Nov. 4: In call with Gallant, Blinken urges Israel to do more to ensure aid enters Gaza

After Hamas rejects offer for short-term Gaza ceasefire, diplomat says negotiations still ongoing

After the US reveals that Hamas rejected an Egyptian offer for a short-term ceasefire in Gaza, a diplomat familiar with the matter tells The Times of Israel that discussions are still ongoing and that mediators are still trying to broker an agreement.

The Egyptian proposal envisioned a 12-day ceasefire during which Hamas would agree to release four hostages and the sides would hold talks about a permanent ceasefire.

But Hamas made clear that it would only agree to a short-term deal that includes guarantees for a longer-term one, and the Egyptian proposal stopped short of such an assurance, given Israel’s refusal to agree.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was recorded just last week saying he would not agree to end the war in exchange for the remaining 101 hostages, as he faces pressure from far-right coalition partners to continue fighting in Gaza.

The diplomat speaking to The Times of Israel says all options are on the table to try and secure a deal and that the sides are watching to see the results of the US election in order to determine how to respond.

Trump claims Harris will ‘invade the Middle East’ in final appeal to Arab voters

Former US president Donald Trump claims Vice President Kamala Harris will “invade the Middle East,” as he makes a final appeal to Arab and Muslim voters as he seeks their support to win in the swing state of Michigan on the eve of the election.

“We are building the biggest and broadest coalition in American political history. This includes record-breaking numbers of Arab and Muslim Voters in Michigan who want PEACE,” Trump writes on X.

“They know Kamala and her warmonger Cabinet will invade the Middle East, get millions of Muslims killed and start World War III,” he adds, pledging to “BRING BACK PEACE!”

US Army says soldier who suffered non-combat injury during Gaza pier operation has died

The image provided by US Central Command shows American and Israeli forces placing the Trident Pier on the coast of Gaza Strip on May 16, 2024. (US Central Command via AP)

A US Army soldier who was in critical condition after suffering non-combat injuries while supporting the military’s pier off the coast of Gaza earlier this year has died, the US military says.

Sergeant Quandarius Davon Stanley, who recently retired from the military, suffered critical injuries in May while supporting operations at sea of the US-built pier designed to increase flows of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s war with the Hamas terror group.

In a statement, the US Army confirms that Stanley had died, though it does not specify when. He was receiving treatment in a long-term care medical center.

“Stanley was an instrumental and well respected first line leader in the 7th Transportation Brigade Expeditionary (TBX), especially during the mission to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza,” Colonel John “Eddie” Gray, commander of the unit, says.

Three US troops sustained non-combat injuries during the pier operation, but the other two suffered minor injuries and have returned to duty.

Israel’s UN envoy accuses Turkey of ‘malice’ over call for arms embargo on Israel

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations accuses Turkey of “malice,” after Ankara submitted a letter signed by 52 countries calling for a halt in arms deliveries to Israel over the war in Gaza, where it is battling the Hamas terror group.

“What else can be expected from a country whose actions are driven by malice in an attempt to create conflicts with the support of the ‘Axis of Evil’ countries,” says Ambassador Danny Danon, using a term that commonly refers to Iran and its allies.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said Sunday it had submitted the letter to the United Nations, with the signatories including the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report.

In call with Gallant, Blinken again urges Israel to do more to ensure aid enters Gaza

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza during a phone call earlier today with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the State Department says.

The call comes three days after Blinken held a similar one with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, during which they similarly reviewed the steps Israel has taken to address the crisis. In both calls, Blinken urged Israel to do more to ensure that aid gets in and around Gaza.

Figured from the UN and Israel showed that October saw the least amount of aid enter Gaza this year, even though the US sent Israel a letter on October 13 warning that continued offensive weapon shipments will be at risk if Israel doesn’t take significant steps to improve the humanitarian crisis in 30 days.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller reiterated earlier today that the steps Israel has taken thus far have been insufficient.

During their call earlier today, Blinken and Gallant discussed efforts to end the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon, the US readout says.

US says Hamas rejected Egyptian proposal for brief Gaza ceasefire

Protestors call for a deal to secure the release of hostage held in Gaza by the Hamas terror group, during a weekly protest in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, October 26, 2024. (Dafna Yosha/ Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Hamas has rejected a proposal for a short-term ceasefire and hostage release deal, the State Department says.

The revelation is made in a US readout issued on Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s Sunday call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.

Blinken “noted that Hamas has once again refused to release even a limited number of hostages to secure a ceasefire and relief for the people of Gaza,” the US readout says.

Egypt had put forth a proposal that would have begun with an initial 48-hour ceasefire during which Hamas would have prepared for the release of four Israeli hostages over the next 10 days, two Arab diplomats told The Times of Israel.

The four hostages were to fall under the so-called humanitarian category, meaning they were to be either women, elderly, or sick.

In exchange, Israel was to release roughly 100 Palestinian security prisoners, the diplomats said.

During the 12-day deal, Israel and Hamas would have held talks about a more long-lasting ceasefire.

Hamas has refused to budge from the proposal it submitted in early July, which saw it cede on its key demand for an up-front Israeli commitment for a permanent end to the war.

That offer still contained a number of new conditions and was rejected by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who added his own new requirements for a deal, including that Israel be able to maintain its force presence in the Philadelphi and Netzarim Corridors.

The US blamed Hamas for the over two month impasse that ensued, saying the terror group refused to engage in talks.

Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt have been less convinced by this argument, privately maintaining that the US has downplayed Netanyahu’s culpability for the impasse and claiming that a deal would have been possible over the summer had the premier not added new conditions, Arab diplomats have told The Times of Israel.

Hostage families: PM’s aides acted to carry out one of the greatest frauds in Israeli history

Israelis attend a rally calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, November 2, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90)

The Hostage Families Forum calls for an investigation into the alleged leak of confidential documents by an ex-aide to Israel’s premier, which may have undermined efforts to secure the release of their family members taken captive by on October 7.

A court announced Sunday that Eli Feldstein, a former aide to Benjamin Netanyahu, had been detained along with several others for allegedly leaking documents to foreign media. The case has prompted the opposition to question whether Netanyahu was involved in the leak — an allegation denied by his office.

“The (hostage) families demand an investigation against all those suspected of sabotage and undermining state security,” the forum says in a statement.

“Such actions, especially during wartime, endanger the hostages, jeopardize their chances of return and abandon them to the risk of being killed by Hamas terrorists.”

The forum represents most of the families of the 101 hostages still held in Gaza.

“The suspicions suggest that individuals associated with the prime minister acted to carry out one of the greatest frauds in the country’s history,” the forum says.

“This is a moral low point like no other. It is a severe blow to the remaining trust between the government and its citizens.”

Eli Feldstein and a second suspect in probe of classified intel leak allowed to meet with lawyers for first time

Eli Feldstein, a Prime Minister's Office employee named as a suspect in an investigation of an alleged leak of sensitive information. (Social media; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Eli Feldstein, the main suspect in the probe into the Prime Minister’s Office over the leak of classified intelligence, is now allowed to meet with his lawyer for the first time since his arrest last week, according to Hebrew media.

Another suspect arrested in the case will also be allowed to meet with counsel for the first time, Hebrew media reports.

Because the pair are suspected of having committed a national security offense, they had been barred from meeting with an attorney to date.

Report: Muhammad Sinwar acting as de facto head of Hamas military wing

A screenshot of an undated video released by the Israel Defense Forces on December 17, 2023, shows Hamas commander Muhammad Sinwar, right, riding in a car traveling through a tunnel under the Gaza Strip. (Screenshot, X: Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Yahya Sinwar’s brother Muhammad has been operating as the de facto leader of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza, alongside a small council of top commanders, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

There was no formal appointment of Muhammad Sinwar by Hamas, which has yet to confirm the death of its former military wing chief Muhammad Deif, who Israel says it killed in a July airstrike.

Netanyahu reportedly offering ‘millions of dollars’ to Gaza captors for each hostage released

In efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is prepared to offer their captors “several million dollars” for the release of each hostage, Channel 12 reports.

