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The Times of Israel liveblogged Friday’s events as they unfolded.
Chances of war resuming in Lebanon are 50%, some defense officials said to estimate
Some in Israel’s security establishment are estimating the chances of a resumption of the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon at 50%, according to the Ynet news site.
The report says this is one of the reasons the government is yet to call on the tens of thousands of displaced residents of the north to return to their homes.
“The more the rules and their enforcement are clear from the get-go, the better they will hold up later,” the outlet quotes an unnamed IDF officer as saying.
Report: If policy to end administrative detention for settlers is implemented, prosecutors won’t defend it
State Attorney Amit Aisman speaks during a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, July 21, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
If a newly announced policy to only use administrative detention against Palestinians is implemented, the State Attorney’s Office will reportedly no longer be able to defend the use of the controversial legal tool that enables the detention of individuals without charge for up to six months at a time.
New Defense Minister Israel Katz announced last week that he was ending such orders against West Bank settlers.
While the practice is primarily deployed against Palestinians, it is also used against some extremist Jewish Israelis, which has drawn increasing criticism of the ruling Likud party by far-right coalition members. The detentions can be renewed indefinitely while allowing military prosecutors to keep suspects from being able to see the evidence against them.
At a recent meeting hosted by State Attorney Amit Aisman, it was decided that it is currently possible to defend the existing administrative detention orders against Palestinians, including some Israeli Arab citizens, since it can be argued that the new policy is merely a political statement that hasn’t had any effect in the field, the i24News outlet reports.
According to the unsourced report, “the understanding” within Aisman’s office is that if Katz’s declaration is implemented, it would be impossible to legally defend orders that by definition are only issued against certain groups of the population.
Aisman declines to respond to the report.
Report: PM tried to move his testimony in graft trial to a location that isn’t a court
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aides have unsuccessfully tried to move the premier’s testimony in his corruption trial to a place that isn’t a court, Channel 13 news reports.
The outlet quotes an unnamed source familiar with the details as asserting that Netanyahu is trying to avoid being photographed taking the stand.
The report says the testimony will likely take place at the Tel Aviv District Court.
The trial is being overseen by the Jerusalem District Court, which doesn’t have a safe room, complicating security arrangements for the testimony, which will start December 10 and is expected to last several weeks.
Haredi draft exemption bill expected to cancel already-sent enlistment orders — report
The bill being formulated by the coalition to regulate ultra-Orthodox enlistment to the army — while exempting most in the community — is expected to be retroactive and thus cancel thousands of draft orders that have been sent out in recent months, Channel 13 news reports.
Negotiations for the new bill have been held in recent months after the High Court of Justice ruled that the blanket exemption for most Haredim is unconstitutional and ordered the end of government subsidies for ultra-Orthodox daycares for families where a parent is meant to enlist.
Most ultra-Orthodox view enlistment in the IDF as going against their lifestyle, fearing young adults will be secularized as a result. The mostly impoverished society largely relies on government subsidies for daycares and yeshivas.
Channel 13 reports that Defense Minister Israel Katz has met and reached initial understandings with Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, the head of the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, who has insisted on advancing a law that causes thousands of Haredim to enlist, complicating relations with ultra-Orthodox coalition parties.
According to the reported understandings, the bill will set recruitment goals for the army rather than quotas, meaning the army will be responsible for meeting the goals rather than the draftees. These goals will rise every year until they reach half of the Haredi men eligible for enlistment.
The news network adds that there are still disagreements. While Katz wants to stick to the 3,000 draftees that the military has said it can absorb in the first and second years, Edelstein demands a higher number to meet the IDF’s needs. Another reported disagreement relates to the severity of the sanctions imposed on yeshivas where students’ enlistment rates don’t meet the goal.
Over 12,500 targets hit, some 25,000 weapons seized: IDF publishes data of conflict with Hezbollah
Smoke billows above Beirut's southern suburbs following Israeli airstrikes on November 26, 2024. (Fadel Itani/AFP)
The IDF published a summary of its activities against Hezbollah in the past 14 months, as a ceasefire between Israel and the terror group appears to hold.
Over 12,500 Hezbollah targets were struck, including 1,600 command centers and 1,000 weapons depots, according to the military.
During the ground offensive, 14 IDF brigade-level task forces participated, and separately, over 100 special operations were carried out.
The IDF says it has confirmed with high confidence the deaths of 2,500 Hezbollah operatives, though it estimates that number to be around 3,500.
Among the dead are Hezbollah’s former longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and 13 members of the terror group’s top leadership.
Also among the dead are four Hezbollah commanders at the division level, 24 brigade-level commanders, 27 battalion-level commanders, 63 company-level commanders, and 22 platoon-level commanders.
The IDF says it has captured some 12,000 explosive devices and drones; 13,000 rockets, launchers, and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missile systems; and 121,000 pieces of communications equipment and computers.
