The Times of Israel liveblogged Wednesday’s events as they happened.
In call with Gallant, Pentagon chief notes Israeli efforts to increase aid flow to north Gaza
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin nodded at recent Israeli actions to boost humanitarian aid in Gaza, while urging Jerusalem to build upon and sustain such measures during a phone call earlier today with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the Pentagon says.
The call comes after the US confirmed sending a letter to Israel on Sunday warning that Washington’s continued supply of offensive weapons to Israel would be in jeopardy if Israel didn’t take steps to dramatically improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza within 30 days.
In the days since the letter was sent, Israel reopened several aid routes and allowed assistance into northern Gaza for the first time in two weeks.
During the call, Gallant and Austin also discussed the recent US deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in Israel, which the Pentagon describes as “an operational example of the United States’ ironclad support to the defense of Israel.”
Austin “made clear that the United States is well postured to defend US personnel, partners, and allies,” the Pentagon says.
Austin also reiterated calls for Israel to ensure the safety of UNIFIL forces and the Lebanese Armed Forces after both have come under IDF fire in recent days, the US readout adds.
Israel has called on those forces to evacuate areas in southern Lebanon where it is operating against Hezbollah but those calls have largely been rebuffed.
Austin also “raised the need to pursue a diplomatic pathway to provide security for civilians on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border as soon as feasible,” the Pentagon says, amid US fears that Israel will get bogged down in Lebanon if it doesn’t couple its military strategy with a viable diplomatic one.
IDF says it shot down drone over Mediterranean Sea
The military says it downed a drone over the Mediterranean Sea that was headed toward Israel.
A statement released by the military also declares “the incident is over” after a suspected drone from Iraq set off sirens in southern Israel, without giving any further details.
Police sappers on scene after Kiryat Shmona building hit by Hezbollah rocket
Police say sappers are on the scene after a rocket fired by Hezbollah struck a building in the northern city of Kiryat Shmona.
A statement from the police says no have injuries have been reported.
השיגורים לקריית שמונה: שריפה פרצה במבנה שספג פגיעה ישירה – אין נפגעים
(אורלי אלקלעי)
צילום: נעשה מאמץ גדול לאתר את בעלי הזכויות בצילומים. השימוש נעשה לפי סעיף 27א. אם אתם בעלי הזכויות יש לפנות ל-zcuyot@kan.org.il pic.twitter.com/QfXnbwjz5s— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 16, 2024
IDF says ‘suspicious aerial target from the east’ entered Israel, after sirens sound in south
The Israel Defense Forces says it identified “a suspicious aerial target that crossed [into Israeli territory] from the east,” a term it has previously used to refer to attacks from Iraq.
The IDF adds that it’s looking into the matter, without specifying whether the suspected drone was downed.
The statement from the military comes shortly after sirens were activated in two southern communities near the Jordanian border, and as air raid alerts are now being activated further to the west in the Negev mountains area.
Suspected drone sirens triggered in southern communities near Jordanian border
A suspected drone sets off air raid sirens in Sapir and Ein Yahav, communities in southern Israel’s Arava desert near the Jordanian border.
Hezbollah claims attack on Kiryat Shmona; no injuries reported as several rockets said to impact
Hezbollah releases a statement claiming a rocket attack on Kiryat Shmona, after sirens sounded right after midnight in the northern city and a number of nearby towns.
Hebrew media outlets report several rockets impacted in Kiryat Shmona. There are no immediate reports of injuries.
IDF says UNIFIL ‘not a target’ after peacekeepers again report being fired on
The Israeli army insists that it was not targeting UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, after the UNIFIL force reported being fired at in the latest in a series of incidents.
“UNIFIL infrastructure sites and forces are not a target,” the Israeli army says in a statement.
UNIFIL earlier said Israeli army forces had fired at one of its positions in south Lebanon.
Netanyahu okayed set of targets for planned Iran reprisal, Israeli source tells ABC News
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has signed off on a set of targets for Israel’s planned response to Iran’s missile attack last month, an Israeli source tells ABC News.
The US broadcaster says the source wouldn’t provide more specifics on the targets, including if they’re strictly military.
The report also notes there is no timeframe for launching the anticipated response.
Netanyahu says IDF found ‘state-of-the-art’ Russian arms in Hezbollah bases
PARIS, France — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells a French newspaper that Israeli forces had found “state-of-the-art” Russian weapons in searches of Hezbollah bases in south Lebanon.
Netanyahu highlights to Le Figaro newspaper, in an interview released today, that under a 2006 UN Security Council resolution only the Lebanese army was allowed to have weapons south of the country’s key Litani River.
“However, in this area, Hezbollah has dug hundreds of tunnels and caches, where we have just found a quantity of state-of-the-art Russian weapons,” the French article quotes Netanyahu as saying.
“A new civil war in Lebanon would be a tragedy. It is certainly not our aim to provoke one. Israel does not intend to interfere in Lebanon’s internal affairs,” Netanyahu tells Le Figaro.
“Our only aim is to allow our citizens living along the Lebanon frontier to go home and feel safe,” he adds.
Lebanese media reports airstrikes in Hezbollah’s eastern Lebanon strongholds
Lebanese media reports that Israeli airstrikes are taking place in the Bekaa Valley and Baalbek regions of eastern Lebanon.
The areas are known as Hezbollah strongholds.
There is no immediate comment by the military.
Qatar’s PM says no hostage talks have taken place for 3-4 weeks
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani says there have been no hostage-ceasefire talks with Hamas for a few weeks.
“Basically, in the last three to four weeks, there is no conversation or engagement at all, and we are just moving in the same circle with the silence from all parties,” he tells reporters at the end of the summit between the Gulf Cooperation Council and European Union in Brussels.
The Walla news site reported earlier this week that Shin Bet director Ronen Bar met with then-Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel in Cairo on Sunday and discussed the stalled negotiations, but did not reach any breakthroughs.
It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 37 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.
Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
Man shot dead in northern town, marking third killing in Arab community today
A man was shot dead in the northern town of Basmat Tab’un, in the third homicide in the Arab community today.
Medics who arrived on the scene declared the man, 29, dead on site, the Magen David Adom ambulance service says in a statement.
Police have opened an investigation into the shooting.
IDF intercepts 2 rockets fired from Gaza at Sderot
The IDF says it shot down two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip which triggered sirens in the southern city of Sderot a short while ago.
It says the rockets were fired from the northern part of the enclave.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for the launches.
US says Israel has taken steps to ease humanitarian crisis since warning
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says Israel has taken several steps to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza since the Biden administration sent a letter warning that continued security assistance was at risk.
Miller points to the 50 aid trucks Israel allowed into northern Gaza over the past day, which came after 30 trucks entered the area a day earlier.
Over the past several days, Israel also reopened the Erez Crossing into northern Gaza in addition to opening a new access route from southern Gaza to northern Gaza, Miller says, adding that another route was opened for delivering aid in southern Gaza.
Israel also reopened an aid route to allow the resumption of aid deliveries from Jordan, he adds.
Israel has taken steps to approve new warehouses and other staging facilities for the UN and other humanitarian organizations aimed at easing some of the logistical burdens they have faced in storing and delivering aid inside Gaza, Miller notes.
Israel has also informed the UN and other humanitarian organizations in the past 24 hours that it would waive for 12 months the customs declarations that it has been requiring individuals to sign to bring goods in, Miller says. This follows a request from aid organizations and was one of the requests made by the Biden administration in its letter to Israel earlier this week.
