Live updates (closed)
The Times of Israel liveblogged Monday’s events as they unfolded.
IDF says it downed drone that crossed into the Golan Heights from the east
The military says it shot down a drone that crossed into Israel “from the east,” which is generally taken to mean that the aircraft flew from Iraq.
The announcement came minutes after warning sirens sounded in northern areas of the Golan Heights.
70-year-old woman seriously wounded in Hezbollah rocket barrage on Nahariya
At least two people are wounded by shrapnel in the Hezbollah rocket barrage on Nahariya, medics say.
Magen David Adom says it is treating a 70-year-old woman in serious condition and a man in his 80s who is lightly hurt.
Several others are being treated for acute anxiety.
The IDF says 10 rockets were launched in the attack, some of which impacted inside towns.
IDF says 10 rockets fired from Lebanon in latest barrage, several impacts in Nahariya
The IDF says a barrage of 10 rockets was launched from Lebanon at the Western Galilee a short while ago.
Several of the rockets were intercepted and impacts were also identified, the military says.
Magen David Adom says it is scanning sites of reported impacts in Nahariya for potential casualties.
A fire is also reported in Nahariya from an impact or falling shrapnel.
The IDF says a barrage of 10 rockets was launched from Lebanon at the Western Galilee a short while ago.
Several of the rockets were intercepted and impacts were also identified, the military says.
Magen David Adom says it is scanning sites of reported impacts in Nahariya for… pic.twitter.com/4YEhE9lsEG
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) November 25, 2024
US Mideast envoy to visit Saudi Arabia, aims to use Lebanon truce as ‘catalyst’ for Gaza deal
White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk arrives at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, April 18, 2024. (Kent Nishimura/ Getty Images/ AFP)
White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk will visit Saudi Arabia tomorrow to discuss using a potential ceasefire in Lebanon “as a catalyst” for a subsequent ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, deputy press secretary Andrew Bates tells reporters aboard Air Force One.
Medics responding to reports of rocket impacts in Nahariya
Medics are responding to reports of rocket impacts in the northern city of Nahariya.
Sirens are heard in the city and other towns in the Western Galilee, during a barrage of rockets launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon.
Top Hamas official in Lebanon says Palestinian terror group will back Israel-Hezbollah truce
Hamas official Osama Hamdan speaks during an interview with AFP in Istanbul on September 15, 2024. (Ozan Kose/ AFP)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — A top Hamas official in Lebanon says the Palestinian terror group will support a ceasefire between its Lebanese ally Hezbollah and Israel, despite Hezbollah’s previous promises to stop the fighting in Lebanon only if the war in Gaza ends.
“Any announcement of a ceasefire is welcome. Hezbollah has stood by our people and made significant sacrifices,” Osama Hamdan tells the Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen, which is seen as politically allied with Hezbollah.
There has been no official comment on a potential Lebanon ceasefire from Gaza-based leaders of either Hamas or the smaller terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Hamdan is a member of Hamas’s political wing.
Rocket warning sirens sound in numerous northern communities
Rocket warning sirens blare in Israeli communities near the Lebanon border and the Upper Galilee.
Kushner brothers announce matching $1 million donations to UAE Chabad after rabbi’s murder
Jared Kushner says he and his wife Ivanka Trump will donate $1 million to the Chabad of the United Arab Emirates, after the Hasidic movement’s Rabbi Zvi Kogan was murdered there.
“The constant scapegoating of Israel and the Jewish people benefits no one, other than inept leaders who use hatred to deflect from their own shortcomings. It’s time for the world to channel its collective energy to uplift our shared goals and ambitions,” Kushner, who helped broker Israel-UAE normalization when serving as a senior presidential adviser to his father-in-law, writes in a post on X.
“To all who wish to aggravate these historic divides, know that your efforts only strengthen the resolve of the Jewish community to contribute to societies that respect and welcome us. History has shown that those who embrace the Jewish people benefit, and those who persecute the Jewish people ultimately face spectacular defeat.”
Kushner’s brother, Joshua, says he will match his brother’s $1 million donation.
Urging occupation, Smotrich says ‘voluntary migration’ could halve Gaza’s population in 2 years
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a Knesset faction meeting of his far-right Religious Zionist party, November 11, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says Israel “can and must occupy the Gaza Strip.”
“We don’t need to be scared of this word [occupation],” he tells a meeting of the Yesha Council.
He also calls for Israel to promote “voluntary migration,” so Palestinians will leave Gaza.
“It’s possible to create a situation in which Gaza will have less than half its current population within two years,” Smotrich says.
He also says this “voluntary migration” could serve as a “model” for the West Bank.
Lebanon health ministry reports 31 killed Monday in Israeli strikes
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon’s health ministry says Israeli strikes killed at least 31 people across the war-battered country on Monday.
A ministry statement lists “the casualty toll of Israeli enemy strikes on a number of Lebanese cities and towns” in Lebanon’s east, south and near Beirut, with most of them killed in the south and four killed in the east.
The toll does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
IDF says strikes on Syria-Lebanon border targeted Hezbollah arms smuggling routes
The IDF confirms launching airstrikes on the Syria-Lebanon border this evening, targeting what it says were routes used by Hezbollah to smuggle Iranian weapons.
Syria’s state news agency SANA said the strikes damaged several bridges in the Al-Qusayr area, and wounded two people.
The Israeli military says the strikes come as part of efforts against Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, which is tasked with delivering weapons from Iran and its proxies to Lebanon, via Syria and Iraq.
US ‘incredibly concerned’ about defense minister’s ending administrative detention for settlers
The US opposes Defense Minister Israel Katz’s decision to end administrative detention against Israeli extremists in the West Bank, arguing that it amounts to a rollback of one of the only tools that Jerusalem has used to crack down on settler violence.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says that the Biden administration is “incredibly concerned” about the increasing violence by settlers in the West Bank, including assaults on Palestinian civilians, forced displacement of Palestinian communities, and the willful destruction of homes and farms.
“We have called on the government of Israel repeatedly to take further actions to deter extremist settler violence and to hold those engaging accountable. As you have seen with the actions that we have taken over the past year, we are also committed to continuing to take our own actions,” he says referring to the sanctions that the US has levied against roughly two dozen individuals and entities. Miller acknowledges that those sanctions can be reversed by the next administration.
US refrains from urging other countries not to comply with ICC warrants for Israeli leaders
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller avoids calling on countries not to comply with the International Criminal Court arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, when pressed on the matter during a press briefing.
Miller reiterates that the US opposes the ICC decision, but says each country will have to make its own decision whether to comply with the arrest warrants. He notes that the US is not party to the ICC and will not comply with the decision.
A reporter points out that the US has urged countries that are members of the court to comply with the ICC arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Miller responds that Russia and Israel are not equivalent cases, as the latter has an independent judiciary and has opened hundreds of ongoing investigations into potential violations of international humanitarian law or violations of its own code of conduct.
Even with truce, northerners may be told not safe to go home for 2 months — report
The government will not call upon northerners who evacuated their homes to return immediately, once the expected ceasefire deal with Hezbollah takes effect, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
According to the report, Israel wants to first ensure extended quiet along the border before telling residents that it is safe to go home — which could take a few weeks to a couple months.
IDF says it hit 2 command posts of Hezbollah’s executive council in Beirut strikes
A fireball erupts from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the area of Tayouneh in Beirut's southern suburbs on November 25, 2024. (AFP)
The IDF says it struck two more Hezbollah command centers belonging to the terror group’s executive council in Beirut a short while ago.
Several other Hezbollah sites were also struck, the military adds.
Earlier today, the IDF said fighter jets struck 25 sites belonging to the Hezbollah executive council, in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh, the northeastern city of Baalbek, the Beqaa Valley, Beirut’s southern suburbs, and the outskirts of the Lebanese capital.
