Live updates
The Times of Israel liveblogged Saturday’s events as they unfolded.
Save the Children says staff member killed in Israeli strike in Gaza
International aid agency Save the Children says a staff member was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza’s Khan Younis earlier today, the second staffer killed in the enclave since the war began in October 2023.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
Released captive Emily Hand, father address rally marking hostage deal anniversary
Former hostage Emily Hand and her father Thomas Hand speak at a rally in Tel Aviv's Hostages Square, November 30, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Some 2,000 people attend the Hostages Families Forum central weekly rally at Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square, marking a year since the hostage deal last November, which negotiators have failed to replicate despite intensive efforts.
The rally features speeches from several people freed in last November’s deal, as well as Thomas Hand, father of 9-year-old Emily, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Be’eri and released on the second day of the week-long deal deal.
Hand, who is Irish, speaks in English.
“I am extremely lucky to have got my little Emily back in one piece,” he says to applause. “I cannot imagine how terrified she must have been.”
“When being taken from Be’eri, Emily saw dead people — people she knew and recognized, lying on the road,” he continues. “It was so bad she thought that everyone she knew — including me — were killed or being killed.”
Hand says his daughter told him the water she was given in captivity was putrid; that the hostages were forced to use the bathroom with the door open while a male terrorist watched them; and that “they were told to repeat words in Arabic, and at the end, they were told: ‘you’re Muslim now.'”
He urges Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a hostage deal.
“Make a deal, Bibi,” he says, using the premier’s nickname. “You have had more than enough time to get the job done.”
His speech is followed by brief comments in Hebrew by Emily herself.
“I know what it’s like to be there so I don’t want to imagine what it’s like for those who are there now,” she says.
The captivity survivor says she was held along with slain hostage Itai Svirsky and with Noa Argamani, who was rescued in June by security forces.
“Noa came back, but Itai won’t,” she says. “We have to bring the hostages back before it’s too late.” In English, she shouts: “Bring them home now!”
A block away, hundreds of anti-government activists protest in front of the Begin Street entrance to the IDF Headquarters.
At the entrance to the rally, a group urging “nonviolent civilian rebellion” holds an informational session about disobedience tactics and advice on what to do in case of arrest.
A seasoned activist, surrounded by some two dozen neophytes, advises against relying on their right to remain silent if they are detained: “If you use your right to remain silent, your condition in court ends up being worse,” he says.
The “civil rebellion” group is set to march to Dizengoff Square in central Tel Aviv, alongside several prominent anti-government activists, including Labor MKs Gilad Kariv, Efrat Rayten and Naama Lazimi, Democrats chairman Yair Golan, and Noam Dan, cousin of hostage Ofer Kalderon.
Parents of US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander call on Trump to work with Biden, Netanyahu on hostage deal
The parents of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander call on US President-elect Donald Trump to work with President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure a hostage deal after Hamas publishes a video showing signs of life of their son.
“While this video confirms our son, Edan, is alive, it also stands as a haunting reminder that 101 innocent people remain in the clutches of Hamas,” say Yael and Adi Alexander say in a joint statement. “Every passing hour dims the prospect of their survival.”
“President-elect Trump must not wait until he is inaugurated to help reach a deal that secures the freedom for Edan, six other Americans, and the rest of the hostages. Their liberation depends on swift, decisive action. Bring them home now, before it’s too late,” they add.
Russia’s defense ministry says it carried out strikes on Syrian rebel groups
Russia’s defense ministry says its air force carried out strikes on Syrian rebels in support of the country’s army, Russian news agencies report, amid an advance by forces opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is a close Moscow ally.
Rebels’ advances in Syria spell short-term benefits, potential trouble for Israel, intel chiefs said to tell PM
Anti-government fighters wave opposition flags in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on November 30, 2024. (Omar Haj Kadour / AFP)
Israel is watching the jihadist rebels’ advances in Syria with considerable wariness, with intelligence chiefs telling the political echelon developments in Syria could ultimately spell trouble for Israel, Channel 12 reports.
Referring to a consultation hurriedly convened by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday evening with key figures in the defense establishment, the TV report quotes intelligence officials assessing that “Iranian infrastructure in Syria has been harmed, and much of it has been captured by the rebels.”
Netanyahu was reportedly told that Hezbollah’s attention will now be shifted to Syria, and “so will its forces, in order to defend the Assad regime.”
This, in turn, will bolster the likelihood of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire holding, the prime minister was reportedly told.
As regards Syrian territory itself, where the IDF has been working to prevent the transfer of weaponry to Hezbollah and to thwart direct threats from pro-Iranian forces, Israel’s “freedom of military operation will apparently widen.”
