Sep. 2: ‘A speech full of lies’: Hostage Families Forum blasts Netanyahu’s press conference

‘A speech full of lies’: Hostage Families Forum blasts PM’s press conference

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proven “that he does not intend to return the hostages” the Hostages Families Forum laments following the premier’s press conference earlier this evening.

Decying the “speech full of lies and spins,” the forum says that “the people of Israel, most of whom support the return of the hostages, will no longer lend a hand to this criminal negligence.”

“The struggle to return the hostages will be heightened and amplified until the last of the hostages returns home — the living for rehabilitation and the dead for a proper burial,” it adds.

Hostages Forum thanks Biden for efforts on hostage-truce deal, calls on Netanyahu to show ‘similar determination’

The Hostages Families Forum thanks Joe Biden for his efforts to secure a deal to release their loved ones from Hamas captivity in Gaza, after the US president told reporters earlier today that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not doing enough to close an agreement.

“The Hostages Families Forum commends President Biden and his administration for their actions and determination to secure the release of all 101 hostages. We urge Prime Minister Netanyahu to demonstrate similar resilience, determination, and commitment to the lives of the hostages,” a statement says.

Noting mass demonstrations across the country and a general strike since the IDF recovered the bodies of six hostages who were executed in Gaza last week, the forum says a deal “represents not only the best chance to save lives but also the only path toward a better future for the entire region.”

“The people of Israel will not allow the nearly 11-month neglect of the hostages to continue. Every day could be their last, as the execution of six hostages in the past few days has shown us.”

The bodies of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lobanov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 27, who were all abducted alive by Hamas on October 7, were recovered from a tunnel in southern Gaza’s Rafah overnight Saturday, shortly after they were murdered.

Biden says talks with Qatari, Egyptian negotiators to secure hostage-ceasefire deal are ongoing

President Joe Biden walks on the South Lawn of the White House, September 2, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Mark Schiefelbein)

US President Joe Biden says talks to secure a hostage-ceasefire deal are ongoing, after a meeting with American negotiators earlier in the day.

“We’re in the middle of negotiations,” he says, when asked what more needs to be done to secure an agreement between Israel and Hamas, according to a White House statement.

Asked about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden again says, “We’re still in negotiations — not with him, but with my colleagues from Qatar and from Egypt.”

Earlier today, Biden said that Netanyahu was not doing enough to secure a deal for the release of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, while revealing that his administration was “very close” to presenting a final hostage deal offer later this week.

Hamas releases propaganda video showing executed hostage Eden Yerushalmi

A screen capture from an undated propaganda video released by the Hamas terror group on September 2, 2024, showing Eden Yerushalmi, who was kidnapped on October 7 and executed in captivity. (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Hamas releases a propaganda video showing Eden Yerushalmi, who was kidnapped on October 7 and executed in Gaza last week.

Her body, along with five others, was recovered by IDF troops over the weekend. She was laid to rest yesterday.

Hamas has previously issued similar videos of hostages it has held and murdered, in what Israel says is deplorable psychological warfare. Most Israeli media do not carry the video clips themselves.

Yerushalmi’s family approved the release of a short section of the video.

“Our Eden, we love you too and we miss you like crazy. You are forever in our hearts,” her family says in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Family Forum.

The full video released by the terror group ends with the message, “Exchange deal… freedom & life, military pressure… death and failure,” in Arabic, Hebrew and English.

UN experts deeply concerned by sharp rise in death sentences in Iran; over 400 people executed this year

Portraits are exhibited behind a noose as a placard reads: 'Executions pro day,' in front of the Brandenburg Gate during a demonstration by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran in Berlin, Germany on February 10, 2024. (Stefanie Loos/AFP)

GENEVA, Switzerland — UN experts voice alarm at a surge in executions in Iran last month that pushed the total in the country so far this year to over 400.

At least 81 people were put to death in Iran in August alone, significantly more than the 45 reported in July, a group of 11 independent United Nations rights experts says in a statement.

The reported number of executions since the start of 2024 rose above 400, including those of 15 women, they say.

“We are deeply concerned by this sharp rise in executions,” say the experts, who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but do not speak on behalf of the United Nations.

Iran executes more people per year than any other nation except China, according to rights groups including Amnesty International.

The UN experts, including the special rapporteurs on the rights situation in Iran and on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions, say 41 of the executions last month had been of people convicted of drug offenses.

“Executions for drug offenses violate international standards,” they say.

The experts lament a substantial rise in executions for drug offenses in Iran since 2021, with more than 400 drug-related executions carried out last year alone.

IDF: Fighter jets struck some 10 Hezbollah rocket launchers in south Lebanon this evening

Israeli fighter jets struck some 10 Hezbollah rocket launchers in southern Lebanon earlier this evening, the military says.

The launchers, which the IDF says posed a threat to Israeli civilians, were hit in Zibqin and Chihine.

As a result of the strike, several rockets were fired from launchers at the border community of Arab al-Aramshe, according to the military.

The IDF says some of the rockets were intercepted and others impacted open areas. No injuries were caused.

Separately, the IDF says it struck a Hezbollah observation post in southern Lebanon’s Houla.

לפני זמן קצר מטוסי קרב של חיל-האוויר תקפו כעשרה משגרים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה, שהיוו איום על אזרחי מדינת ישראל במרחבים זבקין ושיחין שבדרום לבנון.

בנוסף, כלי טיס תקפו עמדות תצפית של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב חולא שבדרום לבנון.

כתוצאה מהתקיפות שוגרו מהמשגרים מספר רקטות, שחצו… pic.twitter.com/oewmjzv30K

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) September 2, 2024

Officer puts hand on throat of ToI reporter as police use considerable force at Jerusalem hostage protest

Police carry away a protester on Azza Street in Jerusalem, September 2, 2024. (Iddo Schejter/ Times of Israel)

Police are using considerable violence at the hostage protest outside the prime minister’s home in Jerusalem, with one cop putting a hand on the throat of a Times of Israel reporter, squeezing, and driving the reporter back some 30 meters (nearly 100 feet), despite the fact that he identified himself as press.

Police are pushing back protesters violently up Azza Street away from Benjamin Netanyahu’s home, randomly throwing to the ground demonstrators in their way. Many are dragged away by police. One protester is evacuated bleeding from the forehead by medical personnel.

Protesting for a hostage-ceasefire deal after the bodies of six hostages executed in Gaza were recovered last week, the demonstrators chant, “May their memory be a revolution.”

עם קבלת פקודה, ככל הנראה, שוטרים שניצבו מול מפגינים החלו לדחוף ולמעוך באלימות

רחוב עזה, ירושלים 02/09/24

קרדיט לצילום: שרון @imahot4 pic.twitter.com/G224xX7CiY

— אלימות ישראל (@Alimut_Israel) September 2, 2024

British far-left lawmaker Jeremy Corbyn to form parliamentary alliance with pro-Palestinian MPs

Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn attends a demonstration in support of Palestinians in Gaza, in London, February 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

The former UK Labour leader and independent MP for Islington North, Jeremy Corbyn is set to form a parliamentary alliance with four independent lawmakers who were elected on pro-Palestinian platforms. He has called for more MPs to join the group.

The Independent Alliance, including Corbyn along with MPs Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, and Iqbal Mohamed, is promising to push for an arms embargo on Israel, according to a statement.

Far-left lawmaker Corbyn was suspended from the Labour Party in 2020 due to remarks he made following an investigation into antisemitism in the party under his leadership.

His successor Starmer has spent the second half of his parliamentary career clearing Labour of the far left’s legacy of extremism and racism, and planting his party’s flag firmly in the electoral center.

Smotrich, Ben Gvir applaud Netanyahu for firm stance on Gaza-Egypt border

Far-right leaders Itamar Ben Gvir (2-R) and Bezalel Smotrich at the Knesset on December 29, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90/ File)

Far-right Finance and National Security Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir both issue statements of public support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he publicly declares his intention to remain in the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border during a press conference in Jerusalem.

Smotrich says that he backs Netanyahu for “standing firm against our enemies and for [delivering] clear messages to the Israeli public and the entire world,” arguing that he “said simple things with which every Israeli who wants to live securely should identify.”

“We must not agree to a reckless deal and leave the Philadelphi Corridor and just as we must not abandon the Philadelphi Corridor, we must not surrender the other principles that will ensure our victory in the war,” Ben Gvir states.

“Now is the time to increase the military pressure on Hamas, to exact a very heavy price from it for the murder of our hostages,” he continues, calling for the terrorist organization’s “complete defeat.”

Both Smotrich and Ben Gvir have previously threatened to topple the government if Netanyahu agrees to a deal that ends the war.

‘Your legacy is the most serious security failure in Israel’s history,’ Liberman fumes after PM’s presser

MK Avigdor Liberman attends a hearing of the civil investigative committee on the October 7 massacre, in Tel Aviv, August 18, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Former defense minister Avigdor Liberman, the leader of the hawkish Yisrael Beytenu opposition party, joins the chorus of criticism against Benjamin Netanyahu, following his Monday evening press conference in Jerusalem, arguing that the prime minister’s legacy is voting to approve the 2005 disengagement from Gaza and approving the transfer of “$10 million in cash to Hamas every month.”

“Your legacy is the release of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the founder of the Hamas organization, whom you released on September 30, 1997,” Liberman writes on X.

“Your legacy is the release of Yahya Sinwar and 1,026 other terrorists in October 2011. Your legacy is the vote to disengage and leave the Philadelphi Corridor on October 26, 2004… Your legacy is the most serious security failure in Israel’s history on October 7, 2023, the abandonment of the residents of the north and the establishment of a government that will be remembered for generations as the most failed government in the history of the Jewish people.”

Gantz’s National Unity party says PM lying about war goal of returning northern residents to their homes

The National Unity party, led by former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of lying, following a press conference in Jerusalem in which he told reporters that the return of the hostages was one of Israel’s core war aims.

“Netanyahu flatly lied today when he said that the return of the residents of the north is one of the goals of the war,” the party says in a statement. “Netanyahu repeatedly refused Gantz’s and [MK Gadi] Eisenkot’s demand to add it as a war goal — but even worse, a year into the war, he refuses to act to make it happen.”

Netanyahu denies Hamas executed hostages due to his insistence on core demands

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

Answering questions from reporters, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel last week intercepted all of the drones Hezbollah fired at Israel last week. That’s not the end of the matter, he says, vowing to restore security to the north.

He rejects the assertion that the six hostages murdered by Hamas in Gaza last week were killed because of his insistence on sticking to his core demands for a deal. “We didn’t manage to extricate them. We were very close. It’s terrible,” he says.

“But it didn’t happen because of that decision [on the Philadelphi Corridor.] “It happened, first, because they (Hamas) don’t want a deal,” he says.

He also decries leaks from cabinet meetings and says angrily that “it is not okay that the military censor allows it. It’s not okay that there isn’t a polygraph law because we are stuck with an attorney general who won’t allow it. We must find legislation that will get over that problem.”

Turning to the terms of the hostage deal, Netanyahu says he is willing to agree to a 42-day lull in the fighting in Gaza. He says nobody is more committed to freeing the hostages than he is, and says he was wounded when freeing hostages. “Nobody should preach to me about this.”

“The formula I agreed to talks about a first stage of 42 days — after which we can go back to fighting, of course, if a solution is not found in negotiations. It’s our decision, I insisted on it. And if a decision is made for the long-term, and a permanent arrangement is found in the Strip where someone else can take care of the security mission and protect the borders, go ahead. I currently don’t see it on the horizon.”

He is asked why, if the Philadelphi Corridor is so important, he agreed to a withdrawal from Gaza in the May proposal, at a time when the IDF had still not even taken full control of the Corridor.

