May 20, 2021
By BEN SALES
(JTA) — Israel just ended an 11-day military campaign in Gaza. Who was it fighting?
The conflict, which began last week and is ending with a ceasefire overnight on Thursday, wasn’t exactly between Israel and another country. Rather, for the fourth time since 2008, Israel was engaged in a fierce battle with Hamas, the militant Islamist terror group that controls the Gaza Strip.
Is Hamas an army?...
May 20, 2021
(JTA) — After 11 days of fighting, Israel and Hamas agreed to a “mutual and simultaneous” ceasefire on Thursday that is to begin at 2 a.m. Friday Israel time. Minutes after the announcement was made, even more rockets were launched from Gaza.
Israel’s security cabinet unanimously approved the truce, according to reports, after military officials presented what they deemed the successful outcomes of their campaign. A Hamas official confirmed the...
May 20, 2021
By YAAKOV LAPPIN
(JNS.org) – A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is unlikely to take effect before Friday, Israel’s Channel 22 reported on Wednesday, following a situational analysis held by Israeli defense chiefs.
Hamas announced that it was withdrawing from its agreement to observe an Egyptian-mediated calm. Israel reportedly told the Biden administration that international pressure for a truce “strengthens Hamas and delays the ceasefire” after U.S. President Joe Biden...
May 19, 2021
(LOS ANGELES) – Police authorities in West Hollywood have been alerted to at least two separate attacks aimed at Jews from a caravan of black hooded figures driving cars and carrying Palestinian flags. In one of the attacks, diners at a sushi restaurant allegedly were asked which of the diners were Jewish and two who responded were allegedly beaten.
One person, dining outside, was pepper-sprayed during an altercation in which...
May 19, 2021
By CNAAN LIPHSHIZ
(JTA) — Gaza militants continued to fire rockets into Israel, which continued to respond with airstrikes on the coastal strip, as efforts toward a ceasefire progressed on the 10th day of the current round of fighting.
Twelve people in Israel have been killed in the fighting, including two children. In Gaza, the death toll is 219, including 63 children, according to Hamas, the militant group that controls...
May 16, 2021
By GABE FRIEDMAN
(JTA) — Israeli airstrikes killed at least 42 people in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, making it the deadliest day yet in the week of fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Despite the shelling, Hamas continued to fire rockets at Israel throughout Sunday, even as overwhelmed medics pulled people out from the rubble of destroyed buildings throughout Gaza, according to reports. International outcry —...
May 14, 2021
By YAAKOV LAPPIN
(JTA.org) – Shortly after midnight, the Israel Defense Spokesperson Unit sent a vague message: “IDF air and ground troops are currently attacking in the Gaza Strip. More details to follow.”
It was unclear whether the message was referring to the start of a ground offensive against Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or whether ground units were firing on targets on Gaza. Initial reports of a potential Israeli ground...
May 13, 2021
UPDATE: Israel’s announcement of a ground operation in Gaza may have been intended to misdirect Hamas militants. While the Israeli army bombarded Gaza on Thursday, the army later clarified that troops did not enter the territory.
(JTA) — Israel’s army unleashed a wider military attack on Gaza Thursday night, inaugurating a new phase in a conflict that has claimed dozens of lives in the last several days.
The war has...
May 12, 2021
By ALAN SMASON
New Orleans authorities breathed a sigh of relief after a freak EF0 tornado with winds of 85 m.p.h. moved from west to east across the city of New Orleans, but left only damaged homes and cars and downed trees and power lines in its wake.
No injuries or deaths were reported as a result of the storm, which the National Weather Service service said first hit the...
May 12, 2021
By BEN SALES
(JTA) — A video of a crowd of Jewish Israelis beating someone presumed to be an Arab in a Tel Aviv suburb on Wednesday night was broadcast live on Israeli TV as the country erupted in violence between Arabs and Jews.
The incident in the coastal city of Bat Yam, caught by a camera operator for Israeli Channel 11, comes amid the deadly rocket fire between Israel...
