Hamas resumes rocket fire from Gaza on southern Israel

An anti-tank missile was fired at the northern Israeli moshav Shtula, near the Lebanese border, the IDF said.

Hezbollah took responsibility for the launch. IDF said artillery forces targeted the source of the fire.

The IDF was also striking targets in southern Lebanon after another anti-tank missile was fired at an Israeli military position in the North, it said.

At least four civilians were reportedly wounded in the incident, with one man in his 40s murdered following failed resuscitation attempts, Magen David Adom said. MDA added it rushed the other wounded civilians to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya for further treatment.

Two more men in their 40s are considered in moderate condition, MDA added.

Israel to evacuate northern border towns

The IDF announced the evacuation of towns four kilometers or less away from the northern border on Sunday morning, saying that entry to this area is strictly forbidden.

Residents of the northern moshav were told to seek shelter immediately. Later, the Kiryat Shmona municipality also told the border city's residents to seek shelter following exchanges of fire on the border

Residents of the nearby kibbutzim of Yiftach, Menara, Maayan Baruch, Misgav Am, Yeron, Bar'am, Tzivon, Dan, Daphna, Snir and Kfar HaGiladi were all told to seek shelter later on Sunday morning. 

This is a developing story.

Rocket impacts were reported in Bat Yam, Ashkelon, and a number of other cities after a barrage of rockets was fired toward southern and central Israel on Saturday evening, according to initial reports.

No injuries have been reported as of yet.

There is an elevated alert for rocket fire on Saturday evening, the Ashdod Municipality announced that evening.

Based on intelligence from security sources, currently, there is a reportedly increased alert of rocket fire.

The municipality statement advised that, if a missile siren sounds while you are on the street, you should find cover and lie flat on the ground with your hands on your head.

If it occurs while driving, you should stop your vehicle, get away from it, and follow the same instructions detailed previously.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke during the day with German Chancellor Olaf Schulz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Prime Minister's Office noted on Saturday evening.

Each of the leaders that spoke with Netanyahu expressed support for Israel.

Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked them for standing with Israel and it was agreed that the parties would continue to be in communication over the situation.

PARIS – The French Jewish community is increasingly concerned over the significant spike in antisemitic acts perpetrated since Saturday across the country, on the backdrop of Hamas's attack against Israel. 

Jewish institutions and schools are under tight security protection for several years now, and French police is vigilant over offering permits to carry weapons, but French Jews still live in fear of spontaneous violent acts by antisemites, using kitchen knives or other readily-available deadly means, as was the case last Friday in the city of Arras where a 20-year-old killed Dominique Bernard in front of the Sorbonne school where he was teaching. The perpetrator of the act yelled Allahu Akbar before stabbing Bernard. 

The realities of a French Jewish student

Stephane, a 21-year-old student at Sorbonne, recalled: ‘’I went to a Jewish school, and we were always told to be careful. To take off the kippah once we step out of the doors of the school building and walk home quickly. The situation now is reminiscent of the stress we were under in 2015, following the attack on the Hyper Casher store.’’ Still, studying in a Jewish school and attending a public university are two very different things. ‘’As a student in the university," Stephane said, "I am often confronted with accusations on the way Israel allegedly treats the Palestinians.

The pro-Palestinian student cell is quite active. Since Saturday, me and my friends are tracking the different rallies being held across France in support of Hamas. For the moment, these took place mostly in city centers, but I fear that soon they will arrive loser to home, at the universities as well.’’

Many French Jews fear that the initial sympathy with Israel over the attack by Hamas will turn into animosity once hundreds of thousands of Palestinians make their way from the north of the Gaza Strip to the south. French Jews have reason to worry: Shortly after the attack against Israel, French politicians from the extreme left refused to condemn Hamas, or to qualify the atrocities they committed, in which over 1,300 Israelis were murdered, as terror acts.

The Eiffel Tower lights up in white and blue, the colours of the Israeli flag, following Hamas' biggest attack on Israel in years, in Paris, France, October 9, 2023 (credit: REUTERS/BENOIT TESSIER)

Like many other French Jews, David brought together his enlarged family for a Shabbat dinner. They all share the need to support each other in this hour of grief, but also to help each other through the difficult situation they find themselves in, here in Paris.

‘’France is one of the only countries in the free world where the political class was not unanimous in condemning the horrific acts of Hamas. True, in Britain there were also harsh words from certain political figures. But here, we had some legislators ignoring the Israeli victims. When news came out on the terrible things that happened in the south of Israel, we were all shocked. Political classes across the globe stood together, condemning these atrocities, but not here in France,’’ David said.

‘’Leader of the extreme-left party Jean-Luc Melanchon accused the Jewish leadership of France of cooperating with the French extreme right. The proof, according to him, is that the extreme right condemned the attack by Hamas. He said also that by aligning with the right-wing Israeli government, French Jewish institutions were isolating themselves and preventing France from expressing its solidarity.’’

For David, this is unacceptable. ‘’Melanchon is exploiting the situation for political reasons. We have seen the German political class standing unequivocally behind Israel in its terrible moment. The same was and is true in Italy and other European countries. It is regrettable that this is not the situation in France,’’ he added.

Jonathan Arfi, head of the French Jewish umbrella organization, expressed similar sentiments. ‘’This is not new. We have seen it in 2012, with the attack on the Jewish school Ozar Hatorah and others, an antisemitic attack on the pretext of defending a Palestinian cause,’’ Afri told The Jerusalem Post. "This is happening now again. We all must be very vigilant.’’

For Arfi, the declarations made by Melanchon and by other leaders of the extreme left are dangerous. Contrary to what Melanchon is saying, the CRIF and the other Jewish institutions have always distanced themselves from the French far-right, and have no intention of changing their position. 

