RSS
Terror Attack in West Bank Leaves 1 Dead, 11 Injured
Israeli officials work at the scene of a shooting attack by Palestinian gunmen near the Maale Adumim settlement, in the West Bank February 22, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Three terrorists opened fire on Israelis sitting in traffic on Thursday morning, killing one and injuring 11 others, including a pregnant woman.
An IDF soldier who was recently released for reserve duty was one of those shot multiple times, but mustered enough strength to kill two of the terrorists, while a third was later “neutralized.”
The murdered Israeli was named as Matan Elmaliah, 26, from Ma’ale Adumim.
The attack occurred near at a checkpoint on Highway 1, the road connecting the Ma’ale Adumim settlements to Jerusalem. Police have said the three attackers were brothers Muhammad and Kathem Zawahra from Ta’amra and Ahmed Al-Wahsh from Za’atara. The man they killed was reported by Magen David Adom to be a man in his 20s.
Hanania ben Shimon was the fighter who took down the terrorists.
His father, Eric, speaking at the scene of the attack told the media “He was released a week and a half ago from Khan Younis, after serving in the Gaza Strip in the reserves for four months. When the terrorist stopped the vehicle on his left side, and started shooting, he fired the first bullet at him through the window, then he got out, rowed into contact, killed the terrorist and was wounded as well.”
A friend added “He is a hero. He is the beautiful of the Land of Israel. He returned last week from fighting in Khan Younis after three months in Gaza, got a gun license to save lives and started working as a travel security guard… When he was in Khan Younis, he told me how united the people of Israel are and how willing he is to risk himself for the country and for the citizens. Today these words take on a new meaning.”
The attack occured over an area of at least two kilometers, according to the director of the Jerusalem sector of Magen David Adom, Aviv Hovav. “[This] made it difficult for us to reach the victims,” he added. “The forces searched the scene, we passed by vehicles and began to evacuate and treat the victims. Due to the traffic jams, we had to evacuate some of the injured through the opposite land.” All of the wounded were transported to Jerusalem’s Shaare Tzedek Hospital.
One of the injured was a pregnant women who was in need of immediate surgery. Director of the Trauma Unit at the hospital, Dr. Alon Shortz, said “She arrived conscious and her life is not in danger… Regarding the fetus, it is too early to say. The condition is normal, but it’s hard to say what the condition will be.”
The checkpoint where the attack occurred has been pointed out by local Israeli lawmakers living in the area as a “death trap” in the waiting due to its heavy congestion and the fact that both Israelis and Palestinians traverse the road.
As was the case in Thursday’s attack, cars were unable to flee due to the traffic jam, allowing the terrorists to maximize their damage.
“We are in an emergency situation,” said Ma’ale Adumim Deputy Mayor Guy Yafarah. “The joint ride with the Palestinians on Route 1 is a ticking time bomb. The Israeli government must find an immediate solution and stop the shared travel of the residents of Ma’ale Adumim and the area with Palestinian vehicles. I demand the construction of the road…immediately.”
The post Terror Attack in West Bank Leaves 1 Dead, 11 Injured first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
RSS
Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
RSS
Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.