Some police officials have accused the IDF and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) of withholding security threat information overnight between October 6 and 7, which, if it had been shared with the police, could have saved the lives of 364 civilians who were killed at the Nova party and the 44 hostages who were taken.
Go to the full article >>The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry stated on Sunday that the death toll in Gaza has reached 40,972 since the war started on October 7 of last year.
A further 94,761 have thus far been wounded in the conflict, the Gazan ministry added.
The number has not been independently verified, and the ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its toll.
The Hamas-run ministry has also been repeatedly criticized for distorting casualty figures.
In May, departing from Hamas’s reported figures, the UN halved the number of women and children it had previously reported had been killed thus far in the war.
Go to the full article >>An Israel Air Force (IAF) aircraft killed Hamas commander Raef Omar Salman Abu Shab in an airstrike in the Gaza Strip last week, the military said on Sunday.
Shab was reportedly the commander of the Rocket Launching Platoon in Hamas's Eastern Khan Yunis Battalion.
The IDF noted that the platoon commander had been in charge of the rocket barrages fired at southern Israel from the Khan Yunis area since the onset of the Israel-Hamas War.
Go to the full article >>The security cabinet is set to convene on Sunday evening, according to Israeli media reports.
The discussions are set to focus on the hostage deal negotiations, among other topics.
Go to the full article >>Israel's parliament (Knesset) will convene on Monday and Thursday this week in order to amend the 2024 budget by increasing government spending by approximately NIS 3.4 billion.
The increase in spending will go towards a number of war-related issues, including funding for evacuees and released hostages and their families until the end of 2024; funding for businesses affected by the war; increased funding for combat reservists and their families; and more.
The increase in funding will not require an update to the legal 2024 budget deficit of 6.6%, since it will be based on larger-than-expected state tax income, finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has said.
Go to the full article >>American officials recently proposed, in a virtual meeting with their Israeli counterparts, a land swap between Lebanon and Israel as part of a comprehensive agreement to end the border conflicts and resolve the land dispute between the two countries, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida reported on Sunday.
The report follows Saturday night's rocket attacks, which involved about 50 launches from Lebanon toward Kiryat Shmona and Western Galilee.
According to the report, the Israeli side reiterated its main demand for a complete military withdrawal of Hezbollah to 10 km away from the border, a demand that the organization currently rejects.
Go to the full article >>A terrorist released in the November ceasefire-hostage deal was arrested on Sunday after he broke his sister's nose and allegedly threatened to behead her, according to an indictment cited by KAN News.
The suspect also allegedly broke his mother's hand.
The released terrorist had reportedly attacked his female relatives with broken glass following an argument.
"He approached his little sister and threatened to slaughter her, cut off her head, [and] bring a knife and a gun and kill her while slapping her and hitting her in all parts of her body," police said, according to KAN.
The terrorist was reportedly sentenced in June 2023 at age 16 to two-and-a-half years in prison for throwing Molotov cocktails at a car of Jewish Israelis in east Jerusalem.
Go to the full article >>The chances of Israel nearing an all-out confrontation with Hezbollah shortly are below 50%, Middle East expert professor Amatzia Baram told Maariv on Sunday.
He added that both sides exercise significant restraint to avoid a full-scale war. Baram explained that the relationship between Israel and Hezbollah is delicate, with both parties escalating military operations cautiously and incrementally.
Despite frequent tensions that might suggest an imminent conflict, Baram emphasized that neither side genuinely seeks war.
Go to the full article >>The Iran-backed Houthi terror group in Yemen claimed on Sunday to have shot down a US-made MQ-9 drone, according to the Associated Press and ABC News, citing a pre-recorded message published by Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree.
Go to the full article >>