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The IDF spokesman announced early on Sunday morning that at 11:25 p.m.on Saturday, the Chief Rabbi of the IDF, Brigadier Gen. Rafi Peretz, declared the death of IDF officer, Lt. Hadar Goldin, who fell in the Gaza Strip on Friday. The decision was made according to the findings of a special board, headed by the…

Thousands marched in Chile’s capital Saturday against Israel’s operation in Gaza, urging President Michelle Bachelet to break off diplomatic relations with the Jewish state, reported AFP. “Break it off, Break it off, Break off ties with Israel!” chanted demonstrators who marched to the presidential palace, many waving banners or decked out in the traditional Arab…

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Saturday an Egyptian truce plan provides a “real chance” to end the Gaza conflict, stressing the need for its speedy implementation, according to AFP.  A Palestinian delegation is expected in Cairo on Saturday to discuss a durable truce to end the fighting, a day after a temporary ceasefire collapsed with Israel and Hamas blaming each other. “The…

Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) called upon the government Saturday night to outlaw the Islamic Movement in Israel, after the group’s leader lead a pro-Palestinian protest in the Galilee over the weekend. Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, led a noon demonstration in Tamra Saturday, which drew 10,000 Israeli…

The parents of missing IDF soldier Hadar Goldin, have expressed their shock at rumors that the IDF was beginning to withdraw from Gaza, and urged the government not to abandon their son. “I am a Battalion Commander in the reserves, I performed reserves duty until I was 50. (IDF Chief of Staff) Benny Gantz was…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu stated Saturday night that Operation Protective Edge in Gaza will continue “for as much time as necessary,” despite earlier reports indicating that some IDF forces may be withdrawing. The Prime Minister explained that some troops are being distanced from civilian areas where the IDF has achieved its objectives to prevent unnecessary…

Member of the Security Cabinet and Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) spoke with US Secretary of State John Kerry Saturday night, to thank the US Congress for working to approve $225 million in additional aid for the Iron Dome missile defense system.  The Finance Minister stressed that Israel attaches “great importance” to maintaining and…

Pro-Palestinian organizations, in cooperation with radical leftist organizations – including some Jewish groups – continue organizing anti-Israeli demonstrations across Canada.  On July 30, the “Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid” (CAIA) held a demonstration in Dundas Square in downtown Toronto, which attended by hundreds of local residents who were carrying placards denouncing Israel and support the Palestinian…

An initial investigation into the attack during which Second Lieutenant Hadar Goldin was abducted on Friday reveals that terrorists in Rafah launched a concerted attack on a Givati Brigade force yesterday morning before kidnapping the soldier.  The attacked killed two soldiers in Goldin’s unit, and included fierce gunfire and at least one suicide bomber, according…

Sirens continued to sound throughout Israel over Saturday, as a mortar attack caused at least one serious injury in the Eshkol Region near Gaza. A 77-year-old man was seriously injured at about 4:50 pm Saturday afternoon in an Eshkol region community after being struck by shrapnel from a mortar barrage from Gaza. Magen David Adom…

Throughout the operation in Gaza, the IDF has constantly presented proof of Hamas’s use of human shields and its firing of rockets from schools and hospitals. Now, there is further proof, this time from a Finnish reporter who admitted to the camera that rockets were being fired from the Shifa hospital in Gaza. The reporter,…

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded Friday that an Israeli soldier captured in Gaza be released immediately and condemned “in the strongest terms” the reported ceasefire violation by Hamas, according to AFP. Ban called on Israel and Hamas to show restraint and return to the 72-hour truce that collapsed after two soldiers were killed…

Egypt said Friday its invitation to Israeli and Palestinian Authority (PA) delegations for talks on a longer-term Gaza ceasefire was “still in place” despite the fact that the 72-hour humanitarian truce had broken down. At the same time, reported AFP, Egypt condemned Israel for “keeping on targeting innocent Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip”. A…

Turkey will do what it can to help free Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin, who is feared kidnapped by Hamas, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Friday, according to Reuters. “What is important is that the ceasefire is reinstated. To ensure this, together with others, we can take any step that could resolve this Israeli…

The Senate on Friday rushed through a $225 million bill to replenish the Iron Dome missile defense system, The Associated Press (AP) reported. House approval is expected in the final hours before lawmakers began a summer break. The money will go to restocking the Iron Dome, which has been credited with shooting down dozens of…

In what may be one of the most ridiculous accusations yet against Israel, the UN’s top human rights official condemned Israel on Thursday for failing to share the Iron Dome anti-missile system with Hamas, Breitbart reports. According to the report, human rights commissioner Navi Pillay condemned Israel’s military actions to stop Hamas rocket attacks against…

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday called on Hamas to unconditionally release Second Lieutenant (Platoon Leader) Hadar Goldin, who is feared kidnapped in Gaza. Releasing Goldin, Obama said in a statement, would show that Hamas is serious about a ceasefire. “I think it’s important to note that we have and I have unequivocally condemned Hamas…

The United States placed the blame for Friday’s rapid breakdown in the latest Gaza ceasefire squarely at the door of Hamas, AFP reported. Speaking after Hamas killed two Israeli soldiers and captured a third, Secretary of State John Kerry said the U.S. “condemns in the strongest possible terms today’s attack, which led to the killing…

Israeli security forces shot dead a Palestinian rioter during clashes in Samaria on Friday, security sources told AF, as Hamas urged Arabs in Judea and Samaria to begin a new “intifada”. They said Tamer Smour, 22, was hit by a live bullet in the chest in the city of Tulkarem.   A spokesman for the…

With Operation Protective Edge ongoing and IDF soldiers and the citizens of Israel facing repeated Hamas attacks, Rabbi David Stav of the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization issued a call to synagogues and Jewish organizations around the world to proudly fly the Israeli flag. “Our hearts and minds are with the brave soldiers of the IDF who…

Hamas has fired yet another salvo of rockets on Israel Friday, as sirens sounded near the Kerem Shalom crossing shortly after 10:00 am.  No injuries or damage have yet been reported.  The rocket fire surfaces after a ceasefire was announced just over two hours ago.  Earlier, Hamas fired a salvo of rockets at the south just…

Zo Artzeinu, an organization which plants fruit trees in Israel, has vowed to plant a special orchard on Friday – both in the memory of murdered teens Naftali Frenkel (16), Gilad Sha’ar (16), and Eyal Yifrah (19), and for the lives of Israel’s fallen soldiers. The organization has vowed to plant 3,000 trees in memory…

Reserve units who have been called up to replace security forces normally serving in Judea and Samaria during Operation Protective Edge have prepared to stay for the long haul, according to a senior IDF officer.   Lt. Colonel Yishai Gertler, a former infantry battalion commander who serves in the Ramallah area, told Arutz Sheva Friday that combat…

The IDF attacked over 120 terror targets overnight Thursday/Friday, ahead of an expected three-day “humanitarian ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas slated for 8:00 am Friday.  The targets eliminated included Hamas rocket launchers directed at IDF naval forces along Gaza’s coast; two Hamas terrorists apprehended by the Paratroopers Brigade; an Islamic Jihad operations room with two…

The number-two US diplomat will head to Cairo and seek to extend beyond 72 hours a truce agreed by Israel and Hamas, a senior US official said Friday. According to AFP, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns – a veteran career diplomat frequently tasked with delicate missions – will travel to Egypt this weekend to take part in talks as part of…

Police forces throughout Jerusalem’s Old City and Arab neighborhoods have been mobilized Friday morning, ahead of a 72-hour “humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza and the first Friday after Ramadan.  In addition, Hamas has called on Arabs in the Palestinian Authority (PA), Judea and Samaria, and Jerusalem to “show solidarity for Gaza and the Resistance” by facilitating…

Hundreds of riot police in Paris deployed near the Israeli Embassy on Thursday for the first major pro-Israel rally since the start of the latest Gaza war, The Associated Press (AP) reported. Several thousand people turned out for the rally, waving signs with slogans like “Gaza hostage of Hamas” and “We protest for peace,” according…

On Friday morning the IDF announced that a soldier had gone missing, feared abducted, in a fierce firefight with Hamas terrorists who had breached a ceasefire which began just hours before. Shortly after, the soldier was named as Second Lieutenant (Platoon Leader) Hadar Goldin, 23, from Kfar Saba. Late last year, Arutz Sheva‘s Hebrew-language radio station…

Egypt has invited Israel and the Palestinian Authority to send delegates to Cairo for truce talks, after both sides agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire in Gaza, the foreign ministry said on Thursday night, according to AFP. The delegations, which will include representatives of Hamas in Gaza, are expected to depart at any moment, a senior…

The White House has condemned an attack by Hamas terrorists on IDF forces, in which two soldiers were killed and another feared abducted, as a “barbaric” violation of a humanitarian ceasefire which began just hours before. Second Lieutenant (Platoon Leader) Hadar Goldin, 23, from Kfar Saba went missing during a fierce firefight on the outskirts…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke with US Secretary of State John Kerry following Friday, after Hamas terrorists breached a 72-hour ceasefire to attack an IDF force in Gaza, killing two soldiers and taking another hostage. A statement from the prime minister’s office said that Netanyahu confirmed to Kerry “that despite his joint statement with UN…

More disturbing footage has emerged illustrating the recent surge in anti-Semitism in Europe, as Islamists and extremists from both the hard-left and -right of the political spectrum have used the pretext of Israel’s military operation in Gaza to engage in violent attacks and incitement against Jews. The latest video is from an Islamist rally in…

MK Miri Regev made a strong statement against further cease-fire attempts Friday, after Israel and Hamas allegedly accepted a US-brokered ceasefire – and terrorists began firing rockets on Israel hours later.  “We call on the Prime Minister to return Israel her sovereignty,” MK Miri Regev (Likud) stated Friday. “We must stop these cease-fires – they…

The IDF released for publication the name of the soldier feared abducted by terrorists in Gaza. The missing soldier has been named as Second Lieutenant (Platoon Leader) Hadar Goldin, 23, from Kfar Saba. Goldin serves in the Givati Brigade. The IDF Spokesperson’s office announced Friday that at about 9:30 am, terrorists opened fire on Israeli…

Exactly nine years since the Expulsion from Gush Katif, the Sderot Hesder Yeshiva (Torah academy) has been turned into a center for soldiers to recover and raise their spirits after battle in Gaza. “There is a great love here for the IDF,” said Rabbi David Fendel, dean of the Afikei Da’at Hesder Yeshiva. During the…

