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☆ Withholding US weapons from Israel could force changes in how it fights but may not stop its devastating assault
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The US paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week amid rising concerns over a Rafah assault. Israeli soldiers work on armored military vehicles at a staging ground near the Israeli-Gaza border, in southern Israel on May 8, 2024. That would be a more difficult fight for the Israeli military, Byman said. A view shows Israeli F-16 fighter jets on a runway in an airbase in southern Israel on March 4, 2024. It is not necessarily an unprecedented move, as past US administrations have also threatened to withhold military support from Israel.

Persons: Joe Biden, —, Israel, Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Daniel Byman, Byman, Israel's, CNN's Erin Burnett, We're, Raphael Cohen, Cohen, Hatem Khaled, John Kirby, Mohammed Salem, Netanyahu Organizations: US, Service, AP, State Department, Attack Munitions, Transnational, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Hezbollah, REUTERS, RAND Corporation, AIR FORCE, US Army Reserve, White House National Security Council Locations: Israel, Washington, Gaza, Rafah, I'm, Egypt

☆ Oil prices edge higher as Netanyahu says Israel will attack Rafah with or without hostage deal
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Jerusalem, February 18, 2024. Ronen Zvulun | ReutersCrude oil futures moved slightly higher Tuesday after Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed hopes that a proposed hostage deal would prevent an attack on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Here are today's energy prices: West Texas IntermediateBrentRBOB GasolineNatural Gas The U.S. is pushing for a cease-fire to head off an Israeli offensive against Rafah. But Netanyahu threatened to move against Rafah regardless of whether a hostage deal is reached. "We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there – with or without a deal, in order to achieve the total victory."

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Ronen Zvulun, Netanyahu, Brent Organizations: Major, Jewish, Hamas, Reuters, Israel, West Texas Intermediate Brent, Gas, Rafah Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Jerusalem, Gaza, Rafah, Washington

☆ Israeli Officials Believe International Court Is Preparing Arrest Warrants Over War
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Ronen Bergman | Patrick Kingsley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israeli officials increasingly believe that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for senior government officials on charges related to the conflict with Hamas, according to five Israeli and foreign officials. The Israeli and foreign officials also believe the court is weighing arrest warrants for leaders from Hamas. If the court proceeds, the Israeli officials could potentially be accused of preventing the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and pursuing an excessively harsh response to the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, according to two of the five officials, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter. The Israeli officials, who are worried about the potential fallout from such a case, said they believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is among those who might be named in a warrant. It is not clear who might be charged from Hamas or what crimes would be cited.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: Gaza Locations: Israel

☆ Israeli Officials Believe I.C.C. Is Preparing Arrest Warrants Over War
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Ronen Bergman | Patrick Kingsley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: Gaza Locations: Israel

☆ Israel Planned Bigger Attack on Iran, but Scaled It Back to Avoid War
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Ronen Bergman | Patrick Kingsley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Israel abandoned plans for a much more extensive counterstrike on Iran after concerted diplomatic pressure from the United States and other foreign allies and because the brunt of an Iranian assault on Israel soil had been thwarted, according to three senior Israeli officials. Israeli leaders originally discussed bombarding several military targets across Iran last week, including near Tehran, the Iranian capital, in retaliation for the Iranian strike on April 13, said the officials, who spoke on the discussion of anonymity to describe the sensitive discussions. Such a broad and damaging attack would have been far harder for Iran to overlook, increasing the chances of a forceful Iranian counterattack that could have brought the Middle East to the brink of a major regional conflict. In the end — after President Biden, along with the British and German foreign ministers, urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent a wider war — Israel opted for a more limited strike on Friday that avoided significant damage, diminishing the likelihood of an escalation, at least for now.

