Oct. 17: Footage shows Sinwar hurling stick at IDF drone moments before he was killed

Macron urges Israel to halt Lebanon operations

French President Emmanuel Macron urges Israel to halt military operations in Lebanon, respect its sovereignty, and avoid expanding the conflict.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with other EU leaders at a summit in Brussels, Macron says that France stands alongside Israel for its security and existence, but this does not prevent disagreements with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

US defense secretary says death of Sinwar provides opportunity to end ‘terrible war’ in Gaza

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was a major achievement that presents an extraordinary opportunity to end “this terrible war” between Israel and Hamas.

“Sinwar’s death also provides an extraordinary opportunity to achieve a lasting ceasefire, end this terrible war, allow Israelis to return safely to their homes in southern Israel, rush in far more humanitarian assistance to ease the misery in Gaza, and bring relief and hope to the Palestinians who have endured so much under Hamas’s oppressive rule,” Austin says in a statement.

Blinken calls Herzog to congratulate Israel on Sinwar killing, says he’s considering an imminent trip to the region

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken phoned President Isaac Herzog to congratulate him on the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, according to an Israeli readout.

Blinken told Herzog that the killing brings justice to Sinwar’s victims and stresses that the world is a better place with him gone, Herzog’s office says.

Herzog tells Blinken that Israel’s top priority is now freeing the remaining 101 hostages, adding that there is now “an important opportunity” to do so following Sinwar’s killing.

Blinken informs Herzog that he is considering visiting the region again soon in light of the killing, the Israeli readout says.

Biden after call with PM: Now it’s time to move forward. I hope war ends soon

US President Joe Biden tells reporters after landing in Germany that he congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Israel’s killing of Sinwar during a phone call while he was in the air aboard Air Force One.

“Now it’s time to move forward. I hope he ends the war soon,” Biden adds.

Footage shows wounded Sinwar hurling stick at IDF drone moments before he was killed

IDF drone footage of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s final moments on October 16, 2024. (IDF)

IDF to release drone footage showing Sinwar going underground shortly before Oct. 7 onslaught

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari will release footage tonight of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar shortly before the October 7 attacks, The Times of Israel has learned.

The footage shows Sinwar going in and out of a tunnel, bringing family members and supplies underground. One clip shows Sinwar bringing down a plasma TV.

No US role in Israel operation that killed Hamas leader, Pentagon says

The US military says its forces had no role in the Israeli operation that killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, even if US intelligence has contributed to Israel’s understanding of Hamas leaders who took hostages last year.

“This was an Israeli operation. There [were] no US forces directly involved,” says Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson.

“The United States has helped contribute information and intelligence as it relates to hostage recovery and the tracking and locating of Hamas leaders who have been responsible for holding hostages. And so certainly that contributes in general to the picture.”

“But again, this was an Israeli operation. And I would refer you to them to talk about the details of how the operation went down.”

Cousin of slain hostage calls on Israeli, world leaders to leverage Sinwar’s death to strike a deal

Shay Dickmann (right) and her brother Gil Dickmann, cousins of murdered hostage Carmel Gat, at the September 7 protest in Tel Aviv. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The cousin of murdered hostage Carmel Gat, Gil Dickmann, calls on the Israeli government and world leaders to leverage the achievement of eliminating Hamas terrorist leader Yahya Sinwar and negotiate the immediate release of the remaining 101 hostages.

Speaking during a Thursday night press conference, Dickmann says the families of the six hostages executed in Gaza at the end of August — Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi and Alex Lobanov — had concerns that their loved ones were being held underground with Sinwar, but didn’t know for sure until Sinwar’s death was announced Thursday.

“We don’t know if he pulled the trigger, or ordered their deaths, it’s devastating to us and shows how close we were to getting them out,” says Dickmann. “We don’t know for how long they were held together or with Sinwar or the conversations they were having. Now all six are gone and so is Sinwar, but when the six were murdered we said we don’t know who murdered them and don’t care about revenge, we care only about bringing back the 101 hostages.”

The death of Sinwar marks the day when a major obstacle was removed, says Daniel Lifshitz, grandson of hostage Oded Lifshitz from Kibbutz Nir Oz, speaking about his grandfather, the only great-grandfather among the remaining 101 hostages.

“Today is the day to call for the end of war and release of the hostages,” says Lifshitz. “It’s an opportunity that might not happen again,” calling for a reprisal of US President Joe Biden’s proposed one-phase agreement to bring home all remaining hostages, alive and dead.

Yael Adar, mother of Tamir Adar, a 38-year-old husband and father taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz, murdered in Gaza and with his body still in captivity, calls Sinwar’s death “justice.”

“We are glad for this military success but very worried about our hostages,’ says Adar. “We ask the Israeli government and world leaders and mediators to find a way to bring all the hostages right away. Tamir needs to be buried with dignity.”

IDF recovered Sinwar’s DNA in tunnel complex where 6 executed hostages were found

The IDF found Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s DNA in a Rafah tunnel which was in the same complex as — but a few hundred meters from — a separate tunnel where six Israeli hostages were murdered in late August, The Times of Israel has learned.

IDF and Shin Bet forces were searching the tunnel, which was part of the same complex in which the six hostages were killed, and found a room that they believed senior Hamas commanders may have used. They took DNA samples from the underground room and found that some of the DNA belonged to Sinwar, but were not able to pin down when he was there.

Netanyahu, Biden agree on phone call that Sinwar’s death presents opportunity for hostage deal

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (back) greets US President Joe Biden upon his arrival at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport on October 18, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. Biden landed in Israel on October 18, on a solidarity visit following Hamas attacks that have led to major Israeli reprisals. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP)

US President Joe Biden calls Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from aboard Air Force One to congratulate him on the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, says the Prime Minister’s Office.

“The US President praised the IDF and their excellent work,” says the PMO.

Both leaders agree that there is an opportunity now to move toward a hostage deal, and that they will work together to achieve one.

New details emerge of Sinwar’s final moments

Drone footage of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on October 16, 2024, shortrly before he was killed. (Courtesy)

New details have emerged of the firefight in which Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed.

At 10:00 a.m. yesterday, a soldier from the 450th Battalion of the Bislamach Brigade noticed a suspicious figure going in and out of a building in Rafah’s Tel Sultan neighborhood, The Times of Israel has learned.  He informed the battalion commander, who ordered forces to open fire on the building.

At around 3:00 p.m., a drone saw three figures exiting the building, trying to move from house to house. Two of the figures moved in front, clearing the way for the third.

The IDF opened fire again, injuring the terrorists. Two went into one building, and a third — who would turn out to be Sinwar — went alone into a separate structure. IDF tanks and other forces opened fire on both buildings, ToI has learned.

Sinwar then moved up to the second floor. A tank fired another shell at the building, and an infantry platoon moved up to search. Sinwar threw two grenades, one of which exploded. The soldiers withdrew, and a drone flew in to search the room. It found a man with his arm injured and his face covered — Sinwar — who threw a wooden stick at the drone. Another tank shell was fired at the man.

This morning, troops searching the building looked at the face of the slain terrorist whom the drone had spotted, and noticed that he resembled Sinwar. The Shin Bet took DNA and fingerprints in order to verify his identity. No hostages were with Sinwar at the time.

(The IDF’s Bislamach Brigade had replaced the Givati Brigade in Rafah. The commander of the Bislamach Brigade’s 450th Battalion — the unit that killed Sinwar — had been injured on October 7 when he rushed to the Gaza border with his troops, some of whom were killed.)

