Feb. 19: Trump says Gaza war over, Hamas will be met ‘harshly’ if it doesn’t disarm

Trump told Congress Saudi nuclear pact won’t include safeguards against bomb, document shows

US President Donald Trump (right) meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, November 18, 2025. (Evan Vucci/AP)

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has told Congress he is pursuing a civil nuclear pact with Saudi Arabia that does not include non-proliferation safeguards the US has long said would ensure the kingdom does not develop nuclear weapons, according to a copy of the document sent to Congress and reviewed by Reuters.

Trump, a Republican, and former president Joe Biden, a Democrat, have worked with Saudi Arabia on paths to building the first civil nuclear power plants for the kingdom.

The development comes amid fears of a new global nuclear arms race following the expiration earlier this month of the last strategic arms limitation treaty between Russia and the United States, and China’s moves to expand its own nuclear arsenal.

Arms control groups and many Democrats and some leading Republicans – including Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he served in the Senate — have insisted that any agreement come with guardrails, including that Saudi Arabia not have the ability to enrich uranium or to reprocess spent nuclear fuel, potential pathways to weapons, demands also made by successive US administrations.

They also insist that Saudi Arabia agree to the so-called Additional Protocol that grants the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency broad and more intrusive oversight of a country’s nuclear activities, such as the power to carry out snap inspections at undeclared locations.

The Trump administration sent an initial report to leaders on some congressional committees in November, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, that it is required to send if it is not pursuing the Additional Protocol, the Arms Control Association, an advocacy group, said on Thursday.

The report “raises concerns that the Trump administration has not carefully considered the proliferation risks posed by its proposed nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia or the precedent this agreement may set,” Kelsey Davenport, the head of nonproliferation policy for ACA, said in an article published today.

Trump’s report to Congress says that the draft US-Saudi pact on civil nuclear, known as a 123 Agreement, puts the US industry at the heart of Saudi Arabia’s civil nuclear development, ensuring nuclear-proliferation safeguards are in place.

The document, however, opens the way to Saudi Arabia also having an enrichment program as it refers to “additional safeguards and verification measures to the most sensitive areas of potential nuclear cooperation” between the US and Saudi Arabia, including enrichment and reprocessing.

The White House and the State Department do not immediately respond to requests for comment. Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Washington does not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Chief rabbis slam High Court for telling government to advance Western Wall egalitarian plaza upgrade

Chief Rabbis Kalman Ber and David Yosef attack the High Court of Justice for its decision to instruct the government to move forward with the upgrade of the Western Wall egalitarian plaza following a hearing on the topic on Tuesday, three years after the last one.

“The Chief Rabbis of Israel view the High Court’s decision with great severity, as it was rendered while exceeding authority and constitutes improper intervention in the holiest site of the Jewish people,” they say in a statement. “This is not a technical issue, but a fundamental question concerning the sanctity of the Western Wall and the preservation of the generations-long traditions practiced there.”

The Court described its decision earlier today as the implementation of practical aspects already determined in the past. An upgrade of the egalitarian plaza located at the southern end of the Wall and known as “Ezrat Israel” was approved by the cabinet in 2016, and the commitment was reiterated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2017 with a Prime Minister’s Office directive, but never came to fruition in the following years.

In today’s decision, the Court clarified that no additional cabinet approval is required for the building permits, but the parties may request renewed approval from the Israel Antiquities Authority. Following that, the state will need to file the application for the permits within 14 days and an appeal to the Committee for Planning and Building, Jerusalem District if no answer is received within 45 days.

The Court also said that the State of Israel and the Jerusalem Municipality shall submit an update on the matter within 90 days.

In the statement, the chief rabbis ask the Court to “refrain from intervening in the sacred matters of the Western Wall.”

Trump: Iran has ’10, 15 days’ to make nuclear deal, ‘or it’s going to be unfortunate for them’

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on Air Force One before taking off from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on February 19, 2026. (SAUL LOEB / AFP)

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump says that Iran had at most 15 days to make a deal on concerns starting with its nuclear program, suggesting the United States would attack if it did not.

