Dec. 21: Trump admin denies it will spend $60B to rebuild Gaza as luxury destination

Presumed ’28 candidate Rahm Emanuel: Netanyahu leading Jews ‘back into the ghetto’

Rahm Emanuel (center) attends an event in support of Eileen Higgins, a candidate for Miami mayor, in Miami, Florida, December 8, 2025. (AP/Lynne Sladky)

Rahm Emanuel, who is a presumed 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, argues that Israel currently has “the best strategic terrain” for regional integration since its founding, but that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “pissing it away” and instead “leading Jews back into the ghetto.”

“Israel has never been more strategically secure since Ben Gurion was dancing the hora in 1948 in Tel Aviv, but more politically vulnerable,” argues Emanuel — who previously served as former US president Barack Obama’s chief of staff and mayor of Chicago — in an interview on the left-wing Pod Saves America podcast.

Rahm Emanuel’s candid take on Benjamin Netanyahu's failed leadership of Israel. pic.twitter.com/jObHMYwUYN

— Pod Save America (@PodSaveAmerica) December 21, 2025

“Never in my life [did I think] the prime minister of the State of Israel would lead Jews back into the ghetto, and that’s what’s happening in Israel, and that’s what’s happening in the world,” claims Emanuel. “Jews can’t go to Europe and participate in Eurovision, while the UAE is hosting the world financially and in the F1 [Formula One racing].”

Eurovision organizers actually announced several weeks ago that Israel could continue to participate in the international song contest, although the decision caused a number of countries to back out in protest.

“He has literally — in the way he has executed pieces of the last — not just the last two years, but over his time — isolated Jews in Israel,” Emanuel continues.

“This is the best strategic terrain Israel’s had since the founding. You have peace in Jordan with Israel; you have peace with Egypt; Syria and Lebanon — basically call it non-belligerence… Iran is on their back foot… You don’t really have in the near geography a strategic threat,” he continues.

“When we were starting in politics, the Gulf was all about just oil. Today, they want to be part of the world economy, which is what Israel’s ace is,” he says. “That is an invitation for Israel, and they’re pissing it away with this prime minister.”

Trump admin denies it will spend $60B to rebuild Gaza as luxury destination

A man walks through the rubble amid stormy weather in Gaza City, December 11, 2025. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)

The Trump administration denies that it will be funneling $60 billion to rebuild Gaza, though avoids an explicit denial of the broader report where the revelation was made.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the US has presented a proposal to potential donor countries that would see Gaza turned into a high-tech, luxurious coastal destination over the next two decades at the cost of $112 billion.

The story said the US would initially commit to “anchor” the program by providing $60 billion, while envisioning Gaza being able to self-fund parts of the proposal as it gets underway.

The X account for the State Department’s Near Eastern Affairs Bureau posts a link to a New York Post writeup of the WSJ story and writes, “This is fake news. Nowhere in the plan does it say the US will pay $60 billion.”

Notably, the post avoids further comment on the story, indicating that the rest of it may be accurate.

WSJ said it had obtained a 32-page slideshow labeled “sensitive but unclassified” that detailed the four-stage vision to clear the rubble, rebuild the Strip, and take Gazans out of poverty, adding that it had been shown to wealthy Gulf countries, Turkey and Egypt.

This is fake news.

Nowhere in the plan does it say the U.S. will pay $60 billion. https://t.co/yoglZ36vAI

— U.S. State Dept – Near Eastern Affairs (@StateDept_NEA) December 21, 2025

Sa’ar says the ‘time has come’ for Jews around the world to move to Israel

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar speaks at a Hanukkah event in Rishon Lezion on December 21, 2025. (Ra’anan Cohen via Foreign Ministry)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar calls on Jews around the world to move to Israel in the shadow of antisemitic attacks around the world.

“Jews have the right to live in safety everywhere. But we see and fully understand what is happening, and we have a certain historical experience,” Sa’ar says at a Hanukkah candlelighting ceremony in Rishon Lezion. “Today, Jews are being hunted across the world. Today I call on Jews in England, Jews in France, Jews in Australia, Jews in Canada, Jews in Belgium: come to the Land of Israel! Come home!”

Sa’ar says that Israelis “are waiting for you here with open arms. With love. In the true home of the Jewish people. Why raise your children in this atmosphere? Come with your families to the land of our forefathers, to the State of Israel, where the Jews taught the entire world what Jewish self-defense means. The time has come.”

Group of Jews reportedly attacked in Turkey on way to Hanukkah candle lighting

A video circulating on social media purports to show seven Jews in Turkey being attacked by a large crowd of pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Istanbul while they were on their way to a synagogue to celebrate Hanukkah.

“We don’t want Zionists in our country,” an attacker is heard saying. Details about the video could not be independently verified.

Antisemitic attacks have spiked all over the world since Hamas launched its war against Israel on October 7, 2023. A terror attack on a Hanukkah party in Australia last week, which left 15 people dead, has heightened security concerns in Jewish communities over the eight-day holiday.

Seven Jewish citizens were attacked in Istanbul by a large crowd of pro-Palestinian demonstrators while they were on their way to a synagogue to celebrate Hanukkah.
They were targeted simply for being Jewish and for practicing their faith. pic.twitter.com/5uDiIaG5Mr

— Türkü Avcı (@turkuinisrael) December 21, 2025

AG slams government’s ‘political’ Oct 7 inquiry: ‘Tailor-made for coalition’s needs’

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara at a Constitution, Law and Justice Committee meeting at the Knesset, September 30, 2025. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara excoriates the government-backed legislation to create a politically appointed commission of inquiry into the failings surrounding the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and atrocities, describing it as having been “tailor-made” for the “personal” needs of the current government and coalition.

In an opinion published Sunday, Baharav-Miara says the commission of inquiry envisioned in a private member’s bill submitted by Likud MK Ariel Kallner would “politicize” the inquiry; “trample” on professional considerations for getting at the truth; give the commission’s members powers not fitting for them; and would harm the ability of any future, non-politicized, independent commission to properly investigate the October 7 failings.

As such, the attorney general says the severe deficiencies of the bill mean the government should not support the bill.

Kallner’s bill, which is due to be approved by the government tomorrow for support in the Knesset, would create a “state-national” commission of inquiry whose members would be chosen by the coalition and opposition, with almost no criteria for determining the qualifications of its members.

The opposition has vowed to boycott such a panel, insisting instead on a state commission of inquiry. The members of a state commission of inquiry, as defined under current law, are appointed by the Supreme Court president and it is led by a retired justice of the court.

