Feed aggregator

Brig. Gen. (res.) Amir Haskel, one of the leading protesters against the government, published a long post on his Facebook account on Thursday under the title “A Surprising Meeting,” in which he described how he was hosted at the home of Shas MK Yinon Azoulay. “We started the protest two weeks ago by standing in front of the President’s Residence in Jerusalem, in front of the home of Knesset member Aryeh Deri, and in front of the home of Minister Moshe Arbel. This evening, it was in front of the home of Shas MK Yinon Azoulay in Ashdod in order to request from him and the members of his party to take another significant step to advance a plan to release the hostages.” “While I was still talking on the megaphone, MK Azoulay approached me and invited us for a conversation in his home. We went up to the fourth floor, to a modest apartment in a regular apartment building. MK Yinon has six sons. As soon as we came in, Yinon asked one of his kids to prepare drinks for us and served us homemade cookies that his wife made.” “We introduced ourselves and explained why we came late at night to disturb his rest. I must point out that MK Yinon was attentive and told about what he and the other Shas members have done for the hostages. MK MK promised to convey our words to Deri. At the end, we took a picture and said goodbye.” He ended: “Until today, we’ve received police intervention during our protest. Today we were treated to listening and friendly hospitality.” He signed the post with the words: “There will still be good days.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Law enforcement arrested a Jordanian national, who was living in Orlando, on July 11 and the 43-year-old has been charged with four counts of bomb threats and a count of destroying an energy facility, the U.S. Justice Department stated on Thursday.

At his detention hearing on Wednesday, Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen was ordered detained, pending a trial, the department said. He faces up to 60 years in prison—40 for the four bomb threats and 20 for the other charge.

“We allege that the defendant threatened to carry out hate-fueled mass violence in our country, motivated in part by a desire to target businesses for their perceived support of Israel,” stated Merrick Garland, the U.S. attorney general. “Such acts and threats of violence, whether they are targeting the places that Americans frequent every day or our country’s critical infrastructure, are extremely dangerous and will not be tolerated by the Justice Department.”

Christopher Wray, the FBI director, stated that Hnaihen is accused of attacking the power facility and local business and causing “hundreds of thousands of dollars” of damage, “under the guise of expressing his beliefs.”

The department alleges that Hnaihen attacked Orlando businesses “for their perceived support for Israel” in or around June 2024.

“Wearing a mask, under the cover of night, Hnaihen smashed the glass front doors of businesses and left behind ‘warning letters,’” according to the Justice Department. “In his letters, which were addressed to the U.S. government, Hnaihen laid out a series of political demands, culminating in a threat to ‘destroy or explode everything here in whole America. Especially the companies and factories that support the racist state of Israel.’”

At the end of June, Hnaihen was accused of breaking into a solar-power generation facility in Wedgefield, Fla., where he “spent hours systematically destroying solar panel arrays,” per the department. “He smashed panels, cut wires and targeted critical electronic equipment” and left “two more copies of his threatening demand letter.”

“Hnaihen is believed to have caused more than $700,000 in damage,” the Justice Department said.

He also allegedly left a “warning letter,” in which he threatened to “destroy or explode everything,” at an Orlando industrial propane gas distribution center.

(JNS)

In a significant blow to Hamas’ underground infrastructure, Israeli engineering forces have destroyed approximately 50 tunnels in the Philadelphi Corridor in Rafah over the past week. Soldiers from the Yahalom Unit and the 605th Battalion have been operating in the area for the past month, targeting terrorist infrastructure and underground tunnels. The destruction of these tunnels is a significant achievement for the Israeli military, as they are believed to have been used by Hamas for smuggling, weapon storage, and covert movements. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Record new credit card offer! Earn 120k bonus points – that’s $1,200 cash back or $1,500 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel! The card also has other great benefits.  CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

Israeli security forces arrested six youths after dozens tried to breach the border with the Gaza Strip to Daven there on Thursday morning.

The six who were detained were part of a group of some 40 people who tried to enter the Strip from the Erez Crossing with northern Gaza.