The prime minister is also prepared to guarantee “safe passage” out of Gaza for captors and their families who release hostages, the report says.

It says Netanyahu issued instructions to this effect at a security consultation tonight.

Netanyahu discussed this effort publicly last month, but it has yet to gain any traction.

US, Saudi Arabia in talks for smaller security deal that doesn’t include Israel normalization

Top US and Saudi officials held talks last week in Washington about a possible security agreement that does not include Riyadh normalizing ties with Israel, the Axios news site reports.

Normalization has been all but shelved during the ongoing Gaza war and Israel’s refusal to establish a diplomatic horizon for a future Palestinian state.

But the US and Saudi Arabia are still looking at signing a smaller security deal that falls short of the defense pact initially sought by Riyadh.

Last week, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said Riyadh could potentially move “quite quickly” on some bilateral agreements with Washington even if a mega-deal involving normalization with Israel remains out of reach.

Lebanon death toll climbs to 3,002, Lebanon’s ministry says

Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed at least 3,002 people and injured 13,492 since October 2023 when Hezbollah began firing at Israel, Lebanon’s health ministry says.

The figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

Israel has been targeting Hezbollah infrastructure and operatives, mainly in south Lebanon.

Iran to boost oil output, ministry says

Iran has approved a plan to increase oil production by 250,000 barrels per day, the oil ministry’s news website Shana reports.

“Iran’s Economic Council has approved a decision to finance an urgent oil production increase plan using resources from the National Development Fund of Iran,” the Shana report says.

The country’s first vice president, Mohammad Reza Aref, said the plan was crucial in supporting Iran’s economy, given current conditions, it adds.

Iran, a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), currently has production of around 3.2 million barrels per day, or three percent of global output.

PM formally asks AG to probe other leaks from wartime security cabinet meetings

In the midst of an investigation into leaks of top secret documents from his office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sends a letter to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara asking her to look into separate leaks from cabinet meetings throughout the war.

“Since the beginning of the war,” he writes, “we have been witness to a never-ending flood of serious leaks and revealing state secrets.”

Netanyahu writes that the leaks come from cabinet meetings, the national security cabinet, hostage negotiators, and other settings at which no members of the government had been present.

“Till now,” he writes, “despite my repeated requests that these leaks be investigated and an end be put to them, nothing has been done.”

He says that Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar told him on Saturday that there must be an official request for an investigation.

Netanyahu includes a secret appendix listing leaks that he says were not investigated.

Parts of the PMO’s defense around the ongoing investigation is that, while other leaks were not investigated, those that could harm the prime minister are being investigated aggressively.

But the current investigation is not about just about a mere leak, rather the alleged theft of classified intelligence and its distortion by Netanyahu’s aides in order to influence public opinion regarding a potential hostage deal. Moreover, the main suspect in the ongoing Shin Bet probe allegedly gained access to classified intelligence despite having failed a security background check.

Report: Theft of classified docs, their transfer to ‘people in PMO’ was allegedly ‘systematic’

Investigators probing the theft of classified intelligence documents from the IDF and their transfer to people in the Prime Minister’s Office suspect that the theft of such documents was “systematic,” Channel 12 reports.

It says a document allegedly leaked to Germany’s Bild newspaper, which reported on it in September, “was not the only document” taken and conveyed to “people in Netanyahu’s office.”

“There were apparently other classified documents” that were accessed and conveyed in this way, Channel 12 says.

A spokesman for Netanyahu, Eli Feldstein, was named by a judge yesterday as the central suspect in the case. Netanyahu is not a suspect in the case.

The ongoing investigation, which involves the police, IDF, and Shin Bet, is focused on “grave leaks of classified information from the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate to unauthorized recipients,” the TV report says.

The Shin Bet suspects that an “infrastructure” was put in place that was able to access “all the classified material held by Military Intelligence,” and that “it extracted — and may have intended to continue to extract in the future — classified material that could expose the capabilities of the entire intelligence community” — encompassing the IDF, the Shin Bet, and the Mossad.

The exposure of this material — as happened with the Bild article — while evading military censorship, endangers the lives of IDF soldiers and harms efforts to free the hostages, the TV report says, citing what it says is the assessment in the defense establishment and of the investigators of the case.

This ongoing danger to soldiers and to the efforts to free the hostages “is the heart of the matter,” the report says.

The questions of what the suspects intended to do with the material, who knew what they were doing, and who gave the instructions are also all currently being probed, it says.

Bild publication of stolen IDF intel poses ‘ongoing danger’ to IDF troops and hostages — report

Bild's September 6, 2024, story citing a document ostensibly found by troops on Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's computer.

The publication in Germany’s Bild in September of material based on a classified intelligence document stolen from an IDF database poses “an ongoing danger” to the lives of IDF soldiers and hostages held in Gaza, Channel 12 reports, citing an unnamed source involved in the current investigation of the case. It says Israel’s intelligence capabilities have been damaged, including because of the “exposure of sources.”

“The use of the published material caused real and ongoing security harm that, daily, endangers the safety and security of IDF soldiers at war and harmed and harms the capacity to protect the lives of the hostages in the negotiations for their release,” it quotes the source as saying.

The illicit extraction of the material from the IDF’s databases was bad enough, the TV report says. But the publication of the material revealed to Israel’s enemies some of Israel’s sources of information, the report says, noting that the material would have been barred from publication in Israel by the military censor.

Channel 12 quotes another source as elaborating: “This is not a case [merely] about leaks. This was an investigation that was opened after the leak of secret, classified, secret material was identified, that was likely to burn sources. This is sensitive intelligence material that was taken from the IDF, extracted illicitly, and manipulative and dangerous use was made of it.”

It says that the Bild article claimed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar wrote a document that sets out a rejectionist stance with regard to negotiations for the release of hostages, including the use of psychological pressure on the families of the hostages. In fact, however, Channel 12 says, Sinwar did not write the document; it was penned by Hamas military intelligence. And the content of the document, the TV report says, was inaccurately represented both in the article and in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s subsequent references to it.

Hamas says it held Gaza war discussions with Fatah in Cairo

A senior Hamas official says the terror group held talks with rival Palestinian faction Fatah in Cairo to discuss the war in Gaza and moves toward national unity.

“A meeting was held with the brothers in the Fatah movement at a generous Egyptian invitation. They discussed various national issues, especially the war on Gaza and pathways for national action,” Osama Hamdan says in a video message.

IDF to issue 7K draft orders to Haredim after first phase of draft plan largely unsuccessful

The IDF will be sending out another 7,000 draft orders to members of the ultra-Orthodox community next week, which Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has approved, after the first phase of a plan to draft Haredi soldiers was largely unsuccessful.

The draft orders are the first stage in the screening and evaluation process that the army carries out for new recruits, ahead of enlistment in the military in the coming year.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held a meeting today with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and other military officials, where he was presented with the summary of the first phase of the Haredi draft plan, his office says.

The IDF sent out 3,000 draft orders in that stage, although just 230 showed up at induction centers.

At the end of the meeting, Gallant approved the IDF’s recommendation to send out 7,000 more draft orders to ultra-Orthodox men.

Those who ignore multiple calls will be considered deserters and may be arrested.

Many ultra-Orthodox Jews believe that military service is incompatible with their way of life, and fear that those who enlist will be secularized. Israelis who do serve, however, say the decades-long arrangement of mass exemptions unfairly burdens them, a sentiment that has strengthened since the October 7 onslaught and the ensuing war, in which more than 780 soldiers have been killed and some 300,000 citizens have been called up to reserve duty.

The military has said that it currently requires some 10,000 new soldiers — mostly combat troops — but can only accommodate the enlistment of an additional 3,000 ultra-Orthodox this year, due to their special needs. These are in addition to some 1,800 Haredi soldiers who are already drafted annually.

In June, the High Court ruled that there was no longer any legal framework allowing the state to refrain from drafting Haredi yeshiva students into military service, and the attorney general ordered the government to immediately begin the process of conscription for 3,000 such men.

