Oct. 30: US says Israel has made significant progress against Hezbollah in south Lebanon

IDF downs drone that triggered Nahariya sirens; says Lebanon rockets landed in open

The Israel Defense Forces says it shot down a drone from Lebanon, shortly after sirens were heard in Nahariya and neighboring towns in the Western Galilee.

It also says several missiles fired from Lebanon struck open areas in the Upper Galilee, following the activation of warning alerts in the area.

Drone alerts activated in Nahariya and nearby towns

Suspected drone alerts are activated in the northern coastal city of Nahariya and a pair of nearby towns.

IDF says troops killed Hamas operative in Tulkarem who was planning imminent attacks

A Hamas member planning to carry out imminent terror attacks was killed by Israeli special forces in the West Bank city of Tulkarem a short while ago, the IDF, police and the Shin Bet say.

According to a joint statement, members of police’s Yamam counter-terrorism unit and Shin Bet agents, with IDF support, operated in Tulkarem to eliminate Hussam al-Malah, who they identify as a prominent Hamas member.

استشهاد القيادي في كتائب القسام حسام ملاح برصاص قوة خاصة من جيش لاحتلال في مخيم طولكرم pic.twitter.com/9bhZjMBIov

— Newpress | نيو برس (@NewpressPs) October 30, 2024

The statement says al-Malah was involved in planning imminent terror attacks with Islam Odeh and Zahi Oufi, two Hamas operatives killed by Israel in separate incidents in recent weeks.

The three, along with other members in a Hamas network in Tulkarem, were allegedly planning a major terror attack on the October 7 anniversary.

The military says that after Odeh and Oufi were killed, al-Malah continued to lead the Hamas network and worked to plan imminent attacks in recent days.

In letter, over 1,000 reject attempts ‘to boycott, scapegoat Jewish and Israeli authors’

Booker Prize winning author and columnist Howard Jacobson. (Photo credit: Jenny Jacobson)

A group of over 1,000 figures from the literary and entertainment industries have signed a letter rejecting attempts “to boycott, harass and scapegoat Jewish and Israeli authors and literary institutions.”

Their letter comes after some 1,000 authors and literary professionals signed a pledge to boycott Israeli cultural institutions. The signatories pledged not to work with Israeli publishers, festivals, literary agencies and publications that are “complicit in violating Palestinian rights,” including “whitewashing and justifying Israel’s occupation, apartheid, or genocide.”

The signatories rejecting the boycott pledge include Bernard Henri-Lévy, Lee Child, Herta Müller, Howard Jacobson, Yossi Klein Halevi, Elfriede Jelinek, Mayim Bialik, Debra Messing, Julianna Margulies, Haim Saban and many more.

They declare that they “continue to be shocked and disappointed to see members of the literary community harass and ostracize their colleagues because they don’t share a one-sided narrative in response to the greatest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

“Regardless of one’s views on the current conflict, boycotts of creatives and creative institutions simply create more divisiveness and foment further hatred,” they say.

“Israel is fighting existential wars against Hamas and Hezbollah, both US, UK, and European Union designated terrorist groups. The exclusion of anyone who doesn’t unilaterally condemn Israel is an inversion of morality and an obfuscation of reality.

“We call on our friends and colleagues worldwide to join us in expressing their support for Israeli and Jewish publishers, authors, and all book festivals, publishers, and literary agencies that refuse to capitulate to censorship based on identity or litmus tests.”

Drone explodes in Golan Heights, was apparently launched from Iraq

A drone, likely launched at Israel from Iraq, exploded in the northern Golan Heights a short while ago, according to the IDF.

The military says that there are no reports of damage or injuries in the incident.

Sirens sounded in Merom Golan and Sha’al amid the attack.

Democrat Khanna condemns LGBTQ group for suspending Israeli member organization

US Rep. Ro Khanna speaks to a group of college Democrats in Ann Arbor, Michigan, February 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna condemns a major international LGBTQ rights group for suspending an Israeli member organization.

“Suspending an LGBTQ organization in Israel from participating in a global organization to advance LGBTQ rights does not advance peace or justice or the Palestinian cause. If anything, it further marginalizes progressive voices within Israel,” tweets Khanna, a prominent member of the Democratic Party’s progressive caucus.

ILGA World issued a statement earlier today apologizing for even considering bringing for a vote the proposal by The Aguda, the umbrella organization for the LGBTQ community in Israel, to host its annual conference. It then went on to suspend the Israeli group.

ILGA World said it received “significant and legitimate disconcert regarding a member organization bidding to host the World Conference in Tel Aviv, Israel in 2026 or 2027.

“In response to these multiple concerns, the ILGA World Board held an emergency meeting and unanimously decided to remove the bid from The Aguda from consideration,” it said, claiming that this is to “ensure we fully uphold universal respect for human rights, equal representation and the elimination of barriers to participation for all members – including in our conferences.”

“The ILGA World Board is also reviewing The Aguda’s compliance with our Constitution and has decided to suspend the organization from our membership to allow for that to happen,” it says.

UN says Lebanon mission targeted 30 times in October

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

The UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon recorded more than 30 incidents this month resulting in property damage or injury to peacekeepers, about 20 of them from Israeli fire or action, a spokesman says.

The UN peacekeeping force has been thrust into the front lines of the new war between Israel and Hezbollah, with Israel repeatedly calling on peacekeepers to abandon their positions, and UNIFIL refusing.

Of the 30 incidents this month, “about 20 of those we could attribute to IDF fire or actions, with seven being clearly deliberate,” Andrea Tenenti, a spokesman for the force, known as UNIFIL, tells a news conference held by video.

“What has been very concerning are incidents where peacekeepers performing their monitoring tasks, as well as our cameras, lighting and entire watchtowers, have been deliberately targeted by the IDF,” Tenenti says.

Israel maintains it does not target UN forces, but that they are sometimes caught in the crossfire with Hezbollah.

On Monday, a rocket that was probably fired by Hezbollah or an affiliated group hit the headquarters of the UN mission in the Lebanese city of Naqoura, he says.

For about a dozen other incidents, the origin of fire could not be determined.

Air force hits Hezbollah sites in Baalbek and Nabatieh

Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah command centers and other infrastructure in Baalbek and Nabatieh earlier today, in the northeast and south of Lebanon, respectively, the IDF announces.

Before the strikes were carried out, the IDF issued evacuation warnings for the entirety of both cities.

The IDF accuses Hezbollah of “systematically” taking over civilian areas in Lebanon for its activities.

Additional strikes earlier today near Baalbek hit Hezbollah fuel depots.

White House: Leaked Lebanon proposal ‘doesn’t reflect current state of negotiations’

The White House says in a statement that a leaked draft of the US ceasefire proposal between Israel and Hezbollah published earlier this evening on the Kan public broadcaster “doesn’t reflect the current state of negotiations.”

The proposal aired on Kan envisions a 60-day implementation period, during which time the Lebanese army will deploy along the border and confiscate Hezbollah arms in southern Lebanon.

IDF forces will be out of Lebanon within seven days of the end of hostilities, and will be replaced by the LAF, with UN peacekeepers facilitating the transition. Ultimately, there will be 10,000 LAF troops along the border with Israel.

Source to CNN: Iran will deliver ‘definitive, painful’ response to Israeli attack

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves to the crowd in a meeting in Tehran, Iran, October 27, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

Iran will deliver a “definitive and painful” response to Israel’s recent attack on its territory, likely before the US presidential election on November 5, CNN reports, citing an anonymous senior source.

The source, who has knowledge of deliberations in Iran tells the network: “The response of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Zionist regime’s aggression will be definitive and painful.”

Israel has been expecting a potential Iranian response to the strike, itself retaliation for Iran’s Oct. 1 barrage of ballistic missiles on the country. But Iran has so far been seen as seeking to minimize that strike, and it was unclear whether it would attempt a major response.

Israel has warned Tehran that any further attacks on its territory will be met with resolute action.

Lebanon’s PM says hopes for Hezbollah ceasefire with Israel in ‘coming hours or days’

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

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati says he is striving for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war within days.

“We are doing our best… to have a ceasefire within the coming hours or days,” Mikati says during a televised interview with Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed, adding that he is “cautiously optimistic.”

Leaked draft shows Lebanon deal would include global oversight, Israeli freedom to act

Troops operating in south Lebanon in an undated photo released by the military for publication on October 28, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)

The ceasefire proposal between Israel and Hezbollah that the US is pushing begins with a 60-day implementation period, during which time the Lebanese army will deploy along the border and confiscate Hezbollah arms in southern Lebanon, according to a draft agreement published by Kan news.

