Dec. 20: Australia to hold minute of silence, light candles to mark week since Bondi terror attack

Smotrich appears to say Israel will ‘certainly’ defeat Hamas before next elections

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich gives a press conference on the state budget, December 4, 2025. (Screenshot from X)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich appears to say that Israel will destroy Hamas before the next election and criticizes the government for failing to provide Israelis with any decisive victories against its enemies, telling Channel 12’s Meet the Press that Israel is “at a crossroads.”

Hr added that he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week that “after two years of war with tremendous achievements, we haven’t closed a single front.”

“We need to hear the crack [a decisive blow] against Hamas and against Hezbollah,” the far-right minister declares. “Now the question is whether at this crossroads we complete the mission in the months that remain for our government and [US] President [Donald] Trump together, and hear the cracks against Hamas and destroy it.”

Israel and Hamas are currently observing a ceasefire that took effect in October and that Trump has depicted as an end to the war.

Asked if Israel intends to destroy Hamas before the elections, amid crosstalk during the interview, Smotrich replies “certainly,” adding “we will also defeat Hezbollah.”

“I think most people don’t believe it’s possible to do this without military force… I will not accept that the IDF has given up its blood and the blood of our soldiers in order to later give Gaza to the Palestinians. And therefore, the result should be that we dismantle Hamas and stay in Gaza,” he continues, adding that “these three arenas, Lebanon, Gaza, and Judea and Samaria, must be on the table.”

Finance minister says he seeks ‘amendments’ to controversial Haredi draft bill

Finance Ministry Bezalel Smotrich holds a press conference at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem on November 4, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Speaking with Channel 12’s Meet the Press, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says that his Religious Zionism party is “working on several amendments” to the government’s bill regulating Haredi conscription and exemptions, and that it will only vote for an amended version of the controversial legislation.

Calling for “a drastic change in the responsibility the Haredim take for the State of Israel,” Smotrich says that he wants to see members of the ultra-Orthodox community serving as “commanders and generals in the IDF” as well as playing leading roles in growing the Israeli economy.

“I want the Haredim to take responsibility for the State of Israel, just as religious Zionism has been doing for decades and is transforming the country. Combining religious Zionism and the Haredim is taking the State of Israel to a completely different place,” he says.

Last week, Smotrich’s party denied reports that it agreed to support the coalition’s controversial ultra-Orthodox military draft exemption law, after reports of the decision sparked criticism from figures in the religious Zionist community.

In a statement, the party declared that it will “vote only for a law that will bring about real and rapid enlistment of Haredim into the IDF, in order to meet Israel’s security needs and ease the burden on the fighters and their families.”

Several members of Smotrich’s party have come out strongly against the bill, with Immigration Minister Ofir Sofer slamming it as a “shameful law” and pledging to vote against it, even if it costs him his cabinet position.

Not everybody in Religious Zionism is opposed to the bill, which would continue to grant exemptions from Israel’s mandatory draft to full-time yeshiva students while purportedly increasing conscription among graduates of Haredi educational institutions.

In a tweet last week, Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman appeared to defend the legislation after the Bank of Israel released a report warning that the bill will not result in enough soldiers enlisting to fill the country’s security needs or reduce the economic costs of reserve duty.

Australia to hold national minute of silence, candle lighting to mark week since Bondi terror attack

Mourners gather next to floral tributes laid in memory of the victims of a terror shooting targeting a Jewish event at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, on December 20, 2025. (DAVID GRAY / AFP)

Millions of Australians will light candles and observe a minute of silence tomorrow, a week after a pair of gunmen committed a terror attack targeting a Jewish festival on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing 15 people.

A father and son are accused of targeting the family-thronged Hanukkah festival.

Exactly a week after the first reports of gunfire at 6:47 p.m. (9:47 a.m. Israel time), Australians will fall silent for a minute on a national day of reflection with the theme “light over darkness.”

Flags will fly at half-mast, and people are being asked to light a candle in their windows to honor the victims and stand by the Jewish community, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says on the eve of the memorial.

“Sixty seconds carved out from the noise of daily life, dedicated to 15 Australians who should be with us today,” says the prime minister, who will join commemorations at Bondi Beach.

“It will be a moment of pause to reflect and affirm that hatred and violence will never define us as Australians.”

Federal and state authorities are also in talks with Jewish community leaders about establishing a permanent memorial at Bondi Beach, as well as holding a national day of mourning in the new year.

Palestinian media footage appears to contradict IDF claim that teen was shot after hurling brick

Footage published by Palestinian media appears to contradict the IDF’s claim that a Palestinian teenager who was shot dead by troops this evening had hurled a brick at the forces.

The surveillance camera video, purportedly from the West Bank town of Qabatiya, shows a person approaching Israeli troops, who then open fire at him.

The IDF had said that soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade’s reconnaissance unit had been attacked by a Palestinian who hurled a brick at them, and in response, the troops shot him dead.

The video, which cannot be immediately verified, does not appear to show the Palestinian attacking the soldiers.

The Palestinian Authority’s health ministry identified the slain Palestinian as Rayan Abu Mualla, 16, and says his body is being held by Israel.

مشهد مؤلم.. لحظة إعدام جنود الاحتلال للطفل ريان أبو معلا، في بلدة قباطية، جنوب جنين. pic.twitter.com/5vdKMIvZG1

— القسطل الإخباري (@AlQastalps) December 20, 2025

War of words in Likud as Gotliv accuses Levin of ‘one image of failure after another’

Likud MK Tally Gotliv appears at a High Court hearing over the probe into the Sde Teiman leak affair, at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, November 27, 2025. (Flash90)

Likud MK Tally Gotliv launches a full-throated attack on Justice Minister Yariv Levin after Channel 12 reports that he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss how to handle the firebrand lawmaker ahead of next year’s elections.

