Sep. 1: Tel Aviv highway cleared after clashes with cops following largest rallies since Oct. 7

Ayalon Highway cleared after 3 hours; 30 arrested; MK says grenade needlessly thrown at crowd

People block the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv and light a bonfire during a protest demanding a deal for the release of hostages in Gaza, September 1, 2024. (Amir Trekel/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway is cleared of protesters after being blocked for around three hours, Hebrew media reports, adding that the number of arrested demonstrators in the city has risen to some 30, in addition to five in Jerusalem and others elsewhere around the country.

While they were on the highway, some protesters threw rocks, fences, nails and metal objects onto the road, lit bonfires and shot fireworks in the air, Ynet reports.

Police in response fired at least four stun grenades, lightly hurting several people including Labor MK Naama Lazimi and her adviser, knocking them down on the road.

“There was then another blast that was close and almost hit us directly,” Lazimi writes on X, adding that a police officer then noticed what was happening and pulled them away, and that “miraculously, nothing happened beyond a few superficial bruises.” She argues that no friction was going on when the grenades were hurled “completely by surprise and without any warning.”

Lazimi says police are “endangering the public’s safety” and acting illegally to serve far right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who is in charge of police.

Police say an officer lost her consciousness during a riot and was hospitalized, without detailing what had happened.

A 51-year-old demonstrator was moderately injured and hospitalized after falling from a height of 2.5 meters, Ynet reports.

IDF drone strikes Palestinians hurling bombs at troops in Jenin

The IDF says it carried out a drone strike against a group of Palestinians hurling explosive devices at troops during an ongoing operation in the West Bank city of Jenin.

It says further details will be provided soon.

Trump: Hostages’ deaths happened because Biden, Harris are ‘poor leaders’

Republican nominee and former US president Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Sierra Vista, Arizona, near the border with Mexico, August 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Donald Trump posts to his Truth Social network that the deaths of the Israeli hostages, among them American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, “happened because Comrade Kamala Harris and Crooked Joe Biden are poor Leaders. Americans are getting slaughtered overseas… They have blood on their hands! Sadly, this is the total lack of ‘Leadership’ that Kamala and Biden represent.”

He adds: “Our Country and our amazing people are not safe under Joe Biden, and will be less safe under Kamala Harris. This terror would have never happened if I were President, and it will stop the day I am back in the Oval Office.”

Hezbollah announces death of member killed in Israeli strike

The Hezbollah terror group announces the death of a member killed “on the road to Jerusalem,” its term for operatives slain in Israeli strikes.

He is named as Hussein Moussawi.

His death brings the terror group’s toll since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip to at least 432.

The announcement comes following a series of IDF strikes in southern Lebanon today. According to Lebanese media, one person was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beit Lif earlier this evening.

Israel’s tech sector and manufacturers join general strike on Monday

Israel’s tech sector and local manufacturers decide to join the general strike on Monday called by the Histadrut Labor Federation over the government’s failure to bring back the hostages in Gaza.

The Israel Business Forum, which represents most workers in the private sector in Israel from 200 of the country’s largest companies, as well as hundreds of tech companies, manufacturers, and law offices, declares that it will join the one-day general strike.

“At this difficult time, we must step up our protest and provide full support to the families of the hostages,” says Harel Wizel, CEO of Israeli fashion and retail store chain group Fox Ltd., at an emergency meeting of private sector companies on Sunday night.

“We declare the shutdown of all our businesses and organizations! We join the chairman of the Histadrut! We call for a hostage deal!”

Among the tech companies joining the strike are Wix, Fiverr, HoneyBook, Playtika, Riskified, AppsFlyer, monday.com, AI21 Labs, and Lemonade.

Police clash with thousands on Ayalon Highway, hurl stun grenades at demonstrators

Police are clashing with protesters on the Ayalon Highway, as they attempt to clear the road. Some are throwing stun grenades at demonstrators.

Media reports say at least 20 people have been arrested.

Labor MK Naama Lazimi was hurt by a stun grenade, outlets report.

Some protesters were seen a short time ago chanting: “Bibi is murdering the hostages!”

מפגינים בתל אביב:
"ביבי רוצח את החטופים".
עכשיו באיילון.

צילום איציק שאג pic.twitter.com/49P4607kiK

— חרדים10 (@charedim10) September 1, 2024

Army strikes Hezbollah targets in Lebanon after attacks on north

A Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile attack on Kfar Yuval earlier today seriously wounded an Israeli civilian and moderately wounded a member of the northern border community’s local security team, the military says.

More than 30 rockets were launched from Lebanon since this afternoon, including a barrage of 10 rockets at the Misgav Am area and another 20 at Matat, according to the IDF.

There were no injuries in the rocket attacks.

Meanwhile, the IDF says that throughout the day it struck Hezbollah rocket launchers in Ayta ash-Shab and Bint Jbeil, buildings used by the terror group in Beit Lif, Taybeh, and Odaisseh, among other infrastructure.

It publishes footage of the strikes.

במהלך היממה האחרונה, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו משגר של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה ממנו בוצעו שיגורים לעבר הגליל המערבי במרחב עייתא א-שעב שבדרום לבנון.

במהלך היום מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו מבנים צבאיים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים בית ליף, א-טייבה ואל-עדייסא שבדרום לבנון>> pic.twitter.com/CBPqajyDo7

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 1, 2024

Thousands blocking Ayalon Highway after Tel Aviv protest

Thousands of people are now on the Ayalon Highway. Some light fireworks to explode over the crowds.

At some locations, policemen are confronting protesters, trying to move them off the highway, but they do not seem to have the manpower to handle the masses on the road.

זיקוקים על איילון pic.twitter.com/1u7hKFUrzY

— ???????? ???????????????????????????????? (@iloveisraell) September 1, 2024

Finance minister demands attorney general seek injunctions to block labor strike

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, July 22, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/ Flash90/ File)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich demands that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara seek immediate injunctions to prevent tomorrow’s general strike in the labor market.

In a letter to Baharav-Miara, he says the strike “is clearly political and lacks any legal basis.”

The strike was “declared to wrongly influence issues that are clearly at the diplomatic level… on matters pertaining to national security. These matters are at the heart of the jurisdiction of the political echelon and are not subject to strikes of workers’ unions.”

He notes there was no advance warning given regarding the strike plans, adds that the move was taken without labor leaders being privy to the full national security picture before decision-makers, and warns that it could set a “dangerous precedent.”

Hostage’s brother performs Jewish mourning ritual for six slain hostages at rally

Danny Elgarat, hostage Itzik Elgarat’s brother, performed the Jewish mourning ritual for the six slain hostages at the Tel Aviv rally, tearing his shirt open and crying, “Blessed is the true Judge” six times.

He accuses Aryeh Deri, leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, of reneging on his religious duties by partaking in the “death cabinet” that has failed to bring the hostages home.

As some protesters clash with police after the protest ends, cops are prepared with trucks and mounted officers to intercept the protesters, some of whom climb the trucks to great applause.

“Where were you in Sde Teiman,” the protesters yell, referring to police’s failure to arrest members of a rightwing mob that stormed the southern detention facility on July 29, after several soldiers were arrested there for allegedly abusing a Palestinian inmate.

Lebanese Forces party chief denounces Hezbollah for fight with Israel

The head of the Christian political party Lebanese Forces accuses Hezbollah of dragging the country into a war with Israel without consulting the people.

In a speech attacking the Islamist group, Samir Geagea, who heads the main Christian bloc in parliament, accuses Hezbollah of “confiscating the Lebanese people’s decision on war and peace, as if there were no state.”

Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October, Hezbollah has engaged in near daily cross-border fire with Israel in support of its Palestinian ally, which the Lebanese Forces and other parties oppose.

The clashes are “a war that the Lebanese people reject, but has been imposed on them,” Geagea says in a speech to supporters in northern Beirut.

“It is a war that the Lebanese people do not want and over which the government has had no say. This war does not serve Lebanon, it has brought nothing to Gaza, nor alleviated its suffering one iota,” he adds.

Protesters block Ayalon Highway, light bonfires on road

The Ayalon South highway is filled with protesters demanding a hostage deal, September 1, 2024. (sha_b_p@)

With the main demonstration in Tel Aviv over, many protesters have descended on the Ayalon Highway to block traffic.

Cars are at a standstill as protesters mill around them.

In several locations, demonstrators light bonfires on the road.

Protesters on the Ayalon Highway demanding a hostage deal, September 1, 2024. (Naomi Lanzkron)

Hostage’s mom: Every day is Netanyahu’s Russian roulette. He’ll play until they’re all dead

Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, at a protest near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, July 13, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90/ File)

At the Tel Aviv rally, Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, said: “Nadav is alive. My son is still alive. But every day is a Russian roulette.” Netanyahu, she said, will play it “until they’re all dead, [but] we won’t let him.” She said the six murdered hostages died “on the altar of Philadelphi [Corridor] spin,” referring to the Gaza-Egypt border, where the premier has insisted Israel must retain control.

The six could have been saved, and the rest of the hostages can still be saved, she said.

To the newly bereaved families, Zangauker said: “You are not alone. The people of Israel embrace you. The blood of your loved ones won’t be in vain. We’ll do everything to get all the hostages home.”

She said Netanyahu has “put the hostages to the guillotine… He’s the hangman of Gaza Street.” (Netanyahu’s home is located in Jerusalem’s Aza (or Gaza) Street.)

Large crowds of Israelis call for an urgent deal to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, outside the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv, September 1, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg / Flash90)

“The history books will not have sufficient space to record the magnitude” of the disaster Netanyahu has wrought, she added. “Your time is up,” she said. “I, Einav Zangauker, a Likudnik from Ofakim, tell you it’s over.”

She concluded: “This is the time to act. To shake the nation until there is a deal. Go to the streets, people of Israel. Go to the streets!”

Histadrut chief at Tel Aviv rally: ‘Entire country will stand still tomorrow’

Histadrut labor federation chief Arnon Bar-David speaks before large crowds of Israelis calling for an urgent deal to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, outside the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv, September 1, 2024. (Gili Yaari / Flash90)

At the Tel Aviv demonstration, Histadrut chief Arnon Bar-David announces, “The entire country will stand still tomorrow,” including the Dan and Egged bus lines, ports and municipalities.

He calls on the private sector to join in the strike to bring back the hostages.

He says, “The key word here is abandonment” of the hostages, as well as the country’s south, north, and the “unbelievable abandonment of the economy,” while “coalition funds are funneled to unnecessary government offices.”

Bar-David says he had promised hostage families to use his power to shut down the economy “when the time comes.”

“That time is now,” he says.

“It is unacceptable that our children die in tunnels because of political interests,” he declares. “I refuse to be indifferent to the fact that our state would abandon [the hostages].”

The public, he says, “should take to the streets. Cry out: Enough!”

He is met with cheers, and some boos. “Where were you until now?” some cry.

Hundreds gather at Jerusalem community center, home to Goldberg-Polins’ synagogue

Candles are lit at the September 1, 2024, vigil for Hersh Goldberg-Polin in Jerusalem. (Gianluca Pacchiani/ Times of Israel)

Hundreds of people gather in the courtyard of the local community center in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Baka, home to Hakhel, the Goldberg-Polins’ synagogue, in a vigil for the community’s son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, killed in captivity in Gaza.

Men, women, and children, religious and secular, quietly stand shoulder to shoulder at the vigil, some swaying to the familiar afternoon and evening prayers.

The crowd includes former Knesset member Rachel Azaria and Jerusalem deputy mayor Yosi Havilio. There are Goldberg-Polin’s friends from the Jerusalem Brigade, the fan club of the Hapoel Jerusalem basketball team, and many wear the familiar red shirts printed with the black-and-white visage of Hersh.

A table set at the front of the outdoor space is crowded with memorial candles, lit in Hersh’s memory. The chain link fence behind the table is hung with banners bearing Hersh’s face, with red-and-black scarves worn by Hapoel Jerusalem fans, tied around links in the fence.

