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Ya Libnan
2 days ago
- Politics
- Ya Libnan
Israeli police strip-searched 3 women arrested during a protest in Tel-Aviv
Protestors block a road during an anti-government rally calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack in Tel Aviv on August 12, 2025. (Jack GUEZ / AFP) Police strip-searched three female protesters after their arrest Thursday night at a Tel Aviv demonstration demanding a Gaza hostage deal, according to a Friday report. The women were arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct, Haaretz said, a charge that doesn't typically lead to strip-searches, even though police have the authority to conduct them. The women were arrested with two other men who were not strip-searched, the paper said. Two of the protesters said that they were required to pull down their pants and lift their shirts. Efrat Safran, one of the detainees, told Haaretz they were warned that ''If you resist, we'll use reasonable force.' We were left with no choice but to comply.' Safran added that this was her fourth protest-related arrest, but she had never previously been asked to undress. Another detainee said the officer justified the search as necessary to ensure she was not a danger to herself or others. According to the report, police said the search was a lawful and routine procedure, applied to all detainees, to prevent detainees from having objects that could harm them or others in the holding cell. The protesters' lawyer argued that since the detainees were suspected only of public order offenses, which do not legally justify a strip search, the procedure was an unnecessary violation of their rights. Times of Israel / AFP
Toronto Sun
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Israel to 'take control' of Gaza City after approving new war plan
Israel's security cabinet approved new war plans that involve taking over Gaza City Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP JERUSALUM — Israel's military will 'take control' of Gaza City under a plan proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and approved by his security cabinet, his office said in a statement Friday. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Nearly two years into the war in Gaza, Netanyahu faces mounting pressure at home and abroad for a truce to pull the territory's more than two million people back from the brink of famine and free the hostages held by Palestinian militants. Under the plan to 'defeat' Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army 'will prepare to take control of Gaza City while distributing humanitarian assistance to the civilian population outside combat zones,' the premier's office said. Before the decision, Netanyahu said Israel planned to take full control of Gaza but did not intend to govern it. He told US network Fox News on Thursday that the military would seize complete control of the territory, where it has been fighting Hamas since the Palestinian militant group's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. He added that Israel did not want 'to keep' the Gaza Strip, which Israel occupied in 1967 but withdrew troops and settlers from in 2005. Netanyahu said Israel wanted a 'security perimeter' and to hand the Palestinian territory to 'Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us'. 'That's not possible with Hamas,' he added. His office on Friday said a majority of the security cabinet had adopted 'five principles' aimed at ending the war: 'the disarming of Hamas; the return of all hostages — living and dead; the demilitarisation of the Gaza Strip; Israeli security control in the Gaza Strip; the establishment of an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. An unspecified 'alternative plan' was rejected by the cabinet, it added. The Israeli army said last month that it controlled 75 percent of the Gaza Strip, mainly from its positions in the territory along the border. An expanded Israeli offensive in Gaza could see ground troops operate in densely populated areas where hostages are believed to be held, Israeli media have reported. 'More destruction, more death' The plans to expand the war have sparked growing concern in Israel about what it means for the remaining hostages. Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid denounced the cabinet's move on Friday, calling it 'a disaster that will lead to many other disasters.' He said on X that the plan would result in 'the death of the hostages, the killing of many soldiers, cost Israeli taxpayers tens of billions, and lead to diplomatic bankruptcy.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. As the cabinet meeting began Thursday, hundreds rallied near the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, calling for a deal to free the hostages. 'The only way to bring the hostages home is to halt the war and end the suffering of the hostages and all those living through this terrible conflict,' said protester Sharon Kangasa-Cohen. In Gaza, fears grew over what an expansion of Israeli operations would entail. 'Ground operations mean more destruction and death,' said Ahmad Salem, 45. Hamas said in a statement that 'Netanyahu's plans to escalate the aggression confirm beyond any doubt his desire to get rid of the captives and sacrifice them in pursuit of his personal interests and extremist ideological agenda.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Out of 251 hostages captured during Hamas's 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the military says are dead. Ahead of Thursday's meeting, rumours were rife in the Israeli press about disagreements over the plan between the cabinet and military chief Eyal Zamir, who was said to oppose fully occupying Gaza. 'Unrealistic costs' International concern has been growing over the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, where a UN-backed assessment has warned that famine is unfolding. The World Health Organization said at least 99 people have died from malnutrition in the territory this year, with the figure likely an underestimate. Displaced Gazan Mahmoud Wafi said that the prices of available food remained high and erratic. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'We hope that food will be made available again in normal quantities and at reasonable prices, because we can no longer afford these extremely high and unrealistic costs,' the 38-year-old told AFP. In late July, Israel partially eased restrictions on aid entering Gaza, but the United Nations says the amount allowed into the territory remains insufficient. Amjad Al-Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGO Network in the Gaza Strip, told AFP that lengthy inspection procedures at entry points meant few trucks could come in — 'between 70 to 80 per day — carrying only specific types of goods.' The UN estimates that Gaza needs at least 600 trucks of aid per day to meet residents' basic needs. Israel's offensive has killed at least 61,258 Palestinians, according to Hamas-run Gaza's health ministry. The 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Read More