Just hours after stepping down as US House majority leader, Republican Representative Eric Cantor announced he would resign from his congressional seat later this month. Establishment heavyweight Cantor lost his seat to an even more conservative but virtually unknown Tea Party-backed challenger in a June election amid deep divisions within the Republican Party ahead of…

The IDF has released the names of three of the five soldiers killed Thursday night in Gaza. All of them served in the 188th Armored Brigade, or “Lightning Brigade.”  The slain (hy”d) are: Master Sergeant Daniel Marsh, 22, from Rishon LeTzion. Marsh’s funeral will be held at 3:30 pm Friday at the military cemetery in…

Once again, a Jewish “light unto the nations” has begun to shine – this time, on the Hindus.  The Hindus in the United States have decided that they would like a worldwide certification system, similar to that of Kosher food. Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, President of Universal Society of Hinduism (USOH), stated this week that Hindus take…

The IDF Spokesperson has cleared for publication that five soldiers were killed Thursday evening while performing operational activities near the border with Gaza. According to the IDF statement, there was high trajectory fire (usually meaning rockets or mortars) towards the soldiers. The names of the five have not yet been cleared for publication. As well,…

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday night, according to AFP. Kerry said that the two sides would begin the truce at 8:00 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and that Israelis and Palestinian Arabs would enter talks in Cairo. “This…

Moments after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire in Gaza, terrorists from the coastal enclave fired a salvo of rockets towards Israel’s Shfela region. Sirens were heard shortly after 1:00 a.m. Thursday night in Rehovot, Ness Ziona, Lod and other localities. The Iron Dome…

The White House said on Thursday night that it strongly supports the new three-day ceasefire agreed to by Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Reuters reported. In a statement, Washington urged “restraint” in the hours before the truce begins at 8:00 a.m. Israel time (0500 GMT) on Friday. “We urge all parties to act with restraint…

The United States said Thursday there was little doubt Israeli artillery was the source of a “totally indefensible” strike that killed 16 people at a UN school in Gaza. White House spokesman Josh Earnest noted that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had said all available evidence pointed to Israeli artillery and that the Israeli government had…

MK Moshe Feiglin (Likud) spelled out his formula for solving the Gaza terror problem, in an event at Beit Shemesh Wednesday. Feiglin does not believe in going after rocket launchers or tunnels. Gaza should be retaken in whole, he said, by directly attacking the Hamas leadership and striving for victory, and doing so according to Jewish…

The commander of the 101st Paratrooper Battalion heroically prevented a Hamas terrorist from snatching the body of an IDF soldier and disappearing with it into a tunnel on Monday, it has been revealed. The commander noticed a terrorist dragging the body into a tunnel and took action. He requested assistance from a nearby tank, and…

French Jewish leaders have reacted to the possible ban of the Ligue de Defense Juive (LDJ), a militant Jewish group involved in recent clashes with pro-Palestinian activists during rallies against the Gaza offensive which turned violent.  The CRIF’s head Roger Cukierman distanced his group from the LDJ as news of the possible ban emerged, saying: “We share neither…

Violent pro-Palestinian protestors have focused upon the Kedem cosmetics shop in Manchester to vent their rage at Israel, according to the Jewish Chronicle and Manchester Evening News – threatening the owners and Jews in general with death.  Owners and staff at Kedem have received hundreds of phone calls – at one point one every five minutes, according to…

US officials warned Wednesday that patience with “crazy” Israeli criticism of would-be-peacemaker John Kerry had snapped, using unprecedentedly rude language to characterize an alleged transcript of the most recent phone conversation between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Relations between Israel and the United States have been testy in recent days after Kerry…

Israel’s actions in Gaza are war crimes and Gaza is a ghetto whose residents can’t escape bombings, says John Prescott, who was Deputy Prime Minister of Britain from 1997 to 2007, under Tony Blair. Any other country “which blasted a hospital, shelled and killed children from a gunboat as they played football on the beach…

The Supreme Court postponed the eviction of five families from caravans dedicated to the memories of murdered teens Naftali Frenkel (16), Gilad Sha’ar (16), and Eyal Yifrah (19) on Thursday, allowing the families, Defense Ministry, and the Gush Etzion Regional Cuncil two weeks to authorize the residences. The five caravans were established in Tekoa Heh,…

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has published a short animated video using cynical humor to drive home a point about Hamas and its method of conducting war. “Enjoy a short animated tour of Gaza Heights, the most tranquil neighborhood in the Strip,” says the text under the video. “This video tour by Really Reality…

The United States confirmed Wednesday it had restocked Israel’s supplies of ammunition. The Pentagon confirmed the Israeli military had requested additional ammunition to restock its dwindling supplies on July 20, with the US Defense Department approving the sale just three days later. “The United States is committed to the security of Israel, and it is…

IDF troops on Wednesday destroyed several structures and a stone house on a hilltop next to the central Samaria town of Kfar Tapuach – at the same time as the residents of those homes were serving in the IDF, with at least one fighting in Gaza. The Honenu civil rights organization called the demolitions “a sad…

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Wednesday blamed Hamas for the heavy loss of civilian life in Gaza, according to AFP. “Obviously, no one likes to see the suffering and loss of life that has occurred,” Harper said in televised remarks. “That said, we hold the terrorist organization Hamas responsible for this. They have initiated…

An additional 16,000 reserve soldiers are being called up for duty, joining some 70,000 reservist who had already been called for service, the IDF announced Thursday. With the call-up, a total of some 86,000 reservists will be on active duty. The call-up indicates that the IDF may expand its operation, expanding its mission beyond the…

The Palestinian Authority has decided to sign the Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court, which would qualify it to be considered for full membership in the ICC. As a member of the ICC, the PA could sue Israel for “war crime violations,” demanding compensation and sanctions against Israel for its activities in Operation Protective…

In an interview on Fox News Channel Wednesday, Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of Hamas founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, praised Israel for fighting against Hamas, saying it was the only way to prevent future wars and save the lives of civilians in both Israel and Gaza. Yousef has appeared on other news channels in recent days,…

The chief of Iran’s elite Quds Force has ridiculed calls for Hamas to be disarmed and urged the Palestinian Islamist movement in Gaza to “turn the land and skies into hell” for Israel. Major General Qassem Suleimani’s message to terrorist factions fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip while firing rockets on Israeli civilians was published…

Last night, it was a great night in Rome. My newspaper, Il Foglio, rallied for Israel, its right to exist and to defend itself. More than 1,000 people came to the demonstration. We met along the Tiber river. In a Europe where barbarians are burning the flags with the star of David again and are…

MK Nachman Shai on Thursday urged the Prime Minister to officially “upgrade” the status Operation Protective Edge from an IDF operation to a “war.” The government has been under pressure to do so, political and economic experts say, but has been reluctant to do so, because it will require greater outlays in compensation for those…

A Flemish doctor who manned a medical hotline Wednesday night refused to provide help to a 90-year-old Jewish woman, Bertha Klein, who had suffered a fractured rib. “I’m not coming!” he said. “Send her to Gaza for a few hours, and she will not feel the pain anymore,” was the reply. The doctor confirmed the exchange,…

Last week’s 36-hour order by the Federal Aviation Administration preventing American carriers from flying to Ben Gurion Airport inspired the “Samaria Foreign Ministry” to show European parliamentarians what the situation at the airport would be if terrorists were just a few kilometers from Israel’s borders in Judea and Samaria, instead of 60 some kilometers away…

New details have emerged about the booby-trapped clinic explosion that killed three IDF Maglan unit soldiers in Gaza earlier this week – Sergeant First Class Matan Gottlieb, 21, from Rishon LeZion; Sergeant First Class Omar Chai, 21, from Savion; and Sergeant First Class Guy Algranati, 20, of Tel Aviv, hy”d.  Over eighty kilograms of explosives were built into the UN-funded…

The High Court is set to consider whether or not to order the removal of caravans near the Gush Etzion town of Tekoa that had been set up to honor the memories of murdered Israeli teens Eyal Yifrah, Naftali Frenkel, and Gilad Sha’ar. Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee MK Ze’ev Elkin…

The Senate has passed a resolution that states the Senate’s support of Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas rocket attacks and condemns a biased United Nations report, reports The Hill. The resolution, passed Tuesday, was passed through a unanimous consent agreement. It also condemns a United Nations Human Rights Council report that stated Israel…

The three IDF soldiers who were killed on Wednesday in Gaza, were killed when explosives detonated within a booby-trapped UN building in Khan Younis, Breitbart reports. An elite IDF tunnel unit was in the process of uncovering an opening to a Hamas tunnel located at an UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) health clinic…

Israel on Wednesday was blamed and condemned for the shelling of a UN school being used as a shelter in Gaza, even as the IDF said it was looking into the incident. In a statement, the commissioner of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), whose school in Jabalia was hit, condemned the “Israeli…

An Israeli delegation arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss with Egyptian officials a possible ceasefire in Gaza, airport officials said, according to AFP. Cairo, a key mediator in truce negotiations between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers, was also expected to host a Palestinian Authority delegation later this week. Hamas has so far rejected a…

A week after he stepped down from office, former President Shimon Peres evoked outrage on Wednesday when he said that it was time to end the operation in Gaza. Peres, who visited wounded soldiers at the Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva, said that “the war has run its course and now we need to find…

Hundreds of Italian Jews gathered in Milan on Thursday, to support Israel’s self-defense operation in Gaza. The protest – spearheaded by youth groups, Amici di Israele (Friends of Israel) and the President of the Jewish Community of Milan, Walker Meghnagi – also included a landmark speech from President of Lombardy, Roberto Maroni.  The protest did not…

Israeli attacks against US Secretary of State John Kerry accusing him being of a supporter of Hamas are “offensive and absurd,” a senior US diplomat said Wednesday. In a sharp exchange with reporters, deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf hit out against a torrent of abuse from “respected voices in Israel talking about the secretary of state, claiming that he…

Bolivia on Wednesday renounced a visa exemption agreement with Israel in protest over its offensive in Gaza, and declared it a terrorist state, according to AFP.  President Evo Morales announced the move during a talk with a group of educators in the city of Cochabamba. It “means, in other words, we are declaring (Israel) a terrorist state,” he said. The treaty has…

