Zvi Kogan. Photo: LinkedIn via i24 News

JNS.org – The terrorist enterprise responsible for the murder of Rabbi Tzvi Kogan in Dubai is planning fresh attacks in southeast Asia and especially Thailand, Israeli authorities warned on Saturday.

“Intelligence suggests that the terrorist infrastructure that perpetrated the murder of Rabbi Tvzi Kogan in Dubai is planning additional terrorist activities,” according to a statement by Israel’s National Security Council. “Relevant security forces estimate this will happen in southeast Asia and especially Thailand,” the statement read.

Kogan’s body was found on Nov. 24. Local authorities arrested three men, all of them Uzbek nationals. Israeli authorities believe the murder may be linked to Iran, which has denied any involvement.

Hebrew media reported on Sunday that an Israeli tourist was assaulted by several Germans in Thailand.

The backpacker, identified only as Ilai, 22, told Ynet that the incident took place on Saturday night in Pai, a town situated about 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of Bangkok. Four Germans in their 20s asked him if he was Israeli and then punched him, leading to a scuffle, he said.

Ilai, a recently discharged Israel Defense Forces soldier who fought in Gaza, fought off his attackers and sustained only minor injuries, according to the report. He decided not to file a police complaint, he said, fearing this would complicate the rest of his stay in Thailand.

The Israeli government raised the threat level for travel in Thailand to level two on Nov. 24, meaning that it perceives a “potential threat,” and recommended that travelers “take increased precautionary measures.” It also maintained its “high threat” level-four advisory against travel in southern Thailand. Israelis in Thailand are advised not to display Israeli or Jewish symbols and avoid congregating with other Israelis.

The new security advice stopped short of calling on Israel to leave Thailand or avoid it.

The post Dubai Rabbi’s Killers Said to Be Planning Attack in Thailand first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Illustrative. Smoke billows over the city of Khan Younis in Gaza during an IDF ground assault. Photo: Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

The Israeli military said on Saturday it had killed a terrorist who took part in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel and who it said was employed by a US-based charity, World Central Kitchen, in Gaza.

The family of the man, Ahed Azmi Qdeih, said the Israeli allegations were false and meant to justify his unlawful killing. They said he was an engineer who dedicated his life to charitable work.

The military said that he had taken part in the attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel and was under surveillance but did not offer any evidence. Reuters could not independently verify whether he took part in the attack last year.

World Central Kitchen confirmed the airstrike and said it had no knowledge about an employee involved in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.

“We are heartbroken to share that a vehicle carrying World Central Kitchen colleagues was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza,” it said in a statement posted on X. “World Central Kitchen had no knowledge that any individual in the vehicle had alleged ties to the October 7th Hamas attack.”

The charity group said it was pausing operations in Gaza, adding that it was working with incomplete information and was urgently seeking more details.

Hamas did not immediately comment.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that three employees of the charity were killed when an Israeli strike targeted a vehicle in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. Medics said a total of five people were killed.

In a later attack in Khan Younis, medics said at least nine Palestinians were killed when an Israeli airstrike hit a car near a crowd receiving flour, a vehicle that was used by security personnel tasked with overseeing aid deliveries into Gaza.

The Israeli military says that it does not target civilians and accuses Hamas of operating from civilian facilities and using Gaza’s population as human shields, which the group denies.

NEW CEASEFIRE EFFORTS

Meanwhile, leaders of Hamas were expected to arrive in Cairo on Saturday for ceasefire talks with Egyptian officials, days after Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon, two officials of the group told Reuters.

The visit is the first since the United States announced earlier this week it would revive efforts in collaboration with Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Hamas delegation is expected to meet with Egyptian security officials to explore ways to reach a ceasefire deal with Israel that could secure the release of hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners.

Progress before now has been limited in a series of on-off talks over months.

Hamas is seeking an agreement that would end the war while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that the war will end only when Hamas is eradicated.

The post Israel Says It Killed Oct. 7 Attack Suspect Who Worked for US-Based Charity first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

FILE PHOTO: The atomic symbol and the Iranian flag are seen in this illustration, July 21, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

JNS.org – Britain, France and Germany have agreed to continue nuclear negotiations with Tehran following a meeting on Friday in Geneva and amid threats by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to reinstitute a “maximum pressure” campaign on the Islamic Republic once he assumes office in January.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister and senior nuclear negotiator Majid Takht-Ravanchi met with top diplomats from the European nations, known collectively as the E3.

The talks came after the European countries joined the United States to have Iran censured by the U.N. atomic watchdog for its lack of cooperation.

The resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors notes an “essential and urgent” need for Iran to provide “technically credible explanations” for the uranium traces at undeclared facilities. It also urges the IAEA to compile “a comprehensive and updated assessment on the possible presence or use of undeclared nuclear material in connection with past and present outstanding issues regarding Iran’s nuclear program.”

According to a November report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Tehran had 182.3 kilograms (401.9 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60%, an increase of 17.6 kilograms (38.8 pounds) since its last report in August. This level of enrichment is a technical step short of 90% enrichment, considered weapons grade.

Iran condemned the censure as “politically motivated” and announced the launch of “new advanced centrifuges” to produce additional enriched uranium.

Last week, Britain’s foreign intelligence chief said that Tehran’s nuclear ambitions posed a major global threat. “Iran’s allied militias across the Middle East have suffered serious blows,” said Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) chief Sir Richard Moore, adding, “But the regime’s nuclear ambitions continue to threaten all of us.”

Similarly, the head of France’s DGSI intelligence service warned of the risk of Iran’s nuclear breakout, noting that Paris and London were preparing for such an eventuality.

“Our services are working side by side to face what is undoubtedly one of the threats, if not to say the most critical threat, in the coming months—the possible atomic proliferation in Iran,” Nicolas Lerner said. “The intelligence will be crucial to enable our authorities to make the right decisions and define the right strategies.”

In an interview with The Guardian newspaper published on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that his country was considering altering its nuclear policy.

The threat came after an adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said earlier this month that Tehran has the capacity to develop nuclear weapons, should it choose to do so.

“We now have the technical capabilities necessary to produce nuclear weapons,” Kamal Kharrazi told the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen outlet.

In May, Kharrazi told the ISNA news agency: “If the Zionist regime dares to damage Iran’s nuclear facilities, our level of deterrence will be different. We have no decision to produce a nuclear bomb, but if the existence of Iran is threatened, we will have to change our nuclear doctrine.”

In August, Iran International reported that the Islamic Republic was advancing its secret nuclear program, bringing the mullahs closer to building atomic bombs.

Three independent sources in Iran told the London-based opposition media outlet that the regime was moving forward with its nuclear weapons program “by restructuring the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), retaining Mohammad Eslami as the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, and resuming tests to produce nuclear bomb detonators.”

The Biden administration privately warned Tehran in June about its research and development activities, Axios reported on July 17, citing three Israeli and U.S. officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Jerusalem would do “everything” to stop Tehran from acquiring the bomb.

“I will do everything to prevent it from becoming a nuclear [power], I will use all the resources that can be used,” the premier said.

Earlier this month, Netanyahu told a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting that Israel would review its ability to act against Iran once the Trump administration takes over.

During his first term, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Obama-era accord more commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, which he said did not sufficiently prevent a pathway to an Iranian bomb.

In October, Israeli airstrikes on Iran destroyed a secret nuclear weapons research facility in Parchin, 19 miles southeast of Tehran, according to Axios. The clandestine site held sophisticated equipment used for testing explosives needed to detonate nuclear devices.

The post UK, France, Germany Vow to Continue Nuke Talks with Iran first appeared on Algemeiner.com.