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Israeli Basketball Team Wins EuroCup Game in Spain Despite ‘High’ Risk Anti-Israel Protest, Flag Burning
Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv vs Gran Canaria on Jan. 2, 2025, in a EuroCup match at the Gran Canaria Arena located in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain. Photo: YouTube screenshot
The Israeli basketball team Hapoel Tel Aviv won a round 13 EuroCup match in Spain’s Canary Islands on Thursday, despite a scheduled anti-Israel demonstration outside of the stadium that Israel warned supporters about and the burning of an Israeli flag in protest of the game.
Under head coach Dimitris Itoudis, Hapoel Tel Aviv won an 87-64 victory in a matchup against their Spanish rivals, Gran Canaria, at the Gran Canaria Arena in Las Palmas. The Israeli team secured a lead in the first half 51-25 and ended the game with an 8-5 record. Gran Canaria played its worst first half ever by scoring a mere 26 points. The Spanish team lost its second straight game for a 9-4 record and also dropped to 5-2 in home games.
Earlier this week, activists from the pro-Palestinian group Canarias Insumisa burned an Israeli flag outside of the stadium in opposition to Israel’s military actions during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and the Jewish state’s participation in the EuroCup game.
Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism published a “high” risk level alert about two Spanish far-left, pro-Palestinian groups promoting an anti-Israel demonstration on Thursday outside the Gran Canaria Arena in protest of the basketball game. The groups included Canarias Insumisa and Partido Comunista del Pueblo Canario, which is also known as the Communist Party of the Canarian People (PCPC).
The Israeli ministry said the two groups promoted the protest against Hapeol Tel Aviv on social media, and it was shared by other Spanish far-left, anti-Israel groups and individuals. Many of the same anti-Israel activists expressed support on social media for the flag burning that Canarias Insumisa organized earlier in the week, including Spanish far-left journalist Javier Espinosa.
“While the protest on January 2, which was shared with a large following, has garnered relatively low online traction thus far … the publicity surrounding the flag burning incident may increase the likelihood of violence or disorderly conduct among participants,” said Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism.
The Canarias Insumisa collective and the PCPC group both organize anti-Israel demonstrations, rallies, and other activities. The latter is also involved in the campaigns in Spain that support the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. PCPC posted on Telegram on Dec. 30 a message that promoted the protest against Hapoel Tel Aviv.
“On January 2nd, we’ll see you in the streets to show our rejection of the Israeli basketball team Hapoel Tel Aviv. The Canary Islands say NO to Zionism!” the message read. The post included an image of a bloody basketball with a blue Star of David on it, along with text that reads, “Zionists Out of the Canary Islands!” and “No to the whitewashing of genocide through sports.”
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Israeli Strike on Tehran Kills Bodyguard of Slain Hezbollah Chief
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi lays a wreath as he visits the burial site of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A member of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli air strike on Tehran alongside a member of an Iran-aligned Iraqi armed group, a senior Lebanese security source told Reuters and the Iraqi group said on Saturday.
The source identified the Hezbollah member as Abu Ali Khalil, who had served as a bodyguard for Hezbollah’s slain chief Hassan Nasrallah. The source said Khalil had been on a religious pilgrimage to Iraq when he met up with a member of the Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada group.
They traveled together to Tehran and were both killed in an Israeli strike there, along with Khalil’s son, the senior security source said. Hezbollah has not joined in Iran’s air strikes against Israel from Lebanon.
Kataeb Sayyed Al-Shuhada published a statement confirming that both the head of its security unit and Khalil had been killed in an Israeli strike.
Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli aerial attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs in September.
Israel and Iran have been trading strikes for nine consecutive days since Israel launched attacks on Iran, saying Tehran was on the verge of developing nuclear weapons. Iran has said it does not seek nuclear weapons.
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Hamas Financial Officer and Commander Eliminated by IDF in the Gaza Strip
Israeli soldiers operate during a ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, July 3, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), in cooperation with the General Security Service (Shin Bet), announced on Friday the killing of Ibrahim Abu Shamala, a senior financial official in Hamas’ military wing.
The operation took place on June 17th in the central Gaza Strip.
Abu Shamala held several key positions, including financial officer for Hamas’ military wing and assistant to Marwan Issa, the deputy commander of Hamas’ military wing until his elimination in March 2024.
He was responsible for managing all the financial resources of Hamas’ military wing in Gaza, overseeing the planning and execution of the group’s war budget. This involved handling and smuggling millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip to fund Hamas’ military operations.
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Report: Wary of Assassination by Israel, Khamenei Names 3 Potential Successors
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed, the New York Times reported on Saturday citing unnamed Iranian officials. It is understood the Ayatollah fears he could be assassinated in the coming days.
Khamenei reportedly mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications.
Khamenei has designated three senior religious figures as candidates to replace him as well as choosing successors in the military chain of command in the likely event that additional senior officials be eliminated.
Earlier on Saturday Israel confirmed the elimination of Saeed Izadi and Bhanam Shahriari.
Shahriari, head of Iran’s Quds Force Weapons Transfer Unit, responsible for arming Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, was killed in an Israeli airstrike over 1,000 km from Israel in western Iran.
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