In response, he says he is willing to reduce forces on the Egypt-Gaza border because there is no need for troops “every meter.”

“We need to be at several locations, connected, at a certain distance from one another, with the ability to patrol along the entire road, and that is what is necessary for guarding against the terrorists, and also for protecting our troops, and also for making sure no one crosses with hostages above ground. Below ground, there is a solution.”

Netanyahu says that Israel cannot rely on sensors or others to guard the Philadelphi Corridor.

He is asked about the sense among some hostage families that an Israeli ethos has been broken in the failure to return all the hostages, and told that Rabbi Elhanan Danino, the father of Ori Danino, one of the six murdered hostages, said in an interview today that he didn’t feel Netanyahu had done everything possible to bring his son home alive.

Netanyahu says he will never judge any member of a bereaved family. As a member of a bereaved family himself, he says, he knows the unthinkable pain they endure.

Regarding the six, “we didn’t succeed” in getting them out alive. “We were very, very close. Not enough,” he repeats. “We are doing everything… I look for every means… to get them home.” He says he pushes to maximize the number of living hostages to be released in any deal.

Asked about the disunity between him and Defense Minister Gallant, he says the relationship can continue “so long as there is trust,” and stresses that all ministers must be bound by cabinet decisions. “That is what is being tested now.”

He laments the “considerable disinformation” about events leading up to October 7 — “so many lies” — and what happens in the cabinet. But he says he will not support a state commission of inquiry while the fighting is still taking place — so that soldiers and officers would not need to worry about finding lawyers.

“We don’t have a pressing need to do it now; we have a pressing need not to do it now. And at the end of the war, we will decide how we are doing it, when we are doing it.”

Answering a question about leaks from security officials attacking cabinet decisions, Netanyahu says that “the one who makes decisions is the government, and the army and other security agencies are required to follow those decisions. I don’t see another option.”

Asked what would define the end of the war, he says that will be “when Hamas no longer rules Gaza. We throw them out.” As was the case with the defeat of Nazi Germany, he says, that requires a military and a political victory — “we’re well on the way to achieving both.”

Finally, now in English, he returns to the pressure on Israel for concessions in the wake of the Hamas killings of the six hostages. “What has changed in the last five days? What has changed? One thing. These murderers executed six of our hostages. They shot them in the back of the head. That’s what’s changed. And now, after this, we’re asked to show seriousness? We’re asked to make concessions? What message does this send Hamas? It says kill more hostages, murder more hostages, you’ll get more concessions.”

He urges: “The pressure internationally must be directed at these killers, at Hamas, not at Israel. We say yes, they say no all the time. But they also murdered these people. And now we need maximal pressure on Hamas.

“I don’t believe that either President Biden or anyone serious about achieving peace and achieving their release would seriously ask Israel, Israel, to make these concessions,” he concludes. “We’ve already made them. Hamas has to make the concessions.”

Asked about Biden’s criticism, PM says he doesn’t believe president would urge more concessions after hostages murdered

US President Joe Biden speaks with reporters at the White House in Washington, DC, on September 2, 2024. (Mandel Ngan/AFP)

Answering questions from reporters at the end of his press conference in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel must maintain security control of the border crossings on the “day after” Hamas and for the foreseeable future. He adds that “when the day comes” and another body or organization can deal with this “under a permanent arrangement,” that is fine with him. “But right now” Israel needs to be there to prevent more massacres, abductions and existential threats.

“We are very close to dismantling Hamas,” he says. “We are dismantling Hamas.” Netanyahu adds that Israel still has to find an alternative to the terror group’s civilian control, including for distributing much of the humanitarian aid in Gaza, and that it is working on it.

Responding to another question, Netanyahu says he does not know what Biden said today, after the US president indicated the Israeli prime minister is not doing enough to secure the release of hostages.

Netanyahu points out that Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 27 praised Israel’s “extraordinarily generous Israeli offer,” and cites other instances of US praise for Israael’s positions.

He also notes that the CIA’s deputy director on August 28 said that Israel has shown seriousness in the negotiations, and now it was Hamas’s turn.

“That was five days ago,” he says,” and what happened in those days? One thing happened – they murdered six of our hostages in cold blood. So after that terrible murder, I don’t think anyone serious would say, ‘Make more concessions now, you’re not serious, Hamas is serious…’ I don’t believe that President Biden really said that.”

Netanyahu’s neighbor in Caesarea erects anti-government sign as loud rally demands hostage deal

Protesters outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Caesarea call for the government to close a deal to free hostages held in Gaza, September 2, 2024. (Gavriel Fiske/ The Times of Israel)

After closing the main thoroughfare and then squeezing through small streets, anti-government protesters in Caesarea are holding a final cacophonous rally directly opposite the beachfront residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which is cordoned off by police barricades.

One of Netanyahu’s neighbors evidently supports the protests, as huge electric signs saying “Enough” and “The Derelict,” as well as a banner with the popular protest slogan “You are in charge, you are to blame,” have been erected on a property overlooking the protest area.

The crowd is making a truly raucous din, eschewing organized speeches in favor of slogans chanted over megaphones accompanied by drums, horns, whistles and yelling.

A central bonfire is lit on the sand, as a protester holds up a sign in English saying “Fuck this shit! Stop the war. Free Gaza from Hamas, free us from Bibi.”

Some 5,000 were participating in the protest march, the organizers say, although the crowd has now noticeably thinned out.

Hamas hints 6 slain hostages extracted by IDF from Gaza over weekend were murdered because troops were near

Abu Obeida, spokesman of the Hamas military wing, speaks during a memorial in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah on January 31, 2017. (AFP/ Said Khatib/ File)

The Hamas terror group strongly hints that it murdered the six hostages whose bodies were recovered by the IDF from a tunnel in southern Gaza’s Rafah over the weekend.

In a statement, the spokesman for the military wing of Hamas says that following Israel’s successful hostage rescue in Nuseirat in June, new protocols were given to terrorists guarding the abductees if Israeli troops were approaching them.

“We say to everyone clearly that after the Nuseirat incident, new instructions were issued to the mujahideen assigned to guard the prisoners regarding dealing with them if the occupation army approached their place of detention,” Hudhaifa Kahlout — known by the nom de guerre Abu Obeida — says.

Hamas is believed by Israel to have given standing orders to operatives who are holding hostages, to kill the captives if they think Israeli forces are nearing.

The six hostages recovered over the weekend — Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi — were killed just days before troops found them, according to autopsies and the IDF.

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

“Netanyahu’s insistence on liberating the prisoners through military pressure instead of concluding a deal will mean that they will return to their families inside coffins and their families will have to choose whether they are dead or alive,” Abu Obeida adds.

At the beginning of the war, Abu Obeida threatened to execute Israeli hostages and release footage of the killings.

Alongside the announcement, Hamas releases a propaganda illustration depicting an Israeli hostage being held captive and a terrorist holding a handgun behind them.

The image is accompanied by a caption in Hebrew and Arabic, reading: “Military pressure = death and failure. Exchange deal = Freedom and life.”

Lapid slams Netanyahu for ‘shameful press conference of a prime minister without a soul’

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid makes a video statement on September 2, 2024. (Screenshot: X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid denounces Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Monday evening press conference as “unfounded political spin,” arguing that what he said about the Philadelphi Corridor “has no relation to reality.”

“Not one professional buys this spin. Not the security personnel, not the international system, not the fighters who are actually in Gaza and know the reality there. I don’t have a presentation with pictures, but there are facts,” he says. “Israel evacuated the Philadelphi Corridor 19 years ago, and Netanyahu voted in favor. Both in the government and in the Knesset. Netanyahu was prime minister for 15 years. It did not occur to him to recapture the Philadelphi Corridor.”

“The war began on October 7. Until May 20, eight months ago, he did not bother to send the IDF to the Philadelphi Corridor,” Lapid argues. “All he described today was his own failure.”

“The issue of the corridor is not Netanyahu’s concern, but, rather, the Ben Gvir-Smotrich Corridor,” Lapid continues, naming the far-right national security and finance ministers. “This is his new trick to prevent the disintegration of his coalition. It is about politics, and only politics. Netanyahu spoke today as if October 7 did not happen on his watch. As if he is not responsible and guilty of the most terrible disaster and massacre in the country’s history,” Lapid asserts, calling Netanyahu, “Mr. Failure and Mr. Disaster.”

“At least Netanyahu said one truth: that he does not want to end the war. He said it three times, that he doesn’t want to end the war — which means he doesn’t want to make a hostage deal; he wants war forever. His words tonight had one terrible meaning: he will not make a deal. He won’t bring our children home.”

Lapid appeals to the “more responsible” people in Netanyahu’s coalition to give him an ultimatum that is the opposite of Ben Gvir’s: “You can tell him, if there is no deal, there’s no government.”

Turning to Netanyahu’s call for unity, Lapid says that someone who truly wants unity should not demonize opponents, such as the “hundreds of thousands of patriots” who have taken to the streets in the past day and during today’s general strike.

“The Histadrut [labor federation] did not transfer millions of dollars in suitcases to Hamas — you did it,” he says, addressing Netanyahu. “It was not the opposition that declared that Hamas needed to be strengthened — you did it. It was not the families of the hostages who released Sinwar from prison in a Shalit deal — you did it,” he concludes. “It was a shameful press conference of a prime minister without a soul.”

In implied rebuke of Gallant, PM argues leaving Philadelphi would ‘encourage more murders,’ slams ministers who say different

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laments “voices in the cabinet, ministers in the government” who urged leaving the Philadelphi Corridor “even though we had already decided not to leave” — a thinly veiled allusion to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

For that reason, he says, “I had to formally bring it to the cabinet” for a vote, in order “to entrench” that Israel would not leave the border even in the context of a deal, “to make clear there are things on which we do not compromise.”

“I am flexible in the places where I can be flexible,” he says.

However, on the Gaza-Egypt border, “we all must insist,” Netanyahu argues.

The premier says he was then “stunned, simply stunned” when he heard some “among us” again arguing that Israel can abandon Philadelphi after the cold-blooded murder of the six hostages in Gaza last week — another reference to Gallant. “What message does that send to Hamas? Murder hostages, receive concessions?”

Netanyahu angrily emphasizes that while ministers can express their position, the moment a decision is made in the cabinet, “it is binding for everyone.”

“The message that we would change a vital strategic decision… under pressure of the slaughter of our hostages,” he says, again alluding to Gallant without naming him, “encourages terror, encourages more murders. Therefore it won’t happen. It simply won’t happen.”

Hamas thinks Israel will leave the Philadephi Corridor “as long as they see the division within us,” says Netanyahu, as he presents a document found by the IDF in a Hamas tunnel — a document that references Gallant.

Reading from the document, he notes that, in it, Hamas urges “stepped-up distribution of pictures and clips of the hostages, because of the psychological pressure.” The document also calls to “turn up the psychological pressure on Gallant,” he reads without further comment. And it calls to “keep up the line that Netanyahu is responsible for what happened [on October 7]” and to “undermine the Israeli narrative that the ground operation serves the cause of returning hostages.”

That’s the Hamas message in summary, he notes. Hamas “wants to divide us. It is counting on an internal fissure. It thinks that most of the country will follow this. It is mistaken.”

Hamas was wrong to think that threats of refusal to serve by Israeli reservists, during the tumult over his government’s planned judicial overhaul, would divide Israel, he says. And it is wrong to think that Israel “will cave on issues that are crucial to our future,” like retaining the Philadelphi Corridor. “I say to [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar, forget it.”

