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The Times of Israel liveblogged Sunday’s events as they unfolded.
Lebanon says Israeli strikes on south today killed 14
Lebanon’s health ministry says Israeli strikes on the country’s south today killed 14 people despite a rocky ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war that was recently extended.
The ministry in a statement says the dead include two women and two children, adding that 37 other people were wounded.
It does not say how many of those killed were combatants.
Footage shows moment Hezbollah drone explodes near Israeli forces in Lebanon
Footage shows the moment a Hezbollah explosive-laden drone struck near Israeli forces who were evacuating wounded troops in southern Lebanon today.
This morning, a tank of the 77th Battalion got stuck in the southern Lebanon town of Taybeh, within the Israeli-declared security zone. While the troops were working to repair the tank, a Hezbollah explosive-laden drone struck next to them, killing Sgt. Idan Fooks and wounding six other soldiers, including four seriously.
An Israeli Air Force helicopter was then dispatched to take the wounded troops to a hospital. During efforts to evacuate the wounded troops, Hezbollah launched two more explosive-laden drones at the forces.
One of the drones was intercepted by the soldiers, while the second struck near the troops and the helicopter, without causing any additional injuries, according to an IDF probe of the incident.
The moment a Hezbollah explosive-laden drone struck near Israeli forces who were evacuating wounded troops in southern Lebanon, April 26, 2026. (Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Home Front Command limits gatherings in several areas of north amid Hezbollah attacks
The IDF Home Front Command is tightening gathering restrictions in northern Israel amid Hezbollah’s attacks during the ceasefire.
Following a fresh assessment, the Home Front Command says gatherings in communities along the Lebanon border, as well as in Meron, Bar Yohai, Or HaGanuz and Safsufa in the Galilee, will be restricted to 1,500 people.
The restrictions remain in effect until Monday at 8 p.m. By then, another assessment will be held.
Schools to dedicate time to discussing youth violence prevention
Schools across Israel will dedicate instructional time this Tuesday to the subject of youth violence prevention at the direction of Education Minister Yoav Kisch, following several lethal stabbings involving minors.
Kisch is expected to tour high schools and meet with students and teachers over the course of the day.
The Education Ministry is coordinating the initiative with local government, meaning mayors and local council heads have also been invited to visit schools in their area to send a strong message against violence, according to the Walla news outlet.
Last week, two young men were stabbed to death in separate homicides in Petah Tikva and Beersheba. In both incidents, gangs of minors are the suspected perpetrators.
Kisch issues the decision after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir today, during which the premier urged both ministers to step up their ministries’ activities to combat burgeoning violence.
Eisenkot: Winning election depends on bringing in more votes — that’s the only test
Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party, speaks during the launch of a book by Yoav Limor and Oren Nahari in Herzliya, central Israel, April 26, 2026 (Tal Gal/Flash90)
Speaking at an event this evening, Yashar party chief Gadi Eisenkot says Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid “are my allies” and says he congratulates them on their decision to merge their parties.
“The only goal before me, and I said this to both of them this evening, is the victory of a Zionist, nationally responsible coalition — a coalition of hope in the most critical election Israel has had since its establishment, and I hope this will be the goal of all partners,” he says.
He seems to suggest the union might not be able to draw votes from the right, however.
“For this victory to happen, we need to bring in more votes — that is our only test. Every union must be judged by that.”
Launching joint slate, Bennett and Lapid promise ‘the era of division is over’
Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid formally announce the formation of their new political union titled Together, April 26, 2026 (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)
Joining with Yesh Atid chairman and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid is the “most Zionist and patriotic act we have ever done, for the sake of our country,” former prime minister Naftali Bennett tells reporters in the coastal city of Herzliya at a press conference formally announcing the formation of their new joint slate.
“Tonight, we are uniting and establishing the Together party under my leadership, a party that will lead to a great victory, and the opening of a new era for our beloved country,” Bennett says, stating that while he and Lapid “have different opinions on a variety of issues,” he is proud that they “can fight together for the good of the people of Israel, just as our children, our soldiers, fight shoulder to shoulder.
“Our unity is a message to the entire people of Israel: The era of division is over. The era of correction has arrived,” Bennett says, insisting that during their previous short-lived government, he and Lapid “accomplished in one year what other governments have not done in four” by improving the economy, stopping Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policy of transferring suitcases of Qatari cash to Hamas and returning “personal security to the streets.”
Bennett promises a government of “professionals” who “think only of the good of Israel” and says he will enter office with plans ready to go “so as not to waste a single moment.”
“On the first day of the new government under my leadership, a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 massacre will be established to bring truth to the families, and answers to all the people of Israel,” he continues, further promising to immediately stop funding for draft evaders, impose a prime ministerial term limit that will also apply to himself and “strengthen a Judaism that brings [people] together, is kind and inclusive, without coercion.”
Insisting that he and Lapid are “racing forward to victory,” Bennett invites Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot to join them, stating that “our door is open for you too.”
Bennett further insists that he is a “right-wing, liberal Zionist” who will only rely on Zionist parties for his coalition and that all Israelis, even those who do not vote for him, will feel supported by the government.
“We’re not in the left bloc or the right bloc, we’re in the block of the entire Jewish people,” he says.
Lapid, in turn, declares that “the State of Israel needs to change direction. This is a test of our leadership — and we will meet it. What you see here today is the first step. We are here because this country needs unity as much as it needs air to breathe.”
Lapid and his party are “putting ego aside and doing what is right for the State of Israel,” he says, insisting that “to win the elections, the entire Israeli center must stand behind Naftali Bennett.”
“I am not trying to blur differences or disagreements, but there has always been something else between us: trust and friendship. We have known each other for many years. We have been through a great deal together. We have made difficult decisions together. We know we can count on one another. There is trust and there is friendship between us,” Lapid says.
“We are uniting today to win the elections and to establish a Zionist government, strong and stable. A partnership between the center and right, between religious and secular, between north and south — without draft dodging and without extremism,” he continues.
“Israel has the best people in the world. They deserve an efficient, functioning, honest government, one that invests in the working public that serves in the army, in reservists and their families. A government that will provide security, focus on education, lower prices, fight corruption, and draft the Haredim.”
Russia confirms Iranian FM to visit for talks
Russia’s foreign ministry says that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Moscow for talks.
“We confirm a visit by Araghchi to Russia with the aim of holding talks,” the ministry tells the RIA Novosti news agency, without providing more details.
Earlier, Iran’s ISNA news agency quoted Tehran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, saying that Araghchi would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday to “consult with Russian officials regarding the latest status of the negotiations, ceasefire, and surrounding developments.”
Yeshiva students ‘will not go to army under any circumstances,’ says Degel HaTorah spiritual leader
Rabbi Dov Lando speaks on April 26, 2026 (Courtesy)
Degel HaTorah spiritual leader Rabbi Dov Lando slams the High Court of Justice for its “wickedness” and intimates that the justices will face divine judgement, after they ordered the government to adopt a raft of measures that would punish ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers by denying them various welfare benefits.
“The judicial authorities are continuing in their wickedness…[and] the end of the wicked is to face judgment,” Lando says during a speech at Bnei Brak’s Ponovezh Yeshiva.
“We cling to our Torah, and all these difficulties will not disturb our Torah study in the slightest,” he says, asserting that, on the contrary, there will be more yeshiva students and more yeshivas and that the Haredi community will “ignore” the “decrees,” which will “vanish like a blowing wind and fly away like a dream.”
“Yeshiva students will not go to the army under any circumstances, not through coercion and not willingly, whether there is a law or whether there is no law” exempting them, he continues, asserting that “it is the role of the authorities to arrange this and not to make it difficult.”
Deri says Bennett-Lapid union is ‘brotherhood of hatred’
Shas party chief Aryeh Deri at the scene of suspected arson at a Jerusalem synagogue on June 8, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s new union is a “brotherhood of hatred,” Shas chairman Aryeh Deri declares following this afternoon’s announcement that the two former allies will mount a joint run for Knesset in 2026.
“A frightened Bennett is joining forces with Lapid, in an attempt to bring back the destructive government of the extreme left and the Muslim Brotherhood,” Deri says in a statement referring to their short-lived unity government in 2021, which included left-wing, centrist, right-wing and Islamist parties.
“Their common denominator is hatred of tradition and Second Israel — an attack on Jewish identity, settlement and Torah scholars,” he says, using a term some apply to Mizrahi Jewish communities, claiming they have been kept away from the centers of political and economic power by an Ashkenazi elite.
Bennett and Lapid’s short-lived government instituted a number of religious reforms, since repealed through Shas’ efforts, which weakened ultra-Orthodox control over the religious bureaucracy and empowered more liberal streams of Orthodoxy.
IDF soldier killed, 6 wounded in Hezbollah drone attack in southern Lebanon
Sgt. Idan Fooks, 19, killed in a Hezbollah drone attack in southern Lebanon, April 26, 2026 (Courtesy)
An Israeli soldier was killed and six were wounded in a Hezbollah explosive drone attack in southern Lebanon this morning, the military announces.
