Oct. 22: Gallant tells Blinken IDF will keep targeting Hezbollah, even after ground op ends

After confirming Safieddine killing, IDF chief warns that Israel will reach all of its enemies

After confirming the death of Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi warns that Israel will reach all its enemies.

“We reached [Hassan] Nasrallah, his replacement, and most of Hezbollah’s leadership. We will know how to reach anyone who threatens the security of Israel’s citizens,” Halevi says in remarks provided by the IDF.

IDF says it has confirmed presumed Nasrallah successor Safieddine was killed in Oct. 4 strike

The head of Hezbollah's Executive Council Hashem Safieddine attends a ceremony of the Iran-backed terror group in Beirut's southern suburbs on May 24, 2024. (Anwar Amro/AFP)

The IDF announces that Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut earlier this month.

Safieddine, the head of Hezbollah’s executive council, was presumed to be the successor of Hassan Nasrallah following his assassination.

According to the military, Safieddine was killed alongside the head of the terror group’s intelligence division, Hussein Ali Hazima, during the strike on October 4.

The strike had targeted Hezbollah’s underground intelligence headquarters in Beirut, which the army says was “in the heart of a civilian population” in the Lebanese capital’s southern suburb, known as Dahiyeh.

The IDF says that more than 25 members of Hezbollah’s intelligence division were at the headquarters when the strike was carried out, including other top commanders.

Safieddine had been out of contact since the strike, but only today the IDF says it could confirm his death. Hezbollah has not yet announced his death.

Safieddine, whom the US State Department designated as a terrorist in 2017, is a cousin of Nasrallah and, like him, is a cleric who wears the black turban denoting ostensible descent from Islam’s Prophet Mohammed.

Agencies contributed to this report.

Blinken meets with hostage families, Herzog in Tel Aviv

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv on October 22, 2024. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

After US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with hostage families in Tel Aviv, he and President Isaac Herzog deliver brief remarks, noting the opportunity to bring hostage home in the wake of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s death.

“We know that there is a unique opportunity that following the killing of Sinwar and the other circumstances that have evolved,” says Herzog, “there is a unique opportunity to make a special effort to employ all tools necessary and possible to move forward and bring the hostages back home.”

Speaking about Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah, Herzog says “at the end of it all is led and commanded in Tehran. And that is why, of course, a major answer has to be made towards Tehran.”

“I believe very much that the death of Sinwar does create an important opportunity to bring the hostages home, to bring the war to an end, and to ensure Israel’s security,” says Blinken, “and that’s exactly what our conversations today focused on with our Israeli colleagues, including arrangements for the period following the end of the conflict.”

Israel army issues new evacuation call for southern Beirut

Israel’s army calls on residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah bastion, to evacuate ahead of military operations targeting the Lebanese terror group “in the near future.”

The military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posts on social media platform X a map showing specific buildings in south Beirut, saying: “You must evacuate these buildings and those adjacent to them immediately and stay away from them at a distance of no less than 500 meters (0.3 miles).”

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s health ministry says two separate Israeli strikes hours earlier killed at least 10 people in the country’s south and northeast as Israel pummels targets in its fight against Hezbollah.

The ministry says five people were killed and 10 others wounded in the northeastern Hermel region near the Syrian border, and five more killed and 21 wounded in the southern city of Nabatiyeh, which has endured Israeli attacks for days. The figures don’t differentiate between civilians and combatants.

Blinken scraps Jordan stop on Gaza truce tour, heading to Saudi Arabia instead

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for talks on normalization with Israel as he pushes for a ceasefire in Gaza, a US official tells reporters.

Blinken, who is on a regional tour expected to last throughout the week, will travel to Saudi capital Riyadh instead of previous plans to head to Jordan due to scheduling issues, the official says on condition of anonymity.

The normalization deal is widely seen as dead in the water, as Riyadh is now conditioning it on the establishment of a Palestinian state — a nonstarter for Israel.

Blinken urged Israeli leaders to publicly refute ‘General’s Plan’ to isolate north Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in talks Tuesday with Secretary of State Antony Blinken recognized the “seriousness” of US warnings to increase aid to Palestinians in Gaza, a US official says.

“They recognize the seriousness with which we have expressed our concern about the current situation, and are committed to responding to it and acting upon requests,” says the official during a briefing with reporters after Blinken, who had warned of withholding aid to Israel in a recent letter, met top Israeli leaders including Netanyahu in Jerusalem earlier today.

Blinken also discussed with Netanyahu the mechanisms to be put in place, including “transitional structures” needed for postwar governance in Gaza, the US official says.

Israeli leaders told Blinken it is not the country’s policy to isolate northern Gaza, the US official says.

The clarification is issued after Israel blocked aid from reaching northern Gaza for two weeks at the beginning of the month as it reportedly sought to implement the so-called “General’s Plan,” which envisions the IDF laying siege to northern Gaza in order to snuff out remaining Hamas fighters.

The IDF denied that this was its policy and said earlier today that it has allowed 237 trucks into Gaza over the past nine days following a directive from the political echelon. That directive followed international uproar over the apparent isolation of northern Gaza.

Israeli leaders told Blinken in today’s meetings that they have not been trying to implement the General’s Plan.

“We said, okay, then you should go to greater lengths to say that publicly,” the US official tells reporters.

IDF says Maj. (res.) Aviram Hariv killed during fighting in south Lebanon

Maj. (res.) Aviram Hariv, who was killed during fighting in southern Lebanon on October 22, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

An IDF reservist officer was killed during fighting in southern Lebanon earlier today, the military announces.

The slain soldier is named as Maj. (res.) Aviram Hariv, 42, the deputy commander of the Alon Brigade’s 9308th Battalion, from Dolev.

At least 19 soldiers have been killed during the IDF’s ongoing ground offensive in Lebanon.

Gallant tells Blinken IDF will continue targeting Hezbollah, even after ground op ends

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Tel Aviv on October 22, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

It is crucial that the US stands with Israel after the Jewish state strikes Iran, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tells US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during their meeting in Tel Aviv.

“The US’s joint stand with Israel after our attack in Iran will strengthen regional deterrence and weaken the axis of evil,” says Gallant, according to his office.

Jerusalem is widely expected to strike Iran after the Islamic Republic fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1.