The minute Hamas understands that Israel won’t bend on vital issues, he says at the end of his prepared remarks, “there will be a deal … and we’ll ensure our existence and our future.”

Police arrest at least 10 protesters at anti-government protest outside Netanyahu’s home in Jerusalem

Police arrest a protester on Azza Street in Jerusalem, September 2, 2024. (Iddo Schejter/The Times of Israel Staff)

Police arrest at least 10 protesters outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home in Jerusalem.

Protesters are facing off with police while holding stretchers and lighting bonfires, chanting, “There is no routine without a deal.”

Police periodically jump into the crowd and pick off protesters and arrest them. They also confiscate stretchers, flags, and signs.

The Moriah Police Station Commander declares the demonstration unlawful, and police bring a water cannon and horse-mounted officers to disperse protesters.

Netanyahu insists he’s committed to reaching hostage deal, blames Hamas for stalled talks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a a press conference in Jerusalem, September 2, 2024. (GPO screenshot)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is entirely committed to reaching a hostage-ceasefire deal, but “unfortunately we did not see a similar response from Hamas.”

“We agreed to the formula that President Biden presented on May 31,” he continues. “We agreed to what they called the ‘final bridging proposal’ on August 16.”

“Hamas rejected the first. Hamas is rejecting the second.”

Netanyahu argues that when the Palestinian terror group thinks Israel is showing weakness or pressure is being applied on Israel, it goes back to its original demands. “The minute they think there is some weakness on our side, or some pressure that will break us, they return [to their obdurate positions].”

Murdered hostage Carmel Gat laid to rest on Kibbutz Be’eri

Carmel Gat, one of six hostages murdered in Hamas captivity last week is laid to rest in Kibbutz Be’eri, where she was born and where she was taken captive on October 7, while visiting her parents.

The funeral was closed to media in deference to Gat, who, her cousin Gil Dickman says, was a private person.

“Our fight for her was very public,” says Dickmann. “We had many discussions about whether she’d be angry at us for showing parts of her life, like her yoga, but we’ll never know whether she saw us or how she felt about this.”

Gat’s family planned on telling the story of her life at her funeral.

“Many people told us she just was sunlight that brightened the room or a rainbow, because of all the colors in her,” says Dickmann. “We want to remember my cousin, who was a private person, but a people person.”

Members of the southern kibbutz, one of the worst hit in Hamas’s October 7 massacre, line the nearby junction in Gat’s honor ahead of the burial.

לא נשכח, לא שוכחים: כשברקע ההספד לכרמל גת ז״ל, חברי קיבוץ בארי חולקים לה כבוד בצומת של הקיבוץ. יהי זכרה של כרמל הנהדרת ברוך pic.twitter.com/wC3SYfYE1D

— Raz Shechnik (@RazShechnik) September 2, 2024

Earlier today, Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Gat, along with two other murdered hostages, were on a list of “humanitarian hostages” whose release Israel was expecting in the first phase of a potential ceasefire-hostage deal.

The three were among six hostages murdered by their Hamas captors at the end of last week, whose bodies were found by the IDF in a Gaza tunnel on Saturday and brought back to Israel.

Police violently arrest protester outside Netanyahu’s house in Jerusalem

Police detain a protester calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and against the current government, in Jerusalem, September 2, 2024. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

Police violently arrest one protester outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s house in Jerusalem, throwing her over a police barricade.

Demonstrators skirmish with police as they protest for a ceasefire-hostage deal.

A short while ago, protesters broke through a police barrier near Netanyahu’s home and skirmished with police.

Some protesters carry stretchers representing the six hostages executed in Hamas captivity last week.

Anti-government demonstrators call for the release the hostages held captive by Hamas since October 7, near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)

Documents from Gaza reveal details of Hamas’s tunnel combat tactics – report

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

Documents found by the IDF in Gaza have revealed the painstaking training of Hamas terrorists for combat in the terrorist organization’s tunnel network, as well as more details about its fortification, The New York Times reports, citing the documents, which included a handbook written in 2019.

The manual instructed terrorists on how to hide and locate tunnel entrances, as well as navigate them quickly.

“While moving in the dark inside the tunnel, the fighter needs night-vision goggles equipped with infrared,” the report quotes the document, written in Arabic, as stating.

The instructions added that in order to deliver maximum damage in battle with Israeli soldiers, weapons should be fired on automatic, while held at shoulder height.

“This type of shooting is effective because the tunnel is narrow, so the shots are aimed at the kill zones in the upper part of the human body,” the manual said.

Another document found by the IDF showed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar approved blast doors to be installed in the tunnel network to protect it from airstrikes and ground assaults, the report said.

The majority of the $225,000 for the project was dedicated to fortifying tunnels in northern Gaza and Khan Younis, both of which have been hotspots of fighting between the IDF and Hamas, the report says.

Another document seen by the publication was a letter written by Sinwar to the organization’s since-eliminated military commander, Muhammad Deif, detailing the expense and intricacies of creating the tunnels.

A military spokesperson tells the paper that IDF soldiers found details in the tunnels that were consistent with the instructions and information found in the documents.

Withdrawing from Egypt-Gaza border would enable Hamas to spirit hostages to Iran — PM

Netanyahu argues that leaving the Philadelphi Corridor could enable Hamas to spirit the hostages to Iran. He compares security officials who support leaving the Gaza-Egypt border to those who recommended withdrawing from Gaza and Lebanon.

He says Israel has got Hamas “by the windpipe,” and that its control of the Gaza-Egypt border “can give us the hostages.” During even a 42-day withdrawal, he says, Hamas could smuggle hostages, above ground, “to Sinai, meters away — cross the fence and disappear to Iran, Yemen.”

The pressure to leave the Philadelphi Corridor is “a terrible trap,” he says.

Security sources wrongly said in the past that it would be “no problem” to disengage from Gaza and withdraw from Lebanon because Israel could “immediately go back” if needed, he says.

“After the ninth of October,” says Netanyahu, misstating the date of the Hamas massacre in southern Israel on October 7, “we learned to be a bit more careful in our assessments.”

Netanyahu insists Israel must and will retain control of Gaza-Egypt border; says Iran’s ‘axis of evil needs Philadelphi Axis’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures next to a map of Gaza during a press conference in Jerusalem, September 2, 2024. (Sam Sokol/The Times of Israel)

Israel has four war aims, says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “To destroy Hamas, to bring back all of our hostages, to ensure that Gaza will no longer present a threat to Israel, and to return safely the residents of the northern border.”

The last war aim was added in recent days at the urging of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

“Three of those war goals go through one place,” he stresses. “The Philadelphi Corridor. That is Hamas’s pipeline for oxygen and rearmament.”

He then uses a map of Israel and Gaza to explain why Israeli control of the Egypt-Gaza border is critical to Israel’s security.

Netanyahu explains that after the 2005 Disengagement, Israel controlled all of Gaza’s borders except the one with Egypt, and that is where weapons reached the Strip. “Gaza turned into a massive threat to Israel.”

The prime minister also criticizes Egypt for failing to secure the border, saying the entry of weapons, the means to make weapons, and the means to dig tunnels, did not only occur under Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammad Morsi, but also under Hosni Mubarak and “others” – that is, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.

Netanyahu insists his governments fought against this military build-up over the years, but laments there was not international or domestic legitimacy to retake Gaza.

He says that 20 years ago, he insisted that Israel maintain control over the Philadelphi Corridor as then-prime minister Ariel Sharon presented his disengagement plan, and that he restated that imperative in a letter to Sharon when resigning from his government.

A view of the Philadelphi Corridor, the Egypt-Gaza border area in Rafah, on June 18, 2024. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

“The axis of evil needs the Philadelphi Axis,” he says, arguing that this is the precise reason Israel “must control it.”

“We must make permanent the fact that we are there,” says Netanyahu.

He blasts the argument that the IDF can return to Philadelphi after the first phase of the deal, comparing it to past promises that Israel could and would return to Lebanon and Gaza if there were any attacks from those newly evacuated territories.

“It’s not a tactical military question,” he says, but rather “a diplomatic, strategic imperative.”

“It’s a question of massive diplomatic pressure that will be applied to us by the entire world: If we leave, we will not return. We will not return.”

He says the pressure Israel faced to try to discourage it from going into Rafah would be nothing compared to the pressure to keep Israel from going back to the Philadelphi Corridor, which would include efforts by the United Nations Security Council.

“This corridor is different from all the other places — it is central, it determines all of our future,” he says.

“Everyone recognizes the importance” of Israel retaining control of the Philadelphi Corridor, he says, “but they all want us to end the war.”

Leaving the corridor “will not bring back the hostages. The opposite. The opposite,” he says, arguing that Hamas showed a willingness to reach a deal only when Israel went into Rafah and Philadelphi.

“For months, after the first deal [in November], Hamas didn’t budge. It insisted on Israel announcing upfront an end to the war and a full withdrawal from Gaza, and essentially to allow it return to rule Gaza,” he says. “And that obviously would not lead to the return of a single hostage.”

“The first crack came when we entered Rafah, took control of Philadelphi, took control of the Rafah crossing,” he says. “Then suddenly they started speaking differently.”

Hamas then backtracked “when they thought that Iran would come and save them or Hezbollah would save them. Now, they are hoping that international and domestic pressure will save them.”

He insists that he never said that Israel would be there for 42 years, “but I know that if we do leave we may not return for 42 years. because we did leave and we didn’t return for 20 years.”

Netanyahu asks forgiveness from families for failing to bring murdered hostages home alive

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

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recounts speaking to the families of some of the six hostages who were murdered by Hamas in Gaza last week and asking for their forgiveness.

“I told the families, and I repeat it here tonight — I ask for your forgiveness that we did not succeed in bringing them back alive.”

“We were close, but we didn’t succeed,” he says, during a press conference in Jerusalem.

“Israel will not let this massacre simply pass on by,” Netanyahu says, jabbing his finger on the lectern. “Hamas will pay a very heavy price for it.”

After meeting negotiators, Harris says hostage-ceasefire deal long overdue

US Vice President Kamala Harris tweets, “It is long past time for a ceasefire and hostage deal.”

“We need to bring the hostages home and end the suffering in Gaza,” adds the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.

Harris reiterated her stance after she and Biden met with the administration’s representatives in the ongoing hostage negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

Biden and Harris were briefed by those mediators in the White House Situation Room.

“The murder of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages was a brutal, barbaric act by Hamas terrorists. As [President Biden] said, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes,” she adds.

Today, @POTUS and I met with the U.S. hostage deal negotiation team. The murder of Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages was a brutal, barbaric act by Hamas terrorists. As @POTUS said, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes.

It is long past time for a ceasefire and… pic.twitter.com/HCX95DWk4a

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) September 2, 2024

‘They’re out of time, bring them home now’: Protest outside PM’s Caesarea home swells to thousands

Protesters near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Caesarea on September 2, 2024, call for the government to secure a deal to free the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza since October 7. (Gavriel Fiske/The Times of Israel)

The crowd of protesters in Caesarea, which has swelled in size tremendously, is now marching towards the residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after briefly blocking traffic.

Moments ago, an activist grabbed the central microphone and described how he had just arrived “from the funeral I never wanted to attend in Be’eri,” the funeral of Carmel Gat, one of the six murdered hostages recovered from Gaza over the weekend.

He then launched the crowd onto a chant of “They are out of time, bring them home now.”

The marchers have completely taken over Caesarea’s Rothchild Street and easily number in the thousands.

Report: US suggests Israel reduce Gaza ops for fear Hamas will kill hostages if IDF is near

Horrified and outraged by Hamas’s murder of six Israeli hostages, the US has reportedly conveyed a message to Israel that it should consider scaling back its military activities for fear the terrorists might kill more hostages as the IDF forces operate in the area.

