Ukrainian children who fled Russia’s invasion transform Ukrainian school in Canada
Yuriy Zaliznyak
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Matviy, a 6-year-old boy, has been attending a school named Ridne Slovo, which means “native word” in Ukrainian, for two years and primarily focusing on reading and writing in Ukrainian — to become fluent in his mother tongue, despite being separated from it by thousands of miles.
Ukrainian Saturday school in Vancouver is not just about the educational process — it is, rather, about building the Ukrainian community, letting children preserve their attachment to Ukraine, their motherland, said Yulia, the mother of the boy.
This educational project of New Westminster Eparchy was established in 2014 by local Ukrainian families, who were interested in more diverse and comprehensive Ukrainian-speaking educational curriculum in comparison with the regular Canadian schools.
After more than 20 years in Canada, Yulia now serves as a head of the parents’ council of the school, saying that joining the school was not even a matter of choice: “We want our son to feel himself a part of the community, to understand that he is not alone and his parents are not the only Ukrainians around,” she said.
At the very beginning, there were only several dozens of pupils in the school. But this year the number has grown to 160 children — the smallest is just over 2 years old and the eldest is 14 years old, said Iryna Dziubko, a school administrator.
“A lot of newcomers from Ukraine joined the school — now there is an equal split between them and children who didn’t directly flee the full-scale Russian invasion,” Dziubko said.
As she sees it, these new students have changed the vibe of the school as children began to use Ukrainian language during the breaks and before that the school administration were struggling with English language in the corridors.
“The actual war refugees helped us deal with this problem enabling local children to practice Ukrainian language not only during classes,” she said.
Fifteen teachers, including seven people who have also recently relocated from Ukraine, teach children how to write and read in Ukrainian, Ukrainian studies, history, math, logic and Bible studies, as preparation for the first communion.
“At first it was all about providing mostly Ukrainian cultural studies but now, with the new wave of children from Ukraine, we understood that we also can level up the general knowledge criteria,” Dziubko said. The school is also trying to help young Ukrainians to overcome the war traumas, in part by pushing the student to study — but also to relax and enjoy themselves, she said.
Ihor, 40, an IT specialist who relocated his family from Lviv, Ukraine, on March 1, 2022, just a week after the full-scale invasion began, said he and his wife are trying to help to their two boys, 13 and 11, and 9-year-old daughter, experience the benefits of attending the Canadian and Ukrainian schools at the same time.
“Our eldest son had a traumatic experience with the school back in Ukraine, he literally hated it against the background of the Canadian school he attends here — it was about the indifference of the teachers and cruelty among the students,” Ihor said.
He said he wanted his children to know why it is so important for them to learn about Ukrainian culture and identity.
“It is all about remembering where you are from, about having friends in here and enjoying the community of your own,” Ihor said.
As he sees it, for parents this school is about community and cultural opportunity to keep holding to Ukrainian identity and consciousness in order to secure its transit to their children.
“I became a volunteer in this school, trying to be a role model and help my children with adaptation, to involve them into the learning process in the new surroundings,” said Olena.
She said she found the school while in Sri-Lanka, browsing online for schooling opportunities for her children. Her daughter, Maggie, is almost 9 years old and son, Misha, is 6, and both have been attending Ridne Slovo since last winter.
“My children got used to this school despite the fact that they assigned more homework in a week than it has been assigned during the whole year in the Canadian school.”
The whole family arrived in Sri-Lanka three days before the Russian invasion to Ukraine, hoping to spend their two weeks’ vacation there, but got stuck. They attended a local British school for 18 months. Back then, Olena realized that she had to start speaking Ukrainian instead of Russian.
“My husband is British and I am the only keeper of the Ukrainian heritage in our family — I bite it off with my teeth,” she said. “So, it was my decision to let our children attend this school as Ukrainian language is now very important, although it was not a part of our family before the war — all of us were Russian speaking.”
“Sri-Laka it is almost India, India is a friend of Russia, and the Russians feel themselves very comfortable there — like somewhere in Krasnodar region,” she said. “There were a lot of them there and if you are speaking Russian there is almost no difference between you and them. So, they tend to make you one of them — saying that we are all together in the same boat, let’s hug each other and cry together.”
Therefore, the family relocated to Vancouver and there, in this school, Olena was deliberately looking for other Ukrainian-speaking children, hoping that they would interact more and become friends with her daughter and son.