The slain soldier is named as Sgt. Idan Fooks, 19, of the 7th Armored Brigade’s 77th Battalion, from Petah Tikva.
He is the third soldier to be killed in southern Lebanon despite the ongoing ceasefire.
The IDF says that an officer and three troops were seriously wounded, one soldier was moderately hurt and another soldier was lightly hurt in the attack.
While the wounded troops were being evacuated, Hezbollah launched two more explosive-laden drones at the forces. One of the drones was intercepted, while the second struck near the troops, without causing any additional injuries, according to an IDF probe of the incident.
Hezbollah took responsibility for the attack, saying it attacked Israeli troops in the southern Lebanon town of Taybeh in response to alleged Israeli violations of the truce.
Shas-backed candidate appointed new chief rabbi of Tel Aviv
Rabbi Zevadia Cohen (Religious Services Ministry)
Shas-backed Rabbi Zevadia Cohen, who currently serves as the head of the rabbinical courts in Tel Aviv, is selected as the city’s new chief rabbi, after almost nine years without one, the Religious Service Ministry announces.
A 64-member committee, including all members of the municipal council and representatives of the Religious Services Ministry, was responsible for choosing from a list of 16 candidates by casting a secret ballot.
Cohen received 37 votes. The second most voted candidate was Rabbi Haim Amsalem, who was considered a more liberal choice and was backed by a plurality of parties in the city council, including Meretz, Yesh Atid and Religious Zionism.
However, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai is said to have supported Cohen. Earlier today, a spokesperson for the mayor told The Times of Israel that Huldai will be publishing a statement after the results of the elections are announced.
Cohen is close to the Yosef rabbinical dynasty, and especially to former chief rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, son of the late chief rabbi, Sephardic sage and Shas founder Ovadia Yosef, and brother to current Chief Rabbi David Yosef. Like Ansalem, he currently lives in Jerusalem.
Neither Cohen nor his children have served in the army.
The rabbi is considered a respected dayan (rabbinical judge). He is known for his efforts in favor of agunot (women chained in marriages because of their husbands’ refusal to grant them a divorce, as required by Jewish law to end a marriage).
There are currently dozens of municipalities across Israel without a rabbi, and under the current government, Shas has worked to extend its influence over the appointment process for candidates to the posts.
Trump tells Fox News Iran can call US if it wants to negotiate
US President Donald Trump speaks during an event on health care affordability in the Oval Office at the White House, on April 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
US President Donald Trump says that Iran can reach out to the United States if it wants to negotiate an end to the war between the two countries.
“If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us. You know, there is a telephone. We have nice, secure lines,” Trump says in an interview on Fox News’s “The Sunday Briefing.”
Trump canceled a trip by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan on Saturday, dealing a new setback to peace prospects after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi departed Islamabad after speaking only to Pakistani officials.
Araghchi has since returned to Pakistan despite the absence of US counterparts.
Hezbollah says Israel violating truce, rejects Netanyahu accusation
Hezbollah rejects Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusation that it is jeopardizing the Lebanon ceasefire, and says it will keep responding to what it calls Israel’s violations and occupation of south Lebanon.
In a statement, Hezbollah says its attacks on Israeli targets in south Lebanon and northern Israel are “a legitimate response to the enemy’s persistent violations of the ceasefire since the first day of the announcement of the temporary truce.”
“Hezbollah affirms clearly and firmly that the enemy’s continued ceasefire violations… and above all its continued occupation of Lebanese territory and violations of its sovereignty will be met with a response and a resistance that is… ready to defend its land and people,” the statement says.
The Israeli military says it attacks direct threats to its troops and to the country’s territory. Under the terms of the ceasefire, it was not required to pull back from southern Lebanon.
Source says no serious talks yet on forming right-wing Likud alternative
While there have been some discussions among right-wing critics of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on establishing a more “statesmanlike” alternative to the ruling Likud party, there have been no serious negotiations on the matter so far, a source close to the matter tells The Times of Israel.
However, they note, that could soon change.
On Saturday evening, Channel 12 reported that senior right-wing figures, including members of Netanyahu’s coalition, are considering forming a new political party referred to as “Likud B,” which would be “free of extremists” and more in line with the pre-Netanyahu Likud.
According to the unsourced report, the effort involves both current and former Likud figures who have had tensions with Netanyahu, including Likud MK Yuli Edelstein and Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel, who has declined to rejoin Likud alongside the rest of her New Hope party.
Speaking with The Times of Israel this afternoon, a source with knowledge of the talks says they could become serious in the coming weeks and lead to progress in creating a new party, but that there has been little to no advancement on the matter until now.
The source says that this afternoon’s announcement that former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid are establishing a united list for the upcoming elections could serve as a prod to further action by leaders of the moderate right opposed to the current government, especially if the new list proves it can garner increased electoral support.
Eisenkot and Gantz laud Bennett-Lapid merger
Blue and White Party chief MK Benny Gantz leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, February 16, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot, who is widely viewed as a major contender in the next election, frames the Bennett-Lapid merger as part of a wider effort to unseat the current government.
“The goal of winning the critical elections ahead of us is a shared one,” Eisenkot writes, calling Bennett and Lapid “partners” and pledging to continue acting “responsibly and wisely” to achieve “the victory and change required for the State of Israel.”
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz welcomes the move, but says that “the real connection” Israel requires is “between all parts of the people — without boycotts and without hatred.”
Gantz argues that only a “broad Zionist unity government” that excludes extremists can move the country forward. He has previously sought to promote the formation of a broad-based government and, unlike other opposition parties, is open to sitting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
IDF says it struck Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure in south Lebanon
In a wave of airstrikes and artillery shelling today, the IDF says it hit Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure in southern Lebanon, north of the Israeli-held security zone.
The IDF says the targets included rocket-launching squads that were planning attacks on troops and Israel, a primed rocket launcher, a weapons depot, and other buildings used by the terror group.
The military says it also struck Hezbollah operatives in a building known to be used by the terror group, and another operative on a motorcycle.
In a wave of airstrikes and artillery shelling earlier today, the IDF says it hit Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure in southern Lebanon, north of the Israeli-held security zone.
The IDF says the targets included rocket-launching squads that were planning attacks on troops… pic.twitter.com/jKEW1Q8OtH
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 26, 2026
Air Force downs another apparent Hezbollah drone over south Lebanon
The Israeli Air Force shot down another apparent Hezbollah drone over an area of southern Lebanon where troops are deployed, the military says.
The IDF says the “suspicious aerial target” did not enter Israeli territory.
Yair Golan, Avigdor Liberman welcome Bennett-Lapid merger; right wing attacks union
Yisrael Beytenu party chief Avigdor Liberman speaks to the Knesset plenum on January 19, 2026. (Noam Moskowitz/Knesset Spokesman's Office)
Opposition party leaders celebrate the merger of Naftali Bennett and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s parties under a single unified electoral list, while members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition slam the move as one aimed at bringing Mansour Abbas’s Islamist Ra’am party into the halls of power.
“I welcome every unification in the bloc,” tweets The Democrats chairman Yair Golan, stating that his party will “constitute the sturdy democratic and liberal backbone in the next government.”
Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman wishes the new joint slate success and says that “we must remember that the goal is to replace the October 7 government.”
Reservists party chairman Yoaz Hendel wishes both Bennett and Lapid success while urging “right-wingers who have hesitated until today and oppose the government” to join his own nascent party, saying it is the only true home for the right.
“The Bennett-Lapid ‘brotherhood alliance’ is back to selling the country to the Islamic movement,” declares National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. “Bennett was a radical leftist and will remain a radical leftist.”
The Bennett-Lapid government, which was in office from 2021 to 2022, made history by including the Islamist Ra’am party, led by Mansour Abbas, in its diverse coalition of right-wing, centrist and left-wing parties. The coalition marked the first interruption of Benjamin Netanyahu’s premiership since 2009, and many in the right wing staunchly opposed it and pressured members of Bennett’s Yamina party to leave. They succeeded after a year, when party MKs toppled the government, triggering elections that returned Netanyahu to office.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich posts on X a picture of Bennett and Lapid smiling alongside Abbas, writing, “I’m not telling the left how to split their votes. [This is the] Abbas servant alliance.”
Last March, Bennett told a private audience of US students that the next government he will lead would not include Arab parties, as his previous government did, saying this was a time for Zionist parties to lead Israel.
Joint Bennett-Lapid slate ‘Together’ unveils logo
Here is a look at the logo of the new Bennett-Lapid slate, “Together.”
Opposition source says Bennett, Lapid leaving door open for Gadi Eisenkot
Former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot during a visit to Kibbutz Yiftah near the Israeli border with Lebanon, March 9, 2026. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)
There is still room for Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot to join the united slate being established by former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, an opposition source with knowledge of the matter tells The Times of Israel.
“The deal was finalized on Saturday night. The door’s definitely open for Gadi Eisenkot to join. Gadi’s a good guy. He could be a central player in this and he’s the one that called for the three-way joining of the parties. He’s been an advocate for it, so we certainly hope he joins. But this thing in and of itself is big and important and seismic in the Israeli political system,” says the source.
