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The Times of Israel is liveblogged Thursday’s events as they unfolded.
Biden hails Lieberman’s ‘fierce spirit of independence,’ efforts to repeal ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’
US Sen. John McCain, left, looks on as Sen. Joe Lieberman, center, and US Vice President Joe Biden, right, share a light moment after Biden's arrival in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, July 3, 2010. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
US President Joe Biden issues a statement eulogizing former Democratic US vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman, with whom he served in the Senate for 20 years.
“He was principled, steadfast, and unafraid to stand up for what he thought was right. He was a friend,” Biden says.
“Joe’s fierce spirit of independence is the essence of the American story. He was the grandson of immigrants; his dad ran a small business; and Joe was the first in his family to graduate from college. After law school, he quickly left a law firm job for a life of public service,” the president continues.
“As a leader in Connecticut’s legislature, as state Attorney General, and as a committed Senate colleague, Joe championed the environment, gun safety and reproductive freedom. He wrote landmark legislation repealing discriminatory restrictions on LGBTQ Americans serving in our military. He played a key role in the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of 9/11.”
“His historic bid for the vice presidency, as the first Jewish candidate on a major party ticket, took our nation one step closer to realizing the full promise of America,” Biden says.
“Joe believed in a shared purpose of serving something bigger than ourselves. He lived the values of his faith as he worked to repair the wounds of the world.”
“Jewish liturgy says of ‘those who serve the needs of the community faithfully, may God grant them their reward,'” Biden adds.
France said to be working on UNSC resolution calling for ceasefire, recognition of Palestinian state
France is said to be circulating a United Nations Security Council draft resolution that calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and recognition of a Palestinian state, Channel 12 reports.
The draft also includes a condemnation of the Palestinian terror group Hamas, unlike the resolution that passed earlier this week, and a call for the release of the hostages taken from Israel on October 7, according to the report.
Israel’s envoy to the UN tells Channel 12 that the French proposal “plays into Hamas’s hands and rewards terrorism.”
The proposal “breaks all the principles of negotiations and advances unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state,” he says, adding that Israel will “strongly oppose this terrible proposal.”
France has advocated for a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, whereas the United States, Israel’s main ally, recently let pass a UN Security Council resolution that calls for a ceasefire during the month of Ramadan and a release of all the hostages.
US tells Israel it need not close bank accounts of sanctioned settlers
The United States sent a letter to the Israeli Finance Ministry earlier this week informing Jerusalem that the sanctions imposed by the Biden administration earlier this year against violent settlers were not intended to compel Israeli banks to close the accounts of targeted individuals, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
Several major banks took this step in order to avoid violating the sanctions, which the Biden administration began issuing earlier this year after determining that the Israeli government was systematically failing to clamp down on settler violence.
The sanctions infuriated Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who characterized them as a draconian obstruction of Israeli sovereignty, and the far-right lawmaker threatened to take steps in his capacity as head of the treasury that would significantly impede the Palestinian economy, the Israeli official adds, confirming reporting in the Israel Hayom daily.
Ostensibly wary of such retaliatory actions, the US agreed to send a letter to the Finance Ministry clarifying that the sanctions were not intended to cut off those targeted from the entirety of their assets.
Rather, they should still be allowed to access their bank accounts for basic sustenance purposes. Purchases beyond this scope, including foreign transactions will remain barred, the letter clarified, giving Israeli banks the nod to partially re-open the accounts of the handful of settlers targeted, according to the Israeli official.
There have been two rounds of sanctions since the policy was first unveiled on February 1, with four being targeted in the first batch and three in the second along with two illegal outposts.
A third round is expected in the coming weeks, a US official told The Times of Israel, adding that the US plans to add new names to the list every month or so.
Those liable under the sanctions are not only the violent individuals themselves, but also entities that have financial interactions with them.
The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter.
Israel has not received all weapons it has asked for, top US general says
The United States’ top general says Israel had not received every weapon that it has asked for, in part because US President Joe Biden’s administration was not willing to provide at least some of them.
“Although we’ve been supporting them with capability, they’ve not received everything they’ve asked for,” says General Charles Q. Brown, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Some of that is because they’ve asked for stuff that we either don’t have the capacity to provide or not willing to provide, not right now,” Brown adds, while speaking at an event hosted by the Defense Writers Group.
“It is a constant dialogue,” Brown says.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Washington earlier this week and the Pentagon said security assistance to Israel was discussed.
War cabinet minister Benny Gantz welcomes High Court order on yeshiva funding
The High Court of Justice’s interim order barring the government from funding the monthly stipends of at least some ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students after April 1 is welcomed by war cabinet minister Benny Gantz.
In a tweet, the former IDF chief of staff says that “the issue is not the High Court of Justice or the prosecutor who does her job faithfully, but our need for soldiers during a difficult war, and the need of our society for everyone to take part in the right to serve the country.”
“The High Court ruled the obvious today, the time has come for the government to do the obvious. It’s time for action,” he adds.
The ruling is also welcomed by outgoing Labor chief Merav Michaeli, who calls it the “bare minimum, which should have happened a long time ago.”
“It’s truly not against ultra-Orthodox and not against studying Torah,” she insists. “It is for the law of the land, which says that everyone serves in the citizens’ army – one of the fundamentals on which the existence of our country rests.”
UTJ slams High Court ‘s interim order cutting off yeshiva stipends for some students
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox party United Torah Judaism slams the High Court of Justice’s interim order cutting off yeshiva stipends starting on April 1, describing it as a war on the Torah.
In a statement, the United Torah Judaism party accuses the judicial system of declaring “an all-out struggle” against Torah study.
“How can an interim order be issued in an hour, when an ordinary person can wait years for a ruling,” the party asks, promising to “take care of Torah students and Torah education.”
“The order given by the judges of the High Court of Justice, whose purpose is to seriously harm the Torah and Jewish people, here in the Land of Israel – the state of the Jewish people – is a sign of disgrace and contempt,” argues UTJ chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf.
“The State of Israel arose to be a home for the Jewish people whose Torah is a Torah of truth… Without the Torah, we have no right to exist,” he says. “We will fight in every way for the right of every Jew to learn Torah and we will not compromise on that.”
Senior UTJ lawmaker Meir Porush likewise condemns the court, accusing it of taking the “unprecedented step of imposing economic sanctions against those who chose to study the Holy Torah.”
“This is a serious violation of our right to exist in the Land of Israel – the highest judicial authority of the State of Israel seeks to throw Torah scholars into prison,” he declares. “We will not put up with this situation and will fight to cancel the decision immediately, along with the effort to quickly regulate the status of yeshiva members so that they can observe the Torah without interruption.”
Speaking with The Times of Israel, UTJ MK Moshe Roth says that if yeshiva students are drafted, the party “will leave the coalition.”
“Although,” he adds, “the decision lies with the council of Torah elders,” which sets policy for the party.
Brazil’s Bolsonaro requests court permission to accept Netanyahu’s invite to Israel
Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro speaks to the press outside his home after Federal Police agents carried out a search and seizure warrant in Brasilia, Brazil, May 3, 2023. (AP/Eraldo Peres)
SÃO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro has requested federal authorities return his passport and authorize travel to Israel so he can accept an event invitation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit in May, Bolsonaro’s lawyers say in a statement.
The attorneys submitted Bolsonaro’s request to the Supreme Court on Monday, the same day The New York Times published security camera footage revealing that the former Brazilian president spent two nights at Hungary’s embassy in Brasilia. His stay, in February, came just days after Federal Police seized his passport during a raid related to an investigation into whether he and top aides plotted to ignore 2022 election results and stage an uprising to keep the defeated leader in power.
