Middle East updates: Israel braces for protests over Gaza

Israel's internal intelligence agency, Shin Bet, said that it had foiled an attempt to assassinate far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Shin Bet said that the suspects behind the plot were found with drones which they had planned to rig with explosives.

The agency described the suspects as members of a Hamas cell operating in the area of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Ben-Gvir lives in the Kiryat Arba settlement on the outskirts of Hebron.

Shin Bet said that the cell was suspected of "operating under the direction of Hamas in Turkey."

The minister is a member of the ultranationalist Jewish Power party and is a staunch advocate of Israeli annexation of the West Bank and the expansion of settlements in the occupied territory.

The Israeli military has said that its forces did not intentionally fire at United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) had said earlier on Wednesday that an Israeli drone had dropped four grenades within meters of its personnel guarding the Blue Line border that separates Lebanon from Israel and the Golan Heights.

An IDF spokesperson said Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon had "identified suspicious activity" and "deployed several stunt grenades in the vicinity to disrupt and remove the potential threat."

"The IDF emphasizes that no intentional fire was directed at UNIFIL personnel, and that the security of our civilians and forces remains a top priority," IDF spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said in a post on X.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned his Belgian counterpart Bart de Wever after Belgium said it would recognize Palestinian statehood at the UN General Assembly this month.

Belgium has joined France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia in pledging to formally recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly this month.

In a statement, Netanyahu said de Wever is "a weak leader who seeks to appease Islamic terrorism by sacrificing Israel."

Netanyahu also accused de Wever of wanting to "feed the terrorist crocodile before it devours Belgium."

Israel's plans to annex most of the occupied West Bank are a "red line" for the United Arab Emirates, a senior envoy has said.

The UAE is one of six Arab nations — along with Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan — that formally recognize the State of Israel.

Abu Dhabi recognized Israel after signing the Abraham Accords in 2020.

"Annexation in the West Bank would constitute a red line for the UAE," said Lana Nusseibeh, the foreign ministry's assistant minister for political affairs.

"It would severely undermine the vision and spirit of (the) Accords, end the pursuit of regional integration and would alter the widely shared consensus on what the trajectory of this conflict should be — two states living side by side in peace, prosperity and security."

Nusseibeh was reacting to remarks by Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said Wednesday that he was working on plans to annex 82% of the West Bank.

He said the move would "take the idea of dividing our tiny land and establishing a terrorist state at its centre off the agenda once and for all."

Nusseibeh urged the Israeli government to abandon those plans. "Extremists, of any kind, cannot be allowed to dictate the region's trajectory," she said.

Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a member of the far-right Religious Zionist Party, has called for large parts of the occupied West Bank to be annexed.

The call comes after several countries have said they intend to recognize Palestinian statehood.

Belgium became the latest Western nation to say it will recognize the state of Palestine at this month's UN General Assembly, after Australia, Canada and France.

"The time has come to apply Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria," Smotrich said, using the Israeli term to refer to the West Bank, which it has occupied since 1967.

He said annexing the territory would "take the idea of dividing our tiny land and establishing a terrorist state at its center off the agenda once and for all".

Smotrich also said that the guiding principle of the annexation is "the maximum land with minimum (Palestinian) population."

Palestinian authorities have condemned Smotrich's "inflammatory" statements "in the strongest terms."

Israel approved a major settlement project east of Jerusalem last month. Smotrich said the plans would "bury the idea of a Palestinian state."

The plans have been strongly criticized by the international community, most of whom support a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

A group of United Nations experts has said at least 21,000 children in Gaza have been disabled since the start of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in October 2023. 

The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, a body of independent experts, said approximately 40,500 children have suffered "new war-related injuries" since the war erupted nearly two years ago and that more than half of those injuries left the children disabled.

The committee said Israel's "evacuation" orders during its offensive in Gaza — which are typically delivered via air-dropped leaflets and loudspeakers — are "often inaccessible" to those with hearing and visual impairments, effectively making evacuations "impossible."

It also cited reports that describe people with disabilities having to crawl "through sand or mud without mobility assistance." 

The committee also said disabled people were being disproportionately affected by Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid being allowed into the enclave, which have left "many without food, clean water, or sanitation and dependent on others for survival."