IDF prohibits residents of several southern Lebanon villages from returning home until further notice
Lebanese residents are prohibited from moving south to a line of villages and their surroundings until further notice, the IDF says.
In a post on X, IDF Arabic-language spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee warns that “anyone who moves south of this line puts themselves in danger.”
“The IDF does not intend to target you, and therefore you are prohibited at this stage from returning to your homes until further notice,” he adds.
⭕️حتى إشعار آخر يحظر عليكم الانتقال جنوبًا إلى خط القرى التالية ومحيطها: شبعا، الهبارية، مرجعيون، أرنون، يحمر، القنطرة، شقرا، برعشيت، ياطر، المنصوري
⭕️جيش الدفاع لا ينوي استهدافكم ولذلك يحظر عليكم في هذه المرحلة العودة إلى بيوتكم من هذا الخط جنوبًا… pic.twitter.com/84UdCZDRxs
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 29, 2024
Both the IDF and the Lebanese army have warned residents of the country’s south to delay returning home in the wake of the ceasefire that came into effect early Wednesday morning, urging them to wait until Israeli troops withdraw over the coming weeks.
Poll: Likud sees slight drop in support following Hezbollah ceasefire
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in a video statement about the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal, November 26, 2024. (Screenshot/GPO)
The standing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party dropped slightly in the wake of the ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, a new poll published by Maariv finds.
According to the poll, if elections were held today, Likud would receive 24 seats, down from 25 in the previous poll two weeks ago, while the Religious Zionism party, led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, would pass the electoral threshold and win four seats, up from 0.
Despite Likud’s slight drop, the parties currently making up the coalition would receive 51 mandates out of the Knesset’s 120, up from 48 two weeks prior due to the inclusion of Religious Zionism.
Among opposition parties, Benny Gantz’s National Unity would receive 19 seats and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid would win 15, both unchanged from the previous poll. Meanwhile, Yair Golan’s Democrats — a Labor, Meretz union — would win 11 mandates, down from 12.
Without the inclusion of Arab-majority parties Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am — which would receive 5 seats each — the opposition parties would receive 59 mandates, falling short of the 60-mandate majority.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s New Hope would fall below the electoral threshold, as would leftist Arab party Balad.
The poll finds, however, that should former prime minister Naftali Bennett return to politics, a theoretical party led by him would receive 24 mandates, making it the largest party in government, with Likud trailing behind at 21 seats.
In this scenario, the coalition parties would win 44 mandates, and the opposition would win 66 with Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am receiving five mandates each.
Report: IAEA says Iran planning to install 6,000 new centrifuges to enrich uranium
The UN nuclear agency has confirmed that Iran plans to install around 6,000 new centrifuges to enrich uranium, according to a report seen by AFP.
“Iran informed the Agency that it intended to feed” around 6,000 centrifuges at its sites in Fordo and Natanz to enrich uranium to up to five percent, higher than the 3.67% limit Tehran had agreed to in 2015.
Lebanese media reports Israeli fire on returnees in southern Lebanon village
Lebanon’s National News Agency reports that Israeli troops opened fire in the southern Lebanon village of Al-Khiyam during a funeral for one of the village’s residents.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF, and it is unclear if anyone was injured.
Earlier this morning, the IDF warned residents of a number of southern Lebanon villages, including Al-Khiyam, not to return home until further notice.
IDF warns public to stay away from closed military zones in northern Israel
The IDF calls on the Israeli public to avoid closed military zones around evacuated communities in the Western and Upper Galilee areas as Israeli troops continue to operate in areas close to the Lebanon border.
There is also a concern of “unexploded ordnance” in these areas, the military says, instructing those who come across any to immediately distance themselves and alert the police or security forces.
“Unexploded ordnance poses a danger to life,” the military warns.
Detention of mentally ill man who shot policewoman extended by six days
Israel Police at the scene where a policewoman was critically injured after being shot by a suicidal man in Jerusalem, November 28, 2024. (United Hatzalah)
The Jerusalem Court has extended the detention of a man who shot and seriously wounded a policewoman in the city yesterday when she accompanied rescue services into his apartment following reports that he presented a danger to himself.
His detention was extended by six days.
At the same time, Hebrew media outlets report that the police officer’s condition remains serious and unstable.
She is being treated at Hadassah Medical Center Ein Kerem.
IDF chief indicates he will resign after Oct. 7 investigation, defends right to make senior appointments
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi attends a state ceremony marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas onslaught on October 7, 2023, at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, October 27, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi indicates that he intends to resign once the military completes its investigations into the October 7 onslaught.
“At the end of the investigations, we will also make personal decisions and commanders will exercise responsibility, from me down. I have no intention of passing over personal decisions when the picture becomes clearer to us,” he writes in a missive to troops.
Halevi’s missive largely focuses on defending his decision to make senior appointments in the military, with some arguing that he should not be making such decisions as he failed in his role concerning the October 7 onslaught.