After their one-on-one meeting, IDF Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Defense Minister Director General Eyal Zamir and other senior defense officials join.

As the attendees discuss fighting in the Gaza Strip, Gallant pushes for the replacement of Hamas by “other regional and local entities,” says his office.

On Lebanon, Gallant says that Israel “will continue to systematically attack all of the terrorist organization’s units” even after the ground operation ends, until residents of northern Israel can return to their homes and Hezbollah forces retreat from southern Lebanon.

UNRWA chief calls for temporary truce in north Gaza

The UN Palestinian refugee agency called for a temporary truce to allow people to leave areas of northern Gaza as health officials said they were running out of supplies to treat patients injured in a three-week-old Israeli assault.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UNRWA relief agency, says the humanitarian situation had reached a dire point, with bodies abandoned by roadsides or buried under rubble.

“In northern Gaza, people are just waiting to die,” he says in a statement on X. “They feel deserted, hopeless and alone.”

“I am calling for an immediate truce, even if for a few hours, to enable safe humanitarian passage for families who wish to leave the area & reach safer places,” he says.

Washington has called on Israel to allow more humanitarian supplies into northern Gaza and Israel says aid has been delivered in scores of trucks as well as air drops, but Gaza medics say the aid has not reached them. Israel says Hamas diverts much of the aid.

IDF drone shot down by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon

The IDF says that one of its drones was hit and crashed in southern Lebanon earlier today.

Hezbollah takes responsibility, saying it shot down a Hermes 450 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) using a surface-to-air missile.

The IDF says the incident is being investigated, and there is no fear of sensitive information leaking from the UAV.

Several Israeli Air Force drones have been shot down by Hezbollah amid the war.

Discussing drone strike on PM’s home, Miri Regev claims anti-gov’t protesters sought to ‘finish what Hezbollah failed to do’

Transportation Minister Miri Regev arrives for a government meeting on Jerusalem Day at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem, on June 5, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Channel 13 publishes a leaked transcript from a recent security cabinet meeting during which ministers were discussing the Hezbollah drone strike over the weekend that managed to damage Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private home in Caesarea.

Far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich say the government should treat the incident as if Hezbollah had succeeded in killing an Israeli premier.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev chimes in, arguing that there is also what for the police to do regarding the matter.

“Yesterday the [anti-government] Kaplan protesters arrived [outside Netanyahu’s home] to finish what Hezbollah failed to do,” she is quoted as having said, claiming without proof that those protesting Netanyahu are trying to kill him.

Hezbollah claims it launched attack drones at north Israel army base

Hezbollah claims it launched attack drones at an Israeli military base south of the coastal city of Haifa earlier today, with the group also saying it struck seven tanks at the border.

Fighters launched “attack drones” on a “base south of Haifa,” the terror group says, also claiming throughout the day that it had fired on a total of five Israeli tanks inside Lebanese territory and two across the border in Israel’s north.

There has been no Israeli confirmation of such attacks.

IDF says it struck Hezbollah weapon depots in south Beirut

Israeli fighter jets struck several Hezbollah weapon depots in Beirut’s southern suburb earlier today, the IDF says.

The military issued evacuation warnings before the strikes, as part of steps to mitigate civilian harm.

It releases footage of the strikes.

Israeli fighter jets struck several Hezbollah weapon depots in Beirut's southern suburb earlier today, the IDF says.

The military issued evacuation warnings before the strikes, as part of steps to mitigate civilian harm. pic.twitter.com/OTwxptwbKa

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 22, 2024

Ex-deputy head of 162nd Division given command of 401st Armored Brigade, following death of Col. Ehsan Daqsa

IDF chief Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi walks alongside Col. Meir Biderman, the commander of the 417th territorial brigade at the brigade's base in the northern Jordan Valley, February 28, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

Col. Meir Biderman, the former deputy head of the 162nd Division, has been appointed as the new commander of the 401st Armored Brigade, following the death of Col. Ehsan Daqsa.

Biderman was initially nominated as the acting commander of the 401st Brigade immediately after Daqsa was killed.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi has now decided, with the approval of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, to make the nomination official.

Daqsa was killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday.

Israel says 230 trucks have reached north Gaza in 9 days since aid was blocked for two weeks

Trucks carrying humanitarian aid enter northern Gaza in October 2024. (COGAT)

Israel’s COGAT military agency in charge of humanitarian aid says it facilitated the entry of 237 aid trucks into northern Gaza since October 14.

Before that, no aid was allowed into northern Gaza for a full two-week period, leading aid groups to sound alarm over the dangerous conditions in northern Gaza where several hundred Palestinians are believed to still reside. The Biden administration also issued a letter warning that Israel’s continued receipt of offensive US weapons was at risk if Jerusalem didn’t take massive steps to address the humanitarian crisis.

The two-week halt on aid into northern Gaza led to reports that Israel was implementing the so-called “General’s Plan” to lay siege to northern Gaza. The IDF denied this, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to do the same, and a former deputy chief of the National Security Council accused the security cabinet of having secretly approved the controversial proposal, which he called a “war crime.”

COGAT in a statement notes that it began surging aid into northern Gaza on October 14 following a directive from the political echelon.

Whether this directive was due to international pushback over Israel’s alleged implementation of the General’s Plan remains unclear.

COGAT says the 237 trucks that have entered Gaza over the past nine days have included “food, water, medical supplies and shelter equipment from Jordan and the international community.”

The aid was transferred to the northern Gaza Strip via the Allenby Crossing and Ashdod Port to the “Erez West” between Israel and Gaza after undergoing security checks.

“The IDF, via COGAT, will continue to act in accordance with international law to facilitate and ease the humanitarian response to the Gaza Strip,” COGAT says.

US charges IRGC official, others in Iran-backed plot to assassinate activist

Masih Alinejad, an outspoken US-based opponent of Iran's Islamist regime, flashes a v-sign as she leaves a federal courthouse in Manhattan, New York, April 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Lawrence Neumeister)

The United States issued fresh charges over the attempted Tehran plot to kidnap and assassinate an Iranian American journalist in New York, indicting an Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) official among others in the case, according to a court document.