IDF forces will exit Lebanon within seven days of the end of hostilities and will be replaced by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), with UN peacekeepers facilitating the transition. Ultimately, there will be 10,000 LAF troops along the border with Israel.

At the end of the 60 days, Israel and Lebanon will hold indirect negotiations through the US on fully implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and resolving border disputes.

A new International Monitoring and Enforcement Mechanism (IMEM) will be created, chaired by the US, and include Italy, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, UNIFIL and regional countries.

חשיפה בכאן 11: זוהי טיוטת ההסכם המלא שמתגבש בין ישראל ללבנון. ההסכם נוסח ע״י המתווך האמריקני עמוס הוכשטיין, והונח על שולחנה של ישראל. בכירים ישראלים אומרים שהדרג המדיני מרוצה מהטיוטה וסיכוייו גבוהים. הנה הטיוטה המלאה >>>> pic.twitter.com/39sZianq8m

— Suleiman Maswadeh סולימאן מסוודה (@SuleimanMas1) October 30, 2024

Israel “may choose to act against violations” and can respond to threats from Lebanese territory, according to the draft. If Lebanon or IMEM don’t address weapons shipments or production, Israel can strike such targets, after consulting with the US.

Israel can still conduct intelligence flights over Lebanon, but they should not be visible to the naked eye or break the sound barrier.

There is also a draft side letter between the US and Israel affirming Israel’s right to self-defense, and saying the US will play a lead role in implementing the ceasefire and ensuring Lebanon meets its commitments.

As the Kan report begins being picked up by other outlets, White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett issues a statement asserting, “There are many reports and drafts circulating. They do not reflect the current state of negotiations.”

IDF announces new division to defend Israel’s eastern border

File: View of the border between Israel and Jordan on the Route 90 highway in the Jordan Valley, July 6, 2017. (Hadas Parush/Flash90, file)

The IDF announces the formation of a new division that will be tasked with defending Israel’s eastern border.

The move was approved by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi.

The IDF says the establishment of the new eastern regional division comes following an examination of the military’s “operational needs and defense capabilities in the area, in accordance with the planning of the IDF’s force build-up, in the light of the lessons of war and the situational assessment.”

The division will be subordinate to IDF Central Command.

“The mission of the division is to strengthen defenses in the border area, Route 90 highway and the communities, and to respond to terror incidents and weapons smuggling, while maintaining a peaceful border and strengthening cooperation with the Jordanian army,” the IDF says.

Currently, the Jordan Valley Regional Brigade, under the Central Command, is tasked with defending about 150 kilometers of the eastern frontier, from the northern part of the Dead Sea in the West Bank to the Hamat Gader hot springs in the Golan Heights.

The Yoav Regional Brigade, under the Southern Command, is responsible for the sparsely populated southern section, from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea resort city of Eilat.

White House: Iran should not respond to Israel’s retaliation

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during a press briefing at the White House, July 9, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Iran should not respond to Israel’s retaliation, but if it does, the United States will support Israel, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre says.

“Iran should not respond to Israel’s retaliation. They should not… If they do, we will support Israel in defending itself, but they should not,” she says at a news briefing.

US opposes legislation banning new consulates to serve Palestinians in Jerusalem

WASHINGTON — The US has informed Israel of its displeasure over legislation passed by the Knesset yesterday banning the opening of new foreign consulates in Jerusalem that serve the Palestinians, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says.

The law was largely seen as aimed at putting a further obstacle to the US reopening its consulate after former president Donald Trump shuttered the diplomatic mission to the Palestinians in 2019.

US President Joe Biden came into office pledging to reopen the mission but the move requires Israel’s acquiescence since the building is located in Israel’s sovereign territory in West Jerusalem. Successive governments have refused to sign off on the move, and yesterday’s legislation will likely make it even more difficult to carry out.

“We oppose that legislation, have made clear to them that we oppose the bill and continue to believe that opening a US consulate in Jerusalem would be an important way for our country to engage with and provide support for the Palestinian people,” Miller says.

He notes that the US continues to engage with the Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority through its Palestinian Affairs Bureau in the US Embassy in Jerusalem and the Office for Palestinian Affairs in Washington, which was formed earlier during Biden’s tenure in order to boost ties with the Palestinians.

Asked whether the US would consider closing Israeli consulates throughout the US in retaliation for the move, Miller says this is not a move that Washington is considering.

US state dept. says Israel has made significant progress against Hezbollah

WASHINGTON — Asked about Israel’s airstrikes earlier today targeting Hezbollah sites across the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek, US State Department Matthew Miller reiterates the Biden administration’s stance in support of Israel going after Hezbollah sites, while urging it to avoid targeting civilians, civilian infrastructure, journalists and heritage sites.

Miller notes that Israel ordered the evacuation of Baalbek before carrying out the strikes and that the US supports this step.

He reiterates that IDF operations in Lebanon should not look like those in Gaza, where there has been mass destruction throughout the entirety of the Strip.

He notes that Israel has made significant progress in hitting Hezbollah along the southern Lebanese border and in efforts to push fighters of the terror group back beyond the Litani River.

The State Department spokesperson clarifies that the US is not at the moment calling for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon but does ultimately want to see a diplomatic resolution to the conflict in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

US says Israeli steps to address humanitarian crisis in Gaza minor and insufficient

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller answers questions during a news briefing at the State Department on July 18, 2023, in Washington. (AP/Nathan Howard)

WASHINGTON — Since the US sent a letter to Israel warning that continued security assistance was at risk if it doesn’t take significant steps to improve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the measures Jerusalem has taken have been minor and insufficient, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says.

While there has been some improvement in the number of delivery routes to aid, the uptick has been minor and the humanitarian “situation still remains at a level that we don’t find acceptable,” Miller says during a press briefing.

He says there continue to be breakdowns in communications between the IDF and aid agencies and issues in which approvals aren’t granted by the IDF for aid workers to operate throughout Gaza, or issues where authorizations are given but they aren’t transmitted to officers on the ground. There are also still Palestinian armed gangs that have been looting some of the aid coming into Gaza, Miller says.

IDF chief: Army must grow, hopes to encourage more Haredi enlistment

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi meets with Sgt. Haim Treitel, a soldier with the Givati Brigade who was wounded in Jabalia, at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba on October 28, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi again stresses that the military needs to be larger, as reserve soldiers — who have served multiple stints in Gaza, on the northern border, and now in southern Lebanon — have raised their frustrations that ultra-Orthodox men are largely not being drafted.

“To all the reservists, I understand the costs — family, employment — and the burden. Now we need solutions. First, we will maintain support. For those who come [to reserve duty], we need to be there, we need to provide solutions, recognition and compensation, for a student or someone whose business has been heavily impacted,” Halevi says to officers during a visit to the northern border.

“The IDF needs to be larger, both in the standing army and reserves, which is why we’re building up more forces,” he continues.

“There’s a lot of public discussion about the Haredim. On Monday, I visited injured soldiers… I met a soldier from the Givati Brigade who was injured in Rafah, he took a bullet to the upper part of his thigh, not a pleasant injury, but he’ll be okay. He’s Haredi, from Bnei Brak. He wanted to enlist, even though his family didn’t support him initially, but once he started, they embraced him with open arms. They were with him even before he was injured and, of course, after he was injured. And I’m telling you, our question is how we can make many more like him,” Halevi says.

“This is what’s right socially, and I think that when we manage to grow from this… from realizing the need for a larger IDF, it could also bring a very positive social change,” he adds.

Paris court rules Israel must be allowed to exhibit at naval arms expo

The Paris Commercial Court rules that the Euronaval arms show cannot keep Israeli companies from exhibiting at the event based on their nationality.

French President Emmanuel Macron decided earlier this month to ban Israeli firms from exhibiting at the naval arms show. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called Macron’s decision “a disgrace.”

“This is a huge victory for the rule of law and the independence of justice,” says Patrick Klugman, one of the attorneys representing Israeli firms.

It is the second time this year that France tried to ban Israeli firms from a major defense show. In May, France said conditions were not right for Israel to participate in the Eurosatory military trade show, when Macron was calling for Israel to cease operations in the Gaza Strip.

Iran claims it killed and arrested separatists linked to Israel

Iranian state media says intelligence services killed a member of a separatist group, which it accuses of links to Israel, and arrested two others in the country’s northwest.

“Intelligence service agents killed one of the main members of this terrorist group, and two others were arrested,” state television reports, adding that their weapons were seized.

It says they were detected trying to enter Iran’s West Azerbaijan province from northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, where several exiled Iranian Kurdish groups are based, “with the aim of causing riots, terror and insecurity.”

