Sept. 10: US reportedly at odds with fellow mediators as hostage deal remains elusive

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, standing right, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, standing left, listen to the playing of the Israeli National Anthem during an arrival ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, June 25, 2024. (AP Photo/ Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON — US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin tells Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that he has “grave concern for the Israel Defense Force’s responsibility for the unprovoked and unjustified death” of American citizen Aysenur Eygi in the West Bank, the Pentagon says.

“The Secretary urged Minister Gallant to reexamine the IDF’s rules of engagement while operating in the West Bank,” the Pentagon says in a statement.

1:38 am

Hamas issues rare statement attributed to Sinwar congratulating Algerian president on election

Hamas's Gaza Strip leader Yahya Sinwar in a tunnel in southern Gaza's Khan Younis, October 10, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

Hamas releases a rare statement attributed to the terror group’s leader Yahya Sinwar, who congratulates Algeria’s incumbent President Abdelmadjid Tebboune after he was declared the winner of an election whose results have been challenged by opposition candidates.

The statement says Sinwar stressed Tebboune’s support for the Palestinians and was sending his congratulations in light of the “Al-Aqsa Flood,” using the Gaza-ruling terror organization’s name for its October 7 onslaught in southern Israel that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza.

Sinwar, who was named Hamas’s top leader after Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in late July, is believed to be hiding in tunnels under Gaza and has issued few public statements since the launch of the October 7 attack that he’s accused of masterminding.

12:29 am

Biden says US-Turkish activist ‘got hit by accident,’ after IDF expresses regret over killing

By Agencies and ToI Staff

US President Joe Biden speaks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on September 10, 2024, in Washington. (Drew Angerer/AFP)

US President Joe Biden says the killing of a US-Turkish activist during a protest in the West Bank last week appears to have been an accident, after the IDF said she had “with high probability” been hit by soldiers’ mistaken gunfire and expressed its regret for her death.

“Apparently it was an accident — it ricocheted off the ground, and she got hit by accident,” Biden tells reporters, hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the killing was “unprovoked and unjustified.”

11:45 pm

Hostage envoy says Sinwar could be granted safe passage out of Gaza in exchange for all hostages

Gal Hirsch speaks at the MEAD conference in Washington, DC, September 8, 2024 (Itzik Balnitzki / Courtesy)

Gal Hirsch, the Israeli government’s official point person on efforts to free the Gaza hostages, tells Bloomberg News that if Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar were to relinquish the terror group’s control of the Gaza Strip and release all the hostages, Israel would provide him with safe passage out of the enclave.

Speaking to the news outlet during a visit to Washington, Hirsch says that he is “ready to provide safe passage to Sinwar, his family, whoever wants to join him.

“We want the hostages back,” he adds. “We want demilitarization, de-radicalization of course — a new system that will manage Gaza.”

He says that he presented the offer a day and a half ago, but did not elaborate on whether or not there has been any interest in the offer from the other side of the negotiating table.

11:23 pm

IDF says fighter jets struck Hezbollah manufacturing plant, command room in south Lebanon

Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah weapons manufacturing plant in southern Lebanon’s Jouaiyya earlier today, the IDF says.

A Hezbollah command room and other buildings used by the terror group were struck in Nabatieh, Mansouri, and Kafr Kila, the military adds.

Separately, the IDF says a cell of Hezbollah operatives spotted in southern Lebanon’s Houla was targeted in an airstrike.

מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו בהכוונה מודיעינית של אמ״ן, אתר ייצור אמצעי לחימה המשויך לארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב ג׳ויא שבדרום לבנון.
בנוסף, הותקפו מהאוויר מפקדה צבאית ומבנים צבאיים של הארגון במרחבים נבטיה, אל מנצורי והכפר כילא שבדרום לבנון >> pic.twitter.com/8v3ffRP2h9

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 10, 2024

Meanwhile, the military confirms that several drones were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel earlier this evening.

The IDF says some of the drones were shot down, while others impacted near Kibbutz Ami’ad in the Galilee. There were no injuries.

Hezbollah took responsibility for the attack, claiming to have targeted an Israeli military site.

11:20 pm

Ben Gvir said to reiterate opposition to hostage deal during cabinet screening of tunnel footage

A brief disagreement broke out between government ministers during the cabinet meeting in which they were shown footage of the tunnel where the six executed hostages were held, Channel 12 reports.

According to the report, the ministers were told that the footage was being shown to them at the request of the families of the hostages, who hoped that seeing the harsh conditions would help change the minds of lawmakers who opposed a deal for their release.

At this point, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir retorted that he, too, “spoke with the families,” and that “not everyone wants a deal, there are those who want to increase the military pressure,” the report states.

Science and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel is said to have then told the ultranationalist lawmaker to “stop shouting and let them show us the footage as the families requested.”

The report adds that several ministers were brought to tears by the harrowing footage of the tunnel where the hostages were held and murdered, but it does not specify which lawmakers.

11:00 pm

While US blames Hamas for lack of deal, Qatar and Egypt want to issue statement blaming Israel — report

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, US President Joe Biden and Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. (Collage/AP)

The US is reportedly at odds with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar as regards who is to blame for the failure thus far to reach a hostage-ceasefire agreement.

While the US is supportive of Israel, and has publicly stated that Hamas is to blame for the deadlock — including on its demands regarding the releases of Palestinian security prisoners — Egypt and Qatar “think the opposite,” Channel 12 news says.

The disagreement is so profound that Egypt and Qatar have “considered issuing a joint statement blaming Israel for the failure of the contacts,” the report says.

White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby, saying yesterday that the US was “working night and day” to try to get a deal in place, specified that “Hamas is the main obstacle to this right now.”

Earlier today, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “not even a handful of issues” remain, and that they are “hard but fully resolvable.”

The TV report says Israel’s negotiators fear the differences between the mediators will further delay a possible deal.

Channel 12 also reports that Qatar and Egypt have no real leverage over Hamas.

It notes that Hamas has been deprived of its smuggling route along the Philadelphi Corridor at the Gaza-Egypt border but is profiteering massively from humanitarian aid. It cites an estimate made known to the security establishment that Hamas has thus far brought in $500 million by commandeering and selling the supplies that enter the Strip at a rate of 200 trucks a day. Hamas, the report says, uses the money, among other purposes, to recruit new gunmen — of whom it says there are now 3,000 in northern Gaza.

The TV channel’s Arab affairs analyst Ohad Hemo says Hamas has reasserted “full governance” in northern Gaza, where it has resumed paying salaries to some of its officials.

10:55 pm

Sara Netanyahu said to berate hostage families for ‘shocking’ protests against her husband

Sara Netanyahu, wife of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, attends a prayer service for the return of the hostages held by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, March 21, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, Sara Netanyahu irked families of Israelis held hostage in Gaza during a recent meeting, Channel 12 reports, when she slammed the “shocking demonstrations” against her husband’s government, and claimed that he was “doing everything he can” for the return of their loved ones.

Citing leaked snippets of the conversation between the hostage families and the prime minister’s wife, Channel 12 reports that Netanyahu echoed her husband’s oft-repeated talking points, telling the families that if Israel were to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor, “we will not be able to return to it. We will experience another October 7.”

A relative of one of the hostages then retorts the “Ben Gvir-Smotrich Axis,” a reference to Netanyahu’s far-right lawmakers who have been outspoken in their opposition to any sort of hostage release-ceasefire deal.

Netanyahu goes on to criticize Saturday night’s unprecedented protests, in which upward of 500,000 people were estimated to have demonstrated against the government and in support of a hostage deal, appearing to take it personally.

“The demonstrations against us on Saturday were shocking,” Sara Netanyahu is quoted as having said. “Hamas doesn’t want a deal, my husband is doing everything he can, he wants everyone to be back home.”

A family member responds: “It is not enough for him to want it. He has to do everything for it. He’s afraid that his government will be overthrown. The entire security establishment says it will be easy to return to the Philadelphi Corridor.”

Sara Netanyahu counters that “the IDF also said that Hamas was deterred,” and, deflecting blame leveled at her husband for the failures surrounding the October 7 massacre, adds: “The prime minister knew nothing.”