US prosecutors have previously charged other suspects in the case, including one man in 2022 and two more in January 2023. Today’s filing did not name the alleged victim, but one suspect was arrested for having a rifle outside the Brooklyn home of journalist and activist Masih Alinejad.

IDF says Lebanon drone likely impacted in open area, but it’s still looking for it

The IDF says a drone launched from Lebanon an hour ago likely impacted an open area, although it has still not located it.

According to the military, the drone was first spotted near Rosh Hanikra, and it was tracked as it flew toward the Yokne’am area, amid attempts to intercept it.

From there, the Israeli Air Force lost contact with the drone, but the Home Front Command continued to activate sirens in several towns based on the predicted route of the drone.

The Home Front Command has since given an all-clear.

“Efforts are ongoing to locate the drone, which apparently fell in an open area,” the IDF adds.

Netanyahu’s office says PM discussed his approach to postwar Gaza governance with Blinken

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 discussed a “governing framework” for Gaza on the “day after the war” during his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jerusalem earlier today, his office says.

The Israeli readout doesn’t provide any details on what that governing structure might look like. Since the outbreak of the war, the US has pressed Israel to conduct such planning, warning that Israel will get bogged down in Gaza if it fails to do so. Netanyahu for much of the war pushed back on such calls, arguing that the process was all but futile so long as Hamas remains in Gaza.

But the US pressure appears to have gradually moved Jerusalem, given that Netanyahu’s office made a point in including the issue in its statement on his meeting with Blinken.

The premier also updated Blinken on the progress of Israel’s fighting in Gaza and on the steps it is taking to free its remaining 101 hostages.

Netanyahu reiterated to Blinken his belief that Israel’s killing of Yahya Sinwar “may positively impact efforts to return the hostages, achieve Israel’s other war aims and plan for the “day after the war,” the Israeli readout says.

Much of the Israeli readout focuses on Iran.

Netanyahu raised “the need for both countries to join forces against” the the threat of Iran and thanked Blinken for the support of the US “in the fight against Iran’s axis of evil and terrorism,” the Israeli readout says.

The readout notes that Blinken expressed his “shock” over the “Iranian attempt through Hezbollah to assassinate the prime minister of Israel” in a drone strike on Netanyahu’s Caesarea home over the weekend, adding that this was a very serious and unprecedented attack.

Netanyahu thanked the Blinken for his stance and asserted that the drone strike cannot be ignored.

Netanyahu went on to update Blinken on the IDF’s operations in Lebanon “and the need to establish a security and political change in the north that would allow Israel to return its residents safely to their homes.”

Netanyahu’s office characterizes the meeting as “friendly and productive,” adding that the pair met one-on-one before being joined by their staffs over a period that extended for two-and-a-half hours.

Suspected drone infiltration siren triggered along northern coast

Sirens warning of a suspected drone infiltration sound along Israel’s northern coast.

The alerts began close to the Lebanon border and have spread south, reaching Haifa.

Alerts are now activated in the Wadi Ara and Carmel area, south of Haifa.

UN rights chief says ‘appalled’ by deadly Israeli strike near Beirut hospital

Flames and smoke rise from a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, as Rafik Hariri International airport is seen in the background, in Beirut, Lebanon, October 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The UN rights chief says he was “appalled” by a deadly Israeli strike nearly a south Beirut hospital Monday, demanding a “prompt and thorough investigation.”

“I am appalled by the Israeli strike near Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut’s densely populated Jnah neighborhood that reportedly killed at least 18 people, including four children, and wounded 60 others,” Volker Turk says in a statement.

“The fundamental principles of international humanitarian law concerning the protection of civilians must be respected.”

The IDF said early Tuesday that it did not target the hospital but, rather, struck a Hezbollah terror target.

Blinken urges Israel to ‘capitalize’ on Sinwar death and reach Gaza truce

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, October 22, 2024. (Haim Zach/GPO)

During his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier today in Jerusalem, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the Israeli premier to seize on the killing of Hamas’s leader to work toward a ceasefire and hostage release deal in addition to pressing him to allow more aid into Gaza.

Blinken “underscored the need to capitalize on Israel’s successful action to bring Yahya Sinwar to justice by securing the release of all hostages and ending the conflict in Gaza in a way that provides lasting security for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller says after the meeting ended.

The top US diplomat “discussed the importance of charting a new path forward in the post-conflict period that allows Palestinians to rebuild their lives and provides governance, security, and reconstruction for Gaza,” the State Department readout continues.

Blinken and Netanyahu “also discussed Lebanon and ongoing efforts to reach a diplomatic resolution along the Blue Line that includes full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and allows civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes.”

“They discussed the need to deter further regional aggression from Iran and its proxies, including ongoing efforts by the United States and its partners. The Secretary reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security,” the US readout adds.

At least 63 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon over last day, says Lebanese government

At least 63 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon over the last day, bringing the total death toll to 2,530, the Lebanese government says, while not differentiating between civilians and combatants.

US Treasury chief urges Israel to extend Israeli-Palestinian banking relationship

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen testifies before a House Financial Services Committee hearing at Capitol Hill in Washington on July 9, 2024. (Chris Kleponis/AFP)

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the Biden administration has “worked to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its destructive behavior across the region by sanctioning terrorist actors including Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah, with over 1,000 Iran-related sanctions since 2021 and multiple rounds of designations in recent weeks.”

“Earlier this month, we took additional decisive action to intensify pressure on Iran in response to Iran’s attack on Israel, expanding sanctions to target Iran’s efforts to channel revenues from its energy industry to finance deadly activities,” Yellen says during a press conference at the 2024 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

“We are more broadly focused on doing what we can to increase stability in the region, including by working to ensure that legitimate aid flows reach Gaza, imposing sanctions on Israeli violent extremist settlers, and pressing Israel to maintain vital correspondent banking relationships with Palestinian banks.”

“We look forward to the Israeli cabinet extending the waivers to preserve correspondent banking relationships for banks in the West Bank by the end of the month deadline to support economic stability in the West Bank,” Yellen adds in a not-so-subtle push for Israel to extend the correspondent banking agreement, which is set to expire on October 31.

Yesterday, a US official told The Times of Israel that the Biden administration had concluded that the Palestinian Authority has met the requirements laid out by Israel for extending indemnification needed to allow Israeli banks to continue conducting transactions with Palestinian banks.

