Israel-Hamas War: What happened on day 229?
Nations set to recognize Palestinian state • Netanyahu tells CNN there are no plans for Gaza settlements • Whistleblowers claim Gazan detainees abused in medical facilities
Israel must take six punitive measures against PA — Smotrich says
The government, Smotrich said, should agree that three new settlements will be approved for every country that recognizes Palestinian statehood.
Israel must take six punitive measures against the Palestinian Authority to combat its push for unilateral statehood and its legal campaign against the Jewish state, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Wednesday.
“At the last cabinet meeting, many ministers, including myself, made an unequivocal demand that harsh punitive measures be taken against the Palestinian Authority for its unilateral actions against Israel,” Smotrich said.
National Security Adviser Tzahi Hanegbi was tasked with creating an action plan, but to date, nothing has happened, Smotrich said.
Palestinian state should be realized through negotiations, Biden believes
US President Joe Biden believes a Palestinian state should be realized through negotiations, not unilateral recognition, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing the White House National Security Council spokesperson.
Go to the full article >>IDF presses forward in Jabalya, Rafah, 70% of Philadelphi Corridor under Israeli control
In both the northern and southern cities, the IDF destroyed multi-barrel rocket launchers and seized weapons, grenades, explosives, and ammunition.
The IDF said on Wednesday that it had destroyed multi-barrel rocket launchers, which were located in eastern Rafah along the Philadelphi Corridor, of which Ynet, citing Egyptian officials, reported is now 70% under Israeli control.
Lapid: Israel agreeing to Saudi normalization helps Israel with central strategic problems
Israel agreeing to Saudi normalization would help the county with the six major strategic challenges it faces today, Opposition Leader Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid said on Wednesday.
These challenges include the war with Gaza, the situation in the North, the hostage crisis, its relations with the rest of the world, and with the Hague, he said.
Despite the benefit to Israel from this normalization, Israel will not go along with normalization because it would mean that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would need to agree to a Palestinian state at some point in the future, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir will not allow this, he added.
Go to the full article >>IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi addresses reservists in the North
"The way to ensure the safe return of residents in the North is through planning and a lot of persistence," IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told IDF reservists in the North on Wednesday, Kan News reported.
Go to the full article >>Video of Hamas kidnapping female IDF soldiers published by Hostages and Families Forum
The video, taken from Hamas terrorists' body cameras, is 3:10 minutes long and has been censored.
(Trigger Warning: The video below contains graphic material that may be disturbing for some viewers)
A video of the instances in which female IDF observers were kidnapped from the IDF Nahal Oz base to the Gaza Strip on October 7 was published on Wednesday evening, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum announced.
The video, taken from Hamas terrorists' body cameras, is 3:10 minutes long and has been censored.
Go to the full article >>'A wake-up call': Israel's consulate in Munich attacked
"It is important that this is seen as a wake-up call for the German authorities about where antisemitism and hatred of Israel are leading."
An attack took place against Israel's consulate in Munich on Wednesday, according to the Consul General of the diplomatic facility.
The Consul General to southern Germany and former Ambassador to Vienna, Tayla Lador-Fresher, tweeted in German “Today an attack was carried out on the Consulate General of the State of Israel in Munich. It is an attack on the symbol of the State of Israel in southern Germany. We would like to thank the @PolizeiMuenchen for vigilance. “
She added “In recent months there has been repeated antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric. This physical attack now goes a step further. It is important that this is seen as a wake-up call for the German authorities about where antisemitism and hatred of Israel are leading.”
Go to the full article >>Israel allows return to three evacuated West Bank localities
The move follows a vote in the Knesset Plenum in March of 2023, which approved the law to amend the 'disengagement law' in the northern West Bank.
The IDF approved on Wednesday the return to the three localities, Sa-nur, Ganim, and Kadim, the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
Earlier on Wednesday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant instructed to implement the amendment of the 'disengagement law' in some localities of the West Bank, according to Israeli media reports.
Go to the full article >>Palestinian Authority, Hamas welcome European nations' state recognition
The Palestinian Authority and Hamas both welcomed on Wednesday the recognition of a Palestinian state by Ireland, Spain and Norway.
The Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank territory while Hamas runs Gaza.
Go to the full article >>IDF targets Hamas compound located in a UNRWA school in Gaza
The Israel Air Force (IAF) conducted a precise strike on a Hamas military compound, which was located in a UNRWA school in the Gaza Strip, the military said on Wednesday.
Inside the compound were Hamas terrorists, including an operator of anti-tank missiles and a Nukhba terrorist.
In addition, the IDF noted that within the compound were weapons such as mortars and explosives.
Israel-Hamas war: What you need to know
- Hamas launched a massive attack on October 7, with thousands of terrorists infiltrating from the Gaza border and taking some 240 hostages into Gaza.
- Over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were murdered, including over 350 in the Re'im music festival and hundreds of Israeli civilians across Gaza border communities
- 129 hostages remain in Gaza
- 39 hostages in total have been killed in captivity, IDF says