Oct. 21: Hospital in Beirut evacuated after Israel claims Hezbollah cash bunker below

Two killed, one seriously wounded in shooting in Kafr Qasim

A 17-year-old girl and a 20-year-old woman were murdered and a 17-year-old boy was seriously injured in a shooting in the Arab-Israeli city of Kafr Qasim overnight.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says that it was called to the scene of the attack in the central Israel city shortly after midnight. The medical team provided medical treatment to the seriously wounded boy and attempted to resuscitate the woman and teenage girl before being forced to determine their deaths.

In a statement, the Israel Police says that an investigation has been opened into the shooting, which it is treating as “criminal,” indicating that there is no suspicion of a terror motive.

Channel 12 reports that police suspect the incident to be a revenge attack after four people were killed in a deadly attack in Ramle last month.

Lebanese media reports 13 Israeli strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Monday evening

Lebanese state-run media reports 13 strikes on Monday evening on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah bastion known as Dahiyeh, in one of the most intense nights of Israeli attacks in weeks.

“Thirteen strikes have been launched so far by Israeli warplanes on the southern suburbs of Beirut,” the National News Agency says.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

Lebanon security source says planes forced to switch runways after strike near Beirut airport

A Lebanese security official tells AFP that the country’s national airline had to switch landing strips after Israeli strikes near Beirut’s only international airport hit close to the main runway.

“Middle East Airlines switched the runway it was using because the main runway is close to the site of the Ouzai strike,” the official says, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Three said killed in Israeli strike on Beirut neighborhood near government hospital

At least three people have been killed and tens of others injured following an Israeli strike on a Beirut neighborhood near the capital’s main government hospital, a senior Lebanese security source tells Reuters.

BREAKING:

Israeli is dropping bombs near Rafik Hariri Hospital in Beirut — the city’s main public and largest government hospital. pic.twitter.com/n0y4tn1a9l

— sarah (@sahouraxo) October 21, 2024

Hamas sources say Doha-based committee to head terror group after Sinwar killed

Houthi supporters raise a poster of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who killed by Israeli troops in Gaza, during an anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

Two Hamas sources say the Palestinian terror group is moving toward appointing a Doha-based ruling committee rather than a single successor to its chief Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli troops last week.

“The Hamas leadership’s approach is not to appoint a successor to the late chief, the martyr Yahya Sinwar, until their next elections” scheduled for March “if conditions permit,” a well-informed source from the group tells AFP.

A five-member committee that was formed in August following the assassination of political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran “will take over the leadership of the group,” the source adds.

The committee was formed to facilitate decision-making given the difficulty of communicating with Sinwar in Gaza before his death.

Sinwar was named the Gaza chief of the militant group in 2017, before rising to become the overall leader of Hamas after Haniyeh was assassinated in July.

The source says the committee is made up of representatives of West Bank, Gaza and the Palestinian diaspora, namely Khalil al-Hayya for Gaza, Zaher Jabarin for the West Bank and Khaled Meshaal for Palestinians abroad.

It also includes the head of Hamas’s Shura advisory council Mohammed Darwish and the secretary of the political bureau, who is never identified for security reasons.

All current members of the committee are based in Qatar.

According to the source, the committee is tasked with “governing the movement during the war and exceptional circumstances, as well as its future plans.”

He added that it is authorized to “make strategic decisions”.

Another source from the group says that the Hamas leadership discussed a proposal that was made “internally” to appoint a political chief without announcing their name.

But, the source adds, the leaders preferred to rule through the committee.

Sinwar was killed by Israeli troops in southern Gaza on Wednesday, more than a year into the devastating war in the territory sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack that he orchestrated. The attack killed some 1,200 people and took another 251 hostages.

Tehran tells UN: Biden has signaled US approval for attack on Iran, will bear responsibility

US President Joe Biden talks to the media before departing from the Brandenburg Airport in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

US President Joe Biden has signaled “tacit approval and explicit support for Israel’s unlawful military aggression against Iran,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations says, citing remarks by Biden in Germany last week.

“The United States will bear full responsibility for its role in instigating, inciting and enabling any acts of aggression by Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran … as well as for the catastrophic consequences on regional and international peace and security,” Iran’s UN mission says in a letter to the UN Security Council.

Biden, on a visit to Berlin, also told reporters he has an understanding of how and when Israel will respond to the missile attacks by Iran. He declined to elaborate.

Explosions reported in Beirut suburbs after IDF orders evacuations of buildings

Several loud explosions are reported in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.

The apparent Israeli strikes come after the IDF called on residents of several buildings to evacuate.

“You are located near facilities and interests belonging to Hezbollah, which the Israeli army will target in the near future,” Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee says in a post on X.

Earlier the IDF said it would continue striking Hezbollah targets with a focus on their financial infrastructure.

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

⭕️أنتم تتواجدون بالقرب من منشات ومصالح تابعة لحزب الله سوف يعمل ضدها جيش الدفاع على المدى الزمني القريب

⭕️من أجل سلامتكم وسلامة أبناء… pic.twitter.com/NReds4dX1N

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 21, 2024

Hospital in Beirut suburbs evacuated after Israel claims Hezbollah cash bunker below

The Lebanese Sahel Hospital in Beirut’s southern suburbs is being evacuated following Israeli claims a Hezbollah cash bunker is located beneath it, hospital director Fadi Alameh tells Reuters.

Alameh denied the allegation and called on the Lebanese army to visit the site.

The IDF has said it would not strike the site, but provided the Lebanese people with details on where the entrances to the bunker are.

“Tonight, I am going to declassify intelligence on a site that we did not strike—where Hezbollah has millions of dollars in gold and cash—in Hassan Nasrallah’s bunker. Where is the bunker located? Directly under Al-Sahel Hospital in the heart of Beirut.”

Listen to IDF Spox.… pic.twitter.com/SjMZQpKqoJ

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 21, 2024

US asks Israel for clarifications on tank fire at peacekeeper post in south Lebanon

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 US has reached out to Israel for clarification after UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) said that IDF tank fire demolished one of its watchtowers in southern Lebanon over the weekend.

“We’ve asked our colleagues in the IDF for additional information, and I will let the Israeli Ministry of Defense answer any questions about those operations,” State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel says during a press briefing.

“We have been clear with all parties that there needs to be protections of UNIFIL personnel and facilities. UNIFIL operates in Lebanon under a mandate from the UN Security Council, and these facilities and these individuals must not be harmed,” he adds.

Trump touts endorsement of Arab mayor from Michigan who backed BDS resolution

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump listens to others after delivering remarks on the damage and federal response to Hurricane Helene, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, in Swannanoa, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump touts the endorsement he received from the mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, who backed a resolution passed in his local council to divest funds from Israel.

“I think the mayor is great, and he’s given us his total endorsement,” Trump says in an interview with the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya network, as he works to secure the votes of Arab Americans in the key swing state of Michigan, with just two weeks until the election.

Speaking of Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib, Trump says, “he’s somebody [whose] got a lot of future in this country.”

“He’s not for men playing in women’s sports. He’s not for transgender operations — the transformation, or the transition into, you know, a male into a female. He’s not into that,” Trump says of Ghalib.

“I think for the most part, the Arab world isn’t into that, and I’m not into that either. But the radical left is totally into it,” Trump tells Al-Arabiya.

US calls for Israel to probe killing of Palestinian woman during West Bank olive harvest

Mourners lower the flag-draped body of Hanan Abdel Rahman Abu Salama, 59, into a grave, after she reportedly killed by Israeli fire as she was picking olives in the West Bank village of Faqoua near Jenin, on October 17, 2024. (Zain Jaafar/AFP)

The US calls for a swift Israeli investigation into the alleged IDF killing of a Palestinian woman harvesting olives in the West Bank last week and for Israel to allow Palestinians to access their lands during the harvest season.

State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel calls reports of the IDF killing “incredibly concerning,” noting that the Israeli army has launched an initial probe into the matter and has suspended a commander in the unit involved. “Pur expectation is that Israel investigate this thoroughly, swiftly, transparently and that it seek accountability in this instance as well.”