The intelligence chiefs reportedly noted that “the latest developments appear to be positive.” But, they are said to have warned, “the collapse of the Assad regime would likely create chaos in which military threats against Israel would develop.”
Channel 12 further reports that concerns were raised at Friday’s security consultation that “strategic capabilities” of the Assad regime could fall into the jihadists’ hands. The prime concern relates to “the remnants of chemical weapons,” the report says.
The IDF is said to be preparing for a scenario where Israel would be required to act, the report says without elaboration.
There is also an assessment that Syria might open its gates to a significant number of Iranian forces in order to try to stabilize the country, the report says.
Trump picks Charles Kushner, father of Jared Kushner, to serve as US ambassador to France
US President-elect Donald Trump says he has picked his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s father, real estate mogul Charles Kushner, to serve as US ambassador to France.
“He [Charles Kushner] is a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker, who will be a strong advocate representing our Country & its interests,” Trump says in a post on Truth Social announcing the pick.
Edan Alexander’s mother says PM told her ‘conditions are ripe to free all the hostages’
Yael Alexander, mother of hostage Edan Alexander, speaks in Hostages Square, November 30, 2024 (Paulina Patimer, Pr-Democracy Protest Movement)
Yael Alexander, mother of Hamas-held hostage Edan, speaks in Hostages Square hours after Hamas published a propaganda video showing her son.
She says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised her in a phone call an hour ago that “the conditions are ripe” to bring all the hostages home.
“This is not a Hollywood movie,” says Yael Alexander after the video plays. “This is the bad movie we have been living for 421 days since October 7.”
After 421 days “when I hadn’t heard my Edan,” she says, “the film we received this afternoon shook me and my family. Along with the hope it gives, it also shows how hard are the conditions of Edan and the other hostages. And how they are shouting and pleading that we save them. Now.”
Yael says her son “speaks for all the living hostages who cannot make their voices heard. And this voice must echo, and shake up everybody.”
“My beloved Edan,” she says, addressing him directly, “I want to tell you that after your plea, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called me an hour ago, gave me strength, and promised me that now, after there is an arrangement in Lebanon, the conditions are ripe to free you all and bring you all back home.”
Many in the audience jeer at the premier’s name, but are motioned to stop.
She adds: “Edan, that is also the will of the people. The people are with you and understand that [the return of you all] is total victory.”
Yael Alexander then urges Netanyahu, “in my name and that of my family and of all of Israel, … to stand by your promise to me. Because all eyes are now on you, hoping that you will make the courageous decision. And especially be strong in the face of those in your government who oppose a deal, because most of the people support you,” she says, in an apparent reference to far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
“Be strong,” she urges Netanyahu, “like my Edan who has survived there for so long. Be strong.”
Varda Ben Baruch, the hostage’s grandmother, who is observant, says she didn’t hear about the video of her grandson until after the Sabbath ended at sundown.
Paraphrasing Havdala, the prayer recited at the Sabbath’s end, she pleads for her grandson’s safety.
She also addresses Netanyahu: “Be brave. Be strong. Don’t be afraid to do anything that will bring home all the hostages and our Edan.”
She leads the crowd in a chant: “A deal — now!”
Soldier seriously wounded in ‘operational accident’ in northern Israel, military says
A soldier with the 7th Armored Brigade’s 82nd Battalion was seriously wounded earlier today in an “operational accident” in northern Israel, the military says.
The soldier was taken to a hospital for treatment.
The incident occurred during operational activity.
IDF says soldier killed during fighting in northern Gaza on Friday
Staff Sgt. Zamir Burke. (Israel Defense Forces)
An IDF soldier was killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip yesterday, the military announces.
The slain soldier is named as Staff Sgt. Zamir Burke, 20, a heavy equipment squad commander in the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion, from Beit Shemesh.
Another soldier was seriously wounded in the same incident, the IDF says.
In another incident, the military says a soldier with the 401st Armored Brigade’s 46th Battalion was seriously wounded during fighting in southern Gaza.
Katz says he spoke with family of Edan Alexander after ‘important’ sign of life
Defense Minister Israel Katz says that he spoke with the family of Hamas hostage Edan Alexander after the terror group published a video of the 20-year-old captive earlier this evening.
“The cruel video that was published is part of psychological warfare, but it is an important and moving sign of life for us and his family,” Katz writes on X.
“The hostages and their families are enduring terrible suffering. I know this, and guarantee that in the security establishment, we are working tirelessly to bring all the hostages home,” he adds.
