Live updates (closed)
The Times of Israel liveblogged Thursday’s events as they happened.
Another suspected drone launched from Lebanon shot down by air defenses over northern Israel — IDF
Another suspected drone launched from Lebanon was shot down by air defenses over northern Israel a short while ago, the IDF says.
Sirens had sounded in several towns in the Jezreel Valley amid the incident.
IDF vows to respond to deadly Hezbollah attack in northern Israel
The IDF vows to respond to Hezbollah’s deadly rocket attacks on northern Israel today.
“Hezbollah rockets killed 7 innocent civilians inside Israel today. We will not let Hezbollah’s deadly attacks go unanswered,” the IDF says in an unusual English-language post on X.
Earlier, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, called on civilians near buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh, to evacuate immediately ahead of airstrikes.
Some 90 rockets were launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon at northern Israel today, according to an IDF tally.
Five men were killed in a rocket impact in a field near Metula, and a mother and son were killed in another strike in a grove near Haifa.
Iraq tries to avoid regional fight as militias fire at Israel
Nervously watching Israel’s destructive campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon, Iraq is working to avoid being drawn into the growing regional conflict as Iran-backed armed groups launch attacks on Israel from Iraqi soil, sources familiar with the matter say.
Two decades after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, Iraq is experiencing relative stability with high revenue from oil sales funding a service-based agenda that has turned much of the country into a construction site.
Iraq does not have diplomatic relations with Israel and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s government is wary of regional conflicts that could affect its delicate balancing act between Washington and Tehran, both states it is allied with.
Spillover from regional conflict resulted in months of tit-for-tat attacks between Iran-backed armed groups and US forces stationed in Iraq and the region that only subsided after Iran intervened in February.
But Sudani’s government has not been successful in a push to convince the Islamic Resistance in Iraq – a coalition of Iran-backed armed groups – to stop firing rockets and drones at Israel, according to four sources in Iran-backed armed groups and two government advisors.
Two visits to Iran by Iraq’s top security officials in the past two months, seeking Tehran’s help to rein in its allied Iraqi factions, failed, the sources say.
“The Iraqi delegation received a cold reception in Tehran… The answer was: those groups have their own decision and it is their call to decide how to support their brothers in Lebanon and Gaza,” said a senior Iraqi security official briefed on the visits.
Baghdad turned to Washington, asking US officials to intervene with Israel to prevent retaliation for the attacks, including one that killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded more than 20 on October 4, the sources say, the first time such an attack has been reported to cause fatalities.
“Washington was understanding of the repercussions of possible Israeli strikes in Iraq and pledged to help,” says an Iraqi foreign ministry official.
Egypt denies assisting Israel’s military operations amid reports about explosives shipment
Egypt’s army on Thursday denies it assisted Israeli military operations after media reports that an Egyptian port received a shipment of explosives bound for an Israeli defense contractor.
“The Egyptian Armed Forces categorically deny what has been circulated on social media and suspicious accounts and what is being promoted about assisting Israel in its military operations in general and in detail,” the army says in a statement.
Human rights lawyers on Wednesday filed a court appeal in Berlin seeking to block a 150-metric-ton shipment of military-grade explosives aboard German cargo ship MV Kathrin which they said was for Israel’s biggest defense contractor, Elbit SystemsESLT.TA.
LSEG data and vessel-tracking website Marine Traffic showed the MV Kathrin docked in Egypt’s port at Alexandria on Monday.
Earlier, Egypt’s state-affiliated Al Qahera News TV, citing a high-level source, said there was no truth to reports by some media outlets that the MV Kathrin delivered military supplies for Israel to Alexandria.
The European Legal Support Center’s case argued the explosives could be used in munitions for Israel’s war in Gaza, potentially contributing to alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Because of the explosives bound for Israel, the MV Kathrin was denied entry at several African and Mediterranean ports, including in Angola, Slovenia, Montenegro and Malta, according to the ELSC. It said Portuguese authorities recently required the ship to switch from a Portuguese flag to a German flag before it could continue.
Germany said the cargo was neither loaded nor dispatched from its territory thus did not require an export license.
Bill Clinton: Kibbutzniks slaughtered on Oct. 7 were Israelis most supportive of Palestinian cause
Former US president Bill Clinton speaks at a campaign event supporting Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Former US president Bill Clinton defended Israel’s war against Hamas while campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris in Michigan yesterday.
“Let me talk about the hardest issue here in Michigan, the Middle East. I have to be careful what I say because there’s only one president at a time, and none of us can get ahead of where we’re going. But I think we’re going to have to essentially start again on the peace process,” says a hoarse Clinton.
“I understand why young Palestinian and Arab Americans in Michigan think too many people have died, but if you lived in one of those kibbutzim in Israel, right next to Gaza, where the people there were the most pro-friendship with Palestine — the most pro-two-state solution of any of the Israeli communities were the ones right next to Gaza, and Hamas butchered them,” he notes.
“The people who criticize [Israel’s response] are essentially saying, ‘Yeah, but look how many people you’ve killed in retaliation, how many is enough for you to kill to punish them for the terrible things they did?'”
“That all sounds nice until you realize what you would do if it was your family and you hadn’t done anything but support a homeland for the Palestinians, and one day they come for you and slaughter the people in your village.”
“You would say, ‘You have to forgive me, but I’m not keeping score that way.’ It isn’t how many we’ve had to kill because Hamas makes sure that they’re shielded by civilians. They’ll force you to kill civilians if you want to defend yourself,” Clinton says.
איזה מן מנצ' זה הנשיא ביל קלינטון שבמישיגן, על הבמה, מספר כמה האנשים שהכי היו מוכנים לחיות בשלום בקיבוצים, הם אלה שסבלו מההתקפה של השבעה באוקטובר, ודוחה את משוואות ההרג. pic.twitter.com/1SK7lpjss8
— קובי ברדה-Kobby Barda (@kobbybarda) October 31, 2024
Khamenei said to order retaliatory attack against Israel after realizing damage from IDF strike too large to ignore
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sits in a meeting in Tehran, Iran, October 27, 2024. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
The New York Times cites three Iranian officials who say that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei instructed the Supreme National Security Council on Monday to prepare for attacking Israel after reviewing the damage caused by Israel’s retaliatory strike earlier this month and determining that it was too major to ignore.
The officials say that military commanders are preparing a list of dozens of potential military targets in Israel.
The retaliatory attack is unlikely to take place before the US presidential election, as Tehran fears another spike in regional tensions could benefit Republican nominee Donald Trump, the officials tell NYT.
IDF says it shot down drone from Lebanon over northern Israel
The IDF says a drone that was launched from Lebanon was shot down over northern Israel a short while ago.
The drone had set off sirens in the Haifa Bay area.
