Israel at war: What happened on day 34?

Palestinian Islamic Jihad is willing to release two Israeli hostages they are holding, the terror group's spokesperson announced on Thursday, according to Israeli media reports. 

The spokesperson said that an elderly woman and a child could be released. They were later named as Hanna Katzir, 77, and Yagil Yaakov, 12, both of Kibbutz Nir Oz. Yaakov was kidnapped alongside his father, his father's partner, and his brother Or, 16.

The Knesset passed a financial aid plan for businesses in the South and the North almost five weeks after the beginning of the war in a special Knesset plenum session on Wednesday night.

The plan passed its second and third readings after the Finance Committee had spent hours finalizing the details throughout the day.

How will the plan work?

The plan contains a continuity grant for businesses with an annual cycle of between NIS 12,000 and NIS 400 million who have suffered a decline of at least 25% bimonthly or 12.5% in October and/or November. The sum of the grant will be determined for each business according to its cycle compared to its loss.

For businesses that were started after September 2, 2022, the calculation will be different.

In order for employees to maintain an income if they were placed on furlough, the plan also changes the requirements for unemployment benefits to allow them to be paid sooner.

A Border Police officer was dismissed from his position on Thursday after an investigation found that he abandoned his post and acted in complete opposition to orders and instructions during the stabbing attack in which Rose Lubin was murdered on Monday.

The officer was transferred from the Border Police forces to the IDF, where he will continue his service.

According to Israeli reports, the officer left his post to buy bourekas.

The terrorist, a 16-year-old from the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Issawiya, was killed by officers responding at the scene of the attack. One person was also arrested on suspicion of aiding the attacker.

We will draw lessons, Border Police chief says

"The fighters of the Border Police are at the forefront of action and fighting, as a force we are entrusted with the safety and well-being of the public - and in accordance with the great authority there is responsibility to the same degree," said Border Police commander Brick Yitzhak.

A Border Police officer was transferred from his position on Thursday after an investigation found that he abandoned his post and acted in complete opposition to orders and instructions during the stabbing attack in which Rose Lubin was murdered on Monday.

"The fighters of the Border Police are at the forefront of action and fighting, as a force we are entrusted with the safety and well-being of the public - and in accordance with the great authority there is responsibility to the same degree," said Border Police commander Brick Yitzhak. "The Border Police is a force that engraves on its flag professionalism in accordance with a clear and distinct moral compass. In places where we understand that there is a failure, we will not compromise and we will handle it with determination and commanding courage, while drawing lessons and expressing full transparency."

The conflict in Gaza is a wildfire that could spread across the region, UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Thursday, adding that allowing the situation to continue in Gaza would be a "travesty."

"The United Nations cannot be part of unilateral proposal to push Palestinians into so-called safe zones," he also said, at the start of a humanitarian conference on Gaza in Paris.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on Thursday that he was concerned about the spillover risk of the situation in Gaza, adding that the West Bank "is boiling"

Lazzarini, the Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), also said there was need for a meaningful continuous humanitarian aid to Gaza including fuel.

He said aid coming in through Rafah was inadequate, adding that all crossings into Gaza should be opened.

At least one Palestinian terrorist was killed and a number of others were seriously injured amid armed clashes with Israeli forces in the Jenin refugee camp on Thursday morning, according to Palestinian reports.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that there must be a humanitarian pause very quickly in Gaza and that countries must also work for a ceasefire.

"Civilians must be protected, that's indispensable and non negotiable and is an immediate necessity," Macron said at the start of a humanitarian conference on Gaza in Paris.

The National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the Prime Minister's Office stated that it "views with utmost gravity that photojournalists working with international media joined in covering the brutal acts of murder perpetrated by Hamas terrorists on October 7th in the communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip."

"These journalists were accomplices in crimes against humanity; their actions were contrary to professional ethics. Overnight the GPO issued an urgent letter to the bureau chiefs of the media organizations that employed these photographers and sought clarifications on the matter. The National Public Diplomacy Directorate demands that immediate action be taken."

Britain's government escalated its row with London's police chief on Thursday over the handling of a pro-Palestinian march this weekend, accusing his officers of taking a softer stance towards left-wing causes.

Plans for a demonstration in London on Saturday's Armistice Day has sparked a row between government and police, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saying he would hold the force accountable for any trouble after it said there was not enough reason to ban it.

London has been the venue for some of the biggest demonstrations in Europe since militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, with tens of thousands of marchers gathering each weekend to demand an end to Israel's retaliatory bombing of Gaza.

Police have said they expect a significant demonstration on Saturday, Nov. 11, the anniversary of the end of World War One but that there are no plans for protest on Nov. 12, when formal Remembrance Sunday events are held in central London.

Sunak has called the march disrespectful but police commissioner, Mark Rowley, has said any ban would require intelligence of a threat of serious disorder, and that such bans had not been implemented for a decade.