Those leading the prayers lead the crowd of mourners through soft renditions of “Avinu Malkenu,” the Jewish prayer of repentance, along with liturgical prayers and songs of mourning, prayers for the soldiers and the remaining hostages, finishing with Hatikva, Israel’s anthem.

Jerusalemites will stand with Israeli flags to accompany the car carrying the family to the cemetery on Monday afternoon.

IDF says some 20 rockets were fired from Lebanon earlier; none hurt

Some 20 rockets were fired from Lebanon in the attack earlier this evening on the Upper Galilee, according to the IDF.

Several rockets were intercepted by air defenses, while others impacted the area. There are no reports of injuries.

Gaming company Playtika says it will join national strike

Israeli gaming company Playtika says it will join the national strike called by the Histadrut Labor Federation to help push for a deal to release the remaining hostages held in Gaza.

“The news in the last 24 hours is heartbreaking,” Playtika says in a statement. “For 331 days, we have been active and committed to the fight to bring all the hostages home.

“Tomorrow, too, we will stand together with the families and join the general strike. We call for the immediate release of the 101 hostages!” the statement reads.

US Democrats urge Israel-Hamas ceasefire after murdered hostages recovered

Senator Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, leads a hearing about the rise in threats toward elected leaders and election workers, at the Capitol in Washington, August 3, 2022. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Several US Democratic lawmakers renew calls for an Israel-Hamas ceasefire, in reaction to the killing of six hostages in a tunnel under Gaza, while Republicans criticize President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for not giving stronger support to Israel.

Democratic Senator Dick Durbin says in a post on X that he is “heartbroken and devastated” by the news of American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s death, echoing sentiments of other US officials and lawmakers.

“A ceasefire must be reached immediately that allows all remaining hostages to be released, humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, and an elusive and neglected long-term vision for peace and stability to become a reality,” says Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat.

Republican lawmakers are not urging for a stronger push for ceasefire negotiations, with some blaming the Biden-Harris administration for not supporting Israel strongly enough.

“They continue to encourage and embolden Hamas,” with calls for a ceasefire, says Republican Senator Tom Cotton.

Asked what Netanyahu’s government should do in the face of growing protests in Israel, Cotton says: “I would urge him to finish the job against Hamas, which is exactly what Kamala Harris and Joe Biden should have done from the very beginning.”

Kamala Harris calls Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s parents on ‘brutal murder of their son’

US Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris phones the parents of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin to express her condolences over his murder in captivity, as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump blames the vice president for the hostage crisis.

“Doug and I just spoke to Jon and Rachel, Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s parents, to express our condolences following the brutal murder of their son by Hamas terrorists. My heart breaks for their pain and anguish,” Harris tweets.

“I told them: As they mourn this terrible loss, they are not alone. Our nation mourns with them,” she adds.

Meanwhile Trump posts on Truth Social that “The Hostage Crisis in Israel is only taking place because Comrade Kamala Harris is weak and ineffective, and has no idea what she’s doing.

“I look forward to seeing her at the Debate!” he adds. “THE OCTOBER 7th ISRAELI CRISIS WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED IF I WERE PRESIDENT!”

Rocket barrage fired from Lebanon at Upper Galilee

A barrage of rockets was fired from Lebanon at the Upper Galilee a short while ago, setting off sirens in several communities.

There are no immediate reports of injuries.

Israeli swimmer Ami Dadaon wins silver in 150m individual medley at Paris Paralympics

Israeli swimmer Ami Dadaon smiles after winning silver in the men's 150m individual medley at the 2024 Paris Paralympics on September 1, 2024. (Lilach Weiss Rosenberg)

Israeli swimmer Ami Dadaon wins a silver medal in the men’s 150m individual medley in the SM4 disability category at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, his second medal in Paris so far.

The 23-year-old swimmer won gold in the men’s 100m freestyle on Friday. Dadaon, who was born with cerebral palsy and began swimming as a child as part of his physiotherapy, came home with three medals from the Tokyo Games three years ago — gold in the 50m freestyle, silver in the 150m individual medley, and gold in the 200m freestyle.

Dadaon has additional chances at further medals later in the week, when he swims in the 200m freestyle and the 50m freestyle.

His win marks Israel’s third medal today, after rower Moran Samuel won gold in the women’s singles and duo Shahar Milfelder and Saleh Shahin won bronze in the mixed double sculls. So far, Israel has won six medals at the Paris Paralympics, including a gold in taekwondo.

Ministers attack Gallant over call to walk back Philadelphi Corridor decision

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s ministerial colleagues castigated him during today’s cabinet meeting, Hebrew media outlets report.

The members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet were reportedly angered by his recommendation, posted to social media platform X, that the security cabinet convene and walk back its recent decision that any potential ceasefire and hostage release deal must include an Israeli military presence along the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border.

“The security cabinet must convene immediately and reverse the decision made on Thursday,” Gallant wrote, adding that it was “too late for the hostages who were murdered in cold blood, [but] the hostages who remain in Hamas captivity must be returned home.”

Gallant and the security chiefs have repeatedly urged Netanyahu to compromise more in the negotiations, particularly regarding the Philadelphi Corridor, fearing that the premier’s hardline positions were scuttling a deal.

In a Thursday night security cabinet meeting, eight ministers voted in favor of Netanyahu’s position, while only Gallant voted against it, representing the security apparatus’s position.

“Hamas should pay a heavy price instead of [making] concessions,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz stated during Sunday’s cabinet meeting, according to national broadcaster Kan.

“If we give in to Hamas’s demand as Galant wants, we have lost the war,” adds Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

“What will this do to the negotiations?” asked Justice Minister Yariv Levin. “You don’t need much imagination. How can we conduct ourselves if everyone tweets their opinions from the cabinet? When [the cabinet] makes a decision, [the ministers] show solidarity and stand behind it. It is clear to all of us that the murder of the hostages requires a sharp response.”

Gallant responded: “We will not live up to the war goals we set for ourselves… The decision made Thursday was reached under the assumption that there is time, but if we want live hostages, there’s no time.”

He added: “We endangered soldiers for decades for single individuals. How are we to treat the lives of 30? It’s moral bankruptcy.”

Earlier on Sunday, Smotrich assailed Gallant for his call to reverse the Thursday vote, declaring that “the cabinet will not allow a surrender deal that would abandon Israel’s security.”

Members of Netanyahu’s cabinet have repeatedly criticized Gallant and called for his ouster. Netanyahu announced he was firing Gallant in March 2023 for speaking out against the government’s judicial overhaul effort on security grounds. He rescinded the defense minister’s dismissal under intense public pressure.

Army: Gunman behind deadly shooting a former member of PA’s presidential guard

The Palestinian gunman who shot dead three police officers in the southern West Bank earlier today, and was later killed by commandos in Hebron, is identified by the IDF as Muhannad al-Aswad, 31, from Idhna.

According to the IDF, al-Aswad is affiliated with the Palestinian Authority’s Fatah movement, and in the past served in the PA’s presidential guard.

The IDF and Shin Bet say they continue to investigate the attack.

كتيبة خليل الرحمن:
بكل فخر واعتزاز، ننعى البطل مهند محمد محمود العسود منفذ عملية حاجز ترقوميا البطولية التي أسفرت عن مقـ ـتل ثلاثة ضباط من شرطة الاحتلال.
ونؤكد أن صفوفنا تضم عدداً كبيراً من أبناء الأجهزة الأمنية الذين يواصلون التحدي والتضحية. pic.twitter.com/n0D7h9ICCg

— ????Ahmed Samir ???? (@Samir_Newsroom) September 1, 2024

Meanwhile, the IDF says that, so far, as part of its ongoing operation in the northern West Bank, some 30 gunmen have been killed.

Numerous local councils announce they will not cooperate with Histadrut strike

While several municipalities and local councils have announced work stoppages tomorrow as part of the national strike called by the Histadrut Labor Federation, numerous other municipalities have stated that they will not take part in the general strike.

Cities not taking part include Jerusalem, Ashdod, Bnei Brak, Netanya, Ramle, Dimona, Holon, Petah Tikva, Kiryat Gat, Arad, Beit Shemesh, the northern town of Katzrin, the Merom HaGalil Regional Council and the settlements of Efrat and Ma’ale Adumim, among others.

Israel Gantz, the head of the West Bank’s Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, says that his employees will “not take part in an illegal strike that weakens the country,” while the Safed city hall argues that it is irresponsible to halt municipal services during wartime.

Samaria Regional Council chief Yossi Dagan says that in court rulings, “it was specifically established that a workers’ committee does not have the right to shut down the economy due to a political debate in protest of political and security issues. With all due respect, no one is above the law.”

In addition, the National Committee for Heads of Arab Local Authorities in Israel has said it will not support the strike as an organization, with councils free to make their own decisions on the matter.

US ambassador visited parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin overnight

US Ambassador Jack Lew speaks in an interview with Channel 12 news broadcast on May 12, 2024. (Screenshot: Channel 12)

US Ambassador Jack Lew visited the Jerusalem home of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s parents, Rachel and Jon, last night at 3 a.m., several hours before the IDF formally announced that it had recovered his body, after he was murdered in captivity by Hamas, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The gesture by Lew was the latest demonstration of how closely the Biden administration has worked with the families of the American hostages, the source says.

Police arrest reservist who tried to shoot Arab man in Jerusalem

Police say a reservist soldier who went “on a mission” to shoot someone of “Arab origin” was arrested after firing at a victim in Jerusalem.

A police statement says the incident occurred on August 9, when the 34-year-old suspect left home “with the weapon he held as part of his reserve service.”

The suspect “was on a mission to search for a victim of Arab origin” in a park in west Jerusalem, the statement says. “When the suspect identified a potential victim, he made the individual sit on a bench by the side of the road and began questioning him while holding the weapon against his body.

“After the suspect was convinced that the person was of Arab origin, he aimed his weapon and attempted to shoot. However, the victim managed to escape without injury.”

The suspect was arrested a few days later and told authorities “he fired the weapon to intimidate the victim,” the statement says, adding that “an indictment is expected to be filed against him in the coming days.”

Victim of Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack transferred to Haifa hospital

A man in his 40s who was seriously injured by a Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile near Kfar Yuval, near the Lebanese border, was evacuated to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa by helicopter from Ziv Medical Center in Safed, the hospital says.

The injured man is now undergoing tests for continuation of his treatment.

The two other people who were injured in the attack are in good to moderate condition at Ziv Medical Center.

‘Enough is enough’: Families of 7 American hostages demand deal

The families of the seven remaining American hostages demand that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finalize a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas, after the IDF recovered the body of the American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin over the weekend.

“The tragic murder of Hersh, just months after we all saw his face in a hostage video released by Hamas, is nothing short of vicious and senseless,” the American hostage families say in a statement. “It is more proof that Hamas is killing hostages in captivity.”

“And it is a cruel reminder that with each passing day, the chances of bringing anyone home alive are at grave risk,” the families continue.

“For the last 331 days, we warned that this could happen. Enough is enough,” they add.

Germany’s far-right AfD wins first state election — exit poll

Top candidate of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party for regional elections in Saxony Joerg Urban (R) speaks on stage during the party's election night in Dresden, eastern Germany, on September 1, 2024. (Lisi Niesner / POOL / AFP)

Germany’s far-right AfD has won its first regional election, taking between 30.5 and 33.5 percent of the vote in the former East German state of Thuringia, exit polls show.

The party is also neck-and-neck with the conservative CDU for first place in the state of Saxony, which also held a regional election today, the polls show.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) meanwhile look to have scored a disappointing result in both states of between 6.5 and 8.5%.

Biden speaks with parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin to offer condolences

Jon Polin (left) comforts his wife Rachel Goldberg as she speaks about their son Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who is being held hostage by Hamas, on the third day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 21, 2024. (Mandel Ngan / AFP)

US President Joe Biden spoke earlier this morning with Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, to “offer his condolences over the death of their son at the hands of Hamas,” a White House official says.

Hersh’s body was recovered over the weekend by the IDF, which says he was killed shortly beforehand by his Hamas captors.

