Police up presence in Jerusalem ahead of first Friday of Ramadan
(JNS) — The Israel Police will deploy around 3,000 personnel, including Border Police officers, throughout Jerusalem on March 7, to secure prayers for the first Friday of Ramadan.
Police “will operate with reinforced forces, particularly at the crossings around Jerusalem’s perimeter, in the eastern part of the city, and in the alleyways of the Old City, to maintain public safety and security, direct and regulate traffic and enable freedom of worship in accordance with the necessary security and safety aspects,” the Israel Police said on Thursday.
The Israel Police statement said security forces “continue to act to allow the large numbers of worshippers to visit the holy sites safely, while balancing freedom of worship with security and safety needs.”
During Ramadan, which started last week, 10,000 Muslims at a time from Judea and Samaria will be allowed to pray at the Temple Mount — Judaism’s holiest site — which is also home to the Al-Aqsa mosque.
Terrorists released from jail as part of the current hostage agreement with Hamas in Gaza and who were allowed to return to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria have been banned from Mount.
17-year-old Israeli injured in car-ramming dies of her wounds
(JTA) — A 17-year-old Israeli girl who was critically injured in a terror attack last week has died of her wounds.
Yahli Gur was one of more than a dozen people wounded when an attacker rammed his vehicle into a bus stop roughly midway between Tel Aviv and the northern port city of Haifa. She was hospitalized, and her death was announced Wednesday, six days after the attack.
The ramming was one in a string of recent attacks in Israel that have come amid rising regional tensions. A week before the attack that killed Gur, a string of empty buses exploded sequentially in the Tel Aviv area, prompting the Israeli military to launch an operation in the West Bank targeting terror groups. Palestinian authorities say tens of thousands have been displaced in the crackdown.
This week, a man was stabbed to death in Haifa. And in Gaza, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that formally expired on Sunday is teetering.
IDF strikes terrorists planting bomb near troops in Gaza City
(JNS) — An Israeli Air Force drone attacked a group of Palestinian terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip who planted an explosive device near troops, the military said on Thursday afternoon.
“An Air Force aircraft attacked the suspects to eliminate the threat,” the Israel Defense Forces stated.
The Hamas-run Al-Aqsa TV channel reported that one person was killed and several others were wounded in the strike, which reportedly took place in the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City.
The terrorist-run news outlet also reported that IDF ground forces opened fire on several Palestinians in the Beit Hanun area in the northeastern Strip.
On Tuesday, Israeli forces fired on an individual in southern Gaza who had approached them, posing an immediate threat, the army said.
The military did not provide information on the condition of the individual, saying only that a “hit was identified.”
On Monday, Israeli forces fired on two individuals who had approached them in southern Gaza, also posing an immediate threat according to the IDF. Palestinian media reported two dead in the incident.
Light earthquake rattles Eilat
(JNS) — An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.3 rattled the southern Israeli resort city of Eilat on Thursday afternoon, the Geological Survey of Israel said.
No injuries were reported from the tremblor, whose magnitude had the potential to cause minor damage, Channel 12 News reported.
The earthquake’s epicenter was approximately 16 miles south of Eilat, near the city of Haql in northwestern Saudi Arabia. The tremor was also felt in Egypt and Jordan.
Israel is located along the Great Rift Valley, an active fault line that runs from the Red Sea to the Jordan River, along the border between Israel and Jordan. This geologic fault presents several significant hazards for the area, including frequent light earthquakes and the occasional far more serious seismic events.