“I hope, my children will understand who they are, where are they from — it is very important in here — in Canada where there are so many people representing different races and nationalities,” she said.
The language issue is also a key argument for Yevhen, 34, whose family moved to Canada 2 years ago after spending 8 years in Poland. He and his Polish wife are raising three children and the eldest son, 5, attends Ukrainian school.
“The language is the main issue for me — one of my biggest fears is that my children will not speak Ukrainian,” said Yevhen, who speaks four languages fluently. It was a matter of Yevhen’s personal choice to switch from Russian to Ukrainian when he turned 16 and decided to change his name to Yevhen, instead of the more Russian Yevheniy, on his passport.
“Our son was born in Poland, we are raising him in Canada, he has never got to know Ukraine for real, so, this school is the only option for us to build up some identity in him, give him the understanding who he is,” he said, adding, “I want him to promote Ukrainian culture, proving that it is as good as the others.”
The school has become a central part of the lives of some who fled the war, even if they didn’t initially intend it to become so. Alina Novytska, from Dnipro, Ukraine, was not a teacher back in her home city, but 5 years ago she joined this school community. First here two girls attended, and then she became a teacher. Now she is responsible for Ukrainian language classes, Ukrainian studies and Bible studies curriculum. “Smaller children are just singing songs about God and others are preparing for the First Communion,” she said.
As a professional graphic designer, Alina is also involved in creative workshops and art classes with children. Currently teachers are using workbooks from Ukraine, adopting them according to their schedule. Alina said she sees a difference between newcomers and children who were born in Canada or have been here for a while.
“Due to the peculiarities of the educational system and methodology, it is easier for us to work with children from Ukraine as they are more disciplined, they are listening to the teacher, are precisely following all instructions and need no additional incentives,” she said.
At the same time, the newcomers also tend to demonstrate a generally higher level of knowledge if compared to the schoolers of the same age from Canada. But, as Alina said, it is not just about education: “Some parents may barely afford this school as it is not free of charge but their children are the ones who are asking to let them have this small native island.”
Ridne Slovo serves as a native island for the children of Father Mykhailo Ozorovych, the abbot of the Holy Eucharist Cathedral in New Westminster and the director of the school.
“As a married priest and father, I can see how important the community, other children and this experience of each other, this growth in knowledge, in Ukrainian culture is important for my children,” he said.
In Ozorovych’s opinion, being Ukrainian means not just language, embroidery and borscht — it is something bigger and different, it is a way of thinking, way of life, attitude to the world.
On the one hand, the director admits that the religion is not a must at school and it is just offering more to the children in comparison to the regular schools in Canada. On the other hand, he insists that Ukrainians have to keep together making sure that the children have strong Christian connections. He called his school the investment into the future victory of Ukraine.
“At some point, the war will be over,” he said, “there will be a time for the renewal and I want these children, these teachers, all together to rebuild Ukraine.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024. (OHAD ZWIGENBERG/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Israeli police and intelligence services said they foiled an Iranian plot to assassinate top leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Moti Maman, a 73-year-old Israeli businessman from the city of Ashkelon, is accused of twice smuggling himself into Iran via Turkey to meet with intelligence officials directing would-be plots from Tehran.
The discussions allegedly included potential plans to attack Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Shin Bet intelligence chief Ronen Bar and former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, among others.
Police and Shin Bet said the alleged plots were intended as retaliation for the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Hanieyh in Tehran in July, which Iran blamed on Israel.
A joint police and Shin Bet statement also accused Maman of discussing the possibility of acting as a money courier for others in Israel, locating Russian and American elements for the elimination of Tehran’s opponents in Europe and the U.S. and recruiting a Mossad “double agent.”
Maman’s purported contacts were an Iranian businessman named only as Eddie, a man named Hajjah who was presented as an Iranian intelligence agent and other unnamed intelligence personnel.
The 73-year-old is alleged to have traveled to Iran twice — in May and August 2024 — following preparatory meetings with representatives of Eddie in Turkey, the first of which took place in the southern city of Samandag in April 2024, police said.
Maman was smuggled through the Turkey-Iran border twice, the second time “hidden inside a truck cabin,” the statement said.
“The Israeli citizen demanded an advance payment of $1 million dollars before performing any action,” police and Shin Bet said. “Iranian agents refused his request and informed him they would contact him in the future.”