The attempt to enter the enclave came as resettlement activists marked 19 years since the military carried out Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip, in which more than 8,000 Jews were forcibly removed from their homes.

“We were privileged to take part in an attempt to hold Tefillos inside the Gaza Strip, with the belief that Gaza is part of the Greater Land of Israel, and with the clear understanding that only settlement can be considered a victory,” one of the participants told Israel Hayom.

“Only a Jewish Gaza will remove the threats of missiles and hostage-taking from Gaza and bring security to the residents of the south and the entire country,” the anonymous Israeli continued.

“Before the war, [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar, may his name be erased, would take care of ‘Marches of Return’ and threaten residents of the ‘[Gaza] Envelope’ with [arson] balloons and mortar shells; this situation needs to be reversed. Jews who demand what is theirs: A return to Gaza,” he said.

Earlier this week, the Israel Defense Forces and Israel Police declared the border area a closed military zone after hundreds of Zionist activists announced plans to mark Tisha B’AV in the IDF-held Netzarim Corridor that divides the south and north of the Strip.

Monday’s Tefillah event, which reportedly attracted 300 people, was eventually held near Kibbutz Nahal Oz on the Israeli side of the border.

In August 2005, the Israeli government, headed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, unilaterally disengaged from Gaza, removing thousands of residents from their homes and transferring them to within the Green Line.

While the move was designed to bring calm to Israel’s southern border, it ushered in a victory for Hamas in January 2006 Palestinian Legislative Council elections. In June 2006, the terrorist organization seized power in the Strip and evicted the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.

In September 2023, Palestinian terrorist organizations fired rockets towards the Mediterranean Sea as they marked 18 years since Israel’s defeat and the uprooting of Gaza’s 21 Jewish communities, as well as four in northern Shomron.

The Hamas-led Joint Operations Room, which includes a dozen terrorist groups that coordinate attacks on Israel, said the rocket fire was part of a military drill that also included guerrilla warfare simulations.

“The defeat of the occupation from Gaza establishes its defeat from Yehuda and Shomron and heralds the liberation of Yaffo, Chaifa, Yerushalayim and the rest of the country, Inshallah [God-willing],” said Muhammad Deif, the now-slain head of Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

During its Oct. 7 invasion of the northwestern Negev, Hamas murdered some 1,200 people, mostly Jewish civilians, and wounded thousands more. It also took around 250 civilians and soldiers back to Gaza as hostages.

Some 53% of Jewish Israelis support the re-establishment of Israeli civilian communities in the Gaza Strip, according to the “Peace Index” survey released by Tel Aviv University in January of this year.

Three months ago, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu ruled out the possibility.

“If you mean resettling Gaza, … it was never in the cards, and I said so openly. And some of my constituents are not happy about it, but that’s my position,” the Israeli leader said in a May 21 interview with CNN.

(JNS)

