The Times of Israel is liveblogging Thursday’s events as they happen.
As Defense Ministry director set to become IDF chief, Katz taps temporary replacement Itamar Graf, the Defense Ministry deputy director and head of its planning division, has been appointed by Defense Minister Israel Katz as acting director-general. Graf has been appointed because the current director general, Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir, is set to become IDF chief of staff on March 6. Katz says he intends to appoint a permanent director general soon.
Far-right politicians enthusiastically welcome Defense Minister Israel Katz’s announcement that he has ordered the IDF to prepare a plan to enable Gazans to leave the Strip voluntarily. “I congratulate the defense minister on his decision to instruct the IDF to prepare to fulfill our role in the migration plan to allow the departure of Gazans from Gaza to receiving countries,” says Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. “As we have been saying for many years, and even more so since the beginning of the war, there is no other realistic solution that will ensure peace and security for Israel and personal wellbeing for the residents of Gaza.” Smotrich has previously called on Israel to occupy Gaza and encourage half of the Strip’s 2.2 million Palestinians to emigrate within two years. He has expressed strong enthusiasm for US President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians, telling reporters last month that he was working on an “operational plan” to turn it into actionable policy. Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben Gvir calls Katz’s preparations for “the voluntary departure of Gaza residents” an “important step, which recognizes that the real solution for Gaza is no longer dreams of ‘reconstruction’ and a return to the previous situation, but a fundamental change in reality. “The possibility of voluntary departure is a necessary step to ensure the security of Israeli citizens and to strengthen Israeli deterrence. It is time for the world to understand: Gaza cannot continue to be a hotbed of terrorism, and the responsibility for this lies not with Israel but with those who chose terrorism,” Ben Gvir declares, calling on the government “to move forward with determination, remove every bureaucratic obstacle, and ensure that this option becomes a reality as soon as possible.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have taken delivery of the country’s first ship capable of launching drones and helicopters at sea, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reports. Amid military exercises lasting from early January to early March, Iran’s armed forces have unveiled new weaponry as Tehran braces for more friction with Israel and the United States under US President Donald Trump. “The Revolutionary Guards took action to transform a commercial ship… into a mobile naval platform capable of carrying out drone and helicopter missions in the oceans,” says Navy Commander of the Revolutionary Guards Alireza Tangsiri. The Shahid Beheshti, a former container ship, is equipped with a 180-meter (590-ft) runway and can operate without refueling for up to one year, Tasnim said. The ship is different from previous Revolutionary Guards warships because it can launch and retrieve larger drones such as the Qaher and Mohajer-6. “The addition of this ship into our fleet is an important step in increasing the defense and deterrence capability of Iran in distant waters and in maintaining our national security interests,” Tangsiri adds. Last month, Iran’s navy received its first signals intelligence ship.
2 soldiers killed, 8 wounded as crane collapses on troops in Gaza due to strong winds Two Israeli soldiers were killed and eight others were wounded in an accident in the Gaza Strip late last night, the military announces. One of the soldiers is named as Sgt. First Class (res.) Nadav Cohen, 21, of the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, from Beit Hanan. The IDF says the name of the second soldier will be released later. Of the eight wounded soldiers, one is listed in serious condition. According to an initial IDF probe, a crane collapsed due to harsh winds, crashing down on the soldiers.
Katz orders IDF to prepare plan enabling Gazans to leave the Strip voluntarily Inspired by US President Donald Trump’s relocation vision, Defense Minister Israel Katz has ordered the IDF to prepare a plan to enable Gazans to leave the Strip voluntarily, Katz’s office says. Katz is quoted as welcoming Trump’s “courageous plan, which could enable a wide swath of the population in Gaza to leave to various places around the world.” Katz also says: “Hamas used Gaza residents as human shields and built terror infrastructure in the heart of the population, and is now holding them hostage, extorting money from them by use of humanitarian aid, and preventing them from leaving Gaza.” He says he has ordered the military to ready a plan by which any resident who wants it can emigrate to any place that agrees to absorb them. Katz specifically mentions potential destinations such as Spain, Ireland, Norway and other countries that have leveled “false accusations” regarding Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, arguing that if these nations refuse to accept Palestinians, “their hypocrisy will be exposed.” He also mentions Canada, which has “an organized immigration program” and has “previously voiced a willingness to absorb Gazan residents.” The plan would provide for exit through land crossings, as well as “special arrangements” for departure via maritime and aerial routes. “Gaza’s residents should be allowed the freedom to exit and emigrate, as is the practice anywhere around the world,” Katz argues, adding that Trump’s plan could advance “rehabilitation plans in a demilitarized Gaza that poses no threat in the post-Hamas era, which will take many years.”
Australia passes tough hate crime laws, with jail time for Nazi salutes, in bid to tackle antisemitism Australia passes tough anti-hate crime laws, including mandatory minimum sentences for terror offenses and displaying hate symbols, in a bid to tackle a recent surge in antisemitism. The laws will impose minimum jail sentences between 12 months for less serious hate crimes, such as giving a Nazi salute in public, and six years for those found guilty of terrorism offenses. “I want people who are engaged in antisemitism to be held to account, to be charged, to be incarcerated,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who had initially opposed mandatory minimum sentences for hate crimes, tells Sky News. The government’s hate crimes bill was first introduced to parliament last year, creating new offenses for threatening force or violence against people based on their race, religion, nationality, national or ethnic origin, political opinion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status. Recent months have seen an escalation of attacks on synagogues, buildings and cars of Jewish community members across the country, including the discovery of a caravan laden with explosives with a list of Jewish targets in Sydney. Albanese has been criticized by the center-right opposition party for being weak on crime and failing to address the rise in antisemitism. The Liberal-National coalition began calling for mandatory minimum sentences to be added to the hate crimes bill last month. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who introduced the amendments enabling the provisions late on Wednesday, says the changes are the “toughest laws Australia has ever had against hate crimes.” The state of New South Wales, where most of the antisemitic attacks have taken place, said on Wednesday it would also strengthen its hate speech laws to reflect those already in place in Western Australia and Victoria.