His funeral is slated to be held tomorrow afternoon in Israel.

Masses gather in Tel Aviv to demand hostages’ return

Masses have gathered in central Tel Aviv to demand the government reach a deal to free hostages in Gaza.

Roads around military headquarters are filled to burst as tens of thousands attend what appears to be taking shape to be the largest demonstration since the start of the Gaza war.

The outpouring of public rage comes after six hostages were found murdered in the Strip on Saturday night.

בגין ???????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/F4Z1wlQS56

— קוסטה בלאק – Costa Black ????️???????????? (@costa1black) September 1, 2024

Finance minister accuses labor union chief of ‘representing the interests of Hamas’

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting of his Religious Zionism party at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, July 22, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich slams Histadrut Labor Federation chief Arnon Bar-David’s call for a national strike on Monday, telling reporters during a press conference outside the High Court of Justice that rather than lending a hand to the Israeli economy during wartime, the union chief “is actually fulfilling [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar’s dream, and instead of representing the Israeli workers, he chooses to represent the interests of Hamas.”

Smotrich says he instructed Finance Ministry officials “that anyone who strikes tomorrow will not be paid and I am happy to see that there are local authorities who do not align themselves with the decision of the chairman of the Histadrut.

“I call on the workers to come to work tomorrow and not lend a hand to a shutdown that harms the State of Israel during wartime,” Smotrich says, stating that “there there are those for whom the pain, the difficulty, and the heavy prices cause them to demand that we stop.”

Such people want to see Israel “surrender… [and] immerse yourself in illusions about arrangements that are not worth the paper they are written on” and “meaningless international security guarantees,” he states, arguing that “if, God forbid, we listen to these voices and stop in the middle it will be a disaster.”

For 30 years, since the Oslo Accords, “we surrendered and fled, gathered behind walls and fences. We asked for artificial peace and tranquility in the present and mortgaged the future for it,” he continues.

“We brought terrorists here and armed them, we released terrorists and gave them a second chance to attack us. We destroyed settlements, surrendered territories, castrated the army and allowed terrorist monsters to develop under our noses and next to our fences and settlements. Now is the time for correction,” he states — adding that “this time we can and must eliminate terrorism, to prove to ourselves and the world that there is a military solution to terrorism, that it can be destroyed with determination and persistence.”

Universities join Monday’s strike over Gaza hostages

Israeli universities will “join the economic shutdown” in an effort to promote a deal to release the hostages held in Gaza, and will be closed on Monday, the Association of University Heads says in a statement.

Some exams will still be held as scheduled, depending on the university, the notice says.

“The university heads repeat their call to the government of Israel to make freeing the hostages the top national mission,” the notice says.

IDF chief visits site where 6 murdered hostages were found

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (left) meets with the head of the Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman (center) and hostage pointman Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, in southern Gaza's Rafah, September 1, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi this morning visited a site in southern Gaza’s Rafah, from which the bodies of six murdered hostages were recovered overnight, the military says.

Halevi was joined by the head of the IDF Southern Command, Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, and hostage point-man Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon.

The IDF says Halevi held an assessment at the scene.

The bodies of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi were found over the weekend in a Hamas tunnel in Rafah. They were murdered by their captors just days before troops found them.

‘Pure outrage’: Diplomats from some 30 countries attend vigil for murdered hostages

Diplomats from some 30 countries, including, Britain, Germany, Austria, the Unites States, and India, attend a vigil at the Hostages and Missing Families Forum headquarters in Tel Aviv for the six hostages whose bodies were recovered over the weekend shortly after being murdered by Hamas.

US Ambassador Jack Lew says the killing of an American citizen, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, “is not something we take lightly.”

“Our heartfelt condolences” for the slain hostages’ families, “but also pure outrage, is something that we want to share,” adds Lew.

Washington “from the president on down” is working toward a hostages-for-ceasefire deal, says Lew.

“For weeks, we’ve been saying that times is of the essence. Last night, we saw we’re already in overtime,” he adds.

After Lew speaks Ruby Chen, father of American-Israeli hostage Itay Chen. Quoting Martin Luther King Jr., Chen brings to bear “the urgency of now.”

“Yesterday is an inflection point,” he says. “There needs to be a change.”

“We have no time,” he says. “We urge the international community: please do more” for a hostage deal.

“If it means the international community needs to come up with a proposal and force it on all the parties, so be it,” says Chen.

Foreign diplomats representing some 30 nations light candles at a vigil for six hostages whose bodies the IDF said it recovered over the weekend shortly after they were murdered by Hamas, at the Hostages Families Forum headquarters in Tel Aviv. pic.twitter.com/x3qfwMHLY1

— Noam Lehmann (@insomniacalpaca) September 1, 2024

Asked if the day’s events would lead Berlin to pressure Israel toward a ceasefire, German Ambassador Steffen Seibert tells The Times of Israel that he is “not here to do political messages, I’m here to show my sympathy.”

“We’ve been advocating for a deal as the most important goal now for months,” says Seibert. “It’s going to be reinforced by this.”

Widow of Alex Lobanov: ‘You loved life and freedom, freedom that was taken from you’

Michal Lobanov, the wife of murdered hostage Alex Lobanov, describes her slain husband as “the best father and the best husband” in the world at his funeral in Ashkelon and promises to raise their two children in accordance with his values.

“Love of my life… it is really true that God takes the best,” cries Michal.

“You had a good heart, you loved life, you loved freedom, a freedom that was taken from you on October 7,” she says in her tearful eulogy for her husband, which brings many of the thousands of mourners at the funeral to tears as well.

סליחה שלא חזרת חי. תודה שהשארת לי את המתנות הכי גדולות בחיים שלנו- טום וקאי. כך נפרדה מיכל לובנוב אשתו של החטוף אלכס ז״ל.

אני רוצה להתמקד בטוב הלב שבך. באהבת האדם החיים. במשך 11 חןדשים שלחת לי אותות וסימנים שאדע שאתה שורד ואתה חזק. אמרתי לכולם שאתה חוזר. בבקשה תגיד שעבדת עליי״ pic.twitter.com/B1nEdogDun

— מיטל יסעור (@MaytalYasur) September 1, 2024

“Thank you for the privilege of being your wife. I’m sorry I didn’t manage to bring you back… I promise that our boys will be educated by your values and your ethics.

“You will always be our one and only hero… Come to me in my dreams please… Watch over all of us… If you can send me strength, I want to feel you just a little more.”

Health Ministry: 6 hostages were killed between Thursday and Friday morning

The Health Ministry says that the six hostages recovered from the Gaza Strip overnight were killed 48 to 72 hours before their autopsy, meaning between Thursday and Friday morning.

It says that an examination carried out by Abu Kabir Forensic Institute found that all six hostages were shot multiple times from close range.

The IDF has said that Hamas terrorists murdered the hostages relatively shortly before troops located their bodies in a tunnel in Rafah, on Saturday afternoon.

The hostages brought back overnight were Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi.

Schools to close at 11:45 a.m. Monday, kindergartens to be shut — Teachers Union

In line with the general strike called by the Histadrut, the Teachers Union, a branch of the Histadrut, announces that all K-12 schools in Israel will be open only until 11:45 a.m. tomorrow, except schools for special needs kids.

A similar notification, sent by the union’s early childhood director, says that all kindergartens will be completely closed on Monday, except for special needs centers.

A high school teachers’ strike that began on Sunday, unconnected with the national labor stoppage, will continue on Monday, the Secondary Schools Teachers Association announced in an earlier statement.

Funerals underway for 4 of 6 hostages brought back from Gaza

This combination of six undated photos shows hostages, from top left, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi; from bottom left, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Carmel Gat (The Hostages Families Forum via AP)

Funerals are now being held for four of the six hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza overnight.

They are Almog Sarusi, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi and Alexander Lobanov.

At Sarusi’s funeral, his mother says: “You were sacrificed on the altar of defeating Hamas, of Rafah, of the Philadelphi Corridor. Enough, no more. Only a deal!”

His sister Shaked says: “My Almog. You held on for 11 months… I wanted so much for you to come back, raise a family, but it didn’t happen. Now you’re with Shahar, your love.” Shahar Gindi, 25, was murdered at the Supernova festival.

Eden Yerushalmi’s mother says at hEr funeral: “This isn’t how I imagined you’d end up. I wanted to get you alive… Sorry we couldn’t save you.”

At Ori Danino’s funeral, his brother Aharon says: “Your smile was the best thing that happened to me, and now it’s my nightmare. I see it everywhere and can’t stop crying.”

His aunt Eti says: “We ask your forgiveness for not doing enough.”

Thousands in Ashkelon take part in funeral of murdered hostage Alex Lobanov

Alex Lobanov, head barman at Supernova, captured on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists attacked the desert rave (Courtesy)

Thousands of people show up at the New Cemetery in Ashkelon for the funeral of Alex Lobanov, one of the six hostages murdered by Hamas several days ago whose bodies were recovered from Gaza by the IDF overnight Saturday-Sunday.

Droves of mourners walk toward the cemetery amid a sea of Israeli flags.

Hundreds of people are crammed inside the eulogy hall in the cemetery including numerous reporters, as the funeral gets underway.

Lobanov, 32, was the head barman at the Supernova desert party where Hamas terrorists slaughtered hundreds of revelers in the early hours of the October 7 massacre.

Alex’s wife Michal gave birth to the couple’s second child while he was being held hostage in Gaza.

Mourners at the New Cemetery in Ashkelon for the funeral of Alex Lobanov, one of the six hostages murdered by Hamas whose bodies were recovered, September 1, 2024 (Jeremy Sharon)

Three injured by anti-tank missile from Lebanon treated at Safed hospital

Three people who were injured in a Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile near Kfar Yuval, near the Lebanese border, are being treated at Ziv Medical Center in Safed, the hospital says.

One is in serious condition and is undergoing surgery. The two others are in good to moderate condition.

The three were brought in by helicopter, the hospital adds.

Jerusalem protesters: Government will learn the hard way what’s important to this nation

Demonstrators at Jerusalem's government complex demand the return of hostages held in Gaza, September 1, 2024 (Gianluca Pacchiani/Times of Israel)

Protesters outside the Knesset announce an additional rally tomorrow at 12 p.m. to disrupt the cabinet’s work.

“Members of the government, you will learn the hard way what is important to this nation,” an organizer shouts. “You will not have a moment of quiet.”

Yael Engel, the aunt of teenage hostage Ofir Engel, who was released during a one-week truce in November, takes the floor and says the hostages’ families “didn’t want to attack [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] personally, but you keep using the sorrow of the families for your personal gains.”

“I am not a security expert, but your Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the head of the Shin Bet Ronen Bar have both said this deal can be done,” Engel says.

“Liar! Resign!” she shouts at the end of her address to cheers from the crowd.

As the gathering winds down, an organizer urges protesters to attend another rally outside the government complex on Kaplan Street tonight at 7 p.m.

Workers at medical center where hostage Carmel Gat studied gather in her memory

Workers at the Loewenstein Rehabilitation Medical Center in Raanana gather in memory of murdered hostage Carmel Gat, September 1, 2024 (Courtesy)

The occupational therapy team and employees of the Loewenstein Rehabilitation Medical Center in Raanana gather in memory of Carmel Gat, who was an occupational therapy student there, and in memory of the five other hostages who were murdered in Hamas captivity.

Thousands gather outside Knesset to demand immediate truce-hostage deal

Demonstrator Sharon Bar Shaul at a protest in Jerusalem demanding the return of hostages held in Gaza (Gianluca Pacchiani/Times of Israel)

Thousands gather to protest outside the Knesset during an emergency meeting of the security cabinet to demand an immediate deal to release the hostages.

Many of the protesters blow whistles and trumpets to disrupt the meeting, causing a deafening noise.

Half an hour into the rally, the crowd observes a minute of silence to honor the hostages whose bodies were recovered from Gaza overnight.

After the minute passes, the crowd erupts again into loud whistles and shouts.