“It is not lost on us that the annual olive hardest harvest [provides] major economic activity to Palestinian people… and we believe that Palestinians need to have access to their land to conduct these kinds of harvests when appropriate,” Patel says.

“It continues to be that we want to see some changes when it comes to military rules of engagement, particularly as it relates to the West Bank,” he adds.

IDF reported to have evacuated 17 Gazans to Israeli hospitals during war, including terrorists

Israeli helicopter flies over Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, February 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman)

The IDF has evacuated at least 17 Gazans to public hospitals in Israel for treatment of injuries sustained in the war over the past year, Channel 12 reports.

It says at least 10 of them are Gazan civilians accidentally hurt by the IDF in the course of the fighting.

Seven of them, however, are alleged terrorists who are or were under investigation and the security forces wanted them for interrogation, the report says.

Two of those seven are still in hospital in Israel, it adds, declining to name the hospitals for fear of protests.

The report says the IDF declined to comment.

IDF identifies Hezbollah bunker under Beirut hospital with $500 million in gold and cash

An IDF illustration of a Hezbollah bunker under a Beirut hospital. The IDF says the bunker contains some $500 million in cash and gold. (Screen capture/ YouTube)

IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says Israel has located a Hezbollah bunker under a Beirut hospital where the terror group is storing more than $500 million in gold and cash.

He releases the details after a night of attacks in which Israel targeted Hezbollah’s financial institutions.

In a press conference, Hagari shows one of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s bunkers located under the Sahel hospital in Beirut.

“The bunker was deliberately placed under a hospital, and it holds more than half a billion dollars in cash and gold,” Hagari says.

“That money could have been used to rehabilitate Lebanon, but it went to rehabilitate Hezbollah,” he says.

“The [Israeli] Air Force aircraft are watching the site and will continue to track it,” he says.

During the press conference, Hagari details how Iran transfers money to Hezbollah and other ways the terror group finances its operations and vows that Israel will continue to strike its financial operations.

IDF says it killed top Hezbollah money man in Syria strike, promises more attacks on terror group’s financial network

Syrian emergency and security services remove the wreckage of a car that exploded in Damascus on October 21, 2024. (Louai Beshara/AFP)

IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari confirms that Israel carried out an airstrike in Syria today.

Hagari says it targeted the head of Hezbollah’s financial arm responsible for funneling cash from Iran to Hezbollah.

Hagari does not name him, but says he has only been in the position a few weeks since his predecessor was killed.

It is part of a series of IDF strikes carried out in recent days targeting Hezbollah’s financial network.

Hagari reveals further details on Hamas’s money laundering system and says Israel will carry out further strikes in the coming days.

Lebanon says 17 killed in Israeli airstrikes

A bust of the late Iranian General Qassem Soleimani stands in front of a destroyed branch of the Hezbollah-run Qard al-Hassan, which was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says Israeli airstrikes on different parts of Lebanon have killed 17 people, including four first responders.

The ministry says six people, including a child, were killed in an airstrike on a house in the northeastern city of Baalbek. Four others were killed in the southern village of Kharaeb and four, including a paramedic, were killed in the nearby village of Babilyeh.

Three other paramedics were killed in separate airstrikes on the villages of Khirbet Selem, Bir el-Sanasel and Deir Zahrani, the ministry says.

It does not say how many of the dead were Hezbollah members.

Several world leaders congratulate Netanyahu on his 75th birthday

A man wearing a t-shirt with an image of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reading the words King, passes out sweets in the streets of Jerusalem. October 18, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis call Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to wish him a happy birthday, says Netanyahu’s office.

They also denounce the recent Hezbollah drone attack on his home.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer sent Netanyahu a birthday message, says the PMO.

Netanyahu also met with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in Jerusalem today.

US says it doesn’t want to see daily strikes on Beirut

Smoke rise from an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh in the south of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, October 20, 2024. (AP/Hussein Malla)

State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel declines to comment on last night’s IDF strikes on branches of an association accused of financing the Hezbollah terror group but says the US still doesn’t want to see daily strikes on the Lebanese capital.

“I can’t offer an assessment from up here [on yesterday’s Israeli strikes]. Broadly though, our call continues to be that Israel needs to do everything it can to not target civilian infrastructure and abide by international humanitarian law, and in all of its operations needs to take every possible measure to minimize impacts on civilians and civilian infrastructure,” Patel says, adding that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will raise the issue with Israeli counterparts when he arrives in Israel tomorrow.

Reports: Target of Damascus strike was responsible for transferring arms from Iran to Hezbollah

Syrian emergency and security services inspect the wreckage of a car that exploded in Damascus on October 21, 2024. (Maher Al Mounes/AFP)

Hebrew media reports say that one of the two people killed in a strike on a car in Damascus was responsible for transferring arms from Iran to Hezbollah.

The unsourced reports do not name him, but say that he is the third person to be killed holding that position.

Israel has not confirmed carrying out a strike in Damascus.

In Lebanon, US envoy says conflict has ‘escalated out of control’

US Envoy Amos Hochstein (L) meets with Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut on October 21, 2024. (AFP)

US envoy Amos Hochstein holds talks with Lebanese officials in Beirut on conditions for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, saying that the conflict has “escalated out of control.”

He says that it was “not enough” for both sides to commit to UN resolution 1701, which ended the last round of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 and which calls for southern Lebanon to be free of any troops or weapons other than those of the Lebanese state.

Hochstein says that neither Hezbollah nor Israel had adequately implemented the resolution, and that while it would be the basis for the end to current hostilities, the US was seeking to determine what more needed to be done to make sure it was implemented “fairly, accurately and transparently.”

“We are working with the government of Lebanon, the state of Lebanon, as well as the government of Israel to get to a formula that brings an end to this conflict once and for all,” he says.

After what he called a “very constructive” meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a close ally of Hezbollah who has been engaging in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict, Hochstein says:

“The United States wants to end this conflict absolutely as soon as possible. That is what President [Joe] Biden wants, that is what we all are working towards.”

White House says armed gangs blocking aid going into southern Gaza

Armed and masked Palestinians seen on trucks loaded with international humanitarian aid entering Gaza through the Israeli Kerem Shalom Crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, April 3, 2024. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

Armed gangs have been preventing trucks of humanitarian aid from entering Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says.

“There are plenty of trucks that are waiting to get in there, and they’re not able to because of these armed gangs and criminal groups that are stopping them, so we all have to take a turn here and see what we can do to reduce that pressure down at Kerem Shalom so that that aid can get in,” Kirby says during a press briefing.

He notes that Israel has allowed 120 trucks of aid into Gaza after barring aid from reaching the several hundred thousand people still in the area for two weeks.

“More needs to be done. But we have seen an uptick over the last few days,” Kirby says.

Gallant signs order declaring shadowy Hezbollah bank a terror organization

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant signs an order declaring Hezbollah's grey-market bank Al-Qard Al-Hassan a terrorist organization on October 21, 2024 (Shira Keinan/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant signs an order declaring Al-Qard Al-Hassan, an unlicensed gray-market bank seen as one of Hezbollah’s main sources of cash as a terror organization, his office says.

The statement says the move is part of “the economic effort that the security establishment has embarked upon to combat Hezbollah and various terror groups.

The move comes a day after Israeli airstrikes targeted branches of Al-Qard Al-Hassan.

At least 11 strikes were reported in Beirut’s southern suburbs, with more attacks tallied in southern Lebanon and the northeastern Beqaa Valley region, all Hezbollah strongholds.

White House says still no hostage talks despite Sinwar killing

Israelis attend a rally calling for the release of the hostages held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on October 19, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

While the US initially framed Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as an opportunity to jumpstart hostage talks after a months-long impasse, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby acknowledges that no such negotiations have restarted in the five days since his death.

“I cannot sit here today and tell you that negotiations are about to restart in Doha or Cairo or anywhere else, but we have started to begin to think about it here and have had some initial conversations with our Israeli counterparts,” Kirby says.

Relatedly, US special envoy Amos Hochstein is currently in Beirut for talks with Lebanese officials “to see what could be in the realm of the possible in terms of trying to find a meaningful ceasefire” between Israel and Hezbollah, Kirby adds.

