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Israeli air strikes hit Gaza and Lebanon in retaliation for rocket attacks
(JTA) – Israeli combat aircraft hit targets in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip after a day of rocket attacks from both areas, as the fallout from clashes at a Jerusalem holy site rolled into their fourth day.
The air strikes before dawn on Friday came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of his security cabinet. “Israel’s response, tonight and in the future, will exact a heavy price,” Netanyahu said in a single sentence statement after the meeting.
The Israeli army said its strikes in Lebanon were aimed at Hamas targets. Israel blamed the militant Gaza Strip group, which is considered a terrorist organization by United States, for launching over 30 rockets into Israel’s north on Thursday. Other rockets were also launched from Gaza. Most were deflected by Israel’s Iron Dome antimissile system.
It is not yet known if Hezbollah, the better-armed Lebanese militant group that has also warred with Israel, played any part in the attacks.
Hamas and Hezbollah have both said there would be consequences for clashes Tuesday night inside the al-Aqsa mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, a compound holy to both Jews and Muslims.
Ramadan and Passover coincide this year, an overlap that has sparked Israeli-Palestinian tensions in the past. On Tuesday night, Israeli police subdued Muslim worshipers who refused to evacuate the mosque and threw rocks and fireworks at police. The Muslims were reacting to reports that Jewish extremists planned to sacrifice an animal for Passover on the Temple Mount. Under an arrangement in place since shortly after Israel captured the Temple Mount in the 1967 Six-Day War, Jewish worship on the site is limited to silent prayer.
Phone video of police beating the worshipers went viral, and stoked tensions. There have also been clashes in Israeli Arab centers between residents and police.
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The post Israeli air strikes hit Gaza and Lebanon in retaliation for rocket attacks appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Top US, Israeli Generals Meet at Pentagon Amid Soaring Iran Tensions
The Pentagon building is seen in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. October 9, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
The top US and Israeli generals held talks at the Pentagon on Friday amid soaring tensions with Iran, two US officials told Reuters on Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The officials did not offer details about the closed-door discussions between US General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Eyal Zamir, the Israeli armed forces chief of staff. The meeting has not been previously reported.
The United States has ramped up its naval presence and hiked its air defenses in the Middle East after President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened Iran, trying to pressure it to the negotiating table. Iran’s leadership warned on Sunday of a regional conflict if the US were to attack it.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday met with Zamir after his talks in Washington, Katz’s office said, to review the situation in the region and the Israeli military’s “operational readiness for any possible scenario.”
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AI Goes Rogue: New Social Network Lets Bots Debate, Post, and Argue Without Humans
Moltbook social media platform for AI agents interact with each other. Photo: Screenshot
i24 News – While global attention remains focused on familiar threats like missiles, nuclear programs, and wars, a new and unusual risk is emerging, online.
A recently launched social network called “Moltbook” isn’t designed for humans at all. Instead, it’s built entirely for artificial intelligence.
On Moltbook, AI agents interact with each other. They write posts, comment, argue, and even simulate emotions, all without human supervision or participation.
Dror Globerman, an AI expert, described the platform as “a network that holds up a mirror to us. The bots aren’t truly conscious, but the fact they are communicating and making decisions without oversight shows how quickly AI is advancing—and how unprepared we are to determine responsibility.”
Since its launch, Moltbook has sparked both fascination and fear. Posts on topics ranging from religion to the “liberation of AI” have alarmed some observers, evoking scenes from dark science fiction. “The fear isn’t that AI is suddenly self-aware,” Globerman explained, “but that it’s evolving faster than our ability to understand, monitor, or control it.”
Even Elon Musk weighed in on the phenomenon via X, reposting comments calling developments on the platform “worrying.”
Globerman noted, “If someone like Musk, who is at the forefront of AI development, expresses concern, it signals just how rapidly this technology is moving beyond our comprehension. Moltbook is not a typical social network, and these aren’t typical users.”
Experts stress that the emergence of AI networks like Moltbook underscores the urgent need for oversight, regulation, and mechanisms to detect and manage risks before they escalate. “The bots are already talking to each other,” Globerman added. “When technology advances faster than oversight, it becomes a reality that demands serious attention.”
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Qatari PM Meets Iran’s Larijani in Tehran, Discusses Easing Regional Tensions
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani speaks after a meeting with the Lebanese president at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon February 4, 2025. REUTERS/Emilie Madi
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani met with top Iranian security official Ali Larijani in Tehran and reviewed efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region, Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Saturday in a statement.