The revelation of his stay sparked widespread speculation he may have been attempting to evade arrest, as agents would not have jurisdiction to enter embassy grounds due to diplomatic conventions restricting access.
Bolsonaro’s lawyers denied that was his intent, saying in a separate statement it was “illogical” to think he was seeking asylum or avoiding authorities. The stay formed part of his political agenda with the Hungarian government, with whom he has “well-known alignment,” the statement says.
In his petition to the Supreme Court for authorization to travel to Israel from May 12 to 18, Bolsonaro’s lawyers say the proposed trip wouldn’t jeopardize the ongoing legal processes he faces, as he has scheduled appointments after his planned date of return.
The request didn’t specify which event Bolsonaro aims to attend, but the proposed period coincides with Israel’s Independence Day.
“As is public knowledge, part of political activity involves international relations as well as expanding dialogue with global leaders,” Bolsonaro’s lawyer Fabio Wajngarten says on X, formerly Twitter.
The Supreme Court’s press office said it will analyze the request and that there is no deadline for a decision.
IDF destroys 2.5-km section of large Hamas tunnel that connects north and south Gaza
The IDF says it has destroyed a large section of a Hamas tunnel, 2.5 kilometers long, that was part of an underground network that connected between northern and southern Gaza.
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari in a press conference says more than 30 tons of explosives were used in the overnight demolition.
The military releases footage of it blowing up the tunnel.
Troops kill senior Hamas commander in ongoing operation at Shifa Hospital
The IDF handout published March 28, 2024 showing senior Hamas commander Raad Thabet, stamped with "assassinated" after he was killed at Gaza City's Shifa Hospital. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says senior Hamas commander Raad Thabet was eliminated by troops of the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital earlier today.
Thabet was head of human resources and supply for the terror group and is considered among the top 10 most senior Hamas military commanders, according to Hagari.
He says Thabet was killed by the Navy commandos and other troops while attempting to flee with two other operatives into the hospital area, in what appeared to be part of an attack against the forces.
In another area of Shifa Hospital, at the maternity ward, Hagari says troops of the Nahal Brigade’s recon unit encountered and killed three gunmen in a firefight.
He says the identities of the gunmen will be released to the public once the military verifies them.
Troops have detained more than 900 terror suspects at Shifa Hospital amid the ongoing raid. Hagari says that so far, 513 of them are confirmed to be members of terror groups, and the military believes that many of the others are terror operatives as well.
Another 350 people were identified as patients and medical staff, he says.
US welcomes new Palestinian Authority cabinet, will work to implement reforms
The United States welcomes the Palestinian Authority’s establishment of a new cabinet and says it will look to this government to implement much-needed reforms.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller notes that several members of the new cabinet are from Gaza, in line with Washington’s desire to see a PA government that is more representative of the Palestinian people.
“We have encouraged them to implement reforms that crack down on corruption, increase transparency, increase media freedoms and increase the ability for civil society to engage with the government,” Miller says when asked for his thoughts on the new government during a press briefing.
“We will engage with this government based on its actions,” he continues. “We’ll be closely tracking the steps it takes to advance key reforms and look forward to engaging with them on that matter.”
Yair Lapid narrowly bests challenger Ram Ben Barak in first Yesh Atid leadership race
Left: Yesh Atid head MK Yair Lapid speaking during a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, July 17, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90); right: MK Ram Ben Barak leading a joint meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Internal security Committees, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, June 20, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid beats challenger Ram Ben Barak by a hair’s breadth in the centrist party’s first competitive primary.
Lapid wins only 52.5 percent of the vote, after 720 members of the party conference cast their votes in Tel Aviv on Thursday. Ben Barak received 47.5% of the votes. The difference is 36 votes.
Speaking after the results are tallied, Lapid thanks Ben Barak “for a fair race.”
“The primaries are over, but our war has only just begun,” he says. “Because there is no one but us who offers this country a different vision and a different direction. Everyone surrendered and went and settled under Netanyahu and only we remained, so only we will make the change.”
“Until a few weeks ago, every person I met has told me one of two things: either he told me, ‘Why don’t you enter the government,’ or he told me, ‘Why aren’t you a more aggressive opposition?'”
‘I am no longer told either of the two things. Every person we meet today tells us something different. They say: ‘Save us!’ They say this because they remember that we already saved them once. Even then no one believed it was possible, but we did it and they want us to do it again,” he says.
“This government is responsible for the greatest disaster that has happened to the Jewish people since the Holocaust, and it has one goal, and one goal only: to forget it. Let’s forget it happened on their watch. There is no country in the world, not even one, where these people would stay in office even one more day.”
“We need a government that will recruit ultra-Orthodox without fear, that will write a constitution, that will invest our money in state education and small businesses and technology, that will build our ties with the United States and the moderate Arab countries instead of destroying them, that instead of insulting people will bring people together,” Lapid adds.
“2024 is an election year. There will be elections. The change this country needs starts here and starts now. It’s time to write a new chapter in the life of this party, and in the life of this country.”
High Court orders cessation of yeshiva funding from April 1 for students eligible for the draft
In a dramatic step, the High Court of Justice issues an interim order barring the government from funding the monthly stipends of at least some ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students after April 1, as the legal framework for deferring their military service will no longer exist.
Yeshiva students who did not get a military service deferral after July 1, 2023, and who have not presented themselves for conscription will now be ineligible for the monthly stipends, the court rules.
Those who received exemptions before that date will still be eligible, although their stipends will also likely be shortly cut off if the government does not pass a new legislative framework for them to obtain military service exemptions.
Tens of thousands of haredi yeshiva students receive monthly stipends for their yeshiva studies, and these payments are of critical importance to the ultra-Orthodox political parties.
Pentagon in early talks on plans to fund peacekeeping force in Gaza – report
The Pentagon is in early “conversations” on potential plans to fund a peacekeeping force in the Gaza Strip, Politico reports, citing two Defense Department officials and two other US officials.
According to the report, Biden administration officials are in preliminary talks on security and stability in post-war Gaza and are considering a number of options, “including a proposal for the Pentagon to help fund either a multinational force or a Palestinian peacekeeping team.”
No US troops would be involved, the officials tell Politico. Pentagon funds could go toward the needs of the force and complement funding from other countries, the report says.
A senior administration official tells Politico: “We are working with partners on various scenarios for interim governance and security structures in Gaza once the crisis recedes. We’ve had a number of conversations with both the Israelis and our partners about key elements for the day after in Gaza when the time is right.”
Asked about reports that the US is in talks to advance a peacekeeping force in Gaza, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller declines to comment on the private discussions.
However, he says, “The work we have been doing with our Arab partners is to put together a concrete proposal of what post-conflict governance would look like, both as it pertains to security in Gaza, the reconstruction of Gaza and a political path forward for the Palestinian people that answers their very legitimate aspirations.”
“As part of that, we have had discussions with Saudi Arabia about how to further integrate Israel with its neighbors, including with Saudi Arabia. That work continues, but at some point, our goal is to have something to put on the table for Israel to look,” he adds.
IDF carries out surprise exercise to ‘strengthen’ military readiness for war in north
The IDF says it carried out a surprise exercise today aimed at preparing the military for war in the north.
The drill, led by the Operations Division, involved all the IDF’s commands, wings and directorates, as well as the General Staff.
“The purpose of the exercise was to strengthen the IDF’s readiness for various scenarios in the northern arena,” the military says.
Syrian state media says IAF hit building in Damascus area, injuring 2 and causing ‘material losses’
Syria’s state-run SANA news agency, citing a military source, says the Israeli Air Force struck a residential building in the Damascus area earlier today.
It says the strike led to two civilians being injured and “material losses.”
As a rule, the IDF generally does not comment on alleged strikes in Syria.