MK Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) slammed Israel’s ‘humanitarian ceasefires’ in Gaza on Wednesday, noting that they are causing ‘great damage’ to Israel.  “All this walking towards [these] humanitarian ceasefires – or not – is a big mistake,” Elkin said, in a special interview with Arutz Sheva. “Last weekend we were already in a state that Hamas was…

Three IDF soldiers were killed in Gaza Wednesday, the IDF cleared for publication Wednesday night. Their families have been notified. As of 8:30 pm Wednesday, two of the soldiers’ names have been released for publication.  Sergeant First Class Matan Gottlieb, 21, from Rishon LeZion, served in the IDF’s Special Forces Maglan Unit. He will be…

The US embassy in Tel Aviv has cancelled tourist visa applications for Israelis, according to a statement on its official website, in a move it claims is a matter of staffing and security.  “Due to the current security situation in Tel Aviv, U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv remains open but is operating at reduced staffing until…

Thirty days after the burial of abducted and murdered teens Gilad Sha’ar, Naftali Frenkel and Eyal Yifrah, a memorial service was held on Tuesday at the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem. The service was attended by the bereaved families, President Reuven Rivlin, Chief Rabbi David Lau, Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and Knesset…

Senior Palestinian Authority officials have accused US Secretary of State John Kerry of favoring Hamas, according to a report by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), insisting that Kerry had presented his own proposal to cater to Hamas-backed Qatar and Turkey.  Speaking anonymously, a senior Palestinian official told the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat last week that…

Israel expressed “deep disappointment” Wednesday after Chile, El Salvador and Peru recalled their ambassadors over its military campaign in Gaza, saying they are encouraging Hamas in its attacks on the Jewish state, according to AFP.  On Tuesday, El Salvador’s foreign ministry recalled its envoy for urgent consultations, speaking of what it called  “indiscriminate” Israeli bombing of Gaza. The same day, Chile ordered…

The GOC of the Southern Command, Major General Shlomo Turgeman, gave a detailed update on Operation Protective Edge Wednesday, as Cabinet ministers debate on the future of the operation.  “Fighting against Hamas persists continuously and intensely,” Turgeman stated. “We have killed hundreds of Hamas terrorists, dozens of them in terrorist ‘special forces.’” “We have attacked…

Israeli security forces have captured a senior Hamas commander in the city of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip – and in doing so thwarted a creative plan to infiltrate Israel to commit a terrorist attack. The terrorist – said to be a member of an elite commando unit within Hamas’s “military wing”, the Ezzadine…

A military source estimated Wednesday morning that a Hamas propaganda video showing footage from a deadly attack Monday afternoon on an IDF position near Gaza shows events as they occurred, but was edited by Hamas to serve its purposes. The IDF Spokesman, Brigadier General Motti Almoz, told Channel 2 Wednesday: “We understand the war over…

Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of one of Hamas’s founders Sheikh Hassan Yousef, has said that the current conflict illustrates how the Islamist group’s disregard for human life is central to its ideology. “Hamas does not care about the lives of Palestinians, does not care about the lives of Israelis or Americans – they don’t…

Democratic and Republican members of Congress are scrambling to seal a $225 million boost to Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system before they break this week for a month-long recess but the House and Senate are at odds over process, according to The Associated Press (AP). Jennifer Hing, a spokeswoman for the House Appropriations Committee,…

In an interview with Fusion TV, Hillary Clinton argued Hamas plants its rockets among civilians partly because there is not enough room in Gaza to put them elsewhere. Clinton explained that the current round of fighting in Gaza began because Hamas, “which has its back against the wall” and “intended to provoke Israel,” began firing…

The Israel Defense Force began to advance toward “new targets” in the Gaza Strip Wednesday morning, ignoring US President Barack Obama’s reported attempt to strongarm Israel into an immediate ceasefire. IDF Radio, which reports the military advance, said that “it can be estimated that the IDF received permission from the political echelon to advance forward…

An Italian journalist who until Tuesday was embedded in Gaza has backed the IDF’s account of a rocket strike on a school playground in central Gaza’s Shati refugee camp on Monday. At least 10 people were killed in the attack – most of them children – and some sources claimed the death toll was as…

Hamas has urged Hezbollah to join the fight against Israel, according to multiple sources, after Israel’s self-defense operation against the terror organization in Gaza has expanded further.  “We hope the Lebanese front will open and together we will fight against this formation [Israel],” deputy head of Hamas’ political bureau Mousa Abu Marzouk told Russian news agency RIA Novosti. “There’s no…

Former Palestinian Authority security chief Jibril Rajoub, often touted as a “Palestinian moderate”, has accused Israel of inflicting a “holocaust” on Gaza – while saying that Jews deserved the genocide inflicted on them by the Nazis. In an interview with Palestinian Authority TV, translated by MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute), Rajoub – who is…

The Obama administration’s chief nuclear negotiator, Wendy Sherman, refused on Tuesday to provide a hard deadline for a deal with Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons, The Associated Press (AP) reported. She vowed to consult with Congress before suspending more economic sanctions on Tehran, but said the administration won’t necessarily seek lawmakers’ approval.…

Israeli holiday makers were evacuated from their Maldivian resort after one of them tore up an anti-Israeli placard equating the Nazi Swastika to the Israeli flag, officials said Wednesday.   Some 30 Israeli surfers were moved out to safety from Thulusdhoo island, near the capital island Male, as residents of the overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim archipelago…

Several major Hassidic leaders have called on their yeshivot [Torah study academies] to cancel summer vacation due to the ongoing fighting in Gaza, and have ordered their followers to learn Torah during that time instead as a means of “spiritual protection” for the soldiers and residents of the South.  The Rebbe (Grand Rabbi) of the Ger hassidic…

The religious-Zionist Tzohar rabbinical organization held its annual summer conference in central Jerusalem Monday. Hundreds of participants and dozens of rabbis, academics and other experts gathered from around the country and even abroad to attend the event at the Binyanei Ha’uma Convention Center. The conference, titled “Talking About What’s Important To You”, began with a…

Since 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, ‘Color Red sirens have sounded in a number of southern communities, including in Ashdod and its surrounding neighborhoods, in Ofakim, Netivot, Ashkelon and in the Bnei Shimon, Merhavim, Sdot Negev, Sha’ar Hanegev, and Hevel Yavneh Regional Councils. One rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system over the…

Gilad Shalit, the former IDF Armored Corps soldier who was abducted by Hamas in 2006 and held for five years until he was freed in exchange for more than 1,000 terrorists, told Channel 2 Wednesday – “I pray for the well-being of the soldiers and hope they will return home safely, thank you.” “Just as…

The Israeli government has agreed to a temporary humanitarian ceasefire starting at 15:00 today (Wednesday). “The IDF (army) has authorized a temporary window in the Gaza Strip. The window will commence today between 15:00-19:00 (1200 – 1600 GMT),” it said. But the lull would not apply in areas where ground troops were “currently operating”, it said. The four-hour ceasefire…

A Frenchman suspected of carrying out a fatal shooting at the Jewish Museum in Brussels was charged Wednesday with “murder in a terrorist context”, the Belgian prosecutor’s office said. Mehdi Nemmouche, 29, who spent more than a year fighting with Islamist extremists in Syria, was extradited from France to Belgium the previous day to be…

England’s Moeen Ali has been warned by world cricket chiefs not to wear wristbands declaring his support for the people of Gaza again during international matches, AFP reported on Tuesday. At the same time, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said Ali would face no disciplinary action on this occasion after being warned about his future…

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) announced on Tuesday that another rocket stockpile has been found at one of its schools in Gaza, Breitbart reported. This instance marks the third time since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge that a weapons arsenal has been found at an UNRWA school in Gaza. UNRWA has…

Chile recalled its ambassador to Israel for questioning on Tuesday, in a demonstration of opposition to Israel’s military action in Gaza, the Santiago Times reports. “In the face of intensifying Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip, the government of Chile — in coordination with other administrations in the region — has resolved to recall…

Yariv Oppenheimer, director of the far-left Peace Now organization, criticized Economy Minister Naftali Bennett on Tuesday, after Bennett said that the goal of the current campaign in Gaza must include a clear military decision that leaves Hamas defeated and disarmed. “How convenient it is to be Bennett and push Netanyahu into Gaza,” said Oppenheimer. “If…

Rome’s mayor has denounced anti-Semitic graffiti and swastikas that have appeared across the city, The Associated Press (AP) reported on Tuesday. Some of the graffiti referred to the escalating violence in Gaza and included taunts such as “Jews, the end is near.” Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino offered his solidarity with Rome’s Jewish community and said…

The Islamic State group, previously known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), on Tuesday defended its destruction of religious sites in the Iraqi city of Mosul on the grounds that the use of mosques built on graves amounted to idolatry, AFP reported. “The demolition of structures erected above graves is a…

In a rare audio message, the head of Hamas’s “military wing” declared on Tuesday that the only way to reach a ceasefire in Gaza is for Israel to end its “siege” on the coastal territory. The message by Mohammed Deif, head of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, was broadcast on Hamas’s television network, and is…

Damning evidence has emerged of US President Barack Obama’s dismissal of Israel’s position in favor of supporting the position of Hamas and its allies during ceasefire talks. A “senior US official” leaked an audio recording of a telephone conversation between Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to Channel One. In it the 35-minute conversation, which…

Iranian spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called on Tuesday to the Muslim world to rise above the current political and religious conflicts in order to demonstrate a united front, in support of the “Palestinian” war against Israel Khamenei claimed that “The slaughter that the Zionist rule is undertaking in Gaza is a derivative of the rift…

Six soldiers were wounded on Tuesday evening by a barrage of mortar shells in the Gaza Region. The condition of the six wounded soldiers has not yet been made public. Yesterday, four soldiers were killed by mortar shells near Israel’s border with Gaza: Staff Sergeant Eliav Eliahu Chaim Kachlon, aged 22 from Tzfat; Corporal Meidan…

France handed over to Belgium on Tuesday the man suspected of carrying out a deadly shooting in May at the Jewish Museum in Brussels. A spokeswoman for the Belgian police told AFP that Mehdi Nemmouche, a 29-year-old Frenchman of Algerian descent, had been brought from Paris to Brussels. “He will be interrogated,” added spokeswoman Tine…

The United States’ Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, has emphatically rejected the authenticity of an audio tape released Tuesday night, said to be a leaked recording of a conversation between Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama, in which the US President reportedly sought to aggressively push an unfavorable ceasefire on Israel. “Have…