President Joe Biden is set to sign a proclamation Friday to designate a national monument at the Springfield, Illinois, site of the 1908 race riot, which later fueled the formation of the NAACP. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a briefing with reporters on Wednesday that the ceremony will be held Friday in the Oval Office and will feature civil rights leaders and community leaders from Springfield, President Abraham Lincoln’s hometown. The ceremony comes just 5 1/2 weeks after the shooting death of Sonya Massey, a 36-year-old Black woman, by a white sheriff’s deputy in her Springfield home after she called 911 for help. Massey’s family members and supporters gathered Wednesday for a news conference in a continuing quest to see that justice is done in prosecuting the deputy, Sean Grayson, who is charged with first-degree murder in her death. “People are starting to take notice because it is an untold story,” Teresa Haley, former president of the Springfield NAACP, said of the riot. “It’s a deep, dark, dirty secret that Springfield is scared of.”. “It’s tragic. It’s unfortunate that it comes on the heels of Sonya Massey, but let’s say her name — Sonya Massey — and if it takes the president, the vice president and everyone else to recognize that and make this happen, it’s about time,” continued Haley, who founded of Visions 1908, a civil rights, social and economic justice and educational advocacy group The designation by Biden doesn’t create a marker, although a memorial for the centennial stands in downtown’s Union Square Park. But Haley has been pushing a large, reflective, walk-through memorial on the site of the foundations of five of the original homes burned in the riots that were unearthed during railroad work in 2014. That project awaits funding. In August 1908, mobs of white residents tore through Illinois’ capital city under the pretext of meting out judgment against two Black men — one jailed on a sexual assault charge involving a white woman, and the other jailed in the separate murder of a white man. After authorities secretly moved the prisoners from the jail and sent them to another lockup miles away, the mob took out their anger on the city’s Black population. Over the next few days, two innocent Black men were hanged, dozens of homes and businesses in Springfield’s majority-Black neighborhoods were burned to the ground, and families were forced to flee. The National Guard was called in to restore order. White rioters were charged, but later acquitted for their roles in the lynching and destruction. At least eight white people were killed in the violence and more than 100 were injured, mostly by members of the state’s militia or each other, according to news articles from that period. It’s not known how many Black people were injured and killed. Fed-up civil rights leaders met in New York and chose the centennial of Lincoln’s birthday, Feb. 12, 1909, to form the NAACP, whose original board included scholar W.E.B. DuBois. Sontae Massey, who was very close to his cousin Sonya Massey, said the family is descended from William Donegan, an 84-year-old cobbler, married to a white woman, who was lynched the first night of the riot. Now, the current generation is dealing with the tragic loss of another family member. […]

El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. announced on Thursday a record profit of $147.4 million in the second quarter of 2024.

The airline garnered revenue of $839 million in the April-June period, 33% more than the $630 million it earned in the same time period in 2023.

In the first quarter of 2024, Israel’s flagship carrier recorded a then-record profit of $80.5 million from revenue of $738 million.

On Wednesday, the airline signed “the largest agreement in its history,” for up to 31 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft at a cost of $2.5 billion.

The planes will replace El Al’s 737-800 and 737-900 fleet, with delivery beginning in 2028.

“This deal represents a further step in the realization of our strategic plan, and will support expansion of our destinations map, greater frequency of flights to existing destinations, and an advanced flying experience,” the company said.

The company has been criticized for raising its prices after Oct. 7, as many international airlines have suspended service to the Jewish state due to the resulting war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the low-intensity conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

El Al accounted for 62% of the passenger traffic at Ben-Gurion International Airport in the first quarter of 2024, according to the Israel Airports Authority, compared with 22% during the same period the previous year.

(JNS)

Approximately 50 masked Israelis  stormed the Palestinian village of Jit in the northern West Bank, setting fire to at least four homes and six vehicles, leaving one Palestinian dead and drawing widespread condemnation from Israeli leaders. The IDF reported that troops arrived at the scene shortly after the attack began, dispersing the rioters with riot control measures and live fire into the air. One Israeli civilian involved in the attack was detained and handed over to police. Images of the destruction circulated online, prompting Labor Party chairman Yair Golan to describe the incident as “Messianic Jewish terrorism” in a tweet. Golan warned that such actions are provoking further instability in the region, saying, “These extremists seek to ignite a larger conflict and force Israel into an unnecessary regional campaign.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog both issued strong rebukes following the violence. In a statement, Netanyahu’s office expressed grave concern over the incident but reframed the violence as a misguided attempt to combat terrorism rather than an act of terrorism itself. “Only the IDF and security forces are responsible for fighting terror—not anyone else,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) stated, vowing that those responsible would be brought to justice. President Herzog also denounced the rioters’ actions, noting the damage done to both Israel’s reputation. “This is an extreme minority that harms the law-abiding community and undermines the settlement movement as a whole,” Herzog said. “It also tarnishes Israel’s global image during an already sensitive period.” He called for law enforcement to act swiftly against the perpetrators, saying, “This behavior is not in line with Torah or Judaism. Those responsible must be held accountable.” The IDF announced a joint investigation with police and the Shin Bet security agency into the death of the Palestinian killed during the riot. “The IDF condemns actions of this nature, which disrupt security and order, and divert the military from its main mission of combating terrorism and protecting the residents,” the IDF said in a statement. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