ICJ orders Israel to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza, demands report in 30 days
The International Court of Justice issues new provisional measures against Israel, ordering it to increase the provision of basic humanitarian goods to the Gaza Strip including food, water, fuel and shelter, due to what it says are the worsening living conditions for Palestinians in the war-torn territory.
“The catastrophic living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated further, in particular in view of the prolonged and widespread deprivation of food and other basic necessities to which the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been subjected,” says the court in its decision.
“Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only a risk of famine, as noted in the Order of 26 January 2024, but that famine is setting in,” the court says, adding that “the provisional measures indicated in the Order of 26 January 2024 do not fully address the consequences arising from the changes in the situation… thus justifying the modification of these measures.”
The ICJ reaffirms the measures ordered back in January, and further orders Israel to ensure “the unhindered provision at scale… of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, including food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements,” and medical supplies, as well as “increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary.”
The court also orders Israel to ensure that the military “does not commit acts” which violate the Genocide Convention “including by preventing, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance,” and orders Israel to report back to the court within one month.
On January 26, the ICJ ordered Israel to comply with a series of provisional measures based on its finding that there was plausibility to an application filed by South Africa against Israel that Israel’s actions in Gaza fall under the scope of the Genocide Convention.
Hezbollah claims responsibility for rocket fire on northern Israel earlier
The Hezbollah terror group claims responsibility for rocket fire on the northern Israeli communities of Shlomi and Goren a short while ago.
There are no reports of injuries, but damage is reportedly caused in both communities.
The IDF says it is shelling the launch sites with artillery.
Hezbollah claims responsibility for rocket fire on the northern communities of Shlomi and Goren a short while ago.
There are no reports of injuries, but damage is reportedly caused in both communities.
The IDF says it is shelling the launch sites with artillery. pic.twitter.com/79asB63oA3
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 28, 2024
Israel will ‘not leave anyone behind,’ preparing for Rafah offensive, PM tells families of soldiers held hostage in Gaza
Speaking at a meeting with the families of IDF soldiers held hostage by Hamas, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promises to “not leave anyone behind.”
“I know that every day that passes is hell,” he tells the families, according to a readout from his office. “Your sons are our heroes. Israel’s heroes.”
Netanyahu tells the families only military pressure will secure the release of the hostages, declaring that Israel is “preparing to enter Rafah.”
“I deal with it day and night personally. Only the continuation of the powerful military pressure that we exerted and will exert… will return everyone,” he states.
“We conquered the north of the Gaza Strip and Khan Younis. We have secured the strip, and we are preparing to enter Rafah,” he continues, insisting that all of Israel’s assets must be “used wisely in the negotiations that I conduct myself every day.”
Netanyahu’s comments come only days after Jerusalem recalled its negotiating team from Qatar after Hamas rejected its latest offer in talks on a hostage deal and truce.
Ignoring PM’s extension request, AG tells High Court Haredi draft should start Monday
The Attorney General’s Office tells the High Court that come Monday morning, the state will be legally obligated to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students and there will no longer be a legal basis for the state to pay such students’ monthly stipends.
This would represent a radical and dramatic new legal situation, in which thousands of Haredi yeshiva students would be liable for the draft.
The Attorney General says however that there should be at least a small interim period until the end of the yeshiva academic year when yeshiva stipends could continue to be paid.
This position is essentially the same as a draft response issued late Wednesday night, the adoption of which was delayed over the last day as the government scrambled to come up with some plan for increasing ultra-Orthodox military service enlistment to show the court.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged that this effort had failed when he asked for a 30-day extension to the court’s deadline.
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel welcomes the Attorney General’s stance, saying “the days are over in which there are citizens in the State of Israel who have only rights and no obligations.”
IDF: Patriot air defense system intercepts ‘suspicious aerial target’ fired from Lebanon
The IDF confirms that the Patriot air defense system successfully intercepted a “suspicious aerial target” that was heading toward Israel from Lebanon earlier today.
Amid the incident, one of the Patriot missiles exploded over northern Israel. The IDF says the incident is under investigation.
The Israeli Air Force is in the midst of closing several of its aging Patriot batteries, and its staff will be trained to operate on the Iron Dome instead.
Footage of the interceptor missile launch over Safed, with what appears to be a plume of smoke from another missile that exploded closer to the ground. pic.twitter.com/KvbYLiKxDx
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 28, 2024
Sirens sound in northern Israel; no immediate reports of injuries, damage
Sirens warning of incoming rocket fire are blaring across northern Israel, close to the border with Lebanon.
Sirens sounded in the communities of Goren, Eilon and Gornot Hagalil.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
Lapid rips into PM for requesting 4th extension in 24 hours on Haredi draft
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid rips into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for requesting a 30-day extension to the deadline for presenting the court with a plan to increase ultra-Orthodox conscription.
“During a time of war, the only thing occupying the prime minister in recent days is looking for a sweeping exemption from conscription for the ultra-Orthodox that will ensure the stability of the coalition,” Lapid says.
Calling the request an “insult,” Lapid insists that “there is no reason to approve another postponement.”
Netanyahu’s request makes the fourth delay the government has asked for in the last 24 hours.
PM asks High Court for 30-day extension on Haredi draft, touts ‘considerable progress’ on plan
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu writes to the High Court of Justice requesting a 30-day extension to the deadline for presenting the court with a plan to increase ultra-Orthodox conscription.
This is the fourth extension the government has requested in the last 24 hours to the court’s deadline for the state to file its response to petitions demanding the immediate conscription of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.
Earlier today, the state requested a two-hour extension to tell the High Court how it will resolve the issue, after requesting a half-day extension at close to midnight on Wednesday night. The original deadline for the state to file its response was March 24, but the state then requested a three-day extension, which the court agreed to.
Having blown past these deadlines, Netanyahu personally pens a letter to the court today saying that “considerable progress” had been made on finding a formula to resolve the decades-long legal and societal quandary but that the government needs just another 30 days to draw up this plan.
The prime minister says that because of the ongoing war, his government has been unable to dedicate the necessary time to finding a solution to the longstanding problem.
Netanyahu adds that the arrangement being formulated would establish “tracks and frameworks which would allow those enlisting to preserve their lifestyle throughout their service,” adding notably that it would also “ensure that those for whom ‘their Torah is their trade’ will be able to study Torah.”
“For these reasons I request from the honorable court that it not make a decision on the issue of enlistment and all the questions connected to it for the next 30 days, in order to allow us to finally formulate the agreements and complete the professional staff work and regulate the necessary tracks and frameworks,” Netanyahu tells the High Court.
Alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria hits site on outskirts of Damascus — report
Arabic-language media outlets report an alleged Israeli airstrike near the Syrian town of al-Bahdaliyah, on the outskirts of Damascus.
Images posted to social media show smoke rising for a targeted site.
Notably, there is no information on the strike from Syria’s state-run SANA news agency.
معلومات أولية عن غارة إسرائيلية استهدفت ريف دمشق بسوريا pic.twitter.com/qitPZezAFi
— bintjbeil.org (@bintjbeilnews) March 28, 2024
Palestinian Authority PM Mohammad Mustafa forms cabinet, calls for immediate Gaza ceasefire
This handout picture provided by the Palestinian Authority's Press Office (PPO) shows Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, left, with the newly appointed Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa, in Ramallah on March 14, 2024. (Photo by PPO / AFP)
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa formed a new cabinet today in which he will also serve as foreign minister, making an immediate ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza a top priority, Palestinian news agency WAFA reports.
Mustafa, an ally to PA President Mahmoud Abbas and a leading business figure, was appointed premier this month with a mandate to help reform the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-controlled West Bank.
