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☆ Iran Seizes Commercial Ship Linked to Israel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Christopher F. Schuetze | More About Christopher F. Schuetze | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Tehran has vowed a retaliatory strike after blaming Israel for an attack on an Iranian embassy building in Syria that killed 12 people, among them top military generals. Iran is a backer of Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen, but has so far stayed clear of direct involvement. On Friday, President Biden said that he expected Iran to launch a retaliatory attack “sooner than later,” and reiterated that the United States remained committed to the defense of Israel. It was not immediately clear if the seizure of the ship was part of Iran’s promised response to the attack in Syria, but it was not the first time Iran had directly seized a commercial vessel. Before the war in Gaza, the United States said that Iran had “harassed, attacked or interfered” with more than a dozen internationally flagged merchant ships in recent years.

Persons: Eyal Ofer, Israel, Israel Katz, Biden, ”, Iran’s Organizations: MSC, Zodiac Maritime, Zodiac Group, ”, Iran’s Locations: Israel, Tehran, Iranian, Syria, Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, United States, Oman

☆ Iran and Israel Exchange New Threats After Strike on Iranian Commanders
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-10 | by ( Cassandra Vinograd | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Iran and Israel traded fresh threats on Wednesday amid heightened concerns over how and when Tehran might retaliate for an Israeli strike in Syria last week that killed several senior Iranian commanders. The leadership of Iran has repeatedly vowed to avenge the deadly April 1 strike on an Iranian Embassy building in Damascus. U.S. officials have said they were bracing for a possible Iranian response, and Israel put its military on alert. The response from Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, was swift: “If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will react and attack in Iran,” he wrote in Farsi on X.Israel has not publicly taken responsibility for the strike in Damascus, but several Israeli officials have confirmed its involvement to The New York Times. Israel has been trading fire with Iran-backed militant groups since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7 ignited the war in Gaza.

Persons: Israel, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Eid, ”, Israel Katz Organizations: Iranian Embassy, New York Times, Analysts Locations: Iran, Israel, Tehran, Syria, Iranian, Damascus . U.S, Damascus, Gaza

☆ Turkey restricts exports to Israel, saying its request to airdrop aid to Gaza was denied
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Scott Mclean | Caitlin Danaher | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Istanbul/London CNN —Turkey has announced restrictions on exports to Israel after the Turkish foreign minister accused Israel of denying a request to airdrop aid to Gaza. Speaking at a press conference in Ankara late Monday, the Turkish foreign minister said Turkey was taking “a series of new measures against Israel” after Israel had denied its request to join a Jordanian aid operation. “Today we learned that our request, which was welcomed by the Jordanian authorities, was rejected by Israel,” Hakan Fidan said. Along with the United Arab Emirates, Turkey is the biggest donor of aid to Gaza, according to Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. In a statement Tuesday, the CHP criticized the Turkish government for continuing to trade with Israel despite publicly condemning its attacks on Gaza.

Persons: Israel, Israel ”, ” Hakan Fidan, Gazans, ”, Israel Katz, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “, ” Katz, ” “, ” Volkan Demir, Lauren Izso, Anna Cooban Organizations: London CNN, Turkish Ministry of Trade, Israel, United Arab, Republican People’s Party, CHP Locations: Istanbul, London, Turkey, Israel, Gaza, Ankara, Jordanian, Territories, United States, ” “ Israel, United Arab Emirates, CHP’s, Tel Aviv

☆ Truce Talks Expected to Resume in Egypt
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-31 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Israel has rejected accusations that it is responsible for delays in delivering aid, and it did so again this week. The amount of aid reaching Gaza has fallen sharply since the start of Israel’s war with Hamas. “It’s not just about the number of trucks coming in the border,” Mr. Lockyear said in an interview on Saturday. This week, Mr. Lockyear said, an M.S.F. “These items, which were formerly approved to go in, we have got them into Gaza previously,” Mr. Lockyear said.