Maman allegedly received the equivalent of about $558,000 in euros for attending the meetings with Iranian intelligence personnel.
Authorities indicted Maman on Sept. 19.
A senior Shin Bet official described the case as “very serious,” adding that security assessments “suggest that Iranians will continue their efforts to recruit operatives in Israel for intelligence gathering and carrying out terrorist missions in Israel, including approaching individuals with criminal backgrounds to fulfill these tasks.”
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the latest round of cease-fire discussions appears to have reached an impasse.
Meanwhile, after six hostages were found dead in Gaza, protests erupted in Israel. Protesters have lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and demanded the government bring the hostages home.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Israel’s Gaza school strikes ‘totally unacceptable’: UN chief
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres accused Israel of “dramatic violations of international humanitarian law” over its continued airstrikes on schools-turned-shelters in the Gaza Strip.
Six United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) were among at least 17 people killed in a Wednesday strike on the Al-Jaouni School in Nuseirat in central Gaza, the agency confirmed. It is the fifth time that the school has been targeted since Oct. 7.
Guterres wrote on X: “What’s happening in Gaza is totally unacceptable. A school turned shelter for around 12,000 people was hit by Israeli airstrikes again today.”
The attacks “need to stop now,” he added.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X: “Endless & senseless killing, day after day.”
“Humanitarian staff, premises & operations have been blatantly & unabatedly disregarded since the beginning of the war,” he added, noting that at least 220 UNRWA staff have been killed in Gaza.
“The longer impunity prevails, the more international humanitarian law & the Geneva conventions will become irrelevant,” he wrote, adding it was time for both a cease-fire and “accountability.”
The Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday that the strike targeted “a Hamas command and control center in the area.”
Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories body hit back at Lazzarini’s social media complaint, alleging in its own post that Gaza schools “have been Hamas weapons storage facilities, tunnel access points, and bases of operation for over a decade.”
“Maybe if you hadn’t turned a blind eye to Hamas’s use of UNRWA schools, the current situation would be entirely different,” the organization wrote.
Slain American-Turkish activist’s family responds to Biden
Aysenur Eygi’s family responded to President Joe Biden’s statement released earlier Wednesday where he called her death “totally unacceptable.”
The family said that Biden has not called them.
“Let us be clear, an American citizen was killed by a foreign military in a targeted attack. The appropriate action is for President Biden and Vice President [Kamala] Harris to speak with the family directly, and order an independent, transparent investigation into the killing of Ayşenur, a volunteer for peace,” the family said in a statement.
17 dead in IDF strike on school in Gaza
Search and rescue operations are ongoing after an Israel Defense Forces strike on a school in Gaza killed at least 17 people and wounded over 18 others, according to Gaza Civil Defense.
This is the fifth time the IDF has bombed this school. It was previously struck by the IDF on July 6.
Six of the people killed in the strike worked for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, according to the agency. Among those killed was the manager of the UNRWA shelter and other team members providing assistance to displaced people.
About 12,000 displaced people live in the school, mainly women an children, according to the UNRWA.
The IDF, confirming the strike, claimed that the school had been used by Hamas terrorists to plan and execute attacks against Israel.
Israeli helicopter crashes in Gaza killing 2
An Israeli air force helicopter crashed in the Rafah area of the Gaza Strip, killing two soldiers overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The helicopter was “on a mission to evacuate an injured solider to a hospital for medical treatment,” the IDF said. An initial inquiry “indicates the crash was not caused by enemy fire,” but the cause of the crash is still “under investigation,” the IDF said.
Seven additional soldiers were injured “to varying degrees” and were evacuated to a hospital for treatment, the IDF said.
The families of the killed and injured soldiers have been notified, the IDF said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Egyptian, Qatari officials meet with top Hamas official in Doha
Egyptian and Qatari officials met with a top Hamas official in Doha on Wednesday, hoping to potentially restart cease-fire negotiations after they fell apart again.
Hamas is repeating its demand that the deal proposed in early July be put back on the table, according to a statement confirming the meeting. Hamas also reiterated its demand for a total withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.
17 dead in IDF strike on school in Gaza
Search and rescue operations are ongoing after an Israel Defense Forces strike on a school in Gaza killed at least 17 people and wounded over 18 others, according to Gaza Civil Defense.
This is the fifth time the IDF has bombed this school. It was previously struck by the IDF on July 6.
The IDF, confirming the strike, claimed that the school had been used by Hamas terrorists to plan and execute attacks against Israel.