US sounds alarm over latest incidents of settler violence in West Bank

People check burned vehicles at the site of a reported attack by Israeli settlers in a residential area on the outskirts of Ramallah city in the West Bank, on November 4, 2024. (Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller begins his daily press briefing by expressing the Biden administration’s alarm over the latest incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

He highlights last night’s incident in al-Birah, in which 20 cars owned by Palestinians were reportedly torched. Locals say they came under settler gunfire when they went out to try to put out the fires.

Miller points to another incident near Hebron in which Palestinians were attacked by scores of extremist settlers who damaged property, assaulted civilians, and released dogs to attack residents. In the village of Jalud, south of Nablus, dozens of extremist settlers reportedly killed livestock, attacked homes, and set fire to vehicles, the State Department spokesperson says.

He also highlights an uptick in reported attacks by settlers preventing Palestinians from harvesting their olive crops in the West Bank.

“These violent actions cause immense human suffering for Palestinians, they threaten Israel’s security, make the realization of a two-state solution more difficult, and undermine the prospects for peace and stability throughout the region,” Miller says.

The Biden spokesperson urges the Israeli government to crack down on such violence and hold perpetrators accountable.

He notes that the US has a number of tools at its disposal, including sanctions against violent settler extremists, to crack down on the phenomenon.

While Miller says there are no new sanctions being announced by the US today, “it is incidents like this in the past that led us to impose sanctions, and we certainly will be looking at this one, as we look at others to see if the government of Israel takes steps to impose accountability, and if they don’t know [we’ll be looking at] what we might do on our end.”

Miller says the US embassy in Jerusalem has raised this latest attack in al-Bireh with Israel.

Eight assailants in rape of Eilat teen given years-long prison sentences

The Beersheba District Court hands down tough sentences ranging from two to eight years in prison for eight young men who either raped or aided and abetted the rape of a 16-year old girl in Eilat in 2020, when all but one of the offenders were 17.

The notorious mass-rape incident scandalized the country and became known as the “Rape in Eilat” case. Two other adult perpetrators were handed 22-year and 14-year prison sentences in February this year.

“It is our duty to convey in this sentence a clear message in the hope that it will resonate far and wide — such harmful sex crimes, even if they were committed by minors, will be met by the court with zero tolerance and a harsh and painful punishment, which will express the deep and necessary societal disgust to acts of this kind, and will reflect the appropriate punitive response to these acts,” the court says, in handing down the new sentences.

The court sentences two of the perpetrators who raped the girl and who were 17 at the time to eight and a half years in prison and orders them to pay NIS 70,000 (some $18,664) each in compensation.

Another man convicted of aiding and abetting the rape and who was 19 at the time was sentenced to seven years in prison and NIS 50,000 ($13,331) in compensation.

Four other offenders all of whom were 17 at the time were sentenced to between 27 months to four and a half years in prison for aiding and abetting the rape and engaging in indecent acts under aggravated circumstances.

One other offender is sentenced to five months community service and NIS 10,000 ($2,666) compensation for encouraging indecent acts under aggravated circumstances.

“These sentences express the severity of the crimes and the force and depth of the injury and humiliation that was caused to the victim by the offenders, and sends a sharp and clear ethical and societal message to young men — the body soul of a young woman are not there for the taking, all the more so when she is in need of help,” says Attorney Rotem Yohanani Har-Tzion, who was responsible for the case in the State Attorney’s Office.

In rare acknowledgement, IDF confirms strikes in Syria against Hezbollah infrastructure

In a rare acknowledgment, the IDF confirms launching airstrikes in Syria earlier this evening, targeting what it says is infrastructure and assets belonging to Hezbollah’s intelligence division.

The strikes were carried out by fighter jets in the Damascus suburb of Sayyidah Zaynab.

The IDF says the Hezbollah unit in Syria is responsible for intelligence collection and assessments.

Hezbollah’s intelligence division was headed by Hussein Ali Hazima, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on October 4, an attack targeting the division’s main headquarters.

The strike last month also killed top Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, as well as the head of the intelligence division in Syria, Mahmoud Muhammad Shahin, according to the IDF.

Shahin was a veteran member of Hezbollah, especially in the terror group’s intelligence division. He had headed the division’s Syria branch since 2007, the military says.

The IDF says Shahin maintained contact with the Syrian regime and Iranian officials, and as part of his role “he led the development and deployment of intelligence and air defense capabilities in coordination with various parts of the Iranian axis.”

His elimination is a “significant blow” to Hezbollah’s intelligence capabilities, the military adds.

Home Front Command eases restrictions in northern city of Tirat Carmel

The IDF Home Front Command says it is easing restrictions in the northern city of Tirat Carmel, following a fresh assessment.

The changes come despite repeated Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel.

As part of the changes, the Home Front Command has adjusted the activity scale in Tirat Carmel from “partial activity” to “full activity.”

The changes mean that gatherings are permitted up to 2,000 people.

There are no changes to other areas in the country.

Settlers assault pair of soldiers near West Bank settlement, IDF says

A group of Israeli settlers assaulted two female IDF soldiers near the West Bank settlement of Givat Asaf earlier today, the military says.

The IDF says the soldiers were treated at the scene, and the assailants fled.

“The IDF condemns all violence against its soldiers and will continue to work to maintain order in Judea and Samaria,” the military adds.

In the same area today, a group of Jewish extremists attempted to burn olive trees in the village of Burqa.

Palestinians in the area threw rocks at the assailants, lightly injuring two of them, according to medics and security sources.

Likud MK declares he won’t back bill guaranteeing daycare subsidies to Haredi draft-evaders

Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, the chairman of the powerful Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, declares that he will not support the so-called Daycare Law being pushed by the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party.

“Israel has been at war for more than a year” and Israeli leaders are “obligated to make every effort to provide the IDF with additional soldiers,” Edelstein states in a video statement sent to the press.

As such, “I will not lend my hand to the Daycare Law nor to any law that attempts to circumvent our ceaseless efforts to expand the conscription base in the State of Israel,” he declares.

The legislation in question would guarantee the continuation of taxpayer-funded childcare subsidies for the ultra-Orthodox community despite a High Court of Justice ruling that such financial support is not legal in cases where the father should be serving in the Israel Defense Forces but is not.

Critics believe that the its passage would continue to encourage ultra-Orthodox men not to perform military service, even as the IDF faces severe manpower shortages as a result of losses sustained in the yearlong multifront conflict against the Hamas and Hezbollah terror groups.

A bill seeking to regulate ultra-Orthodox enlistment is currently stuck in Edelstein’s committee, where he said it will only pass if lawmakers can reach a “broad consensus” on the matter.

After PM urged ‘solution’ to ‘combative’ AG, Likud minister calls for her to be fired

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

Addressing lawmakers from the Knesset plenum, Regional Cooperation Minister David Amsalem calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fire the attorney general.

There is currently “an elitist group” holding the “entire country” in a “stranglehold,” Amsalem declares, claiming that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Mirara and Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon’s “entire job is to overthrow the government.”

“I call on the prime minister to immediately fire the attorney general and Gil Limon. They commit breach of trust on a daily basis,” he states. “You turned the country, you turned the government into a bunch of criminals, and you ‘people of justice and light’ harm the government of the State of Israel.”

Earlier today, members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government railed against Baharav-Miara’s opposition to government policies. During the cabinet discussion, Netanyahu described her conduct as “combative” and reportedly asked Justice Minister Yariv Levin to prepare a “solution” to the issue.

In response, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said that the prime minister’s comments constituted “evidence that the government is returning to the [judicial overhaul] with all its might” and promised to “work to prevent her dismissal legally, publicly and in every way.”

Addressing reporters ahead of his National Unity party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, Benny Gantz said that he had a “proposal for the prime minister who is looking for a ‘solution’ to the attorney general who is disturbing him and the government ministers: Don’t introduce discriminatory legislation and don’t promote a coup d’état and the attorney general won’t bother you.”

Defense Ministry contractors detained for allegedly hiring Palestinians who illegally entered Israel

Several Defense Ministry contractors who won tenders to carry out infrastructure work at army bases and other sensitive facilities were detained for allegedly hiring unauthorized laborers, including Palestinians who illegally entered Israel.