It does not specify what group the members belonged to, only that it was a “group affiliated with the Zionist regime,” referring to Israel.

Iran often makes claims of arresting or killing Israeli agents. Such claims are difficult to verify.

Givati soldier seriously wounded during fighting in northern Gaza

A soldier with the Givati Brigade’s Rotem Battalion was seriously wounded during fighting earlier today in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF announces.

He was taken to a hospital in Israel for treatment.

IDF says it hit Hezbollah fuel depots in northeastern Lebanon

The IDF confirms launching airstrikes on Hezbollah fuel depots in northeastern Lebanon earlier today.

In a statement, the IDF says the fuel sites were located within Hezbollah military compounds belonging to the terror group’s Unit 4400, which is tasked with delivering weapons from Iran and its proxies to Lebanon.

“These sites provided fuel for vehicles in the service of the terror organization and served as a significant means of operating its military infrastructure,” the IDF says.

According to the military, the fuel at the depots was provided by Iran.

“Iran finances more than half of Hezbollah’s budget, via the [IRGC’s] Quds Force, which transports oil and money through various routes to Lebanon,” the IDF says.

احد الغارات العنيفة التي استهدفت #بعلبك قبل قليل ومازال العدوان مستمر#بعلبك_الهرمل #نعيم_قاسم #صور pic.twitter.com/RcOCIwQiWN

— SANA NEWS (@sananews0) October 30, 2024

IDF says drone infiltration incident in north over, none hurt

The IDF says the drone infiltration incident that began at around 5:20 p.m. is over.

Three drones were launched from Lebanon in the attack, with one being intercepted over Ya’ara in the Western Galilee.

The other two drones exploded in northern Israel, causing no injuries. There are no immediate reports of major damage.

The IDF says it also launched interceptor missiles at a target in the Hadera area amid the incident, but it was later revealed to have been a false identification.

After feud, police chief says won’t remove legal adviser before meeting with AG

This composite image shows Israel Police Commissioner Daniel Levy and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Police Chief Daniel Levy has announced he will not remove the police’s legal adviser before holding a meeting with Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, after a public feud on the matter.

In a statement, his office says: “As head of the organization tasked with maintaining and enforcing the law in Israel and out of a sense of responsibility, the commissioner has decided not to discuss the appointment…until his meeting with the attorney general that will take place soon.”

Levy announced last week he was removing Assistant Commissioner Elazar Kahana, the force’s top legal adviser, from his post and instead putting him in charge of the prosecution department, despite not being a candidate for the position. Baharav-Miara then said she was blocking the move, saying it was carried out “in a rushed process and against the officer’s will” and that Kahana was removed as legal adviser “without any reason at all to justify this.” But Levy said he would ignore her order since, he claimed, she did not have the authority to intervene.

Yesterday Baharav-Miara instructed Levy to freeze the process, 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 declared in a letter to Levy.

Trump pledges to end ‘destruction in Lebanon’ in appeal to Arab voters ahead of election

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump pledges to end the “suffering and destruction in Lebanon,” in an apparent appeal to Arab voters less than a week before the election.

Trump has been aggressively courting Arab and Muslim voters in the swing state of Michigan, which also houses the largest Lebanese community in the US, amid fury over the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the war in Gaza.

While Trump, like Biden, has backed Israel’s right to defend itself, he has repeatedly called Israel to end the war quickly and claimed that Hamas wouldn’t have attacked Israel if he were president.

The post on X pledging to end the destruction in Lebanon doesn’t mention Israel or Hezbollah.

“During my administration, we had peace in the Middle East, and we will have peace again very soon! I will fix the problems caused by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon,” Trump tweets.

During my Administration, we had peace in the Middle East, and we will have peace again very soon! I will fix the problems caused by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon. I want to see the Middle East return to real peace, a lasting peace,…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2024

“I want to see the Middle East return to real peace, a lasting peace, and we will get it done properly so it doesn’t repeat itself every 5 or 10 years!”

IDF says it has received reports of two drone impacts

At least three drones were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel in the past half an hour, one of which was intercepted by air defenses, according to the military.

The IDF says it has received reports of two drone impacts. It does not specify where they impacted or if any damage was caused.

“The event is still ongoing,” the IDF adds.

Sirens sounded along Israel’s northern coastal plain, reaching as far south as Hadera.

Drone infiltration sirens continue to sound along coast, now in Hadera

Drone infiltration sirens continue to sound in northern Israel, with the latest alerts activated in Hadera.

The IDF says it is tracking several drones that were launched from Lebanon.

Footage posted to social media purports to show one of the Hezbollah drones over northern Israel.

Footage posted to social media purports to show one of the Hezbollah drones over northern Israel. pic.twitter.com/idAdJdSInB

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 30, 2024

IDF tracking several suspected drones along northern coast as sirens sound

Sirens warning of a drone infiltration sound along Israel’s northern coastal plain, with the IDF saying it identified several targets that crossed into Israeli airspace from Lebanon.

The alerts began in the Nahariya area, before spreading southward, reaching Acre and Haifa.

The IDF says it is tracking several suspected drones, and the incident is still underway.

US tracking nearly 500 incidents of civilian harm involving US weapons in Gaza

US State Department officials have identified nearly 500 potential incidents of civilian harm during Israel’s military operations in Gaza involving US-furnished weapons, but have not taken further action on any of them, according to three sources, including a US official familiar with the matter.

The Washington Post reports that the reports have come from various US government agencies, aid organizations, nonprofits, media reports and other eyewitnesses, the Post says.

While State Department guidance directs US officials to complete investigations and recommend a response to such claims within two months, no single case has gotten this far in the process, according to the report.

Some of the cases likely amount to violations of US and international law, sources familiar with the matter tell The Post.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken submitted a report to Congress earlier this year concluding that it is reasonable to assess that US weapons have been used by Israel in ways that are inconsistent with US law. However, he also said Israel’s assurances to the contrary are “credible and reliable” and that the US could not at the time provide a conclusive determination.

Report: Netanyahu, security officials agree it’s time to seek ceasefire in Lebanon

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, September 30, 2024. (Screenshot: GPO)

Channel 12 reports that during a meeting of top Israeli officials led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday, there was broad agreement that Israel has largely achieved its goals in the campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon and should now seek to translate that into a deal to end the fighting.

The report says Netanyahu accepted security officials’ position that a ceasefire in Lebanon is appropriate so long as it fulfills the objective of returning northern residents safely to their homes.

US reiterates opposition to ‘unfit’ UN Palestinian rapporteur Francesca Albanese

UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese speaks during a press conference following a session of the UN Human Rights Council, Geneva, March 27, 2024. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)

The US reiterates its opposition to UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese as she arrives in New York for a series of engagements.

“I want to reiterate the US belief she is unfit for her role,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield tweets of Albanese, who has faced repeated accusations of having made antisemitic statements in her criticism of Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians.

The Biden administration has stopped short of publicly calling for her removal but has sharpened its tone against Albanese in recent months, with several senior officials publicly calling her unfit and rejecting her mandate altogether.

“The United Nations should not tolerate antisemitism from a UN-affiliated official hired to promote human rights,” Thomas-Greenfield tweets.

Gallant to troops: Bringing the hostages home is most important mission in Gaza now

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks with officers and soldiers in southern Gaza's Rafah, October 30, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tells troops in Rafah that bringing the hostages home is the most important current mission in the Gaza Strip.

“Your obligation is to create military pressure. Our obligation, the political echelon, is to bring about a deal… You apply pressure, do what is necessary, and we bring about a deal because you create the conditions for us to carry it out, and I hope we will do it,” he says.

“This is our most important mission in Gaza at this time. We have regular tasks — one is to maintain the defense of the communities and the forces, and the second is to maintain the freedom of action to do whatever is necessary inside Gaza,” Gallant adds.

UN Security Council expresses ‘grave concern’ over Israel’s UNRWA ban

Members of the United Nations Security Council attend a meeting on the situation in the Middle East, on October 16, 2024 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/AFP)

UN Security Council members unanimously express “grave concern” over the Knesset’s approval of legislation banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and severely curbing its operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

The joint statement signed by all 15 members, including the US, is not binding but does represent quickly growing international pressure against Israel over the decision to target UNRWA. Jerusalem notes that several of its members participated in Hamas’s October 7 onslaught and says roughly 1,000 of its staffers have ties to Hamas.

The statement says the UNSC members emphasized UNRWA’s vital role in providing aid to Palestinians, particularly in Gaza where it “remains the backbone of all humanitarian response” and that no agency has the capacity to replace UNRWA in the middle of the war.

