The Israeli army has killed two Palestinian militants in action. A deadly attack on a bus in the West Bank earlier this month.
The Israeli military said on Thursday that the two men barricaded themselves in a structure in the West Bank village of Berkin and exchanged fire with Israeli soldiers before being killed overnight. One soldier sustained minor injuries, the army said.
The army said Mohammad Nazal and Katiba al-Shalabi were active with the Islamic Jihad militant group.
The militant group Hamas issued a statement claiming the two men were members of its armed wing and praised the bus attack. Hamas and the smaller, more radical Islamic Jihad are allies that sometimes carry out joint attacks.
On January 6, three people were killed and six injured in an attack on a bus carrying Israelis.
Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians want it to be an integral part of their future state.
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The 24-year-old survivor of the Hamas attack will represent Israel at Eurovision.
TEL AVIV — A survivor of the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas will represent Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland in May.
Yuval Raphael, 24, won first place in a song contest on Israeli television that determines Israel’s entry into Eurovision, a pan-continental pop extravaganza. She won with a performance of Swedish group ABBA’s pop hit “Dancing Queen,” which she dedicated to the victims of the attack.
Raphael survived. Nova Music Festival As Palestinian militants stormed the event in southern Israel, a cross-border Hamas raid killed hundreds and took scores hostage. He testified about his experience in the Israeli parliament on October 7. She described hiding under piles of bodies from gunmen for eight hours, and said “I’ll deal with this for the rest of my life.”
Last year’s Eurovision was overshadowed by the war in Gaza. With massive protests against Israel’s participation. The representative of Israel, Aidan Golan, who won the fifth position in the competition, was kept under tight security.
Israel will not compromise on eliminating Hamas, Foreign Minister
BUDAPEST, Hungary – Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Thursday that Israel will not compromise on its goals of destroying Hamas’ military and administrative capabilities and that there is no guarantee that a three-phase ceasefire in the war in Gaza will succeed. strip
Speaking with his Hungarian counterpart in Budapest, Hungary, Saar said Hamas leaders have announced their intention to carry out more attacks on Israel similar to the deadly attacks on October 7, 2023, and therefore They cannot be allowed to retain any military capability.
“They are committed to the idea of ending the Jewish state,” Saar said. “Israel will not accept Hamas rule in Gaza.” As long as Hamas remains in power, there will be no peace, security or stability in the Middle East.
“We hope that the hostage release framework will continue to its conclusion, but of course I cannot guarantee that,” he continued. “We will not give up our goals.”
Heavy rains and floods have exacerbated the plight of displaced Palestinians in Gaza.
Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip — Although the cease-fire in Gaza has provided a rare respite from humanitarian aid and Israeli bombardment, it has endured for most of the two million people displaced by the fighting. There has been no change in the dire situation.
The winter weather has added to the hardships of those eking out an existence in tattered tents and makeshift shelters. Heavy rain had flooded tents throughout the area, leaving Palestinians shivering in the cold.
At a makeshift camp in the central city of Deir al-Balah, Thursday’s rain drenched tents that appeared to be floating on pools of dung. Some used sandbags to prevent their tents from being washed away, while others tried to clean up large puddles of mud outside their shelters. Barefoot children were wading through the paths that had turned into dirty rivers. A whooping cough came from every corner, raising fears of the spread of the disease.
Tariq Deifullah, a displaced resident of Deir al-Balah, originally from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, said water was pouring into his tent from all sides. “A ceasefire is useless” when it comes to changing their living conditions, he said.
“Before the ceasefire we were suffering, after the ceasefire we are suffering from rains and winters,” Defullah said.
Monira Faraj, a mother of two young girls, said the rain flooded her tent and soaked her mattress as her family slept.
“We’re afraid if it gets too high, we’ll drown,” he said.
Residents of the tent camp said they had no choice but to stay. Although a cease-fire on Sunday in the war between Israel and Hamas has allowed Palestinians displaced by the fighting to return to their homes, those who inspected their homes in recent days said they found only ruins. are
A Turkish commercial plane arrived in Damascus for the first time in 13 years
DAMASCUS, Syria – A commercial plane from Turkey landed in Damascus for the first time in 13 years on Thursday, Syrian state media reported.
According to SANA, the Turkish Airlines plane took off from Istanbul to the Syrian capital, two weeks after the first international commercial flight took off from Qatar following the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Ankara supported opposition groups in northwestern Syria who fought against Assad and his allies during the conflict that turned into an uprising and never restored ties, even when most Middle Eastern countries did in 2023. was
Now Turkey, a key ally of the new authorities under the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, has expressed its intention to invest in Syria’s economy and help its ailing electricity and energy sectors.
Israel’s ambassador to America says that the two countries are discussing the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
JERUSALEM – Israel’s ambassador to the United States says the two countries are negotiating an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon as a deadline. In the truce are approaching Hezbollah militants. Israeli media have reported that Israel is trying to postpone the completion of its withdrawal.
Michael Herzog said in an interview with Israeli Army Radio on Thursday that he believed Israel would reach a “compromise” with the Trump administration, without elaborating.
Israeli forces are due to complete their withdrawal from southern Lebanon by Sunday, under a US-brokered truce to end more than a year of fighting in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli media have reported that Israel has reached an agreement with the Biden administration on a further stay, but President Donald Trump is urging it to withdraw in time.
There was no immediate comment from the US.
Israeli officials have said that Lebanese troops are not deploying fast enough in areas where Israeli troops are to be evacuated. Under the ceasefire, the Lebanese army is to patrol a buffer zone in southern Lebanon alongside UN peacekeepers.
Hezbollah has threatened to resume rocket and drone fire if Israel does not withdraw in time.
Al Jazeera says the Palestinian Authority arrested one of its reporters.
Al Jazeera News Network says the Palestinian Authority has arrested one of its reporters after preventing it from covering the area. Israeli operations in the occupied West Bank.
The Qatar-based news network reported on Thursday that its reporter, Mohammad Al-Atarish, was arrested at his home.
It said Palestinian security forces had previously prevented them from reporting on a major Israeli military operation in Jenin, which has been at the center of Israeli-Palestinian violence in recent years. Palestinian Authority started its crackdown on militants. In the city late last year.
There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian Authority.
Both Israel and the Western-backed Palestinian Authority banned Al Jazeera last year. Israel is the mouthpiece of Hamas on this. On coverage of the war in the Gaza Strip And say that some of its reporters are also militants.
The pan-Arab broadcaster has denied the allegations and accused both Israel and the Palestinian Authority of trying to silence critical coverage.
The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security matters. It is unpopular with Palestinians.Critics have portrayed him as a corrupt and authoritarian ally of Israel.
Israel’s Netanyahu will likely meet with Trump in the next few weeks, the official said.
UNITED NATIONS – Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations believes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Washington “within a few weeks” to meet with President Donald Trump.
Danny Danon told reporters on Wednesday: “I believe he will be one of the first foreign leaders to be invited to the White House.”
Denon said he expected his talks to include the current cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and the release of hostages taken during Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel.
