Feb. 4: Senior Iranian official says talks with US will only address nuclear program

Man killed in car blast near Haifa

A man has been killed in a car blast in Kiryat Yam, near Haifa.

Police are investigating the scene as a criminal incident at this time.

Two other people were injured in the blast and rushed to hospital.

Mamdani appoints head of progressive Jewish group to lead his antisemitism office

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani appoints the head of a progressive Jewish group, Phylisa Wisdom of the New York Jewish Agenda, to head his Office to Combat Antisemitism.

The office housed in City Hall coordinates the response to antisemitism in city agencies.

Mamdani’s predecessor, Eric Adams, established the office last year, and Adams’ appointee Rabbi Moshe Davis led the body since Mamdani’s inauguration last month.

Mamdani’s potential appointee to the office has been the subject of speculation for weeks.

Wisdom confirms her appointment to The Times of Israel.

Mazal tov to our friend and colleague @phylisajoy !!! https://t.co/pfFvdJOBmt

— New Jewish Narrative (@NJNarrative) February 4, 2026

Wisdom has led the New York Jewish Agenda since 2023.

Before that, she worked for Yaffed, an organization that pushes for reforms in Hasidic yeshivas.

Jailed Iranian Nobel winner Mohammadi on hunger strike, lawyer says

This photo taken in 2021 shows Narges Mohammadi in Tehran, Iran. (Reihane Taravati via AP)

Iranian 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, jailed since her latest arrest in December, has gone on a hunger strike to demand her right to phone calls, her family’s Paris-based lawyer says.

Mohammadi, who was arrested at a protest in the eastern city of Mashhad on December 12, “has been on hunger strike for the last three days,” lawyer Chirinne Ardakani tells AFP.

“She is demanding her right to make a phone call, have access to her lawyers in Iran and to be visited,” Ardakani says.

She adds that Mohammadi’s last phone call to her family dated back to December 14 and that they had been informed of the hunger strike by a detainee who was released from prison.

Mohammadi remains in solitary confinement in prison in Mashhad, where she was arrested while speaking out against the authorities at a funeral ceremony for a lawyer whose death activists regard as suspicious, Ardakani says.

Zelensky says 55,000 Ukrainian troops killed since start of war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, October 31, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Around 55,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky says, adding a “great number” are also missing in action.

“In Ukraine, officially, on the battlefield, the number of soldiers killed is 55,000. And there are a great number Ukraine lists as missing,” he says in an interview with French TV network France 2, which translated his comments.

IDF encircles West Bank village searching for stone throwers who injured woman

The IDF says it has encircled the West Bank Palestinian village of Beit Ur al-Tahta as it searches for suspects behind a stone-throwing attack in the area.

Troops and police officers were dispatched to Beit Ur al-Tahta after an Israeli woman driving on the Route 443 Highway was lightly hurt when her car was hit by stones hurled by Palestinians, the army says.

The woman was taken to a hospital in Jerusalem in good condition after sustaining glass shrapnel injuries.

Friday talks between US and Iran back on, will take place in Oman

With planned talks between Iran and the US on the verge of falling apart, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that the two sides have agreed to meet on Friday in Oman at 10 a.m.

“I’m grateful to our Omani brothers for making all necessary arrangements,” he writes on X.

A White House official confirms to The Times of Israel that nuclear talks with Iran will be held on Friday in Oman’s capital, Muscat.

Axios, which first reported the crisis in negotiations, now says at least nine Arab leaders successfully lobbied the White House not to walk away from talks. However, American officials are highly doubtful.

“They asked us to keep the meeting and listen to what the Iranians have to say. We have told the Arabs that we will do the meeting if they insist. But we are very skeptical,” one tells the outlet.

Trump says Iran’s Khamenei ‘should be very worried’

US President Donald Trump speaks with the media in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, February 3, 2026 (SAUL LOEB / AFP)

Asked if Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei should be worried, US President Donald Trump responds, “He should be very worried.”

The comments in an interview with NBC News come amid reports that efforts to advance a diplomatic off-ramp to tensions between the US and Iran are falling apart, raising the prospects of military conflict.

“They’re negotiating with us,” Trump says.

The reporter then points out that Iranian protesters against the regime are feeling betrayed by Trump, who had expressed his support for them and urged them to take to the streets, where thousands were then reportedly killed. Trump has since boasted of having stopped the purportedly planned executions of another 800 protesters.

“We do have their back,” Trump says of the protesters. “That country is a mess right now because of us. We went in, [and] we wiped out their nuclear [program],” Trump says of the US strikes on two of Iran’s nuclear sites last June, during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel.

After Trump again claims Iran’s entire nuclear program was obliterated, he is pressed on what nuclear talks with Iran are even meant to address if that is the case.

Trump claims that Iran has since tried rebuilding its program at other sites, which he says will lead to the US striking again.

Trump has avoided acknowledging that there were some nuclear sites not targeted in the June US strike and that the location of already-enriched uranium stockpiles is unknown — two points that undercut his claim that the nuclear program was completely destroyed.

Hamas terrorist who murdered IDF surveillance soldier Noa Marciano killed in strike

Cpl. Noa Marciano, who was killed in Hamas captivity in November 2023 after being taken hostage on October 7, 2023. (IDF)

A Hamas terrorist who murdered IDF surveillance soldier Cpl. Noa Marciano in captivity at the start of the war in Gaza was killed in an airstrike earlier today, the military announces.

The IDF says Muhammad Issam Hassan al-Habil, a Hamas cell commander, was targeted in Gaza City’s Shati Camp in response to an overnight attack on troops in northern Gaza, during which a reservist officer was seriously wounded by Palestinian gunmen.

According to the Shin Bet security agency, during interrogations of captured suspects, it emerged that al-Habil “brutally murdered” Marciano in captivity.

צה"ל ושב"כ חיסלו את המחבל שרצח את התצפיתנית רב"ט נועה מרציאנו ז"ל בשבי חמאס

צה"ל ושב"כ תקפו מוקדם יותר היום במרחב שאטי, וחיסלו את המחבל מחמד עצאם חסן הביל, ראש חולייה מארגון הטרור חמאס, זאת בתגובה להפרת ההסכם הלילה.

במסגרת חקירות בשב"כ, עלה כי המחבל רצח באכזריות את התצפיתנית,… pic.twitter.com/QQpKIxMimg

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 4, 2026

The IDF adds that the strike today was enabled by intelligence collected by the Gaza Division, where Marciano had served as a surveillance soldier as part of the 414th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit.

Marciano, who was abducted on October 7, 2023, from the Nahal Oz base, was later killed at Shifa Hospital, according to the military. Her body was recovered by the IDF in November 2023.

Several Hamas terrorists involved in guarding Marciano were killed in strikes during the war.

Dozens of slain Palestinians’ remains returned to Gaza, Hamas-run health ministry says

Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, a short while ago, received the bodies of 54 slain Palestinians and 66 other boxes of human remains that were handed over by Israel via the Red Cross, the Strip’s Hamas-run health ministry says.

Medical staff will work to identify the bodies and remains, and to return them to their families, says the health ministry.

Israel has not commented on the ministry’s statement.

The Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center, a Palestinian group that has petitioned the High Court for the release of Palestinians’ bodies, said in a court filing on Sunday that Israel was holding the bodies of over 700 Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, including hundreds of unidentified people killed by Israel in the Strip during the war since the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023.

Last week, in accordance with the October 9 Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal, Israel handed over the bodies of 15 Gazans, following the retrieval of the body of Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage in Gaza.

Melania Trump hosts Aviva and Keith Siegel who thank her for helping secure hostages’ release

First lady Melania Trump meets with freed American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel and his wife Aviva at the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

US First Lady Melania Trump hosts former Hamas hostages Aviva and Keith Siegel at the White House, where the American-Israeli couple thanks the administration of US President Donald Trump for its efforts to secure the release of all captives from Gaza.

In remarks to the press, Melania recalls her first meeting with Aviva in January 2025, when Keith was still held captive, during which Aviva described the hostages’ plight and presented two handbooks about Keith as a gift.

The first lady says she gave the two books to her husband and shared with him Siegel’s story.

Melania touts the Siegels’ courage and expresses her joy that they were both freed.

Holding back tears, Keith tells the first lady that he is “eternally grateful” to her and Trump for bringing about his release.

Keith says that since regaining freedom, he has committed himself to helping others, partnering with the Israeli global humanitarian organization IsraAid, which last week took him and Aviva to the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, where the group is providing access to clean water, hygiene, sanitation and education to thousands of refugees.

He goes on to congratulate Melania on the release of her new documentary and thanks her for including an appearance from Aviva about the pair’s meeting in New York in January 2025.

Aviva shares that she’s writing a book about her experience in captivity in which she made a point of thanking Melania for her involvement in the hostages’ release.

Haredi parties trade barbs after national-religious candidate gets job of rabbi of Savyon

Haredi parties United Torah Judaism and Shas trade barbs after national-religious rabbi Uri Sadan, a member of the moderate Orthodox organization Tzohar, is elected rabbi of the central town of Savyon.

“Following Shas’s insistence on not supporting Degel HaTorah’s candidate for the position of rabbi of Savyon — and after its own candidate received a total of just three votes — neither the Shas candidate nor the Degel HaTorah candidate was elected, and a Tzohar candidate was chosen instead,” MK Moshe Gafni, chairman of Degel HaTorah, UTJ’s Lithuanian faction, says in a statement.

“Anyone who follows their conduct in the provision of religious services and in the selection of rabbis knows that this is ‘the way of those who are foolish,'” he adds, quoting Psalms 49:14.