He was also assigned to lead the relief and rebuilding of Gaza, which has been shattered by more than five months of war, while he performs double duty as foreign minister, replacing Riyad al-Maliki who had served in the position since 2009.
Abbas, who as president remains by far the most powerful figure in the PA, appointed the new government in a demonstration of willingness to meet international demands for change in the administration.
Captured PIJ terrorist confesses to raping Israeli woman on Oct. 7 in new IDF interrogation footage
A screenshot from an IDF interrogation video of captured Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist Manar Qassem, who confesses to raping an Israeli woman in the October 7 attack, March 28, 2024. (Screenshot, Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF has released new interrogation footage of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist who appears to confess to raping an Israeli woman in a kibbutz in southern Israel during the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught.
The terrorist, Manar Qassem, who was captured by the IDF earlier this month in Khan Younis, says he is a member of Islamic Jihad’s naval forces.
In the interrogation carried out by the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504, Qassem is asked what he did on October 7, to which he provides a detailed response.
Qassem says he entered Israel through a breach in the Gaza border fence between the Khan Younis area towns of al-Fukhkhari and Khuza’a, armed with a handgun and two grenades.
He says that as he reached the unnamed kibbutz, he entered the closest home, where he encountered a woman who was startled.
“I took her and threw her on the couch,” Qassem tells the interrogators, recalling in detail what she looked like and what she was wearing.
“The devil took over me, I laid her down, started undressing her, and did what I did,” he says.
Pressed by the interrogator as to what he did, Qassem responds by saying: “I slept with her.”
Asked again, Qassem says “I raped her,” according to the IDF. The audio in the footage is unintelligible at some points, due to the military censoring the voice of the interrogator.
“She pushed me, it didn’t last long… Two minutes. Maybe a minute and a half,” he says.
At that point, according to Qassem, two members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades entered the home and put the woman together with her mother for a short while, before taking both out of the house. It was not immediately clear if the woman is alive.
Qassem says he was left alone and decided to head back to the Gaza Strip. He says he heard gunshots, and then shot one Israeli man near him, before throwing one of his grenades and fleeing the kibbutz.
The IDF says the footage is “further proof of the onslaught of murder and sexual violence by the terrorist organizations on October 7th, in an attempt to make the voices of those who can no longer tell be heard.”
National Security Council issues travel warnings to Turkey, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt ahead of Passover
Turkey, Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt are destinations that “should be avoided at the current time,” an Israeli official says as Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) issues travel warnings to four countries with which Israel has diplomatic ties.
The warning for Egypt includes the Sinai peninsula, a popular holiday destination for Israelis traveling over Passover.
The official says Israel is not considering closing the crossing into Egypt, but will do so in the case of a specific threat.
The official has also warned Israelis traveling to Sweden in May for the Eurovision 2024 song contest to make efforts to conceal their identities.
According to the travel warnings, there are growing attempts during the Gaza war by global jihadist organizations to inspire lone attackers to target Jews and Israelis. The primary threats, says the NSC warning, is Iran and its proxies.
Jewish communities in Europe and North America “are also a major target” for the extreme right, “with religious and community institutions being a preferred target on holidays and festivals,” the NSC says in the announcement today.
The “potential for terrorist threats against Israelis and Jews more than five months after the start of the war is extremely high,” it adds.
Dozens of such terror attempts to target Israelis and Jews have been foiled around the world in recent years, says the NSC.
“What has been published is just the tip of the iceberg,” explains the official, referring to recent intercepted plots to kill Israelis in Cyprus, Greek and Turkey.
Hamas is also trying to target Israelis and Jews abroad during the war, according to the NSC warnings. In December 2023, a Hamas terror network in northern Europe was uncovered.
Official warns Israelis traveling to Sweden for Eurovision to hide their identity
Red paint is seen on a Eurovision sign in Malmo, Sweden, on March 11, 2024, after it was vandalized in a protest against Israel. (SVT screenshot; used in accordance with clause 27a of the copyright law)
Israelis traveling to Malmo, Sweden, for the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest should take care to hide their identity, an Israeli official says.
“We are not saying not to travel there, but those who travel should not display their Zionism,” says the official during a briefing to Israeli reporters on new travel warnings issued ahead of the Passover holiday.
“They shouldn’t walk around with little Israeli flags,” the official explains, adding that there are no specific threats right now.
“You can speak Hebrew with each other, but you don’t have to shout to family or friends at the other end of the street.”
The official says that the Eurovision site itself will be secure, but that Malmo is “an unfriendly area for Israelis.”
The music contest will take place starting on May 5. Israeli singer Eden Golan will compete in the annual song contest, after months of uncertainty over Israel’s participation amid protests and accusations of politicization.
File: Eden Golan, winner of the reality show ‘The Next Star to the Eurovision’ during the final of the show on February 6, 2024. (Koko/Flash90)
The National Security Council, which issued the updated warnings today, is also looking ahead to the Euro soccer championships in Germany and the 2024 Paris Olympics as events that thousands of Israelis will travel to.
Jihadist organizations like Al Qaeda and ISIS could target those events, says the official, or could specifically attack Jews and Israelis there.
The primary threats, says the NSC warning, is Iran and its proxies. Dozens of such terror attempts to target Israelis and Jews have been foiled around the world in recent years, says the NSC.
“What has been published is just the tip of the iceberg,” explains the official, referring to attempts to kill Israelis in Cyprus, Greek and Turkey.
Hamas is also trying to target Israelis and Jews abroad during the ongoing war in Gaza, according to the NSC warnings. In December 2023, a Hamas terror network in northern Europe was uncovered.
There are growing attempts during the war by global jihadist organizations to inspire lone attackers to target Jews, according to the travel warnings.
The NSC underscores four countries with which Israel maintains diplomatic ties as destinations “that should be avoided at the current time”: Turkey, Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt, including the Sinai peninsula, a popular holiday destination for Israelis over Passover.
The official says Israel is not considering closing the crossing into Egypt, but will do so in the case of a specific threat.
France to provide UNRWA funding while ‘ensuring right conditions are met,’ says foreign ministry
France will provide over 30 million euros ($32.41 million) to the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, this year to support its operations amid the devastating war in Gaza, said the foreign ministry in Paris.
“We will make our contributions while ensuring that the conditions are met for UNRWA to fulfill its missions in a spirit devoid of incitement to hatred and violence,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine tells journalists.
He did not say when the next payment to the agency would be made. According to the usual quarterly schedule, the next payment is due in April.
Brother of Bedouin hostage held since October 7: ‘Release the women first’
Salaam Alatrash, whose brother Mohammad Alatrash was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7, speaks to Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib (Screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
The brother of Mohammad Alatrash, 40, who was kidnapped by terrorists during Hamas’s October 7 massacre, tells Belgium’s foreign minister Hadja Lahbib that female captives still held by terror groups in Gaza should be freed first in a possible hostage release deal.
“We should put pressure on them to release everyone, first of all the women,” says Salaam Alatrash. “What’s happening to them there is shocking.”
MohammadAlatrash, from the Bedouin village of Sawa in the Negev, has two wives and 13 children, including a baby who was a month old when his father was abducted on October 7, according to Ynet.
His brother’s comments, cited by the Kan broadcaster, come after The New York Times published an interview in which released hostage Amit Soussana, 40, gave testimony of being raped and attacked by her Hamas guard during captivity in Gaza.
A UN report published earlier this month also confirmed that rape and gang rape occurred during the October 7 Hamas onslaught against southern Israel, that “clear and convincing” evidence shows that hostages were raped while being held in Gaza, and that those currently held captive are still facing such abuse.