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has asked for fresh US help in trying to broker a ceasefire in Gaza, top US diplomat John Kerry said Tuesday.   “Last night we talked, and the prime minister talked to me about an idea and a possibility of a ceasefire. He raised it with me, as he has…

As the 22nd day of the IDF’s Operation Protective Edge in Gaza draws to a close, MEMRI (the Middle East Media Research Institute) has published a video in which a Hamas cleric lays out the organization’s “doctrine” in its fight against Israel: genocide. Speaking in a televised address from Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza…

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett tore into his Al Jazeera interviewer Tuesday, branding the station’s sponsor – the gulf state of Qatar – as “the world’s greatest funder of terror.” Challenged over the civilian death toll in Gaza, Bennett blamed Hamas for placing rocket launchers among women and children “in the most cynical and cowardly way.”…

German police detained an 18-year-old man over an attempted arson attack against a synagogue Tuesday which drew a shocked reaction from the country’s Jewish community. The building in the western city of Wuppertal was not damaged in the incident and no one was hurt, a police spokesman said.   The suspect was arrested soon after…

North Korea has denounced allegations that it supplied missiles to Hamas and material support to Hezbollah as “sheer fiction” and a “sinister” effort to link Pyongyang to Middle East disputes, AFP reports. The rebuttal from the foreign ministry was carried in a statement late Monday by the North’s official KCNA news agency. It followed a…

Five soldiers were killed when Hamas terrorists breached the border from Gaza near Kibbutz Nahal Oz on Monday, it has been cleared for publication.  A sixth soldier prevented the abduction of a body of one of the soldiers who was killed. He reportedly opened fire on the terrorists from the guard position he was in, when he…

At least 15,000 people gathered in New York City’s Dag Hammarskjold Plaza on Monday, in tremendous support for Israel and its self-defense operation against Hamas.  “We raise our voices to stand with Israel,” was a refrain heard over and over in the emotional rally, which countered a pro-Palestinian protest held over the weekend.  “Let us…

If war were a boxing match and each day a round, Round 22 of Operation Protective Edge would go to Hamas. The terror militia succeeded in killing ten IDF soldiers in several incidents and surprised the IDF in its ability to coordinate an effective multi-pronged offensive despite the heavy attrition it has undergone in three…

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Israel’s leaders of committing “genocide” in Gaza and called on the Islamic world to arm Palestinians fighting “the Zionist regime,” according to AFP.  In a speech marking the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, Khamenei said Israel was acting like a “rabid dog” and “a wild wolf” in acts that amounted to a human…

Ninety-one-year-old William Langfan predicted the current Gaza War in a TV interview one year ago with Tom Trento. In a March 2013 interview, Mr. Langfan explains how the Western world, led by President Barack Obama, is pressuring Israel to accommodate Hamas, which would have catastrophic consequences. Mr. Langfan delivers a warning to Israel that has…

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, announced Tuesday a 72-hour unilateral ceasefire by the Palestinians. The ceasefire will supposedly to go into force immediately and has received the approval of Hamas. “After extensive calls and consultations with the brothers in Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian leadership announces on behalf of…

In an interview with Bloomberg TV on Tuesday Finance Minister Yair Lapid said that Hamas is holding the citizens of Gaza “hostage”, and that Israel demands nothing less than a demilitarization of the Gaza Strip to force an end to attacks on Israeli civilians. “No other country on earth” would tolerate thousands of rockets being fired…

Economics Minister Naftali Bennett visited the southern city of Ashkelon on Tuesday afternoon and called for continued battle in the Gaza Strip, until the Hamas terrorist organization is “Brought to its knees.” “In battle, we do not stop; we continue more and more until the goal is achieved,” Bennett said. “The Iron Dome works, the…

Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket chain, says it will no longer sell products originating from Judea and Samaria starting this September, The Jewish Chronicle reports. A spokesman for the supermarket said the move was not “politically motivated” and not connected to the Gaza conflict. The decision was part of a “regular product review process”, he…

Hareidi extremists attacked a reserve soldier returning home from the front Monday, according to several reports, as he came home to Beit Shemesh to visit his parents and pray at a local synagogue.  “His two children were very frightened,” an eyewitness told Walla! news Tuesday. “The extremists cursed him, threw stones at his car, and ordered him…

The Knesset’s Ethics Committee decided Tuesday to bar MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) from the Knesset committees and plenum for six months. This is the most severe punishment that the Ethics Committee can mete out to a Knesset Member, according to the Rules of the Knesset. The Knesset is about to disperse for its summer recess…

The Home Front Command (HFC) call center handles hundreds of calls every day, helping citizens cope with the constant threat of rocket fire on their cities.  Arutz Sheva visited the HFC call center to get a glimpse of how the center’s staff help thousands of Israelis through the Hamas rocket fire.  “This center is operated by…

As anyone who has traveled to or from Jerusalem in the past year knows, the country’s main Highway #1 leading from the capital to central Israel, is undergoing major revamping.  Mountains are being carved out to add lanes, curves are being straightened, and, most significantly, the famous Motza slide-turn is being obviated by a majestic tunnel-overpass combination.  This week, with…

Gaza terrorists interrupted the sleep of residents in southern and central Israel on Monday night, as they fired a salvo of rockets towards these regions. Sirens were heard in the Eshkol region, in Ashdod and in central Israel, including Tel Aviv. The Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted a rocket over the Gush Dan region in…

Israeli aircraft hit the home of Hamas’s top leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, inside the Shati region of Gaza on Monday night, his son said. “The Israeli enemy struck our house twice,” Abed Salam Haniyeh said in a statement quoted by AFP. The Reuters news agency quoted Gaza’s interior ministry as having said that the…

Hamas admitted on Monday evening that it was trying to kidnap an IDF soldier in an incident when its terrorists breached the border from Gaza near Kibbutz Nahal Oz. According to the group, the conditions on the ground did not allow for the plan to go through. One of the terrorists was killed and the…

The names of the four IDF soldiers who were killed on Monday by a mortar shell near the Gaza border have been cleared for publication. Staff Sergeant Eliav Eliyahu Haim Kahlon, 22, from Tzfat (Safed). His funeral will be held on Tuesday at 11:00 at the military cemetery in Tzfat. Corporal Meidan Maymon Biton, 20,…

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz on Monday told residents of Gaza to stay away from areas in which Hamas operates, so that they are not harmed by the IDF’s operations. Speaking to journalists in the Kirya base in Tel Aviv about Operation Protective Edge, Gantz said, “We will reach those areas, and when we…

Five soldiers were killed Monday in and near the Gaza Strip. Four of the soldiers were killed by a mortar that struck a group of soldiers near the Gaza border. This is the same mortar strike that was reported earlier as killing four “Israelis.” The “Israelis” have been identified as soldiers. Six other soldiers were…

Communications Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) called on his fellow ministers and MKs to support Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Monday. “I call on every MK and minister to show responsibility and restraint during these difficult hours,” Erdan said.  He urged MKs to “unify in support for the Prime Minister, who is conducting a difficult war and…

England cricketer Moeen Ali risked disciplinary action after the International Cricket Council (ICC) said Monday they were “investigating” his decision to wear wristbands in support of Gaza during the ongoing third Test match against India on Monday. Ali wore wristbands that read “Save Gaza” and “Free Palestine”, while batting during England’s first innings at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. An ICC spokesman…

An Alabama teen has defended her actions this week, according to the Huffington Post, after she posted a “selfie” in the Auschwitz death camp. Eighteen year-old Breanna Mitchell posted the photo over a month ago, but it went viral weeks later. Mitchell insists that the photo is not an anti-Semitic statement, but merely a tribute to…

Iranian officials are closely studying the progress of Operation Protective Edge, in light of concern over Israel airstrikes on its nuclear facilities and its ongoing quest to destroy Israel. Hossein Salami G’anshin, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, said in this context that the war in Gaza is an introduction prior to the collapse of…

US Secretary of State John Kerry Monday said that international efforts to reach agreement on a truce between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza must lead to the disarmament of Hamas. Kerry told reporters he was continuing to work “toward establishing an unconditional humanitarian ceasefire.” But he added: “We also believe that any process to resolved the crisis in Gaza…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu addressed Israeli citizens on live television Monday evening after Hamas fired a mortar shell that killed four people in southern Israel. “We knew that we would have difficult days,” he said. “This is a hard and painful day.” “Patience and determination are required in order to fight a terror organization that…

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Noad “Neo” Lahat, who scored a unanimous decision victory against Steven Siler on Saturday at UFC on Fox 12, is on his way home to Israel, to join the fighting in Gaza. “This last two months has been an absolute hell, worrying about all my friends and family,” Lahat told…

Nazi swastikas and the name of the Islamist movement Hamas were spray-painted in red on the entrance to a Jewish synagogue in Miami Beach, local media reported Monday. The vandalism, which authorities were investigating as a probable “hate crime,” was discovered by a neighborhood watch patrol where the Torah V’Emunah synagogue is located.  Yona Lunger, a volunteer patrol member, said…

A senior IDF officer said Monday that Israel is in possession of all of the attack tunnels that Hamas dug from Gaza to Israel. A few more days are needed in order to dispose of the remaining tunnels, he said. The IDF blew up two more tunnels in the course of the last 24 hours.…

The UN Security Council on Monday called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza to allow for urgent aid to reach civilians as the conflict between Israel and Hamas entered its third week. The 15-member Council released a statement shortly after midnight Sunday calling for the truce during the Muslim Eid festival marking the end of…

US President Barack Obama exerted “heavy pressure” on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in a phone call Sunday to end Operation Protective Edge in Gaza immediately, according to Channel 2 television. Obama reportedly agreed to the idea of an unconditional ceasefire, to be followed by discussion of Hamas’s demands for easing of sanctions on Gaza. This is…

Hawkish ministers in Israel’s cabinet spoke about Operation Protective Edge in Gaza Monday morning as if they know it is effectively over. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Yair Shamir (Yisrael Beytenu), told Channel 2 that the IDF had enough time to truly defeat Hamas, but did not do so. “Three weeks are a very…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon Monday, the result of a UN Security Council meeting which called on Israel and Hamas to cease fire immediately.  “As people around the world mark Eid al-Fitr, the end of the holy month of Ramadan and a time for overcoming differences, the Secretary-General calls on parties…