As students return to colleges across the United States, administrators are bracing for a resurgence in activism against the war in Gaza, and some schools are adopting rules to limit the kind of protests that swept campuses last spring. While the summer break provided a respite in student demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war, it also gave both student protesters and higher education officials a chance to regroup and strategize for the fall semester. The stakes remain high. At Columbia University in New York, where the wave of pro-Palestinian tent encampments began, President Minouche Shafik resigned Wednesday after coming under heavy scrutiny for her handling of the demonstrations. Her resignation came just days after the school confirmed that three deans had resigned after officials said they exchanged disparaging texts during a campus discussion about Jewish life and antisemitism. Some of the new rules imposed by universities include banning encampments, limiting the duration of demonstrations, allowing protests only in designated spaces and restricting campus access to those with university identification. Critics say some of the measures will curtail free speech. At Harvard University, a draft document obtained by the student newspaper over the summer showed the college was considering prohibitions on overnight camping, chalk messages and unapproved signage. Many student protesters in the U.S. vow to continue their activism. Tensions have run high on college campuses since Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists assaulted southern Israel and killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took about 250 hostages. Mahmoud Khalil, a lead negotiator working on behalf of Columbia student protesters, said he fully expected protests, including possible encampments, to resume in the fall. “As long as Columbia continues to invest and to benefit from the Israeli apartheid, the students will continue their activism on campus in so many different ways,” he said. He said about 50 students still face discipline over last spring’s demonstrations after a mediation process that began earlier in the summer stalled. He blamed the impasse on Columbia administrators. “The university loves to appear that they’re in dialogue with the students. But these are all fake steps meant to assure the donor community and their political class,” said Khalil, a graduate student at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. The Ivy League school in upper Manhattan was roiled earlier this year by student demonstrations, culminating in scenes of police officers with zip ties and riot shields storming a building occupied by pro-Palestinian protesters. Similar protests swept college campuses nationwide, with many leading to violent clashes with police and more than 3,000 arrests. Many of the students who were arrested during police crackdowns have had their charges dismissed, but some are still waiting to learn what prosecutors decide. Many have faced fallout in their academic careers, including suspensions, withheld diplomas and other forms of discipline. Shafik was among the university leaders who were called for questioning before Congress earlier this year. She was heavily criticized by Republicans who accused her of not doing enough to combat concerns about antisemitism on the Columbia campus. She announced her resignation in an emailed letter to the university community just weeks before the start of classes on Sept. 3. The university on Monday began restricting campus access to people with Columbia IDs and registered guests, saying it wanted to curb “potential disruptions” as […]

MK Yaakov Asher of United Torah Judaism, who leads the Knesset Internal Affairs Committee, strongly criticized National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. Asher accused Ben Gvir of “playing games with with matters of pikuach nefesh (life-and-death),” following Ben Gvir’s controversial visit to the Har Habayis on Tisha B’Av.

In an interview with Radio Kol Chai, Asher stated, “He cannot do whatever he wants. Who does he think he is? We didn’t elect him as Prime Minister. He should demonstrate some responsibility. To come and say things on behalf of the government? These are very tense days. He’s playing games with matters of pikuach nefesh. This is extremely serious.”

Addressing the Draft Law concerning chareidi conscription into the military, Asher declared that “if the status of students of Torah is not regulated in the law, this government has no right to exist.”

Asher also touched on a potential deal for the release of hostages, emphasizing, “In the last few months, in meetings with the families of the hostages and in discussions with the Prime Minister, we said time and time again that we would be the first ones to support any difficult decision he makes on a deal. It’s about pikuach nefesh, pidyon shvuyim, and honoring the dead.”