Over 80% of targeted Gazan children receive polio vaccines
As of Tuesday evening, 82.5% of children in the Gaza Strip under the age of 10 have received their first dose of the polio vaccine as part of the ongoing emergency polio vaccination campaign.
The third round of vaccinations continues “despite the ongoing occupation aggression on the Strip, despite the great danger to their movement and travel between vaccination centers, and this is the case of our people in the Strip who are keen to vaccinate children against the disease,” the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement Wednesday.
13 dead in IDF strike on school in Gaza
Search and rescue operations are ongoing after an Israel Defense Forces strike on a school in Gaza killed at least 13 people and wounded over 18 others, according to Gaza Civil Defense.
This is the fifth time the IDF has bombed this school. It was previously struck by the IDF on July 6.
The IDF, confirming the strike, claimed that the school had been used by Hamas terrorists to plan and execute attacks against Israel.
Biden ‘outraged’ by Israel’s killing of American activist
President Joe Biden said he is “outraged and deeply saddened” by the killing of American citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the West Bank by Israeli forces.
“The shooting that led to her death is totally unacceptable,” the president said in a statement published Wednesday morning.
The Israel Defense Forces published its initial report into the killing on Tuesday, finding it “highly likely” that the dual American-Turkish activist “was hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF fire which was not aimed at her.”
Biden said the U.S. government has “full access” to the preliminary investigation “and expects continued access as the investigation continues, so that we can have confidence in the result.”
“There must be full accountability,” the president said. “And Israel must do more to ensure that incidents like this never happen again.”
Eygi, 26, was with the International Solidarity Movement in the West Bank, working to protect local Palestinian farmers from attacks by Israeli settlers.
Biden said Wednesday that the violence in the West Bank “has been going on for too long.”
“Violent extremist Israeli settlers are uprooting Palestinians from their homes,” he continued. “Palestinian terrorists are sending car bombs to kill civilians.”
“I will continue to support policies that hold all extremists — Israelis and Palestinians alike — accountable for stoking violence and serving as obstacles to peace,” he said.
Two Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza helicopter crash
Two Israeli soldiers were killed and seven injured were injured in a helicopter crash in southern Gaza on Tuesday night, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The helicopter “was on a mission to evacuate an injured soldier to a hospital for medical treatment,” but “crashed while landing in the Rafah area” in the south of the territory, the IDF wrote on X.
“An initial inquiry conducted indicates that the crash was not caused by enemy fire,” the force said. “The cause of the crash is still under investigation.”
Seven other troops were “injured to varying degrees, the IDF said. They have been hospitalized for treatment.
Israeli Air Force commander, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, appointed an investigative committee to probe the incident, the IDF added.
Israel hits dozens of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
Israeli warplanes “struck approximately 30 Hezbollah launchers and terror infrastructure sites which posed a threat to Israeli civilians” in southern Lebanon overnight, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Wednesday.
The strikes occurred in the areas of Jibbain, Naqoura, Deir Seryan and Zibqin, the IDF said. Israeli artillery also hit the area of Al-Dahira.
Suspect killed after West Bank ‘ramming attack,’ IDF says
One person was critically injured in an alleged ramming attack near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank on Wednesday.
The Israel Defense Forces said that the “terrorist” attacker “was neutralized at the scene.” The incident occurred at the Givat Asaf junction, close to the Israeli settlement of Beit El.
Magen David Adom — Israel’s emergency service — said its responders were “treating a male about 20 years old in critical condition.”
The MDA said on social media that the victim was hit by a “fuel tanker.”
Death toll in Gaza surpasses 41,000: Gaza Ministry of Health
The death toll in Gaza has passed 41,000 as of Tuesday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
The ministry reported that 41,020 people have died and 94,925 have been injured since Israel launched its war against Hamas in Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023, following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks.
That figure does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
IDF releases video of tunnel where 6 hostages were held
The Israel Defense Forces has released footage of the blood-stained tunnel where six hostages, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, were held captive and murdered last month.
The “passageway” tunnel spanned 120 meters and was 20 meters deep, the IDF said.
The IDF estimates the hostages were in the tunnel for “weeks.”
The Israeli military believes the six hostages were shot and killed on Aug. 29. The IDF said its soldiers found one of the tunnel’s shafts on Aug. 30, and the hostages’ bodies were discovered on Aug. 31.