White House says Biden ‘deeply concerned’ about Pentagon leak on Israel’s planned Iran attack

An Israeli soldier gestures to Iranian ballistic missile components that were fired at Israel, during a government-organized media tour on a base in southern Israel, October 9, 2024. (AP/Maya Alleruzzo)

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby says the US is not yet sure how Pentagon documents detailing Israeli preparations for a retaliatory attack on Iran managed to be leaked into the public domain.

Kirby tells reporters during a press briefing the Defense Department is probing the leak, which has “deeply concerned” US President Joe Biden

“You can rest assured that [Biden] will be actively monitoring the progress of the investigative effort to figure out how this happened,” Kirby adds.

He says the US hasn’t received any indication that additional classified documents will be leaked and has been in communication with Israel on the matter.

Syria blames Israel for Damascus strike, says 2 killed

Syrian emergency and security services inspect the wreckage of a car that exploded in Damascus on October 21, 2024. (Photo by Maher AL MOUNES / AFP)

Syria’s defense ministry says two civilians were killed in an Israeli strike that targeted a vehicle earlier in the day.

“At approximately 17:05 pm (1417 GMT), the Israeli enemy launched an air strike targeting a civilian car in the residential neighborhood of Mazzeh in Damascus, killing two civilians and injuring three,” the ministry says in a statement.

It does not identify the dead.

There is no immediate comment from Israel.

IDF says Hezbollah only has 30% of its rockets left, some 2,000 terror operatives killed

Troops of the Commando Brigade operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout image published October 21, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF says it has defeated Hezbollah’s forces in every area that Israeli troops have so far operated in southern Lebanon.

According to the military’s latest estimates, more than 1,200 Hezbollah members have been killed amid the ground offensive. In all, since October 2023, over 2,000 members of the terror group have been killed, the IDF says.

Among the dead Hezbollah members are seven brigade-level commanders, 21 battalion-level commanders, and two dozen company commanders, according to the IDF.

The military says it sees Hezbollah struggling to bring in reinforcements to counter the IDF’s five divisions operating against it in southern Lebanon, and that the amount of weapons the army has seized is affecting the terror group’s ability to carry out attacks.

In terms of rocket capabilities, the IDF estimates that Hezbollah maintains about 30% of what it initially had before the war, which is still thousands of rockets.

But due to the elimination of Hezbollah’s leadership, including numerous field commanders, the IDF says Hezbollah is struggling to carry out massive rocket fire that the terror group had initially planned.

The IDF still aims to wrap up its operations in southern Lebanon within a few weeks. Once the threat of a Hezbollah invasion is removed from the border area, residents of the north will be able to return to their homes.

IDF says Tel Aviv explosion caused by rocket from Lebanon that landed in open area

The IDF says a loud explosion heard in Tel Aviv was caused by a rocket fired from Lebanon that landed in an open area.

The IDF says no sirens went off in accordance with the policy that no warnings are issued if it is determined the rocket poses no threat.

There are no reports of injuries.

In addition, the IDF says some 45 rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Golan Heights and landed in open areas.

Explosion heard in Tel Aviv area

Residents in Tel Aviv and the Ramat Hasharon area report hearing a loud explosion.

There were no warning sirens ahead of the blast.

There is no immediate comment from the police or IDF.

Thousands attend funeral of senior IDF officer killed in Gaza

Mourners carry the coffin of IDF Col. Ehsan Daqsa, who was killed in clashes in Gaza, during his funeral in Daliyat al Karmel on October 21, 2024 (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP)

Thousands of people attend the funeral of Col. Ehsan Daqsa, the commander of the Israel Defense Force’s 401st Armored Brigade, who was killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip yesterday.

The funeral began in his home in the Druze town of Daliyat al-Karmel and ended at the military cemetery in the nearby town of Isfiya.

Among those paying tribute to Daqsa is Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who says that his “excellence in battle and his courage have been clearly evident since the start of his service.”

Daqsa, 41,was one of the most senior officers to have been killed in the fighting in Gaza. In all, six IDF colonels have been killed in the fighting, four of them during the October 7 onslaught.

Mourners of rocket attack victim forced to take cover behind graves amid fresh fire from Lebanon

People take cover as a siren warns of incoming rockets during the funeral of Alexei Popov, who was killed during a rocket attack fired from Lebanon last weekend, at the Tel Regev cemetery in the outskirts of Haifa, northern Israel, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Mourners attending the funeral of a man killed in a rocket attack in northern Israel over the weekend are forced to take cover as sirens wail and more rockets are fired from Lebanon at the Haifa area.

The mourners of Alexei Popov are seen taking cover alongside gravestones as loud explosions and interceptions follow.

Popov was killed Saturday in a rocket attack on the northern city of Acre.

Syrian state media: One killed in ‘guided missile attack’ on car in Damascus

Syrian emergency and security services inspect the wreckage of a car that exploded in the Syrian Capital Damacus on October 21, 2024. (Photo by Maher AL MOUNES / AFP)

At least one person has been killed in a “guided missile attack” on a car in the Mazzeh area of Damascus, Syrian state television says.

Reports say car targeted, explodes in Damascus’ Mazzeh area

Initial reports indicate a car exploded in the Mazzeh area of Damascus, Syrian state media says, following earlier reports of a blast heard in the vicinity.

Initial reports of a targeted strike on a vehicle in the al-Mazzeh neighborhood in Damascus, Syria. pic.twitter.com/FzGidy3U9Q

— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) October 21, 2024

British Airways says it’s suspending Israel flights until March 2025

A British Airways flight taking off from Ben Gurion International Airport, September 3, 2014. (Moshe Shai/Flash90)

British Airways says it is suspending its flights to Tel Aviv until the end of March next year amid heightened fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and as tensions rise in the Middle East.

“This will give greater certainty to our customers who we’re contacting to advise them of their options, including a full refund,” a spokesperson for British Airways says in an emailed statement.

An array of foreign airlines have recently extended their flight cancellations to Israel. Low-cost airline Wizz Air nixed all its flights to and from Israel until January 15 and Delta Airlines said it was extending its cancellation of all routes to Israel through at least the end of March.

Sirens sound in Sderot near Gaza border

Rocket warning sirens are sounding in the town of Sderot near the Gaza border.

🚨 Rocket Alert [17:10:17] – 1 Alert:

• Gaza Envelope — Sderot, Ibim

Population: 28,000 pic.twitter.com/vTipYczEuB

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) October 21, 2024

Netanyahu, Herzog to meet Blinken tomorrow

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) shakes hands with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a meeting in Jerusalem, August 19, 2024. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at midday tomorrow in Jerusalem, according to The Prime Minister’s Office.

President Isaac Herzog will meet Blinken at 8:15 p.m. in Tel Aviv.

Blinken is on a multi-state visit to the region amid a diplomatic push for an end to the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon after the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

Ben Gvir: If we want to we can renew settlement in Gaza

Far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir attends a gathering by right-wing activists near the border with Gaza on October 21, 2024, calling to establish a new Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calls for the reestablishment of settlements in the Gaza Strip and says that “encouraging emigration” of the Palestinian population from the territory is “the most ethical” solution for the current conflict.

“If we want to we can renew settlement in Gaza,” the ultranationalist leader says at a conference on the Gaza border organized by the Nachala settlement organization promoting the establishment of Jewish settlements in the territory.

“We can [also] do something else – encourage emigration. The truth is, this is the most ethical and the most correct solution,” Ben Gvir continues, although adding “not by force” and says Gazans should be told Israel is “giving them the option” of going to other countries.

“The Land of Israel is ours” he declares.

IDF says 5 drones intercepted over Mediterranean, no threats to Ben Gurion Airport

The IDF says that helicopters and fighter jets intercepted and shot down five drones over the Mediterranean Sea.

The drones were shot down before entering Israeli airspace, the IDF says.

The military says there are now no fears of a security incident at Ben Gurion airport.

The airport briefly suspended take-offs.

Ben Gurion announces flights now taking off and landing normally

The Israel Aviation Authority says Ben Gurion Airport is now operating normally after a brief halt for take-offs.

