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Trump pushes Netanyahu on Gaza aid, IDF reservist severely wounded

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
 IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip. April 18, 2025. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip. April 18, 2025.
(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

DOJ rescinds UNRWA's legal immunity in US, Oct. 7 victims to proceed with lawsuit

The letter reversed the position of the Biden administration, which stated that UNRWA was immune because the UN didn't waive immunity.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
 A torn UNRWA logo is seen among destruction in Rafah, in southern Gaza, January 22, 2025 (photo credit: ABED RAHIM KHATIB/FLASH90)
A torn UNRWA logo is seen among destruction in Rafah, in southern Gaza, January 22, 2025
(photo credit: ABED RAHIM KHATIB/FLASH90)

The US Department of Justice submitted a letter on Thursday arguing that the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is not entitled to immunity from lawsuits in the United States.

This filing is part of an ongoing case in which the families of over 100 victims of the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack are seeking $1 billion in damages, alleging that UNRWA supported Hamas by allowing its facilities to be used for weapons storage, the construction of tunnels and command centers, and the transfer of funds to the group through employee payments in US dollars.

The lawsuit, filed last June in the Southern District of New York, accuses UNRWA, which coordinates much of the aid to Gaza, of enabling Hamas's operations. The plaintiffs argue that the agency’s activities played a direct role in facilitating the October 7 attacks.

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Trump: I pushed Netanyahu on Gaza aid, we're working on it

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump was asked whether concerns about humanitarian aid access came up in his phone call with Netanyahu earlier this week.

By REUTERS
 US PRESIDENT Donald Trump in the Oval Office last Friday: Since Trump’s election as president last November for a second term, the US has no longer been committed to the previous world order in which it had played such a major role in creating and running, the writer maintains. (photo credit: Nathan Howard/Reuters)
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump in the Oval Office last Friday: Since Trump’s election as president last November for a second term, the US has no longer been committed to the previous world order in which it had played such a major role in creating and running, the writer maintains.
(photo credit: Nathan Howard/Reuters)

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow food and medicine into the devastated Gaza Strip.

No aid has been delivered into the strip since March 2. Israel has said it would not allow the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza until the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas releases all remaining hostages.

Earlier on Friday, the UN World Food Programme said it had run out of food stocks in Gaza.

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IDF reservist severely wounded in southern Gaza Strip

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
  (photo credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)
(photo credit: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT)

An IDF reservist soldier in the 5250th battalion, 205th Brigade, was severely injured during combat in the southern Gaza Strip, the IDF announced on Friday.

The soldier was evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment, and his family has been notified.

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WATCH: Hamas terror cell fires anti-tank rocket at IDF soldiers - and is swiftly eliminated

The IDF responded swiftly, and an IAF aircraft eliminated the threat, neutralizing the terrorist cell. The operation concluded without any IDF casualties

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A Hamas terror cell fires an anti tank rocket at IDF soldiers, and is eliminated. (IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

In an ongoing operation in the Daraj Tuffah area of the Gaza Strip, the IDF’s 401st Armored Brigade, under the command of the 252nd Division, successfully neutralized a terrorist cell and destroyed several rocket launchers intended for attacks on Israeli territory, the military announced on Friday.

IDF soldiers from the 401st Armored Brigade operate within the Gaza Strip. (IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Earlier this week, during one of the operations, a terrorist cell fired an anti-tank missile at IDF troops from a window of a building where they had been hiding.

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State Dept. indicts self-proclaimed Hamas operative in US army for explosives plot

Mohamad Hamad, 23, and Talya A. Lubit, 24, a Jewish Pittsburgh resident, were previously indicted for defacing synagogues with pro-Palestinian graffiti.

By DANIELLE GREYMAN-KENNARD
 Evidence collected from the phone of Mohamad Hamad after police executed a search warrant on his phone and cars. (photo credit: United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania)
Evidence collected from the phone of Mohamad Hamad after police executed a search warrant on his phone and cars.
(photo credit: United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania)

A new federal indictment was issued against a Jewish woman, a self-described Lebanese-American Hamas operative and a third person on charges of conspiracy, defacing and damaging a Jewish religious site, making false statements in a matter within the jurisdiction of the Executive branch of the United States, and possession of destructive devices, the US Justice Department announced on Wednesday.

Mohamad Hamad, 23, of Coraopolis, Talya A. Lubit, 24, a Jewish resident of Pittsburgh, were previously indicted for defacing synagogues with pro-Palestinian, anti-Zionist graffiti.  

Hamad, according to the new indictment, was assigned to the 171st Maintenance Squadron of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard (PAANG) in 2023 - and consequently sought top security clearance in connection to his military role. It was found that Hamad made multiple false statements to the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency during the three interviews required to gain the high security clearance level, according to the indictment.

