The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they happen.
Several anti-Israel protesters detained after breaking through police fence near DNC
CHICAGO — Protesters break through a fence set up by police near the site of the Democratic National Convention on its opening day Monday as thousands took to the streets to voice their opposition to Israel over the war with Hamasin Gaza.
As the larger group marches, a few dozen who broke away tear down pieces of the security fence. Some protesters, dressed in black with their faces covered, drag pieces of the fence back to a park near the United Center, where the convention is being held.
Members of the crowd chant “End the occupation now” and then “The whole world is watching!” just as anti-Vietnam War protesters did during the infamous 1968 convention in Chicago when police clashed with protesters on live television. Officers put on gas masks as some protesters try to bring down a second fence set up in front of police.
The march happens just as US President Joe Biden, who has been the target of intense criticism from pro-Palestinian groups, including the marchers, is doing a walk-through of the largely empty United Center. Biden is scheduled to address the party in the evening.
“Biden, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide,” the marchers chant amid the beating of drums. They also refer to him as “Genocide Joe” and lodge similar chants at Vice President Kamala Harris.
The group that separated from the larger march is later removed from a restricted area by police, including those led by Superintendent Larry Snelling.
Police wearing helmets with masks attached form a line along a fence, which still has several panels missing, as some activists shout at them. Several protesters who managed to get through the fence are detained and handcuffed by the police.
Sinwar has always been involved in ceasefire talks, says Hamas official
Hamas’s new chief Yahya Sinwar has always been part of the decision making process in the Gaza ceasefire talks, the terror group’s senior official Osama Hamdan says.
“Due to security conditions, communication with Sinwar has tools and mechanisms in place yet they are operating smoothly,” Hamdan adds in an interview with Reuters.
Former US envoy: Harris ‘only hope’ for convincing young Americans to support Israel
CHICAGO — Former US ambassador to Israel Tom Nides tells The Times of Israel that Vice President Kamala Harris can do a better job than President Joe Biden could in convincing young Americans to support Israel.
“If we have any hope whatsoever to convince the next generation to understand the importance of supporting the State of Israel, [it is] people like Kamala Harris standing up and saying to kids under 30, ‘The State of Israel needs to be supported and this fight is not with the Palestinian people,’ Nides says in an interview on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
“She’s not Joe Biden for all the apparent reasons. She’s an African American, Indian woman who is saying, ‘It’s good to support the security of the State of Israel. She’s a different voice, and if we hope to have a bridge the future, we’ve got to have these voices,” Nides says.
“This is not about being critical of President Biden. There’s been no more pro-Israel president than Joe Biden. But we’re now talking about passing the torch to a much different generation,” he continues.
Nides acknowledges that young Americans are increasingly moving away from supporting Israel.
“We should all recognize that we’re in a very deep hole. It’s her face and her positions on the State of Israel that are the only hope we have for turning kids under 30 back in support of the State of Israel,” Nides says separately during an event organized by the Jewish Democratic Council of America.
US intelligence community formally blames Iran for hack of Trump campaign
WASHINGTON — The US intelligence community says that Iran is to blame for the hack of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
The joint statement from the FBI and other federal agencies is the first formal attribution of the hack to a foreign entity, though the Trump campaign had previously said Iran was responsible.
Senior Hamas figure hits out at Blinken for saying Netanyahu endorses new proposal
Hamas senior official Osama Hamdan criticizes US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s statement Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted an updated proposal, saying it “raises many ambiguities” because it’s “not what was presented to us nor what we agreed on.”
Hamdan told Reuters that Hamas has already confirmed to mediators that “we don’t need new Gaza ceasefire negotiations, we need to agree on an implementation mechanism.”
IDF says rocket sirens in northern moshav were activated in false alarm
The military says that the rocket sirens that sounded in Dovev over 10 minutes ago were a false alarm.
Rocket sirens activated in moshav near Lebanon border
Incoming rocket sirens sound in Dovev, a moshav close to the Lebanon border.
Sinwar believes latest round of talks ‘a bluff,’ is seeking to expand conflict beyond Gaza — WSJ
Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar believes the latest round of hostage-ceasefire negotiations are “a bluff” meant to grant Israel further time to continue its military offensive against the Gaza-ruling terror group, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing Arab mediators.
The mediators say that Sinwar is seeking to intensify pressure on Israel by expanding the conflict beyond Gaza, including by launching attacks from the West Bank.
The comments are included in a report on the attempted suicide bombing in Tel Aviv claimed by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, with Hebrew media outlets identifying the attacker as a Palestinian from the West Bank.