IDF says it struck rocket launch site inside designated safe zone in central Gaza
A rocket launching site within the Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in the Gaza Strip was struck by the Israeli Air Force earlier today, the military says.
According to the IDF, the site in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah had armed launchers, primed for an attack on southern Israel.
A video released by the IDF shows a rocket flying out of the site following the drone strike.
To mitigate civilian harm, the IDF says it used precision munition, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.
“The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip systematically violate international law, cynically exploiting the humanitarian zone and the population as a human shield for terror activity,” the military says in a statement.
כלי טיס של חיל האוויר, בהכוונה מודיעינית של אמ"ן ופיקוד הדרום, תקפו והשמידו מוקדם יותר היום אתר שיגור חמוש ומוכן לשיגור במרחב ההומניטרי דיר אל בלח, שכוון לעבר דרום הארץ>> pic.twitter.com/nM4avMZPlD
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 30, 2024
World Central Kitchen pauses operations in Gaza after IDF kills Oct. 7 terrorist employed by aid group
People check a car hit by an Israeli strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 30, 2024, in which five people were reported killed. (Bashar Taleb/AFP)
US charity World Central Kitchen says it is “pausing operations in Gaza at this time” after an Israeli air strike on a terrorist who participated in the October 7 onslaught was found to have been employed by the aid organization.
According to WCK, several people were traveling in the targeted vehicle at the time of the strike.
It says in a statement that it “had no knowledge that any individual in the vehicle had alleged ties to the October 7 Hamas attack,” and does not confirm any deaths.
Netanyahu speaks with family of Edan Alexander after release of Hamas propaganda footage
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with the family of Hamas hostage Edan Alexander after the terror group released propaganda footage of the 20-year-old captive earlier this evening, the Prime Minister’s Office says.
During the call, Netanyahu told the family that “he really feels the anguish that Edan, the hostages and their families are going through,” his office says.
It adds that he reassured the family “that Israel is working resolutely and in every way possible” to bring about the release of the hostages “who are in the hands of the enemy.”
East Jerusalem resident arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting West Bank terror attack
An Arab Israeli resident of East Jerusalem has been arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting yesterday’s terror attack near the Ariel settlement in the West Bank, the Israel Police says.
Eight people were wounded in the attack, three of them seriously, when a Hamas terrorist opened fire at a civilian bus near the West Bank settlement. The terrorist was shot dead by security forces at the scene.
Family of hostage Edan Alexander allows release of Hamas propaganda video
The family of Israeli hostage Edan Alexander allows the media to publish a Hamas propaganda video of him that was released by the terror group earlier this evening, in which he asks the Israeli government and the incoming Trump administration to work for his release.
His family will address the hostage deal rally later this evening.
Hostage Edan Alexander is seen in a Hamas propaganda video issued on November 30, 2024.
In a statement accompanying the video of 20-year-old Alexander, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum says that the footage is “conclusive proof of all the statements and rumors — there are living hostages and they are suffering. A lot. We are their only hope!”
“Hamas will not be defeated for as long as it holds even a single hostage, alive or dead. There will be no revival and there will be no victory until all 101 hostages are returned home,” the forum adds.
Families of hostages ask Trump to pressure Netanyahu for deal to release their loved ones
Relatives of the Hamas hostages hold a press conference in Tel Aviv on November 30, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Relatives of the hostages deliver a joint statement to the press from Tel Aviv ahead of this evening’s hostage deal and anti-government protests and call on US President-elect Donald Trump to push for a hostage deal before he returns to the White House in January.
Einav Zangauker, mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, says that it is “impossible to hold back the tears” after watching the propaganda video released by Hamas earlier this evening, in which hostage Edan Alexander “begs to return home.”
“A government that does not put a new initiative on the table for a deal and an end to the war to bring back Edan and the other hostages is a government that betrays the hostages and their families, and sacrifices them to their deaths in captivity,” Zangauker says.
“This week, the prime minister signed a deal for an end to the war in Lebanon. How can it be that Netanyahu signs a deal for the north but prevents a deal for the end of the war in the south?”
“In Lebanon, Hezbollah wasn’t defeated, and Netanyahu ran to make the deal. In Gaza, Hamas is defeated and Netanyahu refuses a deal” Zangauker continues. “The only way to return all the hostages is through stopping the war in Gaza as part of a one-time deal, but Netanyahu, [Itamar] Ben Gvir and [Bezalel] Smotrich are rushing to pave roads and build settlements on top of the hostages who are rotting in the tunnels.”
Yehuda Cohen, the father of hostage Nimrod Cohen, appeals for Trump to use his influence over Netanyahu and push him to agree to a deal for the release of their loved ones.
