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The Times of Israel liveblogged Tuesday’s events as they happened.
4 soldiers killed today in Jabalia slain by explosive device inside building, says IDF
Soldiers killed in the northern Gaza Strip on October 29, 2024: Top (L-R) Cpt. Yehonatan Joni Keren, Staff Sgt. Nisim Meytal; bottom (L-R): Staff Sgt. Aviv Gilboa, Staff Sgt. Naor Haimov. (Courtesy)
The IDF has presented the families of the four soldiers killed in the northern Gaza Strip this morning with an initial probe of the incident in which they were killed.
The incident occurred during the early morning hours, as the troops of the elite Multidomain Unit entered a building in Jabalia in order for it to be used for the army’s ongoing operations in the area.
In one of the upper floors of the building, an explosive device was detonated, hitting the soldiers, the probe finds.
The blast killed four soldiers on the spot, and wounded three others, including one seriously.
The slain troops were named as Cpt. Yehonatan Joni Keren, Staff Sgt. Nisim Meytal, Staff Sgt. Aviv Gilboa, and Staff Sgt. Naor Haimov.
With budget vote looming, reports swirl over cuts and provisions
Lawmakers and ministers listen to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he addresses the first plenum session of the Knesset’s winter 2024 legislative session, October 28, 2024. (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)
With the government slated to vote this week on the 2025 national budget, a number of reports have emerged in Hebrew media over clauses and conditions expected to be included, amid massive defense spending on the ongoing multi-front war.
The Marker reports that the Finance Ministry plans to cut NIS 400 million from the higher education budget, noting that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has yet to reach deals with many ministers over cuts in their purviews.
According to Channel 12 news, the budget is slated to include the shutting of at least five government ministries considered to be superfluous, while the VAT is expected to rise from 17% to 18%.
Meanwhile, Ynet reports that the budget will include a cut in the state-mandated convalescence payments paid out to workers each summer.
The cabinet is slated to vote on the budget this Thursday, amid widespread infighting within the coalition, in particular over Haredi parties’ demands to pass a law exempting the ultra-Orthodox from military service.
IDF reservist dies of wounds sustained while fighting in Lebanon, says military
Master Sgt. (res.) Yedidia Bloch. (IDF)
An IDF reservist seriously wounded during fighting in southern Lebanon last week succumbed to his wounds, the military announces.
Master Sgt. (res.) Yedidia Bloch, 31, of the 55th Paratroopers Brigade’s 7155th Battalion, from Mevo Horon, was seriously wounded in battle on October 24.
Bloch had been seriously wounded in the same incident in which Sgt. First Class Gai Ben-Haroosh was killed.
IDF: 30 rockets fired from Lebanon at Upper Galilee, striking open areas
A barrage of some 30 rockets was fired from Lebanon at the Upper Galilee a short while ago.
According to the IDF, the rockets all struck open areas.
There are no reports of injuries.
AG says police chief must freeze ‘illegal’ dismissal of body’s legal adviser
This composite image shows Israel Police Commissioner Daniel Levy and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara instructs Police Commissioner Daniel Levy to freeze the process he has initiated to dismiss the Israel Police’s legal adviser, telling him his actions were illegal and that he was legally bound to abide by her instructions.
“The severity of this incident in which the Israel Police — which is responsible for obedience to the law — ignores legal instructions through a claim of independence, cannot be understated,” the attorney general declares in a letter to Levy.
The police commissioner announced last week he was dismissing Assistant Commissioner Elazar Kahana, the force’s top legal adviser, from his post, a move that Baharav-Miara then said she was blocking, but which Levy said he would ignore since, he claimed, she did not have the authority to intervene.
In her letter, the attorney general insists that Levy’s claims regarding police independence do not mean that the police, including the commissioner, are “independent of the rule of law or [of] the Israel Police being subject to the law.”
And she says that instructions from the attorney general over a concern that actions of a government agency were illegal are “a foundational principal” of proper administration in Israel, citing Supreme Court rulings to buttress her argument. Baharav-Miara also points out that the police legal adviser comes under the authority of the Attorney General’s Office, and that removing him from this position therefore requires consultation with the attorney general.
“All processes to remove the legal adviser to the police from his position and filling the position anew must therefore be frozen” until the examination of the matter can be completed, Baharav-Miara instructs Levy. Any other action would be illegal, she adds.
In response, Levy says that he made his thoughts on the situation clear last week, “and has nothing to add on the issue.”
Iranian president says Hezbollah’s new chief will ‘strengthen’ resistance
An image grab taken from Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV shows the group's deputy chief Naim Qassem delivering a speech from an undisclosed location on October 15, 2024. (AFP/HO/Al-Manar)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says the appointment of Naim Qassem to succeed Hassan Nasrallah as Hezbollah chief will “strengthen” the resistance.
Pezeshkian expresses confidence that Qassem’s appointment “will strengthen the will of the resistance,” while hoping for “the cessation of aggression by the illegal Zionist regime and the establishment of peace, tranquillity and security in Gaza, Lebanon, and the entire region,” according to his website.
PM weighing proposal drafted by Dermer for ending conflict with Hezbollah — report
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a cabinet meeting on October 7, 2024. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding a high-level security consultation this evening on whether to advance terms for ending the conflict with Hezbollah or to expand the ongoing ground operation in southern Lebanon, Channel 12 reports.
The report says that a team headed by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer has drawn up proposed terms under which to end the conflict, and is recommending that Israel should try to do so, capitalizing on its military achievements against Hezbollah in recent weeks.
Along with Netanyahu and Dermer, the other participants in tonight’s meeting are reportedly Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar. The TV report says Halevi strongly recommends seeking a negotiated end to the fighting, and that there is a belief that it is currently possible to advance to a deal in Lebanon in a process separate from the ongoing conflict with Gaza.
The report says that the Dermer team’s recommendations, which were drawn up with input from the security establishment and the Foreign Ministry, include:
- An improved version of UN Resolution 1701 (under which the 2006 Lebanon War was brought to an end), requiring Hezbollah fighters to withdraw north of the Litani River
- Heavy deployment of the Lebanese Army at the border
- An international oversight and enforcement mechanism of the agreed terms
- Guaranteed freedom of operation for the IDF if there are “threats that need to be removed”
- The prevention of Hezbollah rearming in the future
- A 60-day ceasefire during which the agreement would be finalized
The report says it is not clear whether Netanyahu will choose to adopt the proposal from Dermer, one of the prime minister’s most trusted loyalists. Netanyahu reportedly held a prior consultation with several ministers, including far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, during which Gallant was not present.
If Netanyahu does decide to advance the proposal, this would have implications for Iran and Gaza, the report says without elaboration, and it is likely that the US point man on Lebanon, Amos Hochstein, would return to the region very soon — ahead of the US election next week.
Latest proposal on the table would see monthlong Gaza truce, release of 11-14 hostages
Protesters stand with portraits of Israeli hostages during a demonstration by the families of the hostages outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Jerusalem residence on October 24, 2024. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)
The latest proposal in newly restarted talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Hamas and Israel would reportedly include a monthlong truce in exchange for the release of 11-14 hostages.
According to Ynet, the latest proposal has been presented to Qatari interlocutors by Mossad chief David Barnea, who returned from Doha yesterday. The deal would include the freeing of female and elderly hostages being held in Gaza, as well as the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Channel 12 news, meanwhile, reports that it was the Qataris who put forward such a framework proposal.
Earlier, Egypt proposed a two-day ceasefire that would see the release of four hostages.
Hamas officials have indicated in recent days that they are only interested in a comprehensive deal to end the war.
