The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s events as they happen.
IDF says Arab al-Aramshe rocket siren was false alarm
The rocket warning siren that sounded in Arab al-Aramshe a short while ago is determined by the IDF to have been a false alarm.
Rocket warning sirens sound in Western Galilee’s Arab al-Aramshe
Rocket warning sirens sound in the village of Arab al-Aramshe in the Western Galilee, close to the border with Lebanon.
US urges protection of Palestinian civilians protected amid IDF counter-terror op in West Bank
By Jacob Magid
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration urges Israel to “to take all feasible measures to protect civilian lives in the West Bank” in its first response to the IDF counter-terrorism operation in the territory.
“We recognize Israel’s very real security needs, which includes countering terrorist activity in the West Bank,” says a statement from a State Department spokesperson to The Times of Israel.
“At the same time, we continue to insist that Israeli authorities take measures to protect all civilians from harm,” the statement continues.
“We also remain deeply concerned about maintaining stability in the West Bank and continue to urge Israel to take all feasible measures to protect civilian lives in the West Bank – just as we urge them to do in Gaza,” it adds.
UN’s Guterres calls for IDF to cease military operations in the West Bank after counterterrorism op
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres speaks during a UN Security Council meeting on the impacts of cyber threats on international peace and security at UN headquarters on June 20, 2024, in New York. (Yuki Iwamura/AFP)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls on Israel to cease its military operations in the West Bank after the Israel Defense Forces said it had launched a large-scale counterterrorism operation on Wednesday in which at least 11 Palestinians were killed.
In a statement contributed to Guterres, his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric says the secretary-general is “deeply concerned” by the latest developments in the West Bank, and “strongly condemns the loss of lives, including of children.”
The IDF had said earlier that two Palestinian gunmen were killed during clashes with Border Police officers in Jenin, and another three in a drone strike in a nearby village. Four more Palestinian gunmen, who “endangered forces” carrying out a raid, were said by the military to have been killed in a drone strike in Far’a.
Palestinian media reported that another man was shot dead in Kafr Dan near Jenin, while another was killed in Nur Shams, bringing the day’s toll to 11, although the IDF did not immediately comment on the latest two deaths.
Guterres “calls on Israel to comply with its relevant obligations under international humanitarian law and to take measures to protect civilians and ensure their safety,” the statement continues. “He urges security forces to exercise maximum restraint and use lethal force only when it is strictly unavoidable to protect life.”
“These dangerous developments are fueling an already explosive situation in the occupied West Bank and further undermining the Palestinian Authority.”
The statement continues: “Ultimately, only an end to the occupation and a return to a meaningful political process that will establish a two-state solution will bring an end to the violence.”
“The United Nations will continue to work with all parties towards this end, to seek a de-escalation of the current situation and promote stability in the region,” it adds.
Guatemala probes child abuse claims against extremist Jewish sect Lev Tahor
By AFP
Illustrative — Lev Tahor women and girls in Canada (Screen grab/YouTube)
Guatemalan authorities are investigating allegations of child abuse within a Jewish sect that also faces accusations of forced marriages and adolescent pregnancies, an official says.
Officials tried to check the condition of the minors on Friday with a court order, but members of the Lev Tahor community restricted access to their farm in Oratorio, southwest of Guatemala City, authorities say.
“We’re very concerned about the situation within the community,” Lucrecia Prera, a lawyer representing the state in child and adolescent issues, tells AFP.
“There are reports that there are (forced) marriages, that there are pregnant girls, that there is abuse within the community,” she says.
One foreign teenager allegedly forced to marry at the age of 13 asked for help this year to return home, Prera says.
Members of the Lev Tahor sect, who settled in Guatemala in 2013, practice an extreme, fundamentalist form of ultra-Orthodox Judaism, in which women are required to wear black tunics covering them from head to toe.
Following a court hearing on Friday, Lev Tahor accused authorities on social media of carrying out “a reprehensible campaign of persecution against our community, motivated solely by religious intolerance and discrimination.”
It also accused Israel of involvement in “instigating these actions.”
Authorities estimate that around 100 minors live in the community, which is made up of roughly 50 families from Guatemala, the United States, Canada and other countries.
Although a judge was allowed to enter the premises on Friday and observe 29 children, “we cannot be certain whether the allegations (of abuse) are true or false, since we have not been allowed to carry out our work properly,” Prera says.
She denies the investigation amounted to persecution.
“It’s very important that people know that it’s not political persecution, it’s not religious persecution. What we are seeking is to ensure the comprehensive protection of the rights of children and adolescents within the community,” Prera says.
One dead, 10 injured in gas leak at Iran’s Revolutionary Guards facility in Isfahan
By Reuters
One person died and 10 were injured due to a gas leak at an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps facility in Isfahan, Iran the force says in a statement.
Iranian state media, quoting the statement says: “The incident took place in a workshop at one of the Guards’ centers in the (central) Isfahan province.”
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