Aug. 11: Gazan media reports 7 children killed in strike; IDF denies hitting civilians

IAEA official leaves Iran after meeting on future contacts, Tehran says

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi tells the state-run IRNA news agency that International Atomic Energy Agency Deputy Director General Massimo Aparo has left Iran, following meetings.

Aparo, who is head of safeguards for the UN nuclear watchdog, met with an Iranian delegation including officials from the foreign ministry and the atomic energy organization, to discuss “the method of interaction between the agency and Iran,” he says.

Gharibabadi adds that they decided to continue consultations in the future, without providing further details.

The IAEA does not immediately issue a statement about the visit by the agency’s deputy head, which Iran says does not include any planned access to Iranian nuclear sites.

Gazan media reports 7 children killed in strike; IDF denies hitting civilians

Media outlets in Gaza report that seven children were killed in a strike on a building in the Zeitoun neighborhood of eastern Gaza City.

Graphic footage shared online shows a man mourning over the bodies of seven children at a hospital in the city.

The IDF has called on residents of the neighborhood to evacuate in recent weeks, including in a message from the IDF spokesperson last week.

The IDF’s Spokesperson’s Office says it struck “Hamas terrorists who were inside a command center” used by the group to plan attacks on troops.

“We are not aware of any civilian casualties in the strike,” a spokesperson says, noting extensive measures taken to minimize risk to civilians.

“Terrorist organizations in the Strip systematically violate international law, cruelly exploiting civilian institutions and the population as human shields for terrorist activities,” the spokesperson adds.

Hamas claims over 60,000 people have been killed in the war, though the figures are impossible to verify and do not differentiate between combatants and civilians.

Family of Nepalese hostage Joshi arrives in Israel to seek son’s return

Bipin Joshi, a Nepali farming student, was taken captive from Kibbutz Alumim on October 7, 2023, by Hamas terrorists. (Courtesy)

The mother and sisters of hostage Bipin Joshi, a Nepali agricultural volunteer taken captive from Kibbutz Alumim on October 7, land at Ben-Gurion Airport for their first visit since he was kidnapped.

Joshi’s mother Padma Joshi bursts into tears upon landing.

“Please, save my son,” she says, according to accounts in the Hebrew media. “Hamas, bring him home now.”

Before leaving for Israel, Bipin Joshi’s mother! She is on her way to seek information about her son! ????

Pic. @anzaankc__ pic.twitter.com/8Ag7r3oTNq

— Routine of Nepal banda (@RONBupdates) August 11, 2025

Joshi’s sister, Pushpa, 17, thanks all the people of Israel and the government officials who brought the family from Nepal.

She says that her brother came to Israel to study as part of his academic program and was caught in a war that has nothing to do with him.

“We just want him back,” she says. “It’s too much for me and my family. It’s been almost two years. We can’t help but think about his condition — what he is doing there, whether he is getting food, whether he is getting medicine.”

Joshi was hiding with other agricultural students and Thai workers at an outdoor shelter at Alumim on October 7, and according to accounts, caught one of the grenades thrown at them and hurled it outside.

Four of Joshi’s friends who had come with him to Israel in September 2023 were waiting at the arrivals hall in Ben-Gurion Airport. The friends had studied with him in Nepal and remained in Israel to continue their studies despite being injured on October 7.

During their visit to Israel, the family will visit Alumim, meet his friends, and receive intelligence assessments.

Israel said to signal it could put Gaza City takeover on hold as prospects of renewed talks simmer

Unnamed diplomatic sources quoted by Haaretz say Israel’s political leadership could cancel or delay a plan for the military to conquer Gaza City in the name of a ceasefire and hostage release deal, should Hamas show a willingness to make significant concessions.

At the same time, the broadsheet quotes Israeli sources, also unnamed, who say there are only slim chances of the two sides managing to bridge their outstanding differences.

Anonymous Palestinian sources with knowledge of the issue are quoted telling the outlet that Hamas’s willingness to make progress in the talks rests on whether Israel cancels its Gaza City takeover plan.

The report comes weeks after talks between Israel and Hamas fell apart and while a flurry of reports signal Israel’s interest in reaching a deal.

According to Haaretz, Hamas’s chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya is in Cairo as part of efforts to revive the negotiation channel between Hamas and Egypt on reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza. His travel there had previously been reported elsewhere.

EU condemns strike on Al Jazeera journalists

Protesters hold pictures and signs denouncing the killing of Al Jazeera journalists during a vigil in Ramallah on August 11, 2025. (Zain JAAFAR / AFP)

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says the EU condemns the killing of five Al Jazeera journalists in an Israeli airstrike outside Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City, including prominent correspondent Anas Al Sharif.

“We take note of the Israeli allegation that the group was Hamas terrorists, but there is a need in these cases to provide clear evidence, in the respect of rule of law, to avoid targeting of journalists,” she says in a statement on X, following a virtual discussion between EU foreign ministers on the Gaza war.

She also urges Israel to allow more trucks into Gaza and a better distribution of aid.

The war in Gaza grows more dangerous by the hour.

EU priorities remain humanitarian support, including access for NGOs, with an immediate ceasefire and release of remaining hostages.

If a military solution was possible, the war would already be over. pic.twitter.com/hRDukCT4Uu

— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) August 11, 2025

Herzog speaks with Jewish man assaulted in front of children in Montreal

A Jewish man, flanked by his daughter, is attacked and in Montreal, Canada, in a still image taken from a video filmed on August 8, 2025. (Screenshot: X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

President Isaac Herzog speaks with the Jewish Canadian father who was assaulted in front of his two children in Montreal earlier this week, sending him “strength and comfort” following the “antisemitic attack,” Herzog’s office says in a statement.

“We saw the horrific attack, and I want to send you, and your family, your beautiful children, strength and comfort,” Herzog told the victim, whose name has not been publicized.

In a widely circulated video of the attack — condemned by Israeli and Canadian officials and now under investigation by Canadian police — an assailant is seen repeatedly beating the victim, dressed in ultra-Orthodox attire, as he clutches his two young daughters.

“We are with you and we are here for you. The whole Jewish people stands with you,” he added, before inviting the father and his family to visit Herzog at his Jerusalem residence “in the near future.”

In response, the 32-year-old victim “thanked the president and told him of the attack and the aftermath,” Herzog’s office adds.

Also present in the call was Yair Szlak, head of the Montreal Jewish Federation, according to the statement.

Leaders of Arab parties agree to keep talks going on Joint List reunification

Leaders of the Hadash, Ta'al, Ra'am, and Balad parties meet in Nazareth, August 11, 2025. (Courtesy)

Following a meeting in Nazareth to discuss reviving a united bloc ahead of the next elections, the leaders of Israel’s four Arab parties state that they have “agreed to continue talks to re-establish the Joint List.”

“The leaders emphasized that their goal is to prevent the return of the extreme right-wing government, and to strengthen [their] political power and the ability to exert influence in the parliamentary and political arenas as well,” a statement released by the Arab-majority Hadash-Ta’al party states.

Hadash-Ta’al leaders met with representatives of Mansour Abbas’s Islamist United Arab List (Ra’am) party as well as the secular nationalist Balad faction to discuss recreating the alliance, which had previously boosted Arab turnout at the polls and representation in the Knesset.

“At the meeting, which was held in an open and honest atmosphere, the differences between the parties were discussed, and it was agreed to continue an intensive dialogue in the near future,” the statement continues.

It adds that the parties are focused on “responding to the pressing needs of Arab society, including the fight against racism and crime, dealing with the consequences of the war, and striving to end the war and promote a just political solution to the Palestinian issue.”

The Joint List split due to internal fighting in 2021 when Ra’am broke away, and it collapsed the following year ahead of the 2022 election.

Haredim give enlistment bill demands to new Knesset defense panel chief Bismuth

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men block a road during a protest against the jailing of yeshiva students who failed to comply with an army recruitment order in Jerusalem on August 7, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

Ahead of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s first discussion of ultra-Orthodox enlistment since the ouster of former chairman Yuli Edelstein, Haredi representatives presented his replacement, Boaz Bismuth, with a list of demands.

According to national broadcaster Kan, among the demands are the cancellation of tens of thousands of conscription orders sent to ultra-Orthodox men over the past year and limits on institutional sanctions against yeshivas that fail to meet enlistment targets.

The Haredim also demanded that a clause in Edelstein’s proposed enlistment bill requiring yeshiva students to sign in and out of yeshiva using a fingerprint reader in order to oversee attendance be stricken from the legislation.

Members of Bismuth’s committee were informed last week that they would meet to discuss advancing the government’s controversial enlistment legislation on Tuesday, in preparation for the second and third readings necessary for it to pass into law.

The Knesset’s ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ), have been pushing hard for the passage of a bill enabling most ultra-Orthodox males to continue to avoid military conscription or other national service.

Last month, UTJ quit the coalition after being presented with a copy of a proposed enlistment bill prepared by then-committee chairman Yuli Edelstein (Likud), which, it argued, had violated the terms of a supposed compromise reached in June. They were quickly followed by Shas, which, while quitting the government, remained part of the coalition.

Edelstein’s bill would have imposed harsh sanctions on draft evaders, including the revocation of drivers’ licenses, a ban on flying abroad, a prohibition on applying for civil service jobs, an end to government subsidies for purchasing an apartment, and cancellation of discounts on public transportation, National Insurance payments, and electricity bills.

To mollify the Haredim, the coalition replaced Edelstein with Bismuth, a fellow Likud MK.

Smotrich’s associates happy with PM’s reported dismissal of partial hostage deals

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, right, attends a Knesset conference discussing Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip at the Knesset in Jerusalem, July 22, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Associates of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich are pleased after Channel 12 reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will no longer discuss partial deals to release hostages, several Hebrew media outlets report.

However, officials in Smotrich’s inner circle say the finance minister will demand Netanyahu stand by the reported decision and aim for a quick, total victory over Hamas.

Netanyahu rules out partial hostage deal with Hamas — report

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the opening ceremony of the new Knesset museum, in Jerusalem on August 11, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not agree to negotiate a partial ceasefire and hostage-release deal with Hamas, and is only willing to discuss a comprehensive agreement that would end the war on his own terms and secure the release of all remaining hostages, Channel 12 reports, citing unnamed sources close to the premier.