“We’re either going to get a deal, or it’s going to be unfortunate for them,” Trump tells reporters on Air Force One.

Asked about his timeline, Trump says, “I would think that would be enough time — 10, 15 days, pretty much maximum.”

Trump earlier Thursday had suggested 10 days for Iran’s clerical state to reach an agreement.

59% of Israelis support joining US-led attack on Iran, TV poll finds

This handout image from the US Navy shows an EA-18G Growler launching from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Indian Ocean on January 23, 2026. (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Daniel Kimmelman/US Navy via AP)

A majority of Israelis support joining in a strike on Iran if the United States were to attack the country, according to a Channel 12 poll.

In the survey released tonight, as Washington ramps up its military presence in the region, 59 percent of respondents say they believe Israel should join in a US-led attack on the Islamic Republic.

Meanwhile, 29% are against the notion of joining in an attack, and the remainder of respondents (12%) are uncertain.

Respondents were also polled on which party they would vote for if elections were held today, with the survey finding that neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition nor the opposition bloc would win a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

The result echoes the bulk of recent polling on the matter, as elections are slated to be held by the end of October this year, given the Knesset does not disperse before then.

The opposition bloc maintains its edge over the coalition in the survey, with the former winning 58 seats and the latter winning just 52.

Israel’s four main Arab-majority parties — which are currently in talks to reestablish the Joint List — would win 10 seats if running separately, with five going to Ra’am, led by Mansour Abbas, and the other five going to Hadash-Ta’al.

If the Joint List were revived and Arab parties were to run as a united bloc, it would win 12 seats, chipping off two seats from the opposition, the poll finds.

When broken down by party, Netanyahu’s Likud party still polls as the largest with 27 seats. A party led by former prime minister Naftali Bennett would win 21, while the left-wing Democrats, led by Yair Golan, would take 11.

Former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot’s “Yashar” party would win 10 seats. The Sephardic ultra-Orthodox Shas party, led by Aryeh Deri, would win nine seats, as would Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu and the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, led by Itamar Ben Gvir.

Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid would take seven seats, while United Torah Judaism would take five. As mentioned, both Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am would take another five seats.

Belarus says US failed to give visas to officials to attend Board of Peace meeting

WARSAW, Poland — The United States failed to issue visas for Belarusian officials to attend the inaugural meeting of President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace,” despite inviting Belarus to join as a founding member, the country’s Foreign Ministry says.

In an angry statement, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry says it told the event’s organizers it would be represented by Foreign Minister Maxim Ryzhenkov at the meeting and had applied for the visas in advance.

“However, despite completing all the required procedures on our part, visas were not issued to our delegation,” the ministry says.

“This situation naturally raises the question: what kind of peace and what kind of consistency can we be talking about if even the basic formalities for our participation were not fulfilled by the organizers?”

The eastern European country, ruled for more than 30 years by President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, was one of only around two dozen that accepted invitations to join Trump’s board.

Ex-prince Andrew released after arrest, remains under investigation

Then-prince Andrew looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)

LONDON — The former prince Andrew has been released after his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The Thames Valley Police force says the former prince was released Thursday evening. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was photographed in a car leaving the station near his home in eastern England about 11 hours after his arrest.

He is released under investigation, meaning he has neither been charged nor exonerated.

Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested early today at his home by detectives investigating his ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein. Police said they had finished searching Mountbatten-Windsor’s home but were still searching another property.

Footage shows Tucker Carlson with arm around airport official, after he claimed he was detained

Fototage has been posted on social media, appearing to show popular American right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson signing a document, then getting photographed with an airport security official, after he claimed yesterday that he was detained by Israeli security staff.

The video shows Carlson putting his arm around an airport official while getting photographed after signing a document.

“Men who identified themselves as airport security took our passports, hauled our executive producer into a side room and then demanded to know what we spoke to Ambassador Huckabee about,” Carlson told the Daily Mail yesterday after his quick stop in the country. “It was bizarre. We’re now out of the country.”

The Israel Airports Authority said it “firmly rejects” the claim.