Newly appointed president of Chicago education board resigns amid uproar over antisemitic social media posts
Rev. Mitchell L. Ikenna Johnson, one of six nominees by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to the Chicago Board of Education listens to the mayor during a news conference introducing his nominees Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
CHICAGO — The newly appointed president of the Chicago Board of Education has tendered his resignation after coming under fire for past antisemitic and conspiratorial social media posts.
The Chicago Sun Times reports that Rev. Mitchell Johnson’s decision came at the request of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (no relation).
A day earlier, the Chicago mayor had defended the embattled CBE president, saying he had “expressed sorrow and is seeking atonement.”
But the mayor apparently shifted his approach after Illinois Governor JB Pritzker joined the super-majority of Chicago council members who called for Johnson’s ouster.
Many of Johnson’s most controversial posts — uncovered by Jewish Insider — came amid Hamas’s October 7 onslaught and the ensuing war in Gaza.
“People have an absolute right to attack their oppressors by any means necessary,” he wrote in one post.
“My Jewish colleagues appear drunk with the Israeli power and will live to see their payment,” Johnson said in another.
Johnson had been sworn in by the Chicago mayor just last week.
IDF shoots down two drones from Iraq
Two drones launched at Israel from Iraq were shot down by air defenses a short while ago, the IDF says.
According to the military, the drones were intercepted before crossing into Israeli airspace.
The drones were shot down near the Dead Sea area.
Drone infiltration sirens triggered in Haifa area, as IDF tracks several targets that entered airspace from Lebanon
Sirens warning of a drone infiltration sound in the Haifa Bay area, as the IDF says it is tracking several targets that entered Israeli airspace from Lebanon.
“The incident is still ongoing,” the IDF says.
Iran summons German envoy in protest against Germany’s decision to close consulates
Iran summoned Germany’s charge d’affaires in Tehran in protest against Germany’s “unjust” decision to shut all Iranian consulates, state media reports.
Blinken says ‘urgent’ for Israel to facilitate Gaza polio vaccinations
Palestinian medics administer polio vaccines to children at the al-Daraj neighborhood clinic in Gaza City on September 10, 2024. (Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls on Israel urgently to facilitate a second round of vaccinations in the war-battered Gaza Strip.
“It is urgent that this be completed in the days ahead, and we’re looking to Israel to facilitate that action,” Blinken tells reporters.
The World Health Organization began a vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip on September 1 after the besieged Palestinian territory confirmed its first case of polio in 25 years.
A first round was completed and the second round — essential to build up immunity — began as scheduled on October 14 before being paused due to intense bombardments by Israel.
“One of the things that has been successful in recent months was the polio vaccination campaign for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children in Gaza,” Blinken says.
“But in order for that campaign to be concluded, we have to complete a second round of vaccinations, and these vaccinations have to happen within a certain period of time from the first round of vaccinations,” he says.
Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in mid-October warned Israel that the United States could withhold some military aid without improvements in humanitarian assistance in Gaza within 30 days.
Blinken said that the United States, the primary military and diplomatic backer of Israel, was looking “very carefully” at Israel’s compliance.
“There’s been real progress, but insufficient, and we’re working on a daily basis to make sure that Israel does what it must do to ensure that this assistance gets to people who need it,” Blinken says.
The 30-day period ends after Tuesday’s election, in which Republican contender Donald Trump has promised to give freer rein to Israel if he wins.
Smotrich tells hostage families he won’t publicly reject deal before knowing what’s in it
Channel 12 publishes a leaked quote from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s recent meeting with the families of hostages in Gaza in which he pledges not to publicly rule out a hostage deal before knowing exactly what is in it.
Smotrich admits that he did this ahead of the previous deal in November and was mistaken. He ended up voting in favor of the deal after initially coming out against it.
“I was wrong,” he tells the hostages’ families.
“Only a donkey doesn’t change his mind,” he says.
The families have been seeking to convince Smotrich and fellow far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir not to speak out against a hostage deal, fearing such comments harm efforts to secure an agreement.
Channel 12 says the families haven’t had any luck convincing Ben Gvir who has been more militant in his opposition to just about any hostage deal.
Iran reportedly preparing strike on Israel from Iraqi territory within days
Israeli intelligence suggests Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days, possibly before the US presidential election on November 5, Axios reports, citing two unidentified Israeli sources.
The attack is expected to be carried out from Iraq using a large number of drones and ballistic missiles, the Axios report adds.
The report says that carrying out the attack through pro-Iran militias in Iraq could be an attempt by Tehran to avoid another Israeli attack against strategic targets in Iran.
Blinken says progress made on requirements for effective implementation of UNSC Resolution 1701 in Lebanon
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks on 'American Diplomacy for a New Era' at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) in Arlington, Virginia, on October 30, 2024. (Tierney Cross/AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday said that there has been progress on an understanding of requirements for the effective implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which would be the basis of a diplomatic resolution to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“It’s important to make sure we have clarity, both from Lebanon and from Israel, about what would be required under 1701 to get its effective implementation,” Blinken said.
IDF interrogation footage shows suspect describing Hamas takeover of UNRWA
In a video published by the IDF’s public affairs arm, a Jabalia man described as a former security guard for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA tells an Israeli interrogator that following the outbreak of war on October 7, Hamas members came into an UNRWA facility and “took everything” by force.
The man says that Hamas members brazenly looted trucks loaded with “supplies,” and then commandeered the UNRWA vehicles as well, using them as a shield.
“It’s a form of defense for them, so they can move around easily transport and get things et cetera,” the man says, according to a translation provided by the military.
When we say Hamas is embedded in @UNRWA this is what we mean.
WATCH a testimony of an UNRWA employee in northern Gaza, in which he explains how Hamas exploits UNRWA facilities and vehicles: pic.twitter.com/9K7u6hJlfn
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 31, 2024
Report: Israel makes progress in securing US commitment to approve IDF freedom of action if Hezbollah violates ceasefire
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike on Hezbollah in Khiam village in southern Lebanon on October 31, 2024. (AFP)
Channel 12 reports that top Israeli officials and senior Biden aides made significant progress in their meetings today aimed at securing a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Israel is seeking a side letter from the US in which Washington commits to allowing Israel freedom of action to respond to any violation to the ceasefire deal by Hezbollah, the network says.
Hochstein and McGurk’s meetings with top Israeli officials on Gaza and Lebanon were constructive, US official says
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (2R) and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer (R) meet with top White House Middle East advisers Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein, alongside their teams, in Jerusalem, October 31, 2024. (Ma'ayan Toaf/GPO)
A US official tells The Times of Israel that US special envoy Amos Hochstein and White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk’s meetings today with top Israeli officials in Jerusalem were “substantive and constructive and focused on a number of issues in depth, including Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, and securing the release of hostages.”