“The prime minister would be willing to hold negotiations [for a deal] under conditions that we set for ending the war — and only if all the hostages were to be returned. Until then, we will not participate whatsoever in negotiations,” the sources are quoted as saying.

Netanyahu’s stance on whether to pursue a partial or comprehensive deal was unclear after the security cabinet decided last Thursday to capture Gaza City, adds the network, saying it now appears he is siding with his top adviser, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who reportedly urged against any partial deals during Thursday’s cabinet meeting.

Former Mossad agent questioned over Qatargate took part in hostage negotiating team meetings — report

A former Mossad official who was questioned under caution in the Qatargate affair took part in meetings of Israel’s hostage negotiating team at the beginning of the war for two weeks, sometimes as an official representative of the spy agency, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

The official insists to Kan that he reported his ties to Qatar to the Mossad and to the IDF’s envoy to negotiations Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon, but the report claims that the spy agency and members of the team were unaware of the connections.

The agent, referred to only as Shin, worked in cooperation with Qatari intelligence during his time at the spy agency and today does business in Qatar, Channel 12 reported in May.

According to Channel 12, Shin owns a company with retired IDF general Yoav Mordechai, who formed connections with the Qataris during his time as head of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum says the report “reveals again how Qatar managed to infiltrate the holy of holies of the struggle to return hostages — from the Prime Minister’s Office to the senior officials of the Mossad and the negotiating team.”

The forum demands that the prime minister prove with actions that he is committed to returning all the hostages held in Gaza.

The Qatargate affair revolves primarily around suspicions that two Netanyahu aides — Jonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein — committed multiple offenses tied to their alleged work for a pro-Qatar lobbying firm, including contact with a foreign agent and a series of corrupt actions involving lobbyists and businessmen, all while working for the prime minister.

Dermer planning to retire from politics before next election — report

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer speaks at the Jewish News Syndicate conference in Jerusalem, on April 28, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer plans to retire from political life before the next election, Hebrew media reports Monday.

Dermer has been openly discussing his retirement since Israel’s 12-day war targeting Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missiles program, unnamed senior government officials tell the Israel Hayom daily.

The top aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former US ambassador has not settled on an exact date to leave his position, but will do so before the elections, the sources say.

Palestinian-American mediator says full hostage-truce deal reachable, but months away

Bishara Bahbah is interview on Al Ghad TV on June 24, 2025. (Screen capture/ Facebook)

Bishara Bahbah, the Palestinian-American activist who has served as a mediator in hostage release-ceasefire negotiations between Israel and the Hamas terror group, says reaching a comprehensive deal to free the captives and end the war in Gaza could take months.

“A full deal is reachable, but it’s going to take months,” he tells i24 News in an interview.

He adds, however, that a full deal might be hastened if a partial deal is reached first.

Bahbah also tells the outlet that Israel and Hamas were within reach of a partial deal weeks ago, before Jerusalem ordered the negotiating team back to Israel from Qatar and the US and Israel rejected Hamas’s offer.

He makes the same assertion to Channel 13, saying, “There was an opportunity to come to a [partial] deal, and honestly, I don’t know why we did not pursue that, because if we did, we would have had a [partial] deal about two and a half, three weeks ago.”

Bahbah, who chaired the “Arab Americans for Trump” group during the most recent US presidential election, has been used periodically to send messages between the US and Hamas and played a key role in the May release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander.

UN chief calls for independent probe into killing of Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza

UNITED NATIONS — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemns the killing of Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza in an Israeli airstrike, his spokesperson says.

“The secretary-general calls for an independent and impartial investigation into these latest killings,” said UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. “At least 242 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the war began. Journalists and media workers must be respected, they must be protected, and they must be allowed to carry out their work freely, free from fear and free from harassment.”

Trump says Hamas not yet ready for deal, more military pressure needed

US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before walking across the South Lawn of the White House to board Marine One en route to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, August 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/ Jacquelyn Martin)

United States President Donald Trump tells Axios that he does not believe that Hamas would agree to a hostage release and ceasefire deal under the current circumstances in Gaza, while declining to endorse or oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recently approved plan to take over Gaza City.

In a brief phone interview with the outlet today, “the president seemed to agree with [Netanyahu’s] argument that more military pressure on Hamas is required,” according to Axios.

Trump adds that Israel must decide what the next steps are in Gaza and whether to allow Hamas to remain there, while saying he believes that “they can’t stay there.”

The president describes his Sunday phone call with Netanyahu – during which the two leaders addressed the Gaza City operation — as a “good call.”

“I have one thing to say: remember October 7, remember October 7,” Trump tells the outlet, referring to Hamas’s 2023 massacre and echoing comments made by Netanyahu during his two press conferences last night that “there are those who have forgotten October 7.”

Dermer said to tell cabinet partial Gaza deal no longer an option

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer attends a Knesset plenum session in Jerusalem on January 22, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer told a high-stakes cabinet meeting last week that Israel did not have the time or latitude needed to try and reach a partial ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas, and must pursue all-or-nothing negotiations, according to reports in Hebrew media.

Dermer, who has been Netanyahu’s point man in dealings with the Trump administration, told the cabinet that Israel did not have the time required to reach a partial truce releasing some hostages, during which a full hostage release deal ending the war would be negotiated, Channel 12 news and Ynet report. Such a proposal had been on the table before talks fell apart earlier this summer.

The comments were made during a meeting last week at which senior ministers voted on a plan to order the IDF to take over Gaza City. The plan pushes an expansion of military activity, rather than a resumption of proximity talks with Hamas, over the protests of hostage families and military brass.

The reports, which contain nearly identical quotes of Dermer, but do not attribute them to any sources, note that the minister cited American opposition to allowing a return to fighting.

“We don’t have all the time [we want], also from the Trump point of view,” the reports quote him saying. “He cannot allow the war to continue for a long time.”

Dermer told ministers that “assuming talks continue for a long time, we can’t afford a partial deal. I’m not sure that after a 60-day truce we’ll have the leeway to return to fighting,” according to the reports.

Responding to his comments, Netanyahu reportedly asked Dermer, “So if Hamas comes with a partial deal, we refuse?”

To which Dermer is said to have replied: “If there’s a proposal like that, it seems so.”

Netanyahu calls Haredi politician who is protesting draft dodger arrests

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, shakes hands with United Torah Judaism MKs Yisrael Eichler, center, and Meir Porush in the Knesset, January 25, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90/File)

A spokesman for United Torah Judaism MK Meir Porush confirms reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the Hasidic lawmaker to ask after his well-being, as he stages a partial hunger strike over the issue of ultra-Orthodox conscription.

Porush set up shop outside the Justice Ministry late last week to protest the arrest of yeshiva students who evaded military draft orders, declaring in a statement that he intended to move his office’s activities to a tent outside the ministry and to forgo food for nine hours a day.

The Haredi politician launched his protest in response to increased government efforts to send out and enforce draft orders for ultra-Orthodox men which have led to the arrest of several yeshiva students.

UTJ last month bolted Netanyahu’s coalition to protest the lack of movement on a law aimed at exempting yeshiva students from military or national service.

According to national broadcaster Kan, Netanyahu asked ministers during today’s cabinet meeting why Porush had begun the hunger strike.

Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi told him that it was because Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara “is persecuting Torah students” and “abusing the ultra-Orthodox.”

Karhi is a leading figure in the cabinet’s push to fire the attorney general, though her ouster has been frozen by a High Court injunction.

According to Hebrew media reports, Karhi visited Porush yesterday, telling him that Baharav-Miara was motivated by a desire to “cause conflict between us” rather than by a sincere wish to conscript Haredim.

Baharav-Miara is trying to harm Torah students “and I am sure that we will defeat” these efforts, Karhi reportedly said.

A spokesman for Netanyahu does not reply to a request for comment.

Plane lands safely at Ben-Gurion after reported scare

A flight from Greece to Tel Aviv has landed safely after declaring an emergency, reportedly due to issues with its landing gear.

Footage shows the Arkia flight from Rhodes, said to be carrying 160 passengers, landing at Ben-Gurion airport with all wheels down.

Landings and takeoffs at the airport were halted as the Airbus A320 circled above and emergency crews raced to tarmac.

Arkia plane landing at Ben-Gurion after reported gear malfunction. Video not mine. pic.twitter.com/ZmQIE2Cmk1

— Joshua Davidovich (@Josh_Davidovich) August 11, 2025

According to reports, the plane attempted to land three times before successfully touching down.

UNIFIL troops gave unmanned IDF vehicle to Lebanon, army source says

UN peacekeepers took a remotely operated IDF vehicle into parts of southern Lebanon where the army does not operate and transferred the machine to the Lebanese army, a military source tells The Times of Israel.

The incident took place during IDF activity along the border on Thursday, the source says, without elaborating on how UNIFIL troops got hold of the unmanned vehicle.

During the same operation, another vehicle, which had been disabled due to a technical malfunction, was retrieved by IDF troops, the source says.

According to a report by Haaretz, the Israeli soldiers observed the second vehicle being attached to a tow truck that then proceeded into Lebanon while they were recovering the disabled vehicle.

Officers who spoke to the news outlet said commanders from the 91st Division refrained from destroying the vehicle by airstrike.

Although Haaretz reported that the vehicle was believed to be in the hands of “hostile actors,” the military source emphasizes that there is no concern over an information leak, and the incident has been investigated — though the findings have not yet been made public.

The Times of Israel has learned that discussions are currently underway through unofficial channels to retrieve the unmanned vehicle.

Lebanon’s army is under mandate to demilitarize the south of the country from any arms outside of its control.

Sweltering Iraq goes dark as record heat takes down power grid

Iraq says it is suffering a nationwide power outage as rising temperatures push demand on the electricity grid to unprecedented levels.

The electricity ministry said the grid suffered a “total outage” after the shutdown of two transmission lines during a spike in consumption triggered by a “record rise in temperatures,” with the heat reaching 48-50 C (118-122 F) in Baghdad and central and southern regions.

While households can still rely on private generators, the blackout comes as millions of Shiite Muslim pilgrims gather in the province of Karbala for a major religious commemoration, further straining demand, the ministry added.

IDF chief says all plans presented to cabinet aimed at Hamas’s defeat, new stage of fighting in offing

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks during an assessment, August 11, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Speaking during an assessment earlier today, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the options the military presented to the security cabinet last week regarding operations in Gaza all had the goal of defeating Hamas, pushing back against critics who accuse the army brass of preferring an approach that focused more on freeing hostages than on dismantling the terror group.