“This was the last minute of silence you will have,” shouts one of the organizers in a bullhorn, as he proceeds to read out the names of ministers. “We will not give this security cabinet a moment of quiet until all the hostages are released!”

The organizer proceeds to tell the crowd about the life of murdered hostage Hersh Polin-Goldberg, his immigration to Israel as a child with his family, and how he slowly became an Israeli.

Protester Sharon Bar Shaul says she is an acquaintance of Hersh’s father Jon and holds an image of the slain hostage. She says she woke up to great sorrow and anger upon hearing the news this morning, and adds it was her “duty” to attend.

Ben Gurion Airport to halt all arrivals and departures tomorrow at 8 a.m. amid strike

Flights take off at Ben Gurion Airport. April 17, 2024 (Yossi Aloni/FLASH90)

Following Histadrut chief Arnon Bar-David’s announcement of a nationwide general strike starting tomorrow morning, a spokesman for the powerful labor federation confirms that it will include Ben Gurion International Airport.

The general strike will be begin at 6 a.m., while the airport will be closed and all takeoffs and landings will halt at 8 a.m.

Asked how long Israel’s only international hub will be shuttered, the spokesman told The Times of Israel that it remains “unclear” and said that a full list of workplaces set to strike will be announced later.

National labor union announces one-day strike: ‘A deal is more important than anything else’

Histadrut chair Arnon Bar-David speaks at a conference hosted by the Yedioth Ahronoth news outlet, May 8, 2024. (Ynet video: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Histadrut Labor Federation chief Arnon Bar-David announces a general strike set for tomorrow over the failure to release hostages held in Gaza, stating that “a deal is more important than anything else.”

The action will start at 6 a.m. and is currently planned as a one-day strike, with Bar-David saying decisions beyond Monday will be made later.

“Jews are being murdered in the tunnels of Gaza. It is impossible to grasp and has to stop,” he declares at a press conference following a meeting with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Tel Aviv.

After speaking with various security officials, the labor leader says he believes the deal is stuck “because of political considerations” and argues that due to political polarization “we are no longer one people; we are camp against camp” and “we need to bring back the State of Israel.

“We are getting body bags instead of a deal. I have come to the conclusion that only our intervention might move those who need to be moved,” he declares.

“I call on the people of Israel to go out to the streets tonight and tomorrow and for everyone to take part in the strike,” he continues.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum earlier today called on the public “to join a massive demonstration, demanding a complete shutdown of the country” and appealed to the powerful Histadrut to stage a mass strike on Monday. Its call was taken up by the Israel Business Forum, which represents most private-sector workers from 200 of the country’s largest companies, as well as Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.

The Tel Aviv, Kfar Saba and Givatayim municipalities have all announced that they will join a nationwide strike in support of hostage families tomorrow.

Gantz calls on Israelis to protest government in Tel Aviv this evening

National Unity leader Benny Gantz attends a plenum session at the Knesset in Jerusalem, August 14, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

National Unity chief Benny Gantz joins the chorus of voices calling on Israelis to protest the government in Tel Aviv this evening over its failure to secure a hostage-release deal with Hamas.

“Out of love for the Israeli state and society, out of real anxiety for our future, I will come to the protest in Tel Aviv tonight, and I call on all of you to show up with Israeli flags,” the former war cabinet minister says in a video appeal to the public.

“Come and make your voices heard,” he states. “Let’s call for unity and true commitment to our hostages, our fighters, our children, and the future of the country.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has called for a mass protest at the Begin Gate of the Kirya, Israel’s military headquarters, in Tel Aviv at 7 p.m. It is slated to be preceded by a march with “symbolic coffins” and a vigil.

Earlier today, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid called “on every citizen whose heart is broken this morning to come at 7 p.m. to Begin [Road] to demonstrate with us.”

Shin Bet: Lab found in Hebron was used to make bombs used in dual attack

Security forces at the scene of a car bomb explosion at the Gush Etzion Junction in the West Bank, on August 31, 2024 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A bomb-making lab located by the military in the West Bank city of Hebron yesterday was used to manufacture the explosive devices used in the attempted dual car bombing attack in the Gush Etzion area over the weekend, the Shin Bet says.

At least six suspects were detained in connection to the attacks at a gas station in Gush Etzion and the settlement of Karmei Tzur.

The Shin Bet says that during the interrogation of some of the suspects from Hebron, they directed the agency to the lab in the West Bank city.

According to the Shin Bet, the lab was used to manufacture the bombs used in the attack. The bombs were made of improvised materials, the Shin Bet says, and not “quality” explosives.

Troops raided the lab over the weekend, took evidence, and demolished the building.

The Shin Bet says it continues to investigate the attack, and additional arrests are planned.

Likud minister says Netanyahu ‘fears’ mass protests ‘after deal bluff blew up’ — report

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the early morning preemptive strike carried out by Israel against Hezbollah rocket launchers, at the start of a cabinet meeting, August 25, 2024. (Screenshot/GPO)

As calls mount for a general strike on Monday and Israelis across the country prepare to take to the streets over the deaths of six hostages in captivity and the lack of a hostage deal, a Likud minister tells Channel 12 that the prime minister has expressed concern that a mass protest could develop outside the cabinet meeting in Jerusalem today.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has called for protests outside the cabinet meeting as well as in Tel Aviv this evening.

“Netanyahu fears that hundreds of thousands will take to the streets and lay siege outside the cabinet, after the deal bluff blew up,” the network quotes a source it identifies as “a senior Likud minister.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has called on the public “to join a massive demonstration, demanding a complete shutdown of the country” as well as calling on the powerful Histadrut labor federation to stage a mass strike on Monday, a call taken up by the Israel Business Forum, which represents most private-sector workers from 200 of the country’s largest companies, and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid.

The Tel Aviv, Kfar Saba and Givatayim municipalities have all announced that they will join a nationwide strike in support of hostage families tomorrow.

Three Israelis reported wounded in anti-tank missile attack from Lebanon

Three Israelis are reported wounded in an anti-tank guided missile attack from Lebanon, near the northern community of Yuval.

According to Hebrew-language media, one is listed in serious condition and two are moderately hurt.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF on the incident.

Troops kill Palestinian gunman behind today’s deadly shooting attack

A Palestinian gunman behind this morning’s deadly shooting attack in the southern West Bank has been killed by troops in Hebron, the military says.

Troops of the Duvdevan Commando Unit surrounded a building in Hebron where the gunman was holed up, following intelligence on his whereabouts provided by the Shin Bet security agency and Military Intelligence Directorate.

The commandos carried out a tactic known as “pressure cooker” that involves escalating the volume of fire directed at a building to force a suspect to come out.

The soldiers fired shoulder-launched missiles at the building, and the gunman was eventually killed. A military source says the troops found an M16 assault rifle on his body.

لحظة قصف الاحتلال المنزل الذي تحصن بداخله منفذ عملية ترقوميا في الخليل pic.twitter.com/Fcic5FkG6Y

— Newpress | نيو برس (@NewpressPs) September 1, 2024

It is unclear if there are other suspects at large.

Three police officers were killed in the attack this morning near Tarqumiyah.

IDF says it struck Hamas command room embedded in former Gaza school

The IDF says it carried out an airstrike against a group of Hamas operatives at a command room embedded within a former school in Gaza City.

According to the military, Hamas was using the Safad School in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood to plan and carry out attacks against troops and Israel.

The IDF says the strike specifically targeted the command room. The school compound, according to Palestinian media, was being used as a shelter for displaced Gazans.

شهداء ومصابون في قصف إسرائيلي لمدرسة صفد خلف مسجد الشافعي بحي الزيتون جنوب شرقي مدينة غزة pic.twitter.com/tckQ1bA5hH

— ???????? ???? حَمّزة (@Hamzaalnamla1) September 1, 2024

To mitigate harm to civilians in the strike, the IDF says it took “many steps,” including using precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.

“The Hamas terror organization systematically violates international law, brutally exploiting civilian institutions and the population as a human shield for terror activity,” the military adds.

In recent months, dozens of airstrikes have been carried out against Hamas sites embedded within schools and other sites used as shelters for civilians, according to the IDF.

Doctors’ group calls for general healthcare worker strike tomorrow over hostages

The White Coats – Healthcare Professionals for Democracy is calling on doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers from all fields to join the planned strikes tomorrow to demand the return of hostage and in support of their families.

“We can no longer carry on with business as usual and stand by while the values of the sanctity of life and mutual responsibility are trampled before our eyes, and the hostages pay with their lives,” the organization says.

They cite their colleague, Carmel Gat, 40, an occupational therapist from Tel Aviv, who was visiting her parents in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7 when Hamas terrorists attacked, killing her mother, Kinneret. Gat was taken captive, as were her brother, Alon, sister-in-law Yarden Roman-Gat, and niece, Geffen, who were also visiting.
Alon was able to escape the captors with his three-year-old daughter Geffen.

Yarden, 36, also initially escaped but was recaptured. She was held hostage in Gaza and released on November 29 as part of ceasefire deal.

Gat was murdered alongside five other hostages by their captors not long before their bodies were found on Saturday night.

Palestinian media: IDF surrounds Hebron building, exchanges fire with gunmen

Palestinian media report that Israeli troops are surrounding a building in the southern West Bank city of Hebron, and are exchanging fire with gunmen.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

عاجل

اشتباكات مستمرة خلال محاصرة منزل في مدينة #الخليل من قبل قوات الاحتلال pic.twitter.com/7EMSRrEyps

— Newpress | نيو برس (@NewpressPs) September 1, 2024

On Friday night, two Palestinian terrorists from Hebron carried out a dual car bombing attack in the Gush Etzion area.

UK’s Starmer says ‘shocked’ at ‘senseless’ Israeli hostage killings

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he is “completely shocked at the horrific and senseless killing of six hostages in Gaza by Hamas.

“My thoughts are with their loved ones at this awful time,” he writes on X. “Hamas must release all the hostages now, and a ceasefire deal must be agreed by all sides immediately to end the suffering.”

I am completely shocked at the horrific and senseless killing of six hostages in Gaza by Hamas. My thoughts are with their loved ones at this awful time.

Hamas must release all the hostages now, and a ceasefire deal must be agreed by all sides immediately to end the suffering.

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) September 1, 2024

Tel Aviv to go on strike tomorrow morning to support hostage families

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai announces his municipality will join a nationwide strike in support of hostage families.

“Tomorrow, beginning in the morning until midday, there will be no reception of the public [at our offices] and we will allow all employees to go out and support the families’ struggle,” he writes on X.

עדן, כרמל, הרש, אורי, אלמוג ואלכס היו צריכים להיות עכשיו בבית. בחיים.
ממשלת ישראל הפקירה אותם, אבל מדינת ישראל היא אנחנו.
לאות הזדהות עם החטופים ומשפחותיהם, עיריית תל אביב-יפו מצטרפת לשביתה.
מחר, החל משעות הבוקר ועד לצהריים לא תהיה קבלת קהל ונאפשר לכל העובדות והעובדים לצאת ולתמוך…

— רון חולדאי (@Ron_Huldai) September 1, 2024

Two families of murdered hostages reportedly refuse to take Netanyahu’s condolence calls

Two of the six families of hostages whose bodies were recovered from the Gaza Strip have refused to take condolence calls from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Channel 12 reports.

Netanyahu has reached out to all six of the families and has spoken with the parents of one of the murdered hostages, Alexander Lobanov.

Other families have yet to respond to his request to speak with them, the report says.

EU’s Borrell says he’s ‘horrified’ by murder of hostages, calls for ceasefire deal

BRUSSELS, Belgium — The EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell says he was “horrified at the murder of 6 Israeli hostages of Hamas,” whose bodies were found in the Gaza city of Rafah.

“These young innocent men [and] women should have long been brought to safety and to their loved ones,” Borrell says on X, calling for a ceasefire and return of the remaining hostages.