“Ben Gurion Airport is open for arrivals and departures,” the Authority says.

No reason was given for the pause.

Ben Gurion airport said halting take-offs amid security concerns

An Israir flight takes off from Ben Gurion International Airport, outside of Tel Aviv, August 25, 2024. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

Ben Gurion airport says it is halting take-offs following orders from Israel’s security apparatus, Hebrew Media reports.

The Ynet news site says take-offs have stopped, while landings are unaffected.

No reason was provided for the order.

Likud minister calls for death penalty for treason

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar attends a ceremony for the Israeli Olympic and Paralympic delegation competing at the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on June 19, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar calls for Israel to impose the death penalty on those convicted of treason during times of war.

His call comes after it was announced that seven Israelis were arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran, having carried out hundreds of tasks for Tehran. There have been a string of recent incidents of Israelis being arrested for carrying out missions on behalf of Iranian agents in exchange for cash.

“The phenomenon of traitors to the country harming Israel’s security for the sake of money while we are fighting for our future in an existential war demands the harshest measures, including a law allowing for the death penalty for aiding the enemy in wartime. This is the only way we can create a clear deterrent that will prevent further similar cases,” Zohar says in a statement.

It’s not clear why Zohar issues the call as Israel’s penal code already includes capital punishment but only for exceedingly rare cases, treason being one of them.

Nazi mastermind Adolf Eichmann was one of only two people executed by the state in over 75 years.

Lapid tells EU ambassador that arms embargo on Israel is ‘unforgivable’

Yesh Atid head MK Yair Lapid speaks during a faction meeting in Tel Aviv, October 14, 2024. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Opposition leader Yair Lapid meets with European Union Ambassador to Israel Dimiter Tzantchev and tells him that an arms embargo on Israel that is being pushed by some EU nations is “unforgivable.”

Lapid tells Tzantchev that “an arms embargo on Israel at a time when we are fighting against terror organizations is unacceptable and unforgivable.”

“We have here a democratic country fighting against terrible antisemitic terror organizations and we need to fight them and defeat them, you can’t put an arms embargo on Israel under these conditions,” a statement from his office quotes Lapid as saying.

Several EU nations led by Spain and Ireland have called for an arms embargo on Israel.

Lapid also urges the EU to work with Israel to craft a deal that would see the hostages seized by Hamas returned.

IDF says some 60 rockets fired at northern Israel from Lebanon today

The military says some 60 rockets have been fired at northern Israel from Lebanon today.

One person was injured amid a barrage on the Upper Galilee.

Macron’s office denies ban on Israeli firms at defense show amounts to boycott

French President Emmanuel Macron (C) visits a stand at the Euronaval naval defense exhibition in Le Bourget near Paris, France, on October 23, 2018. (Benoit Tessier/ Pool/ AFP/ File)

Amid Israeli anger over French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to ban Israeli firms from exhibiting at a major naval arms show, an official in Macron’s office denies that Israeli companies are being boycotted.

“There was never any intention to prohibit Israeli companies from participating — allowing access, visiting, holding meetings — in trade exhibitions in France,” says an official in the Élysée Palace. “Israeli companies interested in this will of course be able to enter the Euronaval exhibition. There is nothing in the French government’s position that can be interpreted as a boycott of Israeli companies in Euronaval.”

The official argues that France’s support for Israel and its right to defend itself “has always been unequivocal and without exception.”

“However,” explains the official, “while French diplomacy is clearly calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon — the only way to curb the escalation and achieve peace and stability in the region — it would be inconsistent to allow any promotion of weapons used in Gaza and Lebanon, which cause unacceptable damage to the civilian population.”

The official says that “we made it clear to the Israeli authorities that the participation of the companies setting up booths must reflect this balance, which is in line with France’s position. Also, companies whose equipment is not used for offensive operations in Gaza and Lebanon will of course be able to set up booths at the exhibition.”

Euronaval, organizer of the November 4-7 event, said in a statement last week that the French government had informed it that Israeli delegations were not allowed to exhibit stands or show equipment, but could attend the trade show. The decision affected seven firms, it said.

Macron tells Netanyahu he sees Sinwar’s killing as new chance for Gaza deal

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) greets French President Emmanuel Macron before a meeting in Jerusalem on October 24, 2023. (Christophe Ena / POOL / AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he sees the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as a chance for a possible new phase of negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, Macron’s office says.

Macron, whose government has had increasingly tense public exchanges with Israel over the past few weeks, also reiterated previous calls for ceasefires in Lebanon and Gaza and condemnations of Israeli army action toward UN forces in Lebanon. Israel has denied deliberately targeting peacekeepers in southern Lebanon amid the IDF’s ground offensive there.

Macron also expressed solidarity with Netanyahu after a drone was launched toward the prime minister’s home, the French president’s office says.

There is no comment from Netanyahu’s office on the call.

Far-right activist: After Oct. 7, Palestinians have lost the right to reside in Gaza

Far-right activist Daniella Weiss, head of the Nachala organization, at an event calling for the resettlement of Gaza, October 21, 2024 (Jeremy Sharon/Times of Israel)

Daniella Weiss, head of the far-right Nachala organization which has organized the resettle Gaza conference by the enclave’s border, claims that Strip’s Palestinian population must leave the territory since they “lost their right” to reside there due to the October 7 massacre.

“Wars bring about the terrible thing of refugees. October 7 changed history, as a result of the brutal massacre Gazan Arabs lost their right to be here, they will not stay here, they will go to different countries, we will convince the world,” declares Weiss, a veteran campaigner for the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.

“We came here to settle the entire Gaza Strip, from north to south, not just part of it,” she says of the purpose of the conference itself.

Weiss says that Nachala has set up six “settlement groups” comprising 700 families in total “who are ready right now” to establish new settlements in Gaza.

“Soon these families will be able to enjoy the Gaza coast,” she says.

Along with Nachala, the Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit coalition parties have also participated in organizing the conference, while the Likud party has a sizable delegation of MKs and at least one minister scheduled to attend the event.

7 Israelis arrested for spying on behalf of Iran; suspects accused of collecting information on targeted military bases

A satellite photo of Israel's Nevatim air base after Iran's missile attack appears to show damage to a hangar roof, October 2, 2024 (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Seven Israelis have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran, having carried out hundreds of tasks for Tehran, prosecutors say.

The suspects are all Jewish residents of Haifa and the north and include a soldier who deserted the military, as well as two minors. The adult suspects are named as Azis Nisanov, Alexander Sadykov, Vyacheslav Gushchin, Yevgeny Yoffe and Yigal Nissan.

The suspects are accused of photographing and collecting information on IDF bases and facilities, including the Kirya defense headquarters in Tel Aviv and the Nevatim and Ramat David air bases, as well as Iron Dome battery sites.

The Nevatim base was targeted in both Iranian missile attacks this year, and Ramat David has been targeted by Hezbollah.

The suspects are also accused of receiving maps of strategic sites from their handlers, including of the Golani base hit in a deadly drone strike earlier this month.

Prosecutors say police and Shin Bet investigators found that the suspects carried out a series of different tasks for Iranian intelligence agencies, and were in contact with Iranian agents.

In return for their actions, the suspects were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars, some of it in cryptocurrency, investigators say.

According to prosecutors, some of the suspects have spied for Iran for two years, and all of them have carried out espionage activities since the start of the war.

The State Attorney’s Office says it is one of the most serious cases that has been investigated in recent years.

Prosecutors say they intend to file an indictment against the seven suspects for security offenses on Friday, and will request that they are held in detention until the conclusion of legal proceedings.

Lufthansa suspends Tel Aviv flights until November 10

A Lufthansa Airbus A380 lands in Frankfurt, Germany, February 14, 2019. (AP/Michael Probst)

German airline group Lufthansa says it is extending the suspension of flights to Tel Aviv to November 10.

“The Lufthansa Group airlines… have decided to extend the suspension of their flights to Tel Aviv up to and including 10 November 2024,” the company says in a statement.

