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The Times of Israel liveblogged Friday’s events as they happened.
After antisemitism accusation, Borrell says Katz shouldn’t ‘play with big words’
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell looks at his phone as he makes his way to a meeting with members of the Arab-Islamic Contact Group for Gaza and representatives of different European foreign ministries in Madrid, Spain, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul White)
European foreign policy chief Josep Borrell hits back at Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who accused him of antisemitism after taking part in a meeting on the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Asked about Katz’s comments, Borrell says that “accusing those who disagree with a government’s position of antisemitism makes no sense.”
“There have unfortunately been examples in history of what it means to be antisemitic, and I don’t think we should play with big words that have had a tragic dimension in history,” Borrell adds.
Katz had blasted Borrell for taking part in the gathering, writing on X that “Borrell supports establishing a Palestinian terror state controlled by Iran, and the axis of evil against Israel, moderate Arab states, and Europe.”
“This is Borrell’s legacy –- antisemitism and hatred towards Israel,” he added.
One person seriously inured as car explodes in Acre
The scene of a car explosion in Acre on September 13, 2024 (Screencapture X: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
One person is seriously wounded when a car exploded near a police station in the northern city of Acre, police and medics says.
The Magen David Adom rescue service says it is treating a man in his 30s with extensive injuries.
Police say investigators are at the scene in Acre’s Old City and the incident is likely criminal and not terror.
The incident comes a day after a car blast and subsequent fire in the central city of Ramle that killed four people and wounded nine others.
Many Arab Israeli community leaders have accused police of failing to crack down on powerful criminal organizations and largely ignoring the violence, which includes family feuds, mafia turf wars and violence against women.
Hundreds protest outside Herzliya police as 3 women detained for handing out hostage posters
Hundreds of people are demonstrating outside the Herzliya police station where three women are being detained for trespassing after they left flyers calling for the release of hostages in a synagogue where Likud MK Yuli Edelstein prays.
A lawyer for the three says the women were taken away in handcuffs and are being interrogated for over six hours.
The flyers show pictures of four of the female soldiers captured and Ariel and Kfir Bibas, the two youngest children who remain in captivity, with the caption “Let my people go.”
In the center is a picture of Edelstein from his time as a refusenik in a Soviet jail.
במשטרת הרצליה מצלמים השוטרים את ההפגנה הספונטאנית לשיחרור העצורות מארוע הנחת עלונים בנושא החטופים אתמול בבית הכנסת בו מתפלל אדלשטיין בהרצליה.
נמצאים כאן כרגע כמה מאות מוחים עצבניים ורועשים.
במשטרה מתלבטים כרגע אם להכריז על ההפגנה לשחרור העצורות כלא חוקית ולהזעיק יס"ם… pic.twitter.com/eqHc7Ndznr
— ishay hadas ישי הדס crime minister (@ishayhadas) September 13, 2024
Family of executed hostage Alex Lobanov authorize release of final video from captivity
Executed hostage Alex Lobanov is seen in a propaganda video released by the Hamas terror group. Lobanov's family published the video on September 13, 2024 (Screencapture)
The family of slain hostage Alex Lobanov authorizes the publication of parts of the final video recorded by his Hamas captors.
In the days following the execution of six hostages, the terror group released several propaganda videos of the hostages. Israeli authorities and human rights groups, and several freed hostages, have said that hostages are coerced into making their remarks in such videos. Israeli media outlets generally publish them only if their families request that they do so.
In the 90 second, heavily edited video, Lobanov says the hostages are being held “in very very difficult circumstances. There are no basic supplies, like water, food electricity and hygiene.”
“There are bombings all the time, we are afraid and have difficulty sleeping,” he says, adding that Hamas has moved him from hideout to hideout ten times during his time in captivity.
Appealing to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the government, Lobanov says they failed the people on October 7th and have failed the hostages since “in all efforts to release us alive.”
He accuses the government of trying to kill them so they do not have to make a deal.
באישור המשפחה: התיעוד האחרון של אלכס לובנוב ז״ל שנרצח בשבי חמאס pic.twitter.com/YJlNES0Y9S
— Lina N (@E_Niaz15) September 13, 2024
He calls on the Israeli public to help his pregnant wife and two-year-old child make their voices heard. “Go out to the streets, protest, do everything so that we will come out of here alive.”
The clip ends with Lobanov saying: “To my family, Michal, Tom, Mom, Dad — Remain strong and united, I miss and love you.”
Following the release of the video, the Hostages Families Forum says his final plea only makes it more urgent to bring the rest of the captives home.
“This horrific video further demonstrates Hamas’s cruelty. Alex and five other hostages managed to survive in nightmarish conditions for over 10 months before being brutally executed. Recently released footage from their underground prison offered only a glimpse of the unimaginable horrors they endured in captivity. Time is running out for the remaining 101 hostages. A deal must be struck immediately to save them,” the Forum says.