Later in the conversation, she is reported to have reiterated her husband’s claim — said by Channel 12 to be unfounded — that if the IDF withdraws from the Philadelphi Corridor, Hamas could smuggle the hostages across the border and into “Yemen and Iran.”

10:26 pm

PM said to establish new forum for war management, Smotrich invited to join but Ben Gvir left out in the cold

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has established a new forum to deal with matters pertaining to war management, the Kan public broadcaster reports, three months after the war cabinet was disbanded.

The forum will receive security briefings from IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi and the heads of Israel’s defense establishments regarding developments on all fronts, the report states.

According to Kan, the limited forum is made up of Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Foreign Minister Israel Katz, MK Aryeh Deri and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Notably absent, the report states, is National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has repeatedly voiced his desire to be among those making the decisions in the war.

Speaking to Kan, a source close to Netanyahu alleges that Smotrich was invited to join the forum because the premier “trusts him not to leak the proceedings, and to try and convince him to support the deal to release the hostages.”

Netanyahu’s Likud party previously accused Ben Gvir of leaking “state secrets and private conversations,” and Netanyahu has been reported to deeply distrust the ultranationalist minister.

9:57 pm

Ben Gvir says Israel must prevent humanitarian aid from entering Gaza after execution of hostages

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says that Israel must prevent all humanitarian aid from entering the Gaza Strip going forward, as footage published by the IDF of the tunnel where six hostages were executed proves that Hamas “can only be spoken to through the crosshair of a gun.”

“Hamas kept our hostages in subpar conditions and murdered them in cold blood,” the ultranationalist minister says. “The response to this must be clear” the cessation of the humanitarian aid and fuel trucks that reach Hamas and allow its continued existence.”

At the same time, he says, the IDF must “increase the military pressure on a large scale, so that Hamas will get down on its knees and beg to return the hostages.”

9:53 pm

Anti-government protest on Tel Aviv’s Begin Road ends, protesters disperse peacefully

By Noam Lehmann

Anti-government, pro-hostage deal activists sit with hands bound on Tel Aviv's Begin Street, outside the IDF headquarters, simulating the conditions of hostages in Gaza, September 10, 2024. (Noam Lehmann/Times of Israel)

The anti-government, pro-hostage deal protest on Tel Aviv’s Begin Road disperses. Activists thank the dozens who showed up and invite them to come again tomorrow. There did not appear to be any clashes with police.

The demonstration featured four protesters sitting on the floor with their hands bound, simulating the conditions of hostages in Gaza. The Hostages Families Forum staged similar exhibitions in intersections across the country earlier today.

9:28 pm

Father of slain hostage Ori Danino appeals for unity at rally in Hostages Square

By Noam Lehmann

Rabbi Elhanan Danino, father of slain hostage Ori Danino, speaks at an event in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, September 10, 2024. (Paulina Patimer / Hostage Families Forum)

Rabbi Elchanan Danino, the father of slain hostage Ori Danino tells the crowd at a rally in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square that he came to “be the voice of 101 hostages and their families,” and to appeal for unity among the public.

He also addresses a leaked conversation in which he castigated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the “Singing for their Return” event organized by the Hostage Families Forum at which he is speaking.

“I came here today after a crazed day,” says Danino. “Parts of the media turned my words to hurt someone, heaven forbid. That was not my intent.”

In the footage, from Netanyahu’s condolence visit to the family, Danino accused the premier of building up Hamas to the point where it murdered his son.

In his speech, Danino doesn’t mention Netanyahu by name.

“I came here today to be the voice of 101 hostages and their families,” he says. “I no longer have the privilege to stand idly by, but I also, unfortunately, no longer have what to gain.”

He explains that he had refrained from public appearances until now because his son, a soldier with the Paratrooper’s 202nd Battalion was kidnapped while on active duty.

Danino speaks about the cultural divide straddled by his son, who joined the army after studying in an ultra-Orthodox yeshiva in Jerusalem.

“The wavelength I tried to broadcast to those who spoke with me during the condolences, including the — unfortunately — well-known conversation, is that whoever saw Ori’s funeral and the shiva {the 7-day Jewish mourning period} understood a bit about us and what we teach and strive for,” said Danino, noting that he himself had served in the army, and that his wife did national service, but neither of them left the ultra-Orthodox fold.

Appealing for unity, Danino says that the fringes of society must not be allowed to divide the “mostly connected, loving, and united” public.

“All of Israel are brothers. We may wear different clothes, but we all came from the same father and the same mother,” he says. “Let us not allow anyone to divide us.”

Still refraining from referring to Netanyahu by name, Danino appeals to the country’s leaders.

“You sit there each day and manage many things, but saving lives comes above all else,” he says. “The lives of dozens of our best sons and daughters depend on you. Please don’t miss any slim chance there is to bring everyone home immediately.”

The self-consciously apolitical Singing for their Return event, held every Tuesday, has drawn a 300-strong crowd, which is notably younger, more religious and more staid than the anti-government, pro-hostage deal protest — also organized by the Hostages Families Forum — two blocks away on Begin Street.

Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report.

9:05 pm

Hostage families’ forum: Tunnel footage shows executed hostages ‘suffered until their last breath’; lives of others ‘hang by a thread’

The Hostages Families Forum says that the footage published by the IDF of the tunnel in which six hostages were executed “leaves no doubt as to the cruelty of their last moments.”

In a statement published in English, the forum says that Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alex Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, Ori Danino, and Eden Yerushalmi “suffered until their last breath.”

“They were confined in narrow 1.5 meters tall tunnels, deep underground, deprived of air, sanitary conditions and subjected to constant mental and physical abuse before their brutal execution,” the forum says.

“They begged to be released, pleaded for their lives. Fought for their lives until their death.”

It adds that there are still 101 hostages in Gaza who are “enduring unimaginable suffering. Hungry, exhausted, tortured, they cling to a single hope: that we will continue fighting for their freedom.”

“They trust us to bring them home. Every day in captivity is eternity. Every day that passes is a danger to their lives, hanging by a thread, at the mercy of terrorists capable of the worst crimes against humanity,” the forum warns, adding that time is running out for a deal that will bring about their release.

In a similar statement in Hebrew, the forum also slams Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warning that he and the government “hold joint responsibility for the fate and safety of our hostages.”

“Their silence and inaction are unparalleled in the country’s history,” it says of the government. “History will forever reckon with them.”

8:27 pm

IDF releases footage of tunnel in which 6 hostages were held, executed

This image released by the IDF on September 4, 2024, shows the entrance to a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza's Rafah where the bodies of six Israeli hostages were found murdered. (Israel Defense Forces)

The IDF releases a video showing the inside of a Hamas tunnel in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah, where six Israeli hostages were murdered by Hamas terrorists and shortly after were found and recovered by Israeli troops.

Hostages Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi were believed to have been executed in the tunnel by their captors on August 29, before being discovered by troops less than two days later.

The video taken by IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari was recently shown to the families of the hostages and to members of the Israeli cabinet.

The tunnel where their bodies were found was a narrow 120-meter-long passageway — not tall enough to stand in without bending over — that connected parts of a large underground network in the Tel Sultan neighborhood, which according to the IDF belonged to Hamas’s Rafah Brigade.

“Here you see their blood on the floor. Here you see their last moments and here they were brutally murdered,” Hagari says in a Hebrew-language version of the video.

8:11 pm

Syrian delegation exited room as Turkish foreign minister spoke at Arab League meeting, footage shows

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad led his country’s delegation out of the hall at the Arab League’s foreign ministers meeting in Cairo as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan rose to speak, footage from Al Arabiya shows. The delegation returned after the speech.

Fidan is the first Turkish foreign minister to participate in 13 years, as many leading Arab states saw Ankara as backing hostile Islamist forces during the Arab Spring uprisings that broke out in 2011.

All Arab countries had to consent to Turkey’s participation, including Syria. Turkish forces occupy parts of northern Syria, and back opposition forces.