“In accordance with the cabinet’s decision, we are at the outset of a new stage in the fighting in Gaza. We will develop the best method according to the defined objectives, while maintaining professionalism and the principles that guide our actions,” Zamir says, according to remarks provided by the IDF.

The comments come as the army gears up to capture Gaza City, as instructed by the political leadership in a controversial decision.

“We will do this according to the readiness of the forces and the weaponry, with the hostages in mind — we will do everything to preserve their lives and bring them home,” he says.

Zamir says the alternative plans that were presented to the cabinet were “all intended to bring about the defeat of Hamas, with full understanding of the implications in all aspects.”

It has been reported that Zamir opposed the capture of Gaza City and instead suggested to the cabinet that the IDF take a more gradual approach and encircle the city instead. Critics of alternate plans presented by the army say they were more focused on freeing the hostages than on defeating the terror group.

“The IDF knows how to capture Gaza City, just as it knew how to capture Khan Younis and Rafah. Our forces maneuvered there in the past; we will know how to do so again,” Zamir says.

The IDF chief, during the assessment, also says that the standing army and reserves must be allowed “breathing space” to enable the continued operations in Gaza “in the most efficient and optimal way, while preserving strength for the future.”

The assessment today was focused on evaluating the military’s operational readiness during the war.

The meeting — the second in a series — is part of a broader process to shape a multi-year plan for the army while maintaining combat operations, according to the IDF.

Foreign Ministry pushes back amid outcry over journalists killed in Gaza

Amid international condemnation over the IDF’s strike yesterday that killed Anas al-Sharif — a prominent Palestinian journalist for Al Jazeera whom the military has long accused of being a Hamas terrorist — the Foreign Ministry says that “terrorists with cameras are not journalists.”

Replying on X to a United Nations post in response to the attack stating that “Journalists are #NotATarget,” the ministry writes: “We agree — journalists are not a target. But jihadi terrorists with cameras are not journalists. They are terrorists.”

We agree — journalists are not a target.

But jihadi terrorists with cameras are not journalists. They are terrorists.

We will hunt the jihadists, not protect their cover.

— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) August 11, 2025

“We will hunt the jihadists, not protect their cover,” the ministry adds.

Countries and international organizations, including the United Kingdom and the UN, expressed alarm over the strike, which reportedly killed four additional media personnel and two others, and accused Israel of repeatedly targeting journalists in Gaza.

The IDF said that al-Sharif headed a Hamas terrorist cell and helped advance rocket attacks against Israel.

Antiquities Authority cleans anti-war graffiti off Western Wall

Ultra-Orthodox Jews overlook the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City on August 11, 2025. (AP/Mahmoud Illean)

Israel Antiquities Authority conservation experts have removed spray-painted slogans from the Western Wall, the IAA says in a statement.

This morning, an IAA Conservation Division team spotted the graffiti reading “There is a Holocaust in Gaza” sprayed near the egalitarian prayer area known as Ezrat Yisrael, an area separate from the main Western Wall plaza familiar to most visitors.

The experts worked to remove the graffiti using materials that do not harm the surface of the stones. By mid-afternoon, the writing was removed entirely, the authority says.

“Damage to antiquities sites constitutes a serious violation of the law and, of course, of our shared cultural heritage,” says Ami Shahar, head of the IAA Conservation Division. “The offense is all the more severe when it concerns the Western Wall – a site of immense historical, cultural, and religious significance.”

Similar graffiti was also sprayed on Jerusalem’s Great Synagogue on King George’s Street.

A 27-year-old suspect was arrested by police. According to Hebrew media, he suffers from mental health issues.

Hikers warned off trails as temperatures sizzle

A helicopter rescues a man who suffered heatstroke at the El Al Nature Reserve in the Golan Heights on August 11, 2025. (Courtesy Golan Rescue Unit)

The volunteer Golan Rescue Unit says it has rescued 17 people who entered closed-off areas in five separate operations since Thursday as temperatures soar to dangerously high levels.

Today, a helicopter was needed to evacuate a father who suffered heatstroke after entering the El Al Nature Reserve with his three children.

“This is an unnecessary risk to human life that required a complex helicopter and physical rescue by the rescue units and Nature and Parks Authority inspectors,” the Rescue Unit’s Yehuda Weinberg says. “We found the father in a condition that required helicopter evacuation. His children were instructed to leave the trail.”

Georgi Norkin, a Nature and Parks Authority inspector, says a number of hiking trails have been closed due to the heat wave, with those caught on them liable to be slapped with a NIS 1,460 (just under $430) fine.

“People are unnecessarily putting their lives at risk,” he says.

Temperatures in the Golan Heights climbed to 43° Celsius (110° Fahrenheit) on Monday, and are expected to continue rising over the next few days, according to the Israel Meteorological Service.

East Jerusalem father and son charged with planning multiple terror attacks

State prosecutors say they have filed charges against a father and son from East Jerusalem accused of planning multiple terror attacks over several years.

Walid and Nidal Shaheen, arrested in late June this year, allegedly sought to murder an Israeli Air Force pilot in his Modiin home, shoot up a nightclub in Rishon Lezion and stage a bombing attack targeting security forces at Jerusalem’s Qalandiya checkpoint.

Nidal, 21, was born to a Jewish mother and converted to Islam, according to Hebrew media. He apparently was convinced to begin plotting terror attacks with his father after he failed to qualify for a combat role in the IDF.

Walid, 43, had previously carried out a shooting at Qalandiya checkpoint, according to prosecutors, in which he fired dozens of bullets at security forces stationed there and then fled the scene, evading arrest.

The two are accused of manufacturing explosives in apartment buildings which they used as bombmaking labs, enlisting the help of their 23-year-old neighbor Yousef Abu Taha, who was also indicted today alongside the pair. The father and son faces charges of weapons offenses, weapons trafficking and conspiracy to commit acts of terror including aggravated murder.

The father is also accused of maintaining contact with a Hamas operative over the Telegram messaging app and aggravated charges over the attempted shooting attack at Qalandiya checkpoint.

According to the indictment, Nidal, who gathered intelligence on the pilot’s home and its surroundings while working as a gardener in Modiin, plotted to attach pipe bombs to his car.

He also planned to shoot up a nightclub in Rishon Lezion, deciding on the location due to the fact that “many Jews congregate there and that he would succeed in murdering many people quickly,” prosecutors write.

Abu Taha is accused of helping Walid prepare explosives, hiding them in his home and planning to stage a shooting attack against security forces who entered Kafr Aqab to carry out arrests.

The joint police-Shin Bet investigation was opened after the father reached out to an undercover cop, nicknamed “Matrix,” with an offer to sell him explosives intended for terror attacks, sparking a “complex and extensive investigation.”

“The scope of the activity, the level of sophistication and the quantity of materials uncovered all attest to an exceptional level of danger posed by those involved,” reads a statement from the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office.

Judge sends Western Wall graffiti suspect to psychiatric hospital

Graffiti reading 'There is a Holocaust in Gaza' seen spray painted on Jerusalem's Western Wall on August 11, 2025. (Courtesy, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

A judge in Jerusalem’s Magistrate Court orders that a suspect accused of spraying graffiti on Jerusalem’s Western Wall and Great Synagogue be hospitalized in a psychiatric ward, according to Hebrew media reports.

The graffiti, reading “There is a Holocaust in Gaza,” drew widespread shock.

The judge rejects the police’s request to hold the suspect for five additional days, calling the incident a “sad case,” according to Kan.

According to Ynet, the judge rejected a police request to ban the suspect from visiting the Western Wall, stating that “I do not ban Jews from the Western Wall.”

According to Ynet, the suspect is a 27-year-old man from the Haredi community. His parents reportedly reached out to the Sephardi Chief Rabbi David Yosef to convey their son’s alleged mental illness.

‘Look up and listen to every buzz’: Katz renews warnings against Iran’s Khamenei

Defense Minister Israel Katz is renewing belligerent rhetoric against Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whom he threatened with assassination during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June.

“I suggest to Iranian dictator Khamenei that when he leaves his bunker, he occasionally lift his eyes to the sky and listen carefully to every buzz,” Katz writes on X, apparently referring to Israeli drone activity. The comment comes in response to what the minister says is a Hebrew-language graphic circulated by Tehran marking senior Israeli officials as assassination targets, including “Terror Minister Israel Katz.”

The graphic appears to be an ersatz version of an Israeli graphic used to announce its assassinations of senior Iranian officials during the war. It is unclear where it originated or how widespread it was before Katz republished it.

איראן מפרסמת את רשימת הבכירים בצמרת המדינית ביטחונית בישראל המיועדים לחיסול.
אני מציע לדיקטטור האיראני חמינאי שכשהוא יוצא מהבונקר שירים מידי פעם מבט לשמיים ויקשיב טוב לכל זמזום.
משתתפי "חתונה אדומה" מחכים לו שם. pic.twitter.com/Ojf8Km5Iay

— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) August 11, 2025

In his tweet, Katz tells Khamenei that “participants of the ‘Red Wedding’ are waiting for him,” referencing a large-scale Israeli surprise attack in the opening hours of the war on June 13, in which some 30 senior military commanders, including the three most senior generals, were killed in near-simultaneous strikes in the Iranian capital, crippling Iran’s command and control and delaying its response for nearly 24 hours.

The name is meant to recall an infamous scene in the HBO series “Game of Thrones” in which several main characters were slain in a surprise attack.

Israel-born pro-Russia fugitive offers to pay Moldovans thousands to protest Chisinau

A man walks by electoral posters advertising the candidates of the the Shor party, led by Israeli born Moldovan businessman Ilan Shor, in Chisinau, Moldova, February 21, 2019. (AP/Vadim Ghirda)

Fugitive pro-Russian businessman Ilan Shor has offered Moldovans monthly payments of $3,000 to join anti-government protests, in a bid to undermine Moldova’s pro-European government ahead of parliamentary elections next month.

The Israel-born Shor, under Western sanctions for efforts to destabilize Moldova on Russia’s behalf, says he will make daily payments to each protester totaling a monthly $3,000 if they began protesting in the capital Chisinau starting on Saturday.

“Yes, I am… compensating you in such a way that already from Saturday you’ll feel the effects of the victory that we will soon achieve,” he says in a video posted to social media.