Security Council members note the investigations carried out into misconduct within UNRWA, welcome unspecified reforms they say the agency has carried out, and urge it to continue taking such steps.

Berlin lawyers seek court block on German ship’s 150 tons of explosives bound for Israel

Human rights lawyers have filed an urgent appeal with Berlin’s Administrative Court seeking to block a 150-ton shipment of military-grade explosives aboard the German cargo ship MV Kathrin, bound for Israel.

The European Legal Support Center (ELSC) says the action was filed on behalf of three Palestinians from Gaza, arguing that the shipment of primarily RDX explosives could be used in munitions for Israel’s military operations in Gaza, potentially contributing to alleged war crimes, which Israel strenuously denies.

According to the ELSC, the RDX is intended for Israeli Military Industries, a division of Elbit Systems ESLT.TA, Israel’s largest defense contractor. Elbit Systems was not immediately available for comment.

The MV Kathrin, owned by Germany-based Lubeca-Marine, had been denied entry at several African and Mediterranean ports, including in Angola, Slovenia, Montenegro, and Malta, the ELSC says, adding that Portuguese authorities recently required the ship to switch to a German flag before it could continue.

Saudi Arabia hosts meeting of new group pushing for Palestinian state

Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud listens as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a meeting with Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council Member States in New York on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (Caitlin Ochs/Pool Photo via AP)

Saudi Arabia hosts the first meeting of a new “international alliance” to press for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Unveiled last month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the “International Alliance to Implement the Two-State Solution” brings together nations from the Middle East, Europe and beyond.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan says nearly 90 “states and international organizations” are taking part in the two-day meeting in Riyadh.

“A genocide is happening with the goal of evicting the Palestinian people from their land, which Saudi Arabia rejects,” he says, describing the humanitarian situation as “catastrophic” and denouncing the “complete blockade” of northern Gaza.

The Riyadh meeting is expected to focus on humanitarian access, the embattled UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA and measures to advance a two-state solution, diplomats say.

The Gaza war has revived talk of a “two-state solution” in which Israeli and Palestinian states would live in peace side by side, though analysts say the goal seems less attainable than ever.

Hezbollah chief: We struck Netanyahu’s home, he ‘survived this time’ but may yet be killed

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem delivers a televised speech on October 30, 2024. (Screenshot)

In his first address after his appointment as new Hezbollah leader, Naim Qassem comments on the drone strike on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s private residence in Caesarea.

“The enemy must know that its bombing of our villages and cities will not make us retreat, and the resistance is strong and was able to deliver a drone to Netanyahu’s room,” he says. The drone hit the fortified window of Netanyahu’s bedroom and caused some external damage. Netanyahu was not home at the time.

“Netanyahu survived this time, but perhaps his time has not yet come.”

He goes on to suggest that “perhaps an Israeli will kill him, perhaps during one of his speeches.”

He claims: “Our diplomatic contacts confirmed to us that Netanyahu is very afraid because we are targeting him.”

Qassem further claims that Hezbollah has recovered its capabilities and replaced many of the thousands of fighters who were injured in the pager and walkie-talkie attacks last month, and praises the terror group’s missile and drone attacks against northern and central Israel that have sent millions of Israelis into bomb shelters, as well as the deadly attack on a military base in Binyamina in which four soldiers were killed.

Addressing Hezbollah supporters inside Lebanon, Qassem says they will be rewarded for their sacrifices, and urges them to have “a little more patience.”

“Those who killed our secretary-general [Nasrallah] wanted to defeat the spirit of resistance within us and shatter the will of jihad, but his blood will continue to boil in our veins and will increase our determination to continue on this path.”

UNRWA chief says ban will lead to a vacuum and more suffering for Palestinians

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA, speaks during an interview with AFP in New York on September 24, 2024. (ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

The head of the UN agency caring for Palestinian refugees says newly passed Israeli laws effectively banning its activities in Israel will leave a vacuum that will cost more lives and create further instability in Gaza and the West Bank.

Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, tells The Associated Press that the legislation is “ultimately against the Palestinians themselves,” effectively denying them a functioning provider of lifesaving services, education and health care.

Israel alleges that Hamas and other terrorists have infiltrated UNRWA, and this week called the agency “rotten.” Other aid groups say the agency’s strong, decades-old infrastructure across Gaza is irreplaceable.

The laws, passed by Knesset this week, sever all ties with UNRWA and ban its operations in Israel. And since the agency’s operations in Gaza and the West Bank must go through Israeli authorities, the laws threaten to close its activities there as well. The laws are expected to come into effect in three months.

If the Israeli decision is implemented “this would be a total disaster, it is like throwing [out] the baby with the water,” Lazzarini tells the AP, speaking in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, where he is attending a conference to discuss the Mideast conflict.

“Having UNRWA ending its activities within the three months would also mean more people will die in Gaza.”

“We have today 1 in 2 persons in Gaza below the age of 18, among them 650,000 girls and boys living in the rubble, deeply traumatized at the age of primary and secondary school,” he said. “Getting rid of UNRWA is also a way to tell these children that you will have no future. We are just sacrificing your education. Education is the only thing which has never, ever been taken away from the Palestinians.”

Israel says UNRWA schools have long contained materials educating to hatred of the Jewish state. It also argues it is possible to provide for the needs of Gaza’s population through other groups it views as less tainted.

Lebanese media: Israeli strike in northeast targeted fuel infrastructure

Lebanese media report that an Israeli airstrike in northeastern Lebanon targeted fuel infrastructure.

The strike is reported in the town of Douris, on the outskirts of Baalbek.

The IDF issued evacuation orders for the entire city of Baalbek earlier.

بالفيديو – غارات إسرائيلية تستهدف خزانات وقود في دورس –#بعلبك #لبنان #أخبار_اليوم #Lebanon #akhbaralyawm pic.twitter.com/GcpPouOIVJ

— Akhbar Al Yawm (@akhbaralyawm) October 30, 2024

احد الغارات العنيفة التي استهدفت #بعلبك قبل قليل ومازال العدوان مستمر#بعلبك_الهرمل #نعيم_قاسم #صور pic.twitter.com/RcOCIwQiWN

— SANA NEWS (@sananews0) October 30, 2024

Report: Netanyahu’s plane got F-35 escort upon return from US at wife Sara’s insistence

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara exit the official Wing of Zion plane in Washington, DC, on July 22, 2024. (Lazar Berman/ Times of Israel)

Walla news reports that when two Israeli Air Force jets were scrambled to escort Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plane when he returned from the US last month, the demand did not come from security services or even the premier himself, but from his wife, Sara, who feared an attempt to shoot down the plane in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah a day earlier.

Citing unnamed sources, the report says the Prime Minister’s Office first asked for an escort for the entire journey, which was rejected by the Air Force, and later asked for an escort for the trip’s final leg, which was approved, and two F-35s escorted the plan into Israeli airspace.

The prime minister’s plane, Wing of Zion, is already equipped with an anti-missile protection system.

The report also says the PMO sought to publish a photo of the escort, which was refused by the IAF. It says the jets were even instructed to fly behind the premier’s plane so that no one on board could take photos for PR purposes.

The PMO rejects the report, calling it “utter fake news.” The IDF does not confirm or deny it, saying only that “security for the prime minister’s plane is determined according to security assessments and regulations.”

Man lightly hurt by shrapnel from rocket fire in north

A man was lightly hurt by shrapnel following Hezbollah’s latest rocket fire on northern Israel, medics say.

Magen David Adom says it is treating a man in his 70s who was hit in the head by shrapnel, in the Dalton area in the Upper Galilee.

Newly appointed Hezbollah leader vows to continue Nasrallah’s war against Israel

In his first address after his appointment as new Hezbollah leader, Naim Qassem says he intends to continue the “work program” of his predecessor, Hassan Nasrallah, including its war against Israel.

Praising Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, Qassem says the terror group will continue to support the people of Gaza and “confront the danger Israel poses for the whole region.”

Sitting in an undisclosed location against the background of Hezbollah and Lebanese flags and a portrait of Nasrallah, Qassem claims that Hezbollah’s military operations from its creation in 1982 until today have prevented the establishment of Israeli settlements on Lebanese territory (Israeli leaders have never expressed the intention to settle land in Lebanon).