“Appointing officers to positions is not a privilege, but a command and operational duty. The IDF cannot afford to freeze,” Halevi says.
In a recent round of appointments, Defense Minister Israel Katz refused to approve two officers due to their potential involvement in the failures that led to the October 7 attack.
Four said killed in attack by Syrian rebel groups on Aleppo university dorms
Four civilians including two students were killed earlier today in the Syrian city of Aleppo in insurgent shelling of university student dormitories, the state news agency SANA reports, amid intense fighting surrounding the northern city.
More than 240 people, mostly combatants, have been killed in the fighting after rebel groups launched a major offensive on government-held areas this week, a monitor says.
On Wednesday, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied Turkish-backed factions launched an attack on government-held areas in the northwest, triggering the fiercest fighting since 2020, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.
Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Observatory, says fighting reached two kilometers (1.2 miles) from the main northern city of Aleppo, where artillery shelling on student housing killed four civilians, according to state media.
“The combatants’ death toll in the ongoing… operation in the Idlib and Aleppo countrysides has risen to 218,” since Wednesday, says the British-based monitor with a network of sources inside Syria.
In addition to the fighters, it says 24 civilians were killed.
HTS, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and Turkey, has long been targeted by the Syrian government and Russian forces. Formerly known as the Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, HTS later changed its name several times and distanced itself from al-Qaeda.
IDF Northern Command chief: Israel will ‘aggressively’ enforce ceasefire with Hezbollah
IDF Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin (center) speaks to officers in southern Lebanon, November 28, 2024. (Israel Defense Force)
The chief of the IDF Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin during an assessment in southern Lebanon yesterday vows that the military will “aggressively” enforce the ceasefire with Hezbollah.
“We have set Hezbollah back many years and this significant achievement, the severe damage to Hezbollah allows a completely different freedom to make decisions and manage this campaign going forward,” Gordin says in a video released by the IDF.
“The political echelon agreed on a ceasefire arrangement with Lebanon, and our job is to enable it and enforce it. We will enforce it aggressively, under the conditions we set, this is what will be realized, and therefore we do not intend for Hezbollah to return to these areas, we intend for this entire area to be clear of capabilities and certainly of Hezbollah’s weapons, and that is our role,” he continues.
“If they make a mistake, it will be a big mistake, and we are prepared to return to combat… We are now in enforcement mode, but we can, in a very short time, give the opposite order and go back in,” Gordin adds.
Turkish soccer team met with outrage from fans after losing game to Maccabi Tel Aviv
Players line up prior to the kick-off at the Europa League opening phase soccer match between Besiktas and Maccabi Tel Aviv, at the Nagyerdei Stadium in Debrecen, Hungary, November 28, 2024. (AP/Denes Erdos)
Turkey’s Besiktas soccer team was greeted by angry fans upon returning to Istanbul earlier this morning, Turkish media reports, after the team lost 3-1 to Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League during a closed-door game in Hungary yesterday.
According to Turkish news outlet En Son Haber, some 100 angry fans were waiting at the airport as the team disembarked the plane under heavy police presence.
In particular, fans are said to have directed their anger at Besiktas coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst, and several held banners or led chants calling for his resignation.
Several members of the team, including Besiktas Vice President Mete Vardar and players Necip Uysal, Salih Ucan, and Ersin Destanoglu spoke briefly to the crowd after disembarking.
Speaking to the fans, Vardar apologized and told them that they had every right to be angry after losing to the Israeli team, while spokesperson, Feyyaz Uçar, promised that the team would do “whatever is necessary” to correct its mistakes going forward.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, player Tayyip Talha Sanuç also spoke to the fans, and apologized for letting the country down.
“We are so sorry,” he is quoted as having said, “we know that the Turkish people were behind us… We apologize to the country.”
At least five wounded in suspected terror shooting attack near Ariel, in the West Bank
The scene of a terrorist shooting attack near the Ariel settlement in the West Bank, November 29, 2024. (Magen David Adom)
At least five people are wounded in a suspected terror shooting attack against an Israeli bus at the Gitai Avisar junction near the West Bank settlement of Ariel.
First responders say that at least two are in moderate condition, while the other three are lightly hurt.
A military source says the gunman was “neutralized” at the scene.
From the scene of the shooting attack near Ariel. pic.twitter.com/7ma9ROm1EE
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) November 29, 2024
Eight hurt, three seriously, after terrorist opened fire at Israeli bus near Ariel
A terrorist who opened fire at an Israeli bus near the West Bank settlement of Ariel was shot dead by security forces, according to first responders.
Initial images from the scene appear to show that the assailant was armed with an assault rifle.
Eight people were wounded in the shooting attack, the Magen David Adom ambulance service says.
According to MDA, four people were hit by gunfire, including three in serious condition and one in moderate condition.
Another four people are lightly wounded by broken glass, MDA adds.