The IDF said the hostages were killed with bullets from two guns.
The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters said in a statement that the “shocking” video “proves the unimaginable, inhuman conditions in which the 6 hostages Alex, Hersh, Eden, Ori, Carmel and Almog were held for months.”
“Carmel, Hersh, Alex, Almog, Ori, and Eden suffered until their last breath. They begged to be released, pleaded for their lives,” the group said. “Time is running out! That light, that hope, cannot die. A deal must be signed NOW!”
Blinken condemns ‘unprovoked’ Israeli killing of American activist
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that the IDF’s initial report into the killing of U.S. citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi suggests “her killing was both unprovoked and unjustified.”
“No one should be shot and killed for attending a protest. No one should have to put their life at risk just for freely expressing their views,” Blinken said, using some of the strongest terms to condemn the killing by any American official yet.
“In our judgment, Israeli security forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way that they operate in the West Bank, including changes to their rules of engagement,” Blinken continued, adding that the U.S. was well aware of longstanding allegations concerning Israeli authorities’ use of excessive force against Palestinians in the West Bank.
“Now we have the second American citizen killed at the hands of Israeli security forces. It’s not acceptable. It has to change, and we’ll be making that clear to the senior-most members of the Israeli government,” Blinken said.
“Now we’re looking carefully at the results of this investigation, but even on an initial read and even accepting it at face value, it’s clear that there are serious issues that need to be dealt with, and we will insist that they be dealt with,” he added.
‘Highly likely’ Israeli troops killed American activist: IDF
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) published the results of its initial inquiry into last week’s killing of American Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the West Bank.
“The inquiry found that it is highly likely that she was hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF fire which was not aimed at her, but aimed at the key instigator of the riot,” the IDF press release stated, referring to a period of reported unrest at the Beita Junction.
“Israel has sent a request to carry out an autopsy,” it added. “The IDF expresses its deepest regret over the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi.”
Eygi, 26, was a dual Turkish-American citizen and activist working for the International Solidarity Movement in the West Bank, working to protect local Palestinian farmers from attacks by Israeli settlers.
South Gaza polio vaccine drive reaches 446,000 children: WHO
The polio vaccination campaign in southern Gaza concluded on Monday with more than 446,000 children vaccinated since the drive began on Sept. 1, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
“Five health facilities will continue offering polio vaccination to make sure no child is missed,” Ghebreyesus wrote on X. “We are grateful to the families for their cooperation, and to all vaccinators and health workers for their dedication.”
The polio vaccination campaign is continuing elsewhere in Gaza, and Ghebreyesus said continued humanitarian pauses are “key” in facilitating the program. Preparations to expand the drive into the north of the devastated territory “are ongoing,” he added.
“The children in Gaza deserve lasting peace, not just polio vaccines,” Ghebreyesus said.
US expects ‘transparent’ probe into killing of American in West Bank
The State Department is “urgently working to get more information” on the killing of American citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi in the West Bank last week, Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told journalists at a Monday briefing.
Eygi, 26, was an activist working for the International Solidarity Movement and was shot dead in the West Bank village of Beita on Friday. The dual American-Turkish citizen was allegedly killed by Israeli troops.
Patel told reporters that “our partners in Israel are looking into the circumstances of what happened, and we expect them to make their findings public, and expect that whatever those findings are, expect them to be thorough and transparent.”
IDF defends strike on Gaza’s Khan Younis humanitarian area
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said a Monday night strike on tents in a designated humanitarian zone in the southern Gaza Strip targeted Hamas figures “directly involved” in the Oct. 7 attack.
The Hamas-run Gaza Civil Defense reported at least 40 people killed and at least 60 injured in the bombing. Search and recovery efforts were underway at the scene on Tuesday.
The IDF said Tuesday that its strike targeted “senior Hamas terrorists” in a “command and control center embedded inside the humanitarian area in Khan Younis.”
Among those killed were Samer Ismail Khadr Abu Daqqa, the head of Hamas’ aerial unit in Gaza, the IDF said.
Osama Tabesh, the head of the observation and targets department in Hamas’ military intelligence headquarters, and Ayman Mabhouh, another “senior Hamas terrorist” were also hit, the force said.
“According to an initial review, the numbers published by the Hamas-run Government Information Office in Gaza, which has consistently broadcast lies and false information throughout the war, do not align with the information held by the IDF, the precise munitions used, and the accuracy of the strike,” the IDF statement added.