The Turkish organization IHH is currently organizing a “Freedom Flotilla II”, four years after the 2010 flotilla to Gaza which ended in the raid on the Mavi Marmara, the Middle East Monitor website reports. The website cited comments by IHH chairman Bulent Yildrim, who said the second flotilla will carry humanitarian aid to Gaza. In…

Soldiers in Gaza could eat meat during the coming days, the IDF Rabbinate announced Monday. The decision contravenes a widely-held Jewish custom not to eat meat from the beginning of the Hebrew month of Av – which began Monday – until after the Fast of the Ninth of Av next week, during the period generally…

An investigation will not be opened up against MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad), Deputy Attorney General Raz Nizri announced to the Knesset Committee for Interior Affairs Monday – despite widespread condemnation of her comments supporting Hamas terrorism. According to Nizri, the Attorney General’s Office concluded that Zoabi’s comments were not incitement “in all its manifestations.” “On…

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is to head a team – including Hamas – for talks in Cairo on sealing a Gaza ceasefire between the Islamist terror movement and Israel, an official told AFP Monday. “Abbas is forming a Palestinian delegation including Hamas and Islamic Jihad representatives to meet Egyptian leaders and discuss a halt to Israel’s aggression against Gaza,”…

As pressure from the US and other countries grew for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, Hamas terrorists continued firing rockets at Israeli targets. Rockets were fired at several communities in the Gaza border area Monday morning and afternoon; Ashkelon was targeted as well. No injuries were reported in any of the attacks. Hamas said Monday…

As Hamas continued firing rockets at Israel, there were numerous incidents of rock throwing by Arabs throughout the country. Arabs threw rocks at Israeli drivers on several of the country’s main roads, including Road 2, the coastal highway. Arabs from the village of Jizr a-Zarka, located next to the highway, threw stones from a bridge…

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon took time out of his busy schedule on Sunday, in order to don the ritual teffilin, pray and write the first letter in a new Torah scroll dedicated to IDF soldiers. Ya’alon hosted in his office a delegation of rabbis and Chabad emissaries and he was given the honor of writing…

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday evening, and stressed the need for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire in Gaza. “The President underscored the United States’ strong condemnation of Hamas’ rocket and tunnel attacks against Israel and reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself,” said a statement from the White House.…

The IDF on Sunday confirmed firing a mortar round into a Gaza UN shelter where 15 people died on Thursday, but denied killing anyone at the site, according to AFP. Briefing journalists on the findings of an internal military enquiry into the incident at a UN school in Beit Hanoun, spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner…

MK Danny Danon (Likud) blasted the United States and President Barack Obama on Sunday night, after Obama demanded that Israel agree to an unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. “We need a break from the fire that is coming from the Obama administration in Washington,” he said, adding, “Just as the United States fought resolutely against the…

Jews who refuse to leave “Palestine” will be subject to beheading, a Palestinian group closely associated with Hamas threatened over the weekend. The “People’s Resistance Committee, which is involved in the fighting in Gaza, made the threat as it announced that it was responsible for firing rockets at an IDF patrol east of Jebalya. The…

MK Zev Elkin, Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said that the IDF was not surprised at the extent and number of tunnels Hamas had built underneath Gaza. The way the IDF has been handling the issue in the past several weeks, he told Arutz Sheva in an interview, proves it. Elkin…

While the world’s headlines were focused on Gaza, the murder and mayhem that has been the rule in much of the Arab world in recent months continued apace. Dozens of people were dead Sunday in Libya in clashes between Libyan government troops and Islamist militants in Benghazi. Sources said that at least 38 people had…

The Gaza conflict has made for some tense moments on Ameriucan TV, one of which took place on Fox News’ “Hannity” Thursday night as host Sean Hannity clashed with a Palestinian-American guest. “Is Hamas a terrorist organization?” Hannity asked Yousef Munayyer, the executive director of The Jerusalem Fund for Education and Community Development and its…

Islamic Jihad has “many more surprises up its sleeve,” said Abdullah Shalah, head of the terror group said Sunday. In an interview on an Arab satellite station, Shalah said that “We have a store of strategic weapons that we have never used,” but was prepared to bring out against Israel if the war in Gaza…

Hamas’s war against Israel is not only losing militarily, but losing popular support in Gaza, according to a study released last week.  A Washington Institute study published during the first week of the operation polled 450 Gazans between June 15-17 – before Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, but after Hamas began firing more rockets on…

Controversy continues over the status of Israel’s Bedouin population, after several Israeli Arab MKs protested over an alleged lack of suitable bomb shelters in Bedouin communities in the South.  But the issue of Bedouin communities in Israel is more complicated, according to Regavim, a watchdog group for Jewish national property rights, which released a statement last…

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, the so-called “military wing” of Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah movement, has declared an “open war” against the “Zionist enemy.” In a recorded message dated July 23, three terrorists from the organization announced that the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade will not sit idly by while Israel’s operation in Gaza continues,…

The IDF Spokesperson’s Office has released the name of an Israeli soldier killed Saturday night in Gaza on Sunday morning, the forty-third since Operation Protective Edge began nineteen days ago. Master Sergeant (Res.) Barak Refael Degorker (hy”d), 27, from Gan Yavne, was killed fighting terrorism in Gaza. “The soldier was killed by a shell that…

Peace talks revolved around the future status of the Jordan Valley earlier this year, as the US, the Palestinian Authority (PA), and Israel debated over the region’s importance to Israeli security. However, the Jordan Valley has proven more than ever to be a center of Israeli security during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza,  according to Jordan…

Rockets sounded throughout the Coastal (Shefela), Ashdod, Ashkelon, Judea, and Sharon regions on Sunday morning, despite a “humanitarian ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas. Two rockets were shot down by the Iron Dome missile defense system Sunday morning; another two fell in open areas outside of Ashkelon. No hits, injuries, or damage were reported.  Seven rockets…

Israel has resumed its ground and air offensive against Hamas terrorism in Gaza, the IDF Spokesperson’s Office announced Sunday morning, after Hamas fired a salvo of rockets on Israeli civilians during a “humanitarian ceasefire.”  “Following Hamas’ incessant rocket fire throughout the humanitarian window, which was agreed upon for the welfare of the civilian population in Gaza,…

Even as IDF soldiers grit their teeth to fight a tough war against Israel’s Hamas enemies, they have other threats to worry about – like missionaries seeking to convert IDF soldiers, preventing them from concentrating on their mission. Anti-missionary group Yad L’Achim said Sunday that it had gotten numerous complaints from residents of Ashkelon and…

After an anti-Semitic screed by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which he accused Israel of “state terrorism” and accused Jewish Home MK Ayelet Shaked of “being like Hitler,” the Turkish humanitarian relief organization (IHH) said it was planning a “rerun” of its infamous 2010 Gaza flotilla. The group said that it was working…

Tens of thousands of people gathered at the Kotel (Western Wall) Sunday to pray for the welfare of IDF soldiers locked in battle with Hamas terrorists in Gaza. The prayers were held in the context of “Yom Kippur Katan,” a “minor Yom Kippur,” which takes place on the eve of a new Jewish month, and…

Egypt on Saturday summoned the Turkish charge d’affaires for the second time in a month to complain about comments by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan deemed insulting to the leadership in Cairo, Reuters reports. In an interview with CNN, Erdogan repeated the phrase that caused offense last time, calling Egypt’s president, former army chief Abdel Fattah…

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) has destroyed the tomb of Biblical Jonah, according to Arabic media outlets, in a show of disdain for non-Islamic cultures.  “ISIS militants have destroyed the Prophet Younis (Jonah) shrine east of Mosul city after they seized control of the mosque completely,” a security source, who kept…

Border Police Commander Yeshurun Zoran spoke about his involvement in Sunday’s bomb scare, in a special interview with Arutz Sheva Sunday afternoon.  Zoran stated that he identified the car as suspicious and asked the driver to turn off the vehicle, but the driver continued to drive, dragging him along a little with his body still physically in…

Israel has rejected Hamas’s request for a 24-hour truce, according to latest reports, but there appears to have been some confusion on the ground, after IDF units were told to hold their fire at 2:00 p.m.. Sirens sounded in the Be’er Sheva area shortly before 5:30 p.m. There were no immediate reports of casualties. From…

The IDF released three new English-language videos Saturday: one is a review of week 2 of the fighting. The second shows soldiers in a house rigged with explosives. The third is about the cost of Hamas’s tunnel network.

Hamas have signed an arms deal with North Korea in order to replenish its deplete rocket arsenal, after thousands were either fired at Israeli civilians or destroyed in IDF strikes in recent weeks, according to The Telegraph. In an exclusive report the British paper sited senior security sources who claimed that the deal, worth hundreds of…

Two soldiers who were wounded during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza passed away in Israeli hospitals on Saturday. The IDF Spokesperson has released their names: Captain Liad Lavi, a fighter in the infantry officer, 22, from Moshav Sde Nitzan, and Sergeant Major Rami Kahlon, 39 of Hadera. Kahlon will be laid to rest on Sunday…

Hamas fired rockets at central Israel around 10 p.m. Saturday, making a mockery of a four-hour Israeli ceasefire extension that began two hours earlier. Meanwhile, Israel’s Diplomacy and Security Cabinet has voted to extend the ceasefire by a further 24 hours in response to UN requests, a security source told AFP on condition of anonymity.…

Hungary’s choice to become ambassador to Italy has backed down amid mounting international protest against his appointment because of anti-Semitic statements. “Peter Szentmihalyi Szabo informed the Foreign Affairs Ministry he doesn’t wish to be ambassador,” the ministry said in a statement Friday. The 69-year-old writer and commentator with links to the far-right media had raised…

Two days following an attack on Macabbi Haifa soccer players by pro-Palestinian rioters during a friendly match in Lille, France, a second anti-Semitic has taken place in Poland. On Friday, the F.C. Ashdod soccer team, which has been training in a town near Warsaw, Poland, was attacked by at least 30 skinheads during a local…

Hamas fired rockets at central Israel around 10 p.m. Saturday, making a mockery of a four-hour Israeli ceasefire extension that began two hours earlier. Meanwhile, Israel’s Diplomacy and Security Cabinet has convened to discuss a request by diplomats to extend the ceasefire further. Hama’s Ezzedine al-Qassam brigades, said in three separate statements that they had…

Kerry and top diplomats from Europe and the Middle East who gathered in Paris Saturday called for an extension to a temporary truce declared Saturday between Israel and Hamas. However, neither Israel, nor Egypt, nor the Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas were represented in the talks. Israeli diplomatic sources accused Kerry of accepting Hamas’s terms for…