Special counsel asks judge to dismiss 2020 election interference case against Trump
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith asks a federal judge to dismiss the case accusing US President-elect Donald Trump of plotting to overturn the 2020 election, citing longstanding Justice Department policy shielding presidents from prosecution while in office.
The move announced in court papers marks the end of the Justice Department’s landmark effort to hold Trump accountable for what prosecutors called a criminal conspiracy to cling to power in the run-up to his supporters’ attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Justice Department prosecutors, citing longstanding department guidance that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted, say the department’s position is that “the Constitution requires that this case be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated.”
“That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the government stands fully behind,” the prosecutors write in the court filing.
The decision was expected after Smith’s team began assessing how to wind down both the 2020 election interference case and the separate classified documents case in the wake of Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. The Justice Department believes Trump can no longer be tried, in accordance with longstanding policy that says sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.
Trump has cast both cases as politically motivated, and had vowed to fire Smith as soon as he takes office in January.
IDF denies Netanyahu’s claim that military hid vital classified intel from him
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi at a security assessment at the military's Northern Command, December 7, 2023. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday claimed that vital classified documents were not reaching him, the military says it does not hide any relevant information from the premier.
“I am the prime minister. I need to receive important classified documents, and indeed sometimes important information doesn’t reach me,” Netanyahu said in a nearly nine-minute video statement, defending his aide and other suspects in a case in which sensitive intelligence material was leaked from the IDF and given to the German tabloid, Bild.
The IDF says that it does not hide and has not hidden any information from the political echelon, and that it is subject to the instructions of the political echelon.
The military says that there are authorized officials in the Prime Minister’s Office — members of his military secretariat — who have “access to all the relevant intelligence material.”
Syrian state media reports Israeli strikes in area near Lebanon border
Syria’s state news agency SANA reports Israeli airstrikes in the Al-Qusayr area, close to the border with Lebanon.
SANA reports that damage was caused to several bridges in the area.
Israel has carried out several airstrikes in the Al-Qusayr area in recent months, targeting border crossings and other weapon smuggling routes used by Hezbollah to being arms into Lebanon.
Security cabinet member: Need to learn more about terms of truce before deciding how to vote
Agriculture Minsiter Avi Dichter visits the Gaza border, southern Israel, May 26, 2023. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)
Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter of Likud, a member of the security cabinet, says he has not yet learned sufficient details about the pending ceasefire deal with Hezbollah to decide how he will vote on the proposed agreement during tomorrow’s meeting of the high-ranking forum.
In an X post meant “to calm and give clarity” to residents of the north, Dichter says he would not back the deal if it’s a “copy-paste” of the 2006 UN Security Resolution ending the Second Lebanon War.
“That deal prepared Hezbollah ahead of the third Lebanon war, which it opened on October 8 to help the Hamas murders in Gaza,” adds Dichter, referring to the date in 2023 when the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group began attacking northern communities and military posts.
Lebanon ceasefire deal allows residents of south Lebanon to return; no buffer zone; US-led oversight – report
Sandbags piled up on the side of the road in Kibbutz Hanita near the Israeli border with Lebanon, November 24, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Channel 12 sets out what it says are the core elements of the US-brokered Israel-Lebanon deal aimed at halting the war against Hezbollah on the northern front. It says only very minor details of the deal remain to be finalized.
It says the deal provides for:
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- A mutual ceasefire;
- The IDF can stay in Lebanon for up to 60 days;
- The IDF to leave as the Lebanese Army deploys;
- No Israeli-held border buffer zone in southern Lebanon, and residents of south Lebanon can go home;
- The Lebanese government to oversee all arms purchases and arms production in Lebanon;
- The US to head the international body overseeing the deal’s implementation; France will also sit on that panel.
The TV report adds that a US side letter will state clearly that Israel has the right to act whenever it sees an immediate threat from Lebanon. The report adds that the US has indicated in recent days that if Israel sees a need to act against threats that can tackled on Syrian territory, rather than on Lebanese territory, that would be preferable.
It also says US envoy Amos Hochstein made clear to Israel that there would be no deal if France were not a member of the international oversight body.
Channel 12 says there was near-unanimous support for the deal from the politicians and defense establishment participants in last night’s PM-led security consultation. It says unspecified strategic implications were highlighted, as were considerations regarding Donald Trump’s imminent return to the US presidency, and considerations relating to arms supplies.
At that meeting, it says, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the deal would leave Hamas isolated and raise the chances of a hostage deal.
French presidency says hoping ‘all involved will seize opportunity’ for Lebanon truce
French President Emmanuel Macron (R) meets with US President Joe Biden during the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York City on September 25, 2024. (Ludovic MARIN / AFP)
PARIS, France — The discussions on a ceasefire in Lebanon have made significant progress, the French presidency says, shortly after senior Lebanese sources said US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron were expected to announce a ceasefire between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel within 36 hours.
“We are continuing to work with… our American partners toward this direction… we hope all involved will seize this opportunity as soon as possible,” the statement says.
US says Lebanon truce close, ‘but nothing is negotiated until everything is negotiated’
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks at the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, October 23, 2024. (AP Photo/ Ben Curtis)
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire has not been finalized, despite mounting press reports that the deal is done.
“We’re close… The discussions… were constructive, and the trajectory of this is going in a very positive direction, but nothing is negotiated until everything is negotiated, and… conversations are ongoing,” says Kirby during a press briefing.
The issue is a top priority for US President Joe Biden, who has been in direct contact with his special envoy for Lebanon, Amos Hochstein, Kirby says.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller later adds, “We have made significant progress in getting toward a resolution, including in the past week.”
Funeral ceremony held in Kfar Chabad for murdered Rabbi Zvi Kogan
Zvi Kogan, a Chabad rabbi who was murdered in the UAE in November 2024.(Facebook, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
The funeral ceremony for Rabbi Zvi Kogan has begun in Kfar Chabad, after the murdered Hasidic emissary’s remains were repatriated from the United Arab Emirates to Israel.
Following the ceremony, mourners will take part in a funeral procession to Jerusalem, where Kogan will be buried at the Mount of Olives cemetery.
The ceremony can be watched here.
IDF says 280 targets hit in south Beirut suburbs during campaign against Hezbollah
Some 280 Hezbollah sites in Beirut’s southern suburb have been struck by the Israeli Air Force amid the ongoing fighting, the military says.
According to the IDF, this means that twice as many Hezbollah sites were hit during the current conflict, as compared to the 2006 Second Lebanon War, when 140 sites were struck.
Three waves of strikes, targeting over 20 sites in Dahiyeh, were hit in the past day, according to the military.
Hezbollah has launched some 40 rockets at Israel today, half of which were intercepted, according to the IDF. Yesterday, the terror group launched some 250 rockets.
IDF details yearslong efforts against Hezbollah arms smuggling unit
In what has been an open secret for years, the IDF says it has been operating against Hezbollah’s weapons smuggling unit in Syria to prevent Iranian arms from reaching the terror group in Lebanon.
A series of strikes during the war have targeted Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, which is tasked with delivering weapons from Iran and its proxies to Lebanon.
Unit 4400 was established in 2000, and, with Iranian support, it built numerous “strategic routes” along the Syria-Lebanon border, the military says.
Thousands of trucks and hundreds of planes carrying missiles and other components for Hezbollah have traveled from Iran to Syria, and later to Lebanon in recent years, the IDF says.
The strikes against Unit 4400 during the war have included the assassinations of the head of the unit, Muhammad Ja’far Qassir in Beirut in early October, and his replacement, Ali Hassan Gharib, in Damascus, several weeks later, alongside other top commanders.