Persons: Israel, Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu Locations: Iran, United States, Israel, Tehran

☆ Israeli Weapon Damaged Iranian Air Defenses Without Being Detected, Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-20 | by ( Farnaz Fassihi | Ronen Bergman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

Some Democrats are fine sending defensive weapons to Israel, but want to see some limits on offensive weapons, which could be used against civilians in Gaza. But progressive Democrats estimated that 40 to 60 members of their party may oppose it on the House floor on Saturday. The legislation would allocate $5 billion to Israel’s defense capabilities and $9 billion for “worldwide humanitarian aid,” including for civilians in Gaza. “To give Netanyahu more offensive weapons at this stage, I believe, is to condone the destruction of Gaza that we’ve seen in the last six months. But they see a “no” vote as part of a strategy to pressure Mr. Biden to condition aid and halt future offensive weapons transfers.

Persons: Biden, ’, Pramila Jayapal, Joaquin Castro, We’re, Mr, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, ”, Ro Khanna, Netanyahu, Nancy Pelosi, Mike Johnson, —, Becca Balint, “, it’s, Lloyd Doggett, Doggett, Ms, Balint, Dan Kildee, Greg Casar Organizations: Democrats, Democratic, “, Congressional Progressive Caucus, ”, Democrat, Israel, Democratic Party, Republican, Republicans, Texas Democrat, White House, Michigan Democrat Locations: Israel, Gaza, Iraq, Washington, Texas, Ukraine, Taiwan, United States, Rafah, Iran, California, Yemen, Louisiana, Vermont, U.S, American

An Israeli airstrike on Iran on Friday damaged an air defense system, according to Western and Iranian officials, in an attack calculated to deliver a message that Israel could bypass Iran’s defensive systems undetected and paralyze them. The strike damaged a defensive battery near Natanz, a city in central Iran that is critical to the country’s nuclear weapons program, according to two Western officials and two Iranian officials. The attack — and the revelation on Saturday of its target — was in retaliation for Iran’s strike in Israel last week after Israel bombed its embassy compound in Damascus. But it used a fraction of the firepower Tehran deployed in launching hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel. But the relatively limited scope of Israel’s strike and the muted response from Iranian officials seem to have eased tensions.

Organizations: Israel Locations: Iran, Israel, Damascus, Tehran, Syria

Israel was mere moments away from an airstrike on April 1 that killed several senior Iranian commanders at Iran’s embassy complex in Syria when it told the United States what was about to happen. Aides quickly alerted Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser; Jon Finer, the deputy national security adviser; Brett McGurk, Mr. Biden’s Middle East coordinator; and others, who saw that the strike could have serious consequences, a U.S. official said. Publicly, U.S. officials voiced support for Israel, but privately, they expressed anger that it would take such aggressive action against Iran without consulting Washington. On Saturday, Iran launched a retaliatory barrage of more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel, an unexpectedly large-scale response, if one that did minimal damage. The events made clear that the unwritten rules of engagement in the long-simmering conflict between Israel and Iran have changed drastically in recent months, making it harder than ever for each side to gauge the other’s intentions and reactions.

Persons: Israel, Jake Sullivan, Jon, Brett McGurk Organizations: U.S, Publicly, Israel, Washington Locations: Syria, United States, Biden’s, Iran, Israel

Persons: Israel, Jake Sullivan, Jon, Brett McGurk Organizations: U.S, Publicly, Israel, Washington Locations: Syria, United States, Biden’s, Iran, Israel

Iran’s attack on Israel, an immense barrage that included hundreds of ballistic missiles and exploding drones, changed the unspoken rules in the archrivals’ long-running shadow war. In that conflict, major airstrikes from one country’s territory directly against the other had been avoided. Given that change in precedent, the calculus by which Israel decides its next move has also changed, said the Israeli officials who requested anonymity to discuss Iran. “We cannot stand still from this kind of aggression,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the spokesman for Israel’s military said on Tuesday. Iran, he added, would not get off “scot-free with this aggression.”

Persons: Israel, Daniel Hagari, “ scot, ” Locations: Israel, Iran

A Palestinian man inspecting damage on Saturday after Israeli settlers attacked the village of Al Mughayir, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Israeli military announced on Saturday that it would bolster its forces in the West Bank with additional companies and police. Israeli settlers, some of them armed, entered the villages, the official added, and there were reports that they had opened fire. At one point, “rocks were hurled” at Israeli soldiers, leading them to open fire in response, the Israeli military said. Last February, an attack by Israeli settlers devastated the Palestinian town of Huwara in the northern West Bank.

