Thousands of Israelis demonstrated Saturday in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to keep up pressure on the government to obtain the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip. The strikes on the enclave, however, do not stop: five people were killed after an Israeli strike on a school.
Key information to remember
⇒ Missile fired from Yemen lands in central Israel, Israeli military says
⇒ Israeli minister calls Josep Borrell “anti-Semitic” after comments on Gaza strike
⇒ Gaza: five dead in Israeli strike on school
Missile fired from Yemen lands in central Israel, Israeli military says
The Israeli army said a missile fired from Yemen crossed central Israel on Sunday, September 15, before falling on its territory, without causing any injuries. “A surface-to-surface missile was identified crossing central Israel from the east and then falling in an open area,” the Israeli army said in a statement, adding that “no injuries were reported.”
The Houthi rebels, who control large swathes of Yemen, have launched several attacks against Israel, claiming to act in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Last July, the Houthis carried out a drone attack on Tel Aviv that killed an Israeli civilian.
All-out war will displace more Israelis, threatens Lebanon’s Hezbollah
The Islamist movement Hezbollah, whose clashes with Israel on the Israeli-Lebanese border have forced many residents to flee, said Saturday that an all-out war would displace “hundreds of thousands” more Israelis.
The statement comes after Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallantreiterated on Monday that Israel was determined to restore calm on the northern front, “either through an agreement that will eliminate the presence of Hezbollah on our border, or through military action.” These cross-border clashes have caused the displacement of tens of thousands of Lebanese and Israelis, and have raised fears for months of a regional conflagration. The cross-border violence since the beginning of October has left 623 dead in Lebanon, most of them fighters, but also at least 142 civilians, according to an AFP report. On the Israeli side, including on the Golan Heights annexedauthorities announced the deaths of at least 24 soldiers and 26 civilians.
Protests in Israel demand the release of Gaza hostages
Organizers say the number of protesters at the weekly rallies has increased since Israeli authorities announced in early September that six hostages had been killed by the Islamist Hamas movement in the southern Palestinian territory. One of the six hostages was Alexander Lobanov, whose wife addressed the crowd in Tel Aviv on Saturday, questioning why Benjamin Netanyahu’s government had not done “everything” to bring him back alive.
The government is facing growing anger from those who accuse it of not doing enough to secure a truce deal between Israel and Hamas that would see a hostage swap for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Of the 251 abductees, 97 are still being held in the Gaza Strip, 33 of whom have been reported dead by the Israeli military.
Israeli Minister Calls Josep Borrell ‘Anti-Semite’
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Saturday called EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell an “anti-Semite” after he said he was “outraged” after UN workers were killed in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip. “Josep Borrell is an anti-Semite and a critic of Israel who constantly tries to pass resolutions and sanctions against Israel within the EU, only to be blocked by most member states,” the minister said in a statement.
On Thursday, Josep Borrell criticized “the disregard for the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law” after the death of 18 people on Wednesday in an Israeli strike on a school converted into a shelter in the center of the territory, according to the Civil Defense. Among the victims were six members of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). “There is a difference between legitimate criticism and political disagreements, which are normal between friends, and the anti-Semitic and hateful campaign that Josep Borrell is leading against Israel, which recalls the worst anti-Semites in history,” added Israel Katz.
Gaza: Five dead in Israeli strike on school
Five people were killed Saturday when an Israeli airstrike hit a school converted into a shelter in Gaza City, the local Civil Defense said, with the Israeli military saying it targeted Hamas fighters. The school was sheltering thousands of displaced Palestinians, Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP, adding that several people were injured in the gunfire.
The Israeli army said it had carried out a “precise strike” on the school, targeting fighters from the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, against which it has been engaged in a deadly war since October 7. “The school compound was used by Hamas terrorists to plan and carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli army troops and the State of Israel,” it said in a statement.