While the State Department spokesperson notes that the letter does make clear that there are legal ramifications regarding US security assistance to Israel if Jerusalem doesn’t take advance the steps to address the Gaza aid crisis laid out in the letter, Miller, however, clarifies that the US is still bound to maintain Israel’s qualitative military edge in the region, indicating that the administration will not cut aid to Israel altogether under any circumstance.
“We do have an obligation under the law to ensure that Israel has a qualitative military edge. We have an obligation under the law to continue to comply with the obligations of the (10-year) MOU (on security assistance to Israel through 2028). We also have an obligation under the law to ensure that Israel complies with all elements of US law (regarding the weapons we provide),” Miller says, referring to statutes banning its use in ways that violate international humanitarian law.
Pro-Israel Columbia professor suspended from campus after confronting campus official over Oct. 7 anti-Israel rally
Shai Davidai, a pro-Israel assistant professor at Columbia Business School has been temporarily banned from the university’s campus.
This comes after Davidai filmed himself following the campus’s chief operating officer, Cas Holloway, questioning him about how he allowed anti-Israel protests to go ahead on the anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 massacre.
In a statement announcing the suspension, the university says Davidai “repeatedly harassed and intimidated university employees in violation of university policy,” but did not elaborate on the specific action that led to the ban.
Accusing Holloway of allowing anti-Israel demonstrations on campus that have created an atmosphere of violence, the outspoken professor vows in a video posted to Instagram: “I’m not going anywhere.”
Davidai said in April he was barred entry to campus, claiming it was due to his Jewish identity.
US does not want civilian sites destroyed in Lebanon, State Department says
WASHINGTON — The United States does not want to see civilian buildings destroyed and is in touch with the government over an airstrike that destroyed the municipal headquarters in the southern Lebanon town of Nabatieh today, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says.
Miller, speaking at a press briefing, says he could not speak to Israel’s intentions with a specific strike, but notes that Hezbollah does at times operate from underneath civilian homes.
UNIFIL says Israeli tank fired on watchtower in southern Lebanon this morning
CAIRO, Egypt — The UN mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) says its peacekeepers at a position near southern Lebanon’s Kfar Kela observed an Israeli Merkava tank firing at their watchtower on Wednesday morning.
Two cameras were destroyed, and the tower was damaged, UNIFIL says in its statement.
“Yet again we see direct and apparently deliberate fire on a UNIFIL position,” it adds.
Israel has urged UNIFIL to leave their positions in southern Lebanon amid their ground incursion aimed at eliminating the threat posed by Hezbollah to northern communities.
UNIFIL statement:
This morning, peacekeepers at a position near Kafer Kela observed an IDF Merkava tank firing at their watchtower. Two cameras were destroyed, and the tower was damaged.
Yet again we see direct and apparently deliberate fire on a UNIFIL position.
— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) October 16, 2024
PM held meeting on increasing aid to Gaza, security cabinet to discuss matter Sunday
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened an emergency meeting today to discuss expanding humanitarian aid to Gaza, three officials who attended the discussion say, with aid likely to increase soon.
A spokesperson for Netanyahu did not immediately comment. A fourth Israeli official says the prime minister’s security cabinet was expected to further discuss the matter on Sunday.
Harris says US will take things ‘one step at a time’ if Israel ignores warning on Gaza aid
Asked by reporters about the Biden administration’s letter to Israel conditioning continued US military assistance on Jerusalem addressing the Gaza humanitarian crisis, Vice President Kamala Harris says the letter speaks for itself.
Pressed again on what legal action should be taken against Israel if the warning is ignored, Harris responds, “We’ll take it one step at a time, if necessary.”
Hezbollah claims responsibility for rocket fire on Safed
Hezbollah says it fired rockets at the northern city of Safed, the third such attack in 24 hours which the terror group described as a response to Israeli raids.
Sirens were triggered in Safed earlier this evening warning of incoming rockets.
Terrorists from the Iranian proxy targeted “at 6:50 p.m. (1550 GMT)… the occupied town of Safed with a salvo of rockets” in “defense of Lebanon and its people,” Hezbollah says in a statement.
There are no reports of injuries or damage in the attack.
WHO warns risk of cholera outbreak ‘very high’ in Lebanon, urges Israel to ensure polio vaccine drive in Gaza
GENEVA, Switzerland — The risk of cholera spreading in Lebanon is “very high,” the World Health Organization warns after a case of the acute and potentially deadly diarrhoeal infection was detected in the conflict-hit country.
The WHO highlights the risk of cholera spreading among hundreds of thousands of people displaced since Israel escalated an air campaign against Hezbollah and launched a ground offensive intended to push the group back from its northern border with Lebanon.
“If the cholera outbreak … spreads to the new displaced people, it might spread very fast,” Abdinasir Abubakar, WHO’s representative in Lebanon, tells reporters in an online news conference.
Lebanon’s health ministry said a cholera case had been confirmed in a Lebanese national who went to hospital on Monday suffering from watery diarrhea and dehydration.
The patient, from Ammouniyeh in northern Lebanon, had no history of travel, the ministry said.
Lebanon suffered its first cholera outbreak in 30 years between 2022 and 2023, mainly in the north of the country.
The total number of children who received a second dose of #polio vaccine in central #Gaza after two days of vaccination is 156,943. The vaccination continues today.
At the same time, 128,121 children received vitamin A supplements.
We call for the humanitarian pauses to… pic.twitter.com/TCWqYF13vn
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) October 16, 2024
The WHO also urges Israel to ensure the necessary conditions to finish the job of vaccinating Gaza’s children against polio, after reaching more than 150,000 with the required second dose.
Despite continuing Israeli military operations in some areas of the Palestinian territory, the second round of a polio vaccination campaign, aiming to reach more than 590,000 children under the age of 10, got underway on Monday.
“The total number of children who received a second dose of polio vaccine in central Gaza after two days of vaccination is 156,943,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says on X.
“The vaccination continues today. At the same time, 128,121 children received vitamin A supplements.
“We call for the humanitarian pauses to continue to be respected. We call for a ceasefire and peace,” he says.
Senior Hamas official says solution to Gaza key to ending widening conflict
ISTANBUL, Turkey — Any solution to the rapidly expanding regional conflict that has spread to Lebanon and beyond hinges on a resolution of the original crisis in Gaza, a senior Hamas official says.
“It is so complicated and intermingled, the two fronts, that it is not easy to reach a permanent ceasefire or permanent solution to this conflict without solving the original one, which is in Gaza,” Basem Naim tells Reuters in Istanbul.
“Even if they reach a ceasefire for Lebanon, there will be no calm in the region (because) they are not talking about solving all these questions related to Lebanon or Palestine,” he says.
Qatari and Egyptian-brokered efforts to agree a halt to the fighting and a return of the Israeli hostages have gone nowhere, with both Israel and Hamas blaming each other for the deadlock.
Naim says the mediators were “disappointed” by the expansion of the conflict beyond Gaza’s borders but again blamed Israel for the failure of the talks.
“We cannot simply start negotiating new conditions added by (Prime Minister) Benjamin Netanyahu,” he says.
Naim says the latest Israeli offensive in northern Gaza amounted to a “very tight, suffocating siege” unlike others.
“It is much more brutal and aggressive (than previous operations). It is directly targeting the civilian residential houses and homes,” he says.
Naim says US calls for more aid were not consistent with its overall support for Israel.
“How can one understand that at the same time that the Americans are calling for more aid and humanitarian relief, they are sending billions and billions of dollars and … explosive materials and weapons, and (using) their veto each time in the UN Security Council to block the international will,” he adds.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Egypt taps new spy chief
CAIRO, Egypt — Key regional mediator Egypt replaces the head of its powerful state intelligence agency, local media reports, appointing a new chief, Hassan Rashad.
