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Tag: Yoav Gallant

  • Former defense minister Gallant vacated home over security threat under Shin Bet direction

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    Gallant’s decision to leave Amikam was made after a security risk assessment conducted by the Shin Bet.

    Former defense minister Yoav Gallant vacated his home in Moshav Amikam in northern Israel over a year ago, following a threat made against him shortly before the end of his term.

    The decision to leave Amikam was made after a security risk assessment conducted by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).

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    Gallant is currently renting an apartment in Tel Aviv with his wife, Israeli media reported on Friday.

    The apartment was described as “luxurious,” though no additional details were provided regarding its size or other specifications.

    Defence Minister Yoav Gallant speaks during a press conference at Hakirya base in Tel Aviv, following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to fire him from his position as a Defence Minister, on November 5, 2024. (credit: MIRIAM ALSTER/FLASH90)

    Gallant evacuated due security threat

    Sources familiar with the matter said the Shin Bet's evacuation order was issued due to the location of Gallant's home and the nature of the threat. However, they noted that the level of risk Gallant faces remains exceptionally high.

    No details have ever been officially published regarding the nature of the threat or the circumstances surrounding it.

    Both Gallant and his wife declined to comment on the matter.

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  • Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declares ‘special situation’

    Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declares ‘special situation’

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    Israel launched a series of intense airstrikes in southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it said was a pre-emptive strike against the Hezbollah militant group, threatening to trigger a broader region-wide war that could torpedo efforts to forge a cease-fire in Gaza.The army said Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles toward Israel. The Iranian-backed group had been promising to retaliate for Israel’s assassination of a top commander late last month.Video above: Gazan father went to register his twins’ births. They were killed in an Israeli airstrike, hospital officials sayAir raid sirens were reported throughout northern Israel, and Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport began diverting incoming flights and delaying takeoffs.Soon afterward, Hezbollah announced it had launched an attack on Israel with a “large number of drones” as an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur, a top commander with the group, in a strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs last month.Hezbollah said the attack was targeting “a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later” as well as “targeting a number of enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome platforms.”The attack came as Egypt hosts a new round of talks aimed at ending Israel’s war against Hamas, now in its 11th month. Hezbollah has said it will halt the fighting if there is a cease-fire.In the U.S., a spokesman for the National Security Council, Sean Savett, said President Joe Biden was “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon.“At his direction, senior U.S. officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts,” Savett said. “We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability.”In recent weeks, diplomats from the U.S. and European countries have made a flurry of visits to Israel and Lebanon in an attempt to tamp down the escalation that they fear could spiral into a regional war, potentially pulling in the U.S. and Iran.Last week, Israel’s defense minister said he was moving more troops toward the Lebanese border in anticipation of possible fighting with the Iranian-backed group.Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said early Sunday: ”In a self-defense act to remove these threats, the (Israeli military) is striking terror targets in Lebanon, from which Hezbollah was planning to launch their attacks on Israeli civilians.”“We can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel, while endangering the Lebanese civilians,” he added, without providing details. ”We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah is operating to move out of harm’s way immediately for their own safety,” he added.Lebanese media reported strikes in the country’s south without immediately providing more details. Social media footage showed what appeared to be strikes in southern Lebanon.Israeli media cited the Israel Airports Authority for news of the flight cancellations. Flight-tracking data showed at least two El Al flights swinging far south and diverting after the announcement.Hagari said “dozens” of Israeli warplanes were striking targets in southern Lebanon. He said air defenses, warships and warplanes were defending Israel’s skies and were involved in the operation.Hezbollah began attacking Israel almost immediately after the war with Hamas erupted on Oct. 7 with a Hamas cross-border attack. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire nearly daily, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border and raising fears that the fighting could escalate into all-out war. But until Sunday, both sides have been careful to avoid a broader conflagration.Hezbollah is considered much more powerful than its ally, Hamas, with an estimated arsenal of arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles, including precision-guided missiles. In recent months, the group has also stepped up its use of drones, against which Israel is less well-equipped to defend.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, were managing the latest operation from military headquarters in Tel Aviv. Gallant declared a “special situation on the home front,” and Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet was set to meet later Sunday morning.Associated Press journalist Aamer Madhani in Buellton, California, contributed to this report.