Meanwhile, Hebrew media has just aired a recording of one of the soldiers involved in the killing of Sinwar. He says that the IDF struck the building that Sinwar was in with a missile and then sent a drone in to confirm that he had been killed. At this point, he confirms, the troops didn’t know that the terrorist they were targeting was Sinwar.

When the drone arrived inside the demolished building, a face-covered Sinwar tried to hurl an object to try and bring it down. At this point, additional fire was directed at Sinwar that killed him, the soldier says.

Only after soldiers arrived at the scene in person this morning did they realize that the terrorist they killed was Sinwar, this soldier confirms.

Objects found with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar when he was killed in Gaza on October 17, 2024. (Screen capture/12)

A picture from the scene shows that Sinwar was found with cash, Mentos and ID cards among other materials.

US: We hope that Sinwar’s replacement will look at suffering he caused and choose different path

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says Washington hopes that Hamas’s next leader will pursue a different path than Yahya Sinwar.

“What we would hope, is that whoever the next leader of Hamas is, he will look at what has happened over the past year and look at the suffering that Hamas’s actions have brought upon the Palestinian people who they aim to represent, whose cause they aim to advance, and decide that they ought to pursue a different path forward,” Miller says during a press briefing.

Hailing Sinwar’s killing, VP says any terrorist who threatens US interests should know that they’ll be brought to justice

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about the killing of Hamas' top leader Yahya Sinwar in a battle with Israeli forces in Gaza, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, following a campaign rally at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

US Vice President Kamala Harris hails Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, noting that “he had American blood on his hands.”

“Any terrorist who kills Americans, threatens the American people or threatens our troops or our interests, know this — we will always bring you to justice,” Harris says in a statement to reporters.

“Israel has a right to defend itself, and the threat Hamas poses to Israel must be eliminated. Today, there is clear progress toward that goal. Hamas is decimated and its leadership is eliminated,” she says.

“This moment gives us an opportunity to finally end the war in Gaza. And it must end such that Israel is secure; the hostages are released; the suffering in Gaza ends; and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination,” Harris adds.

“And it is time for the ‘day after’ to begin — without Hamas in power. We will not give up on these goals, and I will always work to create a future of peace, dignity and security for all,” Harris says.

Blinken: Sinwar rebuffed multiple efforts to bring about end of war in recent months

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar multiple times in recent months rebuffed efforts by hostage deal mediators to secure a deal to release the hostages and bring about an end to the war.

The US will redouble its efforts toward that end in the coming days in order to “chart a new path forward that will enable the people of Gaza to rebuild their lives and realize their aspirations free from war and free from the brutal grip of Hamas,” Blinken adds in a statement.

Sullivan: Biden looks forward to talking with Netanyahu about securing hostage deal now that ‘massive obstacle’ Sinwar removed

US President Joe Biden, right, meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, July 25, 2024. (AP/Susan Walsh)

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan tells reporters that slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “was a massive obstacle to peace.”

“Now that that obstacle has been removed, President Biden looks forward to talking to Prime Minister Netanyahu about how we secure the return of the hostages and end the war,” he says.

IDF announces deaths of five soldiers killed fighting in south Lebanon

(From L-R) Staff Sgt. Yehudah Dror, Staff Sgt. Yakov Hillel, Staff Sgt. Elyashiv Eitan Wieder, Cpt. Elad Siman Tov and Maj. Ofek Bachar. (IDF)

The IDF releases the names of five soldiers from the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit who were killed in southern Lebanon: Company Commander Maj. Ofek Bachar, 24, from Nes Ziona; Team Commander Cpt. Elad Siman Tov, 23, from Tzofim; Squad leader Staff Sgt. Elyashiv Eitan Wieder, 22, from Jerusalem; Staff Sgt. Yakov Hillel, 21, from Jerusalem; and Staff Sgt. Yehudah Dror Yahalom, 21, from Hebron.

Another officer and two soldiers were seriously injured in the incident.

A number of other soldiers were seriously hurt in battles in southern Lebanon.

In one incident, an officer and two combat engineers from the Etzioni Brigade’s 8173rd Battalion were seriously injured, as was another soldier from the battalion’s logistical unit. The injuries came from an anti-tank missile attack.

A soldier from the 12th Battalion of the Golani Brigade was also seriously hurt in a firefight with Hezbollah fighters.

In the southern Gaza Strip, a soldier from the 450th Battalion of the Bislamach Brigade, the same battalion that killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, was also seriously injured in a battle with terrorists.

The injured were brought to hospitals, and the families of the killed and injured were all updated, says the IDF.

Gallant, Austin discuss Israel’s killing of Hamas chief Sinwar in phone call

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held a phone call with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the Pentagon says.

Austin “expressed strong support for the immediate release of all remaining hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza,” the US readout says.

Macron calls for release of hostages following Sinwar’s killing

Foreign leaders react to Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

“Yahya Sinwar was the main person responsible for the terrorist attacks and barbaric acts of October 7th. Today, I think with emotion of the victims, including 48 of our compatriots, and their loved ones. France demands the release of all hostages still held by Hamas,” says French President Emmanuel Macron.

“Sinwar was a brutal murderer and terrorist, who wanted to destroy Israel and its people. As the mastermind of the terror on Oct. 7, he brought death to thousands of people and immeasurable suffering to a whole region. Hamas must now release all hostages and lay down its weapons, the suffering of the people in Gaza must finally end,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

“It seems that the military leader of Hamas has been killed and I believe that from this point of view, Israel may have carried out its self-defense against the Hamas terrorists. I hope that the disappearance of the Hamas leader will lead to a ceasefire in Gaza,” says Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

“I, for one, will not mourn the death of a terror leader like Sinwar, someone who was responsible for the terror attack on October the 7th, and I’m conscious like the UK Government is that that triggered not just the darkest, deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Second World War, but it’s triggered since more than a year of conflict and an intolerable level of civilian Palestinian casualties as well,” says UK Defense Secretary John Healey.

Hailing Sinwar’s killing, Biden says he posed ‘insurmountable’ obstacle to political settlement, which must now be pursued

US President Joe Biden speaks about the federal government's response to hurricanes Milton and Helene, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

“This is a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world,” US President Joe Biden says in a statement reacting to Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

“Shortly after the October 7 massacres, I directed Special Operations personnel and our intelligence professionals to work side-by-side with their Israeli counterparts to help locate and track Sinwar and other Hamas leaders hiding in Gaza,” Biden says.

“With our intelligence help, the IDF relentlessly pursued Hamas’s leaders, flushing them out of their hiding places and forcing them onto the run,” he continues.

“There has rarely been a military campaign like this,” Biden says, highlighting how Hamas has operated through hundreds of miles of tunnels, operating below and around Gaza’s suffering civilians. “Today, however, proves once again that no terrorists anywhere in the world can escape justice, no matter how long it takes.”

“To my Israeli friends, this is no doubt a day of relief and reminiscence, similar to the scenes witnessed throughout the United States after President Obama ordered the raid to kill Osama Bin Laden in 2011.”

“Israel has had every right to eliminate the leadership and military structure of Hamas,” Biden says.

He reiterates the conclusion he first reached in May that Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another onslaught like the one it carried out on October 7. The point has been used in the past in order to urge Israel to work toward ending the war in Gaza.