The IDF says that it has been striking Hezbollah’s smuggling routes between Syria and Lebanon “not only in the last few months, but in a years-long effort.”
One strike in early October destroyed a 3.5-kilometer-long tunnel that crossed between Lebanon and Syria, which the IDF says was used by Hezbollah to smuggle and store Iranian weapons. Construction work on the major tunnel began in 2009 and was completed a decade later, according to the IDF.
The IDF says its series of strikes against Unit 4400 have “damaged the ability of the Hezbollah terror organization to strengthen its stockpile of weapons and thus to fire at the citizens of the State of Israel.”
Israeli official: PM backed Hezbollah truce amid fear Biden might otherwise punish Israel at UN
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted a final version of a ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
Israel’s freedom to act in Lebanon is guaranteed by a letter with the US, says the official. The IDF will be able to operate not only against those trying to attack Israel, but also against Hezbollah’s attempts to build up its military power.
“It’s a Mabam [war between the wars] in Lebanon,” claims the official, referencing the decade-long Israeli effort to keep Iranian weapons from reaching proxies by airstrikes and intelligence operations, primarily in Syria.
“We will act,” the official promises, noting that Israel is accepting a ceasefire, not an end to the war.
“We don’t know how long [the ceasefire] will last,” the official says. “It could be a month, it could be a year.”
Netanyahu decided Israel had no choice but to accept a ceasefire out of a fear that the Biden administration could punish Israel with a United Nations Security Council resolution in its final weeks, asserts the official, though the US has not given any indication that it would do so.
Israel is also missing capabilities it needs from the US, including 130 D9 bulldozers, says the official.
The agreement stipulates that the Lebanese Army will enter southern Lebanon over a 60-day period, while the IDF withdraws.
Coordination with the Lebanese side will take place through the office of US Central Command head General Michael E. Kurilla, who met with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi earlier this week.
The coordinating body will include France, says the official, explaining that both the US and Lebanon demanded that the French be involved. Once France indicated it was not committing to the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in the wake of the ICC arrest warrants issued against him, Israel was willing to accept French involvement.
The ceasefire will ultimately be approved, says the official: “There are ministers who speak to their base, and we take it into consideration. But [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir understands the importance. It’s in Israel’s interest.”
The official argues that it will help reach a successful end to the war in Gaza. “What Hamas wanted was support from Hezbollah and others. Once you cut the connection, you have the ability to reach a deal.”
“It’s a strategic achievement,” says the official. “Hamas is alone.”
Israel will also be able to send more troops to Gaza if the ceasefire holds, the official notes.
German charges 4 suspects for stockpiling arms for Hamas in Europe
BERLIN, Germany — German federal prosecutors say they have charged four suspected members of Hamas, allegedly tasked with sourcing and storing weapons for the Palestinian terror group in Europe.
Two men born in Lebanon, an Egyptian citizen, and a Dutch man were suspected of “membership in a foreign terrorist organization,” the federal prosecutor’s office says in a statement.
The men “held important positions within the association, with direct ties to leaders of the military wing” of Hamas, prosecutors say.
AG decides not to open criminal probes into senior officials for incitement against Gazans
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara attends a ceremony at the National Police Academy in Beit Shemesh, on July 14, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara decides not to open criminal investigations into whether comments by senior Israeli officials in the wake of the October 7 Hamas massacres and atrocities could be considered incitement to violence or even genocide against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
The announcement of the attorney general’s decision is made in her office’s response to a High Court petition filed by the Israel Democracy Guard organization in August, which requested that her office open criminal investigations into some of the highly inflammatory comments made by cabinet ministers and MKs, ostensibly endorsing indiscriminate attacks on Gaza.
Among the comments highlighted by the petition are Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu’s remark in November 2023 that the war in Gaza could be ended by dropping an atomic bomb on the territory, and Likud MK Galit Distel-Atbaryan’s call to “wipe Gaza off the face of the earth.”
On January 9, three days before the first hearing for South Africa’s suit in the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide, the Attorney General’s Office said that law enforcement agencies had opened “examinations” into several of the problematic comments made by Israeli officials.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, however, a decision not to open criminal investigations was made on November 18.
One of the key provisional measures issued by the ICJ in its orders to Israel on January 26 was to “take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide” against the Palestinians.
IDF tightens restrictions in parts of north, bracing for intensified Hezbollah rocket fire
The IDF Home Front Command issues new restrictions in several areas of northern Israel, amid swirling reports of a potential imminent ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
As part of the changes, the Home Front Command has adjusted the activity scale in the Golan Heights and northern frontier communities from “partial activity” to “limited activity.”
The changes mean that most schools won’t be open and large events will not be able to be held.
Israel fears Hezbollah will ramp up rocket attacks before a ceasefire comes into effect.
Remains of murdered Chabad rabbi arrive in Israel ahead of funeral
A plane carrying the body of Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan, who was murdered in the UAE, has landed at Ben Gurion Airport, a spokeswoman for Israel Airports Authority tells AFP.
Security cabinet meeting on Lebanon ceasefire to be held at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv
The national security cabinet will meet to discuss a ceasefire with Lebanon at the IDF Kirya headquarters in Tel Aviv tomorrow at 5:30 p.m., one of the minister’s offices tells The Times of Israel.
The meeting is scheduled to last at least until 9 p.m.
Haifa starts demolition work on building heavily damaged by Hezbollah rocket
An apartment building in Haifa that was damaged in a Hezbollah rocket attack is demolished by authorities, November 25, 2024. (Haifa Municipality)
A residential building in Haifa that sustained heavy damage from a direct rocket impact amid a Hezbollah attack on northern Israel yesterday is being demolished by municipal authorities.
The Haifa municipality says that at the recommendation of experts, the building is being demolished due to fears that it could collapse onto an adjacent apartment building.
IDF says strikes hit command post of Hezbollah’s anti-ship missile unit, other Beirut targets
Thick smoke and flames erupt from an Israeli airstrike on Tayouneh, Beirut, Lebanon, November 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
The IDF says it carried out another wave of airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs in the last few hours, targeting a command room belonging to Hezbollah’s anti-ship missile unit, a command room used by the terror group’s signals unit, and two other command rooms.
Before the strikes were carried out the IDF issued evacuation warnings to civilians in the vicinity.
Separately, fighter jets hit a Hezbollah rocket launcher in Bazouriye that had been used in an attack this morning on Nahariya.
The military releases footage of the latter strike.
מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר, בהכוונת אגף המודיעין, תקפו בשעות האחרונות מפקדה בשימוש יחידת טילי חוף-ים, מפקדה בשימוש יחידת הקשר ושתי מפקדות צבאיות נוספות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב הדאחייה בביירות<< pic.twitter.com/j8rlAgwvVY
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 25, 2024
Golani officer asks to resign over incident in which researcher and soldier were killed in Lebanon
Col. Yoav Yarom, in an undated photo. (Israel Defense Forces)
The chief of staff of the Golani Brigade, Col. (res.) Yoav Yarom, has asked to resign following an incident last week during which a civilian researcher was allowed into southern Lebanon, without the proper approvals, and was killed alongside a soldier.
Yarom had allowed Israeli researcher Zeev Erlich, 71, to enter the western sector of southern Lebanon to examine an archaeological site — an ancient fortress.
Despite the belief that the area had been cleared, two Hezbollah operatives were hiding at the site and opened fire at the researcher, senior officer, and other soldiers who were accompanying them.
Erlich and Sgt. Gur Kehati were killed in the incident. Yarom and a company commander with the Golani Brigade’s 13th Battalion were wounded.
Israeli researcher Ze’ev Erlich seen in IDF uniform on November 20, 2024, hours before he was killed in a gun battle with Hezbollah operatives. (IDF Spokesman)
In a letter to the commander of the Golani Brigade, Yarom says he takes responsibility for the incident despite the fact that an official investigation has not been completed, and asks to resign from the role.