In a lengthy post on X, Gotliv says that Netanyahu “has not discussed [me] with anyone, certainly not with a minister who provides one image of failure after another.”

According to Channel 12, Netanyahu complained to Levin that Gotliv is costing Likud 3-5 Knesset seats, a claim denied by the Prime Minister’s Office.

But Gotliv writes that the prime minister “knows that the higher I place in the primaries, the more I will strengthen the Likud list and draw votes from right-wing parties to Likud.”

“Likud’s right-wing voters are very smart and perceptive, and not confused at all,” she claims.

A spokesman for Levin declined to comment.

Gotliv is well-known for interrupting Knesset proceedings and verbally lashing out at people, ranging from fellow legislators to security guards. Her pugnacious approach to politics has made her one of the Knesset’s more recognizable backbenchers and may be responsible for turning her into a rising star within the ruling party.

A recent poll of Likud members published by the Walla news site found that Gotliv, who entered the Knesset at the 25th slot on the party’s slate, would come in second in a non-leadership primary, after current speaker Amir Ohana.

She is also a vocal opponent of Levin’s, having criticized him publicly on multiple occasions.

Should she ride her popularity to a top spot in Likud following the election, Gotliv told The Times of Israel in September that she could be “a very good justice minister” who would confront the judiciary.

Gotliv also recently publicly feuded with fellow Likud MK Eliyahu Revivo, who last week asked her to leave the Knesset plenum after she repeatedly interrupted other lawmakers, leading her to yell that he was a “thug.”

IDF says PA security forces located, returned soldier who entered Jericho to go shopping

An off-duty Israeli soldier illegally entered the West Bank city of Jericho earlier this week for shopping, before being located by the Palestinian Authority’s security forces.

The incident, which took place on Tuesday, was first reported by Channel 12 news this evening. The IDF confirms the report to The Times of Israel.

The soldier was questioned by the PA security forces before being handed over to Israeli authorities.

In his questioning with the IDF Military Police, the soldier said he entered the city, not in uniform, to “shop cheaply.”

The military says it views the incident gravely. By law, Israelis are barred from entering West Bank areas controlled by the PA.

Gaza mediators urge Israel, Hamas to keep to truce after Miami meet yields little progress

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, right, and White House adviser Jared Kushner arrive before US President Donald Trump holds a news conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the State Dining Room of the White House, September 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The mediators of the fragile Gaza ceasefire expressed their support for the swift establishment of the Board of Peace envisioned by US President Donald Trump, along with a technocratic Palestinian government to oversee the postwar management of the Strip, and urged Israel and Hamas to adhere to Trump’s Gaza peace plan and exercise more restraint to avoid a return to war, according to a joint statement.

The statement, issued after a meeting that representatives of the four countries held yesterday in Miami, is light on details and doesn’t contain any new announcement.

A source briefed on the Friday meeting — held between US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani, Egyptian intel chief Hassan Rashad and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan — said little progress was made.

The source says advancement into the second phase of the ceasefire will require compromises from the leaders of Israel and Hamas regarding the IDF’s withdrawal from Gaza and the terror group’s disarmament.

The mediators discussed ways to pressure the two sides toward an agreement, but the source says that Israel and Hamas can’t be forced against their will.

The joint statement says the four representatives met “to review the implementation of the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire and to advance preparations for the second phase.”

Israel and Hamas haven’t formally signed on to the second phase of the agreement as outlined in Trump’s 20-point peace plan, but it is supposed to see the establishment of a Palestinian technocratic government overseen by a Trump-led Board of Peace along with the deployment of an International Stabilization Force that phases out the IDF and advances the the decommissioning of Hamas’s weapons and the demilitarization of Gaza.

The US has struggled to recruit countries to join the ISF. Nonetheless, the joint statement from mediators insists that the first phase “has yielded progress, including expanded humanitarian assistance, the return of hostage bodies, partial force withdrawals and a reduction in hostilities.”

The mediators say that during their meeting yesterday, they “emphasized enabling a governing body in Gaza under a unified Gazan authority to protect civilians and maintain public order.” This appears to be a reference to the Palestinian technocratic government that also has yet to be stood up.

The mediators say they also discussed “regional integration measures, including trade facilitation, infrastructure development and cooperation on energy, water and other shared resources,” saying this will be “essential to Gaza’s recovery, regional stability and long-term prosperity.”

Smotrich says he blocked Netanyahu from forming government with Islamist Ra’am in 2021

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, November 17, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declares that in 2021, he prevented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from forming a coalition including Mansour Abbas’ Islamist Ra’am party.

“Under no circumstances should we form a government that relies on supporters of terror from Hamas’s sister movement. I am proud of the privilege I had to prevent my camp, the national camp, from making this colossal mistake,” the chairman of the far-right Religious Zionism party tells Channel 12’s Meet the Press.

After being courted by Netanyahu that year to become part of his coalition, Ra’am decided instead to partner with Netanyahu’s rivals and become the first Arab party in decades to be part of a ruling coalition, which was led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid.

That government was the first to unseat Netanyahu since 2009. Netanyahu returned to power at the end of the following year.

Ra’am is the political wing of the Southern Islamic Movement — a group inspired by the global Islamist organization Muslim Brotherhood, which has been outlawed in around a dozen countries for alleged links to terrorism.

Ra’am has denied accusations that it is part of the Muslim Brotherhood itself and announced recently that it is moving toward becoming “a completely civic party,” independent of any religious body.