US pressing Israel to explain ‘horrific’ Gaza strike that reportedly killed dozens of children
An injured man sits on the rubble of a building hit by an Israeli strike in Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza, October 29, 2024. (AFP)
WASHINGTON — The US says it is “deeply concerned” by the loss of civilian life in the “horrifying” airstrike carried out by Israel in the north Gaza city of Beit Lahiya earlier today and has already reached out to Jerusalem to demand an explanation for the mass-casualty attack.
“There are reports of two dozen children killed in this incident — no doubt, a number of them are children who have been fleeing the effects of this war for more than a year now,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says during a press briefing.
The IDF issued a statement saying it is aware of reports that nearly 100 people were killed in an airstrike in Beit Lahiya and is looking into the matter. However, it warned that the casualty count from Hamas authorities may be inaccurate.
The Beit Lahiya area was given an evacuation order earlier this month, as the IDF launched a new offensive in northern Gaza. But many Palestinians have been unable to evacuate, fearing that they’ll come under attack from Israeli troops if they do or because they have faced threats from Hamas gunmen against heeding Israeli calls to flee. Tens of thousands have left, but several hundred thousand people are said to remain in northern Gaza.
Miller says the US hasn’t yet received an explanation from Israel for the Beit Lahiya strike.
The State Department spokesperson notes that over a year into the war, Israel has succeeded in decimating Hamas’s leadership and military capabilities so that the terror group can no longer carry out another October 7-like attack, but that “came at great cost to civilians in Gaza.”
“It is critically important… that Israel… find a way to end this campaign in a way that brings the hostages home and in a way that ensures their security, and not just continues endless perpetual conflict,” Miller says.
He clarifies that the US is not calling for Israel to unilaterally withdraw from Gaza in a manner that would leave a power vacuum, because doing so would allow Hamas to regain control over the Strip.
Police say indications suggest deadly truck ramming in Glilot was a terror attack
Emergency services at the scene of a suspected truck ramming attack in Glilot, north of Tel Aviv on October 27, 2024. (Jack Guez/AFP)
Police say that the ongoing investigation of Sunday’s truck-ramming in central Israel “strengthens the suspicion” that the incident was a terror attack.
In the incident, a resident of Qalansawe rammed his truck into people at a bus stop outside the IDF’s Glilot base, killing an elderly man and wounding 35 other civilians.
According to police, a police officer who was near the scene jumped into the driver’s cabin immediately following the attack, where he was attacked by the driver.
The police officer fell out of the driver’s cabin and fired shots in the air. Soldiers who were also near the scene identified the incident and shot the driver dead, according to the police investigation.
Police say that its investigation found that the truck diverted toward the civilians at the bus stop, and the driver made no attempt to brake, but rather he accelerated.
“It can be said that the suspicion is growing that the ramming that hit the civilians was carried out with a nationalistic motive,” police say.
Police add that an initial autopsy of the suspect’s body found “no suspicion of a medical incident,” something suggested by his family members.
Police release videos showing the ramming from surveillance cameras and footage from the bodycam of the officer who tried to confront the driver.
Police say that the ongoing investigation of Sunday's truck-ramming in central Israel "strengthens the suspicion" that the incident was a terror attack.
In the incident, a resident of Qalansawe rammed his truck into people at a bus stop outside the IDF's Glilot base, killing an… pic.twitter.com/cdPyFjES5c
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 29, 2024
IDF confirms UNIFIL headquarters in south Lebanon was hit by Hezbollah rocket
UNIFIL armored vehicles patrol on the entrance of the southern Lebanese town of Naqoura near the border with Israel on June 17, 2024. (Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP)
The IDF confirms that UNIFIL’s Naqoura headquarters in southern Lebanon was hit by a Hezbollah rocket earlier today.
According to the IDF, the rocket was launched by the terror group from the Hallousiyyeh al-Faouqa area, in the Tyre District.
Eight Austrian soldiers with the peacekeeping force were lightly wounded in the attack. UNIFIL also blamed Hezbollah or “an affiliated group.”
“The Hezbollah terror group continues to systematically violate international law, and poses a threat to the residents of the State of Israel and international forces in the region,” the IDF adds.
Earlier today, a report was received regarding damage caused to UNIFIL’s Headquarters in the area of Naqoura, southern Lebanon. An examination determined that Hezbollah launched a rocket from the Hallousiyyeh El Faouqa area which hit the @UNIFIL_ Headquarters.
UNIFIL reported a… pic.twitter.com/OhE6VpkuUI
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 29, 2024
Hamas official says group open to ‘any deal’ that will lead to a ‘permanent ceasefire’
A woman walks above the rubble of a building following an Israeli strike in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip on October 28, 2024. (AFP)
A senior Hamas official says the terror group is studying new proposals from mediators to end the war in Gaza, but reiterates that these should entail a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Strip.
“The movement has confirmed it is open to any deal or ideas that ends the suffering of our people in Gaza and achieve a permanent ceasefire, and the occupation’s withdrawal from all of Gaza Strip,” Sami Abu Zuhri says in a televised speech.
He also says an agreement must end the blockade of the Strip, allow unrestricted relief aid and a reconstruction of Gaza, and achieve a swap of Israeli hostages in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners in Israel, largely in line with Hamas demands over the past year.
A Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson says Doha will work as a mediator along with US President Joe Biden’s administration “until the last minute” before the November 5 presidential election to reach a ceasefire deal.
“We don’t foresee any negative result of the elections on the mediation process itself. We believe we are dealing with institutions, and in a country like the United States the institutions are invested in finding a resolution to this crisis,” spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari tells a press conference.
IDF: A Hezbollah commander surrendered to Israeli troops in south Lebanon 2 weeks ago
A Hezbollah operative is seen being detained by troops in southern Lebanon's Ayta ash-Shab, in October 2024, in a video released by the IDF on October 29, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The commander of Hezbollah’s forces in southern Lebanon’s Ayta ash-Shab was captured by troops of the Golani Brigade some two weeks ago, the IDF announces.
According to the military, Golani troops, with prior intelligence, located a tunnel shaft in a Hezbollah command center in Ayta ash-Shab, where several operatives were holed up.
Among them was the commander of the Hezbollah forces in the village, Hassan Aqil Jawad.
The operatives surrendered to the troops, and they were detained and questioned by field interrogators of the Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504.
The military releases footage showing Jawad and the other operatives surrendering to the troops.
The IDF says the operatives were later brought to Israel for further interrogation.
“During the interrogation of the terrorists, they detailed many terror infrastructures that are located in the area of Ayta ash-Shab. These findings helped the forces on the ground to locate and destroy the terror infrastructure in a targeted manner and to prepare for threats in the area,” the IDF says.
The military adds that several more Hezbollah operatives have been detained and questioned during operations in southern Lebanon in recent weeks.
Israel must prosecute extremist settler attackers, says US envoy to UN
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield urges Israeli authorities to intervene when extremist settlers launch attacks against Palestinians and hold perpetrators to account.
Such attacks throughout the West Bank have continued unabated, with rights groups long lamenting that Israeli authorities fail to prosecute such crimes.
Thomas-Greenfield notes that the US will continue sanctioning such Israeli extremists in the absence of any prosecution by Israeli authorities.
The US envoy also reiterates US concern over the upcoming Thursday deadline of the corresponding banking agreement between Israeli and Palestinian banks.
Washington has been pushing Israel to extend the agreement for another year, warning that failure to do so risks collapsing the Palestinian economy in the West Bank.
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has thus far resisted extending the agreement, and in the past has pushed for punitive measures to be taken against the Palestinian Authority in exchange for his cooperation.