Hochstein: Israel, Lebanon committing to UN Resolution 1701 is not enough to end conflict

Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to US President Joe Biden, center, is received ahead of a meeting with Hezbollah-allied Lebanese Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, Lebanon, Oct. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

US special envoy Amos Hochstein says in Beirut that Lebanon and Israel just committing to UN Resolution 1701 is not enough and that the United States is working to devise a formula to end the conflict once and for all.

“Tying Lebanon’s future to other conflicts in the region was not and is not in the interest of the Lebanese people,” Hochstein says after meeting with Lebanon’s parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, adding that the United States wants to end the conflict “as soon as possible.”

UN Resolution 1701, which ended the last round of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, calls for southern Lebanon to be free of any troops or weapons other than those of the Lebanese state.

The resolution has gone largely unenforced since it was passed in 2006, allowing Hezbollah to build up a formidable arms cache and defensive capabilities, with neither UNIFIL peacekeepers nor the LAF willing to challenge the Iran-backed terror group.

Israel has repeatedly portrayed its offensive in southern Lebanon as essentially stepping in and doing UNIFIL’s job for it.

Man lightly wounded amid Hezbollah rocket barrage on Galilee region

A man was lightly wounded amid Hezbollah’s latest rocket barrage on the Upper Galilee, medics say.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says the man in his 40s was hit by shrapnel in the Ayelet HaShahar area. He is being taken to Ziv Medical Center in Safed.

According to reports, the man is a foreign national.

1,000 women, children to be evacuated from Gaza to Europe for urgent medical care

Up to 1,000 women and children needing medical care will shortly be evacuated from Gaza to Europe, the head of the World Health Organization’s Europe branch says.

Israel “is committed to 1,000 more medical evacuations within the next months to the European Union,” Hans Kluge says in an interview with AFP, adding that the evacuations would be facilitated by the WHO and the European countries involved.

He says the evacuations will be facilitated by the WHO — the United Nations’ health agency — and the European countries involved.

The WHO Europe has already facilitated 600 medical evacuations from Gaza to seven European countries since the latest war began there in October 2023.

Blinken to kick off Mideast trip with Israel visit for talks on Gaza and Lebanon, State Dept. says

US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken during a news conference, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will depart for the Middle East today, the State Department says, as Washington is pushing to kickstart ceasefire negotiations to end the Gaza war following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

The top US diplomat’s latest trip to the region, his eleventh since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel by the Palestinian terror group Hamas that triggered the Gaza war, comes even as Israel has intensified its military campaign in Gaza and Lebanon against Iran-aligned terror group Hezbollah.

Blinken will discuss with regional leaders the importance of ending the Gaza war, ways to chart a post-conflict plan for the Palestinian enclave, as well as how to reach a diplomatic solution to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, the US State Department says in a statement.

The top diplomat’s trip will start with Israel, the State Department said, but did not provide the other exact destinations.

“Throughout the region, Secretary Blinken will discuss the importance of bringing the war in Gaza to an end, securing the release of all hostages, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people,” the State Department says in a statement.

“He will continue discussions on post-conflict period planning and emphasize the need to chart a new path forward that enables Palestinians to rebuild their lives,” it says.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Goldknopf on IDF draft exemption: ‘For once we will receive our share, what we deserve’

United Torah Judaism leader Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf in Tel Aviv on February 4, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/ Flash90)

United Torah Judaism party chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf has said that legislation enshrining draft exemption for Haredi men is what his constituents deserve, the Ynet news site reports.

“I want the people of Israel to know that we are united, we help each other, we sit in the government, sit in the coalition and give our share and we want to know that for once we will receive our share, what we deserve to get as partners,” said Goldknopf at an event last night, according to the outlet.

“There is a big bowl, from which everyone takes what he needs,” he said.

Goldknopf also reportedly said a solution was being worked on after daycare subsidies were to be scrapped for the children of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students who were previously exempt from military service.

Traditionally, Haredi men who are enrolled in yeshivas for Torah study are exempt from mandatory army service, but this exemption is not a permanent status, and is only the result of Knesset bills that expire after a number of years.

The latest bill, which has been in the works for months, has been the focus of national controversy over the role of the ultra-Orthodox in Israeli society and the “sharing of the burden” of IDF service during wartime.

Israel has called up tens of thousands of reservists as it fought in the Gaza Strip for the past year after the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage.

Forces have been further stretched as the IDF launched a limited incursion into Lebanon several weeks ago in a bid to push Hezbollah, which has been firing into Israel since October 8th, away from the border and allow tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis to return to their homes in northern Israel.

Earlier this week, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett offered a solution to the issue, saying, “The rule should be simple: Give and receive. If you do not give, you will not receive,” referring to government funds given to Haredi men enrolled in yeshiva studies.

US envoy in Beirut to meet Lebanese PM, Hezbollah-allied speaker amid ceasefire efforts

Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to US President Joe Biden, center, arrives to meet with Hezbollah-allied Lebanese Parliament speaker Nabih Berri, in Beirut, October 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

US special envoy Amos Hochstein arrives in Beirut to meet Lebanon’s prime minister and Hezbollah-allied parliament speaker Nabih Berri, as the Israel-Hezbollah all-out war neared the one-month mark.

Before meeting Lebanon’s prime minister, Hochstein arrived at the Beirut residence of Berri, who is tasked with negotiating on behalf of Hezbollah amid diplomatic efforts to end the war.

Ahead of Hochstein’s visit, Israel reportedly handed the United States a document last week with its conditions for a diplomatic solution to end the war in Lebanon.

IDF says missile fired at northern Israel was intercepted; no reports of injuries

A missile fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon at northern Israel was successfully intercepted by air defenses, the IDF says.

Sirens sounded in numerous communities in the Haifa area and Galilee amid the attack.

There are no reports of injuries.

Israel said to warn Hezbollah that IDF will destroy Beirut’s Dahiyeh if they target an Israeli leader again

Footage posted to social media on October 19, 2024 shows an IAF helicopter and a drone launched from Lebanon. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Israel has sent a message to Hezbollah that should the terror group attempt to target Israeli leaders again, the IDF will raze Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh district to the ground, Hezbollah’s stronghold in the Lebanese capital, according to unnamed sources quoted by the Saudi Al-Hadath news channel.

The message, reportedly conveyed through a third party, comes after Hezbollah launched a drone to target Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in the coastal city of Caesarea on Saturday.

The prime minister and his wife were not at home at the time of the attack and that there were no injuries in the incident, the PMO said.

Al-Hadath notes that this was not Hezbollah’s first attempt to target an Israeli political figure, as it tried at least twice in the past.

Lebanese PM: ‘No contacts with Hezbollah since middle of last month’

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati during a joint press conference with Italy's Prime Minister following their meeting at the government palace in central Beirut on October 18, 2024. (Anwar AMRO / AFP)

Caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati says “there have been no contacts with Hezbollah since the middle of last month,” in an interview with the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV channel.

Mikati raised the ire of Iran when he accused Tehran last week of “blatant interference in Lebanese affairs and an attempt to establish an unacceptable guardianship over Lebanon,” after Iran’s speaker of parliament said the country was willing to take part in negotiations over the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman denies that charge, and says that Tehran “has never had any intention or [has initiated any] action that could be suspected of interfering in Lebanon’s internal affairs.”

Hundreds of activists gather at Gaza border for conference on reestablishing settlements in Strip

A child wears a T-shirt saying 'Gaza is part of the land of Israel' at a conference calling for the resettlement of the Strip, October 21, 2024 (Jeremy Sharon/Times of Israel)

Hundreds of right-wing and ultranationalist activists, overwhelmingly from the Religious Zionist community, descend on an encampment in the Gaza border region for a conference on how to reestablish Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip.

Workshops on how to build settlements from scratch, especially without formal government permission, are being conducted at the site, which faces the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza where organizers hope to establish one of the first new Jewish settlements in the war-torn territory.

The Likud Party, together with the Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit parties have all built sukkas at the site to host participants, while various musical artists will be playing during a “Simchat Beit Shoeva” celebration taking place at the site as part of the conference.

Numerous cabinet ministers and MKs, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, are scheduled to attend and address the conference, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party will be represented by 10 out of its 32 MKs, and at least one minister, Social Equality and Advancement of the Status of Women Minister May Golan.