Pope deplores lack of ‘progress towards peace’ in Gaza
Pope Francis takes part in an interreligious meeting with young people at the Catholic Junior College in Singapore on September 13, 2024. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)
Pope Francis deplores a lack of progress in negotiations to end the war in Gaza.
“Forgive me for saying so but I don’t see any progress being made towards peace,” says the 87-year-old pope, speaking to journalists aboard the papal plane on his return to Rome from Singapore.
Netanyahu to declare returning northern residents to their homes an official war goal
Residents of northern communities and their supporters protest demand early elections, the restoration of security in the north and the release of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip, in Karmiel, July 25, 2024. (Jalaa MAREY / AFP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will bring a motion before the security cabinet on Sunday to make returning the residents of northern Israel to their homes an official goal of the war, the Ynet news site reports.
The move comes amid increasing tensions and Israeli threats to launch an operation to push back Hezbollah from the border.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.
With hopes for a Gaza ceasefire fading, the chances of a diplomatic deal with Hezbollah are also increasingly slim.
Netanyahu’s office says “the prime minister has been saying for a long while that there is a crucial need to return the northern residents to their homes and to ensure their safety as a goal of this war, that is also our policy in reality.”
The PMO says Netanyahu has wide support for the move.
UNRWA says staffer killed in Israeli West Bank raid
Illustrative: IDF troops operate in the West Bank's Far'a camp, on June 10, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says one of its employees was killed this week during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank, the first such death in more than a decade.
The agency, known as UNRWA, says the employee was “shot and killed on the roof of his home by a sniper” and that it was “the first time an UNRWA staff member has been killed in the West Bank in more than 10 years.”
The incident took place in the Far’a refugee camp in the northern West Bank, the statement says.
It identified the slain employee as Sufyan Jaber Abed Jawwad, who “worked as a sanitation laborer” in the camp and “is survived by his wife and five children.”
An Israeli military statement earlier today said troops had “conducted a 48-hour counter-terrorism operation” in the areas of Tubas, Tamun and Far’a, killing “five armed terrorists” in an air strike and a sixth in “exchanges of fire” with “a terrorist that hurled explosive devices.”
The military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the UNRWA statement about its staffer.
UNRWA, which coordinates nearly all aid into Gaza, has been in crisis since Israel accused dozens of its employees of being involved in the October 7 massacres that sparked the war.
Recordings indicate Hamas has complete control over aid entering Gaza
Armed and masked Palestinians sit on trucks leading humanitarian aid into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing with Israel, in the Strip's south, April 3, 2024. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
Channel 12 news plays intercepted recordings purporting to show Hamas operatives discussing how to disperse overflowing Gaza aid that they had seized.
In the recordings of radio conversations, one operative says, “We have trucks overflowing with goods.” The second operative declines the offer, saying “we have everything. In the meantime, we have no room in the stores.” He then suggests they send the goods to Khan Younis.
The report says the recordings indicate the difficulties in applying pressure on Hamas, which is making millions off control over the hundreds of trucks of international aid that enter Gaza every day.
The report also says that the IDF plans to reexamine efforts that allow private traders to import goods into Gaza because Hamas has been taking 20% of all the profits from the deals.
Jets hit Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon
Israeli fighter jets struck a building in southern Lebanon’s Kawkaba earlier today, where several Hezbollah operatives were identified, the IDF says.
Separately, a Hezbollah weapons depot, a rocket launcher used in a previous attack and other buildings belonging to the terror group in Majdal Zoun, Jebbayn and Blida were struck, the military adds.
The IDF releases footage of the strikes.
מטוסי קרב תקפו מוקדם יותר היום מבנה צבאי בו פעלו מחבלים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה, אשר זוהו על ידי כוחות אוגדה 210 במרחב כאוכבא שבדרום לבנון. כמו כן, מטוסי קרב תקפו מחסן אמל"ח, משגר ממנו בוצעו שיגורים בעבר ומבנים צבאיים של הארגון במרחבים מג'דל זון, אל-ג'בין ובליידא שבדרום לבנון>> pic.twitter.com/xzvT33uFSU
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 13, 2024
Maryland woman charged with vandalizing property during protests over Netanyahu’s visit to DC
This image from United States Park Police video in an affidavit in support of an application for an arrest warrant for Isabella Giordano shows Giordano, circled in yellow, on July 24, 2024, in Washington, spray painting the base of a flagpole in Columbus Circle during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress. (USPP via AP)
A Maryland woman was arrested today on a charge that she vandalized federal property in Washington, D.C., during protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress in July.
A video posted on social media showed Isabella Giordano, 20, of Towson, using red spray paint to write “Gaza” on a fountain in front of Union Station and spray-painting the base of two of the flagpoles in Columbus Circle, according to a US Park Police sergeant’s affidavit.