Asked about recent polls showing that if Eisenkot, Lapid and Bennett were to run together, their combined ticket would become the largest faction in the Knesset — though it would not significantly change the respective sizes of the two main rival blocs — the source indicates belief that in the end a united slate will be greater than the sum of its parts.
“There’s an element of it creating a sense of hope. It gives people something to believe in. It allows us to focus all our resources and our attention on winning the election, rather than the primaries in the bloc. It creates a wave of hope and positivity, which we hope will push everything forward. That’s what happened in Hungary. In the end, the polls were way off in Hungary,” the source asserts.
Channel 12 reported last week that Lapid, Bennett and Eisenkot had been holding contacts on the potential formation of a new joint party called “New Israel.”
According to the unsourced report, representatives for the three men discussed a merger ahead of the upcoming elections, set for October, hoping to present a united front against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Eisenkot, who heads the Yashar party and is a former IDF chief of staff, was first reported to have proposed a merger in January with Bennett and Lapid, both of whom have courted the former IDF commander for their own parties.
On Saturday evening, former MK Matan Kahana, who resigned from the Knesset last year to join former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party, said that he would remain a member of Yashar, amid speculation that he may defect to join Bennett’s party. Kahana previously served as an MK in Bennett’s Yamina party, and later a minister in his government, and has advocated for a merger between Eisenkot and Bennett. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment following the announcement of the Bennett-Lapid merger.
Bennett and Lapid worked together in 2021-2022 when they led a short-lived diverse coalition of right-wing, centrist and left-wing parties.
Palestinian leader Abbas’s loyalists win local elections, including in Gaza city of Deir al‑Balah
An election committee sorts the lists of candidates in local elections in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Loyalists of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas won most races in Palestinian municipal elections, election officials say, in a vote that for the first time in nearly two decades included a city in the Gaza Strip run by rival Hamas.
Saturday’s ballot marked the first elections of any kind in Gaza since 2006 and the first Palestinian polls since the Gaza war began more than two years ago with Hamas’s cross‑border attack on southern Israel.
Abbas’s West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA) said the inclusion of the Gaza city Deir al‑Balah, which suffered less damage than other areas of the coastal territory during the war, was intended to show that Gaza was an inseparable part of a future Palestinian state.
The elections, in which voter turnout was low, were held “at a highly sensitive moment amid complex challenges and exceptional circumstances,” PA Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said as results were announced. But they represent “an important first step in a broader national process aimed at strengthening democratic life… and ultimately achieving the unity of the land,” he said.
Hamas, which ousted the PA from Gaza in 2007, did not formally nominate candidates in Gaza and boycotted the race in the West Bank, where Fatah’s victory was widely expected. But some candidates on one of the Deir al-Balah lists were widely seen by residents and analysts as aligned with Hamas, making the vote a potential indicator of support for the Islamist group.
Preliminary results show that the list, known as Deir al‑Balah Brings Us Together, won only two of the 15 seats contested in Gaza. The Nahdat Deir al‑Balah list, backed by Abbas’s Fatah party and the Western-backed PA, secured six seats. The remaining seats were won by two other Gaza-based groups, Future of Deir al‑Balah and Peace and Building, not affiliated with either faction.
Abbas loyalists swept the election in the West Bank, running unchallenged in many cases.
“By electing figures linked to Fatah, voters appear to be seeking unrestricted international support for municipal governance and a gradual political shift that could extend beyond the local level,” says Palestinian political analyst Reham Ouda.
Likud’s Edelstein welcomes High Court ruling against draft evasion
Likud MK Yuli Edelstein attends a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, December 2, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The High Court is standing up for reservists and combating Haredi draft evasion instead of the coalition, declares former Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein (Likud) after the court ruled this morning that the state must impose financial sanctions on ultra-Orthodox draft evaders.
He aims criticism at the government: “Instead of the coalition making things easier for the reservists, it is surrendering to Haredi demands and thereby abandoning the soldiers’ fate to High Court intervention.”
“I have no doubt that the framework I proposed at one time would have both drafted young Haredi men and passed the High Court’s muster,” says Edelstein, referring to his own rejected outline for ultra-Orthodox conscription. “Those currently paying the price are the same servicemen being called up for endless rounds of reserve duty.”
Netanyahu meets police and education ministers to discuss youth violence
R-L: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Education Minister Yoav Kisch on youth violence at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, April 26, 2026 (PMO)
After a spate of fatal stabbings involving minors, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Education Minister Yoav Kisch in his office.
The premier instructs the pair to step up their ministries’ activities to combat violence among youth, through both prevention in the classroom and law enforcement, his office says.
“We are all shocked by the despicable murders. We cannot accept this, and we must stop it and nip it in the bud,” Netanyahu says.
Last week on Independence Day, a 21-year-old restaurant employee was stabbed to death in Petah Tikva. Police arrested eight minors in connection to the incident.
A 19-year-old was killed in a stabbing days later while leaving his house Friday night in Beersheba. Three 16-year-olds were detained on suspicion of involvement.
Overnight, a 16-year-old from a northern Bedouin town was stabbed to death in Hatzor Haglilit. Police detained two men today, one of them on suspicion of attempting to obstruct the investigation.
Suspected Hezbollah drone intercepted over southern Lebanon
An apparent Hezbollah drone was intercepted by the Israeli Air Force over an area of southern Lebanon where troops are deployed, the military says.
The IDF says the “suspicious aerial target” did not enter Israeli territory.
Israel to enter critical minerals race following government approval
Israel will enter the global race for critical minerals as the government unanimously approves a proposal by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to advance the country’s strategic interests in the sector, the Foreign Ministry announces.
Under the decision, an inter-ministerial team led by the Foreign Ministry will draft recommendations within 120 days aimed at securing supplies for Israeli industries and positioning Israel as a “significant player” in the field. The plan also tasks the ministry with leading negotiations with the United States and other international partners on cooperation agreements.
The move reflects growing global competition over minerals critical to advanced industries, including artificial intelligence, electronics and electric vehicles. Israel points to supply chain vulnerabilities and market concentration as key drivers, signaling an effort to reduce dependence on dominant suppliers and prevent the use of such resources as geopolitical leverage.
China currently dominates the global supply chain for critical minerals, reportedly controlling at least 90% of the rare earth minerals market.
Sa’ar, who represented Israel at a US-led critical minerals conference in Washington in February, says Israel will work alongside Washington to address the challenge and “create Israeli value in this strategic arena.”
‘Together’: Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid announce united run under Bennett in 2026 elections
Prime Minister Yair Lapid (right) and alternate prime minister Naftali Bennett at a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on July 31, 2022. (Marc Israel Sellem/Pool)
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid are set to officially announce the merger of their two parties under Bennett’s leadership this evening at a press conference in Tel Aviv.
The name of the new party will be “Together – Led by Naftali Bennett,” a spokesman for Bennett says.
“Former prime minister Naftali Bennett and former prime minister Yair Lapid will announce the first step in the process of healing the State of Israel: the merger of the Yesh Atid party and the Bennett 2026 party into a unified party led by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett,” Bennett’s office says in a statement.
“This move unites the ‘reform bloc,’ puts an end to infighting, and allows for all efforts to be invested toward a decisive victory in the upcoming elections and to lead Israel toward the necessary reform,” Bennett’s office adds.
A recent Maariv poll showed Bennett’s party neck and neck with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud with 24 Knesset seats, while Yesh Atid received 7.
Bennett, who has previously said that his approach is based on advancing issues on which there is political consensus, had reportedly been in contact with Lapid and Yashar party chief Gadi Eisenkot to discuss the potential formation of a new joint party called “New Israel.”
On Saturday evening, former MK Matan Kahana, who resigned from the Knesset last year to join former IDF chief of staff Eisenkot’s Yashar party, said that he would remain a member of Yashar, amid speculation that he may defect to join Bennett’s party. Kahana previously served as an MK in Bennett’s Yamina party, and later a minister in his government, and has advocated for a merger between Eisenkot and Bennett.
Haredi leaders assail ‘oppressive’ court’s order to sanction draft evaders
MKs Moshe Gafni (R) and Yitzhak Goldknopf of UTJ attend a plenum session at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 14, 2026 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Ultra-Orthodox politicians slam the High Court of Justice’s ruling requiring the state to impose financial sanctions on ultra-Orthodox draft evaders, arguing that Israel is becoming progressively less Jewish as a result of the court’s decisions on conscription.
The ruling is a harsh “blow to the heart of the Jewish identity of the State of Israel,” declares United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take “immediate” action to pass legislation exempting yeshiva students from conscription.
The court ordered the government to prepare a number of sanctions, including withdrawing daycare and transit subsidies as well as municipal tax discounts.
The decision “to impose heavy and discriminatory sanctions against Torah scholars” marks “a severe crossing of a red line,” says Goldknopf, calling it “inconceivable that those who dedicate their lives to Torah study should be defined as criminals and subjected to punishments.”
Insisting that “no sanction will stop the voice of the Torah,” Goldknopf declares that yeshiva students “will continue to study Torah with devotion, persistence, and pride, just as they have throughout the generations, even under threats and dangers.