Far-right activist Daniela Weiss of the Nachala movement that organized the event told Zman Israel that the first Israeli settlement will be built in Gaza by the end of 2024.

“We are going for a temporary site where 40 families will live. We have several options in terms of location,” she claimed. “We will discuss it with the ministers who come here. By the end of the year it will become a permanent settlement within the Gaza Strip.”

The Nachala Settlement Movement organization advocates for Jewish settlement in the West Bank, where it has helped establish illegal settlement outposts.

The initial announcement for today’s event said it would also include a tour of Kibbutz Nirim, however the kibbutz said it had not been informed and it would not go ahead.

Shalom Yerushalmi contributed to this report.

Rocket sirens sound in multiple towns near Haifa

Rocket sirens sound in multiple towns in the Haifa area, warning of incoming fire from Lebanon.

Sirens are heard in towns including Acre and Yokneam Illit.

The alerts are heard over a wide-ranging area, sending hundreds of thousands of residents racing for cover.

Hebrew Israelite soldier killed in Gaza is buried: ‘You fought like a lion, were proud of your family and community’

Sgt. Elishai Young, killed in Gaza, is buried at Dimona Military Cemetery on October 21, 2024 (Courtesy)

Sgt. Elishai Young, 19, a member of the non-Jewish Hebrew Israelites Community, who was killed in north Gaza on Saturday, is buried at the Dimona Military cemetery in the presence of IDF soldiers, and family and friends.

Noting that Young’s battalion commander was still fighting for his life, having been injured during the same incident just meters away, a former deputy commander of the 401st brigade, Zafrir Har Shoshanim, praised him for his bravery and commitment.

“You fought like lions. You were proud of your family, your community. You helped your brother [with special needs]. You had a high level of commitment and insisted on being at the front. Your commanders knew they could depend on you. You were reliable, organized, willing to do anything from the smallest thing to the biggest. You were a special character. Also a man of music. Music was your life. You are an inseparable part of us.,” he says.

Before collapsing in tears, Young’s mother, Shiria, a widow, recalls how Young would call and promise, “Mom, don’t worry, I’m coming home.”

Friends and relatives speak about a young man who tried to be the best in everything he did, including his studies, who insisted on going into an IDF combat unit; a man who was devoted to music, and could often be seen wearing earphones.

The 2,500-strong Hebrew Israelites Community has been fighting for citizenship since settling in the southern community in the late 1960s.

Members came in the footsteps of the late Ben Carter, a Chicago steelworker who renamed himself Ben Ammi Ben Israel and claimed to be God’s representative on earth.

Benny Biton, Dimona’s Mayor, calls on the government to grant citizenship to those who don’t yet have it, particularly following Young’s death. He notes, “100 percent of this community serves in the IDF and we’ve been living with them for nearly 50 years.”

Also in attendance are Welfar Minister Ya’akov Margi, Michael Biton, of the National Union party, a former mayor of the southern town of Yeruham, and Dimona’s chief rabbi.

Sgt. Elishai Young who fell in Gaza on October 19, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF says airstrikes targeted Hezbollah rocket launchers aimed at northern Israel

Some 15 short-range Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon that were aimed at northern Israel were destroyed in airstrikes in the past hour, the IDF says.

According to the IDF, the launchers included those used in recent attacks on the Western Galilee.

The military says it also struck buildings used by Hezbollah in several areas of southern Lebanon.

בשעה האחרונה מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו בדרום לבנון משגרי טילים קצרי טווח, שכוונו לעבר יישובי הצפון. מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו בהכוונת פיקוד הצפון, 15 משגרים שכונו לעבר שטח מדינת ישראל ובהם משגרים שירו לעבר הגליל המערבי>> pic.twitter.com/ddM4PoFLYQ

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

Rocket sirens sound in northern border towns

Rocket sirens sound in multiple communities close to the northern border as the area apparently comes under attack from Lebanon.

IDF apologizes for strike that killed 3 Lebanese soldiers, says troops believed they were targeting Hezbollah

The Israeli military apologizes for a strike that killed three Lebanese soldiers in southern Lebanon yesterday, saying it is not battling the country’s military and its soldiers believed they were targeting a vehicle belonging to the Hezbollah terror group.

The IDF says it struck a truck that had entered an area where it had previously targeted a Hezbollah truck transporting a launcher and missiles.

The military says IDF troops were not aware that the second truck belonged to the Lebanese army, adding it is “not operating against the Lebanese Army and apologizes for these unwanted circumstances.”

The Lebanese troops were killed on a road connecting the border village of Ain Ebel to the nearby town of Hanin. The deaths brought the number of Lebanese troop casualties to eight, since all-out war erupted between Israel and Hezbollah last month.

Ministers don’t give PM, Gallant authority to decide on Iran strike timing, hear anti-UNRWA bill could jeopardize UN membership

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

The six-hour security cabinet last night did not give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant the authority to decide on the timing of a strike on Iran, as had been expected, according to Yedioth Ahronot.

The two want to give the green light for Israel’s response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack at the last minute, as was the case in the strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, according to the outlet.

According to Yedioth, ministers expressed frustration at the ostensibly “weak response” to the drone attack on Netanyahu’s house last week, which they believe Iran approved. Members of the security services responded that they only execute the directives of the political echelon.

The minister also discussed the hostage issue at length.

They heard from officials handling negotiations that Hamas’s demands have not changed in the wake of the killing of leader Yahya Sinwar, according to Army Radio.

That may change, however, once Hamas’s new leadership emerges.

At the same time, Ynet reports that there was some optimism at the meeting on the chances for progress on a hostage deal, and ministers were told that Qatar would play a more central role moving forward.

Army Radio also reports that the ministers discussed how to move forward on humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, in light of a letter from the US secretaries of state and defense warning of potential disruptions to some arms transfers if more aid is not let in to Gaza.

The US is pushing for hundreds more trucks per day, and is concerned about Israeli legislation that would bar UNRWA from operating in Israel.

According to Ynet, the Foreign Ministry presented the dangers of passing the UNRWA legislation, which is supported by 100 MKs. One of the dangers is that Israel would be found in violation of the UN charter and could be expelled.

Ministers expressed frustration that the dangers weren’t made clear before the legislation began moving through the Knesset.

Netanyahu turned 75 at midnight, and the marathon cabinet meeting paused so ministers could offer their well-wishes for the year ahead.

Iran says it complained to UN about Israeli ‘threats to attack nuclear sites’

Centrifuges line a hall at the Uranium Enrichment Facility in Natanz, Iran, in a still image from a video aired by the Islamic Republic Iran Broadcasting company on April 17, 2021, six days after the hall had been damaged in a mysterious attack. (IRIB via AP)

Iran has written to the UN nuclear watchdog to complain about Israel’s threats against its nuclear sites, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei says at a weekly news conference.

Israel has vowed to attack Iran after Tehran fired some 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on Oct. 1, leading to speculation that Iran’s nuclear sites could be among Israel’s potential targets.

“Threats to attack nuclear sites are against UN resolutions…. and are condemned… we have sent a letter about it to… the UN nuclear watchdog,” Baghaei said in the televised news conference.

Separately, Baghaei says Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will travel to Bahrain and Kuwait.

IDF troops in south Lebanon find SUV-mounted rocket launcher, weapons cache near homes

A Hezbollah rocket launcher found by troops of 188th Armored Brigade as they operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout image published October 21, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Images released by the IDF show an SUV-mounted rocket launcher and cache of weapons that troops with the 188th Armored Brigade found during operations in a village in southern Lebanon.

According to the IDF, the soldiers located and demolished a weapons depot next to a home. The cache had dozens of rockets, mortars, machine guns, explosive devices, and other equipment.

In a separate incident, the IDF says the soldiers found a prime rocket launcher that was mounted on the back of an SUV. It was also located next to a home.

Hezbollah weapons found by troops of 188th Armored Brigade as they operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout image published October 21, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Rocket sirens sound in Kiryat Shmona, surrounding communities

Sirens sound in multiple communities close to the northern border, warning of incoming rocket sirens.

