Gallant denies hostage deal reports, IDF to train on northern border

The IDF operated extensively in the Gaza Strip early on Thursday morning, with loud explosions heard in the western Negev.

Japan's Icom stated that it was not possible to confirm whether the radio product reportedly related to the Lebanon explosions was shipped by their company.

Additionally, Icom noted that batteries that were required to operate the device, for which sales were discontinued about ten years ago, have also already been discontinued.

"Our products exported overseas have undergone strict regulatory processes set by the Japanese government," the company added. 

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed his "unwavering" support for Israel to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a phone call and reviewed the situation in the region, Israeli media reported during the early hours of Thursday morning. 

The Pentagon Spokesperson said that Austin reviewed with Gallant recent security developments, where tensions remain high after a second explosion of Hezbollah pagers and devices on Wednesday.

Furthermore, during the call, Austin said that reaching a deal to release the hostages and a ceasefire to achieve a diplomatic solution should be a priority.

Austin reiterated US support for Israel "in the face of threats from Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah, and Iran’s other regional partners."

Israelis across the country received fictitious text messages under the title of "emergency alert" late on Wednesday night, which called on them to leave where they were and find a protected area, Israeli media reported shortly after the incident.

The possibility that the message was sent out by Iranian officials has been undergoing examination, KAN News reported after the messages were widely spread out.

US President Joe Biden will welcome United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the White House on Monday for talks on issues ranging from the war in Gaza, Sudan and responsible artificial intelligence development.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the visit would be the first-ever by a president of the Gulf Arab country to Washington, adding that Vice President Kamala Harris would meet separately with the UAE leader.

Discussions would also focus on climate, clean energy, and UAE's role as a partner in the Group of Seven's global infrastructure partnership, Kirby told reporters.

Kirby also said on Wednesday that the US remains involved in intensive diplomatic efforts to prevent an escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and said the US was not involved in the hand-held radio and pager device blasts.

A psychological warfare video containing footage from terror attacks on Israel was published on Wednesday evening by Hamas on the terror group's official Telegram account.

Graphic footage of previous terror attacks on Israel was shown in the threatening clip, spanning from the early 2000s to recent times, including an attack in Tel Aviv in August this year.

The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday voted 124-14 to strip Israel of the right to self-defense against Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and east Jerusalem.

The text of the resolution was based on the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion in July that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory was illegal.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, in a speech about the situation in the North, explicitly complimented the Mossad, along with the entire defense establishment, for "great achievements" just as the region continued to convulse with news of devices exploding across Lebanon.

Gallant did not take explicit credit, and Israel has been careful not to take public credit for the exploding beepers on Tuesday or the exploding devices on Wednesday, but the timing and juxtaposition of his rare mention of the Mossad along with the new round of explosions was striking.

Radios manufactured by Japanese firm ICOM reportedly were among the devices exploding in Lebanon on Wednesday, according to reports first shared with The Jerusalem Post by Bernie News and then confirmed by New York Times journalist Christiaan Triebert over social media. 

19 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members were killed after their pagers had exploded in Deir ez-Zur in eastern Syria, Saudi news source Al-Hadath reported Wednesday afternoon.

An additional 150 IRCG members were also wounded in the explosions, Army Radio reported, citing the Saudi news source.