Channel 12 News says the message conveyed by the US encourages Israel to “weigh” reducing its military activities in the Strip, citing the “tangible danger” to the hostages of IDF activity near places where they are held. Hamas is widely reported to have told captors to kill hostages if they fear the IDF closing in.

The network reports the warning is issued on the basis of US intelligence.

Citing US sources, the report also says the Americans intend to “speed up” their presentation of an anticipated final bridging proposal for a ceasefire-hostage deal, and that they are seeking another summit in Doha.

It adds that Mossad chief David Barnea, Israel’s chief negotiator, flew to and from Doha today for a brief series of meetings.

Netanyahu says hostage murders prove need for ‘unity’ in existential war against Iran

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem, September 2, 2024. (Sam Sokol/The Times of Israel)

Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that in order to prevail in the existential war against Iran and its axis, there must be “unity among us.”

“We must stand united as one person against a cruel enemy that wants to destroy all of us, all of us without any exceptions,” he says, as tens of thousands of Israelis protest against his handling of hostage talks, on a day when a partial strike was called to urge him to agree to a deal.

He says the murder of the six hostages last week was further evidence of this fact, as he names each of them.

The bodies of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Ori Danino, 25, Alex Lobanov, 32, Carmel Gat, 40, and Almog Sarusi, 27, were extracted from Gaza by the IDF on the weekend, after they were all executed last week.

Report: Mossad chief was in Doha today to discuss hostage deal with Qatari PM

Left: Mossad director David Barnea speaks during the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) World Summit in the central coastal city of Herzliya on September 10, 2023. Right: Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani speaks during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Doha on January 7, 2024. (Gil Cohen-Magen, Karim Jaafar/AFP/collage)

Mossad director David Barnea was in Doha today to discuss attempts to reach a hostage deal with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, according to Walla.

The meeting comes at a time of intensive US efforts to reach a deal.

Israeli officials ‘deeply disheartened’ by UK arms license suspensions

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says he is “deeply disheartened,” after British Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced that the United Kingdom would suspend 30 of 350 licenses for arms sales to Israel, over concerns the military equipment could be used to break international law in Gaza.

“This comes at a time when we fight a war on seven different fronts — a war that was launched by a savage terrorist organization, unprovoked. At a time when we mourn six hostages who were executed in cold blood by Hamas inside tunnels in Gaza. At a time when we fight to bring 101 hostages home,” Gallant says in a statement on X.

“I stand by our troops and security agencies working with immense courage, professionalism, and moral values. We remain committed to defending the State of Israel and her people.”

The export licenses pertain to components for Israel’s aerial systems, including fighter jets, helicopters, and drones.

Also responding to the license suspensions, Foreign Minister Israel Katz says Israel is “disappointed by a series of decisions” made by the British government, including the decision regarding defense exports.

Katz says the move “sends a very problematic message” to Hamas and its patrons in Iran.

White House says Hamas responsible for murder of hostages in Gaza

US President Joe Biden, right, meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 25, 2024. (AP Photo/ Susan Walsh)

The White House asserts that Hamas is responsible for the murder of six Israeli hostages in Gaza last week, a short while after US President Joe Biden appeared to criticize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of hostage-ceasefire negotiations.

Biden was asked by reporters before a Situation Room briefing regarding the hostage talks whether he thought Netanyahu was doing enough to secure a deal. He responded, “No,” and because he was not asked the same question regarding Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, it seemed plausible that the US was primarily blaming Israel for the ongoing stalemate.

After pushback from Netanyahu’s office, which called Biden’s remarks “puzzling” and harmful to the talks, a US official says, “The president has been clear that Hamas is responsible for killing [American-Israeli hostage] Hersh [Goldberg-Polin] and the others and Hamas leaders will pay for their crimes.”

But explaining Biden’s response to the reporter’s question from earlier, the US official says the president “is also calling for urgency from the Israeli government in securing the release of the missing remaining hostages.”

‘Until he goes, until he takes the blame’: Protesters chant outside PM’s private home in Caesarea

Protesters outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's private residence in Caesarea call for the government to secure a hostage-ceasefire deal, September 2, 2024. (Gavriel Fiske/ The Times of Israel)

Several hundred activists are demonstrating in Caesarea, as the scheduled protest there gets underway.

The event is taking place at an intersection in the northern part of the city, not far from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence.

“Until he goes, until he takes the blame,” the crowd chants, among other slogans.

Multiple groups are present at the scene, including Brothers in Arms, supporters of the Hostages and Missing Family Forum, and several youth groups. Some of the protesters are wearing t-shirts proclaiming themselves veterans of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

About a dozen police officers observe the scene from a central traffic island, where loudspeakers have been set up.

Hundreds of protesters blast horns outside PM’s Jerusalem home in call for hostage deal

Protesters near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home in Jerusalem call for a hostage-ceasefire deal, September 2, 2024. (Iddo Schejter/The Times of Israel)

Hundreds of protesters are calling for a hostage-ceasefire deal on Azza Street in Jerusalem within police barricades several hundred meters from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home.

Protesters are making tremendous amounts of noise with hundreds of horns as hostage family members speak on a podium.

“Your decisions are leading to their deaths,” Nissan Calderon, the brother of hostage Ofer Calderon, says, addressing Netanyahu.

Protests are being held across the country after the bodies of six hostages who were recently executed were returned to Israel.

UK suspends some licenses of arms sales to Israel, but denies it amounts to an embargo

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves after attending a aabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street in London on July 30, 2024. (Henry Nicholls/AFP)

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy announces that the United Kingdom will suspend some licenses for arms sales to Israel, but denies that the move amounts to an arms embargo.

The decision will suspend 30 licenses, out of the around 350 that the UK has granted for companies to sell to Israel, says Lammy.

The export licenses pertain to components for Israel’s aerial systems, including fighter jets, helicopters, and drones.

It does not pertain to the F-35 program, which is a multinational project that pools parts before disbursing them to participating countries, including Israel.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Lammy says that the decision comes in the wake of a review of UK arms export licenses, which found a “clear risk” that some “might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”

“Facing a conflict such as this, it is this government’s legal duty to review Britain’s export licenses,” he explains.

“This is not a blanket ban. This is not an arms embargo.”

The decision was formally made by Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, with Lammy’s backing.

Lammy’s Labour party instituted a review of the licenses after they returned to power in July, and Lammy visited Israel twice since assuming office.

British officials have not said that Israel is violating humanitarian law, but believe there is a serious risk, according to the two-month assessment.

The suspension could be lifted in the future if the UK assesses that the risk of violations has diminished.

At briefing from negotiators, Biden says Hamas must be held accountable for hostage murders

President Joe Biden walks on the South Lawn of the White House, September 2, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Mark Schiefelbein)

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have just received a briefing from the administration’s hostage negotiators and their national security teams, the White House says.

The meeting was held against the backdrop of Hamas’s killing of six Israeli hostages, including American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose bodies were recovered by the IDF over the weekend.

During the meeting, “Biden expressed his devastation and outrage at the murder and reaffirmed the importance of holding Hamas’s leaders accountable,” according to a White House readout.

This line is notable given that just before entering the meeting, Biden was asked by reporters whether he thinks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been doing enough to secure a deal and he responded, “No.”

As is often the case, reporters did not ask the US president whether he thought Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had been doing enough, so the media narrative focused on Netanyahu.

During the Situation Room meeting, Biden and Harris received an update from the US negotiation team on the status of the bridging proposal outlined by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, after being drafted by the US on August 16, the US readout says.

They “discussed next steps in the ongoing effort to secure the release of hostages, including continuing consultations with co-mediators Qatar and Egypt,” the US readout adds.

Participating in the Situation Room meeting were CIA Director Bill Burns, White House Mideast Czar Brett McGurk, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer, Harris’s National Security Adviser Phil Gordon, and Biden’s chief of staff, Jeff Zients.

Shortly before entering the meeting, Biden told reporters he was “very close” to presenting a final hostage deal proposal by the end the week — what appears would be a take it or leave it offer.

Seven US nationals are still held by Hamas, with three of them having been declared dead.

High school teachers’ strike to continue for a third day on Tuesday

Israeli high school teachers will not come to work on Tuesday, which will mark the third day of a strike that began on the first day of the new school year.

Despite negotiations today, there was “no progress on essential issues or economic issues,” the Secondary Schools Teachers Association says in a statement sent to members.

Another meeting is set for tomorrow morning, the statement says.

The strike, called by association head Ran Erez last week, covers instructors teaching 10-12th grade, but some 9th grade classes are also affected.

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

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

The high-school teachers’ strike is a separate action from the general one-day strike called by the Histadrut today, which closed kindergartens and caused elementary and middle schools to close early in many parts of the country.

Israeli document shows three of the murdered hostages on list of those set for release in 1st phase of deal

Hebrew newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth has published a partial photo of a document that it says shows hostages Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat and Eden Yerushalmi were on a list of “humanitarian hostages” whose release Israel was expecting in the first phase of a potential ceasefire-hostage deal.

The three were among six hostages murdered by their Hamas captors at the end of last week, whose bodies were found by the IDF in a Gaza tunnel on Saturday and brought back to Israel. Yerushalmi was laid to rest yesterday. Gat and Goldberg-Polin are being laid to rest today.

The names of three hostages as they appear on an Israeli document, as published by Yedioth Ahronoth on September 2, 2024. (Used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law.)

The document is seven pages long, in English, was finalized on July 27, and was conveyed to the US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators that night and the next day, says the Yedioth article (Hebrew link). It comprises two pages of text, three pages of maps, and two pages of tables including the names of some of the hostages held in Gaza, separated into categories. The three names in the partial photo are listed under the heading, “Annex 2: List of Humanitarian Hostages.”

The report says the name of another of the recently murdered hostages also appears in that table. (Reports yesterday suggested that the three and Almog Sarusi were set for release in the first phase of a deal.)

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

The Yedioth report says the document sets out what are termed “clarifications” but are in fact changes to the original Israeli hostage-ceasefire proposal from May. These changes, the article says, were demanded by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after it became clear that Hamas had agreed to most of the terms of the May proposal. It quotes unnamed Israeli sources saying that the changes sabotaged the prospects of a deal.

The article is written by Yedioth’s veteran writer Ronen Bergman, who is also an editorial staffer at the New York Times and won a Pulitzer Prize for that paper’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.

IDF: Barrage of 30 rockets fired from Lebanon toward northern towns

A barrage of some 30 rockets was fired from Lebanon at the Western Galilee this afternoon, the IDF says.

There are no injuries in the attack, claimed by Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, the IDF says it struck a building used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon’s Markaba earlier today.

It releases footage of the strike.

מטוסי קרב תקפו מוקדם יותר היום מבנה צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב מרכבא שבדרום לבנון.

בהמשך להתרעות שהופעלו לפני זמן קצר במרחב הגליל המערבי, זוהו כ-30 שיגורים שחצו משטח לבנון, אין נפגעים pic.twitter.com/ENjOwaGi0o

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 2, 2024

Father of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin at funeral: ‘We failed you. We all failed you’

Jonathan Polin (R), father of murdered US-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin whose body was recovered with five other hostages in Gaza, speaks during the funeral in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024 (GIL COHEN-MAGEN / POOL / AFP)

Addressing his son, the father of murdered 23-year-old hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin tells mourners at his Jerusalem funeral that “we failed you.”

“Hersh, we failed you. We all failed you. You would not have failed you,” Jon Polin says. “You would have pushed harder for justice. You would have worked to understand the other, to bridge differences. You would have challenged more people to challenge their own thinking.”