“It is regrettable to see how the chairman of Degel HaTorah, a movement that once saw itself as a defender of the Torah world, chooses to busy himself with job-grabbing instead of confronting the real challenges of the moment,” Shas responds. “And to the facts: Degel HaTorah’s candidate for the Savyon rabbinate, a local resident, ran and received zero votes. Zero. So how, exactly, did Shas’s three votes prevent his election?”

Sadan is an IDF reservist who served in Gaza and is the head of a congregation in Petah Tikva.

Municipal rabbis are meant to serve as the direct religious authority for the Jewish residents of their city or town, signing off on things like marriage licenses and kosher certificates for local restaurants.

Savyon has about 4,400 residents and is one of the most affluent towns in Israel. The position of town chief rabbi had been vacant since 2016. Several dozen such positions are currently vacant nationwide, including the chief rabbis of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

To select a candidate, a committee is formed in each city. Members of the committee include representatives of the city council, appointees of the Religious Services Ministry and the head of the local religious council.

IDF says it killed commander of PIJ’s Northern Gaza Brigade in airstrike

The IDF confirms killing the commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Northern Gaza Brigade in an airstrike earlier today.

The strike targeting Ali al-Razayneh in the Strip’s center came as a response to an overnight attack on troops in northern Gaza, during which a reservist officer was seriously wounded by Palestinian gunmen, the military says.

The army says al-Razayneh was responsible for Islamic Jihad’s operatives and defenses in the Strip’s north, was a member of the terror group’s top military council, and was also “in charge of coordination with the Hamas terror organization to advance and carry out terror attacks against IDF troops.”

Additionally, the IDF says that al-Razayneh oversaw the issue of hostages held by Islamic Jihad in northern Gaza, “and since the ceasefire agreement came into effect, the terrorist worked to rehabilitate the Northern Gaza Brigade.”

צה"ל ושב"כ חיסלו את מפקד חטיבת צפון הרצועה בג'יהאד האיסלאמי הפלסטיני

צה"ל ושב"כ תקפו מוקדם יותר היום וחיסלו את המחבל עלי רזאינה, ששימש כמפקד חטיבת צפון רצועת עזה של ארגון הטרור גא"פ, זאת בתגובה להפרת הסכם הפסקת האש הלילה.

במסגרת תפקידו, היה אחראי על פריסת מחבלי ארגון הטרור… pic.twitter.com/F5GgBETk5X

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 4, 2026

The IDF also says that it can now confirm that a commander in Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force was killed in a strike it announced earlier today.

The strike that killed Bilal Abu Assi, a Nukhba Force platoon commander who led the invasion of Kibbutz Nir Oz during the onslaught, was also conducted in response to the overnight attack on troops, according to the army.

Report: US-Iran talks collapsing after Tehran backs out of agreed framework

A photograph shows an anti-US billboard displayed on a building in Tehran's Valiasr Square on February 4, 2026. (AFP)

Planned US-Iran talks this week have been thrown into doubt after Tehran backed out of understandings over the location and format of the negotiations, Barak Ravid of Axios and Israel’s Channel 12 reports.

Two senior American officials tell Ravid that talks that had been slated for Friday were effectively canceled after Iran sought to alter agreed arrangements.

US officials say Turkey had brokered a framework for talks in Istanbul, including a direct US-Iran track focused on Tehran’s nuclear program and a broader regional track addressing Iran’s missile program, support for terror groups and human rights abuses following recent protests inside the Islamic Republic.

The officials say the Iranians then attempted to move the talks to Oman and exclude other participating countries, with Washington suspecting they were attempting to avoid any regional issues and focus only on the nuclear file. The Americans rejected this, telling Tehran it was “all or nothing,” and Tehran saying “Okay, then nothing.”

“We didn’t want to be flexible here because if there is a deal, it has to be real. We didn’t want to go back to the old way of doing things,” an official says.

“We want to reach a real deal quickly, or people will look at other options,” one says, in reference to potential US strikes.

“There is a good chance the talks won’t happen now at all this week,” another notes.

Channel 12 says tensions continue to rise, with another US aircraft carrier said to be on its way as Washington continues its military buildup in the region.

The network adds that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, currently in Abu Dhabi, are expected to travel to Qatar to consult with Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani.

Witkoff held a high-level meeting in Tel Aviv last night with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, Mossad Director David Barnea and other senior officials, where Channel 12 says he was presented with Israel’s latest intelligence on Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as well as details on Tehran’s deadly crackdown on anti-regime protests.

Israeli officials reportedly warned Witkoff that Iran was stalling and acting in bad faith. Witkoff is said to have responded that the US understands Israel’s red lines and is not pursuing an agreement at all costs.

Police secure NY school after 2nd violent antisemitic threat in days

Police in New York City secure a school after the second antisemitic threat there this week.

A student at the Renaissance Charter School in Queens sent a threat to more than 300 of his classmates on Monday, resulting in hate crime charges.

“We will rise up and kill all the Jews in this school and the city. Fuck the Jews,” the 17-year-old wrote.

Jessica Ramos, the area’s representative in the New York State Senate, says that the school received another threat against Jews.

“An adult caller made a violent, antisemitic threat against Renaissance Charter School this morning,” Ramos says. “The 115th Precinct will maintain a police presence today while the incident is investigated.”

Four Border Police officers suspected of assaulting Bedouin men

Investigators are probing four Border Police officers on suspicion of assaulting a pair of Bedouin men during a random search.

The suspects are officers in the National Guard unit, a fledgling force in the Border Police whose establishment was championed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir.

The four cops are said to have apprehended two Bedouin men, residents of Tel Sheva, for a random search in the town. At a certain point, the officers began beating them.

“Afterwards, the suspects left the area in their patrol vehicle, leaving the two injured at the scene,” says the Department of Internal Police Investigations (DIPI), a state agency that probes cops suspected of criminal offenses.

After interrogating the four, DIPI investigators released the officers back home. The four suspects are forbidden from contacting each other or entering police facilities for the next eight days.

The National Guard has been especially active in Bedouin communities in recent months as police continue to raid towns across the Negev.

Ben Gvir, who oversees police, has touted these raids as effective in stemming arms smuggling, traffic violations and violent crime, but the operation has received pushback from residents, who complain of frequent mistreatment by heavily-armed officers.

Man sentenced to life in prison for plotting to kill Trump in 2024

Law enforcement officers arrest Ryan Routh, the man suspected in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump, in Martin County, Florida, September 15, 2024. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

A man who plotted to assassinate President Donald Trump at his Florida golf course in September 2024, two months before the US election, has been sentenced to life in prison.

Ryan Routh, 59, was found guilty in September of five charges, including attempted assassination of a presidential candidate.

Red Cross ‘outraged’ as on-duty paramedic killed in Gaza

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says it is “outraged” by the killing of an on-duty colleague in Gaza.

The IFRC says Hussein Hassan Hussein Al-Samiri, “a dedicated paramedic” with the Palestine Red Crescent Society, “was killed while performing life-saving humanitarian duties in Khan Younis during an attack in the Al-Mawasi area” of the southern Gaza Strip.

“The IFRC sends its deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues and expresses its full solidarity with PRCS.”

The IFRC says the death brings the number of PRCS staff and volunteers killed in Gaza in the line of duty to 30 since the conflict began in October 2023.

The federation says humanitarian workers and medical staff need to be respected and protected at all times.

Earlier, the IDF said it was looking into reports that a strike targeting a commander in Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force, who participated in the October 7, 2023, onslaught, also killed civilians and a paramedic.

Despite a US-brokered truce entering its second phase last month, violence in the Palestinian territory has continued, with Israel and Hamas accusing each other of violating the agreement.

Senior Iranian official: Talks with US will only be about nuclear program

After US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says talks with Iran must also focus on its missile program, support for terror proxies and repression of protests, a senior Iranian official tells Reuters talks will only be about the nation’s nuclear program, and that its missile program is “off the table.”

Free speech group walks back condemnation of Israeli comedian’s show cancelations

PEN America, a US group dedicated to protecting free expression, withdraws its condemnation of protests that prompted the cancellation of an Israeli comedian’s shows.

The comedian, Guy Hochman, was targeted by protesters throughout his tour of the US and Canada late last month.

At least two venues canceled Hochman’s shows.

PEN America initially condemned the cancellations in a statement on Thursday. “It is a profound violation of free expression to demand artists, writers, or comedians agree to ideological litmus tests as a condition to appear on a stage,” said Jonathan Friedman, the managing director of US free expression programs at PEN America.

The statement accused Hochuman of “dehumanizing social media posts about Palestinians,” but added that “shutting down cultural events is not the solution.”

“People have every right to protest his events, but those who wish to hear from Hochman also have a right to do so,” Friedman said.

PEN America now walks back that statement and removes the condemnation from its website.

“On further consideration, PEN America has decided to withdraw this statement. We remain committed to open and respectful dialogue about the divisions that arise in the course of defending free expression,” the group says.

A spokesperson for PEN America says the group has no comment.

Deputy Supreme Court chief sets panel to hear petitions demanding Oct. 7 state commission

Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg at a court hearing over government plans regarding ultra-Orthodox military service, February 26, 2024. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Deputy Supreme Court President Noam Sohlberg announces the panel of justices that will hear petitions asking the court, in its capacity as the High Court of Justice, to order the government to establish a state commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and atrocities.

The panel consists of Sohlberg himself, along with Justices David Mintz, Yael Wilner, Ofer Grosskopf, Alex Stein, Chaled Kabub and Yechiel Kasher.

Sohlberg says the composition of the panel was in part determined by the fact that some Supreme Court justices were legally blocked from hearing the petitions for various reasons.

