Search focused on the Middle East

11+ min ago (947+ words) ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 794 The Times of Israel is liveblogging Monday's events as they unfold. The Health Ministry's Epidemic Control Team called an emergency meeting as flu infections have spiked and three children have died of the illness in recent weeks, Hebrew media report. By contrast, four children died during all of last year's flu season, the publications report. The incidence of the flu in Israel this year is five times greater than during the same period last year, Channel 13 reports, citing figures from Maccabi Healthcare Services. The Kan public broadcaster, meanwhile, reports that 30 children have been put in intensive care in recent weeks due to flu complications. Half of the children hospitalized across the country have tested positive for the flu, the network reports. Over the past day, two babies were hospitalized in critical condition in Jerusalem, while another…...

43+ min ago (44+ words) Cleared for publication: Seven security guards in Givat Ze'ev arrested on suspicion of smuggling illegal aliens in exchange for money. Their detention has been extended, and the investigation continues. 7 security guards in Givat Ze'ev arrested on suspicion of smuggling illegal aliens...

43+ min ago (382+ words) Cleared for publication: Seven security guards in Givat Ze'ev arrested on suspicion of smuggling illegal aliens in exchange for money. Their detention has been extended, and the investigation continues. 7 security guards in Givat Ze'ev arrested on suspicion of smuggling illegal aliens Cleared for publication: Seven security guards in Givat Ze'ev arrested on suspicion of smuggling illegal aliens in exchange for money. Their detention has been extended, and the investigation continues. Seven security guards in the town of Givat Ze'ev, employed by a private security company providing services to the community, were arrested last week by police on suspicion of assisting in the smuggling of illegal aliens into and out of the town, and employing them. Police cleared the case for publication early Monday morning. The arrests followed a prolonged undercover investigation, which began after an official request from the Givat…...

1+ hour, 19+ min ago (84+ words) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced, after a conversation with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, that a special emergency team will be dispatched from Italy to Ukraine.The team is expected to assist in repairing energy infrastructure damaged in Russia's recent attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced, after a conversation with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, that a special emergency team will be dispatched from Italy to Ukraine. The team is expected to assist in repairing energy infrastructure damaged in Russia's recent attacks....

1+ hour, 37+ min ago (53+ words) Minister Ofir Sofer is unafraid to voice his positions on the Draft Law and proposes practical solutions that, in his view, could bring about the long-awaited change in the stance of the haredi public. Ofir Sofer presents: How we will recruit the haredim Ofir Sofer presents: How we will recruit the haredim...

1+ hour, 37+ min ago (275+ words) Minister of Aliyah and Integration Ofir Sofer (Religious Zionist Party) expressed clear positions on the issue of drafting the haredim, calling for a gradual process based on trust and understanding - not sanctions. "The most trivial and most important thing," he said in an interview with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News, "is to bring haredi soldiers into the system in a genuine way. This is not such a bombastic demand; I'm talking about 2,400 soldiers, which is a trust-building step." Sofer opined that recruitment should be carried out through understanding, not sanctions that could backfire. "My position is to recruit, but through cooperation and genuine trust-building measures. We cannot miss this opportunity, and the more we succeed in developing such a process, the more significant it will be - not only for us but for Israeli society as a whole. I do not see…...

1+ hour, 44+ min ago (216+ words) "IDF and the Shin Bet reveal a secret exchange network run by the Hamas terrorist organization in the heart of Turkey under Iranian direction," the spokesperson, Col. Avichay Adraee, announced Sunday. Adraee said the Gaza-born money changers "work in full cooperation with the Iranian regime and transfer hundreds of millions of dollars directly to the Hamas terrorist organization and its senior officials." He noted that the network runs extensive financial activity inside Turkey, including receiving, storing and transferring Iranian funds to Hamas. "We are revealing documents from the network that record only a small part of these transfers, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The identities of three operatives are now being exposed as well: Tamer Hassan, a senior figure in Hamas' Finance Office in Turkey who works directly under Khalil al-Hayya, and Khalil Farauna and Farid Abu Dair, both…...

1+ hour, 44+ min ago (91+ words) [Hamas Shura Council member Bassen Naim at a news conference in Beirut, Lebanon, November 8, 2023; illustrative. (photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMED AZAKIR)]Hamas Shura Council member Bassem Naim told AP it is open to halting weapons use during a truce but rejects a US-proposed stabilization force entering Palestinian territory. Hamas willing to 'freeze or store' weapons to prevent escalation, official tells AP Hamas Shura Council member Bassem Naim told AP it is open to halting weapons use during a truce but rejects a US-proposed stabilization force entering Palestinian territory....

2+ hour, 7+ min ago (946+ words) ISRAEL AT WAR - DAY 794 DOHA, Qatar " Hamas is ready to discuss "freezing or storing" its arsenal of weapons as part of its ceasefire with Israel, a senior official in the terror group said Sunday, offering a possible formula to resolve one of the thorniest issues in the US-brokered truce in Gaza. Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas's decision-making political bureau, spoke as the sides prepare to move into the second and more complicated phase of US President Donald Trump's 20-point plan for the enclave. The ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, followed two years of war in Gaza launched by the Hamas-led onslaught in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Asked whether that attack was a mistake, Naim defended it as an "act of defense." The ceasefire agreement required Hamas to return all living and deceased hostages it was holding, in exchange…...

2+ hour, 14+ min ago (116+ words) Hossam al-Astal, commander of the militia operating in Khan Yunis, was documented together with Rassan al-Dahini, the successor of Abu Shabab, near his grave in Rafah.In the recorded remarks, al-Astal declared: "His death did not weaken us but rather strengthened and united us all. We continue. God willing, Hamas will come to an end." Hossam al-Astal, commander of the militia operating in Khan Yunis, was documented together with Rassan al-Dahini, the successor of Abu Shabab, near his grave in Rafah. In the recorded remarks, al-Astal declared: "His death did not weaken us but rather strengthened and united us all. We continue. God willing, Hamas will come to an end."...