Bennett, who is seen as the most credible challenger to Netanyahu in next year’s elections, has since stated that he would not include Arab parties in the next government if anti-Netanyahu parties win a majority.

A recent Maariv poll found that 61 percent of opposition voters support the inclusion of Ra’am in the next government, while 25% are against.

Last year, the Justice Ministry announced that it had found grounds to dissolve a nonprofit associated with the Ra’am party following an investigation over alleged money transfers to groups proscribed for terror links, although the government has not revealed any connection between the illegal activity and Ra’am’s leadership.

Netanyahu recently appeared to threaten to outlaw the Islamist faction, stating that Israel will complete the process of outlawing the Muslim Brotherhood.

Netanyahu’s Likud party recently denied a Channel 12 report that it had initiated recent contacts with Ra’am in order to convince it to vote in favor of its controversial draft exemption bill regulating ultra-Orthodox conscription.

IDF says troops kill 2 Palestinians who attacked soldiers in northern West Bank

The IDF says troops killed two Palestinians who attacked troops in separate incidents in the northern West Bank this evening.

According to Palestinian health officials, one of the Palestinians is a teenager.

In the first incident, the army says a Palestinian hurled a brick at soldiers of the Paratroopers Brigade’s reconnaissance unit during a raid in Qabatiya. The troops returned fire, “eliminating the terrorist,” the IDF says.

الهيئة العامة للشؤون المدنية تبلغ وزارة الصحة باستشهاد الطفل ريان محمد عبد القادر أبو معلا (١٦ عاما) برصاص الاحتلال، في قباطية، وتحتجز جثمانه. pic.twitter.com/czTu0S09Zl

— القسطل الإخباري (@AlQastalps) December 20, 2025

Minutes later, other forces from the Paratroopers’ reconnaissance unit, operating in Silat al-Harithiya, opened fire on a Palestinian who hurled an explosive device at them, the army says, adding that the suspect was killed.

In both incidents, no soldiers were hurt, the IDF adds.

عاجل | استشهاد الشاب أحمد سائد شحادة زيود، برصاص الاحتلال في بلدة سيلة الحارثية، غرب جنين. pic.twitter.com/y3T8Ajxr23

— القسطل الإخباري (@AlQastalps) December 20, 2025

The Palestinian Authority’s health ministry identifies the Palestinian slain in Qabatiya as Rayan Abu Mualla, 16, and says his body is being held by Israel.

The Palestinian killed in Silat al-Harithiya is identified by the PA health ministry as Ahmad Zayoud, 22.

Activist Shikma Bressler at rally: Suspected racist attackers in Jaffa have ‘jihadist ideology’

Activist Shikma Bressler waves an Israeli flag at an anti-government rally at Habima Square in Tel Aviv on December 20, 2025. (Gilad Furst/Israeli Pro-Democracy Movement)

Anti-government activist Shikma Bressler, who hoists an Israeli flag as she emcees an anti-government rally at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square, says after a speech by Arab activist Somaya Bashir that Israel must choose whether to be a “Jewish, liberal democracy or a backward, jihadist dictatorship.” She leads the crowd in chants of “Democracy.”

She later says the suspected assailants in a racist attack on a pregnant Arab woman in Jaffa — reportedly Hilltop Youth banished from the West Bank for racist violence there — represent a “Jihadist ideology” and aim to “delegitimize people like us, who think differently from them.”

Other speakers rail against the government for its bid to codify sweeping exemptions for Haredi men from military service and to avoid forming a state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.

Rafi Ben Shitrit, a former Beit She’an mayor whose son Elroi was killed fending off the attack, says a state commission of inquiry is crucial to national rehabilitation.

“We have to come together and demand a return to ourselves, to our values — a Jewish democratic state led by the values of mutual accountability, responsibility, social solidarity and truth,” he says.

The rally ends after Ben Shitrit lights a menorah for the seventh night of Hanukkah.

Arab activist addresses Tel Aviv rally, says government ‘happy’ about Arab crime wave

Jewish and Arab Israelis attend an anti-government rally at Habima Square in Tel Aviv on December 20, 2025. (Yoav Loeff/Israeli Pro-Democracy Movement)

Hundreds of anti-government protesters rally at Tel Aviv’s Habima Square, with one column marching to the plaza in the city center from near Jaffa, where a pregnant Arab woman was pepper-sprayed in what police say was a racist attack last Saturday.

The marchers — many clad in the purple shirts of Israeli-Palestinian left-wing group Standing Together — chant “Democracy for everyone.”

The rally features a rare Arab speaker, political activist Somaya Bashir, who hails from the northern Arab village of Jatt.

“I stand here tonight as an Arab, Israeli, Muslim Palestinian woman, a citizen of this country and proud of my identity,” says Bashir, who wears a hijab, to applause.

She accuses the government of turning a blind eye to the woman who was attacked in Jaffa last week, Arab bus drivers assaulted by Jewish youth in Jerusalem and soaring crime rates in the Arab community.

“The leadership legitimizes hate and is emboldened by hate,” she says. “They don’t condemn it when citizens are killed in the street or when Arabs are murdered almost daily, because they’re happy about it — that’s their goal,” she says.

“I believe in all my heart that there is no way to get out of the pit that Israeli society is in without bold, Jewish-Israeli partnership,” she says. “Not a silent coexistence, but true partnership.”

“The government of Israel is abandoning all of us — Jews and Arabs, secular and religious, poor and rich, residents of Israel and of Gaza — all of us,” she says. “I don’t let the darkness take over me. I don’t pick despair — I pick light and I pick partnership.”