Sohlberg, Mintz, Wilner, Stein and, to some degree, Kasher, are all considered conservatives to varying degrees, while Kabub and Grosskopf are more liberal.

A date is yet to be set for the hearing.

In November, the High Court issued a conditional order requiring the government to justify why it is not establishing a state commission of inquiry.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government have resisted pressure to establish a state commission of inquiry for more than two years since the deadly Hamas onslaught.

Rubio says US ready to meet Iran but missiles, proxies, repression must be on table

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference at the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial meeting at the Sate Department in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2026. (Oliver Contreras / AFP)

The United States is ready to meet Iran this week, but discussions need to cover its missile and nuclear programs, its support for terror groups in the region and its treatment of its population, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says.

Rubio confirms Iran’s opposition to Washington’s plan to hold Friday nuclear talks in Istanbul.

“We thought we had an established forum that had been agreed to in Turkey that was put together by a number of partners who wanted to attend and be a part of it. I saw conflicting reports yesterday from the Iranian side saying that they had not agreed to that, so that’s still being worked through,” Rubio tells reporters during an event in Washington.

The sides are now reportedly planning to hold the nuclear talks in Oman.

“At the end of the day, the United States is prepared to engage, and has always been prepared to engage with Iran,” he says. “For talks to actually lead to something meaningful, they will have to include certain things, and that includes the range of their ballistic missiles,” he says. “That includes their sponsorship of terrorist organizations across the region. That includes the nuclear program. And that includes the treatment of their own people.”

Iran has only shown willingness to discuss its nuclear program, albeit not on the terms demanded by the US — for the Islamic Republic to agree not to enrich uranium on its own territory and export all of its already enriched stockpiles out of the country.

“The fundamental problem Iran faces is that what people are on the streets complaining about, this regime cannot address… because it’s economic,” Rubio says. “One of the reasons why the Iranian regime cannot provide the people of Iran the quality of life that they deserve is because they’re spending all their money and resources… sponsoring terrorism.”

Nonetheless, the US is willing to engage and hold talks with Iran. “President Trump is willing to talk to and meet with and engage with anyone in the world. We don’t view meetings as a concession [or]… legitimization,” Rubio maintains.

“If the Iranians want to meet, we’re ready. They’ve expressed an interest in meeting and talking. If they change their mind, we’re fine with that too… I’m not sure you can reach a deal with these guys, but we’re going to try to find out,” he adds.

‘Dirty Arabs’: Sakhnin school principal describes attack on his students

A middle school principal whose students were allegedly pepper-sprayed by yeshiva students in the north earlier today says his pupils were called “dirty Arabs” during the incident.

“They threw all sorts of things, kicked and spit on them, called them ‘dirty Arabs,'” Kamal Abu Younis, who runs Ibn Khaldun Middle School in the northern city of Sakhnin, tells The Times of Israel.

“It’s a shocking situation, I’ve been working in education for 40 years and I’ve never encountered such a case,” he adds.

Fourteen 8th graders and two of their teachers were taken to the hospital with light injuries as a result of the violence, which broke out after the group of middle schoolers encountered the yeshiva students while hiking near Beit She’an.

Police arrested the alleged assailants — three students from a West Bank yeshiva who had been hiking in the area with their principal.

לפני שעה קלה חבורה של גזענים תקפה תלמידי בית הספר אבן ח’לדון בסכנין, בפארק המעיינות.
13 תלמידים נפצעו, ושני מורים פונו לבית החולים.

שוחחתי לפני דקות אחדות עם כמאל אבו יונס, מנהל בית הספר, ואמרתי לו בבירור: לא נשתוק מול הטרור הגזעני הזה.

התקיפות נגד אזרחים ערבים, רק בשל היותם… pic.twitter.com/vdSTsh0DKB

— איימן עודה أيمن عودة Ayman Odeh (@AyOdeh) February 4, 2026

The yeshiva principal was also detained for questioning after arguing with police over his students’ arrest, according to Honenu, a right-wing legal aid organization representing the suspects.

Nati Rom, an attorney with Honenu, claims the three were “attacked by a group of Arabs” during their hike. “The officers who came to the scene chose to violently arrest three students,” he says.

Meanwhile, Hadash-Ta’al chairman Ayman Odeh decries the incident as “racist terror” in a social media post.

“The attacks on Arab citizens, just because they are Arab, have become a daily occurrence. But a person is not born racist. The racist and inciting government is the main culprit,” he says.

Senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander was killed in an Israeli airstrike

A senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander was killed in an Israeli airstrike a short while ago in the central Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian media reports.

The reports say Ali Al-Razayneh, Islamic Jihad’s northern Gaza commander, was struck and killed in Deir al-Balah.

The IDF has not yet commented.

عاجل | استشهاد علي الرزاينة قائد لواء شمال #غزة في سرايا القدس جراء عملية اغتيال نفذتها طائرة مُسيّرة إسرائيلية وسط القطاع. pic.twitter.com/iC1ZQt5UdB

— غزة 24 | التغطية مستمرة (@Gaza24Live) February 4, 2026

Washington Post says one-third of staff across all departments to be laid off

A sign for the Washington Post is seen at the company's offices, Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The Washington Post says one-third of its staff across all departments, not just the newsroom, is being laid off.

The troubled Post has begun implementing large-scale cutbacks, including eliminating its sports department and shrinking the number of journalists stationed overseas. The changes were announced by executive editor Matt Murray in a Zoom meeting with staff.

Staff members in the newsroom were told they would be getting emails with one of two subject lines, announcing that the person’s role has or hasn’t been eliminated. A total number of layoffs was not announced in the call, and the Post wouldn’t say how big its current staffing is.

The newspaper’s books department will be closed, and its Washington-area news department and editing staff will be restructured, Murray told staff members. Its Post Reports podcast will be suspended.

Murray acknowledged that the cuts will be a shock to the system but said the goal is to create a Post that can grow and thrive again.

The moves were expected for several weeks, since word leaked out that the Post had told its sports staffers who had arranged to cover the Winter Olympics in Italy that they would not be going. After it became public, the Post reversed course and said it would be sending a limited staff.

NY teen arrested for sending ‘kill all Jews’ email to hundreds of classmates

A teenager has been charged with a hate crime for sending antisemitic emails, the NYPD says.

Police responded to the incident on Monday at Renaissance Charter School in Jackson Heights, Queens, after they were called about the threatening emails, a police spokesperson tells The Times of Israel.

The suspect is charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime and making a terroristic threat.

“At 2 p.m. we will rise up and kill all the Jews in this school and the city. Fuck the Jews,” the teen wrote to more than 300 students at the school, according to the local QNS news site.

Charter schools are free public schools that are independent of the New York City Department of Education.

“Jew hatred doesn’t just live in NYC public schools, it lives in Charter schools as well. This is scary for all Jewish New Yorkers,” says Moshe Spern, president of the United Jewish Teachers advocacy group.

Spern calls on the school to invest in “comprehensive education about modern day and historical antisemitism.”

Jews are targeted in hate crimes more than all other groups combined in New York City.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has pledged to implement educational curricula in schools to combat antisemitism.

IDF says drone footage shows Hamas gunmen transporting arms in ambulance in north Gaza

The IDF publishes drone footage it says shows armed Hamas operatives using ambulances to transport weapons in northern Gaza.

The military says that “routine drone operations” in the Jabalia area, close to the Gaza ceasefire line, “exposed how armed Hamas terrorists repeatedly and systematically use ambulances to transfer operatives and weapons from a hospital to a school.”

The clips show gunmen operating around an ambulance at two locations.

“This is further proof of the cynical exploitation carried out by Hamas on a regular basis and of its violations of international law under the cover of the civilian population for terrorist purposes,” the IDF says.

The army says that since the start of the ceasefire, Hamas “has violated the agreement and focused its efforts on restoring its military capabilities.”

“The IDF will continue to operate in accordance with international law with regard to medical facilities and educational institutions, including those in which Hamas chose to place its terrorist infrastructure, while committing a blatant violation of the rules of international law,” it adds.

This video published by the IDF on February 4, 2026, shows gunmen, who the military says are Hamas operatives, operating around an ambulance in northern Gaza’s Jabalia. (Israel Defense Forces)

At Knesset, protesters against proposed dairy reform throw hay, spill milk

Farmers and dairy workers protest outside the Knesset and the Finance Ministry against Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s proposed reform of the dairy industry. Some 500 take part in the demonstrations, where some participants spill milk and throw hay in symbolic gestures.

A press release from the Moshav movement adds that some protesters attempted to break into the ministry, and that others placed a statue of a cow in a square outside the Knesset Square, dubbing it Israeli Cow Square.

The press release says several lawmakers from the coalition and opposition attended the protest.

Amit Ifrach, secretary-general of the Moshav Movement and chairman of the Israel Farmers’ Association, says: “You don’t shut down a 100-year-old enterprise while spitting in the faces of the farmers of the Gaza envelope and the Golan Heights — those who were on the front lines on October 7. We will not allow Smotrich to abandon the farmers, sell out the dairy sector or Israeli agriculture, and jeopardize the food security of the State of Israel.'”

הפגנת הרפתנים בירושלים מגיעה לשיאה, כשהמוחים מנסים להיכנס למשרד האוצר בירושלים. pic.twitter.com/tLe4zGueev

— דפנה ליאל (@DaphnaLiel) February 4, 2026

As part of a broader plan to lower the cost of living, Smotrich is seeking to disband the centralized coordination mechanism that has characterized the dairy industry since the state’s founding. He plans to slash milk production from the current 1.5 billion liters to 1 billion, cut the price per liter that dairy processors pay to farmers by 15 percent, and abolish tariffs of up to 40 percent to flood the Israeli market with imported dairy products. The plan was approved by the government in December and now needs the Knesset’s authorization.