Abbas Kamel, a close ally of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and his former chief of staff, has held the post since 2018. He held the role of the main Egyptian mediator in talks between Israel and Hamas.
Kamel will now take up the post of presidential advisor and envoy, as well as general coordinator of security services, according to state-aligned media Extra News. It is unclear if he will maintain his role as mediator in the Gaza talks.
The switch-up comes as Egypt finds itself surrounded by regional conflict.
For over a year, it has failed alongside fellow mediators Qatar and the US to achieve a ceasefire and hostage deal in the Israel-Hamas war, which has since spread into Lebanon.
White House says warning to Israel over Gaza aid similar to one sent in April
Asked about the letter that the Biden administration sent to Israel earlier this week in which it warned that continued US security assistance will be at risk if Jerusalem doesn’t address the Gaza humanitarian crisis in 30 days, White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre stresses that the message is similar to one that Washington sent in April, which Israel responded to constructively.
She reiterates at a press briefing that the timing of the letter had to do with the major drop in aid over the past several months.
Hostage families build sukkah outside Kirya with photos of loved ones held in Gaza
Families of hostages held in the Gaza Strip build a sukkah in front of the Kirya Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv on the eve of the Sukkot festival.
Instead of hanging traditional decorations, relatives create paper chains of photos of their loved ones who are in captivity.
Speaking to Channel 12 news at the sukkah, Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held hostage, urges the government to sign a deal to end the war and “bring our loved ones home,” adding it is the most moral thing they can do right now.
Sirens again warn of drone attack in north
Sirens warning of a hostile drone infiltration are activated in several northern communities.
Sirens sound in Adamit, Arab al-Aramshe, Betzet, Liman, Hanita, Metzuba, Rosh Hanikra and Shlomi.
חדירת כלי טיס עוין (16/10/2024 18:40-18:43): אדמית, ערב אל עראמשה, חניתה, יערה, שלומי, בצת, איזור תעשייה מילואות צפון, חוף בצת, לימן, מצובה, ראש הנקרה pic.twitter.com/4jNIV6A2J6
— צופר – צבע אדום (@tzevaadom_) October 16, 2024
US says it’s ensuring Israel doesn’t starve north Gaza; Israel’s UN envoy says it is committed to keeping up flow of aid
UNITED NATIONS — The United States is watching to ensure that Israel’s actions on the ground show that it does not have a “policy of starvation” in the northern Gaza Strip, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield tells the Security Council.
She tells the 15-member council that such a policy would be “horrific and unacceptable and would have implications under international law and US law.”
“The Government of Israel has said that this is not their policy, that food and other essential supplies will not be cut off, and we will be watching to see that Israel’s actions on the ground match this statement,” Thomas-Greenfield says.
The United States has told Israel it must take steps in the next month to improve the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave or face potential restrictions on US military aid, US officials said on Tuesday.
Israel “remains committed to working with our international partners to ensure aid reaches those who need it” in the Gaza Strip, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters ahead of the Security Council meeting.
“The problem in Gaza is not a lack of aid. The problem is Hamas, which hijacks the aid — stealing, storing, and selling it to feed their terror machine, while civilians suffer,” he said.
Sirens warn of drone attack in north
Sirens warn of a hostile drone infiltration in the northern communities of Peki’in and Beit Jann.
חדירת כלי טיס עוין (16/10/2024 18:16): פקיעין, בית ג'אן pic.twitter.com/Ub9kWVouNS
— צופר – צבע אדום (@tzevaadom_) October 16, 2024
Rocket sirens sound in Safed
Incoming rocket sirens are activated in the northern city of Safed and surrounding towns.
צבע אדום (16/10/2024 18:03): צפת – עכברה, ביריה, צפת – עיר pic.twitter.com/BDSal4kksH
— צופר – צבע אדום (@tzevaadom_) October 16, 2024
Fresh US sanctions target illegal network financing Hezbollah
WASHINGTON — The United States imposes sanctions on what it described as a Lebanon-based sanctions evasion network that funnels millions of dollars to Hezbollah.
The action targeted three individuals linked to Hezbollah’s finance arm and four Lebanon-based companies registered to conceal ties to the terror group, according to a Treasury Department statement.
The US also sanctions three individuals involved in the production and sale of the amphetamine known as captagon, who it said have funded the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and its allies, including Hezbollah.
“Today’s action underscores (Hezbollah’s) destabilizing influence within Lebanon and on the wider region, as the group, its affiliates, and its supporters continue to finance their operations through covert involvement in commercial trade and the illicit trafficking of captagon,” Bradley T. Smith, acting undersecretary of Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, says in the statement.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
IDF says it killed Hezbollah Kafr Qana commander in airstike
The military says it killed Hezbollah’s Kafr Qana district commander Jalal Mustafa Hariri in an airstrike in southern Lebanon.
The IDF says Hariri was responsible for planning and carrying out terror activities against Israel and was killed alongside commanders responsible for artillery fire and anti-tank fire in the area.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah says its terror operatives in southern Lebanon were locked in clashes with Israeli troops “at point-blank range,” in the vicinity of the Al-Qawzah village.
EU defense chiefs want ‘maximum pressure’ on Israel to stop UNIFIL ‘incidents’
ROME, Italy — Sixteen EU defense ministers express “the shared will to exert maximum political and diplomatic pressure on Israel” to prevent further “incidents” against UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, Italy says.
Italy and France organized a video conference involving the 16 EU countries that participate in UNIFIL, where the ministers “strongly condemned” attacks the mission has blamed on Israel, the Italian Defense Ministry says.
“It was also strongly expressed that the rules of engagement need to be revised to allow UNIFIL to operate more effectively and safely,” the ministry adds, without going into detail.
Rocket sirens sound in northern community
Incoming rocket sirens are activated in the northern community of Misgav Am.
צבע אדום (16/10/2024 17:31): משגב עם pic.twitter.com/eARQtUkjRA
— צופר – צבע אדום (@tzevaadom_) October 16, 2024
Gallant calls France’s ban on Israel at naval arms fair ‘a disgrace’
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Defense Minister Yoav Gallant calls French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to ban Israeli firms from exhibiting at a naval arms show “a disgrace.”
“We will continue defending our nation against enemies on 7 different fronts, and fighting for our future – with or without France,” Gallant posts on X.
French President Macron’s actions are a disgrace to the French nation and the values of the free world, which he claims to uphold. The decision to discriminate against Israeli defense industries in France a second time – aids Israel’s enemies during war. This builds on the…
— יואב גלנט – Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) October 16, 2024
FM Katz says UN force in Lebanon can play vital role in ‘day after’ war against Hezbollah
Foreign Minister Israel Katz says that the activities of UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, near the border, are of “great importance” and that the force could play a vital role when the war with Hezbollah ends.
“Israel places great importance on the activities of UNIFIL and has no intention of harming the organization or its personnel,” Katz says in a statement posted on X, adding: “Israel views UNIFIL as playing an important role in the ‘day after’ following the war against Hezbollah.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has angered European allies in recent days by insisting that the international peacekeeping force UNIFIL leave its posts in southern Lebanon to avoid getting caught in the crossfire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Gallant: Any talks for truce in Lebanon must be conducted ‘under fire’
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says any negotiation to end fighting in Lebanon must be conducted “under fire,” during a situational assessment on the northern front.
Meeting with commanders of the reservist 146th Division, Gallant says the recent capture of Hezbollah terror operatives in southern Lebanon proves “the IDF’s success and Hezbollah’s predicament,” according to a Defense Ministry statement.
“We are learning things through questioning that we would not have learned any other way, and they will be useful for us soon,” Gallant says, adding that the ongoing ground operation will allow evacuated residents of northern Israel to return to their homes.