    JERUSALEM, Jerusalem District —

    Israel launched a series of intense airstrikes in southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it said was a pre-emptive strike against the Hezbollah militant group, threatening to trigger a broader region-wide war that could torpedo efforts to forge a cease-fire in Gaza.

    The army said Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles toward Israel. The Iranian-backed group had been promising to retaliate for Israel’s assassination of a top commander late last month.

    Video above: Gazan father went to register his twins’ births. They were killed in an Israeli airstrike, hospital officials say

    Air raid sirens were reported throughout northern Israel, and Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport began diverting incoming flights and delaying takeoffs.

    Soon afterward, Hezbollah announced it had launched an attack on Israel with a “large number of drones” as an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur, a top commander with the group, in a strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs last month.

    Hezbollah said the attack was targeting “a qualitative Israeli military target that will be announced later” as well as “targeting a number of enemy sites and barracks and Iron Dome platforms.”

    The attack came as Egypt hosts a new round of talks aimed at ending Israel’s war against Hamas, now in its 11th month. Hezbollah has said it will halt the fighting if there is a cease-fire.

    In the U.S., a spokesman for the National Security Council, Sean Savett, said President Joe Biden was “closely monitoring events in Israel and Lebanon.

    “At his direction, senior U.S. officials have been communicating continuously with their Israeli counterparts,” Savett said. “We will keep supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, and we will keep working for regional stability.”

    In recent weeks, diplomats from the U.S. and European countries have made a flurry of visits to Israel and Lebanon in an attempt to tamp down the escalation that they fear could spiral into a regional war, potentially pulling in the U.S. and Iran.

    Last week, Israel’s defense minister said he was moving more troops toward the Lebanese border in anticipation of possible fighting with the Iranian-backed group.

    Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said early Sunday: ”In a self-defense act to remove these threats, the (Israeli military) is striking terror targets in Lebanon, from which Hezbollah was planning to launch their attacks on Israeli civilians.”

    “We can see that Hezbollah is preparing to launch an extensive attack on Israel, while endangering the Lebanese civilians,” he added, without providing details. ”We warn the civilians located in the areas where Hezbollah is operating to move out of harm’s way immediately for their own safety,” he added.

    Lebanese media reported strikes in the country’s south without immediately providing more details. Social media footage showed what appeared to be strikes in southern Lebanon.

    Israeli media cited the Israel Airports Authority for news of the flight cancellations. Flight-tracking data showed at least two El Al flights swinging far south and diverting after the announcement.

    Hagari said “dozens” of Israeli warplanes were striking targets in southern Lebanon. He said air defenses, warships and warplanes were defending Israel’s skies and were involved in the operation.

    Hezbollah began attacking Israel almost immediately after the war with Hamas erupted on Oct. 7 with a Hamas cross-border attack. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire nearly daily, displacing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border and raising fears that the fighting could escalate into all-out war. But until Sunday, both sides have been careful to avoid a broader conflagration.

    Hezbollah is considered much more powerful than its ally, Hamas, with an estimated arsenal of arsenal of 150,000 rockets and missiles, including precision-guided missiles. In recent months, the group has also stepped up its use of drones, against which Israel is less well-equipped to defend.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, were managing the latest operation from military headquarters in Tel Aviv. Gallant declared a “special situation on the home front,” and Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet was set to meet later Sunday morning.

    Associated Press journalist Aamer Madhani in Buellton, California, contributed to this report.

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  • The Latest | Israel hails interception of drones and missiles in unprecedented attack by Iran

    The Latest | Israel hails interception of drones and missiles in unprecedented attack by Iran

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    Israel hailed the success of its defenses in the face of an unprecedented attack by Iran involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.

    An Israeli military spokesman said Sunday the launches numbered more than 300, but 99% of them were intercepted. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles. Several ballistic missiles reached Israeli territory, causing minor damage to an air base.

    The Iranian attack on Saturday, less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria that killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building, marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

    Israel and Iran have been on a collision course throughout Israel’s six-month war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. The war erupted after Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two militant groups backed by Iran, carried out a devastating cross-border attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others.

    An Israeli offensive in Gaza has caused widespread devastation and killed over 33,000 people, according to local health officials.