I am horrified at the murder of 6 Israeli hostages of Hamas whose bodies were found in Gaza

These young innocent men women should have long been brought to safety & to their loved ones

We stand with all hostages

We need a ceasefire to end this tragedy & bring all hostages home

— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) September 1, 2024

Gallant vows north’s suffering ‘won’t be in vain’ during visit on first day of school year

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks with members of the Druze community in the village of Majdal Shams, September 1, 2024. (Elad Malka/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vows that “the price we are paying in the north won’t be in vain” as he visits schools near the border with Lebanon on the first day of the academic year.

At an elementary school in the northern Druze village of Majdal Shams, where 12 children were killed in a Hezbollah rocket attack on a soccer pitch in July, Gallant speaks with teachers and students who knew the victims, a statement by his office says.

“This is the place that took the hardest hit, and it’s the place we are sending the message — the suffering and pain won’t be in vain,” Gallant says during the visit, according to his office.

Gallant promises residents that Israel will “cripple” Hezbollah to allow a return to routine in the northern areas of Israel affected by the terror group’s daily attacks.

PM apologizes to family of murdered hostage for failing to secure his release

Alex Lobanov, head barman at Supernova, captured on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists attacked the desert rave (Courtesy)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with the parents of Alexander Lobanov, one of the six hostages whose bodies were recovered from the Gaza Strip, and personally apologizes for the failure to save him.

The prime minister plans to speak to all the families of the other hostages who were found murdered, the Prime Minister’s Office says.

“I want to tell you how sorry I am, and I ask for your forgiveness for not succeeding in bringing Sasha home alive,” Netanyahu tells Oksana and Gregory Lobanov, using their son’s shortened name, according to a readout by the Prime Minister’s Office.

During the conversation, Netanyahu mentioned that his military secretary Roman Gofman had returned from a visit to Moscow this morning where he had been working to secure a deal to release the hostages, among them Lobanov, the statement reads.

Givatayim, Kfar Saba municipalities announce strike to support hostage families

Israelis protest for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, outside the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem, September 1, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Efforts to launch a general strike around the country grow, with the Kfar Saba and Givatayim municipalities saying they will not provide services tomorrow.

Givatayim Mayor Ran Kunik says in a statement that the city’s civil servants instead will demonstrate together with hostage families to urge the government to reach a deal to release captives held in Gaza.

“I call on all mayors in the country to join our measure. The return of the hostages is a national mission that needs to be carried out immediately,” he says.

Kfar Saba Mayor Rafi Saar says municipal offices will close at 3 p.m. today and that his staff will also join the protests.

“We must do everything to bring the hostages home immediately — this is everyone’s responsibility,” Saar says in a statement

Earlier, several restaurants in Tel Aviv and the Lev Cinema chain said they were closing early today to encourage customers to protest.

6 hostages found with gunshot wounds to head, were killed in last 48 hours — report

The bodies of the six hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 that were recovered from a tunnel in southern Gaza’s Rafah overnight were found with gunshot wounds to the head and other parts of their bodies, Ynet news reports.

It is believed that the six abductees — Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Almog Sarusi, Eden Yerushalmi, and Carmel Gat — were transported during the course of the war from the north of the Strip to to Rafah in the south, where they were murdered.

The autopsies took place throughout the night, and one of the hostages showed signs of being tied up. Evidence shows that they had been systematically neglected and had not bathed for a long time. Additionally, there were indications of injuries sustained during their kidnapping, which were treated over time.

The autopsies find that they were murdered in the last 48 hours.

3 police officers killed in shooting attack named; daughter of one was killed on Oct. 7

L-R: First Sgt. Roni Shakuri, Command Sgt. Maj. Hadas Branch, and Ch. Insp. Arik Ben Eliyahu, killed in a shooting attack in the southern West Bank, September 1, 2024. (Israel Police)

The three police officers killed in this morning’s shooting attack in the southern West Bank are named as Ch. Insp. Arik Ben Eliyahu, Command Sgt. Maj. Hadas Branch, and First Sgt. Roni Shakuri.

Ben Eliyahu, 37, from Kiryat Gat, is survived by his wife and three children.

Branch, 53, from Sde Moshe, is survived by her husband, three children, and a granddaughter.

Shakuri, 61, from Sderot, is survived by his wife, a daughter, and a granddaughter.

Shakuri’s daughter, First Sgt. Mor Shakuri, was killed battling Hamas terrorists who were trying to take over the Sderot police station on October 7.

Jordanian FM blasts Israel for escalation in West Bank and region, says Amman will oppose any attempt at displacing Palestinians

Following the recent escalation in the West Bank, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi vows that Amman “will oppose any attempt to displace the Palestinian people inside or outside their occupied land with all our means.”

In a harsh post in Arabic on his X account, Safadi claims that “Israel’s reasons for launching its aggression on the West Bank are a lie” fabricated by its “racist extremist ministers to justify the killing of Palestinians and the destruction of their capabilities.”

“Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land, its crimes against the Palestinian people, and its escalation in the region are the greatest threat to security and peace,” Safadi adds.

On Thursday, Safadi published another strident tweet in English in which he chastised unnamed Israeli officials, describing them as “radicals who celebrate the killing of children, use starvation as weapon, bomb hospitals and schools, attack UN humanitarian missions, violate the sanctity of Muslim and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem and deny the right of the Palestinian people to life,” and welcoming proposed EU sanctions against them.

The message came shortly after EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell indicated he would support EU sanctions on “some Israeli ministers that have been launching some hate messages” toward Palestinians. Though he did not name any ministers, reports said far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir could find themselves among those targeted.

Hostage’s grandson speaks of families’ grief: ‘It’s like a Memorial Day for us today’

Daniel Lifshitz, grandson of hostage Oded Lifshitz, 84, describes the grief of the hostage families for the families of the six hostages killed in Hamas captivity and found by IDF soldiers.

“It’s like a Memorial Day for us today,” says Lifshitz.

Daniel Lifshitz grew up with Carmel Gat, one of the six hostages found dead on Saturday. Another one of Lifshitz’s close friends, Sagui Dekel-Chen, is still held hostage in Gaza after being taken captive from Nir Oz.

“I barely slept last night,” says Lifshitz, referring to the Saturday night news that six hostages were found dead, prior to the release of their names. “It could have been my grandfather or Arbel Yehud,” another Kibbutz Nir Oz hostage.

Lifshitz’s family has had no information about his grandfather since the return of some hostages at the end of November, one of whom was held hostage with him.

Lifshitz says that rescued hostage Farhan al-Qadi told the hostage families that his time in Gaza felt like 80 years long. He barely received food and water and lost 20 kilos (44 pounds) during his months of captivity.

On October 7, Lifshitz’s grandfather and grandmother were taken captive from their sealed room in Kibbutz Nir Oz, but not together. Oded Lifshitz was badly injured on his hand when the terrorists shot through the door. When Yocheved Lifshitz, Daniel’s grandmother, 86, was released on October 23 with another Nir Oz hostage, Nirit Cooper, she told her family that she had last seen her husband lying in the backyard after the terrorists threw him there.

“She is very, very sad this week,” said Daniel Lifshitz of his grandmother, who buried four of her Nir Oz friends last week, hostages Avraham Munder, Alex Dancyg, Yoram Metzger, and Chaim Peri. “Today she’s brokenhearted.”

Lifshitz says he expects the Biden administration to place more pressure on the Israeli government to make a deal, and for Israelis to take to the streets as part of protests this afternoon and evening in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, in order to put pressure on the government cabinet to change their decision about insisting on keeping troops on the Philadelphi Corridor in Gaza rather than signing a hostage deal.

“It’s just so painful,” said Lifshitz. “So much pain and sorrow, I don’t wish anyone to have a family member held hostage. We may never know their fate.”

Histadrut chair to meet with hostage families at 4 p.m. amid calls for general strike — report

Histadrut Labor Federation chairman Arnon Bar-David is set to meet families of hostages at 4 p.m. at his organization’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, Hebrew media reports.

The meeting comes with the Hostage and Missing Families Forum calling for a general strike to pressure the government into doing more to reach a deal to free their loved ones from captivity in the Gaza Strip.

Recalling meeting with hostage families, UN chief urges unconditional release of captives, end to war in Gaza

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls for the release of all the hostages and an end to the war in Gaza after the IDF recovers the bodies of six captives who were murdered by Hamas.

“I will never forget my meeting last October with the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other hostage families. Today’s tragic news is a devastating reminder of the need for the unconditional release of all hostages and an end to the nightmare of war in Gaza,” Guterres writes on X.

I will never forget my meeting last October with the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and other hostage families. Today's tragic news is a devastating reminder of the need for the unconditional release of all hostages and an end to the nightmare of war in Gaza.

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) September 1, 2024

Israeli rowing duo takes bronze for Israel at Paris Paralympics

Israeli rowing duo Shahar Milfelder (left) and Saleh Shahin take part in a training exercise at the 2024 Paris Paralympics on August 23, 2024. (Israeli Paralympic Committee)

Israeli rowing duo Shahar Milfelder and Saleh Shahin win a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics in the mixed double sculls.

Shahin, 41, who is Druze, was working as a security guard for the Airports Authority at a Gaza border crossing in 2005 when several terrorists attacked it, killing six Israelis and wounding Shahin and four others. Milfelder, 26, was diagnosed with cancer as a teen and had to have a portion of her pelvis removed.

The pair are both making their Paralympic debut in Paris.

Moran Samuel won gold in the women’s single sculls earlier today, while Shmulik Daniel finished fourth in the men’s single sculls. Overall Israel has won five medals at the Paris Games — three gold and two bronze.

Police probing officer who rode horse into protester last night

Natalie Zangauker, center, sister of hostage Matan Zangauker, is tended to by other protesters for a hostage deal after she was pushed on the road by mounted police and injured on Begin Road in Tel Aviv, August 31, 2024. (Zohar Bar-Yehuda/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

The Department for Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) is examining an incident last night in which a mounted police officer rode his horse into a protester demonstrating at a hostage-release protest in Tel Aviv.

The protester, Natalie Zangauker, who is the sister of hostage Matan Zangauker, was injured when the police officer rode his horse into her back. Video footage of the incident shows her falling to the ground and then being hit in the head by the horse’s hind hoof.

She was taken to Ichilov Hospital for treatment.

Some restaurants to close at 6 p.m. to encourage public to protest government — report

Several restaurants in central Israel say they will close early at 6 p.m. to protest the government’s failure to reach a deal to release hostages held in Gaza and encourage the public to take to the streets, the Ynet news site reports.

The Israel Business Forum, which represents most private-sector workers from 200 of the country’s largest companies, and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid have joined calls by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum for a general strike after the bodies of six murdered hostages were recovered from Gaza.

Ben Gvir says critics of government’s handling of hostages ‘echoing Hamas propaganda’

Pushing back against criticism of the government following the IDF’s discovery of six dead hostages in the Gaza Strip, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir accuses critics of “echoing Hamas propaganda” while at the same time blaming Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for this morning’s shooting near the West Bank city of Tarqumiyah.

“Unfortunately, I see the disturbing statements from the left, which accuse the Israeli government of murdering the hostages,” Ben Gvir states. “To be clear: The terrorist organization Hamas, and only Hamas, killed the hostages. Those who place the blame on the Israeli government are echoing Hamas propaganda.”

“Those who demand the release of thousands of terrorists and giving Hamas control of the Philadelpi Corridor are intentionally abandoning the security of Israel’s citizens. The blood of those murdered next shall be on his hands.”

“The attack this morning in Tarqumiyah once again proved, unfortunately, the dire consequences of terrorists roaming freely in the field,” he argues.

“We have not yet finished counting the number of murdered people and the rivers of blood from the Shalit deal. Those released from the last deal [in November] also immediately returned to engage in terrorism. Where does any person have the nerve to demand the release of thousands of murderers?”

Ben Gvir slams those who say “we will know how to deal with it later,” stating that this kind of rhetoric had been used ahead of the Oslo agreements and Gaza disengagement and only led to “rivers of blood.”

“Terrorism must be fought without illusions,” he continues, calling the Palestinian Authority “a terrorist authority” that instigates and subsidizes terror. “Those who trust them endanger the State of Israel.”

