The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s events as they happen.
IDF announces overnight strikes on Hamas targets in central Gaza
In an overnight announcement, the Israel Defense Forces says it’s currently striking Hamas targets in the central Gaza Strip.
A statement from the military says more details will be released soon.
Biden threatens to halt transfer of offensive weapons to Israel if IDF enters Rafah
US President Joe Biden says his administration will not support Israel or provide it with offensive weapons if it launches an offensive against Hamas in populated parts of Rafah.
“I’ve made it clear to Bibi and the war cabinet: They’re not going to get our support if they go [into] these population centers,” Biden tells CNN in an interview.
The interview marks Biden’s toughest public comments yet about the potential Israeli military operation in Rafah, amid concerns in Washington that Israel is not planning to heed its warnings against an offensive that the administration says fails to take into account the over one million Palestinians sheltering in Gaza’s southernmost city.
The remarks also appear to be a threat by Biden to make permanent the hold his administration placed last week on a transfer of heavy bombs, citing concerns that they could be used by Israel in densely populated areas of Rafah like they have in other parts of Gaza.
“I made it clear that if they go into – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet — [then] I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities, that deal with that problem,” Biden says, arguing that the operation launched by the IDF earlier this week was limited to the Rafah border crossing, even though “it’s causing problems with Egypt… which I’ve worked very hard to make sure we have a relationship and help.”
“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which [Israel] goes after population centers,” Biden says, referencing the 2,000-pound bombs that his administration held up last week.
Biden clarifies that the US will continue supplying Israel with Iron Dome missile interceptors and other defensive weapons to ensure that Jerusalem can respond to attacks from adversaries across the region, such as last month’s massive missile and drone barrage from Iran.
“But it’s just wrong. We’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells,” Biden asserts.
Senior Hamas figure says terror group sticking to its terms for truce deal
Hamas has remained steadfast to its position toward a hostages-for-truce proposal and sticks to its approval of it, a member of the terror group’s political bureau, Izzat al-Rishq, says in a statement.
Reshiq’s comments came as Cairo hosted new talks attended by delegations from Hamas, Israel, the United States and Qatar in an attempt to conclude a deal.
The terms that Hamas said Monday it had accepted differ in key aspects from a proposal that Israel approved, with officials in the terror group claiming the deal would yield an end to the war. Israel however has said repeatedly that it will not accept a deal that involves ending the war and that it fully intends to resume its campaign to destroy Hamas once any deal has been carried out.
Ohio AG warns masked students protesting against Israel could be charged under anti-KKK law
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s top lawyer has advised the state’s public universities that a law written to deter Ku Klux Klan demonstrations could be used to impose felony charges on students who wear face coverings while protesting against Israel amid its war with Hamas in Gaza.
In a letter sent after weeks of pro-Palestinian campus protests around the country, Republican Attorney General Dave Yost advises the presidents of Ohio’s 34 public, four-year universities — which his office represents — to forewarn students about the 1953 law.
“In our society, there are few more significant career-wreckers than a felony charge,” the letter says. “I write to you today to inform your student bodies of an Ohio law that, in the context of some behavior during the recent pro-Palestinian protests, could have that effect.”
The law is contained in a single sentence: “No person shall unite with two or more others to commit a misdemeanor while wearing white caps, masks, or other disguise.” Violating this “anti-disguise” law is punishable by a fourth-degree felony charge, up to $5,000 in fines and five years on community control, Yost writes.
Protesters around the US and the world have increasingly taken steps to remain anonymous by wearing a combination of head and face coverings. Some are religious hijabs or medical masks used to prevent exposure to COVID-19 and other viruses.
Yost, a fourth-term state official who is considering a run for governor in 2026, writes that students should protest “within the bounds of the law,” not commit crimes, not use the First Amendment as “a sword against fellow students,” and “own their advocacy and avoid wearing masks.”
Bethany McCorkle, a spokesperson for Yost’s office, says the letter regarding the “disguise law” is not a response to any specific request for legal advice by the universities.
“The letter was proactive guidance to universities that he is counsel for to make sure no one becomes an unintentional felon,” she says in a text message.
Students at Irish college end anti-Israel encampment, say school agreed to divestment demands
DUBLIN — Students at Ireland’s prestigious Trinity College Dublin (TCD) on Wednesday end a five-day-long protest against Israel’s actions in Gaza amid the war against the Hamas terror group, as they say their demands were met by the university leadership.
In a statement posted on its website, the university says that “an agreement was reached” after “successful talks between the university’s senior management and the protestors.”
Laszlo Molnarfi, president of the institution’s student union, says TCD’s statement is a “testament to grassroots student-staff power.”
The camp would be brought to an end Wednesday evening, he tells public broadcaster RTE.
TCD says that the university “will complete a divestment from investments in Israeli companies that have activities in the occupied Palestinian Territory and appear on the UN blacklist in this regard.”
Student activists began the protest on Friday as a “solidarity encampment with Palestine” echoing similar protests on US campuses.
Molnarfi on Saturday said that the protest would continue until the university severs any relationships it has with Israel.
Dozens of students pitched tents on one of the main squares at the university, and piled benches to block the entrance to a library that houses the world-famous ninth century gospel manuscript Book of Kells, one of Dublin’s most popular tourist attractions.
Security staff closed the campus gates — which are usually open to the public — during the protest.
“With the encampment and blockade of the Book of Kells removed, plans are being put in place to return to normal university business for staff, students, and members of the public,” TCD says.
Last week the union was fined 214,000 euros ($230,000) by the university for loss of tourist revenue after disruptive protests this year over student fees, rent and the war in Gaza.
Pro-Palestinian protests against Israel have rocked US campuses for weeks, spreading to countries including France and Australia.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.