Thousands of protesters gathered in Washington on July 24 to condemn Netanyahu’s visit. A group of protesters had a permit to demonstrate in front of Union Station, but the Park Police revoked the permit after it couldn’t reach protest organizers that afternoon, the affidavit says.
Some demonstrators outside Union Station removed American flags and hoisted Palestinian ones in their place. Others burned flags and sprayed graffiti on structures in Columbus Circle. The National Park Service estimated that it cost more than $11,000 to clean up the site and fix damages.
The Park Police said it received two tips from witnesses identifying Giordano as a suspect in the graffiti.
Giordano was scheduled to make her initial court appearance later today. She is charged with one count of willfully injuring or depredating federal property. It wasn’t immediately clear if she has an attorney.
Ukraine says it has downed more than 8,000 Iranian-designed drones since start of war
Ukrainian air defense intercepts an Iranian-designed Shahed drone mid-air during a Russia aerial attack on the capital in Kyiv, Ukraine, September 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Ukrainian foreign ministry says that Kyiv had downed 8,060 Shahed drones launched by Russia since the start of full-scale invasion.
Kyiv accuses Iran of supplying Shahed drones to Russia. The WSJ reported in May that Moscow was actively producing Shahed type drones with Iranian assistance on Russian soil.
Top Biden aide expected in Israel to try to head off war with Hezbollah
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (R) meets US special envoy Amos Hochstein in Washington DC, June 24, 2024 (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
US special envoy Amos Hochstein will meet with Israel’s leadership on Monday in an attempt to avoid further escalation between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon, the Walla news site reports.
US officials tell Walla that they are concerned by the increasingly belligerent rhetoric from Israel regarding Lebanon and are keen to avert a full-scale war.
Both Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF chief Herzi Halevi this week warned that Israel needs to turn its focus to Lebanon and is prepared for a major operation.
Some 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from their homes amid daily attacks by Hezbollah on northern Israel.
Israel has expressed openness to a diplomatic solution to the conflict but has said it would launch an all-out war against Hezbollah to restore security to the north if an agreement isn’t reached.
Trump golf course twice hosted Nazi sympathizer who stormed Capitol — report
Timothy Hale-Cusanelli. (Department of Justice)
Former US president Donald Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, twice featured speeches this summer from Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, a Nazi sympathizer who was convicted of storming the Capitol, NPR reports.
One of those events was a fundraiser for a group that supports Capitol riot defendants and was personally endorsed by Trump in a video message.
“All of the people there, you’re amazing patriots,” NPR quotes Trump as saying in the video. “Have a great time at Bedminster.”
Hale-Cusanelli, who worked as a security contractor at a Navy base when he joined the pro-Trump mob on January 6, was also convicted of disorderly conduct and other misdemeanors.
Hale-Cusanelli was known as a Nazi sympathizer who wore a Hitler mustache.
Trump, who is the Republican candidate in the November elections, denied knowledge of Hale-Cusanelli.
A Trump campaign official tells NPR that the former president is “not even aware of this individual.”
FM Katz accuses UN foreign policy chief of cozying up to Iran after he participates in Palestinian state conference
Foreign Minister Israel Katz accuses EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell of cozying up to Iran and participating in a hate campaign against Israel after he takes part in talks hosted by Spain on establishing a Palestinian state.
In the same week that the US, Germany, France and the UK imposed sanctions on Iran’s aviation ties following missile supplies threatening Europe, the outgoing EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell
is busy with hate campaigns against Israel,” Katz says in a post on X.
“Instead of pushing for the EU to join the sanctions on Iran, Borrell supports establishing a Palestinian terror state controlled by Iran and the axis of evil against Israel, moderate Arab states and Europe,” Katz says posting a photoshopped image of Borrell sitting on the lap of Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with a purple octopus meant to represent Iran’s proxies.
“This is Borrell’s legacy – antisemitism and hatred towards Israel,” Katz says.
Katz has been repeatedly criticized by diplomats for his habit of trolling foreign countries and leaders with “weird,” belligerent social media posts.
In the same week that the U.S., Germany, France, and the UK imposed sanctions on Iran's aviation ties following missile supplies threatening Europe, the outgoing EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs @JosepBorrellF is busy with hate campaigns against Israel.… pic.twitter.com/Ft8dlEyxQX
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) September 13, 2024
Police arrest teen suspected of involvement in deadly Ramle blast
Israeli security forces at the scene of a deadly explosion, believed to be connected to an ongoing feud between crime families, in the central Israel city of Ramle, September 12, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Police say they have arrested a 17-year-old youth on suspicion of involvement in the explosion yesterday in the the central city of Ramle that killed four people and wounded nine others, including several injured in a fire sparked by the attack that spread to two nearby stores.
Police said the explosion is believed to be linked to criminal activity in the city, and was not being investigated as a terrorist attack.