“In front of us is a ‘personal bill,’ that is ‘tailored to the measurements’ of the current government and coalition,” charges Baharav-Miara.

“It is not the result of professional staff work, but rather of political discourse led by the prime minister and in cooperation with the coalition factions,” she continues in her broadside against the proposal, which she says would create a severely compromised commission of inquiry.

“The proposal politicizes the commission, creates a commission for which there is a real concern that political considerations will override the professional considerations essential to investigating the truth, whose investigative powers are not appropriate for such a panel in the absence of a senior judge at its head, and whose mechanism is cumbersome and will thwart the ability to investigate the truth and draw objective conclusions,” she expounds.

Baharav-Miara says that if changes are to be made to commissions of inquiry at all, then the extreme nature of the October 7 invasion and atrocities require finding ways “to reduce the dependence of a state commission on the government” in order to boost public trust, “and for sure do not justify creating a mechanism which will increase dependence on the government and a panel which is a result of political considerations.”

The bill, she continues, is designed to “serve the personal, political interests of the government and its members, while abusing the [legislative] pathway of a private member’s bill” to avoid scrutiny by the Attorney General’s Office.

Government legislation requires approval from the attorney general, whereas private members’ bills do not.

Baharav-Miara also says that a so-called ministerial committee for deciding the mandate and scope of the proposed “state-national” commission, which is set to begin deliberations tomorrow and led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is not operating under any real, legal authority, since such committees only operate in conjunction with a state commission of inquiry established under current law.

“Therefore, there is no place for the government to support the bill, and instead it should act in accordance with existing law and establish a state commission of inquiry,” Baharav-Miara concludes.

Thousands in Bnei Brak celebrate release of Haredi draft dodgers from prison

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews celebrate the release of Haredi draft dodgers from military prison in the streets of Bnei Brak.

According to the Ynet news site, 15 draft dodgers were freed today and joined the celebrations in the central Haredi city. Nineteen ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers remain behind bars, the site reports.

The IDF has increased its arrests of Haredi draft dodgers in recent months as part of an effort at enforcement following a High Court ruling, though most are ultimately released after a few weeks.

בבני ברק: תהלוכת כבוד ל-15 עריקים חרדים ששוחררו מהכלא הצבאי, בהשתתפות מאות צועדים שמריעים להם. pic.twitter.com/DqszxZErND

— שילה פריד???????? (@shilofreid) December 21, 2025

Major upgrade begins at Rachel’s Tomb to boost safety and accessibility, says COGAT

The Civil Administration begins construction on Rachel's Tomb, in a photo released on December 21, 2025. (COGAT)

The Civil Administration has begun large-scale infrastructure work to improve accessibility and safety at Rachel’s Tomb, one of Israel’s most visited and sensitive holy sites, COGAT announces.

The project, carried out in cooperation with the Transportation Ministry and the National Center for the Development of Holy Sites, follows a comprehensive safety survey that identified significant infrastructure deficiencies around the entrance to the compound, located next to Bethlehem in the West Bank.

According to COGAT, in the first phase, the access road to the site will be fully upgraded, including the construction of a standard traffic roundabout to replace what is described as an “old and hazardous” road layout. Additional work will include building a dedicated bus bay, installing new sewage and communications infrastructure and improving pedestrian access and traffic flow.

A second phase, to begin after the infrastructure work is completed, will focus on improving the overall appearance of the site.

The work comes a month after the anniversary of the biblical matriarch Rachel’s death, a date that traditionally draws large numbers of worshipers to the site.

The Civil Administration says the project is the most extensive development and preservation effort at Rachel’s Tomb in recent years, aimed at improving safety and accessibility while preserving the “sanctity of the site.”

“Rachel’s Tomb is a symbol of heritage, prayer and the deep connection of the Jewish people throughout the generations,” says Shaul Betesh, head of religious affairs at the Civil Administration. “The extensive investment in infrastructure and safety reflects our commitment to preserving the site, making it accessible to worshipers and ensuring the safety of visitors.”

Islamic Jihad says Palestinian killed by IDF in West Bank last night was group member

An explosive-throwing suspect killed by the IDF in the West Bank last night was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative, the group says.

PIJ identifies Ahmad Zayoud as one of its members after the 22-year-old was killed by the IDF last night in Silat al-Harithiya, north of Jenin, in the northern West Bank.

In a condolence message published on social media, PIJ says Zayoud was a member of the Silat al-Harithiya company within the Jenin Battalion of the Quds Brigades, PIJ’s armed wing.

According to the IDF, troops opened fire on Zayoud last night after he hurled an explosive at them.

سرايا القدس تنعى الشهيد الشاب أحمد سائد زيود، الذي ارتقى برصاص الاحتلال خلال اقتحام بلدة السيلة الحارثية غرب جنين، مساء أمس. pic.twitter.com/j5NGoZ19mc

— القسطل الإخباري (@AlQastalps) December 21, 2025

Zamir hails Haredi IDF brigade as ‘Maccabees of our time’ at Hanukkah ceremony

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir lights Hanukkah candles with troops from the ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade, December 21, 2025. (IDF)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir marks the final night of Hanukkah by lighting the eighth candle together with soldiers of the Hasmonean Brigade, the IDF’s ultra-Orthodox combat unit, which began drafting its first soldiers in January.

“You are the Maccabees of our time – defending the people of Israel while maintaining a Haredi way of life,” Zamir tells the soldiers in reference to the story of Hanukkah, praising them as “an example of fighting spirit and mutual responsibility.”

הרמטכ"ל בהדלקת נרות עם לוחמי חטיבת "החשמונאים": ״אתם המכבים של ימינו – אתם נמצאים בלב הפעילות המבצעית, מגנים על עם ישראל, ארץ ישראל והמסורת היהודית תוך שמירה על אורח חיים חרדי, ומהווים דוגמה לרוח לחימה ולערבות הדדית״

לכל הפרטים:https://t.co/dz9t83NXMB pic.twitter.com/th25JBDN7K

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) December 21, 2025

Zamir stresses the importance of expanding enlistment among all sectors of society, saying, “The IDF is the people’s army, and it has a duty to be open to all segments of the population.”

He adds that the military is working “to expand the ranks of the army and to recruit Haredim in order to ensure our readiness in the face of future challenges,” warning that Israel “cannot exist without a strong, alert and capable army.”

“You are proof that it is possible to safeguard the State of Israel and the Torah of Israel together,” Zamir says.

