The Times of Israel is liveblogging Wednesday’s events as they happen.
Trump repeats debunked claim that Biden earmarked $100 million for condoms for Hamas US President Donald Trump again falsely claims that the previous administration of Joe Biden had allocated $100 million in condoms for Hamas. Trump highlights the figure while going through what he says is the wasteful spending exposed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency during a speech at the FII PRIORITY Summit in Florida. Last week, Musk admitted that the funds for contraceptives were not earmarked for Hamas and not earmarked for the Gaza Strip either, rather for a province in Mozambique. The White House first claimed that the figure was $50 million, but Trump has since twice claimed that it is $100 million.
Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani calls for the arrest of a group of leaders from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis who he says will attend Lebanese Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s funeral in Beirut. Nasrallah, who had served as the Lebanese terror group’s secretary general for more than 30 years, was killed on September 27 as Israel ramped up its attacks. His funeral is scheduled for February 23. Eryani demands that the Lebanese government arrest the Houthi leaders and hand them over to the rival internationally recognized government in a post on X. He does not name the Houthi officials. Neither the Lebanese government nor Houthi leaders are immediately available for comment. The Houthis have not officially announced a delegation will attend the funeral, but the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV has reported a delegation from Yemen will participate. “We affirm that the movement of these terrorist leaders… in this timing is not a mere participation in the funeral, which is being used as a cover, to gather all the leaders of the Iranian axis and assess the situation after the blows they received,” he adds.
IDF says it struck southern Gaza to foil attempted smuggling-by-drone from Israel The IDF confirms carrying out an airstrike in the southern Gaza Strip several hours ago, targeting a group of suspects who took possession of a drone that was used in a smuggling attempt. According to the military, the drone had been identified as crossing from Israel into Gaza, in an attempt to smuggle prohibited goods. After the drone landed and several suspects took possession of it, the IDF carried out an airstrike against them. Palestinian media reported several dead and wounded in the strike. The IDF says it is trying to find those who operated the drone, “to bring them to justice.” Several such smuggling attempts have been carried out in recent weeks, with the IDF saying suspects on the Israeli side load up drones with weapons or drugs and fly them over the border into Gaza. Some of the attempts have been successful, according to the military.
New York leaders express outrage over ‘antisemitic’ protest in Brooklyn Jewish neighborhood Political leaders in New York condemn an anti-Israel protest that took place last night in Boro Park, a Brooklyn neighborhood with a large Orthodox population. “Mask-wearing protesters chanting antisemitic slogans in the middle of the most Orthodox Jewish community in the city is all about provocation and not about free speech,” says Senator Chuck Schumer of New York. “I applaud the NYPD for keeping order and condemn in strongest terms those who used antisemitic language and symbolism at this event.” New York Governor Kathy Hochul says: “We saw protesters in Boro Park targeting Jewish New Yorkers with hateful rhetoric and antisemitic chants. This is unacceptable.” The minority leader of the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, also of New York, says: “The vile and antisemitic rhetoric directed at Jewish residents in Borough Park is unacceptable and unconscionable.” “Antisemitism has no place in New York City, and bringing it to Borough Park is disgraceful,” says Mayor Eric Adams. “We will not tolerate attacks on Jewish New Yorkers or any other diverse community across our city.” Also condemning the protest are Representative Daniel Goldman; Representative Elise Stefanik, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, progressive city comptroller Brad Lander, Jewish city council members Eric Dinowitz and Julie Menin, the New York Jewish Agenda liberal advocacy group, the UJA-Federation of New York, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, and the American Jewish Committee.
The IDF takes responsibility for this evening’s announcement that Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Ariel and Kfir, are on Hamas’s list of slain hostages set to be handed over to Israel tomorrow. “The IDF is responsible for communicating with the families of the hostages. The IDF investigated the matter and spoke with the families. We regret the mistake that was made in good faith vis-a-vis the families, as well as the emotional distress caused,” the military says in a statement. The names of the four slain hostages set to be handed over by Hamas tomorrow were first issued by the terror group and confirmed to reporters by top officials. The Bibas family says they did not approve the names to be published, and the Prime Minister’s Office blamed the IDF for the error.
PM’s office blames IDF for ‘grave mistake’ after Bibas family named as slain hostages After the Bibas family blasts the Prime Minister’s Office for confirming to journalists that their loved ones are on the Hamas list of hostages’ bodies to be returned tomorrow, an official in the PMO blames the army for the “grave mistake.” “This was a grave mistake on the part of the IDF liaison officers communicating with the Bibas family, which resulted from an unfortunate human error,” says the official. The PMO source says the officers gave the green light for the names to be given to the press, even though it is now apparent that the Bibas family had not approved it. The official says the officers had been required to confirm that every family approves the publication of the names.
Family of Oded Lifshitz: Until we get absolute certainty, our journey will not be over The family of Oded Lifshitz, named as a slain hostage set for return tomorrow, says in a statement: “These hours are not easy for us, after being informed that our beloved Oded is on the list of the fallen hostages who will be returned to Israel tomorrow, after being kidnapped alive from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. “For 502 days, we hoped and prayed for a different outcome, but until we get absolute certainty, our journey will not be over, and even after that, we will continue to fight until the last hostage is brought home.”
‘Shameful’: Bibas family says did not approve naming Shiri and kids as slain The sister-in-law of Shiri Bibas denies the family agreed to the Prime Minister’s Office confirming her loved ones as being on Hamas’s list of slain hostages to be returned tomorrow. “The list that has already declared Ariel and Kfir as fallen, which was published by the Prime Minister’s Office, supposedly with the families’ approval, was never approved by us,” Ofri Bibas, sister of Shiri’s husband Yarden, writes on Facebook. In its earlier statement the PMO said the families had approved the names being published. “For 16 months, we have been waiting for certainty that they couldn’t provide us, and now it’s being decided before they’re even here?? Before they’ve undergone identification?? Before we’ve been officially informed?” “The entire country has turned into casualty officers, knocking on our door,” she says. “Shameful.”
Outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi is cutting his official trip to the United States short and will return tonight. Initially, Halevi was scheduled to return tomorrow. The IDF says he “expedited his return due to progress in the agreement for the return of the hostages and the expected return of the deceased hostages tomorrow.” During the visit, Halevi held a series of meetings with senior US defense officials. He was also awarded the Legion of Merit. Last night, he met with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, and they discussed “current strategic and operational issues,” the IDF says. Today, Halevi will meet with CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla for an assessment on “challenges in the Middle East, with a focus on Lebanon and Iran, as well as on ways to strengthen cooperation between the militaries.” The IDF chief also met with members of the Jewish community in Washington DC, briefing them on the war, and delivered a lecture to officers at the National Defense University, the military adds. It is Halevi’s final trip to the US as chief of staff, as he is set to step down on March 5.