{Matzav.com Israel}

Hagaon HaRav Aharon Feldman, the Rosh Yeshiva of Ner Yisroel, and member of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah of Agudas Yisroel of America, met today with Israeli President Herzog. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

U.S.-Russian dual national Ksenia Khavana was convicted Thursday of treason in a Russian court and sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges stemming from a $51 donation to a charity aiding Ukraine. Khavana, identified by Russian authorities by her maiden name of Ksenia Karelina, was arrested in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg in February and pleaded guilty in a closed trial last week, news reports said. Khavana, a 33-year-old former ballet dancer, reportedly obtained U.S. citizenship after marrying an American and moving to Los Angeles. She had returned to Russia to visit her family. Russia’s Federal Security Service said she “proactively collected money in the interests of one of the Ukrainian organizations, which was subsequently used to purchase tactical medical supplies, equipment, weapons, and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces.” The rights group The First Department said the charges stem from a $51 donation to a U.S. charity. The trial took place in Yekaterinburg, about 880 miles (1,416 kilometers) east of Moscow. Her attorney, Mikhail Mushailov, said he planned to appeal the verdict. “She admitted guilt in part in transferring the funds, but did not admit her intent to transfer the funds to the organizations where they were most likely received,” he said. “She did not assume that the funds she transferred would be used for anti-Russian actions,” he said, according to the Interfax news agency. Since sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has sharply cracked down on dissent and has passed laws that criminalize criticism of the operation in Ukraine and remarks considered to discredit the Russian military. Concern has risen since then that Russia is targeting U.S. nationals for arrest. On Aug. 1, Russia and the West held the largest prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War. Included in the swap was Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and American corporate security executive Paul Whelan, both of whom were convicted of espionage charges that they vehemently denied, and U.S.-Russian dual national Alsu Kurmasheva, a Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe journalist sentenced to 6 1/2 years for spreading “false information” about the Russian military. Russia also released several prominent opposition figures who were imprisoned for criticizing the military operation in Ukraine. (AP)

U.S. intelligence indicates that Tehran has not backed down from its threat to attack Israel, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in Washington on Thursday.

“Hopefully it doesn’t come to that,” Kirby added during an interview with CNN.

There have been conflicting reports as to whether Tehran will attack Israel and what form it could take since Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ordered a response, hours after Hamas terrorist chief Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital on July 31.

The Islamic Republic on Tuesday rejected calls by Western countries to back down from its threat to attack the Jewish state.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said that the calls from France, Germany and Britain to exercise restraint “lack political logic and contradict principles of international law.”

Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah have accused Israel of targeting Haniyeh, but Jerusalem has not taken responsibility for his death. Separately, Hezbollah has vowed revenge for the killing in Beirut of its top commander Fuad Shukr, which Israel did take credit for.

Kirby also commented on Thursday’s Gaza ceasefire talks in Doha, Qatar, saying that the U.S. “urges all parties” to participate in the negotiations.

Hamas is refusing to send representatives to the session but an official briefed on the talks told Reuters that the terrorist group would be consulted after they conclude.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden said he expects Iran to hold off attacking Israel if a ceasefire agreement is reached.

Asked by reporters during a visit to New Orleans on Tuesday whether a deal could prevent a promised attack, the president replied, “That’s my expectation.” JNS

{Matzav.com}

HaGaon HaRav Avigdor Nebenzahl, who was one of the Rabbanim featured in the video published on Wednesday clarifying that going up to Har HaBayis is forbidden in the wake of the visit of over a thousand Jews to Har HaBayis on Tisha B’Av, also published a letter of protest on the issue on Thursday. “With great tz’ar, I heard about the aliyah l’Har HaBayis of hundreds of Jews, led by ministers and public figures, on the day of mourning for the Churban Beis Hamikdash,” HaRav Nebenzahl began. The Rav then mentioned the known p’sak of HaGaon HaRav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and all the past poskei hador, z’tl, who paskened that al pi haTorah, there’s an issur chamur to enter Har HaBayis. “We don’t have the capability of measuring the boundaries of Har HaBayis and the Azaros and therefore it’s a michshol [stumbling block] for the public and it’s forbidden to pasken the halacha contrary to the opinion of the poskei hador, z’tl.” “Additionally, the Chief Rabbanim of Israel all paskened and warned the public in the name of the Rabbanut HaReishit of the severe michshol in going up to Har HaBayis for the Jews of our generation since they are tamei meis.” “Therefore, it’s obligatory to strongly protest against them in order to remove the michshol.” The Rav of the Kosel, HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Rabinowitz signed the letter, joining HaRav Nebenzahl’s protest. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s office on Thursday denied reports of a phone call with former U.S. President Donald Trump the previous day.