The recognition from the US is aimed at pushing the Israeli government to extend the framework, known as the corresponding banking agreement, with the Palestinians for at least another year.

The US has said that failure to approve the waiver allowing Israeli banks to conduct transactions with their Palestinian counterparts risks an economic crisis in the West Bank and the collapse of the Palestinian Authority.

The agreement is set to expire on October 31, after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich agreed to extend it for only three months over the summer, despite US pressure for a much longer period. As the deadline approaches, the US has grown increasingly worried that Smotrich won’t agree to extend it further.

Master Sgt. (res.) Saar Eliad Navarsky killed in Hezbollah rocket attack; three wounded

Master Sgt. (res.) Saar Eliad Navarsky, who was killed in a Hezbollah rocket attack on October 22, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

An Israeli reservist was killed and three others were wounded in a Hezbollah rocket attack on northern Israel earlier today, the IDF announces.

The slain soldier is named as Master Sgt. (res.) Saar Eliad Navarsky, 27, of the 7338th “Adirim” Artillery Regiment’s 508th Battalion, from Tel Aviv.

Three other soldiers of the artillery battalion were seriously wounded in the same incident, the IDF says.

Ten rockets were launched from Lebanon at the Neot Mordechai area in the Galilee Panhandle in the attack earlier today.

Lebanon needs $250 million a month for displaced, minister says ahead of Paris summit

Lebanon will need $250 million a month to help more than a million people displaced by Israeli attacks, its minister in charge of responding to the crisis says on Tuesday, ahead of a conference on Thursday in Paris to rally support for Lebanon.

Nasser Yassin tells Reuters that the government response, helped by local initiatives and international aid, only covered 20% of the needs of some 1.3 million people uprooted from their homes and sheltering in public buildings or with relatives.

Those needs are likely to grow, as daily waves of airstrikes push more people out of their homes and leave Lebanon’s government scrambling to find ways to house them, Yassin says.

“We need $250 million a month” to cover basic food, water, sanitation and education services for the displaced, he says.

Schools, an old slaughterhouse, a fresh food market, an empty complex – all of them have been turned into collective shelters in recent days. “We’re transforming anything, any public building,” Yassin says. “There is a lot to be done.”

Yassin – whose official mandate as environment minister meant he was working on preventing forest fires before the current conflict broke out a year ago – now spends much of his time at government headquarters with a crisis team, including other Lebanese ministries, the United Nations Development Program and the Lebanese Red Cross.

They are planning for relief operations on a timeline of four to six months – but Yassin hopes the spreading war will end sooner.

“We need to have a ceasefire today, and we need everybody in the international community, for once…to be brave enough to say what’s happening,” he told Reuters, a message he says he would stress in Paris.

“There is a member state of the U.N. waging war against a small nation in the most aggressive manner we’ve ever seen in the history of Lebanon. This should be the message,” he says.

Photographer captures exact moments of IDF airstrike in Beirut

A missile launched from an Israeli jet hits a building in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

An Associated Press photographer, Bilal Hussein, captures the exact moments of an IDF airstrike in Beirut earlier today.

תיעוד משוגע: רגע נפילת טיל ישראלי על בניין בביירות מוקדם יותר pic.twitter.com/2J4AY3pyVM

— roi kais • روعي كايس • רועי קייס (@kaisos1987) October 22, 2024

A missile launched from an Israeli jet hits a building in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A missile launched from an Israeli jet hits a building in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A missile launched from an Israeli jet hits a building in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People duck down as a missile launched from an Israeli jet hits a building in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

People watch a building collapse after being hit by an Israeli airstrike in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises from a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises from a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Smoke rises from a building that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Ghobeiri, Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

IDF Northern Command chief: We’ve defeated Hezbollah defensive forces in every area we’ve operated in

Chief of the IDF Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin is seen in southern Lebanon in a handout image published October 22, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

The chief of the IDF Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, says that Hezbollah’s defensive forces have been defeated in every area that troops have so far operated in.

“Since we started [Operation] Northern Arrows, we have dealt a very serious blow to Hezbollah’s command and control. Most of [Hezbollah’s] brigade commanders have already been [eliminated] for the third time,” Gordin says during a visit to southern Lebanon this week, in a video distributed by the IDF.

“All the defensive areas we attacked have been defeated. We are determined to reach every [tunnel] shaft, every underground site, every stockpile of weapons,” he adds.

EX-NSC deputy head claims gov’t secretly approved ‘General’s Plan,’ calls on soldiers to refuse to carry out ‘war crime’

A man cycles past vendors displaying wares outside heavily damaged buildings in a camp sheltering people displaced by conflict in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on September 8, 2024. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Former National Security Council deputy director Eran Etzion says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet secretly passed a decision to implement the so-called General’s Plan to seal off humanitarian aid to northern Gaza in an attempt to starve out Hamas terrorists.

If implemented, the highly controversial plan could trap without food or water hundreds of thousands of Palestinians unwilling or unable to leave their homes after being ordered to flee by the IDF.

The IDF has denied carrying out such a plan, though government officials have yet to do the same on record. However, during the first two weeks of October, no aid was allowed in to northern Gaza. The past week has seen a shift, with over 120 aid trucks being allowed in.

“This plan is a war crime,” writes Etzion, who previously served under Netanyahu and has since become a major critic of the premier. “And if this is not serious enough, this was done after the American administration announced in writing, in an unprecedented letter from the secretary of state and defense secretary, that the implementation of this plan or moves similar to it would result in an American arms embargo on Israel.”

“If you are a soldier or an officer… it is your duty to refuse to take part in any action that constitutes a war crime,” Etzion says. “And if [you] do not serve, it is your duty to call on those who do to refuse to take part in a war crime.”

He accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of advancing policies that will lead Israel’s soldiers to international war tribunals.

Russia, Iran and China stoke divisions ahead of US elections, spy agencies say

Russia, Iran and China are intent on fanning divisive narratives to divide Americans ahead of the November 5 US elections, a US intelligence official says.

The official tells reporters that foreign actors could consider physical threats and violence in the pre-election period, and after the election, and are highly likely to conduct post-election disinformation operations to create uncertainty and undermine the election process.