IDF chief: If Iran ‘makes mistake’ of firing at Israel again, we’ll hit ‘places we spared this time’
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi speaks to air and ground crews at the Ramon Airbase in southern Israel, October 29, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi warns that if Iran again launches ballistic missiles at Israel, then the military will respond using “abilities we didn’t use” in the strikes last week.
“If Iran makes the mistake and launches another barrage of missiles at Israel, we will once again know how to reach Iran, reach even with capabilities that we did not use this time, and hit very, very hard both the capabilities and places that we spared this time,” he says to aircrews at the Ramon Air Base in southern Israel.
“We did this for a very simple reason — because we may be required to do it again. We didn’t finish this event, we are right in the middle of it,” Halevi adds.
US envoy: Despite its flaws, there is no alternative to UNRWA operations in Gaza
A man carries a humanitarian aid package provided by UNRWA in central Gaza City on August 27, 2024. (Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP)
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield reiterates US concern over the Knesset legislation passed yesterday that bans UNRWA from operating in Israel and severely hampers its operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
She clarifies in remarks to the UN Security Council that there is no denying the involvement of some UNRWA personnel in Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, saying even the agency’s leaders have admitted as much.
However, Thomas-Greenfield points out that the relief agency for Palestinian refugees has taken steps to implement reforms, and she urges UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to create a mechanism to review and address allegations that UNRWA personnel have ties to Hamas and other terrorist groups.
She stresses that there is no alternative to UNRWA when it comes to delivery of aid throughout Gaza, which is why the US is so alarmed by Israel’s passing of the legislation without a viable alternative in place.
The US envoy urges Israel to boost its coordination with UNWRA — which will be outlawed once the law comes into effect in 90 days.
Freed hostage Mia Schem says she was kept in cage with 5 other women still held captive
Released hostage Mia Schem speaks to Channel 12 about her captivity in Gaza in a preview clip from an interview scheduled to air on December 29, 2023. (Screenshot, Channel 12, used in accordance with clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Freed hostage Mia Schem says that she was held in captivity in Gaza inside a cage with a number of other women who are still held hostage.
After 50 days in captivity, “I was put in a cage, with no air or light,” says Schem in Hebrew at an event in New York hosted by the Israeli consulate last night to commemorate the October 7 attack, in video published by Ynet.
“There I met five young women, each with their own horrific abduction story,” she adds. She was in the cage for five days, she says, during which “I told them we would soon get out,” says Schem, who was kidnapped from the Nova music festival and freed as part of a weeklong truce deal in late November 2023.
“It’s been a year… but my heart remains captive in Gaza with five young women who are still held there, tortured and abused, with no air, in the depths of hell,” she says.
US envoy to UN says Israeli promise to get aid into north Gaza is ‘not happening’
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States ambassador to the United Nations, at the UN headquarters in New York, September 30, 2024. (AP/Ted Shaffrey)
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield expresses her horror over reports that no food assistance has reached the northern Gaza cities of Jabalia and Beit Lahiya in nearly a month.
“The United States has made clear to Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu that one year into this conflict, Israel must address the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza; that the United States rejects any Israeli efforts to starve Palestinians in Jabalia, or anywhere else; and that Israel’s words must be matched by action on the ground,” Thomas-Greenfield says in her remarks to UN Security Council session on the war in Gaza.
“Right now, that is not happening. This must change immediately,” she adds.
“The US has stated clearly that Israel must allow food, medicine, and other supplies into all of Gaza – especially the north, and especially as winter sets in – and protect the workers distributing it,” says the envoy, appearing to reference an October 13 letter to Israel in which the US warned that continued supply of offensive weapons is at risk if Jerusalem doesn’t take drastic steps to improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
While recognizing Hamas’s use of civilian infrastructure, Thomas-Greenfield says the “harrowing reports of medical staff being arrested by Israeli forces at hospitals in northern Gaza are also deeply troubling. We urge Israel to publicly address these allegations immediately.”
Knesset passes law banning establishment of non-embassy diplomatic missions in Jerusalem
Illustrative: A road sign shows the way towards the US embassy in Jerusalem on April 19, 2024. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP)
Lawmakers vote 29-7 to pass into law a bill prohibiting the establishment of diplomatic missions in Jerusalem that are not embassies.
The legislation, an amendment to the the Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel, is sponsored by MKs Ze’ev Elkin (New Hope) and Dan Illouz (Likud) and stipulates that no new consulates will be established in Jerusalem, while the government will encourage the establishment of foreign embassies in the city.
The law will not affect the status of already existing diplomatic missions in the Israeli capital.
“Jerusalem is the core of our sovereignty,” Illouz states, asserting that the new law “makes it clear once and for all that Jerusalem is ours and is not for sale. It’s a historic law that joins other historic laws passed in recent days.”
Elkin says that “those who wish to establish a foreign mission in Jerusalem will have to act according to this law and the mission will be obligated to provide service to the residents of the State of Israel. Jerusalem is the eternal and indivisible capital of the State of Israel and no country will be allowed to challenge our sovereignty in the united Jerusalem.”
Most countries do not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and base their embassies in Tel Aviv, often opening smaller consulates in Jerusalem. Currently, five countries — the US, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo and Papua New Guinea — have embassies in Jerusalem.
CNN bans conservative writer after ‘beeper’ comment to Muslim commentator
People walk outside CNN Center, in Atlanta, October 24, 2018. (Ron Harris/AP)
CNN bans conservative writer Ryan Girdusky from its network following a contentious on-air exchange where he told panelist Mehdi Hasan that “I hope your beeper doesn’t go off.”
“Did you just say I should die?” Hasan said, responding to Girdusky’s apparent reference to September’s attack where pagers used by hundreds of Hezbollah members in Lebanon and Syria exploded simultaneously. The attack was widely believed to be carried out by Israel.
Hasan and Girdusky were on a panel on “NewsNight” last night, talking about Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden, where speakers made a variety of racist comments and referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” The panel discussion devolved into back-and-forth bickering after Girdusky said to Hasan, a commentator and founder of the media company Zeteo, that “you’ve been called an antisemite more than anyone else at this table.”
Host Abby Phillip said that Girdusky’s beeper comment was “completely out of pocket” and he apologized. But after a commercial break, he was gone.
CNN, saying there is “zero room for racism or bigotry at CNN or on our air,” says that Girdusky will not be allowed back on the network.
Girdusky responds in a post on X: “You can stay on CNN if you falsely call every Republican a Nazi” but apparently can’t “if you make a joke. I’m glad America gets to see what CNN stands for.”
Norway to ask ICJ to weigh in on Israeli obligation to facilitate foreign aid to Palestinians
A Palestinian woman walks past a damaged wall bearing the UNRWA logo at a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 28, 2024. (Eyad Baba/AFP)
Norway says it will put forward a UN General Assembly resolution to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an opinion on Israel’s obligations to facilitate aid to Palestinians that is delivered by international groups, including the United Nations, and states.
The move comes in response to Israel’s decision last night to pass legislation that will ban the operation of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA and other obstacles faced by other UN agencies in their aid work over the past year, Norway says in a statement.
Gallant says Hezbollah retains only about 20% of its rocket capabilities
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (right) meets with Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin (left) at the Northern Command HQ in Safed, October 29, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Hezbollah maintains only some 20% of the rocket and missile capabilities that it had before the war.
“I estimate the remaining capacity of the missiles and rockets to be in the order of 20%, and also it is not organized in the way that it used to be organized, in a way that [Hezbollah] could fire [large] volleys,” he says during a visit to the IDF Northern Command base in Safed.
“There is a deep connection between our strike in Iran and what is happening to Hezbollah. Iran understands that Hezbollah does not have the ability to respond, and Hezbollah understands that it cannot rely on Iran,” Gallant adds.