The Defense Ministry and Israel Police in a joint statement say that the contractors were likely aware that they were hiring unauthorized workers, including the Palestinians.

Authorities say that they suspect bribes were given to officials who participated or knew of document forgery, which allowed the unauthorized workers to enter IDF bases and sensitive facilities.

Five West Bank Palestinians were arrested last week, and fake documents, including IDs and car licenses, used to enter the IDF bases were seized, the ministry and police say.

This morning, four Israeli suspects were arrested in the case.

Left-wing Israeli rights group accuses IDF of ‘ethnically cleaning’ northern Gaza

An IDF soldier looks on as Palestinians evacuate from northern Gaza in October, 2024. (Peace Now/X)

Peace Now, a left-wing Israeli rights group, accuses the IDF of “ethnically cleaning” northern Gaza of Palestinians.

“Under the code name ‘The General’s Plan,’ horrific war crimes are currently being committed in the north of the Gaza Strip,” Peace Now says in a tweet, referring to a plan that envisioned laying siege to northern Gaza in order to coax remaining Hamas operatives to surrender.

The IDF has denied carrying out the General’s Plan, saying its operations in northern Gaza have been limited to specific areas where Hamas has sought to regroup and that it is allowing humanitarian aid into other parts of northern Gaza.

During a meeting last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly clarify that Israel is not implementing the General’s Plan, but the Israeli premier declined to do so, amid pressure from far-right coalition partners.

Peace Now claims Israel is engaged in a mass-deportation and starvation campaign against the several hundred thousand Palestinians still in northern Gaza in order to
establish settlements there.

Netanyahu has insisted that Israel is not seeking to reestablish settlements in northern Gaza, but over two dozen members of his coalition have attended conferences in support of the effort.

Marking 30 years since treaty with Jordan, FM insists Israel committed to peace with its neighbors

Foreign Minister Israel Katz praises the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan, whose 30th anniversary was quietly marked last week.

“The agreement enhanced stability, security and prosperity in both countries, and it will continue to benefit our two states in the future, despite various challenges,” writes Katz on X.

“While we currently face the forces of evil that seek to destroy us and to destabilize the Middle East, it is important to remember that Israel remains committed to peace with our neighbors in the region.”

Such comments have not been voiced by Jordanian officials, as Amman fumes over Israel’s prosecution of its war against Hamas in Gaza.

About a month ago, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi gave an impassioned speech on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in which he insisted that Arab and Muslim countries will guarantee Israel’s security if Jerusalem agrees to allow the establishment of a Palestinian state on the pre-1967 lines, while blasting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to do so.

“The amount of damage that this Israeli government has done — 30 years of efforts to convince people that peace is possible, this Israeli government killed it. The amount of dehumanization, hatred, bitterness, will take generations to navigate through,” the Jordanian foreign minister said. “We have no partner for peace in Israel, there is a partner for peace in the Arab world, and that’s why the international community needs to move.”

Syria media says Israeli strikes near Damascus caused ‘material losses’

Syria’s state-run SANA news agency, citing a military source, says “material losses” were caused by Israeli airstrikes near Damascus a short while ago.

SANA says the strikes targeted several “civilian sites” south of Damascus, in the Sayyidah Zaynab suburb.

Suspects in probe into intel leak from PM’s office all serve in IDF intel unit charged with preventing leaks — reports

The four IDF soldiers who were arrested for leaking documents through the Prime Minister’s Office all serve in an intelligence unit tasked with preventing leaks, according to Hebrew-language media.

The same unit initially was tasked with investigating the leaks to foreign media, reports Haaretz, but the investigation was later transferred to the Shin Bet.

The outlet reports that one of the soldiers was released yesterday and a junior officer was arrested today.

An intensive investigation was opened after the leak was determined to be dealing with an “active secret,” which could mean sources would be outed, Kan news reports.

IDF says drone from Lebanon downed as rocket and UAV sirens sound in north

The IDF says a drone launched from Lebanon was shot down by air defenses over the Western Galilee a short while ago, as sirens sounded in northern communities near the border with Lebanon warning of incoming rocket fire and suspected UAV infiltration.

The rocket sirens blared in towns including Yiftach and Ramot Naftali, while the drone alerts were in the Nahariya area.

???? Rocket Alert, ✈️ Hostile Aircraft Intrusion [17:13:59] – 4 Alerts:

• Confrontation Line — Gesher HaZiv, Milouot Industrial Zone North, Ramot Naftali, Nahariya

Population: 62,000 pic.twitter.com/q1f2nbhbuj

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) November 4, 2024

Syrian media reports explosions near Damascus amid alleged Israeli airstrike

Syrian media reports explosions heard in the Damascus area amid an alleged Israeli airstrike.

The pro-government Sham FM radio says that the strikes apparently targeted the Sayyidah Zaynab area on the outskirts of Damascus.

There is no immediate word on causalities or damage.

Poll: Some 65% of Israelis believe Trump victory would be best for Israel

This combination of pictures created on November 02, 2024, shows former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (L) as he arrives on stage to speak during a campaign rally at the Sports and Expo Center at Macomb Community College in Warren, Michigan, November 1, 2024, and US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (R) as she arrives for a campaign rally at the Craig Ranch Amphitheater in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 31, 2024.(Roberto Schmidt and David Becker/AFP)

A day before the US presidential elections, a new poll finds that Israelis believe that a victory for Republican candidate Donald Trump would be best for Israel’s interests.

Asked who they preferred as the next US president, almost 65 percent of respondents to the Israel Democracy Institute survey choose the former US president, while only 13% say they want to see Vice President Kamala Harris win the election. Some 15% say there’s no difference for Israel between the two candidates, while 7% say they don’t know.

The gap between the two candidates is even sharper in the Jewish sample, with 72% saying they think Trump is better for Israel’s interests compared to 11% who believe Harris is better.

Among Arab Israeli respondents, 46% maintains that there’s no difference between the two presidential candidates, while the rest are divided, with a slight advantage for Trump (27% versus 22.5% for Harris).

And unsurprisingly, left-wing participants within the Jewish sample show a clear preference for Harris (42% vs. 29%), while Trump’s advantage over Harris is much more significant among center- and right-wing voters (center: Trump – 52%, Harris – 14%; right: Trump – 90%, Harris – 3%).

The IDI survey was conducted by the Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute between October 28 and November 3, including a total of 750 participants. The maximum sampling error was ±3.58% at a confidence level of 95%.

UTJ threatens to boycott coalition votes if bill maintaining daycare subsidies for Haredi draft evaders doesn’t advance

The ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism Party issues a public warning to the Likud party, warning that it will boycott all votes on coalition legislation if a bill guaranteeing the continuation of taxpayer-funded childcare subsidies for the Haredi community is not advanced on Wednesday.

The bill’s advancement is highly controversial amid the war in Gaza, given that the ultra-Orthodox community as a whole does not serve in the military.

IDF chief updated on establishment of new brigade for ultra-Orthodox soldiers

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (center) meets with senior officers, November 4, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi was presented today with the status of an in-development brigade for ultra-Orthodox Jews, known as the Hasmonean Brigade.

According to the IDF, so far the military has completed drafting the staff for the first Haredi brigade, as well as establishing infrastructure for the induction of the brigade’s first company next month.

Senior officers, including the chief of the Ground Forces, presented Halevi with the status of the ongoing work, the military says.

The new brigade’s establishment comes amid growing calls across the Israeli public for the ultra-Orthodox community to “share the burden” with other sectors who are serving in the military.

PM insists he’s adhering to conflict of interest deal after urging ‘solution’ for ‘combative’ AG

Left: Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara at her welcome ceremony in Jerusalem on February 8, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90); Right: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on January 11, 2023. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara’s conduct as “combative” in a cabinet meeting earlier today and directed Justice Minister Yariv Levin to come up with a “solution,” the premier’s office appears to somewhat walk back his comments.