مشاهد أوضح لمغادرة الوفد السوري قاعة الجامعة العربية عند إلقاء وزير خارجية #تركيا كلمته#سوريا #العربية pic.twitter.com/lG7s1SwfKb

— العربية (@AlArabiya) September 10, 2024

7:38 pm

Anti-government protesters block traffic on Tel Aviv’s Begin Street, call on drivers to join rally

By Noam Lehmann

Anti-govermment, pro-hostage deal protesters block traffic on Tel Aviv's Begin Street, outside the IDF headquarters, September 10, 2024. (Noam Lehmann/Times of Israel)

Anti-government, pro-hostage deal protesters begin intermittently blocking traffic on Tel Aviv’s Begin Street, in front of the IDF headquarters.

They call on drivers to join the “struggle for the soul of this country.” Some drivers exit their cars to join the protesters, while others appear somewhat irked.

“We won’t agree to a government of abandoners,” the protesters chant.

The roadblocks last a few minutes, after which protesters let traffic through.

This is the third day in the second straight week of daily protests on Begin Street. The protests began after the army announced last Sunday that it recovered six recently slain hostages.

About 150 protesters are currently gathered outside the IDF headquarters. Previous daily protests have drawn closer to 2,000.

Nearby, in Hostages Square, hostage families will hold a public singing event, which is set to feature Elhanan Danino, father of Ori Danino, one of the six executed hostages whose bodies were recovered last weekend.

The elder Danino has drawn attention in recent days after footage emerged of him harshly criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his failure to bring the hostages home.

7:32 pm

Lapid: Nobody has weakened the State of Israel more than Ben Gvir has

After National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir claimed that the inclusion of Opposition Leader Yair Lapid in a unity government would amount to “raising the white flag” in the war against Hamas, Lapid hits back, charging that nobody has “weakened the State of Israel more than Ben Gvir and the government of extremists.”

“It’s no coincidence that Hamas attacked when he was the National Security Minister,” Lapid says of the ultranationalist lawmaker. “Our enemies look at him and understand that he has weakened the police, weakened the border police, weakened our ability to attack Hamas and Hezbollah.”

“Ben Gvir = weak,” adds the Yesh Atid leader.

7:24 pm

Footage shows Hezbollah drone flying over northern Israel as sirens sounded

Footage shows a Hezbollah drone flying over northern Israel a short while ago, as sirens sounded in several communities.

Sirens warning of a drone infiltration had sounded in Rosh Pina and several other towns in the Galilee.

The Home Front Command says the incident is over, without elaborating.

תיעוד: כטב"ם חזבאללה בשמי צפון הכנרת@Doron_Kadosh
(שימוש לפי סעיף 27א') pic.twitter.com/fOLNfFkRUG

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) September 10, 2024

7:06 pm

Israeli drug company Teva likely to be hit with EU antitrust fine in coming weeks

A Teva Pharmaceuticals' logistics center in Shoham, January 7, 2021. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

Teva, the world’s largest generic drugmaker, will be hit with an EU antitrust fine in the coming weeks for disparaging a rival product to its blockbuster multiple sclerosis medicine Copaxone, people with direct knowledge of the matter say.

The European Commission in 2022 charged the Israeli company with breaching EU antitrust rules, saying its anti-competitive practices included misusing the patent system to artificially extend Copaxone’s patent and shield it from competition.

The EU competition enforcer’s tough line underscores its concerns that such practices could stifle innovation in the pharmaceutical industry, with countries constrained by tight healthcare budgets.

The Commission declines to comment and Teva has not immediately responded to requests for comment.

The long-running case against Teva started with EU dawn raids in 2019 that led to the opening of an investigation in 2021.

Companies found guilty of EU antitrust violations risk fines of as much as 10 percent of their global annual turnover, although this is rare.

Teva and its subsidiary Cephalon were fined 60.5 million euros ($66.7 million) in 2020 for agreeing to delay a cheaper generic version of Cephalon’s sleep disorder medicine, part of the EU’s crackdown on so-called pay-for-delay deals between brand name drugmakers and their generic rivals.

6:55 pm

Ben Gvir: Inclusion of Yair Lapid in a unity government would be a ‘reward’ for Sinwar

By Sam Sokol

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir slams Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, arguing that his inclusion in a unity government would be “a reward for [Hamas leader] Yahya Sinwar,” and would amount to “raising the white flag” in the war against Hamas.

“Lapid is hindering the fighters from winning, he wants to drag the country and Prime Minister Netanyahu into complete surrender in the war,” the far-right politician declares in response to a statement by the centrist former prime minister critical of the composition of Netanyahu’s government.

“I see that a lot of people talked to me about a unity government precisely when I wasn’t in the room,” Lapid had stated. “These are the facts: I offered Netanyahu a national unity government as early as October 7. He didn’t want it. Since then I have repeatedly offered him a safety net to make a hostage deal. He expressed no interest.”

“Someday the citizens of Israel will have to recognize that Ben Gvir and Smotrich were not forced upon him. This is the government he wants, these are the partners he wants,” Lapid added.

6:44 pm

IDF says Hezbollah launchers targeted in drone strikes after 45 rockets fired at north

Hezbollah rocket launchers used to fire some 45 rockets at northern Israel earlier today were targeted in drone strikes, the IDF says.

The launchers were hit in southern Lebanon’s at-Tiri and Mansouri, according to the military.

Meanwhile, Israeli fighter jets struck a building used by Hezbollah in Rachaf, the IDF adds.

Hezbollah rocket launchers used to fire some 45 rockets at northern Israel earlier today were targeted in drone strikes, the IDF says.

The launchers were hit in southern Lebanon's at-Tiri and Mansouri, according to the military.

Meanwhile, Israeli fighter jets struck a… pic.twitter.com/OiUXfauxHV

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) September 10, 2024

6:43 pm

‘Moral disgrace of the first order’: Prime Minister’s Office slams ICC prosecutor’s call for arrest warrants

After International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan calls for the issue of arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “with utmost urgency,” the premier’s office says the move is a “moral disgrace of the first order.”

“The comparison made by the prosecutor in The Hague between the prime minister and the defense minister of Israel, which fights the murderous terrorism of Hamas according to the laws of war; and the war criminal Sinwar, who executes Israeli hostages in cold blood; is antisemitism for its own sake and moral disgrace of the first order,” says a statement from the PMO.

“Unfortunately, we saw from the beginning that the processes in The Hague are politically biased and do not rest on any professional legal basis.”

6:39 pm

Herzog to visit Serbia and Albania in trip aimed at strengthening diplomatic relations

President Isaac Herzog will fly to Serbia and Albania tomorrow, which will include the first presidential visit to Tirana. The focus of the visit will be to “strengthen security, strategic, and diplomatic cooperation,” says The President’s Residence.

He will use Wing of Zion, Israel’s official government transport plane that took Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington in July in its maiden voyage.

Herzog will be received at the airport in Belgrade by Foreign Minister Marko Đurić, whose cousin Alon Ohel was kidnapped from the Supernova festival by Hamas on October 7. Ohel’s mother will be joining Herzog’s delegation.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić will greet Herzog with an official reception, before the two meet privately, joined by Serbia’s prime minister and speaker of parliament.

Herzog will take off on Thursday for Tirana to meet Albanian President Bajram Begaj and Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama. He will also meet descendants of Albanians who saved Jews in the Holocaust.

Trade and economic officials will join Herzog, as will diplomats from the Foreign Ministry.

CIA director Bill Burns was in Serbia last month and met with his Serbian counterpart, and the two discussed Israel’s security situation, among other issues. Serbia is an important security partner for Israel.

“Both countries are close allies of Israel, providing unwavering support in various international forums and engaging in extensive security and strategic cooperation with Israel,” says Herzog’s office.

6:04 pm

IDF discloses new details about Hamas tunnel in which six Israeli hostages were executed, will release footage

The IDF is set to release a video showing the inside of a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip where six Israeli hostages were murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before they were found and their bodies recovered by Israeli troops.

Hostages Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi were believed to have been killed in the tunnel by their captors on August 29, before being discovered by troops two days later.

The tunnel was a small 120-meter-long passageway that connected parts of a large underground network in the Tel Sultan neighborhood, which according to the IDF belonged to Hamas’s Rafah Brigade. The tunnel network was one of the largest underground complexes found by the army in Gaza to date.