IRGC commander claims Iran does not expect significant Israeli retaliation

Israel is not likely to make a “significant move” against Tehran but could instead carry out a symbolic “limited attack,” Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari says, according to the Iranian Student News Network.

Israel is widely thought to be planning significant retaliation for a missile barrage launched by Iran on October 1.

FBI investigating alleged leak of US intel on Israel’s attack plans for Iran

The FBI is investigating the alleged leak of a pair of highly classified intelligence documents describing Israel’s preparations for a retaliatory strike on Iran, the Washington Post reports.

“The FBI is investigating the alleged leak of classified documents and working closely with our partners in the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation says in a statement cited by the Post.

IDF says its fighter jets struck a dozen Hezbollah command rooms in south Lebanon

Israeli fighter jets struck around a dozen Hezbollah command rooms near Tyre in southern Lebanon today, the military says.

The IDF says some of the command rooms belonged to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force.

Israel accuses Hezbollah of placing its command centers and other infrastructure within civilian areas of Lebanon.

The IDF says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strikes, including using precision munitions and issuing evacuation warnings in advance.

מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר, בהכוונת פיקוד הצפון תקפו במהלך היום במרחב אלחוש שבדרום לבנון כעשרה מתחמי פיקוד ושליטה של יחידות צבאיות שונות של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בהן מפקדות של ׳כוח רדואן׳.
ממתחמים אלו קידם ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה פעילות טרור נגד אזרחי ישראל וכוחות צה״ל>> pic.twitter.com/74ybMCHWK1

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 22, 2024

Houthis say they targeted military base in Tel Aviv; IDF says unaware of any missiles launched from Yemen

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis say they had targeted an Israeli military base in Tel Aviv using ballistic missiles in solidarity with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

The military says it is unaware of any missiles being launched from Yemen at Israel today.

Lebanese hospital opens doors to journalists, aiming to disprove IDF claim that it’s housing Hezbollah cash bunker

A photo from a tour organized by the administration of Beirut's Sahel Hospital on October 22, 2024, shows journalists touring an operating room in the hospital in Beirut's southern suburb of Haret Hreik. (Anwar AMRO / AFP)

The Lebanese Sahel Hospital in Beirut’s southern suburbs opens its doors to journalists for an unrestricted tour after the IDF claimed that a Hezbollah cash bunker is located beneath it.

The IDF had ordered that the hospital be evacuated last night along with other sites across Beirut that wound up being struck during a series of air raids.

Journalists who tour Sahel say they see no evidence of a Hezbollah cash bunker.

Today I visited the Sahel hospital in southern Beirut the morning after Israel claimed – without evidence – that hundreds of billions of dollars in gold and cash were stored in the basement and used to fund Hezbollah.

I had unrestricted access to all areas, including the… pic.twitter.com/pzYa0W4R0F

— Steve Sweeney (@SweeneySteve) October 22, 2024

But the IDF’s Arabic spokesperson issues a tweet addressed to those touring Sahel hospital, offering specific directions for where the bunker is located, “according to the information available to us.”

A graphic presented by IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari showing the location of a Hezbollah bunker, under the Al-Sahel Hospital, in the southern Beirut suburb known as Dahiyeh, October 21, 2024. (Screenshot: IDF)

“We would like to emphasize that the entrance may be hidden using various means that may make it difficult to find,” the spokesperson adds.

To all the journalists in Beirut, including those who participated in the press tour in the Al-Sahel Hospital, these are the entry instructions to Nasrallah’s bunker we exposed yesterday:

According to intelligence information, one of the entrances to the bunker, containing more…

— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) October 22, 2024

Netanyahu’s home was hit, bedroom window damaged, in Saturday’s Hezbollah drone attack, military censor finally allows Israeli media to report

Damage caused to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home in Caesarea in a drone attack on October 19, 2024. (Courtesy)

A Hezbollah drone launched from Lebanon at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea on Saturday caused damage to his residence, the military censor now permits for publication.

An image, previously barred from publication by the military censor, shows the damage caused to the home by the drone impact.

The blast cracked glass in a bedroom window but did not penetrate the home, apparently because of reinforced glass and other protections. Pieces of glass reportedly landed in the family’s pool nearby and in the yard.

There were no injuries, and Netanyahu and his wife were not home at the time.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen in a screenshot from a video statement he posted to social media after his home in Caesarea was targeted by a Hezbollah drone, October 19, 2024. (Screenshot via X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Speaking on Saturday soon after the attack, Netanyahu said, “The agents of Iran who tried to assassinate me and my wife today made a bitter mistake.”

He said the attack would not deter him from continuing the war and that anyone who harmed Israelis would pay “a heavy price.”

UNRWA calls for temporary truce to allow people to leave northern Gaza

The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency calls for a temporary truce to allow people to leave areas of northern Gaza as health officials say they are running out of supplies to treat patients hurt in a three-week-old Israeli offensive.

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UNRWA relief agency, says the humanitarian situation has reached a dire point, with bodies abandoned by roadsides or buried under rubble.

“In northern Gaza, people are just waiting to die,” he says in a statement on social media platform X. “They feel deserted, hopeless and alone.”

“I am calling for an immediate truce, even if for a few hours, to enable safe humanitarian passage for families who wish to leave the area & reach safer places,” he says.

Hezbollah official forced to cut press conference short due to threat of IDF bombing

Mohammad Afif, Hezbollah’s media communications manager, is forced to interrupt a press conference in Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh district after the IDF’s Arabic language spokesman Avichay Adraee issues an evacuation order for residents of the area.

Afif is filmed as he hastily wraps up his speech and gets up to leave the stage while his assistants remove the microphones. As he leaves, he can be heard saying “the bombing does not scare us, nor the threats. Our will is firm and our determination is strong.”

מסיבת העיתונאים של האחראי על ההסברה בחיזבאללה עפיף התקיימה בזמן שדובר צה"ל בערבית אדרעי הוציא התרעת פינוי לתושבי הדאחיה – והוא נאלץ לקטוע אותה | כך זה נראה pic.twitter.com/mCOCMj4B8k

— ספיר ליפקין | Sapir Lipkin | سابير ليبكين (@sapirlipkin) October 22, 2024

Journalist says ‘ashamed to be French’ after Macron’s criticism of Israel

French journalist Philippe Val lambastes his leader’s criticism of Israel amid the war in Gaza and Lebanon.