“I call upon the prime minister and the heads of the parties who signed the coalition agreement, in which they committed to regulating the status of Torah scholars, to demonstrate leadership and responsibility and to stand by their commitment,” he says. “It is unacceptable that harm to Torah scholars should be allowed on your watch. You must regulate their status immediately.” He adds that “we expect the prime minister to act immediately to halt this deterioration and to pass a law immediately, as he committed to do.”
While UTJ’s Degel HaTorah faction has largely been supportive of the coalition’s bill exempting most yeshiva students from military service, which is now making its way through the Knesset, Goldknopf’s Agudat Yisrael faction has actually opposed it because it retains some sanctions for draft evaders.
Deputy Communications Minister Yisrael Eichler, a member of Goldknopf’s faction, accuses the “dictatorial” High Court of “declaring a governmental war against the children of Israel and their parents living below the poverty line.”
“Their new decision proves the conspiracy of predatory steps against the lifestyle of the Haredi public and against the faith of the children of Israel,” Eichler alleges, asserting that God himself “will frustrate” the counsel of “the oppressors.”
Degel HaTorah chairman MK Moshe Gafni states: “The State of Israel is gradually losing, step by step, its identity as a Jewish and democratic state.”
“From decision to decision, from hearing to hearing and from ruling to ruling, the High Court is acting consistently and systematically to harm Torah students and reduce their place in the state. We will not lend a hand to this. Torah scholars are the foundation of our existence as a people, and we will continue to study Torah and carry on our shoulders the spiritual defense of the People of Israel in every situation and under any condition,” he pledges.
Opposition lawmakers welcome High Court ruling to impose financial sanctions on Haredi draft evaders
An ultra-Orthodox man is seen in front of a sign for an IDF recruitment office during a protest against conscripting Haredi men to the military, in Jerusalem, May 1, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid welcomes the High Court of Justice’s decision ordering the state to impose financial sanctions on ultra-Orthodox draft evaders, declaring that the court had ruled that “draft dodging must end immediately.”
“Netanyahu’s government must decide whether it stands with the Zionists or with the draft dodgers,” the Yesh Atid chair writes on X.
The court has ordered the government to prepare a number of sanctions, including withdrawing daycare and transportation subsidies and municipal tax discounts, drawing the ire of the Haredim.
“There are judges in Jerusalem,” declares The Democrats chief Yair Golan, using a quote attributed to Likud founder Menachem Begin.
“In the next government, we will ensure that the Haredim enlist. We will ensure that the [IDF-]serving and tax-paying public does not bear the burden alone, and that the surrender to Haredi political maneuvering ends.”
Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman also welcomes the ruling, writing that “the true right does not support evasion and does not support evaders.”
“Whoever does not enlist will not receive. Period,” he writes.
In a separate tweet, Liberman reiterates his own party’s plan for sanctioning draft evaders, which includes prohibiting them from voting.
Amid failure to draft Haredim, High Court orders government to impose financial sanctions on all draft evaders
Supreme Court Deputy-President Noam Sohlberg presides over a court hearing on the government’s efforts to draft ultra-Orthodox Jews into the Israeli military, April 12, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
The High Court of Justice issues orders to government agencies and cabinet ministers to immediately act to condition various welfare benefits received by citizens upon enlistment to the IDF — and to punish those who evade enlistment.
The High Court says it is issuing the orders because the government has failed to implement the court’s ruling that it must adopt enforcement measures against ultra-Orthodox men who have failed to enlist in the IDF after being sent conscription orders.
Over 79,000 conscription orders have been issued to ultra-Orthodox men since the court ruled in 2024 that they were obligated to enlist, after the law allowing for blanket exemptions expired. Since that time, only 2,100 have enlisted.
Between January 2025 and January 2026, only 17 ultra-Orthodox men were proactively arrested by police for draft evasion.
The court orders the Israel Land Council to decide how to condition discounts for property purchases on IDF enlistment within 21 days. It tells the Labor Ministry to condition daycare and afternoon care subsidies within 21 days.
It also orders the Transportation Ministry to work out if it is possible to condition public transportation discounts on IDF enlistment within 35 days; and the interior minister to consider whether municipal tax discounts can be conditioned on conscription, also within 35 days.
The court orders the government to update it by June 1 on the implementation of these orders.
The court also states explicitly that the police are “not acting in accordance with their obligations” to arrest ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers, saying such a situation is “unacceptable.”
It therefore orders the government “to act with due diligence and as quickly as possible to engage in criminal proceedings against draft dodgers from among the Haredi public.”
Israel sent Iron Dome, troops to UAE during Iran war — report
Illustrative: An Iron Dome anti-missile system near the border with Lebanon, in northern Israel, April 7, 2023. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)
Israel deployed an Iron Dome battery to the United Arab Emirates early in the war with Iran, along with troops to operate it, marking the first time the system has been sent to another country outside of Israel and the US, Axios reports, citing Israeli and American officials.
During the US-Israel war on Iran, Tehran launched sustained attacks on the UAE, firing some 550 ballistic and cruise missiles and more than 2,200 drones, according to the Emirati defense ministry, making it the most targeted country in the region.
While most projectiles were intercepted, some struck military and civilian targets, reportedly prompting Abu Dhabi to seek assistance from allies.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the deployment following a call with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Israeli officials tell Axios. The system is said to have intercepted dozens of incoming Iranian missiles.
Israeli and Emirati officials say the two countries have been in close military and political coordination since the war began on February 28, with the Israeli Air Force also carrying out strikes in southern Iran during the war to neutralize threats aimed at Gulf states.
A senior Emirati official cited in the report says the UAE is “not going to forget” the assistance provided by Israel during the crisis.
Netanyahu says Hezbollah ‘dismantling’ ceasefire with Lebanon
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes a statement at the start of the cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on April 26, 2026. (Screenshot/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Hezbollah’s actions are threatening the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, as he pledges to “vigorously” target the Iran-backed terror group.
“It must be understood that Hezbollah’s violations are, in practice, dismantling the ceasefire,” Netanyahu says during the weekly cabinet meeting.
Under the terms of the truce, which was extended last week, Israel reserves the right to respond to threats from the terror group.
“We are acting vigorously in accordance with arrangements agreed with the United States and, incidentally, also with Lebanon,” Netanyahu says.
“This means freedom of action not only to respond to attacks, which is obvious, but also to preempt immediate threats and even emerging threats.”
Israeli airstrikes reported in south Lebanon following evacuation warnings
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike after an evacuation warning in Zawtar El Charqiyeh town of the southern Lebanon, on April 26, 2026 (AFP)
Following Israeli evacuation warnings, Lebanese media reports several airstrikes in southern Lebanon.
Earlier, the IDF ordered the villages of Mayfadoun, Shoukine, Yohmar, Arnoun, Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, and Kfar Tebnit to evacuate.
Strikes are now reported in the area.
مشاهد من دوار كفرتبنيت بعد الغارة الإسرائيلية التي استهدفت البلدة pic.twitter.com/xzL7zENNAu
— Lebanon Debate (@lebanondebate) April 26, 2026
US-Iran mediation attempts moving forward, Pakistani officials say
A police officer walks past posters of US and Iran talks near a possible venue in Islamabad, Pakistan, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Pakistan’s top political and military leadership is continuing to mediate between the United States and Iran, with indirect ceasefire talks still alive despite mounting tensions between the sides, two Pakistani officials say.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to arrive in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad this evening for a second visit in as many days after a short trip to Oman.
Araghchi was in Islamabad yesterday and presented Tehran’s position on ending the regional conflict to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and other senior officials.
There are no immediate plans for US envoys to return for talks, according to the Pakistani officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Government approves task force to boost civilian protection in northern communities
Israeli security and rescue forces at the scene of a Hezbollah rocket strike in Kiryat Shmona, northern Israel, April 1, 2026. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)
The government approves a proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to establish a task force aimed at accelerating civilian protection measures in northern communities, the Prime Minister’s Office announces.
The team, which is led by the Prime Minister’s Office and includes representatives from the Defense Ministry, Finance Ministry, Construction and Housing Ministry, Home Front Command and National Security Council, will be tasked with drafting a detailed, budgeted plan within 21 days to expand protective infrastructure across the north.
The plan will assess existing protection measures, propose multiyear funding, examine the integration of earthquake reinforcement, and outline immediate solutions for public protection as well as steps to remove bureaucratic obstacles.
The move comes after northern communities were pummeled by weeks of Hezbollah rocket and drone fire before a fragile ceasefire took effect earlier this month.
8th minor arrested in connection with killing of Petah Tikva pizzeria worker on Independence Day
People gather outside a Pizza Hut branch in Petah Tikva, lighting candles and placing flowers in memory of employee Yemanu Binyamin Zelka, who was stabbed to death there, April 25, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)
Police have arrested another minor suspected in the killing of a 21-year-old pizzeria worker in Petah Tikva on Independence Day.
