The Times of Israel is liveblogging Saturday’s events as they happen.
CENTCOM says 4 Islamic State leaders recently killed in joint US-Iraqi raid
Four Islamic State group leaders were killed in a joint US-Iraqi raid in western Iraq last month, including the head of the jihadist organization’s operations in the country, CENTCOM says.
“This operation targeted ISIS leaders and served to disrupt and degrade ISIS’ ability to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians,” CENTCOM says in a statement on X.
Biden and UK’s Starmer express concern about Iran providing Russia with weapons
US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed concern during a meeting on Friday about Iran and North Korea providing lethal weapons to Russia amid its ongoing war with Ukraine, according to a White House readout.
IDF says 5 rockets fired from Lebanon at Safed area, with all intercepted or landing in open
After warning sirens sounded in the Upper Galilee city of Safed and nearby communities, the IDF says a salvo of five rockets was fired from Lebanon toward the area.
According to the IDF, some of the rockets were intercepted and the rest fell in open areas.
There are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
Rocket sirens sound in Safed and neighboring towns for second night in a row
For the second night in a row, incoming rocket sirens are activated in northern city of Safed and several other nearby communities.
UK’s Jewish Chronicle removes stories by writer accused of fabrications about Gaza war
In a statement posted online Friday night, the Jewish Chronicle announces that it has wrapped up “a thorough investigation” into Elon Perry, a freelance writer alleged to have fabricated claims relating to the Gaza war between Israel and Hamas.
Perry also faced questions about his biography, including his claims to have served as a commando soldier during Operation Entebbe and that he was a professor at Tel Aviv University for 15 years.
“While we understand he did serve in the Israel Defense Forces, we were not satisfied with some of his claims,” says the Jewish Chronicle, without further elaborating. “We have therefore removed his stories from our website and ended any association with Mr Perry.”
“The Jewish Chronicle maintains the highest journalistic standards in a highly contested information landscape and we deeply regret the chain of events that led to this point. We apologize to our loyal readers and have reviewed our internal processes so that this will not be repeated.”
The British newspaper launched the investigation after publishing an article by Perry this month in which he alleged a document had been uncovered in Gaza proving that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was planning to smuggle himself and some of the remaining Israeli hostages kidnapped on October 7, out of Gaza via the Philadelphi Corridor and from there to Iran.
However, the Israel Defense Forces said it was unaware of any such document actually existing, and as the claim was similar to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent talking points, some have speculated that false information was being distributed as part of a disinformation campaign.
IDF says UNRWA worker killed in West Bank raid was throwing explosives at troops
The IDF says that a worker for the UN agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) who was killed in a West Bank raid was throwing explosives at troops and was a known terror operative.
Earlier, UNRWA said that one of their employees was “shot and killed on the roof of his home by a sniper,” and that it was “the first time a UNRWA staff member has been killed in the West Bank in more than 10 years.”
The incident took place in the Far’a camp in the northern West Bank. It identified the slain employee as Sufyan Jaber Abed Jawwad, who “worked as a sanitation laborer” in the camp.
In an English language statement, IDF spokesperson Nadav Shoshani accuses UNRWA of “not telling the full story.”
Shoshani says that during an IDF operation in Far’a a terrorist was identified hurling explosive devices that posed a threat to the forces operating in the area. IDF troops opened fire toward him to remove said threat, and he was killed.
“The terrorist was subsequently identified and it was discovered he is also an UNRWA employee named Sufyan Jaber Abed Jawwad. It should be noted that after receiving his details, it was found that the terrorist was known to Israeli security forces and he had been complicit in additional terrorist activities,” Shoshani says.
“This is yet another example of an UNRWA employee taking active part in terrorist activities against Israel, as has been proven in several other cases in the past, including employees who participated in the Oct. 7 massacre,” he says.