Police say the teen, a resident of Ramle, was detained following both overt and covert investigations.
Other details of the probe remain under a police gag order.
The four victims who were killed were identified as Daa Abu Halawa, 50, and her two children Sila, 14, and Muhammad, 10, as well as Leen Mugrabi, age 14. A two-month-old baby was critically wounded.
Two members of elite Hezbollah force said killed in drone strike deep in Lebanon
Two members of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force are killed in a suspected Israeli drone strike on an apartment deep inside Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley, local media report.
The Al Manar channel, which is affiliated with Hezbollah says an apartment was hit in the western area of the valley.
Local media report at least two people are killed, identifying them as Hezbollah members.
Aftermath of an IAF drone strike in Western Beqaa, multiple Eliminations reported pic.twitter.com/ggDUlbQvpB
— Global Peace Advocates (@RealKON_) September 13, 2024
Police arrest 3 women for handing out flyers calling for hostage deal at synagogue where MK prays
Three women are arrested in Herzliya on suspicion of trespassing after distributing leaflets calling for the release of the hostages in a Herzliya synagogue, police say.
Hebrew media reports say the synagogue is one where Likud MK Yuli Edelstein prays.
The flyers show the pictures of four of the female soldiers captured and Ariel and Kfir Bibas, the two youngest children who remain in captivity, with the caption “Let my people go.”
In the center is a picture of Edelstein from his time as a refusenik in a Soviet jail.
שלוש נשים נעצרו בהרצליה בחשד להסגת גבול לאחר שפיזרו עלונים שקראו לשחרור החטופים בבית הכנסת בו מתפלל יולי אדלשטיין@AnnaPines_ pic.twitter.com/pToxqDN1Ud
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) September 13, 2024
Child, 3, killed, 6 wounded in West Bank traffic accident
Medics at the scene of a fatal car accident near the West Bank settlement of Itamar on September 13, 2024 (Magen David Adom)
A three-year-old child is killed and six people are wounded, four of them seriously, in a traffic accident on Route 555 near the West Bank settlement of Itamar, medics say.
Two vehicles collided, with one of them catching fire, medics say. The immediate cause of the crash was not clear.
Magen David Adom medics say four of the wounded are in serious condition, including two men in their 20s, a man in his 50s and a 14-year-old boy.
They were evacuated to hospital with the help of an IDF helicopter.
A woman in her 30s is moderately wounded and a 10-year-old girl is lightly hurt, they are taken by ambulance to hospital.
IDF finds under-construction tunnel in West Bank’s Tulkarem
IDF troops seen operating in Tulkarem in the West Bank in a picture released on September 13, 2024 (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says it has located a short tunnel near a hospital in the West Bank city of Tulkarem, amid an ongoing counter-terrorism operation.
The tunnel had an entrance but no exit, the military says, indicating that it was still under construction.
The IDF says troops will investigate the tunnel and then destroy it.
The military resumed its major operation in the northern West Bank on Tuesday after a lull of a few days. The operation, dubbed “Summer Camps,” was launched on August 28.
Since the operation resumed, the IDF says it has killed 10 gunmen in clashes and drone strikes.
Spain hosts European, Muslim nations in talks on push for a Palestinian state
Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Manuel Albares (C) addresses a press conference with (From L) Palestinian prime minister Mohammed Mustafa, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Jordanian Foreign Minster Ayman Safadi, Slovenia's Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon and Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty following a meeting on a Palestinian state on Spetember 13, 2024 (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP)
Spain, hosting a high-level meeting on Friday of several Muslim and European countries on ways to end the Gaza war, calls for a clear schedule for the international community to implement a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“We meet to make another push for the end of the war in Gaza, for a way out of the unending spiral of violence between the Palestinians, the Israelis… That way is clear. The implementation of the two-state solution is the only way,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares tells reporters.
In attendance were his counterparts including from Norway and Slovenia, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and members of the Arab-Islamic Contact Group for Gaza that includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey.
Albares says there was “a clear willingness” among the participants, who notably do not include Israel, “to move on from words to actions and to make strides towards a clear schedule for the effective implementation” of a two-state solution, starting with Palestine joining the United Nations.
Israel was not invited because it was not part of the contact group, Albares says, adding though that “we will be delighted to see Israel at any table where peace and the two-state solution are discussed”.
Drone from Lebanon impacts in Western Galilee, another intercepted; no injuries
A drone launched from Lebanon impacted in the Western Galilee an hour ago, the IDF says.
The military says that another drone launched at the Zar’it area was intercepted by air defenses.
There were no injuries in the attacks.
WHO chief applauds ‘massive success’ of Gaza’s polio vaccine drive
GENEVA, Switzerland — The World Health Organization chief hails the success of the first phase of a giant polio vaccination campaign in war-ravaged Gaza after more than 560,000 children received a first dose.