Hochstein and McGurk met over the course of the day with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Shin Bet director Ronan Bar, Mossad director David Barnea and other senior Israeli officials.
“There was a particular focus on efforts to secure a ceasefire deal in Lebanon that allows people on both sides of the Blue Line to return safely to their homes as well as new initiatives to secure the release of hostages, which Hamas must do without delay,” the US official says, adding that Washington “will not negotiate either issue in public.”
IDF: Israeli jets strike Hezbollah command rooms, infrastructure near south Lebanon’s Tyre
Israeli fighter jets struck several Hezbollah command rooms and other infrastructure near Tyre in southern Lebanon today, the IDF says.
The IDF says some of the command rooms belonged to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force.
Israel accuses Hezbollah of placing its command centers and other infrastructure within civilian areas of Lebanon.
The IDF says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strikes, including using precision munitions and issuing evacuation warnings in advance.
Israeli attacks kill 45 in Lebanon in last 24 hours, health ministry says
Israeli attacks killed 45 people in Lebanon in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 2,865 since October 2023, the Lebanese health ministry says, without differentiating between civilians and combatants.
Soldiers, armed settlers targeted Palestinian olive harvesters in West Bank 80 times this month — rights group
Settlers allegedly carrying off stolen olives from Palestinian-owned olive trees from the land of the West Bank village of Bayt Lid close to the Einav settlement, October 2024. (Screenshot, courtesy Yesh Din)
The Yesh Din rights group says it has documented 80 incidents of violence by soldiers and armed settlers targeting Palestinian olive harvesters in the month of October alone.
The incidents took place across 42 Palestinian villages and included shootings, violent assaults and threats, the expulsion of harvesters and prevention of harvesting, theft of crops and agricultural equipment, and tree uprooting.
In 85 percent of the incidents, Israeli security personnel were present but didn’t prevent the attacks, Yesh Din says.
“The increasing number of incidents and the cooperation between the settlers and security forces personnel raise concerns that the prevention of Palestinian olive harvesting in the West Bank is a deliberate policy of Israel,” the rights group adds.
[1] Since the beginning of October, Yesh Din documented over 80 incidents of violence by soldiers & armed settlers against Palestinian olive harvesters. That's an average of 3 incidents per day! These incidents took place on the lands of 42 Palestinian towns and villages. >> pic.twitter.com/lcbcDUnUjD
— Yesh Din English (@Yesh_Din) October 30, 2024
‘You guys are killing babies’: Man filmed harassing Jewish customers at Brooklyn kosher cafe
A man harasses Jewish customers at a kosher cafe in Brooklyn, New York on October 31, 2024. (Screen capture/X)
Footage posted on X by a Chabad spokesperson shows a man harassing Jewish customers at a kosher cafe in Brooklyn earlier today, accusing them of “killing babies” and trying to kill former US president Donald Trump.
This morning, someone walked into a kosher store on Utica and Bergen in Brooklyn and verbally harassed the customers. Anti-Semitism is real. America, wake up!
A sample of the hate:
“Is this a Jewish-owned store in a Black neighborhood
You guys are killing babies
Something bad… pic.twitter.com/HDpa05HCXB— Yaacov Behrman (@ChabadLubavitch) October 31, 2024
1,300 drones have been launched at Israel from all fronts since start of war — IDF
A drone, believed to be from Yemen, impacts an open area in Ashkelon, October 29, 2024. (Video screenshot; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
According to fresh IDF data, some 1,300 drones have been launched at Israel since the start of the war last year, from all fronts — Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Iran.
The IDF says that 231 of the drones struck Israel, causing causalities and damage in some cases. Drones that exploded in open areas are also counted as having struck Israel.
Some 80 percent of drones have been intercepted, according to the military.
The IDF says it is increasing its efforts against Hezbollah’s aerial forces, known as Unit 127, which is responsible for drone attacks on Israel.
So far, the commander of the unit has been killed, along with other officers. In all, around 10% of the unit’s members have been killed or wounded, according to the IDF.
The Hezbollah aerial forces are currently left with some 30% of the drones it had before the war — thought to be in the hundreds — according to IDF assessments.
The military says that it has struck 54 sites used by the aerial forces to store drones, 24 sites used to store cruise missiles, eight sites where drones and cruise missiles were assembled, six underground sites, and seven weapon depots.
IDF says it established intel, Air Force bodies that will enable ‘repetitive actions’ in Iran
The Israeli military says it has established new bodies in the Intelligence Directorate and Air Force that will enable “repetitive actions” in Iran.
A new Iran department was established in the Intelligence Directorate’s Research Division, and a so-called “depth” department was established in the Air Force’s Intelligence Department.
Additionally, the military says the Air Force carried out many training exercises ahead of the long-range strikes that took place last weekend.
More than 100 IAF aircraft participated in the strikes on Iran early Saturday, according to the military, which it says took out Iran’s “strategic” long-range air defense systems and caused a blow to Iran’s ability to manufacture ballistic missiles.
The strikes on the air defenses have “opened up freedom of aerial action” against Iran, and the strikes on the missile manufacturing sites “removed an immediate and future threat to the State of Israel,” the military says.
Netanyahu lays out war strategy in Gaza and Lebanon, says top goal is preventing Iran from going nuclear
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the end of an IDF combat officers training course at Bahad 1 near Mitzpe Ramon, October 31, 2024. (Screenshot/IDF Spokesperson)
Speaking at the end of an IDF combat officers training course at Bahad 1 near Mitzpe Ramon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israeli freedom to stop Hezbollah attacks is more important than ceasefire agreements in Lebanon.
“The agreements, the papers, the proposals, the numbers [UN Security Council Resolution] 1509, 1701 — all these have their place, but they are not the main thing,” he says, hours after meeting and making a similar point to top White House Middle East aides. “The main thing is our ability and our determination to enforce security, to thwart attacks against us and to act against the arming of our enemies as much as is necessary despite all the pressures and constraints — that is the main thing.”
Amid chants of “Bibi, Bibi” and regular applause, Netanyahu says Israel attacked Iran’s “soft underbelly” in its recent strikes.
“The brash words of the leaders of the regime in Iran cannot cover up the fact that Israel has greater freedom of action in Iran today than ever before. We can reach anywhere in Iran as needed.”
Last week, the Israeli Air Force attacked anti-aircraft batteries and radar sites in Iran in retaliation for a massive Iranian ballistic missile attack on October 1.
The IDF’s supreme goal is stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, the premier says.
“I have not removed, we have not removed and we will not remove our eyes from this goal. For obvious reasons, I cannot detail our plans for achieving this supreme goal.”
Netanyahu says that the fight against the Iranian axis is guided by the “total victory concept.”