A senior legal source had told Haaretz that Netanyahu’s decision to weigh in so directly on the conduct of the attorney general is an apparent violation of the conflict of interest agreement he signed, which allows him to continue serving as prime minister while on criminal trial for fraud, bribery and breach of trust.

“Following harsh criticism from government ministers regarding [the attorney general’s conduct], the prime minister clarifies that [Baharav-Miara’s office] is expected to assist the government in implementing the government’s decisions and promoting bills on its behalf, and not the other way around,” says the Prime Minister’s Office in a new statement.

“The prime minister is careful to follow the conflict of interest arrangement that applies to him.”

According to Kan news, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi suggested during the cabinet meeting that Baharav-Miara be replaced by Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, an attorney and Netanyahu loyalist.

Liberman pledges to abolish Nation-State Law, establish new Druze village

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman pledges to abolish Israel’s Nation-State Law, a Basic Law enshrining Israel as the Jewish national state that has been fiercely criticized as discriminating against minorities — particularly Druze citizens who regularly serve in senior positions in the Israeli military and other state agencies.

Addressing reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset, the hawkish opposition politician states that he and Yisrael Beytenu MK Hamad Amar, a member of the Druze community, visited the family of Col. Ehsan Daqsa, the commander of the Israel Defense Force’s 401st Armored Brigade, recently killed in Gaza.

“I sat with his family. They all served in the IDF — most of them officers — and I couldn’t help but feel the deep insult,” Liberman states.

“We will work to abolish the Nation-State Law, which has nothing to do with the character of the State of Israel,” and enact another Basic Law more in line with the values of Israel’s Declaration of Independence, he pledges, adding that he will also work to establish a new Druze village.

Amman says car torched in reported settler attack belonged to Jordanian field hospital in Ramallah

Vehicles torched allegedly by Israeli settlers in Al-Bireh, West Bank on November 4, 2024. (Al-Bireh municipality)

Jordan’s foreign ministry issues a statement condemning last night’s reported arson attack by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Al-Bireh.

One of the cars torched was used in the operations of the Jordanian field hospital in Ramallah, Amman says, asserting that it holds the Israeli government responsible for the attack.

The foreign ministry statement blasts “the escalation of settler terrorism against the Palestinian people.”

Lapid urges immediate draft of Haredim to IDF, slams daycare subsidies law

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid leads a Yesh Atid faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, November 4, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid says he has written to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, demanding that he give immediate orders to recruit to the IDF all eligible members of the ultra-Orthodox community, and arguing that there is no reason to refrain from conscripting tens of thousands of “young men who can make a tremendous contribution to the war effort.”

Addressing reporters in the Knesset ahead of his Yesh Atid party’s weekly faction meeting, Lapid echoes the argument he made to Gallant, stating that if the government had begun wide-scale mobilization following this summer’s High Court ruling, “the ultra-Orthodox youth would have already finished their basic training [and] would have already taken the terrible load off the reservists.”

“We have no expectations from the government. Yesterday we received more proof that this government has no respect for the fighters, the wounded and the dead: the Ministerial Committee for Legislation approved the evasion financing law,” Lapid continued.

Yesterday, the high-level committee backed a bill that would guarantee the continuation of taxpayer-funded childcare subsidies for the ultra-Orthodox community despite a High Court of Justice ruling that such financial support is not legal in cases where the father should be serving in the Israel Defense Forces but is not.

“If this law passes, no Haredi will enlist. Why would they enlist if the government pays them thousands of shekels, at our expense, not to enlist?” Lapid asks.

“Whoever votes in favor of this evasion law will be voting against IDF fighters. They will be voting against the hundreds of IDF casualties. They will be voting against the thousands of IDF wounded. They will be voting against victory in the war and against solidarity between the people of Israel. This law should be thwarted, and this law can be thwarted.”

Gantz: Netanyahu trying to ‘neutralize the gatekeepers’ while his office is being probed for harming security

National Unity party leader Benny Gantz leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, November 4, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

National Unity chairman Benny Gantz says he has an easy solution to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s problems with Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, whom the premier implicitly threatened to fire this afternoon.

“I have a proposal for the prime minister who is looking for a ‘solution’ to the attorney general who is disturbing him and the government ministers,” Gantz tells reporters ahead of his party’s weekly faction meeting in the Knesset. “Don’t introduce legislation that discriminates between blood and blood, don’t promote a coup d’état” — a reference to the government’s judicial overhaul — “and the attorney general won’t bother you. Deal with the citizens of Israel and their needs, and the ombudsman won’t bother you.

“The fact that, while a serious case of violation of the law and suspected damage to national security is being investigated within Netanyahu’s office, he is engaged in neutralizing the gatekeepers, should bother every citizen of Israel,” Gantz asserts — referring to a case surrounding suspected leaks of classified information by an associate of the prime minister.

“If the rule of law interferes with the prime minister or government ministers, they are invited to move to countries where the government operates without restrictions and brakes,” he continues. “The State of Israel will remain a liberal democracy. We will not allow any harm to the gatekeepers.”

During today’s cabinet meeting, Netanyahu reportedly described Baharav-Miara’s conduct as “oppositional” said he has requested Justice Minister Yariv Levin to prepare a “solution” to the issue.

IDF locates and razes Hezbollah tunnel planned to serve as staging ground for invasion

The IDF releases footage of a Hezbollah tunnel recently located and demolished by troops in southern Lebanon.

The military says combat engineers with the 188th Armored Brigade are operating in forested areas close to the border, where Hezbollah constructed infrastructure that was slated to have been used in a planned invasion of Israel.

The troops have also located weapon bunkers hidden in the forested areas, the IDF adds.

Berlin urges Israel to boost aid access to ‘desperate’ north Gaza

Germany calls on Israel to let more humanitarian aid into north Gaza, arguing that a lack of supplies has led to a “desperate” and “unbearable” situation, a spokesperson for the German foreign ministry says.

“We call on the Israeli government urgently to meet its responsibilities under international law,” the spokesperson tells a regular news conference in Berlin.

“Israel has the right to self-defense against Hamas within the framework of humanitarian international law,” he adds.

The spokesperson was responding to a question about an ultimatum set by Washington for Israel to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza this month or face potential restrictions on US military aid.

Netanyahu pans ‘oppositional’ AG amid calls for her ouster, asks minister to prepare ‘solution’

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara on February 8, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, November 2, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Ministers rail against Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara over her opposition to government policies, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing her conduct as “oppositional” and expressing a desire for a “solution,” according to remarks at a cabinet meeting today reported by Hebrew media.

After Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi says Baharav-Miara needs to be fired, Netanyahu responds that “she is an oppositional attorney general,” claiming that due to her political slants, she approved “illegal” measures advanced by the previous government, including a maritime agreement with Lebanon and various appointments during a transitional period.

Netanyahu reportedly says he has requested Justice Minister Yariv Levin to prepare a “solution” to the issue.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slams Netanyahu over the “threats” against Baharav-Miara, asserting that they constitute “evidence that the government is returning to the [judicial overhaul] with all its might.”

“We will work to prevent her dismissal legally, publicly and in every way,” Lapid says in a statement. “The attempts to replace her are part of Netanyahu’s and his government’s attempt to fundamentally destroy Israeli democracy during wartime.”

Earlier today, Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs accused Baharav-Miara’s office of putting itself above the government and leading the country to “total anarchy,” after one of her deputies accused Fuchs of acting without legal authority to force the treasury to prepare to subsidize daycares for the families of ultra-Orthodox draft evaders.

5th suspect, an IDF officer, is arrested in probe into intel leak from Netanyahu’s office

A handout photo released by his office on October 26, 2024, shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF commanders in the bunker below the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv. (Avi Ohayun/GPO)

An IDF officer has been arrested as part of the investigation into leaked classified documents from the Prime Minister’s Office, according to Hebrew media reports, bringing the total number of suspects in the case to five.

The leaked documents were said to have been written by the Hamas terror group and to have formed the basis of a widely discredited article in the London-based Jewish Chronicle — which was later withdrawn — suggesting Hamas had planned to spirit hostages out of Gaza through Egypt; as well as an article in Germany’s Bild newspaper that said Hamas was drawing out hostage talks as a form of psychological warfare on Israel.