Police probing suspected double homicide in Nazareth as crime wave in Arab cities continues

Paramedics arrive at the scene of a shooting that killed two men in Nazareth on December 20, 2025. (Magen David Adom)

Police are investigating a suspected double homicide in Nazareth, after two men were shot and killed in the city tonight.

Paramedic teams arrived at the scene of the shooting to find the victims, one in his 20s and the other in his 50s, badly wounded by gunfire and without any signs of life, Magen David Adom says.

Medics pronounced the two dead on the spot.

Police say they are searching for suspects after receiving a report of the incident. The victims’ identities are not yet known.

A violent crime wave that has been besetting Arab society in recent years has now claimed 247 victims since the start of 2025, based on data from the Abraham Initiatives watchdog, making this year the deadliest on record for Israel’s Arab minority.

Earlier this week, 43-year-old Mahmoud Akkawi was killed in his home in Tamra, a northern Arab city.

He was ambushed by unknown assailants who followed him home just before midnight, according to Ynet. Once he was at the door of his house, they opened fire and killed him on the spot.

Police launched an investigation into the shooting but have not yet arrested any suspects.

IDF says it nabbed suspected ISIS jihadist in southern Syria

Weapons seized by IDF troops during a raid in southern Syria, in a handout photo issued on December 20, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

In an overnight raid earlier this week in southern Syria, the IDF says it captured a suspected operative of the Islamic State.

The military says the suspected jihadist was detained in the village of al-Rafid, which is located within the UN-patrolled buffer zone that the IDF captured last year.

The operation was carried out by the 52nd Armored Battalion and the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 — which specializes in human intelligence — under the command of the 474th “Golan” Regional Brigade.

The alleged ISIS member was brought to Israel for further interrogation, the IDF says.

The military adds that it captured several weapons during the raid.

The IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024, mostly within a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the border between the countries.

Troops have been operating in areas up to around 15 kilometers (some nine miles) deep into Syria, aiming to capture weapons that Israel says could pose a threat to the country if they fall into the hands of “hostile forces.”

Mayor outraged as attackers vandalize Herzliya ice cream shop, reportedly for opening on Shabbat

Herzliya’s mayor reacts with outrage after two assailants wearing masks vandalized an ice cream shop in Herzliya on Thursday, breaking its front window.

Hebrew media report that the shop, a branch of the Othello gelateria chain, was targeted because it is open on Shabbat.

Apparent surveillance video of the incident, bearing a timestamp of Thursday night around 9 p.m., shows two people wearing hooded sweatshirts with their faces covered approaching the shop and hitting its window until shards of glass fly.

עיריית הרצליה עומדת לצידם של בעלי גלידת אותלו ומביעה שאט נפש מהמעשים הנפשעים של העבריינים שביצעו את מעשי הוונדליזם החמורים כשניפצו את זגוגיות הגלידריה האהובה.

הפורעים פגעו בבעלי אותלו ובכל תושבות ותושבי העיר, שמאמינים בערך של ״חיה ותן לחיות״ ושרוצים להמשיך לגור במקום שבו איש… pic.twitter.com/czjmP4u366

— Yariv Fisher – יריב פישר (@FisherYariv) December 20, 2025

Herzliya Mayor Yariv Fisher calls the vandalism an attack on the city’s values and calls on residents to support the shop.

“The Herzliya municipality stands with the owners of Othello ice cream and expresses disgust over the criminal acts of those who committed the severe acts of vandalism when they broke the beloved ice cream shop’s window,” he posts on X.

“The rioters hurt the owners of Othello and all of the city’s residents, who believe in the value of ‘live and let live’ and want to keep living in a place where everyone can live according to their beliefs.”

He writes that those values include “freedom of religion and freedom from religion.”

Army shows footage of troops demolishing Hamas tunnels in southern Gaza

The army publishes footage showing the demolition of Hamas tunnels on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line in the Khan Younis area of the southern Gaza Strip.

The footage is released as the IDF announces that the Kfir Brigade is being replaced by the 188th Armored Brigade in the area.

Over the past few months, the IDF says Kfir troops, alongside the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, demolished hundreds of “terror infrastructures” in Khan Younis, including a two-kilometer-long tunnel and another tunnel spanning hundreds of meters.

IDF says it killed 2 operatives for crossing Yellow Line in north Gaza

The IDF says it killed two Palestinian terror operatives who crossed the Gaza ceasefire line in the Strip’s north earlier today, in what has become a near-daily occurrence.

According to the military, the operatives crossed the Yellow Line and approached reservists of the Jerusalem Brigade, “in a way that posed an immediate threat.”

The Israeli Air Force then struck and “eliminated the terrorists to remove the threat,” the army adds.

Zelensky: Ukraine would support US proposal for trilateral talks if it facilitated POW swaps, future talks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that Kyiv would back a US proposal for three-sided talks with the United States and Russia if it facilitated more exchanges of prisoners and paved the way for meetings of national leaders.

“America is now proposing a trilateral meeting with national security advisers — America Ukraine, Russia,” Zelensky tells local journalists in Kyiv.

“If such a meeting could be held now to allow for swaps of prisoners of war or an agreement on a three-sided meeting of leaders, we would support such proposals. Let’s see how things go.”

Turkey’s intel chief, Hamas leader discuss 2nd phase of Gaza truce, Turkish sources say

Turkey’s intelligence agency chief met top Hamas negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya earlier today and discussed necessary measures to be taken for proceeding to the second phase of the Gaza peace plan, Turkish security sources say.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, say Turkey’s MIT chief Ibrahim Kalin met the Hamas delegation in Istanbul within the scope of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, and they discussed steps to be taken to prevent what they said were Israel’s ceasefire violations.

They also discussed measures to be taken to resolve existing issues for proceeding to the second phase of the plan, the sources say, without giving details.