Biden says he will soon speak to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders “to congratulate them, to discuss the pathway for bringing the hostages home to their families, and for ending this war once and for all, which has caused so much devastation to innocent people.”

“There is now the opportunity for a ‘day after’ in Gaza without Hamas in power, and for a political settlement that provides a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”

“Yahya Sinwar was an insurmountable obstacle to achieving all of those goals. That obstacle no longer exists. But much work remains before us,” Biden says.

Blinken holds phone call with Qatari PM following Israeli killing of Sinwar

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) gives a joint press conference with his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani (R) in Doha on June 12, 2024. (Ibraheem Al-Omari/Pool/AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a phone call earlier today with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, the latter’s office states.

The Qatari readout says the two discussed the latest developments in Gaza.

The readout is issued following Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Reports: Israel knew for months that Sinwar was hiding in Rafah, but didn’t know exact location

Israel’s security establishment knew for months that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was hiding in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, Hebrew media reports.

The security establishment believed that he was hiding underground and for much of this time was with the six hostages who the IDF recovered in late August after they were executed.

Based on all of this intelligence, the IDF announced an operation in Tel Sultan that it claimed was aimed at eliminating Hamas’s brigade in the neighborhood when the real purpose was to take out Sinwar, Hebrew media reports.

During the operation, the IDF targeted a gathering of Hamas operatives, believing that Sinwar was among them. However, after identifying the bodies of the 26 terrorists killed in the strike, they realized that the Hamas leader was not one of them, the Hebrew media reports say.

The IDF did not have precise intelligence of where Sinwar was located and the soldiers who killed him yesterday only realized it was him after the fact.

PM after Sinwar killing: Those holding hostages will be spared if they lay down arms, release them

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a video statement on the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on October 17, 2024. (Screen capture)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar marks “the beginning of the day after Hamas.”

“The one who carried out the worst massacre in the history of our people since the Holocaust, the mass murderer who murdered thousands of Israelis, abducted hundreds of our people, was eliminated today by our heroic soldiers,” Netanyahu says in a video statement. “Today, as we promised we would, we settled accounts with him. Today, evil suffered a heavy blow, but our mission is not yet completed.”

Turning to the hostages’ families, Netanyahu says: “This is an important moment in the war. We will continue with full force until all your loved ones — our loved ones — are returned home. That is our supreme obligation. That is my supreme obligation.”

To the residents of Gaza, he says: “Sinwar destroyed your lives. He told you he was a lion, but in practice, he hid in a dark tunnel and was eliminated when he fled in a panic from our soldiers. His elimination is an important milestone in the demise of the Hamas axis of evil.”

“Hamas will no longer rule Gaza,” Netanyahu promises. “This is the beginning of the day after Hamas, and this is an opportunity for you, the residents of Gaza, to finally break free from its tyranny.”

“To the Hamas terrorists I say: your leaders are fleeing and they will be eliminated,” he continues.

He says that anyone holding hostages will be allowed to live if they lay down their weapons and release their captives.

“And at the same time I say, whoever harms our hostages, his blood will be on his head,” says Netanyahu. ” We will come to a reckoning with him.”

Netanyahu says freeing the hostages brings the end of the war closer.

Addressing the people of the Middle East, Netanyahu says there is “a great opportunity to stop the axis of evil and create a different future — a future of peace, a future in which the entire region thrives. Together we can push away the curse and advance the blessing.”

“In Gaza, in Beirut, in the streets of the entire area, the darkness is withdrawing and the light is rising,” he says, and lists Hamas and Hezbollah leaders eliminated. “Deif, Haniyeh, Sinwar, Nasrallah, Mohsen, Aqil and many of their partners are no more.”

Netanyahu says that Sinwar’s killing makes clear to critics in Israel and abroad why his government insisted on continuing the war — “why we insisted, in the face of all the pressures, to enter Rafah, the fortified stronghold of Hamas where Sinwar and many of the murderers hid.”

Still, warns Netanyahu, the war is not yet over, and continues to extract a heavy toll.

Ben Gvir orders reinforcement of police across country after Sinwar’s killing

Following a security assessment, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir orders the reinforcement of police forces across the country in the wake of the elimination of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, his office says.

In addition, the Prison Service is instructed “to act with a strong hand against any case of disturbances and expressions of support for terror organizations by imprisoned terrorists,” a spokesperson for Ben Gvir adds.

IDF chief visits site of Sinwar’s killing, says army didn’t have intel Hamas chief was there

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi visits the site where Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in Rafah on October 17, 2024. (IDF)

At the Gaza site where Yahya Sinwar was killed yesterday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi notes that the IDF didn’t have intelligence ahead of time that the Hamas leader was there.

“Look, we have done many special forces operations in this war, where he had excellent information, we sent prepared troops with instructions where to go,” he says. “Here, we didn’t know. and the response is very strong, its not weak. Its your professionalism, and determination, and the precise identification and the awareness.”

He says that the Southern Command and Gaza Division decision to hold on to territory in Gaza and actively operate there was proven correct.

Halevi is joined by Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, IDF Southern Command head Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, Head of the Operations Directorate Maj. Gen. Oded Basyuk, and Gaza Division commander Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram.

Smotrich, Ben Gvir call for IDF not to take foot off the gas after Sinwar’s killing

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir call on the IDF to increase military pressure on the Gaza Strip in the wake of the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

“Now the IDF must make sure that there is no resident of Gaza who does not know that Sinwar is dead. It must increase intense military pressure in the Strip, and at the same time offer safe passage and financial reward to those who return our hostages to and agree to lay down their arms and leave the Strip,” Smotrich tweets.

“After decades, we are proving that there is a military solution to terrorism,” the far-right minister declares.

Ben Gvir likewise calls for Israel to “continue with all our strength until absolute victory.”

New Hope chairman Gideon Sa’ar, a member of Netanyahu’s security cabinet, tweets that it was “good that the government led by Netanyahu did not bow under the heavy political pressures and did not listen to the ‘advice’ of all the ‘television studio experts’ and insisted on completing the job in Rafah.”

Gallant calls on Hamas fighters to surrender, release hostages following Sinwar killing

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant calls on Hamas fighters to release the hostages and surrender following Israel’s killing of the terror group’s leader Yahya Sinwar.

“The State of Israel has brought justice with the elimination of Yahya Sinwar – a vile murderer and terrorist. Yahya Sinwar is the terrorist, the master terrorist, who planned and carried out the October 7th [massacre], during which so many innocent Israelis were murdered – children, women and the elderly,” Gallant says in a statement.

“The elimination of Sinwar joins a long series of eliminations – from Nasrallah to Hamas military chief Muhammad Deif and many more [terrorists]. We will pursue and eliminate our enemies.”

“Sinwar died while… on the run. He didn’t die as a commander, but as someone who only cared for himself. This is a clear message to all of our enemies – the IDF will reach anyone who attempts to harm the citizens of Israel or our security forces, and we will bring you to justice.”

“The elimination of Yahya Sinwar sends a clear message to all the families of the fallen and the families of the hostages: we are doing everything in order to reach those who harmed your loved ones and to free the hostages and return them to their families.”

“It is also a clear message to the residents of Gaza. The man who brought disaster and death to the Gaza Strip, the man who made you suffer as a result of his murderous actions – the end of this man has come. It is time to go out, release the hostages, [to those involved in fighting] raise your hands, surrender. Go out with the hostages, free them, and surrender.”

