Hamas said to decide to stall for time in talks for Gaza’s future, reject any concessions

The Times of Israel is liveblogging Sunday’s events as they unfold.

Man killed in Umm al-Fahm, in night’s second deadly shooting in Arab community

A man in his 30s has been shot dead in Umm al-Fahm, in the night’s second deadly shooting in the Arab community, Hebrew media reports.

Magen David Adom says the man was found dead in his car, and a second man has been moderately wounded and taken to Haemek hospital in Afula.

Police officers are at the scene to search for suspects and collect evidence, with the force saying the shooting is criminal in nature and circumstances are being looked into.

Earlier, a man in his 50s was shot dead in Deir Hanna, near Sakhnin.

Man shot dead in Galilee, marking Arab community’s 150th homicide fatality this year

A man in his 50s has been shot dead in his car in Deir Hanna in the Galilee, near Sakhnin, with police believing it is a criminal hit, Hebrew media reports.

Magen David Adom medics have pronounced the man dead at the scene, and an investigation has been launched, the reports say.

According to figures from the Abraham Initiatives group, which tracks Arab sector homicides, 150 members of the community have been killed so far this year, after the minority saw its deadliest year on record in 2025, with 252 killed in violent circumstances.

2 men arrested after pointing fake gun at synagogue-goers in Sydney

Two men have been arrested and allegedly charged after pointing a fake gun toward Jewish worshipers at a synagogue in Sydney’s Double Bay neighborhood, Australian media reports.

The reports say police were called to the scene at 12:10 p.m. on Saturday, as congregants at the Chabad synagogue were gathered outside after the end of Shabbat prayers.

Officers tracked and cornered the offenders’ car, found an imitation pistol which they took for forensic examination, and took the suspects, aged 22 and 25, to a police station for questioning, the reports say.

Cops took statements from people who had been outside the synagogue when the incident occurred.

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Two men are in custody in Sydney after a man in a vehicle allegedly pointed what appeared to be a firearm toward Jewish worshippers gathered outside Chabad Double Bay during Shabbat.

Police were called to Kiaora Road in Double Bay around midday, then tracked the… pic.twitter.com/wb7QBmxFYX

— TheJewishAlly (@TheJewishAlly) July 4, 2026

The synagogue’s Rabbi Yanky Berger tells congregants in an email after Shabbat that the suspects are “French nationals working as Uber Eats drivers,” who “have been charged with several offences.”

He says the fake firearm has been determined to be a water gun, and it was pointed toward the security guard who belongs to a local community security group (CSG).

“I want to reassure everyone that our CSG security team and NSW Police responded quickly and professionally. There is no ongoing threat, and we will keep the community informed should there be any further updates,” he says.

Double Bay is located in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, not far from Bondi Beach, which in December saw an antisemitic mass shooting at a Hanukkah event that left 15 people dead.

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Lawyer for Gaza hospital chief and Hamas officer Hussam Abu Safiya warns his life is in immediate danger

The health of Gaza hospital chief Hussam Abu Safiya, a Hamas officer, has recently deteriorated sharply in Israeli detention, to the point of danger to his life, the Physicians for Human Rights group claims.

The assessment is made after a visit made Thursday by Abu Safiya’s lawyer, Nasser Odeh, to the underground Rakefet interrogation facility in Nitzan Prison, to which the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital was transferred on June 24, the group says in a statement.

It says Odeh claimed in his affidavit that Abu Safiya “bore fresh, severe injuries to his head, around his eyes, and on his ears and neck — to the extent that his lawyer initially struggled to recognize him.”

Abu Safiya “experienced difficulty breathing,” appeared “extremely weak, struggled to sit upright without falling, and on several occasions seemed on the verge of losing consciousness,” and seemed “frightened” and “reluctant to speak freely due to fear of being targeted,” the attorney is said to have written.

