Israeli embassies on high alert, IDF chief warns of Iran retaliation

Sirens sound in Dishon, Malkia, in Northern Israel.

Israel has denied reports that it has withdrawn its ambassadors and evacuated its embassies in multiple locations around the world, Israeli media reported on Thursday.

Additionally, it was reported that certain ambassadors have been requested not to arrive at public events.

According to initial reports, this decision was made in agreement between the Foreign Ministry and Israel's Shin Bet.

THE FLAGS of the US, United Arab Emirates, Israel and Bahrain are seen on the side of a road in Netanya, in September. (credit: FLASH90)

Reports come amid fears of Iranian revenge strikes

Ali Salem, a senior executive member of the Federation of Local Authorities, called for a ceasefire in Gaza at an Iftar dinner hosted by President Isaac Herzog and his wife, Michal, on Wednesday night.

Looking around at some 150 people gathered in the main hall of the President’s Residence, Salem asserted that each was capable of making peace.

He underscored that even after the events of October 7, Arab and Jewish mayors, all of them citizens of Israel, continued to sit together to discuss mutual problems and try to find solutions.

He insisted that this was the only way possible, punctuating his speech repeatedly with references to negotiations around a table.

MICHAL HERZOG (sixth from right) at the iftar dinner of the Eshkol Galil and Valleys Women’s Forum. (credit: JEZREEL VALLEY LOCAL COUNCIL)

He also said that Arab mayors totally supported Herzog's efforts to find ways for different communities within the country to work together for the mutual benefit of all.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's daily diary records for 2023 were released on Thursday, revealing what the prime minister did and who he talked to as the events of Hamas's October 7 massacre in southern Israel unfolded.

According to Netanyahu's diary, he received the first phone call of that fateful Saturday morning, warning him of Hamas's surprise assault, at 6:29 a.m., as rockets began hurtling toward Israel from the southern Gaza border communities to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Morning of October 7: Woken up by Hamas, left home at 8:00 a.m.

The phone call, carried out by Netanyahu's military secretary, was when the prime minister claimed he was first informed of the invasion from Gaza.

Only 90 minutes later, as per the records, did Netanyahu leave his Ceasarea home en route to the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv for further security assessments.

The diary states that US President Joe Biden was not the first world leader to call Netanyahu on the morning of October 7. Instead, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte was the first to call Netanyahu, asking for an update on the situation in Israel's South.

Later on that day, Netanyahu spoke with Biden, as well as with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, flanked by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (left) and IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, holds a security assessment in Tel Aviv. (credit: HAIM ZACH/GPO)

At around 11 a.m., four and half hours after Hamas's attack began, Netanyahu filmed a statement to the press outside the Defense Ministry offices, before holding a meeting at the Kirya at 12:30 a.m. with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, and Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf.

Lidor Levy, one of the three victims of the Sunday night stabbing attack in Gan Yavne, died from his wounds on Thursday, according to Israeli media.

The 34-year-old was severely wounded during the attack. 

He leaves behind an 18-month-old daughter and a wife, pregnant with the couple's second child. 

"Lidor was an exemplary father, partner, brother and son, a man full of love, nobility, and devotion," his family said following his death, according to Walla!

"His life purpose was to help people modestly and humbly. Lidor left a huge void in our hearts; we will continue to live according to the values he instilled in us for his memory."

MDA paramedics arrive at the scene. March 31, 2024. (credit: MAGEN DAVID ADOM)

Hamas official Osama Hamdan said on Thursday there had been no progress in Gaza ceasefire talks despite the movement showing flexibility.

Hamdan said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was placing obstacles hindering both parties from reaching an agreement and that he is "not interested" in releasing Israeli hostages.

The Hamas official also claimed that Netanyahu is "drowning in the sands of Gaza," asserting that Israel had "failed in achieving their goals and will not achieve them."

Negotiations stuck in a 'vicious cycle'

"The occupation government is still evading, and negotiations are stuck in a vicious circle," Hamdan said at a press conference held in Beirut.

The IDF announced on Thursday it had decided to temporarily halt leave for combat units, moments before the head of the IDF's Military Intelligence Directorate, Aharon Haliva, warned Israel is facing "complex days" ahead amid increasing threats of strikes by Iran.

Speaking after, it was revealed that IDF Intelligence Analysis Chief Brig. Gen. Amit Saar would resign from his role due to a cancer diagnosis. Haliva also warned that he was "not sure that the worst is behind us."

"In accordance with the assessment of the situation in the IDF, it has been decided to temporarily stop leave of combat units," the military said in a statement.

It added, "The IDF is at war, and the deployment of forces is constantly being reviewed according to needs."

US First Lady Jill Biden pleaded with her husband, the president, to "Stop it, stop it now," speaking about the war in Gaza, President Biden told guests at the White House on Tuesday, according to a report in The New York Times.

The comments came at a contentious Ramadan event held at the White House, to which many guests rejected invitations and which one guest walked out early in protest.

White House: No daylight between Joe and Jill on policy

The White House was quick to assure the press that the first lady's words expressed pain over the deaths of civilians but not a request that the Biden administration withdraw support for Israel's war against Hamas.

US PRESIDENT Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden attend the dignified transfer, earlier this month at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, of the remains of three US service members killed in Jordan in a drone attack carried out by Iran-backed terrorists. (credit: JOSHUA ROBERTS/REUTERS)

Energy Minister Eli Cohen stated his belief that the US government is only changing their stance on Israel due to upcoming United States presidential elections, while at the Urban Corporations Convention in Eilat on Wednesday.

He said, "The only change I see in the Americans' stance is because of the upcoming elections in the United States."

Against the backdrop of strained relations with the United States amid discussions on the pending IDF operation in Rafah, Cohen said that "if America, our greatest friend whom I greatly appreciate, does not give Israel absolute backing - it has nothing to look for in the Middle East."

Continuing to discuss the upcoming American elections and how this could possibly shift US foreign policy on Israel, the Energy Minister added, "Israel is a sovereign state, and we are the only democracy in the region.

"The only change I see in the Americans' stance is because of the upcoming elections in the United States."

IDF Intelligence Analysis Chief Brig. Gen. Amit Saar, considered by some the official most responsible for not foreseeing the October 7 invasion by Hamas, on Thursday announced that he was resigning immediately due to a cancerous growth.

According to the IDF, Saar started to feel seriously ill a few weeks ago and was finally diagnosed with the cancer recently and updated the IDF that he must resign to undergo treatment.

In mid-March, Saar told a closed military intelligence conference that he would resign from his post upon publication of the IDF's impending probe of the October 7 failures, which is set for June.

Saar is the most senior Israeli official to date to resign, although IDF sources said that he was due to finish his role anyway over the summer.

Former IDF intelligence analysis chief Itai Brun, who had the role from 2011-2015, has replaced Saar on an emergency and temporary basis for the coming months until the IDF considers the issue of a permanent replacement.