The second phase, which is supposed to see the deployment of an international force and the disarmament of Hamas, is supposed to begin once Hamas completes the handover of all the hostages. The terror group still holds the body of one hostage, Ran Gvili, claiming it cannot find him.

Israel has carried out strikes across Gaza, but says it was in retaliation for attacks on troops manning the Yellow Line, which the IDF pulled back to at the start of the truce.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Iranian, British foreign ministers held rare direct phone call yesterday, Tehran says

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke yesterday by phone with his British counterpart, Yvette Cooper, an Iranian foreign ministry statement says, in a rare case of direct contact between the two countries.

The ministry says that in yesterday’s call, the ministers “stressed the need to continue consultations at various levels to strengthen mutual understanding and pursue issues of mutual interest.”

A UK government source says Cooper “emphasized the need for a diplomatic solution on Iran’s nuclear program and raised a number of other issues.”

In a statement, Iran says Araghchi criticized “the irresponsible approach of the three European countries towards the Iranian nuclear issue,” referring to Britain, France and Germany.

The three countries at the end of September initiated the reinstatement of UN sanctions against Iran because of its nuclear program.

The source in London says Cooper also raised the case of Lindsay and Craig Foreman, a British couple detained in Iran for nearly a year on suspicion of espionage. The Foremans, both in their early fifties, were seized in January as they passed through Kerman, in central Iran, while on a round-the-world motorbike trip.

Iran accuses the couple of entering the country pretending to be tourists to gather information for foreign intelligence services, an allegation the couple’s family rejects.

Before Friday’s call, the last exchange between the two ministers was in October.

Netanyahu to present Trump with new Iran attack plans during US visit — report

US President Donald Trump (L) meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset on Jerusalem on October 13, 2025. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will present plans for a possible attack against Iran to US President Donald Trump during the premier’s upcoming visit to the country, NBC News reports, citing several unnamed officials.

According to the report, Israel is growing increasingly concerned that Iran is rebuilding, and even expanding, its ballistic missile production in the wake of the 12-day war in June.

Israel is also worried that Iran is rebuilding its nuclear enrichment program, which was heavily damaged by Israeli, and later US, strikes, the report adds.

While Israel has publicly called Iran’s nuclear program an existential threat, officials quoted in the report say that the ballistic missiles are seen by Jerusalem as a more pressing concern.

“The nuclear weapons program is very concerning. There’s an attempt to reconstitute. It’s not that immediate,” a source with knowledge of Israel’s plans tells NBC News.

“But the threat of the missiles is very real, and we weren’t able to prevent them all last time,” another source says.

Netanyahu and Trump are expected to meet at the US president’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida next week.

Israel declines to comment on the report.

Responding to NBC News, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly says: “As President Trump has said, if Iran pursued a nuclear weapon, that site would be attacked and would be wiped out before they even got close.”

1st phase of plan to disarm Hezbollah south of Litani will end in ‘few days,’ Lebanese PM says

The first phase of the plan to confiscate Hezbollah weapons south of the Litani River will end in a “few days,” Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam says in a statement.

The statement comes amid fears that conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group could soon erupt again.

Israel and Lebanon agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire in November 2024, ending more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that severely weakened the Iran-backed group. Under the deal, Lebanon’s army was to disarm Hezbollah south of the Litani by the end of the year before tackling the rest of the country.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Elections cannot be held in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, Zelensky says

Any election in Ukraine can not be held in Russia-occupied parts of the country, President Volodymyr Zelensky says, adding that the voting process can only take place if security is ensured.

He adds that Ukraine’s foreign minister had started the initial work on the infrastructure needed to make voting possible for Ukrainians living abroad.

Ukraine and Portugal agree on co-production of Ukrainian sea drones

Ukraine and Portugal have agreed on the joint production of Ukrainian sea drones, the Ukrainian president’s aide says.

“We proved that our USVs (Unmanned Surface Vehicles) work perfect against Russian warships and submarines. Now they will help Portugal defend Europe from the sea,” Oleksandr Kamyshin says on X, writing in English.

Jordanian air force carried out strikes on ISIS targets in Syria, its military confirms

Jordan’s air force carried out strikes against Islamic State group targets in southern Syria as part of a US-led overnight operation, the military confirms.

In a statement, the Jordanian army says it had joined the operation “to prevent extremist organizations from exploiting these areas as launching pads to threaten the security of Syria’s neighbors.”

Jordanian army participated in US strikes on ISIS targets in Syria, state TV says

Jordan’s army participated in the US trikes on Islamic State targets in Syria on Friday, state-owned Jordan TV says.

The scope of Jordan’s participation is not made clear in the report.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the strikes killed at least five ISIS members, including the head of a drone cell.

US forces said they struck more than 70 ISIS targets in response to the December 13 attack in Syria that killed two US soldiers and a US civilian.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Pakistan sentences former PM Imran Khan, wife, to 17 years in graft case

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party supporters protest to demand release of their jailed leader and Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, in Islamabad on December 2, 2025. (Aamir QURESHI / AFP)

A Pakistani court convicts and sentences imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison after finding them guilty of retaining and selling state gifts, officials and his party say.

The couple pleaded not guilty when they were indicted last year. They were accused of selling the gifts, including jewelry from Saudi Arabia’s government, at prices far below their market value while he was in office.

Khan’s spokesperson, Zulfiquar Bukhari, says the verdict in the graft case ignored basic principles of justice. In a statement, he says that the “criminal liability was imposed without proof of intent, gain, or loss, relying instead on a retrospective reinterpretation of rules.