“I am not establishing a date for the end of the war, but I am establishing clear goals for victory in the war,” he says.
Seemingly pushing back against criticism that the military effort since October 7, 2023, has been mismanaged, the premier says: “There is a path, there is a direction. There are clear goals.”
“We chose to focus initially on pounding Hamas militarily in Gaza, and not to divide our forces between two main efforts at the same time,” Netanyahu explains.
“After we destroyed Hamas’s organized force, after 90 percent of the residents returned home safely in the south, we focused our efforts on the north.”
Israel is “changing the strategic reality in the Middle East,” he boasts, but warns that Israel is still “in the eye of the storm.”
“I really, really appreciate the support of the US,” says Netanyahu. “When possible — I say yes. When I have to — I say no.”
Netanyahu blasts “those who pushed for a premature diplomatic arrangement in Lebanon before we destroyed the tunnel network on our border, before we eliminated [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah and his replacement, and his replacement’s replacement. Before we destroyed much of Hezbollah’s rocket arsenal.”
He notes that more than half of the hostages taken in Hamas’s October 7 onslaught have been brought home from Gaza, and adds that Israel is working to get the rest back, but contends that this is a matter for action behind the scenes rather than talking about publicly.
Netanyahu also goes out of his way to praise IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi.
Smotrich to extend Palestinian bank agreement by a month, keeping options open ahead of US election
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting of his Religious Zionist Party at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, October 28, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich will sign a one-month extension to an agreement allowing Israeli banks to correspond with Palestinian ones later today, hours before the deal was set to expire, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
The US and its Western allies have been pressing Israel to extend the corresponding banking deal by a year, fearing the collapse of the Palestinian economy in the West Bank.
Smotrich has long spoken in favor of collapsing the Palestinian Authority. The one-month extension allows the far-right minister to keep his options open depending on who wins the presidential election next week, the Israeli official says, confirming reporting in the Walla news site.
The decision also allows Israel to use a further extension of the banking agreement as leverage as the Biden administration weighs steps to advance Palestinian statehood during the lame-duck period, the official adds.
Omer Weinstein, 47, named as Israeli victim of Hezbollah rocket attack near Metula
The Israeli killed alongside four foreign nationals in a Hezbollah rocket strike near Metula today is named as Omer Weinstein, 47, a father of four.
Kibbutz Dafna, where he resided, says it shares in the grief of his widow Hadas and the family.
בתמונה: עומר ויינשטיין ההרוג במטולה מימין, שניים מארבעת ילדיו ואביו משה, שהיה עימו בזירה @rubih67
(צילום: שימוש לפי סעיף 27 א') https://t.co/T51KbMknDw pic.twitter.com/hZL04J2IXk— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 31, 2024
Hezbollah seems to claim rocket attack that killed 2 near Haifa
Lebanon’s Hezbollah attacked the Krayot area near Haifa today with a large rocket salvo, the terror group says in a statement, appearing to claim responsibility for the rocket impact that killed two people.
Kalman Ber picked as Ashkenazi chief rabbi in run-off vote
Ashkenazi chief rabbi candidate Kalman Ber after becoming chief rabbi of Netanya, September 15, 2014. (Yaakov Naumi/Flash90)
Rabbi Kalman Ber is elected Israel’s Ashkenazi chief rabbi for the next 10 years.
He wins the second round 77-58 over Rabbi Micha Halevi, after an earlier election this month ended with both of them tied for first.
Until now, Ber served as the Ashkenazi city rabbi of Netanya.
Having roots in the Bnei Akiva and religious Zionist movements, the Haredi Ber was backed by ultra-Orthodox party Degel HaTorah.
He was also supported, particularly after the first round, by many who were campaigning against Halevi, who had promised not to run in the election if not chosen by a committee tasked with selecting a single religious Zionist candidate, and then violated that promise by running anyway after not being selected. A hardline candidate, he was nevertheless backed by Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party and Aryeh Deri’s ultra-Orthodox Shas.
The Sephardic chief rabbi who will serve alongside Ber for the next decade is David Yosef, elected earlier this month.
Top Israeli ministers also meet US officials to discuss Lebanon, Gaza fronts
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (2R) and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer (R) meet with top White House Middle East advisers Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein, alongside their teams, in Jerusalem, October 31, 2024. (Ma'ayan Toaf/GPO)
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer meet with top White House Middle East advisers Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein to discuss “security arrangements as these relate to the northern arena and Lebanon, and efforts to ensure the return of 101 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza,” says the Defense Ministry.
US Ambassador Jack Lew joins on the American side, as do Israel’s ambassador in Washington Michael Herzog and Gallant’s senior aides.
Netanyahu meets US officials, tells them key to a Hezbollah deal is Israel’s ability to enforce it
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2L) meets in his Jerusalem office with US special envoy Amos Hochstein and Middle East czar Brett McGurk, alongside other officials, in Jerusalem October 31, 2024. (Ma'ayan Toaf/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets in his Jerusalem office with US special envoy Amos Hochstein and Middle East czar Brett McGurk.
According to Netanyahu’s office, the prime minister stresses that the most important element of an agreement to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is not the piece of paper it’s written on, but “Israel’s determination and ability to enforce the agreement and to foil any threat to its security from Lebanon, in a manner that will return residents to their homes safely.”
The meeting is part of intensive US efforts to broker a ceasefire agreement to end 13 months of fighting in northern Israel and southern Lebanon.
Ex-allies Eisenkot, Sa’ar trade barbs over Sa’ar’s decision to rejoin government
Then-justice minister and head of the New Hope party Gideon Sa'ar, right, and Blue and White MK Gadi Eisenkot hold a press conference announcing the merger of their parties into the National Unity alliance, in Ramat Gan, August 14, 2022. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)
Speaking with Army Radio, National Unity MK Gadi Eisenkot slams Minister-without-Portfolio Gideon Sa’ar, whose New Hope party recently rejoined the coalition after quitting in March.
“Everyone acts according to their own scale of values, and history will judge him — and I estimate not with great respect,” Eisenkot declares, calling Sa’ar’s behavior “regrettable.”
Eisenkot’s centrist party — which at the time was merged with Sa’ar’s right-wing party — joined the government days after the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught, but left in June, criticizing the government’s decision-making as politically motivated.
Hitting back at the criticism, Sa’ar states that he had resigned from the government during a period of insufficient military action in the war that coincided with Eisenkot’s and National Unity chief Benny Gantz’s tenure in the now-defunct war cabinet.
Sa’ar also accuses Gantz and Eisenkot of preventing, “on purpose and more than once,” the entry of ministers seeking more offensive action into the war cabinet.” He adds that he, Sa’ar, resigned months before Eisenkot and Gantz — and that the government’s “foot-dragging” ended after the end of their tenure, leading to the elimination of several senior terror leaders and a ground operation in Lebanon.