PM lights Hanukkah candles with Chabad emissaries week after Sydney attack: ‘We will prevail’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lights Hanukkah candles along with Chabad emissaries in Jerusalem, December 21, 2025. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lights the candles for the eighth night of Hanukkah in Jerusalem with emissaries from the Chabad movement, a week after a Chabad Hanukkah gathering was attacked by antisemitic gunmen in a massacre in Sydney, Australia.

“Chabad and the entire people of Israel went through a great tragedy in Sydney — despicable murderers who killed them because they were Jews, and only because they were Jews,” Netanyahu says, according to his office. “But our spirit has not fallen and will not fall. I have seen this among the emissaries, and in all the Chabad houses that have been attacked in the past as well.”

The attack on Bondi Beach, which killed 15 people, “did not break our spirit; on the contrary,” Netanyahu says. “I have seen the strengthening and the mobilization to action — bringing the people of Israel closer together wherever they are on the face of the earth.”

Netanyahu jokes that he hasn’t checked if there is already a Chabad house in Antarctica, “but I know they’re working on that too.”

The prime minister adds that “we share in the grief, but we also see the greatness and are more determined than ever to ensure the eternity of Israel… We are prevailing — and we will continue to prevail.”

Long delays reported at Ben Gurion Airport arrivals due to baggage handling slowdown

Crowds wait for their baggage with long delays at Ben Gurion Airport on December 21, 2025. (Times of Israel)

Long wait times are being reported by passengers at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv due to heavy delays in baggage handling.

The Israel Airports Authority says in an emailed response that “there are temporary delays due to congestion, which will be reduced in the near future.”

The Airports Authority says delays are due to a “backlog of landings and backlog of takeoffs, as passengers are returning from Hanukkah holidays.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham to ToI: International Stabilization Force not going to ‘come in and fight’

US Senator Lindsey Graham speaks at a press conference in Tel Aviv on August 28, 2025. (AP/Ohad Zwigenberg)

The nascent International Stabilization Force for Gaza will only be able to operate in the Strip “after Hamas been disarmed,” US Senator Lindsey Graham tells The Times of Israel during an interview in Tel Aviv.

“There’s no international stabilizing force that’s going to come in here and fight,” he continues.

Graham speaks to The Times of Israel after meeting with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar during a two-day visit to Israel. The trip comes a week before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to travel to the US to meet with US President Donald Trump.

The US should “give Hamas a timetable” to disarm, Graham argues. “Put them on the clock. If they don’t disarm in a credible way, then unleash Israel on ’em,” says Graham.

“My advice to the [US] president is until Hamas is dealt out of the game militarily and politically, the chance of success is pretty remote,” the senior Republican lawmaker tells The Times of Israel.

Even with the threat of renewed high-intensity Israeli military operations, Graham says, there is little chance that Hamas will disarm.

“These people are religious zealots,” says Graham. “They’re religious Nazis. I have no confidence, short of their demise, that they’re ever going to do anything other than what they promised to do. Did they stop wanting to destroy Israel? Did they change their stated goals? No.”

Hezbollah in Lebanon also has to be given a deadline to disarm before Israel is given the green light to attack, says Graham.

He calls for the US to join in the attack on Hezbollah: “I would like to fly with Israel. I would like the United States to participate in military operations, in the aerial side, against Hezbollah, if that’s what it takes to knock them out.”

“I want our fingerprints on that. Let me tell you why. We had a lot of brave young Marines die at the hands of these bastards, and we have a very long memory,” Graham says, appearing to refer to the 1983 Hezbollah bombing of a US Marines barracks in Beirut, which killed 241 American servicemembers.

Sa’ar tells Lindsey Graham that ‘Hamas isn’t disarming’ and Israel ‘won’t accept this’

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and his team, left, meet US Senator Lindsey Graham and his team in Tel Aviv, December 21, 2025. (Gideon Sa’ar/X)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar concludes a half hour meeting with US Senator Lindsey Graham in Tel Aviv.

The two discuss “the situation in Gaza and the future of the region,” Sa’ar writes on X.

“The reconstruction of Gaza and a better future for Gaza will be possible only if Hamas disarms,” Sa’ar continues. “I reiterated that Hamas isn’t disarming. Unfortunately, Hamas is trying to consolidate its power in Gaza, not give it up.”

Israel “won’t accept this,” Sa’ar stresses.

Graham is in Israel for a two-day visit ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting next week with US President Donald Trump in Florida.

Israel to host trilateral summit with Greece and Cyprus in Jerusalem tomorrow

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset, December 8, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet in Jerusalem tomorrow with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, according to Netanyahu’s office.

He will hold a bilateral meeting with each leader, then will host a trilateral summit, followed by statements to the press.

The three allies are examining the creation of a joint rapid-response military force in the eastern Mediterranean, Greek media reported last week, amid growing concern in Athens over Turkey’s expanding military posture.

In call with sister of Sydney hero Gefen Bitton, Herzog praises his ‘courage under fire’

President Isaac Herzog meets with Chancellor of Germany Friedrich Merz at the President's Residence in Jerusalem, December 6, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

President Isaac Herzog speaks to the family members of those affected by the terror attack a week ago at a Hanukkah gathering in Sydney, Australia, his office says.

Herzog calls Rabbi Yehoram Ulman, whose son-in-law, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, was murdered in the attack, and Tirosh Levi, whose brother, Gefen Bitton, was seriously wounded when he ran toward one of the gunmen to confront him.

In his call with Levi, Herzog praised Bitton’s “exceptional courage under fire,” his office says, and sent his best wishes for a speedy recovery.

During his conversation with Ulman, the president wished a speedy recovery to Schlanger’s wife and baby, who were also wounded, and conveyed “a message of strength and solidarity to the entire Jewish community of Sydney,” his office says.

Sa’ar kicks off conference with 50 global Jewish leaders amid ‘surging wave of antisemitism’

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar is convening 50 Jewish community and organization leaders from around the world this week for a conference focused on maintaining contact and cooperation with Israel against “the backdrop of a surging wave of antisemitism,” according to a statement from Sa’ar’s spokesperson.

The gathering of the J50 forum, a forum of 50 Jewish community leaders that Sa’ar established in May at a Foreign Ministry-run international conference on combating antisemitism, is taking place December 21-24 at the Foreign Ministry.

During the conference, which begins a week after two terrorists murdered 15 people in an antisemitic terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, “community leaders will receive policy briefings, public diplomacy materials, and participate in workshops providing tools for coping with the current situation,” the statement says.

The group will meet with freed American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel during their visit, and with Sa’ar on Tuesday.

Sa’ar’s office adds that the forum is briefed monthly by the foreign minister and maintains daily contact with Foreign Ministry officials.