IDF chasing after second terrorist in shooting attack near Ariel, military source says
The IDF is chasing after a second terrorist who opened fire at a bus near the West Bank settlement of Ariel, a military source says.
Two gunmen carried out the attack against a civilian bus at the Gitai Avisar junction, wounding at least eight people.
One of the terrorists was shot dead at the scene by security forces, while the second fled.
A large number of forces have launched a pursuit after the gunman.
Pro-Israel Arab-Israeli panelist removed as Oxford Union votes that Israel is ‘apartheid state’ carrying out genocide
Prominent pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian speakers gathered at the Oxford Union yesterday evening to debate whether or not “Israel is an apartheid state responsible for the genocide” of Palestinians, as hundreds of protesters were said to have congregated outside.
The debate at England’s Oxford University was held under tight security and ended with the union voting 278:59 in favor of the proposition that Israel is an apartheid state that is committing genocide.
Arguing in favor of Israel were British lawyer Natasha Hausdorff, British journalist Jonathan Sacerdoti, Arab-Israeli activist Yoseph Haddad and ex-Hamas member turned Israeli spy Mosab Hassan Yousef.
On the other side of the debate were US political scientist and anti-Israel activist Norman Finkelstein, Israeli-American activist and author Miko Peled, Palestinian-American author Susan Abulhawa, and Palestinian writer Mohammed El-Kurd.
The debate devolved into a shouting match between the speakers and the audience at one point, and Haddad was removed from the stage after a verbal altercation with attendees.
Arab-Israeli activist Yoseph Haddad was kicked out of an Oxford Union debate on Thursday as speakers debated a motion titled, “This House Believes Israel Is an Apartheid State Responsible for Genocide.” pic.twitter.com/XnO5bJCW6I
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) November 29, 2024
In a post on X following the debate, Yousef accuses the Oxford Union of being “controlled by terrorist supporters.”
“Last night I asked the participants and pro ‘Palestine’ opponents during a debate at Oxford Union if they would have reported Hamas plans to authorities to prevent October 7 massacre,” he writes. “75% of the participants voted they would have chosen not to report Hamas plans to the authorities.”
Oxford Union is controlled by terrorist supporters.
Last night I asked the participants and pro “Palestine” opponents during a debate at Oxford Union if they would have reported Hamas plans to authorities to prevent October 7 massacre;
75% of the participants voted they… pic.twitter.com/qGd0snfAsn
— Mosab Hassan Yousef (@MosabHasanYOSEF) November 29, 2024
IDF rules out possibility of second terrorist in attack near Ariel, source says
After scanning the area around the shooting attack near the West Bank settlement of Ariel, the IDF has ruled out the possibility of a second terrorist, according to a military source.
Only one gunman carried out the attack, and he was shot dead at the scene.
Iran’s nuclear ambitions ‘threaten all of us,’ UK foreign intelligence chief says
Iran’s nuclear ambitions pose a major global security threat even after setbacks dealt to its allies Hamas and Hezbollah by Israel, the UK’s foreign intelligence chief says.
“Iran’s allied militias across the Middle East have suffered serious blows,” Secret Intelligence Service chief Richard Moore said in a speech in Paris. “But the regime’s nuclear ambitions continue to threaten all of us.”
IDF probe into bus attack finds terrorist set out from Nablus area, followed route without checkpoints
According to an initial IDF probe of the shooting attack near the West Bank settlement of Ariel, the terrorist had set out from a village in the Nablus area.
The terrorist drove from the Tapuah Junction area to the Gitai Avisar Junction — a route with no internal checkpoints — and stopped his car on the side of the road, around 150 meters from a bus stop. From there, he opened fire at the bus while approaching it on foot.
IDF troops stationed in the area returned fire, killing him shortly after the attack began, according to the probe.
The IDF believes the terrorist did not act alone, and there are other accomplices who may have provided the M-16 assault rifle and vehicle to carry out the attack.
Hamas claims responsibility for West Bank bus shooting
Israeli security forces surround a bullet-riddled bus after a Hamas terrorist attack at an intersection near the West Bank settlement of Ariel, near Nablus, November 29, 2024. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP)
The military wing of the Hamas terror group takes responsibility for the shooting attack near the West Bank city of Ariel earlier today, in which at least eight people were wounded including three seriously.
Hamas says the gunman, Samir Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, 46, from the village of Einabus near Nablus, was a member of the Al-Qassam Brigades.
“The Al-Qassam Brigades announces its responsibility for the shooting operation,” the terror group says in a statement.
Hussein was shot dead by IDF troops at the scene of the attack.
Iran’s foreign minister blames Syrian rebel offensive on Israel, US
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has denounced recent rebel attacks in Syria as “a US-Zionist plan following the Zionist regime’s defeat in Lebanon and Palestine,” Iran’s state media reports.
In a phone call with his Syrian counterpart, Araghchi reiterated Iran’s support to the Syrian government, the media says.