“This is a massive success amidst a tragic daily reality of life across the Gaza Strip,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says on X.
After the first confirmed polio case in 25 years, a massive vaccination effort began on September 1 targeting at least 90 percent of children under 10, aided by localized “humanitarian pauses” in fighting.
The first phase of the campaign, which first brought vaccines to children in central Gaza, then the south, and finally to the hardest-to-reach north of the territory, wrapped up Thursday.
A fresh campaign to provide a needed second dose is due to begin in about four weeks in Gaza, besieged for over 11 months.
Over 560,000 children aged below ten years of age were vaccinated against #polio during the first round of an emergency vaccination campaign in #Gaza, which was completed yesterday.
We admire all the health teams, who conducted this complex operation.
We are deeply grateful to… pic.twitter.com/QyYjSJg2Gp
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) September 13, 2024
UN-appointed experts accuse Iran of stepping up repression of women
Illustrative: Women walk on a market street in Tehran, Iran, on August 8, 2024. (AFP)
GENEVA, Switzerland — UN experts accuse Iran of “intensifying” its repression of women two years after Mahsa Amini’s death in custody, which sparked nationwide protests, including an apparent pattern of sentencing women activists to death.
Amini, 22, was an Iranian Kurdish woman who died three days after her arrest in Tehran in September 2022 for allegedly breaching Iran’s dress code which requires women to wear a headscarf.
Two years on, “Iran has intensified its efforts to suppress the fundamental rights of women and girls and crush remaining initiatives of women’s activism,” the independent UN fact-finding mission on Iran warns in a statement.
The UN Human Rights Council appointed the experts to investigate the deadly crackdown on nationwide protests that rocked Iran after Amini’s death.
“Although mass protests have subsided, the unabated defiance of women and girls is a continuous reminder that they still live in a system that relegates them to ‘second class citizens’,” say the experts, who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations.
In a fresh update, they say repression had stepped up noticeably since April.
In this photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran, Iranians protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, in Tehran, October 27, 2022. (AP Photo, File)
State authorities had “increased repressive measures and policies” through the so-called “Noor Plan,” which encourages sanctioning rights violations against women and girls who flout the mandatory hijab, they say.
“Security forces have further escalated pre-existing patterns of physical violence, including beating, kicking, and slapping women and girls who are perceived as failing to comply with the mandatory hijab laws and regulations,” the team say in a statement.
They also warn that state authorities had enhanced surveillance for hijab compliance, including in private spheres like vehicles, and with a range of tools, including drones.
At the same time, a new “Hijab and Chastity” bill, which is in the final stages of approval, provides for harsher penalties for women who do not wear the mandatory hijab — including soaring fines, long prison sentences, and travel bans.
In their statement, the experts express particular concern about “an apparent new pattern of sentencing to death of women activists… following their convictions for national security offenses.”
“Over the last two years, the death penalty and other domestic criminal law provisions, in particular those related to national security, have been used as instruments to terrorize and deter Iranians from protesting and expressing themselves freely,” they say.
Sirens warn of incoming hostile drones in northern communities
Sirens sound in the northern communities of Arab al-Aramshe, Zarit, Yiftah, Ramot Naftali, Shomera and in the Mevo’ot HaHermon Regional Council, warning of a hostile drone infiltration.
חדירת כלי טיס עוין (13/09/2024 14:22-14:23): ערב אל עראמשה, זרעית, שומרה pic.twitter.com/oQsyUp5Y4h
— צופר – צבע אדום (@tzevaadom_) September 13, 2024
Police footage shows arrest of Palestinian suspect from West Bank hospital
Police release footage showing members of the elite Yamam unit detaining a wanted Palestinian in a hospital in the West Bank city of Halhul early Thursday.
The Palestinian suspect had been wounded in an attempted car bombing attack in Halhul a month ago, police and the Shin Bet said yesterday.
Police release footage showing members of the elite Yamam unit detaining a wanted Palestinian in a hospital in the West Bank city of Halhul early Thursday. https://t.co/muZfV8SD2P pic.twitter.com/crmNsvbjtC
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) September 13, 2024
Drone fired from Lebanon hits Upper Galilee
The IDF says a drone launched from Lebanon impacted an area in the Upper Galilee a short while ago.
“The target did not fall in any towns in the area,” the military says.
Separately, two rockets were launched from Lebanon at the Misgav Am area. Both were intercepted by air defenses, the military says.
Another rocket launched from Lebanon at Snir struck an open area.
No injuries were caused in the attacks.
Footage shows Hezbollah drone flying over north
A Hezbollah drone is seen flying over northern Israel in footage circulated on social media, as sirens sounded in Safed and other nearby communities.
The Home Front Command says the incident is over, without elaborating.