At least 40 killed in strike on humanitarian area: Gaza Civil Defense
At least 40 people were killed and at least 60 people have been wounded after an Israeli strike in a designated humanitarian area of Khan Yunis, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Civil Defense.
The strike hit “a gathering of displaced persons’ tents consisting of at least 20 inhabited tents,” a Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson said early Tuesday morning local time.
The Israeli Air Force “struck significant Hamas terrorists who were operating with a command and control center embedded inside the Humanitarian Area in Khan Yunis,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.
Hamas changed ‘some of the terms’ of the hostage exchange: White House
The White House is remaining hopeful that talks for a cease-fire in Gaza and release of the remaining hostages can be salvaged after Hamas proposed new amendments to the deal following the killing of six hostages.
“Hamas did change some of the terms of the exchange. And that has made it more difficult for us to get there,” National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said at Monday’s press briefing.
“We still believe that, even for the new amendments that Hamas has made, that it’s still worth an effort to try to see if we can’t get back into a cease-fire negotiation,” he added. “But we’re not there right now.”
Kirby would not say if President Joe Biden will be increasing pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept a deal and potentially hold the transfer of weapons to Israel in order to secure a deal, similar to the recent decision by the United Kingdom.
“I can’t think of anything we haven’t put more pressure on ourselves than to try to get this deal,” Kirby said. “We know how urgent this is. And we’re working night and day to try to see if we can get a deal in place. Hamas is the main obstacle to this right now.”
-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez
Aerial attack targets northern Israel, officials say
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported “a hostile aircraft infiltration” in the north of the country on Monday morning.
“Two suspicious aerial targets were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory,” The IDF said in a statement. “An aerial target fell in the area of Nahariya. No injuries were reported.”
The Magen David Adom (MDA) — Israel’s emergency services — said in a social media post that its personnel “located the site of the impact, as of now no casualties have been found.”
Israeli media reported that a drone detonated after crashing into an apartment block.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir and David Brennan
Hundreds gather in Central Park for hostage vigil
The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters organized twin protests in Tel Aviv and New York on Sunday, as pro-cease-fire activists look to build pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and American politicians.
Hundreds of people rallied in Central Park “to mourn six Israeli and American hostages murdered after 11 months in captivity,” the Forum said in a press release.
Among the speakers were Gilad and Nitza Korngold — the parents of hostage Tal Shoham who was abducted into Gaza on Oct. 7.
“The Red Cross has refused to help our loved ones while shamelessly requesting better conditions for the terrorists in Israel’s imprisonment,” they said, per the Forum’s press release. “We ask everyone here to call your representatives and demand the release of our loved ones from captivity.”
Moran Stela Yanai — released in November 2023 after 54 days as a hostage in Gaza — also spoke, telling attendees: “My brothers and sisters in captivity are hungry and in pain and in constant danger.”
“We must find the strength to keep fighting for them and bring them home,” she added, as quoted in the Forum’s press release.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and David Brennan
Jordanian border crossings partly reopened after shooting
Israeli and Jordanian authorities confirmed the partial reopening of border crossings on Monday following their closure due to the killing of three police officers at the Allenby Bridge.
An Israel Airport Authority spokesperson said the crossings at Yitzhak Rabin near Eilat, at the Jordan River near Beit Shean and at the Allenby Bridge would open for passenger traffic.
The media spokesman for the Jordanian Public Security Directorate said that King Hussein Bridge leading to the Allenby entry point would remain closed to freight traffic.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s Interior Ministry said that its preliminary investigations into Sunday’s shooting at the Allenby Bridge crossing confirmed that the alleged gunman was a Jordanian citizen named Maher Dhiyab Hussein Al-Jazi.
The alleged shooter — whom Israeli security forces said they shot and killed — was a resident of the Al-Husseiniyah area in Ma’an Governorate, and was crossing the bridge as a driver of a freight vehicle carrying commercial goods.
Al-Jazi acted alone, the ministry said, noting its investigation is ongoing. Authorities are attempting to organize the return of his body so he can be buried in Jordan.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Ghazi Balkiz and David Brennan
Airstrikes hit Syrian scientific research center, state media says
Strikes targeted a Syrian scientific research area in the city of Masyaf in the Hama countryside on Sunday night, Syrian state media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said.