Iran’s atomic agency says ‘very unlikely’ Israel will attack nuclear facilities
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s atomic energy agency says an Israeli attack on key nuclear sites was “very unlikely” and the country would be able to “quickly compensate” for any potential damage.
“It is very unlikely to happen,” the agency spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi says in a video interview with Nournews agency. “In the event of an attack on a key site: be sure it will not succeed,” he continues, adding that “the country can quickly compensate for” any potential damage.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US President Joe Biden that Israel’s retaliation against Iran for its ballistic missile attack on October 1 will not include strikes on oil or nuclear sites, according to a report Monday suggesting the Israeli premier had curtailed planned action to avoid interfering with the US election.
Ben Gvir, Smotrich stress British mandate period is over, after UK’s Starmer says he’s considering sanctioning them
National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says in a statement that Britain is trying to thwart the existence of the State of Israel, after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was considering sanctioning the far-right politician and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
“The British need to know the days of their mandate are over,” Ben Gvir says.
“In any case, they do not scare me, and I will continue to only act according to the important national interests of the State of Israel and the sake of the country’s residents, our soldiers, our policeman, and our prison guards,” he says.
He also expresses his contempt for the 1939 White Paper, a British policy paper that limited Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine.
In a post on X, Smotrich also stresses that the British mandate and the White Paper are no longer relevant, and yet, he writes, “the one-sidedness and hypocrisy remained the same one-sidedness and hypocrisy.”
Gantz says if Likud MKs want Gaza settlements, they must allow IDF to draft enough troops to protect them
While not taking a firm stance on the issue of settling Gaza, National Unity chair Benny Gantz says those in the ruling Likud who back the reestablishment of Israeli communities in the Strip must support an outline for mandatory service in the military that gives it the resources to defend residents in the enclave.
Gantz’s post on X is in response to 10 members of the ruling Likud, including a cabinet minister, who announced they will be participating in a conference tagged “Preparing to Resettle Gaza” scheduled for this Monday in the Gaza border region close to Sderot.
“Netanyahu himself has already said he does not intend to allow the settlement of Gaza,” Gantz writes on X. “But those who anyway support settlement in the Gaza Strip — first of all raise your hand in favor of a [military] service framework that will provide the IDF manpower for its missions, and then go to conferences.”
While not explicit, Gantz is referring to efforts by some in the government to ensure ultra-Orthodox Yeshiva students remain exempt from military service, despite the military’s manpower shortage.
Critics of Gantz’s post respond by charging that his lack of explicit opposition to the goal of reestablishing settlements is tantamount to support of such a policy.
Small plastic explosives were built into weaponized pagers to fool Hezbollah
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The batteries inside the weaponized pagers that arrived in Lebanon at the start of the year, part of an Israeli plot to decimate Hezbollah, had powerfully deceptive features and an Achilles’ heel.
The agents who built the pagers designed a battery that concealed a small but potent charge of plastic explosive and a novel detonator that was invisible to X-ray, according to a Lebanese source with first-hand knowledge of the pagers, and teardown photos of the battery pack seen by Reuters.
To overcome the weakness — the absence of a plausible backstory for the bulky new product — they created fake online stores, pages, and posts that could deceive Hezbollah due diligence, a Reuters review of web archives shows.
The stealthy design of the pager bomb and the battery’s carefully constructed cover story, both described here for the first time, shed light on the execution of a years-long operation that has struck unprecedented blows against Israel’s Iran-backed Lebanese terror group and pushed the Middle East closer to a regional war.
A thin, square sheet with six grams of white pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) plastic explosive was squeezed between two rectangular battery cells, according to the Lebanese source and photos.
The remaining space between the battery cells could not be seen in the photos but was occupied by a strip of highly flammable material that acted as the detonator, the source says.
This three-layer sandwich was inserted in a black plastic sleeve, and encapsulated in a metal casing roughly the size of a matchbox, the photos show.
The assembly was unusual because it did not rely on a standard miniaturized detonator, typically a metallic cylinder, the source and two bomb experts say. All three spoke on conditions of anonymity.
Without any metal components, the material used to trigger detonation had an edge: like the plastic explosives, it was not detected by X-ray.
Upon receiving the pagers in February, Hezbollah looked for the presence of explosives, two people familiar with the matter say, putting them through airport security scanners to see if they triggered alarms. Nothing suspicious was reported.
The devices were likely set up to generate a spark within the battery pack, enough to light the detonating material and trigger the sheet of PETN to explode, the two bomb experts, to whom Reuters showed the pager-bomb design, say.
Since explosives and wrapping took about a third of the volume, the battery pack carried a fraction of the power consistent with its 35-gram weight, two battery experts say.
“There is a significant amount of unaccounted-for mass,” Paul Christensen, an expert in lithium batteries at Britain’s Newcastle University says.
At some point, Hezbollah noticed the battery was draining faster than expected, the Lebanese source says. However, the issue did not appear to raise major security concerns — the group was still handing its members the pagers hours before the attack.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Rocket sirens sound in Gaza border communities
Incoming rocket sirens are activated in the Gaza border communities of Nir Am and Mefalsim.
צבע אדום (16/10/2024 16:16): מטווח ניר עם, מפלסים pic.twitter.com/oobMUtQhOv
— צופר – צבע אדום (@tzevaadom_) October 16, 2024
Jordan tells Iran it will not allow anyone to ‘violate’ its airspace
AMMAN, Jordan — Jordan’s foreign minister tells his Iranian counterpart that the kingdom would not allow any parties to violate its airspace, as the region braces for Israel’s retaliation against Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this month
Jordan will “not be a battlefield for anyone and will not allow any party to violate its sovereignty and airspace and threaten its citizens’ security,” Ayman Safadi says in a meeting with Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi.
Golani troops uncover arms warehouses, tunnels in southern Lebanon
The military releases images and footage of the Golani Brigade’s operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon over the past day.
Troops have killed dozens of Hezbollah terror operatives in the area, and uncovered two warehouses in civilian areas filled with weapons including shells, mortars, cornet missiles and anti-tank guided missiles, according to the military.
Furthermore, troops uncovered four entrances into tunnels hiding weapons and used them as shelters for terrorists, the IDF says.
During the operations, terrorists launched an anti-tank missile at troops and then fled, the military says. The air force then launched a strike targeting the terrorists.
IAF intercepts suspicious aerial target in north
The Israeli Air Force shot down a suspicious aerial target that crossed into the country’s airspace a short while ago, the military says.
The military adds that sirens in northern communities were triggered over concern for falling shrapnel from the interception.
France bars Israeli firms from naval trade fair in November
PARIS — France has banned Israeli firms from participating in an upcoming military naval trade show, two sources aware of the matter say, the latest incident to highlight an increasingly tense relationship between the two allies.
Paris had already banned Israeli firms from taking part in a military trade show earlier this year. The French Defense Ministry at the time said the conditions were no longer right for the companies to take part when President Emmanuel Macron is “calling for Israel to cease operations in Gaza.”
The French Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry, Israeli embassy and Euronaval, which is organizing the annual naval fair between November 4-7, did not respond to requests for comment.
Man shot dead, 2 wounded in southern Bedouin village
A man was killed and two others were seriously injured when shots were fired at their car in the southern Bedouin village of Umm Batin, police say.
Police say the shooting is criminal and not terror-related, adding they are searching the area for suspects.
Rocket sirens blare in several northern communities
Incoming rocket sirens are sounding in the northern communities of Gvat, Yifat, Ramat David and Sarid.