Foreign Press Association welcomes High Court giving the state final deadline on Gaza access petition

Displaced Palestinians watch as a motorcyclist rides on the sand dunes opposite destroyed buildings in Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip on December 19, 2025. (Eyad Baba / AFP)

The Foreign Press Association welcomes the High Court’s decision today to give the government a final deadline to respond to petitions demanding free access for media outlets to the Gaza Strip.

The court had originally asked the state for a response by November 23 but granted two extensions. Today it said the state must file a response by January 4, and if it fails to do so by then, the court will issue a decision regardless.

“After two years of the state’s delay tactics, we are pleased that the court’s patience has finally run out,” the FPA says in a statement. “We renew our call for the State of Israel to immediately grant journalists free and unfettered access to the Gaza Strip. And should the government continue to obstruct press freedoms, we hope that the Supreme Court will recognize and uphold those freedoms.”

Father of Hersh Goldberg-Polin backs Oct. 7 state inquiry even though it will ‘not bring back my only son’

Jon Polin, the father of slain hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, speaks at Hostages Square, in Tel Aviv, on November 29, 2025. (Alon Gilboa/The Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Jon Polin, the father of murdered hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, says he wants a state commission of inquiry, the highest investigative probe possible in Israel, into the failures surrounding the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and slams the government’s contentious planned commission of inquiry, which many bereaved families have rejected as politically motivated and unable to truly assign responsibility.

“I support establishing a state commission of inquiry not to punish anyone, and not because it will bring back my only son,” Polin says at a press conference organized by the October Council, a group of bereaved families. “I support a state commission of inquiry so that nothing that happened to my son can ever happen to anyone else’s son.”

Polin, whose son Hersh was kidnapped by Gazan terrorists from the Nova music festival and then murdered in captivity in August 2024, says that “in a democracy, the political and diplomatic echelon cannot investigate themselves — that only happens in places where leaders are afraid of something.”

Rafi Ben Shitrit, whose son, Staff Sgt. Alroy Ben Shitrit, was killed at the Nahal Oz IDF base on October 7, calls the planned government commission “a smokescreen and the direct continuation of the campaign of trolling, trickery and confusion.”

“The purpose of the [government’s October 7 probe] is to silence criticism, hide evidence, contaminate the investigation, evade responsibility, manipulate public opinion and obscure the significant role of the government that was in charge on the day of the massacre,” he adds. “The government of chaos and destruction is rolling from failure to failure, trying to hide behind a fake committee.”

Tomorrow, ministers are slated to meet to decide the scope of the government-approved inquiry.

IDF says it struck suspects who crossed Gaza’s Yellow Line in 3 separate incidents

The IDF says it carried out airstrikes against several terror operatives who crossed the Gaza ceasefire line in the Strip’s north today.

In one incident, the army says several suspects were identified gathering near the Yellow Line.

Reservists of the Jerusalem Brigade then opened fire to disperse them, and a short while later, three terror operatives crossed the line and approached the troops “in a way that posed an immediate threat,” the IDF says,

In two other separate incidents, the IDF says two terror operatives crossed the Yellow Line and approached forces of the Jerusalem Brigade and the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade.

In all three incidents, the Israeli Air Force struck “the terrorists to remove the threat,” the military says.

Since the start of the ceasefire in October, the IDF has said it has killed dozens of terror operatives and other suspects who have crossed the Yellow Line — demarcating the Israeli-held part of the Strip — and approached troops. Such incidents have taken place on a near-daily basis.

Photos of Bondi gunmen to be posted at 70 mosques in Philippines city where they stayed

The facade of GV hotel is seen in Davao City, in the Philippines' southern island of Mindanao, where Bondi Beach terrorists Sajid and Naveed Akram stayed during their visit in November, weeks before their attack on a Hanukkah event killed 15 people in Sydney. (Ferdinandh CABRERA / AFP)

Seventy mosques in Davao, Philippines, will post photos of the two gunmen who committed the December 14 terror attack targeting a Jewish event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, in an effort to gain more information about their November stay in the city, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Sheikh Muhammad Yusop Pasigan, a senior Muslim cleric in the city, tells the Australian outlet that the terrorists, a father and son who stayed in Davao for much of November, were “no good – not good people.”

“We will post this above the doors of our mosques, front and back,” he tells the paper. “One of the other measures being implemented is, if there are newcomers at the mosques, we will get their details and identification. If they resist and [cause trouble], we will call 911,” the emergency number.

Davao is on the island of Mindanao, where Islamist groups have historically been active. Australian authorities said the terrorists, Sajid and Naveed Akram, were inspired by the ISIS terror group and had ISIS flags as well as bombs in their car.

IDF says it conducted second strike today in southern Lebanon

The military says it carried out a second strike against a Hezbollah operative in southern Lebanon’s Yater a short while ago.

Two men injured by gunfire in Jisr az-Zarqa

Paramedics arrive at the scene of a shooting in Jisr az-Zarqa on December 21, 2025. (Magen David Adom)

Two men have been injured by gunfire in Jisr az-Zarqa, emergency services say.

Paramedics with Magen David Adom who were dispatched to the scene in the coastal Arab town found the two victims, both men in their 30s, conscious and suffering from bullet wounds.

One of the men is serious condition and the other in moderate condition, Magen David Adom says.

They were taken to Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera.

Police have not yet commented on the incident.

IDF says it carried out airstrike against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon

The IDF says it carried out an airstrike against a Hezbollah operative in the southern Lebanon town of Yater a short while ago.

The military is expected to provide further details on the strike later.

Foreign Ministry: Israeli killed, son injured, in motorcycle accident in Thailand

An Israeli citizen was killed and his son was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in Thailand on Thursday, the Foreign Ministry says in a statement, without naming either of the citizens.

The incident is being handled with the family of the deceased through the Department for Israelis in Distress Abroad and the Israeli embassy in Bangkok, the statement adds.

Court extends detention of 3 young men accused of Jaffa racist attack on pregnant woman

Hanan Abu Shehadeh, an Arab resident of Jaffa, recounts being attacked by three Jewish assailants on December 13, 2025, in an interview with the Arab48 news outlet on December 15, 2025. (Arab48/ Screenshot)

The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court extends the detention of three young men suspected of attacking a pregnant Arab woman, in an incident police are investigating as a hate crime.

The three are suspected of assaulting 30-year-old Hanan Abu Shehadeh while she was driving in the city with her two children and mother-in-law. The assailants allegedly pepper-sprayed Abu Shehadeh, shouted racist epithets at her and spat on her daughter.