“According to intelligence estimates, around half of the hostages are alive, and they cannot wait until you enter office in January,” He says. “My son Nimrod Cohen and all the hostages are crying out to use from the tunnels. They will not survive the winter. We must save them now.”
“You are probably the person with the greatest influence over Netanyahu,’ he adds. “You have the power to save lives.”
National Security Council warns of planned attacks on Israelis and Jews in Thailand
The National Security Council warns that the “terrorist infrastructure” that murdered Rabbi Zvi Kogan in the UAE last week is planning additional attacks on Israelis and Jews in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand.
Thailand is a popular tourist destination for Israelis.
The NSC recommends that Israelis in Southeast Asia avoid going to places identified with Israel and/or Jews; maintain increased vigilance in public places; refrain from displaying Israeli symbols; contact local authorities in case of a threat or violence; avoid posting details of the trip on social media, and lock social media profiles; and avoid sharing details about service in the IDF or other security services online or in conversation.
“Israeli security officials continue to work with all relevant partners in order to remove the threat,” the NSC says.
Home Front Command eases restrictions in northern Israel
The IDF Home Front Command is easing restrictions in northern Israel, allowing larger gatherings and for schools to open, as a ceasefire with Hezbollah holds.
Under the changes, schools in the northern frontier communities and the north Golan Heights will now be able to operate if adequate shelter can be reached in time.
In other areas of northern Israel, all restrictions on gatherings and schools have been lifted.
The changes, approved by Defense Minister Israel Katz, were made following a fresh assessment, the military says.
Iran says ‘terrorist elements’ attacked its Aleppo consulate during Syrian rebel offensive
Anti-government fighters wave opposition flags in Syria's northern city of Aleppo on November 30, 2024, amid a lightning offensive against forces of the Iranian- and Russian-backed government. (Omar Haj Kadour/AFP)
Iran says that “terrorist elements” have attacked its consulate in the Syrian city of Aleppo during a rebel offensive in the area.
In a statement, Esmaeil Baghaei, the spokesman of the Iranian foreign ministry, “strongly condemned the attack” by “some armed terrorist elements” on the Iranian consulate, adding that all its staff members were safe.
Hamas propaganda video shows signs of life from hostage Edan Alexander, 20
Hostage Edan Alexander, 20, is seen in a Hamas propaganda video released November 30, 2024. (Video screenshot)
The Hamas terror group has released a propaganda video showing signs of life from hostage Edan Alexander, 20, in the first video of its kind in months.
The three-and-a-half-minute-long video is not dated, though Alexander states that he has been held for over 420 days. If true, it will have been filmed this week.
Alexander, a US citizen, is a soldier who was stationed near the Gaza Strip on the morning of October 7 when he was taken captive by Hamas.
Alexander was born in Tel Aviv, grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey, and joined Golani as a lone soldier after graduating from high school in 2022.
Related: Grandmother of US-Israeli held in Gaza urges Biden, Trump to cooperate on hostage deal
In the clip, a gaunt-looking Alexander identifies himself and calls on the Israeli government to bring him home. In the second half of the video, Alexander speaks in English and calls on the incoming US administration to work for his release.
Hamas has previously issued similar videos of hostages the terror group is holding, in what Israel says is deplorable psychological warfare. However, the terror group has not published such videos in months.
Most Israeli media do not carry the video clips themselves.
Biden spotted leaving bookstore holding ‘The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine’
President Joe Biden, from left, his son Hunter Biden, daughter-in-law Melissa Cohen Biden, right, and grandson Beau Biden, second from right, leave a book store as they walk in downtown Nantucket, Mass., Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
US President Joe Biden was spotted yesterday leaving a bookstore in Nantucket, Massachusetts holding Arab-American academic Rashid Khalidi’s “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine.”
The book presents itself as “a history of settler colonialism and resistance from 1917 to 2017.”
Khalidi has argued that Palestinians living under Israeli military rule have a legal right to resistance and that supporters of Israel use McCarthyite tactics to silence debate in America.
Asked by the New York Post his thoughts on Biden picking up his book, Khalidi responds that it was “four years too late.”
Many Arab Americans who typically voted for Democratic candidates in presidential elections shifted their support to Donald Trump in this month’s election due to anger over Biden’s support for Israel in the war against Hamas.
IDF confirms it killed Oct. 7 terrorist employed by aid group World Central Kitchen
People check a car hit by an Israeli strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 30, 2024, in which five people were reported killed. (Bashar Taleb/AFP)
The IDF says a terrorist it killed in a drone strike in the southern Gaza Strip earlier today participated in the October 7 onslaught in Kibbutz Nir Oz.