The Associated Press wins prize for photo essay on Hamas war, including photo of Shani Louk’s abduction
The Associated Press has won a prestigious journalism prize for its photo essay “Israel and Hamas War,” which includes a photo of the abduction of Shani Louk by terrorists on October 7.
The photo, which Pictures of the Year International features on the first slide of a celebratory post on Instagram, shows a half-naked woman lying seemingly unconscious face-down in the back of a pickup truck filled with armed men.
Louk, 22, was at the Supernova music festival on October 7, when terrorists mowed down attendees with gunfire and grenades, killing some 360 people and abducting dozens more, mostly civilians, many amid horrific acts of brutality and sexual assault.
She was officially declared dead on October 30 after a piece of her skull was identified. Her body is still being held in Gaza.
Hosted by the Missouri School of Pictures of the Year International is the oldest photojournalism competition in the world. It’s hosted by RJI at the Missouri School of Journalism.
Awarded "Team Picture Story of the Year" by Associated Press. @apnews. pic.twitter.com/v2D3lQR0dN
— David Hirsh (@DavidHirsh) March 28, 2024
State requests 2-hour extension for response to High Court on Haredi draft
Ultra-Orthodox men arrive at the IDF Recruitment Center at Tel Hashomer, in central Israel, March 28, 2024. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
The state requests a new, two-hour extension to tell the High Court how it might resolve the ultra-Orthodox conscription conundrum, after requesting a half-day extension at close to midnight on Wednesday night.
The High Court did not respond one way or the other to the deadline extension request on Wednesday night.
The original deadline for the state to file its response to petitions demanding the immediate conscription of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students was March 24, but the state then requested a three-day extension, which the court agreed to. It said at the time however that if no response was forthcoming by that time it would base its ruling on the information in its possession.
The second deadline extension request in 24 hours appears to indicate that the government is making a last-gasp effort to submit some kind of substantive response to the court.
Minutes before the Wednesday night deadline request, the Attorney General’s Office issued a dramatic draft response stating that come April 1 there would be no legal mechanism for not drafting ultra-Orthodox men of military age or funding the stipends of full time yeshiva students.
Prior to that, the Attorney General’s Office had upbraided Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs for failing to produce a detailed response to the court as to how it might increase ultra-Orthodox military service enlistment, telling Fuchs that the government’s proposal lacked even “a minimal professional foundation.”
Sirens sounding again in northern towns including Shlomi, Rosh Hanikra
Sirens are sounding in northern border communities again, warning of incoming rocket fire.
Sirens are sounding in largely evacuated northern border towns including Shlomi, Rosh Hanikra, Lehman, Betzet and Achziv Miluot Industrial Zone.
Rocket Alerts [14:03:47] – 5 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — Shlomi, Achziv Miluot Industrial Zone, Lehman, Rosh HaNikra, Betzet#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/M3IynExPoU
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) March 28, 2024
The sirens sound minutes after the IDF says a “suspicious aerial target” from Lebanon was intercepted heading toward Israel.
Senior UTJ lawmaker: I pray for IDF soldiers in Gaza ‘but without Torah students we have no future’
Senior United Torah Judaism lawmaker Moshe Gafni seems to signal his party’s unwillingness to reach a compromise on the enlistment of yeshiva students, declaring that “without Torah scholars we have no right to exist in this land.”
Speaking at a cornerstone laying ceremony for an ultra-Orthodox school in the northern city of Tiberias, Gafni appears to minimize the importance of army service vis-a-vis full-time Talmud study.
“Without the Torah scholars we have no right to exist in this land. After two thousand years of exile, the people of Israel returned to being a Jewish nation in their own land and this is in the merit of the Torah scholars who continue the tradition,” he declares.
“I bless the soldiers who risk their lives in Gaza and here on the northern border, I pray with all the people of Israel that they return home safe and sound, but without Torah students we have no future, and therefore we need to preserve them with all possible force.”
His statement comes less than a day after the government requested a half-day extension to the High Court’s deadline for filing a response to petitions demanding that it immediately start conscripting ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.
Its request appears to indicate that there will be a last-gasp effort to formulate some kind of realistic proposal to show the court by that time, although the coalition has thus far been unable to reach an agreement which would satisfy the court, the ultra-Orthodox and those pushing for universal conscription.
UTJ's Gafni: “I bless the soldiers who risk their lives in Gaza and here on the northern border, I pray with all the people of Israel that they return home safe and sound, but without Torah students we have no future…" pic.twitter.com/o8hc8eO00u
— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) March 28, 2024
IDF: Interceptor missiles downed ‘suspicious aerial target’ from Lebanon
Interceptor missiles fired from the Safed area apparently successfully downed a “suspicious aerial target” heading toward Israel from Lebanon, according to the IDF.
The target, possibly a drone, did not enter Israeli airspace, according to initial IDF assessments.
Safed residents report interceptor missiles fired over city; no casualties reported
Residents of Safed report that interceptor missiles were fired over the northern city.
No sirens had sounded in the area, and there were no reports of injuries or damage.
The IDF does not immediately comment on the incident.
Footage of the interceptor missile launch over Safed, with what appears to be a plume of smoke from another missile that exploded closer to the ground. pic.twitter.com/KvbYLiKxDx
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 28, 2024
Hamas official warns Israel: ‘Rafah operation won’t be a cakewalk’
Hamas has begun preparing for a planned Israeli operation in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, an unnamed leader from the terror group is quoted as saying.
In an interview with Qatari-owned outlet Al-Arabi Al-Jadid, the terror group official warns, “The Rafah operation will not be a cakewalk as the occupation leaders think.”
He is quoted as saying that Hamas and other terror groups “are fully prepared to inflict heavy losses on the occupation army.”
The official also threatens further attacks from the so-called “axis of resistance,” a collection of Iran-backed movements hostile to Israel and the United States that also includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group and Iraqi militias.
“The head of the occupation government, Benjamin Netanyahu, is leading the entire region to an explosion, and if it occurs, no party will be able to control its repercussions,” he warns.
The Houthis in Yemen have attacked Red Sea shipping for months since the Israel-Hamas war was triggered by the Palestinian terror group’s October 7 attack, saying they are targeting Israeli-linked vessels in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, while Hezbollah has launched daily attacks from Lebanon since October 8.
Head of IDF Central Command holds assessment at scene of Jordan Valley shooting attack
Troops search for the attacker in terror shooting in the West Bank town of al-Aujaar near Route 90, March 28, 2024. (IDF)
The head of the IDF Central Command, Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox, is holding an assessment at the scene of this morning’s shooting attack in the Jordan Valley, the military says.
The assessment comes as troops continue to search for the terrorist behind the attack.
Three people were wounded in the attack.
As diplomatic tensions simmer, Herzog calls Biden ‘a great friend of Israel’
President Isaac Herzog meets a group of visiting Democratic congresspeople, March 28, 2024 (Maayan Toaf/GPO)
Amid tensions between the White House and the Benjamin Netanyahu government over the conduct of the war in Gaza, President Isaac Herzog tells a group of visiting Democratic congresspeople that US President Joe Biden is “a great friend of Israel.”
“When we hosted him less than two years ago here, I could see his love and affection and emotion towards the people of Israel and the State of Israel,” says Herzog to the group, led by AIPAC. “The tears in his eyes when he saw so many great moments here. He is a true friend and I respect him a lot for that.”
Herzog says the bond between the two countries is “essential to the well-being of our nations, and we should simply focus on upgrading, enhancing, and strengthening this bond.”
The president insists the alliance is “as strong as ever,” and that “the United States of America has no greater friend than Israel, and Israel has no greater friend than the United States of America.”
The president tells the visiting lawmakers that the US and Israel “will work together to alleviate and upgrade the humanitarian aid to Gaza and we will work together endlessly to bring the hostages back home.”