They are suspected of committing racially motivated aggravated assault, conspiring to commit a crime, making threats and violating a legal order, Channel 12 reports.

They will remain in police custody for another three days as officers continue to investigate the incident.

Bondi commemoration ends with Hanukkah candle-lighting honoring first responders, victims’ families

The father (left) of 10-year-old Matilda, who was killed in the December 14 Bondi Beach terror attack targeting the Jewish community, is greeted on stage as he lights the eighth candle of a menorah during the memorial held for the victims of the attack on December 21, 2025. (Saeed KHAN / AFP)

The event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach marking one week since the terror attack at a candle lighting event on the first night of Hanukkah concludes with a candle-lighting on the festival’s eighth and final night.

The lighting is emceed by Jewish Australian Olympic gold medalist Jessica Fox and lifeguard Anthony “Harries” Carroll.

After blessings are recited, people are called up to light the menorah. Those honored include:

• first responders, including from the Jewish emergency service Hatzolah
• the police commissioner of New South Wales, the state where the beach is located
• children of two Chabad rabbis killed in the massacre, Eli Schlanger and Yaakov Levitan
• the father of one of those wounded in the attack, Rabbi Leibel Lazaroff
• the chevra kadisha, or Jewish burial society, that tended to the victims
• the father of Matilda, 10, the youngest victim of the attack

The shamash, which lights the menorah’s candles, was lit by the father of Ahmed al Ahmed, who was wounded as he rushed onto the scene and disarmed one of the attackers.

Following the lighting, Hanukkah prayers and songs are sung, along with the song “I Am Australian.”

US Sen. Lindsey Graham warns that Hamas is rearming, in meeting with Netanyahu

Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham (left) meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, December 21, 2025. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

Hamas is “not disarming,” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham tells Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem. “They’re rearming.”

“It’s my impression that they’re trying to consolidate power, not give it up in Gaza,” says the South Carolina lawmaker.

He adds that Hezbollah in Lebanon “is trying to make more weapons.”

Netanyahu says that Graham is “right on both counts.”

“That’s an unacceptable outcome,” Graham responds. He says he came to Israel “for a purpose” — to make sure 2026 “is the year of peace and knocking out the bad guy.”

The two are meeting a week before Netanyahu flies to Florida to meet with US President Donald Trump to discuss the future of the precarious ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon.

Herzog calls rise of antisemitism a ‘global emergency’ in speech marking Bondi terror attack

President Isaac Herzog speaks during an event on Mount Hermon in northern Israel on December 1, 2025. (Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO)

President Isaac Herzog calls the rise of antisemitism “a global emergency” in a speech at a ceremony marking one week since 15 people were murdered by two terrorists at a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

“The rise of Jew-hatred across the world is a global emergency. The battle against antisemitism must be everyone’s battle against antisemitism,” the president says, speaking at his official residence in Jerusalem.

“This is an urgent call to action to prevent the next catastrophe. In each nation, combating antisemitism requires very strong and tough measures and strong leadership,” he adds.

Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, have blamed the attack partly on the Australian government’s “lax” policies regarding hate speech and antisemitic activity. The state of New South Wales, where Sydney is located, is reportedly planning to ban “Globalize the intifada” chants as part of efforts to combat “hateful” rhetoric and slogans in the wake of the shooting attack.

“I want to say to the Jews of Australia, the people of Israel are with you,” Herzog continues, adding, “I hope to be able to visit all of you soon in Australia and bring you a message of love from Israel.”

High Court again extends deadline for state to explain why it won’t give press free access to Gaza

Demonstrators and journalists gather to protest against hunger in the Rimal district of Gaza City on July 19, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

The High Court of Justice gives the state yet another extension to respond to a petition by the Foreign Press Association (FPA) demanding unfettered media access to Gaza, saying this will be the last extension and scolding the state for its repeated delays.

Justice Ofer Grosskopf points out that the state agreed to file its response by November 23 but has already requested and received two extensions, which gave it until today to update the court on its position on granting journalists free access to Gaza, in light of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that went into effect on October 10.

“Now the respondents [the state and the defense minister] are requesting another extension, this time of three weeks, and they [may yet] ask for more. It is not possible to agree to this,” says Grosskopf.

He gives the state until January 4, instead of January 11 as requested, to file its response, and says if the state fails to file its position by then the court will issue a decision regardless.

The latest delays are the most recent in a series stretching back to September 2024, when the FPA filed its second petition requesting unfettered press access to Gaza.

IDF chief, while discussing Iran, says military will strike ‘wherever required’

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks at a handover ceremony for the Planning Directorate chief at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, December 21, 2025. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warns that the military will strike Israel’s enemies, “wherever required, on near and distant fronts alike,” apparently hinting that Israel will again need to strike in Iran.

“At the center of the longest and most complex war in Israel’s history stands the campaign against Iran. Iran is the one that financed and armed the ring of strangulation around Israel and stood behind the plans for its destruction,” he says at a handover ceremony for the head of the IDF Planning Directorate.

Also in his speech, Zamir takes a veiled jab at Defense Minister Israel Katz, who has been holding up senior appointments in the military, including plans to promote outgoing Planning Directorate chief Vice Adm. Eyal Harel as the next Navy commander.

“Eyal, you are arriving mature and ready to command the Navy and to lead it in the coming years, as I hope will be finalized in the very near future,” Zamir says.

3 men arrested with loaded gun in Haifa, were en route to commit crime, police say

A handgun and ammunition found in the possession of three men who had been driving in Haifa, after they were stopped and detained by police on December 20, 2025. (Israel Police)

Police officers arrested three men in Haifa after finding a handgun in their car, police announce, alleging the suspects had been on their way to commit a crime.

During operational activity to get guns off the streets in Arab society, officers from the Haifa station took note of a suspicious car and signaled to its driver to pull over.

They searched the vehicle and found a loaded gun alongside other ammunition, police say.

The passengers and driver, residents of Umm al-Fahm, were detained and taken into custody. They will remain in detention until tomorrow.

Government announces 11 new West Bank settlements, recognizes 8 outposts and neighborhoods

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a press conference with mayors of settlements in the West Bank, at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem, September 3, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The government formally announces that 11 new settlements will be established in the West Bank, along with the legalization or recognition of eight illegal outposts and settlement “neighborhoods” as official settlements.

The new settlements spanning the length and breadth of the West Bank were detailed in a resolution proposed by Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and approved by the security cabinet on December 12, but were only formally announced today.

Smotrich said the announcement was aimed at blocking a Palestinian state.

Two of the settlements had been evacuated as part of the 2005 Disengagement plan, .