“It is my privilege to salute the soldiers of the IDF, the Chief of the General Staff and Director of the Shin Bet for their dedicated work,” Gallant adds.

PLO meets following killing of Hamas leader Sinwar

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is chairing an emergency meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s Executive Council to discuss ongoing developments following the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the Saudi news channel Al-Hadath reports.

Herzog hails killing of Hamas leader Sinwar

President Isaac Herzog commends the IDF, Shin Bet and security services for eliminating “the arch-terrorist Yahya Sinwar. Sinwar, the mastermind behind the deadly October 7th attack, has for years been responsible for heinous acts of terrorism against Israeli civilians, citizens of other countries, and the murder of thousands of innocent people.”

Sinwar’s “evil endeavors were dedicated to terror, bloodshed, and destabilizing the Middle East,” Herzog states, adding that “now, more than ever, we must act in every way possible to bring back the 101 hostages who are still being held in horrific conditions by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.”

IDF confirms death of Hamas leader, Oct. 7 architect Yahya Sinwar

Head of Hamas in Gaza Yahya Sinwar chairs a meeting with leaders of Palestinian factions at his office in Gaza City, April 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File)

The IDF and Shin Bet announce that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been killed.

In a joint statement, they say that recent IDF and Shin Bet activities reduced Sinwar’s area of operations, ultimately leading to his death.

The statement explains that over the past few weeks, the 162nd Division and Gaza Division have been operating in Gaza in areas where intelligence indicates senior Hamas officials have been hiding. A force from the 828th Bislamach Brigade killed three terrorists, and one of them was identified today as Sinwar.

Gantz: Sinwar’s death important, but it’s not end of the war; IDF will continue operating in Gaza for years to come

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s death is an “important achievement” but it does not mark the end of the war, National Unity chief and former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz declares.

The IDF “will continue to operate in the Gaza Strip for years to come” and Israel must leverage recent achievements, including the death of Sinwar, “to bring about the return of the hostages and the replacement of Hamas’ rule.”

“On this day, we must also remember the painful price of the war — all the murdered and the fallen,” he says, offering his support to Israel’s soldiers “who have been working for over a year on all fronts to ensure this never happens again.”

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid welcomes the death of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, calling him “one of the world’s worst terrorists” and comparing him to the leaders of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.

Sinwar “dedicated his life to an evil ideology of hatred and death. He was the embodiment of evil,” Lapid tweets. “His name belongs alongside [Osama] Bin Laden and [Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim Ali] al-Baghdadi for the terror and misery they reaped on the world. Justice has been done.”

“All our enemies will perish,” he adds in another tweet. “Let all our enemies know on every front, in every tunnel, in every house that it will be the end of them if they go against the State of Israel. Especially today we must not forget, 101 hostages are still in Gaza. This is the moment to double and triple efforts to bring them home.”

Lapid earlier on Thursday called on the Israeli government to take advantage of the opportunity presented by Sinwar’s death to “strive for a comprehensive deal and also offer monetary rewards and safe passage to anyone who brings hostages to our forces.”

FM Katz becomes first Israeli official to confirm Sinwar’s death, in message to foreign counterparts

In a message to dozens of foreign ministers around the world, Foreign Minister Israel Katz confirms that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed, becoming the first Israeli official to do so on the record.

“The mass murderer Yahya Sinwar, who is responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was killed today by IDF soldiers,” says Katz, according to his office.

“This is a great military and moral achievement for Israel and a victory for the entire free world against the evil axis of radical Islam led by Iran,” he continues.

Katz says the killing “creates a possibility” for getting the hostages out immediately and for creating a Gaza free of Hamas and Iranian control.

“Israel needs your support and assistance now more than ever to advance these important goals together,” Katz finishes.

Netanyahu slated to give press statement confirming Sinwar’s death

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is slated to give a statement to the press as Israel prepares to confirm the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

IDF soldiers seen carrying body of man believed to be Sinwar on stretcher en route to Israel from Gaza

IDF soldiers carry the body of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar from the building where he was killed in Rafah, Gaza on October 17, 2024. (Courtesy)

A photo has been disseminated showing IDF soldiers carrying the body of who is believed to be Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar from the building where he was killed in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Hamas sources say indications suggest that Sinwar has been killed

IDF troops stand over the body believed to be Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza on October 17, 2024. (Courtesy)

Hamas sources say that indications from Gaza suggest that the group’s leader Yahya Sinwar has been killed in an Israeli operation.

The Israeli military has said it is checking the possibility that Sinwar has been killed. There has been no official comment from Hamas.

The Saudi Asharq al-Awsat newspaper cites two unnamed Hamas sources claiming that the terror group’s leaders inside and outside Gaza have been informed of Sinwar’s death.

Hamas sources inside Gaza tell Asharq al-Awsat that contact with Sinwar’s security detail, composed of only two or three people, was lost days ago.

First of police tests produces ‘full match’ to Sinwar

Channel 12 publishes what it says is a police document showing that one of the identification tests conducted earlier today regarding the body of a dead terrorist, apparently on the basis of photographic dental comparisons, found a “full match” to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

"התאמה מלאה": מסמך המעבדה המשטרתית שמאשר את צילומי השיניים של סינוואר.@amit_segal pic.twitter.com/lmFkgxfOT4

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) October 17, 2024

Knesset speaker urges Hamas fighters to throw down their weapons, return the hostages

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana tweets an Arabic-language message to members of the Hamas terrorist organization, warning them to put down their arms following the apparent death of their leader Yahya Sinwar.

“A year ago he was victorious. Now he is eliminated. Where will you be in a year?” he asks, alongside a pair of photos of Yahya Sinwar. The first shows the architect of October 7 sitting and smiling in an armchair amid ruins in Gaza in 2021, while the other is an unverified photo appearing to show his corpse.

“Return the hostages, put down your weapons, save your lives,” Ohana tweets.

Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar sits in his bombed Gaza office, May 27, 2021 (Courtesy)

IDF, police say they’re still working to confirm identity of body believed to be Sinwar

The Israel Police and IDF issue a joint statement saying that they’re still working to identify the slain terrorists believed to be Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Thus far, the first of several tests has been conducted in order to identify the body, the statement says.

“Dental photographs were sent to the police’s medical laboratory for examination and now DNA tests are being carried out. When they are finished it will be possible to confirm his elimination,” the IDF and police say.

Netanyahu instructs aides to inform hostage families that Sinwar is dead — report

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed his aides to inform the families of hostages that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is dead, Channel 12 reports, without citing any sources.

Israeli official: Sinwar was killed in firefight in building in Rafah

An Israeli official tells Hebrew media Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed in a firefight at a building located in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

Amid reports of Sinwar’s killing, Hamas cautions against ‘fake news’

Hamas issues a statement warning against false reports and says that official statements from the terror group are only being released on its Telegram channel or website.

The statement does not confirm or deny reports that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been killed.

Report: Sinwar had been hiding with the six hostages executed in late August

This combination of six undated photos shows hostages, from top left, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi; from bottom left, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Carmel Gat. (The Hostages Families Forum via AP)

Without citing a source, Channel 12 reports that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had been hiding with the six hostages who were recovered by the IDF on August 31 after being executed by their captors.

The network speculates that this is why Sinwar was no longer with any hostages when he was killed.

Sinwar likely gave a direct order to murder the six hostages as he fled, Channel 12 says.

His death has not yet been formally confirmed by Israel.