The leaked material was not found by IDF forces in Gaza, according to the Kan public broadcaster, but was uncovered through “another type of intelligence.” The case is being taken so seriously by prosecutors in part because it risks revealing to Hamas key intelligence-collection methods.

Comptroller slammed for failing to show up for Knesset meeting about his Oct. 7 inquiry

State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman at the Federation of Local Authorities conference in Tel Aviv, December 7, 2022. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Committee chairman MK Mickey Levy protests State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman’s decision not to attend a hearing of the Knesset State Control Committee this morning, arguing that the official’s absence caused “serious harm to the work of the committee and the Knesset’s parliamentary oversight.”

Levy, of the opposition Yesh Atid party, argues that Englman is required by law to report to the committee and that his absence forced the hearing to end immediately after it began.

“All of the citizens of the country are demanding answers about the events of October 7. Calls for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry are heard from all ends of the political spectrum, from both the coalition and the opposition,” Levy states.

“This is the second time that the comptroller has avoided appearing for the discussion on the critical issue of probing the events of October 7. We postponed the discussion last week because he would be present this week, but he didn’t show up,” he says.

Englman announced in December he would be conducting a wide-ranging investigation into the multilevel failures leading up to, during, and after the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and atrocities, including military and intelligence failures. However, this was strongly opposed by several government watchdog groups who expressed concern that it would interfere with the IDF’s operational capabilities during wartime and might ignore political responsibility for the devastating onslaught.

In June, the High Court ordered Englman to suspend his probe, and then later allowed it to go forward in a limited manner.

Addressing the Israel Bar Association conference in Tel Aviv in September, Englman excoriated the country’s political and military leaders, accusing them of impeding inquiries into the massacre and refusing to take any responsibility for it.

“There has not been a single person among the elected officials, bearers of public office, military leaders and the security establishment, who has met the proper standard and the expected timeframe when it comes to upholding the value of bearing responsibility,” he asserted at the time.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid has previously stated that he does not trust Englman’s office’s investigation, arguing that it serves merely as political cover for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rather than a good-faith effort to get to the truth of what happened.

IDF says it killed 2 Hezbollah commanders, including chief of elite anti-tank missile unit

Two Hezbollah commanders, including a member of the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, were killed in recent airstrikes in southern Lebanon, the IDF says.

A strike carried out by fighter jets in as-Sultaniyah killed Riyad Reda Ghazzawi, whom the IDF identifies as a commander in the Radwan Force’s anti-tank missile unit.

The IDF says he was behind numerous anti-tank attacks on Israel and troops operating in southern Lebanon.

Additional strikes targeted several buildings in Safad al-Battikh where the IDF says Hezbollah members were operating.

The IDF says that a commander at Hezbollah’s headquarters was killed in the strikes. He was responsible for transferring weapons to Hezbollah cells, as well as recruitment, according to the military.

ממשיכים לתקוף ולחסל מפקדי שטח בחיזבאללה: חוסל מפקד נוסף במערך הנ"ט בכוח רדואן ומפקד במערך המטה שפעל לגיוס מחבלים לארגון הטרור חיזבאללה

מטוסי קרב של חיל-האוויר, בהכוונה מודיעינית של אגף המודיעין ופיקוד הצפון, תקפו במרחב א-סלטניה וחיסלו את ריאצ' רצ'א ע'זאוי, מפקד במערך הנ"ט בכוח… pic.twitter.com/Gj8SKTAgIx

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) November 4, 2024

Haaretz editorial says paper’s publisher was wrong to say terrorists are ‘freedom fighters’

Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken is seen at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem as he arrives for a court hearing on a lawsuit filed against the newspaper, January 13, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

The Haaretz daily seeks to distance itself from controversial remarks made recently by its publisher that referred to Palestinian terrorists as “freedom fighters” and caused multiple government ministries to cut their ties with the left-wing newspaper.

In his remarks, made last week at a Haaretz conference in London and circulated on social media in a video apparently compiled from several excerpts from his speech, publisher Amos Schocken was seen saying: “The [Benjamin] Netanyahu government doesn’t care about imposing a cruel apartheid regime on the Palestinian population. It dismisses the costs to both sides for defending the [West Bank] settlements while fighting the Palestinian freedom fighters that Israel calls terrorists.”

In a subsequent clarification, Schocken said his wording should have been different and added that “as for Hamas, they are not freedom fighters.”

Now, in an editorial titled “Terrorists are not freedom fighters,” Haaretz says that both Schocken’s initial remarks and his clarification are wrong.

“The fact that he didn’t mean to include Hamas terrorists doesn’t mean that other terrorist acts are legitimate, even if their perpetrators’ goal is to free themselves from occupation,” it says.

“Deliberately harming civilians is illegitimate,” it adds. “Using violence against civilians and sowing terror among them to achieve political or ideological goals is terrorism. Any organization that advocates the murder of women, children and the elderly is a terrorist organization, and its members are terrorists. They certainly aren’t ‘freedom fighters.’

“Throughout history, nations have waged armed struggle against oppressive occupiers to liberate themselves and achieve independence; not every armed struggle is terrorism. But the term ‘freedom fighter’ has a positive, even romantic, connotation, which could lead people to support illegitimate acts of violence. Those should be unacceptable in any way, shape or form.”

Anniversary memorial for slain politicians Rabin, Ze’evi won’t be held this year at families’ request

US President Bill Clinton (right) shakes hands with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at the White House after their Oval Office meeting and joint news conference, November 12, 1993. (AP Photo/Greg Gibson)

The families of slain former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and former tourism minister Rehavam Ze’evi have appealed to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana not to hold special memorial meetings in the parliament today to mark the anniversaries of their loved ones’ assassinations.

In a statement, Ohana says that he has acceded to the families’ requests and no events will be held this year.

Rabin, a Labor prime minister, was assassinated on November 4, 1995, by right-wing extremist Yigal Amir following a mass peace rally in Tel Aviv that was called to highlight opposition to violence and to showcase public support for the prime minister’s efforts to negotiate with the Palestinians.

Last year’s annual state ceremony in memory of Rabin was canceled due to the ongoing war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Slain tourism minister Rehavam Ze’evi, assassinated by the PFLP in 2001. (Flash90)

On the other side of the political spectrum, Ze’evi, popularly known by the nickname “Gandhi,” was an IDF general turned politician for the far-right Moledet party who had advocated the voluntary transfer of millions of Palestinians out of the West Bank and Gaza to neighboring Arab states.

On October 17, 2001, he was shot dead by Palestinian gunmen from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror group at Jerusalem’s Hyatt Hotel.

IDF intercepts more drones launched at Israel from Iraq

Several drones launched at Israel from Iraq were shot down by the Israeli Air Force a short while ago, the IDF says.

No sirens sounded, as the drones were intercepted before threatening any towns.

The Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq takes responsibility for launching the drones.

Report: Israelis injured by rock-throwing had tried to torch Palestinian olive trees

A security source quoted by Army Radio says two Israelis injured by rock throwing in the West Bank, north of Jerusalem, had arrived with a group to the Palestinian town of Burka in an attempt to burn olive trees.

According to the report, Palestinians at the scene threw the rocks, lightly injuring the two.

2 Israelis lightly injured by rock-throwing in West Bank, north of Jerusalem

Two Israelis in their 20s have been lightly injured after rocks were apparently thrown at them in the West Bank, north of Jerusalem, according to medical officials.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says the casualties were brought, fully conscious, to Givat Asaf Junction on Route 60 to get medical treatment at the scene.

IDF says soldier seriously injured in northern Gaza fighting

A soldier with the Givati Brigade’s reconnaissance unit was seriously wounded during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip this morning, the IDF says.

He was taken to a hospital in Israel for treatment.

Hezbollah fires 60 rockets at north in 2 barrages; IDF strikes launcher

The IDF says it struck a Hezbollah launcher in Lebanon that was used to fire a barrage of 30 rockets at the Upper Galilee this morning.