Toronto Sun
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Gaza war deepens Israel's divides
Published Aug 05, 2025 • 4 minute read Demonstrators call for an end to the war in Gaza during an anti-government protest in Tel Aviv Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP TEL AVIV — As it grinds on well into its twenty-second month, Israel's war in Gaza has set friends and families against one another and sharpened existing political and cultural divides. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Hostage families and peace activists want Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to secure a ceasefire with Hamas and free the remaining captives abducted during the October 2023 Hamas attacks. Right-wing members of Netanyahu's cabinet, meanwhile, want to seize the moment to occupy and annex more Palestinian land, at the risk of sparking further international criticism. The debate has divided the country and strained private relationships, undermining national unity at Israel's moment of greatest need in the midst of its longest war. 'As the war continues we become more and more divided,' said Emanuel Yitzchak Levi, a 29-year-old poet, schoolteacher and peace activist from Israel's religious left who attended a peace meeting at Tel Aviv's Dizengoff Square. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'It's really hard to keep being a friend, or family, a good son, a good brother to someone that's — from your point of view — supporting crimes against humanity,' he told AFP. 'And I think it's also hard for them to support me if they think I betrayed my own country.' As if to underline this point, a tall, dark-haired cyclist angered by the gathering pulled up his bike to shout 'traitors' at the attendees and to accuse activists of playing into Hamas's hands. No flowers Dvir Berko, a 36-year-old worker at one of the city's many IT startups, paused his scooter journey across downtown Tel Aviv to share a more reasoned critique of the peace activists' call for a ceasefire. Berko and others accused international bodies of exaggerating the threat of starvation in Gaza, and he told AFP that Israel should withhold aid until the remaining 49 hostages are freed. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'The Palestinian people, they're controlled by Hamas. Hamas takes their food. Hamas starts this war and, in every war that happens, bad things are going to happen. You're not going to send the other side flowers,' he argued. 'So, if they open a war, they should realise and understand what's going to happen after they open the war.' The raised voices in Tel Aviv reflect a deepening polarisation in Israeli society since Hamas's October 2023 attacks left 1,219 people dead, independent journalist Meron Rapoport told AFP. Rapoport, a former senior editor at liberal daily Haaretz, noted that Israel had been divided before the latest conflict, and had even seen huge anti-corruption protests against Netanyahu and perceived threats to judicial independence. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Hamas's attack initially triggered a wave of national unity, but as the conflict has dragged on and Israel's conduct has come under international criticism, attitudes on the right and left have diverged and hardened. Political motives 'The moment Hamas acted there was a coming together,' Rapoport said. 'Nearly everyone saw it as a just war. 'As the war went on it has made people come to the conclusion that the central motivations are not military reasons but political ones.' According to a survey conducted between July 24 and 28 by the Institute for National Security Studies, with 803 Jewish and 151 Arab respondents, Israelis narrowly see Hamas as primarily to blame for the delay in reaching a deal on freeing the hostages. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Only 24 percent of Israeli Jews are distressed or 'very distressed' by the humanitarian situation in Gaza — where, according to UN-mandated reports, 'a famine is unfolding' and Palestinian civilians are often killed while seeking food. But there is support for the families of the Israeli hostages, many of whom have accused Netanyahu of prolonging the war artificially to strengthen his own political position. 'In Israel there's a mandatory army service,' said Mika Almog, 50, an author and peace activist with the It's Time Coalition. 'So these soldiers are our children and they are being sent to die in a false criminal war that is still going on for nothing other than political reasons.' In an open letter published Monday, 550 former top diplomats, military officers and spy chiefs urged US President Donald Trump to tell Netanyahu that the military stage of the war was already won and he must now focus on a hostage deal. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'At first this war was a just war, a defensive war, but when we achieved all military objectives, this war ceased to be a just war,' said Ami Ayalon, former director of the Shin Bet security service. The conflict 'is leading the State of Israel to lose its security and identity,' he warned in a video released to accompany the letter. This declaration by the security officers — those who until recently prosecuted Israel's overt and clandestine wars — echoed the views of the veteran peace activists that have long protested against them. 'Awful period' Biblical archeologist and kibbutz resident Avi Ofer is 70 years old and has long campaigned for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. He and fellow activists wore yellow ribbons with the length in days of the war written on it: '667.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The rangy historian was close to tears as he told AFP: 'This is the most awful period in my life.' 'Yes, Hamas are war criminals. We know what they do. The war was justified at first. At the beginning it was not a genocide,' he said. Not many Israelis use the term 'genocide,' but they are aware that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is considering whether to rule on a complaint that the country has breached the Genocide Convention. While only a few are anguished about the threat of starvation and violence hanging over their neighbours, many are worried that Israel may become an international pariah — and that their conscript sons and daughters be treated like war crimes suspects when abroad. Israel and Netanyahu — with support from the United States — have denounced the case in The Hague. Sunshine Girls Columnists Opinion Relationships Sunshine Girls
