The Times of Israel is liveblogging Friday’s events as they happen.
US military says it killed senior member of al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria airstrike
The US military says it killed a senior operative of an al-Qaeda-affiliated group in an airstrike in northwest Syria on Thursday.
The airstrike, part of an ongoing effort to disrupt and degrade terrorist groups in the region, resulted in the death of Muhammad Salah al-Za’bir of the Hurras al-Din group, the US Central Command says in a statement.
IDF says troops shot 2 suspects hurling firebombs at West Bank highway
The Israel Defense Forces says that troops opened fire on a pair of suspects in the Palestinian village of al-Khader throwing firebombs toward the West Bank’s main highway.
“The soldiers fired toward the terrorists… and hits were identified,” according to a military statement, who says the suspects were spotted by members of the 636th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit who were on a stakeout.
No one was injured by the Molotov cocktails hurled at Route 60, the statement adds.
Palestinians say 2 killed by Israeli fire in Jenin
Two Palestinian men were killed by Israeli fire in Jenin in the northern West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry says.
The two are named by official Palestinian mouthpiece Wafa as Yazam al-Hassan and Amir Abu Hassan. It is not immediately clear if either were affiliated with any terror groups.
The killings raise the death toll from a major Israeli anti-terror offensive in the area to 19, according to Wafa.
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces says the reports are being checked.
‘They’re gonna do it, okay’: Trump obdurate on Jordan, Egypt taking in Gazans
US President Donald Trump insists that Jordan and Egypt will support a proposal to resettle Palestinians in their countries rather than in a rebuilt Gaza, despite flat refusals from both countries to consider the move.
“They will do it. They will do it. They’re gonna do it, okay? We do a lot for them, and they’re gonna do it,” Trump says when asked about the proposal during a photo op in the Oval Office.
Both Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi and Jordan’s King Abdullah explicitly rejected the proposal on Wednesday.
“Regarding what is being said about the displacement of Palestinians, it can never be tolerated or allowed because of its impact on Egyptian national security,” Sissi said.
Trump said earlier this week that the issue would be discussed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he travels to Washington next week.