Israel’s Channel 12 airs a recent segment on Europe 1 Radio in which Val invites listeners to imagine if France had been under extended attack by enemies, displacing large segments of the population.

“Imagine under what mental strain France and its people would be if we were in Israel’s place,” he says.

“The demands from Israel are too high,” he said. “It is asked to live under the threat of terrorism, unretrained antisemitism and boundless barbarism but to maintain a good image.”

As for French President Emmanuel Macron’s criticism of the war’s conduct and his call to stop supplying offensive weapons to the Jewish state, Val says: “For the first time in a long time I was ashamed to be French. I wanted to tell Israelis I’m sorry. Do not mistakenly think all French think like the president that represents us. Believe us, the vast majority of the French stands by you.”

Great intervention by Philippe Val for Israel pic.twitter.com/mlR7CgxLo1

— Franckalbert (@Franckalbert201) October 22, 2024

Hezbollah says fighters captured by Israeli army, without giving number

Troops of the 188th Armored Brigade operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout image published October 21, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

A Hezbollah spokesman acknowledges that some of the group’s operatives were captured by the Israeli army without giving numbers, adding that Israel “bears responsibility” for their lives.

“On the issue of captives currently held by the enemy, I say: I know that the enemy is not committed to the ethics of war and international conventions but it bears the responsibility of preserving the lives of the captives,” spokesman Mohammed Afif tells reporters, calling on the International Committee of the Red Cross to ascertain their safety.

War has knocked Gaza back to the 1950s, UN development agency says

Palestinians transport their belongings as they flee areas north of Gaza City on October 12, 2024 (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

The war between Israel and Hamas has devastated the Palestinian economy and left nearly all of Gaza’s population in poverty, with quality of life indicators such as health and education knocked back 70 years, the United Nations Development Programme says.

Launching a study on the war’s socioeconomic impacts, the UNDP’s Chitose Noguchi says the economy of the Palestinian territories — the Gaza Strip and the West Bank — is now 35% smaller than it was when Hamas launched its Oct. 7 attacks on Israel a year ago, leading to the war.

By some measures the poverty level in Gaza is now approaching 100% as a result of the disruption, with unemployment now at 80%, Noguchi says.

“The state of Palestine is experiencing unprecedented levels of setbacks,” she tells a UN press conference in Geneva over a sometimes crackling line from Deir Al-Balah. “For Gaza, reversing development by an estimated 70 years to 1955.”

Even under optimal conditions, with international aid remaining at current levels and flowing into Gaza and the West Bank unhindered, it will still take at least a decade for economic output to recover to pre-war levels, she says.

Hezbollah claims ‘exclusive responsibility’ for drone attack on PM’s home; rejects ceasefire talks while fighting continues

Israeli security forces walk along a street leading to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Caesarea on October 19, 2024, after a drone fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon targeted his house. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)

After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of involvement in the drone attack targeting his Caesarea home, Hezbollah in a statement “declares its full, complete and exclusive responsibility for the Caesarea operation targeting… Netanyahu.”

The terror group is a proxy of Iran.

Israel has signaled its expected retaliation for the October 1 missile barrage could be widened as a result of the drone strike.

Mohammad Afif, head of the Iranian-backed militant group’s media office says during a press conference that there would be no negotiations while fighting continued with Israel.

Blinken and Netanyahu meet in Jerusalem

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, October 22, 2024. (Haim Zach/GPO)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is now meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

No details are immediately available.

Independent Oct. 7 investigative panel sends warning letters to Netanyahu, Gallant

Former Prime Minister and current Opposition Leader Yair Lapid attends a hearing of the civil investigative committee on the October 7 massacre, August 29, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

The independent Civilian Commission of Inquiry investigating the government’s failures on and leading up to the October 7, 2023 attacks sends warning notices to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other current and former officials, offering them a final opportunity to testify before the release of the probe’s findings in the coming weeks.

Writing to Netanyahu, the members of the commission state that 130 witnesses have testified over the course of their investigation — including former prime ministers and other senior military and civilian officials — and that his name “came up again and again.”

“As the most senior authority in the State of Israel, who has made fateful decisions in recent years, the bereaved families would like to hear your take on the matter directly and in detail,” the commission writes, giving a deadline of November 1 to allow Netanyahu’s testimony to be included in its final report — which it says will be released to the public and submitted to the Knesset and President Isaac Herzog.

Netanyahu is highly unlikely to appear before the panel, as he continues to resist launching an official probe into the disaster.

In addition to Netanyahu and Gallant, the commission also sends letters to former prime minister Naftali Bennett and former IDF chief of staff and current National Unity party chairman Benny Gantz.

At least 4 people hurt in rocket barrage at Neot Mordechai area

At least four people were hurt in a rocket barrage from Lebanon at the Neot Mordechai area in the Galilee panhandle earlier.

The Ziv Medical Center in Safed says it has admitted two people in moderate condition from the attack.

The IDF said earlier that some 10 rockets were fired at the area.

30 rockets target Western Galilee; man lightly hurt by glass shards

A barrage of some 30 rockets was launched from Lebanon at the upper and Western Galilee a short while ago, the IDF says. A man was lightly hurt in the barrage, medics say.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says glass shards hit the 32-year-old man. He is being taken to a hospital.

The military says some rockets were intercepted, and impacts were identified in the area.

Since this morning, Hezbollah has fired more than 65 rockets at Israel.

IDF says at least 18 terror operatives killed in Oct. 17 strike on ex Gaza school

The military says an airstrike on October 17 on a former school in the northern Gaza Strip, which was used by terror operatives, killed at least 18 members of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

According to a joint IDF and Shin Bet statement, the command post embedded within the Abu Hussein School was being used by the terror operatives to plan and carry out attacks against Israel and troops in Gaza.

The IDF and Shin Bet name 18 members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad killed in the strike.

Palestinian media reported 24 dead and 150 wounded in the strike.

At least 15 martyrs and a number of wounded people reported as a result of Israel’s bombing of the Abu Hussein School which is sheltering people forcibly displaced from Jabaliya refugee camp. pic.twitter.com/aUsq0uDLGp

— Good Shepherd Collective (@Shepherds4Good) October 17, 2024

The statement says the operatives were behind rocket fire on Israel, and were planning additional attacks in recent days.