“EVERYONE who comes in/out of Israel (every country for that matter) has passports checked & routinely asked security questions,” Huckabee wrote on X. “Even ME going in/out with Diplomatic Passport & Diplomatic Visa.”

BREAKING: Footage from Tucker Carlson’s ‘interrogation’ has emerged.

– This is VIP security
– He signs a document
– Smiles
– Hugs the airport security member
– Smiles for a photo
– Cracks a few jokes
– Leaves within 5 seconds

Tucker Carlson is a total fraud. pic.twitter.com/YtMzqlCKyl

— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) February 19, 2026

Israel readying for hypothetical Iranian first strike — report

Israel is preparing for a hypothetical scenario in which Iran may attack Israel first amid the ongoing tensions between Tehran and the United States, the Kan public broadcaster reports.

The report does not cite any sources nor provide any further information as to why such a scenario would play out.

Kan does, however, cite Israeli security sources as saying that if Iran attacks Israel in response to an American attack, Israel will also launch strikes on Iran — something that Israeli leaders have repeatedly publicly said.

Since January, the IDF has been on high alert and has carried out various preparations after US President Donald Trump threatened military action against Iran against the backdrop of the regime’s killing of protesters.

Preparations have largely focused on the military’s air defense array, attack plans, intelligence, and the Home Front Command, according to the IDF.

The level of preparedness in the military is similar to that ahead of June 2025’s 12-day war with Iran, Kan reports, also without citing any sources.

Ex-general Ofer Winter gives testimony in probe of PM’s chief of staff — report

Brig. Gen. (res.) Ofer Winter speaks during a Jerusalem Day event in Ariel, in the West Bank, June 4, 2024. (Flash90)

Police took testimony from Brig. Gen. Ofer Winter, a controversial ex-general, as part of an ongoing investigation into the prime minister’s chief of staff, Channel 13 reports.

Police are probing Tzachi Braverman on suspicion of interfering with an IDF investigation into the leak of classified information to the German Bild newspaper by Eli Feldstein, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former media adviser.

The investigation is focused on an alleged overnight meeting between Braverman and Feldstein in the underground parking lot of the IDF’s Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, during which Braverman allegedly informed the latter of a secret IDF probe into the leak, saying he could quash it.

Winter gave testimony to police about his personal ties with Feldstein and what the ex-spokesman told him about the overnight meeting, according to Channel 13.

Responding to a request for comment from the outlet, Winter says he was asked by police to give open testimony and “did so willingly.”

Braverman, who is set to become ambassador to the United Kingdom, is currently barred from leaving the country due to restrictive conditions imposed by the Lod District Court until February 24, as police continue to investigate the matter.

Deri accuses High Court of trying to ‘desecrate’ Western Wall

Shas chairman Aryeh Deri speaks with United Torah Judaism MK Moshe Gafni in the Knesset, December 14, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Shas party chairman Aryeh Deri accuses the High Court of Justice of trying to “desecrate” the Western Wall after it instructed the government to move forward with completing processes to restore and upgrade the Western Wall egalitarian plaza.

“The entire Jewish people demand to pray at the Western Wall as has been tradition for generations. This is clearly seen in all the mass prayers held during the month of Elul and throughout the year. Religious and secular, adults and youth come to the Western Wall and pray with respect for the local tradition,” Deri says in a statement.

“The High Court has no authority to change the nature of prayer at the Western Wall! The only authority in the place is that of the Chief Rabbinate. There will be no Reform prayer area at the Western Wall,” he says, adding his party will submit a bill to the Knesset to “protect the sanctity” of the site.

Uganda’s military chief says statue of Yoni Netanyahu to be erected at Entebbe

Yoni Netanyahu, in a photograph taken shortly before his death at Entebbe in 1976. (GPO, Wikimedia)

Uganda’s military chief Muhoozi Kainerugaba says the country will erect a statue of Yoni Netanyahu, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s brother, who was killed leading an elite IDF force in the rescue of hostages from Entebbe.

“In order to strengthen our close blood relations with Israel, we shall soon unveil a statue to Yoni Netanyahu at the exact spot he was killed at Entebbe Airport,” Kainerugaba, who is the son of Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, writes on X.