A Hezbollah drone is seen over northern Israel as sirens sound in Safed and several nearby communities. pic.twitter.com/RXJ9mDWm9I
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) September 13, 2024
There are no immediate reports of injuries in the attack.
Sirens in north warn of incoming hostile drones
Sirens sound in the northern communities of Rosh Pina, Korazim, and Vered Hagalil, warning of hostile aircraft infiltration.
✈️ Hostile Aircraft Intrusion [13:03:40] (2):
• Upper Galilee — Korazim Vered HaGalil, Rosh Pinna
Population: 3,800 pic.twitter.com/2AcG6Z7N8o— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) September 13, 2024
Rocket sirens sound in Upper Galilee
Rocket sirens again sound in the north, this time in the community of Snir in the Upper Galilee.
Rocket Alert [12:47:33] (1):
• Confrontation Line — Snir
Population: 586 pic.twitter.com/40bEVprySB— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) September 13, 2024
Rocket sirens blare in northern community
Incoming rocket sirens are sounding in the northern community of Misgav Am.
Rocket Alert [12:36:08] (1):
• Confrontation Line — Misgav Am
Population: 673 pic.twitter.com/sdpi66sCEP— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) September 13, 2024
Audio clip of captive soldier Matan Angrest to be played at hostage rally tomorrow
Matan Angrest was taken hostage on October 7, 2023 from his tank unit at the Nahal Oz army base (Courtesy)
Audio clips of Matan Angrest, a soldier held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, will be presented to the public at tomorrow’s weekly mass demonstration in Tel Aviv, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum says in a statement.
In the clip, Angrest appeals to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to save him, the statement says.
The audio is from footage found by IDF troops in Gaza several months ago and has been shown to Angrest’s family, the forum says. The family is allowing the audio to be heard by the public.
Man shot dead in Arab city of Tira amid spiraling crime wave
A man was shot dead in the central Arab city of Tira, police say, a day after a deadly blast in Ramle.
Police say the man in his 40s suffered gunshot wounds and was declared dead by paramedics at the scene.
Initial findings suggest a criminal motive behind the shooting, police say.
Many Arab Israeli community leaders say police have failed to crack down on powerful criminal organizations and largely ignored violence in their cities and towns, which includes family feuds, mafia turf wars and violence against women.
UAE would try to revive deal with US for F-35 jets if Trump re-elected
Illustrative: An F-35 fighter jet arrives at the Vermont Air National Guard base in South Burlington, Vermont, September 19, 2019. (Wilson Ring/AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Reuters) — The United Arab Emirates would seek to revive a multi-billion dollar deal with the US for F-35 warplanes and armed drones if Donald Trump wins a second term as president in November, several people familiar with the matter tell Reuters.
The UAE has long sought the most advanced fighter jet, built with stealth technology allowing it to evade enemy detection. If the US did approve the transfer, the UAE would be only the second Middle East state after Israel to operate F-35 fighters.
Trump had signed off on the deal in the final days of his presidency in 2021 but the UAE suspended talks by the end of the year, unable to agree terms with the Biden administration.
Three sources say that if Trump was re-elected, the UAE would seek to resume talks, asking a new Trump administration to fulfill the original agreement. One of the sources said the UAE would ask a new Trump administration to “honor” the 2021 deal.
Trump approved the $23 billion deal, which included MQ-9 Reaper drones and munitions after the UAE established ties with Israel in 2020 under an accord brokered by his administration.
That made the UAE the most prominent Arab state to forge diplomatic ties with Israel in 30 years and handed Trump a significant foreign policy achievement just a few months out from the election that he would ultimately lose to Joe Biden.
But after months of discussions, the UAE announced in December 2021 that it had suspended F-35 talks with the Biden administration, citing “sovereign operational restrictions,” among other reasons. The Biden administration responded, saying it was ready to move forward. The process has remained paused.
At Istanbul Airport, Turkish officials pray over coffin of US activist killed in West Bank
ISTANBUL, Turkey — Turkish officials hold a brief ceremony at Istanbul International Airport where the body of a Turkish American activist who was fatally shot in the West Bank arrived ahead of her funeral and burial in a town on the Aegean coast.
Istanbul Gov. Davut Gul and other officials hold prayers in front of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi’s coffin, which was draped in the Turkish flag, before helping carry it to another plane for the city of Izmir. Her funeral is expected to be held Saturday in the town of Didim, near Izmir.
The 26-year-od activist from Seattle was killed September 6 following a demonstration against Israeli settlements in the West Bank, according to an Israeli protester who witnessed the shooting.
The Israeli military said Tuesday that Eygi was likely shot “indirectly and unintentionally” by Israeli forces, and expressed regret over the incident. Turkey announced it will conduct its own investigation into her death.
