Page 132 - Israel

Head of Israel's ISA takes responsibility for failure to foil Hamas attack

The head of Israel's Internal Security Agency (ISA), Ronen Bar, took responsibility for failing to foil Hamas' brutal attack on October 7 in which more than 1,300 people died, but vowed to fight till the end for a decisive victory in the war. Bar, in his first comments following the surprise attack that has left everybody shell-shocked in Israel, said the ISA "failed to generate" a warning. "Despite a series of actions we carried out, unfortunately, last Saturday, we were unable to create a sufficient advance warning that would allow us to thwart the attack. As the one who heads the organisation, the responsibility for this is mine," Bar was quoted by the local media as saying on Monday. However, he emphasised that "there will be time for investigations. Now we are fighting". The intelligence officer noted that his organisation on the very day of the attack set up a special system, in cooperation with the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), to locate, identify, and concentrate efforts to

Israel suspends exports to Colombia over its prez's criticism of Gaza seige

Israel has suspended security exports to Colombia in an escalating diplomatic spat over online messages by Colombia's president comparing Israel's siege of Gaza to the actions of Nazi Germany. Colombian President Gustavo Petro has doubled down on his criticism of Israel and suggested that his country may need to suspend diplomatic relations with Israel, while his foreign minister has suggested Israel's ambassador should leave the country. In a statement published Sunday, Israel's foreign ministry said that Petro's recent statements on X, previously known as Twitter, inflame antisemitism" and "threaten the safety of the Jewish community in Colombia." The Israeli government said it called Colombia's ambassador to a meeting in which she was informed that defense cooperation between the countries would be suspended. Colombia currently has diplomatic relations with both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and over the past two decades it has been one of Israel's closes partners in Lati

Gaza's limited water supply raises concerns as conflict intensifies

A lack of clean water in the Gaza Strip is raising major concerns for human health. Gaza is running out of water, and Gaza is running out of life, said Philippe Lazzarini, chief of the U.N. agency for Palestinians. Gaza normally gets its water supplies from a combination of sources, including a pipeline from Israel, desalination plants on the Mediterranean Sea and wells. Those supplies were slashed when Israel cut off water, along with the fuel and electricity that power water and sewage plants, in the wake of the Hamas attacks. The United Nations recognizes access to water as a human right, and on a basic level, the human body needs a constant supply of water to survive. Next to air, water is really the most important thing for maintenance of your health, said Dr. Tsion Firew, an emergency physician at Columbia University who has worked on water access in humanitarian settings. A report from the U.S. National Academies of Science and Medicine says men need to drink about 3.7 liter

TMS Ep543: TCS 25x25 plan, Groww vs Zerodha, large cap funds, Iron Dome

Why did TCS' 25 by 25 plan fail? What helped Groww outgrow Zerodha? Is it time to bet on large caps? What is the Iron Dome? All answers here

Israel at war with Hamas, not with Palestinians: Israeli PMO spokesperson

Heinrich emphasised the resilience of Israeli families and the importance of taking action against Hamas, saying, "Their resilience is our strength

Impact of Israel-Gaza conflict on auto industry negligible, says Siam

Israel is currently preparing its forces along its border with Gaza for a possible ground operation

Israel-Gaza war: Nations call for peaceful resolution; latest updates here

As the conflict between Israel and Gaza enters day 10, devastating humanitarian consequences emerge

Putin's visit to Beijing underscores China's economic support for Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet this week with Chinese leaders in Beijing on a visit that underscores China's economic and diplomatic support for Moscow during its war in Ukraine. The two countries have forged an informal alliance against the United States and other democratic nations that's now complicated by the Israel-Hamas war. China has sought to balance its ties with Israel with its economic relations with Iran and Syria, which are strongly backed by Russia. Putin's visit is also a show of support for Chinese leader Xi Jinping's signature Belt and Road drive to build infrastructure and expand China's overseas influence. The Russian leader will be among the highest profile guests at a gathering marking the 10th anniversary of Xi's announcement of the policy, which has laden countries such as Zambia and Sri Lanka with heavy debt after they signed contracts with Chinese companies to build roads, airports and other public works they could not otherwise ...

We are on 'verge of collapse', running out of body bags: Head of UN agency

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, which has the largest UN footprint in the Gaza Strip, has warned that it is on the verge of collapse and was even running out of body bags amidst the raging conflict between Israel and the Hamas militants. As I speak with you, Gaza is running out of water and electricity. In fact, Gaza is being strangled and it seems that the world right now has lost its humanity, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said on the situation in the Gaza Strip on Sunday. Gaza is now even running out of body bags. Entire families are being ripped apart," he said. Addressing a press conference at UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem, Lazzarini said his colleagues in Gaza are no longer able to provide humanitarian assistance. The number of people seeking shelter in our schools and other UNRWA facilities in the South is absolutely overwhelming, and we do not have any