Muslims ransacked, looted and burned the police station on the Temple Mount Friday, video and photographs show. The first of the following videos, posted on Facebook, show the station after it was ransacked. The second video shows a policeman attempting unsuccessfully to replace the PLO flag that the vandals placed atop the station with the…

A prominent Jewish organization in the United States has asked Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to return a courage award he received in 2004, following his response to the recent Gaza operations, the Turkish daily Hurriyet reports. “In 2004, the American Jewish Congress presented its prestigious Profile of Courage award to you as an…

Air France said it will resume flights to Tel Aviv from Friday evening, after halting services to Israel earlier this week because of the Gaza conflict. The first flight will leave Paris at 11:00 p.m., a spokesman said, according to AFP. The carrier suspended services Tuesday after a rocket fired from Gaza landed near Tel…

Israel has announced a unilateral 12-hour ceasefire in Gaza starting on Saturday morning, a U.S. official said Friday night, according to AFP. “Israel has agreed to a 12-hour ceasefire from 07:00 am Saturday,” said the official  travelling with Secretary of State John Kerry, who was leaving Cairo without securing a longer ceasefire deal between Israel…

Israel and Hamas have reportedly agreed to a 12-hour ceasefire in Gaza on Saturday. An Israeli official confirmed to the Hebrew-language Walla! news website that Israel agreed to the temporary ceasefire, to begin at 8:00 a.m. Israel time Saturday morning. According to the AFP news agency, Hamas has agreed to the ceasefire as well. “Hamas…

The European Union (EU) issued a statement on Friday in which it called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. “The EU remains closely involved in seeking an immediate ceasefire to end the fighting in Gaza. We call on all parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire based on the November 2012 ceasefire agreement. We welcome…

In what might have been a terrorist attack, a private car owned by a Palestinian Arab veered on Friday afternoon and hit a Jewish girl who was waiting at a hitchhiking station in Gush Etzion. The vehicle fled the scene but a short time later the driver turned himself in to the authorities. The driver…

Israel rejected U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza on Friday evening. According to reports in the Israeli media, the Cabinet which met on the issue unanimously voted to reject the proposal. “The security cabinet has unanimously rejected the ceasefire proposal of Kerry, as it stands,” Channel 1 News reported,…

Gaza terrorists fired a salvo of rockets towards southern and central Israel on Friday evening. Three rockets exploded in open areas in the Eshkol region in the Negev. The Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted a rocket over Ashkelon. Anoter rocket exploded in an open area near the city. Another two rockets were intercepted by the…

French police said Friday that a protest planned for the weekend in Paris against Israel’s military operation in Gaza has been banned, following several similar rallies that turned violent. Organizers of the rally scheduled for Saturday immediately lodged a legal challenge, their lawyer, Hosni Maati, said.   Three pro-Palestinian rallies, two of them which had…

Reports in Israeli media cite IAF pilots who bitterly complain that due to the strict limitations placed on their use of fire, they sometimes have to refrain from helping comrades facing terrorist fire on the ground. “Testimony that is reaching us from fighter pilots who provide close air assistance to the combat soldiers who are…

An Air Canada flight from Toronto was forced to circle the Tel Aviv airport before landing Friday after rockets were fired over the Israeli city, an airline spokeswoman said. “Eight kilometers away from landing at the Tel Aviv airport this morning, the pilots of Flight AC84 were ordered into a standard holding pattern by Israeli…

Border Police officers came under attack by Arab rioters in Hawara, near Shechem, in Shomron Friday. Initial reports indicate that the rioters hurled rocks and fired fireworks at the Border Police at close range. The policemen fired at the rioters, apparently killing two. A short time later, two Jews – a woman aged about 50…

Chief Military Rabbi Brig. Gen. Rabbi Rafi Peretz, confirmed on Friday afternoon at 2:40 p.m. Israel time, that First Sergeant Oron Shaul, a Golani Brigade combat soldier, who fell in battle in Gaza, is dead. The family was informed by the Head of the Personnel Directorate, Major General Orna Barbivai, the Chief Military Rabbi, and…

In one of the best performances by an Israeli spokesman since the start of Operation Protective Edge, Israel’s US ambassador, Ron Dermer, turned the tables on a CNN anchor who tried to corner him over the deaths of children in a Gaza school that was bombed. “What happened here is horrific,” said anchor Erin Burnett,…

Hamas has agreed to a five-day “humanitarian cease-fire,” the London-based Al Hayat newspaper reports Friday, on terms suggested by US Secretary of State John Kerry.  Kerry’s proposal reportedly includes some of the unprecedented terms proposed by Hamas leaders, but not all. According to the daily, the truce would not see any terrorists released, despite Hamas’s demands.…

Iranians rallied nationwide on Friday in a show of support for Palestinians and to protest against Israel, AFP reports. Demonstrations were staged in Tehran and more than 700 towns and cities across the country on the last Friday of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, state television reported. In the capital, footage showed demonstrators carrying placards saying “Death to Israel” and “Death…

Iran provided the Hamas terrorist group with the technology it has used to rain down rockets on Israel from Gaza, its parliament speaker boasted on Thursday. Tehran frequently boasts of the financial and material support it gives to Hamas and Islamic Jihad but more rarely talks of its military assistance, noted AFP. “Today, the fighters…

The IDF has accomplished all of its determined objectives in Gaza, a senior military officer told Arutz Sheva on condition of anonymity Friday, as Operation Protective Edge enters its eighteenth day.  The IDF is now working to locate and destroy additional terror tunnels, he added – which weave their way throughout Gaza.  “Only after detonating the…

Israel has assisted more than 2,000 Israelis stuck in Turkey, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) announced Friday, after a worldwide flight ban bandwagon has left tens of thousands stranded in regional airports. Katz wrote that the 2,000 Israelis have been successfully moved to Athens, where they will be flown later today back to Israel. Quoting…

Several senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were killed in ground clashes over the past several days, the IDF announced Friday. Their names are: Salah Abu Hassanein – top military leader and propaganda minister for Islamic Jihad; Hafez Mohammad Hamad – top terror commander for Islamic Jihad in the Beit Hanoun (northern Gaza) area who…

U.S.-led efforts to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas are focused on a week-long humanitarian ceasefire, during which intensive negotiations will tackle the blockade of Gaza and other disputes, officials said on Thursday, according to AFP. Secretary of State John Kerry, UN chief Ban Ki-moon and British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond were in Cairo…

Gaza Arab terrorists continued firing rockets at Israel Thursday night, with a rocket fired at Eilat. The Iron Dome system intercepted the rocket. No one was injured and there was no damage from the resulting shrapnel. It’s possible the terrorists ware aiming not for Eilat, but for the Ovda Airport outside the city, where some…

The absence of the Arab members of the Knesset from this evening’s (Thursday) inauguration ceremony of President Reuven Rivlin did not go unnoticed. Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK Zeev Elkin (Likud) did not mince words in his response. ”The decision of Arab Knesset members to boycott the inaugural ceremony is chutzpah,…

In these days, many families in Gush Etzion have been left behind without fathers as more and more men are being called up to serve in Operation Protective Edge. There, too, are numerous families where even two or more members are headed to the battlefield, be they regular army or reservists. The difficulty of the…

As fighting continues to rage in Gaza, Arabs in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria continued to riot. On Thursday, police arrested two Arabs near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem after they attacked police with rocks and stones. Police broke up the riot using water cannons and other anti-riot methods. In another incident, dozens of Arab youths…

Germany’s biggest airline Lufthansa said Thursday it would continue to suspend flights to Tel Aviv for another 24 hours over security concerns amid the raging conflict with Gazan terrorists. “We will resume flights as soon as the protection of the airport is assured in a tangible manner,” it said in a statement. Earlier on Thursday,…

In a gala ceremony, but a subdued one, Reuven Rivlin was sworn in Thursday evening as the tenth President of Israel. The ceremony was held in the shadow of the heavy fighting still going on in Gaza, as IDF troops continued to pummel away at Hamas terrorists and destroy their rocket and tunnel infrastructure. As…

The parents of US-born IDF soldier Max Steinberg have said they feel overwhelmed at the outpouring of support and condolences from Israelis across the country, after their son fell in battle in the Gaza Strip. Despite being a “lone soldier” (the term given for soldiers without close family in Israel), some 30,000 people turned out…

Calls for a boycott of a prominent Turkish author of Jewish descent over Israel’s assault in Gaza have been denounced by politicians in Turkey as a “hate crime.”   Turkey has taken a lead in denouncing the Israeli operation to stop rocket fire from Gaza, which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has hyperbolically termed as…

A study on anti-Semitism in the UK has shown that an overwhelming majority of British Jews have expressed that they feel they are being held responsible for the decisions of the Israeli government. According to a survey conducted by the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, only 6 percent of the Jewish population thought that criticism…

In another example of what appears to be propaganda designed to mislead the public – and boost its image – the Izz-a-din al-Qassam “military wing” of Hamas claimed Thursday that Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo had donated 1.2 million euros ($1.6 million) to Gaza. Ronaldo has not confirmed the story, but it was reminiscent of…

US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke Thursday to his counterparts in Qatar and Turkey, which support the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as he pressed for a Gaza ceasefire. A day after he flew to Israel and cited signs of progress, Kerry was hunkered down in Egypt – which drafted a truce proposal to end…

The IDF has opened an official investigation into claims by Gaza terror groups that the IDF shelled a UN school in Gaza on Thursday afternoon. According to the groups, at least 17 people, including children, were killed, and over 200 injured. Israel has not yet commented on the report officially, but an official for UNWRA,…

In order to reduce the economic pain many Israelis are facing because of Operation Protective Edge – from businesses that are losing money due to lost sales, to employees who are not being fully compensated for their salaries while they serve on reserve duty – the government on Thursday introduced a series of steps that…

Turkey’s national carrier has extended its suspension of direct flights to Tel Aviv for another day for security reasons due to the Gaza conflict between Israel and Hamas, the communications minister said on Wednesday, according to AFP. “We had halted the flights to Israel yesterday, now we decided to extend the suspension for another 24…

An 89-year-old American and alleged Nazi war criminal died just hours before a U.S. court approved his extradition to Germany, his lawyer told AFP on Wednesday. Johann Breyer, a retired machinist born in Czechoslovakia, admitted joining the Waffen SS at the age of 17 but denied being a guard at Auschwitz, the concentration camp in…

