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Terror group said to tell mediators it doesn’t have 33 living people who meet ‘humanitarian’ criteria of initial phase — after Israel agreed to lower previous demand of 40 people Hamas has said some of the 33 hostages it would release under the first phase of a prospective hostage deal with Israel would not necessarily be alive. In an announcement detailing the clauses to which it had agreed Monday in the latest proposal for a deal, the terror group said, “During the first phase, Hamas releases 33 Israeli detainees (alive or corpses).” The New York Times reported Tuesday that the...

The president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq, Nechirvan Barzani, traveled to Tehran on Monday to meet with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who warned him to prevent “anti-revolutionary elements” from getting too friendly with the autonomous Kurdish region. The warning appeared to be a threat intended to dissuade Kurdish cooperation with the United States and any potential cordial ties with neighboring Israel. The KRG maintains friendly relations with the United States and cooperates militarily with Washington, particularly against the Islamic State (Isis) jihadist organization. The KRG’s Peshmerga forces were pivotal in the ouster of the ISIS “caliphate” from...

Israeli fighter jets during the night shot down a drone that was heading toward Israel from “the eastern direction,” the military says. The IDF says the aircraft had been tracked throughout the incident, and there was no threat to civilians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a utopian plan for a rebuilt Gaza on Friday called “Gaza 2035.” In a PowerPoint file apparently published by the Prime Minister’s Office, and available (in Hebrew) on the Ynet news website, the Israeli government envisions a future for Gaza as a thriving center of trade and innovation under a Palestinian administration that is de-radicalized and focused on economic growth rather than on terror and hate. The “Gaza 2035” plan seeks to capitalize on Gaza’s historical role as a crossroads on the east-west route between Cairo and Baghdad on the one hand, and the...

After Abu Marzouk claims good relations with Amman, veteran Jordanian diplomat responds that country ‘has closed the book on Palestinian cells’ Jordan on Tuesday quickly dispelled the idea that Hamas leaders would be welcome to set up their offices on their territory after a senior Hamas official suggested the terror group’s political bureau would move to the kingdom if it was forced to leave its current home in Qatar. It was reported earlier this month that Hamas’s political chiefs are exploring moving their base of operations out of Qatar, as the Gulf state faces increasing pressure over its influence with...

We could call this A Tale of Two Facilities. Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israel in retaliation for the targeted strike on IRGC and Hamas commanders. That attack did little damage despite a volley of well over 300 missiles and drones, thanks to the regional defenses and the several hours of lead time necessitated by Iran's launch from its own territory.That demonstrated the facility Iran has for offensive operations in the region. Israel responded by demonstrating its facility, and as the New York Times hears from officials in Iran and the West, the result shocked the Iranians:An Israeli...

Seven were injured by a direct hit by an explosive UAV in a communal building in the settlement of Arab al-Aramshe in the Western Galilee. in the artillery for the launch sources. Ader Gitsis | Branu Tegene | N12 | Published 13:34 17.04.24 Seven injured, two of them in a serious condition, from a direct hit today (Wednesday) in a populated community center in Arab al-Aramsha in the Western Galilee. Another injured is in moderate condition, and four are in light condition. MDA teams, along with IDF medical teams, evacuated the seven to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya.

Lebanon's Hezbollah said it launched missiles and drones on an Israeli military facility in Arab al-Aramshe on Wednesday, in response to the Israeli killing of Hezbollah members and commanders in Lebanon. This escalation comes as tensions between Israel and Iran are reaching new heights after a series of strikes and counterstrikes.

Something extraordinary happened above Israel over the weekend. It wasn’t that Israel repelled a massive Iranian rocket and drone barrage, although that was sufficiently miraculous. Nor was it that amazing that Saudi Arabia helped defend Israel against Iranian incursions because it’s been rumored for decades that Saudi Arabia occasionally lends a hand in those matters. What was truly extraordinary was that Saudi Arabia openly admitted to helping Israel fight back against Iran’s attack. It shows the truth of the ancient proverb that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Many people are pointing to President Trump’s Abraham Accords as...

“In fact, it shows Louis Tomlinson fans near Four Seasons Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina last week,” a fellow BBC fact-checker said of the 32-year-old singer and one-time Harry Styles bandmate in One Direction. The footage, also shared by numerous online influencers, was just one of a number aired by Iran’s state TV claiming to show scenes of devastation from the weekend’s air strikes, despite Israel shooting down around 99% of the drones and missiles fired at the Jewish state. Another that IRINN claimed to be the fiery aftermath of a missile strike was actually from a February forest fire...