The terrorist, Ahed Qadih, was also employed by the World Central Kitchen aid organization.
Palestinian media reported that the strike in Khan Younis killed five people, including three local aid workers with WCK. The army did not remark on the other people allegedly killed.
“The terrorist was under intelligence surveillance for a long period, and was struck following reliable information about his location in real-time,” the military says.
Qadih “infiltrated Israel and took part in the murderous October 7 massacre in Kibbutz Nir Oz,” according to the IDF.
The military says that “according to current information, it is not possible to link the terrorist to a specific abduction attempt.”
The IDF calls to “avoid the spreading of rumors that hurt the families and the public,” as some Hebrew media reports link the terrorist to the abduction of specific Israelis on October 7, 2023.
Following the strike, representatives of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) “demanded of senior officials from the international community and the WCK administration to clarify the issue and order an urgent examination regarding the hiring of workers who took part in the October 7 massacre and terrorist attacks against the State of Israel.
“COGAT is again calling on the international organizations that operate in the Gaza Strip to provide Israeli authorities with details of local employees that are hired by them in the Gaza Strip, to ensure that terrorists are not making use of the humanitarian arena,” the IDF adds.
IDF says it hit several Lebanon threats that violated ceasefire
The IDF confirms carrying out several strikes in Lebanon today, targeting threats that it says violated the ceasefire agreement.
Earlier today, the military says it identified a group of gunmen in southern Lebanon as they loaded a car up with RPGs, ammunition boxes and other military equipment. A drone then targeted the vehicle.
In another incident, a group of Hezbollah operatives were spotted at a building in southern Lebanon previously known to have been in use by the terror group. The IDF says troops struck the operatives, and later upon reaching the site found numerous weapons.
Additionally, a short while ago, the IDF says fighter jets carried out an airstrike against a Hezbollah facility near Sidon upon identifying activity there. According to the military, the site was used to store rocket launchers.
Separately, the IDF says it carried out a drone strike “deep within Lebanon” against a vehicle that was operating at a Hezbollah missile manufacturing facility.
“The IDF is deployed in southern Lebanon, working against any threat to the State of Israel, and will enforce any violation of the terms of the ceasefire agreement,” the military adds.
צה"ל פעל במהלך היום בעקבות מספר פעולות בלבנון שהיוו איום על מדינת ישראל, תוך הפרת הבנות הסכם הפסקת האש>> pic.twitter.com/kEZIGGsFwm
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 30, 2024
IDF to impose nighttime curfew on southern Lebanon
An Israeli couple observe the damaged buildings in a village in southern Lebanon as they stand near the Israeli-Lebanese border, during the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in northern Israel, Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
The IDF says it will again be imposing a nighttime curfew on movement in southern Lebanon.
Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman says that from 5 p.m. until 7 a.m. tomorrow, “it is strictly forbidden” to cross the Litani River in a southbound direction.
“Those south of the Litani River, must remain where they are,” he says.
The IDF is still deployed to southern Lebanon, and it has 60 days to withdraw under the ceasefire deal.
Report: Israeli, Egyptian officials discussed potential transfer of medication to Gaza hostages
Screenshot showing medication packages from IDF video shot inside a tunnel beneath Khan Younis where 12 hostages were held. The video was released on February 7, 2024. (Courtesy of IDF)
The Hezbollah-aligned Al-Akhbar outlet reports that Israeli and Egyptian officials have discussed the possibility of the transfer of medications to hostages held in Gaza.
Unnamed sources tell the outlet that topics under discussion during the Egyptian delegation’s visit to Tel Aviv this week included “the possibility of bringing in medicine for Israeli prisoners [sic], similar to a previous agreement.”
The Cairo officials are thought to have presented Israel with a “comprehensive vision” for Gaza. The Al-Akhbar report says talks were also held on the transfer of medications into the Strip for wounded Palestinians.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has not visited any of the hostages held by terrorists in Gaza despite urgent appeals from their loved ones and diplomatic officials for them to do so.
Netanyahu’s former defense minister Ya’alon: Israeli leadership dragging country down path of ethnic cleansing in Gaza
Moshe Ya'alon attends a press conference in Tel Aviv, March 7, 2023 (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Former defense minister and ex-IDF chief of staff Moshe Ya’alon warns Israel is being dragged by its leadership on a path of ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip that will lead to its destruction.
“The path we are being dragged down is occupation, annexation and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip,” the prominent government critic tells Democrat TV.