İşgal altındaki Batı Şeria'da İsrail askerlerince katledilen Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi'nin naaşı, Azerbaycan'dan İstanbul'a getirildi
????İstanbul Havalimanı'na getirilen Eygi'nin cenazesi, Dışişleri Bakanlığı İstanbul Temsilcisi Büyükelçi Ayşe Sözen Usluer tarafından karşılandı.… pic.twitter.com/abP3SPe0zU
— EKRAN HABER (@ekranhabercom) September 13, 2024
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Demonstrators demanding hostage deal block main road in Tel Aviv
Families of Israelis held kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in Gaza and activists block a main road in Tel Aviv, during a protest calling for a hostage deal, September 13, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Relatives of hostages and their supporters block Namir Road in Tel Aviv, demanding a deal to release captives held by Hamas.
Demonstrators paint yellow ribbons along the road, vow not to abandon hostages held by Hamas, and chant, “why are they still in Gaza?”
Border Police officers arrive and attempt to clear the activists from the road.
It is believed that 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.
Ben Gvir takes part in raid on organized crime family, police ‘at war’ after deadly Ramle blast
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir says he participated in a police raid overnight targeting the Jarushi crime family, after a deadly car explosion in Ramle yesterday.
Ben Gvir says the police are “going to war” after years of turning a blind eye to organized crime in the Arab community.
Arrests were made at sites owned by the crime family and throughout Lod, Ben Gvir writes on X.
Four people were killed and nine others wounded in the blast yesterday afternoon. According to the Kan public broadcaster, the explosion is thought by police to be tied to an ongoing dispute between the Jarushi and Abu Zaid crime families, and that the car and the stores were connected to the Jarushis.
Many Arab Israeli community leaders say police have failed to crack down on powerful criminal organizations and largely ignored the violence, which includes family feuds, mafia turf wars and violence against women.
Ben Gvir entered office as security minister in late 2022 vowing to crack down on Arab community crime, but homicides have continued unabated, with 109 members of the Arab community killed in violent crimes in the first half of 2024, according to the Abraham Initiatives nonprofit.
אחרי עשרות שנות העלמת עין והשתלטות של ארגוני הפשיעה על המגזר הערבי, משטרת ישראל יוצאת למלחמה! השתתפתי במהלך כל הלילה בהערכות מצב במחוז מרכז, ולפנות בוקר יצאתי יחד כוחות גדולים של משטרת ישראל, כולל יחידות טקטיות ולוחמי ימ"ס לפשיטה נרחבת וביצוע מעצרים במתחמי משפחות הפשע בג׳ואריש… pic.twitter.com/Z8HAyG4eyZ
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) September 13, 2024
Sinwar thanks Nasrallah for Hezbollah’s support in letter, vows to continue war ‘until the occupation is defeated’ — report
Yahya Sinwar, the Gaza Strip chief of the Palestinian Hamas terror group, greets supporters as he arrives to attend a rally marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, April 14, 2023. (Mohammed Abed/AFP)
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar recently sent a letter to Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah expressing appreciation for the Iran-backed terror group’s support throughout the war, Lebanese media reports.
In the letter, published by the pro-Hezbollah al-Mayadeen daily, Sinwar thanks Nasrallah for his condolences after Ismail Haniyeh, the previous leader of Hamas was killed in Tehran in July, in an attack blamed on Israel.
Sinwar vows that the “blessed convoys of martyrs will increase in strength and power in confronting the Nazi Zionist occupation.”
He vows to continue fighting “the Zionist project” alongside the Iranian-led axis of resistance, “until the occupation is defeated and swept away from our land, and our independent state with full sovereignty is established with Jerusalem as its capital.”
Sirens that sounded in Malkiya were 2nd false alarm this morning — IDF
For the second time this morning, rocket sirens that sounded in the northern community of Malkiya were a false alarm, the military says.
IDF soldiers nab two Israelis trying to enter Gaza overnight
Overnight, Israeli troops detained two Israeli civilians who attempted to enter the Gaza Strip, the military says.
According to the IDF, soldiers monitoring surveillance cameras spotted the pair crossing a gate on the Gaza border security barrier, and entering an Israeli buffer zone.
Troops dispatched to the scene detained the pair and brought them back over the fence.
It is unclear why the pair were attempting to enter Gaza.
The IDF says that at no stage did the suspects cross into Gazan territory. The IDF’s fence is built several dozen meters inside Israeli territory.
“Approaching the barrier zone is dangerous and harms the activity of security forces in the area,” the military adds.
Rocket sirens sound in community near Lebanese border
Incoming rocket sirens sound again in the northern community of Malkiya, near the border with Lebanon, after previous sirens were deemed to be false alarms by the military.
Rocket Alert [07:53:47] (1):
• Confrontation Line — Malkia
Population: <500 pic.twitter.com/YQasy7Dp4L— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) September 13, 2024
Rocket sirens in Malkiya were false alarm — IDF
Rocket sirens that sounded in the northern community of Malkiya a short while ago were a false alarm, the military says.