French Jews with whom the Post spoke expressed their trust in French authorities security-wise: "Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin is very attentive to the threat of antisemitism. He has been very clear about that since taking office, and especially this recent week. The minister of justice also clarified that any support of Hamas is punishable by up to five years imprisonment. These statements are important, because they send a strong message to anyone thinking of attacking Jews or Jewish institutions,’’ aJewish doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Post. 

The Jewish doctor speaks out of experience. The bronze plate on his building featuring his name and profession for patients coming to his clinic, has been vandalized more than once in past years (he has a very ‘’Jewish’’ name). ‘’There are no ‘’small’’ antisemitic acts. It’s a question of atmosphere, of what the French society agrees to tolerate. Darmanin made clear that the policy of the government on antisemitism is zero tolerance.’’

Esther, also a student at the Sorbonne, feels a bit differently over the reaction of the French authorities. ‘’True, Darmanin’s reactions are very reassuring on how police and law-enforcement agencies are expected to act and react.

Still, I would have liked our president to use stronger words on the French-Israeli hostages held in Gaza. After all, there are close to 200,000 French Jews living in Israel! Mr. Macron said that this is not acceptable. He didn’t threaten Hamas that France will not tolerate such a situation. It would have been good to see him traveling to Israel immediately after the catastrophe of last Saturday’’ she said. 

Avigdor Liberman’s Israel Beytenu is joining the emergency government, the Likud announced on Saturday evening.
After the emergency government was announced on Wednesday and officially formed on Thursday, Liberman said that he would join it as soon as he was invited.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited Israel Beytenu Chairman MK Avigdor Liberman to immediately join the security cabinet together with another minister from his party,” said the Likud in a statement. “MK Liberman accepted the invitation, and Prime Minister Netanyahu congratulated him.”

Who else is in the emergency government?

Benny Gantz’s National Unity party was the first to join the emergency government, and he, along with fellow party members Gideon Sa’ar, Gadi Eisenkot, Chili Tropper, and Yifat Shasha-Biton were sworn in as ministers on Thursday.

Gantz welcomed Liberman’s inclusion in the government on Twitter.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend the special plenary session opening the winter session of the Knesset, on October 23, 2017. (credit: HADAS PARUSH/FLASH90)

“Together, we will win,” he said.

He was joined by ministers from across the coalition who all welcomed the news.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid was the first to suggest an emergency government but refused to join it when it was announced on Wednesday. This, he said, was because he thought that the set-up was not productive. He did, however, say that his party would fully support the government in all its war-related decisions. 

Two German air force planes will evacuate German citizens from Israel tonight, a spokesperson for the German air force said on Saturday, without giving details on how many Germans would be flown out.

The A400M planes are expected to land at Germany's Wunstorf air base at 3 a.m. and 4.30 a.m. (0100-0230 GMT) Sunday morning, respectively, the spokesperson added.

Druze First Sergeant Salman Gadban not only stood up against attackers but also played a major part in the defense of the Nahal Oz base, notably by taking decisive action like neutralizing an assailant attempting to drag away a fallen comrade during a large terror attack last past weekend.

The dramatic episode unfolded early Saturday morning when the base's 'Red Alert' siren blared. Reacting swiftly, Gadban, accompanied by another officer and several soldiers, dashed to the base's shelter. Upon emerging after the first alarms, they were met by a group of terrorists trying to get into the base. Gadban and his team fought back hard.

As the morning went on, the base had 22 soldiers, some hurt in different ways. A big group of terrorists tried to take over, putting a lot of pressure on the soldiers. Gadban worked hard to protect his fellow soldiers, risking his own life.

Later, a tank that came to help was hit by two missiles, and its crew was sadly killed. In one intense moment, a terrorist tried to drag away the body of one of the tank's crew, but Gadban shot him.

Druze First Sergeant Salman Gadban. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON UNIT)

Defending the base

For many hours, Gadban and his small team defended the base, even as they ran low on bullets and had no food. At one point, a grenade was thrown at Gadban, but luckily it didn't explode.

Help finally came around 4:30 PM when more soldiers arrived. Once the terrorists were defeated, the focus turned to helping the injured. Gadban, showing more bravery, used an armored vehicle to carry the wounded to safety, even while being shot at.

After the fight, Gadban helped the new soldiers understand the area and potential threats. He stayed with them all night to make sure there were no more surprises.

Aside from his soldier duties, Gadban has a family and just welcomed a new baby a month ago. As a member of the Druze community, he shows the diverse backgrounds of those who defend Israel.

An IDF reserve officer has been killed in a shooting incident near the Palestinian village of Immatin, in the West Bank, the IDF spokesperson announced on Saturday evening.

Initial reports suggest that the incident occurred after IDF soldiers involved in operational activities were pursuing suspects who had thrown stones at a military vehicle.

During the operations, the IDF identified a suspicious vehicle carrying armed individuals and fired at the vehicle.

Concurrently, a separate unit that responded to the incident apparently sustained injuries from the gunfire after arriving at the scene. The reserve officer was killed, and an IDF soldier standing nearby was lightly wounded.

The incident is currently under investigation by the Military Police.

The Israel Police announced the names of three more police officers killed in battle with Hamas, bringing the total of police casualties to 51.

The police reported the names: First Sergeant Avi Amar, Commander of the Infrastructure Branch in the Yoav Unit, Lieutenant Dan Gannot, Deputy Commander of an Enforcement Coordination Unit, and Master Sergeant Sharon Livovitz, a movement scout at the Ofakim Station.

The police said that the families of the fallen officers have been notified.

Details regarding funeral arrangements are forthcoming.