He added that accounts for payment would be opened up directly at the protest site.

Moldova’s National Police say in a statement that Shor’s message was “criminal incitement” and warned Moldovans they risked investigation if they engaged with the offer.

“Law enforcement will not allow criminal groups to organize illegal protests aimed at causing disorder and violence. Any attempt will be firmly rejected within the legal framework,” the police statement says.

Moldovan officials have regularly accused Moscow of meddling in their domestic politics by stoking pro-Russian sentiments in a subversive campaign to topple the government as it bolsters ties with the West, accusations Moscow denies.

Moldova says Shor, who was convicted of helping steal $1 billion from the country’s banking system in 2014, is Moscow’s primary agent of influence.

Rare footage appears to show display of force by armed Hamas men in Gaza City

Screen captures from footage shared on social media purport to show men from Hamas's armed wing in a public show of force in Gaza City, seen on August 11, 2025. (screen captures: X)

Footage circulated on social media shows armed Hamas members burning vehicles on a street in Gaza City and firing into the air, apparently a rare public showing by the terror group.

According to reports, the incident took place the day before yesterday. In the video, the gunmen present themselves as members of Hamas’s armed Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, and say: “This is the price [for those causing] riots and security chaos.”

Open displays of Hamas members in Gaza have been infrequent since the group sparked war 22 months ago, with its members largely going underground to avoid being targeted by Israel.

In one of the videos, a person filming says the men belong to Hamas’s “Sahem” unit, which is responsible for enforcing internal order in the Gaza Strip and operates against those looting humanitarian aid.

Norway sovereign wealth fund rolls back Israeli investments over West Bank, Gaza concerns

Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund says it is selling off its stakes in some Israeli companies, and is terminating all contracts with Israeli asset managers handling investments over the situation in Gaza and the West Bank.

“We are invested in companies that operate in a country at war, and conditions in the West Bank and Gaza have recently worsened. In response, we will further strengthen our due diligence,” the fund’s CEO Nicolai Tangen says in a statement.

Norges Bank Investment Management, the body managing the fund, says it is divesting itself of 11 Israeli companies, out of 61, which are not included in an equity benchmark index created by Norway’s Finance Ministry.

The fund says the 11 were excluded “due to unacceptable risk of contribution to serious norm violations associated with business operations in the West Bank.”

The statement notes that it has raised issues with 39 companies since 2020 over concerns related to the West Bank and Gaza, marking the majority of its due diligence related to conflicts around the globe.

Iraqi leader says security deal signed with visiting Iranian defense czar

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani says he met Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and “sponsored the signing of a joint security memorandum of understanding… regarding security coordination on the common border between the two countries.”

Larijani, who heads Iran’s top defense body, said ahead of his trip to Iraq that an “important security deal” with Iraq had been drafted, according to state-run IRNA news agency.

Larijani and al-Sudani have not provided any details.

Iraq’s National Security Adviser Qassim al-Araji also confirms meeting Larijani, saying in a separate succinct statement that they discussed “the implementation of the security agreement signed between the two countries” and “emphasized that the Iraqi government is working diligently to prevent any security breach aimed at encroaching upon any neighboring country.”

Larijani “praised the Iraqi government and its balanced foreign policy,” the statement says.

The two “also discussed the security situation in the region and the crimes of starvation and killing of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” calling for the international community to take action.

Al-Sudani told The Associated Press in an interview last month that he used a mix of political and military pressure to stop armed groups in Iraq aligned with Iran from becoming a part of the June war between Jerusalem and Tehran.

Bar Association backs anti-war strike called for Sunday

Head of the Israel Bar Association Amit Becher attends a court hearing on a petition requesting the High Court of Justice to order Justice Minister Yariv Levin to call a vote in the Judicial Selection Committee to appoint a new Supreme Court president, July 18, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Israel Bar Association announces that it supports a general strike called for August 17 to protest the prolonging of the war against Hamas in Gaza with the government’s approval of a plan for a military takeover of Gaza City, calling on the nation’s lawyers to join suit.

“Freeing the hostages is a moral, Zionist and Jewish order of the first degree, a condition for Israel’s security and existence,” Bar Association head Amit Becher says in a statement.

He urges the country’s large law firms to follow the Bar Association’s lead in allowing employees to miss work on Sunday without having their pay docked.

“We call on Israel’s government: Listen to the IDF chief of staff, to the voices of all the heads of the security branches and listen to the voices of the people, act for the freedom of the hostages and reach a deal to free them now, before it’s too late,” Becher says.

Media groups speak out after Israeli strike on Gaza journalists

The Foreign Press Association, which represents international journalists stationed in Israel and the Palestinian territories, says it is “outraged” by Israel’s killing of journalists in Gaza in a targeted strike overnight.

“These colleagues were carrying out their duty as journalists and reporting on events as they occurred,” the FPA says in a statement. “The Israeli military has repeatedly labelled Palestinian journalists as militants, often without verifiable evidence, turning them into targets.”

The IDF has published documents it says show that al Jazeera reporter Anas al-Sharif, who was killed in the strike, was a “terrorist operating under the guise of a journalist.” A second journalist and three videographers were also killed in the strike, according to the Qatari network.

The FPA also criticizes the Israeli government for slinging accusations of bias at foreign reporters and says it has “vilified foreign press reporting,” while barring independent access to Gaza.

“We call on Israel to cease its attacks on journalists in Gaza and allow journalists to enter and report freely,” the statement reads.

Media advocacy group the Committee to Protect Journalists says Israel is guilty of war crimes if it targets journalists.

“Journalists are civilians. They must never be targeted in war. And to do so is a war crime,” Jodie Ginsberg, chief executive of the Committee to Protect Journalists, tells AFP.

UK’s Starmer ‘gravely concerned’ about targeting of journalists in Gaza

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks with the media during a bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump at the Trump Turnberry Golf Courses, in Turnberry south west Scotland on July 28, 2025. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is “gravely concerned” about the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza, his spokesperson says, after five reporters were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Israel’s military said it targeted and killed prominent Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al Sharif, saying it had provided evidence that he had headed a Hamas cell and was involved in rocket attacks on Israel.

“We are gravely concerned by the repeated targeting of journalists in Gaza,” Starmer’s spokesperson tells reporters. “Reporters covering conflicts are afforded protection under international humanitarian law, and journalists must be able to report independently, without fear, and Israel must ensure journalists can carry out their work safely.”

Asked about the claim that one of the journalists was linked to Hamas, Starmer’s spokesperson says: “That should be investigated thoroughly and independently, but we are gravely concerned by the repeated targeting of journalists.”

Histadrut labor union declines to join strike called by hostages’ families, since it has ‘no practical outcome’

Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David speaks at a press conference at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem, June 23, 2025. (Ben Hakoon/FLASH90)

The Histadrut, the country’s main labor federation, says it will not join a general strike called for August 17 to protest the continuation of the war and the government’s approval of a plan for a military takeover of Gaza City.

The decision follows a meeting between Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David, senior representatives of the business sector and representatives of the families of hostages who are leading the call for the strike scheduled for Sunday.

Bar-David, who requested to meet with the families to explain his decision, expresses concern that the involvement of the powerful organization would divert public discourse around the return of the hostages into politics.

“If I knew that a strike — not just for one day but longer — would end the matter, stop the war and bring back the hostages, I would go for it with full force,” says Bar-David. “Unfortunately, and although my heart is bursting with anger, it has no practical outcome.”

Although the Histadrut will not join the strike in an organized manner, Bar-David committed to asking company management and workers’ committees to allow employees to participate in the protest and solidarity rally on August 17 without harming their rights as workers.

Macron slams Netanyahu’s plan for Gaza as a ‘disaster… waiting to happen’

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives for talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (not pictured) at Villa Borsig, the guesthouse of the German Foreign Ministry, in Berlin, July 23, 2025. (RALF HIRSCHBERGER / AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron slams Israel’s plans to step up its military operation in Gaza as a disaster waiting to happen and proposes an international coalition under a United Nations mandate to stabilize Gaza.

“The Israeli cabinet’s announcement of an expansion of its operations in Gaza City and the Mawasi camps and for a reoccupation heralds a disaster of unprecedented gravity waiting to happen and a headlong rush into permanent war,” says Macron, in remarks sent by his office to reporters.

“The Israeli hostages and the people of Gaza will continue to be the primary victims of this strategy,” he adds. “This war must end now with a permanent ceasefire.”

Family of Nepalese hostage Bipin Joshi to visit Israel for first time

The mother and sister of Bipin Joshi wait at a Nepalese airport along with Israeli Ambassador to Nepal Shmulik Arie Bass (second from right) on August 11, 2025. (Courtesy)

The family of Nepalese hostage Bipin Joshi is visiting Israel for the first time today, the Foreign Ministry and the Directorate for Hostages, Missing Persons and Returnees at the Prime Minister’s Office say in a joint statement.

“Today, the family of hostage Bipin Joshi from Nepal will arrive in Israel for their first visit,” the statement reads, alongside a photo of the Joshi family waiting at a Nepalese airport with Israeli Ambassador to Nepal Shmulik Arie Bass.

Joshi had arrived in Israel as a farming student before being abducted by Hamas terrorists from Kibbutz Alumim during the October 7, 2023, massacre.

His mother, Padma, and sister, Pushpa, are expected to meet with President Isaac Herzog, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and military intelligence personnel, the statement continues. They will also tour the site of Joshi’s abduction in Kibbutz Alumim, and meet with his fellow farming students and survivors of the October 7 attack, according to the statement.

The statement adds: “Since November 2023, no sign of life has been received from [Joshi,] and there is deep concern for his life.” In May this year, Joshi was among three hostages, including Thai captive Pinta Nattapong, whose fate was determined by Israel as unknown. Nattapong, the only other foreign hostage held in Gaza at the time, was later announced dead after his body was recovered in a June IDF operation.

“The fight against terrorism is global and does not distinguish between religion, race, or gender. This visit is another call to all nations to act together against terrorism and to press for the return of all the hostages,” the statement adds.

UN slams Israeli killing of Al Jazeera journalist as ‘grave breach’ of international law

Al Jazeera presenter Anas al-Sharif reports in a broadcast segment posted to X on August 8, 2025. (Screenshot: X)

The UN human rights agency condemns Israel’s targeted killing of six journalists in Gaza as a “grave breach of international humanitarian law.”