Sgt. Gur Kehati (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi has appointed a general in the reserves to lead a team of experts investigating the circumstances of the incident and Erlich’s entry into Lebanon. In addition, there is a military investigation into the incident led by IDF Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, and a separate criminal probe by Military Police.
Gantz: Israelis ‘have the right to know’ the terms of Lebanon ceasefire agreement
National Unity party leader Benny Gantz calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicize the details of a ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah that the security cabinet is expected to approve tomorrow.
“The northern residents and the soldiers and citizens of Israel have the right to know,” Gantz writes in a post on X.
Sa’ar defends bill to privatize public broadcaster, lashes out at media’s overhaul coverage
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar leads a Knesset faction meeting in Jerusalem on November 25, 2024. (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar dismisses concerns that the government is seeking to revive its controversial judicial overhaul, a day after Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi of Likud declared that the government has the right to carry out “regime change” in Israel.
“If someone says that I am allowed to change the system of government, it doesn’t mean that the system of government is changing,” Sa’ar tells reporters during his New Hope party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, criticizing the media for “maintaining this discourse while Israel is waging a critical international campaign on its right to self-defense.”
The press has inflated Karhi’s comments “into a major event,” Sa’ar argues, further dismissing concerns over a bill mandating the privatization of the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation within two years, effectively closing down the public broadcaster.
“It’s not about closing, it’s about privatization,” he insists.
Asked if bills being advanced by the coalition were similar to those of the judicial overhaul, Sa’ar responds that “not every bill that comes up in the Knesset is a revolution” and that “everything needs to be examined on its own merits.”
He adds that if and when the judicial overhaul is again put on the agenda, he hopes that “it will be with broad agreement.”
Prior to rejoining the coalition in September, Sa’ar was a harsh critic of the government’s handling of the war and other security and political issues, accusing it of “politicizing” the role of ombudsman for judges by backing a law under which lawmakers would vote on candidates for the position.
Recognizing his opposition to the overhaul, Sa’ar’s coalition agreement with Likud gives him discretion to vote differently from the coalition on bills concerning changes to the judicial system. The coalition holds a majority of Knesset seats even without New Hope.
Lebanese official says ‘no serious obstacles’ remain in way of Israel-Hezbollah truce
Deputy Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament Elias Bou Saab addresses the ongoing maritime negotiations between Israel and Lebanon during a live TV broadcast, October 3, 2022 (used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s deputy speaker of parliament Elias Bou Saab tells that there are “no serious obstacles” left to beginning the implementation of a US-proposed 60-day truce to end fighting between Israel and Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.
He says one sticking point on who will monitor the ceasefire has been resolved in the last 24 hours by agreeing to set up a five-country committee, including France and chaired by the United States.
A Lebanese official and Western diplomat tell Reuters that the US has informed Lebanese officials a ceasefire could be announced “within hours.”
Mayors of northern border towns slam emerging Hezbollah ceasefire as ‘surrender deal’
Metula Mayor David Azoulay rips into the government amid growing reports that a ceasefire with Hezbollah could soon be reached, denouncing the pending agreement as “a surrender deal” during an interview with Channel 12 news.
Kiryat Shmona Mayor Avichai Stern also tears into “the surrender deal.”
“This agreement hastens [a repeat of] October 7 in the north and this cannot happen,” Stern writes on Facebook.
“I don’t understand how we went from total victory to total surrender,” he adds, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s slogan for the war.
“Where will our residents return to? To a destroyed city without security or a horizon? Someone here has lost it.”
Both Metula and Kiryat Shmona are near the border with Lebanon and are among the communities most devastated by the near-daily Hezbollah attacks on the north over the past year.
Security cabinet will approve Hezbollah ceasefire deal tomorrow — reports
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convenes a meeting of the security cabinet in Tel Aviv on March 15, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
The national security cabinet will meet tomorrow to approve a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to multiple Hebrew media reports.
The text of the ceasefire was finalized today, Channel 12 reports, adding that “something drastic” would have to happen for the ceasefire to fall apart before the meeting tomorrow.
IDF data shows rate of fatalities among wounded troops down from past wars
The IDF Technological and Logistics Directorate publishes new data on its operations amid the ongoing fighting in the Gaza Strip and in Lebanon since the beginning of the war, from the average time to take wounded soldiers to hospitals, to how many tanks have returned to service after being badly damaged.
According to the military, the Logistics Corps carries out supply operations every single day to troops operating in Gaza and Lebanon, totaling over 2,000 by land, six airdrops, and a handful via the sea.
The supply missions bring thousands of tons of equipment, food, ammunition, fuel, and other supplies to troops on the frontlines. In recent weeks, some 300,000 winter-related items were delivered to troops, according to the IDF.
The Technology and Maintenance Corps reports that tanks, armored personnel carriers, and other armored vehicles across the military are at 88 percent competency after nearly 14 months of fighting.
The military says that 90% of tanks and APCs damaged by anti-tank missile fire or large explosive devices amid the fighting have been repaired and returned to service.
On average, armored vehicles that sustained heavy damage take some 20 days for repairs before they are returned to service. Some very heavily damaged armored vehicles undergo a long recovery process.
The IDF Technology and Maintenance Corps is seen operating in the Gaza Strip amid the war, in a handout video issued on November 25, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
More minor issues with the IDF’s armored vehicles are fixed in the battle zone or at forward operating bases or logistics centers, without needing to bring the tanks or APCs out of Gaza or Lebanon for repair. The IDF says that 90% of the minor issues are fixed in the battle zone.
The Medical Corps reports that some 5,300 wounded soldiers have been treated amid the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and another 700 in Lebanon. For comparison, during the entire 2006 Second Lebanon War, 833 soldiers were treated, and in the 2014 Gaza War, 709 soldiers were treated.
The case fatality rate (CFR) — the proportion of wounded who end up dying — has significantly decreased compared to past wars, with the Medical Corps reporting that it stands at a CFR of 6.9% in Gaza and 7.1% in Lebanon. For comparison, the Second Lebanon War saw a CFR of 14.8% and the 2014 Gaza War saw 9.2%.
The Medical Corps attributes this lower rate to better and faster treatment for wounded soldiers, including the use of whole blood transfusions on the battlefield for the first time — some 300 soldiers have been given such transfusions so far — and that senior medical officers are stationed with every company, allowing the procedure and other life-saving treatment to take place immediately without needing to wait to reach hospitals.
Second video: IDF medics treat wounded soldiers during fighting in the Gaza Strip, in a handout video issued on November 25, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
On average, according to the Medical Corps, senior medics are able to reach wounded soldiers in under four minutes during the current fighting, compared to 10-25 minutes on average in the Second Lebanon War.
The time it takes to bring wounded soldiers to hospitals in Israel by helicopter, the Medical Corps says, stands at 66 minutes on average from Gaza and 84 minutes from Lebanon; by ground vehicle, it takes 91 minutes from Gaza and 111 minutes from Lebanon.
IDF says Golan Heights sirens were triggered by Lebanon rocket fire, drone ‘from the east’
A barrage of some 10 rockets was launched from Lebanon at the northern Golan Heights a short while ago.
The IDF says some of the rockets were intercepted and some impacts were also identified.
Separately, a drone that entered Israeli airspace “from the east,” usually code for attacks originating in Iraq, crashed in an open area in the Golan Heights, the military adds.
There are no reports of injuries in the incidents.
FM Sa’ar: Any breach of a ceasefire with Hezbollah ‘will be dealt with immediately’
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar leads a Knesset faction meeting in Jerusalem on November 25, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The test of any ceasefire with Hezbollah north will be in its enforcement, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar tells his New Hope faction.