PM said to convene discussion on possible diplomatic solution to Lebanon fighting
Prime Minister Benjmain Netanyahu leads a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, Oct. 7, 2024. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a “security consultation” at 8 p.m. on the fighting in Lebanon, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
According to Hebrew media reports, the meeting is set to focus on talks related to a diplomatic solution to the war in Lebanon.
Family of fallen reservist requests politicians only pay respects after reaching across the aisle; several MKs heed the call
Family and friends of Captain (res.) Avraham Yosef Goldberg, who was killed battling Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon, attend his funeral at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, on October 27, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The family of Cpt. (res.) Rabbi Avi Goldberg, who was killed earlier this week while fighting in southern Lebanon, requests that politicians who come to pay their condolences do so only after reaching out across the aisle.
A statement from the Goldberg family says that it will welcome “politicians from any party or camp,” but only if they arrive in pairs — one from the coalition and one from the opposition. The family says this spirit matches what Goldberg tried to do during his lifetime, of bridging gaps and building bonds.
Photos circulating on social media show a number of lawmakers visiting the family together in Jerusalem, including from Shas, Yesh Atid, Likud and National Unity.
מקיימים את צוואתו: אחדות כעת אצל משפחת גולדברג.
מיכאל ביטון (המחנה הממלכתי)
השר וסרלאוף (עוצמה יהודית)
השר משה ארבל (ש״ס)
השר בוסו (ש״ס)
השר ביטון (ש״ס)
מאיר כהן (יש עתיד)
רון כץ (יש עתיד)
אלי דלל (ליכוד)
סימון דוידסון (יש עתיד) pic.twitter.com/c2t2UyJkhE— ישראל כהן (@Israelcohen911) October 28, 2024
UNIFIL says Hezbollah likely responsible for rocket strike on its HQ in Lebanon
Lebanese army soldiers and members of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol near the southern Lebanese village of Marjayoun on October 29, 2024. (Rabih DAHER / AFP)
The UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon says its Naqoura headquarters were hit by a rocket, setting a vehicle workshop on fire. In a post on X, UNIFIL points a finger at Hezbollah “or an affiliated group” as the likely attacker, as the rocket was fired from the north.
“We remind Hizbullah and all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property,” says UNIFIL. “Any deliberate attack on them is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and of Resolution 1701.”
UNIFIL has accused the IDF of injuring its forces on several occasions. Israel has called for peacekeepers to withdraw from the battle zones until Israel’s ground campaign against Hezbollah is over.
The peacekeeping force says it has opened an investigation into today’s rocket fire.
No UNIFIL peacekeepers were seriously hurt, but some suffered minor injuries, says UNIFIL. Earlier, Austria said that eight of its troops were lightly wounded in the impact.
Statement:
This afternoon a rocket hit UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura, setting a vehicle workshop on fire. Peacekeepers were not in bunkers at the time. While some peacekeepers suffered minor injuries, fortunately no one was seriously injured. pic.twitter.com/MuJ1sOEnQR
— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) October 29, 2024
Next round of hostage talks expected this week in Egypt, says Israeli official
Mossad chief David Barnea attends a state ceremony marking the anniversary of the Hamas October 7 attack, at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on October 27, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg FLASH90)
There will be another round of hostage talks this week, this time in Egypt, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel. The Israeli delegation will likely be led by Mossad chief David Barnea, says the official.
US special envoy Amos Hochstein will be in Israel next week to continue pushing for a negotiated end to fighting in Lebanon, says the official. Hochstein will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials.
“Israel is looking for long-lasting diplomatic assurances” in order to end the fighting against Hezbollah, says the official.
Austria says 8 of its UNIFIL troops in Lebanon injured in rocket attack of unclear origin
A United Nations flag flies in the back of one of the armored vehicles of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) during a patrol around Marjayoun in south Lebanon on October 8, 2024. (AFP)
Eight Austrian soldiers belonging to the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) sustained slight and superficial injuries in a rocket strike on Camp Naqoura near the Israeli border, Austria’s Defense Ministry says.
“We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms and demand that it be investigated immediately,” the ministry says in a statement, adding that it is not clear where the attack came from, and that none of the soldiers needed urgent medical care.
There was no immediate comment from the IDF.
Spain cancels purchase of police ammunition from Israeli company
Illustrative: Police in Madrid on November 30, 2022. (Oscar Del Pozo/AFP)
Spain’s Interior Ministry says it is canceling a contract to buy ammunition from an Israeli firm, widening a Spanish pledge not to sell weapons to Israel to include purchases too.
Cadena Ser radio earlier reported that the Guardia Civil police force had agreed to buy more than 15 million 9-mm rounds for six million euros ($6.48 million) from Guardian LTD Israel.
Spain said it would stop arms sales to Israel in October 2023 when Israel’s war with Hamas started in Gaza, after the terror group’s brutal onslaught in southern Israel.
“The Spanish government maintains the commitment not to sell weapons to the Israeli state since the armed conflict broke out in the territory of Gaza,” it says in a statement. “Although in this case it is an acquisition of ammunition, the Interior Ministry has initiated the administrative procedure to cancel the purchase.”
The ministry says Israeli companies will also be excluded from any outstanding tenders.
The contract was tendered in February and awarded on Oct. 21, with two of the three lots awarded to an Israeli company, it adds.
After reports of nearly 100 dead in north Gaza strike, IDF says incident under investigation
Palestinians search through the rubble of a building after an Israeli strike in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, October 29, 2024. (AFP)
The Israeli military says it is aware of claims that nearly 100 people were killed in an overnight airstrike in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya, but stresses that the number provided by Hamas authorities may be inaccurate.
In response to a query, the IDF says it is aware of the reports but the incident is still under investigation.
“The IDF calls on the media to be careful with information published by Hamas, as has been proven in several previous events,” the military says.
The Hamas-run Civil Defense agency claimed earlier today that the overnight strike killed 93 people in a residential building in Beit Lahiya.
The IDF says that it “acts in a targeted manner and makes efforts to avoid harming uninvolved [civilians.]”
The Beit Lahiya area had been given an evacuation order earlier this month, as the IDF launched a new offensive in northern Gaza.
“We emphasize again that this is an active combat zone,” the IDF adds.
Knesset committee advances bill to deport relatives of terrorist attackers
Members of the Knesset House Committee meet on October 29, 2024. (Noam Moskowitz/Knesset)
Members of the Knesset House Committee vote 9-2 to advance a bill that would allow the government to deport terrorists’ relatives. The bill will now go to the Knesset plenum for the second and third readings necessary for it to become law.
The controversial legislation gives the interior minister the power to deport a first-degree relative of someone who carried out an attack if he or she had advance knowledge and either failed to report the matter to the police or expressed support for the act of terrorism. The law expressly applies to Israeli citizens, who under the bill will retain their citizenship even after being expelled from the country.
During the hearing, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir states that he believes the authority to order expulsions would be better placed with his ministry, and expresses hope that the High Court of Justice will not strike the bill down if passed into law.
Speaking with The Times of Israel, several members of the committee, including Otzma Yehudit MK Almog Cohen and New Hope lawmaker Ze’ev Elkin, dismiss concerns that granting the power to deport citizens to a minister and not the courts could be legally problematic.
A representative of the Justice Ministry tells lawmakers that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to provide an official position on the legislation.
During the debate, Likud MK Ariel Kallner argues that Israel is facing an “enemy within,” while Ra’am MK Yasir Hujeirat decries the proposed law as “collective punishment.”