Inside the tunnel, located some 20 meters underground, the IDF found food and equipment that it assessed were used by the Hamas terrorists and the Israeli hostages to survive underground for extended periods, at least several weeks. Among the items were dried food, water, a makeshift toilet, mattresses, and assault rifle magazines.

The military says it did not have any concrete or real-time intelligence on the six hostages being held there, but had general indications that Israeli abductees could be in the neighborhood, and therefore had operated carefully above ground and even more so underground.

On August 30, the IDF discovered a tunnel shaft, which had been blocked up by Hamas. A day later on Saturday, troops finally managed to enter the tunnel, where they discovered a locked blast door. Later in the day, the bodies of the six were found, and by early on September 1, they were extracted and brought to Israel for identification and burial.

Also on August 30, the IDF said, troops killed two Hamas gunmen who attempted to flee from the tunnel complex area. Their bodies were taken to Israel to run DNA testing to determine if they were the terrorists who killed the six hostages. The IDF believes that the six were killed by at least two terrorists.

Two days before the six hostages were murdered, on August 27, the IDF rescued hostage Farhan al-Qadi from a tunnel — part of the same network — located less than 700 meters away. There was no direct passage between the tunnel where al-Qadi was found and the bodies of the six hostages, as Hamas had blocked the route.

The video taken by IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari was shown to the families in recent days, as well as to members of the Israeli cabinet.

5:46 pm

IDF: Commander of Hamas’s Tel Sultan Battalion involved in planning Oct. 7 killed in drone strike

The commander of Hamas’s Tel Sultan Battalion in the terror group’s Rafah Brigade was killed in an Israeli drone strike several weeks ago.

Mahmoud Hamdan was killed alongside three company commanders in the Tel Sultan Battalion, according to the IDF.

The military says that additional strikes killed several more top commanders in the battalion, along with dozens of operatives.

The IDF says Hamdan took a “significant part” in planning the October 7 onslaught, and was involved in other attacks amid the ongoing war.

5:33 pm

Senior IDF search and rescue officer wounded in central Gaza tunnel collapse

Col. (Res.) Golan Vach at the scene of IDF search and rescue efforts after an earthquake in Turkey on February 8, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

This morning, Col. (res.) Golan Vach, a senior Home Front Command search and rescue officer, was wounded in a tunnel collapse in the central Gaza Strip.

The incident came amid efforts to investigate and demolish tunnels in the area, the IDF says.

Vach was trapped inside the tunnel and later rescued, before being taken to a hospital in Israel. He is listed in stable condition.

5:24 pm

Husband of patient at Beersheba hospital threatened Arab staff member with gun — report

The husband of a patient at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba was detained today after he threatened an Arab member of staff with a gun, Channel 12 reports.

According to the report, the suspect threatened the staff member after discovering that the latter would be present in the operating room where his wife was undergoing surgery.

The suspect, a resident of Beersheba, was removed from the hospital premises by the police and his weapon was confiscated, the report adds. He was arrested and, after being taken for questioning, was released on bail.

In response to the incident, Soroka Medical Center tells Channel 12 that it condemns any and all violence against its staff and expects law enforcement to take appropriate action against the offender.

5:02 pm

IDF says some 45 rockets fired from Lebanon at northern Israel, no resulting injuries

Some 45 rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel a short while ago, according to the IDF.

A barrage of 30 rockets was launched at the Mount Meron area, with the military reporting that some were intercepted and others struck open areas.

Another 15 rockets were fired at the Western Galilee, some of which were intercepted by air defenses, the IDF adds.

There are no injuries in the attacks.

4:36 pm

UK, Germany, France to sanction Iran’s national airline over Russia missile transfers

The governments of France, Germany and Britain strongly condemn Iranian transfers of ballistic missiles to Russia and will work toward imposing sanctions on Iran Air as a result, the German Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

“This act is an escalation by both Iran and Russia, and is a direct threat to European security,” said a joint statement from the three countries shared by the ministry.

The three countries will take immediate steps to cancel bilateral air services agreements with Iran, it added, calling on Iran to immediately halt all support for Russia in its war with Ukraine.

4:23 pm

Gallant tells troops Israel close to achieving goals in Gaza, is shifting focus to north

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant speaks to reservists of the Oded Brigade during a drill in northern Israel, September 10, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Speaking to troops during a drill simulating a ground offensive in Lebanon, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says Israel is shifting its focus to the northern front as it aims to soon achieve its objectives in the Gaza Strip.

“The center of gravity is moving to the north, we are nearing the completion of our missions in the south, but we have a task here that has not been carried out, and this mission is to change the security situation and return the residents to their homes,” he says to reservists of the Oded Brigade in northern Israel.

Some 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from their homes amid daily attacks by Hezbollah on northern Israel. Returning the displaced residents of the north to their homes is part of Israel’s war goals, alongside dismantling Hamas and returning the hostages kidnapped by the terror group on October 7.

“These instructions you are waiting for, I gave in the south and saw the forces at work,” Gallant says, referring to Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza. He adds that such orders “will come here as well and you should be prepared and ready to carry out this mission.”

“We are finishing training the entire order of battle for a ground operation [in Lebanon], in all its aspects,” Gallant says.

“I’ve already seen in many circumstances where I stood next to troops who told me: ‘You are just talking.’ After a week I met them on the ground,” he adds to the reserve soldiers.

4:18 pm

Killing of Turkish-American citizen by IDF fire ‘unprovoked, unjustified,’ Blinken fumes

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls the killing of Turkish-American Aysenur Ezgi Eygi by the IDF “both unprovoked and unjustified.”

He calls for the IDF to make “fundamental changes to the way that they operate in the West Bank, including changes to their rules of engagement.”

At a London press conference, he says that IDF forces have looked the other way when extremist settlers attacked Palestinians, have used excessive force themselves, and “now have the second American citizen killed at the hands of Israeli security forces.”

“It’s not acceptable,” says Blinken. “It has to change. And we will be making that clear to the seniormost members of the Israeli government.”

“It is clear that there are serious issues that must be dealt with, and we will make sure that they are dealt with,” he says.

The military said earlier today that an initial probe into the killing of Eygi found that she was likely mistakenly hit by troops’ gunfire.

4:18 pm

ICC prosecutor says arrest warrants must be issued for PM, Gallant with ‘utmost urgency’

By Jeremy Sharon

International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan calls on the Pre-Trial Chamber of the court to issue the arrest warrants he seeks for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “with utmost urgency.”

Khan, who filed his request for warrants in May, says the warrants are needed due to the “ongoing criminality” he alleged in his initial request and to what he said was the “worsening situation in Palestine.”

Khan writes in his submission to Pre-Trial Chamber I that the arrest warrants are necessary to ensure that the targets of the warrants “do not obstruct or endanger the investigation or court proceedings, prevent the continuing commission of the crimes alleged and/or the commission of other Rome Statute crimes.”

The prosecutor requests to have the arrest warrant against for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh withdrawn following his assassination in Tehran in July.

But he does not withdraw his request for an arrest warrant for Mohammed Deif, another senior Hamas leader who Israel believes it assassinated in July, saying the prosecution is still gathering information about “his reported death.”

Khan requested arrest warrants against the Israeli and Hamas leaders in May on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes for the October 7 atrocities committed by Hamas, and Israel’s military policies in its subsequent war against the terror group.

In July, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I allowed other parties to submit amicus briefs on the case, including regarding the court’s jurisdiction over Israeli nationals, which has significantly delayed a decision.

4:09 pm

Blinken: US to present new hostage-ceasefire proposal to Israel, Hamas ‘very soon’

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, listens to Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy during a joint press conference in the Locarno room at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London, Tuesday, September 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, Pool)

Standing alongside his British counterpart David Lammy in London, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the two countries are “determined to end the conflict in Gaza as soon as possible.”

He says the US is working closely with Qatar and Egypt “to bridge any remaining gaps” as they craft a new formula for a deal.

“Very soon, we will put that before the parties and we will see what they say,” he says, as pessimism has spread among Israeli and US negotiators in recent days.

“More than 90% of the issues have been agreed, decided, so we’re down to a handful of issues — not even a handful of issues — that are hard but are fully resolvable,” says Blinken.

