Members of the Israeli border police take positions during a raid at the Balata camp for Palestinian refugees, east of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on November 23, 2023 as violence has escalated in the occupied Palestinian territory amid Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. (AFP)
Six Palestinians, including one minor, were shot dead by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank late Saturday and early Sunday, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
Five of the deaths occurred in the city of Jenin and the sixth was in Yatma, a village near Nablus city. Six others were injured during the shooting in Jenin, the ministry said.
The Israeli military spokesperson's office said it was checking the reports.
The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said Israeli forces stormed Jenin “from several directions, firing bullets and surrounding government hospitals and the headquarters of the Red Crescent Society”.
IDF soldier celebrates daughter’s 2nd birthday by detonating Gaza building
A clip which appears to show an Israeli Defense Force soldier celebrating his daughter’s second birthday by detonating a house in Gaza went viral across websites and social media on Saturday.
“I dedicate this explosion to my daughter ‘princess Ayala’ on her birthday as she turns two today,” the IDF soldier is heard saying in Hebrew in the 43-second undated, unverified video that was shared and posted thousands of times by Internet users.
Different media outlets, in Arabic and English, reported the soldier had obtained a permission from the Israeli army before he blew up a Palestinian family’s home, an entire building, in Gaza.
“I miss you,” he is also heard as telling his daughter.
In the video, several IDF servicemen are seen surrounding the unnamed soldier while he gives “directions” to detonate the building.
The clip shows more than four IDF members surrounding the soldier who knelt down to the ground, picked up a walkie talkie phone and said: “Here is the reception station … in 10 seconds.”
All the soldiers start the countdown in Hebrew, and when they reach zero, a loud blast is heard while the video shows a building being detonated in the background.
The footage has prompted condemnation and criticism online as it happened during the ongoing war between IDF and Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip.
An X user said: “While the pathetic shameless world watches helplessly! Criminals!”
Another wrote: “Israel is a terrorist state.”
Members of the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) rest next to an armed vehicle near the southern Lebanese village of Markaba on Nov. 24, 2023. (AFP)
The cautious calm on Lebanon’s southern border was shaken on Saturday following a series of missile launches and drone operations.
It came on the second day of the temporary truce reached between Israel and Hamas.
The UK Embassy in Lebanon promptly renewed its appeal for calm on X, saying: “The UK echoes UNIFIL’s call for a cessation of hostilities across the Blue Line and for a renewed commitment to implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701.”
The embassy said Friday’s peace on the Blue Line — marking Lebanon’s border with Israel — offered a chance to refocus on long-term solutions.
Developments in the region were also the focus of talks held in Ankara between Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem reacted to banners raised in Beirut and some areas by civil society activists and opposition parties that read “Lebanon does not want war with Israel.”
He said: “We decided to support Gaza through the southern front. We offered dozens of martyrs and sacrifices.
Sheikh Qassem claimed that Hezbollah has inflicted many casualties among Israeli ranks, in addition to displacing about 70,000 settlers, bringing in about 100,000 Israeli soldiers to stand on the border, and forcing Israel to deploy 50 percent of its aviation capacity.
“All of this alleviates the burden on Gaza and affects the course of the battle in the future if it continues.”
Sheikh Qassem said of the Beirut banners: “It is true that we do not want war, but we do not accept surrender.”
He added: “If it turns out that engaging in war through resistance wards off the dangers of Israel, liberates the land, and makes us a real power in the region, we will be with this war that restores independence and dignity to Lebanon and the region, so that Israel does not remain a scarecrow that frightens the Lebanese.”
The Israeli army, meanwhile, fired shots at a Rapid-model vehicle belonging to a Lebanese citizen from the town of Kafrkela in the Wazzani border area, hitting it with five bullets but causing no harm to the driver.
A Lebanese army patrol pulled the man out of the site.
For the second consecutive day, displaced people from border villages returned to inspect their properties and lands after the cessation of the 48-day hostilities between the Israeli army and Hezbollah.
In addition to human losses, the fighting led to the destruction of property on the Lebanese side.
Forests and orchards were damaged by phosphorus shells unleashed by the Israeli army.
Farmers in the Shebaa and Kfar Shuba border areas resumed harvesting olives. The Israeli army fired into the air to intimidate farmers working the land in the Hunin Valley.
Intensive flights by Israeli MK spy aircraft were recorded over the Shebaa Farms, Arqoub, and the Hasbaya area, reaching the airspace of the Western Bekaa and Iqlim Al-Tuffah at medium altitude.
The first violation of the truce was recorded on Friday night.
Israeli media reported “the infiltration of drones and the firing of anti-tank missiles from the Lebanese side to the northern border, resulting in significant losses.”
An interception missile exploded in the airspace of the towns of Mays Al-Jabal and Blida in the Marjayoun district, with the sound echoing throughout the south.
The Israeli media said that alarm sirens sounded in areas of the Galilee to alert residents of drone infiltration from Lebanon.
The Israeli army announced in the morning that it downed a surface-to-air missile launched from Lebanon toward an Israeli drone.
No party claimed responsibility for launching the missile.
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said: “Following the alert about the infiltration of an aerial object in the north, an interception missile was launched toward a suspicious aerial target, triggering alarms, and the incident was over.”
Ridwan Kamil resmi menjadi ketua Tim Kampanye Daerah (TKD) Jawa Barat pasangan Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka di Pilpres 2024.
Pengukuhan ini dihadiri juga calon Presiden RI Prabowo Subianto di The House Convention Hall Paskal, Bandung, Jawa Barat, hari Sabtu malam, 25/11/2023.
TKD Jabar diisi sejumlah politisi lain, mulai dari ketua Dewan Pembina Taufik Hidayat (Gerindra), Ketua Dewan Penasihat Desi Ratnasari (PAN), dan Ketua Dewan Pengarah Ace Hasan Syadzily (Golkar).