The individual is suspected of taking part in the lethal stabbing of Yemanu Binyamin Zelka, after he asked a group of youths to stop spraying party foam in the restaurant where he was working.
So far, eight minors ages 12-17 have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the incident.
Two of them were freed to a 12-day house arrest, police say.
Netanyahu vows action after ‘heinous’ Petah Tikvah killing, condemns ‘wild incitement’ that followed
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes a statement at the start of the cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on April 26, 2026. (Screenshot/GPO)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemns the killing of 21-year-old Pizza Hut worker Yemanu Binyamin Zelka, calling the stabbing in Petah Tikva a “heinous murder” and vowing action at both the law enforcement and educational levels.
“I was shocked by the heinous murder in Petah Tikva,” Netanyahu says at the start of a weekly cabinet meeting, adding that he will meet with Education Minister Yoav Kisch and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to address the incident.
“The law must be fully applied to the murderers,” he says, adding that “it must be instilled in classrooms and in homes, by teachers and parents, that this is a criminal act that must be denounced.”
Zelka was stabbed to death on Independence Day after reportedly asking a group of teenagers not to spray party foam inside the restaurant. Eight teens have been arrested in connection with the killing.
Netanyahu also warns against what he describes as “wild incitement” that followed the attack.
“This is something we cannot accept. We must stop it and uproot it while it is still small,” he says.
His remarks appear to reference public outrage following the killing, with hundreds gathering outside the Petah Tikva eatery yesterday to demand stronger police action and chanting, “Ben Gvir, wake up.”
3 Hezbollah drones launched from Lebanon shot down before crossing border, IDF says
Three Hezbollah drones launched from Lebanon were shot down by the Israeli Air Force a short while ago, the military says.
The drones triggered sirens in the Western Galilee, though the military says they were shot down before crossing the border.
Hezbollah launched 2 explosive-laden drones at IDF troops in south Lebanon overnight, army says
Hezbollah launched two explosive-laden drones at Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon overnight, the military says.
The IDF says the drones both hit open areas, causing no injuries.
The attack is a “blatant violation of the ceasefire understandings by the Hezbollah terror organization,” the IDF says.
Meanwhile, the IDF says it struck buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon overnight.
חיל-האוויר תקף במהלך הלילה מבנים בשימוש צבאי ששימשו את ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה ברחבי דרום לבנון.
המבנים שהותקפו שימשו את ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה לקידום מתווי טרור נגד כוחות צה"ל ומדינת ישראל. pic.twitter.com/2RFFFi2tNu
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) April 26, 2026
Police announce arrest of 3rd minor in connection with killing of 19-year-old in Beersheba
Destao Tzakul, a 19-year-old from Beersheba, who was killed in a stabbing outside his home on April 24, 2026. (Facebook)
Police say they have arrested a third minor suspected of involvement in the fatal stabbing of a young man in Beersheba last week.
The 16-year-old suspect, who lives in the southern city, is suspected of having participated in the stabbing of 19-year-old Destao Tzakul as he left his home Friday night.
Last night, police announced the arrest of two other minors suspected of involvement in the crime.
The 16-year-old suspect will be brought tomorrow to the Beersheba Magistrate’s Court, where police will request he be kept in custody.
Israel appoints 1st ambassador to Somaliland
People walk by the flags of Israel and Somaliland flying alongside each other at the entrance to a fruit farm between the Somaliland capital city of Hargeisa and port city of Berbera along the highway connecting the two as Muslims commemorate the holy month of Ramadan on February 19, 2026. (Tony KARUMBA / AFP)
Israel has appointed its first ambassador to Somaliland, months after formally recognizing the breakaway region in the Horn of Africa, the foreign ministry says.
In December, Israel became the first country to recognize the independence of Somaliland since it declared its autonomy from Somalia in 1991 following a civil war.
Michael Lotem, currently serving as a roving economic ambassador to Africa, will be Israel’s envoy to Somaliland, the ministry says.
Lotem previously served as ambassador to Kenya, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
His appointment follows the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two sides in December 2025, and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar’s visit to Somaliland in January.
In February, Somaliland announced the appointment of Mohamed Hagi as its ambassador to Israel.
Somaliland enjoys a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden and has its own currency, passport and army, but has struggled to win international recognition, amid concerns in many capitals that this would provoke Somalia and encourage other separatist movements in Africa.
Saar’s visit to Somaliland drew condemnation from Somalia, which described it as an “unauthorized incursion.”
Sirens in north warn of suspected Hezbollah drone attack
Sirens sound in a number of towns close to the northern border, warning of a suspected Hezbollah drone attack from Lebanon.
IDF says it recently razed 800-meter-long tunnel belonging to Islamic Jihad in south Gaza
The IDF says it recently razed an 800-meter-long tunnel belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the southern Gaza Strip, on the Israeli side of the ceasefire line.
In the tunnel, combat engineers of the elite Yahalom unit located weapons and military equipment, including a rocket, the army says.
The IDF says it recently razed an 800-meter-long tunnel belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the southern Gaza Strip, on the Israeli side of the ceasefire line.
In the tunnel, combat engineers of the elite Yahalom unit located weapons and military equipment, including a… pic.twitter.com/kPO12yltX8
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 26, 2026
Herzog pushes for Netanyahu plea deal, saying pardon discussions premature
President Isaac Herzog, right, grants Likud party chairman MK Benjamin Netanyahu the mandate to form a new government, at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on November 13, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/ Flash90)
President Isaac Herzog’s office confirms that the president is seeking to reach a plea bargain between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and prosecutors over the premier’s corruption trial, which is now in its seventh year.
Herzog’s office issues its statement in response to a New York Times report citing officials close to the president.
“As he has said several times in the past, President Isaac Herzog sees reaching an agreement between the parties in Prime Minister Netanyahu’s cases as a proper and correct solution,” Herzog’s office says.
“Negotiations for an arrangement are a necessary part of the attempt to bring the parties to an agreement.
“Therefore, the president believes that it is right to first, before discussing the pardon request itself, exhaust a process that could lead to the formation of an agreement between the parties, outside the walls of the court.”
According to the New York Times report attributed to “two senior Israeli officials with direct knowledge of Mr. Herzog’s thinking,” the president does not plan to grant Netanyahu’s pardon request in the near future and believes there are options other than to accept or reject the pardon request.
The officials did not, however, provide any details of what the plea bargain might look like.
Youth crime spiking in Tel Aviv area, with arrests almost doubling since 2022, police data shows
Youth delinquency has reached new heights in and around Tel Aviv, according to police data revealing that the number of cases opened against minors last year in the district hit a peak of several years, with arrests nearly doubling since 2022.
Police opened 2,084 cases against minors in 2025, according to law enforcement data obtained by the Ynet news outlet. This is compared to 1,935 cases in 2024, 1,851 in 2023 and 2,043 in 2022.
Most of the cases involve public order disturbances such as fighting in a public place and unlawful assembly, property damage and violent offenses.
Tel Aviv District police arrested 568 minors last year, as compared to 301 in 2022, meaning the rate at which minors are being detained on criminal suspicions has almost doubled. Indictments against minors have also risen sharply, from 442 in 2022 to 571 in 2025.
The vast majority of these cases concern minors who are Israeli citizens. According to the data, 80 percent of the cases were opened against Israelis, as opposed to West Bank Palestinians and foreign nationals.
The data is published in the wake of two lethal stabbings suspected to have been carried out by minors, though both of these incidents occurred outside the Tel Aviv District, in Petah Tikva and Beersheba.
AG says government must make ‘operative decisions’ today on enforcing Haredi enlistment in IDF
Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest in Jerusalem against military conscription with a sign reading 'we will die rather than enlist,' April 12, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The attorney general tells the government it must make “operative decisions” for imposing effective sanctions on ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers at a cabinet meeting scheduled for later today.
In a letter sent to Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon notes that the High Court ordered in November 2025 that enforcement policies including social and economic sanctions be drawn up within 45 days, but the government failed to do so.
During a hearing in the High Court two weeks ago, the justices lambasted the government for failing to enforce conscription for ultra-Orthodox men who have received enlistment orders, but they have yet to issue a new decision.
Limon notes in his letter that cabinet ministers have not been sent any proposed measures for enforcing enlistment ahead of this evening’s meeting.
“We would like to emphasize that the discussion that will take place today in the cabinet must end with the adoption of operative decisions and with instructions to government ministries to act as soon as possible to promote concrete steps to implement mandatory IDF enlistment among draft dodgers,” Limon writes.
“This is required in light of the High Court ruling, in light of the requirement of equality, and in light of the army’s urgent needs for conscript manpower, as been demonstrated time and time again.”
IDF issues evacuation warning for several towns north of Lebanon security zone ahead of Hezbollah strikes
The IDF issues an evacuation warning for several Lebanese towns north of Israel’s southern Lebanon security zone, ahead of airstrikes on Hezbollah.
“In light of the Hezbollah terror organization’s violation of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF is compelled to act against it with force,” says army spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee.
Civilians in Mayfadoun, Shoukine, Yohmar, Arnoun, Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, and Kfar Tebnit are instructed to evacuate their homes and move at least a kilometer away from an area designated on a map published by the IDF.