He notes the “strong interest that everyone in the region has” in a ceasefire, stressing that it is “clearly in Israel’s interest.”

Lammy says the 90% assessment is “completely correct,” and says it is now “in the hands of [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar to get us over the line and to take that deal that is on the table.”

Lammy adds that “there can be no role for Hamas going forward,” while Blinken does not mention the defeat of Hamas.

Blinken also notes the threat Iran and its axis pose to Israel. “We are prepared to act together to help Israel defend itself in the future,” he says.

3:28 pm

IDF says it hit Hamas command rooms inside Gaza mosque, took steps to protect civilians

The IDF says it carried out an airstrike against several Hamas operatives at command rooms embedded within a mosque and a nearby building in central Gaza’s Bureij a short while ago.

The command rooms at the al-Farouk mosque and an adjacent structure were used by the Hamas operatives to plan and carry out attacks against Israel and troops in Gaza, the IDF says.

To mitigate harm to civilians in the strike, the IDF says it carried out “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.

#عاجل | مراسل شهاب: غارة جويّة عنيفة على بلوك ٩ في مخيم البريج وسط قطاع غزة. pic.twitter.com/HerHsbVrfP

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) September 10, 2024

3:16 pm

Blinken: New sanctions to hit Iran, after it gave Russia missiles to be used in Ukraine within weeks

By AFP

The United States says Iran has sent missiles to Russia for use within weeks in Ukraine and announces imminent new sanctions against Tehran after it defied warnings.

“Russia has now received shipments of these ballistic missiles and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine against Ukrainians,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken tells reporters in London.

3:10 pm

UK foreign secretary claims ‘shocking’ strike in Gaza shows need for truce

By AFP and ToI Staff

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy voices shock about a missile strike targeting Hamas officials in a humanitarian zone in the Gaza Strip, saying it shows the urgent need for a ceasefire.

“We’re meeting at a critical moment — a critical moment for securing a ceasefire in Gaza, with the shocking deaths in Khan Younis this morning only reinforcing how desperately needed that ceasefire is,” Lammy tells a joint news conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

3:04 pm

UN envoy ‘strongly’ condemns Israel’s strike on Hamas officials in Gaza humanitarian zone

By AFP and ToI Staff

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland briefs, over video conference, the Security Council on the 'Situation in the Middle East,' including the Palestinian question, on January 26, 2021. (Daniela Penkova/UNSCO/File)

A United Nations envoy condemns a deadly Israeli airstrike on Hamas officials in a humanitarian zone in Gaza, which Hamas officials claim killed at least 19 people.

“I strongly condemn today’s deadly airstrikes by Israel on a densely populated area in an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in Khan Younis where displaced people were sheltering,” the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland, says in a statement.

Wennesland says international humanitarian law “must be upheld at all times,” stressing that “civilians must never be used as human shields.”

Israel has said the strike targeted three senior Hamas officials embedded within the humanitarian zone, rendering the place a legitimate military target under international law as long as all necessary precautions are taken to mitigate civilian casualties. The IDF has said it took such precautions.

2:55 pm

IDF says ‘indirect and unintended’ fire likely killed American woman in West Bank, expresses regret

This undated family photo provided by the International Solidarity Movement on September 6, 2024, shows Aysenur Ezgi Eygi of Seattle. (Courtesy of the Eygi family/International Solidarity Movement via AP)

The military says it has completed an initial probe into the killing of an American woman in the West Bank on Friday, and has found that she was likely mistakenly hit by troops’ gunfire.

The probe, carried out by commanders, has found that Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, 26, was “with high probability” killed as a result of “indirect and unintended IDF fire, which was aimed at a main instigator” during a riot.

“The incident occurred during a violent gathering of dozens of Palestinian suspects, who burned tires and threw stones at forces at the Beita Junction,” the IDF says.

Eygi, an American originally from Turkey, was an activist with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).

A Military Police investigation has also been launched into the deadly incident, the findings of which will be submitted to the Military Advocate General for review.

The IDF says Israeli officials have submitted a request to carry out an autopsy.

“The IDF expresses its deepest regret over the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi,” the military adds.

2:30 pm

IDF says it struck and killed Hezbollah commander behind many attacks on Israel

Muhammad Qassem al-Shaer, a commander in Hezbollah, in a poster issued after he was killed in an IDF strike on September 10, 2024. (Hezbollah Media Office)

The IDF confirms killing a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force in a drone strike deep in Lebanon earlier today.

According to the IDF, Muhammad Qassem al-Shaer was involved in many attacks on Israel. The military says his killing “is another blow to the ability of the Hezbollah terror organization to advance and carry out terror attacks from southern Lebanon against the Israeli home front on the northern border.”

Al-Shaer was targeted on a road near Lake Qaraoun in the Beqaa Valley, some 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the Israeli border.

The IDF publishes footage of the strike.

כלי-טיס של חיל-האוויר תקף וחיסל את המחבל, מחמד קאסם אלשאער במרחב קרעון, אשר שימש כמפקד ביחידת רדואן של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה.

מחמד קאסם אלשאער קידם מתווי טרור רבים כנגד מדינת ישראל. חיסול זה מהווה פגיעה נוספת ביכולות ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה לקדם ולבצע פעולות טרור מדרום לבנון כנגד… pic.twitter.com/zevBSxqYRl

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) September 10, 2024

Hezbollah announced his death, but did not detail his role.

2:25 pm

After IDF disputed claim 40 dead in Gaza strike, Hamas health ministry now says toll is 19

Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of Israeli strikes on what the IDF says is a Hamas command center embedded in a makeshift displacement camp in Al-Mawasi in the Gaza Strip on September 10, 2024. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)

The Hamas-run health ministry in the Gaza Strip revises the death toll in an early-morning IDF strike in the Khan Younis area downward to 19.

Earlier, Hamas’s civil defense and government media office claimed that 40 people were killed in the strike, a toll that Israel has disputed.

The Hamas health ministry says over 60 are wounded, and the death toll may rise as some victims are still under the rubble and sand.

The IDF says it targeted three senior Hamas commanders embedded in a humanitarian zone, and disputes the original claimed death toll.

2:22 pm

IDF renews major crackdown in northern West Bank, operating in Tulkarem area

The IDF says it has resumed its major operation in the northern West Bank, and a large number of troops are currently carrying out a raid in the Tulkarem area.

The operation, internally dubbed Summer Camps, was launched on August 28 with raids in Tulkarem, Jenin and Tubas.

The IDF withdrew from Jenin on Friday, and there have been no major raids since.

2:22 pm

Moldova says no to flights for Uman pilgrims, says Israel hasn’t covered last year’s expenses

Jewish pilgrims arrive in Uman, Ukraine ahead of the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, September 14, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

After Moldova unexpectedly refused to approve charter flights for Hasidic pilgrims planning to spend the Jewish festival of Rosh Hashanah in Uman, the Moldovan Prime Minister’s Office puts out a statement explaining the decision, which has caused consternation among worshipers planning to attend the annual gathering in the central Ukrainian city.

The decision not to approve the flights was made last week, reports said Sunday after customers were told about the move.

Today, Moldova says that Israel is not willing to cover the costs of temporarily expanding capacity at Chișinău International Airport, and based on security and technical considerations, it had to turn down the requests for charter flights.

In addition, Israel has yet to settle its NIS 700,000 ($186,000) debt to Moldova for last year’s pilgrimage. Israel requested a special corridor for the pilgrims and police escort, but has not transferred the funds to Moldova that it publicly stated it would. Israel has given no financial commitments regarding this year’s pilgrimage, according to Chișinău.

Charter companies sold tickets for the flights in Israel before Moldova had given the green light, according to the statement.

“The smooth functioning of infrastructure remains our constant priority,” says the Moldovan PMO.

Israeli authorities tell The Times of Israel that up to 50,000 worshipers could head to Uman for Rosh Hashanah this year. Organizers are looking to reroute their flights to small Romanian airports near the border with Ukraine, which will make the drive to Uman much longer than the journey from Moldova.

2:02 pm

Hezbollah says commander killed in IDF strike deep inside Lebanon

A Hezbollah commander was killed in an IDF drone strike deep in Lebanon earlier today.