Persons: Al Mughayir, Binyamin Achimair, Yesh Din, Abu Aliya —, Amin Abu Aliya, Binyamin’s, Naser Dawabsheh, “, ”, Na’asan Na’asan, Shaul Golan, Golan, Biden, Binyamin, Abu Aliya, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Yair Lapid, ” Mr, Na’asan Organizations: West Bank ., West Bank, United Nations, Duma Locations: Al, Palestinian, Ramallah, torching, East Jerusalem, Gaza, Al Mughayir, “, Israel, Huwara, West Bank

Iran is operating a clandestine smuggling route across the Middle East, employing intelligence operatives, militants and criminal gangs, to deliver weapons to Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to officials from the United States, Israel and Iran. The goal, as described by three Iranian officials, is to foment unrest against Israel by flooding the enclave with as many weapons as it can. The covert operation is now heightening concerns that Tehran is seeking to turn the West Bank into the next flashpoint in the long-simmering shadow war between Israel and Iran. Many weapons smuggled to the West Bank largely travel along two paths from Iran through Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, the officials said. A key group in the operation, the Iranian officials and analysts said, are Bedouin smugglers who carry the weapons across the border from Jordan into Israel.

Organizations: West Bank Locations: Iran, United States, Israel, Tehran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan

U.S. officials in Washington and the Middle East said on Friday that they were bracing for possible Iranian retaliation for the Israeli airstrike on Monday in Damascus, Syria. U.S. military forces in the region have been placed on heightened alert. Israel has also placed its military on high alert, according to an Israeli official, canceled leave for combat units, recalled some reservists to air defense units and blocked GPS signals. Two Iranian officials who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly said that Iran had placed all its armed forces on full high alert and that a decision had been made that Iran must respond directly to the Damascus attack to create deterrence. “We warn that no act by any enemy against our holy system will go unanswered and the art of the Iranian nation is to break the power of empires.”

Persons: Israel’s, Gen, Hossein Organizations: Quds Force, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Locations: Iran, Washington, Damascus, Syria, U.S, Israel, Tehran

At least three senior commanders and four officers overseeing Iran’s covert operations in the Middle East were killed on Monday when Israeli warplanes struck a building in Damascus that is part of the Iranian Embassy complex, according to Iranian and Syrian officials. The strike in Damascus, the Syrian capital, appeared to be among the deadliest attacks in a yearslong shadow war between Israel and Iran that has included the assassinations of Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists. That covert war has moved into the open as tensions between the countries have intensified over Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip against Hamas, the Iranian-backed militia that led the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Four Israeli officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters, confirmed that Israel had been behind the strike in Damascus, but denied that the building had diplomatic status.

Persons: Israel Organizations: Iranian Embassy, Hamas, Israel . Locations: Damascus, Iranian, Israel, Iran, Gaza

Banners at the protests called on the Prime Minister to resign and for Israel to hold new elections. Thousands gathered in Jerusalem on Sunday to call for Netanyahu to step down. “They stood outside the Kirya (the Israel Defense Forces headquarters in Tel Aviv), screamed their souls out, and nobody heard. Sunday’s demonstration outside the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem was dispersed by force, but protesters appear to be readying themselves for more protests. The US and Israel are set to hold a virtual meeting on Rafah today, a US official told CNN.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, “ You’ve, ”, Ilan Rosenberg, Ronen Zvulun, Israel, Aviva Siegel, ” Siegel, Yair Lapid, “, ” Lapid, Israel papered, Benny Gantz, CNN’s Xiaofei Xu, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Gul Tuysuz, Arlette Saenz Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, Hamas, Reuters Police, Aviva, Israel Defense Forces, CNN, Israel’s, Israeli Locations: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Israel, Gaza, United States, Washington, Rafah, Gaza’s, Egypt

☆ Israeli Hostage Says She Was Sexually Assaulted and Tortured in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Patrick Kingsley | Ronen Bergman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Amit Soussana, an Israeli lawyer, was abducted from her home on Oct. 7, beaten and dragged into Gaza by at least 10 men, some armed. Several days into her captivity, she said, her guard began asking about her sex life. Sometimes, the guard would enter, sit beside her on the bed, lift her shirt and touch her, she said. Early that morning, she said, Muhammad unlocked her chain and left her in the bathroom. After she undressed and began washing herself in the bathtub, Muhammad returned and stood in the doorway, holding a pistol.