Two elements of a potential agreement must be enforced, he says — keeping Hezbollah from returning to southern Lebanon and preventing Hezbollah from rearming.
“One thing must be clear, and in my opinion it is clear and agreed upon by all parts of the government and all members of the government,” says Sa’ar. “We will not allow a return to October 6. Any violation will be dealt with immediately.”
IDF says recent strike in Gaza killed Islamic Jihad terrorist who took part in Oct. 7
A recent airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist who participated in the October 7 onslaught, the IDF says.
The PIJ operative is named as Basel Kamel Salim Nabahin.
A recent airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip killed a Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist who participated in the October 7 onslaught, the IDF says.
The PIJ operative is named as Basel Kamel Salim Nabahin.
Earlier today, the IDF said the commander of the rocket unit in Hamas's… pic.twitter.com/10buQNFDqq
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) November 25, 2024
IDF told Netanyahu that the time is right for Lebanon ceasefire — TV report
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi follow Israel's strike in Yemen from the IAF operations room at the Kirya Headquarters in Tel Aviv, July 20, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
The IDF has told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the time is right for a ceasefire in Lebanon, Channel 12 reports, citing a close Netanyahu aide.
The army has achieved the goals it set out of destroying Hezbollah infrastructure along the border and removing the possibility of a raid into northern Israel by pushing Hezbollah back, while drastically reducing its rocket arsenal, it has told the prime minister, according to the report.
But if the efforts to achieve a ceasefire collapse, says Channel 12, the IDF has plans for an expansion of its operation in Lebanon.
Body of Rabbi Zvi Kogan en route from UAE ahead of funeral tonight in Jerusalem
Zvi Kogan, a Chabad rabbi who was murdered in the UAE in November 2024 (Courtesy Chabad)
A plane carrying the body of Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan, who was murdered in the United Arab Emirates, is on its way to Israel, an Israeli rescue and recovery group says.
“At this moment, his coffin has been placed on a flight to Israel,” Zaka says in a statement referring to Kogan, 28, who had been based in the UAE as a representative of the Chabad Hasidic movement.
Chabad says Kogan’s funeral will take place at 11 p.m. at the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.
Bank of Israel keeps interest rate at 4.5%, citing ‘continuing geopolitical uncertainty’
View of the Bank of Israel's main offices in Jerusalem, January 2, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The Bank of Israel opts to leave borrowing costs unchanged at 4.5 percent, as heightened geopolitical uncertainty amid the ongoing war with the Hamas terror group and fighting with the Iran-backed Hezbollah continue to take a toll on the economy.
“The continuing geopolitical uncertainty… is delaying the economy’s return to the level of activity that characterized it prior to the war,” the central bank says in a statement. “The most recent indicators of economic activity point to a mixed picture regarding the level of economic activity in the fourth quarter, with a slight tendency toward weakening.”
“In the financial markets, Israel’s risk premium declined, although it remains high,” the Bank of Israel adds.
Ahead of the decision, economists were in consensus that the base lending rate would remain steady but projected that borrowing costs for mortgage and loan holders could start to come down next year to a level of 4% by the end of 2025, following similar moves in the US and Europe.
In January this year, the Bank of Israel cut interest rates for the first time in almost four years by 25 basis points from 4.75% to 4.5% to support households and businesses as the economy was getting battered by the war with Hamas and with the inflation environment easing. Since then, borrowing costs have not changed, amid heightened inflationary pressure, persistent regional tensions, and higher fiscal spending as defense costs rise.
In September, Israel’s annual inflation rate eased to 3.5% from 3.6% in August after accelerating from 3.2% in July and 2.9% in June. In October it remained at 3.5%. However, it is still above the government’s target range of 1% to 3%.
“The interest rate path will be determined in accordance with the convergence of inflation to its target, continued stability in the financial markets, economic activity, and fiscal policy,” the central bank states.
Gantz warns against judicial overhaul revival: ‘Won’t allow a coup under the cover of war’
National Unity party leader Benny Gantz speaks ahead of a Knesset faction meeting on November 25, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)
National Unity chairman Benny Gantz warns Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against reviving his government’s now largely shelved judicial overhaul, promising that “we will not allow a coup to be carried out under the cover of war.”
“Arrogance, intoxication with power, contempt, and smugness have returned. The coup d’état is on the table,” Gantz tells reporters ahead of his National Unity party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset.
The government views Israel’s security establishment as “part of the deep state,” the attorney general as “a problem for the State of Israel,” and the media as “too free,” Gantz contends, referring to recent reports that Netanyahu may move to fire the attorney general, IDF chief of staff and Shin Bet head.
His comments also come in the wake of government efforts to boycott the left-wing Haaretz daily and privatize the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation within two years, effectively closing down the public broadcaster.
“It ended very badly last time, it will end very badly this time too,” Gantz states, calling on Netanyahu to take responsibility and halt the government’s plans before they “end in disaster.”
Turning to the possibility of a negotiated solution to the war with Hezbollah, Gantz argues that “military achievements must be translated into political achievements” and says that Israel has “the opportunity to offer the state of Lebanon a better future” by “joining the moderate alliance instead of the axis of evil.”
Such political achievements can achieved “only after the military achievements have been fully exhausted,” he adds.
“Lebanon has an opportunity to expel Hezbollah from its midst and distance Iran from it, and join the normalization agreements,” he says, insisting that without a political resolution and “tough security enforcement, [Israel’s] military achievement will be lost and the next round will only be a matter of time.”
IDF says Lebanon strikes hit 25 sites housing members of Hezbollah’s executive council
Smoke rises from the site of Israeli airstrikes that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs on November 25, 2024. (AFP)
The IDF says it carried out a series of airstrikes across Lebanon against command rooms and other sites belonging to Hezbollah’s executive council, which oversees the terror group’s financial and administrative affairs.
In the past few hours, Israeli fighter jets struck 25 sites belonging to the Hezbollah executive council, in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh, the northeastern city of Baalbek, the Beqaa Valley, Beirut’s southern suburbs, and the outskirts of the Lebanese capital, according to the military.
The IDF says the sites included command and control centers and intelligence-gathering centers, where members of the executive council were gathered.
The command centers were responsible for forming assessments for Hezbollah, for the terror group to “make operational and additional decisions,” according to the military.
The strikes “damaged the capabilities of the executive council to direct and assist Hezbollah terrorists in their attempts to carry out terror plots against the Israeli home front and IDF forces, as well as Hezbollah’s command and control, rehabilitation and information gathering capabilities,” the IDF says.
The executive council, according to the IDF, is tasked with “the restoration of [Hezbollah’s] military capabilities on the day after the war, and is a central support for the organization’s military activity.”
The former head of the executive council, Hashem Safieddine, who was due to replace Hassan Nasrallah as the leader of the terror group after his assassination, was killed in an airstrike last month.
Gallant to visit Washington for series of meetings with US administration officals
Likud MK Yoav Gallant attends a memorial ceremony for assassinated prime minister Yitzhak Rabin at Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem on November 13, 2024. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)
Likud MK — and recently fired defense minister — Yoav Gallant will take off on Sunday for Washington, his office tells The Times of Israel.
Gallant, along with intraparty rival Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has an arrest warrant out for him from the International Criminal Court, and could be taken into custody if there is a malfunction during the flight and the plane is forced to land in a European country that has vowed to enforce the court’s decision.
The former defense minister will meet with the senior Biden administration officials with whom he worked throughout the war, according to Channel 12 news, among them Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and special envoy Amos Hochstein — who is the White House point man on ceasefire talks with Lebanon.
The visit is widely seen as a jab at Netanyahu by the Biden administration in its final weeks.