The alerts are heard in Kiryat Shmona and a number of nearby towns.

Brother of twins held hostage in Gaza: ‘It’s good that Sinwar was killed, but what now?’

Ziv and Gali Berman were taken captive by Hamas terrorists from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)

The brother of twins held hostage in Gaza says he longs to see them again, and that while the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was a good thing, it was unclear how it could impact negotiations for a potential deal.

Ziv and Gali Berman, 27, were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, and taken to Gaza.

“It’s good that [Sinwar] was eliminated. It’s good, it’s important, but what now? We really don’t know. I’m afraid of everything. Who are we negotiating with? Are they more moderate or less moderate? Liran Berman tells 103 FM Radio, according to the Walla news site.

Liran says the last sign of life they received from his brothers was in November, when a number of hostages were released during a temporary ceasefire.

“They were kidnapped relatively healthy, beyond the trauma of being taken in their pajamas on a Saturday morning. They weren’t kidnapped with serious injuries or anything life-threatening,” he says. “They were abducted each from different apartments in the neighborhood for young people [in the kibbutz], but we know they were abducted together.”

Liran says that while his brothers worked in lighting for high-level events, they wanted to live a low-key life on the kibbutz.

“They chose the quiet of the Gaza envelope area. They worked with many famous people, but they always returned to Kfar Aza, and helped their father who has Parkinson’s disease. They have a very good friendship and a twin relationship,” he says.

“They are each other’s best friends. From the day they were born, they were together all the time,” he says.

US-based Muslim cleric and Erdogan foe Fethullah Gulen dies at 83, Turkish TV says

Turkish Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen is pictured at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, September 24, 2013. (AP/Selahattin Sevi)

Turkish public television reports that US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara says masterminded a failed 2016 coup, has died.

Citing posts on X and social media by groups close to Gulen, they say the 83-year-old died in hospital overnight.

Gulen, who led a movement called Hizmet, was accused by Turkey of leading a “terrorist” group and being the brains behind an abortive coup to topple strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government in 2016 — accusations he had consistently denied.

Gulen had lived in Pennsylvania since 1999. He was stripped of his Turkish nationality in 2017.

Austin: ‘Hard to say exactly’ what Israeli strike on Iran will look like, and how Tehran will respond

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks at the Pentagon in Washington, November 22, 2023. (Cliff Owen/AP)

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says “It’s hard to say exactly what [Israel’s strike against Iran] will look like.”

“At the end of the day, that’s an Israeli decision, and whether or not the Israelis believe it’s proportional and how the Iranians perceive it, I mean those may be two different things,” Austin tells reporters in Ukraine.

“We’re going to do – continue to do – everything we can… to dial down the tensions and hopefully get both parties to begin to de-escalate. So, we’ll see what happens,” he adds.

Austin makes the comments as he confirms that a US missile defense system is “in place” in Israel.

Iran has been bracing for retaliation after its October 1 attack on Israel that included firing some 200 ballistic missiles — which it said came in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon last month that killed the top leadership of the Hezbollah terror group, an Iranian proxy, and a July blast in Tehran that killed Hamas politburo head, Ismail Haniyeh. Israel has not taken responsibility for the Tehran explosion.

US says THAAD missile defense system ‘in place’ in Israel

The US military deploys a THAAD missile defense system in Israel, March 2019. (US Army Europe/File)

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the missile defense battery recently sent by the US military to protect Israel is now “in place.”

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, has been sent in case of an Iranian reaction to an expected Israeli reprisal attack.

Speaking in Kyiv, Austin declines to say whether the THAAD was operational. But he adds: “We have the ability to put it into operation very quickly and we’re on pace with our expectations.”

Around 100 US troops were expected to be deployed to operate the system, which is considered a complementary system to the Patriot system but can defend a wider area, capable of hitting targets at ranges of 150-200 kilometers (93-124 miles).

Each battery consists of six truck-mounted launchers, 48 interceptors, radio and radar equipment, and requires 95 soldiers to operate.

Iran has been bracing for retaliation after its October 1 attack on Israel that included firing some 200 ballistic missiles — which it said came in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon last month that killed the top leadership of the Hezbollah terror group, an Iranian proxy, and a July blast in Tehran that killed Hamas politburo head, Ismail Haniyeh.

The deployment of the US system in Israel, including US personnel on the ground, deepens the United States’ involvement in the conflict after a year of it largely offering support from outside the country’s borders.

IDF: Some 25 rockets fired in rocket barrage at Galilee region; no reports of injuries

Some 25 rockets were launched from Lebanon at the Galilee half an hour ago, the IDF says.

The attack set off sirens in Ma’alot-Tarshiha, Sakhnin, Karmiel, and several other towns.

According to the military, some of the rockets were intercepted by air defenses and others impacted in the area. There are no reports of injuries.

Israel says 114 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday, with 600 waiting to be collected

Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid delivered from Jordan wait to cross into Gaza on the border between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip, through the Erez Crossing on October 21, 2024 (Jack GUEZ / AFP)

Israel says 114 trucks carrying humanitarian aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings yesterday.

The Israeli body overseeing humanitarian aid, COGAT, says that while 21 trucks were collected from the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom crossing by international organizations, some 600 trucks worth of aid were still waiting for collection.

COGAT says a convoy of 24 trucks crossed through Gate 96 into northern Gaza.

Yesterday, the US noted the uptick in humanitarian aid that Israel has allowed into northern Gaza after an “unacceptable” two-week halt on all assistance reaching that part of the Strip at the beginning of the month, adding that the subsequent increase must be sustained.

The US sent a letter to Israel on October 13, warning that it has 30 days to take significant steps to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza or risk the continued supply of some offensive weapons.

October 20: 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲

🚛114 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings.

🛻21 trucks were collected from the Gazan side of Kerem Shalom by international organizations. Approx. 600 trucks worth of aid are waiting for… pic.twitter.com/1xEuguvYBV

— COGAT (@cogatonline) October 21, 2024

Rocket sirens sound in Galilee, northern border communities

Sirens sound in multiple communities close to the northern border and in the Galilee region, as the region apparently comes under rocket attack from Lebanon.

IDF: Strikes targeted financial group holding hundreds of millions of dollars for Hezbollah weapons purchases

Flames and smoke are seen near Beirut's airport following an Israeli airstrike on the Dahiyeh suburb in Lebanon, October 20, 2024. (AP/Hussein Malla)

The IDF says jets hit dozens of sites overnight that are linked to an organization that funds the Hezbollah terror group.

Strikes were carried out in Beirut and south Lebanon.

Most of the strikes targeted branches of an unlicensed gray-market bank seen as one of the group’s main sources of cash.

The military says Hezbollah holds hundreds of millions of dollars in the association’s branches, including funds that are directly associated with terror activities by the group’s military arm.

It says the monies are used for the purchase of weapons, and the payment and distribution of salaries to the operatives from Hezbollah’s military wing.

The IDF says it took extensive steps to avoid harm to civilians, issuing multiple warnings for them to evacuate, and notes that the strikes were part of “ongoing efforts to harm Hezbollah’s terrorist activities, disrupt Hezbollah’s military activities and make it difficult for Hezbollah to restore its military capabilities.”

מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו במהלך הלילה, בביירות, בעומק ובדרום לבנון, ובהכוונה מודיעינית של אגף המודיעין, עשרות מפקדות ואתרים בהם אוחסנו כספים ששימשו את הזרוע הצבאית של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה לפעילות טרור נגד מדינת ישראל>> pic.twitter.com/QKxITJxzkc

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

Rocket sirens sound in northern border towns

Sirens sound in towns close to the northern border with Lebanon, warning of incoming rocket fire.

Report: Mediators proposed Sinwar leave Gaza, allow Egypt to negotiate on Hamas’s behalf

Gaza Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza City on March 30, 2022 (Attia Muhammed/Flash90)

Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, killed by IDF troops last week, was at one stage offered the chance to leave the Gaza Strip in exchange for allowing Egypt to negotiate on the terror group’s behalf for a hostage deal, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“I’m not under siege, I’m on Palestinian soil,” Sinwar reportedly told Arab mediators in response to the proposal, soon after the start of the war sparked by the October 7 massacre, which he orchestrated.