#عاجل ‼️رسالة عاجلة إلى سكان جنوب لبنان
⭕️نجدد تأكيدنا انه خلال فترة اتفاق وقف إطلاق النار يواصل جيش الدفاع تمركزه في مواقعه بجنوب لبنان في مواجهة النشاطات الإرهابية المستمرة لمنظمة حزب الله.
⭕️نعود ونحذر انه وحرصًا على سلامتكم وسلامة أبناء عائلاتكم وحتى إشعار آخر انتم مطالبون… pic.twitter.com/VNgez3mHkY
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) April 26, 2026
Senior Haredi rabbi’s opposition halts Knesset’s renewal of talks on draft exemption bill
Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, head of the Slabodka Yeshiva, delivers a lesson at a yeshiva in Jerusalem, October 22, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
The resumption of parliamentary debate over the government’s controversial bill exempting yeshiva students from military service has been delayed due to ultra-Orthodox opposition, with sources stating that Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, one of the Degel HaTorah party’s two senior rabbinic leaders, has come out against the legislation as currently written.
The bill, which critics including senior IDF officers and the attorney general argue will not significantly increase enlistment, was taken off the table with the outbreak of the US-Israeli war with Iran. However, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth announced at the end of March that he will continue advance it and Shas chairman Aryeh Deri has predicted that it will pass in the summer after the parliamentary recess, which ends May 10.
While many expected the committee to resume discussions during the current recess, a schedule distributed to panel members this morning contains no reference to the legislation.
“There’s only one meeting and it’s not even about the Draft Law. I understand that Rabbi Hirsch came back from overseas with the view that the law is bad and won’t fix anything, so he gave the order to stop advancing it,” says committee member Moshe Tur-Paz.
A senior source in Agudat Yisrael, which together with Degel HaTorah comprises the larger United Torah Judaism party, agrees, telling The Times of Israel that “only Rabbi Moshe Hillel does not agree as of this moment.”
Both statements were in line with recent reporting regarding Rabbi Hirsch’s opposition, which stands in contrast with the support shown by Rabbi Dov Lando, the party’s overall spiritual leader.
Government unanimously approves appointment of Doron Cohen as civil service commissioner
Finance Ministry Director General Doron Cohen, August 21, 2012 (Yoav Ari Dudkevitch/FLASH90)
The cabinet unanimously approves the appointment of Doron Cohen as Civil Service Commissioner.
Cohen will begin his six-year tenure on May 5, or after any conflict of interest procedures are completed, the Prime Minister’s Office says.
Cohen’s appointment had the backing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to reports, Michal Halperin, a member of the committee that selected Cohen, opposed his appointment, noting the lack of women in senior positions in Israel.
The Ynet news site says Cohen’s appointment was opposed by some within Netanyahu’s Likud party as he was considered to be close to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the leader of the far-right Religious Zionism party.
Cohen previously served as director general of the Finance Ministry, head of the Government Companies Authority, and chair of the board of directors at Cellcom.
The Civil Service commissioner oversees all the civil servants in the Civil Service, which runs public services in the country, and has authority over senior appointments, promotions, and dismissals in the Civil Service, the allocation of tasks within its departments, and disciplinary processes.
Cohen’s appointment comes after a long-running storm over the replacement of his predecessor Daniel Hershkowitz.
Jewish man says he was beaten on Brussels metro by 3 assailants making antisemitic comments, Star of David necklace stolen
A Jewish man says he was assaulted inside the Brussels metro on Friday, and his Star of David necklace was ripped off his neck by three assailants who made antisemitic comments.
The alleged victim, 41-year-old David Sierzant Acitores, writes on social media that three men attacked him on the train after asking for directions
They jumped on him, held him down, and punched him repeatedly in the face, knocking off his glasses and tearing his shirt, he says. They made antisemitic comments and took his gold chain and Star of David pendant, but not his wallet or phone, says Acitores.
Acitores says he tried to chase the attackers after they fled, but couldn’t find them without his glasses.
He says he filed a police report and hopeד the attackers will be identified using surveillance camera footage.
There is no comment from police.
Acitores writes on social media that he is looking for help recovering the gold chain and pendant, which he says was a gift from his father and had been in the family for almost 30 years.
Some Belgian politicians quickly denounce the attack.
Jamal Ikazban, a member of the Brussels Parliament and leader of the Socialist Party group, blasts the “unacceptable” attack.
“It is unacceptable to be attacked in Brussels because you are Jewish or because you wear a Star of David,” he wrote. “It is equally unacceptable to be harassed and insulted because you are Jewish. I hope that the perpetrators will be identified and punished.”
“Nothing, I mean nothing, can justify this violence and hatred,” says lawmaker Ahmed Laaouej. “This antisemitic aggression is sick.”
Ahead of Tel Aviv vote, Eisenkot calls on mayors to oppose Haredi municipal rabbis opposed to draft
Former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot during a visit to Kibbutz Yiftah near the Israeli border with Lebanon, March 9, 2026. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)
With a Tel Aviv committee poised to vote for the city’s first chief rabbi in nearly a decade, Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot calls on mayors across Israel to oppose the appointment of ultra-Orthodox municipal rabbis who are opposed to military service.
“Municipal rabbis, as well as the chief rabbis of Israel, must be leaders who unequivocally champion support for enlistment in the IDF and national service. I appeal to the mayors of Israel: Do not lend a hand to the selection of a rabbi who does not support enlistment in the IDF,” posts Eisenkot on X.
“The residents of the city who serve in the regular army and reserves deserve a city rabbi who represents them and the values of military service, mutual responsibility, and Israeli solidarity,” he says.
Shas-backed Rabbi Zevadia Cohen is considered the likely winner of today’s race in Tel Aviv. He is the head of the city’s rabbinical courts and is close to the Yosef rabbinical dynasty, and especially to former chief rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, son of the late chief rabbi, Sephardic sage and Shas founder Ovadia Yosef, and brother to current Chief Rabbi David Yosef.
Shas has long seen control of local rabbinates as key to growing and maintaining its political base and has pushed for legislation and regulations that would give it increasing influence over the appointment of municipal rabbis.
Municipal rabbis are meant to serve as the direct religious authority for the Jewish residents of their city or town, signing off on things like marriage licenses and kosher certificates for local restaurants.
However, the appointment process for the positions has long been beset by allegations of corruption and political horse-trading, prompting a number of appeals to the High Court over the years, along with highly critical state comptroller reports.
The next chief rabbi of Tel Aviv will be chosen by a 64-member committee that will cast a secret ballot — 50 percent of the votes go to to city council members and the municipality director general, with the rest of the ballots evenly split between public representatives chosen by the municipality and by the religious services minister.
Hotovely approved as head of National Public Diplomacy Directorate
Israel's ambassador to Britain, Tzipi Hotovely, speaks onstage during the commemoration of the first anniversary of October 7, in Hyde Park in London, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
The cabinet approves Tzipi Hotovely, the former Israeli ambassador to the UK, as the head of the National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office, filling a position that has been vacant for some two years.
She will take office on May 5.
“In her various roles, Hotovely worked, among other things, to promote the image of the State of Israel, was interviewed extensively by international media outlets around the world, and fought in the international public relations arena during the war,” the PMO says.
The last head of the directorate, Moshik Aviv, resigned in May 2024 and was not replaced, even as Israel fought wars on several fronts and faced severe and mounting global criticism among both allies and adversaries.
Hotovely, a member of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party and former deputy foreign minister, has drawn backlash for her remarks over the years, including for saying in 2017 that American Jews “never send their children to fight for their country,” a statement for which she later apologized.
Hotovely served as Israel’s ambassador in London from 2020 to 2025. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, is slated to take over the UK posting but has been prevented from doing so because he is under investigation in connection with a probe into a classified document leak.
The restrictive conditions on Braverman were lifted last month, allowing him to soon take up the post.
3 killed by IDF fire in Gaza, Palestinian media reports
Two Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli strike while riding a motorcycle in the southern part of Gaza City, media outlets affiliated with Hamas report.
Separately, a 40-year-old woman was reported killed by IDF fire in the south of the city.
No further details were provided and the reports cannot be independently verified.
There is no comment from the IDF.
Hezbollah claims to have launched 2 attacks on IDF troops in south Lebanon’s Taybeh
Hezbollah claims to have launched two attacks on Israeli soldiers stationed in the southern Lebanon town of Taybeh this morning.
The terror group says the attacks come in response to alleged Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement.
The IDF has not yet commented on the incidents.
Oman’s sultan met Iran’s Araghchi to discuss Iran war, state news agency says
The sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, has met Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in Muscat, where both sides discussed the regional situation and mediation efforts aimed at ending the Iran war, Oman’s state news agency reports.
Hamas operatives attack family in Gaza, including women and children
Palestinian media publishes footage said to show Hamas operatives beating residents in Gaza.
According to the reports, the incident took place overnight between Friday and Saturday in the Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City.
The reports say that following a dispute between a member of the al-Wahidi family and a Hamas operative, around 40 armed Hamas members arrived at the family’s building and assaulted residents, including women and children.