The army says it worked to mitigate civilian harm in the strike, including by using a precision munition, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.

Construction worker killed in Jerusalem after falling from height

A construction worker has been killed after falling from a height in Jerusalem.

Paramedics treated the victim, aged about 40, at the scene but could not resuscitate him.

Minister asks to grant citizenship to family of fallen soldier

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

Minister-without-portfolio Gideon Sa’ar writes to Interior Minister Moshe Arbel to ask him to grant citizenship to the family of fallen IDF serviceman Elishai Young.

Young, 19, fell in battle in Gaza on Saturday while fighting as part of the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion. He was a member of the non-Jewish Hebrew Israelites Community in Dimona.

While serving as interior minister in 2013, Sa’ar decided that those who had completed more than 18 months of military service would receive citizenship, along with their immediate family.

Young, his mother, brother, and late father were given permanent residency some years ago. But the soldier fell before completing those 18 months.

“During the war, the Young family paid the highest and most painful price for the sake of the country and its security. It is justified to grant Israeli citizenship to the family members of the late Elishai,” writes Sa’ar.

Rocket barrage from Lebanon targets Neot Mordechai area in Galilee

A barrage of some 10 rockets was fired from Lebanon at the Neot Mordechai area in the Galilee Panhandle a short while ago, the IDF says.

It says impacts were identified in the area. The military does not immediately provide details on possible casualties.

IDF drone footage shows strike on elite Hezbollah Radwan operatives

The IDF releases drone footage showing members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force being targeted in an airstrike in southern Lebanon.

Using a drone, soldiers of the 55th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade spotted the two operatives, who are seen armed with an RPG and an assault rifle. The soldiers returned fire, hitting the Radwan members.

The paratroopers then directed an airstrike against the building where the operatives were holed up, killing them, the IDF says.

IDF soldier killed in military-related car crash near Gaza border

Staff Sgt. Yishai Mann, 21, killed in a car crash near Gaza, October 22, 2024 (IDF)

An IDF soldier was killed in a military-related car crash near the border with the Gaza Strip today, the military announces.

The soldier is named as Staff Sgt. Yishai Mann, 21, of the Nahal Brigade’s 50th Battalion, from Mitzpe Yeriho.

Bus of Israelis enters Nablus holy site without coordination

The army says that overnight a bus of Israeli worshipers entered the Joseph’s Tomb holy site in Nablus without coordination.

Military forces were sent to extract them. All were brought out and the incident is being investigated, the IDF says. Police are involved.

Footage shared on social media appears to show Palestinian policemen at the scene hitting some of the worshipers.

למה כול כך כואב לפלסטינים בשכם לראות יהודים נכנסים לתפלל בקבר יוסף אם היה בנינו דו קיום אמיתי ,הם דוקא מזמן היו הופכים את המקום לאתר של מזמונים וכסף כמו באומן בחיי כמה שינאה יש לערבים. pic.twitter.com/YFJwZHn3fN

— yehudit (@yehudit93285265) October 22, 2024

IDF strikes Hezbollah targets in Beirut, including key naval base

Israeli F-35 fighter jets return to the Nevatim Airbase after carrying out an airstrike in Yemen, July 20, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Overnight, the IDF says it struck a Hezbollah naval base in Beirut, among other targets.

According to the military, the base was used by Hezbollah to store fast boats, carry out tests, and train its naval forces.

Additional strikes in Beirut overnight hit weapons depots, command centers, and other infrastructure, some of which were underground, the IDF says.

Before the strikes in Beirut, the IDF issued evacuation warnings to civilians.

Elsewhere in Lebanon, the military says it struck three command centers belonging to Hezbollah’s aerial forces, known as Unit 127, responsible for drone attacks on Israel.

The strikes comes as ground forces continue to operate against the terror group in southern Lebanon.

Blinken lands in Israel for talks on war in Gaza and Lebanon

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Israel, October 22, 2024 (David Azagury, US Embassy Jerusalem)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has landed in Israel for meetings with top officials on the state of the war in Gaza and Lebanon.

Blinken is expected to push for a ceasefire in Gaza after the administration called for an end to the war in Lebanon “as soon as possible.”

It is his 11th trip to the Middle East since Hamas’s attack on Israel more than a year ago triggered the Gaza war, and his first since Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah escalated late last month.

After Israel, Blinken will visit Jordan on Wednesday and discuss humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip.

7 East Jerusalem men suspected of planning assassinations on behalf of Iran

In yet another Iranian espionage case, seven East Jerusalem residents have been arrested on suspicion of planning attacks in Israel, including the assassination of an Israeli nuclear scientist and a mayor in central Israel.

The suspects are all aged 19 to 23, officials in the police and Shin Bet say. The leader of the ring, a 23-year-old named Rami Alian, was recruited by an Iranian agent. None of the suspects had a criminal or security-related record.

The cell was active for some two years. They were given various missions for which they were paid thousands of shekels, including graffiti demanding the release of hostages in Gaza and vandalism in Jerusalem, and also tasked with photographing various locations.

At one point they were told to hurl a grenade at an Israeli security serviceman, though this was not carried out.

Alian was given a photo and address of the nuclear scientist and told he would be paid NIS 200,000 ($53,000) if he succeeded. Authorities say he began preparations for the act, but the cell was arrested before it could move forward.

According to Channel 12 news, Alian told investigators he was aware he was working for Iranians and wanted to harm national security, citing the war in Gaza.

The reveal comes only a day after the publication of the capture of another spy ring.

Ukraine destroys 42 Russian drones in overnight attack, air force says

Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 42 out of 60 drones launched by Russia during an overnight strike, Kyiv’s air force says.

The drones were downed over parts of central, southern and eastern Ukraine, it adds.

Parts of interceptor cause damage in kibbutz south of Haifa

Hebrew media is reporting that parts of an interceptor in the recent barrage fell in Kibbutz Ma’agan Michael, south of Haifa causing some damage to vehicles and a building.