Persons: Christopher Lockyear, Israel, It’s, Mr, Lockyear, “, ”, al Balah, Deir al Balah, Tedros Adhanom Organizations: International Court of Justice, Hamas, United Nations ’, Foreign, United Nations, World Health Organization Locations: Gaza, Hague, Israel, Gaza — Israel, Rafah, Al Aqsa, Deir al, “

☆ Middle East Crisis Top U.N. Court Orders Israel to Allow ‘Unhindered’ Aid Into Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Anushka Patil | Marlise Simons | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

In an interim ruling on Jan. 26, the court ordered Israel to ensure that more aid would be allowed into Gaza. Since then, the “catastrophic living conditions of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated further,” necessitating further measures, the court said on Thursday. The ruling touches on some issues that leading aid organizations have called Israeli impediments contributing to the risk of famine in Gaza. Palestinians, U.N. officials and aid workers have voiced concerns about diseases spreading, hospitals collapsing and children beginning to starve to death. But, she wrote, the court “can at least mitigate” the risk to Palestinians by directing the parties before it: South Africa and Israel.

Persons: Israel, “, Aharon Barak, Abdulqawi Yusuf, ”, Nawaf Salam, ” Hilary Charlesworth, Johnatan Reiss, Victoria Kim Organizations: International Court of Justice, United Nations, South, United Nations ’, ” Locations: The Hague, Gaza, Israel, South Africa, Africa, Somalia

☆ Aid is being shipped to Gaza by sea. But a new maritime corridor is unlikely to stop the looming famine
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Nadeen Ebrahim | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

With Palestinians in Gaza in dire need, any aid is welcome, but aid groups say maritime and air-dropped aid should be complementary to land deliveries, not a substitute. How do maritime aid deliveries compare to other methods? The US and other countries have meanwhile been air-dropping humanitarian aid into Gaza, a method aid agencies have criticized as ineffective given the scale of need in Gaza. Mousa Salem/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Palestinians transport bags of flour on the back of trucks as humanitarian aid arrives in Gaza City on March 6. Omar Qattaa/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Humanitarian aid packages are dropped from the air by Jordanian army planes in Gaza City on March 1.

Persons: WCK, Israel, ”, Michael Fakhr, Jamie McGoldrick, ” WCK, Joe Biden, Mahmud Hams, Lior Haiat, “, COGAT, Menahem Kahana, McGoldrick, Josep Borrell, Ashraf Al, Qidra, Loay, Fadi, Kamal Adwan, Omar Qattaa, Saher, Ahmed Qannan, Mohammed Salem, Said Khatib, Dawoud Abo, Jehad, crouches, Abed Zagout, Yazan, Rabie Abu Noqaira, Mohammed Abed, Alexi J . Rosenfeld, Yasser Qudih, Fatima Shbair, ” Juliette Touma, ” Touma Organizations: CNN, Gaza, Spanish, European Commission, United Arab, Israel, Aid, UN, Pentagon, AFP, Getty, Crescent, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, UNRWA, Foreign, European Union, Food Programme, Gaza Ministry, Health, Washington Post, Kamal, Anadolu Agency, Reuters, US Air Force, UPI, Dawoud Abo Alkas, Communications Locations: Cyprus, Gaza, United States, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Israel, Port, Rimal, Gaza City, UAE, Palestinian, AFP, Cypriot, Territories, Kerem, Rafah, Egypt, Mousa Salem, Jordanian

☆ Middle East Crisis Israel Says It Struck Area Used by High-Ranking Hamas Leader
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Adam Rasgon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The session follows a 23-page U.N. report, released on March 4, written by a team led by Pramila Patten, a special envoy on sexual violence and conflict. The report said it was reasonable to believe sexual violence against hostages could be ongoing. Diplomats from the 15-member council uniformly condemned sexual violence against Israeli women. Ms. Patten and her team also visited the West Bank to hear reports of sexual violence against Palestinians by Israeli security forces and settlers. The full report addressed the accusations, but did not focus on them because other U.N. bodies were working on that.

Persons: Pramila Patten, —, France —, Patten, Ms, ”, Timothy A, Clary, Israel Katz, ” Mr, Katz, Riyad Mansour Organizations: Sexual, United Nations Security Council, ., Agence France, Diplomats, West Bank, Palestinian, Council Locations: United States, Britain, France, Israel, Gaza, U.S

“Continuation of hostilities can, in no way, protect them,” she said. She told the council that the 134 hostages still in captivity and the more than 2 million civilians in Gaza “share a common fate. For their common sake, there must be a humanitarian cease-fire now.” Israel's ongoing offensive against Hamas has killed over 30,000 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he came to the council “to protest as loud as I can against the crimes against humanity” committed by Hamas in order to deter and scare Israeli society. Patten told the council that when she visited the West Bank she didn’t receive any reports of rape, but instances of sexual violence during the detention of both Palestinian men and women were raised.