Axios reporter Barak Ravid, citing two U.S. sources briefed on the supposed Trump-Netanyahu call, wrote that the Republican nominee for the White House planned to discuss the proposed Gaza ceasefire-and-terrorists-for-hostages agreement with the premier.

One source told Ravid that Trump’s call was intended to encourage Netanyahu to accept the deal but that he did not know whether this message was conveyed during their conversation.

According to the article, published online on Wednesday, the Prime Minister’s Office did not deny that the call took place and the Trump campaign declined to comment. JNS

{Matzav.com Israel}

The first of four supermoons this year rises next week, providing tantalizing views of Earth’s constant companion. Stargazers can catch the first act Monday as the full moon inches a little closer than usual, making it appear slightly bigger and brighter in the night sky. “I like to think of the supermoon as a good excuse to start looking at the moon more regularly,” said Noah Petro, project scientist for NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. August’s supermoon kicks off a string of lunar spectacles. September’s supermoon will coincide with a partial lunar eclipse. October’s will be the year’s closest approach, and November’s will round out the year. What makes a moon so super? More a popular term than a scientific one, a supermoon occurs when a full lunar phase syncs up with an especially close swing around Earth. This usually happens only three or four times a year and consecutively, given the moon’s constantly shifting, oval-shaped orbit. A supermoon obviously isn’t bigger, but it can appear that way, although scientists say the difference can be barely perceptible. “Unless you have looked at a lot of full moons or compare them in images, it is hard to notice the difference, but people should try,” Petro said in an email. How do supermoons compare? There’s a quartet of supermoons this year. The first will be 224,917 miles (361,970 kilometers) away. The next will be nearly 3,000 miles (4,484 kilometers) closer the night of Sept. 17 into the following morning. A partial lunar eclipse will also unfold that night, visible in much of the Americas, Africa and Europe as the Earth’s shadow falls on the moon, resembling a small bite. October’s supermoon will be the year’s closest at 222,055 miles (357,364 kilometers) from Earth, followed by November’s supermoon at a distance of 224,853 miles (361,867 kilometers). What’s in it for me? Scientists point out that only the keenest observers can discern the subtle differences. It’s easier to detect the change in brightness — a supermoon can be 30% brighter than average. With the U.S. and other countries ramping up lunar exploration with landers and eventually astronauts, the moon beckons brighter than ever. As project scientist for the first team of moonwalkers coming up under Apollo’s follow-on program, Artemis, Petro is thrilled by the renewed lunar interest. “It certainly makes it more fun to stare at,” Petro said. (AP)

Israel Defense Forces troops over the past month demolished no fewer than 50 tunnels under the Philadelphi Corridor separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, the military revealed on Thursday.

“Forces of the [Combat Engineering Corps’] Yahalom [special operations] unit and 605th Battalion have been operating in the Philadelphi Corridor in Rafah for the past month,” the IDF said.

“As part of the engineering activities, the forces destroyed around 50 underground Hamas infrastructures,” the army added.

The Israeli military is ready to secure the Philadelphi Corridor regardless of the circumstances, the head of the armed forces said during a visit to the axis earlier on Wednesday.

“We are preparing options for whatever the political echelon decides,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said ahead of Thursday’s multilateral ceasefire talks in Doha, where security control of the 8.7-mile-long border area will be among the issues under discussion.