“History will judge,” he adds.
Two killed in rocket attack near Haifa
A photo taken from the southern Lebanese city of Tyre shows a series of rockets launched from Lebanon towards Israel on October 17, 2024. (Kawnat HAJU / AFP)
Two people were killed in a rocket attack near Kiryat Ata, outside of Haifa, the Magen David Adom rescue service says.
The two, a woman in her 60s and a man around 30, are declared dead after being found in an agricultural area near Gilam Junction, according to first responders.
A third person, a man in his 70s, is transported to a hospital with light injuries.
The three were injured by rocket shrapnel following an attack on the area just before 3:15 p.m.
Rocket fired from Lebanon toward Israel hits Irish peacekeepers’ base; nobody hurt
Ireland’s military says a base for Irish peacekeeping troops in southern Lebanon has been hit by a rocket fired toward Israel. No one was injured.
Lt. Gen. Sean Clancy, chief of staff of Ireland’s defense forces, says the Katyusha rocket landed in an unoccupied area of Camp Shamrock yesterday, causing “minimal damage.”
He says the rocket was traveling toward Israel, and it is unclear whether it fell or was taken down by Israel’s Iron Dome defense system.
About 350 Irish soldiers are currently deployed as peacekeepers with the United Nations mission in Lebanon known as UNIFIL.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris describes the incident as “extremely serious” and says not enough is being done to protect peacekeeping troops amid the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
“I really reiterate my call in relation to the need for people to respect international law and respect the specific protections that are provided to peacekeepers in relation to that,” he says.
Rocket sirens sound in northern border communities
Minutes after the Haifa area is apparently targeted by rocket fire from Lebanon, sirens sound in additional communities close to the northern border.
Rocket sirens sound in Haifa, surrounding communities
Rocket sirens sound in Haifa and surrounding communities, warning of incoming rocket fire.
The alerts come after five people were killed earlier today when a rocket struck a group of agricultural workers near Metula.
EU fines Teva $500 million for trying to block multiple sclerosis drug developed by rival
An Israeli flag flies outside a Teva Pharmaceutical Industries building on Dec. 14, 2017, in Neot Hovav, Israel. (AP/Tsafrir Abayov, File)
The European Commission says it has fined Israeli generic drugmaker Teva more than 460 million euros ($500 million) for improperly seeking to protect the patent for its multiple sclerosis drug and for disparaging a rival company’s development of a competing medicine.
The commission says the pharmaceutical firm “misused the patent system to artificially extend patent protection” for its blockbuster MS drug Copaxone, whose active ingredient is glatiramer acetate.
To do that, Teva conducted a “disparagement campaign” against Synthon, the only other company with an authorized drug in Europe containing glatiramer acetate, the commission says in a statement.
Teva “spread information contradicted by health authorities’ findings, seeking to sow doubt on the safety, efficacy and therapeutic equivalence of the rival product,” the EU Commission says. It says Teva officials targeted doctors and groups involved in drug pricing and reimbursement, “with the target of slowing down or blocking its competitor’s entry” into several countries.
It says Teva’s actions may have prevented significant savings by countries across Europe, with other versions of the drug possibly 80% cheaper than Copaxone. Teva will have to pay a fine of 462.6 million euros ($502 million) and refrain from similar practices in the future, it says.
Last year, Teva was ordered to pay $225 million to settle price fixing charges in the US related to sales of a cholesterol-lowering drug. The Department of Justice said the agreement also required Teva to divest its business making and selling the drug pravastatin, a generic version of the brand-name medicine Pravachol.
Representatives for Teva did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Saudi FM: Some bilateral accords with US ‘not that tied’ to normalization with Israel
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan speaks to journalists before the start of the 'International Alliance to Implement the Two-State Solution' meeting in Riyadh on October 30, 2024 (Fayez Nureldine / AFP)
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister says some of the bilateral agreements the kingdom has been negotiating with Washington are “not that tied” to the normalization of Saudi relations with Israel and are “moving ahead.”
Potential US-Saudi agreements about trade and artificial intelligence are “not tied to any third parties” and “can progress probably quite quickly,” Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud says on stage at an investment conference in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
“Some of the more significant defense cooperation agreements are much more complicated. We would certainly welcome an opportunity to finish them before the [end of the Biden] administration’s term, but that’s reliant on other factors outside of our control,” he says.
“The other work streams are not that connected, and some of them are progressing quite quickly, and we hope to see moving forward.”
Saudi Arabia and the US are looking into a set of agreements on nuclear energy, security and defense cooperation, which were originally all part of a wider normalization deal with Riyadh and Israel.
US President Joe Biden’s aides originally envisioned, in three-way negotiations before the devastating Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, for Saudi Arabia to gain US security commitments and US nuclear cooperation in exchange for normalizing ties with Israel.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had said in May that Washington and Riyadh were close to concluding a set of agreements but cautioned that for normalization to proceed there must be calm in Gaza and a path to Palestinian statehood.
Prince Faisal reiterates the kingdom’s position that it would not recognize Israel without a Palestinian state, adding on that accord, Saudi Arabia is “quite happy to wait until the situation is amenable” before moving ahead with normalization.
The normalization deal is widely seen as dead in the water because Riyadh is now conditioning it on the establishment of a Palestinian state — a nonstarter for Israel.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
IDF: Fighter jets struck Hezbollah weapon depots, command centers in Syria
Israeli fighter jets struck weapons depots and command centers belonging to Hezbollah in Syria a short while ago, the IDF says.
The strikes were carried out in the al-Qusayr area, close to Lebanon’s border with Syria.
The sites belonged to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force and the terror group’s armament unit, according to the military.
The armament unit is responsible for storing weapons in Lebanon, and according to the IDF, it recently expanded its activities to Syria, where it stored weapons in al-Qusayr.
The strikes come as part of the IDF’s efforts to prevent weapon transfers from Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Gantz: Coalition’s proposed budget is designed for political purposes, unnecessary ministries must close
National Unity leader Benny Gantz gives a statement on October 31, 2024 (Screen grab)
National Unity chairman Benny Gantz accuses the government of seeking to pass a political budget during wartime, insisting that it close unnecessary ministries and stop engaging in “political business as usual.”
“After a year of war, the time has come to move from a sectoral budget whose purpose is to protect the government, to a responsible budget that will protect the country, both in terms of security and economically,” Gantz, a former member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet, declares in a video message.
He says the country’s first priority should be winning the war and allocating money, above all, to those serving and the residents of the north and south.
After that, reforms are needed to “restore confidence in the Israeli economy,” including in the fields of infrastructure, transportation, universal enlistment and “state education for all.”
This would also include plans to boost the domestic defense industry and “preserve human capital in industry and science.”
