Hostage talks start * Exclusive: Biden shelved speech urging Israeli reckoning * Columbia president quits * El Al profits soar * ToI at war-wrecked kids treatment center

[Times of Israel]( [The daily edition]( Thursday, August 15, 2024 Live updates [LIVE: Hostage talks kick off in Doha, as IDF razes dozens of tunnels near Gaza-Egypt border]( By Michael Bachner and ToI Staff Thousands of evacuees return to Gaza border towns as state subsidies end * Hezbollah fires dozens of rockets at north * PA’s Abbas vows to go to Gaza even if it costs him his life [Israel sends high-level team to Doha talks, seen as possible last chance for deal]( By ToI Staff and Agencies Team led by heads of Mossad, Shin Bet; Hamas apparently won’t take part, will interact with mediators; Jerusalem said to demand all 33 hostages returned in first stage must be alive [ToI podcast / Daily Briefing Aug. 15: Day 314 – Doha talks underway, while Arab cartoonists mock Iran]( By ToI Staff [US, UK and German envoys push for Gaza deal: ‘All remaining issues have solutions’]( By Sam Sokol and Tal Schneider [US said to believe IDF can’t make further gains against ‘diminished’ Hamas in Gaza]( By ToI Staff Current and former officials say military achievements have exceeded original expectations, but the only way to free the hostages remains an agreement with Hamas [Tel Aviv’s ‘Hostage Square’ to be in Chicago for DNC — with or without a permit]( By Jackie Hajdenberg [Police detain 14 as dozens of far-right activists try to breach Gaza border for prayers]( By ToI Staff Exclusive Jacob Magid [A Biden speech urging national Israeli reckoning was shelved at the last minute. Here’s why]( Top aides crafted address on Israel’s choice between integration and isolation, but instead went with another speech exposing details of Jerusalem’s freshly submitted ceasefire offer [Report: Saudi crown prince said he fears assassination over Israel normalization]( By ToI Staff [Hosting Abbas, Erdogan vows to keep pushing for international pressure on Israel]( By Reuters and ToI Staff [Columbia president resigns amid criticism over her response to anti-Israel protests]( By JTA Minouche Shafik steps down weeks before school year starts, becoming the fourth head of an Ivy League university to quit after facing controversy related to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack [UCLA criticizes ruling that pro-Palestinian protesters can’t exclude Jews from campus]( By Andrew Lapin [US college sued by quiz creator over Hitler birth question streamed at football game]( By AP [Those We Are Missing]( [The hostages and victims whose fate is still unknown]( [Read Here]( [In clips with Arabic subtitles, Jerusalem rabbis condemn Jewish prayer at Temple Mount]( By Canaan Lidor and ToI Staff After Ben Gvir says it’s ‘policy’ to allow Jewish prayer at contested site, over PM’s denials, spiritual leaders slam ‘radical fringes,’ affirm ruling Jews should stay away entirely [Haredi parties mull bolting coalition as Ben Gvir pushes Jewish prayer on Temple Mount]( By ToI Staff Top Ops Shayna Abramson [Are my reasons for living in Israel still good enough?]( Despite my many good reasons to be here, I’m troubled by the fact that Israel has not fulfilled its primary raison d’etre: a safe haven from antisemitism Howard Feldman [You can’t read the label from inside the bottle]( As US Jews take up political arms for their respective presidential candidates and against each other, I’m out of the fray, but foresee antisemitic ire from both sides Reporters Notebook [War-wrecked Galilee center for kids with disabilities plans to be ‘larger and stronger’]( By Gavriel Fiske Mevo’ot HaHermon Treatment and Rehabilitation Campus, closed since Oct. 8 and damaged by an errant missile, includes one of the largest hydrotherapy pools of its kind in Israel [Bennett calls for ‘all the senior leadership, political and military, to be replaced’]( By ToI Staff Ex-PM indicates possible return to politics, says Netanyahu’s words contradict his actions in management of Gaza war; urges Israel to take on Iran directly instead of its proxies [‘Pretty infantile’: Public diplomacy mavens pan FM for insulting world leaders on X]( By ToI Staff [Those We Have Lost]( [Those We Have Lost]( [Civilians and soldiers who have fallen since Oct. 7]( [Read Here]( [El Al’s profits soar as foreign carriers’ cancellations give it market dominance]( By ToI Staff National airline reports $147 million earnings in second quarter, up 80% on previously record-breaking Q1; firm has faced accusations of taking advantage of situation to hike prices [In Beirut, US envoy Hochstein says Gaza ceasefire crucial, ‘no more time to waste’]( By AFP and ToI Staff Hostage-truce deal with Hamas ‘would prevent an outbreak of a wider war,’ Hochstein says, as Israel continues to brace for potential attacks from Iran and Hezbollah [IDF drone strike kills 2 Hezbollah members amid repeated rocket attacks from Lebanon]( By Emanuel Fabian [Iran Guard officer dies of wounds from recent Syria airstrike – report]( By Reuters and ToI Staff [WHO says 11 children with cancer evacuated from Gaza via Israel for treatment]( By AP and ToI Staff Kids exit through Kerem Shalom Crossing and are headed for Jordan, accompanied by one female escort each [IDF says it has no info on deaths of mother and 4-day-old twins in Gaza]( By Emanuel Fabian, AFP and ToI Staff [2 Palestinian gunmen killed in IDF drone strike near Nablus]( By Emanuel Fabian [5 Palestinian gunmen killed, four troops hurt in West Bank raid]( By Emanuel Fabian [Anti-Israel protesters disrupt NYC support rally for Harris campaign]( By ToI Staff Demonstrators interrupt speakers, including mayor, then follow participants to afterparty where they set off smoke bombs, clash with police [Walz says he has no personal ties to imam who praised Oct. 7, shared pro-Hitler video]( By Jackie Hajdenberg [CRM]( [Satirical cartoons in the Arab press lampoon Iran for delaying attack on Israel]( By Gianluca Pacchiani Newspapers in the region mock Tehran’s unfulfilled threats, deride its aggressive posturing; others ridicule Arab countries that are expected to support Israel in case of an attack [Iranian police shoot woman while trying to seize her car over hijab violation]( By Jon Gambrell [Land allocation approved for first new West Bank settlement to be built since 2017]( By Jeremy Sharon Lauding declaration of Nahal Heletz’s borders, Smotrich says he’s ‘establishing facts on the ground’ as part of ‘my life’s mission’ to prevent Palestinian state, expand settlements [Day 314 – Doha talks underway, while Arab cartoonists mock Iran]( [listen to the podcast]( Interview [US-Israeli maker of Boy Butter lubricant attempts record-length swim for Oct. 7 charity]( By Cathryn J. Prince On August 17, Eyal Feldman will paddle 16 miles nonstop across upstate New York’s Skaneateles Lake to benefit orphans in Israel who lost their parents in the Hamas onslaught More Headlines [Almost 100 US rabbis call on Netanyahu to finalize hostage deal]( By JTA and ToI Staff [German biscuit giant apologizes for larger-than-known Nazi-era slave labor force]( By AFP [Tech employees pay over a third of all income tax in Israel, study shows]( By Sharon Wrobel [Netanyahu denies he spoke to Trump, after report says they discussed Gaza talks]( By ToI Staff and Reuters [France probes cyberbullying of Olympic champion Khelif by Trump, Musk, others]( By AFP and ToI Staff [Parties trade blame as coalition chaos enables opposition to defeat bill for first time]( By Sam Sokol [US Sen. Chuck Schumer to publish book on his experiences with antisemitism]( By Luke Tress [French Olympian suspended for posts against Jews, Israel and hostages]( By Reuters and ToI Staff [Three Israeli universities ranked among top 100 worldwide]( By Gavriel Fiske [Eyebrows raised as PM’s surgeon appointed to board of state-owned arms maker]( By ToI Staff [The daily edition]( [facebook]( [twitter]( [instagram]( [View in browser]( [Contact support](mailto:support@timesofisrael.com) [Advertise with us](mailto:advertise@timesofisrael.com) Were you forwarded this email? [Subscribe here]( [Unsubscribe]( from this List © 2024 The Times Of Israel, All Rights Reserved