The terror group announces the death of Muhammad Qassem al-Shaer, who was killed in the strike in the Western Beqaa District, but does not detail his role.

Al-Shaer was reportedly a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force.

تزف المقاومة الإسلامية الشهيد المجاهد محمد قاسم الشاعر "أبو حوراء" مواليد عام 1977 من بلدة سحمر في البقاع الغربي، والذي ارتقى شهيداً على طريق القدس. pic.twitter.com/8YmcM0B3Xq

— nbnlebanon (@nbntweets) September 10, 2024

His death brings the terror group’s death toll in IDF strikes since October to at least 434.

The IDF has not yet commented on the strike.

1:42 pm

Israeli drone strike reported on apartment near Lebanon’s Nabatieh

Lebanese media reports an Israeli drone strike on an apartment in the town of Zebdine on the outskirts of the city of Nabatieh.

No further details are immediately available.

مسيّرة تستهدف شقة في مبنى سكني في حي كسار زعتر في زبدين عند أطراف مدينة النبطية الغربية بجنوب لبنان #جنوب_لبنان #النبطية #زبدين pic.twitter.com/LcP6MJGXss

— جريدة الأخبار – Al-Akhbar (@AlakhbarNews) September 10, 2024

1:41 pm

Iran said to hold test launches ahead of response to Haniyeh killing, after failed April attack

People gather around a component from an intercepted ballistic missile fired by Iran on April 14, 2024 that fell near the Dead Sea, April 20, 2024. (AP/Itamar Grinberg)

As part of the lessons learned from its underwhelming April attack on Israel, Iran undertook a series of 13 test launches in August ahead of a potential response to the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, widely attributed to Israel, a Western diplomat is quoted as saying by the Israel Hayom daily.

Half of the around 150 missiles Iran fired on April 13-14 failed to reach Israel, officials said in the attack’s immediate aftermath. Now, the official hints that covert operations by the US, Israel and other Western partners played a significant role in the high rate of failure. The official also points at faulty materials and shoddy workmanship by the Iranians.

In the April attack, Iran launched a large wave of around 300 attack drones and missiles from its territory toward the Jewish state, in the first-ever direct attack on Israel by the Islamic Republic. The attack was carried out to avenge seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members, including two generals, who were killed in an alleged Israeli airstrike on a building near Tehran’s consulate in Damascus on April 1.

Tehran initially did not believe Israeli reports that they were only able to hit one airbase with minor damage, says the official, but when they understood that the reports were correct, they embarked on a process to understand what happened and how to remedy the situation, according to the official.

1:24 pm

IDF prepares to demolish home of assailant in failed Tel Aviv bombing

The IDF operated overnight in the West Bank city of Nablus to measure the home of a Hamas suicide bomber ahead of its potential demolition.

Jaafar Mona was killed by the explosive device he was carrying in Tel Aviv last month, before he managed to carry out the intended attack. One passerby was wounded by the blast.

Hamas took responsibility for the attack.

As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks.

The plans to demolish Mona’s home are unusual, as no victims of the attack were killed. Still, it would not be the first time that a home is razed by Israeli authorities for an attack that left only injured victims.

1:12 pm

Turkey condemns ‘war crime’ after Israel strikes Hamas officials in humanitarian zone

By AFP and ToI Staff

Turkey denounces as another “war crime” an Israeli strike targeting senior Hamas officials embedded in a humanitarian zone in Gaza, which Hamas authorities have claimed killed dozens.

“We condemn Israel’s massacre of dozens of Palestinians in an attack on the tents of civilians in the so-called ‘humanitarian zone’ in Khan Younis,” the foreign ministry says in a statement, claiming Israel has “added a new crime to its list of war crimes.”

12:59 pm

Gallant says Hamas as ‘military formation no longer exists’ in Gaza

By AFP and ToI Staff

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visits the Netzarim Corridor of central Gaza, September 8, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant argues that Hamas has been rendered nonexistent as an organized military force in Gaza after more than 11 months of war.

“Hamas as a military formation no longer exists. Hamas is engaged in guerrilla warfare and we are still fighting Hamas terrorists and pursuing Hamas leadership,” Gallant tells foreign journalists.

12:59 pm

Far-right minister signals backing for unity government, a day after president’s call

By Sam Sokol

Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer speaks during a conference at Reichman University in Herzliya, January 5, 2023. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Immigration and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer of the far-right Religious Zionism party seems to endorse a unity government less than a day after President Isaac Herzog called on politicians to put aside their differences for the sake of the hostages.

Speaking at a state ceremony honoring Prisoners of Zion, Sofer declares that due to the challenges posed by the current conflict, “we will be required to make dramatic decisions for Israel” and that “this is the time to join forces and know how to act together.”

Sofer’s pronouncement stands at odds with that of the ultranationalist Otzma Yehudit party, which lashed out last night at Herzog for his declaration that “the political system must come together with all its might” for the release of the hostages.

In a statement, Otzma Yehudit — which like Religious Zionism, has come out against a deal — argued that Herzog’s statement “is an irresponsible call that collaborates with Hamas propaganda and the blood libel of the extreme left.”

According to Channel 12, Herzog has been holding talks with politicians on both sides of the aisle to push for unity. The network also quotes an official from the ultra-Orthodox Shas party as stating that “there is a will and there is support for a unity government.”

The call for unity also resonated with MK Matan Kahana of the centrist National Unity party, who tells the network that “what Israel needs now is a broad unity government that relies on the Zionist and moderate forces in Israeli society.”

12:37 pm

Health Ministry launches its first suicide prevention campaign, urging men to seek help

By Diana Bletter

The Health Ministry launches its first-ever suicide prevention campaign, on World Suicide Prevention Day which is being marked today.

The campaign, targeting men, has been in the works since early 2023.

According to the ministry’s data, 78% of all people who die by suicide in Israel each year are men, a number that aligns with World Health Organization (WHO) global reports.

The campaign encourages men to talk about their distress, and explains to friends and family how to identify warning signs and talk openly about suicide.

12:29 pm

Gallant reiterates backing for truce-hostage deal, says it’s a ‘strategic opportunity’

By AFP and ToI Staff

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant attends a Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee meeting on the ultra-Orthodox draft law at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem on July 1, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reiterates his support for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release agreement, saying it would give Israel a “strategic opportunity” to address other security challenges.

Bringing the hostages home is “the right thing to do,” Gallant tells foreign journalists.

“Achieving an agreement is also a strategic opportunity that gives us a high chance to change the security situation on all fronts,” he says.

Gallant has continuously been at loggerheads with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and far-right ministers over the matter, and has long been the government’s loudest voice in support of a deal, which is opposed by some others in the leadership.

11:39 am

Alleged Israeli strike said to kill one, injure one deep inside Lebanon

Lebanese media reports one dead and one wounded in an alleged Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in Lebanon.

The strike reportedly took place on a road between the villages of Saghbine and Bab Mareaa, in the Western Beqaa District, some 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the Israeli border.

#بالفيديو | مسيّرة إسرائيلية شنّت غارة على طريق #صغبين #مشغرة في #البقاع. #الميادين_لبنان #لبنان pic.twitter.com/bCIIfPBSbe

— الميادين لبنان (@mayadeenlebanon) September 10, 2024

11:05 am

Ex-hostage’s mother denies report that claimed IDF told her he was killed by Israeli airstrike

Soldier Ron Sherman was taken captive by Hamas terrorists from an IDF base near the Gaza border on October 7, 2023. His body was recovered by the IDF and returned to Israel on December 15, 2023. (Courtesy)

The mother of former hostage Sgt. Ron Sherman, whose body was recovered by the military along with two other hostages last year, says that she was not notified by the army that her son was allegedly killed by an Israeli airstrike, as was claimed in an unconfirmed report yesterday.

“No official representative came to tell us this,” Maayan Sherman is quoted as saying by Army Radio in an interview, after Channel 12 news claimed last night that the IDF has known for months that Sherman, Cpl. Nik Beizer and civilian Elia Toledano were killed by Israeli fire.

The Channel 12 report, which did not cite any sources, said that last month IDF representatives presented the families with the alleged findings, according to which the three hostages were killed in a strike on a senior Hamas commander in the area.

