News about Isaac Herzog

Secretary of State Antony Blinken hiked up pressure on Hamas on Wednesday to accept the latest proposal for a cease-fire with Israel, saying the 'time is now' for an agreement that would free hostages and bring a pause in the nearly seven months of war in Gaza. Blinken met with Israeli leaders throughout the day on the last stop of his seventh visit to the region since the war erupted in October, trying to push through what has been an elusive deal between Israel and Hamas.

A former Hamas hostage whose U.S. citizen husband is still captured by the terrorist organization has spoken out after seeing proof that he is still alive. 'I feel like I'm broken up into pieces,' said the devastated wife of Keith Siegel, whose proof-of-life video was released just days ago. Keith Siegel has been held by Hamas for 207 days - he sobbed in the heartbreaking video released by Hamas to prove the U.S. citizen is still alive. Aviva Siegel told CBS, 'I know that Keith has had enough.' 'My family has had enough. My country has had enough,' the distraught wife said. Siegel was a hostage herself - but was freed 51 days after  being kidnapped by Hamas on October 7. Keith was left behind and it has been over 150 days since she has seen her husband.

The US Secretary of State is meeting Israeli leaders in his push for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, saying 'the time is now' for an agreement that would free hostages and bring a suspension in the nearly seven months of war in Gaza. The current round of talks appears to be serious, but the sides remain far apart on one key issue - whether the war should end as part of an emerging deal. Mr Blinken told Israeli President Isaac Herzog at a meeting in Tel Aviv: 'We are determined to get a ceasefire that brings the hostages home and to get it now, and the only reason that that wouldn't be achieved is because of Hamas.' But the terror group has accused Blinken of unfairly putting the blame for the delayed ceasefire agreement on them and pressuring them into giving in.

Baby Kfir and brother Ariel, 4, were taken with their mother Shiri by Hamas on October 7. Their father Yarden, seen in the video, is thought to be alive in Gaza, but the fate of his family is unclear. Yarden is reported to have surrendered himself to the gunmen in the hope that they would take him and spare his wife and children. In November, the al-Qassam Brigades - Hamas's military wing - claimed that Kfir, Ariel and Shiri had been killed in an Israeli airstrike. These claims were never verified, and uncertainty remains over their fate. It was believed that the mother and her two children had been taken into Khan Younis by a Palestinian group separate from Hamas.

There were audible gasps as the Stars and Stripes being held by a pro-Israel counter-protestor was set alight and then waved in the air - as bright yellow flames could be seen coming from the flag. Police officers stationed at the protest outside the New York Stock Exchange could be seen wrestling the flag and stamping out the fire as it was brought to the ground. Moments later, a fellow protestor could be heard yelling 'Death to America'.

Officers clashed with pro-Palestine demonstrators across the country today as protesters took part in 'economic blockades' amid fears that an unprecedented 350-missile attack on Israel by Iran could escalate the war in the Middle East. Hundreds of protesters gathered across the country to chant and unfurl banners as police struggled to keep crowds under control. People had been encouraged by pro-Palestinian groups to take part in an 'economic blockade' today by missing work or school and only making purchases from companies sympathetic to their cause.

Iran bombarded Israel with suicide drones, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and rockets at Israel early on Sunday in response to a drone strike in Syria that killed seven Iranians, including two top generals. Israeli President Isaac Herzog described the attack as a 'declaration of war' and said it was 'about time the world faces this empire of evil in Tehran'. The strike, which has left the world holding its breath over World War III, marks the first time a direct military assault has been launched by Tehran on Israel - despite decades enmity dating back to the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel praised the response from the 'regional alliance' which helped down '99 per cent' of the missiles fired. Rishi Sunak confirmed RAF jets helped down 'a number' of Iranian drones in what was the biggest air-to-air battle involving the UK since the Falklands in 1982. The UK is set to hit Iran with fresh financial sanctions today which could be announced by Mr Sunak in the commons this afternoon.