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Normalization with Israel complicated but beneficial, Syrian sources say

Nir Boms, chairman of the Syria Research Forum at the Moshe Dayan Center in Tel Aviv, tells TML: "Israelis already know Syrians better than most people think, and we have a foundation to build from.”

By RIZIK ALABI/THE MEDIA LINE, GIORGIA VALENTE/THE MEDIA LINE
Israeli soldiers seen in the buffer zone which separates the Golan Heights and Syria, February 27, 2025 (photo credit: JALAA MAREY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES)
Israeli soldiers seen in the buffer zone which separates the Golan Heights and Syria, February 27, 2025
(photo credit: JALAA MAREY/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES)

[Damascus] Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has signaled a willingness to explore the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel, according to senior Syrian officials. The move would represent a major shift in Damascus’ longstanding stance toward its southern neighbor, which it has technically been at war with since 1948.

The remarks were made during a meeting earlier this month in Damascus with US Representatives Marlin Stutzman and Cory Mills and were first reported by Bloomberg News. Syrian government sources confirmed the account to The Media Line, emphasizing that any such normalization process would need to preserve Syria’s unity and full sovereignty.

Historical tensions and shifting dynamics

The Syrian-Israeli conflict dates back to 1948, when Syria joined other Arab nations in the first war against the newly declared State of Israel. The two countries later engaged in several military confrontations, most notably the 1967 war, during which Israel occupied the Golan Heights—an area that remains a core symbol of Syrian sovereignty and a central obstacle to peace.

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Israel Air Force receives three new 'Adir' F-35i aircrafts

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
 breaking news (photo credit: JPOST STAFF)
breaking news
(photo credit: JPOST STAFF)

Three new "Adir" (F-35i) aircrafts have landed at Israel's Nevatim Air Base and will now join the Israel Air Force's 'Golden Eagle' squadron, the IDF announced on Friday.

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Sa’ar praises Paraguay for designating IRGC, Hamas, Hezbollah as terror orgs.

"More countries should follow suit and join the fight against Iranian aggression and terrorism," Sa'ar added. 

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
 (Illustrative) Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar over a backdrop of Houthi military recruits.  (photo credit: Canva, FOREIGN MINISTRY, REUTERS/KHALED ABDULLAH)
(Illustrative) Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar over a backdrop of Houthi military recruits.
(photo credit: Canva, FOREIGN MINISTRY, REUTERS/KHALED ABDULLAH)

Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa’ar applauded Paraguayan President Santiago Peña’s decision to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hamas, and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations on Thursday.

“I applaud Paraguay and President Peña for this landmark move,” he wrote on X.

"Iran is the world’s leading exporter of terrorism and extremism, and together with its terror proxies, it threatens regional stability and global peace. More countries should follow suit and join the fight against Iranian aggression and terrorism," Sa'ar added. 

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IDF probe into Nir Yitzhak reveals army failed to protect kibbutz on Oct. 7

The probe found that only at 1:30 p.m. did the first IDF troop enter the kibbutz, just four minutes after the last terrorists left.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
 A building is left destroyed after a rocket hit the building earlier in the week on October 25, 2023 in Nir Yitzhak, Israel. In the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas that left an estimated 1,400 dead and 200 kidnapped, Israel launched a sustained bombardment of the Gaza Strip and threatened a gro (photo credit: Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
A building is left destroyed after a rocket hit the building earlier in the week on October 25, 2023 in Nir Yitzhak, Israel. In the wake of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas that left an estimated 1,400 dead and 200 kidnapped, Israel launched a sustained bombardment of the Gaza Strip and threatened a gro
(photo credit: Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

The IDF published the investigation into Hamas's assault on Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on October 7, 2023, in which it determined that the IDF failed in its mission to protect the kibbutz and its residents, while still emphasizing the heroism of the fighters and of the kibbutz squad.

The findings were presented to the residents of the kibbutz, the families of the kidnapped, and the bereaved families before they were made public on Friday.

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Israel Police arrest armed terrorist from Kalkilya plotting operational mission

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
 breaking news (photo credit: JPOST STAFF)
breaking news
(photo credit: JPOST STAFF)

Israel Police recently arrested an armed terrorist from Kalkilya while he was on his way to carry out an operational mission, the police announced on Friday.

The terrorist was operating alongside other Hamas operatives from Kalkilya.

Following the arrest, which was directed by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) in cooperation with the IDF, the police seized M16 rifles that were intended for the cell's activities.

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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 Supernova music festival and hundreds of Israeli civilians across Gaza border communities.
  • 59 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 a.m.
  • Netanyahu confirmed the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire on January 17, 2025.