Persons: Amit Soussana, Soussana, Muhammad, undressed Locations: Gaza

☆ Live updates: Israel-Hamas war, Ramadan begins, Netanyahu defends Gaza policies
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a conference in Jerusalem, on February 18. The Israeli leader's remarks came as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan began and ceasefire talks stall. Israeli officials had previously warned that if hostages held in Gaza weren’t home by the start of Ramadan, they would launch a military offensive into Rafah. He also denied Biden's claim that he is "hurting more than helping" Israel in failing to limit civilian casualties in Gaza. The Biden administration is not anticipating that Israeli forces will imminently expand their military operations into Rafah, two US officials told CNN.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Ronen Zvulun, Joe Biden's, Ramadan, Netanyahu, Biden Organizations: Israeli, Sunday, CNN, The United Nations Locations: Jerusalem, Rafah, Gaza

☆ Middle East Crisis Israel Is Said to Change Strategy in Cease-Fire Talks
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-27 | by ( Ronen Bergman | Patrick Kingsley | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Families and supporters of Israeli hostages held since the Oct. 7 attacks gathered Saturday in Tel Aviv to call for their return. International efforts to reach a truce had stalled over Israel’s refusal to release Palestinians convicted of murder and to commit to a permanent cease-fire, two of the measures that Hamas is holding out for. They include five female Israeli soldiers and civilians, including sick, wounded and older people. It does not include male Israeli soldiers, whose release will be the subject of a separate negotiation, one of the officials said. For each of the five female Israeli soldiers in captivity, Israel would release three “heavy” prisoners — those believed responsible for major attacks — and 15 others.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Yahya Sinwar, Israel, —, Gilad Shalit, Julian E, Barnes Organizations: Hamas Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, Gaza, U.S, Egypt, Qatar, United States, Paris, Washington

Israeli negotiators have offered a significant concession in cease-fire talks with Hamas, signaling that they might be open to releasing high-profile Palestinians jailed on terrorism charges in exchange for some Israeli hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip, according to two officials with knowledge of the talks. Mr. Netanyahu said that the Israeli military had presented a plan to the war cabinet to evacuate civilians from “areas of fighting” in Gaza. He appeared to be speaking of Israel’s long-expected invasion of Rafah, the southern city where more than half of Gaza’s population is sheltering, many in makeshift tents. On Sunday, he said an invasion could be “delayed somewhat” if Hamas agreed to release Israeli hostages. Speaking with reporters in New York on Monday, Mr. Biden sounded optimistic about a deal to pause the fighting.

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, “ We’re, ”, we’ll Locations: Gaza, Rafah, New York

☆ SolarEdge might not recover until 2025 as residential solar market struggles to bounce back
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

SolarEdge might not recover until early 2025 as the company remains saddled with inventory in Europe and faces weak demand in the U.S., signs that the residential solar market in particular is struggling to bounce back in the face of high interest rates. Citi said SolarEdge remains a high-risk stock with the investment bank slashing its price target by $6 to $83. Cho rates SolarEdge as underweight with a price target of $50, implying 40% downside from Tuesday's close. SolarEdge CEO Lando did provide some brighter news Tuesday, forecasting that the European residential solar sector will bottom in the current quarter and improve thereafter. Investors might receive further insight on where the solar market goes from here when residential installers Sunrun and Sunnova report earnings after the bell Wednesday.

