The Times of Israel is liveblogging Sunday’s events as they unfold.
IDF says reservist Uriel Aviad Silberman killed in battle in Gaza over the weekend
The IDF announces the death of a soldier killed during fighting in the southern Gaza Strip over the weekend, bringing the toll of slain troops in the ground offensive against Hamas to 195.
He is named as Sgt. First Class (res.) Uriel Aviad Silberman, 23, of the Kiryati Brigade’s 7421st Battalion, from Nehalim.
Another officer and soldier of the same battalion were seriously wounded in the same battle, the IDF says.
UK chief rabbi: ‘Genocide’ accusations aimed at ‘tearing open’ the wound of the Holocaust
UK Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis charges that the “genocide” accusations against Israel are a “moral inversion” designed to “tear open the still gaping wound of the Holocaust,” and constitute a hijacking of the term to commit “the ultimate demonization of the Jewish state.”
In an opinion piece for The Telegraph written days ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Mirvis says the accusation is “deployed not only to eradicate any notion that Israel has a responsibility to protect its citizens, but also to tear open the still gaping wound of the Holocaust, knowing that it will inflict more pain than any other accusation. It is a moral inversion, which undermines the memory of the worst crimes in human history.”
He adds: “It should be obvious that if Israel’s objectives were genocidal, it could have used its military strength to level Gaza in a matter of days.
“Instead, it is placing the lives of its own soldiers at risk in its ground operations, securing humanitarian corridors and providing civilians with advance notice of its operations, even to the detriment of its military objectives.”
Cop breaks glasses of journalist who recorded his alleged violence at soccer stadium
A journalist is apparently attacked by a police officer, breaking his glasses, after filming a violent altercation between the cop and several soccer fans during a game at Jerusalem’s Teddy Stadium.
The match between Hapoel Jerusalem and Hapoel Beersheba features officers raiding the stands to enforce anti-smoking rules, with footage showing violent clashes and apparent police violence.
Haaretz reporter Chaim Levinson publishes footage showing what he says is an officer in civilian clothing “going wild and beating” fans, before he walks up to the man and asks him if he’s a cop.
The cop then “jumped on me, strangled me so I couldn’t breathe, took my glasses and slammed them against the gate,” breaking them and his cylindrical lenses, which Levinson says are worth NIS 2,000 ($530).
מגיע לטדי באיחור מפגוש את העיתונות. רואה שוטר משתולל על אזרחי משתולל ומרביץ
תראו אותו קירח באמצע נותן אגרופיםמצלם אותו
קופץ עלי
חונק אותי שלא יכלתי לישום
לקח לי את משקפיים והטיח אותם בשערשבר את המשקפיים והעדשות(יש לי צילנדר) 2000 שקל
ומה
באתי לראות כדורגלשתפו
נמאס pic.twitter.com/QhU55XptMI— Chaim Levinson (@chaimlevinson) January 20, 2024
Police say cops were attacked, with one hurt in the eye, and that one fan was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an officer, with three others taken out of the stadium for “wild behavior.”
“Alongside this unacceptable behavior, it turns out that during the incident, one of the fans who was nearby and wasn’t involved in the incident recorded it, and his glasses were broken due to use of force by a police detective toward him,” police say in a statement. “The conduct in this case will be examined and taken care of accordingly.”
ילדים באים למשחק כדי לחוות קצת שקט מהטירוף כאן, ונמחצים בגלל חבורה של ביריונים במדים. מאחל לכל אחד ואחד ממיליציית הבהמות של בן גביר, שבעצם עדיף לא לכתוב מה אני מאחל להם כדי לחסוך דפיקות של הסיקוריטטה בדלת. pic.twitter.com/Gko9zix8cQ
— Yehuda Shohat (@yudash) January 20, 2024
Multiple ballistic missiles, rockets fired at US air base in Iraq, causing injuries
Multiple ballistic missiles and rockets have been launched by Iranian-backed militias in Western Iraq targeting al-Asad air base in Iraq, the United Sates Central Command (CENTCOM) says in a statement.
Most of the missiles were intercepted by the base’s air defense systems while others impacted on the base, the statement adds.
Damage assessments are ongoing, and a number of US personnel are undergoing evaluation for traumatic brain injuries, and at least one Iraqi service member is wounded, the CENTCOM statement says.