“Transfer, call it what you want, and Jewish settlements,” he says.
“Now look at the polls. Seventy percent — sometimes more and sometimes a little less — of the public in the State of Israel advocates a path that is Jewish, democratic, liberal, etc., and also with separation,” he says.
“Therefore, there must be no confusion here. The one who wants to confuse us is the one who is currently leading us to nothing less than destruction,” he says, apparently referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Journalist Lucy Aharish responds that Ya’alon is using unexpected language with the phrase “ethnic cleansing.”
“Ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip, is that what you think? That we are on the way there?” she asks.
Ya’alon, a former Likud defense minister under Netanyahu from 2013-16, replies: “Why on the way? What is happening there? What is happening there? There is no Beit Lahia, there is no Beit Hanoun, they are currently operating in Jabalia and are essentially cleaning the area of Arabs.”
Israel has denied all claims of ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
Lebanese media reports Israeli airstrike on outskirts of Baisariyeh in south Lebanon
Lebanese media report an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of the southern Lebanon village of Baisariyeh, south of Sidon.
There is no immediate comment from the IDF.
غارة على البيسارية جنوب لبنان. pic.twitter.com/3pNW2gq6dg
— Ali Bk (@Bk_Hanas) November 30, 2024
The strike comes amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The IDF has vowed to enforce any Hezbollah violation of the agreement “with fire.”
IDF says Gaza strike targeted Oct. 7 terrorist, is examining claim he worked for World Central Kitchen
The IDF says it carried out an airstrike against a car in the southern Gaza Strip earlier today, targeting a terrorist who participated in the October 7 onslaught.
Palestinian media report that the strike in Khan Younis killed five people, including three local aid workers with World Central Kitchen.
“The terrorist was under intelligence surveillance for a long period, and was struck following reliable information about his location in real-time,” the military says.
The IDF says it is looking into claims that the terrorist was also employed by WCK, hired at some stage after the start of the war.
“We emphasize that it was a civilian unmarked vehicle and its movement on the route was not coordinated for transporting of aid,” the military adds.
صور من مكان استهداف الاحتلال لمركبة تابعة للمطبخ العالمي المركزي على طريق صلاح الدين، حيث ارتقى 5 شهداء وعدد من الجرحى pic.twitter.com/iAo396q1lr
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) November 30, 2024
Syrian army announces ‘redeployment operation’ in Aleppo, says dozens of troops killed
Anti-government fighters hold an opposition flag as they pose for a picture at the entrance of the landmark citadel in Aleppo on November 30, 2024 (Muhammad Haj Kadour/AFP)
Syria’s military announces a “redeployment operation” in Aleppo, saying it is in order to prepare a counteroffensive against the insurgent attack.
“The large numbers of terrorists and the multiplicity of battlefronts prompted our armed forces to carry out a redeployment operation aimed at strengthening the defense lines in order to absorb the attack, preserve the lives of civilians and soldiers, and prepare for a counterattack,” the army says.
The Syrian military statement is the first public acknowledgement by the army that insurgents led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham had entered the government-held city of Aleppo in a surprise attack that began earlier this week.
The military adds that dozens of soldiers had been killed or injured in fierce battles with insurgents in Aleppo and Idlib over the past few days.
A military statement says “armed terrorist organizations” launched “a broad attack from multiple axes on the Aleppo and Idlib fronts” and reported fierce battles “over a strip exceeding 100 kilometers (60 miles).”
It adds “dozens of men from our armed forces were killed and others wounded” as “terrorist organizations were able over the past hours to enter large parts of neighborhoods of Aleppo city.”
The insurgent attack marks the most significant challenge in years to President Bashar al-Assad, jolting the frontlines of the Syrian civil war that have largely been frozen since 2020.
Protesters to rally this evening for hostage deal: ‘They can’t survive another winter in Hamas death tunnels’
The relatives of those held hostage in Gaza call for protesters to rally in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square at 8 p.m. this evening to mark one year since the temporary ceasefire in Gaza that saw 105 captives released.
“A full year has passed since the remaining 101 hostages in captivity believed their freedom was imminent, yet no further deals have materialized,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum says in a statement.
“We must save them! They cannot survive another winter in Hamas’s death tunnels,” the forum says.
Speakers are to include Keren Munder, who was released in the deal last year along with her mother Ruti and young son Ohad. Her father Avraham was also kidnapped but was killed in Gaza.
Also due to speak is released hostage Ilana Gritzewsky, whose partner Matan Zangauker is still held hostage, and Chen Goldstein-Almog, who was released along with her three children Agam, Gal, and Tal. Her husband Nadav and daughter Yam were killed on October 7.