In addition, Gantz calls for politicians to set a “personal example” by “closing unnecessary government ministries, and stopping the flow of coalition funds.”
“It is impossible to mobilize the citizens of Israel when in the government it is political business as usual,” he says.
Upcoming Russia-Iran treaty to include closer defense cooperation, Lavrov says
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a meeting with his Kuwaiti counterpart in Moscow on October 28, 2024. (Alexander NEMENOV / POOL / AFP)
A treaty that Russia and Iran intend to sign shortly will include closer defense cooperation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says.
Military ties between the two countries are a source of deep concern to the West as Russia wages war in Ukraine, while in the Middle East Iran backs a number of regional terror groups and has twice attacked Israel with missiles, to which Israel has responded with airstrikes.
“The treaty on a comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and Iran that is being prepared will become a serious factor in strengthening Russian-Iranian relations,” Lavrov tells state television.
He says the agreement is being prepared for signing “in the near future.” Russia has said it expects Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian to visit Moscow before the end of the year.
“It will confirm the parties’ desire for closer cooperation in the field of defense and interaction in the interests of peace and security at the regional and global levels,” Lavrov says. He did not specify what form the defense ties would take.
Netanyahu at cabinet meeting on budget: ‘If you give to one place, you unfortunately have to take from another’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the start of cabinet meeting meant to approve the 2025 state budget, October 31, 2024 (GPO)
Israel’s military operations over the past month are inspiring the country’s allies and terrifying its enemies, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the start of the cabinet meeting meant to approve the 2025 state budget.
“We are not finished, and big things are still ahead of us,” he promises.
Netanyahu says the budget will be passed later today or tomorrow morning.
The war effort depends on the economy, says the premier. “We cannot have a strong army if we have no way to finance it. Therefore, security depends on the economy, but the economy also depends on security. If there is an ability to damage our cities, our industry, then obviously our economic capacity would be affected.”
Netanyahu says that the economy has proven “surprisingly resilient” over the past year. At the same time, he warns that though the security forces will be strengthened by the new budget, there will be cuts elsewhere.
“If you give to one place, you unfortunately have to take from another place,” he says. “There are ways to do this.”
Speaking after Netanyahu, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich admits there are sacrifices in the budget.
“The economic effort is an inseparable part of the war effort,” says the leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party. “We are all together in unity, in mutual guarantee. You will see that the costs are spread over everyone equally. No one feels that their world has collapsed on them.”
Smotrich says the cabinet will come together to vote “with love, unity, brotherhood, peace and camaraderie, with the understanding that many good and important plans will have to wait after the war.”
“It is important that we transmit stability and control,” he cautions.
He says that once the war is won, there will be “fantastic returns” for the economy.
5 killed, one seriously wounded in earlier direct Hezbollah rocket strike near Metula
Five people were killed and one seriously injured in the earlier rocket strike near Metula.
One of the killed was an Israeli citizen and the other four were foreign nationals.
The rocket fired from Lebanon hit an agricultural area close to the northern border town.
Defense Ministry says proposed budget will harm wounded soldiers, families of fallen troops
Israeli flags on graves of soldiers at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, on May 9, 2024, ahead of Memorial Day. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The proposed 2025 state budget currently being debated by the government will harm wounded soldiers and the families of the fallen, the Defense Ministry says.
In a scathing public critique, the ministry states that it opposes “opposes any violation of the rights of the IDF wounded and members of the bereaved families, certainly in a time of war and in a year when, unfortunately, the circle of those affected has painfully expanded.”
While the Defense Ministry’s overall budget is set to be increased under the new budget, cuts to the National Insurance Institute would result in freezing payments for bereaved families at the current rate, meaning they will not be adjusted for inflation.
The ministry adds that it expressed its opposition to the Finance Ministry and “we hope that the decision will be shelved. This is not the time to hurt those who paid the heaviest price for the security of the country.”
According to the Ynet news site, Eli Ben-Shem, the chairman of the Yad Labanim organization representing bereaved families, wrote to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Smotrich to protest the move.
He notes that “since the brutal attack on the State of Israel on the Black Sabbath of October 7, about 1,800 bereaved parents and about 2,750 bereaved siblings have joined the circle of bereavement.”
“During these difficult days when the State of Israel is in the middle of a war and the bereaved families carry in their hearts the pain of the loss of their loved ones who fell in defense of the homeland, we are dumbfounded and shocked by the government’s decision to freeze the benefits of the bereaved families,” he states.
IDF says some 30 rockets fired in most recent barrage from Lebanon
The Israel Defense Forces says some 30 rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel in a barrage that triggered sirens in Karmiel and other towns in the Galilee region.
The military says a number of the rockets were intercepted while others hit open areas.
There were no reports of injuries in the barrage.
5 critically wounded, 1 seriously in direct Hezbollah rocket strike near Metula
The aftermath of a rocket strike near Metula, October 31, 2024 (Screen grab via Channel 12 used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
As the difficult task of evacuating the wounded in the wake of the direct rocket impact near Metula continues, medics say that five people are listed in critical condition and one is serious.
According to reports, the injured are agricultural workers. They are being evacuated by IDF troops before being transferred to the care of the emergency services.
It is unclear if the casualty numbers are expected to rise still further.
Hamas official says terror group will reject any proposal for temporary Gaza ceasefire
People search the rubble at the site of an Israeli strike in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip on October 30, 2024 (AFP)
A senior Hamas official says that the terror group rejects any proposal for a temporary halt to more than a year of fighting in Gaza sparked by its October 7 onslaught, and insists on a lasting ceasefire.
“The idea of a temporary pause in the war, only to resume aggression later, is something we have already expressed our position on. Hamas supports a permanent end to the war, not a temporary one,” Taher al-Nunu, a senior leader of the movement, tells AFP.
Mediators seeking to broker a hostage deal and ceasefire are expected to propose a truce of “less than a month” to Hamas, a source with knowledge of the talks told AFP yesterday.
Meetings between Mossad head David Barnea, CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatar’s prime minister in Doha, which concluded on Monday, discussed proposing a “short-term” truce of “less than a month,” the source said on condition of anonymity because of the talks’ sensitivity.
The proposal involves exchanging hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israeli prisons and increasing aid to Gaza, the source added, with the US reportedly believing it could lead to a more permanent ceasefire.
Nunu says the group has not received any proposal so far, adding if it gets such a plan, it will respond.
However, he reiterates the demands the terror group has been insisting on for months — “a permanent ceasefire, withdrawal [of Israeli forces] from Gaza, the return of displaced people, sufficient humanitarian aid to Gaza and a serious prisoner exchange deal.”
It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF. Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.
4 critically wounded, 1 seriously in direct rocket strike near Metula
Medics say that four people are listed in critical condition and one is serious after the earlier rocket attack near Metula.