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urged Palestinian Arabs on Wednesday to keep fighting Israel, according to AFP. “The only way to deal with this savage regime is to continue resistance and armed struggle and extend it to the West Bank (Judea and Samaria -ed.),” the official IRNA news agency quoted Khamenei as saying. Iran,…

The United States and Canada both criticized the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Wednesday, in the wake of its intention to launch an investigation into the IDF’s operations in Gaza. Speaking to reporters, Deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said “we do strongly oppose today’s special session at the Human Rights Council and…

An Iranian judge sentenced a Christian man to have his lips burnt with a cigarette for eating during the day in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, The Daily Mail reported. The barbaric punishment was carried out in public in a square in the city of Kermanshah. Five other Muslim men were also flogged in…

In an emergency session of the UN’s Human Rights Council Wednesday, Israel came under attack from UNHRC head Navi Pillay for possible “war crimes,” and from dictatorial regimes including Iran (which denounced Israel for alleged “state terror”), Syria (which said Israel harbored “a racist and criminal mentality”), Venezuela (which spoke of “attempts to exterminate the…

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman slammed the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Wednesday, over its intention to launch an investigation into the IDF’s operations in Gaza. The UNHRC, he said, has long ago turned into the rights council for terrorists. “We will continue to fight terror and continue to fight the hypocrisy and anti-Semitism…

Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) made clear on Wednesday evening that evening Israel retaking Gaza was on the agenda, should Hamas not stop the rocket fire. “We decided when to start the operation, when to attack from the air and we will also decide how to move forward,” he told Channel 2 News. “Retaking…

The warfare against Hamas missiles, tunnels and murderous motivation is accomplished not only with Israeli guns, tanks and bulldozers – but also via the unfurling of two giant Israeli flags, in full view of Hamas terrorists in Gaza. They represent, according to those who raised them, a sign of Israel’s unflagging motivation, faith, and unity.…

Thailand on Thursday urged Israel to relocate 4,000 Thai nationals working near Gaza after one of its citizens was killed, AFP reports.  Israeli police said a farm laborer, Narakorn Kittiyongkul, died on Wednesday when a projectile fired from Gaza struck the greenhouse where he was working in the southern part of the country. The Thai Foreign Ministry said its embassy in Tel Aviv…

Israel’s tenth president, Reuven Rivlin, will be sworn into office in a low-key ceremony in the Knesset Thursday. The larger ceremony that had been planned was scrapped as inappropriate, because of the ongoing fighting in Gaza. Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud) and President-elect Rivlin instructed the relevant professional elements to prepare a modest ceremony. “The…

Rioting and unrest continue in Judea and Samaria for a fourth week on Thursday, as Operation Protective Edge in Gaza embarks on its seventeenth day.  Hundreds of Arabs rioted overnight in five locations throughout the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Judea-Samaria: Beit Ummar, Abu Dis, Rachel’s Tomb (Bethlehem), Husan, and Clock Square in Binyamin.  The rioters…

Egyptian security officials on Wednesday night thwarted what could have been a major terror attack against Israeli, Egyptian reports said. Egyptian soldiers shot and killed a terrorist who was running to the Kerem Shalom border crossing, apparently planning to blow himself up at the crossing, where IDF soldiers check goods going into Gaza. The terrorist…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu opened a special cabinet meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem Thursday by vowing that the IDF’s defensive operation in Gaza would continue “at full strength”. “The IDF has struck a significant blow to Hamas,” the prime minister said, adding that “we will continue at full strength in both the air campaign…

The Golani Brigade uncovered yet another terror tunnel entry shaft in Gaza overnight Wednesday/Thursday, as Operation Protective Edge enters its seventeenth day. In a separate incident, the Engineering Corps identified a number of terrorists leaving a tunnel shaft. The IAF struck the shaft, causing a number of injuries.  Meanwhile, the Givati Brigade engaged in clashes…

Foreign workers in Israel know that the money they earn and send home does not come without risk. The Thai worker killed by Hamas rocket fire yesterday brings the number of foreign workers felled by anti-Israel Palestinian terrorists over the past 13 years to at least 27. The killing in Netiv HaAsarah yesterday was caused…

Norway has taken exceptional security measures after being informed of a possible imminent “terrorist attack” by terrorists who have fought in Syria, the country’s intelligence chief said Thursday. The move comes as concerns are mounting in Europe about the growing national security threat posed by jihadists returning from war-torn Syria. The domestic intelligence service (PST) “recently received information that a…

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on Thursday lifted its recommendation for airlines to stop flights to Tel Aviv due to the conflict in Israel and Gaza. It said it had revised its decision adopted Wednesday “on the basis of information provided by the Civil Aviation Authority of Israel and following coordination with the Federal…

The end of Operation Protective Edge depends on Hamas, not Israel, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (HaTnua) made clear Thursday. “I never thought about how to reach an agreement with terrorist organizations,” Livni said in an interview with Walla! News. “We must hit terrorist organizations.” She added that a ceasefire agreement, while brokered by Palestinian Authority…

President Francois Hollande announced on Thursday an 11-million-euro ($14.8 million) aid package to Gaza, citing the need to rebuild as Israel’s self-defense operation shows no sign of stopping after over two weeks, AFP reports.  An advisor to Hollande said the humanitarian aid, eight million of which will be given to the Palestinian Authority and the remainder to UN bodies…

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) met with British Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, on Wednesday, and noted that Israel expects a “special understanding” from London regarding Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. “One of the most difficult, but also magnificent periods of Britain, was when London was bombed during World War II,” Liberman said. “We learned…

Hamas continues to be uncompromising in its position regarding an international cease-fire, AFP reports Wednesday.  “We reject today and will reject in the future,” Hamas leader-in-exile Khaled Meshaal insisted, in a public speech in Qatar. Meshaal insisted that Israel must accept his list of unprecedented conditions for a cease-fire – which included lifting several security measures, such as…

Clearly Israel believes it is unwarranted and considering the flights that have come and gone uninterrupted, it appears that they are correct. Former Mayor Bloomberg has also demonstrated that, in his opinion, the FAA ban is certainly a drastic measure that only enables Hamas and Israel’s detractors. The pundits claim because a rocket came within…

Major airlines shunned Israel for a second day on Wednesday amid fears that rocket fire from Gaza could endanger flights into Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, AFP reports, after European airlines followed the FAA’s extension on a ban on flights to Israel.  In Washington, officials renewed a formal ban on American flights to Israel until 1615 GMT on Thursday, and around the world…

Three more IDF soldiers were killed fighting Hamas in Gaza on Wednesday, the IDF Spokesperson’s Office announced. Lieutenant Paz Eliyahu, 22, from Evron, served in the Paratroopers’ Brigade. Eliyahu’s funeral will be held at 5:00 pm Thursday at the Evron cemetery.  Sergeant First Class Li Mat, 19, from Eilat, also served in the Paratroopers’ Brigade. …

A British lawmaker apologized Wednesday after tweeting that he would likely fire rockets into Israel if he lived in Gaza. “The big question is — if I lived in Gaza would I fire a rocket? — probably yes,” Liberal Democrat member of parliament David Ward said on Twitter. The Board of Deputies of British Jews called on Liberal Democrat leader Nick…

The Israeli government has slammed a decision by the United Nations Human Rights Council to launch an investigation into the IDF’s operations in Gaza as “a travesty”. In a statement the Prime Minister’s media adviser said that “The decision today by the UNHRC is a travesty and should be rejected by decent people everywhere,” pointing…

US Secretary of State John Kerry is not ruling out any options on the shape of a Gaza ceasefire, he said on Wednesday as he intensified efforts to end the bloodshed. On his third day of shuttling between regional leaders, Kerry said he saw signs of progress on ending two weeks of fighting that has…

Several thousands of anti-Israel activists held a fresh protest against the Israeli operation in Gaza on Wednesday in Paris amid tight security, just days after similar rallies descended into violence and looting. The government, which had banned the prior protests seeking to restrain what it called “anti-Semitic radicals,” authorized Wednesday’s march after its organizers gave “security guarantees”, Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Tuesday.…

In a gesture intended to pressure the Federal Aviation Administration to lift its newly declared ban on flights to Israel, former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg has flown to Tel Aviv in an effort to “show solidarity with the Israeli people and to demonstrate that it is safe to fly in and out of Israel.”…

BBC reporter Firas Khatib was assaulted as he delivered a live stand-up report from the Israeli border with Gaza Tuesday. The assailant appears to have been Israeli. He was quickly seized by security men. 

United Nations relief agency UNRWA has discovered, for a second time during the current war in Gaza, Hamas terror rockets stashed in one of its vacant schools. A statement by UNRWA Tuesday said that “Today, in the course of the regular inspection of its premises, UNRWA discovered rockets hidden in a vacant school in the…

Two IDF officers were killed in Gaza on Tuesday evening, according to a statement released by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit on Wednesday morning. One of them has been identified as Captain Natan Cohen, 23, of Modiin, a company commander in the Armored Corps.  The second is Captain Dmitri Levitas, 26, from Jerusalem. Both officers appear…

U.S. lawmakers voted Tuesday to thwart efforts to fund Hezbollah by punishing banks and other financial organizations that help the funneling of money to the Lebanese terrorist group. According to AFP, the House of Representatives voted unanimously to broaden financial sector sanctions on Hezbollah and allow the Treasury more power to “relentlessly” pursue foreign banks,…

A Kuwaiti cleric recently called on Hamas not to give up on its fight against Israel, and not agree to a ceasefire until Israel is erased. The comments by Tareq Al-Suwaidan were posted to the internet on July 14 and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). “We are in a conflict over…

IDF Spokesman, Brig. Gen. Motti Almoz, announced Wednesday morning that the IDF has discovered most of Hamas’s attack tunnels into Israel. “We can point to a solidification of the goals and a deepening of the accomplishments,” he told IDF Radio. “The soldiers are reporting about numerous tunnels that are in our hands, and I can…

Operation Protective Edge’s ground offensive has uncovered the full extent of tunnel terror into Israel Wednesday, after a shaft uncovered by the Givati Brigade was revealed to be holding IDF uniforms, maps, and a full weapons cache.  Shortly afterwards, the IDF clashed with a terrorist cell hiding in another tunnel; one terrorist was injured.  In…

