Israeli Police Confiscate Money, Cars of Released Prisoners Karim, Maher Younes

Released prisoner Maher Younes with his relatives. (EPA)
Released prisoner Maher Younes with his relatives. (EPA)
TT

Israeli Police Confiscate Money, Cars of Released Prisoners Karim, Maher Younes

Released prisoner Maher Younes with his relatives. (EPA)
Released prisoner Maher Younes with his relatives. (EPA)

An Israeli police unit raided the family home of the two freed prisoners, Karim and Maher Younes, and seized money worth about $150,000 and a car belonging to the family.

The police said they carried out this operation on the orders of Minister Yoav Galant, who claimed that the two prisoners received the money and the vehicle from the financial allocations transferred to them by the Palestinian Authority (PA).

A source close to Galant stated that the order came on the recommendation of the economic anti-terrorism authority in the Ministry of Defense, claiming that new financial allocations had arrived from the PA.

A Younes family source asserted that the money and the vehicles were the family's property, explaining they were allocated to the two prisoners as a gift to facilitate their lives and compensate for their long years of captivity.

He described the Israeli seizure as a "robbery" in line with the series of repressive measures implemented by Israeli authorities against Palestinian prisoners and their families.

Israeli authorities released Karim earlier this month and Maher last week after spending nearly 40 years in Israeli prisons.

Israel was angered by the warm reception the brothers received upon their release.

Israeli had authorities carried out several raids against the family's homes and interrogated several family members, including women.

On Monday, police forces raided Karim's house and detaining two of his relatives for investigation. They also confiscated banners and pictures the family had hung up for the celebrations.

The Israeli government has started enacting a law - tailored with the two prisoners in mind - that aims to deport any citizen convicted of terrorism after serving their sentence and if they had received a salary or allowances from the PA.

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir had declared he would not rest until Karim and Maher Younes were expelled to Syria.

Minister of the Interior Aryeh Deri had submitted a request to the judicial adviser to the government to deport Younis' relatives.

Karim was elected a member of Fatah's Central Committee while he was in captivity, and given his position, he receives allocations for his political activity.

Israeli intelligence is trying to push him to leave his homeland or move to the West Bank.



Israel Army Says Troops Capture Hezbollah Fighter, Strike Kills 2 in Lebanon

 Smoke rises in Lebanon as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, July 5, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in Lebanon as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, July 5, 2026. (Reuters)
TT

Israel Army Says Troops Capture Hezbollah Fighter, Strike Kills 2 in Lebanon

 Smoke rises in Lebanon as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, July 5, 2026. (Reuters)
Smoke rises in Lebanon as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, July 5, 2026. (Reuters)

The Israeli military on Wednesday said its troops had seized a Hezbollah fighter during an encounter in southern Lebanon a day earlier and transferred him to Israel for questioning.

The fighter was captured in the Bint Jbeil area on Tuesday, where Israeli troops clashed with Hezbollah combatants.

"The apprehended terrorist is a member of Hezbollah's Radwan Force ... responsible for carrying out attacks against Israeli soldiers and Israeli civilians throughout the war," the military said in a statement, adding that he had been brought to Israel.

Meanwhile, an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon killed two people on Wednesday, Lebanese state media reported, the latest attack despite a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war.

"Two young men were martyred after being targeted by an enemy drone... while they were walking in the vicinity of Ghandour Hospital in Nabatieh al-Fawqa," Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said, two days after a strike on the same town killed four civilians including a school principal.

Israel has kept up intermittent strikes on south Lebanon, despite a two-week-old truce, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah sites and operatives.

Both sides accuse each other of violating the ceasefire.

Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the wider Middle East war with rocket attacks on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in US-Israeli strikes.

Last month, Israel and Lebanon signed a US-mediated agreement aimed at paving the way for a permanent end to hostilities.

Israeli forces remain deployed in what the military describes as a security zone extending roughly 10 kilometers (six miles) into Lebanese territory.

Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have repeatedly said that forces would remain in the occupied area "as long as necessary" to protect communities in northern Israel.

Lebanese authorities say Israeli attacks since March 2 have killed around 4,300 people.

The Israeli military says it has lost 38 soldiers and a civilian contractor in the fighting in southern Lebanon over the same period.


Arab League Chief Says Blocked by Israel from Visiting West Bank

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy. (Arab League)
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy. (Arab League)
TT

Arab League Chief Says Blocked by Israel from Visiting West Bank

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy. (Arab League)
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy. (Arab League)

The new secretary-general of the Arab League, Nabil Fahmy, said Wednesday Israel had blocked him from visiting Ramallah, in what would have been his first foreign visit since taking office this month.

The regional bloc's secretariat was informed by Palestinian authorities "of the Israeli occupation authorities' rejection of a visit... to the occupied Palestinian territories" to visit Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, Fahmy's office said in a statement.


RSF Drone Strikes on Civilian Vehicles Kill at Least 20 in Sudan, Rights Groups Say

Sudanese women gather for a hot meal in al-Rahmaniyah camp for displaced people, near the city of el-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 7, 2026. (AFP)
Sudanese women gather for a hot meal in al-Rahmaniyah camp for displaced people, near the city of el-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 7, 2026. (AFP)
TT

RSF Drone Strikes on Civilian Vehicles Kill at Least 20 in Sudan, Rights Groups Say

Sudanese women gather for a hot meal in al-Rahmaniyah camp for displaced people, near the city of el-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 7, 2026. (AFP)
Sudanese women gather for a hot meal in al-Rahmaniyah camp for displaced people, near the city of el-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 7, 2026. (AFP)

Drone strikes on civilian vehicles headed to social gatherings in Sudan have killed more than 20 people in recent days, rights groups said, as the use of unmanned aircraft becomes increasingly common in the northeastern African country’s war.

A drone strike on a road west of Omdurman on the outskirts of Khartoum on Tuesday killed 10 civilians, including five women from the same family, as they drove to a wedding, the Sudan Doctors Network said Wednesday.

The medical aid group, which has been tracking violence been the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces throughout the more than three-year war, blamed the attack on the RSF.

The vehicle immediately caught fire after the strike and all 10 people inside died, a witness told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

The doctors group said the strike “was deliberate and carried out using a guided drone” and called for the international community to pressure RSF leadership to stop targeting civilians.

A separate drone strike on Tuesday hit a transport vehicle near a water facility in the province, killing two people, according to Emergency Lawyers, which tracks violence in Sudan.

The previous day, 13 civilians, including five women, were killed when a drone hit their vehicle as they headed to a wedding in al-Shaatout town, in North Kordofan province, Emergency Lawyers said.

“This attack is part of an escalating pattern of drone attacks on civilians as drones continue to fly over the northern parts of the province ... monitoring residents’ movements,” the group said in a statement.

North Kordofan has seen a surge in drone strikes amid international concerns about the RSF closing in on the strategic city of el-Obeid, which is home to the army’s 5th Infantry Division.

Drone strikes on the city have destroyed civilian infrastructure, including power facilities and neighborhoods, and targeted bridges and key supply routes, according to the UN.

The war in Sudan, which started in April 2023 after long-simmering tensions between the army and the RSF, has killed at least 59,000 people, displaced some 13 million and pushed many parts of the country into famine. More than 30 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Kordofan and Darfur have been the epicenters of the war, but heavy fighting also has broken out across the Blue Nile State.

The army said in a statement Wednesday that it had recaptured the strategic border town of Kurmuk in Blue Nile State after heavy fighting with the RSF, claiming the paramilitary withdrew from the area, leaving behind weapons and military vehicles. The Associated Press couldn't indecently verify the army's claim.