Man shot in stomach after charging pro-Israel demonstrators in Massachusetts
A man wearing a Palestinian pin is shot in the stomach after charging pro-Israel demonstrators in Newton, Massachusetts.
The assailant is seen across the street accusing a group of 10 protesters waving Israeli and American flags of “defending genocide” and giving them the middle finger, according to footage shared by The Daily Wire news site.
The man then charges across the street and tackles Scott Hayes, 47, an Iraq War veteran. Amid the tussle with protesters, the assailant is shot in the stomach by Hayes, the report says.
A second video shows Hayes giving medical treatment to the attacker, according to the report. The victim is suffering non-life-threatening injuries.
Though he legally had possession of the gun, Hayes is facing charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and violation of a constitutional right causing injury, Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan tells The Daily Wire.
In another video, the man who fired the gun is seen providing medical care to the man who tackled him before first responders arrived. pic.twitter.com/wMtoowakr9
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) September 13, 2024
Rocket sirens sound in community near Lebanese border
Incoming rocket sirens are sounding in the northern community of Malkiya, near the border with Lebanon.
Rocket Alert [07:16:03] (1):
• Confrontation Line — Malkia
Population: <500 pic.twitter.com/tLy9x5KEqr— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) September 13, 2024
Hezbollah says it targeted air defense base in rocket attack
Hezbollah takes responsibility for an early morning barrage of rockets fired toward the northern city of Safed.
The Iran-backed terror group says it targeted an air defense base 12 kilometers from the border with Katyusha rockets in revenge for an Israeli attack in Kafr Joz, according to a statement.
The Israel Defense Forces said earlier a barrage of some 20 projectiles was fired toward Safed, adding that most were intercepted or fell in open areas.
צפת הלילה pic.twitter.com/HbDIicHOfh
— יוסי יהושוע – Yossi Yehoshua (@YehoshuaYosi) September 13, 2024
Firefighters extinguish forest fire sparked by Hezbollah rocket attack from Lebanon
The Israel Fire and Rescue Services says that after several hours, firefighting crews have extinguished a fire in the Birya Forest that was sparked by an overnight rocket attack claimed by Hezbollah.
The Lebanese terror group says the attack targeted Israeli military positions.
Sirens activated in settlement near Jerusalem due to suspected terror infiltration
The IDF Home Front Command says sirens have been activated in Almon due to the suspected entry of terrorists into the West Bank settlement near Jerusalem.
Residents are instructed to immediately enter their safe rooms.
IDF says barrage of some 20 projectiles fired from Lebanon toward Safed; no injuries
The Israel Defense Forces says a barrage of some 20 projectiles was fired toward Safed, adding that most were intercepted or fell in open areas.
An IDF statement says no one was injured. An image published by the Kan public broadcaster shows minor damage to a building in Dalton, a moshav close to Safed, due to a rocket fragment.
The military also says sirens were activated in communities around Safed “due to concerns of falling interceptor debris,” and that firefighters are working to battle a blaze near Birya that was sparked by a rocket impact.
שריפה פרצה ביער ביריה, סמוך לצפת, עקב המטח האחרון לאזור
(אורלי אלקלעי)
צילום: כבאות והצלה לישראל pic.twitter.com/ENhNsheBXT— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) September 12, 2024
US approves $165 million sale to Israel of heavy-duty tank trailers
Illustrative: An Israeli soldier gestures for an approaching battle tank to roll onto a trailer truck at a position along the border with the Gaza Strip on January 2, 2024. (Jack Guez/AFP)
WASHINGTON — The US has approved $165 million in weapons sales to Israel to fund heavy-duty tank trailers, the State Department announces.
The systems include spare and repair parts, tool kits and technical and logistics support. They are not expected to be delivered until 2027.
Earlier this year, the US announced a mammoth $20 billion weapons support package for Israel to include F-15 fighter jets. Like the tank trailers, those systems will not be delivered for several years and will not affect current Israeli military operations amid the 11-month-old war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
US Justice Department, FBI readying criminal charges in Iran hack targeting Trump campaign
Republican presidential nominee former US president Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, September 12, 2024, in Tucson, Arizona. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON — The US Justice Department is preparing criminal charges in connection with an Iranian hack that targeted Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, two people familiar with the matter say.
It’s not immediately clear when the charges might be announced, but they’re the result of an FBI investigation into an intrusion that investigators quickly linked to an Iranian effort to influence this year’s presidential election.
The two people who discussed the looming criminal charges spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because they are not authorized to speak publicly about a case that had not yet been unsealed.
The Washington Post first reported that charges were being prepared.
Incoming rocket sirens sound in northern city of Safed and surrounding towns
Incoming rocket sirens are being activated in the northern city of Safed and several other nearby communities, according to the IDF’s Home Front Command.
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