezbollah gunmen were hiding in the area and ambushed them.

Three Palestinians charged with plot to kill Ben Gvir

National Security Itamar Ben Gvir attends a plenum session at the Knesset in Jerusalem, November 13, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Three Palestinians have been charged over a plot to kill far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, the Israel Police and Shin Bet say in a joint statement.

The cell, made up of residents of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, was led by Ismail Ibrahim Awadi, who established contact in July 2024 with Hezbollah and Hamas in a bid to secure arms and assistance to carry out a series of planned attacks, the statement says.

The cell conducted surveillance against Ben Gvir and his sons who live in the neighboring settlement of Kiryat Arba, noting the routes they took, the make of the vehicles he traveled in, and details on his guards.

The statement says they developed a plan to kill Ben Gvir when he arrived at the scene of a terror attack.

Following the investigations “serious” charges were filed at a military court, the statement says.

IDF says air force intercepted Lebanon drone that triggered air raid sirens in north

The IDF says the air force intercepted the drone from Lebanon that triggered air raid sirens in Nahariya and the surrounding area.

The military says it hasn’t received reports of injuries,

Drone from Lebanon sets off sirens in Nahariya and surrounding area

Suspected drone alerts are heard in the northern coastal city of Nahariya and a number of neighboring communities.

The IDF says “a suspicious aerial target” crossed into Israeli skies from Lebanon, which the the air force is tracking.

Jewish senator opposes blocking sale of JDAM kits after backing halt to munitions transfers

US Senator Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat, appears before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Capitol Hill, November 20, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The final resolution to halt the transfer of so-called JDAM precision munition kits is similarly defeated, though Jewish Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia votes against it after joining other Democrats to vote against the sale of tank and mortar rounds to Israel.

New Jersey’s George Helmy also votes against the measure, after backing the motion to prevent the sale of mortar rounds.

NJ Democrat joins opposition to Israel arms sales by voting against mortar round shipment

George Helmy speaks during a news conference after being announced to take the US Senate seat being vacated by Senator Bob Menendez, in Newark, New Jersey, August 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, File)

The second measure to stop the sale of mortar rounds to Israel is also defeated, though Democratic Senator George Helmy of New Jersey votes in favor to bring the number of lawmakers who support blocking the arms transfer to 19.

Helmy was appointed by New Jeresy’s governor to fill the seat on an interim basis when senator Bob Menendez — who was long one of the Senate’s most stalwart pro-Israel Democrats — resigned after being convicted on corruption charges. Helmy opted not to run in the November election, which was won by the more moderate US Representative Andy Kim.

Just over 1/3 of Senate Dems back failed motion to stop sale of tank rounds to Israel

US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), joined by fellow senators U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and U.S. Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT), listens to a question at a news conference on restricting arms sales to Israel at the U.S. Capitol on November 19, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP)

Just over a third of Senate Democrats have voted in favor of a failed bid to block the sale of tank rounds to Israel in a measure that tested the strength of the party’s progressive wing, which has pushed for a harder line against the Jewish state over its prosecution of the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Eighteen lawmakers — all Democrats — voted in favor of the measure brought by Sen. Bernie Sanders along with three progressive colleagues, while 79 lawmakers from both parties rejected it.

It was the first of three Joint Resolutions of Disaproval (JRD) brought by the Sanders-led progressives, with the latter measures aimed at blocking the sale of mortar rounds and joint direct attack munitions (JDAMs). The three weapon transfers amount to over $10 billion in security assistance.

A majority of Democratic senators rejected the effort, which was known ahead of time to be dead-on-arrival. However, the number of Democrats uncomfortable with Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has apparently increased.

A Sanders resolution last January to freeze US aid to Israel if the State Department didn’t produce a report within 30 days on alleged human rights violations by Israel in Gaza won only 10 Democratic votes.

Today’s vote is unlikely to fully satisfy either side of the debate within the Democratic Party, given that more pro-Israel members maintained their majority, while progressives added several notable members.

Both Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock from Georgia voted to block the weapon sale along with the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate Dick Durbin and the incoming Ranking Member of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Jeanne Shaheen. None of those four voted in favor of the Sanders-led resolution in January.

Other Democrats who voted in favor were Senators Martin Heinrich, Mazie Hirono, Tim Kaine, Angus King, Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley, Brian Schatz, Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren, Peter Welch, Chris Van Hollen, Ben Ray Lujan and Chris Murphy.

One Democrat, Wisconsin’s Senator Tammy Baldwin, voted present.

In bringing the measure to a vote, Sanders detailed the spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza, highlighting the tens of thousands of civilians killed and the increasingly dire conditions of those who have managed to survive. He cited testimony from the UN and aid organizations claiming that Israel is blocking humanitarian aid from reaching civilians. Israel says it takes steps to avoid harming civilian, while Hamas fights among them, and it has rejected assertions that it is blocking aid to Palestinians.

The Biden administration lobbied Democrats against supporting the measure, US officials revealed to The Times of Israel yesterday, arguing that withholding such weapons from Israel would embolden Israel’s adversaries, that it would not address the humanitarian crisis and robs Israel from what it needs to defend itself.

US State Department denounces Ben Gvir for visiting extremist rabbi’s grave

Itamar Ben Gvir of the Otzma Yehudit party speaks during a ceremony in Jerusalem marking the 27th anniversary of the killing of extremist rabbi Meir Kahane, November 7, 2017. The sign behind him reads, "Kahane was right!" (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

After photos are published of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir visiting the grave of extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane, the US State Department issues a statement condemning the far-right cabinet member.

“As we’ve said in previous and similar occasions, celebrating the legacy of a terrorist and a terrorist organization is abhorrent. We strongly condemn any attempt to whitewash acts of terrorism,” says a State Department spokesperson.

השר איתמר בן גביר בעלייה לקבר הרב כהנא ביום ההילולא. pic.twitter.com/IJcTHlwl4T

— דביר עמר (@dviramar2) November 19, 2024

Report: Netanyahu looking to ban establishment of state committee of inquiry into Oct. 7

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a state ceremony marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas invasion and massacre on October 7, 2023, at Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on October 27, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is attempting to promote legislation that will ban the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught, Channel 13 reports.

According to the report, the legislation will instead allow for the establishment of a political commission of inquiry, which would be chaired by one coalition lawmaker and one opposition lawmaker. Senior security officials would also serve on the panel, the report states.

Netanyahu has repeatedly put off the establishment of a state commission of inquiry, which is the body that enjoys the broadest powers until Israeli law, to investigate the government’s failures that enabled the deadly Hamas attacks, claiming that all investigations must wait until the fighting in Gaza ends.

Earlier this month, however, the Israel Hayom daily reported that the premier was mulling the establishment of an alternate “special committee” to probe the matter.

Responding to the Channel 13 report on X, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid warns that a political commission of inquiry “cannot and will not happen.”

“We will only vote in favor of a state commission of inquiry,” he adds.

MK Merav Ben Ari, of Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, similarly voices opposition to the reported plan, and vows that the opposition “will not cooperate” with Netanyahu’s attempt to “escape his responsibility for the October 7 massacres.”

“We will use every parliamentary right we have to torpedo the laws,” she promises.