Bukhari says the court ruling “raised serious questions about the fairness and impartiality of the process, turning justice into a tool for selective prosecution.”

Khan’s opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party denounces the verdict in a statement, calling it “a black chapter in history,” and says Khan was present in the court when the judge announced the verdict in the Adiala prison in the city of Rawalpindi.

Khan, 73, was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022, and his party is in opposition in the parliament. He has been serving multiple prison terms since 2023 on corruption convictions and other charges that the former cricket star and his supporters have alleged are aimed at blocking his political career.

New South Wales planning to ban ‘globalize the intifada’ chants after Bondi shooting – report

The Australian state of New South Wales plans to ban “globalize the intifada” chants, according to a BBC report, amid a crackdown on “hateful” rhetoric and slogans in the wake of Sunday’s terror attack at the Bondi Hanukkah event.

New South Wales is home to Sydney and its iconic Bondi Beach, where 15 people were killed and dozens wounded after two gunmen opened fire on a crowd celebrating the Jewish holiday.

Since the attack, New South Wales’ Premier Chris Mimms has said he plans to convene the state’s parliament and pass stricter hate speech and incitement laws.

According to the BBC, Mimms is looking to classify the popular “globalize the intifada” chant as illegal hate speech, and aims to encourage a “summer of calm,” without mass anti-Israel protests and demonstrations.

US strikes in Syria kill at least 5 ISIS members, including cell leader, says war monitor

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights tells AFP that “at least five members of the Islamic State group were killed” in US strikes overnight in eastern Syria’s Deir Ezzor province, including the leader of a cell responsible for drones in the area. The strikes were in response to a deadly ISIS attack on American troops in the country last weekend.

A Syrian security source tells AFP that the US strikes targeted ISIS cells in Syria’s vast Badia desert, including in Homs, Deir Ezzor and Raqa provinces, and did not include ground operations.

Most of the targets were in a mountainous area running north of Palmyra, including toward Deir Ezzor, the source says, requesting anonymity.

A second Syrian security official, also requesting anonymity, tells AFP that “the bombardment was intense” and lasted around five hours.

US forces said they struck more than 70 ISIS targets in what President Donald Trump described as “very serious retaliation” for the December 13 attack that killed two US soldiers and a US civilian.

Tonight, U.S. and Jordanian forces struck 70+ ISIS targets in Syria with 100+ precision munitions. Peace through strength. pic.twitter.com/XWWvfqBBFT

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 20, 2025

Eight dead, dozens wounded in Russian strike on Ukraine’s Odesa port

Eight people were killed and 27 wounded in a Russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa, southern Ukraine, late last night, Ukraine’s Emergency Service says this morning.

Some of the wounded were on a bus at the epicenter of the overnight strike, the service says in a Telegram post. Trucks caught fire in the parking lot, and cars were also damaged.

The port was struck with ballistic missiles, says Oleh Kiper, the head of the Odesa region.

Death toll rises to 8 after Russian ballistic missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa region. On Friday evening, the Russian army carried out a massive ballistic missile attack against port infrastructure in Odesa district, Governor Oleh Kiper reported.

8 people have now… pic.twitter.com/h6QZg2KIGN

— NOELREPORTS ???????? ???????? (@NOELreports) December 20, 2025

Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces hit a Russian warship and other facilities with drones, Ukraine’s General Staff says in a statement this morning.

The overnight attack hit the Russian warship “Okhotnik,” according to the statement posted to the Telegram messaging app.

The ship was patrolling in the Caspian Sea near an oil and gas production platform. The extent of the damage is still being clarified, the statement adds.

A drilling platform at the Filanovsky oil and gas field in the Caspian Sea was also hit. The facility is operated by Russian oil giant Lukoil. Ukrainian drones also struck a radar system in the Krasnosilske area of Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Police open investigation after woman blows out Hanukkah candles in Tel Aviv mall

A woman is seen blowing out Hanukkah candles in a Tel Aviv mall in an undated video in December 2025.(Screen grab x/ used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Police have opened an investigation after a woman was caught on security cameras blowing out Hanukkah candles at a shopping center in Tel Aviv, Haaretz reports.

No arrests have been made.

While police have not yet determined the exact criminal charge, the report says they are considering whether the act violates the law prohibiting the destruction or desecration of a place of worship or sacred object with the intent to insult a religion.

If convicted, the woman could face up to three years in prison.

The woman is seen on CCTV blowing out the candles, to the applause of her companion, before walking away. She then returns to blow out the final flame, filming herself doing so on her cellphone.

The incident takes place at the Weizman Mall, which adjoins Ichilov Hospital.

המשטרה חוקרת תיעוד שבו נראית אישה מכבה נרות חנוכה בקניון בתל אביב. האישה שצולמה בקניון ויצמן בתל אביב נראית נושפת על נרות של חנוכייה שהוצבה. במשטרה צפויים ליחס לה עבירה של "עלבון דת", שהעונש המקסימלי שלה הוא שלוש שנות מאסר. האישה טרם נעצרה@_Gitsis_ | https://t.co/nGXEyi85Ku pic.twitter.com/dEVA8a4RrW

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) December 19, 2025

Hamas operative behind group leading anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian marches in UK – report

This handout photo issued by the Foreign Ministry on September 30, 2025, is said to show Zaher Birawi, next to Ismail Haniyeh, then-head of Hamas's political bureau. Also pictured is British politician George Galloway. (Foreign Ministry handout)

A man said to be an operative for the Hamas terror group is at the head of an organization leading anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protests in the United Kingdom, The Times reports.

Zaher Birawi serves as the chair of the Palestine Forum in Britain (PFB), one of six groups that make up the Palestine Coalition which has organized at least 20 rallies this year, including one this week to support detained hunger strikers from Palestine Action, proscribed as a terror group.