A family member filmed a video after the incident, saying: “I swear that even the Jews did not treat us [Gaza residents] with such humiliation. We are a respected family of Bedouin origin — a Bedouin takes revenge even after forty years and says he acted too soon. We will settle accounts with everyone.”
Hamas has not commented on the incident.
في جريمة جديدة وانتهاك خطير للأعراف والقيم وحرمة المنازل ،، أفادت مصادر محلية بأن نحو 40 عنصرًا ملثّمًا ينتمون إلى #حماس وذراعها العسكري #كتائب_القسام ،، هاجموا مبنى سكنيًا مكوّنًا من 4 طوابق يعود لعائلة الوحيدي ،، في مربع الريس بمنطقة الرمال الجنوبي.
ووفقًا للمعلومات ومقطع… pic.twitter.com/RfycnAtmyU
— الناشط حمزة المصري (@hamza198708) April 24, 2026
Netanyahu ‘shocked by the attempted assassination’ of Trump
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Jerusalem, March 19, 2026. (Shalev Shalom/POOL)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is “shocked by the attempted assassination” of US President Donald Trump at a gala dinner in Washington DC.
Netanyahu says he is relieved that Trump and the first lady are “safe and strong,” and sends “wishes for a full and speedy recovery to the wounded police officer and salute the US Secret Service for their swift and decisive action.”
US officials have not said that Trump was the target of the gunman. However, the suspect reportedly told law enforcement following his arrest that he wanted to shoot Trump administration officials.
Man jailed for spying on UK offices of Iran International says he was offered €50,000 by handlers
A man jailed in the United Kingdom for spying on the offices of anti-regime outlet Iran International has said he was offered €50,000 (approximately $58,000) by his handlers, Britain’s Sunday Times reports.
Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev, a 33-year-old Austrian national of Chechen origin, is thought to have been freed last week and deported to Austria.
The report says that he disclosed the payment offer at a recent parole board hearing.
According to the newspaper, police were unable to prove that Dovtaev received his orders from Tehran, but strongly suspected it to be the case.
The parole board disclosure comes amid a string of attacks on Jewish targets in London in recent weeks which are thought to be tied to Iranian security services. British police have warned “thugs for hire” against carrying out attacks.
There have also been a growing number of cases of Israelis hired by Iran to carry out espionage and vandalism.
Herzog says he’s relieved Trump unharmed in ‘heinous’ shooting attack
President Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal, at the scene where a missile fired from Iran at Israel caused damage to a house in Rishon Lezion, March 16, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)
President Isaac Herzog says he is relieved that US President Donald Trump and the other guests at the White House correspondents’ dinner are safe, and that the injured officer is recovering after the “heinous” shooting attack.
“Relieved to hear that US President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, American leaders, and guests at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner were unharmed by the gunman who opened fire outside the event hall,” Herzog writes on X.
“We are thankful that the law enforcement officer shot during the attack is safe and on the path of recovery. From the Holy Land, we pray for the safety and security of the United States of America and its leaders after this heinous attack,” he says.
Accused DC dinner attacker is tutor and computer programmer from California
This image released by US President Donald Trump via his Truth Social account shows a person he claims to be the suspect in the shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner on the ground after being apprehended on April 25, 2026 (@REALDONALDTRUMP / TRUTH SOCIAL)
Social media posts that appear to match the California man arrested in the shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner show he is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.
A May 2025 profile photo of Cole Tomas Allen of Torrence, California, appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker being taken into custody that was posted by US President Donald Trump. The photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master’s degree in computer science from California State University-Dominguez Hills.
Allen, 31, earned a bachelor’s degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He listed his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.
A local ABC station in Los Angeles included an interview with Allen during his senior year of college as part of a story about new technologies to help people as they age. He had developed a prototype for a new type of emergency brake for wheelchairs.
Allen contributed $25 to a Democratic Party political action committee in support of Kamala Harris for president in 2024, according to federal campaign finance records.
Allen’s online resume says he worked for the last six years at C2 Education, a company that offers admissions counseling and test preparation services to aspiring college students. A 2024 post on the company’s Facebook page listed Allen as the company’s teacher of the month. The company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Allen also posted that he had developed a video game for the Steam platform based on molecular chemistry. A post under Allen’s name said he was working to develop a new “top-down shooter” combat game set in outer space.
DC gala shooting suspect told law enforcement he was targeting Trump officials – report
Law enforcement responds to a shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
The man who allegedly carried out a shooting outside the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, which US President Donald Trump attended, told law enforcement following his arrest that he wanted to shoot Trump administration officials, CBS News reports, citing two sources.
16-year-old boy stabbed and killed in Hatzor HaGlilit; suspect detained
A 16-year-old boy was stabbed and killed in the northern town of Hatzor HaGlilit, Hebrew media reports say.
The teen was not publicly named but was reportedly a resident of Tuba-Zangariyye.
Police say a 28-year-old man from Hatzor HaGlilit was detained in connection with the killing, and that they believe the motive was criminal rather than nationalistic.
Iran executes man accused of membership in Sunni group Jaish al-Adl, carrying out attacks on forces
Iran executed a man convicted of being a member of the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl and carrying out attacks on Iranian security forces, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reports.
Authorities identify the man as Amer Ramesh, saying he had been arrested in a counter-terrorism operation in southeastern Iran and charged with armed rebellion, including being involved in bombings and ambushes targeting military personnel.
Jaish al-Adl is an extremist Sunni Muslim militant group active in Iran’s poorest region, Sistan-Baluchestan.
Trump gala shooting suspect to be arraigned Monday, will face firearm charges
US President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House after a shooting at the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
The shooting suspect accused of storming the Washington media gala attended by President Donald Trump will be arraigned in the US capital on Monday, the federal prosecutor says.
The suspect — who exchanged gunfire with Secret Service agents but was not shot himself — will appear before a US district judge.
According to US Attorney Jeanine Piro, the suspect will be charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence, and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.
Videos show moment Trump evacuated after shots fired at Washington event
US Secret Service agents surround President Donald Trump, third from left, as he is taken from the stage after a shooting incident outside the ballroom during the White House Correspondents Dinner, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Videos show the moment US President Donald Trump was evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner after a man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby outside the event, rushing toward the ballroom before Secret Service agents swarmed him and took him into custody.
The US president was uninjured and was hustled away.
A law enforcement officer was shot, but his bullet-resistant vest stopped the projectile.
Service agents evacuated President Trump from his table at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Cabinet secretaries also left the ballroom, according to witnesses.
Live updates: https://t.co/22omcZ4dn6 pic.twitter.com/fjoWMRHxHL
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) April 26, 2026
— Jake Tapper ???? (@jaketapper) April 26, 2026
U.S. Vice President JD Vance is escorted out by Secret Service followed by agents surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump after an incident at the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner in Washington, DC. According to reports, President Donald Trump, along with… pic.twitter.com/gue1l8AbxY
— Getty Images News (@GettyImagesNews) April 26, 2026
Man and 6-year-old boy found dead at home in central Israel in suspected murder-suicide
Ambulance at the scene of a suspected murder-suicide after a man and his 6-year-old son were found dead in central Israel on April 26, 2026 (Magen David Adom)
A man and a 6-year-old child were found dead at a home in central Israel, medics say.
The Kan public broadcaster says the pair were a father and son and that a gun was found near the man’s body, suggesting a murder-suicide.
The outlet says the man was separated from the boy’s mother.
The Magen David Adom emergency service says the 43-year-old man and boy were declared dead at the scene.
Police say they have opened an investigation.
Charges against press dinner shooter to be filed soon; FBI chief urges witnesses to come forward
US Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says charges will be filed shortly against the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter and that the nature of the charges will be obvious considering what had happened.
Blanche stresses that “the investigation is obviously ongoing and just started.”
FBI Director Kash Patel says the agency is examining a long gun and shell casings recovered from the scene, as well as interviewing witnesses from the dinner. He urges anyone with information to come forward.
Meanwhile, interim Washington, DC, police chief Jeffery Carroll says the suspect was armed with a shotgun, handgun and multiple knives. He says investigators have no reason to believe at this time that anyone else was involved.
Trump: ‘Don’t think’ press dinner shooter was linked to Iran war
US President Donald Trump says “don’t think so,” when asked whether the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner could have been linked to the US-Israeli war with Iran.
He says “I guess” when asked whether he was the intended target of the attack, and notes that he believes the suspect was a “lone wolf actor.”
The shooting suspect has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, two law enforcement officials tell The Associated Press.
Back at the White House, Trump says press dinner shooting suspect was armed with multiple weapons
US President Donald Trump speaks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House after a security threat at the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington, April 25, 2026, as FBI director Kash Patel and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin listen. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
US President Donald Trump is addressing reporters at the White House after he and other top leaders of the United States were evacuated from an annual dinner of White House correspondents after a shooting incident outside the ballroom.
Trump said the suspect was armed with multiple weapons before he was stopped by Secret Service. One officer was shot, but he was protected by a bulletproof vest.
