Latest news with #IsraeliForeignMinistry
Bloomberg
5 days ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Israel Announces Humanitarian ‘Pause' Amid Starvation Reports
The Israeli foreign ministry announced late Saturday that it would implement a 'humanitarian pause' in civilian areas to allow food and other aid to get to civilians in Gaza. The statement did not say when the corridors, which would allow United Nations convoys to reach people, would open or where. The Israeli Defense Forces said in a post on X that airdrops of aid would also resume.
Al Jazeera
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Israel to fund tour for MAGA and pro-Trump influencers: Report
The Israeli foreign ministry will fund a tour of the country by right-wing social media influencers from the United States, says a report. Israeli newspaper Haaretz on Sunday reported that the planned tour will feature 16 influencers, all under the age of 30, who support US President Donald Trump's MAGA (Make America Great Again) and America First campaigns. The influencers each have hundreds of thousands to millions of followers. They will be flown in to counter what the Israeli government sees as declining support for Israel among young Americans, the report said, without citing any date. 'With the rise of the America First movement and MAGA in American politics, it's essential for Israel that the movement adopt a pro-Israel position,' Yacov Livne, senior deputy director of the Israeli Foreign Ministry's Department of Public Diplomacy, was quoted as saying in the report. The Israeli foreign ministry aims to bring 550 influencer delegations to Israel by the end of the year through such tours, it said. '[While] older Republicans and American conservatives still hold pro-Israel views, positive perspectives towards Israel are falling across all younger age groups,' it said, according to the report. The influencers will be pushed to share messaging that aligns with Israeli policy regarding the Palestinians. 'We are working with influencers, sometimes with delegations of influencers,' an unnamed source from the ministry told Haaretz. 'Their networks have huge followings and their messages are more effective than if they came directly from the ministry.' The tour will be carried out through an organisation called Israel365, which is in a 'unique position to convey a pro-Israel stance that aligns entirely with the MAGA and America First agenda', Haaretz quoted the foreign ministry as saying. Israel365 promotes support for Israel, specifically among Christians, based on biblical principles. Its website says the group 'stands unapologetically for the Jewish people's God-given right to the entire Land of Israel'. The organisation also rejects a two‑state solution as a 'delusion' and describes its mission as defending 'Western civilization against threats from both Progressive Left extremism and global jihad'. The ministry said it has struck a 290,000-shekel ($86,000) deal to carry out the tour, Haaretz reported. Since the war on Gaza began in October 2023, Israel365 'deepened ties with MAGA and America First movements, appearing at their major events and helping recruit prominent conservative figures to visit Israel', the report added.
The Sun
29-06-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Iran was building warheads ‘capable of blitzing London' as twisted regime raced to have world's biggest missile arsenal
IRAN'S twisted regime was attempting to produce a terrifying two-tonne warhead which could obliterate London, Israel has warned. Tehran was said to be trying to build up the world's biggest ballistic missile arsenal to help them launch a global tirade of destruction, according to the Israeli foreign ministry. 7 7 7 Officials in Tel Aviv said they successfully thwarted Iran's plan to become the largest ballistic missile producer on the planet in tactical airstrikes alongside Donald Trump on June 13. The US struck Iran's nuclear programme and hit key nuke sites which were ordered by Trump who said they had "obliterated" the targets. But Israeli officials, who helped to orchestrate the "bunker buster" bombs with the US, have now revealed they also had a second objective in the weekend strikes. Oren Marmorstein, a spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry said: "We actually acted because of two existential threats. "One was nuclear, and we acted when we did because Iran was at the 11th hour of being able to build a bomb. But the other was the ballistic threat." Tehran already boasted a concerning number of ballistic weapons prior to the conflict with US intelligence saying they had around 3,000 at their disposal. The latest Israeli intelligence though had pointed towards a much more dire figure emerging if Iran wasn't stopped. They claimed the regime was actively working on increasing production to over 20,000 ballistic missiles. Some even had a payload of one or two tonnes, Marmorstein said. The spokesman detailed the destruction which one missile could cause saying just last week, prior to the agreed ceasefire, four people were killed in the southern Israeli town of Beersheba in a missile strike. Inside Op Red Wedding – Israel's fierce wave of assassinations killing 30 Iran generals in first MINUTES of 12-day war "Imagine if Tehran sent 10,000 of those," Marmorstein added. "That threat was as existential to us as a nuclear bomb. "They were moving into industrial scale and about to become the number one ballistic missile producer in the world. "Some of these are intercontinental, which are not for us." He claimed these would have been able to reach into Europe with capitals such as London, Berlin and Paris all at risk. "They were getting closer and closer, almost to the point of no return," Marmorstein said. Israel managed to wipe out dozens of missiles with more than half of their 300 missile-launchers also destroyed. A strike also targeted the military facility in Yazd which houses Iran's heaviest missile, known as the Khorramshahr. 