“Israel must respect and protect all civilians, including journalists,” the office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk writes on X.

The IDF has published documents it says show that Anas al-Sharif, who was killed in the strike, was a “terrorist operating under the guise of a journalist.”

Iran says upcoming talks with nuclear watchdog will be ‘technical’ and ‘complicated’

This handout picture made available by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran shows Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi, center, during a tour of the organization's headquarters in Tehran on April 17, 2025. (Atomic Energy Organization of Iran / AFP)

Talks between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency will be “technical” and “complicated,” the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Ministry says ahead of a visit by the nuclear watchdog for the first time since Tehran cut ties with the organization last month.

Relations between the two soured after a 12-day air war was waged by Israel and the US in June, which saw key Iranian nuclear facilities bombed. The IAEA board said on June 12 that Iran had breached its non-proliferation obligations, a day before Israel’s airstrikes over Iran that sparked the war.

Esmail Baghaei, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, tells reporters there could be a meeting with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, “but it is a bit soon to predict what the talks will result since these are technical talks, complicated talks.”

Baghaei also criticizes the IAEA’s “unique situation” during the June war with Israel.

“Peaceful facilities of a country that was under 24-hour monitoring were the target of strikes and the agency refrained from showing a wise and rational reaction and did not condemn it as it was required,” he says.

Italy’s defense minister says Israel has ‘lost humanity’ on Gaza, weighs sanctions

Italy's Defense Minister Guido Crosetto speaks during a press conference in Tokyo, Japan, December 14, 2023. (David Mareuil/Pool Photo via AP)

Italy’s defense minister says in an interview published today that Israel’s government has “lost reason and humanity” over Gaza and signaled an openness to potential sanctions.

“What is happening is unacceptable. We are not facing a military operation with collateral damage, but the pure denial of the law and the founding values of our civilization,” Defense Minister Guido Crosetto tells La Stampa daily. “We are committed to humanitarian aid, but we must now find a way to force Netanyahu to think clearly, beyond condemnation.”

Asked about possible international sanctions against Israel, Crosetto says that “the occupation of Gaza and some serious acts in the West Bank mark a qualitative leap, in the face of which decisions must be made that force Netanyahu to think.”

“And it wouldn’t be a move against Israel, but a way to save that people from a government which has lost reason and humanity,” he continues. “We must always distinguish governments from states and peoples, as well as from the religions they profess. This applies for Netanyahu, and it applies to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, whose methods, by now, have become dangerously similar.”

Italy has declined to join other nations in saying it would recognize a Palestinian state — a decision Crosetto defends, saying that “recognizing a state that doesn’t exist risks turning into nothing but a political provocation in a world dying of provocations.”

Shas denies that Deri encouraged draft evasion in comments at Jerusalem yeshiva

Chairman Aryeh Deri attends a meeting of the Shas party Council of Torah Sages in Jerusalem, July 16, 2025. (Flash90)

The ultra-Orthodox Shas party denies that chairman Aryeh Deri encouraged draft evasion, a week after he was caught on tape telling yeshiva students that they should not even think about abandoning their studies to enlist in the army.

“To all those spreading the lie that Rabbi Aryeh Deri encouraged draft-dodging – this is a slanderous falsehood,” the party says in a statement, insisting that he had “never called for draft-dodging or for not serving.”

“He spoke words of encouragement to students of a small yeshiva in Jerusalem, aged 15-16, and emphasized that Torah study is the foundation of the spiritual and security existence of the Jewish people,” the party says.

Shas argues that as a longtime member of the security cabinet under multiple governments, Deri has worked “day and night for the security of Israel and the preservation of IDF soldiers’ lives. Shas follows in the path of our master, the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, of blessed memory, who firmly protested any harm to Torah students, while also holding great respect for IDF soldiers who risk their lives for the people and always warmly blessed them.”

While not a minister, Deri is a regular observer in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet and is closely involved in security issues.

In remarks made late last month at the Shaar HaMelech yeshiva in Jerusalem and aired by the i24News network last week, Deri could be heard discouraging the students from enlisting, stating: “God forbid it should occur to anyone here in a moment of weakness that maybe at a time like this when the people of Israel are in a state of war… that anybody should, God forbid, perhaps think… maybe we really need to do something different, maybe we need to contribute. God forbid.”

The Haredi political parties have been pushing hard for the passage of legislation enabling most ultra-Orthodox young men to continue to avoid military conscription or other national service, in the wake of last year’s High Court decision that such exemptions are illegal on equality grounds. The government’s failure to advance such legislation led to Shas quitting the government last month, although it has remained part of the coalition.

Israel doesn’t plan to compensate travelers stranded by Iran war cancellations, says ministry

The empty departure hall at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv after Israel closed its airspace to takeoff and landing following strikes on Iran, June 13, 2025. (Jack GUEZ / AFP)

The Finance Ministry says it opposes a compensation plan for Israeli passengers whose flights were canceled due to the closure of the skies during the war with Iran.

Speaking at a meeting of the Knesset Economics Affairs Committee, Finance Ministry representative Daniel Schwartz states that the decision follows a review of data on a proposed framework that would compensate passengers and airlines that suffered losses during the closure of Israel’s airspace.

“Following meetings with industry officials and discussions with senior officials, the finance minister decided to oppose any compensation for the aviation industry,” says Schwartz.

Knesset Economics Affairs Committee chairman MK David Bitan calls Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s decision “unreasonable given the circumstances,” and urges Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step in and resolve the dispute between the finance and transportation ministers.

“It’s a scandal,” says Bitan. “The state will not be able to get away without payment — it will take time, but the state will have to bear responsibility.”

Netanyahu: Israel is nearing the ‘end of the campaign’ against Hamas in Gaza

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen at the opening ceremony of the new Knesset Museum in Jerusalem, August 11, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)

Israel is approaching the end of the war in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserts in a speech at the opening of the new Knesset Museum in Jerusalem, at the site where the parliament operated in 1950-1966.

“Precisely during these days when great victories are being achieved against those who came to destroy us, when we stand before the end of the campaign and work to defeat the remnants of the Iranian axis and free all of our hostages, we are here celebrating the fact of our existence and independence in the heart of our eternal capital, Jerusalem,” Netanyahu declares.

The prime minister faced harsh criticism earlier today from the Hostages Families Forum after comments he made last night referencing freeing the 20 living hostages in Gaza, seemingly ignoring those held captive whom Israel has declared dead.

He stresses in his speech that, “We are struggling for all of them, the living and the fallen as one.”

At ceremony opening Knesset Museum, Herzog says Israel has ‘always strived for peace with Palestinians’

President Isaac Herzog at the opening ceremony of the new Knesset museum, in Jerusalem on August 11, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/FLASH90)

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion and other dignitaries gather in Jerusalem to inaugurate the new Knesset Museum at Beit Froumine on King George Street in central Jerusalem. The building served as the headquarters of Israel’s parliament in 1950-1966.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, President Isaac Herzog says that recognizing a Palestinian state would be a “grave mistake” and a “reward to terror,” in response to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s recent announcement.

Herzog asks what the Knesset members of old “would have said about the Australian prime minister’s intention to recognize a Palestinian state.”

“I have no doubt what [David] Ben-Gurion and [Menachem] Begin, who were on opposite sides of the aisle, would have said together, and I too say here emphatically to the whole world: Israel has always strived, and will always strive, for peace with our neighbors including the Palestinians. When Israel fights cruel terror, it does so for the sake of peace and for the sake of the free world,” says Herzog.

“These declarations, by Australia and other countries, are a reward for terror, a prize for the enemies of freedom, liberty, and democracy. This is a grave and dangerous mistake, which will not help a single Palestinian and sadly will not bring back a single hostage,” he adds.

In a statement ahead of the ceremony, Ohana says the new museum is in “a building of national and historical significance in the history of the Jewish people, where laws were enacted, speeches were delivered and debates were waged that shaped the character of the Knesset and the State of Israel.”

27-year-old Jerusalemite arrested for anti-Gaza war graffiti on Western Wall

Graffiti reading 'There is a Holocaust in Gaza' seen spray painted on Jerusalem's Great Synagogue on August 11, 2025. (Israel Police)

Police say they have arrested a 27-year-old suspected of spray painting “There is a Holocaust in Gaza” on the Western Wall as well as on the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem.

According to a statement by the police, the suspect was taken in for questioning and will be brought before the court today for a hearing, where police will request that his detention be extended.

“The police intend to compile the evidence against him in connection with these acts,” the statement adds.

The graffiti was discovered earlier this morning on the southern section of the Western Wall, near the stairs leading to the egalitarian prayer area known as Ezrat Yisrael. Similar graffiti was also uncovered near the Great Synagogue on King George Street.

Israel Aerospace Industries announces successful deployment of Dror-1 communications satellite

Israeli Aerospace Industries' Dror-1 communications satellite's deployed western antenna upon reaching its designated altitude, in a photo released on August 11, 2025. (Israel Aerospace Industries)

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announces that its national communications satellite, dubbed Dror-1, has reached its designated altitude of 36,000 kilometers (22,000 miles) and commenced its operational mission.

Following its July 13 launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, the satellite transmitted telemetry confirming the successful deployment of solar panels and communication antennas, as well as activation of its main engine, which positioned it into its designated orbit.

Boaz Levy, IAI’s president and CEO, describes the milestone as an important step in advancing Israel’s capabilities in space, noting that Dror-1 is designed to provide “flexible, secure and reliable” communications over its operational lifespan.

“IAI is proud to lead the nation’s space endeavors and provide it with sovereign capabilities in space,” Levy says. “This next generation of communications satellites, exemplified by Dror-1, embodies engineering excellence and foresight, delivering advanced solutions to meet Israel’s diverse and evolving needs.”

Israeli Aerospace Industries’ Dror-1 communications satellite’s deploys, in video footage released on August 11, 2025. (Israel Aerospace Industries)

Gantz defends IDF strike on Al Jazeera reporter, saying he was not a ‘real journalist’

Al Jazeera presenter Anas al-Sharif reports in a broadcast segment posted to X on August 8, 2025. (Screenshot: X)

In an English-language tweet, Blue and White-National Unity chairman Benny Gantz defends the IDF’s killing of Anas al-Sharif, a prominent Palestinian journalist for Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, whom the military has long argued was a Hamas terrorist in charge of rocket launching.