Seeking to justify Hezbollah plunging Lebanon into a war, Qassem further claims that for years Israel has not respected UN Resolution 1701 for the demilitarization of southern Lebanon by violating Lebanon’s airspace 39,000 times since 2006, and that the IDF had been preparing for a war against Lebanon even before October 7, 2023 (Hezbollah, a terror group committed to Israel’s destruction, has violated Resolution 1701 since its inception, building up forces near the border intended to serve in an invasion of northern Israel. Israel has indeed conducted regular strikes in Lebanon over the years, saying it is doing so to limit Hezbollah’s efforts to arm itself as it plans attacks on the Jewish state).

Qassem further says the terror group is facing an “American, European and global war to put an end to our resistance.” He adds that Iran is supporting the Shiite group and “demands nothing in return,” and says that “any support from any Arab country for our fight is welcome.”

Strikes reported in Baalbek area after IDF warned entire Lebanese city to evacuate

Vehicles condense along a road as residents of Lebanon's eastern city of Baalbek evacuate from the Beqaa Valley city on October 30, 2024, after a statement from the Israeli army spokesperson warning residents of incoming strikes on Hezbollah targets. (Photo by Nidal SOLH / AFP)

After the IDF issued evacuation orders for the entire northeastern Lebanese city of Baalbek and surrounding villages, media in Lebanon report strikes in the area.

The strikes come while Naim Qassem gives his first speech as chief of Hezbollah.

غارات عنيفة ومتتالية على #بعلبك وضواحيها pic.twitter.com/SkDon8vkyG

— kataeb.org (@kataeb_Ar) October 30, 2024

Separately, the IDF issues fresh evacuation orders for Nabatieh and several other villages in southern Lebanon ahead of airstrikes. The area had already received such orders several weeks ago.

France condemns likely Hezbollah strike on UNIFIL, Israeli strikes in Gaza

France condemns a rocket strike that hit the headquarters of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon yesterday, which UNIFIL has said was likely fired by terror group Hezbollah or an affiliate.

“France condemns the rocket fire, likely by Hezbollah, that hit the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon UNIFIL in Naqura” in south Lebanon, the foreign ministry says. “Attacks against Blue Helmets constitute grave violations of international law.”

France also “firmly condemned” an Israeli strike in Gaza yesterday that Hamas authorities say collapsed a building, killing dozens. The IDF has said it’s probing the incident, while casting doubt on the reported casualty figure which stands at at least 70. A military official says the target of the strike was a spotter with binoculars.

“France firmly condemns the Israeli strike against a building in Beit Lahiya in north Gaza on October 29 that killed almost 100 people, including women and children,” the foreign ministry claims in a statement.

“France also condemns recent Israeli strikes on hospitals in the north” of the Strip, it adds. “The siege imposed on north Gaza must be ended immediately.”

Lapid slams coalition after defeat of bill requiring daycares to have protected spaces

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party slams the coalition after a bill requiring daycare centers to have protected spaces on their premises is defeated 33-51 in the Knesset plenum.

The legislation, advanced by Yesh Atid MK Naor Shiri among others, would require the installation of protected spaces in daycare centers for toddlers as a condition for obtaining an operating license. The bill’s explanatory notes state that most such centers remain unprotected and say that its passage would “contribute to the sense of security and peace of mind” of parents. If passed, it would only have come into effect in three years, giving daycare centers time to comply.

“The most pressing thing for the government to pass this morning is the ratings law and not abandoning [the pro-government] Channel 14, [but] in the same breath and without shame, the coalition votes against the protected space law for daycare centers for toddlers,” Yesh Atid says in a statement.

The daycare bill was defeated immediately after the coalition approved the initial reading of a bill granting the government oversight of television viewership data.

New US proposal seeks 60-day Lebanon truce to end war, implement UN resolution — sources

US mediators are working on a proposal to halt hostilities between Israel and Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, starting with a 60-day ceasefire, two sources say.

The sources — a person briefed on the talks and a senior diplomat working on Lebanon — tell Reuters the two-month period would be used to finalize full implementation of the largely unenforced United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006 to keep southern Lebanon free of arms outside state control.

Resolution 1701 has been the cornerstone of talks to end the past year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which erupted in parallel with the war in Gaza and has dramatically escalated over the last five weeks.

The two sources tell Reuters that the 60-day truce has replaced a proposal last month by the United States and other countries that envisioned a ceasefire for 21 days as a prelude to Resolution 1701 coming into full force.

Both, however, caution that the deal may still fall through. “There is an earnest push to get to a ceasefire, but it is still hard to get it to materialize,” the diplomat says.

The person briefed on the talks says Israel is still pushing for the ability to carry out “direct enforcement” of the truce via airstrikes or other military operations against Hezbollah if it violates the deal.

“We’d like to reiterate that we seek a diplomatic resolution that fully implements 1701 and gets both Israeli and Lebanese citizens back to their homes on both sides of the border,” says Sama Habib, spokesperson at the US embassy in Beirut, when asked about the reported proposal.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

IDF official: Strike on Gaza building targeted spotter, wasn’t aimed at toppling structure

Palestinians search through the rubble of a building after an Israeli strike in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, October 29, 2024. (AFP)

An IDF official says the target of yesterday’s attack on a five-story building which Gaza health officials said caused scores of deaths was a spotter with binoculars in the building, and that the intent was not to destroy the structure.

The military official agrees to provide details only on condition of anonymity, citing military protocol and the ongoing investigation into the incident.

The official says the building was not known to be a shelter for civilians, and that it collapsed as a result of the strike on the spotter.

The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry claimed yesterday that at least 70 people were killed in the first of two strikes on the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, asserting that more than half of the victims were women and children. The ministry’s casualty tolls do not differentiate between civilians and terror operatives.

The military has said it is investigating the strike, urging skepticism of Hamas’s claims.

The official says there are discrepancies between the numbers of victims reported by authorities in Gaza and what Israeli intelligence indicates, and that the victims included known terror operatives. The official does not provide detailed evidence to support that assertion.

The army has repeatedly said it targets military targets and terror operatives, accusing Hamas of operating among civilians and using them as human shields. It has highlighted numerous steps it takes to mitigate harm to civilians, while acknowledging that errors have occurred.

US official: Pair of Biden aides to visit Israel; CIA and CENTCOM chiefs also heading to region

A US official tells The Times of Israel that several top Biden administration officials will be visiting Israel later this week to discuss a range of issues with their Israeli counterparts.

White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk and special envoy Amos Hochstein will visit Israel tomorrow to discuss Israel’s conflicts with Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran, the US official says, after similar details were given earlier by an Israeli official.

Meanwhile, CIA Director Bill Burns will be in Cairo tomorrow to engage with Egyptian counterparts on bilateral matters as well as the process to secure the release of hostages.

CENTCOM Commander General Erik Kurilla is also traveling to the region to discuss regional defense and will visit Israel to engage with counterparts and US personnel, the US official adds.

IDF says deputy head of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force has been killed

Mustafa Ahmad Shahadi, deputy commander of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, in an undated photo released by the Israeli military on October 30, 2024, after he was killed in an airstrike. (IDF)

The deputy commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force was killed in a recent airstrike, the IDF announces.

According to the military, Mustafa Ahmad Shahadi, who served as the deputy head of Radwan, was killed in a strike carried out by fighter jets in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh.

The IDF in a statement says that Shahadi “advanced numerous terror attacks against the State of Israel” and his elimination is “part of the effort to degrade Hezbollah’s Radwan Forces’ capabilities to direct and execute terror activities against IDF troops and communities in the northern border, in particular the ‘Conquer the Galilee’ plan.”

The Radwan Force is believed to have planned to invade northern Israel, in a Hezbollah plot that ultimately did not materialize.

Previously, Shahadi was head of Radwan operations during fighting in Syria between 2012 and 2017, the IDF adds.

New Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem to deliver address at 3 p.m.

Hezbollah announces that its newly appointed leader Naim Qassem will deliver his first address as secretary general today at 3 p.m. Israel time — one hour from now.

Qassem’s appointment was announced on Monday, following the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month and of his presumed successor Hashem Safieddine earlier this month.

Hezbollah official: We won’t be deterred by Gallant’s threat to new chief Qassem

Senior Hezbollah official Hassan Fadlallah says a remark by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant suggesting the Lebanese terror group’s new chief, Naim Qassem, will not hold the post for long will not deter the group’s “resistance.”

Gallant posted a photo of Qassem on X yesterday with the caption: “Temporary appointment. Not for long.”

Temporary appointment.
Not for long. pic.twitter.com/ONu0GveApi

— יואב גלנט – Yoav Gallant (@yoavgallant) October 29, 2024

Jewish school in Kyiv is damaged by Russian drone strike

A Jewish school in Kyiv after it was damaged by a Russian drone strike on October 30, 2024. (Courtesy)

A Jewish school in Kyiv after it was damaged by a Russian drone strike on October 30, 2024. (Courtesy)

A Jewish school in Kyiv is damaged by a Russian drone strike.