Satellite photos show damage at secretive IRGC ballistic missile base after Israeli attack
This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows a damaged large building at the Revolutionary Guard's Shahroud Space Center in Semnan province, Iran, Oct. 29, 2024. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
Israel’s attack on Iran likely damaged a base run by the paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that builds ballistic missiles and launches rockets as part of its own space program, satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press today show.
The damage at the base in Shahroud raises new questions about Israel’s attack early Saturday, particularly as it took place in an area previously unacknowledged by Tehran and involved the Guard, a powerful force within Iran’s theocracy that so far has remained silent about any possible damage it suffered from the assault. Iran only has identified Israeli attacks as taking place in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces — not in rural Semnan province where the base is located.
Satellite photos earlier analyzed by the AP of two military bases near Tehran also targeted by Israel show that sites there that Iran uses in its ballistic missile manufacturing have been destroyed, further squeezing its program.
High-resolution satellite images from Planet Labs PBC taken for and analyzed by the AP show the damage at the Guard’s Shahroud Space Center in Semnan, some 370 kilometers (230 miles) northeast of the Iranian capital, Tehran. Semnan also hosts the Imam Khomeini Space Center, which is used by Iran’s civilian space program.
The images show a central, major building at the Shahroud Space Center had been destroyed, the shadow of its still-standing frame seen in the image taken this morning. Vehicles could be seen gathered around the site, likely from officials inspecting the damage, with more cars than normal parked at the site’s main gate nearby.
Israeli official: UNRWA already reduced in Gaza, Knesset vote only strengthens process
Activists protest against United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) outside their offices in Jerusalem, March 20, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)
An Israeli official tells The Times of Israel that UNRWA “was already limited and reduced” in Gaza in recent months. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees is not the leading agency providing aid in Gaza anymore, the official continues, as Israel has been systematically “minimizing its activities” in the Strip.
“The Knesset vote strengthens processes that are already happening,” the official says, pointing at UNICEF taking the lead on polio vaccinations, and the UN World Food Programme taking the lead on food distribution.
“It’s hard to know where Hamas ends and UNRWA begins,” the official adds.
The official argues that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is uninterested in investigating UNRWA employees’ involvement in the October 7 attacks, because he would have to admit that the organization violated its neutrality in the most blatant way.
Guterres, continues the official, also has an interest in using overblown claims about a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza to push for an end to the war.
When Israel presents officials from allied countries with evidence of dozens of UNRWA employees working for Hamas and involved in attacks against Israel, says the official, “they don’t disagree, they just say now is not the right time” to take action against the agency.
Gallant on new Hezbollah leader: ‘Temporary appointment, not for long’
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant threatens newly selected Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, posting a picture of the cleric on X with the words, “Temporary appointment. Not for long.” In Hebrew, he adds: “The countdown has begun.”
Qassem was announced as the terror group’s new secretary-general today, a little more than a month after long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Expected successor Hashem Safieddine was killed by Israel days after Nasrallah.
Temporary appointment.
Not for long. pic.twitter.com/ONu0GveApi— יואב גלנט – Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) October 29, 2024
German charged with Islamist attack plot against Jewish institution
German prosecutors say they have charged a 25-year-old man with plotting a deadly Islamist attack on a Jewish institution.
The German suspect, who was arrested in May and who was not named, was allegedly ready to die and planned to release a video blaming Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s support for Israel for the attack.
Two co-accused, men aged 18 and 25, have been charged with aiding and abetting the murder plot targeting a Jewish institution in either Frankfurt or Heidelberg.
Prosecutors say the main suspect flew to Turkey in April with the intention of crossing to Syria to join Islamist fighters, but then abandoned the plan and returned to Germany. Back home, the man from the Heilbronn area in southwest Germany allegedly exchanged ideas with the 18-year-old, a dual German-Turkish citizen, about what was meant to be a deadly attack.
“The motive was hatred of people of the Jewish faith,” prosecutors in Stuttgart say.
When police moved to arrest the main suspect in May, he allegedly attacked them with knives and was shot in the arm and leg. He was charged in September with attempted manslaughter.
UNICEF spokesperson on UNRWA ban: ‘A new way has been found to kill children’
Displaced Palestinians fleeing Israeli military operations in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, October 22, 2024. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Israel’s decision to ban UNRWA could result in the deaths of more children and represent a form of collective punishment for Gazans if fully implemented, says UNICEF, which provides aid to children worldwide.
“If UNRWA is unable to operate, it’ll likely see the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza,” says UNICEF spokesperson James Elder, who has worked extensively in Gaza since the beginning of the war against the Hamas terror group following its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. “So a decision such as this suddenly means that a new way has been found to kill children.”
France ‘very strongly regrets’ Israel’s outlawing of UNRWA
France “very strongly regrets” Israel’s adoption of laws barring activities of the UN’s Palestinian aid agency UNRWA, the foreign ministry says.
“Implementation of these laws would have very serious consequences for the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which is already catastrophic, but also all of the Palestinian territories,” the statement reads, adding that France “reiterates its support for UNRWA and will continue to track the implementation of reforms necessary for its actions to be neutral.”
Israel says UNRWA in Gaza is ‘rotten,’ vows to ensure aid through other means
Illustrative: A man carries a humanitarian aid package provided by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in central Gaza City on August 27, 2024. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Israel will use other United Nations and international agencies to ensure that aid reaches Gaza, says the Foreign Ministry after the Knesset passed bills curtailing UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
“Israel is committed to international law and to providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, and will continue to act on this subject with UN agencies and international organizations such as the World Food Program, UNICEF, the World Health Organization and a number of other organizations, this while complying with its international obligations,” says the ministry.
The Foreign Ministry says Hamas “has infiltrated UNRWA in Gaza widely and deeply.”
“UNRWA employees were involved in the horrific 7 October massacre,” says the ministry. “Moreover, Israel handed over to the UN details about an additional 100 Hamas operatives who are employed by UNRWA, yet UNRWA has not taken any measures to handle the issue, and is not moving forward with any serious steps to deal with the terrorist operatives in its ranks.”
It says UNRWA has also not issued complaints or public statements about Hamas’s use of its facilities in Gaza.
“It is not just a few rotten apples, as UN Secretary General [Antonio] Guterres is trying to claim. UNRWA in Gaza is a rotten tree entirely infected with terrorist operatives,” says the ministry, calling on those who care about Israel and Gaza to replace UNRWA with other agencies.
Credit card transaction company says morning’s payment problems caused by attack
Israel’s credit Automated Bank Services says this morning’s credit card payment problems experienced by people around the country were the result of a cyberattack.
Starting at 7 a.m., as a result of a denial-of-service attack, many bodies connected to the company through the internet experienced disruptions in processing transactions.
It says regular service was restored at 9:50 a.m.
ABS does not offer details on the identity or motive of the attackers.
Four soldiers killed, officer seriously wounded in northern Gaza fighting
Soldiers killed in the northern Gaza Strip on October 29, 2024: Top (L-R) Cpt. Yehonatan Joni Keren, Staff Sgt. Nisim Meytal; bottom (L-R): Staff Sgt. Aviv Gilboa, Staff Sgt. Naor Haimov. (Courtesy)
Four Israeli soldiers were killed and an officer was seriously wounded during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip earlier today, the IDF announces.
The slain troops are named as:
- Cpt. Yehonatan Joni Keren, 22, from Moledet
- Staff Sgt. Nisim Meytal, 20, from Hadera
- Staff Sgt. Aviv Gilboa, 21, from Neve Tzuf
- Staff Sgt. Naor Haimov, 22, from Rosh Ha’ayin
They all served with the elite Multidomain Unit, or “Ghost” Unit.
The IDF is still probing the circumstances of the deadly incident.