“Real journalists uphold strict ethical and professional standards — and are worthy of protection,” declares Gantz, an ex-IDF chief of staff and former defense minister.

“Hamas terrorists and their accomplices, including ‘journalists’ who on Oct. 7 invaded Israel and gleefully filmed the slaughter — should be determinedly hunted and eliminated,” he insists.

Following Gazan media reports about Sharif’s death, the IDF confirmed carrying out a strike that killed him, saying he was a “terrorist operating under the guise of a journalist.”

The IDF noted that in October, it published documents seized in Gaza that it said “unequivocally” confirmed Sharif’s “military affiliation with Hamas.” At the time, the military said Sharif headed a rocket-launching squad and was a member of an elite Nukhba Force company in Hamas’s East Jabalia Battalion.

A press freedom group and a UN expert previously warned that Sharif’s life was in danger due to his reporting from Gaza. UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan claimed last month that Israel’s allegations against him were unsubstantiated.

Outrage after ‘Holocaust in Gaza’ graffiti sprayed on southern section of Western Wall

Graffiti reading “There is a Holocaust in Gaza” has been sprayed in red paint on the southern section of Jerusalem’s Western Wall, near the stairs leading to the egalitarian prayer area known as Ezrat Yisrael.

Photos circulating on social media show the Hebrew inscription stretched across several stones in an area separate from the main Western Wall plaza familiar to most visitors.

כתובת רוססה על הכותל הדרומי: "יש שואה בעזה", רב הכותל הגיב: "מקום קדוש אינו מקום להביע מחאות יהיו אשר יהיו ושבעתיים כשהדבר נעשה במקום הקדוש ביותר לעם היהודי כולו. על המשטרה לחקור את המעשה, לאתר את הפושעים לחילול הקודש ולהעמידם לדין". pic.twitter.com/0sJFIV4nCr

— שילה פריד???????? (@shilofreid) August 11, 2025

Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch condemns the act as a desecration and urges police to investigate.

“A holy place is not a venue for expressing protests — whatever they may be — and all the more so when it is done at the holiest site to the entire Jewish people,” he says in a statement issued by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which manages the site. “The police must investigate the incident, locate the perpetrators of this desecration, and bring them to justice.”

There was no immediate comment from police.

The foundation says a professional cleaning team will remove the graffiti in accordance with guidelines in line with Jewish law.

Blue and White-National Unity chairman Benny Gantz condemns the incident, calling the “desecration” of the “holiest place for the Jewish people a crime against the entire people of Israel.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir declares that “the Israel Police will act with lightning speed to apprehend the offender and bring him to justice.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich writes on X that “these ancient stones are soaked in the long history of our people, a history of building, destruction, blood, persecution, and Holocaust, and again building and revival. Those who are capable of defiling them with sickening antisemitic blood libels have forgotten what it means to be Jewish.”

Troops killed Hamas sniper who wounded IDF soldier yesterday, says military

IDF troops operate in the Gaza Strip in a handout photo cleared for publication on August 11, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israel Defense Forces says troops from the 401st Armored Brigade tracked down and killed a Hamas sniper who opened fire on them in the northern Gaza Strip yesterday, lightly wounding a soldier.

The incident occurred during operations in the Strip’s north by the 162nd Division, which the military says continues to target terrorist infrastructure in the area.

According to the IDF, the sniper elimination was part of broader activity across Gaza guided by Military Intelligence and the Shin Bet. In the northern Strip, the 215th Artillery Regiment also identified and killed Hamas operatives in support of maneuvering IDF forces.

Additionally, the 36th Division destroyed several significant underground sites and killed operatives in the Khan Younis area, while the 99th Division demolished tunnel shafts near Gaza border communities. Also in southern Gaza, the 143rd Division’s 6th Brigade called in an Air Force strike on a terror cell attempting to plant explosives near Israeli troops, killing the cell members.

IDF chief lauds outgoing CENTCOM commander as ‘true friend of Israel’

L-R: Defense Minister Israel Katz, US CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael Kurilla, and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir meet at the Defense Ministry, April 25, 2025. (Elad Malka/Defense Ministry)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir lauds outgoing US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Gen. Michael Kurilla for his “significant contributions” to Israel’s security and for deepening military cooperation between the two countries.

Kurilla, who ended his tenure last week, visited Israel several weeks ago as Zamir’s official guest. During the visit, Zamir thanked him for advancing US military assistance to Israel, particularly during the ongoing Gaza war and in Operation Rising Lion against Iran, which he said achieved “significant results.”

“You are a true friend of Israel,” Zamir told Kurilla, crediting his leadership with strengthening bilateral ties, fostering personal friendships, and laying “the foundations for a safer and more secure future for our children and grandchildren.”

The IDF describes its relationship with the US military as a strategic asset providing an operational advantage in the Middle East.

Smotrich says he won’t quit coalition, will attempt to ‘change course’ of government

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a press conference at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem on August 6, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says that he will remain a member of the government because he believes “its course can be changed,” only days after announcing that he’d “lost faith” in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war strategy in Gaza.

Speaking with the Kan public broadcaster, the Religious Zionism party chairman continues to criticize the premier, stating that “Netanyahu may not be able to withstand domestic and foreign pressures” and make the correct decision.

“After 22 months of following him and supporting him,” last week’s cabinet decision to approve a plan to conquer Gaza City “unfortunately does not lead us to victory,” Smotrich continues. “You cannot take the army, put it into this maneuver that could have a high price – and then stop in the middle.”

“The proposal is intended to put pressure on Hamas and bring it back to the negotiating table in order to go for a partial deal again that would abandon half of the hostages and stop the war again,” he warns, adding that “even the very friendly US administration is starting to lose patience.”

Smotrich, who has previously opposed the expansion of humanitarian aid into Gaza, also criticizes Netanyahu for having “failed to get the army to take responsibility for the humanitarian space.”

Despite this criticism, and threats by party lawmakers to bolt the government, Smotrich indicates that he will not leave for now.

“The train has gone off the rails, but I’m staying on it, because I believe that its course can be changed,” he says, demanding that large chunks of Gaza remain under Israeli control and sovereignty so that they can be settled, “because that’s the only way to maintain security.”

“This is not the prime minister’s plan, I’m aware of that, but it’s a debate that I don’t think is right to have right now.”

IDF says it is reviewing protocols after rabbis allowed to visit detainees in military prison

Police guard a military court at the Beit Lid base in central Israel, during a protest against the detention of Israeli reserve soldiers suspected of abusing a Palestinian detainee, July 30, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

The Israel Defense Forces says it is reviewing procedures at its Beit Lid military prison after prominent ultra-Orthodox rabbis visited yeshiva students jailed for draft evasion in recent days.

On Thursday, Rabbi Dov Lando — a leading figure in the Lithuanian Haredi community and spiritual leader of United Torah Judaism’s Degel HaTorah faction — visited brothers Rafael and Baruch Yitzhakov, telling them the “entire Haredi community stands behind you” and urging them to “be strong and hold firm.”

The IDF says the visit was carried out without proper authorization.

Yesterday, Rabbi Moshe Hillel Hirsch, head of the Slabodka Yeshiva, arrived at the prison alongside members of Shas’s Council of Torah Sages. They were initially denied entry but were later allowed inside “to avoid unnecessary confrontations,” according to the military.

The army says it will ensure prison visitation rules are “enforced equally and in full” to prevent similar incidents.

The visits come amid ongoing tensions over the IDF draft, after the High Court struck down blanket exemptions for Haredi men last year.

Israeli troops arrested arms dealer in southern Syria, says IDF

IDF troops operate in southern Syria in a handout photo cleared for publication on August 11, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

The Israel Defense Forces says troops arrested an arms dealer overnight in the southern Syrian village of Trinjeh, inside the Syrian buffer zone.

The raid was conducted by the 226th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade, with support from field investigators in Military Intelligence’s Unit 504. The arrest followed intelligence leads and prior surveillance, the military says. Weapons discovered in the area were seized, and the suspect was taken in for questioning.

According to the IDF, forces remain deployed in the sector to block the entrenchment of terrorist elements in Syria and safeguard residents of Israel, particularly in the Golan Heights.

Health Ministry warns measles on the rise in Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak

The Health Ministry reports a continued rise in measles cases, particularly among unvaccinated populations in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, as well as five new cases confirmed in Bnei Brak.

There are currently 22 hospitalized patients, including two young children, in intensive care units, the ministry says.

Health officials warn that the actual number of infections is likely much higher. Based on hospital admissions and field reports, they estimate between 950 and 1,700 people may have been infected since the outbreak began in April.

The ministry urges people to make sure that they are vaccinated against measles.

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease characterized by fever, general malaise, a runny nose, and rash. It can cause serious and even life-threatening complications.

Bono, U2 pen sharp condemnation of Israeli military action in Gaza

Bono poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Bono: Stories of Surrender' at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, on May 17, 2025. (Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Bono and other members of the legendary rock band U2 publish a scathing criticism of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

The statement on the Irish band’s website, with quotes from all four members of the group (Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.), begins with reflections on the atrocities committed when Hamas launched its war against Israel on October 7, 2023 — which Bono repeatedly calls “evil” — before condemning Israel for the humanitarian crisis created in Gaza.

“The blocking of humanitarian aid and now plans for a military takeover of Gaza City has taken the conflict into uncharted territory,” the band writes. “We are not experts in the politics of the region, but we want our audience to know where we each stand.”

Bono, an activist for numerous social causes, condemns the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival as an act of “evil,” but also asserts that Israel’s response has become “disproportionate,” characterizing it as an act of brutality by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Our band stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine who truly seek a path to peace and coexistence with Israel and with their rightful and legitimate demand for statehood,” Bono writes.

“Is the world not done with this far, far right thinking?” he adds. “We know where it ends… world war… millenarianism… Might the world deserve to know where this once promising bright-minded democratic nation is headed unless there is a dramatic change of course?”

Syrian Interior Ministry vows to investigate after video shows summary killing in Sweida hospital

A health worker and other men walk amid the bodies of victims of the recent clashes between local Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes, laid out for identification in the yard of a hospital in Syria's southern city of Sweida on July 17, 2025. (Shadi AL-DUBAISI / AFP)

The Syrian Interior Ministry launches an investigation following the emergence of footage showing members of the security forces killing and assaulting hospital workers in Sweida last month.