“The IDF knew this information many months ago, and decided to delay and not publish it. Senior officials in the army, including Chief of Staff [Herzi] Halevi, decided not to publish this to the public,” the report claims.

The IDF responds to the report, saying: “The claims about the chief of staff hiding the investigation are not true. The IDF will complete the investigation into the circumstances of the deaths of the hostages… in the coming days and it will be presented to the families.”

In November, the IDF carried out an airstrike near the location where the bodies were found, targeting the commander of Hamas’s Northern Gaza Brigade, Ahmed Ghandour, who was hiding in a tunnel.

Their bodies were later recovered in December, from a Hamas tunnel in Jabaliya.

In January, IDF representatives presented the families with a pathology report showing that their bodies had no signs of trauma or gunfire, indicating that they were not killed directly by an airstrike.

Due to the condition of the bodies, medical officials have so far been unable to determine a cause of death, according to the IDF.

10:48 am

IDF says Gaza strike targeted 3 senior Hamas officials, disputes claimed death toll

The IDF says the targets of the overnight airstrike in the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in southern Gaza were three senior Hamas operatives.

They are named by the military as Samer Ismail Khader Abu Daqqa, the head of Hamas’s aerial forces; Osama Tabash, the head of surveillance and targets in Hamas’s intelligence division; and Ayman Mabhouh, another senior Hamas officer.

All three were “directly involved in the October 7 massacre” and in other attacks on troops in Gaza and against Israel in recent months.

The military says it took steps to mitigate harm to civilians in the strike, including “lengthy intelligence gathering” and continuous aerial surveillance in the hours before the attack, “in a way that verified the presence [of the targets] in the area alongside other terrorists.”

Hamas authorities claimed that 40 people were killed and 60 were injured in the attack.

The IDF disputes the claim, saying that “in general, and according to a preliminary review, the numbers published by the Hamas-run Government Information Office in Gaza, which has consistently broadcast lies and false information throughout the war, do not align with the information held by the IDF, the precise munitions used, and the accuracy of the strike.”

“Despite the extensive measures taken by the IDF to enable the Gazan population to move away from combat zones, including by designating a humanitarian area, the Hamas terrorist organization continues to embed its operatives and military infrastructure in the humanitarian area and systematically use Gazan civilians as a human shield for its terrorist activities,” the military adds.

10:34 am

Yemen’s Houthis say they downed a US drone in Saada

Yemen’s Houthis downed a US MQ-9 drone in the Saada province, the Iran-aligned group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree says.

9:52 am

Report: Egypt told PA’s Abbas he could visit Gaza if Israel approves; Jerusalem refused

Egypt agreed to allow Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to enter the Gaza Strip via the Rafah Crossing, but conditioned this on an Israeli approval that never came, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

Citing a diplomat from an unnamed Middle Eastern country, the report says the PA asked Israel and Egypt to help facilitate Abbas’s promised visit to Gaza. Cairo didn’t object but said Jerusalem had to okay it. Israel refused the request.

9:25 am

Man shot dead in Tira

A man in his 60s has been killed in Tira, in what police are said to suspect was a criminal, rather than terror-related, incident.

The man was shot and brought to Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, where medics have pronounced him dead.

Police are investigating.

9:22 am

Importers and customs officers busted by undercover cop at Ashdod Port over bribes, illegal smuggling

Dozens of importers and customs officials have been arrested on suspicion of facilitating years of illegal smuggling of goods into the country via Ashdod Port in exchange for bribes, police and the Tax Authority say in a joint statement.

The raids cap 4.5 years of undercover operations, with police having inserted an agent codenamed “Jack Sparrow” into the customs mechanism of the port, in what was police’s longest-ever agent operation.

In 2020, the force had the agent become a customs inspector, and over the years he received repeated bribes of tens or hundreds of thousands of shekels from the suspects and was asked to lie about the content of goods entering the country, including illegal weapons and dangerous and unauthorized products. In some cases, this enabled money laundering and tax evasion worth tens of millions of shekels.

The suspects are now being questioned, and will later be brought before a judge.

8:19 am

2-hour ‘Bibi Files’ shows PM repeating ‘I don’t know,’ wife and son berating cops

The screening of the two-hour film “The Bibi Files” has gone ahead in Toronto, Canada, featuring filmed and recorded excerpts from police interrogations of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara, his son Yair and others as part of the corruption cases into the premier that led to the ongoing trial.

While the film cannot legally be broadcast in Israel since it features leaked interrogation footage, the producers — including Alexis Bloom and Alex Gibney and Israeli journalist Raviv Drucker — have expressed hope it will get to the country via other avenues.

According to reports from the screening, the film shows dozens of instances in which Netanyahu answered “I don’t know” or “I don’t remember,” in a way described by Haaretz as rendering these words comically unbelievable.

The report says that in one instance, the premier is asked how many bottles of champagne billionaire Arnon Milchan gave his wife each time, reacting that he doesn’t deal with bottle-counting and that the numbers he is familiar with are those of the warheads held by Israel’s enemies.

In another excerpt, when presented with claims by his former adviser Nir Hefetz and by Bezeq controlling shareholder Shaul Elovitch, Netanyahu appears furious and shouts “Liars! Liars!”

Sara and Yair Netanyahu are shown, separately, confronting their interrogators. Yair accuses them of being part of a plot to oust his father and joining forces with the “extreme left,” while Sara is seen telling the officers they are fed by lies and threatening to get up and leave if that continues, saying: “What will you do? Stop me with force?”

Multiple reports say the movie doesn’t bring much new that hasn’t been reported before, but adds that seeing the video clips rather than written transcripts gives a better understanding of the dynamics and the prime minister’s psyche during the questioning, and that the movie is primarily aimed at foreign audiences.

The movie is reportedly constructed chronologically, laying out the story starting with Netanyahu’s 2015 election win and ending at this time. An interview with commentary from Drucker — who declares himself “the enemy of the Netanyahu family” — runs between the interrogation excerpts, alongside comments by officials including former Shin Bet head Ami Ayalon and former prime minister Ehud Olmert.

The Haaretz report says the screenings concluded without disruption, although dozens of anti-Netanyahu protesters were at the entrance to the hall.

7:46 am

US official warns Israel war on Hezbollah would be ‘catastrophic,’ likely fail to achieve goals

A full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon could have “catastrophic and unforeseen consequences,” a senior US official tells the Middle East America Dialogue (MEAD) summit in Washington, DC.

“There is no war in lab conditions. It’s not a game. I don’t doubt the capabilities of the IDF, but we have to think about the fact that there will be serious consequences for both sides,” the unnamed US official is quoted by Israeli journalist Barak Ravid as saying, in addition to other reports in Hebrew.

The comments at the closed-door summit come amid near-daily attacks from Hezbollah-led forces on Israeli communities and military posts along the border since October 8, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza and its allied Palestinian terror group Hamas amid the ongoing war there since October 7.

Speaking yesterday at the same conference, former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz said Israel should shift its focus toward Hezbollah and the Lebanese border, warning that “we are late on this,” while also warning that a war with the Iran-backed terror group is imminent if Israel does not soon strike a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas in Gaza.

While Gantz and other Israeli officials say that a major operation in Lebanon is the only way to return tens of thousands of Israelis to their homes on the northern border, the US official warns that many civilians could be killed in the fighting and wouldn’t have homes to return to, according to Ravid.

“There is an idea of let’s go to war and then we will destroy all the missiles Hezbollah has and everything will be fine. It’s not that simple. There is no magic solution. The other side cannot be annihilated. At the end of the war, Israel may pay a heavy price and not achieve its goals,” the official is quoted as saying, while recommending a diplomatic rather than military solution to calm the border tensions.

The official argues that if a war breaks out, the international community will intervene to reach a diplomatic solution that is similar to what can be clinched now.

Since Hamas’s October 7 massacre, Israel has warned it can no longer tolerate Hezbollah’s presence along its border following the atrocities perpetrated by the Palestinian terror group and has warned that should a diplomatic solution not be reached, it will turn to military action to push Hezbollah northward.

6:43 am

IDF says it hit Hezbollah sites overnight

Buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon were targeted in airstrikes overnight, the IDF says.