Finance Ministry slashes growth outlook for 2024 and 2025 as war expands
An Israeli convoy in Kafr Kila, south Lebanon, on October 28, 2024. (Diana Bletter/Times of Israel
The Finance Ministry slashes its growth outlook for this year and next year, citing the intensity of the ongoing war and expansion of the fighting with the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group in the north.
The Finance Ministry’s chief economist revises the Treasury’s growth projections ahead of the discussions for the passage of the 2025 state budget starting on Thursday. The Treasury says it now expects the economy to expand by a mere 0.4 percent in 2024 and 4.3% in 2025. That is down from a September forecast of 1.1% for 2024 and 4.6% for 2025.
“Our forecast in early September was based on a scenario of a continuation of the fighting until the first quarter of 2025, and did not assume further intensity of the fighting or an expansion to other fronts,” the Finance Ministry says. “This scenario is no longer relevant since the fighting expanded to the northern arena at the end of September.”
“Our current baseline scenario assumes a continuation of intense fighting during most of the last quarter of 2024, including increased reserves recruitment and a slowdown in the scope of reserves callups after that and throughout 2025.”
Earlier this month, the Bank of Israel lowered its growth projection for the economy to 0.5% in 2024 and 3.8% in 2025. That forecast was revised from a previous estimate in July of 1.5% in 2024 and 4.2% in 2025, when the central bank assumed that intense fighting with Hamas would abate by the end of the year.
Knesset hearing on bill to deport relatives of terrorists turns into screaming match
A hearing at the Knesset House Committee on a bill that would deport relatives of terrorists descends into a screaming match between right-wing lawmakers and MK Ofer Cassif after Cassif, the only Jewish member of the Arab-majority Hadash-Ta’al party, clashes with the mother of an IDF reservist.
As Cassif entered the hearing, the woman told the far-left Cassif that he should be ashamed of his position. In response, the lawmaker screamed at the woman, prompting Knesset ushers to intervene.
Otzma Yehudit MK Almog Cohen attempted to approach Cassif and the two were physically restrained by ushers.
Lawmakers began shouting at Cassif, with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir calling him a “terrorist.”
As Cassif addressed the committee, which he called a “gathering of fascists,” lawmakers screamed at him to leave and called on chairman Ofir Katz to have him removed from the room.
“Lucky you didn’t bring your pager,” one MK quipped, referring to the mass attack attributed to Israel that saw thousands of Hezbollah pagers explode on the men carrying them.
Knesset ushers have to physically separate lawmakers Ofir Cassif and Almog Cohen pic.twitter.com/wq5zFF3IkV
— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) October 29, 2024
Victim of rocket in Ma’alot-Tarshiha named as Muhammad Naim, 24
The victim of the rocket attack in Ma’alot-Tarshiha earlier has been named as Muhammad Naim, 24.
מוחמד נעים בן 24, הוא ההרוג מהפגיעה הישירה בבית במעלות תרשיחא@CBeyar
(צילום: רשתות חברתיות) https://t.co/vbDpCNbYAq pic.twitter.com/DKbNdV2Qsn— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 29, 2024
Qatar says will work with Biden administration until its ‘last minute’ for Gaza ceasefire
Adviser to Qatar's prime minister, Dr. Majed al-Ansari, speaks to the Kan public broadcaster, April 28, 2024. (Kan screenshot: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Qatar will work with US President Joe Biden’s administration “until the last minute” before the presidential election to reach a Gaza ceasefire deal, the Qatari foreign ministry says.
“We don’t foresee any negative result of the elections on the mediation process itself. We believe that we are dealing with institutions, and in a country like the United States, the institutions are invested in finding a resolution to this crisis,” ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari tells a press conference.
IDF demolishes underground Hezbollah command center, explosives-filled bunker
The IDF says it demolished an underground Hezbollah command center and another bunker where explosives were stored during recent operations in southern Lebanon.
Reservists of the Carmeli Brigade located the command center, which the IDF says was built some eight meters underground.
The reservists also found the bunker, where the IDF says around half a ton of explosives was stored. The bunker was built several years ago under a village in southern Lebanon, the military adds.
International Organization for Migration says can’t replace UNRWA but will step up support
The head of the International Organization for Migration says the agency is keen to step up its support to people in crisis following the Israeli decision to ban the UN relief agency UNRWA, but there is “no way” it can replace its work in Gaza.
“UNRWA is absolutely essential to the people of Gaza, and I don’t want to leave anyone with the misimpression that IOM can play that role, because we cannot, but we can provide support to those people who are currently in crisis,” IOM Director-General Amy Pope tells reporters.
“That is a role that we are very, very keen to play, and one that we will be stepping up with the support of various stakeholders.”
Yemen’s Houthis launched drones towards Ashkelon, spokesperson says
Yemen’s Houthis launched drones towards an industrial zone in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, the group’s military spokesperson says.
The Israeli military said earlier that sirens sounded in Ashkelon after a drone crossed into Israeli territory but fell in an open space in the area.
Defense Ministry: 12,000 soldiers have entered rehab programs since start of war
IDF troops are seen operating in Gaza in an image cleared for publication by the military on October 18, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The Defense Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department says it has received some 12,000 soldiers since the beginning of the war on October 7, 2023, including those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
According to the Defense Ministry, some 5,200, or 43% of those received by the rehab centers amid the war are suffering from PTSD.
Some 14% are defined as having moderate to severe injuries, including 23 with severe head injuries, 60 amputees, and 12 who lost their eyesight.
Among the 12,000 soldiers, around 66% are reservists.
The ministry says that some 1,500 soldiers have been wounded twice in the war, meaning they returned to service after being treated by the rehab department and were wounded a second time.
The rehab department is also working with some 62,000 wounded veterans from previous wars. It forecasts that by 2030, the center will be treating some 100,000 people, at least half of them suffering from PTSD.
Umm al-Fahm resident charged with planning terror attack on behalf of ISIS
Police and the Shin Bet say they recently arrested an Umm al-Fahm resident on suspicion of planning a terror attack on behalf of ISIS.
According to an investigation, Abed al-Rahman Mahajna pledged allegiance to the terror organization and its leader multiple times in recent months and was involved in the rioting that took place amid unrest across the country in May 2021, during the Gaza operation Guardian of the Walls.
Police found in Mahajna’s possession documents detailing explosives preparation and a will expressing his desire to die as a martyr.
The Haifa District Attorney’s Office filed charges against him today.
“This case joins a series of arrests made against Israeli citizens who planned to carry out terrorist activities in Israel,” a senior Shin Bet source says. “The trend of Israeli citizens being involved in terrorism and espionage is extremely grave, and the defense establishment will act with a firm hand against those involved.”
British PM Starmer says UK ‘gravely concerned’ by Israeli legislation against UNRWA
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks at a press conference, during his visit to the European Commission headquarters in Brussels on October 2, 2024. (BENJAMIN CREMEL / POOL / AFP)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the UK “is gravely concerned” after the Knesset passed two bills targeting the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees yesterday.
“This legislation risks making UNRWA’s essential work for Palestinians impossible, jeopardizing the entire international humanitarian response in Gaza and delivery of essential health and education services in the West Bank,” he says in a statement.
Starmer adds that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “simply unacceptable.”
“We need to see an immediate ceasefire, the release of the hostages and a significant increase in aid to Gaza,” he says, without mentioning Hamas or the fate of the terror organization and its members.
“Only UNRWA can deliver humanitarian aid at the scale and pace needed,” Starmer continues. “We pay tribute to the 222 UNRWA staff who have lost their lives in the conflict.”