Hamas' willingness to commit war crimes visible even from outer space: IDF

The IDF asserted that they will see to the removal of Hamas' terrorist infrastructure and weapon manufacturers in Gaza

Gaza hospitals overwhelmed with patients, low on supplies as invasion looms

Medics in Gaza warned on Sunday that thousands could die as hospitals packed with wounded people ran desperately low on fuel and basic supplies. Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave struggled to find food, water and safety ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive in the war sparked by Hamas' deadly attack. Israeli forces, supported by a growing deployment of US warships in the region, positioned themselves along Gaza's border and drilled for what Israel said would be a broad campaign to dismantle the militant group. A week of blistering airstrikes have demolished entire neighbourhoods but failed to stem militant rocket fire into Israel. The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,670 Palestinians have been killed and 9,600 wounded since the fighting erupted, more than in the 2014 Gaza war, which lasted over six weeks. That makes this the deadliest of the five Gaza wars for both sides. More than 1,400 Israelis were killed, the vast majority of them civilians, in Hamas' October 7 .

Biden considering trip to Israel in the coming days, but travel isn't final

President Joe Biden is considering a trip to Israel in the coming days but no travel has been finalised, a senior administration official said on Sunday. It would be a powerful symbol of sympathy and support following the brutal attack by Hamas. A trip would be a chance for Biden to personally affirm to the Israeli people the US is standing firm behind them. But it would come amid growing fears that a looming Israeli move into Gaza could spark a wider war with devastating humanitarian consequences. And Biden's presence could be seen as a provocative move by Hamas' chief sponsor, Iran, or potentially viewed as tone deaf by Arab nations as civilian casualties mount in Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has already been travelling around the Mideast this past week trying to prevent the war with Hamas from igniting a broader regional conflict. The official could not publicly discuss internal deliberations about the potential presidential travel and spoke to The Associated Press o

Israel Defence Forces carries out fresh strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have struck the Hezbollah "military infrastructure" in Lebanon as a retaliatory move to Sunday's fire, The Times of Israel reported.The attacks were in reaction to Sunday's fire from Lebanon that was directed against Israel.Notably, on Sunday morning, six anti-tank guided missiles were fired towards an Israeli town and military outposts near the Lebanon border, killing at least one civilian, according to The Times of Israel.Nine further rockets were also fired at Nahariya, a city in the north, and adjacent towns, however, there were no reports of any casualties.The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has been cautioned by the United States and its allies against escalating the conflict in Israel. This comes after the deployment of US military assets to prevent a potential widening of the war, multiple US officials aware of the matter told CNN.At this point, senior administration officials do not believe that Hezbollah is likely to join Hamas' war in force ...

US stands by Israel today, tomorrow, and every day, says Blinken amid war

Highlighting his brief interaction with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his recent visit, Blinken told reporters there is a not of assistance "moving forward"

Israeli rabbis work around the clock to count the dead from Hamas attack

Rarely do rabbis spend the Sabbath counting bodies. But on Saturday, a week after Hamas militants blew easily past Israel's fortified security fence and gunned down hundreds of Israelis at music festivals, in their homes, in cars while trying to flee Israel's military rabbinate made an exception. At Shura military base in central Israel, bodies have been coming in faster than the rabbis can identify them. Hundreds of soldiers, women, and children in body bags line shelves of refrigerated trucks, awaiting examination. Identification teams gather on plastic stools opposite the trucks to take smoke breaks between shifts. They wear heavy gas masks the smell of death is overwhelming. Generally, Jewish law says that you cannot break the Sabbath for a dead person, said Rabbi Israel Weiss, who is helping lead the operation. The exception is when a family is in doubt, and the death is so crippling that it may risk the family's lives. Then, you must work on the Sabbath to identify the body

Israel army will soon enter Gaza to win, will attack everywhere: IDF chief

"We're going to do something big, important, To change the situation for a long, long time... This is a great mission, a great privilege. Do it with excellence," he added

LIVE: Earthquake of magnitude 3.1 strikes Faridabad in Haryana at 4.08 pm

Catch all the latest updates from across the globe here

Will intervene if Israel launches ground offensive: Iran foreign minister

The US has asked Qatar to relay a warning to Hezbollah not to open up a second front to the war in the country's north

Operation Ajay: Two flights bring back 471 Indians from Tel Aviv, Israel

Two flights from Tel Aviv carrying a total of 471 Indians landed in the national capital on Sunday morning. One flight was operated by Air India and another by SpiceJet. A total of four flights have been operated under Operation Ajay, which was launched by the government to facilitate the return of Indians who wish to come back from Israel, where an intense conflict is going on with militant group Hamas. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Sunday said the third flight with 197 passengers landed at the Delhi airport in the morning. The fourth flight with 274 passengers onboard touches down in the national capital, he said in posts on social media platform X and also shared pictures of passengers. Two chartered flights from Tel Aviv, operated by Air India, came with a total of more than 435 passengers on Friday and Saturday.

The puzzles of defence economics

Rethinking military production in a new world of conflict