“And what you would have been pushing for now is to ensure that your death, the death of all the soldiers, and so many innocent civilians, are not in vain,” Polin says.

“Your starting point would be returning all of the hostages,” Polin says.

“For 330 days, mom and I sought the proverbial stone that we could turn over to save you. Maybe, just maybe, your death is the stone that will bring home the remaining 101 hostages,” he says.

“You would keep on pushing for a rethinking of this region. You have said we must take a chance on a path with the potential to end the ongoing cycles of violence,” Polin says.

The mourning father says his son would push every decision-maker to ask themselves if all of their decisions lead to a better future, and to step aside if they do not.

He also explained how his son believed in social justice and was now a global symbol of the need for change in the world, “always seeking to understand the other, and always with dignity and respect.”

“For 23 years of life we had with you were a blessing, we now will work to make your legacy a blessing. You were a really great guy, I love you,” Polin concludes.

This undated photo provided by Rachel Goldberg shows her son Hersh Goldberg-Polin. The 23-year-old from Jerusalem was last seen when Hamas terrorists loaded him into the back of a pickup truck with other hostages abducted from a music festival in the western Negev Desert on Oct. 7. (Courtesy of Rachel Goldberg via AP)

Israeli official slams Biden’s claim Netanyahu not doing enough for hostage deal: ‘Dangerous’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a press conference at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. July 13, 2024.(Dudu Bachar/POOL)

A senior official in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office responds to US President Joe Biden’s claim that the premier is not doing enough to secure a hostage deal.

“It is puzzling that President Biden is pressing Prime Minister Netanyahu, who agreed to the US (hostage deal) proposal as early as May 31 and to the US bridging proposal on August 16, and not Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who continues to vehemently refuse any deal,” says the official.

Biden’s admission “is especially dangerous when it is made just days after Hamas executed six Israeli hostages, including an American citizen,” the Israeli official adds, referring to the killing of Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

The May 31 US proposal that Netanyahu’s office refers to in this statement was actually a speech Biden gave that exposed details of what was an Israeli hostage deal that Netanyahu had authorized.

That proposal did not include a demand by Israel to maintain control over the Philadelphi Corridor on the Gaza-Egypt border in order to prevent Hamas from smuggling in arms — a demand that Netanyahu began making in July and that has led to an extended impasse in the negotiations that the US and other mediators have since been working to overcome.

The demand has also put Netanyahu at odds with his own security establishment, which has pushed compromising on the issue, arguing that the IDF can return to the corridor if need be but that dragging out the talks over the demand risks the lives of the hostages.

Amid protests after murder of hostages, Netanyahu to hold press conference

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold a press conference in Jerusalem at 8:15 p.m. local time, his office announces.

The press conference will take place amid public demonstrations against his government for not doing enough to secure a hostage deal in the wake of the murder of six hostages, and after criticism from US President Joe Biden that Netanyahu is not doing enough to finalize the release of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

Finance minister welcomes court decision to end general strike demanding hostage deal

In a video statement, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich welcomes the Labor Court’s decision to end the general strike, stating that he “congratulates the large majority of workers” who went to work and the local government authorities who did not participate in the work stoppage.

Their decision not to take part proved that the days when people would harness “the organized workforce to promote political interests are over, certainly when it is done irresponsibly during a war and when it serves the interests of Hamas and Sinwar.”

He adds, “Israeli society is united, cohesive and determined to defeat Hamas and bring the hostages home. We will continue to develop the economy with great responsibility.”

Rachel Goldberg-Polin at funeral of murdered hostage son Hersh: ‘My sweet boy, finally you’re free’

Rachel Goldberg-Polin speaks at her son's Hersh's funeral in Jerusalem, September 2, 2024. (Screenshot; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The mother of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin tells mourners at his Jerusalem funeral that it was a privilege to have him as a son.

“I have had a lot of time during the past 332 days to think about my sweet boy Hersh, and one thing I keep thinking about is how out of all the mothers in the whole entire world, God chose to give Hersh to me,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin says. “What must I have done in a past life to deserve such a beautiful gift?”

Continues Rachel: “I am honest and I say, it’s not that Hersh was perfect. But he was the perfect son for me. And I am so grateful to God — and I want to thank God right now in front of all of you for giving me this magnificent present of my Hersh. For 23 years, I was privileged to have the most stunning honor — to be Hersh’s momma. I’ll take it and say thank you. I just wish it had been for longer.”

She says the family “became absolutely certain” that Hersh would come back alive. “But it was not to be.”

“Now I no longer have to worry about you; I know you are no longer in danger. You are with beautiful Aner. He will show you around,” she says, referring to her son’s best friend Aner Shapiro, who was killed as he threw grenades out of a bomb shelter to save those inside.

“I pray that your death will be a turning point in this horrible situation in which we are all entangled,” she says, adding she takes comfort that he was with other hostages at the time he was killed.

“When you wrote to us from the bomb shelter, you had just seen Aner get killed. You had lost your arm and you thought you were dying. And you wrote to us, I’m sorry, because you knew how crushing it would be for us to lose you, so you fought to stay alive. And now you’re gone,” she says.

Rachel asks her son to forgive her being unable to save him. “At this time, I ask your forgiveness. If ever I was impatient or insensitive to you during your life, or neglected you in some way, I deeply and sincerely request your forgiveness, Hersh. If there was something we could have done to save you, and we didn’t think of it, I beg your forgiveness. We tried so very hard, so deeply and desperately. I’m sorry,” she says in anguished tones.

“Now, my Hersh, I ask for your help. As we transform our hope into grief, in this new, unknown brand of pain, I beg of you, Hersh, please do what you can do to have your life shine down” on the whole family, she says. “Help shower us with headling and resilience. Help us to rise again.”

She thanks neighbors and her community for the support they have given, saying that her family will now need even more help in the coming period as they deal with their grief.

“Okay, sweet boy, go now on your journey. I hope it’s as good as the trips you dreamed about,” she says toward the end of her address. “Because finally, my sweet boy, finally, finally, finally, finally you’re free. I will love you and I will miss you every single day for the rest of my life,” she says.

“I know you are here,” she says, addressing Hersh and putting her hand to her heart. “I just need to teach myself to feel you in a different way.”

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

Biden: ‘We are very close’ to presenting final offer for ceasefire-hostage deal, but Netanyahu not doing enough

US President Joe Biden speaks to reporters outside of St. Edmond's Roman Catholic Church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, after attending a mass, August 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Asked whether he’s planning to present a final hostage deal proposal by the end of the week, US President Joe Biden tells reporters, “We are very close to that.”

Subsequently pressed by reporters as to whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing enough to secure a deal, Biden responds, “No.”

The Israeli premier has come under fire for prioritizing a new demand to maintain IDF troops in the Philadelphi Corridor during the first six-week phase of the ceasefire deal to prevent weapons smuggling from Egypt into Gaza.

The security establishment has opposed Netanyahu’s stance, arguing that the IDF can return to the corridor if need be, and that the new demand risks blowing up the talks while leaving the hostages to die.

An Israeli official involved in the hostage negotiations lamented to The Times of Israel over the weekend that Netanyahu has over-relied on military pressure, while neglecting the need for parallel diplomatic initiatives, such as the hostage deal, which has cost captives their lives.

Biden is holding a Situation Room meeting later today with his top ceasefire negotiators to discuss next steps following Hamas’s murder of six Israeli hostages, including American national Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose bodies were subsequently recovered by the IDF.

Asked why he thinks this final proposal will be successful when previous offers have failed, Biden responds, “Hope springs eternal.”

“I’ve spoken to the American hostage, I spoke to his mom and dad, and we’re not giving up. We’re going to continue to push as hard as we can,” he says, referring to Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s parents Jon and Rachel.

Watch: Hersh Goldberg-Polin funeral

The funeral of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, attended by large crowds in Jerusalem, is livestreaming here:

At Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s funeral, Herzog apologizes to hostages: ‘We failed to protect you, failed to bring you home safely’

Israeli President Isaac Herzog speaks at Hersh Goldberg-Polin's funeral, September 2, 2024 (Screenshot; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

President Isaac Herzog apologizes to the Israeli hostages whose bodies were recovered over the weekend while delivering a eulogy at Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s funeral in Jerusalem.

“Beloved Hersh, with a torn and broken heart, I stand here today as the president of the State of Israel, bidding you farewell and asking for your forgiveness, from you, and from Carmel, from Eden, from Almog, from Alex, and Ori, and from all your loved ones,” Herzog states.

“I apologize on behalf of the State of Israel, that we failed to protect you in the terrible disaster of October 7, that we failed to bring you home safely,” he says, recalling how on the Jewish fast day of Tisha B’Av he and the Goldberg-Polins “prayed at the President’s Residence for your return, together with all the hostages. And now, our heart, already broken, is shattered into pieces.”

“Now – the State of Israel has an urgent and immediate task,” he continues, asserting that “decision-makers must do everything possible, with determination and courage, to save those who can still be saved” — a mission which he insists “is not a political goal, and it must not become a political dispute.”

Rather, he says, “it is a supreme moral, Jewish, and human duty of the State of Israel to its citizens” and “we did not fulfill this duty. And now – we have a sacred and shared obligation, to stand up and bring them all back to their homeland. For the spirit, resilience, and unity of Israel.”

“Of course, we do not forget for a moment our obligation to hold accountable the despicable murderers who butchered you – Hersh – your friends, our sisters, and our brothers. Here too, the mission is clear and binding: To continue fighting relentlessly against the murderous terrorist organization Hamas, which has once again proven that there is no end to its savagery and the crimes against humanity it is willing to commit.”

Hamas publishes propaganda footage of six murdered hostages

From L-R: Murdered hostages Alex Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, Ori Danino, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Carmel Gat and Eden Yerushalmi, in a Hamas propaganda video released September 2, 2024. (screenshot)

Hamas publishes footage of six murdered hostages whose bodies were recovered by the IDF in the Gaza Strip.

It is unclear when the footage was taken, but Hamas says it is a promo for an extended video to be published soon, featuring hostages Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Alex Lobanov, Carmel Gat, and Almog Sarusi.

Hamas has previously issued similar videos of hostages it is holding, in what Israel says is psychological warfare.

Most Israeli media outlets do not carry the video clips.

PM reportedly brands today’s strike a ‘disgraceful’ show of support for Sinwar; calls staying on Philadelphi Corridor an ‘existential’ need

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a cabinet meeting. (Maayan Toaf / GPO, undated photo)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brands today’s strike by the Histadrut a disgraceful show of support for Hamas and its leader Yahya Sinwar, according to leaked quotes from the weekly cabinet meeting.

The strike is “a disgrace. This is telling Sinwar: You killed six; here we are, supporting you,” Netanyahu tells ministers, in reference to the six hostages murdered by their Hamas captors, the Ynet news site reports.

The strike, which began this morning, was halted by court order at 2:30 pm.

Netanyahu is also quoted telling ministers, “We must remain on the Philadelphi Corridor; it’s essential to Israeli security.” The prime minister’s insistence on not withdrawing from the Gaza-Egypt border corridor in the first, 42-day phase of a hostage-ceasefire deal, in order to prevent Hamas smuggling in arms, is widely reported to be a key obstacle to a deal.

According to Channel 12, Netanyahu calls the Philadelphi Corridor “Hamas’s oxygen supply. I won’t let them rearm and massacre us again. This isn’t merely a diplomatic issue; it’s a strategic, existential issue for the State of Israel.”

“If we withdraw, we won’t [be able to] return there — not for 42 days and not for 42 years,” he reportedly says.

Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated nationwide last night to urge a deal and condemn Netanyahu’s handling of the negotiations, with anger and anguish heightened by Hamas’s killing of the six hostages shortly before the IDF found their bodies. Histadrut chair Arnon Bar-David, addressing protesters in Tel Aviv last night, accused Netanyahu of “abandoning” the hostages.

“We will definitely make Hamas pay for the murder of the hostages,” Netanyahu reportedly told ministers. To date, he reportedly said, the main focus of Israel’s battle with Hamas “has been military. Now, the main focus will be depriving Hamas of its governance capacity.”

“There will be changes in the distribution of food and humanitarian aid,” he reportedly added, apparently indicating a heightened effort to prevent Hamas from commandeering such supplies.

Jerusalem resident says honoring murdered hostage’s Hersh’s funeral procession is ‘best we could do’ for Goldberg-Polin family

Israelis line the streets ahead of the funeral of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, in Jerusalem, September 2, 2024. (Stuart Winer/The Times of Israel)

In a Jerusalem neighborhood along the funeral procession route, hundreds of people line the roads bearing Israeli flags.

Jerusalemite Elisheva, who brought her toddler daughter and a large Israeli flag, chokes back tears as she explains why she came to pay her respects.

“It is the absolute best we could do for the Polin family,” she says.

Elisheva explains the connection she felt to Hersh, having been raised herself in the capital and having “loved going to raves.”

Hersch’s parents, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, she says, had “spoken in so many places of the singularity of their son and the importance of all the hostages.”

After the convoy of vehicles passes, the crowd spontaneously gives a subdued rendition of Hatikva, the Israeli national anthem.

As the crowd disperses a woman can be heard shouting against the government. A man responds, calling to her that it should be decided “in the voting booth.”

Thousands salute funeral procession of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin

Israelis line the streets ahead of the funeral of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, in Jerusalem, September 2, 2024. (Michael Bachner/The Times of Israel)

Thousands line Jerusalem’s streets to pay their last respects to slain hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, in a sea of Israeli flags.

They stand along the route along which the funeral procession and the family are driving from the Baka neighborhood to the Givat Shaul cemetery, where he is scheduled to be interred at 4 p.m.

שרשרת אנושית עם דגלי ישראל מלווה בדרכו האחרונה את הירש גולדברג פולין ז"ל בדרכו האחרונה להר המנוחות בירושלים pic.twitter.com/CxXsC5CqyD

— חזקי ברוך (@HezkeiB) September 2, 2024

Goldknopf reportedly says those who accuse PM of murder should be jailed; Lapid: I won’t be preached to by this government

Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf told ministers that those who call Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a murderer should be sent to jail, singling out Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, according to leaked quotes from today’s cabinet meeting.

“There can be no forgiveness for Lapid who says that Netanyahu is responsible for the murder of the abductees,” Goldknopf said, Hebrew media reports.

In response, Lapid says he won’t accept “moral preaching from Goldknopf nor from any minister of the government of disasters.”

“Hamas murdered the hostages in cold blood after the government abandoned them to die in captivity. Every minister and every MK in the coalition is responsible. This is their legacy,” he says in a statement.

Rocket impacts near northern community, image shows

Smoke rises after a rocket impact near Ein Yaakov, northern Israel, September 2, 2024. (Courtesy)

A rocket fired from Lebanon a short while ago has impacted near Ein Yaakov, according to an image and media reports.

Ben Gvir praises court ruling ending ‘political strike’

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir praises the Labor Court’s decision to end the general strike.

“I am thankful for the decision of the Labor Court to stop the Histadrut’s political strike,” he says in a statement.

Rocket sirens sound in northern communities

Incoming rocket sirens are activated in the northern communities of Shomera, Ein Yaakov, Zarit, and Ga’aton.

Rocket Alert [14:33:55] (4):

• Confrontation Line — Shomera, Ein Yacov, Zarit, Ga'aton
Population: 5,000 pic.twitter.com/1Q7eyJL2kw

— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) September 2, 2024

Histadrut chair accepts court’s ruling that strike must end; hostage families encourage further protests

Histadrut Labor Federation chair Arnon Bar-David says he respects the decision by the Labor Court to end the strike at 2:30 p.m.

“It is important to emphasize that the solidarity strike was a significant measure and I stand behind it. Despite the attempts to paint solidarity as political, hundreds of thousands of citizens voted with their feet,” he says in a statement.

“I thank every one of you — you proved that the fate of the hostages is not right-wing or left-wing, there is only life or death, and we won’t allow life to be abandoned,” he says.

Meanwhile, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum encourages the public to continue the demonstrations despite the ruling.

“This is not about a strike, this is about rescuing the 101 hostages that were abandoned by [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu with the cabinet decision last Thursday,” the forum says, referring to the vote by ministers backing the IDF’s continued presence on the Philadelphi Corridor.

Israeli tennis player wins quarterfinal at Paris Paralympics

Israeli wheelchair tennis player Guy Sasson competes in men's quad singles at the 2024 Paris Paralympics on August 31, 2024. (Keren Isaacson)

Israeli tennis player Guy Sasson beats the UK’s Gregory Slade in the men’s quad singles quarterfinal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, advancing to the semifinal.

If Sasson wins his semifinal match tomorrow, he will be guaranteed either a silver or gold medal in the final match scheduled for Thursday.

Sasson, 44, was injured in a 2015 snowboarding accident that left him in a wheelchair. He won the 2024 French Open in June in Paris, his first major singles title.

Earlier today, Israeli swimmer Veronika Guirenko qualified for tonight’s final in the women’s 50m backstroke in the S3 disability class.

Smotrich backs court ruling against ‘political and illegal strike’

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich praises the Labor Court’s decision to end what he calls a “political and illegal strike.”

Smotrich says in a statement Israelis went to work today “in droves,” proving they are no longer slaves to “political needs.”

“We won’t allow harm to the Israeli economy and thereby serve the interests of [Yahya] Sinwar and Hamas,” Smotrich says.

Labor court says general strike must end by 2:30 p.m.

Protesters demanding a hostage deal block the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv, September 2, 2024. (Rony Shapiro/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

The Bat Yam Labor Court rules that the general strike must cease by 2:30 p.m., three and a half hours earlier than the Histadrut Labor Federation planned to end it.

High Court throws out petition by bereaved families against strike

The High Court of Justice rejects a petition by the right-wing Gvura Forum of bereaved families against the ongoing strike declared by the Histadrut Labor Federation.

Justices reason there is no need to accept the petition since the Bat Yam Labor Court is already holding a hearing on the legality of the strike.

Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram takes charge of IDF’s Gaza Division

Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram takes the reins of the IDF's Gaza Division, replacing Brig. Gen. Avi Rosenfeld, at a handover ceremony in the Gaza Strip, September 2, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram takes the reins of the IDF’s Gaza Division, replacing Brig. Gen. Avi Rosenfeld, who is quitting the military over his role in the failures that led to Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.

A handover ceremony took place this morning inside the Gaza Strip.

Hiram, the former commander of the 99th Division, was tapped to serve as the next Gaza Division head before the war.

The move was put on hold amid the fighting in Gaza, and Hiram’s involvement in the battle at Kibbutz Be’eri amid the October 7 onslaught.

An IDF tactical investigation into the battle at Be’eri has since cleared Hiram of any wrongdoing.

Dozens of protesters block Ayalon Highway, calling for hostage deal

Dozens of protesters demanding an immediate hostage deal are blocking northbound lanes of Tel Aviv’s Ayalon Highway.

Protesters on a bus from the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council join their chants in favor of a deal.

מפגינים חוסמים את איילון צפון @AnnaPines_ pic.twitter.com/VmqQFiuQOL

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) September 2, 2024

Hostage activist vows to keep fighting for deal after cousin murdered in captivity

Gil Dickmann, cousin of murdered hostage Carmel Gat, on September 1, 2024 (Instagram screenshot: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Murdered hostage Carmel Gat’s cousin, Gil Dickmann, a leading voice among the hostage families fighting for a hostage deal, says Monday in a Hostages Forum press conference ahead of his cousin’s funeral at Kibbutz Be’eri that he is still getting used to the fact that he’s no longer a hostage family member, but will continue fighting for the remaining 101 hostages.

“This is still my fight because it’s the fight of all Israelis,” says Dickmann. “It’s the price we will pay as Israelis if we don’t get them home.”

Gat, 40, was one of six hostages executed by Hamas at the end of last week, after nearly 11 months in captivity in Gaza. The bodies of the six hostages were recovered by the IDF and brought home to be buried in Israel.

“It’s the most tragic nightmare that we could have dreamed of,” says Dickmann. “We were anxiously awaiting the deal that could bring Carmel back.”

Gat was taken captive on October 7 by Hamas terrorists from her parents’ home in Kibbutz Be’eri. Her brother, sister-in-law, and 3-and-a-half-year-old niece were also captured, although her brother and niece managed to escape their captors. Gat’s sister-in-law, Yarden Roman-Gat, was released after 54 days of captivity. The family believed Carmel Gat would be released on the eighth day of the November ceasefire, but the deal collapsed as Israel and Hamas returned to fighting.

The Gat family had information throughout that Carmel was alive, receiving signs of life a few weeks before she was executed by Hamas captors, says Dickmann.

“We’ve been trying our best to tell everyone all over the world that the lives of the hostages are in great danger because they’re in the hands of a terror organization,” says Dickmann. “Sometimes people imagine that Hamas is a regular state, a regular organization.”

Dickmann says he wants to believe that his country and government believe in saving lives, although it’s become clear to him over the course of the last nearly 11 months that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu isn’t touched by any of the hostages and thinks only in terms of politics.

“Most ministers don’t understand that they voted for the execution of the hostages,” says Dickmann, referring to the recent cabinet decision to continue insisting on keeping control of the Philadelphi Corridor in Gaza, a sticking point in hostage deal negotiations. “People are not something you can just spare or trade for other goals and reasons,” he says. “It’s horrible we had to pay the price with Carmel’s life, but I really hope that this is a turning point that the Israeli public can’t have this anymore and that the Israeli government will understand that they have to sign this deal immediately.”

Dickmann says the latest rounds of protests throughout the country on Sunday night and Monday, along with the general strike, show, he says, that most Israelis want a hostage deal.

“I guess we had to lose our most precious things for it to become time for [a general strike],” he says. “There are mixed feelings — everyone is finally coming out [to protest], but it’s too late for Carmel and all the hostages we didn’t save. If we don’t do it ourselves, no one is going to do it for us.”

Some 1,000 protesters block Tel Aviv’s Begin Street demanding immediate hostage deal

Protesters rally in favor of a hostage deal in Begin Street in Tel Aviv, September 2, 2024. (Sue Surkes/The Times of Israel)

Around 1,000 protesters sing, shout, and block traffic on Begin Street in Tel Aviv calling for the immediate release of all remaining hostages in Gaza.

To the deafening beat of drums, they vow not to abandon those still held by the Iran-backed terror group.

Posters depict the six hostages whose bodies were retrieved Saturday by the IDF, as well as those still in captivity in the coastal enclave.

Posters call for “Values before everything” and charge that the government of Israel is acting against the nation.

Ben Gvir says he is using influence to prevent ‘reckless deal’ with Hamas

Addressing members of the right-wing Gvura Forum (Heroism Forum) of bereaved families protest in Jerusalem, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir declares that “we are using our power in the government to prevent a reckless deal.” He adds, “With Hamas you need to speak only between gunsights.”

Members of the forum this morning temporarily blocked the entrance of the Prime Minister’s Office as part of a counter-protest against today’s national strike called by the Histadrut Labor Federation over the government’s failure to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza.