Democrat Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) broke ways with President Joe Biden on Sunday after he said he wouldn’t support Israel if it retaliated against Iran. During an interview with CNN, Fetterman told host Jake Tapper that he disagreed with Biden’s stance, saying he would never "capitulate to the fringe" or “pander” to the Democratic Party. “Do you think that's the right call or should direct U.S. military action, as some of your colleagues in the Senate are suggesting, should that be on the table?" Tapper asked. The president made it clear that he would not back Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin...

“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” This aphorism aptly describes the phenomenon of Jew-hatred. Purim fell in March this year, while Israelis were engaged in an existential war against Gazan and Lebanese terrorists. The holiday commemorates the salvation of the Jews of ancient Persia from a genocide planned by an abominable man named Haman. Today, Iran—modern Persia—is a major sponsor of Islamist Hamans, including the paragliding, motorcycling murderers of Hamas. Founded three years after the end of the Holocaust, Israel became the great beacon of hope for a traumatized people. The Jewish homeland took in millions of refugees...

Iran's massive missile and drone barrage targeting Israel over the weekend is similar to Russian tactics used in frequent strikes on Ukraine, according to a new assessment, after Iran launched its first-ever direct strike from its own territory into Israel. "Iran's use of drones and missiles shows how Iran is learning from the Russians to develop increasingly dangerous and effective strike packages against Israel," the U.S. think tank, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Saturday. Russia has launched thousands of missile and drone strikes on Ukraine in nearly 26 months of all-out war in the country....

TEHRAN - Amid escalating tensions, an Iranian military source has suggested that Jordan may face severe repercussions and become the next target if it aligns with the Zionist regime. The caution follows heightened surveillance by Iranian armed forces, closely monitoring Jordan's activities in the aftermath of a retaliatory attack by Iran against the occupied territories on Saturday night. This retaliation came after the Israeli regime struck Iran's embassy in Damascus on April 1, resulting in the deaths of seven high-ranking military officials. The source emphasized that should Jordan choose to engage in any future actions, it risks becoming the next...

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel "sooner, rather than later" and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden said simply, "Don't," and he underscored Washington's commitment to defend Israel. "We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed," he said. Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of retaliation for an attack on Iran's embassy compound last week in Damascus that killed a senior commander...

Jordanian authorities have clamped down on participants in the daily protests against the Israeli war on Gaza, amid accusations that Hamas has a role in igniting them. Thousands have been protesting daily in Ramadan in front of the Israeli embassy in the capital, Amman, demanding its closure and an end to normalisation with Israel in response to its atrocities in Gaza. The protests continued even though the embassy has no diplomatic mission, following the departure of Israel's ambassador in October and Jordan's recalling of its ambassador in protest of the Israeli war on Gaza. Jordanian authorities have been caught off...

Iran has for some two years inundated the West Bank with arms, employing a covert, multinational network of intelligence operatives, terror groups and criminal gangs as part of its multi-pronged strategy against Israel, The New York Times reported on Tuesday According to the report, citing three unnamed officials each from Iran, Israel and the United States, much of the contraband travels along one of two routes that pass through Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. The operation hinges on Bedouins who smuggle the weapons from Jordan across the border into the West Bank, Iranian officials were cited as saying....

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar warned on Friday that “one tiny mistake” could turn Cyprus into “a new Gaza”. Tatar, not recognized as a head of state by the international community, also suggested that Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan may soon recognize the north. Turkey is the only country that recognizes the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. in an interview with the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph, said, “A mistake or a misunderstanding such as the shooting of a Turkish soldier on the Green Line… would provoke a bomb between the two populations.” “If you shoot one Turkish soldier, you...

Hezi Simantov, a commentator and correspondent for Arab affairs of ‘News 13’, spoke Tuesday morning with Nissim Mashal and Anat Davidov on 103FM about the assassination of the senior Iranian Mohammad Reza Zahedi, commander of the Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon, and the expected consequences. First of all, according to the reports from Syria and Iran, the Israeli Air Force allegedly attacked a building adjacent to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, where several senior Iranian officials were located, among them Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who is actually the deputy commander of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards in Syria...

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry issued a statement about the normalization of relations with Israel on February 7. It declared that Saudi Arabia would not establish relations with Israel until the “brotherly Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights”—the creation and recognition of an independent state with 1967 borders and East Jerusalem as its capital. The statement refined and affirmed comments that Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan made in Davos three weeks earlier. The announcement leaves Saudi security and interests to chance. The Saudi government is making the realization of relations between two countries, Israel and Saudi Arabia,...