No one at the school is injured in the attack, but several were injured in a nearby building.

The drone hit near the Perlina Chabad school in the early hours of the morning.

“The school’s reinforced windows, equipped with protective film, prevented further harm to the interior of the structure. Nonetheless, classrooms, the school shuttle, and the student lounge suffered extensive damage,” said a statement put out by the Jewish Relief Network Ukraine.

Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch and Rebbetzin Elka Ina Markovitch toured the shcool with police and other officials.

“We experienced a tremendous miracle that students were not in the building at the time of the explosion. The light of Torah and Jewish education in Kyiv will not be dimmed,” says Markovitch, one of the two claimants to the title of Kyiv’s chief rabbi. “Just as the school has remained operational throughout the war, so too will we continue to nurture our children’s souls, even in these challenging times.”

Israeli Ambassador Michael Brodsky tells The Times of Israel that he has spoken with Markovitch and offered to help renovate the school. He cannot say whether the drone was of Iranian origin.

“This isn’t the first time that Russian missiles and drones hit Jewish sites,” said Moshe Azman, Chief Rabbi of Kyiv’s Brodsky Synagogue. He pointed at strikes that damaged the Babi Yar memorial site, a yeshiva, and Jewish cemeteries.

IDF says some 15 rockets target Haifa area, some impacts reported

A barrage of some 15 rockets was fired from Lebanon at the Haifa Bay area a short while ago, the IDF says.

The military says some of the rockets were shot down by air defenses, and impacts were also identified.

There are no immediate reports of injuries or major damage.

Sirens had sounded in Acre and the Krayot area amid the attack.

AG-panned bill giving government control of TV viewership data advances in Knesset

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi in the Knesset plenum in Jerusalem, October 30, 2024. (Dani Shem-Tov/Knesset)

A bill granting the government oversight of television viewership data passes a preliminary reading 53-49 in the Knesset plenum, two days after receiving backing from the Ministerial Committee for Legislation.

The legislation, sponsored by Likud MK Shalom Danino, would allow the communications minister to assume control of the currently independent organization that supplies publishers with this information.

It aims to establish “a framework” for measuring TV broadcast viewing figures and force the various broadcasters to report this data to the agency, including viewers’ age, gender and place of residence.

It would also compel networks to display their peak-hour viewing figures.

To become law, the bill still needs to pass through a committee and three additional votes in the plenum.

After the Ministerial Committee for Legislation backed the bill on Monday, Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara issued a position paper asserting that it would violate key constitutional principles, including the right to privacy and freedom of the press.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi dismissed the attorney general’s criticism, saying that the bill would be amended to protect viewer privacy. He also said it was the government, not Baharav-Miara, that would establish the core principles of the legislation.

“What we want in this proposal is to reveal viewing data to the public through content providers,” states Karhi on Wednesday. “There are unacceptable things in this proposal and we will correct them in the committee. It will undergo adjustments in accordance with the broadcasting law. Only those who have something to hide are afraid of the true data.”

The bill is seen by some critics as designed to benefit the commercial interests of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s favored Channel 14. Mainstream broadcasters are ostensibly concerned that the government-designated agency for determining viewer ratings could slant the data toward pro-government outlets, thereby unjustifiably increasing their income and influence.

Drone footage shows IDF troops eliminating 2 Hezbollah gunmen

New drone footage released by the IDF shows two Hezbollah gunmen being eliminated in a battle with Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

Reservists of the 226th Paratroopers Brigade had engaged the gunmen during their operations in southern Lebanon.

The IDF says the troops, with support from combat engineering vehicles and a drone, pushed the Hezbollah operatives back and killed them with gunfire from the ground and munitions dropped from the drone.

According to the military, troops found numerous weapons in the area where the gunmen were killed.

Warning: Graphic content

Panicking residents flee Lebanon’s Baalbek after Israeli evacuation warning

Vehicles condense along a road as residents of Lebanon's eastern city of Baalbek evacuate from the Beqaa Valley city on October 30, 2024, after a statement from the Israeli army spokesperson warning residents of incoming strikes on Hezbollah targets. (Photo by Nidal SOLH / AFP)

Residents of Baalbek are rushing out of their homes after the IDF ordered Lebanon’s main eastern city and its outskirts evacuated for the first time in more than a month of war.

The Israeli army urged residents of Baalbek and surrounding villages to leave immediately, warning it is preparing attacks on Hezbollah targets.

The main roads out of the city are jammed with vehicles as civilians flee in panic.

Civil defense vehicles drive around the city urging everyone to leave immediately over loudspeaker.

“The city is almost empty,” the correspondent says about an hour after the evacuation warning.

“The [Israeli army] will act forcefully against Hezbollah interests within your city and villages,” IDF military spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X.

The post included a map of the entire city in the eastern Beqaa Valley and its outskirts, an area where the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group holds sway.

People wait along the side of a road for their ride before evacuating Lebanon’s eastern city of Baalbek in the Beqaa Valley on October 30, 2024, after a statement from the Israeli army spokesperson warning residents of incoming strikes on Hezbollah targets. (Photo by Nidal SOLH / AFP)

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Naim Qassem to deliver first address as new Hezbollah leader today

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)

Hezbollah’s newly minted leader Naim Qassem is set to deliver a speech today, his first as secretary general of the terror group.

Qassem’s appointment was announced on Monday, following the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month and of his presumed successor Hashem Safieddine earlier this month.

Man who torched hostage families’ protest tent sentenced to 18 months in prison

Damage from alleged arson at a tent where families of Israelis killed and taken hostage on October 7 have been sleeping, near the Knesset, December 8, 2023 (Times of Israel)

The Jerusalem District Court sentences a man to 18 months behind bars for setting on fire a hostage families protest tent in Jerusalem in December.

According to Hebrew media, Noah Yohanan has been convicted of arson following his confession to torching the tent near the Prime Minister’s Office, which also represented families of victims of the war. He objected to slogans against the government’s and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war policies.

He has also been handed a suspended sentence and ordered to compensate those he harmed.

Global LGBTQ rights group suspends Israeli org, apologizes for even considering offer to host confab in Tel Aviv

Illustrative: A pro-LGBTQ group at the Celebrate Israel Parade in New York City, June 4, 2023. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

A major international LGBTQ rights group has dismissed out of hand a motion by an Israeli member organization to host its World Conference in Tel Aviv, proceeding to suspend the Israeli organization.

ILGA World, in a statement, apologizes for even considering bringing for a vote the proposal by Aguda, the umbrella organization for the LGBTQ community in Israel.

Ahead of an upcoming ILGA World Conference in Cape Town, South Africa, the group says it received “significant and legitimate disconcert regarding a member organisation bidding to host the World Conference in Tel Aviv, Israel in 2026 or 2027.

“In response to these multiple concerns, the ILGA World Board held an emergency meeting and unanimously decided to remove the bid from The Aguda from consideration,” it says, claiming that this is to “ensure we fully uphold universal respect for human rights, equal representation, and the elimination of barriers to participation for all members – including in our conferences.”

The bid “will not go forward and will not be put to a vote” as it “was found in violation of ILGA World’s aims and objectives set out in our Constitution,” the statement continues.

“The ILGA World Board is also reviewing The Aguda’s compliance with our Constitution and has decided to suspend the organisation from our membership to allow for that to happen,” it says.

“ILGA World apologises. We know that seeing the Tel Aviv bid taken into consideration caused anger and harm to our communities… We recognise the historical experience with apartheid and colonialism in South Africa: even the possibility of voting on such a bid in their home country would have been at odds with the unequivocal solidarity for the Palestinian people.”

Aguda responds, according to Hebrew media, that it is “deeply disappointed by the fact that ILGA chose to boycott those who work for LGBTQ rights and for a more just society. The Aguda has been working for over 50 years to aid the LGBTQ community and preserve all human rights, including helping LGBTQ people from the Arab community and Palestinian asylum seekers persecuted over their sexual and gender identity.”

A Wider Bridge, a pro-Israel US LGBTQ rights organization, slams ILGA’s decision as “outrageous and unacceptable.”

“By singling out Israel and Israeli LGBTQ people for opprobrium, ILGA violates its fundamental principles,” it says. “We urge ILGA World to withdraw its discriminatory decision immediately.”

MKs give initial nod to bill removing Palestinian Authority’s right to petition High Court

A bill aimed at preventing the Palestinian Authority from petitioning the High Court of Justice passes a preliminary reading 52-23 in the Knesset plenum.