פגיעת שרידי יירוט בבתים במעגן מיכאל pic.twitter.com/LfVKEoz8dS

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) October 22, 2024

5 Hezbollah rockets target center, 15 launched at north; IDF intercepts some

The army says five rockets targeted central Israel in the last barrage, and another 15 targeted the north.

It says some of the rockets were intercepted while others impacted open areas.

There are no known casualties.

Hezbollah confirms it is behind the attack. It claims it targeted the base of military intelligence unit 8200 located in Glilot near Tel Aviv. It also says it targeted a “naval base” near Haifa.

Military says it identified several rocket launches from Lebanon

The military says several rocket launches from Lebanon were identified, and that interceptors were launched.

More details shortly.

China holds live-fire drills opposite Taiwan, week after large-scale exercise

China is holding live-fire drills off the coast of its southern Fujian province facing Taiwan, just a week after a massive air-and-sea drill it called punishment for Taiwan’s president rejecting Beijing’s claims of sovereignty.

The live fire drills are being held near the Pingtan islands off Fujian province from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., according to a notice from the Maritime Safety Administration. It warns ships to avoid the area. It does not offer additional details.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry says China’s drills are part of an annual exercise and is tracking them. “It cannot be ruled out that it is one of the ways to expand the deterrent effect in line with the dynamics in the Taiwan Strait,” the statement adds.

Last week, China held a one-day military exercise aimed at practicing the “sealing off of key ports and key areas.” Taiwan counted a record one-day total of 153 aircraft, 14 navy vessels, and 12 Chinese government ships.

In response to Chinese moves, the US has continued to host what it calls “freedom of navigation” transits through the Taiwan Strait. On Sunday, the destroyer USS Higgins and the Canadian frigate HMCS Vancouver transited the narrow band of ocean that separates China and Taiwan.

Alerts blare in central and northern Israel; at least one rocket downed

Rocket alerts are heard throughout large parts of central and northern Israel, apparently after rockets are fired from Lebanon.

There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

At least one rocket is intercepted over central Israel, video footage shows.

IDF says it intercepted five missiles fired from Lebanon at Haifa, Acre

Following earlier sirens in Haifa, Acre and the surrounding areas, the IDF says that the Israeli Air Force identified and intercepted five missiles fired from Lebanon.

Rocket sirens sound in Haifa, Acre and surrounding areas

Sirens sound in Haifa and the surrounding area, warning residents of incoming rocket fire from Lebanon.

Sirens are also activated in Acre and surrounding communities.

Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested after occupying building at University of Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — Police have arrested an unknown number of anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Minnesota after a group of students briefly occupied an administrative building, protest organizers say.

Some 30 protesters from the university’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society occupied Morrill Hall, an organizer with the group says, and a larger group gathered outside the building.

The group renamed the building “Halimy Hall,” in remembrance of 19-year-old Palestinian TikTok creator Medo Halimy who died in August in an apparent Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military said it was not aware of the strike that killed Halimy.

The Monday afternoon protest prompted an alert from school officials: “Protestors have entered Morrill Hall on the East Bank, causing property damage and restricting entrance and exit from the building,” the alert said. “If you are currently in Morrill Hall and able to safely exit the building, please do so immediately. Others are advised to avoid this area until further notice.”

A university spokesperson says he has no further updates. He does not immediately respond to a query to confirm the arrests. A woman who answered the phone for the university police says she has no information to give out beyond the earlier notification.

Ryan Mattson, a media liaison with the university’s chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, says some protesters from the group who were inside the building were arrested. He does not know how many.

US official: PA has met Israeli requirements for Smotrich to extend corresponding banking deal

Illustrative: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich at the Knesset in Jerusalem on September 9, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The US has concluded that the Palestinian Authority has met the requirements laid out by Israel for Jerusalem to extend indemnification needed to allow Israeli banks to continue conducting transactions with Palestinian banks, according to a US official familiar with the matter.

The recognition from the US is aimed at pushing the Israeli government to extend the corresponding banking agreement with the Palestinians for at least another year in order to avert an economic crisis in the West Bank.

The agreement is set to expire on October 31, after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich agreed to extend it for only three months over the summer, despite US pressure for a much longer period. As the deadline approaches, the US has grown increasingly worried that Smotrich wouldn’t extend it further.

In recent months, Smotrich’s office informed the PA Finance Ministry and the Biden administration that Israel would be willing to further extend the corresponding banking agreement if the PA conducted a risk assessment of its financial system and if a similar review by the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force was scheduled.

The Treasury Department notes in a readout on a rare phone call held earlier today between US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo and PA Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa that the PA has met both of those requirements.

Adeyemo noted the PA’s progress on the issue, including completing key milestones for assessing risks within its jurisdiction and bolstering effective compliance with international standards, the US readout says.

“They discussed the importance of the correspondent banking relationships between Israeli and Palestinian banks to the security and economic stability of the region,” the readout notes.

Adeyemo “stressed the importance of preventing terrorists and violent extremists” from raising, using, and moving funds in the West Bank, the Treasury readout adds, apparently referring to US sanctions against settler extremists.

Reuters contributed to this report.

IDF says ‘suspicious aerial target’ intercepted over Upper Galilee, one lands in open area in northern Golan

After drone infiltration alerts sounded in the Upper Galilee area shortly after midnight on Tuesday, the IDF says that a “suspicious aerial target” was intercepted as it made its way toward Israel from Lebanon.

Sirens were activated during the incident for fear of falling shrapnel caused by the interceptor missile, the military says.

An additional aerial target was fired from Lebanon at the northern Golan area, the IDF adds, and was tracked by the Israeli Air Force until it landed in an open area inside Israel, causing no injuries.

Blinken heads to Israel for ‘intensive discussions’ on hostages, Gaza ceasefire

Ahead of his departure from Washington for the Middle East, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken writes on X that he is visiting Israel and other countries in the region “for intensive discussions about the importance of ending the war in Gaza, returning the hostages to their families, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people.”

This will be Blinken’s 11th visit to the region since the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror onslaught in Israel.

The State Department has said that his trip will start with Israel but did not provide the other exact destinations.

On my way to Israel and other stops in the Middle East for intensive discussions about the importance of ending the war in Gaza, returning the hostages to their families, and alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people. pic.twitter.com/lIaRUo7Ea2

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) October 21, 2024