IDF: Hamas commander who invaded Nir Oz on Oct. 7 targeted in Gaza strike

Hamas commander Bilal Abu Assi is seen during the invasion of Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023, in a handout photo issued by the military on February 4, 2026, after he was targeted in a strike (Israel Defense Forces)

A commander in Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force who participated in the October 7, 2023, onslaught was targeted in an Israeli airstrike today, the IDF announces.

The IDF says the strike in the Mawasi area of southern Gaza came as a response to an overnight attack on troops in the Strip’s north, during which a reservist officer was seriously wounded by Palestinian gunmen.

The strike targeted Bilal Abu Assi, whom the military identifies as a platoon commander in the Nukhba Force, Hamas’s elite unit that spearheaded the October 7 invasion. The military says Abu Assi led the invasion of Kibbutz Nir Oz during the onslaught, during which dozens of civilians were murdered and abducted.

Abu Assi was also likely involved in holding bodies of hostages in Gaza during the war, as well as advancing attacks on troops, the IDF says. It says it is aware of reports that the strike also caused civilian casualties, including a Red Crescent medic who was killed.

“Prior to and during the strike, steps were taken in order to mitigate harm to civilians as much as possible, including the use of surveillance and precise munitions. The IDF regrets any harm caused to uninvolved civilians,” the army says.

3 yeshiva students arrested on suspicion of injuring Arab youths, principal detained

Police arrest three yeshiva students on suspicion of pepper-spraying and injuring a group of Arab middle schoolers while hiking near a spring in northern Israel. The yeshiva principal accompanying them on the trip is detained for questioning.

Police say a “brawl broke out between two groups” who had been hiking in the area. Officers arrested “three minors suspected in the attack and detained for questioning an adult man who is responsible for the attackers,” the statement adds.

Fourteen middle schoolers from the Arab city of Sakhnin, as well as two young men in their mid-20s, were taken to the hospital with light injuries as a result of the incident.

The middle school’s principal, Kamal Abu Younis, calls the incident a “racist attack.” Speaking to the Arab48 news outlet, he says the alleged assailants hurled racist insults at the middle schoolers before pepper-spraying them.

Nati Rom, an attorney for the right-wing legal aid group Honenu, is representing the suspects and alleges the opposite, claiming police violently arrested his clients after they were “attacked by a group of Arabs.”

The yeshiva principal and his students had come from the West Bank to hike in the area, according to the organization.

Hamas denies carrying out shooting against IDF, accuses Israel of violating ceasefire

Hamas rejects IDF accusations that it shot at Israeli troops, and condemns a wave of Israeli strikes across the Strip that reportedly killed at least 21 people since dawn.

The strikes came after the IDF said gunmen fired on troops in northern Gaza overnight, seriously wounding a reservist officer. The military accused Hamas of a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire.

In a statement, Hamas says Israel’s “claims of a shooting targeting one of its soldiers are nothing more than a pretext to continue the killing of our people,” and adds that the IDF strikes “represent deliberate sabotage of efforts to establish a ceasefire.”

Hamas says four children have been killed in subsequent IDF strikes. Its civil defense, as well as the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, previously said that a paramedic had been killed in a strike on al-Mawasi. Reports from earlier today had said three children were killed in the strikes.

According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, since dawn hospitals in the Strip have received a total of 38 wounded people and the bodies of 21 people killed in the IDF strikes.

Iran news outlet posts images of US bases as tensions remain high

An anti-US billboard displayed on a building in Tehran's Valiasr Square on February 4, 2026. (AFP)

A prominent Iranian news agency has in recent days published without comment images of US bases in the Middle East as tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington despite the prospect of direct talks.

US President Donald Trump has threatened military action against Iran in the wake of its deadly crackdown on protests, and if Tehran fails to agree to a deal to restrict its nuclear program.

Iranian officials have repeatedly threatened immediate retaliation against Israel and US targets if there is an attack, pointing to American military bases in the Gulf as potential targets.

With talks between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff expected this week, Iran’s Fars news agency, seen as close to the country’s security forces, has for two days in a row published images of US bases in the region.

The images carry no comment and only the day of the week and the date according to the Persian calendar.

The picture for yesterday showed an aerial view of the Al Dhafra air base outside Abu Dhabi, which is used by US and French forces.

Today, meanwhile, Fars showed the Isa Air Base in US ally Bahrain, where US planes have also deployed.

There was no immediate suggestion the images published by Fars represented fresh intelligence.

AFP has confirmed the images of the Isa air base are old. Also, according to satellite images reviewed by AFP, as of February 3 there was no massive deployment of aircraft at the base of Al Dhafra.

With tensions still not abating, a new billboard appeared in Tehran showing American planes crashed into a hillside with Iranians flying the flag of the Islamic Republic above.

UK pro-Palestinian activists acquitted of 2024 aggravated burglary at Elbit factory

Supporters of alleged Palestine Action activists accused of breaking into Israeli-based defense firm Elbit Systems' site in Bristol in August 2024, hold placards and wave Palestinian flags outside Woolwich Crown Court in south east London on November 17, 2025, where the activists are due to stand trial. (Ben STANSALL / AFP)

Six British pro-Palestinian activists are acquitted of aggravated burglary relating to a 2024 raid on a factory operated by Israeli defense firm Elbit, with a jury unable to reach verdicts on charges of criminal damage.

Prosecutors said the six defendants, whose trial began in November, were members of the now-banned group Palestine Action, which organized the assault on the Elbit Systems UK facility in Bristol, southwest England.

The six – Charlotte Head, 29, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, Fatema Zainab Rajwani, 21, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31 – all denied charges of aggravated burglary, violent disorder and criminal damage.

Rajwani, Rogers and Devlin are found not guilty of violent disorder by a jury at London’s Woolwich Crown Court. The jury does not reach verdicts on the same charge against Head, Corner and Kamio after more than 36 hours of deliberation.

Corner had also denied causing grievous bodily harm with intent for hitting a female police sergeant with a sledgehammer. The jury is unable to reach a verdict on that count.

The six defendants hug in the dock and wave to supporters in the public gallery, who cheer loudly after the judge leaves the court.

India boots two British tourists posting anti-Israel propaganda, including swastikas

Indian authorities have ordered two British tourists to leave the country after they put up anti-Israel stickers in the western Indian town of Pushkar, local media reported yesterday.

The Rajasthan Police say Lewis Gabriel Dee and Anueshi Emma Christine, both 36, violated the terms of their tourist visas by engaging in political activity. The pair allegedly pasted stickers reading “Free Palestine” and “Boycott Israel,” some depicting Israeli flags defaced with swastikas, in several locations around the city.

The tourists arrived in India in January and traveled to Pushkar from New Delhi, according to a police report cited by local media. Authorities began investigating after receiving a report on January 21, and later questioned the pair, although no formal complaints were filed. The two apologized after they were informed that political expression is prohibited under tourist visa rules, reports say.

The state’s Criminal Investigation Department issued a “leave India” notice on Monday, revoking their visas and ordering them to depart immediately.

Pushkar is a popular destination for Israeli travelers, with about 10,000 visiting annually and roughly 2,000 currently staying in the area.

🛑 Can the UK 🇬🇧 Government please pick up their unsupervised halfwits from India 🇮🇳.
Two British Tourists receive "Leave India Notices" after posting Free Palestinian stickers in Rajasthan.
Lewis D Gabriel D & Anushi Emma Christine are clearly not the full quid.
Another example… pic.twitter.com/WRV9POsb25

— The Consultant (@TheConsultant18) February 4, 2026

Jewish art collector’s heirs sue NYC’s Met Museum for Pissarro painting sold under Nazi duress

Camille Pissarro (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

The heirs to a Jewish art collector are suing New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in a French court, arguing that a Camille Pissarro painting in its collection was sold by their forebear under Nazi duress and rightfully belongs to them, according to The New York Times.

The museum, which has faced a number of complaints regarding Nazi-looted art in its possession, says the collector, department store owner Max Julius Braunthal, was paid fair market value for “Haystacks, Morning, Éragny,” an 1899 work by Pissarro, a noted impressionist painter who was Jewish.

Braunthal sold the work for 100,000 francs in 1941, during the Nazi occupation of France. His seven heirs who are suing the Met argue that the price he was paid is irrelevant because, under French law, sales made under Nazi duress are considered null and void, the Times reports.

The heirs say they have attempted for five years to deal privately with the august New York museum prior to filing the suit, to no effect. The Times report, citing experts, says compelling the Met to obey the French law would require a lengthy court process.

Braunthal, born in Germany in 1878, fled that country for France after the Nazis came to power, but was eventually forced to sell all of his collection following the German invasion. He was rounded up by the Nazis along with thousands of other Jews in France in 1942.

He survived the Holocaust but died of cancer in 1946.

State prosecutors file charges against 12 suspects in Gaza smuggling case

A truck loaded with humanitarian aid travels along Salah al-Din Road in the central Gaza Strip, near Deir al-Balah, on November 9, 2025. (Eyad Baba/AFP)

State prosecutors file charges against 12 suspects, among them IDF reservists, who are accused of taking part in a major smuggling ring that trafficked goods into the Gaza Strip.

The defendants are indicted in the Beersheba District Court for assisting the enemy during wartime, financing terror activity, fraud and bribery for their alleged smuggling of goods into the enclave.

The items allegedly smuggled include cigarettes, iPhones, batteries, telecommunications cables and car parts, worth millions of shekels in total. Some of these goods are classified as “dual-use” items, meaning they can be used by Hamas for terror activities.