Toronto Sun
24-07-2025
- Automotive
- Toronto Sun
Eight injured in suspected car-ramming attack in Israel
Israeli police cordon off the site of a suspected car ramming attack near the central town of Kfar Yona. Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP KFAR YONA, Israel — Eight people were taken to hospital after a car ploughed into a bus stop in central Israel on Thursday in a suspected car-ramming attack, emergency services said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Israel's Magen David Adom (MDA) first responders said they received a report at 9:25 am (0625 GMT) that a vehicle crashed into a bus stop near Kfar Yona. A man and woman in their 20s were said to be in a 'moderate condition, with injuries to the chest and limbs', the MDA said. Three others were in a 'mild-moderate condition, with injuries to the head and limbs', it added. Three people were described as having 'mild' injuries. 'The vehicle hit several people and fled the scene,' police spokesman Aryeh Doron said. The car was abandoned and later recovered and the driver is being hunted using helicopters, motorbikes and a specialist dog unit, police added. The site of the crash was cordoned off as forensic investigators combed the scene, an AFP photographer said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. There has been a spate of violence in Israel and the occupied West Bank since the start of the war against Hamas in Gaza, triggered by the militants' attack on October 7, 2023. A teenager died in March this year when police said a car driven by a Palestinian man deliberately ploughed into civilians at a bus stop in northern Israel. At least 32 people, including soldiers, have died in attacks in Israel by Palestinians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. In the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, at least 958 Palestinians, including many fighters but also civilians, have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers, according to Palestinian Authority figures. At the same time, at least 36 Israelis, including civilians and soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, Israeli figures showed. Sports Golf Canada Canada Sunshine Girls
IOL News
23-07-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
More than 100 NGOs warn 'mass starvation' spreading across Gaza
Israeli activists gather at HaBima Square for a protest march towards the Israeli defence ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv on July 22, 2025, denouncing the ongoing food shortage and forced displacement of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The United Nations in June 2025 condemned what it claimed was Israel's "weaponisation of food" in Gaza and called it a war crime, as aid agencies urge action and warnings about malnutrition multiply. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP) Image: AFP More than 100 aid organisations warned on Wednesday that "mass starvation" was spreading in Gaza ahead of the US top envoy's visit to Europe for talks on a possible ceasefire and an aid corridor. Israel is facing mounting international pressure over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory, where more than two million people face severe shortages of food and other essentials after 21 months of conflict, triggered by Hamas's attack on Israel. The UN said on Tuesday that Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid since the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation started operations in late May -- effectively sidelining the existing UN-led system. A statement with 111 signatories, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Save the Children and Oxfam, warned that "our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away". The groups called for an immediate negotiated ceasefire, the opening of all land crossings and the free flow of aid through UN-led mechanisms. It came a day after the United States said its envoy Steve Witkoff will head to Europe this week for talks on Gaza and may then visit the Middle East. Witkoff comes with "a strong hope that we will come forward with another ceasefire as well as a humanitarian corridor for aid to flow, that both sides have in fact agreed to," State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters. Even after Israel began easing a more than two-month aid blockade in late May, Gaza's population is still suffering extreme scarcities. Israel says humanitarian aid is being allowed into Gaza and accuses Hamas of exploiting civilian suffering, including by stealing food handouts to sell at inflated prices or shooting at those awaiting aid. 'Hope and heartbreak' In their statement, the humanitarian organisations said that warehouses with tonnes of supplies were sitting untouched just outside the territory, and even inside, as they were blocked from accessing or delivering the goods. "Palestinians are trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires, only to wake up to worsening conditions," the signatories said. "It is not just physical torment, but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage," they added. "The humanitarian system cannot run on false promises. Humanitarians cannot operate on shifting timelines or wait for political commitments that fail to deliver access." UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday that the "horror" facing Palestinians in Gaza under Israeli military attack was unprecedented in recent years. The head of Gaza's largest hospital said Tuesday 21 children had died due to malnutrition and starvation in the Palestinian territory in the past three days. Standstill Israel and Hamas have been engaging in drawn-out negotiations in Doha since July 6 as mediators scramble to end nearly two years of war. But after more than two weeks of back and forth, efforts by mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States are at a standstill. More than two dozen Western countries recently urged an immediate end to the war, saying suffering in Gaza had "reached new depths". Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,106 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. AFP