According to the report, as the war went on, Sinwar accepted that he was likely to be killed and according to mediators, suggested that the terror group choose a leadership council to govern and manage the transition after his death.

The report says that under a previous government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, attempts were made to kill Sinwar and his military chief Mohammed Deif, but Israeli officials believed that the terror leaders were deterred. The report says Netanyahu’s successor (and predecessor) Naftali Bennett proposed assassinating Sinwar on at least two occasions before his government collapsed.

US official to Axios: Lebanon, international community unlikely to accept Israeli ceasefire proposal

A man runs for cover as smoke raises in the background following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP/Hassan Ammar)

An unnamed US official tells the Axios news site that Beirut and the international community are unlikely to accept Israel’s proposal for a ceasefire in Lebanon.

The report says the proposal would “dramatically undermine Lebanon’s sovereignty.”

Israel’s demands include being able to actively enforce the disarming of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and to maintain unfettered access to Lebanese airspace.

The White House and Israeli embassy in Washington refused to comment on the report.

Israel seeking ability to keep disarming Hezbollah, access to Lebanon airspace in ceasefire — report

US special envoy Amos Hochstein delivers a statement after his meeting with Lebanon's parliament speaker (not pictured) in Beirut on August 14, 2024. (AFP)

Israel wants to be able to actively enforce the disarming of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and to maintain unfettered access to Lebanese airspace under any ceasefire arrangement ending the war there, according to a report detailing demands Israel has passed to the White House.

The demands were included in a document drawn up by Israel and passed to White House envoy Amos Hochstein ahead of his trip to the region today aimed at brokering an end to the fighting, Axios reports, citing US and Israeli officials.

According to the US news site, Israel wants to be able to conduct “active enforcement” of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which requires that the Lebanese Armed Forces be the only force with arms in southern Lebanon. It also seeks freedom of operation over Lebanese airspace, which it currently enjoys on a de facto basis.

Israel says the resolution has gone largely unenforced since it was passed in 2006, allowing Hezbollah to build up a formidable arms cache and defensive capabilities, with neither UNIFIL peacekeepers nor the LAF willing to challenge the Iran-backed terror group.

Israel has repeatedly portrayed its offensive in southern Lebanon as essentially stepping in and doing UNIFIL’s job for it.

“We are talking about 1701 with increased enforcement. Our main message is that if the Lebanese army and UNIFIL do more, the IDF will do less and the other way around,” an Israeli official is quoted as saying.

The site reports that the US supports bolstering UNIFIL’s mandate and the LAF in order to better oppose Hezbollah.

Troops drilling in northern city of Nahariya, IDF says

An Israeli armored vehicle maneuvers near the coast in southern Lebanon, in a picture released by the military on October 21, 2024. (IDF Spokesperson)

The Israel Defense Forces says it will hold a military exercise this morning in Nahariya, a northern city that has been bombarded by Hezbollah rockets in recent weeks.

The army says residents should not be concerned over an actual security incident should they see increased movement of military vehicles and personnel in the coastal city.

Notably, the army does not say the drill was planned in advance, meaning it may be tied to developments as Israel battles Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Nahariya and surrounding cities were targeted in a series of successive rocket volleys Saturday that killed an Israeli man in the nearby town of Shlomi.

The army also says it will be testing alarm systems in several West Bank settlements.

Security cabinet probing ‘new ideas’ for hostage deal, Netanyahu aide says as meeting ends

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson says “new ideas” regarding a deal to free hostages held in Gaza were discussed by high-level officials overnight.

The spokesperson says in a statement the discussions were held during a high-level security cabinet meeting, which has now wrapped up, some eight hours after it was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m.

“During the meeting, new ideas were brought up to examine their feasibility for a hostage release proposal,” the statement reads.

An Israeli official told ToI ahead of the meeting, held in the Kirya Defense Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv, that Jerusalem was looking for an opportunity to wrap up the war in Gaza with a hostage deal following the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.

The official described Sinwar’s body as “another bargaining chip” in negotiations.

Netanyahu’s office declined to confirm that was the case, saying instead, “We will not end the war until we achieve all of our goals.”

“We are continuing to pressure Hamas militarily,” a PMO official said earlier. “You can see the effects in Jabaliya. We are continuing to kill Hamas members. We are pushing for a psychological collapse.”

An Israeli official told ToI ahead of the meeting that it would deal with Israel’s response to Iran, as well as a drone attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home, fighting in Lebanon and Gaza, and opportunities for progress on a hostage deal following Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar’s trip to Cairo for talks.

Sirens blare in towns on Lebanon border

Rocket sirens are sounding in communities near the border with Lebanon, as fighting appears to continue overnight after a day that saw some 200 projectiles fired by Hezbollah into Israel.

Sirens are heard in Malkieh, Avivim and Yaron, three eastern Galilee communities adjacent to the northern frontier.

There is no immediate comment from authorities on possible casualties or damage. There is also no immediate claim of responsibility.

Army says drone from Iraq shot down after crossing into Israel

An unmanned aircraft launched from Iraq was shot down by the air force, the Israel Defense Forces says, after drone alarms sounded in the northern Jordan Valley.

The army says the drone was intercepted after “crossing into Israel from the east,” which usually denotes an attack originating in Iraq.

A video posted online by Iraq’s Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces claims to show the drone being launched toward Israel as revenge for the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week.

Rare drone alert sounds in Jordan Valley, army investigating

The military says it is investigating moments after drone alert sirens were activated in the Jordan Valley, an area that has seen few attacks from Lebanon, Gaza or elsewhere.

The Home Front Command gives the all-clear after the drone alarms ring in the West Bank settlements of Mehola and Shadmot Mehola, south of the city of Beit Shean.

The siren comes a short while after Iraq’s Iran-backed Popular Resistance Committees claimed to have launched a drone at a sensitive military site in the Golan Heights.

Earlier, the army said a drone fired from Iraq was downed over Syria.

Video shows large building in Beirut crumbling to ground after apparent strike

Videos circulating on social media networks show an entire mid-rise building crumbling to the ground in southern Beirut’s Dahiyeh as Israel appears to target branches of al-Qard al-Hassan, which it says is used to finance Hezbollah.

– BREAKING – Israeli IAF air strike on a High-rise building in the Dahiyeh, Southern suburbs of Beirut

The building was reportedly used by #Hezbollah affiliated bank "Al-Qard Al-Hassan"

The air strike resulted in the collapse of the building https://t.co/zci62o21vI pic.twitter.com/B5XAPBbErG

— The Global Eye (@TGEThGlobalEye) October 20, 2024

Other pictures and videos show buildings on fire and heavy damage following strikes, which are reported across Dahiyeh and the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon’s northeast and areas of southern Lebanon, all Hezbollah strongholds.

⚡️🇱🇧 Update Lebanon

** Beirut Lifeline Damaged **

Israeli strikes in the Beirut Dahiyeh have targeted Al-Qard Al-Hassan, a financial institution regarded as a lifeline for many locals. This non-profit provides essential support to lower-income individuals and communities… pic.twitter.com/7sDdDw0Igo

— Veritas Global News (@Veritas_Nexus) October 20, 2024

It is impossible to keep up with Israel. There are too many simultaneous strikes

💥Kard el-Hassan in Dahiyeh, in Ghobeiri as well as in Shia regions in north Lebanon in Ali al-Nahri, in Bednayel, Baalbek and in Hermel, 3 branches. In the South, in Tyr, in Nabatiyeh conflicting… pic.twitter.com/xO5CdHx69F

— LebaneseGov (@joumana_gebara_) October 20, 2024

The pictures and videos cannot immediately be verified.

Drone alert in Kiryat Shmona declared false alarm

The Israel Defense Force’s Homefront command issues an all-clear following a drone alert that sounded moments ago in Kiryat Shmona and nearby towns.

The military says sirens that sounded were a false alarm, without providing details.

The alert came about an hour after the army said a drone launched from Iraq was shot down over Syrian airspace.