The newly recognized settlements are Kida, Esh Kodesh, Givat Harel, Mishol, Kochav Hashachar-North, Nof Gilad, Ganim, Kadim, Shalem, Har Bezek, Reihanit, Rosh Ha’ayin-East, Tammun, P’nei Kedem, Yatziv, Ya’ar El Keren, Allenby, Yitav-West and Nahal Doron.

Ganim and Kadim were evacuated under the terms of the 2005 Disengagement, in which Israel withdrew unilaterally from Gaza and four four settlements in the northern Samaria district of the West Bank. The other two, Homesh and Sa Nur, were formally reestablished in May this year.

The government passed legislation in March 2023 annulling the clauses of the legislation that led to the evacuation of those four settlements, paving the way for their reestablishment.

The security cabinet approved a decision to split off the neighborhood of Givat Harel from Givat Haroeh in February 2023.

“After twenty years, we are righting a painful injustice and returning Ganim and Kadim to the settlement map, alongside other important settlements throughout Judea and Samaria,” says Smotrich in announcing the new settlements.

“We are stopping the establishment of a Palestinian terrorist state on the ground. We will continue to develop, build and settle in the land of our ancestors, with faith in the righteousness of the path,” he says.

Maj. Gen. Hidai Zilberman takes over as new head of IDF’s Planning Directorate

Maj. Gen. Hidai Zilberman, the incoming chief of the Planning Directorate, speaks at a handover ceremony at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, December 21, 2025. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)

Maj. Gen. Hidai Zilberman takes over as head of the IDF’s Planning Directorate, replacing Vice Adm. Eyal Harel, who served in the role for the past two years.

Zilberman had, until recently, served as Israel’s defense attaché to the US. No permanent appointment has been made yet to replace him, and in the interim, a brigadier general is serving as acting defense attaché.

Zilberman also previously served as IDF spokesperson.

Harel is expected to be appointed as the next Navy chief.

Hamas civil defense: Gaza City home previously bombed by Israel collapses, killing 2 girls; 2 missing

Hamas’s civil defense agency says it has retrieved the bodies of two girls from a three-story family home that collapsed in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood overnight.

The home had been bombed by Israel during the Gaza war, the agency says. It urges Gazans sheltering in such buildings to find a safer place to stay.

The agency identifies the girls as Sondos and Jana Lubbad. According to Palestinian media, Sodos is the 17-year-old aunt of Jana, whose age is not given.

انهيار منزل في حي الشيخ رضوان ، وسط محاولات حثيثة من طواقم الدفاع المدني لانتشال العالقين تحت الأنقاض#رؤيا_أخبار pic.twitter.com/DxSIyaVzMc

— Roya News (@RoyaNews) December 21, 2025

The terror group’s agency said earlier this morning that it had located five survivors of the collapse, including a boy and two women, following a seven-hour search. They have been taken to a hospital, the agency says.

Sondos Lubbad’s parents are presumed dead and their bodies are still missing under the rubble, according to the agency.

The agency says 22 homes have partially or totally collapsed amid the heavy winter rainfall since December 10, leading to the deaths of 18 Palestinians, four of whose bodies remain under rubble.

The UN reported in October that over half of Gaza’s structures were destroyed in the war with Israel and that roughly 40% of the remaining structures are severely or moderately damaged.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans face flooding of their tents and shelters by heavy rains, and materials for shelters and sandbags are not being allowed to enter the enclave, according to the UN.

COGAT, the Israeli agency that oversees the entry of aid to Gaza, has denied the allegations, saying it has let in hundreds of thousands of tents and tarpaulins and is waiting for international organizations to let in close to 100,000 pallets of “water-related items.”

Latin patriarch presides over Christmas Mass at Gaza’s only Catholic church

Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa presides over Christmas Mass at Gaza's only Catholic church on December 19, 2025. (Screenshot/Facebook)

Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Catholic figure in Israel and the Palestinian territories, presides over Christmas Mass from the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, the only Catholic church in the Strip.

“This visit marks the beginning of the Christmas celebrations among a community that has lived and continues to live through dark and challenging times,” said the Patriarchate on Friday, when Pizzaballa entered Gaza for the third time since Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, launching two years of war.

In July, an IDF tank shell hit the church, killing three people and injuring several, including parish priest Fr. Gabriel Romanelli. The strike sparked international condemnation and an expression of “deep sorrow” from Israel, which says the incident was an accident.

At Bondi, Jewish leader reads message from Ahmed al Ahmed, who disarmed gunman: ‘I stand with you’

Mourners attend the memorial held one week after a deadly terror shooting targeting a Jewish event at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 21, 2025. (DAVID GRAY / AFP)

Speaking to the crowd at a memorial marking one week since the deadly terror attack on a Jewish event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, local Jewish leader David Ossip reads a message from Ahmed al Ahmed, the bystander who rushed to disarm one of the gunmen during the massacre.

Ossip, who heads the local Jewish Board of Deputies, pays tribute to Israeli Gefen Bitton and Ahmed, who both ran toward the terrorist amid the shooting and, Ossip says, “whose unbelievable bravery saved so many lives last week.” Both were wounded during the confrontation.

Ossip notes to cheers that Ahmed’s father is in the crowd, and says he saw Ahmed earlier in the day.

“Ahmed has asked me to pass on the following message to us all: ‘The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. Today, I stand with you, my brothers and sisters,'” Ossip says. “Thank you, Ahmed.”

He also praises the resilience of the Jewish community.

“The answer to the current situation cannot just be more security and larger compounds,” he says.

“Up until two years ago, Australia was always the lucky country for Jews. But sadly no more. We’ve lost our innocence,” he says. “We’ve seen the strength and resilience of the Jewish community, our community, who refused to retreat or cower or become consumed by vengeance, but instead have become more determined to build back bigger and better than before, prouder of who we are and more united.”

He adds, “The terrorists have picked the wrong community to mess with, because we, the Jewish community, are unbreakable. Resilience is in our veins.”

The crowd begins singing “Am Yisrael chai,” Hebrew for “The nation of Israel lives.”

Jewish leader at Bondi hails local officials, calls for federal inquiry into attack

Crowds listen to local Jewish leader David Ossip speak at a memorial held one week after a deadly terror shooting at a Jewish event on December 14, 2025, at Bondi Beach in Sydney. (DAVID GRAY / AFP)

The president of the Jewish Board of Deputies in New South Wales, the Australian state where the deadly Bondi Beach terror attack occurred at a Hanukkah celebration, praises local leaders for their response at a commemoration marking one week since the massacre.