    Currently:

    — President Joe Biden cut short a weekend stay at his Delaware beach house to meet with his national security team and monitor the situation in the Middle East as Iran launched an attack against Israel.

    — Israel has a multilayered air-defense system. It faces a big test with the Iranian drone strike.

    Here is the latest:

    JORDAN REPORTS IT BROUGHT DOWN IRANIAN OBJECTS OVER ITS TERRITORY

    AMMAN, Jordan — The Jordanian Council of Ministers says that its forces “dealt with” parts of the Iranian attack that flew over its territory, “to prevent them from endangering the safety of our citizens and residential and inhabited areas.”

    It said that fragments fell in multiple places but did not cause any significant damage or injuries.

    The German Foreign Ministry said in a travel advisory Saturday that the Jordanian air force had shot down Iranian drones over Jordan, including over the capital, Amman.

    Jordan’s airspace was reopened on Sunday morning.

    JAPAN’S PRIME MINISTER CONDEMNS THE IRANIAN ATTACK

    TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Sunday condemned Iran’s attack on Israel as a move to worsen the ongoing Middle East situation.

    “I am deeply concerned and strongly condemn the escalation,” he told reporters.

    Kishida said his government will do the utmost for the safety of Japanese citizens in the region, and stressed the importance of diplomatic effort to prevent further escalation of tensions. He said there has been no report of injury to Japanese nationals so far from the attack.

    Kishida made the comment shortly after returning to Tokyo after a weeklong visit to the United States, where he stressed Japan’s role as a committed partner for the U.S. in global security and other issues.

    IRAN SAYS ITS STRIKE WAS MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN IT EXPECTED

    TEHRAN, Iran — The chief of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard says the operation against Israel was more successful than expected.

    Gen. Hossein Salami, in an interview with state TV, said they were still collecting information but that “the part of the hits that we have detailed and documented reports from the field show that this operation was more successful.”

    He also said the Iranian forces had carried out a limited operation that matched “the evil that the Zionist enemy had done.”

    Salami described the Israeli air defense system as complex, multi-layered and advanced and said passing through this system was a very difficult task.

    “It means designing an operation that can pass drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles through this space and destroy them (targets) on the ground with extremely high accuracy,” he said.

    HAMAS LAUDS IRAN’S ATTACK ON ISRAEL

    CAIRO — Hamas on Sunday praised Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel, saying it was a “deserved response to the crime” of a strike on Iran’s consulate in Syria two weeks ago.

    The strike on the Iranian diplomatic compound on April 1 killed two Iranian generals and was widely attributed to Israel.

    Hamas, an Islamic militant group backed by Iran, also appealed for continued support for its war with Israel in Gaza, now in its seventh month. Hamas directed the appeal at Arab and Islamic nations, as well as Iran-backed groups in the region.

    Hamas said in the statement that it is fighting for “the right of our Palestinian people to freedom and independence and the establishment of its Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.”

    Hamas has been branded a terror organization by the West and has rejected a so-called two-state solution, instead seeking Israel’s destruction.

    HEZBOLLAH SAYS IT FIRED DOZENS OF ROCKETS TOWARD ISRAELI MILITARY POSTS IN GOLAN HEIGHTS

    BEIRUT — Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group says it fired dozens of rockets toward Israeli military posts in Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights early Sunday after an Israeli airstrike killed one person in Lebanon.

    The group said the attack was in retaliation for Israeli airstrikes overnight on towns and villages in southern Lebanon that killed and wounded “civilians.”

    Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Israeli airstrikes hit areas including the border villages of Kfar Kila and Odeisseh, as well as the town of Khiam. It said the airstrike on Khiam, a few miles from the border, killed one person and wounded others.

    The exchange early Sunday came as Iran launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles toward Israel in an unprecedented revenge mission for the April 1 airstrike on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus.

    ISRAEL REOPENS ITS AIRSPACE AFTER IRANIAN ATTACK

    TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel has reopened its airspace following an unprecedented attack on its territory by Iran.

    Israel’s Transportation Ministry said the country’s main international airport has resumed operations. It said domestic airports would reopen throughout the day Sunday.

    Israel says Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles toward its territory in the early morning attack, and that air defenses intercepted 99% of them. Minor damage was caused to an air base, the military said.