Lapid rips Netanyahu over report that his top aides ran PR campaign for Qatar
Yisrael Einhorn (l) seen with Jonatan Urich (c) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2019. (Courtesy)
Addressing a report that senior aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were behind a public relations campaign to boost Qatar’s global image before Doha hosted the 2022 soccer World Cup, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid states that in any other country such behavior would have led to the fall of the government.
Speaking with reporters ahead of his Yesh Atid party’s weekly faction meeting at the Knesset, Lapid declares it’s impossible to remain “indifferent” to the fact that within the Prime Minister’s Office “the people closest to him received money from Qatar to run a public relations campaign for a country that stands behind Hamas.”
According to the Haaretz daily, Jonatan Urich and Yisrael Einhorn, who at the time worked in their Perception PR company, 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 at the time, headed by Lapid and Naftali Bennett, was maintaining his policy of courting Qatar to send tens of millions of dollars each month to Gaza’s Hamas terrorist rulers in order to prevent the enclave’s economic collapse.
Urich and Perception denied the Haaretz report, calling it “fake news.”
“The most senior Hamas figures can be allowed to live in Qatar, to do business in Qatar” while Urich and Einhorn “profit from Qatar and explain to the world that the Qataris are actually good people,” charges Lapid.
Lapid says that if somebody close to him had acted this way, members of Netanyahu’s coalition “would be standing here screaming that this proves definitively that we normalized Hamas and did not understand what it was planning and what disaster it would bring upon us.” He also demands to know if Netanyahu was aware of Urich and Einhorn’s activities.
Egypt says 17 people missing after tourist yacht capsized off Red Sea coast
Egyptian authorities say 17 people, including foreigners, are missing and 28 others have been rescued after a tourist yacht capsized off the country’s Red Sea coast.
The vessel had been carrying 31 tourists of various nationalities and a 14-member crew at 5:30 a.m. when a distress signal was sent out, says a statement from the Red Sea governorate.
The Sea Story embarked on Sunday on a multi-day diving trip from Port Ghalib in Egypt’s southeast, and was due to dock in the town of Hurghada, 200 kilometers (124 miles) north, on Friday.
Governor Amr Hanafi says in a statement that some survivors were rescued by an aircraft, while others were transported by a warship to safety.
“Intensive search operations are underway in coordination with the navy and the armed forces,” he says.
The Red Sea is a major tourist destination in Egypt, a country of 105 million in serious economic crisis. The sector employs two million people and generates more than 10 percent of GDP.
Report: Suspects in murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan were arrested outside of the UAE
The three suspects in the murder of Abu Dhabi Rabbi Zvi Kogan were not arrested in the United Arab Emirates, where the murder took place, Channel 12 reports.
The operation to find and arrest them spread across several countries, according to the report.
State Attorney’s Office opposes PM’s request to delay start of testimony in criminal trial
The State Attorney’s Office tells the Jerusalem District Court it opposes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request to delay the start of his testimony by 15 days, asserting that he has been given enough time to prepare.
Netanyahu’s defense team requested the delay yesterday, telling the court that they have been unable to properly prepare the prime minister to begin his testimony by December 2 as scheduled, due to the pressures of his timetable.
The State Attorney’s Office asserts that it is in the public interest for the defense in Netanyahu’s criminal trial to begin as quickly as possible, and says that his request lacked “substantive explanations for a change in circumstances” since the court already rejected an earlier request for a ten-week delay earlier this month.
The State Attorney’s Office also requests that the court complete its consultation with the Shin Bet domestic security service for security arrangements for the prime minister while he gives testimony.
The Jerusalem District Court does not have bomb shelters or bombproof spaces. Netanyahu’s legal team has requested a solution for this problem given the ongoing war and bombardment by Hezbollah from Lebanon.
The State Attorney’s Office requests that the Israel Court’s Administration and the Shin Bet complete the necessary work and present the options for these arrangements to the court by this Wednesday.
Lebanese media reports fresh Israeli airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs
After the IDF issued evacuation warnings for four Hezbollah sites in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanese media reports Israeli airstrikes in the area.
لحظة استهداف منطقة الغبيري منذ قليل#ملحق pic.twitter.com/c8uWi97Ztg
— Mulhak – ملحق (@Mulhak) November 25, 2024
10-year-old girl dies after being hit by bus while crossing the street in Jerusalem
A 10-year-old girl has died after being hit by a bus in Jerusalem, the Magen David Adom ambulance service says.
At around 2:30 p.m., medics were called to the scene of an accident on Shimon Hatzadik Street, where they found the girl, who had been hit while crossing the street, trapped underneath the bus, unresponsive and in critical condition.
The ambulance service says that despite resuscitation attempts at the scene of the accident, medics were forced to declare the girl’s death.
Report: 5 former employees in Ben Gvir’s office under investigation for unlawful issuance of gun permits
Five staff members in the office of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir are being probed by the Israel Police’s Lahav 433 major crimes unit in an investigation of allegations that the National Security Ministry issued firearms permits without authority, according to Hebrew media reports.
The investigation has dealt primarily with employees in the National Security Ministry, but according to reports, five temporary employees in Ben Gvir’s office are also suspected of issuing unlawful gun permits.
The suspects were employed by Ben Gvir between October 8 and December 2, 2023, in order to deal with the large influx of firearm permit applications in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre in southern Israel, Channel 12 reports.
Ben Gvir, in response to the investigations, accuses Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of conducting “a coup against democracy.”
“Nothing was done illegally,” the ultranationalist lawmaker insists. “What we have is a political state attorney and state prosecutor, who are trying to fabricate cases and stage a coup against the right-wing government.”
“I’m telling you here: Do not deter me, I am proud of the firearms reform, and I have no intention of allowing this coup to continue,” he warns.
IDF issues evacuation warnings for buildings in Beirut, Nabatieh, and neighborhood in Tyre
In the past hour, the Israeli military has issued evacuation warnings for four buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a building in the south Lebanon city of Nabatieh, and an entire neighborhood in the coastal city of Tyre, ahead of airstrikes on Hezbollah assets.
#عاجل ???? بيان عاجل لسكان منطقة صور في لبنان وتحديدًا إلى المتواجدين في المباني بين الشوارع: شارع الاوقاف, شارع حيرام, مقام النبي اسماعيل ابن حزقيل, الجامعة الإسلامية في لبنان، شارع محمد الزيات.
⭕️أنشطة حزب الله تجبر جيش الدفاع على العمل ضده وبقوة حيث لا ننوي المساس بكم
⭕️عليكم… pic.twitter.com/ctf4dh0AuP
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 25, 2024
#عاجل إلى جميع السكان المتواجدين في منطقة الضاحية الجنوبية وتحديدًا في المباني المحددة في الخرائط المرفقة والمباني المجاورة لها في المناطق التالية:
????حدث بيروت
????حارة حريك
????الغبيري⭕️أنتم تتواجدون بالقرب من منشآت ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع على المدى… pic.twitter.com/Ouv5chZfpm
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 25, 2024
UK would follow ‘due process’ if Netanyahu were to visit, says foreign minister
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy attends a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal (not pictured) and other officials Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Leon Neal/Pool via AP)
Britain would follow due process if Benjamin Netanyahu visited the UK, Foreign Secretary David Lammy says when asked if London would fulfill the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister.
“We are signatories to the Rome Statute, we have always been committed to our obligations under international law and international humanitarian law,” Lammy tells reporters at a G7 meeting in Italy.
“Of course, if there were to be such a visit to the UK, there would be a court process and due process would be followed in relation to those issues.”
Moldovan president condemns murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan in the UAE
Moldovan President Maia Sandu condemns the murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan in the United Arab Emirates.