The statement by David Ossip, welcomed by cheers, comes moments after the huge crowd boos Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is present at the event.

“New South Wales Premier Chris Minns,” Ossip says, “who has not missed a funeral, a synagogue service or an opportunity to be with the Jewish community this week. Thank you, Chris, for your leadership.”

Ossip then introduces New South Wales opposition leader Kellie Sloane, whom he calls “a hero.”

“Last week, Kellie made the choice in the midst of the attack to go down to Bondi Beach, to go to where the incident was taking place and she provided assistance to those who were injured and gave shelter to those who needed it… That is bravery, that is courage. Thank you, Kellie.”

Ossip calls for a royal commission in Australia to investigate the attack.

Saudi Arabia quietly expanding access to its only alcohol store for non-Muslim residents

Festivalgoers gather near food and beverage stands, including a booth serving nonalcoholic beer, during the Soundstorm music festival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, December 11, 2025. (AP/Baraa Anwer)

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia is quietly expanding access to its only store that sells alcohol, allowing wealthy foreign residents to buy booze in the latest step in the once-ultraconservative kingdom’s experiment in liberalization.

There’s been no official announcement of the decision, but word has gotten out, and long lines of cars and people are seen at the discreet, unmarked store in the Diplomatic Quarter of the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

The store opened in January 2024 for non-Muslim diplomats. The new rules allow non-Muslim foreigners who hold Premium Residency to buy. The residency permit goes to foreigners with specialized skills, investors and entrepreneurs.

Saudi Arabia, home to the holiest sites in Islam, has banned alcohol since the early 1950s. The store is widely seen as a way to cautiously test the controlled sale of alcohol.

Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and his father, King Salman, have pursued a dramatic liberalization policy in the kingdom, aiming to attract tourism, boost international business and reduce economic dependence on crude oil.

The kingdom, which adheres to Islamic sharia law, has opened movie theaters, allowed women to drive and hosted major music festivals. But political speech and dissent remain strictly criminalized, potentially at the penalty of death.

Alcohol remains banned for the general public.

Police issue hundreds of tickets in Tel Aviv suburbs in bid to stem rash of traffic deaths

Traffic jams are seen on the Ayalon Highway, near Tel Aviv, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, September 22, 2025. (Yehoshua Yosef/Flash90)

Police say they have issued 203 traffic tickets over the weekend in the Tel Aviv area as part of a push to prevent vehicle crashes on the roads, which have soared in the past year and claimed a steep number of lives.

Officers on Saturday ran a “major traffic enforcement” operation focused on Ramat Gan, Givatayim, Bnei Brak and Kiryat Ono and its environs.

Of the fines issued, cops handed out 16 to people who had been texting while driving and caught five people driving under the influence of alcohol.

Another 21 fines were handed out to electric scooter riders, as well as 18 to motorcyclists.

This year has been the deadliest for road users in two decades, with 449 traffic-related deaths since the start of 2025. Last year, 439 people were killed in vehicle crashes.

‘Shame’: Australian PM Albanese booed at commemoration of Bondi Beach terror attack

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrives with his wife Jodie Haydon on December 21, 2025, to attend the memorial held for the victims of the deadly terror shooting targeting a Jewish event at Bondi Beach in Sydney one week earlier. (DAVID GRAY / AFP)

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is booed as he arrives at Bondi Beach for a commemoration of the terror attack targeting the Jewish community that took place one week ago.

Local outlets report that Albanese is met at the site of the attack by jeers and cries of “shame.” The premier has come under criticism for not sufficiently combating antisemitism ahead of the attack, which killed 15 people. He has since vowed to ramp up measures to protect the country’s Jews.

He is booed again as a speaker thanks him from the dais for attending the event.

At the commemoration, after a national minute of silence to mark one week since the attack, the Australian national anthem plays. Following that, Jewish communal leaders have recited chapters of Psalms, as well as the “El Maleh Rachamim” prayer to memorialize the dead.

WATCH: Australia observes moment of silence to mark one week since Bondi Beach terror attack

At exactly 6:47 p.m. Sydney time (9:47 a.m. Israel time), Australians are observing a national moment of silence to mark one week since the terror attack at Bondi Beach where terrorists opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration, killing 15.

The minute of silence is being held at the time of day when the first shots were fired in the massacre. Crowds have gathered throughout the day at Bondi Beach and elsewhere, some amid tight security, to stand together for the commemoration.

Watch it live here:

Security sources: ‘No indication’ 3 Gazans arrested in Rahat invaded Israel on Oct. 7

Contrary to claims by the police, the three Gazan men who were recently arrested in the southern city of Rahat did not invade Israel during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, security sources say.

The sources say that “there is no indication that the three invaded Israel on October 7.”

The three Gazans were in Israel before the war on work permits and remained in the country even after Israeli authorities canceled the entry of all Gazan laborers amid the fighting with Hamas, according to the officials. Before the war, some 17,000 Gazans had work permits to enter Israel.

The suspects were taken to the Sde Teiman military detention facility for questioning.

Former MK Matan Kahana: Unity between Eisenkot and Bennett ‘needs to happen’

MK Matan Kahana attends a plenary session at the Knesset on May 7, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Former MK Matan Kahana, who resigned from the Knesset earlier this year to join the new party headed by former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, says that Eisenkot is in constant touch with other heads of opposition parties to discuss running on a joint slate ahead of next year’s election.

In particular, Kahana says in a radio interview cited by the Walla outlet that Eisenkot is in touch with former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who is seen as the most credible challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

When asked whether the two leaders should combine their parties, Kahana says such a union “needs to happen.”

Both Bennett and Eisenkot founded eponymous parties ahead of the elections that are due to take place by next fall. Discussions are taking place over combining slates on both sides of the political map, and in the anti-Netanyahu bloc, politicians have voiced acute concern over the possibility that fragmentation between their parties could aid the premier’s reelection.

Trump endorses Jewish candidate for NY governor after Stefanik drops out

US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters alongside Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman as Trump arrives on Air Force One at Republic Airport, September 26, 2025, in Farmingdale, New York. (AP/Alex Brandon)

US President Donald Trump announces he’s endorsing Bruce Blakeman, a Jewish Republican politician from Long Island, for governor of New York in next fall’s race, just a day after the president’s longtime ally US Rep. Elise Stefanik announced she was suspending her candidacy.

The endorsement, while not unexpected, could help ensure that Blakeman, Nassau County’s executive, doesn’t face a serious contender in his push to win the Republican primary and a chance at a likely faceoff against incumbent Democratic NY Gov. Kathy Hochul.