The conditions of the victims are apparently downgraded as they are evacuated from the area of the direct rocket impact.
According to reports, the injured are agricultural workers.
One killed in Israeli strike on car near Beirut, Lebanese security source says
Lebanese soldiers secure the site of an Israeli drone attack that targeted a vehicle on the international Beirut-Damascus road in the area of Araya east of Beirut on October 31, 2024 (IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)
A Lebanese security source says one person was killed by an Israeli strike on a road where a Hezbollah van carrying munitions was hit the previous day.
The drone strike hit the Araya-Kahhale road which links the capital Beirut to Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley, says the source, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
It targeted a Mercedes vehicle, killing the driver, the source says, without identifying the victim.
The official National News Agency says a “hostile drone” targeted the car on the key road that passes through the town of Araya.
UN’s Guterres: International community must act to avoid ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Gaza
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference at the blue zone of the COP16 summit in Cali, Colombia, on October 30, 2024 (JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres suggests the only thing preventing “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza is the refusal of Palestinians to leave the Strip and of Arab nations to accept refugees, and says the global community must take action on the matter.
“The intention might be for the Palestinians to leave Gaza, for others to occupy it,” Guterres tells the Guardian on the sidelines of the COP16 biodiversity conference in Colombia.
“But there has been – and I pay tribute to the courage and the resilience of the Palestinian people and to the determination of the Arab world – [an effort] to avoid the ethnic cleansing becoming a reality,” he says.
“We will do everything possible to help them remain there and to avoid ethnic cleansing that might occur if there is not strong determination from the international community,” Guterres says.
Israel has denied accusations of ethnic cleansing.
Earlier this month, senior cabinet ministers, as well as members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, called for the reestablishment of Jewish settlements in Gaza, while others urged the encouragement of Palestinian emigration from the war-ravaged territory.
Sirens sound in towns across Galilee amid apparent rocket attack from Lebanon
Rocket sirens sound in multiple towns and communities across northern Israel as the area apparently comes under heavy rocket attack from Lebanon.
Alerts are heard in Carmiel and throughout the Galilee region.
1 wounded critically, 4 seriously in Hezbollah rocket attack on Metula – medical official
The head of the Magen Daivd Adom emergency service Eli Bin tells Channel 12 that it appears five people were injured in the latest rocket barrage from Lebanon at northern Israel, with one of them in critical condition.
The rest of the injured are all in serious condition, he says.
Reports of injuries in Metula amid Hezbollah rocket fire from Lebanon
Medics are responding to reports of injuries in Metula after Hezbollah’s latest rocket fire from Lebanon.
According to Channel 12 news, the injured were agricultural workers.
The military says two rockets were fired at the northern town.
IDF warns all residents of Lebanon’s Baalbek to evacuate immediately ahead of airstrikes on Hezbollah
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. (Nidal SOLH / AFP)
For the second day in a row, 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.
“You are in a combat zone where the IDF intends to attack and target Hezbollah infrastructure, assets, installations and weapons, and does not intend to harm you,” Col. Avichay Adraee says on X, attaching a map of the areas that will be targeted.
“Remaining in the red zone exposes you and your family members to danger,” he adds.
Civilians are called to leave the area using routes that are highlighted on the map.
#عاجل انذار عاجل إلى سكان بعلبك وعين بورضاي ودورس
????أنتم متواجدون في منطقة قتال حيث ينوي جيش الدفاع مهاجمة واستهداف بنى تحتية ومصالح ومنشآت ووسائل قتالية تابعة لحزب الله ولا ينوي المساس بكم.
????البقاء في المنطقة الحمراء يعرضكم ويعرض أبناء عائلتكم للخطر.
????من أجل سلامتكم… pic.twitter.com/ETHYtGMLaX
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) October 31, 2024
IDF says it foiled attempt to smuggle weapons into Israel from Egypt by drone
A drone the military says it recovered during an attempt to smuggle arms via UAV from Egypt into Israel (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says it foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons into Israel from Egypt yesterday, using a drone.
The drone was identified crossing the border from Egypt into Israel, before it was downed.
Troops dispatched to the scene found that the drone was ferrying four rifles and a handgun, the military adds.
It is the second such incident in recent weeks.
A drone and weapons the military says it recovered during an attempt to smuggle arms via UAV from Egypt into Israel (Israel Defense Forces)
Bnei Brak man indicted for tracking Israeli nuclear scientist Iran sought to assassinate
The State Attorney’s Office files an indictment against Asher Binyamin Weiss, a resident of Bnei Brak, on suspicion that he has acted on behalf of Iran by tracking an Israeli nuclear scientist whom the Iranian regime sought to assassinate.
Weiss has been indicted on charges of having contact with a foreign agent, passing information to the enemy and obstruction of justice.
According to the indictment, Weiss used a GoPro camera to video the scientist’s house and car. The Iranian agent sent the video footage to a young man from East Jerusalem who was tasked with assassinating the scientist.
The indictment, filed last week to the Tel Aviv District Court, also included details of acts of arson and graffiti perpetrated by Weiss, as well as putting up hundreds of posters calling for civil rebellion.
UK court rules in favor of woman whose visa was revoked after she spoke of ‘joy’ over Oct. 7
Dana Abu Qamar gives an interview with Sky News at a Manchester rally on October 8, 2023 (Screen grab used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
A UK court ruled that the British government did not sufficiently demonstrate that the student visa of a Jordanian-Canadian citizen should be revoked after she spoke of her “pride” and “joy” over what had happened in Israel in an interview on October 8, 2023, The Guardian reports.
Dana Abu Qamar, who is of Palestinian origin and is head of the Friends of Palestine society at the University of Manchester, has claimed she was misinterpreted and was not speaking in support of the Hamas terror group.
The British government revoked the 20-year-old’s visa in December 2023, but did not show that her presence in the UK was “not conducive to public good,” the tribunal ruled.
According to The Guardian, the tribunal said the decision on Abu Qamar’s visa was a “disproportionate interference with her protected right to free speech.”
Additionally, the judgment said Abu Qamar was “not an extremist,” and that her use of the terms “actively resisting” and “broke free” would have been understood by listeners as a reference to lawful resistance, The Guardian says.
In an interview with Sky News at a Manchester rally on October 8, 2023, the day after Hamas launched its devastating onslaught against Israel, Abu Qamar said: “For 16 years Gaza has been under blockade, and for the first time they are actively resisting, they are not on the defense, and this is truly a once in a lifetime experience.”
“And everyone is, we are both in fear, but also in fear of what, how Israel will retaliate and how we’ve seen it retaliate overnight, and the missiles that it’s launched and the attacks, but also we are full of pride. We are really, really full of joy of what happened,” she said.