Israel reportedly 'jammed GPS signals' in Tel Aviv in the days before Iran 's 300-strong missile strike in a bid to confuse its attackers, as the IDF claimed to have intercepted '99 per cent' of Tehran's projectiles.It is believed that Iran's drones and ballistic missiles were fitted with a Russian GLONASS system - a satellite navigation system - to break through the alleged jamming, according to the Mirror . While Israeli locals are no strangers to having their navigation tools jammed during security alerts, some reportedly claimed that while they were using Waze and Google Maps yesterday, their GPS switched to show them to be in Cairo or Beirut . The confusion was a deliberate attempt to throw their enemies' strikes off target, but the move meant an increased risk of them hitting other domestic targets. The report comes as Israel vowed to retaliate after the barrage of airstrikes amid rising fears of a more widespread conflict.

Israel says it has 'foiled' Iran's attack on its country and revealed 120 ballistic missiles along with 200 drones were used, with a 10-year-old girl injured. Last night, innocent civilians were forced to flee to bomb shelters across the nation. Iran sent the salvo of missiles in response to a drone strike at the beginning of April in Syria that killed 12 Iranians, including two top generals. The Israeli military today said that Iran's unprecedented overnight attack on Israel has been "foiled" with hundreds of missiles and drones intercepted with the help of the United States and allies. A seven-year-old girl from a Bedouin town near Arad was injured by falling shrapnel and is in serious condition at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, The Times of Israel reported. Pictured lower right is Jerusalem today after the attack.

A new batch of candidate endorsements for 2024 have been revealed by the Jewish Democratic Council of America, which includes support for two members of The Squad's key opponents. In the primary against Congressman Jamaal Bowman, the JDCA announced that it supports House candidate George Latimer for New York's 16th District seat just north of New York City. Wesley Bell, who is competing in the primary to unseat Congresswoman Cori Bush in Missouri's 1st District, is also supporting the candidacy of St. Louis's 1st District.

President Herzog and Dutch King Willem-Alexander opened the country's first Holocaust Museum, but the day was marred by protesters throwing firecrackers and scaling police vans as they called for a ceasefire in Gaza. At a solemn gathering at a nearby synagogue attended also by Dutch Holocaust survivors, the king showed us how devastating anti-Semitism can have.' The museum sent President Herzog "a clear and convincing message: remember, recall the horrors of hatred, anti-Semitism, and bigotry, and never allow them to flourish again.' 'Unfortunately, never again is this time,' right now.' Right now, bigotry and anti-Semitism are flourishing around the world, and we must combat it together,' said President George Bush.

Eurovision, which will be held in Malmo, Sweden, from May 7 to May 11, is classified as a non-political event and can disqualify contestants who have violated the rules. However, Israel's forthcoming 'October Rain,' sung by female soloist Eden Golan, allegedly refers to the victims of Hamas' attack on southern Israel on October 7 and is in breach of the competition's impartiality laws. Israel's national broadcaster Kan, which is tasked with selecting its country's entry, reported today that Israel has agreed to revise the leading submission's lyrics. It included lines such as "There's no air left to breathe" and "They were all healthy children, each one of them," says the song as Hamas gunmen carried out a killing and kidnapping spree at an outdoor music festival and other locations that sparked the war in Gaza.

At a protest staged by Israel supporters to mark 100 days since Hamas launched its bloody October 7 assault, a man was arrested for yelling 'antisemitic abuse' from his vehicle. The man arrested has not been identified by police, but a vehicle near the Trafalgar Square rally is reported to have yelled 'Free Palestine.' Thousands of people gathered in central London with Israeli flags and posters urging those who were kidnapped by Hamas and remain captive in Gaza to be returned home immediately. Suella Braverman, a former home secretary, was among those protesting in London today, saying she was there "to stand in solidarity" with Israel and call for the hostages' return.

Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, met with Israeli officials to discuss the 'way forward' for the Gaza war. On Tuesday, Blinken held talks with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he seeks a blueprint for Gaza's post-war future, while Israel's military pressed ahead with its offensive in the beleaguered territory.

This week, UPenn faculty professors traveled to Israel in a show of solidarity in the aftermath of president Liz Magill's departure after a tumultuous Congress debate on campus anti-Semitism. On Tuesday, approximately 30 faculty members embarked on a 'three-day solidarity tour', ranging from smiles during their first meeting with President Isaac Herzog to a snapshot showing them smiling inside a bomb shelter during their visit to Kibbutz Kfar Aza in the south. On October 7, they had meetings with government officials, visits to major universities, and a tour of Palestinian communities in the Gaza area, where hundreds of people were brutally tortured and murdered.