The alleged smuggling ring is also linked to Bezalel Zini, the brother of Shin Bet chief David Zini, who is thought to have helped the network’s members smuggle cigarettes, taking advantage of his reserve service in the Gaza Strip.

Zini has not yet been charged in the scandal, and is expected to be indicted tomorrow.

The Shin Bet says that throughout the war, “and even more so since the beginning of the ceasefire,” Hamas has been working to rebuild its capabilities and strengthen its governance in the Strip, using money from smuggled goods.

Israel has banned the entry of cigarettes and other tobacco products into Gaza during the war, with officials saying that such products, when smuggled illegally, are sold for high prices on the black market and heavily taxed by Hamas.

Prosecutors say that “a major illicit commodity smuggled into the Strip is tobacco and cigarettes, which have brought Hamas a total of hundreds of millions of shekels into its pockets since the beginning of the war, helping it, among other things, maintain its economic survival and its grip on the territory.”

“Smuggling constitutes a significant threat to the security of the State of Israel, as it assists Hamas’s survival and governance,” the Shin Bet says. “It also poses a threat stemming from the possibility of using smuggling routes as a platform to advance offensive military activity in Israel and against our forces in the Gaza Strip.”

Naftali Bennett adds Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio to his campaign team

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett speaks during a conference in Herzliya on November 19, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/ Flash90)

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett announces that he is adding in two top American political consultants to his campaign team ahead of the 2026 Knesset election, including a pollster and adviser to US President Donald Trump.

In a statement, Bennett’s spokesman announces that he will be working with the pollster, Tony Fabrizio, as well as political strategist George Birnbaum. Israeli politicians frequently use US political consultants ahead of national elections.

“Fabrizio, who brings experience from five US presidential election cycles, served as a pollster and adviser to President Trump during his two campaigns and continues to serve as his adviser during President Trump’s current term. Additionally, Fabrizio has worked with dozens of senators, members of Congress, and governors, and has been involved in numerous national election campaigns around the globe,” Bennett’s spokesperson says in a statement.

Birnbaum was a longtime associate of American strategist Arthur Finkelstein, a conservative campaign strategist widely credited as a driving force behind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s first campaign in 1996. He worked with Bennett ahead of the 2021 Israeli national election, which led to the creation of a short-lived anti-Netanyahu coalition that was led by Bennett for more than a year.

US, UAE and UN launch humanitarian fund with $700 million for war-ravaged Sudan

Sudanese families displaced from El-Fasher line up to receive food aid at the newly established El-Afadh camp in Al Dabbah, in Sudan's Northern State, November 16, 2025. (Marwan Ali/AP)

The United States and the United Nations are seeking to rally international support for humanitarian aid to war-ravaged Sudan, kicking off a new Sudan Humanitarian Fund with $700 million in contributions from the United Arab Emirates and the US.

The Trump administration said yesterday that it would contribute $200 million to the initiative from a basket of $2 billion it set aside late last year to fund humanitarian projects around the world. The UAE said it would contribute $500 million. Saudi Arabia and several other participants promised they would make pledges but did not specify amounts.

“Today we are signaling that the international community will work together to bring this suffering to an end, and to ensure lifesaving aid reaches communities in such desperate, desperate need,” says UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher, who heads the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA.

Fletcher said they have set the beginning of Ramadan, on February 17, as a date “to make visible progress on this work.”

US senior adviser for Arab and African affairs Massad Boulos says the US has put forward a “comprehensive proposal” for a humanitarian truce that could be agreed on in the next few weeks.

Sudan has been in the throes of war since 2023, with the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary force and the Sudanese military clashing for power over the country. The UN estimates that over 40,000 people have been killed in the war, but considers that the true number could be many times higher.

The conflict created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with over 14 million people forced to flee their homes and with famine declared in several regions of Sudan.

Ben Gvir says High Court ‘wants to fire the nation’ after order about his potential sacking

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir attends a National Security Committee meeting at the Knesset on December 31, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir accuses the High Court of Justice of seeking to nullify the will of the voters after it orders Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to explain why he has not fired the far-right politician from his ministerial role.

“The High Court of Justice doesn’t just want to fire me, it wants to fire the nation, it wants to fire millions of voters and deprive them of the right to vote,” Ben Gvir declares in a video statement. “It won’t happen, they have no authority, there won’t be a coup!”

The court issued its order to Netanyahu following a filing last month from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara saying the far-right minister systematically abuses his powers. It gave the premier and Ben Gvir until March 10 to submit a response.

Ben Gvir, who oversees the Israel Police, has asked the court to reject petitions seeking his dismissal. He has repeatedly clashed with Baharav-Miara, who has accused him of improperly interfering in police investigations and appointments. She also says he has violated an agreement he reached with her that is meant to limit his powers.

The court order is also denounced by Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs, who is quoted by the Ynet news site telling a conference that ordering the termination of a serving minister who is not under criminal investigation crosses a “red line” and that such a ruling would constitute “a clearly illegal order.”

Fuchs also accuses the court of eroding the separation of powers, and the Attorney General’s Office of acting as “almost a fourth” branch of government.

Route 1 reopens to traffic after being temporarily blocked by dairy farmers

Route 1, the central artery between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, has reopened after being briefly blocked by a convoy of dairy farmers heading to Jerusalem to protest a reform to their industry being spearheaded by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Hebrew media reports.

A social media post from an account representing the protesters posts photos showing them driving down the highway, with one person pouring milk out of the back of a truck.

A banner hanging from more than one truck reads, “Drink blue and white [Israeli] milk, not Erdogan’s!”

The mention of Recep Tayyip Erdogan refers to the reform’s aim to ease the import of dairy products to Israel.

היום הרפתנים עולים לכנסת וזועקים:
❌לא לחיסול החלב הישראלי
❌לא לסגירת 400 רפתות
❌לא לייבוא מטורקיה של ארדואן
❌לא להפקרת אדמות מולדת pic.twitter.com/uM3HIYtWs0

— מאבק הרפתנים (@raftanimil) February 4, 2026

Smotrich is intent on breaking the centralized planning that has characterized the country’s dairy industry since the beginning of the state.

He wants to slash milk production by 30 percent, lower by 15% the price per liter that processing companies pay to dairy farmers, and scrap tariffs to allow more imports.

Dairy farmers say the reform will hobble their industry and harm its employees.

Sue Surkes contributed to this report. 

As it turns 100, Lufthansa aims to take more responsibility for its Nazi past

A Lufthansa airlines Airbus-A320-271N comes in to land at Heathrow Airport in west London on April 29, 2024. (Adrian DENNIS / AFP)

To mark a century since its founding, Germany’s Lufthansa is reappraising its history to take on greater responsibility for its actions during the Nazi era, breaking with earlier attempts to separate its pre- and postwar identity.

“We at Lufthansa are proud of what we are today,” CEO Carsten Spohr tells journalists in remarks released today. “To then ignore the difficult, dark, terrible years would simply have been dishonest.”

Even the decision to mark 100 years since the start of the first “Deutsche Luft Hansa” reflects a shift. The company had long stressed the legal and organizational break between its predecessor – which was deeply integrated into the Nazi regime and shut down in 1946 – and the postwar Lufthansa AG founded in 1953.

Lufthansa’s board and supervisory board members had joined the Nazi Party from 1930 onwards and, as the state airline, it carried government officials.

Lufthansa also had a role in the arms industry and the Luftwaffe air force. In 1944, the armaments sector contributed more than two-thirds of total revenue.

Earlier board members had stressed the legal separation largely for reasons of reputation and liability. Lufthansa now wants to take responsibility, Spohr says.

One step is a new book on the company’s history that will be distributed to all of its more than 100,000 employees, along with an exhibition in the new visitors’ center.

Lufthansa commissioned research into its past more than 25 years ago but declined to acknowledge findings on the extent of its use of forced labor and personnel continuity after World War II. According to historian Manfred Grieger, who contributed to the book, more than 12,000 people were exploited in Hansa’s arms production and its repair and maintenance operations. It has only recently emerged that the number included children.

Hamas civil defense says 2 killed in IDF strike; one IDed as Red Crescent medic

Hamas’s civil defense agency reports two people killed in an Israeli airstrike a short while ago on a tent housing displaced people in al-Mawasi, on the Hamas-controlled side of the Gaza ceasefire line, near Khan Younis in the Strip’s south.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society identifies one of the people killed in the strike as an on-duty Red Crescent medic, Hussein al-Samiri.

The Red Crescent also says its field hospital in al-Mawasi has received at least a dozen people wounded in the strike.

The IDF has not yet commented, though the strike comes after the military accused Hamas of a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire in which gunmen fired on Israeli troops in northern Gaza overnight, seriously wounding a reservist officer.

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.

IDF denies carrying out drone strike close to UNIFIL in Lebanon

Peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) ride in armored vehicles during a patrol along the border with Israel by the village of Kfar Kila in south Lebanon on June 4, 2025. (AFP)

The IDF denies that a drone strike it carried out in southern Lebanon this week was close to UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force there.

According to the military, it was working to demolish a Hezbollah site in the village of Kfarkela that was previously used by the terror group to store weapons.

“Contrary to UNIFIL’s claims, no UNIFIL forces were identified in the area at the time of the strike,” the IDF says in response to a query from The Times of Israel.

The group, whose full name is the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, had accused the Israeli military of flying drones “aggressively” above its observers, with one dropping a “stun grenade that exploded about fifty meters away from the peacekeepers.”

“We emphasize that the IDF does not operate against UN forces in the area, but rather against the Hezbollah terror organization, and in accordance with the understandings and UN Security Council Resolution 1701,” the military adds.