Rebel groups in Syria launched an offensive on areas controlled by government forces earlier this week, on the same day that a ceasefire began between Syria’s ally Hezbollah and Israel.
The rebel offensive is the largest since March 2020 when Russia, which backs Syrian President Bashar Assad, and Turkey, which supports the rebels, agreed to a ceasefire that ended years of fighting that uprooted millions of Syrians opposed to Assad’s rule.
Senior UAE official flies to Israel to attend shiva for slain Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan
Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaim, a member of the UAE's Federal Supreme Council, (foreground), attends the shiva mourning gathering for murdered Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan, in Kfar Chabad, November 29, 2024. (Courtesy)
A representative from the United Arab Emirates attends the shiva mourning gathering with the family and friends of Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan, who was killed in an apparent terror attack in the UAE last week.
Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaim, a member of the UAE’s Federal Supreme Council, flew to Israel to attend the shiva in Kfar Chabad, and tells mourning family members and friends that the UAE is committed to “openness and peace,” and vows that Kogan’s legacy will endure.
“The UAE will never allow extremists to divide us. Today, more than ever, our country is committed to openness & peace,” he is quoted saying.
The circumstances of Kogan’s death have not been disclosed and it is unclear if Emirati authorities have established a motive; three murder suspects from Uzbekistan were arrested in Turkey.
Israeli officials have said Kogan was targeted because he was Jewish and branded his killing as an antisemitic terror attack. Israeli agencies are assisting in the investigation.
Kogan had been living in the UAE for several years and had been involved in outreach to the country’s Jewish community. He was reported missing last Thursday, November 21, and his body was discovered on Sunday.
“The UAE will never allow extremists to divide us. Today, more than ever, our country is committed to openness & peace.” – Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi at shiva of Rabbi Zvi Kogan, murdered Chabad emissary.
In the aftermath of October 7, he stated: “We want to change the… pic.twitter.com/JnKAjrkyLe
— מיכל קוטלר-וונש | Michal Cotler-Wunsh (@CotlerWunsh) November 29, 2024
Agencies contributed to this report.
IDF Northern Command chief says rebuilding can begin in displaced communities
The chief of the IDF Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin tells the mayors of Israel’s displaced northern communities that work can begin to rebuild the towns damaged by Hezbollah’s attacks in the past 14 months.
“The forces are deployed in southern Lebanon and we are engaged in a determined enforcement of the agreement, to preserve the significant achievements we have reached,” Gordin tells the leaders of the border communities in a meeting today.
“At this time there is an ability to carry out work for the restoration of the communities,” he says, adding that the IDF is meanwhile also carrying out work to strengthen its defenses on the border, including by building new army posts.
Syrian jihadists reach outskirts of Aleppo amid anti-government offensive
Fighters seize a Syrian Army tank on the international M5 highway in the area Zarbah which was taken over by anti-government factions on November 29, 2024, as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadists and allied groups continue their offensive in Syria's northern Aleppo province against government forces. (Rami al Sayed/AFP)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian jihadists and their Turkish-backed allies reach the outskirts of the northern city of Aleppo after staging two car bomb attacks, as they press a major offensive against government troops.
“Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions… were able to enter the outskirts of the Al-Hamdaniya and New Aleppo neighborhoods of the city of Aleppo after carrying out twin suicide attacks with two booby-trapped cars,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor says.
Syrian military says it is pushing back rebel offensive, inflicting heavy losses
Syria’s military says that its forces are repelling a major offensive by militant groups in Aleppo and Idlib countryside, inflicting heavy losses on the attackers.
“Our forces continue to repel the major offensive launched by armed terrorist groups,” the army says in a statement, adding that it was “able to retake control of certain positions.”
Iranian diplomat: Nuclear talks with European powers to continue ‘in the near future’
Centrifuges line a hall at the Uranium Enrichment Facility in Natanz, Iran, in a still image from a video aired by the Islamic Republic Iran Broadcasting company on April 17, 2021, six days after the hall had been damaged in a mysterious attack. (IRIB via AP)
GENEVA, Switzerland — Iran, Britain, France, and Germany have agreed to continue diplomatic dialogue “in the near future,” a senior Iranian diplomat says following “candid” talks today focused on Tehran’s nuclear program.
“We are firmly committed to pursuing the interests of our people, and our preference is the path of dialogue and engagement,” Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, says on X.
Hezbollah chief to speak today for first time since beginning of truce
An image grab taken from Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV shows the group's deputy chief Naim Qassem delivering a speech from an undisclosed location on October 15, 2024. (AFP/HO/Al-Manar)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The chief of Hezbollah is due to give a speech today, the Lebanese terror group says, his first since the start of a ceasefire with Israel two days earlier.
The Iran-backed terror group announces in a statement “a speech by the secretary general of Hezbollah Sheikh Naim Qassem today,” without specifying the time.