“Yoni was the big brother of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Godbless Uganda and Israel.”

In order to strengthen our close blood relations with Israel, we shall soon unveil a statue to Yoni Netanyahu at the exact spot he was killed at Entebbe Airport. Yoni was the big brother of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Godbless Uganda and Israel.

— Muhoozi Kainerugaba (@mkainerugaba) February 19, 2026

UN says Washington has paid some $160 million it owes to organization

The symbol of the United Nations is displayed outside the Secretariat Building, February 28, 2022, at United Nations Headquarters. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

UNITED NATIONS — The United States has paid about $160 million of the nearly $4 billion it owes the United Nations, the UN says.

The Trump administration’s payment is earmarked for the UN’s regular operating budget, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric tells The Associated Press.

The UN has said the United States owes $2.196 billion to its regular budget, including $767 million for this year, and $1.8 billion for a separate budget for the far-flung UN peacekeeping operations.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned last month that the world body faces “imminent financial collapse” unless its financial rules are overhauled or all 193 member nations pay their dues, a message clearly directed at the United States.

The disclosure of the payment came as President Donald Trump convened the first meeting of the Board of Peace, a new initiative many see as his attempt to rival the UN Security Council’s role in preventing and ending conflict around the world.

Trump has said the United Nations has not lived up to its potential. His administration did not pay anything to the United Nations in 2025, and it has withdrawn from UN organizations, including the World Health Organization and the cultural agency UNESCO, while pulling funding from dozens of others.

UN officials have said 95% of the arrears to the UN’s regular budget are from the United States.

Extremist settlers publish February tally of violence against Palestinians in West Bank

A Palestinian man carries a cardboard box as he stands on the rubble of a house that was reportedly demolished by Israeli settlers the previous day in Al-Duyuk Al-Tahta, a village on the outskirts of Jericho, in the West Bank, on February 11, 2026. (AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP)

Extremist settlers have published a tally of attacks they say they carried out against Palestinians over the past month in the West Bank, describing the violence as their “struggle against the Arab enemy.”

The settlers post a list on their Telegram channel, detailing incidents they claimed responsibility for.

The tally, titled “Monthly summary of the struggle against the Arab enemy in the Holy Land,” lists 29 vehicles set ablaze, 12 homes torched, “40 Arabs injured,” and hundreds of windows smashed and olive trees cut down across 33 towns and villages.

Five of them are in Mukhmas, a village near Ramallah. A nearby Bedouin community left the area this month, citing sustained harassment.

Since October 7, 2023, there has been a major surge in attacks by settler extremists on Palestinians and their property across the West Bank. The IDF recorded 867 incidents of nationalistic crime and settler violence in 2025. The total for 2024 was 682 incidents.

Prosecution of settler violence is rare, according to data from the Israeli rights group Yesh Din, which shows over 90 percent of cases in the years 2005-2025 did not result in charges, and just 3% resulted in a conviction.

Police say suspect arrested for flipping police car during Bnei Brak riot

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men clash with police, following an assault on two female Israeli soldiers in Bnei Brak, February 15, 2026. (Oren Ziv/Flash90)

Police say they’ve arrested a young man suspected of flipping a police patrol car during mass riots in Bnei Brak, which broke out after a Haredi mob attacked two female soldiers in the city at the start of the week.

The suspect, a 19-year-old from the ultra-Orthodox settlement of Beitar Illit, was apprehended today.

He was taken into custody after his interrogation and is due for a court hearing at the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court tomorrow, where police will request to extend his detention.

The teen is thought to have helped to overturn a police vehicle while it was left unattended by officers, who rushed on foot to rescue the two servicewomen, hiding from an angry crowd of residents who spotted them in uniform.

The mob also set a police motorcycle on fire, burning it to a crisp along with tefillin and a prayer book inside the luggage box, and attacked officers who were dispatched to the scene.

Police arrested over two dozen suspects that afternoon, but the vast majority were set free from the police station within hours. Seven were brought to court the next day, where a judge ordered them to house arrest.