צבע אדום (16/10/2024 15:24): גבת, יפעת, רמת דוד, שריד pic.twitter.com/ibDn8F0JBq
— צופר – צבע אדום (@tzevaadom_) October 16, 2024
IRGC says it ‘will not hesitate to support’ its allies in war against Israel
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says they “will not hesitate to support” regional allies in the conflict against Israel.
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps…will not hesitate to support the Islamic resistance decisively…in bravely standing up against this fake regime (Israel),” the Guards said in a statement published by their official Sepah news agency.
Iran’s proxy forces in the Middle East have been attacking Israel since October 7, 2023, when the Hamas terror group launched a cross-border assault into the country, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, starting an ongoing war.
Israel has warded off two direct Iranian missile attacks — one in April and another, more intense one in October when the Islamic Republic fired 180 ballistic missiles at the country — with the help of the US and its regional allies. Israel has vowed to respond to the October attack in a time and manner of its choosing, which may spark an even more aggressive reaction by Tehran and its proxies.
Attorney general says government funding for draft-dodging yeshivas is illegal
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara tells the High Court of Justice that the government is legally barred from funding daycare subsidies for the children of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students who are obligated to perform military service but are not doing so, as a result of the court’s own decision in June that such students were legally obliged to enlist in the army.
Her position is submitted to the court in response to a petition by ultra-Orthodox groups asking for an increase to the length of the transition period between the cut to daycare subsidies and their implementation, and comes after the attorney general told the government it was legally obligated to halt these payments back in August.
But it also answers petitions by groups advocating for ultra-Orthodox enlistment who have demanded that Labor and Welfare Minister Yoav Ben Tzur publish the criteria for subsidies for all those eligible. The minister has refused to publish the criteria ever since the attorney general barred funding for children of yeshiva students who have not performed military service.
“The labor minister is not allowing the families who are eligible for the subsidy to receive the annual subsidy which they are entitled to, in order to coerce a solution which allows the families of yeshiva students who are obligated to perform military service to receive the subsidy [as well]” Baharav-Miara tells the court.
“This behavior is unlawful.”
Smotrich slams Haredi leaders for linking budget approval to draft exemption law
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich condemns the leaders of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox parties for dismissing the importance of military service, stating that failure to enlist is an “injustice” that must be remedied and arguing that it is “irresponsible” to condition support for the 2025 state budget on the passage of an enlistment law.
“I read with heart-wrenching pain the words of some members of the ultra-Orthodox factions, members of the coalition, about the sacred duty of serving in the Israel Defense Forces,” Smotrich says in a statement — arguing that serving in the IDF does not conflict with Torah study or religious observance, as exemplified by “the thousands of religious Zionist fighters who combine combat service and study with heroism and the sanctification of God’s name.”
On Monday, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri appeared to present yeshiva students’ studies as more valuable to the war effort than soldiers’ activities on the frontlines.
“You have to understand, if you look at the budget, each day of battle costs us more than the entire annual budget of the entire Torah world,” Deri told Shas mouthpiece HaDerech. “We believe that every day of study prevents more days of battle.”
In a separate interview the following day, United Torah Judaism leader Yitzhak Goldknopf threatened to block the passage of the 2025 state budget unless the government passes legislation exempting Haredi yeshiva students from military service.
“We will not be in the government without a conscription law,” Goldknopf told the Makor Rishon daily, even as he said he would support the recruitment of Haredim who are not enrolled full-time in yeshivas.
“Service in the IDF is a duty, a right and a mitzvah,” counters Smotrich, arguing that whatever their reasons, failing to serve “is an injustice that requires fundamental correction.”
“I also firmly reject attempts to issue an irresponsible ultimatum for the approval of the state budget necessary for the war and the stability of the economy,” he insists.
UK PM says Britain considering imposing sanctions on Smotrich, Ben Gvir
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer tells Parliament that Britain is looking at sanctioning Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir over comments they have made about the Israel war against Hamas.
Asked if his government would sanction Smotrich over comments that starving civilians in Gaza might be justified and Ben Gvir for saying perpetrators of settler violence in the West Bank were heroes, Starmer says: “We are looking at that because they’re obviously abhorrent comments.”
“Israel must take all possible steps to avoid civilian casualties, to allow aid into Gaza in much greater volumes and provide the UN humanitarian partners the ability to operate effectively,” Starmer says.
UK calls for urgent UN meeting to discuss humanitarian situation in Gaza
Britain’s foreign secretary says that his country, along with France and Algeria, has called an urgent meeting at the United Nations Security Council to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
David Lammy says in a statement that Israel must ensure civilians are protected and routes are open to allow life-saving aid through, and that the United Nations meeting will address these issues.
“The humanitarian situation in northern Gaza is dire, with access to basic services worsening and the United Nations reporting that barely any food has entered in the last two weeks,” Lammy adds.
Israel said that 50 aid trucks entered northern Gaza earlier today carrying food, water and medical supplies.
Four lightly wounded by shrapnel after 30 rockets from Lebanon fired at Galilee
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says that four people have been lightly wounded by shrapnel following the latest rocket barrage from Lebanon toward the Galilee.
MDA says that three men and a woman in her 50s are being treated for their wounds at the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya.
According to Ynet, a home in the Arab town of Majdal al-Krum near Karmiel suffered a direct hit from a rocket.
The IDF says that around 30 rockets were fired in the barrage from Lebanon and most of them were intercepted, but some impacted sites in the area.
Iranian president urges Muslim countries to unite in opposition to ‘Zionist regime’
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian urges Muslim countries to be united against Israel during a phone conversation with the ruler of Oman, the president’s website reports.
The report quotes Pezeshkian as saying, “If we, Islamic countries, are united with each other, the Zionist regime will not dare to commit crimes so easily,” and the US and Western countries also could not support it.
Pezeshkian praises Oman’s stance regarding “Israeli crimes” in Gaza and Lebanon and demands more pressure on those who are supporting Israel, the report says.
There was no immediate report in Omani state media on the call between Pezeshkian and Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq. Oman has long served as an interlocutor between Iran and the West.
IDF boosting presence of troops across West Bank ahead of holiday
The IDF says that ahead of the holiday of Sukkot, which begins this evening, it is boosting the presence of troops across the West Bank.
The IDF spokesman says that “following an assessment of the situation,” a number of military companies will be deployed throughout the Central Command area.
Such a move, it says, will “strengthen the defense” of settlements in the area and along the Green Line.
Rocket alert sirens sound in towns throughout Galilee
Rocket alert sirens sound in more than a dozen towns across the Galilee, including Karmiel, Ma’alot Tarshiha and Deir al-Asad.
After US threat to curb missiles, Israel says 50 trucks carrying aid enter northern Gaza
A day after a US threat to curb missile supplies if aid to Gaza is not increased was publicized, Israel says that 50 trucks carrying supplies entered northern Gaza earlier today.
A statement from COGAT, the Israeli Defense Ministry body that oversees activity in the West Bank and Gaza, says that “50 trucks carrying humanitarian aid — including food, water, medical supplies and shelter equipment provided by Jordan — were transferred today to northern Gaza through the Allenby Bridge Crossing and the Erez West Crossing as part of our commitment to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
COGAT says that the agency “will continue to facilitate and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
In the letter, the White House warned Israel it has a month to implement significant improvements to the humanitarian situation in Gaza or jeopardize the continued supply of US weapons, noting that humanitarian assistance entering the Strip has plummeted in recent months.
Gulf nation leaders meet with EU chiefs in Brussels
The leaders of the European Union and six Gulf nations are meeting in an inaugural summit today against a backdrop of turmoil in the Middle East and struggles to find a unified position on the war in Ukraine.