“When Defense Minister Galant orders to open roadblocks for the Palestinians, the result is the murder of Jews,” Ben Gvir continues, calling on Israel to close Israeli roads to the Palestinians.

“You must not blink in the face of terrorism. Every surrender brings more terror. We submitted a death penalty law for terrorists, and the prime minister is delaying it. I intend to fight for it, it’s time to pass the law,” he says — adding that the price for killing hostages in Gaza should be “the occupation of more territory and the establishment of Jewish settlement in Gaza.”

Israeli rower Moran Samuel wins country’s third gold medal at Paralympics

Israeli rower Moran Samuel celebrates after winning a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics on September 1, 2024. (Lilach Weiss Rosenberg)

Israeli rower Moran Samuel wins a gold medal in the women’s single sculls at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, the fourth medal for Israel so far at the Games.

The Paris Games are the fourth Paralympic appearance for Samuel, 42, and her third medal, after she won bronze in Rio 2016 and silver in Tokyo 2020.

Samuel, who was a promising basketball player in her youth, suffered a spinal stroke at age 24 that left her in a wheelchair. She first began training in wheelchair basketball before switching to para-rowing due to the lack of a high-level women’s team in Israel.

Israel has so far won gold medals in taekwondo and swimming and a bronze in swimming.

Israeli swimmers qualify for finals in Paris

File: Israeli swimmers Ami Dadaon (L) and Mark Malyar (R) compete in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, August 30, 2021. (Keren Isaacson/IPC)

Israeli swimmers Ami Dadaon and Mark Malyar both qualify for finals in their respective swims at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, keeping alive additional medal hopes for the Israeli delegation.

Dadaon, 23, qualifies for the final this evening in the men’s 150m individual medley in the SM4 disability category, finishing first in his heat and second overall while Malyar, 24, advances to tonight’s final in the men’s 200m individual medley in SM8 after finishing third in his heat and fifth overall in the qualifier.

Both swimmers — who each won three medals in Tokyo three years ago — have also already won medals in Paris: gold for Dadaon in the men’s 100m freestyle on Friday and bronze for Malyar in the men’s 100m backstroke yesterday. Since Tokyo, Malyar was told that he must move from the S7 disability category to S8, competing against those with lighter impairments. Dadaon and Malyar were both born with cerebral palsy and started swimming as young children as part of physiotherapy.

Separately, shooter Yulia Chernoy finishes 16th out of 35 competitors in the mixed 10m air rifle prone, failing to advance to the final. Chernoy will compete in the mixed 50m rifle prone later this week.

Smotrich warns of imminent Oct.7-like massacre in West Bank, urges ‘preemptive strike’

Speaking from the site of this morning’s shooting attack in the West Bank in which three police officers were killed, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warns that another October 7 is possible unless Israel engages in a “preemptive strike” against terrorism.

“We are a step away from October 7 in Judea and Samaria and the center of the country,” the far-right minister says in a video message.

“We need to do now what we didn’t do that cursed night and launch a preemptive strike and strike terror hard. Gazan, West Bank, and Lebanese terror are one, part of the Iranian choke ring. We are committed to eliminating terrorism on all fronts.”

Palestinian media names two Hebron residents who attempted car bomb attacks in Gush Etzion on Friday night

Quoting official sources, Palestinian media identify the perpetrators of the two Gush Etzion attacks on Friday night as Muhammad Ihsan Yaqin Marqa and Zuhdi Nidal Abu Afifa.

The two, both Hebron residents, were killed separately as they were attempting to carry out car bomb attacks. It is not clear which man conducted which attack.

In the first incident, a car exploded at a gas station near the Gush Etzion junction. Troops dispatched to the scene shot dead a terrorist who had arrived in the vehicle and attempted to attack them, the military says.

In the second incident, a Palestinian rammed a car into a guard at the entrance to the settlement of Karmei Tzur, lightly injuring him, according to medics. The terrorist’s car exploded inside the community. The IDF said troops dispatched to the scene shot the attacker dead.

أبلغت "الهيئة العامة للشؤون المدنية التابعة للسلطة الفلسطينية، وزارة الصحة باستشهاد الشابين محمد إحسان ياقين مرقة وزهدي نضال أبو عفيفة برصاص #الاحتلال شمال الخليل الليلة الماضية.

التفاصيل: https://t.co/oF6LqQ6zfb#طوفان_الاقصى #قطاع_غزة #الضفة_الغربية pic.twitter.com/St035oYXnY

— وكالة قدس برس (@QudsPress) August 31, 2024

Cousin of murdered hostage Carmel Gat apologizes to her for failing to bring her home alive

Gil Dickmann, a cousin of murdered hostage Carmel Gat, apologizes to her for his failing to bring her back home alive after her body was recovered from a tunnel in Gaza.

“I wish that you saw and heard us. I wish that, even though you saw the terrible murder of your mother Kinneret with your own eyes, you discovered that your father Eshel, your brothers Alon and Or, your brother-in-law Yarden, and niece Gefen survived. I wish you saw how your friends fought to bring you back alive,” he writes on X.

“I wish you didn’t hear the prime minister say he thinks that the Philadelphi Corridor is more important than your life and the lives of the rest of the hostages. I can only imagine how that filled you with rage,” he says

Dickmann wishes that in her memory, thousands will protest tonight, “as you would have done,” and hopes that other hostages can be saved by a deal.

סליחה, כרמלי.

סליחה שלא עצרנו כשעוד היה אפשר.
סליחה שנתנו להם להרוג אותך.

הלוואי שראית ושמעת אותנו. הלוואי שלמרות שראית בעיניים את הרצח הנורא של אמא כנרת, גילית שאבא אשל ואחייך אלון ואור, הגיסה שלך ירדן והאחיינית שלך גפן, שרדו. הלוואי שראית איך החברות שלך נאבקו כדי שתחזרי… pic.twitter.com/Fm3WZbGXqp

— Gil Dickmann (@gildickmann) September 1, 2024

Lapid urges general strike, calls for special Knesset session to discuss hostage deal

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid attends a hearing of the civil investigative committee on the October 7 massacre, in Tel Aviv, August 29, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid joins calls for a general strike and a special Knesset session to discuss a ceasefire-hostage deal, following the IDF’s announcement that it has recovered the bodies of six captives in Gaza

In a statement, the Yesh Atid party chief calls on “the Histadrut and the employers and the local authorities to shut down the economy,” arguing that “the country is collapsing” and “cannot go on like this.”

“They were alive. Netanyahu and the death cabinet decided not to save them. There are still live hostages there, a deal can still be made. Netanyahu is not doing it for political reasons,” Lapid alleges, claiming that the prime minister was prioritizing preserving “the coalition with [far-right ministers Bezalel] Smotrich and [Itamar] Ben Gvir over the lives of our children.”

“I call on every citizen whose heart is broken this morning to come at seven [in the evening] to Begin [Road in Tel Aviv] to demonstrate with us,” he says.

Lapid’s statement comes after the Hostages and Missing Families Forum called for a general strike to protest the lack of a deal to free the remaining hostages, backed by the Israel Business Forum, which represents most private-sector workers from 200 of the country’s largest companies.

In a letter to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud), Lapid demands an “urgent” plenum session on Monday in order to hold a discussion “with the participation of the prime minister on the issue of the obligation to reach a hostage deal in order to save the hostages who are still alive.”

“Their deaths could have been avoided. It was possible to reach a deal. There is a majority for such a deal among the people, there is a majority for such a deal in the Knesset,” he states.

The Knesset is in recess and a regular plenum session would require the support of 25 lawmakers. Requiring Netanyahu to attend requires 40 lawmakers’ signatures.

Hamas hails perpetrators of shooting attack near Hebron, calls for escalation in West Bank

A Border Policewoman takes position in the area of a shooting attack near the Tarqumiya crossing north of Hebron in the the West bank on September 1, 2024. (HAZEM BADER / AFP)

Hamas praises the perpetrators of this morning’s fatal shooting attack near Hebron in the southern West Bank but does not claim responsibility for it.

In a statement, the terror group praises the “heroic resistance operation” in which three Israeli policemen were killed near the Palestinian city of Tarqumiyah, northwest of Hebron.

Hamas describes the attack as a “natural response” to the “genocidal war” in the Gaza Strip and the “Zionist crimes” in the West Bank, and calls on all West Bank residents to block the roads used by Israeli settlers, and on “whoever carries a weapon” to fire it at the “occupiers.”

Hamas official blames hostages’ deaths on Israel’s unwillingness to reach deal

CAIRO, Egypt — Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq blames Israel for the death of hostages, saying Israel was unwilling to reach a deal.

The IDF said the hostages whose bodies were recovered from a tunnel in Gaza’s Rafah were murdered as little as a day before troops arrived.

After IDF recovers 6 bodies, PM blames Hamas for failure to reach hostage deal

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes a video statement after the bodies of six hostages were recovered from Gaza, September 1, 2024. (screenshot: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Several hours after the IDF announced that it had recovered the bodies of six hostages from a Hamas tunnel in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu releases a video statement saying that his government is committed to a ceasefire deal and laying the blame for the failure to reach an agreement on the terrorist group.

“This is a difficult day. The heart of the entire people is torn. Along with all the citizens of Israel, I was shocked to the depths of my soul by the terrible coldblooded murder of six of our hostages,” Netanyahu says, and names the six: Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alex Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino.

He expresses his “deep appreciation” for the IDF and Shin Bet security service fighters “who risk their lives for the return of our sons and daughters.”

“Together with the entire people, my wife and I share the terrible grief of the families; we all mourn together with them,” he says.

“I say to the Hamas terrorists who murdered our abductees and I say to their leaders — you have forfeited your lives. We will not rest and we will not be silent. We will pursue you, we will catch up with you and we will settle accounts with you,” Netanyahu vows.

“We are fighting on all fronts against a cruel enemy who wants to murder us all. Just this morning it murdered three policemen in Hebron. My wife and I send our heartfelt condolences to their families. We saw the unimaginable cruelty of the Hamas killers on October 7, and we saw it again in the tunnels under Rafah. The fact that Hamas continues to commit atrocities like the ones it committed on October 7 requires us to do everything so that it cannot commit these atrocities again,” the prime minister continues.

“Our efforts to free the hostages continue all the time,” he says.

“Since December, Hamas refuses to conduct real negotiations. Three months ago, on May 27, Israel agreed to a hostage release deal with the full backing of the United States. Hamas refused. Even after the United States updated the outline of the deal on August 16, we agreed, and Hamas again refused,” Netanyahu states, adding that even now, “while Israel is conducting intensive negotiations with the mediators in a supreme effort to reach a deal, Hamas continues to firmly refuse any offer.”

“Worse than that, at that very moment [of the ongoing negotiations] it murdered six of our hostages,” he continues, arguing that “he who murders hostages does not want a deal.”

Despite this, “the Israeli government is committed, and I am personally committed, to continue pursuing a deal that will return all of our hostages and guarantee our security and existence,” Netanyahu declares.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately respond when asked why Netanyahu took several hours to release a statement on the matter and why he chose to issue it via prerecorded video rather than speaking live to the public.

Amid public comments by President Herzog and numerous other Israeli politicians — as well as by US President Joe Biden and US vice president and presidential candidate Kamala Harris — Netanyahu remained silent for hours after the IDF’s announcement this morning, prompting criticism from hostage families and the political opposition.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum this morning stated that the hostages’ deaths are the “direct result” of Netanyahu’s “torpedoing” of proposed hostage deals and his demand that the IDF maintain its presence in the Philadelphi Corridor.

According to unnamed security sources who spoke with Army Radio, three of the murdered hostages whose bodies were recovered in the Gaza Strip were on the “humanitarian” list of captives and were meant to be released in the first stage of a proposed hostage deal.

Hawkish hostage families urge PM to cease hostage talks with Hamas after bodies recovered

The hawkish Tikva Forum of hostage families calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cease negotiations for a hostage deal with Hamas after the bodies of six murdered captives were recovered from the Gaza Strip.