Some 50 rockets fired from Lebanon in latest barrage
Some 50 rockets were fired from Lebanon in the latest barrage on the Galilee a short while ago, according to the IDF.
The military says some of the rockets were intercepted and several impacts were identified.
Several rockets struck Ma’alot-Tarshiha, killing a man and causing damage.
עשרות שיגורים לאזור מעלות-תרשיחא, דיווחים על פגיעות בעיר@Doron_Kadosh pic.twitter.com/1e6dkd14MH
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) October 29, 2024
Shoppers in Israel experiencing problems with credit card payments
Israelis have been reporting problems paying by credit card this morning, with many experiencing issues at stores around the country.
Automated Bank Services, which handles credit payments in Israel, says it is looking into the matter, amid some speculation that a cyberattack of some sort could be behind the glitches.
Turkey says Israel’s move to ban UNRWA violates international law
Turkey’s foreign ministry says Israel’s decision to ban the UN relief agency UNRWA from operating inside the country is a clear violation of international law that aims to prevent displaced Palestinians from returning home.
In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry says the move aims to disrupt efforts to reach a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding that UNRWA provides vital help to Palestinians. Israel argues UNRWA is an obstacle to peace, perpetuating the Palestinian refugee status and dependence on aid.
“It is the legal and moral obligation of the international community to take a strong stance against attempts to ban UNRWA, which was established by a UN General Assembly resolution,” the ministry says.
Man killed in rocket impact in Ma’alot-Tarshiha
A man has been killed in a rocket impact in the northern town of Ma’alot-Tarshiha, Magen David Adom reports.
MDA says several others are being treated for acute anxiety at the scene.
Reports of rocket impacts in northern town of Ma’alot-Tarshiha
Medics are responding to reports of rocket impacts in the northern town of Ma’alot-Tarshiha, amid a major Hezbollah barrage from Lebanon.
Footage posted to social media shows numerous Iron Dome interceptor missiles being launched to counter the attack.
Medics are responding to reports of rocket impacts in the northern town of Ma'alot-Tarshiha, amid a major Hezbollah barrage from Lebanon.
Footage posted to social media shows numerous Iron Dome interceptor missiles being launched to counter the attack. pic.twitter.com/cmiVZJ76kd
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 29, 2024
Hezbollah names deputy head Naim Qassem as successor to Nasrallah
Hezbollah names deputy head Naim Qassem as successor to slain chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Qassem, a longtime deputy to Nasrallah, has served as the terror group’s acting leader since Israel killed Nasrallah in a strike in Beirut last month.
Palestinians say 60 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza’s Beit Lahiya
At least 60 Palestinians were killed, with 17 others missing under the rubble, after an Israeli strike on a residential building in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, Marwan Al-Hams of Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry official tells a press conference.
There is no immediate comment from Israel.
Jordan says Israel’s UNRWA ban a continuation of efforts to destroy agency
Jordan says the Knesset’s decision to ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees is a violation of international law and part of its bid to dismantle the organization.
In a statement, the kingdom’s foreign ministry says yesterday’s vote was “part of the systematic targeting” of UNRWA and a “continuation of Israel’s frantic efforts to assassinate the UN agency politically, in addition to its aggressive war on the Palestinian people.”
Israel accuses UNRWA of helping perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through its refugee policies and education, and says some employees have been involved in terror.
Iran says it plans to raise military budget by around 200%
Iran’s government plans to raise its military budget by around 200%, the country’s Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani says, according to state media.
The planned defense budget increase is part of a budget proposal that has been submitted by the government to parliament for approval.
“A considerable raise that amounts to 200% has been witnessed in the country’s defense budget,” Mohajerani said, giving no further details.
The statement comes as Israel and Iran have entered direct conflict, with Israel on Saturday striking Iran in retaliation for an Iranian missile barrage against Israel on Oct. 1.
Iran also backs multiple proxy groups in the region, including terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
IDF says it hit over 150 terror targets in Lebanon and Gaza in past day
IDF troops operate in southern Lebanon in a handout image published on October 29, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says it hit over 150 terror targets in Lebanon and Gaza over the past day.
It says dozens of gunmen were killed by security forces in both theaters of operations, and large amounts of weaponry were destroyed.
In Lebanon, the army says forces captured Hezbollah military facilities and destroyed rocket launchers and weapons caches.
In Gaza, troops killed Hamas gunmen attempting to plant bombs near troops and eliminated several other cells who were a threat to the soldiers, the IDF says.
IDF says drone that hit Ashkelon was launched from Yemen
A drone that exploded in an open area in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon this morning was launched from Yemen, according to the IDF’s latest assessments.
The impact caused no injuries but sparked a small fire.
Meanwhile, the IDF says that a drone launched from Lebanon at Nahariya this morning exploded in an open area. Footage from the incident appeared to show the drone exploding on a pedestrian bridge at the city’s train station.
Shrapnel from the blast rained down on the area, causing slight damage to a train carriage.
Separately, the IDF says another drone launched from Lebanon this morning was shot down by air defenses over the Upper Galilee.
Video shows Hezbollah drone striking pedestrian bridge at Nahariya train station
Footage posted to social media shows the Hezbollah drone impact in Nahariya a short while ago.
The dashcam video shows the explosive-laden drone striking the cables of a pedestrian bridge at Nahariya’s train station.
No injuries were caused in the attack, but shrapnel rained down on the area, causing slight damage to a train carriage.
The IDF says it is investigating.
New footage shows the Hezbollah drone impact in Nahariya this morning.
The dashcam video shows the drone striking the cables of a pedestrian bridge at Nahariya's train station.
No injuries were caused in the attack, but shrapnel rained down on the area, causing slight damage… pic.twitter.com/IDqrMPihE9
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 29, 2024
Report: Progress on deal to end fighting in Lebanon
Smoke billows in Kafr Kila on October 28, 2024. (Diana Bletter/Times of Israel)
Senior Israeli officials tell Ynet there is progress on an agreement to end the fighting in Lebanon.
The sources say the deal, under discussion with international mediators, would see a 60-day “adaptation period” during which the sides would cease fire and work toward implementing UN Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
The deal would see enforcement of the resolution, with Hezbollah prevented from having a presence near the border.
It would also include an international oversight system to check and address reports of violations. Israel would reserve the right to take military action if the Lebanese military or UN forces fail to address violations.
Finally, the deal would seek to prevent a rearming of Hezbollah, banning the entry of various weapons into Lebanon, Ynet says.
There is no outside confirmation of the report.
Lebanon drone hits Nahariya train station, causing damage
A drone launched from Lebanon impacted near Nahariya’s train station a short while ago.
Shrapnel caused slight damage to one of the train carriages.
The IDF says the incident is under further investigation.
Sirens had sounded in the area amid the incident.
A drone launched from Lebanon impacted near Nahariya's train station a short while ago.
Shrapnel caused slight damage to one of the carriages.
The IDF says the incident is under further investigation. pic.twitter.com/hkviXVhn52
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 29, 2024
Explosive drone hits open area in Ashkelon
An explosive-laden drone impacted an open area in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon a short while ago, the IDF says and footage shows.
The military does not yet detail where the drone was launched from.
There are no reports of injuries.
Sirens warning of a drone infiltration had sounded in Ashkelon amid the incident.
An explosive-laden drone impacted an open area in Ashkelon a short while ago, the IDF says and footage shows.
The military does not yet detail where the drone was launched from.
There are no reports of injuries. https://t.co/6M4WkjBBOa pic.twitter.com/hKttXN7mgQ
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 29, 2024
IDF says clip of incident in which Sinwar was killed was incorrectly labeled
The IDF says that due to human error, a clip it shared yesterday from the incident in which Yahya Sinwar was killed was mistakenly labeled as the actual killing of the Hamas leader.