    The military announced measures on Saturday in anticipation of the Iranian attack, closing its airspace, canceling school and limiting public gatherings to no more than 1,000 people.

    ISRAEL HAILS INTERCEPTION OF IRANIAN MISSILES AND DRONES

    JERUSALEM — Israel on Sunday hailed the interception of virtually all of the more than 300 Iranian missiles and drones targeting its territory as a significant strategic success.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on social platform X: “We intercepted. We blocked. Together, we will win.”

    Defense Minister Yoav Gallant added that “the Iranian attack was blocked in the most impressive way, together with our partners, the Americans and others.”

    The Israeli army spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said that 99% of more than 300 launches, including drones, surface-to-surface missiles and cruise missiles, were intercepted outside Israeli territory. He said only a few got through, causing minor damage to an air base and injuring a 7-year-old girl in another location.

    The successful interceptions come at a time when Israel is bogged down in its war against Hamas in Gaza, triggered by the militants’ deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. At the start of the war, Israel vowed to crush Hamas and bring back hostages the militants had taken on Oct. 7. Yet Hamas, while significantly weakened, remains standing, and dozens of hostages are still in Gaza.

    NETANYAHU SAYS HAMAS REJECTS LATEST CEASE-FIRE PROPOSAL

    JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Sunday that Hamas has rejected the latest proposal for a temporary cease-fire in Gaza, which would was to include the release of about 40 hostages held by the Islamic militants.

    The proposal had been presented to Hamas a week ago by mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

    The Israeli statement said that Israel had shown flexibility in the negotiations. It alleged that Hamas leader Yehya Sinwar “continues to take advantage of the tensions with Iran” and seeks a wider regional escalation.

    The statement came just hours after Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel early Sunday, with Israel saying 99% of the launches were intercepted.

    ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER CALLS IRAN ‘A COUNTRY OF TERROR’

    JERUSALEM — Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday called Iran “a country of terror” after Tehran launched hundreds of drones and missiles toward Israel in an unprecedented attack.

    “The Iranian attack was blocked in the most impressive way, together with our partners, the Americans and others … The entire world saw today who is Iran — a country of terror,” Gallant said.

    The attack, less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria that killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building, marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

    U.N SECURITY COUNCIL CALLS AN EMERGENCY MEETING

    The U.N. Security Council called an emergency meeting for 4 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT) on Sunday, after Iran launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles at Israel.

    “The gravity and volume of the attacks is unprecedented,” Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan wrote in a letter to the council late Saturday calling for the meeting.

    BIDEN SAYS U.S. HELPED ISRAEL DOWN ‘NEARLY ALL’ IRANIAN DRONES AND MISSILES

    WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden says U.S. forces helped Israel down “nearly all” of the drones and missiles launched by Iran and pledged to convene allies to develop a unified response.

    Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke early Sunday, Israeli time, their governments said. Biden said in a statement that he reaffirmed “America’s ironclad commitment” to Israel’s security — a departure from his harsh criticism over Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza.

    “At my direction, to support the defense of Israel, the U.S. military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the course of the past week,” Biden said in the statement. “Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our servicemembers, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles.”

    UN CHIEF CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES

    U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is calling for an immediate halt to hostilities in the Middle East.

    “I strongly condemn the serious escalation represented by the large-scale attack launched on Israel by the Islamic Republic of Iran this evening,” Guterres wrote in a statement Saturday night.

    “I am deeply alarmed about the very real danger of a devastating region-wide escalation. I urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid any action that could lead to major military confrontations on multiple fronts in the Middle East,” Guterres wrote. “I have repeatedly stressed that neither the region nor the world can afford another war.”

    GERMANY, FRANCE, CANADA CONDEMN IRANIAN ATTACKS AGAINST ISRAEL

    The French government forcefully condemned the Iranian air attack on Israel.

    French foreign minister Stéphane Séjourné said in a statement Saturday that in “taking such an unprecedented action, Iran has crossed a new threshold with regard to its destabilizing activities and is risking a potential military escalation.”

    German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote early Sunday on X that Germany condemns “in the strongest possible terms the ongoing attack, which could plunge an entire region into chaos.