Police reportedly identify Sinwar through images of his teeth

Hebrew media quotes Israel Police as saying that the body of Sinwar has been identified by images of his teeth.

There is no official police statement to this effect.

Bob Woodward’s book shares story of former hostage Avigail Idan’s visit to Biden’s Oval Office

White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk pushes former American-Israeli hostage Avigail Idan in a swing at the White House in December 2023. (Screen capture/X)

NBC News anchor Lawrence O’Donnell finishes his evening broadcast by sharing an excerpt from journalist Bob Woodward’s new book on the presidencies of Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

The scene is the visit of former American-Israeli hostage Avigail Idan to the White House after Biden helped secure her release last year.

A tearful O’Donnell, who was among one of the writers of the hit TV series “West Wing,” says the scene pulled at the heartstrings in a way fiction writers could only dream of doing.

WATCH: A Biden West Wing scene that grabs your heart in a way nothing we ever wrote on the fictional “West Wing” ever could.#LastWord pic.twitter.com/uMeD5q9LtI

— The Last Word (@TheLastWord) October 17, 2024

Israel keeping US in the loop regarding apparent killing of Sinwar — official

Israel has been keeping the US in the loop as it works to confirm that the terrorist killed yesterday by the IDF in Gaza was indeed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, a US official tells The Times of Israel.

Lapid: Work for comprehensive deal to free hostages, offer money and safe passage to those who return them

In his first response to the Sinwar news, Opposition chair Yair Lapid calls on the Israeli government to “take advantage of the opportunity for a decisive move regarding the hostages.”

“Strive for a comprehensive deal and also offer monetary rewards and safe passage to anyone who brings hostages to our forces,” Lapid tweets.

Separated by Israeli military campaign against Hamas, Gaza family prays to reunite

Asmaa Abu Sakran and her husband Khaled Abu Sakran, who have been separated from their son Maher since October 2023, after he fled north Gaza along with his grandparents at the order of the Israeli military, sit next to their other children as they have a phone conversation with Maher, in Gaza City September 19, 2024. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)

As the phone call from his tent on a stretch of beach in Gaza connected him to parents he has not seen for a year because of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas, the eyes of 13-year-old Maher Abu Sakran lit up with joy.

Living in a displaced camp with his grandparents and cousins, Maher desperately misses his mother, father, three sisters and little brother.

“It’s enough war, enough barriers. I want to go back,” he says.

A few miles away in Gaza City, his mother Asmaa Abu Sakran passes the phone around among Maher’s siblings so they could each speak to him.

The war began when Hamas terrorists attacked Israeli border communities, killing around 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages. Israel’s military response has leveled much of Gaza and killed more than 42,000 people according to Palestinian health authorities, which don’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.

The family was separated days after the war began as Maher decided to leave their Gaza City home and go with his grandparents to their home further south where the bombardment was at that stage a little lighter.

Neither Maher nor his parents had any idea that they would be divided so long, they said. Shortly after he left, Israeli tanks pushed into the tiny, crowded territory and the invading forces cut it in two.

Israel says it controls travel between north and south Gaza in order to stop Hamas fighters moving easily. But a year on, Maher and his family remain divided by that line.

“When a boy is young and far away from his family, far away from his mother, far away from his father and far away from his siblings – what could happen – always anxious, scared and unwell,” his mother Asmaa says.

After Maher left, the Abu Sakran family home was damaged by the Israeli bombardment. As the army pushed into Gaza City, they were repeatedly displaced. They have now returned to the family home and live in the damaged building.

Maher and his grandparents suffered too. Their house in the central Gaza Strip was bombed and the family had to leave. Seven relatives including two of Maher’s uncles have been killed.

He recalls life before the war, the daily routine of breakfast and school, hometime, lunch, and playing outside or going shopping or for family beach trips in the car with his grandfather.

“It’s enough killing, it’s enough killing of people. God willing we will go back to our houses safe. It’s enough of rockets falling on us and we’ve had enough of living in tents,” Maher says.

Hostage families demand gov’t leverage Sinwar’s apparent demise to secure immediate deal

Israelis protest, calling for a deal to secure the release of those held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, near the Defense Ministry Headquarters in Tel Aviv, October 14, 2024. Some of the signs read "Deal now!" and note that 101 hostages, living and dead, remain in the terror group's hands. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The Hostage Families Forum calls on the government to leverage Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s likely killing to secure an immediate hostage deal.

“Along with the appreciation for the significant achievement [of Sinwar’s apparent killing], the families of the hostages express grave concern for the fate of the 101 hostages who are still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza and demand that [the government] leverage the military achievement to secure an immediate deal to bring about their return,” the statement from the forum says.

“The elimination of Sinwar is an important milestone on the way to the real victory, which will only be achieved with the return of the 101 abductees,” the statement continues.

“For over a year now, the Israeli government has not been able to leverage the unprecedented security achievements in the fighting in Gaza to bring about the release of the hostages,” the families say, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to instruct his hostage negotiation team to secure an immediate deal to free their loved ones.

“There is and will not be a total victory without the release of all 101 abductees,” they add.

Mother of hostage calls on PM to put forward proposal for hostage deal to end war amid Sinwar’s likely demise

Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is one of the 101 hostages still held in Gaza responds to the apparent killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

“We have settled the score with the arch-murderer Sinwar, but now, more than ever, the lives of my son Matan and the other hostages are in tangible danger.”

“Especially today, when the country is breathing a sigh of relief, it is important to remember that the public wants the hostages at home and their return is one of the objectives of the war. There will be no real closure, no total victory if we don’t save their lives and bring them all back,” Zangauker adds.

She calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to immediately put forward a proposal to return the hostages, even if it means ending the war.

IDF releases photo of security chiefs meeting after Sinwar news breaks

Shin Bet chief Ronen bar (L) and IDF chief Herzi Halevi hold a situational assessment on October 17, 2024. (IDF)

The IDF releases a photo of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and IDF chief Herzi Halevi holding a situational assessment, apparently from a military chopper, as the security establishment’s assessment strengthens that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been killed.

US offering some Lebanese nationals protected status amid war, DHS says

The United States says it is authorizing certain Lebanese nationals currently in the country to remain for the next 18 months and apply for work permits, as hostilities flare between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Certain individuals from Lebanon who were already in the US as of October 16 can apply for the so-called Temporary Protected Status, the Department of Homeland Security says in a statement.

Israeli security cabinet ministers told Sinwar is very likely dead, two officials say

IDF troops stand over the body believed to be Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza on October 17, 2024. (Courtesy)

Members of the security cabinet have been informed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is very likely dead, two officials with knowledge of the matter say.

Two of Israel’s main broadcasters, Kan and Channel 12, also cite Israeli officials as saying Sinwar is dead.

IDF troops were not targeting Sinwar in incident in which he was likely killed

The IDF troops operating in Gaza in the incident in which Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was likely killed were not targeting him and did not know he might be in the building where they were operating.

Troops spotted several fighters enter a building in an incident that began yesterday and a strike was ordered against it, which partially collapsed the structure, Hebrew media reports say.

Only after Israeli soldiers arrived to inspect the damage did they realize that one of the three terrorists killed strongly resembled Sinwar.

The IDF is still working to confirm whether the body was indeed Sinwar, but it has not yet been brought back to Israel because the area where it was found is heavily booby-trapped. The body also had a military vest carrying grenades.

A DNA sample has been taken from the body, however, for expedited testing in Israel.