The summit is expected to last just a few hours and encompass everything from visas and trade to the situation in the Middle East, and is unlikely to yield more than general commitments to improve cooperation.
“Our message is clear: we are ready to act more and more together in facing common challenges,” says EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell on the eve of the meeting.
The 27-nation EU has long had relations with the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait.
The nations of the European Union already find it challenging to find full alignment on Israel’s wars against Hamas and Hezbollah, and it will be difficult to find a strong common statement with GCC leaders, say officials familiar with the meeting.
10 Likud MKs to participate in conference next week near Sderot calling to ‘resettle Gaza’
Ten of the 32 MKs from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, including a cabinet minister, announce they will be participating in a conference tagged “Preparing to Resettle Gaza” scheduled for this Monday in the Gaza border region close to Sderot.
“A year after the pogroms we will stand together, Likud members, regional [Likud] branch chairs, MKs and ministers, and call out together ‘Gaza is ours. Forever,'” a poster advertising the event announces.
“Victory is settlements — it is doable” adds a message on a Gaza settlement WhatsApp channel announcing the participation of almost a third of the Likud faction Knesset members.
The Likud legislators participating include Social Equality Minister MK May Golan, along with MKs Avichay Buaron, Sasson Guetta, Tally Gotliv, Eli Dallal, Nissim Vaturi, Hanoch Milwidsky, Ariel Kallner, Kati Shitrit and Osher Shkalim.
The event — in which relatives of some of the Gaza hostages will participate along with bereaved families and families of active duty soldiers — is being organized by the Nachala Settlement Movement organization, which advocates for Jewish settlement in the West Bank where it has helped establish illegal settlement outposts.
At a previous conference held by Nachala in Jerusalem calling for the re-establishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza, numerous cabinet ministers and MKs, including members of the Likud, called for constructing settlements in Gaza and “encouraging voluntary emigration” of Palestinians out of the territory.
Other organizers of the event next week include several resettle Gaza activist groups, the Otzma Yehudit ultranationalist political party, which is headed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and the youth chapter of the ultranationalist Religious Zionism party.
Transportation to the event is being provided by the organizers, with pickup points in Jerusalem, Haifa, Tel Aviv, Tapuah Junction in the northern West Bank — a region where there are numerous ideologically hardline settlements — and Kiryat Arba in the southern West Bank, another ideologically radical settlement and the home of Ben Gvir.
UNRWA chief says agency is ‘very near’ to operational breaking point
The UN Palestinian refugee agency is close to a possible breaking point for its operations in the Gaza Strip due to increasingly complicated conditions, its head says.
“I will not hide the fact that we might reach a point that we won’t be able anymore to operate,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini tells journalists at a news conference in Berlin.
“We are very near to a possible breaking point. When will it be? I don’t know. But we are very near to that,” he says.
Lebanese PM condemns Israeli strike for ‘deliberately’ targeting municipal council meeting
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemns deadly Israeli strikes earlier today on the southern city of Nabatiyeh, saying they intentionally targeted a municipality meeting.
Mikati “condemned the new Israeli aggression against civilians in the city of Nabatiyeh, which deliberately targeted a meeting of the municipal council that was discussing the city’s services and relief situation,” he says in a statement. A local official said the city mayor was among the dead.
The IDF says the strikes targeted Hezbollah weapons stashes and command centers which the group embedded in civilian structures.
Deputy IDF chief says Israeli forces ‘have to’ keep fighting in south Lebanon
The IDF destroys the elite Radwan Force’s headquarters in southern Lebanon, says the army.
Last night, Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Amir Baram toured the underground complex along with 91st Division commander Brig. Gen. Shai Klepper, 8th Brigade commander Col. Dori Saar, and the Yahalom combat engineering unit commander Col. A.
“For years,” says Baram, “the 91st Division and the Northern Command prepared for defending against what Hezbollah called ‘conquering the Galilee.'”
“It brings great strength and pride that we are now fighting in the territory from which they planned to strike us,” he continues, “destroying their infrastructure and plans. This is what we have to do, there is no other way.”
“Keep up your quality and significant operational activity, which is set to affect us and the entire Middle East for years to come,” he adds.
Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Amir Baram tours the Hezbollah Radwan force underground HQ that Division 91 destroyed today. pic.twitter.com/Wy9L3aidcj
— Lazar Berman (@Lazar_Berman) October 16, 2024
Iranian official says chance of attack on its nuclear sites is low
The probability of an attack on Iran’s nuclear sites remains low but any potential damage would be “quickly compensated,” state atomic energy agency spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi says, according to semi-official Nournews.
As the region braces for an Israeli attack on Iran in response to its firing 200 missiles at Israel earlier this month, reports have indicated that Jerusalem is not planning to target any oil or nuclear sites in the country.
Sirens sound in border towns near Lebanon after 10-hour silence
Sirens sound in the border towns of Kfar Giladi and Misgav Am next to Lebanon after around 10 hours with no rocket alerts.
IDF says troops destroy Radwan tunnel and bunker network, confirms Nabatiyeh strikes
The 8th Reserve Brigade and the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit destroy a tunnel and bunker network belonging to Hezbollah’s Radwan force, according to the IDF.
The underground complex, which includes rooms for extended stays and weapons caches, was situated under civilian homes, according to the army.
The network was part of the Radwan force’s preparations for invading northern Israel, says the IDF.
The 8th Brigade in the 91st Division destroy a Hezbollah Radwan force underground complex in southern Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/YUFWQcHevQ
— Lazar Berman (@Lazar_Berman) October 16, 2024
Earlier today, IAF planes attacked dozens of Hezbollah targets around Nabatiyeh, including weapons stashes and command centers, also situated next to civilian structures, says the IDF.
Lebanese security sources say that the mayor of Nabatiyeh and five others were killed in the strike, which they said hit municipal infrastructure in the city.
Italian PM Meloni to travel to Jordan, Lebanon to meet with countries’ leaders
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will meet on Friday with the king of Jordan in Aqaba and Lebanon’s prime minister in Beirut.
The Italian Prime Minister’s Office says in a note that Meloni will see King Abdallah II at 1000 GMT and then with the Lebanese Premier Najib Mikati at 1430 GMT.
Motion demanding Israel withdraw from Gaza, Lebanon defeated at Inter-Parliamentary Union
The Inter-Parliamentary Union defeated a motion calling on Israel to withdraw its forces from Gaza and Lebanon, as well as the West Bank and East Jerusalem, during a meeting of representatives of 195 parliaments in Geneva yesterday.
The Palestinian resolution demanded the Knesset “submit a monthly report on the extent of its compliance with UN General Assembly resolution ES-10/24,” which called on Israel to vacate the West Bank within a year. Failure to do so would result in sanctions.
The resolution failed to obtain the necessary two-thirds majority, eliciting cheering and clapping from the members of the Israeli delegation, led by MKs Dan Illouz (Likud), MK Tzega Melaku (Likud) and MK Elazar Stern (Yesh Atid).
When Illouz spoke out against the resolution, parliamentarians from Iran and a number of Arab countries walked out of the hall in protest, with lawmakers from multiple countries chanting “free, free Palestine” and yelling “murderers” at the Israeli delegation.
Parliamentarians protest Israeli officials during 149th General Assembly of Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva, banging on tables and leaving the hall pic.twitter.com/P1Eu7AyMLt
— Türkiye Today (@turkiyetodaycom) October 15, 2024
“How dare the Palestinian Authority lecture us on international law violations,” Illouz countered. “This is the same authority that pays terrorists to murder innocent Jews and brainwashes schoolchildren to hate and kill.”