“We mourn the tragic loss of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, a Moldovan-Israeli citizen killed in the UAE, and strongly condemn this hateful act,” she writes on X. “Hate has no place in our world. Our thoughts are with his family, the Jewish community, and all who grieve. We are in contact with Israel and the UAE.”
We mourn the tragic loss of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, a Moldovan-Israeli citizen killed in the UAE, and strongly condemn this hateful act. Hate has no place in our world. Our thoughts are with his family, the Jewish community, and all who grieve. We are in contact with Israel and the UAE.
— Maia Sandu (@sandumaiamd) November 25, 2024
Military confirms launching airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in Beirut earlier today
The IDF confirms launching airstrikes against Hezbollah command centers in Beirut this morning.
Before the strikes were carried out the IDF issued evacuation warnings to civilians in the vicinity.
Rocket launched from Gaza impacted in open area near Kfar Aza, IDF says
One rocket launched from the northern Gaza Strip an hour ago struck an open area near Kfar Aza, the military says.
There are no injuries.
Katz meets with top Pentagon official for Middle East policy in Tel Aviv
Defense Minister Israel Katz (left) with Dan Shapiro, the Pentagon's top official responsible for the Middle East, in Tel Aviv, November 25, 2024. (Defense Ministry)
Defense Minister Israel Katz meets US deputy assistant secretary of defense for Middle East policy Dan Shapiro, the top Pentagon official responsible for the Middle East.
The Tel Aviv meeting comes amid a US-led diplomatic push to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The ceasefire talks were one of the issues the two discussed, Katz’s office tells The Times of Israel.
IDF: Troops of the 91st Division destroyed primed rocket launchers in southern Lebanon
IDF troops are seen operating in southern Lebanon in an image cleared for publication on November 25, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF’s 91st Division, which is operating in southern Lebanon, discovered and destroyed several rocket launchers over the last day that were primed and ready to fire on northern Israel, the military says in a statement.
It adds that the Israeli Air Force has “attacked dozens of Hezbollah terror targets” across Lebanon over the past 24 hours, including “headquarters, weapons depots and numerous Hezbollah launchers,” some of which it says were used in recent rocket fire on Israel.
IDF says head of Hamas’s East Jabalia Battalion rocket unit killed in Gaza airstrike
IDF troops are seen operating in the Gaza Strip in an image cleared for publication on November 25, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The head of Hamas’s East Jabalia Battalion’s rocket unit was recently killed in an airstrike in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF says, in an operation that also took out a terror operative who participated in the October 7 onslaught in southern Israel last year.
In a statement, the military says that the Israeli Air Force carried out the strike against rocket unit head Ahmed Abd Halim Abu Hussein in cooperation with the 215th Artillery Regiment, the Military Intelligence Directorate and the Shin Bet.
It says that Abu Hussein was “responsible for planning numerous rocket and mortar launches toward Israel and IDF troops operating in the Gaza Strip.
Several other Hamas operatives were killed in the attack, the IDF says, including one who “participated in the murderous massacre on October 7.”
כלי טיס של חיל האוויר תקפו במהלך סוף השבוע, בהכוונת חטיבת האש 215, אמ"ן ושב"כ, וחיסלו את המחבל אחמד עבד חלים אבו חוסין, אחראי התמ"ס של גדוד מזרח ג'באליה בארגון הטרור חמאס>> pic.twitter.com/L8gaiL6ukX
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 25, 2024
High Court orders PM to respond to petition demanding he recuse himself while testifying in trial next month
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the Jerusalem District Court for a hearing on his corruption trial, June 26, 2023. (Alex Kolomoisky/Pool)
The High Court of Justice orders Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara to respond to a petition requesting that Netanyahu be ordered to recuse himself from office while he gives testimony in his criminal trial by December 1, the day before his testimony is scheduled to begin.
The petition seeks to have Netanyahu recuse himself from office for the duration of his testimony in court, which is expected to last several weeks. He will likely need to testify four days a week, unless other arrangements are approved.
Netanyahu’s legal team on Sunday asked the court to delay the beginning of his testimony by 15 days until December 17, with his defense lawyers asserting that they and the prime minister need more time to complete preparations for his testimony.
The State Attorney’s Office has yet to issue its position on this request.
Ben Gvir asks AG to replace police officer leading probe into alleged unlawful issuance of firearm permits
In a letter sent to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara via his personal attorney, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir asks that she replace the police officer in charge of the investigation into allegations that the National Security Ministry under his leadership had issued firearms permits without authority.
In the lawyer’s letter, David Peter asserts that because Chief Superintendent Keren Toledano was one of three officers passed over for advancement by Ben Gvir during a recent round of promotions, her involvement in the case could constitute a conflict of interest.
“Therefore, in order to prevent even the appearance of partiality or prejudice, it is requested that the attorney general… direct that the investigation… be transferred to an independent police officer” who was not among those passed over for promotion, Peter writes.
The High Court of Justice recently adopted the position of petitioners that the National Security Ministry under Ben Gvir had issued firearms permits without authority.
On November 14, Baharav-Miara told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he must reevaluate Ben Gvir’s tenure, in light of the latter’s repeated and ongoing intervention in operational police matters and his politicization of police promotions.
UAE publishes names, photos of suspects in murder of Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan
Zvi Kogan, a Chabad rabbi who was murdered in the UAE in November 2024 (Courtesy Chabad)
The United Arab Emirates publishes the names and photos of the three suspects in the murder of Rabbi Zvi Kogan.
All three men are Uzbeki, according to the UAE Interior Ministry — Olimpi Toirovich, 28; Makhmudjon Abdurakhim, 28; and Azizbek Kamlovich, 33.
The UAE goes out of its way to stress “the determination of the competent security authorities to quickly take the necessary measures to uncover the details of the incident, its circumstances and motives, and to harness their human and professional capabilities, expertise and technical capabilities that led to the arrest of the perpetrators.”
عاجل
وزارة الداخلية: السلطات الأمنية المختصة تكشف عن هوية مرتكبي جريمة قتل المواطن المولدوفي والبدء في الإجراءات القانونية.
أعلنت وزارة الداخلية عن قيام السلطات الأمنية المختصة بالبدء في إجراء التحقيقات الأولية مع الجناة الثلاثة المقبوض عليهم بارتكاب جريمة القتل بحق المقيم من… pic.twitter.com/kDxiKZBnlR
— وزارة الداخلية (@moiuae) November 25, 2024
Gantz: Israel must retain freedom to act against Hezbollah, cannot return to Oct. 6
National Unity lawmaker Benny Gantz says that Israel must only agree to a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah if it grants the IDF freedom to act against the Iran-backed terror group should it violate the terms of the agreement.
In an address at the annual Ogen Conference, Gantz, a former defense chief, says that the residents of northern Israel “must be protected only by the IDF. Not [international observers] UNIFIL, not the Lebanese army, and not a European force.”
“We must not return to the reality of October 6,” he says, referring to the period before the October 7 Hamas terror onslaught in southern Israel, which was followed a day later by the start of the near-daily skirmishes with Hezbollah on the northern border.
He says that any ceasefire agreement must build upon UN Security Council Resolution 1559, which urged the Lebanese government to dismantle Hezbollah and establish full control over its territory, and Resolution 1701, which called for Hezbollah forces to retreat away from the Israeli border, north of the Litani River.
“What is clear,” he says, “is that any arrangement must allow the IDF freedom of action, both against immediate threats and against renewed bolstering of Hezbollah.”
He says that the IDF must continue its offensive activity against Hezbollah in a “more powerful manner, including against Lebanese infrastructure, if that is what is needed” until Israel’s required conditions for a ceasefire are met.
Ben Gvir urges PM to reject Lebanon ceasefire proposal, calling it a ‘grave mistake’
Otzma Yehudit party head Itamar Ben Gvir holds a faction meeting in the Knesset, November 18, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/FLASH90)
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir tells Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reject a US-backed proposal for a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, calling it “a grave mistake.”
