The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they happen.
Two suspects detained after sneaking across border from Jordan — IDF
Two suspects who allegedly slipped across the border from Jordan were detained by Israeli forces following a search, the army says.
The two suspects, who were detained near the border, “were turned over to be dealt with [by] security forces,” the Israel Defense Force says in a statement.
The army said shortly after midnight that it had launched a manhunt in the Dead Sea area after footsteps were found on the border with Jordan.
TV report shows US Jewish delegation visiting Syria
A report by Israel’s Kan public broadcaster shows a group of US Jews visiting Syria for the first time since the fall of the Assad regime.
The delegation toured Jewish sites in Damascus last week on a visit coordinated by a US-based nonprofit, the Syrian Emergency Task Force.
Members of the delegation included Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, a leader in the Syrian community in the US, his son, Henry Hamra, and Rabbi Asher Lopatin, from the Jewish Federation in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
"כולם רוצים להצטלם עם הכיפה שלי": יהודי דמשק חוזרים לסוריה אחרי נפילת אסד ובחסות השלטון החדש. האם היהודים הסורים בארץ יוזמנו גם הם? הכתבה של @kaisos1987 מתוך #חדשותהערב pic.twitter.com/tAjIFwy2V7
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) February 24, 2025
The Kan report shows the delegation embracing Torah scrolls in the al-Franj Synagogue, leafing through shelves of books, greeting crowds of excited schoolchildren on a sidewalk, and praying in a cemetery.
The group also surveyed damaged sites, picking their way through nearby rubble, the footage shows.
“We saw that the people in Syria want Jews to return to Syria,” Lopatin says in an interview with the network.
Trump said to tear up Biden policy that sought to ensure arms not misused by Israel
The Trump administration has reportedly rescinded a policy created during former US president Joe Biden’s administration that could have potentially restricted aid to Israel at the urging of progressive Democrats.
The Washington Post obtained an order signed by US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz on February 21 that rescinds National Security Memorandum-20.
Signed by Biden last year, NSM-20 required all countries that receive weapons from the US to commit in writing that they will not use them to target civilians or restrict humanitarian aid. Such conditions were already in place, but the concept of a written commitment was new as was the memo’s directive for the State Department to report to Congress on the mater.
Biden agreed to sign the memo amid pressure from progressive Democrats who specifically were looking to curb US military assistance to Israel, arguing that it was being used to harm civilians in Gaza.
The State Department report issued several months after the memo avoided reaching a determination that Israel was indeed misusing US security assistance, infuriating the progressive lawmakers behind NSM-20.
Army searching near Dead Sea after footprints found on border
Troops are carrying out searches near the Dead Sea over suspicions of an infiltration attempt from Jordan, the Israel Defense Forces says.
The search was ordered after “soldiers identified footsteps along the border in the Dead Sea area,” the IDF says in a short statement.
Israel says its long border with Jordan, including the Israel-controlled frontier between the Hashemite Kingdom and the West Bank, has seen an uptick in attempts to smuggle weapons or other contraband into the country or the West Bank in recent years. Some of the smuggling attempts have been tied to an Iranian effort to arm West Bank Palestinians.
Hamas ceremonies spurring Trump pressure for Arab plan to push group out — diplomats
The hostage-release ceremonies that Hamas has been holding throughout the first phase of the ceasefire have significantly harmed the terror group’s chances to remain in power in Gaza, two international diplomats tell The Times of Israel.
Hamas has sought to use the ceremonies to demonstrate that it remains in control of the coastal enclave after over 15 months of war with Israel. Israel and others have rejected the displays as “humiliating” and demanded they stop before any more prisoners are released in exchange for hostages.
A senior Arab diplomat and a senior European Union diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity say that the performances have led the Trump administration to massively ratchet up its pressure on its Arab allies to advance a plan for the post-war management of Gaza that sees Hamas removed from power.
“This was something that the Arab states wanted before but were resigned to the fact that it wasn’t possible, given that Israel had tried to defeat Hamas for over a year and couldn’t succeed,” the EU diplomat says.
“Hamas has been sending signals that it is prepared to give up ruling Gaza. Giving up its weapons will be far more difficult, but that is being discussed in the region in recent weeks,” the senior Arab diplomat adds.
Morocco says it foiled major Islamic State plot
Moroccan authorities say they arrested a dozen people this month allegedly planning attacks on behalf of the Islamic State in the Sahel, a region south of the Sahara Desert.
The discovery of the terrorist cell and what authorities called an “imminent dangerous terrorist plot” reflect the expanding ambitions of extremist groups in the region.
Authorities do not provide details of the suspects’ motives or their plot, beyond saying they planned to set off bombs remotely. They release photographs and videos showing officers raiding terrorist cells throughout the country.
#Morocco #Maroc ???????? Anti-terrorist intervention carried out yesterday by the BCIJ Intervention Unit, part of #Moroccan Internal Intelligence???? which allowed to foil a large-scale terrorist attack & arrest of 12 #terrorists who had pledged allegiance to #ISIS #Daech pic.twitter.com/Cppreu3fIh
— ۞ Kingdom of Morocco Armies-جيوش المملكة المغربية (@KOMARMIES) February 20, 2025
The images show weapons stockpiles found during police raids, Islamic State flags drawn on walls, and thousands of dollars of cash.
The revelation of the plot comes days after Morocco hosted Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev for a traffic safety conference. Regev cut her visit short last week after bombs exploded on empty buses near Tel Aviv Thursday.
“Morocco remains a major target in the agenda of all terrorist organizations operating in the Sahel,” Habboub Cherkaoui, the head of Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations, says at a news conference.
Authorities say the Morocco-based cell called itself “the Lions of the Caliphate in the Maghreb” and took direction from Islamic State in the Sahel commanders.
The weapons found include materials to make explosives including nail bombs, dynamite and gas cylinders as well as knives, rifles and handguns whose serial numbers had been filed off.
Investigators say the 12 men arrested ranged from 18 to 40 years old and were apprehended in nine different cities, including Casablanca, Fez and Tangier. The majority were unmarried and had not finished high school. They have not yet been charged under Morocco’s anti-terrorism laws.
Based on materials gathered in raids last week, authorities were able to locate a cache of weapons in the desert near Morocco’s border with Algeria, including firearms and ammunition wrapped in newspapers printed in Mali in late January.