“The clause submitted by the Palestinians is full of lies. Israel, unlike its neighbors, respects international law. We are the only democracy in the region, committed to the rule of law,” he declared.
Israeli Navy takes part in striking Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, says IDF
The Israeli Navy has struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in support of the 146th Division in the western sector of southern Lebanon, says the IDF.
The targets include launchers, military positions and weapons caches.
Footage from Israeli Navy missile boat supporting the 146th Division in the southern Lebanon pic.twitter.com/Ii0HvP0fqv
— Lazar Berman (@Lazar_Berman) October 16, 2024
“The joint combat capabilities of the IDF can be seen in the offensive operation Northern Arrow,” says Rear Adm. Eli Soholitzky. “Missile boats, patrol vessels, intelligence bases, command and control, fire and other vessels are playing an integral role in offensive and defensive missions in the north, and in supporting the 146th Division.”
Footage from Israeli Navy command center pic.twitter.com/3YDX9cPBpy
— Lazar Berman (@Lazar_Berman) October 16, 2024
In call with Netanyahu, Macron accused Israel of ‘unjustifiable targeting’ of UNIFIL — readout
French President Emmanuel Macron accused Israel of “indiscriminate” strikes in Lebanon and Gaza, and of targeting UN peacekeepers, says the Élysée Palace in its readout of yesterday’s contentious phone call between Macron and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Macron continued to push for a 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon to get to a diplomatic settlement, which he called “the only one likely to meet Israel’s security requirements.”
In the Israeli readout, Netanyahu rejected calls for a ceasefire, and said he would only agree to an arrangement in which all Hezbollah forces are pushed out of a buffer zone on Israel’s border.
Macron “also expressed his indignation after several peacekeepers were wounded by Israeli forces in Naqoura and urged Israel to put an end to this unjustifiable targeting.”
Israel continues to call for UNIFIL forces to leave combat areas for their own protection.
Macron called for a ceasefire in Gaza to get all the hostages out and allow humanitarian aid in, his office says. He also expressed concern over settler violence and settlement construction.
Lebanese officials say mayor of south Lebanon’s Nabatiyeh killed in Israeli strike
The mayor of Nabatiyeh was among those killed today in Israeli strikes on the municipality of the southern Lebanese city, where Hezbollah and its ally Amal hold sway, authorities say.
“The mayor of Nabatiyeh, among others… was martyred. It’s a massacre,” Nabatiyeh governor Howaida Turk tells AFP, adding that the mayor had been in the municipality building.
Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers also said several people were killed in the strike on the municipality building including Mayor Ahmad Kahil.
The IDF has not directly commented on the strike or said if the mayor was deliberately targeted.
6.1 magnitude earthquake shakes parts of Turkey, Syria
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck eastern Turkey today, the European Mediterranean Seismological Center says.
The quake was at a depth of 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) below the earth, EMSC said.
Syria’s state news agency says the earthquake was felt in the provinces of Hasakah, Deir Al Zor and Aleppo.
Iranian FM arrives in Jordan after speaking with French counterpart
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives in Jordan ahead of travel to Egypt and Turkey, his office says on X.
Iran’s top diplomat also spoke on the phone yesterday with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot, his office adds.
In the call, Araghchi stressed the need to stop Israeli attacks on Lebanon, warned against any “new adventures” by its arch-foe in the region, Israel, and called for the removal of Israeli “obstacles” impeding the delivery of aid to displaced people.
Over the past week, Araghchi has visited Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and Oman.
More than 10 Israeli strikes reported in and around south Lebanon city of Nabatiyeh
A Lebanese official says Israel carried out 11 air strikes on Nabatiyeh and surrounding areas today, days after strikes destroyed the southern city’s marketplace.
“For now, 11 strikes have mainly hit Nabatiyeh but also its surroundings,” Nabatiyeh governor Howaida Turk tells AFP when asked about Israeli strikes, adding that the intense raids “formed a kind of belt of fire” in the area.
She reports casualties in the strikes but could not provide a precise toll.
There was no immediate comment from the IDF, which said earlier today that it continues to heavily target Hezbollah operations in southern Lebanon.
Austrian FM: EU countries won’t pull their UNIFIL troops from south Lebanon
European Union countries that contribute to UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL in Lebanon have no intention of pulling back from the south of the country despite Israeli calls to do so, says Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the UN to withdraw UNIFIL forces “from Hezbollah strongholds and from the combat zones.”
But Schallenberg, summarizing a discussion among EU foreign ministers on Monday, says European nations do not intend to pull troops back or out.
“There was no debate about pulling back or whatever,” he tells Reuters in an interview in Brussels. “They are there to stay but the security and the safety of our troops is paramount and has to be ensured by everybody,” says Schallenberg, whose country has about 160 soldiers in UNIFIL.
European nations contribute about 3,600 troops to the 10,000-strong force.
EU contributors plan to hold a video call today on their current posture and the longer-term role of the mission when it comes to troop levels, equipment and rules of engagement, according to European officials.
Police: Israeli arrested for plot to assassinate Israeli scientist in exchange for $100K from Iran
A resident of Petah Tikva has been arrested on charges of planning to assassinate Israeli figures on orders from Iran, according to a statement from the Israel Police.
The statement names the suspect as Vladimir Verhovski, 35, from Petah Tikva, and says he was arrested “after he carried out different tasks” for Iranian sources in exchange for payment. The actions included spray painting graffiti, hanging up flyers and gathering information on an Israeli official, police say.
According to police, Verhovski agreed to assassinate an Israeli scientist in exchange for a payment of $100,000, and went so far as to acquire a weapon for the plot.
The suspect is slated to appear before a court hearing this morning for an extension of his remand, police say.
Biden said to claim ’18 out of 19 people who work for Netanyahu are liars’
Journalist and author Bob Woodward, whose new book, “War,” has already made headlines, goes further in depicting the breakdown of trust between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden over the past year.
Snippets from the book have already reported that in private Biden referred to Netanyahu as a “fucking liar” and called him a “son of a bitch” and “a bad fucking guy.”
Asked about such comments in conversation with the Washington Post, Woodward says that Biden went further in conversations with his “close aides,” saying that “’18 of the 19 people who work for Netanyahu are liars.’ Total distrust.”
“But here’s the strategic, geostrategic reality,” Woodward adds. “We are allies of Israel, and Biden sticks to that. But Biden’s policy really is pro-Israel.”
Iranian FM says it is ‘fully prepared for decisive’ response to any Israeli attack
Iran’s top diplomat warns UN chief Antonio Guterres that Tehran is ready for a “decisive and regretful” response if Israel attacks the Islamic Republic in retaliation for it firing 200 missiles at the Jewish state earlier this month.
“Iran, while making all-out efforts to protect the peace and security of the region, is fully prepared for a decisive and regretful response to any adventures” by Israel, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says, quoted by his office.
Araghchi is visiting Jordan, Egypt and Turkey as part of Tehran’s diplomatic reach-out to countries of the region “to end genocide, atrocity and aggression,” the Iranian foreign ministry’s spokesperson says in a post on X.
Delta extends cancellation of Israel flights through April 2025
Delta Airlines says it is extending its cancellation of all flights to Israel through at least April 2025.
In a statement, the airline says that flights on its JFK-Tel Aviv route “will be paused through March 31, due to ongoing conflict in the region.”
The airline canceled its flights to Israel following the October 7 Hamas attack, finally resuming them in June 2024 before canceling them again on July 31 after the targeted assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
IDF confirms airstrike on Beirut’s Dahiyeh, says it targeted underground weapons depot
Israel confirms a recent airstrike in the Dahiyeh suburb of southern Beirut, after several days without targeting the Lebanese capital.