Some 100 protesters rally in solidarity with hostage families at northern junction

Protesters demonstrate in favor of a hostage deal with Hamas at Beit Haemek Junction on Route 70, northern Israel, September 2, 2024. (Diana Bletter/The Times of Israel)

About 100 protesters holding posters of hostages and Israeli flags stand at Beit Ha’emek Junction on Route 70 in northern Israel.

Passing cars and trucks honk in solidarity.

Anat Elbaz, a human resource manager at Sartorius Company in Beit Ha’emek, organized the one-hour demonstration.

“We are protesting in solidarity with the families of hostages,” Elbaz says. “All Israeli citizens are to be valued and we don’t want the government to abandon its citizens.”

“It’s important that the hostages come home already,” says Maysam Sharaf, a biotechnology engineer at the company from the Druze town of Hurfeish, where a soldier was killed and 10 people were wounded in a Hezbollah-claimed attack with explosive-laden drones in June.

She says she hopes for an end to the war.

“There are sirens every night and we hear the booms,” she says. “The conditions are terrible.”

Another company employee, Osnat Kalati, says that some people “argue for total victory,” and prefer not to have a ceasefire now.

“But if there is no ceasefire, it is obvious that no hostages will be released,” she says.

Histadrut chair tells Labor Court general strike to end at 6 p.m. — report

Histadrut Labor Federation chairman Arnon Bar-David tells the Labor Court in Bat Yam that the general strike will end this evening at 6 p.m., Hebrew media reports.

The strike was originally set to end at 6 a.m. tomorrow.

7 flights said to be allowed to take off from airport, but rest of services remain halted

Passengers at Ben Gurion Airport, where flights are delayed during a nationwide strike demanding the government reach a hostage release deal, September 2, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Exceptions are made for seven flights to destinations in the United States and they are allowed to take off from Ben Gurion Airport, the Ynet news site reports.

However, other scheduled flights remain grounded, baggage carousels are halted, and long queues don’t appear to be moving at the airport, as the strike continues past 10 a.m. when services were originally planned to restart.

Hamas claims responsibility for Friday’s dual car bombing in West Bank

The Hamas terror group claims responsibility for Friday night’s dual car bombing attack in the Gush Etzion area of the West Bank.

Hamas says the two killed terrorists were members of the group.

In a statement, Hamas’s military wing takes “full responsibility” for the attack, during which a car bomb was detonated at a gas station, and a second car exploded in the settlement of Karmei Tzur.

Three soldiers and a local security officer were inadvertently lightly hurt amid the incidents.

‘A prize for Hamas’: Bereaved families protest against general strike at PM’s office

Members of the right-wing Gvura Forum (Heroism Forum) of bereaved families protest in front of the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, temporarily blocking the entrance in a counterprotest against a national strike called by the Histadrut Labor Federation over the government’s failure to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza.

“Shutting down the economy is a prize for Hamas,” the marchers, holding posters bearing photos of the fallen, chant as guards close the gates to the government compound.

“This is encouraging terror,” one protester announces over a megaphone, declaring “that all of us need to be together… against terror and not against the government” and that the government requires support for the use of military pressure until victory is achieved.

The Gvura Forum, which has pushed for increased military pressure on Hamas, is composed of some of the relatives of people who died in the October 7 Hamas onslaught.

המשפחות השכולות מצליחות להיכנס ולחסום את כניסת הרכבים של משרד ראש הממשלה. לאחר 20 דק בתאום עם המשטרה הם זזים מהמקום pic.twitter.com/jXyHfQSy9W

— חזקי ברוך (@HezkeiB) September 2, 2024

Far-right minister calls on Levin to change law to allow public to sue Histadrut over ‘illegal strike’

Far-right lawmaker Yitzhak Wasserlauf calls on Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee chairman MK Simcha Rothman to amend the 2006 Israeli Class Action Law to allow the public to sue the Histadrut Labor Federation for damages relating to today’s nationwide work stoppage, which he calls an “illegal strike.”

In a letter to his coalition colleagues, Wasserlauf, who serves as Negev, Galilee and national resilience minister, states that the labor union “plans to shut down the economy, including Ben Gurion Airport and the education system” and that this constitutes a “criminal political strike that is against the law, intended to prevent broad security measures promoted by the government and the coalition.”

He argues that “there is no right to strike when it is purely about national security policy, without any relation to the employment conditions of the Histadrut employees” and that “along with the expectation that the government will act to prevent the illegal strike and withhold wages from its participants, the public must be allowed to be compensated for [the strike’s] many damages.”

Wasserlauf’s comments come after the state prosecutor petitioned the Labor Court to rule against the strike declared by Histadrut Labor Federation chairman Arnon Bar-David, who aims to pressure the government into accepting a hostage deal.

The petition, which was submitted after a request by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, calls on the court to decide that the “strike announced by the Histadrut chairman, regarding all employees of the state, is not a strike for a collective labor dispute, and is, therefore, a political strike.”

Arguing against the strike, Smotrich on Sunday stated that rather than lending a hand to the Israeli economy during wartime, Bar-David was “actually fulfilling [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar’s dream, and instead of representing Israeli workers, he chooses to represent the interests of Hamas.”

IDF drone crashes in south; no injuries caused

An Israeli military unmanned aerial vehicle crashed in the Eshkol Regional Council in southern Israel a short while ago, the IDF says.

There are no injuries in the incident.

The UAV is a Skylark model, according to a military source.

An Israeli military unmanned aerial vehicle crashed in the Eshkol Regional Council in southern Israel a short while ago.

There are no injuries in the incident.

The UAV is a Skylark model. pic.twitter.com/22S2PKqpZQ

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) September 2, 2024

Over 1,000 at protest in north Tel Aviv, as names of 101 hostages read out to crowd

Protesters demanding a hostage deal block the Namir Highway in Tel Aviv, September 2, 2024. (Naomi Lanzkron/The Times of Israel)

Protesters continue to arrive at the north Tel Aviv protest calling for a hostage deal, as the crowd swells to over 1,000 people, and the northern entrance to the city remains blocked an hour after the demonstration began.

Using a megaphone, a woman shouts the names of all 101 hostages held by terrorists in Gaza and the crowd responds “now!” to each one.

Many sit or lie on the road at the Namir/Rokach interchange, bringing traffic to a standstill in all directions with the exception of ambulances and the vehicles of those with medical needs.

Protesters then leave the junction and march down Namir Road to join the main demonstration on Begin Street.

Ultra-Orthodox protesters rally against military draft at IDF recruitment office

Dozens of extremist ultra-Orthodox protesters demonstrate against their recruitment to the military outside the IDF’s draft office at Tel Hashomer where Haredi recruits and inductees are expected to arrive later today.

עשרות מפגינים נגד גיוס חרדים מחוץ לבסיס תל השומר pic.twitter.com/5J46i7lx01

— זירת החדשות (@ZiratNews) September 2, 2024

Over 100 protesting at Karkur Junction; police question suspect at Zichron Yaakov Junction

Protesters demanding a hostage deal block the Karkur Junction in northern Israel, September 2, 2024. (Gavriel Fiske/The Times of Israel)

The protesters at Karkur Junction in northern Israel now number over a hundred, with more arriving regularly.

Accompanied by several drummers, during green lights the activists move into the crosswalks, chanting slogans and waving flags, before moving back.

A half dozen police officers are present at the scene. Passing cars and trucks keep up a constant din of horns.

Meanwhile, police say they are questioning a suspect at Zichron Yaakov Junction who placed tires on the road and was found to be in possession of a flammable substance.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Israeli jets strike Hezbollah sites in 5 parts of southern Lebanon

Israeli fighter jets struck buildings used by Hezbollah in five areas of southern Lebanon overnight, the IDF says.

The strikes were carried out in Yaroun, Ayta ash-Shab, Hanine, Tayr Harfa, and Blida, 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 יארון, עייתא א-שעב, חנין, טיר חרפא ובליידא שבדרום לבנון pic.twitter.com/QpSVQxpiov

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 2, 2024

Hundreds block Tel Aviv’s Namir Road demanding hostage deal

Protesters demanding a hostage deal block the Namir Highway in Tel Aviv, September 2, 2024. (Naomi Lanzkron/The Times of Israel)

Hundreds of protesters demanding a deal to free hostages held by Hamas block Namir Road in Tel Aviv, snarling traffic in the north of the coastal city.

Groups have marched from various neighborhoods to converge on the key interchange with Rokach Boulevard.

Protesters chant, “Why are they still in Gaza?” referring to the hostages, as motorists honk their approval.

Dozens protest against ‘government of death’ at Karkur Junction

Several dozen protesters waving Israeli and yellow hostage solidarity flags are gathered at Karkur Junction in northern Israel.

Several are carrying printed signs saying “Against the government of death.”

Last night activists shut down traffic on Route 65 at the junction, the site of weekly rallies during the 2023 anti-government protests.

Karhi says Starlink systems have arrived in Israel for use in north

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi announces on X that dozens of Starlink satellite communications systems have arrived in Israel and will be installed in local government offices, hospitals, and emergency centers in the north over the coming days.

“And this is just the beginning,” he says.

Report says Ben Gurion Airport strike may continue past 10 a.m.; unions considering continuing stoppages tomorrow

The strike at Ben Gurion Airport may be extended past 10 a.m. despite intense pressure from the government to resume operations, unnamed airport officials tell Channel 12 news.

Currently, flights are not departing the airport, and checked baggage is not being put on planes.

An official in the Histadrut Labor Federation tells Channel 12 that the organization is considering extending the general strike to tomorrow.

מסועי כבודה נעצרו, אין המראות | גורם בהסתדרות: "שוקלים להמשיך את השביתה גם מחר".@Dean_Fisher_ pic.twitter.com/u2QVIDwSgU

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) September 2, 2024

Vehicle primed to explode outside West Bank settlement neutralized

Security officials approach a suspicious vehicle outside the West Bank settlement of Ateret on September 2, 2024. (Israel Police)

A vehicle rigged with explosives was neutralized outside the West Bank settlement of Ateret early this morning, the Binyamin Regional Council says in a statement.

The council says the vehicle was found connected to two gas cylinders and an activation mechanism. Security forces arrived on the scene and deactivated the explosive at around 4:30 a.m.

Council head Israel Gantz says that a “great miracle” occurred in Binyamin as a potentially deadly terror attack was prevented.

“The terrorism in Judea and Samaria requires military action just like in Gaza and Rafah,” he says, using the biblical name for the West Bank. “The [Palestinian] population must be moved and the neighborhoods and terrorist infrastructure must be razed to the ground.”

Activists block roads around country as general strike gets underway

Protestors block Ibn Gvirol Street in Tel Aviv demanding the government reach a deal to free the hostages, September 2, 2024. (Ofri Eitan/Pro-Democracy Protest Movement)

Dozens of protesters block Ibn Gvirol Street in Tel Aviv, demanding the government reach a deal to release the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Protesters also gather at Shilat Junction near Modiin and block a road in the northern city of Rosh Pina.

The demonstrations kick off today’s general strike, announced yesterday by the Histadrut Labor Federation, to pressure the government to do more to reach a deal with the Hamas terror group after the bodies of six murdered hostages were recovered from a tunnel in Rafah.

State petitions Labor Court against ‘political strike’ launched by unions chief

Histadrut Labor Federation chief Arnon Bar-David attends a rally calling for the release of Israelis held kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in Gaza outside the Defense Ministry Headquarters in Tel Aviv, September 1, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

The State Prosecutor petitions the Labor Court to rule against the strike declared by Histadrut Labor Federation chairman Arnon Bar-David, who aims to pressure the government into accepting a hostage deal.