Dana Abuqamar celebrated Hamas' October 7 massacre of Jews. The Home Office revoked her student visa. Thanks to everyone who reported her. https://t.co/I692Oz1oxb pic.twitter.com/vOzuTaMPQu
— GnasherJew®גנאשר (@GnasherJew) May 16, 2024
Dozens of Haredi protesters block IDF induction center; parent of drafted teen: ‘Disgrace’
Declaring that they would rather die than enlist in the IDF, dozens of ultra-Orthodox men protest at a military induction center in an attempt to disrupt the drafting of a number of yeshiva students to the Israel Defense Forces.
Security forces work to remove members of the extremist Jerusalem Faction, some of whom tried to lie down in front of buses at the Tel Hashomer base, the Ynet news site reports.
The protests meant that parents of teens going into the army were not able to accompany their children into the base, as is traditional.
Rachel Reznik from Kfar Saba tells Ynet: “I want the mothers of those who came to protest to come here stand in front of me and explain why my son is going to the army and their son is not.”
An unnamed resident of the West Bank settlement Dolev tells the outlet that she is distressed by the protests at the base as her sixth son enlists.
“I just drafted my sixth son into the army, and they come here to shout. It’s a disgrace; they should at least do something, go for national service,” she says, in tears. “They [the army] closed the induction base out of fear, and they don’t allow us to accompany the children to the bus. It’s ridiculous.”
המשטרה מפנה את מפגיני "נמות ולא נתגייס" מהכביש סמוך לתל השומר.
צילום: מאיר תורג'מן pic.twitter.com/4uk8VcsMrq— שילה פריד???????? (@shilofreid) October 31, 2024
The protest comes against the backdrop of bitter disagreements in the Knesset over the issue of Haredi enlistment to the IDF, after the High Court of Justice ruled in June that there was no longer any legal framework allowing the state to refrain from drafting ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students into compulsory service.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly reassured his ultra-Orthodox coalition partners that his government will advance a bill facilitating sweeping exemptions for Haredi men from mandatory military service.
The dispute over the ultra-Orthodox community serving in the military is one of the most contentious in Israel, with decades of governmental and judicial attempts to settle the issue never achieving a stable resolution. The issue has grown in urgency as the military suffers from a lack of troops and pressure on reservists increases over the past year of war.
Israeli pair arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran; couple allegedly gathered intel on Mossad, were asked to find assassin
File - A national flag of Iran waves in front of the building of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, in Vienna, Austria, Dec. 17, 2021 (AP Photo/Michael Gruber, File)
A couple from Lod have been arrested on suspicion of spying for Tehran, the Shin Bet and police say, the latest in a number of such cases of alleged espionage for Tehran to be revealed in recent weeks.
Officials say one of the pair was tasked with finding an assassin on behalf of his Iranian handlers.
According to the statement, Rafael and Lala Guliyev, both aged around 32, carried out intelligence gathering missions on security and national infrastructure sites, as well as tracking an academic at a security think tank with the intention of her being harmed.
Rafael Guliyev was allegedly also asked to find an assassin.
The pair were said to have been recruited as part of an Iranian ring that recruits Israelis who are part of the community of immigrants from the Caucasus region.
The pair were said to have been recruited by an Israeli of Azerbaijani origin.
According to security officials, Rafael Guliyev carried out surveillance tasks on security sites in Israel, including the Mossad’s headquarters, and collected information on an academic working at Institute for National Security Studies (INSS).
He was said to have been assisted by his wife in a number of the missions.
The statement does not reveal if the couple was believed to have been motivated by financial or ideological reasons.
A Shin Bet official says the investigation revealed “once again the efforts of the Iranian intelligence agencies to recruit and exploit Israeli citizens in order to promote espionage and terrorist activity in Israel.”
Regional commander of Hezbollah anti-tank missile unit killed in strike, IDF says
Troops operating in Lebanon in an undated photo released for publication by the military on October 31, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)
A commander of a Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile unit was killed in a recent airstrike, the IDF announces, as it also releases footage of an attack on a cell of operatives who launched missiles at an Israeli drone yesterday.
According to the IDF, a strike carried out by fighter jets this week in the southern Lebanon village of Burj Qallawiyah killed Muhammad Khalil Alian.
Alian was the commander of Hezbollah’s anti-tank array in the Hajjar regional unit, which is responsible for attacks on northern Israel’s Ramim Ridge region.
Meanwhile, a drone strike yesterday in Mazraat al-Yahoudiyeh, just north of Tyre, killed a cell of Hezbollah members who launched a missile at an Israeli Air Force unmanned aerial vehicle, the IDF says.
חוסל מפקד מערך הנ"ט של גזרת חג'יר בחיזבאללה: הותקפו עשרות מחסני אמצעי לחימה ותשתיות טרור במרחב ג׳באליה
מטוסי קרב תקפו וחיסלו במהלך השבוע את המחבל מחמד חליל עליאן במרחב ברג' קאלויה, שפיקד על מערך הנ"ט של גזרת חג'יר ביחידת ׳נצר׳ של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה.
במהלך היממה האחרונה,… pic.twitter.com/f7wXewEDge
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) October 31, 2024
The military says the UAV was not damaged in the incident.
The incidents come as the IDF’s 91st and 146th divisions continue to operate against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
IDF says troops destroyed weapons depots, production facilities in central and north Gaza
Troops operating in the Gaza Strip in an undated photo released for publication by the military on October 31, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)
The Israel Defense Forces says fighting is ongoing in Jabalia as the military presses its north Gaza offensive.
The IDF says that dozens of terror targets and weapons warehouses have been hit.
In central Gaza, the military says troops destroyed a site used for the production of munitions.
Rocket sirens sound in towns near Lebanon border
Rocket sirens sound in communities close to the northern border with Lebanon.
IDF to test rocket sirens today in two northern communities
The military says it will carry out tests of rocket sirens in two northern communities today.
Alerts will be heard in Me’ona at 10:05 and in Ben Ami at 12:05.
In the case of an actual attack, the sirens will sound twice, according to the IDF.
Troops carrying out counter-terror raid in West Bank’s Nur Shams; IDF says gunmen targeted in airstrike
The Israel Defense Forces says the military is carrying out a counter-terror raid in Nur Shams in the central West Bank, with an airstrike targeting gunmen who opened fire at troops.
The military says the operation includes forces from the army, Shin Bet and police.
In a statement, the military says the operation began shortly after troops killed Hussam al-Malah in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, Malah was a prominent Hamas member who planned to carry out imminent terror attacks, officials said.
Air raid sirens sound in northern coastal cities of Nahariya and Acre
Suspected drone alerts are activated in the northern coastal cities of Nahariya and Acre and in surrounding communities.
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.
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.
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.
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