The Syrian Interior Ministry announces that it opened the probe after the publication of several videos from security cameras at a hospital in Sweida, southern Syria.

Local news outlet Suwayda 24 published yesterday what it said was surveillance footage from the main hospital in Sweida city on July 16, showing a group of people who appear to be staff crouched on the floor in a corridor. Several armed men are seen standing in front of the group, most wearing military garb and one dressed in an Interior Ministry uniform.

A brief scuffle breaks out with a man who Suwayda 24 identifies as “one of the volunteers with the medical team” at the hospital. The forces then shoot the man, whose body is dragged off, leaving a smear of blood.

A doctor at the hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirms to AFP that the video was taken inside the facility.

In its statement, the Interior Ministry says that it “condemns the incident at the hospital and will directly oversee the investigation to bring those involved to justice.”

IDF chief convening General Staff to evaluate military’s operational readiness

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir (left) and Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor are seen during an assessment at an army base in southern Israel, August 8, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir is convening a General Staff assessment today to evaluate the military’s operational readiness amid ongoing fighting on multiple fronts.

The meeting — the second in a series — is part of a broader process to shape a multiyear plan for the army while maintaining combat operations. The assessment is being led by the General Staff Forum, with the participation of an expanded commanders’ forum, including division commanders, Ground Forces chiefs and officers from all army branches.

The evaluation follows a surprise military drill yesterday that simulated a multifront attack on Israel, with a focus on a ground invasion from the Jordanian border.

Zamir’s initiative aims to return the IDF to its core principles and planning foundations, ensuring preparedness for evolving challenges across all arenas, the military says.

Health Ministry reports 6 cases of new COVID variant in Israel

The Health Ministry reports six cases in Israel of the new COVID-19 variant XFG, nicknamed “Stratus.”

The strain, first identified in Southeast Asia in January, is spreading in the United States and across Europe, where it has become the third most common variant this summer.

In Israel, the infection rate is currently low. Symptoms are similar to other recent COVID strains, including fever, cough, sore throat and fatigue.

The World Health Organization says that current COVID-19 vaccines are expected to remain effective against this new variant.

“In the big picture of public health, this COVID variant is not something to be concerned about,” says Prof. Eyal Leshem, director of the travel medicine and tropical diseases center at Sheba Medical Center.

Hostages Families Forum rails against Netanyahu for referring only to ‘20 hostages’ at press conference

The Hostages Families Forum demands Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clarify his comments last night and commit to bringing home all 50 hostages remaining in Gaza — including those declared dead by Israel.

In response to a question at a press conference last night for local media on whether he would agree to a partial hostage release deal, Netanyahu did not answer directly, replying instead that he is “committed to… the release of all 20 of our hostages,” referencing only those believed by Israel to still be alive.

“Assure the people of Israel that you are committed to returning everyone — the living and the dead,” the forum says in a statement.

“The prime minister must clarify that he was wrong, and that his commitment is to all 50 hostages, alive and dead, to ensure the return of the living for rehabilitation and the dead for a proper and respectful burial.”

Israel has declared 28 of the 50 hostages still in Gaza dead based on intelligence findings, some of whom were killed on October 7 and others who were slain in captivity, as well as the body of one IDF soldier being held since 2014. Authorities have expressed “grave concern” for the lives of two other hostages who have not been seen or heard from in close to two years of captivity.

Iranian security chief departs for Lebanon after Beirut moves to disarm Hezbollah

Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, delivers a statement after meeting with Lebanon's parliament speaker in Beirut on November 15, 2024. (AFP)

The head of Iran’s top security body, Ali Larijani, will visit Iraq today before heading to Lebanon, where the government has approved a plan to disarm Tehran’s ally Hezbollah, state media says.

“Ali Larijani departs today for Iraq and then Lebanon on a three-day visit, his first foreign trip since taking office last week,” state television reports.

Larijani will sign a bilateral security agreement in Iraq before heading to Lebanon, where he will meet senior Lebanese officials and figures.

His trip to Lebanon comes after Tehran expressed strong opposition to a Lebanese government plan to disarm Tehran’s ally Hezbollah, a stance condemned by Beirut as a “flagrant and unacceptable interference.”

“Our cooperation with the Lebanese government is long and deep. We consult on various regional issues. In this particular context, we are talking to Lebanese officials and influential figures in Lebanon,” Larijani tells state TV before departing.

“In Lebanon, our positions are already clear. Lebanese national unity is important and must be preserved in all circumstances. Lebanon’s independence is still important to us and we will contribute to it.”

IDF says displacement of Bedouin residents near West Bank outpost was due to ‘misunderstanding’

The IDF ordered Bedouin residents in the Ramallah area in the West Bank to leave their homes overnight in what it later said was an error that has been rectified.

Footage published overnight shows IDF soldiers instructing a Bedouin community near the village of Deir Ammar to leave their homes. In recent days, an illegal outpost was set up by extremist settlers close to the Bedouin homes, and residents have reported being attacked by settlers from the outpost.

Two days ago, one of the community’s structures was set on fire; no casualties were reported.

In response to a query from The Times of Israel, the IDF says that the incident seen in the video “will be investigated” and that the order to displace the Bedouin residents was made due to a “misunderstanding.”

The IDF says the area was “declared a closed military zone” after repeated clashes between Israelis and Palestinians, but that “Bedouin residents of the area were allowed to remain.”

“In the incident in question, an IDF force was dispatched following a report of an attack on Israeli civilians and friction in the area,” the military adds. Troops were instructed to remove “anyone who is not a resident. Following a misunderstanding in which the force identified the Bedouin residents as people who do not belong in the area, the Bedouin residents returned to their homes and procedures were clarified on site.”

צה"ל הורה הלילה לבדואים מקהילה באזור רמאללה להתפנות מבתיהם, ימים אחרי הקמת מאחז סמוך ותקיפות נגדם, כולל מבנה שהוצת (לא היו נפגעים). צה"ל הבוקר: "לאחר אי הבנה בה הכוח זיהה את הבדואים תושבי המקום כמי שלא שייכים לאזור, חזרו התושבים הבדואים למגוריהם וחודדו הנהלים במקום" –> pic.twitter.com/cQ2oQ5MKBR

— Nurit Yohanan (@nurityohanan) August 11, 2025

Australian Jewish group: Palestinian recognition ‘departs from decades of bipartisan consensus’

Australia’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly next month “has departed from decades of bipartisan consensus” on Israel’s future, says Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion.

“Australia is now committed to recognizing as a state an entity with no agreed borders, no single government in effective control of its territory, and no demonstrated capacity to live in peace with its neighbors,” the head of the country’s representative Jewish organization says in a statement. “This commitment removes any incentive or diplomatic pressure for the Palestinians to do the things that have always stood in the way of ending the conflict.”

The announcement is “a betrayal and abandonment of the Israeli hostages who continue to languish in appalling conditions in Gaza without even access to the Red Cross,” Aghion says. It will make Israel feel “wronged and abandoned” while showing Hamas and other Islamist groups that “barbarity on a grand scale can lead to desired political transformation.”

“The Jewish community is not surprised by this announcement,” Aghion writes. “We knew from the government’s public statements and our private engagement that this move was coming. This does not lessen our disappointment.”

Many in Australia’s 120,000-strong Jewish community blame Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his government for failing to rein in a sharp rise in antisemitic attacks and violent rhetoric throughout the country.

IDF soldier lightly injured in Hamas sniper attack in northern Gaza

An IDF soldier was lightly injured in a Hamas sniper attack in the northern Gaza Strip yesterday, the military says.

The IDF says the soldier, who served with the 401st Armored Brigade, was taken to a hospital for treatment and his family was notified.

Israeli ambassador to Australia says recognition of Palestinian state ‘weakens the cause’ of peace

Amir Maimon, the Israeli ambassador to Australia, says in a statement that Canberra’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state “undermines Israel’s security” and ultimately “weakens the cause” of peace.

“Peace is built by ending terror, not rewarding it,” Maimon writes. “By recognizing a Palestinian state while Hamas continues to kill, kidnap, and reject peace, Australia undermines Israel’s security, derails hostage negotiations, and hands a victory to those who oppose coexistence.”

Maimon notes that just last month, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “set clear conditions for recognizing a Palestinian state, renouncing violence, freeing hostages, and establishing credible, accountable governance. He emphasized that these steps were necessary before recognition could occur. Today, however, the Australian Government has abandoned those conditions and proceeded with recognition for symbolic reasons rather than genuine progress toward peace.”

The ambassador stresses that the Australian decision “will not change the reality on the ground. Peace is not achieved through declarations; it is achieved when those who have chosen terror abandon it and when violence and incitement end. Rewarding those who use terror as a political tool sends the dangerous message that violence brings political gains.”

He accuses Australia of elevating “the position of Hamas, a group it acknowledges as a terrorist organization, while weakening the cause of those working to end violence and achieve genuine, lasting peace.”

Hazardous air pollution levels recorded in Jerusalem and surrounding areas

People walk across the light rail tracks on Jaffa Road in Jerusalem during a hazy summer day, August 11, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The Environmental Protection Ministry reports extremely high pollution levels in Jerusalem, parts of the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.

According to the ministry’s monitoring website, levels of PM10 air pollution in central Jerusalem were 7259.8µg/m³ as of 7 a.m. The US Environmental Protection Agency says that any level over 355µg/m³ is considered very unhealthy and levels over 425µg/m³ are considered hazardous.

Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry says the elderly, pregnant women, children, and any other sensitive people should avoid strenuous outdoor activity, and that the general population should limit strenuous outdoor activity.

The pollution comes amid an extended extreme heatwave enveloping most of the country.

Malka Leifer reportedly moved to solitary confinement over incident in Melbourne prison

Malka Leifer, right, is brought to a courtroom in Jerusalem, on February 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean, File)

Convicted sex offender Malka Leifer has reportedly been moved to solitary confinement in an Australian jail after an incident involving a young female inmate.

According to Australian news outlet News.com.au, Leifer has been “sent to solitary confinement at the facility in Melbourne’s north over an alleged incident involving a younger inmate” that was caught on the prison’s cameras.