The petition requests the court decide that the “strike announced by the Histadrut chairman, regarding all employees of the state, is not a strike for a collective labor dispute, and is, therefore, a political strike.”

Senior Hamas official says Netanyahu’s harsh demands for deal lead to hostage deaths

Senior Hamas politburo official Khalil al-Hayya sits in front of a backdrop showing the Old City of Jerusalem during an interview with The Associated Press, in Istanbul, Turkey, April 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s harsh demands for a ceasefire-hostage deal are the reason for the deaths of hostages held by the terror group in Gaza.

“Netanyahu’s response to our acceptance of the document presented by [US President Joe] Biden was evasive, followed by the imposition of several new conditions. Netanyahu insisted on staying in Philadelphi and Netzarim [corridors] and refused to release our elderly prisoners serving life sentences,” al-Hayya tells Al Jazeera.

“We are not interested in negotiating Netanyahu’s new conditions. The movement decides not to compromise on the July 2 proposal,” he adds.

Merchant ship hit by projectiles off coast of Yemen, British maritime agency says

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) says in an advisory note that a merchant vessel has been hit by two unknown projectiles 70 nautical miles northwest of Yemen’s Saleef.

The agency says damage control is underway and that a third explosion occurred in close proximity to the vessel, but that there are no casualties on board.

Israel’s UN envoy demands Security Council convene to discuss hostages

After the bodies of six murdered hostages were recovered by the IDF, UN Ambassador Danny Danon demands that the United Nations Security Council call an urgent meeting to condemn Hamas and “to address the dire situation of the 101 hostages still held in captivity in Gaza.”

In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Slovenian diplomat Samuel Zgobar, current Security Council president, Danon laments the fact that “the Council has yet to condemn Hamas nor act decisively for the hostages.”

Danon points out that Israel has accepted proposals for a hostage release deal, while Hamas continues to refuse US-backed formulas.

2,000 gather at vigil for slain hostages in New York

Supporters of hostage families gather for a vigil after the bodies of six murdered hostages were found by the IDF in Gaza, at Columbus Circle, New York, September 1, 2024. (Jackie Hajdenberg via JTA)

New York Jewish Week — Two thousand people gather at Columbus Circle on a hot and humid night for a vigil mourning the six hostages whose bodies were found in Gaza, an impromptu gathering of song, prayer, and tears about 24 hours after the news of the captives’ death sent Israel and the Jewish world reeling.

Like many Israel-focused demonstrations in New York City over the past two years, this one was held in parallel with mass demonstrations in Tel Aviv and throughout Israel. The focus of those Israeli demonstrations — indignation toward Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to free the hostages — is also present at the midtown gathering.

But those feelings are mixed with more subdued and soulful moments focusing on lamenting the lives lost — including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, the American-Israeli who, via his parents’ activism, has become a global symbol of the more than 100 hostages still in Gaza. Attendees say the losses of people they didn’t know thousands of miles away still hit them hard.

“I haven’t met any of these people, but they feel so close,” says Sharon Litwinoff, an Upper West Sider who attended the rally. “It felt like it was always devastating to hear about all of the deaths and everything, but this one felt even more personal.”

The crowd waves American and Israeli flags, some of them also featuring the yellow ribbon that symbolizes advocacy for the hostages. Some wear other symbols of the fight for the hostages, such as dog tags or shirts reading “Bring them home now.”

Activists for hostages set to protest at intersections around country at 7 a.m.

Alongside the general strike declared today, activists on behalf of the hostages intend to hold a series of protests nationwide that include the blocking of roads.

According to a statement by the Hostages Families Forum Headquarters, these places will feature protests at 7 a.m.:

Ra’anana Junction
Masmiya Junction
Tel Aviv — Kaplan-Begin Intersection
Haifa — Ziv Center (Neve Sha’anan)
Elyakim Junction
Plugot Junction
Highway 1 at Latrun
Rosh Pina
Main Karmiel Junction
Yissachar Junction
Sha’arei Hadera Junction
Yakum Bridge
Rehovot Weizmann Institute
Modiin Shilat Junction
Entrance to Eshkol Regional Council

More demonstrations will be held later, with the Forum saying it will publish details later this morning.

A guide to today’s general strike: What exactly does it include?

Histadrut Labor Federation chief Arnon Bar-David announces a general strike over the government's failure to release hostages held in Gaza, September 1, 2024. (Histadrut)

A one-day labor strike has entered effect, after the Histadrut labor union declared it yesterday over the government’s failure to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza. It is yet unclear whether it will continue beyond today.

Here is an incomplete list of which services will or will not be provided today, based on Hebrew media. There is a full list (Hebrew link) that has been announced by the Histadrut.

Kindergartens will not open in localities that have joined the strike, and elementary and middle schools there will operate until 11:45 a.m. (high schools are striking nationwide over an unrelated salary dispute). Nurseries for ages 0-3 will operate normally, as will schools and institutions for special education, for people with disabilities and Welfare Ministry boarding schools.

The major bus companies Egged, Dan and Metropolin are striking, as are the Tel Aviv light rail and Haifa’s Carmelit. The Israel Railways is operating normally, and the Jerusalem light rail will strike until 12 p.m.

Ben Gurion airport will strike between 8 and 10 a.m., but this will not affect incoming flights.

The Federation of Local Authorities in Israel is striking, and the Histadrut has called a strike in the Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa municipalities. However, the Jerusalem Municipality has announced it won’t cooperate with the strike.

According to Hebrew media, other local authorities not taking part include Ashdod, Bnei Brak, Ramle, Dimona, Holon, Petah Tikva, Kiryat Gat, Arad, Beit Shemesh, Katzrin, most Krayot cities, the Merom HaGalil Regional Council, and all West Bank municipalities and councils.

The following municipalities have said they won’t provide services: Tel Aviv, Givatayim, Herzliya, Raanana, Kfar Saba, Hod Hasharon, the Gezer Regional Council and the Azur Local Council.

And some municipalities are holding a solidarity strike of several hours, including in Netanya, Yeruham, Safed, Nahariya, Sderot, Kiryat Ata and the Hevel Modi’in Regional Council.

Food stores and supermarkets will largely be open, although BIG shopping centers are striking and the Azrieli malls are enabling each shop owner to make their own decision.

Hospitals are working at weekend capacity, and health clinics are operating in an emergency framework. Magen David Adom services are operating normally, but the Clalit and Meuhedet health funds are striking.

Government ministries, authorities and units are striking, though some have resisted and said they will work normally. All the major banks are striking as well.

The Israel Electric Company and the Mekorot water company are working at weekend capacity, while fire and rescue services are working normally.

The Israel Business Forum, which represents most workers in the private sector in Israel from 200 of the country’s largest companies, as well as hundreds of tech companies, manufacturers and law offices, are striking.

Netanyahu said to call for powerful, swift response to Hamas’s execution of 6 hostages

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly said during yesterday’s security cabinet meeting that the government should prepare recommendations within 24-48 hours for a strong reaction to Hamas’s execution of six hostages whose bodies were found days later in Gaza.

“We must say clearly that we will respond to this with immense power,” the premier told ministers, according to the Israel Hayom daily.

“The first thing that must be done is to bring, within 24-48 hours, recommendations for exacting a heavy, sharp and very quick price from Hamas. If we don’t do this, we will see more such murders,” he says.

The outlet also quotes the premier as saying a hostage deal with Hamas is still possible, adding that Israel is willing to compromise in some areas, but not on Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor.

Biden, Harris to huddle with negotiators and discuss efforts for hostage deal

US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will hold a meeting Monday in the Situation Room with the administration’s top hostage negotiators against the backdrop of Hamas’s murder of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose body was recovered by the IDF over the weekend, along with those of five other captives, the White House says.

Participants in the Situation Room meeting will “discuss efforts to drive towards a deal that secures the release of the remaining hostages,” the White House says.

Harris running mate Walz sends condolences to Goldberg-Polins, slams Hamas’s ‘continued atrocities’

Democratic US vice presidential nominee Tim Walz addresses an audience at the International Association of Fire Fighters convention, August 28, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Democratic US vice presidential nominee Tim Walz weighs into the IDF’s recovery of six hostages slain by Hamas, including American Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

“The anguish of losing a child is something no family should have to endure. Gwen and I send our deepest condolences to the Goldberg-Polin family, after Hamas’ murder of their son Hersh,” Walz tweets.

“Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization — and we condemn their continued atrocities against both Americans and Israelis in the strongest possible terms,” he adds.

Hamas leaders must be held accountable for ‘vicious’ execution of hostages, Austin tells Gallant

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)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke on the phone earlier today.

The pair discussed Israel’s recovery of the remains of six hostages in Gaza murdered by Hamas, including 23-year-old American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

Austin “passed along his deepest condolences to the families of all of the slain hostages and he expressed outrage at their vicious, illegal, and immoral execution at the hands of Hamas,” the US readout says.

Austin “affirmed that Hamas leaders must be held accountable for their crimes, and the pair reaffirmed their mutual commitment to swiftly reaching a ceasefire deal to secure the release of all of the hostages,” the Pentagon says.

“Austin also conveyed his condolences for three Israeli police officers killed in an apparent terrorist attack in the West Bank this morning and expressed his concern over rising tensions and increased terrorist activity there this week,” the US readout adds.

Next few days critical in push to free remaining hostages, Biden aide tells families of US captives

The families of the seven remaining American Gaza hostages held a virtual meeting earlier today with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk.

“Sullivan told the families that the next few days will be critical in the push to free the remaining 101 hostages,” the American hostage families say in a joint statement.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is heartbroken by this senseless and cruel act by Hamas, he said. Mr. Sullivan also echoed what President Biden said in his statement, that the administration will work around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages,” the statement continues.

The families told the top Biden aides “that all parties must unite on the demand that Prime Minister Netanyahu close the deal with Hamas and bring the hostages home.”

The call is held against the backdrop of the IDF’s recovery of the bodies of slain American hostage Hersh-Goldberg-Polin and five other captives.

Sullivan agreed to hold a follow-up meeting with the American families later this week.

Report: US to present final ‘take it or leave it’ deal offer, says hostages’ execution casts doubt on Hamas’s seriousness

The United States has been working with Egypt and Qatar to put together one final outline for a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and the Hamas terror group, the Washington Post reports, citing an unnamed senior official in US President Joe Biden’s administration.

The “take it or leave it” offer was in the works before Israel discovered the bodies of six young hostages over the weekend, and if rejected may spell the end of American mediation efforts, the report says.

“You can’t keep negotiating this. This process has to be called at some point,” the official is quoted as saying.

Referring to the discovery of the hostages’ bodies, the official adds: “Does it derail the deal? No. If anything, it should add additional urgency in this closing phase, which we were already in.” However, the official acknowledges that the list of hostages to be released and the Palestinian security prisoners to be freed in exchange now have to be painstakingly renegotiated.

The official says the US agrees with Israel’s findings that the hostages were executed by Hamas shortly before the bodies’ discovery. They say this “calls into question” the terror group’s seriousness in the negotiations.

“US officials are going to be burning up the phones over the next 48 hours to see if a deal can still be reached,” a second unnamed senior US official is quoted as saying.

Netanyahu said ‘worried’ about protests as firm estimates 280,000 rallied in Tel Aviv

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

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “worried” about the mass anti-government protests sweeping the country, CNN cites an unnamed Israeli official as saying.

Although there are no official numbers from police, the Crowd Solutions firm estimates that some 280,000 people participated in this evening’s demonstration in central Tel Aviv, in what would be the largest rally in almost 18 months.

Organizers have estimated that 300,000 people gathered in Tel Aviv and an additional 200,000 took part in other protests across the country.