Israel-Hamas War Day 231: What's happening in Gaza?
Australia proscribes Yemen's Houthis • Fire breaks out in Safed from rocket fire • US troops suffer non-combat injuries operating Gaza pierArgentina rejects ICC's arrest warrant for Netanyahu
EU's Borrell says recognizing Palestine is not a gift to Hamas
European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Friday said that recognizing a Palestinian state was not a gift to Hamas.
Ireland, Norway and Spain said on Wednesday they would recognize a Palestinian state on May 28, to help secure a halt to Israel's Gaza offensive after the Hamas attack on Oct.7 and revive peace talks that stalled a decade ago.
"Recognizing the Palestinian state is not a gift to Hamas, quite the contrary," he said. "The Palestinian authority is not Hamas, on the contrary they are deeply confronted."
He added the EU already talked, financed and met the Palestinian authority.
"Every time someone makes the decision to support a Palestinian state, ... the reaction of Israel is to transform it in an antisemitic attack," he added.
Go to the full article >>CIA Director William Burns to head to Europe for ceasefire-hostage deal talks - CNN
CIA Director William Burns will head to Europe for further ceasefire-hostage deal talks between Israel and Hamas, a US official told CNN on Thursday.
“The director is in frequent discussions with the Egyptians, Qataris and Israelis. Both Egypt and Qatar are very engaged, as are the Israelis,” the US official said.
A separate report from Ynet the following day said that he is expected to arrive in Paris to resume negotiations.
This is a developing story.
Go to the full article >>Drone strikes car on the road in the Tzur region in Lebanon
A drone struck a car on the road in the Tyre region in southern Lebanon on Friday, Israeli media reported.
This is a developing story.
Go to the full article >>Rocket, possible UAV intrusion sirens sound in northern Israel
Rocket and hostile aircraft intrusion sirens sounded in northern Israel on Friday.
IDF finds additional three bodies of hostages in Gaza
According to IDF intelligence, the hostages were murdered during the October 7 massacre and were taken by Hamas terrorists to Gaza.
The IDF located on Thursday night an additional three bodies of hostages that Hamas had kidnapped into Gaza on October 7, the military announced on Friday morning.
The military subsequently returned the bodies to Israel. The hostages were Hanan Yavlonka, Michel Nissenbaum, and Orion Hernandez.
According to IDF intelligence, the hostages were murdered during the October 7 massacre and were taken by Hamas terrorists to Gaza.
Go to the full article >>World Court to rule on request to halt Israel's Rafah offensive on Friday
Rulings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, are final and binding, but have been ignored in the past. The court has no enforcement powers.
Judges at the UN's top court will rule on Friday on South Africa's request to order Israel to halt its Rafah offensive and withdraw from Gaza, part of a wider case accusing Israel of genocide.
South Africa's lawyers asked the court last week to impose emergency measures and said Israel's attacks on the southern Gaza city "must be stopped" to ensure the survival of the Palestinian people.
Rulings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, are final and binding, but have been ignored in the past. The court has no enforcement powers.
Go to the full article >>Exchange of fire between IDF and terrorists in Nablus refugee camp
An exchange of fire was reported between the IDF and Palestinian terrorists in the Balata refugee camp near the West Bank city of Nablus on Friday morning.
This is a developing story.
Go to the full article >>Hamas says IDF advancing towards Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza
Hamas claimed on Friday that the IDF is advancing towards the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, Ynet cited the terrorist organization as saying.
Medical staff and wounded individuals still remain in the hospital, the report added.
This is a developing story.
Go to the full article >>IDF pushes forward in Rafah, Jabalya, kills terrorists and destroys tunnels
While the IDF operates in the north and south of the enclave, a Ynet report stated that Netanyahu delayed the operation in the north due to pressure from Bezalel Smotrich.
The IDF continued its operations in Jabalya in the north of the Gaza Strip and Rafah in the south, wherein forces eliminated terrorists and tunnel shafts, the IDF reported on Friday.
In Jabalya, Israeli forces killed dozens of terrorists and destroyed launch posts. Explosive devices, mortar shells, AK-47 rifles, and sniper rifles were discovered by the IDF in the city. Rafah saw additional Hamas weapon storage facilities destroyed.
Additionally, an IAF aircraft struck and destroyed another launch post in Gaza City after two identified projectile launches from there fell in open areas.
Go to the full article >>Australia officially designates Houthis as a terrorist organization
Australian Attorney General Mark Dreyfus's statement noted that the Houthis' "violent attacks" in the area of the Gulf of Aden have resulted in the killing of civilians.
The Australian Government officially designated Yemen's Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, as a terrorist organization on Friday.
Australian Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement that the decision to designate the Islamist organization as a terror group followed recommendations for the country's security agencies that the Houthis are "directly or indirectly engaged in the preparing, planning, assisting in, or fostering of terrorist attacks."
The statement also noted that the Houthis' "violent attacks" in the area of the Gulf of Aden have resulted in the killing of civilians.
Go to the full article >>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