In recent months, UNIFIL has made an increasing number of complaints against the IDF. The observer force’s mandate is due to expire at the end of the year.

Defense minister: Israel will ‘dismantle’ Hamas if it doesn’t lay down weapons

Defense Minister Israel Katz speaks at an Israeli Air Force pilots' graduation ceremony at the Hatzerim Airbase, December 24, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)

Defense Minister Israel Katz says Israel is “determined” to disarm the Hamas terror group, threatening to “dismantle” the terror group if it doesn’t agree to lay down its arms.

“After we have completed the objective of bringing back all of our hostages, we are determined to complete the disarmament of Hamas and the full demilitarization of Gaza,” Katz says at a handover ceremony for the chief of COGAT, the Defense Ministry body that liaises with Palestinians.

“If Hamas does not disarm in accordance with the agreed framework, we will dismantle it and all of its capabilities,” he warns.

Iran formally allows women to ride motorcycles

Iranians ride a motorcycle in front of a billboard depicting slain Lebanese Hezbollah leaders Hassan Nasrallah (center) and his successor Hashem Safieddine (right) as well as the late Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, in Tehran on September 28, 2025. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Women in Iran can now formally obtain a license to ride a motorcycle, local media report, ending years of legal ambiguity surrounding two-wheelers and following the government’s bloody crackdown on anti-regime protests last month.

The law previously did not explicitly prohibit women from riding motorbikes and scooters, but in practice authorities refused to issue licenses.

Due to the legal gray area, women have been held legally responsible for accidents even when victims.

Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref signed a resolution yesterday aimed at clarifying the traffic code, which was approved by Iran’s cabinet in late January, the country’s Ilna news agency reports.

The resolution obliges traffic police to “provide practical training to female applicants, organize an exam under the direct supervision of the police, and issue motorcycle driver’s licenses to women,” Ilna says.

The change follows a wave of protests across Iran that were initially sparked by economic grievances but which grew last month into nationwide anti-government demonstrations.

Tehran has acknowledged that more than 3,000 deaths occurred during the unrest, insisting that most were members of the security forces and bystanders. Rights groups cite a higher death toll and say the true figure may be much higher still, in the tens of thousands.

Since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, women have faced a range of societal restrictions, with dress codes posing a challenge for those riding motorcycles.

Women must cover their hair with a headscarf in public and wear modest, loose-fitting clothing, but in recent years many have defied those rules, with the number of women on motorbikes rising sharply in recent months.

This trend accelerated after the 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman arrested for allegedly violating the dress code.

Her death sparked protests across Iran by women demanding greater freedoms.

Iran wanted US talks in Oman as continuation of previous nuclear talks, official says

In this handout picture provided by Ithe Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency (ICANA), members of Iran's parliament dressed in IRGC uniforms, chant 'Death to America, Death to Israel' during a session in Tehran on February 1, 2026 (ICANA NEWS AGENCY / AFP)

Iran decided to move talks with the United States from Istanbul to Oman because it wanted the discussions to be a continuation of previous negotiations there over its nuclear program, a regional official tells Reuters.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says Iran has since the beginning stressed that it would only discuss its nuclear program, while Washington wants other issues on the agenda as well.

The regional official said Tehran was aware that countries in the region were invited to participate in the talks in Istanbul during the planning process. A report yesterday said Iran wanted the talks to be bilateral with the US, without the other countries’ participation.

Smotrich accuses dairy industry of ‘violent power plays to take over the State of Israel’

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich of Religious Zionism leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 19, 2026 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

As convoys of dairy farmers head to the Knesset from different parts of the country to protest a controversial dairy reform, the reform’s architect, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, posts on X that he will not allow the dairy monopolies to “cynically continue to exploit the citizens of Israel” or conduct “violent power plays to take over the State of Israel.”

Smotrich is intent on breaking the centralized planning that has characterized the country’s dairy industry since the beginning of the state.

He wants to slash domestic milk production by 30 percent, lower by 15% the price per liter that processing companies pay to dairy farmers, and scrap tariffs to allow more imports.

“Even after the reform, approximately 80% of the milk you drink and the cheeses you eat will continue to be produced right here in Israel,” he vows.

“We are preserving local production, safeguarding our magnificent Israeli agriculture, and strengthening food security,” he goes on. “We are simply changing the rules and doing it correctly, the same way it is done in most countries around the world.”

Addressing the three big dairy processing companies, Tnuva, Tara and Strauss — responsible, he said earlier this week, for 85% of the market — he says current customs duties created “a protected bubble” that allowed the dairy giants “to charge you prices that are over 50% higher than the rest of the world.”

He continues, “They had no incentive to compete or lower prices. That ends now. Opening the market to imports will force the large companies to sweat and face international competition for the first time. They will have to fight for every customer.”

Despite a recommendation by the legal adviser to the Knesset on Tuesday to separate the reform from the Economic Arrangements Bill that accompanies the state budget, Smotrich says, “The reform is moving forward. It has been transferred for discussion to MK Ohad Tal in the Reforms Committee and will be promoted, God willing, within the framework of the budget and the Arrangements Law.”

Sa’ar hosts Latin American foreign ministers, US officials in Washington

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar meets with Latin American foreign ministers and US officials in Washington, DC, on February 3, 2026. (Israel Embassy in Washington)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar meets with counterparts from Latin America and senior US administration officials at the home of Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter in Washington.

Sa’ar is joined by Argentinian Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno, Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, and Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld.

Also in attendance are US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, White House faith adviser Paula White, and Republican members of Congress Maria Salazar and Mario Díaz-Balart, both from Florida.

The groups discusses “the pro-Western shift taking place in countries across the continent,” according to Sa’ar’s office.

The meeting is part of the Foreign Ministry’s focus on Latin America in 2026, according to the ministry. A number of Latin American countries have recently elected conservative leaders friendly to Israel.

IDF chief: Troops must ‘act immediately and not stand by’ in face of attacks by settlers

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir speaks at a handover ceremony for the chief of COGAT at the Gideonim Base in central Israel, February 4, 2026. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)

Amid a rise in attacks by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank in recent months, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says troops must not “stand by.”

“Alongside determined fighting against terrorism and strengthening security and Jewish settlement, we are required to strictly uphold law and order and to prevent crime of all kinds, including nationalist crime. These do not strengthen security; they harm the settlement [movement], the IDF, and the State of Israel,” Zamir says at a handover ceremony for the chief of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, known as COGAT.

“IDF commanders and soldiers, as well as the other security organizations, have both an operational and moral duty to act immediately and not stand by when they detect illegal acts by violent groups, and to protect uninvolved civilian populations,” he says.

Zamir says incoming COGAT chief Maj. Gen. Yoram Halevi, together with the IDF Central Command, Israel Police, and Shin Bet, “bear from this moment the command responsibility to warn and act to prevent this phenomenon without fear.”

“I am confident that your experience will assist in this,” he adds.

Israeli strike reportedly targets tent in Gaza’s al-Mawasi; IDF has yet to comment

Palestinian media reports an Israeli airstrike targeting a tent housing displaced Gazans in the al-Mawasi area in the Strip’s south.

The IDF has not yet commented, though the strike comes after the military accused Hamas of a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire when gunmen fired on troops in northern Gaza overnight, seriously wounding a reservist officer.

🔴 لحظة استهداف طائرات الاحتلال خيمة تؤوي نازحين بمواصي خان يونس جنوب قطاع غزة pic.twitter.com/f4uvuQd9iV

— غزة الآن – Gaza Now (@nowgnna) February 4, 2026

At handover, COGAT chief says he feels ‘profound pain and deep embarrassment’ over Oct. 7

Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, outgoing COGAT chief, speaks at a handover ceremony at the Gideonim Base in central Israel, February 4, 2026. (Screenshot: Israel Defense Forces)

Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, who is completing his nearly five-year tenure as chief of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) — the Defense Ministry’s liaison body to the Palestinians — says he feels “profound pain and deep embarrassment” over the failures that enabled Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.

Maj. Gen. Yoram Halevy, a retired senior police officer, is replacing Alian. It is unprecedented for a former senior police officer to be given a top role in the IDF.

Speaking at a handover ceremony, Alian says that “alongside the sense of pride in the path and in what I had the privilege to lead, contribute to, and act upon, I feel profound pain and deep embarrassment as an officer and as a commander over the systemic failure of October 7.”

“As an army, we did not meet our most basic obligation to ensure the protection of the residents of the border communities and the state as a whole,” he says. He is the latest in a string of military, intelligence and defense officials to take responsibility and apologize for his role surrounding the October 7 attack.

Alian is set to be appointed to a new role in the military as a liaison to the Druze population in Syria and Lebanon under the IDF Northern Command.

“Today, I conclude my role, but I commit to continue acting, for as long as I am able, for the security of the people of Israel and the State of Israel,” he says.

Halevy, speaking at the ceremony, says, “The State of Israel is currently facing major challenges, alongside significant opportunities. Reality is changing rapidly, and new mechanisms are taking shape every day. Within this changing environment, the missions, challenges, and areas of responsibility of COGAT continue to grow.”

“In recent months, I have studied the unit, its missions, its people, and its strengths. Above all, I have learned that COGAT has a real capability to help realize the potential inherent in this period, and that a heavy responsibility rests on its shoulders to ensure that this happens,” he adds.

Halevy held the rank of deputy commissioner in the Israel Police before retiring. He previously headed the force’s Jerusalem and Southern Districts, the Border Police, the Lahav 433 major crimes unit, and the elite Yamam counterterrorism unit, and served in other top roles.

His son, Chief Inspector Yitav Lev Halevy, 28, a commander in Yamam, was killed in a battle with Palestinian gunmen during a raid in the West Bank in May 2024.