7 7 7 The weapon is regarded as a copy of a North Korean missile carrying a two-ton warhead. The war in the Middle East lasted just 12 days as it quickly turned into a major conflict when Trump decided to strike the Iranian nuclear sites. The attacks helped to end the war with both Israel and Iran quickly declaring they had won the fight - despite Iran suffering a major blow to their nuclear capabilities. Despite a ceasefire being agreed, Trump has said he would "absolutely" consider bombing Iran again if it was ever needed. He told reporters in the White House he would "without question" attack the country if US intelligence pointed towards Iran enriching uranium to concerning levels. It comes as Iran held a funeral for the commanders wiped out in the war. The event was severely plagued by "Death to America" chants and the burning of Israeli flags across the day. By Chief Foreign Reporter, Katie Davis BRITAIN will never be safe until Iran's nuclear scheme is completely wiped out, Israel's ambassador told The Sun. Tzipi Hotovely said Israel did the UK a "huge service" by wiping out the rogue state's efforts to create a nuke weapon. The diplomat said: "The Israeli people know they're facing a very radical enemy like the British people were fighting in the Second World War and that they must get to the point where it's being defeated. The Iranians have proven they have no interest in diplomacy. They were just using diplomacy to keep on running their nuclear programme. "And President Trump kind of lost patience with this type of behaviour. He said it clearly, I don't want Iran to have nuclear weapons. "We gave a chance to diplomacy. We backed up the American diplomatic plan - 60 days expired. "They didn't come to the table. That's what the Prime Minister said, they want to blow up the table, not to sit next to it. "And we are now certain that once this military operation is over, the world, the Middle East, Israel, Europe, everyone will have a safer world. "This is a war to end wars, not to begin wars." 7
Forbes
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Forbes
These Patriot Missiles Are Israel's Trash And Ukraine's Treasure
A Patriot missile launcher is pictured during the "Blue Flag" multinational air defense exercise at ... More the Ovda air force base, north of the Israeli city of Eilat, on November 8, 2017. (JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images) MIM-104 Patriot missile air defense missiles previously in Israel's inventory may have reached Ukraine. Kyiv doubtlessly welcomes with open arms any help it can get bolstering its beleaguered air defenses, especially as it faces its heaviest missile and drone bombardments of the war. In Israel's case, its history with the Patriots suggests it's probably more than happy to dispense with them. In an interview published on June 8, Israel's ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky, said that ex-Israeli Patriot systems are now in Ukrainian service. 'These are Israeli Patriots that were in service in the early 1990s. We agreed to transfer them to Ukraine,' Brodsky said. 'Unfortunately, not much was said about this… when people claim that Israel didn't provide military aid, that's simply not true.' The Israeli Foreign Ministry swiftly denied Brodsky's comment, stating, 'It is not correct. Israel did not transfer Patriot systems to Ukraine.' From the moment Israel decided to retire its Patriots in 2024, it was clear that Ukraine hoped it would receive at least some of them. By then, Kyiv had received some Patriot systems and already succeeded in shooting down some of Russia's most advanced missiles and aircraft. The Israeli denial was noteworthy in light of a year's worth of reports indicating the contrary. The Wall Street Journal reported in June 2024 that the U.S. and Israel were nearing an agreement to transfer up to eight Patriot systems from Israel's inventory to Ukraine, a move it correctly noted would 'dramatically increase' Ukrainian air defenses. Axios reported in January that the U.S. military had transferred approximately 90 Patriot interceptor missiles from Israel to Poland en route to Ukraine. Furthermore, the New York Times reported in May that an Israel-based Patriot system would be sent to Ukraine following refurbishment. Israel may not want to acknowledge a transfer. The wording of the denial specifies it did not send systems but doesn't mention the interceptor missiles, which Ukraine could fire from its existing Patriot batteries. Consequently, Israel could truthfully say that it gave Ukraine the bullets but not the gun. According to that Axios report, Israel reassured Russia it was 'only returning' a Patriot system to the U.S., not transferring it to Ukraine. A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an Israeli Patriot was returned to the U.S. but also clarified that 'it is not known to us whether it was delivered to Ukraine.' Israel's official denial may indicate it doesn't want any credit for helping beef up Ukrainian air defenses to avoid antagonizing Russia, which recently wanted to stay in Syria to counterbalance Turkey. When Russia's ally Bashar al-Assad was still in power, the Russian military was in a much more powerful strategic position in Syria than today. During those years, Israel invariably said it did not want to risk antagonizing Moscow, with which it had a deconfliction mechanism in Syria permitting it to bomb Iran-linked targets throughout the country, by supplying Ukraine with lethal weapons. It even refused an American request for vintage Hawk missiles it had retired long ago. Now, Israel may be happy to dispense with its Patriots without acknowledgment. Israel noticeably did not use any Patriots during Iran's April and October 2024 missile attacks and the more recent Iranian bombardments that began on June 13, after Israel's Operation Rising Lion against Iran. That's not surprising, considering Israel's Arrow and David's Sling systems are more suitable for intercepting ballistic missiles compared to its older Patriot PAC-2s. Furthermore, Israel's experience during its first major missile attack—during the Persian Gulf War all the way back in 1991—fostered a long-running distaste for the system. America rushed Patriot systems to Israel ahead of that war to help defend against Saddam Hussein's Scud missiles. Washington feared an Israeli retaliation would splinter the coalition, which included many Arab states it had carefully united around the goal of ejecting Iraq from Kuwait. While over 40 Scud missiles hit Tel Aviv and Haifa during the war, an agitated Israel sat tight. Adding insult to injury was the inability of the Patriot interceptors to counter the overwhelming majority of the Scuds, despite