Israeli forces conquered the Philadelphi Corridor in May, locating and dismantling dozens of tunnels, including at least 25 that crossed into Egypt. The Hamas terrorist group has for years used the border to smuggle weapons and other materials into Gaza via a vast network of tunnels.

In early August, the IDF revealed that a 10-foot-high tunnel was discovered. The smuggling route—large enough for vehicles to drive through—was dug directly underneath an Egyptian army position on the border, according to photographs provided by the IDF.

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu agreed to dispatch a high-ranking delegation to the Doha talks to secure the release of 115 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire in the war and the release of terrorists held in Israeli prisons.

The delegation is being led by Mossad chief David Barnea and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) head Ronen Bar.

An Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday that Netanyahu “firmly stands by the principle that the IDF will physically remain in the Philadelphia Corridor.”

Israeli has maintained that Israeli military control of the corridor is crucial to ensuring that Hamas does not resupply and reestablish itself in Gaza, and Netanyahu has stated previously that any ceasefire agreement must include this stipulation.

 

Halevi said during a situational assessment in the Rafah area that the IDF “will know how to stay there and stay strong” if it is decided to maintain control of the border area, which stretches from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Kerem Shalom Crossing in the east.

“If it is decided that we monitor and raid whenever we have an indication [of enemy activity], we will know how to do that. We will know how to operate effectively,” Halevi said.

The IDF head was accompanied in Rafah by OC Southern Command Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman, the commander of the 162nd Armored Division, Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen, and other senior officers.

“I see our operational freedom in Gaza—look, we brought in the 98th Division a week ago, a little more than that. You see it: There is no place today in Gaza that your brigade combat team or battalion combat team can’t reach. There is no such place. There is no such place,” Halevi said.

“We know how to get anywhere fast, and this achievement must be preserved, this capability must be preserved,” the IDF chief said.

Earlier this month, Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano, head of the IDF’s Strategy and Third-Circle Directorate, said in a discussion with the Cabinet that the military is far from finishing its work in the Philadelphi Corridor and that it has strategic importance for the war against Hamas.

(Israel’s “third circle enemies” are those with which it doesn’t share a border, chief among them being Iran. The directorate is nicknamed “The Iran Command.”)

However, according to the Post report, Halevi believes that the IDF can electronically monitor the buffer zone without troops being positioned there.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk last month that Israel could withdraw troops from the corridor as part of a hostage deal.

“A solution is required that will stop smuggling attempts and will cut off potential supply for Hamas, and will enable the withdrawal of IDF troops from the corridor, as part of a framework for the release of hostages,” the defense minister said.

Gallant also told McGurk that Israel wants the Rafah border crossing to Sinai to reopen, but “will not tolerate the return of Hamas to the area.”

President Joe Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, sent McGurk to Cairo and Doha this week as part of Washington’s attempt to lower tensions in the region and advance ceasefire talks. While in the Egyptian capital, he will discuss finalizing security arrangements for the Gaza border, including the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah border crossing.

Sullivan sent envoy Amos Hochstein to Beirut. CIA Director William Burns will be in Doha.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken was supposed to travel to the Middle East this week, including to Israel, Egypt and Qatar, according to Axios, which then reported his trip was postponed “due to the uncertainty about the situation.” JNS

{Matzav.com Israel}

El Al has announced record profits in the second quarter of 2024, despite ongoing regional tensions and the war in Gaza. The company reported earnings of $147.4 million, a staggering increase from the first quarter’s $80.5 million. El Al’s success can be attributed to its status as one of the few airlines still operating flights to and from Israel, as several international carriers have suspended services due to the conflict. The airline has capitalized on this situation by increasing prices. However, El Al’s CEO, Dina Ben Tal Ganancia, has declined to comment on the record-breaking profits, refusing an interview request from a local radio program. In related news, El Al has confirmed a major deal with Boeing to purchase up to 31 Boeing 737 Max planes, worth around $2 billion, as part of a fleet overhaul. The contract will add 20 Boeing 737 Max planes to its fleet, with the option to purchase up to 11 more. This move will enhance the airline’s existing all-Boeing fleet, which currently consists of 44 aircraft. The new additions will join EL AL’s short- and medium-haul fleet, which already includes 24 Boeing 737-800 and -900 aircraft. The airline’s long-haul routes are operated by larger Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliners, totaling 20 planes. Deliveries are expected from 2027. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu agreed to dispatch on Thursday a high-ranking delegation to Doha, Qatar, for talks to secure the release of 115 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire in the war.