Persons: ”, ” Pramila Patten, ” Patten, Israel Katz, Katz, Ramadan Kareem, ” Katz, ” Riyad Mansour, Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t, Mansour, “, Patten’s, Israel “, Patten Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, . Security, Hamas, Gaza Health Ministry, Israel’s, Security Council, Palestinian, Independent International Commission of, West Bank Locations: Israel, Gaza, United States, United Kingdom, France

Israelis largely welcomed a U.N. report that supported allegations of sexual violence during the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack, even as a top Israeli official accused the United Nations of not doing enough to address the findings — a sign of the rising tensions between them. The U.N. report, released on Monday, found both “reasonable grounds to believe” that sexual violence against multiple people had occurred in at least three locations in Israel, and “clear and convincing information” that hostages taken to Gaza on Oct. 7 had been subjected to sexual violence, including rape. On Tuesday, President Isaac Herzog of Israel said on X that the report was “of immense importance,” and he lauded it for its “moral clarity and integrity.”But Israel Katz, Israel’s foreign minister, accused the U.N. secretary general, António Guterres, in a social media post of making a concerted effort to “forget the report and avoid making the necessary decisions.” In protest, Mr. Katz recalled Israel’s representative to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, for consultations — a step short of withdrawing the ambassador for a longer term. Mr. Erdan was on a plane back to Israel on Tuesday, he said.

Persons: ”, Isaac Herzog of Israel, Israel Katz, António Guterres, Katz, Israel’s, Gilad Erdan, Erdan Organizations: United Nations Locations: Israel, Gaza

With Israel continuing to warn that it plans a ground invasion of Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice in The Hague to issue new constraints on Israel’s military offensive to prevent genocide. In December, South Africa filed a case with the International Court of Justice, the U.N.’s highest court, accusing Israel of genocide and asking the court to step in with emergency orders. In response, the court ordered Israel last month to ensure that its actions would not lead to genocide and to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza. Under court rules, the judges will have to consider South Africa’s request as a matter of priority. Israel’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday, but Israel has rejected accusations of genocide.

Persons: “, Israel’s, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Netanyahu, ” Johnatan Reiss Organizations: International Court of Justice, South, ”, Israel Locations: Israel, Rafah, Gaza, South Africa, The Hague

Tel Aviv CNN —A video obtained by CNN shows two young ultra-Orthodox men spitting at, swearing at and insulting a Christian priest near the Zion Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City on Saturday evening. She described two young men crossing their path as they walked through the Old City. The priest and journalist continued to walk through the Old City, and were again approached by the same two men as they walked through the Armenian Quarter. “Last night, the police received a report regarding youths who traversed the Zion Gate area in the Old City of Jerusalem. Christians in the Old City are regularly the target of spitting and verbal abuse by Orthodox Jews.

Persons: Natalie Amiri, Father Nikodemus Schnabel, Instagram, Schnabel, Amiri, Father Schnabel, ”, profanities, ” “, Jerusalem, “, Israel’s, Israel Katz Organizations: Tel, Tel Aviv CNN, CNN, German TV, ARD, Israeli Police Locations: Tel Aviv, Zion, Jerusalem’s Old City, Old City, Jerusalem, Israeli, English

☆ Netanyahu must be removed, say top former Israeli national security officials
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Alex Marquardt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —More than 40 senior former Israeli national security officials, celebrated scientists and prominent business leaders have sent a letter to Israel’s president and speaker of parliament demanding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be removed from office for posing what they say is an “existential” threat to the country. “The victim’s blood is on Netanyahu’s hands.”The letter was sent to Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Thursday and to Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana on Friday. The frontrunner in the poll was the National Unity party led by former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz, currently a member of Netanyahu’s war cabinet. Video Ad Feedback Backlash grows over Israel's Netanyahu seemingly ruling out a two-state solution. Netanyahu told a news conference last week that politicians who are asking him to step down are essentially asking for a Palestinian state.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Isaac Herzog, Amir Ohana, “, Moshe Ya’alon, Dan Halutz, Tamir Pardo, Danny Yatom, Nadav Argaman, Yaakov Peri, Shin, Aaron Ciechanover, Avram Hershko, Dan Shechtman, Benny Gantz, aren’t, Yair Lapid, ”, Haim Tomer, ” Tomer, Israel's Netanyahu, Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben Gvir, Biden, Tomer, I’ve, ” Israel Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, “, Shin Bet, Israel’s, Likud, National Unity, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Mossad, International Court of Justice Locations: Israel, Iran, United States, Gaza, Qatar, Palestinian, South Africa