The forum extends its condolences to the families, adding that the deaths of the hostages serve as a reminder of “the bitter enemy we are fighting.”

“They are murderers and rapists of the lowest kind. Human animals. In these difficult moments we support the heroic IDF soldiers who give their lives to rescue the hostages,” the forum says, urging the country to unite in prayer for the safety of the captives and troops.

Israel’s largest companies back hostage families’ call for general strike

The Israel Business Forum, which represents most private-sector workers from 200 of the country’s largest companies, says it will join the families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza as they call on the public to mobilize.

“The forum joins the protest of the headquarters of the families of the hostages and calls on the entire public not to remain indifferent to the abandonment of the abductees when according to the entire security system they could have been saved,” the business forum says in a statement. “Alongside the security chaos, [we are facing] an economic chaos without a reasonable state budget, a strike in the education system, and the collapse of public services.”

“Tonight, there will be an emergency meeting of the forum together with the headquarters and other organizations and more information about the decisions will be released,” the forum adds.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum calls for a general strike as it demands Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take responsibility for the abandonment of the hostages, after six Israeli hostages killed in Gaza were recovered by IDF forces from the Strip.

At scene of shooting attack, Ben Gvir says Israelis’ ‘right to life’ trumps freedom of movement for Palestinians

Speaking at an ad hoc press conference at the site of this morning’s shooting attack near the Palestinian city of Tarqumiyah in the southern West Bank, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir declares that Israelis’ “right to life prevails over the freedom of movement of the residents of the Palestinian Authority.”

“I intend to demand from those who are responsible for deploying checkpoints in Judea and Samaria. No more taking freedom of movement into account,” he states, coming out strongly against the opening of checkpoints in the territories.

Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a police car on Route 35 near the Idhna-Tarqumiyah junction, just east of a checkpoint between the West Bank and Israel, killing three.

The attack is “a sign for those who are thinking of releasing terrorists,” he continues. “They are scum, they are murderers, they are human animals, they should not be released — they should be shot in the head in a properly run country. I hope the death penalty for terrorists law will finally pass.”

הזכות לחיים גוברת על חופש התנועה של תושבי הרשות הפלסטינית. pic.twitter.com/1pIvmraiyH

— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) September 1, 2024

Deri calls on lawmakers to show unity, not to fuel hatred, after hostages’ bodies recovered

Chairman of the Shas party, MK Aryeh Deri, speaks during an interview at his home in Jerusalem, on April 15, 2024. (Arie Leib Abrams/Flash90)

Aryeh Deri, the chairman of the Shas party, issues a call for unity during “this difficult time” when “the best of our sons and daughters have been murdered by the accursed Hamas terrorists.”

Amid rising criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government for their handling of the war in Gaza in the aftermath of the discovery of the bodies of six more hostages, the ultra-Orthodox politician calls on his “brothers and friends from all factions, coalition and opposition alike, to act at this time for the unity of the people, to show courage and leadership and not to multiply hatred, polarization, and division.”

“We all agree and there is no dispute about the sacred duty to return the hostages immediately, alongside the urgent duty to eradicate Hamas. These two values ​​constitute the significant basis for unity,” he states. “The unity of the people and its division are directly affected by the elected officials. When the leadership continues and works for unity, the masses of the people will also be united.”

In a separate statement, Housing Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf, the leader of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party, mourns the deaths of the hostages who “were brutally murdered at the place of captivity by Hamas monsters.”

“There are no words that can express the infinite sorrow. I send my condolences from the bottom of my heart to the families. May you know no more sorrow and pain,” he tweets.

Hostage families call for general strike to pressure government to save hostages

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, in an appeal to “the heads of the economy, the Histadrut [labor union] and local government,” calls for them to “shut down the economy” after IDF forces operating in the Gaza Strip discovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages killed by Hamas.

“The national leadership abandoned the abductees and this is the time for the social, economic, and local leadership to stand up for the sake of the families of the abductees, the sake of the public, and the sake of the value of solidarity and mutual responsibility,” the forum states, calling on them to “shut down the economy tomorrow.”

“The headquarters of the families of the hostages calls on the heads of the economy, the Histadrut, and local government to shut down the economy and the state tomorrow to put pressure on the cabinet and the prime minister to stop the abandonment, to save the living hostages” and recover the bodies of the dead, the group tweets.

Smotrich blasts ‘surrender deal’ in response to Gallant’s call to reverse cabinet decision on Philadelphi Corridor

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, left, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich meet with reserve IDF commanders near the Gaza border, August 28, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Responding to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s demand that the security cabinet reverse its decision to maintain IDF forces along the Philadelphi Corridor, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich rails against what he calls a “surrender deal” with Hamas.

“Hamas murdered our hostages in cold blood precisely to make us surrender and accept its demands and allow it to survive and restore its capabilities and attack Israel again as part of the Iranian extermination plan,” the far-right minister tweets.

“The cabinet will not allow a surrender deal that would abandon Israel’s security, but will direct the IDF and the security establishment to exact heavier prices from Hamas and those who give it shelter and concealment, and will intensify the war until its destruction and the return of the hostages,” he continues.

“This morning the Gaza Strip must be reduced. IDF forces should move 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) inland from the current border and clear everything in their way. This is a territory that will never be returned to the Gazans,” he demands, adding that “even in difficult and heartrending moments, reason and national responsibility must prevail and direct our decision-making.”

3 killed in West Bank shooting attack are police officers

The three victims of the shooting attack near the West Bank city of Tarqumiyah are police officers, Police Commissioner Danny Levy tells reporters at the scene.

Palestinian gunmen opened fire at the officers’ car, critically wounding them. All three were later declared dead.

9-day polio vaccine drive in Gaza gets underway

A nurse administers Polio vaccine drops to a young Palestinian patient at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on August 31, 2024. (Jihad Al-Sharafi / AFP)

A polio vaccination drive for children in the Gaza Strip begins, aiming to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of kids over the next nine days.

The drive comes after an unvaccinated 10-month-old baby from central Gaza contracted polio and suffered partial paralysis earlier this month, in the first case of the disease in the enclave in 25 years.

The vaccination campaign will be conducted by the World Health Organization together with UNICEF and in coordination with the IDF’s Southern Command and the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories agency.

The drive will be staggered across three geographic regions of Gaza, beginning in the central Strip on September 1-3, then in southern Gaza on September 4-6, and finally in northern Gaza on September 7-9.

The campaign, which involves two doses, aims to cover over 640,000 children under age 10.

A statement put out by COGAT says that the Israeli agencies “will work to ensure that the population can safely reach the medical centers where the vaccinations will be administered.”

According to the agency, COGAT and the international agencies involved in the campaign “conducted joint assessments, including the import of vaccines, medical and logistical equipment, refrigeration units for vaccine storage and transportation, the entry of polio-specialized medical teams into the Gaza Strip, [and] marking vaccination areas in the operational systems.”

COGAT says that over one million vaccine doses were brought into Gaza for the campaign over the last month and that enough vaccine has been brought into the Strip for 2.8 million people since the war started.

“According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 90% of the population in the Gaza Strip was vaccinated against polio in the first quarter of 2024,” COGAT adds.

The organization also says that it maintains regular contact “with all relevant health system authorities and the international community to monitor the medical situation in the Gaza Strip” and has facilitated the establishment of 14 field hospitals in the territory as well as the import of 25,955 tons of medicine and medical equipment.

“Israel sees the prevention of a polio outbreak in the Gaza Strip as an important mission in the humanitarian effort,” says COGAT.

Gantz urges Netanyahu to call families of 6 murdered hostages

National Unity chief and former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to immediately call the families of the six Israeli hostages whose bodies were found and recovered by IDF forces operating in Gaza.

“Prime minister, it is a painful morning for all the people of Israel, but especially for six families. Farhan al-Qadi, who was freed, you called immediately, and for Noa Argamani you came to the hospital,” Gantz tweets.

“Call the six hostage families now and listen to them. This is the least they deserve. Don’t wait even a minute.”

This morning, the IDF announced that it had recovered the bodies of hostages Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lobanov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 27.

Despite public comments by President Herzog and other Israeli politicians — as well as US President Joe Biden and US vice president and presidential nominee Kamala Harris — Netanyahu has so far remained silent.

Netanyahu’s office has stated that he will give a statement shortly.

“Two hours have passed since the publication of the names of the murdered hostages, and the fact that the president of the world’s greatest power issued a message of condolence and the prime minister of Israel did not tweet a word on the matter, only proves that Benjamin Netanyahu is running away from responsibility,” tweets Yisrael Beytenu MK Oded Forer, adding to the chorus of criticism of Netanyahu.

Gallant urges security cabinet to reverse decision to keep IDF on Philadelphi Corridor, says hostages must be brought home

View of the Philadelphi Corridor between the southern Gaza Strip and Egypt, on July 15, 2024. (Oren Cohen/Flash90)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant calls for the security cabinet to convene and walk back its recent decision that an Israeli military presence along the Philadelphi Corridor, the Gaza-Egypt border, must be maintained as part of any potential ceasefire and hostage release deal.

“The security cabinet must convene immediately and reverse the decision made on Thursday,” Gallant says on X.

“It is too late for the hostages who were murdered in cold blood. The hostages who remain in Hamas captivity must be returned home,” he says.

In a Thursday night security cabinet meeting, eight ministers voted in favor of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position, while only Defense Minister Yoav Gallant voted against it, representing the security apparatus’s position.

Netanyahu presented the continued IDF deployment in the Philadelphi Corridor as a new demand in the hostage negotiations last month, slowing the talks, which had picked up momentum after Hamas agreed to cave on its main demand for Israel to agree upfront to a permanent ceasefire.

Jacob Magid contributed to this post.

4 murdered hostages recovered in Gaza were on list of captives meant for release in 1st stage of deal — report

Four of the murdered hostages whose bodies were recovered in the Gaza Strip were on the “humanitarian” list of captives and were meant to be released in the first stage of a proposed hostage deal, unnamed security sources tell Army Radio.

The number of hostages who qualify to be released in the first stage of a proposed deal — women, men over 50, and hostages with serious medical conditions — is decreasing, the sources say.

The officials do not name those hostages, but they are believed to be Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, who lost his hand in a grenade blast during the October 7 massacre, Almog Sarusi, 27, who was injured on October 7, and two female hostages, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, and Carmel Gat, 40.

Hostage families tell PM to stop hiding behind IDF spokesperson, take responsibility for hostage deaths

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum demands Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take responsibility for the abandonment of the hostages after six bodies were recovered from the Gaza Strip.

The forum says the hostages’ deaths are the “direct result” of Netanyahu’s “torpedoing” of proposed hostage deals and his demand that the IDF maintain its presence in the Philadelphi Corridor.

“Over the past months, eight hostages were rescued alive in military operations, compared to 105 hostages who were released in the [November] deal,” the forum says.

“Don’t hide behind the IDF spokesperson. Give the public an account of the never-ending abandonment,” the forum adds.

PM cancels appearance at start of school year in Jerusalem

The Prime Minister’s Office says it is canceling Benjamin Netanyahu’s appearance at the opening of the academic year at the Guatemala Elementary School in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu’s office has yet to comment on the recovery of the bodies of six hostages from the Gaza Strip.

Israeli official says recovery of hostages’ bodies proves military pressure alone has killed hostages

The IDF’s weekend recovery of the bodies of six hostages who were alive until recently is the latest demonstration “that military pressure without a parallel diplomatic initiative is condemning the hostages to their deaths,” an Israeli official involved in the ceasefire negotiations tells The Times of Israel.

The official laments that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has placed a premium on the importance of military pressure while neglecting the need to advance diplomatic initiatives, including a hostage deal.

Two killed in West Bank shooting attack, medics announce

Medics at the scene of a shooting attack near the Tarqumiyah checkpoint in the southern West Bank, September 1, 2024. (Magen David Adom)

Two of the victims of the shooting attack near the Tarqumiyah checkpoint in the southern West Bank have died, medics say.

Magen David Adom director Eli Bin says a man and a woman, both in their 30s, were declared dead at the scene, while a man in his 50s is being taken to a hospital in serious condition.