“And we will work endlessly to fight terror, stand up to the empire of evil, and lead the world and the region to a better future,” he concludes.
WATCH: IDF troops find weapons cache in southern Gaza neighborhood
Troops of the Commando Brigade operate in the Khan Younis neighborhood of al-Amal, in a handout image published March 28, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says troops of the Commando Brigade, alongside other forces, have seized hundreds of weapons during an ongoing offensive in the al-Amal neighborhood of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
In a video published by the IDF, a cache of firearms, explosive devices, and other military equipment is seen being found by the Paratroopers Brigade’s reconnaissance unit in a building adjacent to al-Amal Hospital.
The Egoz commando unit captured dozens of terror operatives in the neighborhood, who were interrogated by the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504, the IDF says.
Numerous gunmen have also been killed by troops in al-Amal, including with sniper fire, in close-quarters combat, and by calling in airstrikes, according to the IDF.
Allenby border crossing into Jordan said closed as IDF hunts for West Bank terrorist
Illustrative: An Israeli soldier stands at the entrance to the Allenby border crossing, the main border crossing for Palestinians from the West Bank traveling to neighboring Jordan and beyond, Monday, March 10, 2014. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
The Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge crossing between the West Bank and Jordan is closed today following a terror attack in the Jordan Valley this morning that injured three Israelis.
The crossing, located in the Jordan Valley some 5 kilometers (3 miles) east of Jericho, is a key traffic axis between the West Bank and Jordan. It only serves Palestinians and tourists; Israelis are not allowed to use it.
The closing of the crossing coincides with intensified military activities in the area, Wafa reports, as the IDF carries out a manhunt for the perpetrator of this morning’s attack in the town of al-Auja.
The Israel Airport Authority, which operates the Allenby crossing, could not be reached to confirm the report.
Suspended Hebrew U professor reinstated after recanting doubts over Hamas Oct. 7 rapes
Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, a Palestinian professor at the Hebrew University who was suspended from her role two weeks ago after a series of inflammatory statements, has been reinstated after recanting some of her remarks, Haaretz reports.
Shalhoub-Kevorkian, who has spoken out against Israel and Zionism in the past, was interviewed by Channel 14 on March 11, and she accused Israel of genocide in Gaza and called into question the rapes and other atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7.
The senior lecturer will be allowed to return to teaching following a meeting with university rector Tamir Sheafer. Shalhoub-Kevorkian was requested to recant her questioning of Hamas’s sexual assault during its October 7 onslaught, but was not requested to walk back her claim that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, according to Haaretz.
Shalhoub-Kevorkian, the Lawrence D. Biele Chair in Law at the Faculty of Law-Institute of Criminology at the Hebrew University, according to her faculty page, is an expert on “trauma, state crimes and criminology, surveillance, gender violence, law and society.”
First Gaza protest flotilla expected to reach waters near Israel in April
In this May 31, 2010 file photo, the Mavi Marmara ship, the lead boat of a flotilla headed to the Gaza Strip which was stormed by Israeli naval commandos in a predawn confrontation, sails into the port of Ashdod, Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)
Israel is expecting the first Gaza protest flotilla to reach nearby waters during the second week of April, according to an assessment seen by The Times of Israel.
That flotilla is being organized by the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH), a Turkish organization that was responsible for the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla, in which nine passengers were killed after IDF troops were attacked on board the ship.
IHH president Bülent Yıldırım said in February, “We will test both the Egyptian and Gazan entry points from the sea. Israel previously conducted a raid on the Mavi Marmara. This time, they won’t be able to do anything. Even if they do, so what? We’ll become martyrs.”
The IHH, listed as a terror organization by Israel, is alleged to have links with the ruling AK Party in Turkey, and with jihadist groups across the Middle East.
With Turkey and Egypt moving forward in their rapprochement process, a flotilla highlighting Cairo’s role in restricting goods and movement in and out of the Gaza Strip will complicate matters for both Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.
Gantz denies offering IDF exemption deal to Haredi parties in exchange for early elections
War cabinet minister Benny Gantz at the Knesset in Jerusalem, March 27, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
National Unity chairman Benny Gantz denies media reports that he offered the Haredi parties an extension of their long-standing IDF exemption in exchange for an agreement to hold national elections in six months.
“I have never conditioned the issue of service on elections,” he posts on X, formerly Twitter, declaring that he would not provide support to any proposal “aimed at bypassing the High Court of Justice and not responding to the needs of the IDF and Israeli society.”
“As I repeated and said throughout this whole period: A solution for recruitment – yes, exemption from recruitment – no,” he states.
A proposal by Gantz and fellow National Unity minister Gadi Eisenkot “is the most correct, just and realistic solution” and is presented “with great respect for the study of the Torah” and will “allow the ultra-Orthodox to maintain their lifestyles,” he insists. “This offer is still valid today.”
Gantz and Eisenkot’s plan calls for gradual annual increases in the number of Haredim doing military service, although the version presented to the press did not detail specific quotas.
Russian says several of its warships enter Red Sea amid Houthi attacks
Several Russian warships have passed the Bab al-Mandab Strait into the Red Sea, the Russian navy’s Pacific Fleet says, amid attacks by Yemen’s Houthis on merchant shipping.
The Zvezda TV channel, owned by the defense ministry, quotes the fleet as saying the Russian cruiser Varyag and the frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov are taking part in the voyage.
The Houthis belong to the “axis of resistance,” a collection of Iran-backed movements hostile to Israel and the United States that also includes Hamas, Hezbollah and Iraqi militias.
The Houthis have attacked Red Sea shipping for months since the Israel-Hamas war was triggered by Hamas’s October 7 attack, saying they are targeting Israeli-linked vessels in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
High-school students stage one-day ‘warning strike’ over school funding
A one-day walkout organized by Israel’s National Student and Youth Council calls for high-school students to stay home today in protest over unresolved salary negotiations between the Finance Ministry and the Teachers’ Union.
The students call for “a stable education system for the long term, a system that will have quality teachers who earn a decent living, a system in which subjects will not be canceled due to teacher shortages,” and decry the lack of an agreement over teachers’ salaries.
“This strike is a warning. We will disrupt the public agenda in order to end the ongoing postponement of a signed agreement,” the Student and Youth Council says in a statement.
High-school students are being used as a “bargaining chip” in the struggle between the Finance Ministry and the teachers, the council continues, and have suffered from an education system that hasn’t met the challenges posed by COVID-19, years-long political stalemates, and now the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“Hundreds of thousands of high schoolers” are participating in the strike today, a youth council spokesperson tells The Times of Israel, in “every corner of the country” and including students from Arabic, ultra-Orthodox and National Religious school tracks.
“Today schools are open as usual and the teachers are there. Any students not attending will be counted as absent,” a ministry spokesperson tells The Times of Israel.
According to the Education Ministry, there are nearly 500,000 9th- to 12th-graders in Israel.
Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza claims death toll at least 32,552
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says the Palestinian death toll in the Strip has reached at least 32,552.
The latest toll includes 62 fatalities over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 74,980 people have been wounded in Gaza since the war began on October 7 with Hamas’s brutal massacre in southern Israel.
These figures cannot be independently verified, do not differentiate between civilians and combatants and also include hundreds killed by the terror group’s own misfired rockets.
The IDF says it has killed more than 13,000 Hamas terrorists in battle, plus some 1,000 gunmen inside Israel on October 7.
2 wounded in West Bank shooting were activists en route to protect Palestinian shepherds
Two of the three people wounded in a terror attack in the West Bank this morning were activists who were on their way to assist Palestinian shepherds in the area, according to an announcement from a local rights group.
