Anti-Israel protests take place worldwide ahead of Oct 7, Al Jazeera doxes IDF soldiers

Israel successfully intercepted three drones off the coast of Israel on Sunday morning, the IDF announced.

The IDF stated that two of the drones were intercepted by a missile ship of the Navy in the Mediterranean Sea, though they didn't mention where the UAVs were launched from.

The other was intercepted by the Air Force from the east off the coast of central Israel.

There were no casualties, and no alerts were activated.

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Dubai's Emirates Airlines has banned passengers from carrying pagers and walkie-talkies on its flights following last month's attacks on Hezbollah involving communication devices that exploded.

"All passengers traveling to, from, or via Dubai are prohibited from transporting pagers and walkie-talkies in checked or cabin baggage," the airline said in a statement on its website on Friday. It added that any prohibited items found will be confiscated by Dubai Police as part of heightened security measures. In the deadly September attacks, thousands of booby-trapped Hezbollah pagers and hundreds of radios exploded - attacks that were widely blamed on Israel but which it has not claimed.

The Middle East's largest airline also announced that flights to Iraq and Iran will remain suspended until Tuesday, while services to Jordan will resume on Sunday.

Flights to Lebanon will remain suspended until October 15 due to escalating Israeli attacks against Hezbollah, including strikes near Beirut's airport.

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The entire nation rejoiced when Doron Katz-Asher, along with her daughters, Raz and Aviv, were freed from Hamas captivity in Gaza . Now, even more heartwarming news has emerged.

Katz-Asher, who was taken hostage on October 7, 2023, while visiting family in Kibbutz Nir Oz , has announced that she is expecting her third child with her husband Yoni. This joyous revelation comes less than a year after her release, following 49 days of captivity under Hamas. Her daughters, Raz (4) and Aviv (2), were also held with her. Tragically, Doron's mother, Efrat Katz, was killed during the attacks, and several other family members remain missing.

In an emotional Instagram post, Doron shared, "Bringing life into the world, a year after I almost lost my own, is the greatest gift we could ask for in the new year. My ray of light in the darkness." The news has resonated deeply with many, symbolizing a remarkable journey of survival and resilience after such a traumatic ordeal.

'Ray of light in the darkness'

"The law is very clear – anyone displaying symbols, wording or otherwise indicating their support for a proscribed organisation risks arrest," the Metropolitan Police wrote.

According to the Met, officers made 17 arrests, including one person on suspicion of supporting a proscribed organisation. Seven were for public order offences, three of which were racially aggravated.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign said in a statement that they were marching "to demand that the British government finally ends its complicity in Israel's genocide, and ends all arms trade with Israel and to demand freedom and justice for the Palestinian people."

The Metropolitan Police announced that it was working to identify the individuals or groups responsible for the banners expressing support for proscribed terror organizations.

"We're aware of posts showing people holding placards with messages of support for Hezbollah. The images have been passed to officers, including those monitoring our cameras."

The statement added that, given the turnout at the rallies, it isn't always easy for officers to see the words on placards, and that they were now working to locate them individuals.

"Action will be taken when we do, whether that is today or in the coming days," they added. The police added that "enforcement does not finish when a protest ends" and that work would be done to charge those responsible for offences.

The head of the Met's taskforce, Commander Lou Puddefoot, said on Friday: "Protests and related events have become a feature of the 12 months since the appalling terrorist attacks in Israel almost a year ago," adding that security would be heightened as a result.

Rise in antisemitism

Puddefoot added that there has been a significant increase in antisemitic hate crimes in the past year.

"While the majority have taken place in communities, we have continued to see behaviour at protests which crosses the line from political speech into hate speech."

This comes as, for the first time on record, the number of antisemitic hate crimes in London have overtaken that of Islamophobic incidents, according to Met Police date this week.

In the 11 months after October 7, 2,170 antisemitic crimes were recorded by the Met, compared to 1,568 Islamophobic hate crimes.

This marks over a 400% increase in antisemitic crime, three times that in 2020.

According to the study, most of these incidents took place in five London boroughs: Barnet, Hackney, Camden, Haringey, and Westminster.

The first four are where the country's largest Jewish communities, such as Golders Green and Stamford Hill, can be found.

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