The delegation is being led by Mossad chief David Barnea and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) head Ronen Bar.

Negotiations are set to resume with the participation of senior American, Qatari, Egyptian and Israeli officials. Hamas reaffirmed on Wednesday that it will not attend the session, but an official briefed on the talks told Reuters that the terrorist group would be consulted after they conclude.

Hamas kidnapped 251 people during its onslaught of the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, in which thousands of terrorists followed by Gazan civilians murdered some 1,200 people, wounded thousands more and looted and destroyed property while committing mass atrocities.

It is believed that 111 of the hostages from Oct. 7 remain in Gaza, 39 of whom the IDF has confirmed are deceased. Hamas also holds two mentally ill Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two IDF soldiers killed in 2014.

‘Living the Next Step‘

“We must be optimistic,” Omri Lifshitz, the son of hostage Oded Lifshitz, who recently turned 84 in Hamas captivity, told JNS.

“We must make this deal happen for the hostages, for their families and for the people of Gaza. We must end the war and start living the next step,” he said.

Speaking of Wednesday’s visit to the Hostage and Missing Families Forum’s headquarters in Tel Aviv by the U.S., U.K. and German envoys to Israel, who called for an immediate deal to save the lives of the captives, Lifshitz said he appreciated their diplomatic push.

“We feel that there is a lot of pressure coming from around the world, the highest level of pressure we’ve felt in over 300 days,” he said.

Lifshitz told JNS that the last piece of information he received about his father’s status concerned day 20 of his captivity.

“My father was injured and they treated him. He was being held with another hostage in the same room until he fainted and was taken elsewhere,” Lifshitz said.

“Then he just disappeared. Nobody knows anything about him, but we keep hoping. The chances are really slim, we need to prepare ourselves for everything, we need this deal,” he continued.

“We always think of the day we will be reunited. The first word, the first hug. My father is very involved, he was a fighter for peace all his life. How are we going to tell him what happened in the last months? He missed a whole chapter,” Lifshitz said.

Regional Tensions

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stressed on Wednesday the importance of reaching a Gaza ceasefire deal to reduce regional tensions. Her comments echoed those of State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel, who said the previous day that Qatar had assured Washington that it will “work to have Hamas represented” at the talks.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden said he expects Iran to hold off attacking Israel if a ceasefire agreement is reached.

Asked by reporters during a visit to New Orleans on Tuesday whether a deal could prevent a promised retaliation for the targeted killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month, the president replied, “That’s my expectation.”

Three senior Iranian officials told Reuters on Tuesday that only a Gaza ceasefire agreement can prevent an Iranian strike on the Jewish state.

One of the sources, a senior Iranian security official, said the Islamic Republic and its regional terrorist proxies, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, would carry out a direct attack if the Gaza talks fail or if Israel is perceived to be dragging out the negotiations.

Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah have accused Israel of targeting Haniyeh, but Jerusalem has not taken responsibility for the assassination. Separately, Hezbollah has vowed revenge for the killing in Beirut of its top commander Fuad Shukr, which Israel did take credit for.

U.S. presidential envoy Amos Hochstein said in Beirut on Wednesday that he believes that a broader regional war can be averted.

“We continue to believe that a diplomatic resolution is achievable because we continue to believe that no one truly wants a full-scale war between Lebanon and Israel,” Hochstein said.

“We can reach an end to the conflict now, but we understand that we also need to work to an end to the conflict in Gaza,” he added. JNS

{Matzav.com Israel}