The Times of Israel is liveblogging Friday’s events as they happen.
Palestinians in Gaza report loud explosions in apparent IDF airstrike near Khan Younis
Palestinians are reporting loud explosions from an apparent IDF airstrike in the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza.
Unverified videos shared on social media show a large flash and a large explosion, while the surrounding area is dark.
Palestinians are fleeing to the Israel-designated humanitarian zone in the al-Mawasi area, according to posts on social media.
בעזה מדווחים: צה"ל תוקף באזור ח'אן יונס ובעקבות קולות הפיצוצים – העזתים מתפנים גם הלילה לאזור ההומניטרי pic.twitter.com/8YLb2XuU6b
— ספיר ליפקין | Sapir Lipkin | سابير ليبكين (@sapirlipkin) August 22, 2024
Released hostage refuses to meet Netanyahu for ‘photography and PR’ meeting while 109 still held in Gaza
A hostage who was released by Hamas in a week-long truce in November after five weeks in captivity declines Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s invitation to a meeting tomorrow, which she claims is for “photography and public relations purposes.”
“Thank you for the invitation, but I will not take part in the meeting for photography and public relations purposes while my friends are languishing in the Hamas tunnels in Gaza,” Margalit Moses, 78, writes in a public statement.
Moses was kidnapped by terrorists from her home on Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 along with her ex-husband and close neighbor Gadi Moshe Moses, 79, who remains in captivity in Gaza. She was released on November 24 as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the US between Hamas and Israel.
“I saw them alive in captivity with my own eyes, and now due to the second abandonment since October 7, we get them back in coffins,” she writes, referring to the IDF’s extraction from Gaza this week of the bodies of six hostages who were killed in captivity.
“In light of the reports of another [hostage-ceasefire] deal being thwarted on your part to release the abductees, I see no reason to come to a meeting with someone who proves by his actions that releasing the hostages is not top of mind and abandons them to their deaths,” she says, adding that she would be happy to “meet you at the reception for the 109 abductees upon their return to their families.”
Saudi normalization deal off the table for now, but possible during lame-duck period — Israeli official
An Israel-Saudi normalization agreement is not possible before the November presidential election, but could still be inked during the lame-duck period between November and January, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.
The official argues that it will be too difficult before the election for both parties in Congress to authorize the US-Saudi bilateral security pact that Riyadh is seeking in parallel to the normalization.
“After the election, it’ll be easier for both parties. There will be a better chance that Biden will bring the support of a Democratic majority, and the Republican side will also support the [US-Saudi bilateral security pact] because of the normalization component,” the Israeli official maintains.
Israeli diplomat hails platform adopted by DNC, decision not to platform Palestinian representative
CHICAGO — An Israeli diplomat at the Democratic National Convention hails the platform adopted by the party this week along with organizers’ decision not to offer a speaker slot to a representative of the Palestinian-American community.
“There was a lot of concern and many warnings issued about how the more progressive, anti-Israel voices within the party would be strongly represented both in the protests outside and inside the convention hall and that they would succeed in influencing the Democratic Party’s platform. Until now that has not happened,” says the Israeli diplomat in a briefing with reporters on the sidelines of the DNC.
“The organizers of the convention intelligently made an effort not to listen to cave to these voices,” the diplomat says.
“Until now, the convention has projected unity, rather than division on these issues, which also aren’t central to the agenda here,” the official says, acknowledging that there is still one more night of programming left.
“We were told about 100,000 people coming here to protest, but only 5,000 — 10,000 people tops ultimately showed up,” the Israeli diplomat says, adding that the demonstrators did not manage to disrupt the convention.
The official highlights the “warm and supportive reception” Democratic delegates gave American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s parents when they spoke last night at the convention.
A super moving moment at the DNC tonight when the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin who is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza started their speech. Tens of thousands of people started chanting "bring them home" pic.twitter.com/Qtr9O0kQDE
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) August 22, 2024
“All of the efforts by the anti-Israel camp to include a speaker who would ‘balance’ things did not succeed until now, and a speaker of this kind hasn’t been platformed until now. This was a smart decision by the convention organizers.” the Israeli diplomat says.
The diplomat characterizes the Israel section of the platform adopted by the DNC as “very positive.”
The platform touts an “ironclad” commitment to Israel’s security and support for a two-state solution.