    “Iran and its proxies must stop it immediately,” Baerbock wrote. “We offer Israel our full solidarity at this time.”

    Likewise, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his nation “unequivocally condemns Iran’s airborne attacks against Israel.”

    “We stand with Israel. After supporting Hamas’ brutal October 7 attack, the Iranian regime’s latest actions will further destabilize the region and make lasting peace more difficult,” Trudeau said in a statement.

    “We support Israel’s right to defend itself and its people from these attacks.”

    BRITAIN AND ARGENTINA RESPOND TO IRANIAN ATTACK ON ISRAEL

    U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said additional Royal Air Force jets and air refueling tankers have been sent to the Middle East to bolster Britain’s existing operation against the Islamic State Group in Iraq and Syria.

    He said the jets “will intercept airborne attacks within range of our existing missions,” but did not confirm whether RAF jets had already shot down any Iranian drones.

    Meanwhile, the spokesperson of Argentine President Javier Milei says the leader will cancel a trip to Denmark and return to Buenos Aires due to Iran’s attack on Israel.

    A statement from presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni said Milei was flying home to form a “crisis committee in light of the latest events in Israel, to take charge of the situation and coordinate actions with the presidents of the Western world.”

    Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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  • The Latest | Blinken says Israel hasn’t told US of any specific date for Rafah ground invasion

    The Latest | Blinken says Israel hasn’t told US of any specific date for Rafah ground invasion

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    U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said Israel has not apprised the U.S. of any specific date for the start of a major offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, but added that American and Israeli officials remained in contact to try to ensure that “any kind of major military operation doesn’t do real harm to civilians.”

    Blinken spoke a day after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed that a date has been set to invade Rafah. The United States, Israel’s closest ally, says a ground operation into Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians.

    Rafah is filled with around 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom are displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip. Israel’s war against the militant group Hamas has pushed Gaza into a humanitarian crisis, leaving more than 1 million people on the brink of starvation.

    International efforts to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas are taking place in Cairo this week.

    Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza over the past six months have killed at least 33,360 Palestinians and wounded 74,993, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Tuesday. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tally, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.

    The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage.

    Currently:

    — Austin tells Congress Israel is taking steps to boost aid to Gaza as lawmakers question US support

    — Turkey and Israel announce trade barriers on each other as relations deteriorate over Gaza

    — At U.N. court, Germany rejects allegations that it’s facilitating acts of genocide in Gaza

    — A Moroccan activist was sentenced to 5 years for criticizing the country’s ties to Israel

    — Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

    Here’s the latest:

    AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER CRITICIZED FOR SUGGESTING POSSIBLE RECOGNITION OF A PALESTINIAN STATE

    MELBOURNE, Australia — Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong is facing criticism after she raised the prospect of Australia recognizing a Palestinian state.

    Wong said in a speech late Tuesday that recognizing Palestinian statehood could be the only way to end the cycle of violence in the Middle East and build momentum toward a two-state solution amid ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israel. She said Wednesday she wasn’t changing Australia’s position, but was starting a conversation.

    “We’ve made no such decision. The discussion I want to have is to look at what is happening in the international community where there is the very important debate about how it is we secure long-lasting peace in a region which has known so much conflict,” Wong told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

    Wong said Hamas must free hostages and that the militant group would have no place in a Palestinian state. She also said there needed to be an immediate humanitarian cease-fire so that aid could be delivered to Gaza. And she urged Israel not to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah because of the risk to civilians.

    Both Australia’s center-left Labor Party government and the conservative opposition parties support a two-party solution in the Middle East.

    But opposition spokesperson on foreign affairs Simon Birmingham called it “downright dangerous to reward (Hamas for its Oct. 7 attack on Israel) with a fast track to recognition of statehood.”

    ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE ON HOME IN CENTRAL GAZA KILLS 11 PEOPLE

    DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike hit a home in central Gaza on Tuesday evening, killing at least 11 people, including seven women and children, hospital officials said.

    After the strike hit in the town of Zawaida, Associated Press footage showed one man carrying the limp body of a little girl and laying her with the bodies of other dead children on the floor at the main hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah. Hospital officials said the dead included five children and two women.

