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Israel Today: Ongoing War Report - Update from 2026-02-04 at 20:02
Published 3 weeks, 5 days ago
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HEADLINES
Khamenei mocks war amid Oman talks
Mia Schem case closed for evidence gaps
US adds charges in DC diplomat killings
The time is now 8:01 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.
In the conflict with Iran and its Regional Proxies, Iran’s supreme leader told Eretz Nehederet he’s bored of binging TV in his bunker. On the Israeli satire program, Ali Khamenei said he had been in a bunker and cancelled a vacation because of the threat of war with the United States, adding that there are no refunds and quipping that “they’re Persians.” The host noted that US President Donald Trump was MIA on the show, and Khamenei said he had already binged the television he wanted to watch, even mentioning a documentary about the Israeli singer Eviatar Banai. When asked whether negotiations might prevent another war, he said he wasn’t sure and outlined four scenarios that seemed to contradict his previous statements, before turning to a military correspondent for comment. In a related development, Israel moved up its security Cabinet meeting as Washington confirmed talks with Tehran would proceed Friday in Oman, described as nuclear-only talks, with Iran refusing to discuss missiles or terror financing and continuing doubts about the prospects for an agreement.
In the Disputed Territories (Gaza, Judea and Samaria, East Jerusalem), authorities closed the rape case of former Gaza hostage Mia Schem due to insufficient evidence, with the Tel Aviv District Attorney’s office saying no indictment will be filed after a year-long investigation. Schem’s lawyer argued that the case was ended because of gaps in evidence, not a lack of confidence in the survivor’s claims, while noting concerns about police handling and the leak of her name that violated privacy. Separately, a Hamas cell commander, Muhammad Issam Hassan al-Habil, who allegedly murdered IDF surveillance soldier Corporal Noa Marciano in captivity, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza City’s Shati Camp in response to an overnight attack on troops in northern Gaza. The Shin Bet said al-Habil had brutally murdered Marciano at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, and the IDF credited intelligence from the Gaza Division for the operation; Marciano, abducted on October 7, 2023, was found dead in November 2023. Police and the IDF are also probing arson and vandalism attributed to settlers in the West Bank Christian town of Taybeh, where a car was charred and Hebrew graffiti appeared, with footage showing masked individuals arriving at the scene. Later, settlers entered the nearby village of Burqa and assaulted a man, according to WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s news agency, with reports of arrests including a Sakhnin teacher and three attackers. In Beit She’an’s Ein Shokek park area, an incident involving Israeli-Arab students being attacked by Jewish yeshiva students left 13 students hospitalized; Beit She’an police detained a Sakhnin teacher and three attackers, and some students were sent home with psychological support as the Education Ministry condemned the attack.
In US Policy Concerning Israel, US authorities charged Elias Rodriguez, 31, with four additional counts of terrorism in the killing of two Israeli diplomats in Washington last May, bringing the indictment to nine charges that include hate crimes and carry the possibility of the death penalty or life imprisonment. Prosecutors say he opened fire on people leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, firing around 20 shots and shouting “Free Palestine” as the victims, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, were killed. Separately, the Hind Rajab Foundation filed a complaint with the US Justice Department seeking an investigation into an Israeli IDF veteran for alleged war crimes and genocide tied to actions during Israel’s Gaza war, arguing the veteran has shifted from soldier to propagandist. The HRF’s filing accompanies bro
Khamenei mocks war amid Oman talks
Mia Schem case closed for evidence gaps
US adds charges in DC diplomat killings
The time is now 8:01 PM in New York, I'm Noa Levi and this is the latest Israel Today: Ongoing War Report.
In the conflict with Iran and its Regional Proxies, Iran’s supreme leader told Eretz Nehederet he’s bored of binging TV in his bunker. On the Israeli satire program, Ali Khamenei said he had been in a bunker and cancelled a vacation because of the threat of war with the United States, adding that there are no refunds and quipping that “they’re Persians.” The host noted that US President Donald Trump was MIA on the show, and Khamenei said he had already binged the television he wanted to watch, even mentioning a documentary about the Israeli singer Eviatar Banai. When asked whether negotiations might prevent another war, he said he wasn’t sure and outlined four scenarios that seemed to contradict his previous statements, before turning to a military correspondent for comment. In a related development, Israel moved up its security Cabinet meeting as Washington confirmed talks with Tehran would proceed Friday in Oman, described as nuclear-only talks, with Iran refusing to discuss missiles or terror financing and continuing doubts about the prospects for an agreement.
In the Disputed Territories (Gaza, Judea and Samaria, East Jerusalem), authorities closed the rape case of former Gaza hostage Mia Schem due to insufficient evidence, with the Tel Aviv District Attorney’s office saying no indictment will be filed after a year-long investigation. Schem’s lawyer argued that the case was ended because of gaps in evidence, not a lack of confidence in the survivor’s claims, while noting concerns about police handling and the leak of her name that violated privacy. Separately, a Hamas cell commander, Muhammad Issam Hassan al-Habil, who allegedly murdered IDF surveillance soldier Corporal Noa Marciano in captivity, was killed in an airstrike in Gaza City’s Shati Camp in response to an overnight attack on troops in northern Gaza. The Shin Bet said al-Habil had brutally murdered Marciano at Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, and the IDF credited intelligence from the Gaza Division for the operation; Marciano, abducted on October 7, 2023, was found dead in November 2023. Police and the IDF are also probing arson and vandalism attributed to settlers in the West Bank Christian town of Taybeh, where a car was charred and Hebrew graffiti appeared, with footage showing masked individuals arriving at the scene. Later, settlers entered the nearby village of Burqa and assaulted a man, according to WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s news agency, with reports of arrests including a Sakhnin teacher and three attackers. In Beit She’an’s Ein Shokek park area, an incident involving Israeli-Arab students being attacked by Jewish yeshiva students left 13 students hospitalized; Beit She’an police detained a Sakhnin teacher and three attackers, and some students were sent home with psychological support as the Education Ministry condemned the attack.
In US Policy Concerning Israel, US authorities charged Elias Rodriguez, 31, with four additional counts of terrorism in the killing of two Israeli diplomats in Washington last May, bringing the indictment to nine charges that include hate crimes and carry the possibility of the death penalty or life imprisonment. Prosecutors say he opened fire on people leaving an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee, firing around 20 shots and shouting “Free Palestine” as the victims, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, were killed. Separately, the Hind Rajab Foundation filed a complaint with the US Justice Department seeking an investigation into an Israeli IDF veteran for alleged war crimes and genocide tied to actions during Israel’s Gaza war, arguing the veteran has shifted from soldier to propagandist. The HRF’s filing accompanies bro