“Ambulance vehicles rushed towards the center of the area” amid reports of casualties, the SOHR — a U.K.-based war monitor — said on its website.
Both Syrian state media and the SOHR attributed the strikes to Israel. The SOHR said Syrian anti-aircraft weapons intercepted some Israeli missiles.
There was no immediate confirmation on the number of casualties. At least 14 people were killed and 43 others were wounded, Syrian state news agency SANA reported. ABC News was not able to immediately confirm the reported casualties or whether they were military personnel.
ABC News asked the Israel Defense Forces for comment. Israel typically does not confirm or deny responsibility for strikes in Syria, where it has been engaged in a “shadow war” with Iran and its allies — including the Lebanese Hezbollah militia — for several years.
-ABC News’ Ghazi Balkiz and David Brennan
Nearly 70% of children in Gaza vaccinated against polio, health ministry reports
The polio vaccination campaign continued today in south Gaza, Khan Younis and Rafah, after early issues in the region when vaccines could not be properly distributed to the eastern side of Gaza.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced Sunday that 441,647 children in Gaza have received the first dose of the polio vaccine, so far.
This accounts for about 69% of the targeted population, according to the ministry.
According to the World Health Organization, 95% of children need to be vaccinated to prevent the spread of the disease effectively.
On Monday, vaccinations will be offered in northern Gaza where daily, eight-hour pauses in fighting and airstrikes will be instituted so children can be taken to one of the roughly 33 locations across Gaza City and north Gaza where the vaccine will be administered, according to the ministry.
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaulé
Israel closes Jordan border crossings after deadly shooting
Israel closed on Sunday the two land crossings between Jordan and Israel, as well as the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and the occupied West Bank, the Israel Airports Authority — which oversees the crossings — told ABC News.
The closures followed a shooting on Sunday morning at Allenby that killed three police officers.
The gunman — who was shot dead by security forces — came from the Jordanian side, but it was not immediately clear if he was affiliated with any militant group. Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad issued congratulatory statements about the shooting.
Netanyahu condemned the attack, saying it was attributable to the “murderous ideology led by Iran’s ‘Axis of Evil’.”
Israel did not say how long the closures would last. The Allenby crossing is one of the key entries through which goods destined for Gaza pass.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller, Nasser Atta, Victoria Beaule and David Brennan
Hamas rocket commander ‘eliminated’ in Gaza: IDF
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported the killing of a Hamas rocket commander in an airstrike last week.
The IDF wrote on social media on Sunday that its Southern Command “eliminated” Raef Omar Salman Abu Shab — the commander of the rocket unit of the eastern Khan Younis Brigade — in an airstrike on Tuesday
The commander was “responsible for launching rocket barrages from the area of Khan Younis toward southern and central Israel since the start of the war,” the IDF said.
(WASHINGTON) — America First Policy Institute, a think tank aligned with former President Donald Trump, is presumed by federal authorities to have been attacked by Chinese hackers, sources familiar with the matter have told ABC News.
AFPI’s Chief Communications Officer Marc Lotter told ABC News in a statement that “it is not surprising” that “hostile foreign actors” would target AFPI, noting it’s a leading Trump-aligned policy group.
“As the leading policy group in the America First movement, it is not surprising that hostile foreign actors would attempt to infiltrate our IT,” Lotter wrote. “The tactics, techniques, and procedures of the threat actor are similar to that of nation-state sponsored activities we have seen, allowing us to remediate and respond quickly.”
“Like the America First movement itself, AFPI will not creep at the speed of government but act at the speed of business with the world’s leading cyber experts to even further enhance our already robust security,” he continued.
Politico first reported the alleged hack.
AFPI is a policy advisory think tank group that houses hundreds of former Trump administration officials, including AFPI board chairwoman Linda McMahon, who has been named co-chair of the Trump Transition Team.
The reports of APFI’s being targeted by foreign actors come on the heels of alleged Iranian hacking of the Trump campaign.
The Justice Department unsealed an indictment last month that charged three Iranians over their alleged involvement in the hack of emails from former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
The indictment charged the men with a series of crimes ranging from computer hacking charges, material support to a foreign terrorist organization, identity theft and aiding and abetting.
Prosecutors say the three men were all employed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and engaged in a “wide-ranging hacking campaign” that used spear-phishing and other digital hacking techniques to compromise targets that included current and former U.S. government officials, members of the media, NGOs and “individuals associated with U.S. political campaigns.”