Syrian jihadists, allies seen entering Aleppo neighborhoods
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Jihadists and their Turkish-backed allies reached the Syrian government-held city of Aleppo today, a war monitor says, days after launching a major offensive in the country’s north and northwest.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied factions “are now in the southwestern and western neighborhoods of Aleppo city,” says Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Two Aleppo residents tell AFP they saw gunmen in their neighborhoods, as panic gripped Syria’s second city.
HISTORIC: Syrian rebels are now inside Aleppo. pic.twitter.com/YaNTCZL5zr
— Clash Report (@clashreport) November 29, 2024
Gaza medics say at least 40 Palestinians killed over past day in strikes; IDF says it is striking terror targets
Palestinians inspect the destruction as displaced residents return to Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip after shelling of the camp stopped on November 29, 2024. (Eyad Baba/AFP)
CAIRO, Egypt — Military strikes killed at least 40 Palestinians overnight and today in the Gaza Strip, many of them in the Nuseirat refugee camp at the center of the enclave, medics say, after tanks pulled back from parts of the camp.
The casualty numbers could not be independently verified, and do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Medics say they had recovered 19 bodies of Palestinians killed in northern areas of Nuseirat, one of the enclave’s eight long-standing refugee camps.
Later, an Israeli air strike killed at least 10 Palestinians in a house in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, medics say.
Others were killed in the northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip, medics add.
There is no fresh statement by the IDF, but on Thursday it said its forces were continuing to “strike terror targets as part of the operational activity in the Gaza Strip.”
Military says four soldiers lightly hurt in West Bank shooting attack
IDF soldiers at the scene of a terror shooting attack near the West Bank settlement of Ariel, November 29, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says four soldiers were wounded in the shooting attack earlier today near the West Bank city of Ariel.
The soldiers are all lightly hurt, according to the IDF.
The Hamas terrorist had opened fire on a civilian bus, wounding several people including three in serious condition, before being shot dead by troops stationed in the area.
Hebrew media outlets report that one of those seriously wounded in the attack was the bus driver, Hassan Elsachen, who is being treated at Bellinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
IDF says it struck Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon after spotting activity
The IDF says it carried out an airstrike against a mobile medium-range Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon a short while ago.
The drone strike was carried out after the military says it identified activity and movement of the truck-mounted launcher.
“The IDF is deployed in southern Lebanon and operating to remove threats that threaten Israel and are violations of the ceasefire agreement,” the military adds.
לפני זמן קצר זוהתה פעילות טרור ותנועה של משגר רקטות נייד אשר שייך לארגון חזבאללה בדרום לבנון.
האיום סוכל באמצעות תקיפה של כלי טיס של חיל האוויר.צה"ל פרוס בדרום לבנון, ופועל להסרת איום שמסכן את מדינת ישראל ומהווה הפרה של הסכם הפסקת האש>> pic.twitter.com/rLcstmnk68
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 29, 2024
Hezbollah chief says terror group achieved ‘divine victory’ greater than 2006 war
Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem says in a televised address that the group had scored a “divine victory” against Israel even greater than that declared after the two foes last fought in 2006.
“We won because we prevented the enemy from destroying Hezbollah… [and] from annihilating or weakening the resistance,” Qassem says.
It was Qassem’s first address since a ceasefire deal this week ended more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The conflict left much of Lebanon’s south, east, and the suburbs of its capital in ruins, and Israeli strikes eliminated much of the terror group’s leadership.
Hezbollah also retreated from its long-held demand that it would only agree to a ceasefire once there was one to end fighting in Gaza.
🔴 LIVE: Hezbollah Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem delivers speech https://t.co/AgAmuxSe5P
— Live Stream (@Stream_liv) November 29, 2024
Hezbollah chief promises to coordinate with Lebanese Army to implement ceasefire
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem vows to coordinate at a “high level” with the Lebanese Army to implement the terms of a ceasefire with Israel that began two days earlier.
“The coordination between the resistance and the Lebanese army will be at a high level to implement the commitments of the agreement,” Qassem says, adding that “no one is betting on problems or disagreements” with the army.
Since coming into effect, the IDF has noted several violations of the agreement and has acted to enforce the deal.
Earlier today, it struck a mobile medium-range Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon after it identified activity and movement at the site.
The Lebanese army has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire “several times” since it went into effect.
Security forces operate at home of terrorist who carried out West Bank shooting today
Israeli security forces operate at the home of Samir Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, a Hamas terrorist who carried out a shooting attack, in the West Bank village of Einabus, November 29, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Members of the IDF, Border Police, and Shin Bet operated at the home of Samir Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, the Hamas terrorist who carried out a shooting attack earlier today near the West Bank city of Ariel.
In a statement, the military says the troops questioned suspects and searched for “additional findings in the area.”
Hussein, a member of Hamas, was previously jailed by Israel for his activities in the terror group, according to the Shin Bet.