Kemudian, Ketua Harian: Arfi Rafnialdi (Golkar), Wakil Ketua Saehudin (Partai Prima), Sekretaris Buky Wibawa (Gerindra), dan Bendahara Aria Girinaya (Golkar).
Ketua TKD Jabar Ridwan Kamil memasang target kemenangan hingga 60 persen untuk pasangan Prabowo-Gibran di Jabar pada Pilpres 2024.
Tak hanya itu, dia juga optimistis paslon capres dan cawapres nomor urut dua ini menang satu putaran dalam kontestasi Pilpres 2024.
"Target kita minimal 60 persen Insya Allah lebih, kalau ini terjadi Jabar sebagai penentu, ditambah tempat lain," katanya, hari Sabtu, 25/11/2023.
Sebelumnya, mantan Gubernur Jabar periode 2018-2023 itu menyebutkan, Jabar menjadi daerah penting bagi pasangan Prabowo - Gibran bila ingin menang satu putaran pada Pilpres 2024.
"Kita menangkan di Jawa Barat, tanah penentu kemenangan Pilpres 2024. Kami disini ada niat untuk memenangkan Pak Prabowo," ujarnya.
Optimisme Kang Emil, sapaan akrabnya, itu bukan tanpa alasan. Disebutkannya, TKD Jabar memiliki anggota yang siap bergerilya mengenalkan program kerja yang diusung pasangan nomor urut dua ini.
"Keyakinan bahwa kita akan menjadi kelompok pemenang 2024. Di Jabar kita membangun Super Team bukan Superman," tambahnya.
Menurutnya, tidak ada kemenangan tanpa kekompakan dan tidak ada keberhasilan tanpa kebersamaan. Oleh karena itu, pentingnya kebersamaan dalam mengampanyekan Prabowo-Gibran menjadi hal yang penting.
"Kita kan satu komando. Kemenangan datang dari kekompakan dari tujuan yang kita cita-citakan. Menang dengan kerja keras," kata Kang Emil.
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) vehicles approaching the Rafah crossing before entering Egypt as part of release of 13 Israeli and 4 Thai captives [AFPTV / AFP]
Twenty-four hostages were released from Gaza and 39 Palestinian prisoners were released from Israeli jails amid a four-day cease-fire, causing jubilation in the West Bank and hope in Israel.
Raucous crowds packed West Bank streets to celebrate the release of Palestinians under an agreement expected to result in the release of 50 hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza.
Among those released by militants were 13 Israelis, 10 Thais and one Filipino, a Qatari official said.
The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it has received a list of hostages to be released tomorrow and has been in touch with their loved ones.
Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the releases brought a “great sense of relief.”
Speaking during a national address, U.S. President Joe Biden said, “It’s only a start, but so far it’s gone well.”
Hagari later issued more sober remarks during a video address in which he reminded Israelis and supporters of the state that many more hostages needed to be released — an estimated 240 were being held before the releases began — and Hamas needed to be eradicated.
“Today the world watched and breathed a collective sigh of relief,” he said. But he added, “But we must never lose sight of ... babies who were not reunited with their loved ones, who are still being held by Hamas.”
The IDF warned Gaza residents who moved south not to return to the war-torn north amid the cease-fire, indicating that more bloody warfare was likely when the cease-fire ends.
More than 1.7 million people have been displaced in Gaza, and the death toll has surpassed 14,500, health officials in Gaza have said.
Hagari said it’s not over yet.
Fighting must resume in order to secure the freedom of all the hostages, put an end to enemy Hamas and its threat to Israel’s existence and ensure that Oct. 7 happens “never again,” he said.
Hamas now says a second swap of captives with Israel will go ahead
Seven weeks after being seized by Hamas militants during a massive attack on Israel, 13 Israelis and four Thais walked to freedom late Saturday — but not before a last-minute delay nearly scuttled the deal.
People participate in a show of solidarity with hostages being held in the Gaza Strip, at "hostages square" in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Saturday.
Leo Correa/AP
The hostages join 13 others already released on the first day of a temporary cease-fire deal between Israel and Islamist militant group. In return, Israel is expected to release 39 Palestinian prisoners.
After Qatar and Egypt helped resolve a last-minute snag, Hamas said that the hostages-for-prisoners swap it put on hold for several hours was back on track.
The sudden reversal capped hours of uncertainty after the Palestinian militant group pulled back on the exchange deal, alleging that Israel had violated the terms of a temporary cease-fire agreement.
Then, Hamas issued a statement on social media saying it was putting the exchange back in motion after mediation from Egypt and Qatar "conveyed the occupation's (Israel's) commitment to all the conditions stipulated in the agreement."
Israel's military later said it had been informed that the 17 hostages captured by Hamas were released, and that Red Cross representatives had transferred the hostages to Egypt.
Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman, in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), had said earlier that 39 Palestinians would be released in exchange for 13 Israelis, "in addition to 7 foreigners outside the framework of the agreement." The Qatari spokesperson said in a later update that only four foreigners would be released.
On Friday, the first day of the cease-fire, the Palestinian militant group freed 13 Israelis, and — in a surprise move — 10 Thais and one Filipino as well. Israel released 39 Palestinians.
In the on-again, off-again lead up to a resolution on Saturday, senior Hamas leader Osama Hamdan, told a Beirut-based satellite news channel that a disagreement over how much aid Israel was allowing into northern Gaza was one sticking point and the reason for the delay. Another, he said, was Israel's firing on Palestinians — an apparent reference to an incident on Friday in which Hamas says two people were killed and 30 wounded by Israeli soldiers.
Nearly 15,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the conflict and more than 30,000 wounded, according to the latest figures from Gaza's health ministry.