    The strike came as the Israeli military withdrew its forces from the southern city of Khan Younis this week, ending a monthslong ground assault that left large parts of the city in ruins. Still, airstrikes have continued in the past days, including in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where Israel says it plans to launch its next ground assault.

    FAMILIES OF HOSTAGES HELD IN GAZA MEET WITH U.S. VICE PRESIDENT

    WASHINGTON — Several family members of hostages held by Hamas met with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House on Tuesday and urged for a deal that would release their loved ones and implement a temporary cease-fire in Gaza.

    “The only hope for peace is through the release of all the hostages now,” said Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen. On a potential hostage agreement, Dekel-Chen stressed that the world is waiting for “Hamas to get to yes.”

    Rachel Goldberg, the mother of American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, called the meeting with Harris “very productive.” She expressed gratitude to the White House and lawmakers for their support, but added: “We need results. We need our people home.”

    “You can believe as we do that it is horrible that innocent civilians in Gaza are suffering,” Goldberg said. “And at the same time, you can also know that it is horrible and against international law for hostages to be held against their will.”

    During the meeting, Harris emphasized that she and President Joe Biden “have no higher priority than reuniting the hostages with their loved ones,” according to a White House readout, as she gave an update on the administration’s efforts on a hostage deal.

    U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY TELLS CONGRESS THAT ISRAEL IS TAKING STEPS TO BOOST AID TO GAZA

    WASHINGTON — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Congress Tuesday that pressure on Israel to improve humanitarian aid to Gaza appears to be working, but he said more must be done and it remains to be seen if the improvement will continue.

    “It clearly had an effect. We have seen changes in behavior, and we have seen more humanitarian assistance being pushed into Gaza,” Austin said in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. “Hopefully that trend will continue.”

    Austin’s comments came during a session that was interrupted several times by protesters shouting at him to stop sending weapons to Israel. “Stop the genocide,” they said, as they lifted their hands, stained in red, in the air. A number of senators also decried the civilian casualties, saying the administration needs to do more to press Israel to protect the population in Gaza.

    In response, Austin said he spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, on Monday and that he repeated U.S. insistence that Israel must move civilians out of the battlespace in Gaza and properly care for them.

    Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown Jr. were testifying on Capitol Hill about the Pentagon’s $850 billion budget for 2025.

    BLINKEN SAYS ISRAEL HASN’T TOLD U.S. ABOUT ANY SPECIFIC DATE TO LAUNCH RAFAH INVASION

    WASHIGNTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said Israel has not apprised the U.S. of any specific date for the start of a major offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, but added that American and Israeli officials remained in contact to try to ensure that “any kind of major military operation doesn’t do real harm to civilians.”

    Blinken spoke a day after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed that a date has been set to invade Rafah. The city is filled with around 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom are displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip. The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has said a ground operation into Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians.

    Washington has also been applying pressure on Israel to improve humanitarian aid to Gaza, where half the population is starving and on the brink of famine due to Israel’s tight restrictions on allowing aid trucks through.

    “We’re looking at a number of critical things that need to happen in the coming days,” Blinken said, referring to recent Israeli announcements on the opening of new aid routes into Gaza and more active efforts to avoid casualties to both civilians and humanitarian relief workers. “But what matters is results and sustained results and this is what we will be looking at very carefully in the days ahead.”

    That includes getting assistance in and distributed to all of the territory “not just in the south, or in central Gaza. It has to get to the north as well,” he said.

    FRANCE USING ‘ALL INFLUENCE’ TO PERSUADE ISRAEL TO OPEN GAZA CROSSINGS TO AID CONVOYS

    PARIS — France’s foreign minister says his country is using “all levels of influence,” including threats of sanctions, to force Israel to open crossings with Gaza for vital humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians.

    France was the first country to propose European Union sanctions against violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said in an interview Tuesday with French broadcasters RFI and FRANCE 24.

    He added: “We have multiple ways to utilize our influence, obviously, we can provide more sanctions … to let humanitarian aid convoys cross checkpoints” and reach people in Gaza.

    Sejourne did not elaborate on what kind of sanctions he was referring to. It is highly unlikely that France would impose any eventual sanctions without broader EU support, and the EU has been divided over policy toward Israel.