His home is located in the West Bank village of Einabus, near the city of Nablus.
Netanyahu reportedly set to hold special forum on Syria developments, Lebanon ceasefire
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset on November 13, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will convene a special security discussion this evening to discuss developments in Syria and the ceasefire in Lebanon that ended more than 13 months of fighting with Hezbollah, Hebrew media reports.
It is unclear who will be attending the meeting.
Enforcement of the ceasefire in Lebanon, as well as an offensive by Syrian jihadists against President Bashar Assad’s regime, will be the topics of discussion, the Ynet news site reports.
Three trampled to death at central Gaza bakery, hospital says
A child and two women were trampled to death in a stampede at a bakery in the central Gazan city of Deir al-Balah today, the hospital that received the bodies says.
The IDF has not issued any comment on the incident.
Two women and “a young girl, died in front of a bakery in Deir al-Balah as a result of a stampede while trying to buy bread,” Deir al-Balah’s Al-Aqsa Hospital says in a statement.
“The crowding and pushing were intense in front of the bakery. Suddenly, there was loud screaming, and they fell to the ground, suffocated by the stampede, including a young girl,” one eyewitness tells AFP.
“I don’t know what happened,” Osama Abu Luban, father of the girl who died, tells AFP.
“I went to the market with my daughter. She went to buy bread, and she barely managed to get a loaf of bread before being swept away by the crowd of women. They brought her out a lifeless body,” he says.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
Hezbollah chief says terror group ready to help build Lebanese Army’s capabilities
Lebanese Army soldiers ride in a convoy in Mansouri, as they head to southern Lebanon, after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem says the heavily armed terror group was ready to cooperate with the Lebanese army to help build the country’s defensive capacities.
“We will work to… strengthen Lebanon’s defensive capacities,” Qassem says, adding that the “resistance will be ready to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of Lebanon’s weakness along with our partners… first and foremost the army.”
PM, defense minister want Halevi to step down at end of Lebanon ceasefire implementation — report
Defense Minister Israel Katz (right) meets with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi (left) and members of the General Staff Forum at the Defense Ministry, November 11, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/ Defense Ministry)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz want IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi to step down over his responsibility to prevent Hamas’s October 7 massacre by the end of the implementation period for the ceasefire in Lebanon, the Kan public broadcaster reports.
Citing unnamed diplomatic and security sources as well as cabinet ministers, Kan reports the premier and defense minister seek to replace Halevi upon the end of the 60-day transition period.
Defense Minister Director-General Eyal Zamir, Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Amir Baram, Strategy Directorate of the IDF General Staff head Eliezer Toledano, or IDF Northern Command chief Ori Gordon are listed in the report as possible replacements.
The ceasefire sets out a 60-day transition period, during which the IDF will withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon, while the Lebanese Army will deploy some 5,000 troops south of the Litani River, including at 33 posts along the border with Israel. Hezbollah is banned from operating south of the river, several kilometers from the border.
The US has also reportedly provided a side letter specifying Israel’s right to respond to any violations of the ceasefire.
Hamas delegation to arrive in Cairo on Saturday amid push for hostage-ceasefire deal
Hostages Square in Tel Aviv. November 27, 2024 (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
A Hamas delegation will arrive in Cairo tomorrow for talks with Egyptian officials, the group’s senior official Basem Naim tells Reuters.
The visit comes days after the United States said it would begin new efforts with Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey to revive talks for a Gaza hostage release and ceasefire deal amid a renewed push in the wake of the truce between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group.
Hamas is displaying increased flexibility in long-stalled talks for an elusive ceasefire and hostage release deal in the Gaza Strip, and may agree to the Israel Defense Forces temporarily remaining on the enclave’s border with Egypt, a New York Times report said yesterday.
Poll: 71% back a deal to free the hostages and end war in Gaza; 51% oppose Gaza settlements
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and former prime minister Naftali Bennett (right) attend the funeral of Rabbi Haim Drukman, at Merkaz Shapira, near Kiryat Malachi, on December 26, 2022. (Gil Cohen-Magen/ AFP)
A poll shows overwhelming public support for a deal in which the hostages would be freed in exchange for an end to the war in Gaza.
Channel 12’s survey shows 71% support for such terms, compared to 15% who oppose them and 14% who don’t know.
Among supporters of what Channel 12 calls Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc of parties, 56% back a deal that stops the war in return for the hostages, 24% oppose it and 20% don’t know.
Hamas has consistently demanded a full IDF withdrawal from Gaza, an end to the war, and the release of large numbers of Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for the 101 hostages held captive in Gaza. Netanyahu said last night he would agree a ceasefire to secure the release of hostages but would not permanently end the war.
The poll also shows public favor continuing to shift away from Netanyahu and toward former prime minister Naftali Bennett, as well as showing a slight majority of the public does not support the rebuilding of settlements in the Gaza Strip.