In a statement, the IDF says that Israeli Air Force fighter jets, guided by intelligence operatives, struck a Hezbollah underground weapons storage depot in Dahiyeh.
The military notes that it took steps to avoid civilian casualties ahead of the strike, including issuing an evacuation order for the area.
Head of Hamas drone operations in northern Gaza killed in airstrike, says IDF
The IDF says that an Israeli airstrike killed the head of Hamas’s drone operations in the northern Gaza Strip, naming him as Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.
Al-Mabhouh was responsible for directing drone attacks on Israel and on Israeli troops in Gaza, the IDF says.
In Jabaliya, troops with the IDF’s 162nd Division have killed Hamas operatives in face-to-face combat as well as in airstrikes, the military says.
Meanwhile in Rafah, Israeli forces directed drone strikes against “a cell of armed terrorists” who were planning terror attacks, the military adds.
IDF: Ground troops in south Lebanon have killed dozens of Hezbollah operatives in past day
The IDF says that troops with its 98th Paratroopers Division are continuing to operate in south Lebanon, and over the past day have “eliminated dozens of terrorists and destroyed many weapons” both above and below ground.
In a statement, the military says troops have engaged in face-to-face combat with Hezbollah fighters and have also targeted them in airstrikes carried out by the Israeli Air Force. Israeli soldiers have discovered rocket launchers, mortars, grenades, anti-tank missiles and other weaponry aimed at northern Israeli towns, the IDF says.
Over the past day, Israeli airstrikes have struck “more than 140 Hezbollah terror targets in more than 50 areas in Lebanon,” including those directed by ground troops, the military adds.
כוחות אוגדה 98 ממשיכים בפעילותם בדרום לבנון. הלוחמים חיסלו מחבלים רבים על הקרקע ומהאויר, וממשיכים לאתר ולהשמיד אמצעי לחימה ותשתיות טרור של חיזבאללה מעל ומתחת לקרקע>> pic.twitter.com/mzJvYDjItE
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 16, 2024
Israeli strike hits southern Beirut for first time in days
An Israeli strike hit Beirut’s southern suburbs, Reuters witnesses say, after days of the area being spared strikes.
Reuters witnesses heard a blast and saw a plume of smoke. It came after an evacuation order by the Israeli military for a building in the area.
Iranian FM to visit Jordan, Egypt and Turkey in push ‘to end genocide, atrocity and aggression’
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is visiting Jordan, Egypt and Turkey as part of Iran’s diplomatic reach-out to countries of the region “to end genocide, atrocity and aggression,” the Iranian foreign ministry’s spokesperson says in a post on X.
IDF issues evacuation order for building in Beirut’s southern suburbs
The IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman publishes a notice instructing residents to evacuate from a building in Beirut’s southern suburbs, indicating an airstrike is imminent.
#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل جديد إلى سكان الضاحية الجنوبية وتحديدًا المتواجدين في المبنى المحدد في الخارطة والواقع في حارة حريك
🔴أنتم متواجدون بالقرب من منشآت ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع على مدى الزمني القريب
🔴من أجل سلامتكم وسلامة أبناء عائلتكم عليكم اخلاء هذا… pic.twitter.com/cigjAse6iL— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 16, 2024
Biden updates US congressional leaders on deployment of anti-missile system to Israel
US President Joe Biden updates congressional leaders on the US military response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel at the beginning of the month.
“Consistent with our longstanding commitment to Israel’s security and our public indication of our continuing efforts to protect Israel from Iranian and Iranian-aligned threats, I am reporting to you the posture of United States military forces to aid in Israel’s defense against these attacks and any further such attacks,” Biden writes in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
The president explains that the US has adjusted its military posture in recent months by dispatching the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, along with its destroyer escorts and carrier air wing that is equipped with F-35C Lightning II Fifth Generation Fighters, to replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Additionally, the US has deployed additional destroyers, including some capable of defending against ballistic missile attacks; the guided-missile submarine USS Georgia; the USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group; multiple fighter and attack squadrons of fourth and fifth generation fighters, including F-22, F-15E and F-16; as well as A-10 Attack aircraft and other forces.
“United States forces will remain postured in the region to serve important national interests, including the protection of United States persons and property from attacks by Iran and Iranian-aligned militias, and to continue to support the defense of Israel, to which our commitment remains ironclad,” Biden says.
“In this context, I directed the deployment to Israel of a ballistic missile defense system and United States service members capable of operating it to defend against any further ballistic missile attacks while this defensive posture is deemed warranted,” the president adds, referring to the THAAD missile defense system.
The update is largely a formality, and the information has already been publicized, but the letter is sent two days after the Biden administration informed Israel that its continued receipt of security assistance is at risk if major steps aren’t taken to relieve the once-again-worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Municipality says Hezbollah rocket landed in yard of Safed home, causing minor damage
The Safed Municipality says a rocket launched by Hezbollah struck the yard of a home in the northern city, causing minor damage.
It also says that two people were lightly hurt while running to bomb shelters and were taken to the hospital.
AIPAC slams administration for threatening to curb US arms supplies over Gaza aid situation
The pro-Israel AIPAC lobby comes out against the Biden administration’s warning for Israel to take steps to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza or risk continued US security assistance.
“Threatening to cut off American support for Israel as it confronts Iran and its proxies on seven fronts weakens our ally, undermines American interests, and sends a dangerous message to our common enemies about US support for our democratic allies,” AIPAC tweets, asserting that Israel has taken steps to address the crisis under difficult conditions.
Threatening to cut off American support for Israel as it confronts Iran and its proxies on seven fronts weakens our ally, undermines American interests, and sends a dangerous message to our common enemies about U.S. support for our democratic allies.
Throughout this war, Israel… https://t.co/Tu37Ky6QDq
— AIPAC 🇺🇸🇮🇱🎗️ (@AIPAC) October 15, 2024
Hezbollah claims responsibility for rocket salvo fired toward Safed
Hezbollah releases a statement claiming responsibility for the barrage of rockets fired at the northern city of Safed.
Military says around 50 rockets fired from Lebanon in barrage targeting Safed area
The IDF says that sirens in Safed and the surrounding area were triggered by a barrage of some 50 rockets fired from Lebanon around 1:40 a.m.
The military adds that it intercepted numerous missiles and others impacted in the area.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
תיעוד: יירוטים בשמי צפת @cbeyar pic.twitter.com/yndDC4hhJo
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 15, 2024
Rocket warning alerts blare in Safed and surrounding area
Warning sirens are activated in the Upper Galilee city of Safed and a number of Israeli communities in the area, amid an apparent rocket attack from Lebanon.
Israeli official says Jerusalem reviewing US letter linking Gaza aid and arms supply
WASHINGTON — A letter from top US officials in which they told Israel to improve Gaza’s humanitarian situation or risk military aid is being reviewed by Israel, an Israeli official in Washington says.
“Israel takes this matter seriously and intends to address the concerns raised in this letter with our American counterparts,” the Israeli official says.
After sirens, IDF says 2 drones from Lebanon impacted in north; no injuries reported
The military says a pair of drones from Lebanon impacted in northern Israel, after sirens sounded in a pair of northern towns near the border.
A statement from the Israel Defense Forces says the impacts didn’t result in injuries.
The IDF also says sirens were triggered in the town of Ya’ara shortly before midnight due to concerns of falling shrapnel from an interceptor missile fired at what turned out to be a falsely identified “suspected aerial target.”
Sirens sound in pair of Lebanon border towns due to suspected drone
Warning sirens have been activated in a pair of northern communities near the Lebanon border due to a suspected hostile aircraft, according to the IDF’s Home Front Command.
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