Israel said in September that Birawi is one of a number of “high-ranking, well-known Hamas operatives” involved in the Gaza flotilla movement. He is described on the pro-Palestinian outlet Middle East Monitor as a journalist, the chairman of the International Committee to Break the Siege on Gaza, and a founding member of the International Freedom Flotilla Coalition.

In October 2023, Labour MP Christian Wakeford used parliamentary privilege to name Birawi as one of four “senior Hamas operatives” active in Britain, The Times reports.

“This house rightly voted to proscribe Hamas in its entirety in November 2021,” he said. “It is therefore a serious national security risk for Hamas operatives to be living here in London.”

One of the other three individuals named by Wakeford was Ziad El Aloul, who is also connected with PFB, The Times says.

US, Russian officials to meet in Florida for more talks on Ukraine

(L-R) US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and White House adviser Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, attend a meeting with Ukrainian officials in Hallandale Beach, Florida, November 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

US negotiators are set to meet Russian officials in Florida today for the latest talks aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, as US President Donald Trump’s administration tries to coax an agreement out of both Russia and Ukraine to end the conflict.

The meeting follows US talks yesterday with Ukrainian and European officials, the latest discussions of a peace plan that has sparked some hope of a resolution to the conflict that began when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

President Vladimir Putin’s envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, is leading the Russian delegation that will meet with property tycoon-turned-diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Marco Rubio, Trump’s top diplomat and national security advisor, said he may also join the talks.

Previous meetings have taken place at Witkoff’s golf club in Miami’s Hallandale Beach.

US, Ukrainian and European officials earlier this week reported progress on security guarantees for Kyiv as part of the talks to end the war, but it remains unclear if those terms will be acceptable to Moscow.

A Russian source told Reuters that any meeting between Dmitriev and the Ukrainian negotiators had been ruled out.

Australian PM praises ‘completely unbreakable’ Jewish community after terror attack

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese walks with police officers after laying flowers on December 15, 2025, at the Bondi Pavilion at the scene of a terror attack targeting a Jewish event. (Handout / AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE / AFP)

SYDNEY, Australia — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says on Saturday that the country’s Jewish community was “completely unbreakable” after attending a memorial event at a Sydney synagogue for the victims of a terror attack on a seaside celebration of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.

The mass shooting at Bondi Beach last Sunday was Australia’s worst in nearly 30 years and is being investigated as an act of terrorism targeting Jews. Authorities have ramped up patrols and policing across the country to prevent further antisemitic violence.

Albanese says the event he attended at the Great Synagogue in Sydney last night showed “the spirit of our Jewish Australian community is completely unbreakable.”

“It was a night of unity, resilience, comfort, faith and love,” Albanese says in remarks televised from Canberra, ahead of a national day of reflection on Sunday to honour the 15 people killed and dozens wounded in the terror shooting attack allegedly carried out by a father and son.

Albanese, under pressure from critics who say his center-left government has not done enough to curb a surge in antisemitism since the Hamas-led massacre on October 7, 2023, and the Gaza war, has vowed to strengthen hate laws in the wake of the massacre.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel

Iran executed a man who it said was convicted of spying for Israel and having ties to Iranian opposition groups, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reports

Entangled in a decades-long shadow war with Israel, Iran has executed many people it accused of having links with Israel’s intelligence service and facilitating its operations in the country.

The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights group says on X that the man, whom it identifies as 27-year-old architecture student Aghil Keshavarz, was sentenced to death on charges related to espionage for Israel “based on confessions extracted under torture.”

Executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel have significantly increased this year, with multiple death sentences carried out in recent months.

Lifesavers hold three minutes of silence at Bondi for Hanukkah terror attack victims

SYDNEY, Australia — Australian surf lifesavers line the shore of Sydney’s Bondi Beach and fall silent to honour the 15 people shot and killed when terrorists fired into crowds at a Jewish festival marking Hanukkah by the sea.

Scores of rescuers stood by the water’s edge along the entire length of the beach, six days after the two alleged assailants carried out one of the deadliest mass shootings in Australia’s history.

The elder gunman, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, was shot and killed by police. His 24-year-old son, Naveed, survived and remains in hospital under police guard, facing charges including terrorism and 15 murders.

Facing the ocean while wearing their red-and-yellow uniforms, the lifeguards observe three minutes of silence.

Some cry or hug each other at the morning ceremony, with a surf lifesaving helicopter hovering overhead, television images show.

Volunteer surf lifesavers across the country, who number more than 200,000, are being asked to join the homage in solidarity with those affected by the Bondi attack before starting their morning patrols.

Bondi lifesavers stand shoulder to shoulder this morning on the first patrol since Sunday, same at Coogee & every other beach…#standtogether pic.twitter.com/XMSdQ3cBlo

— maureen Boyd (@theonlygirlhere) December 20, 2025

Ocean rescuers wanted to recognize the “tragedy that has unfolded at Bondi while also reflecting on our respect and compassion for the Jewish community targeted by this attack,” Bondi’s two lifesaving clubs say in a message.

“We pay respects to those who lost their lives, those who risked their lives, those who worked so hard to save lives, and all of us who will never forget.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Israel reportedly informed ahead of US strikes on ISIS in Syria

Israel was updated ahead of US strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria, a senior US official tells the Walla news site.

The US said it struck over 70 targets belonging to the terror group nearly a week after two US troops and an American civilian interpreter were killed in central Syria by an extremist member of Syrian security forces.

US says it struck over 70 ISIS targets across central Syria

WASHINGTON — US fighter jets, attack helicopters, and artillery hit more than 70 targets across central Syria, the Pentagon says, in a major military operation against the Islamic State group.