Comparing Netanyahu to Bennett, 33 percent tell pollsters for Channel 12 news that the former is more suited to serve as prime minister, compared to 39% who say the latter.
Pitting Netanyahu against Opposition Lebanon Yair Lapid, 36% believe the former is more suited to serve as prime minister, compared to 28% who say the Yesh Atid leader is.
The network also asked respondents whether they favored Netanyahu against National Unity MK Gadi Eisenkot – 35% of respondents say Netanyahu is more suited to serve as premier, compared to 33% who say Eisenkot is.
The poll also finds 51% of respondents are against the rebuilding of settlements in Gaza, with 33% in favor and 16% saying they do not know.
However, those who voted for Netanyahu showed a stronger tendency toward favoring the return of Jewish communities to the Strip, with 57% saying they agree and 24% against, with 16% responding that they do not know.
Russia says its military is bombing anti-government forces in Syria
Anti-regime fighters drive past a picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad along the Aleppo- Damascus M5 international highway in the newly captured northwestern area of Khan al-Assal on November 29, 2024 (Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP)
Russia’s military says its air force is bombing anti-government forces in Syria to repel “extremists” that have launched a major offensive on the city of Aleppo, Russian state news agencies reports.
Jihadists and their Turkish-backed allies reached Syria’s second city earlier today, pressing a lightning offensive against forces of the Iranian- and Russian-backed government.
The fighting is some of the deadliest in years in Syria’s civil war.
“The Russian air force is carrying out rocket-bomb attacks on the equipment and manpower of illegal armed groups, control points, warehouses and artillery positions of terrorists,” news agencies report a spokesperson for the defense ministry’s Reconciliation Centre for Syria as saying.
It claims that 200 militants had been “destroyed” over the last 24 hours.
AFP could not verify that figure.
“The operation to repel the aggression of the extremists continues,” says Oleg Ignasyuk, deputy head of the Russian reconciliation center, state media reported.
Moscow is Syrian leader Bashar Assad’s most important military backer, having turned the tide of the civil war in his favor when it intervened in 2015.
Syrian rebels say they reached Aleppo’s center in lightening sweep
Anti-regime fighters hold a position in New Aleppo on the outskirts of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on November 29, 2024 (Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
Syrian rebels opposed to President Bashar Assad say they have reached the heart of the northern city of Aleppo, after a surprise sweep through government-held towns and nearly a decade after having been forced out of the city.
The opposition fighters, led by the Islamist jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, launched an incursion on Wednesday into a dozen towns and villages in the northern province of Aleppo, which was controlled by Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, backed by both Iran and Russia.
They made quick progress and by this evening, an operations room representing the offensive said rebels were sweeping through various neighborhoods of the city.
Assad and his allies Russia, Iran and regional Shi’ite militias had retaken all of Aleppo city in late 2016, with insurgents agreeing to withdraw after months of bombardment and siege in a battle that turned the tide against the opposition.
Rebel commander in the Jaish al-Izza rebel brigade Mustafa Abdul Jaber says the speedy advance was due to insufficient Iran-backed manpower in the broader province. Iran’s terror proxies in the region have suffered a series of blows at the hands of Israel since the start of the Gaza war, sparked by the Hamas terror group’s October 7 onslaught.
GOP senator: Trump wants Gaza hostage-ceasefire deal before inauguration
US Senator Lindsey Graham makes remarks to journalists in Jerusalem, October 8, 2024. (AP/ Maya Alleruzzo)
US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who was in Israel this week and met with top officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu, tells the Axios news site that US president-elect Donald Trump wants to see a Gaza hostage-ceasefire deal before he re-enters the White House in January.
“Trump is more determined than ever to release the hostages and supports a ceasefire that includes a hostage deal. He wants to see it happening now,” Graham tells Axios.
“I want people in Israel and in the region to know that Trump is focused on the hostages issue. He wants the killing to stop and the fighting to end,” he says. “I hope President Trump and the Biden administration will work together during the transition period to release the hostages and get a ceasefire.”
Graham also discusses comments by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich that Trump’s election victory offers an opportunity to encourage what he terms the “voluntary emigration” of Palestinians from Gaza so that half of the Strip’s 2.2 million residents leave within two years.
“I think he should talk to Trump and hear what he wants. If you haven’t spoken to him, I wouldn’t put words in his mouth,” Graham tells Axios.
The US senator also met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman during his recent Mideast visit, and touched on the subject of normalization with Israel, which he says would have to include what Axios terms a “Palestinian component.”
“The best insurance policy against Hamas is not an Israeli reoccupation of Gaza but a reform in the Palestinian society. The only ones who can do that are the Arab countries,” Graham says.
Syrian authorities close Aleppo airport, cancel all flights — military source
Syrian authorities have closed Aleppo airport and canceled all flights, a military source tells Reuters, as Syrian rebels opposed to President Bashar Assad say they reached the heart of the northern city of Aleppo.
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