Persons: Zvi Lando, Goldman Sachs, Brian Lee, SolarEdge, Vikram Bagri, Bagri, Ronen Faier, Christine Cho, Cho, Enphase, Badri Kothandaraman, Kothandaraman, Lando, — CNBC's Michael Bloom Organizations: Citi, Barclays, CNBC, Investors Locations: Europe, U.S

Israel carried out covert attacks on two major natural gas pipelines inside Iran this week, disrupting the flow of heat and cooking gas to provinces with millions of people, according to two Western officials and a military strategist affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps. The strikes represent a notable shift in the shadow war that Israel and Iran have been waging by air, land, sea and cyberattack for years. Israel has long targeted military and nuclear sites inside Iran — and assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists and commanders — both inside and outside of the country. Israel has also waged cyberattacks to disable servers belonging to the oil ministry, causing turmoil at gas stations nationwide. But blowing up part of the country’s energy infrastructure, relied on by industries, factories and millions of civilians, marked an escalation in the covert war and appeared to open a new frontier, officials and analysts said.

Persons: Israel, Iran —, — Organizations: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps Locations: Iran, Israel

Israeli special forces were combing southern Gaza’s largest hospital in search of hostages’ remains on Friday, as Gazan officials announced that a power outage at the medical center had caused the deaths of five Palestinians in the critical care unit. Gaza’s Health Ministry said that electric generators had cut out and that all power was lost at the hospital but did not specify the reason. The ministry said on Facebook that the Israeli military was in control of the complex, which it entered early Thursday. The Israeli military said in a statement on Friday that during its search of the hospital, it had detained dozens of people for questioning. It also said its troops had found mortar shells and grenades belonging to Hamas in the area.

Persons: ’ Organizations: Nasser Medical Center, Gaza’s Health Ministry, Facebook, World Health Organization Locations: Gaza, Israel

CNN —Talks on a hostage and ceasefire deal for Gaza appear to be at an impasse. During the process, Israeli troops would gradually withdraw from Gaza, hostages would be released and Palestinian prisoners in Israel – including those serving life sentences – would be freed. The Israeli leader has repeatedly said that the war in Gaza will continue until Israel destroys Hamas’ leadership and rescues the hostages. Even as talks continue in Cairo, the Israeli military has been conducting operations in Gaza designed to hunt down top Hamas figures. The Israeli prime minister on Wednesday said that Hamas must change its negotiating position before talks can continue in Cairo.

Persons: CNN —, Benjamin Netanyahu, Bill Burns, David Barnea, Israel –, Said Khatib, ”, ’, –, Netanyahu, “, Matthew Miller, Ronen Zvulun, Shin Bet, Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu –, ” Netanyahu, Antony Blinken, “ We’re, we’re, Joe Biden, ” Miller Organizations: CNN, Hamas, CIA, Israeli, Getty, “, US State Department, ’, IDF, State Department, The Washington Post Locations: Gaza, Cairo, Israel, Rafah, Paris, AFP, Qatar, “ Qatar, Doha, Aqsa, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, “, Egypt, Albania, The Washington, Palestinian, United States

Al-Shifa, Israeli officials have argued, is an example of Hamas’s willingness to use hospitals as cover and turn civilians into human shields. The portion of the tunnel visible in the Israeli military video is at least 350 feet long. But beyond accusing the Israeli military of planting evidence at hospitals, Hamas and Gazan officials have not directly refuted the evidence presented by Israel. The Israeli military declined to provide additional imagery to support its assertion that this was a tunnel entryway or part of a tunnel complex. Concrete sections of the Al-Shifa tunnel are visible in this still image from the video released by the Israeli military.

☆ U.N. Agency in Gaza Fought Hamas Infiltration; Not Hard Enough, Israel Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Patrick Kingsley | Ronen Bergman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

When the United Nations launched an investigation a decade ago into whether a handful of its employees in Gaza were members of Hamas, it was not long before a senior U.N. legal officer in the territory started receiving death threats. First there were emails, sent from anonymous accounts, according to three senior U.N. officials based in Gaza at that time. Then came a funeral bouquet, delivered to the main U.N. compound, labeled with the legal officer’s name. Finally there was a live grenade, sent to the compound with its pin still inside, according to two of the officials.

Organizations: United Nations Locations: Gaza

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