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ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 431

Lazar Berman

Lazar Berman

Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clashes with members of the press during a press conference from the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, December 9, 2024 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
December 10, 2024, 2:46 am
On eve of court testimony, Netanyahu pans legal system, media in heated press conference
‘I’ve waited 8 years to present the truth,’ says PM, denying effort to evade justice; says ‘everything goes in the effort to bring down Bibi’; berates reporters for ‘spreading lies’
By Lazar Berman, Sam Sokol and ToI Staff
Pope Francis in central Rome on the day of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 2024. (Tiziana Fabi/AFP)
December 10, 2024, 2:19 am
With genocide comments, nativity visit, Pope sows doubts about commitment to Jews
Francis, who sees himself as a friend of the community, has had an increasingly patchy record on statements relating to Jews and Israel, and may be causing irreversible damage to ties
By Lazar Berman
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a press conference from the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, December 9, 2024 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
December 10, 2024, 12:39 am
After fall of Assad, PM says Israel is ‘transforming the face of the Middle East’
In first press conference in 99 days, Netanyahu says ousted leader was key to Iranian axis, which Israel is ‘taking apart step by step,’ touts his resistance to pressure to end war
By Lazar Berman
Troops of the elite Shaldag unit are seen on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, December 8, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
December 9, 2024, 2:12 pm
Daily Briefing Dec. 9: Day 430 – IDF shores up buffer zone as Syrian rebels grasp power
Diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman on the domino effect of Israel’s decimation of Iranian-backed forces and how the success of the Syrian rebels may help clinch a hostage-release deal
By Amanda Borschel-Dan and Lazar Berman
Broken pictures of Iranian spiritual leaders Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini lie on the floor at the Iranian embassy after opposition forces took control of the city in Damascus, Syria, December 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
December 9, 2024, 4:57 am
Sinwar’s ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ washed Iran’s axis away, but that doesn’t spell plain sailing for Israel
Hamas, Hezbollah and Assad’s Syria no longer pose a strategic threat, but Tehran will keep working to harm the Jewish state; meanwhile, unpredictable Turkey and its proxies are ascendant
By Lazar Berman
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with relatives of Israelis held hostage in Gaza, December 8, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
December 9, 2024, 12:44 am
Netanyahu tells hostage families fall of Assad regime could advance negotiations
Trump says he believes there are ‘far fewer hostages’ alive than thought; senior Biden official says Syria situation has ‘dramatically changed balance of power’ and could help deal
By Lazar Berman, Jacob Magid and ToI Staff
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, tours Mount Bental on Israel's border with Syria along with military officers and Defense Minister Israel Katz, left, on December 8, 2024. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
December 8, 2024, 6:36 pm
Netanyahu claims credit for starting ‘historic’ process that led to fall of Assad regime
IDF takes control of buffer zone along border, including Syrian side of Mount Hermon, said to bomb missile research facilities, and chemical weapons stores around Damascus
By Lazar Berman, Sam Sokol, Emanuel Fabian and ToI Staff
Israelis attend a rally calling for the release of those held hostage by the Hamas terror group in Gaza, at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, December 7, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
December 8, 2024, 4:19 pm
Preparing for deal, Hamas tells fellow Gazan terror groups to identify hostages they hold
Israeli official says two recent propaganda videos released by Hamas of young male hostages indicate the group is looking for a comprehensive deal to free all captives
By AFP, Lazar Berman and ToI Staff
IDF soldiers near the Israeli border with Syria, December 7, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)
December 7, 2024, 9:29 pm
Syria rebels take areas near Israel border; IDF warns them not to ‘turn in our direction’
IDF helps UN forces repel attack by gunmen in Syrian Golan, holds drill simulating rapid deployment, and sends more troops to its side of Golan; Netanyahu convenes security cabinet
By Emanuel Fabian, Lazar Berman and ToI Staff
People walk past photographs of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, December 5, 2024. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
December 5, 2024, 6:46 pm
Israeli official: Egypt has proposed hostage deal with extended truce, not end to war
Official says Israel open to discussing outline that has been handed to Hamas, in which ‘humanitarian’ category of hostages would be released, reportedly over 60 days
By Lazar Berman
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari speaks to the media on December 4, 2024 (Video screenshot)
December 5, 2024, 12:22 am
IDF spokesman draws sharp rebuke for criticizing bill that could protect intel leakers
Army chief reprimands Hagari, defense minister says he will face disciplinary action, some legislators demand he be fired for warning that legislation endangers national security
By Emanuel Fabian, ToI Staff and Lazar Berman
Former US president Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court in New York, May 20, 2024. (Steven Hirsch/ New York Post via AP, Pool)
December 4, 2024, 5:09 pm
Isolated Hamas faces collapsing negotiating stance after drastic Trump threat
Terror group pinned hopes of salvation on the Iranian axis and world pressure on Israel, but now has just a few weeks until an unpredictable and angry US president returns
By Lazar Berman
IDF troops patrol along the Israeli-Lebanon border in northern Israel, December 2, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)
December 2, 2024, 8:51 pm
IDF launches wave of strikes in Lebanon after Hezbollah mortar attack
Terror group says first fire since truce is an ‘initial warning’ against Israel over ‘continued violation of Lebanese airspace’; US says ceasefire holding despite incidents
By Emanuel Fabian, Lazar Berman, Jacob Magid and ToI Staff
Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli speaks in the assembly hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem, on June 25, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
December 2, 2024, 5:56 am
Romania ‘shocked’ by Israeli minister’s call with candidate who praised WWII antisemites
After Amichai Chikli talks with Calin Georgescu, Bucharest’s ambassador denounces ‘insult,’ demands apology for the apparent backing of far-right figure who lauded murderers of Jews
By Lazar Berman
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)
December 1, 2024, 5:06 pm
Rebels in Syria take advantage of Israel’s successes against a weakened Iran axis
Lightning advance on Aleppo by anti-Assad jihadist force could be start of wider uprising against Tehran and its proxies
By Lazar Berman
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