“Based on these direct observations, Attorney Odeh concluded that Dr. Abu Safiya’s life is in immediate danger,” Physicians for Human Rights says, alleging that since being transferred to Rakefet, “he has been subjected to daily beatings, resulting in several instances of loss of consciousness, but without receiving appropriate medical treatment.”

He is quoted as saying during the meeting with his lawyer: “This is the last time you will see me… They brought me here to kill me. I don’t see myself surviving. This is the end.”

The group urges Abu Safiya’s immediate transfer to a different facility, an urgent visit by authorities to assess his condition, and “an urgent independent medical examination.”

The Israel Prisons Service comments, according to Haaretz, that it “operates in accordance with the law and under constant judicial review,” adding: “Every complaint received is examined and treated in accordance with protocol and in accordance with the law.”

Abu Safiya was arrested by Israeli forces during the war in Gaza in December 2024 and is one of the most prominent Gazan detainees. He is being held in solitary confinement and rights groups have called for his release.

He holds the rank of colonel in the Hamas Military Medical Services, according to the service itself and Palestinian media reports. A photograph from 2016 showing him wearing a Hamas uniform and sitting next to senior members of the terror group emerged after his arrest.

Last month, the Supreme Court rejected Abu Safiya’s appeal against his ongoing detention, ruling that he can continue to be held under Israel’s law for unlawful combatants despite criminal charges not having been brought against him. The text of the decision and its reasoning have yet to be released.

Report: Hamas decides to stall for time in talks for Gaza’s future, waiting for Knesset election results

The Hamas terror group has decided to stall for time in negotiations for its disarmament and for the implementation of US President Donald Trump’s plan for postwar Gaza, recognizing that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing the same due to the upcoming Knesset election, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

The outlet cites an internal document discussed in the past few days by the Palestinian jihadist movement. It says Hamas believes Netanyahu views any concession on Gaza as political suicide, and that he therefore is intentionally stalling in the indirect negotiations, which haven’t made meaningful progress in months.

Kan reports that the document reveals a proposal made to Hamas by mediators Qatar and Turkey, suggesting that the terror group show flexibility by making “tactical concessions,” including on its weapons. The mediators expected Netanyahu to reject any reciprocal concession due to electoral concerns, resulting in Hamas appearing to be the more cooperative side.

However, the report adds, Hamas decided after extensive discussions to reject this proposal, fearing that any concession it makes will become a starting point for future pressure to make further concessions.

Therefore, Hamas decided to adopt a strategy mirroring Israel’s — to stall for time until the end of 2026, and to see how the next Israeli government shapes up, the report concludes.

Masked Patriot Front white nationalists stage July 4 march through DC

Hundreds of masked members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front march through parts of Washington, DC, ahead of Independence Day festivities planned for the evening.

The group posts on social media that it arrived in the capital with about 400 members, and Reuters photographers report seeing hundreds of people dressed in Patriot Front outfits traveling on DC Metro trains.

Videos posted on various social media platforms and shared on Patriot Front’s own Telegram channel show the group marching to drummers near the US Capitol building while wearing khaki pants and caps, blue shirts, white face coverings and sunglasses. Many were carrying the group’s flag, Confederate flags, and variations of the American flag, at times chanting “Reclaim America.”

Hundreds of masked members of the white suprematist, neo-fascist, extremist group Patriot Front marched across areas of Downtown Washington, D.C. earlier this morning, in the lead up to today’s celebrations for the Fourth of July. Members of the group gathered and chanted hate… pic.twitter.com/jl7Bqa47ZR

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) July 4, 2026

Around midday, they boarded Metro trains and exited at New Carrollton, Maryland, in Washington’s northeast suburbs.

The Patriot Front, known for its uniforms, face masks and flash mob-style demonstrations, formed in 2017 after the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, at which they infamously chanted, “Jews will not replace us,” breaking off from the Vanguard America white supremacist group that was at the center of that protest, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

A manifesto on the Patriot Front website says, “Democracy has failed this once great nation,” and a “hard reset” is needed to “return to the traditions and virtues of our forefathers,” identifying them as European settlers.