The video shows troops shooting at another terror operative amid the incident, in which four gunmen were killed, one of whom was later revealed to be Sinwar.
The IDF says it deleted the incorrectly titled clip and has reshared it with a new label.
Suspected drone sirens sound in Ashkelon
Suspected drone infiltration sirens are sounding in the southern coastal city of Ashkelon.
The IDF says it is looking into the details.
CIA chief said to propose Hamas free 8 hostages as part of 28-day Gaza ceasefire
CIA director William Burns speaks during a hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill, in Washington, March 11, 2024. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)
CIA Director Bill Burns floated a deal for a 28-day Gaza ceasefire, the freeing of around eight hostages by Hamas and the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners by Israel, Axios reports citing three Israeli officials.
Burns discussed the idea during a meeting on Sunday with Israeli and Qatari counterparts, Axios says, adding that Hamas would free “roughly 8 women of all ages or men over the age of 50” as part of the deal.
“Israel agrees to a temporary pause, but Hamas wants a pause that would open a process that would lead to irreversible Israeli steps. If neither sides softens its position there isn’t going to be a deal,” a senior Israeli official tells the news site.
Netanyahu said to falsely blame opposition for UNRWA legislation’s passage in call 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)
A US official tells the Axios news site that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu falsely told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that opposition lawmakers were the ones responsible for advancing legislation aimed at significantly restricting UNRWA’s operations.
Blinken raised Washington’s concern over the legislation during his one-on-one meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem last week, the US official says.
Netanyahu retorted by blaming the opposition and told Blinken that he should raise the issue with its leader Yair Lapid.
While Lapid’s party voted in favor of the legislation, the bills were brought to a final vote earlier today by Netanyahu’s coalition.
Lawmakers from both blocs co-sponsored the bill.
‘I’m not a Nazi. I’m the opposite of a Nazi,’ Trump tells campaign rally
Republican presidential nominee and former US president Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at McCamish Pavilion, October 28, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
ATLANTA — Donald Trump tells campaign supporters in swing state Georgia that he is “not a Nazi,” pushing back on critics’ accusations that the Republican is seeking to be an authoritarian American leader.
“I’m not a Nazi. I’m the opposite of a Nazi,” Trump tells a boisterous crowd in Atlanta, one day after he held a mega-rally in New York’s famed Madison Square Garden that was widely condemned for racist remarks that his allies made during the event.
US urges Israel ‘to pause and further consider implementation’ of anti-UNRWA leglisation
The US is “deeply troubled” by the legislation passed Monday by the Knesset targeting UNRWA, saying that it could force the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees to discontinue all of its operations in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, a State Department spokesperson tells The Times of Israel.
“Implementing the legislation risks catastrophe for the more than 3 million Palestinians who rely on UNRWA for essential services, including health care, and primary and secondary education,” the spokesperson says.
“The humanitarian response in Gaza relies on UNRWA facilities and expertise to operate. UNRWA remains indispensable to these operations. There is no entity that can replace UNRWA, especially during this crisis,” the statement continues.
“We urge the government of Israel to pause and further consider implementation of this legislation to ensure UNRWA can effectively carry out its mission and facilitate humanitarian assistance.”
“UNRWA has also long been an organization in need of reform. We support steps to strengthen UNRWA impartiality and neutrality, including to respond to allegations of ties to terrorism,” the US State Department spokesperson adds.
Security officials cautioned political leaders about passing UNRWA law without alternative in Gaza
The Israeli security establishment and professional staff cautioned the political echelon against passing legislation that massively hampers UNRWA from operating in Gaza in the middle of a war without a viable replacement in place, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
While some Israeli political leaders recognized the humanitarian risk and the international backlash that would result from the law passed by the Knesset earlier today, “the political cost of opposing the legislation became too significant to endure,” the official says, explaining that the IDF itself has spent months building a campaign that ties UNRWA to Hamas.
PM’s office: Israel ready to work with global partners on Gaza aid before UNRWA ban takes force
A man carries a humanitarian aid package provided by UNRWA in central Gaza City on August 27, 2024. (Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says Israel is prepared to work with international partners to ensure that humanitarian aid can still reach Gazan civilians in the 90 days before legislation passed Monday by the Knesset to ban UNRWA from operating in Israel goes into effect.
The international community has raised alarm over the legislation, which was passed without a plan in place for a humanitarian agency to replace UNRWA.
UNRWA provides health, education and other essential services to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in East Jerusalem, who will be forced to turn elsewhere.
The law bars Israeli authorities from even contacting UNRWA officials, which risks further hampering deconfliction efforts in Gaza where Israel has faced repeated allegations of targeting humanitarian workers.
The law’s mandated severing of communication with UNRWA officials and ban on visa authorization will all but decimate the agency’s ability to operate in Gaza, its supporters say. While Israel has worked to gradually limit UNRWA’s role in the delivery of humanitarian aid, in favor of the World Food Program, UNICEF and other agencies, UNRWA still is heavily involved in the Strip’s humanitarian operation, running shelters, clinics and warehouses.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller warned that the Knesset legislation could impact Israel’s ability to comply with US law that bars Washington’s security assistance from being transferred to countries that block the delivery of humanitarian aid.
In an apparent effort to address the criticism, Netanyahu’s office issues a tweet in English, saying, “UNRWA workers involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable. Since avoiding a humanitarian crisis is also essential, sustained humanitarian aid must remain available in Gaza now and in the future.”
“In the 90 days before this legislation takes effect – and after – we stand ready to work with our international partners to ensure Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not threaten Israel’s security,” Netanyahu’s office adds.
Emhoff says he’d like to place mezuzah on White House if Harris wins US election
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff waves as he arrives on stage to speak in support of his wife, Democratic presidential nominee US Vice President Kamala Harris, at a Get Out the Early Vote rally in Hallandale Beach, Fla., Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
When Kamala Harris was sworn into office as vice president, she and Doug Emhoff placed a mezuzah on the US vice president’s residence in Washington. Emhoff says if Harris is elected, he would look to see if one could be placed in the White House.
“Three months from now, the White House residence could – I have to check first — could have a mezuzah on its doorpost,” Emhoff says.
Delivering remarks on antisemitism in America Monday in Pittsburgh, a day after the anniversary of the Tree of Life synagogue massacre, Emhoff says voters have a choice of whether to empower the voices fighting antisemitism or those fomenting it — declaring that he and Harris are committed to “extinguishing this epidemic of hate.”
“There is a fire in this country, and we either pour water on it or we pour gasoline on it,” he says.
“One thing we know about antisemitism is that whenever chaos and cruelty are given a green light, Jew-hatred has historically not far behind,” Emhoff says. “And that matters so much today because Donald Trump is nothing if not an agent of chaos and cruelty.”
Emhoff credits his wife for urging him to “use my voice” on the issue and says she has an “unwavering” commitment to support Israel. “Kamala feels it in her kishkes.” He contrasts her commitment with Trump, who according to former aides has praised Nazis.
Lebanon health ministry reports at least 60 killed in Israeli strikes on Beqaa Valley
Lebanon’s health ministry says at least 60 people were killed on Monday in Israeli raids on several areas in the eastern Beqaa Valley, most of them in the Baalbek region.
The health ministry says the tolls cover 12 areas in the Bekaa Valley where terrorist group Hezbollah holds sway. At least two children are among the dead, it says.
At least 58 others were wounded, the health ministry adds, noting that the toll is preliminary as rescue efforts are still underway.
Of the 60 killed, at least 16 deaths were recorded in Al-Alaq, west of Baalbek city, according to the health ministry.
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