Anonymous official tells top Israeli news channel: Sinwar has been killed

Channel 12 cites a senior Israeli official who it says has confirmed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has been eliminated.

Photos circulate online of slain terrorist who Israeli officials believe was Sinwar

Photos are circulating widely online of the slain Gaza terrorist who the Israeli security establishment believes with high likelihood was Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

GRAPHIC FOOTAGE

As speculation Sinwar killed grows, Gallant tweets: ‘We will reach every terrorist and eliminate them’

As the assessment that Israel has killed Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar grows, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tweets, “We will reach every terrorist and eliminate them.”

Quoting the biblical book of Leviticus, Gallant adds, “You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword.”

The defense minister attaches photos of former Hamas military chief Muhammad Deif and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah with Xs over them along with a third photo that is blacked out, but also has an X through it, apparently resembling Sinwar.

״וּרְדַפְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־אֹיְבֵיכֶ֑ם וְנָפְל֥וּ לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם לֶחָֽרֶב.״

ויקרא כ״ו

נגיע לכל מחבל – ונחסל אותו. pic.twitter.com/dpDHviATyN

— יואב גלנט – Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) October 17, 2024

PM directs his aide to tell families that no hostages harmed in incident where terrorist strongly resembling Sinwar was killed

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office says the premier directed his military secretary to instruct the IDF to inform the families of hostages that there were no signs of harm to any hostages during the recent incident in Gaza where a terrorist strongly resembling Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was found.

There had been widely circulated reports throughout the war that Sinwar was surrounding himself with Israeli hostages to ensure his safety, and a senior US official briefing reporters earlier this month said that this was the Biden administration’s assessment as well.

The IDF says it is still assessing whether the terrorist recently killed by the IDF was indeed Sinwar, adding that there were no hostages found in the building where the body in question was recovered.

Senior Israeli official: High likelihood that terrorist killed by IDF is Hamas’s Sinwar

Yahya Sinwar, head of the Hamas terror group in Gaza, delivers a speech in Gaza City, April 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

A senior Israeli official tells Hebrew media that the security establishment’s current assessment is that there is a high likelihood that the terrorist killed by the IDF is Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

The IDF says moments ago that it is assessing whether one of three terrorists killed recently by its forces in Gaza was Sinwar, adding that there were no hostages found in the building where the trio were killed.

Source: Threats made to evacuate buildings housing Norwegian embassy, Al Jazeera bureau in Beirut deemed fake

Threats made to buildings in downtown Beirut on Thursday, including to the offices of Qatar’s Al-Jazeera TV and the Norwegian embassy, are deemed to have been fake, a Lebanese security source and a diplomatic source tells Reuters.

Al Jazeera earlier said that its downtown Beirut office had been evacuated after the building received several warnings, without saying who issued them. Norway’s embassy was also evacuated following a “bomb threat,” the Norwegian foreign ministry said.

IDF probing whether Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar killed by troops in Gaza

Head of Hamas in Gaza Yahya Sinwar chairs a meeting with leaders of Palestinian factions at his office in Gaza City, April 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File)

The IDF says it is investigating the possibility that one of three terrorists killed by troops in Gaza was Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

“At this time, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed,” the IDF says in a statement.

The army notes that there were no hostages present in the area where the three terrorists were killed. There had been reports that Sinwar had been hiding among hostages, using them as human shields.

“The IDF and Shin Bet forces operating in the area continue to operate under the necessary caution,” the army adds.

The IDF issues its statement after rumors relating to the incident began spreading widely online.

Channel 12 reports that troops opened fire on a group of terrorists on the ground floor of a building in an incident that began yesterday. When they subsequently entered the building, they realized that one of the dead terrorists “looked very much like” Sinwar.

The TV report says it is anticipated that a firm identification will take a few hours, and that a sample from the body that may be that of Sinwar will be taken for DNA testing.

Russia tells Israel to not even consider attacking Iranian nuclear facilities

Russia is warning Israel to not even consider striking Iranian nuclear facilities, state news agency TASS quotes Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying.

After Iran’s missile attack on Israel on October 1, there has been speculation that Israel could strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, as it has long threatened to do.

“We have repeatedly warned and continue to warn, to caution (Israel) against even hypothetically considering the possibility of a strike on (Iranian) nuclear facilities and nuclear infrastructure,” Ryabkov is quoted by TASS as saying.

“This would be a catastrophic development and a complete negation of all existing principles in the area of ​​ensuring nuclear safety.”

It was not clear in what form Moscow had conveyed such a message to Israel.

Hamas denies using school in Jabalia for fighting purposes

The Hamas terror group denies using the Abu Hussein school in Jabalia for fighting purposes, after the Israeli military said it targeted terrorists from Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups who operated from within the school that had been serving as a shelter for displaced people.

IDF soldiers find written praise for Oct. 7 massacre scrawled on chalkboard in north Gaza school

A chalkboard with statements written by terrorists praising the October 7, 2023 massacre by Hamas, in a school in Jabaliya, northern Gaza, in an image released on October 17, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF troops find a chalkboard with statements written by terrorists praising the October 7 massacre in a classroom during its ground incursion in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya.

Troops in the 401st Brigade have eliminated dozens of terrorists through airstrikes and close-quarters urban combat since the incursion began earlier this month, the military says, releasing footage of the strikes.

In the raid of the school, troops found dozens of weapons, explosives, mortars, and ammunition.

UN-backed report says around 345,000 Gazans to face ‘catastrophic’ hunger in winter

A displaced Palestinian boy carries a pot full of food, offered by a charity, in Gaza's Al-Shati refugee camp on October 17, 2024. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

ROME, Italy — Some 345,000 Gazans face “catastrophic” levels of hunger this winter after aid deliveries fell, a UN-backed assessment says, warning of the persistent risk of famine across the Palestinian territory.

This is up from the 133,000 people currently categorized as experiencing “catastrophic food insecurity,” according to a classification compiled by UN agencies and NGOs.

A report released in June by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) organization found that grim predictions on food insecurity made months earlier were exaggerated.

Al Jazeera office, Norway’s embassy evacuated in Beirut after receiving warnings

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV says its office in Beirut had been evacuated after the building received several warnings.

The broadcaster did not say who issued the warnings.

Norway’s embassy in Beirut was also evacuated following a bomb threat, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry says.

IDF strikes terror command post at site formerly used as school in northern Gaza

The IDF says it carried out a precision airstrike against Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists operating a command and control room from a building formerly used as a school in northern Gaza.

The IDF names 12 terrorists who were present at the Abu Hassan School, adding that they were involved in launching rockets at Israel and attacks on troops.

The military says it took steps to limit harm to uninvolved citizens in the strike.

At least 19 Palestinians including children were killed in the strike, an official from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry tells Reuters.

Dozens were also injured in the strike, says the official, Medhat Abbas, adding: “There is no water to extinguish the fire. There is nothing.”

כלי טיס של חיל האוויר תקף לפני זמן קצר, באופן ממוקד ומדויק ובהכוונה מודיעינית של אמ״ן, שב״כ ופיקוד הדרום, נקודות ריכוז של מחבלים רבים מארגוני הטרור חמאס וגא״פ שפעלו במתחם פיקוד ושליטה שהוקם ברחבה ששימשה בעבר כרחבת בית הספר ״אבו חסן״ בצפון רצועת עזה>> pic.twitter.com/MuTn0bc29g

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 17, 2024

Israel halts processing of commercial food imports to Gaza, sources say

Palestinians surround trucks loaded with humanitarian aid brought in through a new US-built pier, in the central Gaza Strip, May 18, 2024. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Israel has stopped processing requests from traders to import food to Gaza, according to 12 people involved in the trade, choking off a track that for the past six months supplied more than half of the besieged Palestinian territory’s provisions.