A British MP has stood by controversial comments in which he said that if he lived in Gaza he would join terrorists and fire rockets at Israeli civilians. Liberal Democrat MP David Ward posted the message on Twitter Tuesday, asking rhetorically: “The big question is – if I lived in #Gaza would I fire a…

Fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas terrorists was briefly suspended in two flashpoint areas of Gaza on Wednesday to allow convoys of ambulances to retrieve the wounded, an ICRC spokeswoman said. “A convoy of seven ambulances and two Red Cross cars went inside Shejaiya to evacuate the wounded,” ICRC spokeswoman Cecilia Goin told AFP, saying the move had been coordinated with both…

Italian philosopher Gianni Vattimo has joined the alarming tide of anti-Israel hate-speech in Europe on Wednesday, saying he wanted to set up a fund to help Hamas “buy better weapons”, and saying that he would personally like “to shoot those bastard Zionists.” Vattimo insisted that Hamas is “fighting with toy rockets that don’t really kill anyone.” When asked…

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday defended his country’s role in trying to broker a Gaza truce between Israel and Hamas, which accuses him of proposing a ceasefire favorable to Israel.   Unlike his Islamist predecessor Mohammed Morsi whom he toppled and detained last year, ex-army chief Sisi has sought to isolate the Muslim…

The IDF has struck a terrorist position in Gaza’s Al Wafa hospital, illustrating the highly sensitive and illegal use of civilian targets as human shields by Hamas and other Gazan terrorist groups. IDF sources say that the controversial decision to attack the position was taken after several days in which ground forces came under heavy…

About 30,000 people attended the funeral of Sergeant Max Steinberg hy”d Wednesday. Max was a “lone soldier” who made aliyah on his own. He served in the Golani Brigade and was killed in Gaza. Most of the participants in the funeral did not know Max. They were citizens who decided to honor him for his…

German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged the country’s Jewish community Wednesday her unwavering support as she condemned anti-Semitic slurs and threats at pro-Palestinian demonstrations, a government spokesman said. The spokesman, Georg Streiter, said Germany would not tolerate aggression against the resurgent Jewish population, after protests against the Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in Gaza where violently anti-Semitic…

Hundreds of family members, brothers in arms and friends from Hakotel Yeshiva accompanied First Sergeant Evyatar Turjeman to his final resting place at Har Herzl, in Jerusalem, late Tuesday night. Evyatar was a native of Beit She’an and a student at the Hakotel Yeshiva in Jerusalem’s Old City. He fell in an intense firefight with…

Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz has unveiled a proposal that he believes could allow Israel to fully disengage from Gaza, without compromising its security. “For years, I have been calling for a ‘civilian disengagement’ plan. Stop providing electricity, water, gas, food, and all kinds of other things, demilitarize Gaza – no missiles and tunnels – and…

Canada’s Foreign Minister on Tuesday called for a United Nations (UN) investigation of the discoveries of weapons caches at schools it operates in Gaza. “I was appalled to hear reports, one as recent as today, of stockpiles of rockets in a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza,” Canadian…

Egyptian security officers checked U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his top aides with a metal detector as they arrived for a meeting on Tuesday with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Reuters reported. The procedure is an unusual screening for a senior State Department official, the report noted, as foreign officials usually extend every courtesy…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that a U.S. ban on flights to Israel was solely due to safety concerns, AFP reports. Kerry, in Cairo to broker a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict, told Netanyahu by telephone that U.S. authorities would review the order within a day, State…

The Palestinian Authority (PA) envoy to the United Nations pleaded for action on Tuesday from the Security Council over Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. “On behalf of the Palestinian people, we ask: What is the international community doing to stop this bloodletting, to stop Israel’s atrocities?” the envoy, Riyad Mansour, was quoted by AFP…

Among the soldiers killed in action this week was 24-year-old Max Steinberg, who was a “lone soldier” – a soldier serving in the IDF while his family lives overseas. Max came to Israel from Los Angeles, California in 2012, making the decision to live in Israel and enlist in the army despite having no family…

Gaza terrorists fired a sudden barrage of rockets at Israeli cities at around 9 p.m. Tuesday. Rocket sirens were heard in the coastal cities of Holon, Bat Yam, and in Modiin, located inland between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Sirens sounded in Samaria, as well. Terrorists also targeted Israeli towns near Gaza, as they had done…

The European Union has issued a strong condemnation of Hamas’ attacks on Israel and human rights abuses within Gaza. A statement published after a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers condemned “the indiscriminate firing of rockets into Israel by Hamas and militant groups in the Gaza Strip, directly harming civilians.” It called on Hamas to immediately…

American airlines temporarily halted flights to and from Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport Tuesday following a rocket strike in the area. According to some reports, the change is due to a decision from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). A rocket hit a home in the city of Yehud, near the airport, on Tuesday morning. Having failed to…

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon was more contained than usual, but he continued to criticize Israel’s counter-terror operation in Gaza during a visit to Jerusalem on Tuesday. Ban previously condemned Israeli counter-terror operations in Gaza as “atrocious” and called for Israel to “do far more to protect civilians.” He had a more moderate message…

Hamas has tried to kidnap Israeli soldiers in Gaza, Colonel Uri Gordin said Tuesday. “Hamas is fighting as hard as it can, they are using every means at their disposal,” he stated. Gordin, commander of the Nahal Brigade, spoke to journalists outside Gaza. He reported that troops have managed to locate the majority of terror…

23-year-old David Rast has made a “miraculous” recovery after being shot in a terrorist attack late on Monday night. Rast, a yeshiva student and former soldier, was returning to his family’s home in the Samaria town of Yakir when he was shot by a terrorist seated in a passing car. Rast was seriously injured in…

Wounded soldiers have given shocking testimony regarding Hamas’ use of young children as human shields. Parents of wounded soldiers spoke to Kol Yisrael on Tuesday and shared some of the disturbing stories they had heard from their sons. They said soldiers have repeatedly seen young children in Sheijaya, Gaza, be sent out into the streets…

MK Danny Danon (Likud), who served as Deputy Defense Minister until his recent dismissal, said Tuesday morning that Israel was surprised by the extent of the threat posed by Hamas tunnels into southern Israel. In an exclusive interview with Arutz Sheva, Danon expressed full backing for the current IDF operation in Gaza, which he said was unavoidable.…

Hamas and Egypt are at odds over an unconfirmed cease-fire deal with Israel, Walla! News reports Tuesday – after Cairo refused to add to the terms of its mediation unprecedented ‘conditions’ tempering the move.  Hamas, which has rejected not one, but three separate ceasefire attempts, called on Israel over the past week to submit to a number of ‘conditions’…

As Operation Protective Edge enters its fifteenth day, a military official told Arutz Sheva Tuesday that one hundred and eighty (180) terrorists have been eliminated so far, including twenty (20) who were killed overnight Monday alone. Overnight, roughly 100 targets were attacked in the Sheijaya neighborhood, where 13 soldiers were killed Sunday. Twenty eight terrorists have been arrested since…

The IDF said Tuesday that it has completed the process of identifying the bodies from the Golani Brigade APC hit by the enemy in Shejaiya Sunday. “In view of the complexity of the event,” the military said, “the bodies of six fallen soldiers have been identified positively.” “Efforts to identify and find out information about…

The IDF has just released the names of six soldiers killed in an armored personnel carrier (APC) in Shejaiya, Gaza, on Sunday, out of a total of seven who were in the APC. Thirteen soldiers were killed in the fighting that day, but the process of identification of the APC soldiers took a long time.…

A soldier killed in Gaza on Tuesday morning has been identified as Staff Sergeant Evyatar Turgeman, 20, of Beit Shean. Turgeman, a soldier in the Paratroopers unit, was killed in a shootout with terrorists. He is the 28th soldier killed in Operation Protective Edge. Earlier Tuesday it was revealed that Sergeant Oron Shaul, 21, is…

About 250 people gathered in Tel Aviv on Monday evening for a demonstration in support of Israel and Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. The protest came after hundreds of people protested in Jaffa against the operation, demanding that the IDF stop its campaign against Hamas terrorists. The demonstrators in Tel Aviv shouted, “We are stronger…

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday pledged $47 million in humanitarian aid for Gaza as he flew to the region to intensify efforts for an immediate truce, AFP reports. Kerry, who has voiced willingness to tour the region as long as needed, started his mission in Cairo where he met visiting UN Secretary-General…

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has blamed extremist groups for violent pro-Palestinian protests that took place last week in and near Paris. A demonstration in the gritty northern Paris suburb of Sarcelles degenerated into violence Sunday with Jewish shops being looted and police using tear gas and rubber bullets against the crowd. That rally, and another held a day earlier in…

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu strongly defended Israel’s counter-terror operation in Gaza during a visit Tuesday to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon. During his visit, Netanyahu spoke to dozens of foreign ambassadors, and told them that he expects them to not only support Israel in its fight against terrorism, but also to stand up to Hamas. “Any…

IDF soldiers have successfully hit 187 terror targets so far on Tuesday, military sources have revealed. One hundred of the targets were in the Sheijaya neighborhood in northern Gaza. The targets include hidden rocket launchers, Hamas command centers, tunnels, launchers used for firing ground-to-ground missiles, and a weapons factory. Soldiers report hitting at least 14 terrorists.…

Hamams fired a volley of rockets at the Gush Dan (Greater Tel Aviv) and Shefela (Coastal) regions on Tuesday.  Two rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system over Gush Dan; no damage was reported, but Magen David Adom (MDA) teams provided medical care to nine patients suffering from trauma and light injuries…

The seventh, missing soldier from the APC that was attacked by Hamas in Shejaiya, Gaza, on Sunday, is Sgt. Oron Shaul of the Golani Brigade.  A representative of the Shaul family who spoke to the press outside the family home, Raheli Gazit, said that as far as the family is concerned, “as long as the…

Hundreds of Palestinian Arabs demonstrated in the streets of Ramallah on Monday, according to Safa news agency, in support for Hamas and its constant barrage of rocket fire on Israel.  The protest march began immediately after evening prayers, according to the daily, with a broadcast played in the central square with a message supporting Hamas’s “military wing,”…

Thousands of people attended the funeral of fallen IDF soldier Nissim Sean Carmeli, who was laid to rest in Haifa on Monday night. Carmeli is one of the 13 combat soldiers who were killed in Gaza on Sunday. Carmeli was a lone soldier from South Padre Island, Texas, whose parents are still in Texas and who had no…