IDF soldiers nab two Palestinians suspected of terrorism in northern West Bank

IDF troops captured two wanted Palestinians suspected of involvement in terror activities in the Nablus area of the northern West Bank earlier today, the military says.

In two separate villages near Nablus, the IDF says soldiers of the Duvdevan commando unit nabbed a Palestinian affiliated with the former Lion’s Den terror group and another Palestinian involved in building explosive devices.

During the arrest of the Lion’s Den member, the military says the commandos captured weapons, including a handgun.

תיעוד ממצלמות הקסדה של לוחמי יחידת דובדבן בחטיבת שומרון: כך נעצרו שני מחבלים שקידמו מתווי טרור נגד מדינת ישראל

לוחמי יחידת דובדבן בפיקוד חטיבת שומרון ובהכוונת שב"כ השלימו מוקדם יותר היום, פעילות לסיכול טרור ולמעצר מחבלים במרחב העיר שכם שבחטיבת שומרון.

במסגרת הפעילות, הכוחות… pic.twitter.com/vTJdvb3Rx9

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 19, 2026

White House says Board of Peace agreed on rules of financial integrity, transparency

WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt begins wrapping up the Board of Peace’s inaugural meeting.

She notes that over $6.5 billion in funds have been pledged by various countries. US President Donald Trump said in his opening remarks that the number was over $7 billion and didn’t include another $10 billion pledged by the US.

Leavitt says that Board of Peace members were asked to vote on a resolution “establishing the principles of financial integrity and transparency that will guide the board’s work.”

She says the initiative passed unanimously and asks the leaders of countries that have committed funds or troops to Gaza to crowd around Trump as he signs the resolution.

Trump then thanks the leaders for their cooperation and declares, “We will help Gaza. We will straighten it out. We will make it successful. We will make it peaceful.”

“And we will do things like that in other spots,” he adds before clarifying that he’d like to work with the United Nations

He then gavels the meeting to a close after nearly two and a half hours.

FIFA head announces partnership with Board of Peace to build soccer facilities in Gaza

FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during a Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace, February 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

WASHINGTON — FIFA President Gianni Infantino announces a new partnership between his soccer organization and the Board of Peace during the latter’s inaugural meeting in Washington.

The partnership will see FIFA invest $75 million that will go toward building dozens of soccer fields, academies and stadiums in Gaza.

Sa’ar praises Trump and Netanyahu, stresses disarmament, deradicalization in Gaza

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar attends the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace hosted by US President Donald Trump at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on February 19, 2026. (SAUL LOEB / AFP)

WASHINGTON — Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar begins his speech at the Board of Peace’s inaugural meeting in Washington by praising US President Donald Trump as well as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for securing the October ceasefire and hostage release deal.

He then thanks Israel’s soldiers, including the 925 who lost their lives fighting during the last two-plus years of war.

Sa’ar highlights the atrocities committed by Hamas during its October 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war.

“All previous plans for Gaza failed because they never addressed the core issues: terror, hate, incitement, and indoctrination,” Sa’ar says, touting Trump’s plan for breaking that trend.

He reiterates the US proposal’s insistence on the disarmament of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, along with the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip and “de-radicalization of Palestinian society there.”

He stresses the disarmament plan must cover “all weapons, terror infrastructure, underground tunnel network, and weapons production facilities.”

Sa’ar says Israel supports Trump’s plan and “will work toward its success.”

Dozens of world leaders make pledges to aid Gaza at Board of Peace meeting

US President Donald Trump (R) speaks during a signing ceremony at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on February 19, 2026. (SAUL LOEB / AFP)

WASHINGTON — Over a dozen world leaders are given the opportunity to address the Board of Peace inaugural meeting, using their remarks to heap further praise on US President Donald Trump.

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announces that in addition to donating “significant” funds to the Board of Peace, 500 Gazan students will receive scholarships to study in his country’s universities over a five-year period.

Romanian President Nicușor Dan says his country will provide treatment to 4,000 sick children and 4,000 of their family members in addition to offering its expertise and equipment in rebuilding Gaza’s fire safety system.

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly expresses his country’s support for the Trump plan’s recognition of the Palestinian right to self-determination.