“Bruce is MAGA all the way, and has been with me from the very beginning,” Trump said in a post announcing the endorsement on his Truth Social platform.

Blakeman’s profile has risen in Republican circles since he became Nassau County’s first Jewish executive in 2022. An ally of Trump, Blakeman has implemented conservative policies in the county like banning transgender women from playing on female sports teams in county-run parks and facilities, and striking a deal with ICE aiming to round up 3,000 undocumented immigrants.

Last year, Blakeman signed into law a controversial mask ban bill amid a wave of pro-Palestinian demonstrations, during which many protesters would wear masks to protect their identity. He has also been vocally critical of Zohran Mamdani, neighboring New York City’s incoming far-left mayor, a harsh critic of Israel.

Blakeman is a member of the Jewish Center of Atlantic Beach, an Orthodox congregation in Nassau County.

Stefanik, a pro-Israel stalwart, announced Friday that she is suspending her campaign for governor and will not seek reelection to Congress.

The race between Stefanik and Blake had been expected to be competitive. Stefanik in announcing her decision said she wanted to avoid an “unnecessary and protracted Republican primary.”

If Blakeman wins the primary, he will be the second straight Jewish Republican from Long Island to face Hochul in the race for New York governor. She beat then-US congressman Lee Zeldin in the 2022 election.

Police probing suspected murder-suicide in Bat Yam

Police are investigating a suspected murder-suicide in the central Israel city of Bat Yam, Hebrew-language outlets report, after a man was found unconscious in the street, with a blood-stained knife in his possession.

He was transferred to Wolfson Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, Ynet reports.

Police officers were dispatched to the man’s apartment, where, after breaking the door down, they found a woman in her 70s with fatal stab wounds. She was pronounced dead by medics at the scene.

An investigation has been opened into the suspected murder-suicide.

Gunmen kill 10 people in South Africa shooting, police say; motive unclear

Unknown gunmen have killed 10 people and wounded 10 others in a shooting at a township near Johannesburg, police say.

The motive for the shooting at Bekkersdal, 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of the city, is also unknown, police tell AFP.

“Some victims were randomly shot in the streets by unknown gunmen,” a police statement says.

Australian PM orders review into police, intelligence services following Bondi attack

Floral tributes are laid for victims on a small bridge where gunmen had stood during a mass terror shooting targeting a Hanukkah event nearly a week earlier, at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, on December 20, 2025. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he has ordered a review into the police and intelligence services after the mass shooting at a Hanukkah event last week at Bondi Beach.

The government will examine whether it has the right powers and structures “to keep Australians safe in the wake of the horrific antisemitic Bondi Beach terrorist attack,” he says in a statement.

3 Gazans who entered Israel during Oct. 7 invasion said arrested in Bedouin city

Three Palestinians who entered Israel illegally from Gaza amid the Hamas-led mass invasion and onslaught of October 7, 2023, have been arrested in the Bedouin Israeli city of Rahat, according to a joint police and National Security Ministry statement cited by Hebrew media.

The trio have stayed and been employed in Rahat for the past two years, and they have been taken for questioning by the Shin Bet security agency after police found stolen military ammunition and a weapons-manufacturing lathe in their possession, according to the statement.

They were arrested as part of a boosted Israel Police effort to combat a surging violent crime epidemic within the Arab community, which has claimed the lives of at least 247 people this year, an all-time record.

The statement doesn’t say whether the suspects actively participated in the October 7 attack, and it isn’t initially clear how they weren’t located for over two years.

Trump rebuffed Israeli request to keep some sanctions on Syria — report

US President Donald Trump, right, speaks with Syria's President Ahmad al-Sharaa, at the White House in Washington on November 10, 2025. (Syrian Presidency press office via AP)

Aides to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked US President Donald Trump to retain some American sanctions on Syria to be used as a bargaining chip in future negotiations, but the request was refused, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

The US Congress imposed the so-called Caesar Act sanctions on Syria’s government and financial system in 2019 to punish then-Syrian president Bashar Assad for human rights abuses during the country’s nearly 14-year civil war that began in 2011.

After Assad was ousted a year ago, advocates for repeal argued that the sanctions were preventing international investors from launching reconstruction projects and blocking Syria from rebuilding its battered economy and infrastructure.

Trump, who had previously lifted the penalties temporarily by executive order, signed off on the final repeal late Thursday after Congress passed it as part of the country’s annual defense spending bill.

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

Kan reports that close contacts of Netanyahu placed heavy pressure on those in the Trump administration who were responsible for the Syria file to maintain some of the sanctions. Officials they appealed to reportedly included US Ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, the US president’s son-in-law.

The outlet reported that the Trump administration promised Israel unspecified “compensation” for lifting the sanctions. Trump has expressed hope for a diplomatic accord between Israel and Syria.

Department of Internal Police Investigations probing footage of riot officer hitting young Haredi men with baton

The Department for Internal Police Investigations, the body responsible for conducting criminal probes into police officers, has begun looking into an incident in which a member of the Yasam riot police unit was filmed hitting young Haredi men with a baton, a spokesperson tells The Times of Israel.

“There were a number of videos submitted for review by DIPI,” the spokesperson says, confirming an earlier report by i24 News.

שאלתי דובר של גולדנופף להגיב על האלימות בירושלים. הוא שלח לי סרטון שבו שוטר מכה תלמידי ישיבה באלות ואמר: "אנחנו ראינו את זה" pic.twitter.com/97rfyGsbv6

— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) December 18, 2025

Footage of the incident, which began circulating last week, appeared to show an armored police officer repeatedly striking multiple young Haredi men, driving them up a set of stairs and into a building during a riot in Jerusalem.

Hundreds of young Haredi men clashed with police on Thursday, injuring 13 officers and overturning a cruiser in a riot apparently sparked by an attempt to issue a parking ticket.

The commotion broke out after a municipal inspector who had been issuing parking tickets in the capital came under attack from two young Haredi men, police said. The pair kicked him and made threats on his life, promising to “slaughter” him if he returned to the area. Police officers called to aid the inspector in distress arrested one of the assailants, angering locals. Hundreds then gathered around the officers in an attempt to free the detainee, and events quickly mushroomed into rioting.

According to Hebrew outlets, officers had realized that the assailants were draft dodgers and sought to hand them over to the Military Police. The police only said in their statements that the riots were sparked over the parking ticket, and did not mention whether the pair were draft dodgers.

Police used stun grenades and tear gas on demonstrators.

Asked about the riot on Thursday, a spokesperson for United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf shared a copy of the video of the policeman striking the rioters, stating merely, “We saw this.”