Another barrage of 30 rockets was fired at the Western Galilee an hour ago.

According to the military, some of the rockets launched in the attacks were intercepted and the rest hit open areas.

בסגירת מעגל מהירה, כוחות צה״ל תקפו את המשגר ממנו זוהו כ-30 שיגורים שחצו מלבנון בשעה 9:25 במרחב הגליל העליון, חלקם יורטו והשאר נפלו בשטחים פתוחים.

בהמשך להתרעות שהופעלו במרחב הגליל המערבי בשעה 11:00, זוהו כ-30 שיגורים שחצו מלבנון, חלקם יורטו והשאר נפלו בשטחים פתוחים pic.twitter.com/JErIIBzj8T

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 4, 2024

Iran assails US deployment of B-52 bombers in Mideast as ‘destabilizing’

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei criticizes what he calls the United States’ “destabilizing presence” after the deployment of B-52 bombers in the region.

“We have always believed that the presence of America in the region is a destabilizing presence,” Baghaei tells a news conference in response to a question about the deployment, adding that it “will not deter [Iran’s] resolve to defend itself.”

In growing spat over Haredi daycare subsidies, cabinet secretary accuses AG of leading to ‘total anarchy’

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara attends a farewell ceremony in honor of outgoing police commissioner Kobi Shabtai at the National Police Academy in Beit Shemesh, July 14, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs accuses the office of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of putting itself above the government and leading the country to “total anarchy,” after one of Baharav-Miara’s deputies accused him today of acting without legal authority to force the treasury to prepare to subsidize daycares for the families of ultra-Orthodox draft evaders.

The attorney general, who also serves as legal adviser to the government, has said she opposes a bill being advanced by the government to enable the daycare subsidies despite a ruling that deems them illegal if a parent doesn’t serve in the military despite being legally required to do so.

“There is no such thing in Israeli law as an ‘attorney general instruction’ to not implement a cabinet decision,” Fuchs writes. “The legal advisory is acting against the law, without authority, and is threatening in every letter it issues as if it were above the government, a sort of executive authority that everyone is subordinate to.

“Your oppositional conduct against the government since its inception is gradually expanding toward a constitutional crisis and total anarchy.”

Hamas, Fatah said to agree to set up technocratic administration for postwar Gaza governance

A round of talks between Hamas and Fatah officials in Cairo has yielded an agreement to establish a technocratic committee composed of independent Palestinian figures to manage the Gaza Strip after the ongoing war, according to an unnamed Hamas source quoted by the Qatari-owned paper Al-Araby al-Jadeed.

The talks were part of Egypt’s broader mediation efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and terror group Hamas and to expand humanitarian access to the enclave.

According to the Qatari paper, the Hamas delegation presented a detailed work plan for the technocratic committee, while the Fatah delegation requested a discussion of its central management, which will reportedly be done in follow-up meetings.

Today, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to sit down with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo to discuss ways to end the war in Gaza and the future Palestinian governance. A Hamas delegation led by top official Khalil al-Hayya reportedly met with the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate yesterday but did not achieve any progress on a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

Al-Araby al-Jadeed writes that the Hamas delegation included new officials who had never participated in such talks before, in order to create “new opportunities for future discussions.” The terror movement’s main demand was for Egypt to exert pressure on Israel to stop ongoing military operations in the northern Gaza Strip, the paper reports.

IDF airs footage of interception of some of the 4 drones it downed today

The IDF releases footage showing the interception of some of the four drones launched at Israel this morning.

The four drones, two from Lebanon and two from Iraq, were intercepted within half an hour. Two of the drones crossed into Israeli airspace, while the other two were shot down outside it, according to the military.

תוך חצי שעה, חיל-האוויר יירט הבוקר ארבעה כלי טיס בלתי מאוישים:

הבוקר חיל-האוויר יירט בהצלחה ארבעה כלי טיס בלתי מאוישים שעשו את דרכם לשטח ישראל, חלק מהכלים חצו מלבנון וחלקם מכיוון מזרח, שני כלים יורטו בטרם חצו לשטח הארץ.
הופעלו התרעות על פי מדיניות. pic.twitter.com/1Z2ZHzSGpQ

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) November 4, 2024

Two Iranian Revolutionary Guards die in gyroplane crash in country’s southeast

Two of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have died in a gyroplane crash in the country’s southeast, the semi-official Fars news agency cites the force’s public relations department as saying.

The crash happened near Sirkan, a city in the province of Sistan-Baluchistan bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan, which has long been the site of frequent clashes between Iranian security forces and Sunni militants as well as drug traffickers.

“Second Brigadier General Hamid Mazandarani, the commander of the Nineva Brigade of Golestan province, and his pilot, were martyred in this accident,” the agency says.

It does not say why the commander of the brigade, based in the northern province, was visiting the southeast at the time.

Rocket alarms blare in Galilee

Incoming rocket alerts have sounded in the Galilee, including in Rosh Pina.

There are no immediate reports of impacts or injuries.

Iran executes Jewish Iranian man after settlement aimed at saving him was rejected

Arvin Nathaniel Ghahremani, 20, an Iranian Jew executed in November 2024 (Iran Human Rights)

Iranian authorities have executed a member of Iran’s Jewish community who was convicted of murder, an watchdog organization says, at a time of rising tensions with Israel.

Arvin Nathaniel Ghahremani was hanged in prison in the western city of Kermanshah after being convicted of a murder during a street fight, says the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group.

Ghahremani was allegedly defending himself against knife attack when he killed Amir Shokri in a 2022 brawl.

Under Iranian law, once a person is found guilty of intentional murder, the only way that the death sentence can be commuted is if the family of the deceased says it forgives the perpetrator.

According to Hebrew media reports, Ghahremani’s family and the local Jewish community had offered Shokri’s family a financial settlement to prevent the execution, as is allowed under the law, but the family refused.

Earlier this year it was reported that Shokri’s family had come under pressure from a close aide to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the intelligence division of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps not to accept the settlement.

Ghahremani was previously supposed to have been executed in May but was granted a last-minute stay of the sentence at the time.

AFP contributed to this report.

Israel Police open probe after vehicles allegedly torched by settlers in West Bank city

After Palestinian media reported that settlers allegedly torched some 15 vehicles in the West Bank city of Al-Bireh overnight, the Israel Police says an investigation has been opened.

Investigators have started gathering evidence and other findings at the scene, police say.

IDF: Bomb planted by terror operatives exploded near Gaza aid convoy, wounding 6 kids

Palestinians walk amid the devastation in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on November 3, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

The IDF says an explosive device planted by terror operatives exploded near a humanitarian aid convoy in the northern Gaza Strip yesterday, wounding six children at a nearby hospital.

According to the IDF, the convoy was enabling the evacuation of patients and staff from the Kamal Adwan and al-Awda hospitals to other hospitals in northern Gaza. It was also bringing humanitarian aid to the hospitals.

“As the convoy passed by the Kamal Adwan Hospital, a report was received from the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the detonation of an explosive device, only a few hundred meters away from the hospital. As a result of the explosion, the convoy was hit by shrapnel,” the IDF says.

There were no injuries among the convoy’s personnel, but the IDF says that “following an assessment by COGAT with hospital officials, six children in the hospital were injured by the explosion.”

Damage was also caused to the roof and courtyard of the hospital by the blast, according to the military.

“The terrorist organizations continue to exploit civilian infrastructure, medical facilities and international aid organizations for their terror activities,” the IDF says.

“The IDF and COGAT will continue to operate in accordance with international law to transfer humanitarian and medical aid to the Gaza Strip,” it adds.

IDF says it downed 4 suspected drones: 2 launched from Lebanon, 2 ‘from east’

Following suspected drone infiltration alerts that sounded in the Golan Heights an hour ago, the IDF says the Air Force intercepted two “suspicious targets” that crossed into Israeli airspace from the east — usually code for drones launched from Iraq.

Another aerial target was downed this morning in the Upper Galilee after crossing from Lebanon, the military says, adding that another such target was intercepted over Lebanon.