European foreign ministers pressed their Israeli counterpart on Monday to agree to the creation of a Palestinian state, in a meeting that left European diplomats bewildered about postwar Israeli plans for the Gaza Strip and reinforced the deep disconnect between Israel and much of the world. The two sides appeared to be having two different conversations. Josep Borrell Fontelles, the European Union’s top diplomat, said after the meeting in Brussels that European nations were resolute that “sustainable, lasting peace” must include Palestinian statehood, an option that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has doubled down on opposing in recent days. Israel’s foreign minister, Yisrael Katz, presented to the Europeans a plan involving an artificial island off Gaza’s coast — a plan that did not address the future governance of the territory, according to officials in the meeting. While the diplomats talked past each other, heavy fighting intensified in southern Gaza on Monday, with medical personnel reporting major exchanges of gunfire and a surge of Israeli tanks and troops into areas around hospitals.

Persons: Josep Borrell Fontelles, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Yisrael Katz Organizations: Gaza Locations: Palestinian, Israel, Brussels, Gaza

The Israeli decision on Wednesday to pause the invasion of Gaza to allow Hamas to release some hostages, a move now strongly supported by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was the culmination of a weekslong dispute among Israel’s civilian and military leaders about whether such a deal would strengthen Hamas and endanger the remaining hostages. The first group initially took the upper hand, persuading Mr. Netanyahu to delay a cabinet vote originally planned for Nov. 14, according to three of the officials. They hoped that more military pressure might give Israel more influence at the negotiating table, allowing more hostages to be freed. But the second group eventually won out, leading Mr. Netanyahu to hold the vote early Wednesday, setting the stage for a four-day truce and prisoner exchange that could begin this week. Mr. Netanyahu’s office, the Israeli military and the Mossad all declined to comment.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, David Barnea, Mr, Netanyahu Locations: Gaza, Israel

☆ Opinion | Measuring Israel by the Just-War Yardstick
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( A. Walter Dorn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

While Israel easily has just cause and constitutes a legitimate authority, its case is far weaker regarding the other five criteria. In addition, the fact that Hamas has violated these principles does not absolve Israel from an obligation to live up to higher moral standards. So the downside of Israel’s war outweighs any benefit. Israel can rightly claim that its ground invasion helps Israeli forces better distinguish Hamas fighters from civilians. Just-war theory reinforces the human instinct to not only preserve human life but also lament its loss, and to try to find solutions.

Persons: Israel’s, —, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, Netanyahu’s, Israel, Abraham, Netanyahu, Hamas’s Organizations: Hamas, Criminal, United Nations Charter, Palestinian, Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Abraham Accords, Civilian Locations: Gaza, Israel, The Hague, Oslo Accords, United States, Israeli, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia

☆ White House warns Israel against reoccupying Gaza as Netanyahu signals what a post-war Strip could look like
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Priscilla Alvarez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“The president still believes that a reoccupation of Gaza by Israeli forces is not good. In an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” last month, Biden said it would be a “big mistake” for Israel to occupy Gaza. Israeli government officials have not yet elaborated on how Gaza would be governed should they succeed in eliminating Hamas. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday that Israel will “retain complete freedom of action to respond to any situation in the Gaza Strip” once the war ends. That hasn’t changed since October 7 and it’s not going to change going forward,” Kirby said.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, “, It’s, ”, John Kirby, Antony, Blinken, Netanyahu, we’ve, Joe Biden’s, Biden, Michael Herzog, CNN’s Jake Tapper, Israel, Yoav Gallant, Gallant, ” Gallant, Kirby, We’re, hasn’t, it’s, ” Kirby, CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Hagi Cohen, Boland, Stephanie Halasz, Natasha Bertrand, Katie Bo Lillis, Oren Liebermann, Kareem El Damanhoury, Mitchell McCluskey Organizations: Washington CNN, Security, CNN, ABC News, CBS, Hamas, Israel’s Foreign Affairs, Defense Committee, Israel Locations: Gaza, Israel, United States