Since October 11, Gaza-based traders who were importing food from Israel and the West Bank have lost access to a system introduced in spring by COGAT, the Defense Ministry body that oversees aid and commercial shipments, and have received no reply to attempts to contact the agency, the sources say.

The shift has driven the flow of goods arriving in Gaza to its lowest level since the start of the war, a Reuters analysis of official Israeli data shows. The details of the halt in commercial goods into Gaza have not been previously reported.

COGAT did not respond to Reuters’ questions about commercial food imports and aid to Gaza. The agency says it does all it can to ensure that enough aid enters the coastal enclave and that Israel does not prevent the entry of humanitarian aid. It rejects allegations Israel has blocked supplies.

Between October 1 and October 16, the overall flow of shipments to Gaza — including both aid and commercial goods — fell to a daily average of 29 trucks, according to COGAT statistics.

That compares with a daily average of 175 trucks between May and September, the data shows. Commercial shipments — goods bought by local traders, trucked in after direct approval by COGAT, and then sold in marketplaces in Gaza — accounted for about 55% of the total during that period.

Two sources involved in food supply say the reason for halting commercial shipments was because Israel worried that the Hamas terror group was receiving revenues from the imports.

A Hamas spokesperson denies that the group had stolen food or used it for revenue and said it was trying to ensure the distribution of aid in Gaza.

The commercial system’s apparent closure came as Israel launched a new military operation against Hamas in northern Gaza, a parallel development that has obstructed humanitarian aid deliveries. The UN’s World Food Programme said in a statement on Sunday the operation cut off all aid deliveries through crossings in the north for at least two weeks this month.

Plummeting volumes of aid into Gaza have prompted the United States to threaten to withhold military support to Israel.

Following international criticism, COGAT said in statements this week that Israel had allowed scores of trucks of aid into Gaza, including dozens via crossings in the north. It did not provide full details or respond to Reuters’ requests for information for this story.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Houthis promise to respond after US strikes weapons storage sites

SANA’A, Yemen — Yemen’s Houthi rebels vow to retaliate after the United States conducted multiple strikes with heavy B-2 bombers on weapons storage facilities in areas controlled by the Iran-backed group.

“We confirm that the American aggression will not pass without a response,” a statement from the Iran-backed Houthis’ political bureau says.

Israeli strike caught on video in southern Lebanon’s Tyre

TYRE, Lebanon — A strike hit near the south Lebanon coastal city of Tyre on Thursday, AFPTV images show, as official media reports an Israeli raid after Israel’s military issued an evacuation call.

AFPTV footage captured smoke billowing after the Israeli military on X warned residents in and near a building in Al-Hawsh, just south of Tyre, to evacuate, while Lebanon’s official National News Agency reports that “enemy aircraft launched a strike that targeted” the Al-Hawsh area.

IDF calls on residents in southern Lebanon’s Tyre to evacuate

The IDF calls on residents of the southern Lebanese city of Tyre to evacuate ahead of strikes targeting Hezbollah.

IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee posts on X a map of the area set to be targeted, and requests those nearby to keep at least 500 meters away.

#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل إلى سكان منطقة صور وتحديدًا المتواجدين في المبنى المحدد في الخارطة والواقع في منطقة الحوش والمباني المجاورة له

????أنتم متواجدون بالقرب من منشآت ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله حيث سيعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع على مدى الزمني القريب
????من أجل سلامتكم وسلامة أبناء عائلتكم… pic.twitter.com/psMy5gTfHv

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 17, 2024

EU’s Borrell questions US giving Israel one month to improve Gaza situation; Germany’s Scholz backs sending arms to Israel

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell answers journalists' questions as he arrives to take part in a EU summit in Brussels, on October 17, 2024. (JOHN THYS / AFP)

BRUSSELS, Belgium — The EU’s foreign policy chief appears to criticize the United States for giving Israel one month to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, saying that during that time, too many people would die.

“The US has been saying to Israel that they have to improve humanitarian support to Gaza, but they gave one month delay. One-month delay at the current pace of people being killed. It’s too many people,” Josep Borrell tells reporters ahead of a European Union leaders’ summit.

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris says the bloc was not doing enough to end the war and he would continue to work with Spain to change the dynamics among the 27-nation bloc.

“Europe has not yet used every lever at its disposal to bring a ceasefire,” he says.

Speaking on arrival in Brussels German Chancellor Olaf Scholz underscores the differences in Europe saying that Israel’s security should not be compromised and appeared to take a swipe at French President Emmanuel Macron, who has called for countries to stop supplying offensive weapons that can be used by Israel in Gaza.

“All criteria must be respected, such as international law. When it comes to monetary aid, which must go to Gaza, it’s about preventing the war from escalating further,’ he says.

“However, it is clear that supporting Israel also means that we are constantly ensuring Israel’s defense capability, for example by supplying military goods or weapons.”

Hezbollah claims it struck 2 Israeli tanks in southern Lebanon

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Hezbollah says it hit two Israeli tanks in south Lebanon near the border with guided missiles, as the Israeli army battles the Iran-backed terror group in the area.

Hezbollah terror operatives targeted “two Merkava tanks” near the border village of Labbouneh “with guided missiles,” causing a fire and casualties, the Iran-backed terror group says in a statement.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

German warship shoots down drone off coast of Lebanon

BERLIN, Germany — A German warship operating as part of the United Nations’ UNIFIL mission brought down an unmanned flying object off the coast of Lebanon, a spokesperson for the German Defense Ministry tells Reuters.

The dpa news agency first reported on the incident.

UAE reportedly airdrops aid to Gaza

Palestinian reports say aid has been airdropped by the United Arab Emirates in the humanitarian zone in southern Gaza’s al-Mawasi area.

Footage posted to social media shows boxes of aid parachuting down from what appears to be cargo planes.

https://twitter.com/oritperlov/status/1846823732364390843

Israeli strike reported in eastern Lebanon after call to evacuate

Lebanese media reports an Israeli strike in the eastern Bekaa Valley, shortly after the military issued a call for residents to evacuate the area.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

French Senate speaker ‘astounded’ by ‘ignorance’ of Macron’s claim Israel owes existence to UN

French Senate President Gerard Larcher leaves after a meeting with the French president at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on August 26, 2024. (STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP)

PARIS, France — The speaker of the French Senate — the country’s second most senior figure under the constitution — says he was “astounded” by remarks attributed to Emmanuel Macron on Israel and accused the president of showing his “ignorance” of history.

Macron was quoted as saying in a cabinet meeting Tuesday that Israel “must not forget” it owed its existence to a United Nations resolution after its troops fired on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon.

The comment sparked a furious reaction from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding to growing tensions between France and Israel, and also troubled Jewish community figures within France.

“It first of all shows an ignorance of the history of the birth of the State of Israel,” Gerard Larcher, the right-wing speaker of the upper house, tells Europe 1 radio.

“Questioning the existence of Israel touches on fundamental questions for me,” he says.

“I was astounded that these remarks could be made,” he adds. The creation of Israel “did not come as a notarial act merely validated by the UN,” he argues.