widespread reports of its efficiency at the time. The Israeli Air Force concluded after the war that there was 'no evidence of a single successful intercept' with 'circumstantial evidence for one possible intercept' at best. Defense Minister Moshe Arens recalled after the war that the number of Scuds intercepted was 'minuscule and is in fact meaningless.' With some conspicuous exceptions, the Israeli Patriots spent the intervening decades, in the words of one Israeli news outlet, 'mostly gathering dust' and never scoring any intercepts until it shot down a Hamas drone during the 2014 Gaza war. Israeli Patriots saw rare combat in the summer of 2014, just under a quarter century after entering service, when they shot down Hamas drones from Gaza and a Su-24 bomber over the Golan Heights. However, by then, Israel had the Iron Dome in service, and its David's Sling was just three years away from becoming operational. The older Patriots' days in Israeli service were numbered. But its combat-proven efficiencies against drones and Russian-built aircraft in 2014 show, in retrospect, how suited it is for Ukraine at the moment. Since Kyiv launched its daring Spider's Web operation against Russia's strategic bombers on June 1, it has faced no fewer than 1,451 drones from Russia against its cities. Kyiv needs all the help it can get. And even some extra PAC-2s for its existing systems from Israel would go a long way in keeping its critical air defenses online. Given Ukraine's present need and Israel's historical dislike of them, one could hardly find a more clear-cut example of the saying one man's trash is another man's treasure.
Japan Times
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Israeli forces seize Gaza-bound aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg
Israeli naval forces boarded and seized a charity vessel carrying Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, which had tried to break the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip on Monday. The British-flagged yacht, Madleen, which is operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition, had aimed to deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Gaza later on Monday and raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis there. "If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters by Israeli occupational forces or forces that support Israel," Thunberg, 22, said in a video released by the FFC, filmed before the vessel was captured. "I urge all my friends, family and comrades to put pressure on the Swedish government to release me and the others as soon as possible." U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday dismissed Thunberg's statement that she had been kidnapped: "I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg." "She's a young, angry person ... I think she has to go to an anger management class," Trump told reporters. He made a similar remark about the then 16-year-old activist in 2019. The Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed that the vessel was under Israeli control. Israel has called Thunberg an "antisemite" and dismissed the aid ship as a stunt. "The 'Selfie Yacht' docked at Ashdod Port a short while ago. The passengers are currently undergoing medical examinations to ensure they are in good health," the Israeli Foreign Ministry posted on X late on Monday. It had earlier said all passengers were expected to return to their home countries. Rima Hassan, a French member of the European parliament who was also on board, posted on X that the crew had been "arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2 a.m." A photograph showed the crew seated on the boat, all wearing life jackets, with their hands in the air. Israel's foreign ministry later distributed a photo showing Thunberg in a green hat and orange life vest, smiling while a soldier held out a sandwich. The aid boat Madleen is escorted by an Israeli military boat approaching the southern port of Ashdod on Monday. | AFP-JIJI The yacht is carrying a small shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula. The Foreign Ministry said it would be taken to Gaza. "The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels," it wrote. The Swedish foreign ministry said it was in contact with Israeli authorities. "Should the need for consular support arise, the Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will assess how we can best help the Swedish citizen/Greta Thunberg resolve her situation," a Swedish Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a written statement. French President Emmanuel Macron's office said the president has asked Israeli authorities to release the French nationals on board as soon as possible. The French and Spanish foreign ministries said they had requested consular protection for their citizens aboard. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the military on Sunday to prevent the Madleen from reaching Gaza, calling the mission a propaganda effort in support of Hamas. Katz said he had instructed that upon the boat's arrival at Ashdod port, the activists would be shown videos of atrocities committed during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that triggered the war. In that attack, more than 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage, by Israeli tallies. Hamas condemned the seizure of the boat as "state terrorism" and said it salutes its activists. Israel has imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, saying it aims to stop weapons from reaching the militant group. The blockade has remained in place through conflicts including the war. Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza, and destroyed most of the homes of its 2.3 million residents. At the start of March this year, Israel also sealed off Gaza by land, letting no supplies in for three months, arguing that Hamas was diverting aid. Over the past two weeks, it has let in some food to be distributed by an Israeli-backed group. Scores of hungry Palestinians have been killed trying to reach it. The United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has supported the FFC operation and on Sunday, urged other boats to challenge the Gaza blockade. "Madleen's journey may have ended, but the mission isn't over. Every Mediterranean port must send boats with aid & solidarity to Gaza," she wrote on X.