Despite the intensified IDF ground operation, Hamas continued to fire rockets from Gaza. Alarms indicating incoming fire were activated in a number of areas around the Gaza perimeter overnight and early Tuesday. Abed Khaled/APThe Israeli military said Monday its troops killed four prominent Hamas operatives as part of its expanded ground operations in Gaza. One hostage – a female Israeli soldier – was rescued Monday during ground operations in Gaza, the IDF said. A source involved with her identification told CNN Louk’s death was announced after forensic examiners found a bone fragment from her skull.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, ” Philippe Lazzarini, ” Lazzarini, Lisa Doughten, ” Doughten, Abed Khaled, Netanyahu, Israel, ” “, ”, UNRWA’s, Samir, Lazzarini, ” Young, Khan, Mohammed Salem, Riyad Al, Maliki, ” Al, Tal, Al, “, Gaza’s, Sobhi Skaik, Yelena Trupanob, Daniel Aloni, Kirsht, Daniel Hagari, –, Jonathan Conricus, Ori Megidish, Conricus, Shani Louk Organizations: Jerusalem CNN, UN, Israeli, UN Relief and Works Agency, Security Council, ”, Hamas, UN Office, Humanitarian Affairs, CNN, IDF, Palestinian Ministry of Health, UN Security Council, Protect Journalists, Palestinian Authority’s, Palestine Red Crescent Society, Monday, Nova Locations: Gaza, Jerusalem, Israel, United States, “, Ramallah, Khan Younis, Palestine, Tal Al Hawa, Gaza City, Quds, Al, Palestinian, Qatar, Egypt

Speaking in Parliament to lawmakers from his Justice and Development Party, Mr. Erdogan accused Israel of deliberately attacking civilians in Gaza and killing large numbers of children, women and older people. Mr. Erdogan also criticized Western countries for their strong backing of Israel and for branding Hamas, the armed Palestinian group that controls Gaza, as a terrorist organization. But recently, Mr. Erdogan made steps at rapprochement with the Jewish state. On Wednesday, Mr. Erdogan said all plans to visit Israel had been scrapped. “We clearly mentioned that we never excuse any acts targeting civilians, including Israeli civilians, regardless of the perpetrator,” he said.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Israel, ”, Mr, mujahedeen, Erdogan’s, Isaac Herzog, Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu, “, Ergodan’s, Lior, Russia’s, Vladimir V, Putin, ” Mr, Nadav Gavrielov Organizations: NATO, Development Party, Hamas, European Union, Ministry, Israel’s, Turkish, Turkish Presidency Press, Agence France, United Nations General Assembly, ISIS Locations: Turkey, Israel, United States, Gaza, Ankara, Israeli, New York, Turkish, Russia, Ukraine, “, Seoul

I need to have him back, in good shape – like before he left Thailand.”Thai workers at a vineyard in southern Israel. David Silverman/Getty Images/FILE‘Palestinian workers weren’t welcome anymore’Migrant workers from Asia make up more than half of Israel’s foreign work force, often taking on jobs as caregivers and within the construction industry. Human Rights Watch called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of all hostages and said that Thai workers, along with Nepalese and Filipinos, “were simply there to earn money to support their families. Migrant workers migrating to dangerous conflict zones in search of work, with little protection and legal enforcement, has been a “big issue for decades,” said British researcher and migrant worker rights specialist Andy Hall. Thailand itself is a major destination for migrant workers, mainly from poorer neighboring countries like Cambodia and Laos, as well as war-torn Myanmar.

Persons: Chumporn, Manee Jirachart, Jobs, Manee, He’d, Srettha Thavisin, ”, Phil Robertson, Lillian Suwanrumpha, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, ’ Manee, “, ” Chumporn, David Silverman, Paul Castelvi, Nick, Paul, Ladizhinskaya, Kav LaOved, Israel ”, ” Ladizhinskaya, Robertson, ‘, Andy Hall, ” Hall, Martin Griffiths Organizations: Bangkok CNN, Hamas, CNN, “, Asia, Human Rights Watch, Getty, Labour, CNN Philippines, Rights, Agency, UN Locations: Bangkok, Thailand, Israel, Gaza, United States, Canada, France, Asia, Palestinian Territories, Philippines, “ Thailand, AFP, Palestine, China, San Fernando, Pampanga, “, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar

Israelis marching toward Jerusalem on Saturday in protest of plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judicial system. Adding to the uncertainty Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu was taken to the hospital to have a pacemaker implanted during a procedure in which he would be placed under sedation, his office said. “The proper balance between the authorities has been disturbed over the past decades,” Mr. Netanyahu said in a speech Thursday. “The fear is that our country won’t look like it looks today,” Ms. Holzman said of the judicial overhaul plan. Similar mass protests in March prompted the government to suspend, at least for now, other planned judicial changes.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu’s, ”, Ilana Holzman, “, Holzman, Menahem Kahana, Benjamin Netanyahu, Shin, Netanyahu, ” Mr, Gil Cohen, Navot Silberstein, Silberstein, Ms Organizations: Agence France, Histadrut, Air Force Locations: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Israel, Shoresh .

☆ Tragedy Strikes a Boat Full of Spies, and Conspiracy Theories Mount
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Elisabetta Povoledo | Ronen Bergman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The black clouds appeared quickly, sneaking up on sun-seeking revelers on the lake in northern Italy, interrupting early-evening aperitivi and lakefront strolls. As news stories go, the incident on Lake Maggiore on Sunday was a freak tragedy that would usually have attracted fleeting attention. But in subsequent days, the story took off in the Italian media when it emerged that 21 people on the boat were spies, or former spies — including 13 from the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service, and eight Italian ones. Two of those who died belonged to Italy’s intelligence service, according to a note issued by Italian intelligence, while Israel said that another victim had been a retired Mossad operative. The fourth victim, a Russian woman, had been married to the boat’s skipper.

Persons: —, Israel Locations: Italy, Lake Maggiore, Russian

☆ Lake Maggiore: All passengers on boat that sank on Italy lake had worked for security or defense services
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Barbie Latza Nadeau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The 16-meter (52-foot) houseboat had been carrying 23 people at overcapacity when an apparent waterspout struck nearby, causing it to capsize on Sunday evening, CNN affiliate Sky Tg24 reported. Some of the party managed to swim ashore and others were rescued by nearby boats, according Sky Tg24, adding that, although five were taken to the hospital, none of the survivors sustained any serious injuries. There were 13 Israeli and 8 Italian passengers on board at the time the boat sank, while the victims were two men and two women. Italian authorities are seen inspecting the tourist boat that capsized and sank on Lake Maggiore. Passengers had been reportedly celebrating a birthday party when the boat, traveling between the Italian towns of Lisanza and Dormelletto, capsized, according to Sky Tg24.

Persons: Barnobi, Claudio Alonzi, Erez Shimoni, Anna Bozhkova, Shutterstock, ”, Shimoni Organizations: CNN, Sky, Authorities, Passengers Locations: Italy’s Lake Maggiore, overcapacity, Lake Maggiore, Puricelli, Israel, Maggiore, Italy, Switzerland, Lisanza

CNN —Two Italian secret service agents and a retired member of Israel’s security forces were among the four victims from Sunday’s fatal boat accident on Lake Maggiore, northern Italy. The Italian victims were named as Tiziana Barnobi, 53, and Claudio Alonzi, 62, a delegate of Italy’s secret service confirmed, while a spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry identified the Israeli victim as Shimoni Erez, 60. Vigili Del Fuoco/APSome of the party managed to swim to the shore, according Sky Tg24, adding that, although five were taken to the hospital, none of the survivors sustained any serious injuries. A delegate of the Italian secret service issued a public condolence “sharing closeness and pain for the tragic event to the families of the victims.”Italy’s military police, the Carabinieri, are assisting with the investigation, the prosecutor’s office told CNN. Passengers had been reportedly celebrating a birthday party when the boat, traveling between the Italian towns of Lisanza and Dormelletto, capsized, according to Sky Tg24.

☆ Israel and Sudan Agree to Revive Peace Deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Dov Lieber | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met the president of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereign Council, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Thursday. TEL AVIV—Israel and Sudan agreed to sign a peace agreement later this year, after earlier attempts by the African nation to normalize relations with Israel failed, Israel’s foreign minister said Thursday. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Thursday, where he met with the president of the Transitional Sovereign Council, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and other senior Sudanese officials, his office said in a statement. With U.S. mediation, the two sides agreed to the terms of a peace deal and planned to hold a signing ceremony in Washington in a few month’s time, after Sudan establishes a civilian government, the Israeli statement said.

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