Page 142 - Israel

Mayor of Israel's Sha'ar Hanegev council Liebstein killed in Hamas attack

The deputy head of the Council, Yossi Keren, has taken interim charge of the body following Liebstein's death

Hamas has started a war that 'Israel will win', says defence minister

Israel's defence minister announced that the Hamas militant group has started a war against Israel and pledged that "Israel will win. Following a security cabinet meeting at the Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Hamas made a grave mistake in launching barrages of rockets into southern and central Israel in its surprise morning attack. In one of the most serious escalations in years between Israel and the militant group that rules Gaza, Hamas gunmen crossed the border fence at several places and infiltrated Israeli communities. The state of Israel will win this war, Gallant said.

Israel declares 'state of alert' for war as rockets from Gaza hit country

Videos were circulating on social media from Gaza of militants dragging the bodies of several Israeli soldiers into the streets in celebration

Israel quietly helped Azerbaijan retake Nagorno-Karabakh, supplied weapons

Israel has quietly helped fuel Azerbaijan's campaign to recapture Nagorno-Karabakh, supplying powerful weapons to Azerbaijan ahead of its lightening offensive last month that brought the ethnic Armenian enclave back under its control, officials and experts say. Just weeks before Azerbaijan launched its 24-hour assault on Sept. 19, Azerbaijani military cargo planes repeatedly flew between a southern Israeli airbase and an airfield near Nagorno-Karabakh, according to flight tracking data and Armenian diplomats, even as Western governments were urging peace talks. The flights rattled Armenian officials in Yerevan, long wary of the strategic alliance between Israel and Azerbaijan, and shined a light on Israel's national interests in the restive region south of the Caucasus Mountains. For us, it is a major concern that Israeli weapons have been firing at our people, Arman Akopian, Armenia's ambassador to Israel, told The Associated Press. In a flurry of diplomatic exchanges, Akopian said

Israeli military raid kills 2 Palestinians in West Bank, say officials

Two Palestinians were killed during an Israeli military raid Sunday in the northern West Bank, Palestinian health officials said, the latest bloodshed in a surge of violence during a sensitive Jewish holiday period. The Israeli military said it moved into the Nour Shams refugee camp, near the town of Tulkarem, to destroy what it described as a militant command center and bomb-storage facility in a building. It said that engineering units detonated a number of bombs planted under roads, and that militants opened fire and hurled explosives, as troops responded with live fire. The Palestinian Health Ministry said two men Asid Abu Ali, 21, and Abdulrahman Abu Daghash, 32 were killed by Israeli fire. The raid caused heavy damage to roads and the suspected building. Israel has been carrying out stepped-up military raids, primarily in the northern West Bank, for the past year and a half in what it says is a campaign to root out Palestinian militants and thwart future attacks. But ...

Israel strikes Gaza for second time in two days after Palestinian violence

Israeli airstrikes hit a militant site in Gaza on Saturday for the second time in as many days, the Israeli army said, after Palestinian militants sent incendiary balloons into Israeli farmland and Palestinian protesters threw stones and explosives at soldiers at the separation fence. There were no reported casualties from the strikes in Gaza. Earlier Saturday, the Israeli military shot and wounded three Palestinians who were rallying at the separation fence along the Israeli frontier with the crowded enclave. It's a familiar tactic for Palestinians in Gaza protesting a 16-year blockade imposed by Israel with Egypt's help. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent the ruling Hamas militant group from arming itself. It was the latest in a series of violent protests over the past week that has raised the specter of an escalation for the first time since a brief round of conflict last May between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group. It comes at a fraught time, ..

Israel criticises UN vote to list ruins in Palestine as World Heritage Site

A UN committee voted Sunday to list prehistoric ruins near the ancient West Bank city of Jericho as a World Heritage Site in Palestine, a decision that angered Israel, which controls the territory and does not recognize a Palestinian state. Jericho is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities on earth, and is in a part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank that is administered by the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. The listing refers to the Tell es-Sultan archaeological site nearby, which contains prehistoric ruins dating back to the ninth millennium B.C. and is outside the ancient city itself. The decision was made at a meeting of the U.N. World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the auspices of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO. Israel's foreign ministry released a statement Sunday that said the listing was a cynical ploy by the Palestinians to politicize UNESCO, and that Israel will work with its allies to reverse

Israel's Supreme Court holds first hearing challenging Netanyahu's overhaul

For the first time in Israel's history, the session was held in front of all 15 members of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, emphasising the importance the body places on the decision

At G20 India, US, Saudi, UAE may join hands to connect West Asia with rail

The deal will also connect the rail network to India through shipping lanes from ports in the Gulf region

India to be invited to trilateral summit of Israel, Greece, Cyprus next yr

At the Summit, the leaders said that they reaffirmed their commitment to continue strengthening the dynamic cooperation of the trilateral partnership platform

Iran warns Israel that it will face retaliation for its airstrike on Syria

Iran's foreign minister condemned Wednesday an Israeli airstrike on the international airport of the Syrian city of Aleppo, saying such attacks would eventually face retaliation. Hossein Amirabdollahian made his comments during a news conference in the Syrian capital, Damascus, where he was beginning a two-day visit. On Monday, an Israeli airstrike damaged Aleppo's airport, putting the runway out of service. The airport has been targeted several times this year, including two attacks in March that also put it out of service. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations. Often the strikes target Syrian military forces or Iranian-backed groups. Tehran has been a main backer of the Syrian government since a 2011 uprising turned into full-blown civil war. It has sent thousands of Iran-backed fighters to Syria, helping to tip the balance of power in the favour of .