COGAT is a Defense Ministry unit commanded by an IDF general that oversees and coordinates humanitarian and civilian matters in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and, more recently, also in areas of southern Syria under Israeli military control.

High Court orders Netanyahu to explain why he hasn’t fired Ben Gvir

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir leads a faction meeting of his Otzma Yehudit party at the Knesset in Jerusalem on December 12, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

A High Court ruling orders Prime Minister Netanyahu to explain why he hasn’t fired National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, following a filing last month from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara saying the far-right minister systematically abuses his powers.

Ben Gvir, who oversees the Israel Police, has asked the court to reject petitions seeking his dismissal. He has repeatedly clashed with Baharav-Miara, who has accused him of improperly interfering in police investigations and appointments. She also says he has violated an agreement he reached with her that is meant to limit his powers.

The court ruling orders Netanyahu to “come and to explain why he should not order the removal” of Ben Gvir. It gives the premier and Ben Gvir until March 10 to submit a response.

Last month, Netanyahu reportedly vowed that he would not fire Ben Gvir, whose Otzma Yehudit party is a partner in the prime minister’s coalition.

The High Court order also expands the panel of judges hearing the case to nine.

One-year-old dies of measles in Jerusalem, 14th fatality in outbreak

Illustration: A baby receives the measles vaccine on September 10, 2025, in Seattle, Washington. (AP/Lindsey Wasson)

A 1-year-old baby who was not vaccinated against measles and had no underlying conditions died due to complications of the disease, the Health Ministry says.

The baby was brought to Hadassah Mount Scopus Hospital in Jerusalem in critical condition. A spokesperson for the hospital confirmed that the baby was pronounced dead after being rushed to the emergency room.

The death marks the 14th fatality in Israel due to the measles outbreak that began in May. Most of the victims were healthy children with no underlying diseases who were not vaccinated against measles.

The ministry emphasizes the importance of receiving medical care in a timely fashion when symptoms appear, or when there is suspicion of exposure to the disease.

The ministry recommends that resident of outbreak areas, or anyone traveling to those areas or traveling abroad, give infants aged 6–11 months a measles vaccine shot — in addition to the two routine shots given at 12 months of age and in 1st grade — and adults and children over 12 months old who have had one shot should receive a second shot earlier than scheduled.

Areas classified as experiencing a measles outbreak, as of November, are Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh, Bnei Brak, Harish, Modi’in Illit, Nof HaGalil, Kiryat Gat, Ashdod, Safed, Netivot, Haifa, Tiberias, the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council, and the settlement of Tekoa.

Death toll in overnight Gaza strikes rises to 18 — Palestinian reports

Palestinian media, citing hospitals in Gaza, report that 18 people were killed in overnight Israeli strikes in the Strip.

They include 11 killed in Gaza City, according to the reports.

The IDF said it carried out tank shelling and airstrikes after gunmen attacked Israeli troops in the Strip’s north, seriously wounding a reservist officer.

Man City soccer manager condemns ‘genocide in Palestine,’ vows to speak on global conflicts

Manchester City's manager Pep Guardiola looks on ahead of the English Premier League soccer match between Fulham and Manchester City at Craven Cottage, London, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Pep Guardiola, manager of the UK’s Manchester City soccer team, condemns what he called the “genocide in Palestine” while saying he will continue to use his platform to speak up for victims of global conflicts and violence.

Guardiola’s team is one of the top soccer teams in Europe, and has won the English Premier League several times in recent years. His remarks came at a pre‑match press conference ahead of a game against Newcastle United, five days after he voiced support for Palestinians at a pro-Palestinian charity concert in Barcelona, where he went onstage wearing a keffiyeh and condemned political leaders for being cowardly.

“Never, ever in the history of humanity have we had the information in front of our eyes watching more clearly than now,” Guardiola, who is Spanish, tells reporters in Manchester.

“The genocide in Palestine, what happened in Ukraine, what happened in Russia, what happened all around the world – in Sudan, everywhere,” he says. “What happened in front of us? Do you want to see it? It’s our problems as human beings. It’s our problems.”

Israel adamantly rejects the accusation that it has committed genocide in Gaza, saying it takes measures to avoid harming noncombatants and blaming Hamas for fighting from civilian areas.

Guardiola also condemns immigration agents’ lethal crackdown in the US.

“Look what happened in the United States of America, Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed. Tell me how you can defend that,” Guardiola said. The fatal shootings of the two US citizens by federal immigration agents sparked widespread protests in the United States.

“When I see the images, I am sorry it hurts. That is why in every position I can help speak up to be a better society, I will try and will be there. All the time. It is for my kids, my families, for you,” he says. “There is not a perfect society, nowhere is perfect, I am not perfect, we have to work to be better.”

‘Netanyahu save me’ trend racks up millions of views on TikTok

TikTok videos in which users plead with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “help” or “save” them from mundane situations, including a low car battery or hiccups, are garnering millions of views on the social media platform.

Some of the presumably ironic clips feature the user screaming frantically for the premier to help them. Others show the text “Netanyahu save me.”

@crewsading

@Benjamin Netanyahu – נתניהו HELP ME #fyp #xyz #makemefamous #bb #bignett

♬ original sound – Nicky

One nine-second video with nearly 11 million views features a man shrieking, apparently from behind the wheel of a Tesla, as he rushes toward a charging station.

“Netanyahu, I’m 40 miles away from the supercharger!” the user screams. “Please, Mr. Netanyahu, help me!”

Some of the videos include the text “kiss the wall,” a seeming reference to the common Jewish practice at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Others appear to reference the tech giant Oracle.

Several of the videos tag Netanyahu’s profile on the app.

@jeadenbro

the big Netanyahu really saved me 🥹 | #bp #larp #lm #mog #fyp

♬ son original – 𝐷𝑀 𝑆𝑂𝑁𝐺𝑆 • 歌

One arrested as police clear Haredi anti-draft protest at IDF induction center at Tel Hashomer

One demonstrator has been arrested as officers operate to clear an illegal demonstration outside the main IDF induction center at Tel Hashomer, near Tel Aviv, according to police.

Dozens of ultra-Orthodox protesters “attempted to block vehicles while lying on the road,” police say, adding in a statement that while they are continuing to work “to maintain public order and secure the arrival of those coming to the recruitment office,” the demonstration has forced the closure of parts of Yaakov Dori Street, requiring the public to use “alternative routes and avoid the area.”

In a video shared by the police, demonstrators can be heard screaming “Nazi, Nazi” as they are removed from the road.

Haredi demonstrators blocking the road outside the main IDF induction center at Tel Hashomer. They can be heard screaming "Nazi, Nazi" at the police. (video: police) pic.twitter.com/oo1ucp69XM

— Sam Sokol (@SamuelSokol) February 4, 2026

“The Israel Police considers the right to protest to be a cornerstone of a democratic country and allows protests as long as they are held within the framework of the law. However, the police will not allow any kind of disorder or violation of freedom of movement or any behavior that may endanger the safety of the public,” the statement adds.

The protest comes as the military has continued to draft Haredim amid a fight in the Knesset over legislation that would enshrine sweeping exemptions from military service for yeshiva students.

After overnight attack on troops, Israel says Rafah Crossing open today as usual

Ambulances carrying Palestinians seeking medical treatment drive on the Egyptian side of the Rafah Crossing with the Gaza Strip on February 3, 2026. (AFP)

The Rafah Border Crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt is open this morning as usual, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) says, contrary to claims in some Palestinian media outlets.

The crossing opened on Monday for the first time in a year for Gazan Palestinians to enter and leave the Strip in accordance with the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, though the number of people crossing has been limited.

COGAT says that as of this morning, the World Health Organization, “which is responsible for coordinating the arrival of residents from the Gaza Strip to the Rafah Crossing, has not submitted the required coordination details at this stage for procedural reasons.”

“Once the coordination details are submitted as agreed upon, the transfer of patients and their companions into Egypt via the Rafah Crossing will be facilitated,” COGAT says, in reference to Palestinians seeking medical care.

The crossing is open despite an overnight incident in the northern Gaza Strip during which Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Israeli soldiers, seriously wounding one. The IDF said the incident was a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire. Palestinian media reported nine killed in subsequent Israeli strikes.

IDF announces formation of new all-female combat company

Illustration: Female soldiers with the IDF Artillery Corps are seen on the border of the Gaza Strip, December 8, 2025. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

The IDF announces the formation of a new all-female combat company next month in the 869th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit, which is stationed on the Lebanon border.

That unit, part of the Border Defense Corps, operates under the 91st “Galilee” Regional Division. In the past year, the IDF says, the unit has killed some 60 Hezbollah operatives and destroyed numerous sites belonging to the terror group, including weapon depots, in drone strikes.

“As part of the unit’s organizational and technological changes, a new female combat company is expected to be established in March to improve the unit’s capabilities and readiness,” the military says.

The IDF’s combat intelligence collection units — stationed on Israel’s borders and in the West Bank — include mixed-gender light infantry components and teams of all-female surveillance soldiers.

According to data from 2025, some 8,500 female soldiers serve in combat roles, more than double the 2020 figure. The army has said it is allowing more women to serve in combat positions out of practical considerations, not due to a social agenda, saying it requires all the personnel available to it.

Earlier this week, following a segment on the pro-government Channel 14 attacking female combat soldiers, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the contribution of female combat soldiers in the military is “not a slogan” but a “proven operational fact.”