Larcher would take over the presidency if centrist Macron was incapacitated or suddenly resigned. He is a senior figure in the right-wing Republicans (LR) party to which Prime Minister Michel Barnier also belongs.

“Mr. Netanyahu must not forget that his country was created by a decision of the UN,” Macron told the weekly French cabinet meeting, referring to the resolution adopted in November 1947 by the United Nations General Assembly on the plan to partition Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state.

“Therefore this is not the time to disregard the decisions of the UN,” he added, as concern grows over Israeli fire on UNIFIL peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.

The 1947 partition was not enforced by the UN, leaving Israel to fight a year-long war against invading Arab neighbors after declaring independence, losing over 6,000 civilians and troops.

His comments from the closed-door meeting at the Elysee Palace were quoted by two participants who spoke to AFP and asked not to be named.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

IDF troops destroy terror infrastructure, kill gunmen in battles in Gaza

The IDF says troops in the Nahal Brigade eliminated gunmen and destroyed terror infrastructure during operations in the southern Gazan city of Rafah.

The military adds that soldiers in the 401st Brigade operating in northern Gaza also eliminated a terror squadron and uncovered many weapons, including grenades, Kalashnikov guns, explosives, and mortars.

In central Gaza, the 179th Brigade began operating in the Bureij refugee camp and Nuseirat over the past day, the IDF says.

IDF kills Hezbollah battalion commander, destroys 150 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon

The IDF says they killed a Hezbollah battalion commander in the southern Lebanese Bint Jbeil district.

In an operational update, the IDF says Hussein Muhammed Auda was responsible for rocket fire on Israel originating from several towns in the Bint Jbeil district.

Additionally, airstrikes eliminated 45 terrorists and destroyed 150 Hezbollah sites over the past day, including weapons stores, rocket launchers and buildings used for military purposes.

The IDF releases footage of the strikes.

מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר יחד עם כוחות חטיבת האש 7338 תחת אוגדה 91 תקפו וחיסלו את המחבל חסין מחמד עואצ׳ה, מפקד גדוד במרחב בינת ג׳ביל בארגון הטרור חיזבאללה.
עואצ׳ה היה אחראי על קידום מתווי ירי ממספר כפרים במרחב בינת ג׳בל לשטח הארץ>> pic.twitter.com/iPHqBmYeJ1

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 17, 2024

IDF issues fresh evacuation call for village in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley

The IDF’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee calls on residents of the village of Tamnine El Tahta in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley to evacuate.

Adraee says the military will soon strike strategic facilities and interests belonging to Hezbollah located in the area, and that residents nearby should evacuate for their own safety.

A map of the area to be targeted is posted on X.

#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل إلى سكان منطقة البقاع وتحديدًا المتواجدين في المبنى المحدد في الخارطة والواقع في منطقة تمنين

????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 المبنى… pic.twitter.com/azhTuC96Zq

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 17, 2024

IRGC chief vows to respond ‘painfully’ if Israel attacks Iran

The head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, attends a military parade as part of a ceremony marking the country's annual army day in Tehran, on April 17, 2024. (Atta Kenare/AFP)

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps chief Hossein Salami warns of further retaliation against Israel if it attacks Iranian targets, which Israel has vowed to do after Iran’s missile attack on October 1.

“If you make a mistake and attack our targets, whether in the region or in Iran, we will strike you again painfully,” Salami says at the funeral of a Guards general killed in an Israeli strike alongside Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon last month.

30 rockets launched at Upper Galilee, some intercepted, report says

A barrage of some 30 rockets was fired at the Upper Galilee a short while, Kan news reports.

Some were intercepted, while others landed in open areas, the report says.

Arms embargo not on table for close ally Israel, Biden’s humanitarian envoy told aid groups — report

Trucks carrying aid queue on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on September 9, 2024. (AFP)

The US would not consider an arms embargo in Israel over the blocking of food and medicine from the Gaza Strip, the Biden administration’s Middle Eastern aid envoy told humanitarian groups that work in the enclave in August, Politico reports.

While pressure through the United Nations was on the table, Grande told the organizations that Israel is part of a “tight circle of very few allies” to whom Washington would not refuse aid, Lise Grande told the organizations at a meeting in the US capital, according to three people present in the meeting and two others who were briefed on it.

The sources spoke anonymously about concerns that their groups’ work may be hindered in Gaza.

The US this week confirmed sending a letter warning that Washington’s continued supply of weapons was at risk if Jerusalem didn’t take significant steps to address the growing humanitarian crisis in the enclave within 30 days.

Israel allowed 50 trucks of humanitarian aid into the northern Gaza Strip on Wednesday, and the US said Jerusalem had taken initial steps to ease the crisis.

Rocket fired from Lebanon shot down, another falls in open area in north

The IDF says two rockets were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel a short while ago.

Air defenses shot down one rocket while the other fell in an open area, the military says.

No injuries were reported in the attack.

Rocket sirens blare throughout north

Incoming rocket sirens are sounding throughout northern Israel.

Sirens are activated in Haifa and surrounding towns, as well as the Upper and Central Galilee.

צבע אדום (17/10/2024 07:28-07:29): אזורים המפרץ, גליל עליון, מרכז הגליל, קו העימות pic.twitter.com/gRBWISMNH1

— צופר – צבע אדום (@tzevaadom_) October 17, 2024

Islamic Resistance in Iraq claims it launched drone attack on Eilat

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claims it launched a drone attack on Israel’s southernmost city of Eilat.

The statement from the Iran-backed group comes several hours after sirens sounded in a pair communities north of Eilat and further westward.

US military says B-2 bombers used in strikes on Houthi arms storage facilities

The United States conducted multiple B-2 bomber strikes on weapon storage facilities in areas of Yemen controlled by the Houthi rebels, according to the US military and defense department.

Austin says US struck 5 underground Houthi weapons storage sites in Yemen

The United States conducted precision strikes against five underground weapons storage locations in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says in a statement.

“US forces targeted several of the Houthis’ underground facilities housing various weapons components of types that the Houthis have used to target civilian and military vessels throughout the region,” Austin says.

US said to target Houthi weapons storage sites in strikes on Yemen

Yemen’s Al Masirah TV, which belongs to the Houthis, says US-British airstrikes targeted the capital city of Sanaa and the city of Saada early Thursday.

Citing US officials, ABC News reports that the US military struck Houthi weapons storage facilities.

“US Central Command forces conducted multiple airstrikes on numerous Iran-backed Houthi weapons storage facilities within Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen,” a US defense official says, according to ABC News.

Rocket warning sirens triggered across northern Israel

Incoming rocket warning sirens sound across northern Israel shortly before 3:30 a.m., with residents in communities from the Lebanon border to the Nazareth area and beyond instructed to take shelter by the IDF’s Home Front Command.

Syrian state media reports Israeli ‘aggression’ on port city of Latakia

Israeli “aggression” targeted Syria’s Mediterranean port city of Latakia, Syrian state media reports early Thursday.

In call with Gallant, Pentagon chief notes Israeli efforts to increase aid flow to north Gaza

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, right, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, left, listen to the playing of the Israeli National Anthem during an arrival ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, June 25, 2024. (AP/Susan Walsh)

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

Members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol the southern Lebanese Marjayoun district, near the border with Israel, on October 16, 2024. (AFP)

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, Ministers and MKs attend a discussion and vote on the inclusion of MK Gideon Saar as a minister in the government at the Knesset, in Jerusalem on September 30, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

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.