Liron Mor, the aunt of 5-year-old Avigail Idan who was taken hostage to Gaza and released last year, will also speak. Mor and her husband adopted the little girl and her siblings after their parents Smadar and Roee were killed on October 7.
Thomas Hand, whose daughter Emily was taken hostage and was freed in the temporary ceasefire, will also speak.
The demonstration will be the first since the Home Front lifted restrictions on the number of people permitted to gather in central Israel after the ceasefire with Hezbollah, put in place at the end of September following the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah.
IDF releases footage of strike on Hamas operative in Rafah, says troops found weapons near hospital and mosque
Troops of the Nahal Brigade operate in southern Gaza's Rafah, in a handout photo issued on November 30, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF releases a video showing a drone strike on a member of a Hamas cell that had set up booby traps in southern Gaza’s Rafah.
The military says that the cell had rigged barrels packed with explosives and other explosive devices in the area. They were all eliminated, according to the IDF.
The drone strike was directed by troops of the Nahal Brigade, which has been operating in Rafah under the Gaza Division in recent months.
Amid their operations, the IDF says the troops found weapons and military equipment during searches near a hospital and mosque in Rafah.
Philanthropist resigns from roles at all UK arts institutions, citing antisemitism and ‘normalization of hate’
Police officers patrol the entrance of Tate Modern gallery, in London, Oct. 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
A prominent philanthropist announces she is immediately resigning from all voluntary positions within British arts institutions after campaigns against her, saying the move is a protest against antisemitism and the “normalization of hate.”
“This decision comes not out of fear, weakness, or defeat, but as an act of principled protest against the alarming rise of antisemitism and the tacit normalization of hate within physical and online spaces meant to foster creativity and inclusion,” Candida Gertler says in a statement.
“The failure to confront such hate compromises the very essence of what art stands for — a medium for empathy, exploration and shared humanity. When art institutions allow prejudice to take root, they betray not only the marginalized communities they exclude but also the artists, supporters, and audiences who trust their integrity,” she writes.
The announcement comes after the Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) said it would be removing the names of Gertler and her husband from one of its galleries and its donor board, Art Review reports.
An open letter published earlier this week and signed by 1,100 artists and workers from the art world, called on the Tate, one of the UK’s top art institutions, to cut ties with donors including the Outset Contemporary Art Fund, of which Gertler is a co-founder.
The letter said that the Outset Contemporary Art Fund and Zabludowicz Art Trust are “deeply complicit in the Israeli regime” and that there was a need to take a stand “against the artwashing of genocide and apartheid.”
The Gertlers are reportedly friends with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Art Newspaper reports.
Poju Zabludowicz is the founder of Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) and is a donor to several Jewish and Israeli causes.
According to the Art Newspaper, Poju and Anita Zabludowicz declined to comment on the letter but reiterated a statement made in 2023 in which they said they were “deeply saddened and troubled by the horrific war that is unfolding in Israel and Gaza” and “strongly support a two-state solution and peaceful existence that guarantees the rights of Israelis and Palestinians to live and work side by side, in cooperation with the wider Middle East.”
Rocket sirens sound in Gaza border community Kissufim
Sirens in the Gaza border community Kissufim warn of incoming rocket fire.
Alerts last sounded in a town close to the Strip on Wednesday.
The IDF later says it was a false alarm.
IDF says jets hit Syrian military infrastructure being used by Hezbollah to smuggle arms
Illustrative: A picture taken from Lebanon shows Syrian officials inspecting the damage on the Syrian side of the Dabussiyeh border crossing after an Israeli airstrike on November 27, 2024. (Fathi AL-MASRI / AFP)
Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck Syrian military infrastructure near border crossings between Syria and Lebanon earlier today, which the IDF says were being “actively” used by Hezbollah to transfer weapons.
“This strike was carried out following the identification of the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah from Syria to Lebanon, even after the ceasefire agreement, and constitutes a threat to the State of Israel, in violation of the terms of the ceasefire agreement,” the military says in a statement.
The IDF accuses Hezbollah, with the support of the Syrian regime, of using civilian border crossings to bring weapons into Lebanon.
Israel has vowed to prevent all weapon transfers to Hezbollah amid the ceasefire.
“The IDF will continue to act to remove any threat to the State of Israel that violates the terms of the ceasefire agreement,” the military adds.
Troops find Hezbollah weapons cache in south Lebanon mosque
The IDF says it located a cache of weapons belonging to Hezbollah hidden inside a mosque during scans in southern Lebanon in the past day.