    ISRAEL SHOOTS DOWN A DRONE OVER THE RED SEA

    JERUSALEM — Israel shot down a drone over the Red Sea overnight in what the military described as the first deployment of its naval Iron Dome missile defense system.

    The military said that a Corvette warship shot down the drone as it flew east over waters near the southern Israeli city of Eilat. The military released grainy aerial footage of the missile making contact with an aircraft.

    It was not immediately clear who was directing the drone. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been conducting near daily attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, launching drones and missiles from rebel-held areas of Yemen.

    The Israeli defense system, called the “C-Dome,” is a naval version of the Iron Dome, which has been used to shoot down rockets fired from the Gaza Strip for the past decade.

    TURKEY AND ISRAEL PUTTING UP TRADE BARRIERS AS RELATIONS DETERIORATE

    JERUSALEM — Foreign Minister Israel Katz says Israel is preparing a ban on products from Turkey after Ankara announced it was restricting exports to Israel.

    Turkey said earlier Tuesday it is restricting exports of dozens of products to Israel, including aluminum, steel, construction products and chemical fertilizers. It said it would continue the measures until Israel declares a cease-fire and allows the uninterrupted flow of aid to Gaza.

    Katz said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is sacrificing the economic interests of his citizens “for his support of Hamas.”

    Relations between Turkey and Israel have been frosty for years, although trade ties between the two countries are strong.

    NATO-member Turkey is among the strongest critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

    Erdogan has repeatedly called for an immediate cease-fire and accused Israel of committing genocide in its military campaign in Gaza. The Israeli Foreign Ministry had no additional comment.

    Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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  • Israeli minister predicts how long ‘intense fighting’ will continue

    Israeli minister predicts how long ‘intense fighting’ will continue

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    Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told fighters along the Gaza Strip on Thursday that he anticipates intense fighting for the next month or two at least, according to Israeli news outlet MivzakLive.

    Gallant told members of Israel’s naval commando unit that intense fighting with the Hamas militant group will continue in the coming weeks during a visit to Shayetet 13, a base on Israel’s northern Mediterranean coast.

    “I estimate that in the next month or two at least there will be intense fighting, and after that there will be many operations in which the flotilla will have something to do—until there is no military threat from the Gaza Strip, and we will have freedom of action to do whatever we want at any given moment,” Gallant said, according to MivzakLive.

    On October 7, Hamas led a surprise attack on Israel, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing that his country was at war. Over the past several weeks, fighting between Hamas and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has continued, while many across the globe have called for a cease-fire. There have been more than 12,000 casualties reported across both sides, the Associated Press reported.

    Israeli soldiers stand as they wait for Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in Sderot, less than a mile from Gaza, on October 19, 2023. Gallant told the country’s naval commando unit that intense fighting is expected.
    Amir Levy/AFP/Getty Images Entertainment/FilmMagic

    News of the meeting with the unit and Navy Commander Major General David Sa’ar Salma comes during news of a deal with Hamas that calls for the release of at least 50 hostages being held in Gaza.

    Gallant told the unit that it must “destroy the organization facing you.”

    “Otherwise, you have no deterrence that will allow life, and you have no deterrence that will allow life in the Middle East,” he said. “If Jewish blood becomes lawless, then everyone does as he pleases. If he has a price that cannot be beared, we are treated with respect.”

    Gallant told the unit that this break in fighting will be brief.

    “What is required of you during this lull is to organize, prepare, conduct debriefings, arm yourself and prepare for the future,” Gallant said, according to MivzakLive. “There will be a continuation, because we have to complete the victory and create the levers for the next groups of abductees who will come only as a result of pressure.”

    The news from Israel’s Mediterranean coast comes as pro-Palestinian protests continued in the U.S., including during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in which protesters glued themselves to the road along the route.

    Pro-Palestinian groups also announced plans to stage boycotts and protests on Black Friday.

    Protesters are calling for a permanent cease-fire in the region, with organizers saying they want to send a message to the Biden administration to end its participation in “genocide of Palestinians,” Walter Smolarek, the media coordinator for the ANSWER Coalition, told Newsweek.

    Roz Rothstein, co-founder and chief executive officer of StandWithUs, an Israel education organization, told Newsweek that a cease-fire would only serve to keep Hamas in power in Gaza.