Terrorist carries out stabbing atack in south Tel Aviv, IDF prepares for ceasefire in Gaza
Police thwart attack at Kalandiya crossing in West Bank • Israeli public split on war achievements • Israeli government approves hostage deal
Israeli air force intercepts Houthi missile after sirens sound across country
The missile had triggered sirens across central Israel which sounded in major cities including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
The Israeli air force intercepted a missile launched at Israel by Yemen's Houthis on Saturday morning, the IDF reported.
The missile had triggered sirens across central Israel which sounded in major cities including Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Israel's emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, stated that it had not received reports of a rocket impact.
Go to the full article >>IAF intercepts missile from Yemen
הטיל ששוגר מתימן יורט בהצלחה: לא דווח על נפגעיםhttps://t.co/nJCDkszUoY pic.twitter.com/BpPeosLJ63
— החדשות - N12 (@N12News) January 18, 2025
Missile from Yemen triggers sirens across central Israel, Jerusalem area
A missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen triggered sirens across central Israel and the area near Jerusalem on Saturday. The IDF noted that it is reviewing the incident.
Israel's emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, subsequently stated that it had not received reports of a rocket impact.
"Following the recent Red Alert sirens, no reports of rocket impacts or injuries have been received so far, except for a few cases of people who fell while heading to protected areas," MDA stated. "Updates will be provided as necessary."
This is a developing story.
Go to the full article >>Hamas: Mediators worded deal so Netanyahu could appease hardliners in gov’t
"Netanyahu wanted to resume the war after the first phase,” the official said.
A Hamas official claimed that mediators involved in the hostage and ceasefire negotiations included a clause allowing Israel to resume military operations in Gaza if Hamas violated the agreement.
"[Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu wanted to resume the war after the first phase,” the official told London-based Qatari news outlet Al Araby Al Jadeed on Friday.
However, due to “the resistance's insistence on rejecting this, and its condition of not resuming the war and military operations, an agreement was reached on a wording that military operations would resume if Hamas violated the agreement," the official added.
Go to the full article >>Qatar PM: 13 months of wasted negotiations, this deal was the same framework as agreed in Dec. 2023
Prime Minister Al Thani praised incoming President-elect Donald Trump and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff , for helping achieve the deal, "He fought for this deal."
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told Sky News on Friday that the recently approved deal followed the same framework as the one agreed upon in December 2023.
Thani said the framework had been first discussed in December 2023, only two months into the war.
Go to the full article >>Senior Hamas official: 'Ceasefire agreement wouldn't have happened without Trump'
Trump took full credit for the hostage deal during an interview.
A Senior Hamas official told Al Arabiya that the ceasefire and hostage deal wouldn't have happened without the incoming Trump administration.
“The Gaza ceasefire agreement would not have happened without Donald Trump," former Hamas Health Minister Basem Naim told Al Arabiya. "The agreement would not have been reached without pressure from the Trump administration. The Trump administration exerted the appropriate pressure on Netanyahu."
Go to the full article >>Government approves the hostage deal after seven hours of deliberation
Ministers from the Religious Zionists Party and Otzma Yehudit, as well as Likud Ministers David Amsalem and Amichai Chikli, voted against the deal.
The Israeli government approved the hostage deal at 1 a.m. on Saturday after over seven hours of debate, Walla reported.
Twenty-four ministers voted in favor, and eight ministers voted against.
The ministers who voted against the deal were from the Religious Zionists Party (RZP) and Otzma Yehudit, as well as Likud Ministers David Amsalem and Amichai Chikli.
Go to the full article >>Palestinian Authority, Jenin Battalions sign truce following month of clashes - report
The Palestinian Authority (PA) signed a truce with the Jenin Battalions following over a month of fighting, a senior advisor to PA President Mahmoud Abbas told Al Arabiya on Friday.
PA security forces had been attempting to capture or kill Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members in Jenin for the past month. The Jenin Battalions are composed of members of both organizations.
Clashes between PA security forces and the Jenin Battalions led to the deaths of about 15 Palestinians, including eight civilians.
Go to the full article >>Zakaria Zubeidi one of 735 terrorists to be released in hostage deal
The Justice Ministry published a list of 735 terrorists that will be released as part of the hostage deal following the government's approval of the deal early on Saturday morning.
Among the more familiar names is Zakaria Zubeidi, former commander of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades in Jenin.
Zubeidi was one of the prisoners involved in the 2021 Gilboa Prison break, in which six prisoners escaped from the high-security prison.
Israel at 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 at the Re'im music festival and hundreds of Israeli civilians across Gaza border communities.
- 98 hostages remain in Gaza.
- 49 hostages in total have been killed in captivity, IDF says.
- The IDF launched a ground invasion of Lebanon on September 30.
- The Israel-Lebanon ceasefire came into effect on November 27 at 4:00 a.m.
- Netanyahu confirmed the first phase of the Israel-Hamas Ceasefire on January 17, 2025
- 735 terrorists that will be released as part of the hostage deal