Following the attack on the Maghazi refugee camp east of Deir al-Balah, Palestinians were seen carrying bodies, including a baby. Israel's bloody Christmas Eve bombardment was one of the deadliest since the war began. According to early hospital reports from Gaza authorities, at least 12 women and seven children were among the 68 people killed. In comparison, the number of Israeli soldiers killed in combat over the weekend has risen to 15 following the death of IDF solider Sgt. Birhanu Kassie, 22, 22.

On Thursday, Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, both 42, traveled to Israel to visit Kfar Aza, a southern kibbutz near Gaza's border, where Hamas terrorists massacred civilians and abducted hostages. The couple also visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem, which is considered the Jewish people's holy place in Judaism, where Jewish people are able to pray. After her tour, Ivanka took to Instagram to express how she was filled with a mixture of regret and awe as she left Israel, saying she was moved by the community's'strength in the face of poverty.'

The vote, which had been expected for Monday but then postponed to ten p.m. GMT on Tuesday, was postponed until the United States requested for more time. Talks were still underway in the hopes of persuading the Biden administration to abstain or vote in favour of the measure. On Monday morning, the drafted document calling for an 'urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities,' but this terminology was diluted in a new draft circulated early Tuesday. It now calls for the immediate suspension of hostilities to ensure safe and unhindered humanitarian access, as well as immediate steps toward a sustainable cessation of hostilities.' Israel, which is backed by its ally Washington, a veto-wielding permanent Security Council member, has opposed the use of the term "ceasefire."

According to Israeli investigators, a Hamas financier who was supposed to have provided the terror group with 'tens of millions' of dollars has been killed by Israel's Defence Forces in Gaza. A fighter jet killed Subhi Ferwana in a 'targeted' airstrike in Rafah, the IDF and Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) said in a joint statement. Ferwana and his brother were involved in the transfer of tens of millions of dollars to the Hamas terrorist group and its military wing in the Gaza Strip over the past few years, according to the officials.

On Thursday, pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside the building in central London to protest the donation. The arts group said it'neither condones nor endorses' the performance, which it claims was billed by a 'external client' who did not know the full event information in advance.' Among those attending the function were deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden and Tzipi Hotovely, Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom. A statement made on the RSA's social media said: "An event was held at the RSA today by an outsider who did not announce the full event information in advance.' This is neither condones nor supports the RSA.

At the all-night festival, which was held about 5 km (2 miles) from Gaza, Hamas terrorists launched its sickening assault on Israel on October 7. Young partygoers were shot straight from the waiting gunsmen, as pictures showed bodies piled up in tents. Several survivors have remembranced running towards uniform-clad guys, assuming they to be Israeli police and soldiers escorting them to rescue them before finding that they were Hamas. The carnage from the bloodbath has been restored at 06:29, the time when Hamas announced its mass insurrection, which opened tonight at the Tel Aviv exposition.

In recognition of the decades of work he has been doing in the environmental field, Charles is the only foreign head of state invited to speak at the climate change conference of global leaders. Despite some strides, 'transformational change' was required,' the monarch said at the opening of the World Climate Action Summit this morning, as climate change's dangers are no longer distant risks. The monarch told heads of state, corporate, and climate activists at Expo City Dubai that nature was being brought into 'dangerous, uncharted territory' by human activity, prompting for 'nature-positive' change.

Elon Musk, the Tesla founder, is in Israel to speak with the country's top leadership, where they will highlight the plight of hostages detained in war-torn Gaza and rampant antisemitism. Musk has been chastised for advancing a blind eye to anti-Semitism on X, the Jewish state's current conflict, which began with Hamas' barbaric assault on October 7, has spawned scathing allegations of turning a blind eye to anti-Semitism on X, formerly known as Twitter. A loss in ad sales has resulted from the criticism. The meetings came after an exciting weekend that saw many hostages, including four-year-old American-Israeli orphanage Abigail Mor Edan, pictured left, being released from Hamas' clutches.

During the Hamas massacre on October 7, an Arab-Israeli Bedouin mini-bus driver bravely stepped into the line of fire, saving the lives of over two dozen Jewish Israelis. Ziadna, a 47-year-old Bedouin Israeli from Rahat, had dropped off a visitor at the Supernova music festival in Southern Israel right after midnight. He got a frantic call from the same client, begging Ziadna to return immediately and save him as Hamas began their assault.