Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened Friday to annex parts of the Gaza Strip unless Hamas militants release the remaining Israeli hostages held in the war-battered Palestinian territory.
The warning came as Israel pressed the renewed assault it launched on Tuesday, shattering the relative calm since a January 19 ceasefire.
Iran's supreme leader said on Friday that US threats against his country "will get them nowhere", after President Donald Trump warned of possible military action against the Islamic republic.
"The Americans should know threats will get them nowhere when confronting Iran," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in his live annual televised speech marking Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
He said Americans "and others should know that if they do anything malign to the Iranian nation, they will get a hard slap".
The days of Ronen Bar as Israel's Shin Bet chief were already numbered after Hamas's deadly attack on October 7, 2023, having hinted he would resign to take responsibility for failing to prevent it.
But he was sacked on Friday before he could depart himself, after incurring the wrath of the country's right wing over his positions, including on the attack.
The 59-year-old, with a salt and pepper buzz cut and beard, rose through the ranks to lead the internal security agency after three decades.
Last year, Saudi teacher Asaad al-Ghamdi was given 20 years in prison for criticising the government online -- one of a wave of heavy sentences that drew international condemnation.
Last month he was unexpectedly released, joining dozens of political prisoners to be freed as the authorities seek to improve their image overseas.
According to an AFP tally, more than 30 dissidents, many jailed for social media posts, have been released since December, in an apparent rollback of "bad laws" singled out by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler.
For the volunteer watchers scanning southern Israel's wheatfields, protecting migratory falcons from poachers is a highly coordinated security operation.
The raptors may top the food chain in the wild, but here the predators can themselves become the prey.
Many protected species of migratory birds spend their winters in this agricultural area close to the Gaza Strip.
And some species are big business. A single falcon can fetch up to tens of thousands of dollars on the black market, especially in Gulf countries where falconry is a treasured tradition.
The head of Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence agency, was sacked Friday, days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he no longer trusts him, and fallout from a report on the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.
"The Government unanimously approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal to end ISA Director Ronen Bar's term of office," a statement said.
He will leave his post when his successor is appointed or by April 10 at the latest, the statement said.
The head of Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence agency, was dismissed Friday, according to a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
Netanyahu last week cited an "ongoing lack of trust" as the reason for moving to sack Ronen Bar, who was appointed in October 2021 for a five-year term.
"The Government unanimously approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal to end ISA Director Ronen Bar's term of office," a statement said.
Israel's military on Thursday expanded ground operations across Gaza, after it reported missiles intercepted from Yemen and Hamas militants said they fired rockets towards Tel Aviv.
The rocket fire from Hamas was its first military response to the growing civilian death toll from Israel's resumption of aerial bombardment and ground operations in Gaza this week.
Algerian prosecutors have requested a 10-year prison sentence for French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, accused of undermining the country's territorial integrity, local media reported Thursday.
Sansal, a prominent figure in North African modern francophone literature, is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists.
The 80-year-old was detained in November upon arrival at Algiers airport, at a time of growing tensions between France and its former colony.
US President Donald Trump "fully supports" Israel's deadly resumption of air and ground operations in Gaza, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday, blaming Hamas for the violence.
"He fully supports Israel and the IDF and the actions that they've taken in recent days," Leavitt told reporters when asked if Trump was trying to get a Gaza ceasefire back on track.
"The president made it very clear to Hamas that if they did not release all of the hostages there would be all hell to pay, and unfortunately, Hamas chose to play games in the media with lives."