Haredim protesting conscription block traffic outside IDF induction center at Tel Hashomer

Police clear a protest in which Haredi demonstrators blocked traffic outside the IDF induction center at Tel Hashomer, February 4, 2026. (Screenshot/Israel Police)

Dozens of ultra-Orthodox protesters block traffic outside the main IDF induction center at Tel Hashomer, near Tel Aviv, in opposition to the conscription of Haredi men.

The protesters stand in front of buses and cars on the road as police work to remove them.

The protest comes as the military has continued to draft Haredim amid a fight in the Knesset over legislation that would enshrine sweeping exemptions from military service for yeshiva students.

US condemns South Africa’s expulsion of Israeli diplomat

US Deputy State Department Spokesman Tommy Pigott speaks during a press briefing at the State Department in Washington, DC, on July 31, 2025. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP)

The United States condemns South Africa’s decision to expel Israel’s top diplomat last week, a State Department spokesperson says, calling the African nation’s step a part of prioritizing “grievance politics.”

“Expelling a diplomat for calling out the African National Congress party’s ties to Hamas and other antisemitic radicals prioritizes grievance politics over the good of South Africa and its citizens,” Tommy Pigott, the State Department’s deputy spokesperson, says on the social network X.

South Africa’s embassy in Washington has no immediate comment.

On Friday, South Africa declared the top diplomat at Israel’s embassy, chargé d’affaires Ariel Seidman, persona non grata and ordered him out within 72 hours. Israel has no ambassador to South Africa.

It accused him of “unacceptable violations of diplomatic norms and practice,” including insulting South Africa’s president.

Israel responded by expelling South Africa’s senior diplomatic representative to its country.

Israel and South Africa have had strained relations since South Africa in 2024 brought a genocide case in the International Court of Justice against Israel over its conduct during the war in Gaza. Israel adamantly denies the accusation.

Mayor suspected of pocketing millions in donations named as Ashkelon’s Tomer Glam

Ashkelon Mayor Tomer Glam (Courtesy)

Ashkelon Mayor Tomer Glam is named as the mayor who is suspected of pocketing wartime donations for himself and his associates, Hebrew media outlets report.

Ashkelon, located on the coast close to the northern Gaza Strip, is one of the largest cities in Israel’s south.

Police announced on Monday that Glam was detained alongside local officials and businessmen suspected of involvement in the alleged corruption. He was later released to house arrest.

According to police, millions of shekels donated to the municipality for the good of residents amid the two-year war against Hamas in Gaza, and the war last year with Iran, were transferred to a community fund and from there, “found their way into the private pockets of the mayor and his associates.”

According to the Ynet outlet, Glam was detained at a hotel in Eilat, where he was speaking at a conference of local treasurers. He reportedly said in a speech at the conference, “My mother always told me, ‘When the money is yours, do what you want with it. With public funds, act with great responsibility.”

Glam has served as mayor of Ashkelon since 2017.

At least 9 reported dead in IDF strikes in Gaza, including 3 children, after gunfire on troops

Illustration: Palestinians inspect the debris of a damaged building in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City on November 20, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Palestinian media outlets report at least nine dead in Israeli strikes in Gaza overnight, including six in the Strip’s north, where the military says it returned fire against gunmen who attacked troops.

The reports say three people were killed, including two children aged 16 and 12, in Israeli artillery shelling in Gaza City’s eastern Tuffah neighborhood.

Another three people, including a five-month old, were killed by Israeli shelling in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, according to the reports.

In addition, three others are also reported killed in a strike in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, according to Palestinian media.

The tolls are not immediately verified.

The IDF says it carried out tank shelling and airstrikes in northern Gaza after gunmen attacked troops, severely wounding one officer.

The military is expected to conduct additional strikes against Hamas, over what it says was a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire that took effect in October.

Four martyrs, including a child, were killed as a result of Israeli occupation artillery shelling on the Zeitoun and Al-Tuffah neighborhoods, east of Gaza City. pic.twitter.com/50QpYCFam3

— Md.Sakib Ali (@iamsakibali1) February 4, 2026

Reservist seriously wounded as troops come under fire in north Gaza; IDF responds with strikes

IDF troops operate at a cemetery in Gaza City during a search for the body of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, in a handout photo issued on January 27, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

An IDF reservist officer was seriously wounded by gunfire carried out by Palestinian terror operatives in the northern Gaza Strip overnight, the military says.

According to the IDF, troops of the Alexandroni Brigade came under fire from multiple gunmen during operations on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line that splits the enclave between areas controlled by Israel and Hamas

In response, the military says tanks opened fire on the gunmen and airstrikes were also carried out.

The IDF says the incident is a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire.

The seriously wounded officer was taken to a hospital and his family was notified.

US reportedly agrees to Iranian request to hold Friday’s talks in Oman, not Turkey

The Trump administration has agreed to Iran’s request to move talks scheduled for Friday from Turkey to Oman, an Arab source tells the Axios news site.

The source says talks are still being held on whether any Arab or Muslim countries will also take part in the negotiations in Oman.

Prominent US law groups National Jewish Advocacy Center, Zachor Legal Institute to merge

The National Jewish Advocacy Center, a prominent Jewish legal rights group, acquires the Zachor Legal Institute, a legal think tank.

Courtrooms around the US have increasingly become a central battlefield in the fight against antisemitism, and the two groups heralded their merger as a step forward, as each brings its own expertise to the partnership.

“Zachor adds capabilities NJAC didn’t previously have at this scale: deeper policy and regulatory advocacy, and a well-oiled research engine,” Mark Goldfeder, the head of NJAC, says in a statement. “Combined with NJAC’s national platform and litigation capacity, this move makes our fight against antisemitism sharper, faster and even more effective.”

The acquisition means Zachor’s staff will merge with NJAC.

Both groups are registered nonprofits.

“The global Jewish community requires a unified and powerful legal advocate. Joining NJAC was an easy decision for us,” says Marc Greendorfer, the head of Zachor. “This combination strengthens the entire Jewish legal community.”

NJAC has become one of the leading legal advocacy groups for Jews in antisemitism cases, filing lawsuits against discrimination in areas like workplaces, campuses and synagogues.

One of its innovations is in applying the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, a law established to protect reproductive health care clinics and houses of worship, to specifically protect synagogues against protests.

The US Department of Justice later picked up on the tactic.

Last week, NJAC announced a partnership with the Community Security Service, a group that trains volunteer synagogue security guards.

Trump considered walking away from Iran talks after naval confrontations — WSJ

American officials tell the Wall Street Journal that President Donald Trump considered walking away from negotiations with Iran following a pair of naval confrontations between US and Iranian forces around the Sea of Arabia.

The report doesn’t explain why Trump ended up deciding not to leave the talks.

Analysts tell the newspaper that the moves could be a signal by Iranian hardliners that they aren’t committed to the talks and believe Trump may not end up carrying out a major attack on Iran.

Police arrest 3 Tira residents after deadly highway shooting

Police arrest three residents of Tira on suspicion of shooting another three young men to death Tuesday night.

The suspects are believed to have opened fire on the trio as they travelled on a highway just south of the Arab town in central Israel. The victims lost control of the vehicle during the ambush and collided with a bus. They were dead by the time firefighters pulled them out of the vehicle.

Police forces launched a manhunt for the perpetrators of the shooting after reaching the scene and soon managed to nab the three suspects. The killing was spurred on by a blood feud between two warring families, according to police.

The ongoing investigation has been assigned to Central District police detectives, police add.

Khan Younis clan says Israeli-backed militia kidnapped 4 members, denies they’re linked to Hamas

A Palestinian clan in the Khan Younis area says four of its members, including a 15-year-old boy, were kidnapped Saturday by an area anti-Hamas militia led by Hossam al-Astal, a former Palestinian Authority security officer who has claimed to receive military support from Israel.

The Sha’er clan denies the four had anything to do with Hamas.

Astal claimed Saturday that his militia captured six Hamas operatives and killed several others in Batn al-Samin, on the Hamas-controlled side of the Gaza ceasefire line in southwestern Khan Younis. Hamas claimed at the time that it had ambushed a gang carrying out a “kidnapping operation” on behalf of Israel in Batn al-Samin.

In a statement on social media, the Sha’er clan says its four members were abducted by Astal’s militia while gathering firewood in a designated safe zone, “away from any site of tension or clashes.”

According to the clan, Astal’s militia came from Qizan al-Najjar, an area of Khan Younis that abuts Batn al-Samin from the southeast and is bisected by the ceasefire line.

The clan says its abducted members “are uninvolved in any political or military organization,” adding that “the claim that the abductees ‘belong to the Hamas movement’ is baseless and its sole purpose is to legitimize the attack on civilians.”

The four were taken to an unknown location, the clan adds, while demanding their “immediate and unconditional release.”

Trump: US negotiating with Iran ‘right now,’ talks being held ‘all over’ the place

US President Donald Trump arrives for the premiere of first lady Melania Trump's movie "Melania" at The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts, January 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

After Iran expressed its desire to upend reported US plans for nuclear talks later this week, President Donald Trump declines to share the location of the Friday meeting.

The US had planned to hold the meeting in Istanbul and had invited a number of prominent Arab and Muslim countries to attend as observers, an Arab diplomat confirms to The Times of Israel.

But Axios reported that Tehran is looking to host the talks elsewhere and not include other countries, while Iran’s foreign ministry said talks were underway regarding multiple locations.

Asked where the talks will be held, Trump tells reporters in the Oval Office, “all over… There’s more than one” location.

“They are negotiating. They’d like to do something. We’ll see if something is going to be done. They had a chance to do something a while ago, and it didn’t work out, and we did Midnight Hammer,” Trump says, referring to the June strike by the US on Iran’s nuclear program

“I don’t think they want that happening again. They would like to negotiate. We are negotiating with them right now,” he adds.