The legislation, an amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary supported by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation, strips the right to approach the top court from any entity that transfers funds associated with acts of terrorism, which is defined as “rewarding terrorism.”

Israel has long condemned monthly stipends the PA pays to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, including those held for terror offenses, and to families of dead attackers, saying they directly incentivize committing terror attacks.

“The purpose of the bill is to correct an anomaly according to which elements hostile to the State of Israel, including those who work directly and in a declared manner to harm its citizens through acts of terrorism, are considered to have the right to stand before the High Court when they come to petition against the policies of the Israeli government,” the bill’s explanatory notes read.

Ramallah submitted a petition to the court objecting to two recently passed laws providing for compensation and damages for the victims of terrorism from the terrorists themselves and their financial supporters, including the PA.

The legislation is one of several measures being pushed by Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman, including another bill that would prohibit the Public Defender’s Office from providing legal representation to those defined by law as illegal combatants.

To become law, the bill still needs to pass through the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee (chaired by Rothman) and three additional readings in the plenum.

Iran claims its missile production hasn’t been disrupted by Israeli strikes

Iran’s missile production has not been disrupted following Israeli airstrikes on the Islamic Republic on October 26, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh is quoted as claiming by state media.

Multiple Israeli and international reports citing Israeli, American and Iranian officials have indicated that the strikes dealt a major blow to Iran’s ability to produce long-range missiles, by destroying at least a dozen solid fuel mixers that will take at least a year to replace.

Hezbollah said to demand Germany be booted from UNIFIL for its ‘complicity’ with Israel

German navy UNIFIL peacekeepers stand on a vessel in the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, April 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Hezbollah demands that Germany be permanently removed from the UNIFIL peacekeeping force in Lebanon after it became an “accomplice of the enemy,” according to the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar, affiliated with the Shiite terror group.

On October 17, a German warship operating as part of the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission brought down an unmanned flying object off the coast of Lebanon. Berlin has also authorized over $100 million in military exports to Israel in the last three months, according to foreign ministry data.

Al-Akhbar further outlines Hezbollah’s position in ongoing talks for a ceasefire. The terror group demands that Israel completely cease its “aggression” as a necessary precondition for further negotiations, adding that it has “not made any commitment” to disconnect the Lebanese front from the Gaza front, since this would run counter to its ideology of a “united resistance.”

Hezbollah reportedly insists that no amendment be made to Security Council Resolution 1701, the UN decision that ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and calls for southern Lebanon to be free of any troops or weapons other than those of the Lebanese army.

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

Al-Akhbar says that the terror group is not opposed in principle to increasing the number of Lebanese or international armed forces, but refuses to add new countries to the peacekeeping mission.

According to a report in Axios last week, Israel has demanded that even after a ceasefire deal is concluded, IDF troops be allowed to engage in “active enforcement” to make sure Hezbollah doesn’t rearm and rebuild its military infrastructure close to the border.

The terror group further says that it will not negotiate over giving up its weapons and that after the war, it will do “anything in its power to preserve them,” according to al-Akhbar. In the meantime, Hezbollah says it is prepared to confront Israel in a long war, and it will keep fighting despite assassinations of its leaders, thanks to the organizational structure of its jihadists, the paper adds.

Al-Akhbar confirms that the terror group is represented in ongoing negotiations by Nabih Berri, the Shiite speaker of the Lebanese Parliament and a Hezbollah ally. Talks have been ongoing with foreign mediators Egypt, Algeria, Qatar and France, and there is an open communication channel with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, the paper adds.

2 men injured by rocket near Metula airlifted to hospital, one in serious condition

Two farmhands wounded in an apparent rocket impact near the northern town of Metula have been taken by helicopter to Rambam Hospital in Haifa.

The medical center says one of the men, in his 40s, is seriously wounded, while the other, in his 30s, is listed in light-to-moderate condition.

Both were hit by shrapnel, according to the hospital.

2 coalition members oppose Haredi push to salvage daycare subsidies for non-enlisting families

Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer welcoming new immigrants at Ben Gurion airport, August 1, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Two coalition lawmakers have publicly come out against ultra-Orthodox attempts to advance a law aimed at preserving daycare subsidies for Haredi children, further indicating a schism on the matter within the coalition.

The ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party backed away this week from a threat to derail government budget talks — which would have imperiled the coalition — if a law maintaining the widespread exemption of Haredi yeshiva students from military service isn’t advanced first.

UTJ has since pivoted to advancing the daycare subsidies bill instead.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has ordered the payments halted, arguing that the government is legally barred from funding daycare subsidies for the children of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students who are obligated to perform military service but are not doing so. The issue has been a sore point for the ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, community, which typically has large families but low incomes.

Likud MK Dan Illouz says on X: “There will be no enlistment [of Haredim] without significant personal sanctions. Exempting such a large group from the duty to serve in the IDF in such a critical period is a non-Zionist act that is unworthy of us as a nation — whether it be called ‘the enlistment law’ or ‘the daycare law,’ whose purpose is to cancel the daycares sanction and restore the funding.”

He says any cancelation of the sanction on daycare funding must be replaced with another meaningful sanction on those who refuse to enlist.

Meanwhile, Immigration Minister Ofir Sofer of Finance Minister Bezalel’s Religious Zionism party tells Army Radio that the daycare law “won’t be advanced before there is progress on the enlistment law.” He also slams Haredi political leaders, saying that “we have received a spit in the face from them on the enlistment process” and adding that the military desperately needs more people.

In June, the High Court of Justice ruled that there is no legal basis for the decades-long practice of exempting Haredi men from the military draft. A bill that seeks to regulate the issue, known as the enlistment law, is currently stuck in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, whose chairman, Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, has said that it will only pass if lawmakers can reach a “broad consensus” on the matter.

Sam Sokol contributed to this report.

IDF urges all residents of Lebanon’s Baalbek city to evacuate ahead of strikes on Hezbollah

The IDF has issued a warning to all residents of northeastern Lebanon’s Baalbek and surrounding suburbs to evacuate immediately ahead of airstrikes on Hezbollah sites.

It is an unusually broad evacuation order, encompassing areas where over 80,000 people live.

“The IDF will act forcefully against Hezbollah assets inside your city and villages, and does not intend to harm you,” Col. Avichay Adraee says on X, attaching a map of the areas that will be targeted.

Civilians are called to leave the area using routes that are highlighted on the map.

#عاجل إنذار عاجل إلى سكان بعلبك وعين بورضاي ودورس
????جيش الدفاع سيعمل بقوة ضد مصالح حزب الله داخل مدينتكم وقراكم ولا ينوي المساس بكم.
????من أجل سلامتكم عليكم اخلاء منازلكم فورًا والانتقال خارج المدينة والقرى عبر المحاور التالية: ⭕️أوتوستراد زحلة – بعلبك
⭕️طريق نحلة – بعلبك
⭕️طريق… pic.twitter.com/1FZoFWqdeO

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 30, 2024

2 farmhands injured as rocket impacts near Metula

Two people have been wounded in a rocket impact near the northern town of Metula, first responders say.

The pair were working in a field near the town.

Their conditions are not immediately known.

US Marines drills with new air defense system incorporating Iron Dome, Israel says

An Iron Dome interceptor missile is used during a US Marine Corps drill, October 2024. (Defense Ministry)

The US Marine Corps has successfully completed its first drill in which it fired an air defense system that incorporates the Iron Dome system, Israel’s Defense Ministry says in a statement.

The system tested is based on American radar and control systems, alongside Iron Dome interceptor missiles — known as Tamir — and portable launchers made by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and American contractor Raytheon.

The exercise, during which the system was fully operated to intercept a series of targets, is a major step toward declaring a new Marines prototype operational, the statement says.

Drone said to have hit aviation factory overnight; IDF probing failure to detect it

A drone that impacted overnight in Nahariya reportedly caused minor damage to a factory that produces aviation parts.

The military has said it is investigating why the UAV was only detected right before the impact and why no sirens sounded.

There were no injuries in the incident.

Shin Bet appoints new deputy head

The Shin Bet security agency announces the appointment of a new deputy head selected by agency chief Ronen Bar and approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The new deputy, only identified by the Hebrew initial of his first name, “Shin,” will enter the role in a few months, the Shin Bet says in a statement.

It says he’s 52 years old and has served in a series of senior roles since joining the agency in 1995, including as head of the agency’s departments dealing with research, foiling terror attacks in the northern West Bank, and counter-intelligence. He has helmed the operations branch in the past three years.

He will replace “Mem,” who is ending a three-year term as deputy head that has been extended several times amid the war.