Deputy AG slams cabinet secretary for ordering advancement of Haredi daycare subsidies

Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs at a hearing on military service for ultra-Orthodox men, at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, June 2, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

A deputy to Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has written a strongly-worded letter criticizing Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs’s conduct in relation to efforts to pass a law guaranteeing daycare subsidies to the families of ultra-Orthodox draft evaders.

The letter by Gil Limon accuses Fuchs of acting “without authority” by ordering the treasury’s accountant general, Yali Rothenberg, to bring forward the bill’s provisions for the government’s approval, while threatening potential administrative sanctions against him if he didn’t comply.

Limon says this order goes against the attorney general’s instructions, adding that Fuchs lacks the authority to instruct the accountant general on how to act, especially when the order goes against the law.

“More than anything — you are not allowed to threaten a public official seeking to carry out their duties faithfully and act in accordance with the law,” Limon writes. “You must retract your correspondence.”

Palestinians say settlers torched some 15 cars in West Bank city of Al-Bireh

Settlers allegedly raided the West Bank city of Al-Bireh overnight and set around 15 vehicles on fire, Palestinian media reports.

Some of the cars reportedly belong to Palestinian Authority officials, and ones of them belongs to a Jordanian medical delegation, the reports say.

הפלסטינים: מתנחלים העלו באש הלילה כ 15 כלי רכב באלבירה, רמאללה. חלק מן הרכבים שייכים לאנשי הרש״פ, אחד מהם למשלחת רפואית ירדנית. pic.twitter.com/Hoz4WH75Jt

— אוהד חמו (@ohadh1) November 4, 2024

????آثار إحراق المستوطنين للمركبات في مدينة البيرة الليلة الماضية pic.twitter.com/c5gqSy2PMS

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) November 4, 2024

IDF kills Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon’s Baraachit

Israeli Air Force jets have struck and killed Abu Ali Rida, the Hezbollah commander of the Baraachit area in southern Lebanon, the IDF says, adding that he was responsible for planning and carrying out rocket and anti-tank missile attacks on IDF troops and commanded terror activities by Hezbollah operatives in that area.

Forces from the 91st Division are continuing to destroy terror infrastructure and confront terror operatives in southern Lebanon, the military adds.

It says that in the past day, forces from the 228th Brigade spotted a gunman in a building near the border with Israel, and opened fire at the building. Aftershocks were then observed.

IDF says it killed PIJ operative who took part in Kfar Aza massacre on Oct. 7

An Israeli airstrike has taken out a Palestinian Islamic Jihad military intelligence official who took part in the October 7, 2023, massacre in the Israeli community of Kfar Aza, the IDF says.

The military says Ahmed Al-Dalu has additionally been involved in the planning and carrying out of terror actions against Israeli citizens throughout the war.

He was killed in an Air Force strike along with another terror operative, the army says.

Meanwhile, the 162nd and 252nd divisions are continuing to operate throughout the Strip and have killed many terror operatives in close-quarters combat and by directing airstrikes, the IDF says, adding that forces have also destroyed terror infrastructure.

Troops from the Nahal Brigade are operating in Rafah in Gaza’s south and eliminating many operatives, the army adds. In the past day, they directed an airstrike on a terror cell that was hiding in a military building housing mines meant to harm Israeli soldiers. The strike killed the cell and destroyed the mines.

Suspected drone alarm sounds in Golan; IDF: Incident ‘over’

A suspected drone infiltration alert sounds in several Golan Heights communities, including Katzrin.

The military says minutes later that the incident is “over,” giving no more immediate details.

Envoy to UN welcomes derecognition of UNRWA, says Israel will work with other aid groups

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon speaks at a press conference during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 24, 2024, at the UN headquarters in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon welcomes Israel’s retraction of a 1967 agreement that served as the basis of Israel’s relations with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

“Despite the overwhelming evidence we submitted to the UN that substantiate Hamas’ infiltration of UNRWA, the UN did nothing to rectify the situation,” Danon says in a tweet.

“The State of Israel will continue to cooperate with humanitarian organizations but not with organizations that promote terrorism against us,” he adds.

Last week, the Knesset passed a bill banning UNRWA from operating from Israeli territory and forbidding Israeli government agencies from working with UNRWA. The bill takes effect in three months.

“UNRWA — the organization whose employees participated in the October 7th massacre and many of whose employees are Hamas operatives — is part of the problem in the Gaza Strip and not part of the solution,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said earlier. “The UN was presented with endless evidence about Hamas operatives working at UNRWA and about the use of UNRWA facilities for terror purposes and nothing was done about it.”

Rainy weather expected in central and northern Israel

Rain is expected in central and northern Israel today, mostly in the morning hours.

There is a possibility of some intense rain that will lead to flooding in cities.

Alert level raised after six killed by Indonesia volcano eruption

At least six people died after a volcano in eastern Indonesia erupted several times overnight, officials say, raising the alert level to the highest of a four-tiered system.

Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, located on the popular tourist island of Flores, spewed ash and lava that peppered the surrounding area with fireballs, forcing authorities to evacuate several villages.

“Six fatalities have been confirmed,” Abdul Muhari, spokesman of the country’s disaster management agency, tells Kompas TV.

Footage received by AFP showed villages near the volcano covered by thick ash, with some areas on fire.

???????????? Terrible situation in the southeast of Flores Island, Indonesia. The Lewotobi (Lakilaki) volcano erupted and launched powerful bombs of pyroclastic and volcanic ash towards nearby villages. Several houses caught fire and an intense rain of ash and gravel has forced residents… pic.twitter.com/HIUO8pi02T

— Weather monitor (@Weathermonitors) November 3, 2024

Israel informs UN that 1967 agreement recognizing UNRWA is void

A man carries a humanitarian aid package provided by UNRWA in central Gaza City on August 27, 2024. (Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP)

The Foreign Ministry has officially informed the UN that Israel is withdrawing from the 1967 agreement recognizing Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, after the Knesset passed legislation to severely limit the operations of the agency in Israel and in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Foreign Ministry Director-General Jacob Blitshtein sent the letter to UN General Assembly President Philemon Yang of Cameroon, informing him that “Israel will continue to work with international partners, including other United Nations agencies, to ensure the facilitation of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not undermine Israel’s security. Israel expects the United Nations to contribute to and cooperate in this effort.”

Last week, the Knesset passed a bill banning UNRWA from operating from Israeli territory and forbidding Israeli government agencies from working with UNRWA. The bill takes effect in three months.

“UNRWA — the organization whose employees participated in the October 7th massacre and many of whose employees are Hamas operatives — is part of the problem in the Gaza Strip and not part of the solution,” says Foreign Minister Israel Katz. “The UN was presented with endless evidence about Hamas operatives working at UNRWA and about the use of UNRWA facilities for terror purposes and nothing was done about it.”

Katz also notes that only 13% of the aid to Gaza currently goes through UNRWA, and argues the idea that there is no alternative to UNRWA is a fiction.

Harris in Michigan: Death and destruction in Gaza and Lebanon devastating

Democrat Kamala Harris made her closing pitch for the US presidency at a historically Black church and to Arab Americans in battleground Michigan today.

Opinion polls show the pair locked in a tight race.

In a rally in East Lansing, Michigan, she addressed the state’s 200,000 Arab Americans, starting her speech with a nod to civilian victims of Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“This year has been difficult, given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and given the civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon, it is devastating. And as president, I will do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza,” Harris said to applause. “To bring all the hostages, end the suffering in Gaza, ensure Israel is secure, and ensure the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.”

Kamala Harris: This year has been difficult given the scale of death and destruction in Gaza and given the civilian casualties and displacement in Lebanon. It is devastating and as president I will do everything in my power to end the war in Gaza.. pic.twitter.com/I1QKeXaLPc

— Acyn (@Acyn) November 3, 2024

Samah Noureddine, 44, a Lebanese American from Grosse Ile, a town near Detroit, said she voted for Biden in 2020 but was casting a ballot for Jill Stein of the Green Party this year.

“I’m upset because Harris is funding the genocide and if we get Trump we’re going to suffer too,” she said. “I’m sick of both of them.”