Tech is fully integrated into Israel's latest spy plane after 2 years

Israeli authorities displayed the plane for the first time at the Paris Air Show in June. It operates at an altitude of up to 40,000-50,000 feet with a flight range of 1,000 km

US will start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s at air base in Arizona

The US will start training Ukrainian pilots to fly U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, beginning at an Air National Guard base in October, the Pentagon said Thursday. The training is part of a U.S. and European effort to get the advanced fighter jets to Ukraine for its defense against invading Russian forces. American military officials stress it takes years of training to be able to field F-16 squadrons, limiting the impact the aircraft will have on Ukraine's defense for the near future. This is about the long-term support to Ukraine, the Pentagon spokesman, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, told reporters in Washington. This is not about the counteroffensive that they're conducting right now. The training will take place at Morris Air National Guard base in Tucson, Arizona. The pilots will first undergo English instruction at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, to bring their fluency up to the level needed to operate the aircraft, starting next month, Ryder said. Ukraine has long presse

Chandrayaan-3 significant milestone for India, space exploration: Netanyahu

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the success of Chandrayaan-3 and said it "marks a significant milestone for India and global space exploration"

Over 200 Palestinians, nearly 30 Israelis killed in 2023, says UN

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has killed over 200 Palestinians and nearly 30 Israelis so far this year already surpassing last year's annual figures and the highest number since 2005, the U.N. Mideast envoy said Monday. Tor Wennesland told the U.N. Security Council that the upswing in violence is being fueled by growing despair about the future, with the Palestinians still seeking an independent state. The lack of progress towards a political horizon that addressed the core issues driving the conflict has left a dangerous and volatile vacuum, filled by extremists on all sides, he said. While Israelis and Palestinians have taken some actions toward stabilizing the situation, Wennesland said unilateral steps have continued to fuel hostilities. He pointed to the unabated expansion of Israeli settlements which are illegal under international law and a substantial obstacle to peace as well as Israel's demolition of Palestinian houses, its operations in the West Bank area under ...

Intel calls off $5.4 bn semiconductor deal after failing to get approvals

Intel will terminate a USD 5.4 billion deal to acquire Israeli chip manufacturer Tower Semiconductor after China failed to sign off on the deal amid rising tensions with the United States. It was a mutual decision between Intel and Tower, the companies said Wednesday. Intel said that the deal was terminated due to the inability to obtain in a timely manner the regulatory approvals required under the merger agreement. Intel Corp. will pay Tower a termination fee of USD 353 million, the US semiconductor giant said. The deal required regulatory approval from several regulators worldwide including China, but Chinese regulators did not greenlight the deal by the August 15 transaction deadline, even after Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger travelled to China last month in a bid to win them over. The scuttled deal between the two companies comes amid increasing US-China tensions, particularly as the US has tightened export controls and imposed restrictions aimed at crippling China's ability to

Netanyahu voices support for military after his son lambastes officials

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to reassure the Israeli public and army Tuesday of his full support for the military following recent rhetorical attacks on senior security officials by his far-right political allies and divisive son. Thousands of military pilots and soldiers have vowed not to turn up for reserve duty in protest of Netanyahu's contentious plan to overhaul the country's judiciary, sparking a backlash from the Israeli leader's coalition allies and other ultranationalists. The prime minister and defense minister reject any attack on senior security establishment officials and fully back the commanders and soldiers of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), who are working day and night for the security of Israel, Netanyahu's office said. Growing opposition within the Israeli military to government plans to weaken the Supreme Court poses perhaps the most serious threat to the legislation, which has already spurred unrelenting street demonstrations and fury from former

Thousands take to street in Israel against Netanyahu's judicial overhaul

Over 100,000 were in attendance, at the main Tel Aviv protest, Times of Israel reported citing Channel 13 news, which cited data from the CrowdSolutions firm

Israel hits home of alleged Palestinian attacker; tension in West Bank

Israeli security forces on Tuesday demolished the West Bank home of a Palestinian man accused of carrying out a deadly shooting attack earlier this year, the military said, the latest incursion to fuel tensions in the occupied territory. Israel's decades-old tactic of leveling the family homes of alleged Palestinian assailants has drawn intense criticism from human rights groups, which call it collective punishment prohibited under international law. Opponents of the policy also raise questions about its efficacy, arguing that leveling the residences of often uninvolved parents, spouses and children of alleged assailants and leaving them homeless only fuels an unrelenting cycle of hatred and bloodshed. Israel defends such home demolitions as a deterrent meant to prevent future attacks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government, which has taken a hard line against the Palestinians, has vowed to ramp up home demolitions of Palestinian attackers as violence spirals in t

4 Syrian soldiers killed in suspected Israeli airstrikes around Damascus

Israeli airstrikes hit areas around Damascus early Monday, killing at least four Syrian soldiers, Syrian state media reported. Syrian state television, citing a military source, said four other soldiers were also wounded while the strikes caused some material damage. Israeli authorities did not immediately comment. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked war monitor, said the strikes targeted weapons and munitions warehouses and positions of Iran-backed militias around Damascus. They say at least six were killed and seven others wounded. The Observatory said the strikes mark 22nd time Israel has struck Syria this year. Israel, which has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment next door, has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of neighboring Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges them. Israel has also targeted the international airports in Damascus and the northern Syrian city of Aleppo several times over the past f