“He was shot from very close distance with a very powerful gun, and the vest did the job,” Trump says.
FBI official says armed man fired at Secret Service agent at entrance to White House press dinner, sparking security incident
Officials say the security incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was caused by a man armed with a shotgun trying to breach security.
The man fired at a Secret Service agent, an FBI official tells Reuters. The agent was hit in an area covered by protective gear and not harmed, the official says.
Anthony Guglielmi, a Secret Service spokesman, says the service was investigating a shooting near the main screening area at the entrance to the event.
Trump to hold press conference at the White House after shooting cancels annual press dinner
US President Donald Trump says he will deliver a press conference from the White House in half an hour, after shots were fired inside the hotel building hosting the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, forcing the event to be evacuated.
“Law Enforcement has requested that we leave the premises, consistent with protocol, which we will do, immediately,” he writes on Truth Social after initially expressing hope that the dinner would be able to resume once the suspect was apprehended.
“The First Lady, plus the Vice President, and all Cabinet members, are in perfect condition,” Trump says.
He adds that the annual press dinner will be rescheduled within the next 30 days.
Trump confirms shooter apprehended at White House press dinner
The empty stage is seen after US President Donald Trump and other top leaders were evacuated from an annual dinner of White House correspondents on Saturday night(, April 25, 2026, in Washington/ AP Photo/Zeke Miller)
US President Donald Trump takes to Truth Social after being evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to confirm that a suspect has been apprehended after shots were fired in the vicinity of the dinner, taking place in a Washington DC hotel.
“Quite an evening in D.C. Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job,” Trump writes. “They acted quickly and bravely. The shooter has been apprehended, and I have recommended that we ‘LET THE SHOW GO ON’ but, will entirely be guided by Law Enforcement.”
He says a decision will be made shortly as to whether or not to resume the dinner, but that regardless, “the evening will be much different than planned, and we’ll just, plain, have to do it again.”
Alleged shooter in custody after firing weapon at White House Correspondents’ Dinner
An alleged shooter is in custody after shots were fired as US President Donald Trump attended a press dinner in Washington, witnesses and reporters confirm after the president was evacuated.
Loud bangs were heard and guests at the black-tie White House Correspondents’ Dinner scrambled to hide under tables.
Tactical teams with guns drawn took position on the stage where Trump had been sitting before he was evacuated.
Police are swarming the Washington Hilton Hotel where the event was taking place, and helicopters hover overhead.
The pool report says the alleged shooter is in custody, citing the Secret Service.
Both Trump and Vice President JD Vance are unharmed, reports say.
Trump evacuated from White House Correspondents’ Dinner amid security threat
Secret Service agents respond to a threat during the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
US President Donald Trump and other top leaders of the United States have been evacuated from an annual dinner of White House correspondents on Saturday night after an unspecified threat. There do not immediately appear to be any injuries.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the banquet hall as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. “Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck.
Reports say shots were fired in the vicinity of the dinner.
WHITE HOUSE POOL REPORT via @JeffMordock:
There’ was several loud bangs and the Secret Service with guns drawn rushed the pool out of the room.
They Secret Service pushed us back screaming “Shots fired.”
— Nathaniel Reed (@ReedReports) April 26, 2026
Pezeshkian says Iran won’t negotiate with US under threats or blockade
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian tells Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif by phone that Tehran will not enter “imposed negotiations” under threats or blockade, according to a statement from the Iranian government.
Pezeshkian says the United States should first remove “operational obstacles,” including its blockade of Iranian ports, before negotiators can lay any groundwork to resolve the conflict.
Sharif said earlier that he had spoken to Pezeshkian about the evolving regional situation.
“Pakistan remains committed to serve as an honest and sincere facilitator – working tirelessly to advance durable peace and lasting stability in the region,” Sharif said in a post on social media platform X.
As Netanyahu declines to give clear timeline, report says his prostate cancer diagnosis was six months ago
The Kan public broadcaster reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was diagnosed with prostate cancer around six months ago, after the premier revealed on Friday that he had successfully been treated for a malignant tumor, but did not say when.
The Kan report comes after the director of the Sharett Oncology Institute at Hadassah Medical Center, Prof. Aron Popovtzer, said on Friday only that Netanyahu was diagnosed “several months ago” and was administered radiation treatment around two and a half months ago.
According to the outlet, the treatments took place a few days apart from each other, with each one lasting about 20 minutes. The sessions are thought to have been scheduled early in the morning or late at night each time, to maintain the premier’s privacy and allow him to continue working as normal, it says.
Popovtzer, in his statement Friday, said the 76-year-old prime minister had a tumor measuring 0.9 centimeters that was early-stage adenocarcinoma of the prostate, which was found during a routine check-up.
He said that tests showed that the radiation treatment was successful, and Netanyahu would “continue with routine follow-up.”
Report: New US immigration policy could see green card applicants rejected for anti-Israel social media posts
A California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer detains a protestor while clearing a pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel encampment after dispersal orders were given at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, on May 2, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (MARIO TAMA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Would-be immigrants to the United States could now have their green card applications rejected for expressing anti-Israel sentiment on social media or participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations, according to a New York Times report, which cites internal documents distributed within the Department of Homeland Security.
According to the Times, the documents include updated training material that instructs agency employees to reject applications for a green card — a US permanent resident visa — if the applicant is found to have expressed opinions or beliefs deemed by the administration to be “anti-American.”
The report notes that although ideology has always played a part when vetting a green card applicant, it had previously only impacted people belonging to Communist or other totalitarian parties, or who had supported calls to overthrow the US government.
Now, however, the report says immigration officers have been instructed to reject applications from anyone with a history of “endorsing, promoting or supporting anti-American views” or “antisemitic terrorism, ideologies or groups.”
One example cited as potential grounds to reject an application was a mock-up of a social media post demanding to “Stop Israeli Terror in Palestine,” the Times says.
Another example seen by the Times showed a map of Israel with the country’s name crossed out and replaced with “Palestine,” while another is said to have called for revenge on Israel for the war in Gaza.
DHS also told immigration officers to pay particular attention to anyone who took part in the pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel campus protests in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and subsequent war in Gaza, the report says.
Six charged in UK after allegedly driving van into entrance of Elbit-owned drone maker
Six people are due to appear in a UK court Monday to face burglary and criminal damage charges after a van allegedly drove into a military drone maker’s entrance gate, police say.
The investigation into the incident in the early hours of Friday at the premises in central England has been led by counter-terrorism officers, Leicestershire Police said.
The business allegedly targeted is understood to be specialized military drone maker UAV Tactical Systems, according to Britain’s domestic Press Association (PA) news agency.
Israel-based defense firm Elbit Systems’ UK arm announced in January that it had fully acquired the British company, which supplies tactical uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), more commonly known as drones, to military and other customers.
Leicestershire Police say the six suspects — men and women from across southern England, aged between 25 and 41 years-old — have each been charged with one count of burglary and one count of causing criminal damage.
“The charges relate to a report that a van had driven into a gate at business premises just after 3 am yesterday,” the force adds in a brief statement.
“The investigation is led by Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands with the support of Leicestershire Police.”
The six people charged are set to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Monday.
UAV Tactical Systems has over the last two decades “supplied dozens of advanced tactical uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) to the British Army,: according to Elbit Systems’ website.
It has also provided them “to international customers, including the United Nations and Nato member countries,” it notes.
UAV Tactical Systems and Elbit Systems’ UK arm do not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
US re-detains immigrant family of suspect in deadly antisemitic attack, their lawyer says
US immigration agents earlier today detained the family of an Egyptian man accused of firebombing a Jewish protest, days after their release from nearly 10 months in custody, their lawyer says.
“THE EL GAMAL FAMILY WAS REDETAINED BY ICE MOMENTS AGO,” attorney Eric Lee posts on X, referring to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“ICE SAYS DEPORTATION IS IMMINENT,” Lee adds.
Later in the day, US District Judge Fred Biery ordered a stay of removal, meaning the family can remain in the country while it petitions the justice system.
“A federal judge has ordered the El Gamal family’s removal to stop. We are working on getting them back home,” Chris Godshall-Bennett, another lawyer to the family, posts on X.
Hayam El Gamal and her five children, aged between five and 18 years old, had been released on Thursday from an immigrant family detention center in Dilley, Texas following a court order.
El Gamal’s ex-husband, Mohammed Sabry Soliman, faces federal charges over a June 2025 attack on a group rallying in support of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Soliman allegedly targeted the protest in Boulder, Colorado with Molotov cocktails and an improvised flamethrower.
Fifteen people were wounded in the attack, and one of them subsequently died.
The Trump administration had justified the months-long detention of Soliman’s family on the grounds they may have had prior knowledge of his intentions.
However, he and El Gamal, who were divorced after Soliman’s arrest, have maintained that he acted alone.
Biery on Thursday endorsed a recommendation by a magistrate judge to release the family and dismissed the government’s objections that they posed a danger or a flight risk. Biery conditioned the release of El Gamal and her adult daughter Habiba Soliman on wearing electronic monitoring devices.
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