Herzog: ‘Heart of an entire nation crushed into pieces’ after bodies of 6 hostages recovered

President Isaac Herzog says in a statement that the “heart of an entire nation is crushed into pieces” after the bodies of six hostages murdered in captivity were recovered in Gaza.

“In the name of the entire State of Israel, I hold their families in my heart and ask forgiveness. Forgiveness for not being able to return your loved ones home safely,” he says.

Herzog says the murder of the hostages proves Hamas’s readiness to carry out crimes against humanity, adding the country’s “sacred goal” was to bring them home.

IDF says it is pursuing Palestinian terrorists after Tarqumiyah shooting

The IDF says it has launched a pursuit after a cell of Palestinian terrorists who opened fire at a police car near the southern West Bank city of Tarqumiyah.

Three people were wounded in the attack, according to medics.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it is treating a man and a woman, both in their 30s, in critical condition, and a man in his 50s in serious condition.

“Many forces launched a pursuit of the terrorists,” the IDF says.

Hostage families say hostages would still be alive ‘if it weren’t for the saboteurs, the excuses, and the spin’

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum says the bodies of six murdered hostages recovered in Gaza would still be alive if the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had reached a deal with Hamas for their release.

“If it weren’t for the saboteurs, the excuses, and the spin, the hostages whose deaths we learned of this morning would probably be alive,” the forum says in a post on X.

“Netanyahu: enough of the excuses. Enough of the spin. Enough of the abandonment. The time has come to bring our hostages home — those living for rehabilitation and the fallen and murdered for burial in their land,” the forum writes.

מטה משפחות החטופים מרכין ראש על הירצחם בשבי של אורי דנינו, אלכס לובנוב, אלמוג סרוסי, הירש גולדברג פולין, כרמל גת ועדן ירושלמי ז״ל.

בצער רב אנו שוב מודיעים על הירצחם של 6 חטופים וחטופות. 6 אנשים ונשים שנחטפו בחיים ושרדו את התופת בשבי ונרצחו בדם קר.

במשך 11 חודשים ממשלת ישראל… pic.twitter.com/rvCUnHRCiy

— מטה המשפחות להחזרת החטופים והנעדרים (@BringThemHome23) September 1, 2024

97 hostages abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7 remain in Gaza, including bodies of 33 confirmed dead

Following the recovery of six murdered Israeli hostages from Rafah overnight, 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that.

Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 37 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.

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.

Two critically hurt, one seriously in West Bank shooting attack

Two people are critically wounded and another is listed in serious condition in a shooting attack near the West Bank city of Tarqumiyah, medics say.

The Magen David Adom ambulance service says it is treating the three victims at the scene, on the Route 35 highway, east of the Tarqumiyah checkpoint.

IDF spokesperson says hostages ‘brutally murdered’ shortly before troops arrived

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says the six hostages recovered from southern Gaza’s Rafah were “brutally murdered” by Hamas shortly before troops arrived.

“According to an initial assessment… they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists a short while before we reached them. They were abducted alive on the morning of October 7 by the Hamas terror group. Their bodies were found during the fighting in Rafah, in a tunnel, about a kilometer away from the tunnel from which we rescued Farhan al-Qadi a few days ago,” he says in a press conference.

“Since Farhan was found, troops were given an emphasis on operating carefully even more than usual, because of the understanding that additional hostages may be in the area. We did not have information on the exact location of the hostages,” Hagari says.

He also says troops battled Hamas terror operatives above ground in the area where the tunnel was located.

Lapid: Deaths of hostages ‘heartbreaking for the entire country, except for those who lead it’

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid accuses the government of “burying the hostages” after the IDF found six murdered in a tunnel in Gaza.

Lapid writes on X that the deaths are “heartbreaking for the entire country, except for those who lead it.”

“Instead of making a deal they are doing politics, instead of saving lives, they are burying the hostages. Instead of doing everything to bring them home, [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu is doing everything to stay in power. The government of disasters is burying the State of Israel,” he writes on X.

בלב שבור. נרצחו בשבי. יהי זכרם ברוך pic.twitter.com/u9B68Jokde

— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) September 1, 2024

At least 3 wounded in shooting attack near West Bank’s Tarqumiyah

The IDF says it has received reports of a shooting near the West Bank city of Tarqumiyah.

At least three people are wounded in the attack, first responders say.

Harris says Hamas ‘must be eliminated’ after US citizen Goldberg-Polin found murdered in Gaza

Vice President Kamala Harris says in a statement that Hamas “must be eliminated” and cannot be allowed to control Gaza after the bodies of US citizen Hersch Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages were found in Gaza.

Harris extends her condolences to Goldberg-Polin’s parents Jon and Rachel, and declares,  “I have no higher priority than the safety of American citizens, wherever they are in the world. President Biden and I will never waver in our commitment to free the Americans and all those held hostage in Gaza.”

“Hamas is an evil terrorist organization. With these murders, Hamas has even more American blood on its hands. I strongly condemn Hamas’ continued brutality, and so must the entire world. From its massacre of 1,200 people to sexual violence, taking of hostages, and these murders, Hamas’ depravity is evident and horrifying,” she says.

IDF announces bodies of 6 hostages murdered by Hamas found in Rafah tunnel

Hostages (clockwise from top left) Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Almog Sarusi, 25, Carmel Gat, 40, and Alex Lobanov, 32.

Overnight, the IDF recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages from a Hamas tunnel in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, who according to the military were murdered by their captors not long before they were found.

The hostages are Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lobanov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 25.

According to the IDF, the six were murdered by Hamas a short while, possibly around a day or two, before troops found them.

The IDF did not have the exact location of the hostages but had indications of a general area where the six could be held. The military says it operated carefully in the area, due to the possibility that hostages were being held there.

Troops began to search a tunnel complex yesterday until they found the hostages dead in the afternoon. Overnight their bodies were extracted from Gaza and brought to Israel for identification.

The IDF says there were no clashes with Hamas terrorists inside the tunnel, and the guards who likely murdered the six fled the area.

The tunnel in which the slain hostages were found, in Rafah, is about a kilometer away from where soldiers found hostage Farhan al-Qadi earlier this week.

Goldberg-Polin, Yerushalmi, Danino, Lobanov, and Sarusi were abducted from the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im by Hamas terrorists on October 7, while Gat was taken from Kibbutz Be’eri.

Hostages Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino killed in Gaza, families say

Ori Danino was taken captive by Hamas terrorists from the Supernova desert rave on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)

The families of hostages Ori Danino and Eden Yerushalmi say their loved ones have died in Gaza, indicating that they too are among the six bodies found in Rafah.

Eden Yerushalmi was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists to Gaza from the Supernova party on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)

Both were attending the Nova music festival on October 7 when they were kidnapped.

No other details are immediately available.

Six bodies of hostages found beneath Rafah, including Goldberg-Polin — Biden

US President Joe Biden speaks to reporters as he leaves the beach in Rehoboth Beach, Del., Saturday, August 31, 2024. (AP/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Israel has recovered the bodies of six hostages from Gaza, US President Joe Biden announces, naming dual Israeli-US citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin among them.

The six were found in a tunnel beneath Rafah, Biden says.

“I am devastated and outraged,” Biden says, adding that he and other American will have Hersh’s parents Jon and Rachel in their prayers.

“I have worked tirelessly to bring their beloved Hersh safely to them and am heartbroken by the news of his death. It is as tragic as it is reprehensible. Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages,” he says.

There is no immediate confirmation of the announcement from Israeli authorities.

Family of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin announces his death

This undated photo provided by Rachel Goldberg shows her son Hersh Goldberg-Polin. (Courtesy of Rachel Goldberg via AP)

The parents of Hersh Golderg-Polin, an Israeli-American taken hostage on October 7, say their son has died.

“With broken hearts, the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated to announce the death of their beloved son and brother, Hersh. The family thanks you all for your love and support and asks for privacy at this time,” the family says in a post on Facebook.

It is unclear if the news is connected to the Israel Defense Force’s announcement Saturday night that it was working to identify bodies it had found in Gaza suspected of being slain hostages.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

The California native was taken hostage as he tried to escape terrorists invading the Nova music festival, losing his hand in a grenade blast. He was seen in a video being taken into Gaza still alive, and appeared in a Hamas propaganda video in April.

Rocket siren sounds in northern Galilee

Rocket alarms are being activated in Kfar Giladi, a small community in the northeastern Galilee panhandle near the border with Lebanon.

There are no immediate reports of impacts.

US says it hit Houthi drones before they could attack ships

The US military says it carried out a pre-emptive attack on two Houthi drones in Yemen that threatened commercial ships and naval forces in the area.

An aerial drone and an unmanned boat in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen were both destroyed, the US Central Command says.

“It was determined these systems presented a clear and imminent threat to U.S. and coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region,” Central Command says in a brief statement on X.

August 31 U.S. Central Command Update

In the past 24 hours, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully destroyed one Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) and one uncrewed surface vessel (USV) in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.
 
It was determined these… pic.twitter.com/IhX4ZuGpef

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) August 31, 2024

Biden comments on IDF finding bodies in Gaza, urges waiting until they are identified

Exiting a church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, US President Joe Biden comments on the IDF’s statement that it has found bodies in Gaza, possibly of hostages.

Biden notes there is uncertainty about the exact number and “a lot of speculation who they are,” adding that the matter should wait until they are identified and “their families are notified.”

“It’s time this war ended. We should end this war. I think we’re on the verge of having an agreement,” he adds.

High school teacher’s strike to go ahead tomorrow, union head says

Secondary School Teachers Association chair Ran Erez attends a Education, Culture, and Sports Committee meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on June 26, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Israel’s high school teachers will begin their planned strike tomorrow, the first day of the new school year, despite a last-minute negotiation session with the Education Ministry, says Ran Erez, chairman of the Secondary Schools Teachers Association.

Erez; Education Minister Yoav Kisch; Federation of Local Authorities chief Haim Bibas; and Efraim Malkin, the commissioner for wages and work agreements at the Finance Ministry, attended a meeting tonight in Tel Aviv in a last-ditch effort to avert the strike, which Erez officially called on Thursday.

“There is no possibility to sign a collective agreement overnight, even if an unexpected miracle happens and our demands are met. Without a signed, perfect agreement, the struggle won’t end, therefore the strike will stand and take place as planned tomorrow,” Erez said in a late-night statement.

The last-minute negotiations were widely not expected to avert the strike.

Kisch subsequently issues a statement attacking both Erez and Smotrich.

“After the emergency meeting and the nighttime negotiations in which I ordered another compromise outline, I came to the conclusion that both Finance Minister Smotrich and Ran Erez desire the strike,” he asserts, adding that they are locked in an “ego battle” and are “harming students and teachers.”

“Both have failed to step up in light of the magnitude of the situation, and all of us are paying the price,” the education minister says. “I fully hope they will put their ego aside and we will reach agreements as soon as possible.”

The strike is officially to cover instructors teaching 10-12th grade, but some 9th-grade classes are also reported to be affected.

The Secondary School Teachers Association has been engaged in ongoing yet deadlocked negotiations with the education and finance ministries, with instructors demanding retroactive wage increases and other benefits that were agreed upon before the last school year began, but which were deferred due to Hamas’s October 7 attack and the outbreak of the still ongoing war.

The union is also seeking a collective salary agreement, a major sticking point in the negotiations, while the government has pushed for individual contracts for teachers amid a budgetary shortfall.

Lapid: Netanyahu focused on his survival as ‘our sons and daughters are dying in captivity’

After the military says it has found bodies in Gaza, possibly of hostages, Opposition Leader Yair Lapid issues a scathing statement accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of focusing on insignificant issues as “our sons and daughters are being abandoned and dying in captivity.”

“Not the Philadelphi Corridor nor the polio vaccines [in Gaza] interest him — just the coalition and preserving [the partnership with Bezalel] Smotrich and [Itamar] Ben Gvir,” he charges. “In the process, he is crushing the families and the nation of Israel.”