In a post on X, the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit leader warns that accepting the ceasefire deal would mean missing out on a “historic” opportunity to destroy the Iran-backed terror group.
Calling it a “grave mistake,” he urges Netanyahu to “listen to the commanders fighting in the field… precisely now, when Hezbollah is beaten and longs for a ceasefire, it is forbidden to stop.”
“It’s not too late to stop this agreement,” he adds. “We must continue until absolute victory!”
Ben Gvir has been categorically opposed to any deal that would see a cessation of hostilities, even temporarily, in both Gaza and Lebanon, and has threatened more than once to pull his party from the coalition in the event that Israel signs a truce agreement.
IDF says drone launched from Lebanon intercepted over northern Israel
Following drone infiltration alerts in the Western Galilee earlier this morning, the IDF says that the Israeli Air Force intercepted a UAV that crossed into Israel from Lebanon.
It adds that additional sirens were activated in communities close to the Lebanon border due to fear of falling shrapnel as a result of the interception.
Footage of the interception is published alongside the statement.
בהמשך להתרעות שהופעלו בשעות 10:07-10:09 על חדירת כלי טיס עוין במרחב הגליל המערבי, חיל האוויר יירט כלי טיס בלתי מאויש שחצה מלבנון.
התרעות על ירי רקטות וטילים הופעלו בעקבות חשש לנפילת שברי יירוט pic.twitter.com/jwFkt1XdCH— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 25, 2024
Lebanese media reports fresh strikes in Beirut after IDF issues evacuation warnings
Lebanese media reports renewed Israeli airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
The reports come after the IDF issued an evacuation warning for civilians in the vicinity of three buildings it said would be targeted in strikes on Hezbollah assets.
Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, published maps alongside the announcement, which called on civilians to distance themselves at least 500 meters from the sites.
#عاجل إلى جميع السكان المتواجدين في منطقة الضاحية الجنوبية وتحديدًا في المباني المحددة في الخرائط المرفقة والمباني المجاورة لها في حارة حريك
⭕️أنتم تتواجدون بالقرب من منشآت ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع بقوة على المدى الزمني القريب
⭕️من أجل سلامتكم وسلامة… pic.twitter.com/4QQZGh2QhS
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 25, 2024
Iran’s Khamenei says death sentence should be issued for Netanyahu, not arrest warrant
A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him addressing the crowd during a meeting with members of the Basij paramilitary force in Tehran on November 25, 2024 (KHAMENEI.IR/AFP)
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says that death sentences should be issued for Israel’s leaders, not arrest warrants, after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant last week over the war in Gaza.
In comments delivered to the Basij paramilitary force, a division within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and reported on by Iran’s Tasnim news agency, Khamenei vows that “the enemy [Israel] will not win in Gaza and Lebanon.”
“Bombing people’s houses in Gaza and Lebanon is not a victory,” he says, “The fools should not think that just because they bomb people’s homes, hospitals and communities, they have won. No, nobody considers this a victory.”
“What the Zionists did was a war crime,” he continues. “They have issued an arrest warrant, this isn’t enough — a death sentence must be issued for Netanyahu. A death sentence should be issued for these criminal leaders.”
IDF calls on civilians in southern Lebanon village of Halta to evacuate
The IDF calls on Lebanese civilians in the southern village of Halta to evacuate north of the Awali River, ahead of pending IDF operations against Hezbollah forces and infrastructure in the area.
Col. Avichai Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, warns on X that they must “evacuate without delay” and reiterates that they must head north, as “any movement toward the south could pose a danger to your life.”
He adds that the IDF will inform them when it is deemed safe for them to return home.
#عاجل بيان عاجل إلى سكان #جنوب_لبنان وتحديدًا في قرية حلتا
????نشاطات حزب الله الارهابي تجبر جيش الدفاع للعمل ضده بقوة في هذه المنطقة ولا ننوي المساس بكم
????من أجل سلامتكم عليكم إخلاء منازلكم فورًا والانتقال إلى شمال نهر الأولي. لضمان سلامتكم، يجب عليكم الإخلاء دون تأخير.
????كل من… pic.twitter.com/ahXp7dzaVz
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 25, 2024
IDF: 20 rockets fired from Lebanon in latest barrage, several impacts identified
Some 20 rockets were fired from Lebanon toward the Upper Galilee and Western Galilee areas in the recent rocket barrage, the IDF says.
According to the military, some of the rockets were intercepted and some were found to have impacted inside Israel.
60-year-old man wounded by shrapnel in latest rocket barrage from Lebanon
Medics treat a man injured by rocket shrapnel in northern Israel following rocket fire from Lebanon, November 25, 2024. (Magen David Adom)
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it is providing medical treatment to a 60-year-old man in northern Israel who is suffering from a shrapnel wound to the head following the latest rocket barrage fired from Lebanon toward Nahariya.
Medics add that the man is conscious.
Rocket warning sirens sound in Nahariya, surrounding areas
Sirens sound in northern communities near the border with Lebanon, warning of incoming rocket fire.
The sirens are activated in Nahariya and surrounding areas after a 12-hour lull, which in turn was preceded by relentless fire from Lebanon as Hezbollah launched some 250 rockets at northern and central Israel.
Mount Hermon turns white after first snow of the season falls overnight
Mount Hermon was dusted with the first snow of the season overnight as temperatures dropped below freezing in the northern Golan Heights.
According to the Israel Meteorological Service, light snowfall can be expected in the northern Golan Heights throughout the day, as temperatures remain unseasonably low.
שלג ראשון ירד הלילה באתר החרמון. הטמפרטורה צנחה מתחת ל0° ושלג בגובה סנטימטר צבע את המפלס העליון. שלג ממשיך לרדת בשעות אלה גם במפלס התחתון.
????: כפיר סבג pic.twitter.com/ICvwFpaHSV— Sharona Mazalian (@SharonaMazalian) November 25, 2024
IDF to test siren systems in Ein Gedi later this morning
The IDF says it will be testing the air raid sirens in Ein Gedi, in the Dead Sea region, later today.
The sirens will be tested at 10:05 a.m.
In the case of an actual attack, the military says that the sirens will sound twice.
Young man seriously wounded in violence near Nazareth
A man in his twenties was seriously wounded in a violent incident in Yafa an-Naseriyye, near Nazareth, paramedics report.
The man was rushed to a hospital in Nazareth. No further details on the incident are immediately available.
Emirati envoy to US: Murder of rabbi ‘was a crime against the UAE’
UAE ambassador in Washington Yousef al-Otaiba (Courtesy)
The United Arab Emirates’ Ambassador to the US Yousef Al Otaiba says in a statement that Rabbi Zvi Kogan’s murder “was more than a crime in the UAE — it was a crime against the UAE. It was an attack on our homeland, on our values and on our vision.”
He writes on X: “In the UAE, we welcome everyone. We embrace peaceful coexistence. We reject extremism and fanaticism of every kind. We honor Zvi Kogan’s memory by recommitting ourselves to these values.”
He adds that the country mourns Kogan and “Our thoughts are with his family, friends and community over his senseless death.”
US says murder of UAE rabbi a ‘horrific crime against all those who stand for peace’
The White House brands the murder of Chabad rabbi Zvi Kogan in the United Arab Emirates a “horrific crime against all those who stand for peace, tolerance and coexistence.”
“It was an assault as well on UAE and its rejection of violent extremism across the board,” says National Security spokesperson Sean Savett in a statement.
He says the US is in contact with Emirati and Israeli authorities, offering its support. The spokesperson also praises the UAE for quickly arresting several suspects.
Savett calls for those responsible to be held “fully accountable.”
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