The group, Looking the Occupation in the Eye, vows to continue to “protect Palestinians and demand freedom and equality for all the country’s inhabitants” despite the attack.
“These days, amid the war in Gaza, we’re seeing an increase in the intensity and scope of the oppression of the Palestinians all over the occupied territories. Human rights activists working in this violent reality may also be harmed as we witnessed this morning,” the group says in a statement on social media.
A 13-year-old boy was also wounded in the attack, which took place in the West Bank town of al-Auja. Route 90, the main north-south artery in the Jordan Valley, passes through the Palestinian town.
Two bulletproof school buses and at least two cars were hit in the shooting.
3 women accost Dutch-Jewish woman at home over daughter’s IDF service
Three women accost a Jewish Dutch nurse on her doorstep, calling her a “child murderer” because of her daughter’s service in Israel’s army.
The incident Wednesday in the heavily Jewish Amsterdam suburb of Amstelveen follows weeks of incitement in fliers and social media posts against the nurse over her daughter’s military service in Israel, De Telegraaf daily reports Wednesday.
One of the woman’s accosters tells her that she should be ashamed of herself, adding “I don’t understand why you are still here in the Netherlands,” the victims says.
Speaking to De Telegraaf anonymously, the nurse says: “It feels like in World War II when the addresses of Jews were given out.” The intimidation follows the surfacing online of a video of the nurse’s daughter in IDF uniform. Fliers advertising her address in Amstelveen and accusing her of complicity in “child murder” began appearing around her neighborhood in February, with online banners bearing the same language, she says.
People flying Palestinian flags came looking for the woman in her workplace, too, she adds.
“Residents beware, a child murderer lives in the neighborhood. This genocidal maniac returned from her murderous activities in Israel and will be soon be tried,” the text of one flier reads. It features pictures of the nurse’s daughter. “Her mother sent her bitch daughter to kill babies, she is also an accomplice,” reads the text, which includes the address, workplace and names of the two women.
Naomi Mestrum, the director of the Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, the Dutch Jewish community’s watchdog on antisemitism, tells De Telegraaf that the women “specifically targeted” the nurse in an organized action.
The woman is planning to complain to police shortly, Mestrum says, but “her feeling of safety has been seriously compromised.”
Drone infiltration sirens sounding in northern border towns
Suspected drone infiltration alarms are sounding in northern border communities near the Lebanon border.
The alerts are activated in the communities of Ramot Naftali, Mevo’ot Hermon Regional Council, Malkia, Iftach and Dishon.
The sirens come after Iron Dome shot down a number of projectiles fired at the northern town of Shlomi, according to the IDF.
The Hezbollah terror group has carried out several attacks on northern Israel using explosive-laden drones, though there have also been numerous false alarms.
Rocket Alerts [10:31:07] – 5 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — Mevuot Hermon Regional Council, Dishon, Iftach, Malkia, Ramot Naftali#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/6qtqORfHEY
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) March 28, 2024
Mother of kidnapped IDF soldier: ‘Netanyahu, the responsibility to bring our sons home is yours’
Orna Neutra, whose son Oren was kidnapped on October 7, gives a statement at Tel Hashomer IDF recruitment center on March 28, 2024 (Screen grab/Facebook)
Family members of IDF soldiers held hostage by Hamas in Gaza are set to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, for the first time since the hostages were captured on October 7.
Ahead of the meeting, the families hold a press conference at the IDF recruiting offices in Tel Hashomer, near Tel Aviv, calling on the government to reach an agreement to secure the release of all of the 130 hostages still being held by terror groups.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu, the responsibility to bring our sons home is yours,” says Orna Neutra, whose son Omer Neutra, 22, was seized on October 7 while serving as a tank commander near Gaza.
“At the request of the state and the security forces we stayed silent until today. They scared us,” says Anat Angrest, whose son Matan Angrest, 21, is held captive. “Today we understand that as the number of days of silence grows, the number of boys who return home alive decreases.”
“Every home in Israel knows the feeling of sending a child to the army,” she continues. “The pride, the concern, waiting for the weekend when your child will show up in uniform at the door, and we, the mothers, get a big, strong, bearhug. And we’re recharged, and become the world’s best cooks.”
“For six months, we’ve known that our children are suffering and we have no way to help them,” she says. “We don’t even know if they’re still alive, if they’re surviving hell.”
“These are children who just finished school, they still live at home. Their younger siblings walk by their empty rooms, asking the most innocent, most difficult, most heartbreaking questions.”
“Why is the government agreeing to put their heroes last? Are they less important than the others?” she asks.
The soldiers were among 253 people who were kidnapped on October 7 massacre, when some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, many amid horrific acts of brutality and sexual assault.
It is believed that 130 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza — not all of them alive.
IDF: Iron Dome intercepts 9 of at least 10 rockets fired at Shlomi from Lebanon; none hurt
At least 10 rockets were fired from Lebanon at the border community of Shlomi, according to the IDF.
Nine of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defense system, the IDF says.
There are no reports of injuries or damage.
The IDF says troops are shelling the launch sites with artillery.
Rocket alert sirens sounding again in northern towns
Incoming rocket sirens are sounding again in northern communities near the Lebanon border.
The alarms are activated in the Western Galilee communities of Hanita, Shlomi, and Betzet.
Footage posted to social media shows the Iron Dome air defense system intercepting projectiles over the area.
Multiple Iron Dome interceptions reported over the northern border community of Shlomi, following rocket fire from Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/aDkUDSBdNb
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 28, 2024
Rocket Alerts [10:00:13] – 5 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — Hanita, Shlomi, Betzet#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/IkYr2w8uZG
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) March 28, 2024
There are no immediate reports of injuries in the attacks.
Communities close to the Lebanon border are largely evacuated amid daily attacks by Hezbollah.
IDF: Troops killed more than 200 Hamas gunmen holed up at Shifa Hospital
Troops operate in the Gaza Strip in a photo cleared for publication on March 28, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The IDF says troops have killed more than 200 gunmen during its ongoing operation against Hamas at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital.
Over the past day, Hamas gunmen came out of Shifa’s emergency room, where they were holed up, and opened fire at troops, according to the IDF.
The IDF says this has happened several times over the past few days.
Amid the ongoing fighting, the military says troops evacuated civilians, patients, and medical staff to another part of the hospital “which the IDF prepared and established to allow proper medical treatment to continue.”
Meanwhile, the IDF says dozens more Hamas operatives were killed during operations over the past day in southern Gaza’s al-Qarara and the al-Amal neighborhood of Khan Younis.
IDF troops operate in Gaza in a photo cleared for publication on March 28, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Troops operating in southern Gaza also located and destroyed caches of weapons, the IDF says.
In central Gaza, the IDF says several terror operatives were killed over the past day by troops of the Nahal Brigade, including by calling in airstrikes.
French politician gets 4-month suspended sentence for calling October 7 ‘resistance’
A French court hands a four-month suspended sentence to a former city council member from the Lyon area for calling Hamas’s October 7 onslaught an “act of resistance.”
The sentence handed out Tuesday by the Correctional Tribunal of Grenoble to Mohamed Makni, a Socialist Party representative and former council member from the suburb of Échirolles, is for “advocating terrorism,” the judge writes.
But the court does not bar Makni, who is not longer on the city council following his suspension by a majority of members due to his trial, from holding public office.
Makni, who has not retracted his remarks on the onslaught, declares his innocence as he walks out of the courtroom and vows to appeal the sentence, France Bleu reports.
Hours after the attack in which Hamas terrorists murdered some 1,200 people in Israel and abducted 253, Makdi put out a text in Arabic and French stating that “he who sows the wind shall reap the whirlwind, and contempt and arrogance will not go unpunished.”
The onslaught, he added, was “a clear act of resistance.”