Tomorrow’s cabinet meeting on budget to be held at same secret location as Monday meeting

Tomorrow’s cabinet meeting on the state budget will be held in the same secret underground location in Jerusalem in which ministers met for Monday’s meeting, according to Hebrew media reports.

The reports cite a summons sent to ministers by the Cabinet Secretariat alongside the meeting’s agenda, which doesn’t explicitly mention the location.

The cabinet met Monday in an underground secure location in Jerusalem’s governmental complex and not at the Prime Minister’s Office due to security concerns, at the recommendation of the Shin Bet security agency.

The decision was made due to an increase in threats against senior Israeli officials and in light of the Hezbollah drone attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Caesarea earlier this month.

Government sources told news outlets that cabinet meetings are expected to be held in changing locations for the near future due to the same security concerns.

IDF says Air Force downed 3 drones from Lebanon in past hour; no casualties

The Israeli Air Force has downed three drones that crossed from Lebanon in the past hour, the military says.

Following multiple aerial invasion alerts that sounded in northern communities, including the city of Nahariya, the IDF says the three UAVs were successfully intercepted, with no casualties caused.

It adds that fire and rescue services are working to put out a blaze caused by falling debris in the Gesher Haziv area.

Report: Netanyahu wants his son’s wedding delayed due to ongoing war, drone threat

(From left to right) Avner, Sara, Benjamin and Yair Netanyahu tour the Golan Heights, on April 23, 2019. (PMO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to postpone his son Avner’s imminent wedding due to security concerns amid the multifront war and the drone threat, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Avner Netanyahu’s wedding is planned for November 26 at the Ronit Farm in the Sharon region, north of Tel Aviv.

Kan quotes the premier as telling associates that holding the event as planned could pose a risk to participants.

The Prime Minister’s Office doesn’t respond to the report.

A Hezbollah drone earlier this month hit the bedroom window of the premier’s private residence in Caesarea, causing damage. The Netanyahus weren’t home at the time.

IDF says over 100 Lebanon targets hit yesterday, including rocket launcher used in deadly barrage

IDF troops operate in southern Lebanon in a handout image published on October 29, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Israel struck over 100 terror targets in Lebanon yesterday and killed dozens of Hezbollah operatives from the air, the IDF says.

Among the targets was the launcher used in a rocket barrage that hit and killed a man in the town of Ma’alot Tarshiha, the military says.

It adds that ground forces from the 146th Division have located weapons and attacked dozens of terror targets, including military buildings and an anti-tank missile launching post.

Forces from the 91st Division have continued to blow up underground shafts, seize arms and take out terror operatives, locating anti-aircraft missiles and maps containing outlines for attacks targeting Israel. The IDF says troops found rocket launchers pointing toward northern Israeli towns that were placed “in the heart of civilian population.”

Turning to Gaza, the army says forces from the 162nd Division are continuing to operate in the northern city of Jabalia, taking out dozens of terror operatives in close-quarters combat or by directing airstrikes.

Suspected drone alarms sound in Nahariya area; IDF: Incident ‘over’

Suspected drone infiltration sirens sound in Nahariya and the surrounding area in the north.

The military later says the incident is “over,” without providing further details.

Report: Israel took out most of Iran’s air defenses, left it ‘essentially naked’

Illustrative: A Russian-made S-300 air defense system sits on display at Baharestan Square in Tehran, Iran, September 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)

The four Russian-made S-300 air defense systems that Israel has reportedly destroyed in strikes on Iran this year — one in April, and three more this month — had been the only such systems possessed by the Islamic Republic as of the beginning of this year, Fox News reports.

The Wall Street Journal has similarly reported that all of Iran’s existing S-300 batteries have now been disabled.

Fox News quotes an unnamed senior Israeli official as saying that “the majority of Iran’s air defense was taken out.”

It quotes US President Joe Biden’s senior Mideast adviser Amos Hochstein as saying on an internal call that “Iran is essentially naked” and vulnerable to potential future aerial attacks.

Israel has previously been reported to have also taken out other air defenses surrounding key energy facilities, as well as hitting drone-producing sites and key long-range missile-production facilities containing solid fuel mixers that will take at least a year to replace, hampering Iran’s ability to repeat its two missile attacks on Israel this year.

Senior Biden advisers to travel to Israel today to talk ceasefire in Lebanon — official

US National Security Council Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk, left, and then-State Department energy envoy Amos Hochstein in 2022. (AP/collage)

An Israeli official tells The Times of Israel that senior advisers to US President Joe Biden Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein will travel to Israel today to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials to discuss a potential ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The official confirms a report by the Walla news site saying the pair will arrive and present an official ceasefire proposal in an attempt to close a deal that Israeli and American officials say can be finalized within weeks.

IDF says sirens heard as far south as Netanya were triggered by missile from Lebanon

The IDF says that sirens activated in communities across northern Israel and in the area around Netanya were triggered by a surface-to-surface missile launched from Lebanon that broke up in the air.

There are no reports of injuries or damage.

Rocket warning sirens activated in Netanya, Hadera, Haifa and numerous other towns

Incoming rocket sirens sound in Hadera, further south in the coastal city of Netanya and numerous surrounding communities.

Alerts are also activated in numerous other towns further north, including Haifa.

IDF says it shot down another drone from Lebanon

The military says that it another intercepted a drone that entered Israeli territory from Lebanon, following the latest sirens in the Western Galilee.

Air raid sirens sound in several Western Galilee towns; IDF confirms earlier drone interception

Air raid sirens are activated in a number of Western Galilee communities, with the IDF Home Front command warning of a suspected drone.

The IDF meanwhile confirms intercepting a drone from Lebanon that set off sirens in the same area around 5:15 a.m.

It also says a UAV impacted in Nahariya earlier and that the military is investigating why it was only detected right before. There were no injuries in the incident.

Suspected drone sirens triggered in kibbutz next to Lebanon border

Drone alert sirens sound in Rosh Hanikra and areas south of the kibbutz, which is next to the Lebanon border.

IDF says fighter jets hit Hamas and PIJ operatives in Khan Younis humanitarian zone

The IDF says that fighter jets struck Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror operatives in the Khan Younis humanitarian zone.

According to an IDF statement, the military used precision munitions and other measures to reduce civilian casualties. The statement also says terror groups are “systematically using” civilians and civilian infrastructure such as the humanitarian zone “to plan and carry out terror.”

Around 75 rockets fired at Israel from Lebanon on Tuesday, says IDF

Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze after rockets launched from Lebanon into northern Israel hit the moshav of Dalton, October 29, 2024. (David Cohen/Flash90)

Some 75 rockets were launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon at northern Israel on Tuesday, according to an IDF tally.

A man was killed in a rocket impact in Ma’alot-Tarshiha, and damage was also caused in today’s barrages.

14 reported killed in separate Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon towns

Civil defence rescuers search for survivors at the site of an Israeli airstrike on the village of Haret Saida, near Lebanon's southern city of Sidon, on October 29, 2024. (Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP)

Lebanese authorities report that at least 14 have been killed in two separate Israeli strikes on towns in southern Lebanon.

The health ministry says eight people have been killed in a strike on the southern coastal city of Sarafand.

“The Israeli enemy raid on Sarafand this evening has, according to a provisional toll, left eight dead and 21 wounded,” a ministry statement says, adding that rescue workers are searching for survivors.

An earlier strike further north in a village near Sidon left six dead and 37 wounded, according to a toll from the ministry.

The strike hit a small building, causing significant damage, an AFP correspondent in Haret Saida says, with dozens of rescuers rushing to clear the rubble.

There was no immediate comment from the IDF, which has said it is targeting Hezbollah infrastructure often situated in civilian areas.

Israeli tanks said to enter deepest point in southern Lebanon so far in fighting

IDF troops operate in southern Lebanon, in a handout image published October 23, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Lebanese state media reports that Israeli tanks have entered the outskirts of the village of Khiam, their deepest incursion yet into south Lebanon in a ground operation launched last month.

The official National News Agency reports the entry of “a large number of tanks belonging to the Israeli occupation army” into the eastern outskirts of Khiam, some six kilometers (nearly four miles) from the border with Israel.

Hezbollah claimed to destroy two tanks using guided missiles and to have targeted Israeli troops south and southwest of Khiam with rockets and artillery. Lebanon’s National News Agency says Israeli forces carried out a series of air attacks on Khiam today and launched a large-scale sweep “using heavy and medium weaponry.”

There was no immediate comment from the IDF on any operations in that area.

Earlier today, the IDF said it demolished an underground Hezbollah command center and another bunker where explosives were stored underneath a village in southern Lebanon.