The Times of Israel is liveblogging Saturday’s events as they happen.
Rocket fire from Lebanon sets off sirens in communities across central Israel
Warning sirens are heard in the Tel Aviv suburb of Herzliya and other communities across central Israel, with the military saying the alerts were triggered by the firing of projectiles from Lebanon.
Trump appears in Michigan with Arab supporter who claims ‘Palestine is being erased’
Donald Trump meets with Arab Americans in Dearborn, Michigan — America’s largest Arab-majority city — as the Republican presidential nominee works to court the potentially decisive group amid discontent over the Biden administration’s support for Israel.
Trump is greeted with cheers and applause from a modest crowd at The Great Commoner restaurant in one of his campaign’s final attempts to garner support in the key battleground state.
Metro Detroit is home to the nation’s largest concentration of Arab Americans, with a large chunk of them living in Dearborn. The city — which Democrat Joe Biden won by a 3-to-1 margin in 2020 — has been roiled by political turmoil, with many upset with the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
Democrats worry that anger over the war will lead traditionally loyal voters to shift their votes to Trump or third-party candidates like Jill Stein — or skip the top of the ballot altogether. This could prove pivotal in Michigan, a state both parties see as a toss-up.
The meeting with Arab supporters follows Trump’s rally in Michigan last week, when he brought local Muslims up onstage with him. Trump has also received endorsements from two Democratic mayors of Muslim-majority cities.
“It is time to prioritize our nation’s best interests and foster lasting peace for all,” Albert Abbas, an Arab American, says while standing next to Trump. “This current administration has failed miserably in all aspects of humanity.”
He continues: “We look to a Trump presidency with hope and envisioning a time where peace flourishes, particularly in Lebanon and Palestine.”
“I can’t stand in silence while Palestine is being erased. Please help us stop the bloodshed. No amount of money and power should be prioritized over human life.”
Trump also delivers remarks, saying, “I know from many Lebanon and we have to get this whole thing over with. We want to have a peace. We want to have peace on earth, all over, all over. And these are wonderful people, and I very much appreciate it.”
זאת סצינה שחובה לראות. טראמפ בביקור מפתיע בעיר הערבית דירבורן. לצידו גורם בקהילה שאומר: ״מחכים לנשיאות של טראמפ. אנחנו לא יכולים לעמוד בשקט כשפלסטין נמחקת. תעזור לנו לעצור את שפיכות הדמים״. בקמפיין טראמפ יודעים בדיוק מי מדבר ומה יגיד. הקטע כתוב על דף. pic.twitter.com/EMp1SQjXqH
— Neria Kraus (@NeriaKraus) November 1, 2024
Lebanon says 52 killed in Israeli strikes in country’s east
Lebanon’s health ministry says 52 people had been killed in Israeli strikes today in the country’s east, attacks for which the Israeli army had not issued evacuation warnings.
Without differentiating between civilians and combatants, the ministry reports “52 people killed and 72 wounded in an updated toll of today’s Israeli enemy strikes on the Baalbek-Hermel region.”
Twelve of the victims were killed in the village of Amhaz, it said, while nine others were killed in Yunin and eight in Bednayel.
Israel has been targeting Hezbollah sites throughout Lebanon in response to the terror group’s near-daily attacks against Israel since October 8, 2023.
Reported Israeli strike near Lebanon-Syria border forces crossing closure after partial reopening
Lebanon’s Transport Minister Ali Hamieh says an Israeli strike near a border crossing between northeast Lebanon and Syria forced the crossing to shut after it had been partly reopened.
The strike hit the same location within Syria, just past the Syrian border installation, as an Israeli bombardment last month closed the crossing, Hamieh says. It had been partly reopened for cars but not trucks and was now closed again.