After allegations arose of her raping female students at the Addas Israel School in Melbourne while principal, Leifer fled to Israel in 2008 but was ultimately extradited to Australia in 2021 and sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexual abuse.

Report: Hamas delegation heading to Cairo in bid to renew ceasefire talks

A Hamas delegation is reportedly set to arrive in Cairo as part of efforts to resume negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Qatari newspaper Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reports that a Hamas delegation, led by the group’s senior official Khalil al-Hayya, will arrive in Cairo as part of efforts to revive the negotiation channel between Hamas and Egypt on reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

According to the report, Turkey helped renew the connection between Egypt and Hamas. The report has not been confirmed by other sources.

Greta Thunberg says she will take part in another flotilla to Gaza

Climate activist Greta Thunberg with other activists from a human rights organization meets with journalists in Catania, Italy, ahead of their departure for the Mideast, June 1, 2025. (AP/Salvatore Cavalli)

Climate activist Greta Thunberg says she will be joining another flotilla to Gaza, after she was previously detained and deported from Israel earlier this year.

“On August 31st we are launching the biggest attempt ever to break the illegal Israeli siege over Gaza with dozens of boats sailing from Spain,” she writes on Instagram. “We will meet dozens more on September 4th sailing from Tunisia and other ports. We are also mobilizing more than 44 countries on simultaneous demonstrations and actions to break complicity in solidarity with the Palestinian people!”

Called the “Global Sumud Flotilla,” it is slated to also include Brazilian national Thiago Avila, who took part in the earlier flotilla attempt.

In June, a boat Thunberg and Avila were on was seized by Israeli authorities and towed to Ashdod. Thunberg and everyone else on board were ultimately deported from Israel.

Australian PM says Canberra will recognize Palestinian state next month

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during a press conference in Canberra on August 11, 2025. (Hilary Wardhaugh / AFP)

Australia will recognize a Palestinian state in September at the United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announces, in a quick about-face after saying two weeks ago that he didn’t plan to imminently make such a move.

“Australia will recognize the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own predicated on the commitments Australia has received from the Palestinian Authority. We will work with the international community to make this right a reality,” he says following a cabinet meeting, framing the move as “part of a coordinated global effort building momentum for a two-state solution.”

He says Hamas may take no part in such a state, but argues that Israel “continues to defy” international law, with the situation in Gaza “beyond the world’s worst dreams.”

The move is “predicated on commitments Australia has received from the Palestinian Authority,” Albanese says, adding that those commitments include no role for Hamas in a Palestinian government, demilitarization of Gaza and the holding of elections — which haven’t been held since 2006.

He also says the PA has pledged to affirm Israel’s right to exist in peace and security, and to hold substantial reforms, including international oversight to prevent incitement and abolishing a payment system for Palestinian security prisoners and families of dead assailants, including terrorists, which is known as “pay for slay.”

“A two-state solution is humanity’s best hope to break the cycle of violence in the Middle East and to bring an end to the conflict, suffering and starvation in Gaza,” Albanese says.

He adds that over the past two weeks, he has spoken on the matter with the leaders of Britain, France, New Zealand and Japan, as well as with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

Albanese says his call with Netanyahu was civil and relatively long, adding that “the arguments that he put to me were very similar to the arguments that he put more than a year ago. It seems to me very clearly and I put the argument to him that we need a political solution — not a military one.”

Ahead of Albanese’s announcement, Netanyahu on Sunday criticized Australia and other European countries that have moved to recognize a Palestinian state.

“To have European countries and Australia march into that rabbit hole … this canard is disappointing and I think it’s actually shameful,” he said.

The development follows weeks of urging from within Albanese’s cabinet and from pro-Palestinian activists in Australia to recognize a Palestinian state and amid growing criticism from officials in his government over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Australia’s government has also criticized plans announced in recent days by Netanyahu for a new military offensive aimed at conquering Gaza City.

New Zealand considering recognition of Palestinian state, foreign minister says

New Zealand is considering recognition of a Palestinian state, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.

Peters says Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s cabinet will make a formal decision in September and present the government’s approach at the UN Leaders’ Week.

After harrowing video, US-based family of hostage Rom Braslavski lobbying Trump to grant him US citizenship

Anat Braslavski Ben-Menahem, left, Roye Ben-Menahem and Yael Braslavski, the aunt, cousin and grandmother of hostage Rom Braslavski on June 27, 2025 (Courtesy screengrab)

When the US-based family of hostage Rom Braslavski watched the recent Palestinian Islamic Jihad video of their grandson, nephew and cousin, lying on the floor in a Gaza tunnel, saying he is suffering and “at death’s door,” this was deeply painful, says Roye Ben-Menahem, Braslavski’s first cousin.

Ben-Menahem’s mother, Anat Braslavski Ben-Menahem, is the only sibling of Braslavski’s father, Offir Braslavski. The Ben-Menahem family lives in California.

“It was difficult to watch,” says Roye Ben-Menahem in a phone interview with The Times of Israel. “Seeing his distress and seeing him crying — Rom doesn’t do that. He’s very rowdy and in your face; seeing him reduced to this is so soul-crushing.”

The family has turned their distress into their strength, says Ben-Menahem, describing their ongoing push to grant Rom Braslavski American citizenship.

“We are hoping for that Trump card, for the American citizenship route,” he says. “To see that bear fruit could be the greatest gift so that Rom could get the same treatment as Edan Alexander” — a reference to an American-Israeli hostage who was released in May as a gesture to the United States.

Ben-Menahem and his mother are sending letters to various officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, requesting that Braslavski be granted US citizenship based on the American status of his grandmother, aunt and cousin.

Ben-Menahem says he is now seeing headlines that Trump is considering granting US citizenship to all remaining living 20 hostages.

“We’re worried about Rom surviving,” says Ben-Menahem.

Reports: Australia readying to recognize Palestinian state within days, possibly today

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during a press conference at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 15, 2025. (Dita Alangkara/AP)

Australia is gearing up to recognize a Palestinian state today or in the coming days, The Sydney Morning Herald reports, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, followed by other Australian news outlets who cite sources as confirming the development.

Sydney Morning Herald stresses, however, that the move is “subject to change.”

It would mark a quick about-face for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who said two weeks ago that he didn’t plan to imminently recognize a Palestinian state in the wake of such announcements by France and the United Kingdom.

Albanese has faced domestic pressure on the matter, with tens of thousands staging an anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian march over the Sydney Harbour Bridge earlier this month.

Netanyahu: ‘If we had wanted to commit genocide, it would have taken exactly one afternoon’

At his press conference with Israeli media, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes use of an argument used by many pro-Israel activists to counter accusations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

“If we had wanted starvation, if that had been our policy… of two million Gazans, there would be no one left alive today, after 20 months,” he says. “If we had wanted to commit genocide, it would have taken exactly one afternoon.”

He adds: “There is no starvation, there is no policy of starvation — there was a shortage, and it needed to be stopped, and that’s exactly what is being done.”

Netanyahu falsely says Israel never halted all entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza

In his press conference with Israeli media, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Israel never halted all humanitarian aid to Gaza, despite his office having announced such a measure earlier this year and despite his government having prevented the entry of all aid into the Strip for almost three months.

Netanyahu was asked whether his March 2 decision to halt humanitarian aid — a move he reversed 11 weeks later only after heavy pressure from international allies — was a failed strategy to defeat Hamas.

“First of all, we need to understand what actually happened,” he answered. “We never said we were stopping all entry of humanitarian aid. What we said was that, alongside halting the trucks that Hamas was seizing — taking the vast majority of their contents for itself, then selling the scraps at extortionate prices to the Palestinian population — we would act to prevent this theft… Therefore, we wanted to stop this and said that, in parallel, we would establish distribution points using the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) humanitarian mechanism set up by the Americans, so the food could be handed out separately. Our goal was not to block aid — on the contrary, it was to bypass Hamas’s looting and theft.”

“It just didn’t work as intended, because there weren’t enough distribution points, and so on,” he added. “We learned the lesson, stopped that approach, and are now operating differently. Aid is coming in, and we’re doing everything we can to ensure most of it does not reach Hamas, while at the same time significantly increasing the number of distribution points and secure routes.”

However, Netanyahu’s office indeed said on March 2 that all aid was being halted. The Prime Minister’s Office said at the time: “Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided that, as of this morning, all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will cease.”

Moreover, the GHF operations didn’t begin in parallel with the March 2 aid halt, but rather on May 26 — almost three months later. A week before GHF started handing out supplies, on May 19, Israel started allowing a trickle of aid, which represented the first aid entering Gaza in 78 days.

Netanyahu made similar claims hours earlier in his press conference with international media, though he didn’t assert on that occasion that aid was never halted.

IDF confirms it killed Al Jazeera reporter accused of being a Hamas cell leader

Al Jazeera presenter Anas al-Sharif reports in a broadcast segment posted to X on August 8, 2025. (Screenshot: X)

The IDF confirms carrying out a strike in Gaza City that killed Anas al-Sharif, an Al Jazeera reporter who the military says is a “terrorist operating under the guise of a journalist.”

“The terrorist Anas al-Sharif served as a cell leader in the Hamas terror organization and advanced plans for rocket fire against Israeli civilians and IDF forces,” the military says in a statement.

The IDF notes that in October, it published documents seized in Gaza that it says “unequivocally” confirm Sharif’s “military affiliation with Hamas.”

At the time, the military said Sharif headed a rocket-launching squad and was a member of an elite Nukhba Force company in Hamas’s East Jabalia Battalion.

“These documents serve as proof of the terrorist’s integration into the Qatari Al Jazeera media network,” the IDF says.

Al Jazeera has fiercely denied Israel’s allegations and accused it of systematically targeting Al Jazeera employees in the Gaza Strip.

In the strike this evening, the military says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm, including “the use of precision munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence information.”

Al Jazeera confirms Sharif’s death along with fellow journalist Mohammed Qreiqeh and videographers Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa in the strike, which it says targeted a tent near Shifa Hospital.

Minutes before being killed, Sharif documented Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City and posted footage to social media.

“Relentless bombing… For two hours, the Israeli aggression on Gaza City has intensified,” he wrote on X.

قصف لا يتوقف…
منذ ساعتين والعدوان الإسرائيلي يشتد على مدينة غزة. pic.twitter.com/yW8PesTkFT

— أنس الشريف Anas Al-Sharif (@AnasAlSharif0) August 10, 2025