The sites were hit by fighter jets in the towns of Ayta ash-Shab, Khiam, and Naqoura, according to the military.

It publishes footage of the strikes.

במהלך הלילה, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו מבנים צבאיים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים עייתא א-שעב, אל-חיאם וא-נקורה שבדרום לבנון.

בנוסף, צה״ל תקף באמצעות ירי מרגמות במרחב א-נקורה שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/0QBalMe7b0

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 10, 2024

5:52 am

Child killed in Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow, Russia says

By Agencies

A child was killed and another civilian was injured in a Ukrainian drone attack that targeted Moscow, regional governor Andrei Vorobyov says on the Telegram messaging app.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin says a fire broke out on the 11th and 12th floors of residential high-rise amid the attack, after earlier reporting that 12 drones from Ukraine had been shot down.

The announcement comes after local authorities and state media said Russian air defenses shot down more than 70 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 12 in the skies around Moscow.

Another “59 enemy aircraft-type UAVs have been intercepted and destroyed,” Bryansk regional Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz says on Telegram.

“There are no casualties or damage,” he adds.

Two more Ukrainian drones were intercepted over the region of Tula, south of Moscow, Russian state news agency TASS reports.

4:27 am

Italy fans protest Israel during soccer match in Hungary

By AP

A group of about 50 Italy fans clad in all black turned their backs in apparent protest during Israel’s national anthem before a Nations League match in neutral Hungary, the Associated Press reports.

The Italy fans also held up an Italian flag with the word, “Liberta” (Freedom) on it. There were black slashes on other banners put up by the ”ultra” supporters.

The same group of Italy supporters who turned their backs during the anthem also chanted against Italian anti-fascist activist Ilaria Salis during the first half, Italian daily Corriere della Sera reports. Salis. recently elected to the European Parliament for the Italian Green and Left Alliance, was freed from house arrest in Budapest in June after facing charges for allegedly assaulting far-right demonstrators.

Italy is slated to host Israel in Udine on October 14, although Udine’s city council has not endorsed the match and a pro-Palestinian protest has been scheduled for the same day in the northern city.

Israel lost the match 2-1.

4:13 am

Directors still dealing with legal issues as ‘damning’ ‘Bibi Files’ premiers

At a Q and A session following a screening of The Bibi Files in Toronto, featuring new footage of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s graft grillings, directors Alex Gibney and Alexis Bloom both note outstanding legal issues with the film that is keeping it unfinished and unable to be seen in Israel.

Gibney tells the audience that some of the material in the film had previously been leaked and “discussed” in the Israeli press, but what’s new is the footage. Due to laws aimed at protecting privacy rights, he says, showing the film is illegal in Israel.

“It does threaten the freedom of the source, if the source were ever to be found out,” he says of the person who leaked him the footage.

Bloom says an actor was used to portray one person in the film because of legal issues with putting footage of the person on screen.

“There’s a lot of legal issues involved in making a film like this, and there are legal issues that we can’t specify here involving the person who had to be portrayed by an actor,” she says, adding that she is still hoping to remove the actor and use the actual person.

The Bibi Files: Well that’s the last place I wanted to see Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Not sure if there’s any new bombshells in the leaked interrogation footage — and the movie is mostly that footage. Picks up in urgency once it gets to Netanyahu’s actions after the charges. #TIFF24

— Reuben Baron @ #TIFF24 (@AndalusianDoge) September 10, 2024

According to accounts on social media, during the session, Bloom was heckled by a member of the crowd who was unhappy with the film’s subject and other comments critical of the war in Hamas.

Jason Gorber, a Canadian film critic, says the movie links the corruption probe into Netanyahu to the Hamas massacre of October 7 (which he initially misstates as September 6, perhaps in homage to Netanyahu.)

“Very well constructed, balanced, and clear eyed, with real pain and anger given space to be heard,” he tweets.

THE BIBI FILES – Compelling doc with plenty of Israeli forces from world of politics, media and Netanyahu's inner circle, as well as leaked testamony seen for first time, amifies the coruption case, ties it directly to both quid pro quo and the coddling of Hamas that led to Oct…

— Jason Gorber (@filmfest_ca) September 10, 2024

Another local critic, Radheyon Simonpillai, calls the movie “Damning. Infuriating. Necessary. But also so incredibly made.”

3:43 am

Hamas denies its fighters were in targeted tent camp

The Hamas terror group claims in a statement that its operatives were not in the al-Mawasi humanitarian zone near Khan Younis when it was hit by Israeli fighter jets.

Israel says it a targeted a Hamas command and control center embedded in the tent camp, while taking multiple steps to minimize harm to civilians.

“The occupation’s allegations of the presence of resistance fighters are a blatant lie,” Hamas says in a statement on Telegram.

The group has repeatedly denied embedding within civilian populations, despite evidence to the contrary.

3:18 am

Dozens reported killed in Israeli strike on Gaza tent camp

By Agencies and ToI Staff

An official in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip says at least 40 people were killed and 60 injured in an Israeli strike on a humanitarian zone in southern Gaza where the military said Hamas was operating a command and control center.

The official says the number represents those who were found and transferred to hospitals, with civil defense officials indicating more people may be missing beneath the wreckage.

A spokesperson for Hamas’s civil defense unit quoted by the Hamas-linked Shehab news agency claims entire families were swallowed under mountains of sand in the strike, which left massive holes in the ground, though rescuers lack the equipment to dig them out.

Videos show Gazans desperately clawing at mounds of sand in the darkness as they try to reach the dead and injured.

بالفيديو | استمرار عملية البحث عن الشهداء والمفقودين بالأيادي في مكان #مجزرة_المواصي غرب #خانيونس pic.twitter.com/8gmiXNniA4

— قناة المنار (@TVManar1) September 10, 2024

2:57 am

Hotly anticipated ‘Bibi Files’ debuts in Toronto after Netanyahu fails to block screening

The Toronto International Film Festival is beginning its highly anticipated debut screening of “The Bibi Files,” an unfinished film featuring never-before-seen footage of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu being questioned by police between 2016 and 2018.

The screening comes after the Jerusalem District Court rejected a request by the premier to block the screening of the film earlier in the day. Netanyahu had argued that journalist Raviv Drucker, one of the film’s producers, was set to publish footage from a police interrogation without permission from the court — a crime that carries up to a year in prison in Israel.

Alexis Bloom at the work-in-progress cut of THE BIBI FILES – just announced there's an actor standing in for some of the scenes pending legal resolution #tiff24 pic.twitter.com/NVQY1xLOTo

— Jason Gorber (@filmfest_ca) September 9, 2024

Outside the theater earlier, about a dozen pro-Israel protesters demonstrated against Netanyahu and for a deal to free hostages held in Gaza.

למה, למה, למה שמאלנים לא יודעים להפגין? כאילו, אי אפשר להתאמץ קצת? אוף איתכם.#bibifiles #thebibifiles pic.twitter.com/KlHPFp7kPy

— Guy A. Levanon (@GuyALevanon) September 9, 2024

According to reports in Hebrew media, a Telegram group in Israel that had promised to leak the film was joined by thousands of Israelis, including a number of senior politicians from within Netanyahu’s government, but a manager of the group says now the footage is not being published due to legal issues.

Among those in the crowd are a number of Israeli journalists.

Looking forward to seeing the Bibi files. I am sure it's not a romantic comedy pic.twitter.com/DVmPb6ZBFx

— כהנא מוטי???? ???????? Moti Kahana (@motikahana) September 9, 2024

According to Variety magazine, the recordings of the corruption investigation were leaked to renowned director Alex Gibney last year and feature interviews with Netanyahu, his wife Sara and his son Yair, along with friends, associates and household staff.

Netanyahu was ultimately charged with fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases filed in 2019, and with bribery in one of them. The proceedings are ongoing and likely to take years to wrap up, especially given delays after the first trial was suspended along with all other non-urgent cases due to Hamas’s shock October 7 incursion and the ensuing war in Gaza.

Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing in the cases against him and claims that the charges were fabricated in a witch hunt led by the police and state prosecution, and facilitated by a weak attorney general.

2:20 am

At least 14 reported killed in Israeli strike targeting Hamas war room