An Israeli military drone dropped four grenades near United Nations peacekeeping troops in Lebanon on Tuesday, the United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon (UNIFIL) has said.

In a statement on Wednesday, UNIFIL said its peacekeepers had been clearing roadblocks that were hindering access to a UN position near the Blue Line, the demarcation line dividing Lebanon from Israel and the Golan Heights.

"This is one of the most serious attacks on UNIFIL personnel and assets since the cessation of hostilities agreement of last November," UNIFIL said.

The statement added that one of the grenades had landed within 20 meters (about 65 feet) of UN personnel and vehicles, and the three others had impacted within 100 meters.

UNIFIL said the Israeli military was informed of the road clearance work, highlighting that any actions that endanger UN peacekeepers and assets are "unacceptable and a serious violation" of international law and the agreement that ended the 2006 Lebanon War and which underpins the November 2024 ceasefire.

Israel has said it is investigating the incident.

UNIFIL has been working with the Lebanese military to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure in the south of the country.

Ministers from Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet and Israeli police have condemned protesters who set fire to dumpsters and tires, close to the prime minister's office and residence in Jerusalem.

Demonstrators have taken to the streets of Jerusalem calling for the release of hostages held in Gaza and an end to fighting there. 

The fires quickly spread to parked cars, police said in a statement on Telegram, adding that "a number of residents" had to be evacuated from nearby buildings. 

"These actions have nothing to do with lawful protest, they are the acts of lawbreakers behaving like criminals," police said, according to Israeli daily Times of Israel.

In a post on X, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's far-right minister of national security, described the fires set by anti-war protesters as "a wave of terror arson."

Ben-Gvir also accused Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of encouraging the violent protests and of wanting to "burn down the country."

Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who is a member of Netanyahu's Likud party, denounced the protests as "terrorism."

Levin dismissed Baharav-Miara last month, before the High Court ruled earlier this week that the move was illegal.

In her role as attorney general, Baharav-Miara will act as chief prosecutor in Netanyahu's upcoming corruption trial, which is slated to start in November.

"Today’s events once again illustrate the duty of the entire government to stand behind the decision to dismiss Baharav-Miara and complete the appointment of David Zini as head of the Shin Bet. This is the path that will lead to prosecuting the arsonists and those who incited them. This is the path to putting an end to lawlessness in the streets," Levin said, according to the Times of Israel.

Culture Minister Miki Zohar, also from Likud, called for Israeli authorities to take "a strong hand against the violent rioters," adding that the "enemy is rubbing its hands with pleasure" at the sight of burning tires and dumpsters.

"Israel is a state of law, and anarchy must not be allowed here," he said on X.

Demonstrators in Israel are holding a "day of disruption" and calling for a ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of hostages held by Hamas and at least one other militant group.

Around a dozen protesters climbed onto the roof of the National Library in Jerusalem on Wednesday.

They hung huge banners on the building's facade with images of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a message reading, "You gave up (the hostages) and killed them."

Elsewhere in Jerusalem, near Netanyahu's residence, protesters set trash containers on fire. Israeli media reported that some cars were also set alight.

Demonstrators also blocked roads leading to the Knesset, Israel's parliament.

The protests, which follow similar rallies last week, come a day after the army began mobilizing tens of thousands of reservists ahead of the planned push to take control of Gaza City, the largest in the Palestinian territory.

Opponents of the war and of Netanyahu's right-wing coalition government say the war endangers the lives of both Israeli soldiers and the remaining hostages still being held by Hamas.

Israel believes there are 48 hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.

Protesters are also angry that Netanyahu has refused to sign a ceasefire deal with Hamas, which last month agreed to a proposal by  Qatari and Egyptian mediators.

A day after tens of thousands of Israeli army reservists were told to report for duty ahead of Israel's offensive to seize Gaza City, huge protests are expected to take place across Israel.

Relatives of hostages and opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are demanding a ceasefire deal to end the fighting in Gaza and to secure the hostages' release.

In Lebanon, the United Nations Interim Force said Israeli drones dropped grenades on peacekeepers stationed in the country to enforce a ceasefire that ended a year-long conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

DW brings you the latest on those developments and other major news from Israel and the Middle East on Wednesday.