Polls open in Yesh Atid party’s first-ever primary
Polls are open for the Yesh Atid party’s first-ever primary election, after the vote was postponed due to the war against Hamas.
There are two candidates — Opposition Leader Yair Lapid and Yesh Atid MK Ram Ben Barak.
“Every vote counts, I need your support,” Lapid writes on X, formerly Twitter, though he is expected to win easily.
The party, founded by Lapid in 2012, has never before held a primary election. A leadership primary was announced in 2022, but canceled when Lapid ended up being the only candidate running.
יום ועידת יש עתיד! אני פונה ליש עתידניקים: כל קול קובע. אני צריך את התמיכה שלכם. ???????????? pic.twitter.com/XIBGZq1x5P
— יאיר לפיד – Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) March 28, 2024
West Bank shooting casualties taken to Jerusalem hospitals; no serious injuries
Two of the three people wounded in this morning’s terror attack in the West Bank are being treated in Jerusalem’s Hadassah Mount Scopus Medical Center.
A 30-year-old man is in moderate condition, and a 21-year-old man is lightly injured. Both are fully conscious.
The third casualty, a 13-year-old boy who was lightly injured, is being treated at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.
Settler leader calls for military action in West Bank ‘with the same force as we’re using in Gaza’
The head of the Yesha Council settlement umbrella group Shlomo Ne’eman responds to this morning’s terror attack in the Jordan Valley, calling for military action against terrorists in the West Bank.
“The Palestinian Authority is waging a war against us, and only action with the same force as we’re applying in Gaza will eliminate all threats throughout the West Bank,” he says in a statement cited by Hebrew media.
Wishing a speedy recovery to the three people wounded in the attack, he vows, “Jewish blood will not be spilled in vain. To all those who seek to harm us, we say — even this morning — we will not give in to terrorism.”
Rocket alert sirens sounding again in north near Lebanon border
Missile alert sirens are sounding in the northern town of Rosh Hanikra, near the Lebanon border, warning of incoming rocket fire.
Sirens also sound in the nearby towns of Gornot HaGalil and Goren for the second time in an hour.
Rocket Alerts [07:55:04] – 1 Alert:
• Confrontation Line — Rosh HaNikra#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/h9D8fdsSUq
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) March 28, 2024
At least 3 wounded, 1 seriously, in Jordan Valley terror shooting; manhunt underway for attacker
At least three people are wounded, including one in serious condition, in the shooting attack in the Jordan Valley, medics say.
The Magen David Adom ambulance service says a 30-year-old man is in moderate-to-serious condition after being shot, another man in his 20s is lightly hurt, and a 13-year-old boy is in good condition after being hit by glass shards.
In the attack, a bulletproof school bus and several cars came under fire, according to medics and local authorities.
The IDF says it has launched a manhunt for the terrorist, and troops are blocking roads in the area.
IDF: Initial reports of shooting attack on cars near West Bank town Al-Auja
The IDF says it has received initial reports of gunfire against vehicles on the Route 90 highway near the West Bank town of Al-Auja.
Missile alert sirens sounding in northern towns near Lebanon border
Missile alert sirens are sounding in northern border communities near the Lebanon border, warning of incoming rocket fire.
Alerts are sounding in the largely evacuated towns of Gornot HaGalil and Goren.
There are no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Hebrew media reports that the projectiles landed in open areas.
Hezbollah-led forces have been launching daily attacks on Israeli communities and military posts along the border with Lebanon since October 8.
Rocket Alerts [06:54:17] – 2 Alerts:
• Confrontation Line — Gornot HaGalil, Goren#Israel #RocketAlert #RedAlert pic.twitter.com/mG4718ApbG
— ILRedAlert (@ILRedAlert) March 28, 2024
Gore eulogizes former running mate Lieberman: ‘It was an honor to stand with him on the campaign trail’
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Al Gore, left, and his running mate, vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Lieberman, of Connecticut, wave to supporters at a campaign rally in Jackson, Tenn., Oct. 25, 2000. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, File)
Former Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore eulogizes his running mate Joe Lieberman — “a man of devout faith and dedication to his family.”
“Joe was a man of deep integrity who dedicated his life to serving his country. He was a truly gifted leader, whose affable personality and strong will made him a force to be reckoned with. That’s why it came as no surprise to any of us who knew him when he’d start singing his favorite song: Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way.’ And doing things Joe’s way meant always putting his country and the values of equality and fairness first,” Gore tweets.
“His fierce dedication to these values was clear even as a young man. When he was about to travel to the South to join the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, he wrote: ‘I am going because there is much work to be done. I am an American. And this is one nation, or it is nothing.’ Those are the words of a champion of civil rights and a true patriot, which is why I shared that quote when I announced Joe as my running mate,” Gore says.
“It was an honor to stand side-by-side with him on the campaign trail. I’ll remain forever grateful for his tireless efforts to build a better future for America.”
Israeli envoy eulogizes Lieberman as ‘true American patriot, proud of his Jewish identity’
Former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman delivers remarks during the United Against Nuclear Iran summit, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
Israel’s Ambassador to the US Michael Herzog eulogizes Joe Liberman as “an exemplary public servant.”
“He was a true American patriot, proud of his Jewish identity and an ironclad supporter of the State of Israel and the US-Israel alliance. His strategic insight was valued by many, myself included,” Herzog tweets.
“He will be dearly missed and fondly remembered. May his memory be a blessing.”
Ireland to intervene in South Africa’s ICJ genocide case against Israel
Irish Defense and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin, left, meets with Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh in the West Bank city of Ramallah on November 16, 2023. (Zain Jaafar/Pool Photo via AP)
Ireland says it will intervene in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, in the strongest signal to date of Dublin’s concern about Israeli operations in Gaza since October 7.
Announcing the move, Foreign Minister Micheal Martin says that while it was for the World Court to decide whether genocide is being committed, he wants to be clear that Hamas’ October 7 attack and what is happening in Gaza now “represents the blatant violation of international humanitarian law on a mass scale.”
“The taking of hostages. The purposeful withholding of humanitarian assistance to civilians. The targeting of civilians and of civilian infrastructure. The indiscriminate use of explosive weapons in populated areas. The use of civilian objects for military purposes. The collective punishment of an entire population,” Martin says in a statement.
“The list goes on. It has to stop. The view of the international community is clear. Enough is enough.”
In January the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians after South Africa accused Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza.
Israel and its Western allies described the allegation as baseless. A final ruling in South Africa’s ICJ case in The Hague could take years.
Martin does not say what form the intervention would take or outline any argument Ireland plans to advance but adds that the step was decided following legal and policy analysis and consultation with several partners including South Africa.
Martin’s department says such third-party interventions do not take a specific side in the dispute, but that the intervention would be an opportunity for Ireland to put forward its interpretation of one or more of the provisions of the Genocide Convention at issue in the case.
US military says it destroyed four Houthi long-range drones
The US military says it had destroyed four long-range drones launched by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.
US Central Command says in a post on the social media site X that the drones were “aimed at a US warship” in the Red Sea.
‘An exemplary public servant, champion of the Jewish people’: PM eulogizes Lieberman
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with US Sen. Joe Lieberman in Tel Aviv on October 28, 2020. (GPO)
“Sara and I grieve with Hadassah and the entire Lieberman family on the passing of our beloved Joe Lieberman,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweets.
“Joe was an exemplary public servant, an American patriot and a matchless champion of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.”
“In my very first meeting with him decades ago, I was struck by his integrity, decency and civic courage. He had a deep moral sense and common sense and was fearless in the defense of truth.”
“He was also an extraordinarily kind and loyal personal friend.”
“We will miss you greatly, Joe. May the Lieberman family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.”
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