The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s events as they happen.
Pentagon chief speaks with Gallant, says Israel must safeguard civilians in Rafah
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant held another call, the Pentagon says.
A readout from the US Defense Department stresses “the importance of safeguarding civilians and ensuring the movement of and access to humanitarian assistance before any operations against Hamas in Rafah.”
It also says the two discussed the Israeli operation to rescue two hostages in Rafah and the negotiations on a hostage deal, adding that Gallant briefed Austin about Israel’s offensive in Khan Younis.
Canada, Australia and New Zealand demand ceasefire, warn against Israeli op in Rafah
SYDNEY — The leaders of Canada, Australia and New Zealand call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, according to a joint statement released in response to reports about Israel’s planned military operation in Rafah.
“We are gravely concerned by indications that Israel is planning a ground offensive into Rafah. A military operation into Rafah would be catastrophic,” the statement by the prime ministers of the three countries say.
“An immediate humanitarian ceasefire is urgently needed.”
FBI chief makes unannounced trip to Israel, meets counterparts and Tel Aviv-based agents
WASHINGTON — The director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation made an unannounced trip to Israel to meet with the country’s law and intelligence agencies as it fights a bloody war in Gaza, the FBI says.
Christopher Wray also met with FBI agents based in Tel Aviv, according to a statement from the bureau, stressing the importance of their work on Palestinian terror group Hamas and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
He reiterates the FBI’s support of Israel in the wake of the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
“The FBI’s partnership with our Israeli counterparts is longstanding, close, and robust, and I’m confident the closeness of our agencies contributed to our ability to move so quickly in response to these attacks, and to ensure our support is as seamless as possible,” Wray is quoted as saying in the statement.
Wray’s “key focus” is the FBI’s efforts against foreign organizations praising the attacks on Israel and threatening to attack the United States, both abroad and at home, the bureau statement says.
It says the FBI “has and will continue to be responsive to requests” from Israel for support.
UK Jewish group records all-time high in antisemitic incidents after October 7
LONDON — Britain recorded thousands of antisemitic incidents after the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas in October, making 2023 the worst year for UK antisemitism since 1984, when Jewish advisory body CST began recording such data, it says.
The number of antisemitic incidents across the country reached 4,103, more than twice the figure in 2022, amid a surge of threats, hate speech, violence and damage to Jewish institutions and property, the Community Security Trust says.
The CST, which advises Britain’s estimated 280,000 Jews on security matters, says two-thirds of those incidents occurred on or after October 7, when Hamas terrorists rampaged through southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 253 hostage.
That rise appeared, at least initially, to reflect a celebration of Hamas’ attacks rather than anger at Israel’s military response in Gaza, the CST says its data suggested. The conflict has left at least 28,000 Palestinians dead, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, which does not provide a breakdown for combatant deaths or civilians killed by terrorists’ misfired rockets.
The surge recorded after October 7 alone exceeded all previous annual totals, says the CST, which has been recording antisemitic incidents in Britain for 40 years.
“British Jews are strong and resilient, but the explosion in hatred against our community is an absolute disgrace,” CST chief executive Mark Gardner says.
He notes the community is being “harassed, intimidated, threatened and attacked by extremists” in Britain’s schools, universities, workplaces and streets, as well as online.
“This is a challenge for everyone and we condemn the stony silence from those sections of society that eagerly call out racism in every other case, except when it comes to Jew hate,” Gardner adds.
GOP speaker says House won’t be ‘rushed’ to approve bill with aid for Israel, Ukraine
WASHINGTON — Republican Speaker Mike Johnson says the US House will not feel “rushed” to pass the $95.3 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other allies, signaling a further stall over sending military hardware and munitions Kyiv badly needs to fight Russia.
Johnson made the remarks behind closed doors at a morning meeting of House Republicans, who are largely aligned with Donald Trump, the party’s presidential front-runner, in opposing the Senate-passed foreign assistance for Ukraine’s fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
The speaker let colleagues know that the House will instead “work its will,” in considering the package, says a person familiar with the private remarks and granted anonymity to discuss them.
“The Republican-led House will not be jammed or forced into passing a foreign aid bill,” Johnson says at a press conference afterward.
Johnson, who rejected a border security compromise that was eventually stripped from the final product, says the Senate’s package “does nothing” to secure the US-Mexico border, which has been the GOP’s priority.
He says he requested a meeting with US President Joe Biden months ago on these issues, and was still waiting for the opportunity to talk one-on-one.
The White House suggests that Johnson is in no position for productive talks after Republicans demanded that border security be attached to the national security aid and then he rejected the bipartisan package approved by the Senate.
MIT suspends anti-Israel student group for holding unauthorized demonstration
BOSTON — The president of MIT has suspended a student group that has held demonstrations against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza as protests over the war continue to rattle universities around the country.
In a video statement, Sally Kornbluth says the group, Coalition Against Apartheid or CAA, held a demonstration Monday night without going through the university’s permission process required of all groups. The protest was against the Israeli military’s possible ground invasion of Rafah, the city on the southern Gaza border where 1.4 million Palestinians have fled to escape fighting elsewhere in the monthslong war.
As a result, the group received a letter Tuesday advising that its privileges as a student group would be suspended. It will not get any kind of funding that student group’s normally get nor will it be able to use MIT facilities nor hold any demonstrations on campus.
“I want to be clear: suspending the CAA is not related to the content of their speech,” Kornbluth says.
“I fully support the right of everyone on our campus to express their views. However, we have clear, reasonable time, place and manner policies for good reason,” she says. “The point of these policies is to make sure that members of the MIT community can work, learn and do their work on campus without disruption. We also need to keep the community safe.”
The CAA, in a statement, demands that it be reinstated and calls MIT’s move an attack on its right to fight for what it says is “Palestinian liberation.” It also says that 13 student organizers have individually been threatened with permanent suspension from MIT.
The president didn’t address such disciplinary action against student organizers in her video messages.
“For over four months, the MIT administration has continued to silence our voices by applying unjust punitive measures to our actions,” the group says of its response to what it called “genocide perpetrated by the Israeli occupation in Palestine.”
“These attacks on our right to protest are not only suppressive but expose the moral failure and desperation of the administration,” the group adds.