“We will continue to relentlessly pursue terrorists who seek to harm Americans and our partners across the region,” says Admiral Brad Cooper in a statement after strikes that US President Donald Trump described as “very serious retaliation” for a recent attack that killed three Americans.

CENTCOM forces launched fighter jets, attack helicopters and other assets to conduct the large-scale strike. pic.twitter.com/3szSo2u5rm

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 19, 2025

Security footage shows woman blowing out Hanukkah candles at Tel Aviv mall

A woman is caught on security camera footage blowing out Hanukkah candles at the Weizmann Mall in Tel Aviv, in footage dated overnight Thursday-Friday.

Police are expected to probe the incident as a violation of the law against insulting religion, which carries a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment, Channel 12 news reports.

The law forbids “destruction, damage, or desecration of a place of worship or any object held sacred to a group of people, with the intent to insult their religion, or with the knowledge that they may view this act as an insult to their religion.”

תיעוד מקניון ויצמן סיטי, צעירה ערביה מכבה את נרות החנוכה. pic.twitter.com/ITHnsgztTb

— זירת החדשות (@ZiratNews) December 18, 2025

Trump says US launched ‘very serious retaliation’ against ISIS in Syria

US President Donald Trump stands by before a carry team moves the transfer case with the remains of a soldier killed in an attack in Syria, December 17, 2025, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump says the US military had launched “very serious retaliation” against the Islamic State group in Syria following an attack that left three Americans dead.

“I am hereby announcing that the United States is inflicting very serious retaliation, just as I promised, on the murderous terrorists responsible,” Trump says on his Truth Social network.

“We are striking very strongly against ISIS strongholds in Syria, a place soaked in blood which has many problems, but one that has a bright future if ISIS can be eradicated,” he writes, using an acronym for the group.

Pennsylvania elementary school principal to be fired for antisemitism

A Pennsylvania school district says it is working to fire an elementary school principal for making antisemitic comments.

Phillip Leddy of Lower Gwynedd Elementary School outside Philadelphia made “antisemitic remarks during a conversation with another school employee,” the Wissahickon School District says.

Leddy had left a voicemail to a parent and accidentally kept speaking after he thought he had finished recording. He acknowledged making the antisemitic comments, district superintendent Mwenyewe Dawan says.

“We moved swiftly with immediate action to start the process seeking the principal’s termination,” Dawan says.

The other employee did not make antisemitic comments, but did not push back either, continuing the conversation. That employee has been put on paid administrative leave, Dawan says.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia says Leddy made comments, including referring to a “Jew camp,” said the parent he was sending the message to has “Jew money,” and that “They [Jews] control the banks.”

US announces operation against ISIS in Syria after deadly attack on Americans

WASHINGTON — US forces have launched an operation against the Islamic State group in Syria in response to an attack in Palmyra that left three Americans dead, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth says.

“US forces commenced OPERATION HAWKEYE STRIKE in Syria to eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites in direct response to the attack on US forces that occurred on December 13th,” Hegseth writes on X, using an acronym for the jihadist group.

Earlier today, U.S. forces commenced OPERATION HAWKEYE STRIKE in Syria to eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites in direct response to the attack on U.S. forces that occurred on December 13th in Palmyra, Syria.

This is not the beginning of a war — it is a…

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) December 19, 2025

Syria and its allies hail lifting of harsh US sanctions

Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, greets people as he attends celebrations marking the first anniversary of the ousting of former President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Syria, December 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria’s government and its allies welcome the final lifting of the most draconian sanctions imposed on the country in recent decades.

Syria’s foreign ministry, in a statement, thanks the US for the repeal of sanctions and says it will “contribute to alleviating the burdens on the Syrian people and open the way for a new phase of recovery and stability.”

It calls for Syrian businesspeople and foreign investors to “explore investment opportunities and participate in reconstruction,” the cost of which the World Bank has estimated at $216 billion.

Central Bank Governor Abdulkader Husrieh says in a statement that the Caesar Act repeal will facilitate the country’s reintegration into the international financial system by allowing it to seek a sovereign credit rating.

“Syria will likely start with a low rating, which is normal for countries emerging from conflict,” he says. “The real value lies in the benchmark set by the rating and the road map it provides for improvement.”

Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, regional allies of the new Syrian government led by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, also welcome the move. Sharaa thanks the leaders of all three countries, along with Trump, in a speech celebrating the end of the sanctions.

“We hope that this step will contribute to strengthening stability, security and prosperity in Syria by further promoting international cooperation toward the country’s reconstruction and development,” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli says in a statement.

The Saudi foreign ministry commends “the significant and positive role played by US President Donald Trump” in lifting the sanctions.

Suspected Brown U shooter was dead for two days when found

This image provided by Providence Police Dept. shows surveillance images of Claudio Neves Valente, a suspect in the mass shooting at Brown University. (Providence Police Dept. via AP)

The man suspected in last weekend’s attack at Brown University and the fatal shooting of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor days later had been dead for two days when found, an autopsy determines.

Authorities found Claudio Neves Valente dead at a New Hampshire storage facility on Thursday night.

New Hampshire’s attorney general announces that Neves Valente, a Portuguese national who had been living in the US, died on Tuesday, the same day that his countryman, MIT professor Nuno F.G. Loureiro, died at a hospital.

Authorities believe that after killing two students and wounding nine others at Brown last Saturday, Neves Valente shot Loureiro at his Boston-area home on Monday night.

Neves Valente and Loureiro had attended the same school in the 1990s, though authorities haven’t said why they think he killed the professor.