Troops also worked to disperse suspects who approached a no-go zone in southern Lebanon, according to the IDF.
“The IDF is deployed in southern Lebanon and will enforce any violation of the ceasefire agreement,” the military adds.
במהלך סריקות של כוחות צה״ל במרחב דרום לבנון ביממה האחרונה, הלוחמים איתרו אמצעי לחימה שהוסתרו במסגד ששימש מחבלי חיזבאללה, והחרימו אותם.
בנוסף, במהלך היממה האחרונה כוחות צה"ל פעלו להרחקת חשודים ממרחב דרום לבנון.
צה״ל פרוס במרחב דרום לבנון ויאכוף כל הפרה של הסכם הפסקת האש pic.twitter.com/6UL3b9CLei
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 30, 2024
Russian airstrikes hit Aleppo for first time since 2016 as rebels said in control of ‘most’ of the Syrian city
Anti-government fighters warm themselves near a bonfire in front of the landmark Aleppo citadel early on November 30, 2024 in Aleppo, Syria (Photo by Abdulaziz KETAZ / AFP)
A monitor of Syria’s war says jihadist rebels now controlled a majority of Aleppo city, reporting Russian airstrikes on parts of Syria’s second city for the first time since 2016.
“Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions… took control of most of the city and government centers and prisons,” says the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, adding that overnight Russian “warplanes launched raids on areas of Aleppo city for the first time since 2016.”
Navy intercepts drone apparently launched from Iraq
Israeli Navy missile boats carry out a drill in northern Israel, in a handout image released by the IDF on February 23, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
An Israeli Navy missile boat intercepted a drone in the Mediterranean Sea a short while ago, the military says.
According to the IDF, the drone was heading toward Israel and had been launched from “the east,” usually code for attacks from Iraq.
No sirens were activated according to protocol, the military adds.
Overnight, another suspected drone heading toward Israel from Iraq was shot down by the Israeli Air Force.
IDF warns Lebanese residents against moving back south to villages near border
The Israel Defense Forces say that Lebanese residents are prohibited from moving south to several villages and call on them not to return to around 62 communities in the border area.
Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, issues an “urgent warning” telling them not to cross the line of villages until further notice.
Under the ceasefire agreement, the IDF has 60 days to withdraw from these villages.
#عاجال 🔴 بيان عاجل إلى سكان لبنان
⭕️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… pic.twitter.com/NWCzOe6m0H— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) November 30, 2024
ICC prosecutor urges Appeals Chamber to reject Israeli petition against arrest warrants
International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan at the Cour d'Honneur of the Palais Royal in Paris on February 7, 2024. (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP)
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has urged the ICC Appeals Chamber to reject Israel’s attempt to suspend arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.
Israel this week filed a direct appeal to the Appeals Chamber, arguing that the investigation and arrest warrants are procedurally flawed. It also requested a suspension of the warrants while the appeal is resolved. At the same time, Israel filed an appeal with the Pre-Trial Chamber, which issued the warrant.
Prosecutor Karim Khan has urged the Chamber to reject the direct appeal, arguing it doesn’t meet the legal conditions required under ICC rules. He says the decision Israel is challenging doesn’t involve “admissibility,” a key requirement for such appeals, but instead addresses procedural complaints about the investigation.
Citing past ICC rulings, Khan argues the case should stay with the Pre-Trial Chamber, where Israel has already filed its separate request. He also argues there is no basis to suspend the arrest warrants.
The Appeals Chamber has not yet decided whether it will hear Israel’s appeal.
Military says it intercepted suspicious aerial target from the east
The military says it intercepted a suspicious aerial target that approached Israel from the east — usually drones launched by pri-Iranian militias in Iraq.
US appoints Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers to oversee Lebanon ceasefire mechanism
The US military’s CENTCOM announces that Major General Jasper Jeffers, Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT), arrived in Beirut in recent days to oversee the implementation and monitoring mechanism of the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.
Jeffers will do so alongside his co-chair, US Mideast envoy Amos Hochstein, who will fill the role until a permanent civilian US official is named.
The announcement notes that the oversight mechanism will be led by the US and include the Lebanese and Israeli militaries, UN peacekeepers and France.
كفاية النظر بنظرات الجنرال جاسپر جيفيرز حتى نتيقن معنى الاشراف على تنفيذ القرار .
Jasper_Jeffers##الجنرال_جاسپر_جيفيرز #نظرات_الجنرال_الاميركي #الدولة_العميقة #أميركا #جوزيف_عون #تنفيذ_القرار pic.twitter.com/eEEQNAMKrW
— Imago Dei (@imagodeiwoman) November 30, 2024
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