Trump to meet Bibi, IDF troops to remain on Mt. Hermon 'indefinitely'

The IDF has announced its intention to demolish the apartment of terrorist Nidal Ammar, who carried out the terror attack in Jenin on June 27, the military said on Tuesday. 

Capt. Alon Sacgiu was killed in the attack, and 16 other soldiers were wounded.  

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi on Tuesday told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that many more haredim must join the military.

Halevi told the committee that many more haredim must join the military.

Most of Halevi's comments were kept classified as part of the closed session, but select remarks were leaked to the media.

Halevi did not appear to use the platform to attack Defense Minister Israel Katz's new bill for drafting haredim, which opposition parties have said is a thinly disguised bill for keeping the haredi exemption de facto, even if on its face the bill says it seeks to heavily increase their draft numbers.

‘THE HAREDI leadership argues that it is forbidden to draft yeshiva students whose Torah is their profession and that they defend the State of Israel through their studies.’ (credit: Marc Israel Sellem/Jerusalem Post)

However, he did say that the IDF could draft the full cohort of haredim in around two years if the government directed it to, even as Katz's bill shoots for closer to a 30-40% draft number two years from now, reaching 50% in seven years.

Halevi also explained the reasons for resigning from his post to the Knesset committee.

Halevi's resignation 

Earlier in January, Halevi said he would resign on March 6. He will step down after two years and two months in office, about 10 months earlier than the standard three-year term.

Halevi said he is resigning in keeping with his promise since October 2023 that he would take responsibility for the October 7 failure.

Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report. 

Danny Elgarat, whose brother Itzik was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, said he believed his brother would not return alive from Gaza in a Tuesday speech at the Knesset Constitution Committee.

"My brother is on the list of the 33 kidnapped people who are supposed to return. He is probably not alive. He is probably among the eight deceased hostages set to return in the deal."
 

Mediators have begun testing both sides' readiness to begin talks regarding the second phase of the deal, Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri announced on the terrorist group's Telegram on Monday night.

"The mediators have started the process of gauging both sides on whether they are ready to begin the second phase of the agreement, and Netanyahu has no choice but to move forward with this agreement to the end," he stated. 

Abu Zuhri also accused Netanyahu of "empty talk" about returning to fighting, saying it was merely for "local consumption."

Naama Levy spent months alone in a tunnel, according to a 103FM interview with Dr. Einat Yehene, Head of Rehabilitation in the Health Division of the Hostage Families Forum, where she revealed details about the released hostages and their rehabilitation process.

"I will not speak about their specific condition, as we are in the process of finding that out. These are not things that are immediately visible, either physically or mentally," Dr. Yehene, a clinical neuropsychologist, said at the start of the conversation.

She testified that she did not share in the euphoria that surrounded the release of the four female observer soldiers.

"On Saturday, I was troubled by the highly euphoric images," she said.

At a European Union Foreign Affairs Council meeting on January 27, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas mentioned the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt and discussed the EU’s potential role there.

Kallas serves as the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and is the Vice-President of the European Commission. She has recently engaged in several significant issues, ranging from discussions on Syria to Gaza.

“Everyone agrees that EUBAM Rafah can play a decisive role in supporting the ceasefire. Today, EU Foreign Ministers agreed to redeploy it to the Rafah Crossing Point between Gaza and Egypt. This will allow a number of injured individuals to leave Gaza and receive medical care,” Kallas wrote on social media on January 27.

An Israeli aircraft attacked in the Tulkarm area as part of an IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) joint operation, the military announced on Monday.

The Palestinian population must not be expelled from Gaza, the German foreign ministry said on Monday after US President Donald Trump said Jordan and Egypt should take in Palestinians.

Asked for a reaction to Trump's comments, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Berlin shared the view of "the European Union, our Arab partners, the United Nations ... that the Palestinian population must not be expelled from Gaza and Gaza must not be permanently occupied or recolonized by Israel."

Jordan is already home to several million Palestinians, while tens of thousands live in Egypt. Both countries and other Arab nations reject the idea of Palestinians in Gaza being moved to their countries. Gaza is land that Palestinians would want as part of a future Palestinian state.

The Hostage Families Forum released a statement from the relatives of Arbel Yehoud, currently held captive by Hamas terrorists, on Monday.

"We are living through complex, emotional, and nerve-wracking days. We yearn for the moment when we can embrace our Arbel again, and desperately pray for the return of all the hostages," the Yehoud family said.

A Lebanese army chief leaked military secrets to the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group during the ceasefire period with Israel, Britain's The Times reported on Sunday, citing intelligence sources.

The head of military intelligence for southern Lebanon, Suhil Bahij Gharb, reportedly handed Hezbollah classified and sensitive information while in a room run by the US, France, and the UN interim force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), a source claimed. Despite his alleged willingness to provide the terror group information, the source claimed Gharb had been placed responsible for peacekeeping.

Gharb, according to a report seen by The Times, is only one of dozens of military officials who have allegedly leaked information to Hezbollah. His presence in the security room was reportedly prompted by senior Hezbollah commander Wafiq Safa, who insisted on his presence.