“Egypt also appreciates President Trump’s firm position on rejecting the annexation of the West Bank,” he says.

“Preserving the institutional and geographical link between the West Bank and Gaza is vital for the Palestinian Authority to eventually resume its role in Gaza.”

Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani announces a donation of over $1 billion to the Board of Peace that will be “aimed at reaching a final resolution that fulfills Palestinian aspiration for statehood and recognition and the Israeli aspiration for security and integration.”

UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed says that his country will contribute $1.2 billion to the Board of Peace, on top of the nearly $3 billion that it has already donated toward Gaza humanitarian aid since the beginning of the war.

Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita confirms that Rabat will contribute police officers to the International Stabilization Force, help train Palestinian police, and build a military field hospital in Gaza.

“Morocco is ready to lead a de-radicalization program to fight hate speech and promote tolerance and coexistence,” Bourita adds.

The Moroccan minister then stresses the importance of stability in the West Bank, where unchecked settler violence has reached record levels and settlement expansion has peaked.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan notes that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is still ongoing and that violations of the ceasefire persist.

On top of the humanitarian aid it has already been providing, Fidan says Turkey is prepared to provide troops to the International Stabilization Force — something that Israel has adamantly refused.

“We remain convinced that the foundation of such peace is a two-state solution. Let us work towards that objective for the benefit of all peoples of the region,” Fidan says.

Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir reiterates his country’s support for a two-state solution under the terms laid out in the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

He also announces a pledge of $1 billion over the next several years in order to advance the Board of Peace’s mission.

IDF says it won’t immediately cut reservists’ personal days, after protests

Reservists of the Jerusalem Brigade operate in the northern Gaza Strip, in a handout photo issued by the military on January 17, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

After protests, the IDF says it will not immediately reduce the number of days granted to reservists for personal matters and transition back to civilian life.

The drawdown in those days was announced as part of a broader reduction in reservist callups this year. The military said earlier this month that it would reduce the number of days reservists are required to serve under routine call-up orders — as opposed to emergency ones — from 72 to 55.

Of the 55 days in reserve duty, 42 would be dedicated to operational activity, with the remainder left for training, organization, and personal affairs.

The move has angered some, as previously, reservists were given more time for organizational purposes, with the number depending on how many days they’re called up for and which unit they’re in.

Earlier today, it was reported that hundreds of reservists signed a petition protesting the reduction in the days given for personal matters. The petition threatened to appeal to the High Court of Justice if the issue is not resolved.

The IDF issues a statement saying that Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has decided that “the rights of reservists who have already been called up for service will not be harmed,” and that all of the personal affairs days to which the military committed will be honored.

However, the military says that from April, the new call-up policy, with the reduced personal affairs days, will be implemented.

Zamir “emphasized the unique and central contribution of reservists to the security of the State of Israel, and stressed that the IDF is committed to acting toward them with transparency, fairness, and responsibility, out of deep appreciation for their sacrifice and ongoing commitment to the security of the state,” the military says.

The IDF adds that it will “continue to act to ease the heavy burden placed on reserve combat soldiers, subject to the security reality and the required legislation.”

Board of Peace official says homes for 500,000 residents to be built in 1st phase of Gaza housing plan

Palestinians shop for food beneath a destroyed building in Gaza City's Zawiya market on February 18, 2026, on the first days of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

WASHINGTON — Board of Peace Executive Board member Marc Rowan details the housing plan for Gaza, saying it will rebuild the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

In the first phase, 100,000 homes will be built for 500,000 residents, says the Apollo Global Management CEO.

Over time, 400,000 more homes will be built in other parts of Gaza, he adds. “This is not a problem of money or collateral. This is a problem of peace.”

A subsequent video presentation at the Board of Peace inaugural event declares that the goal is to fully rebuild Rafah within three years.

By the end of that period, Gaza will be “connected to the world through an Abrahamic gateway, linking it with Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and extending to India and Europe,” says the narrator of the video presentation prepared by the Trump administration.

“By year 10, Gaza will be self-governed, integrated into the region with thriving industries and housing for all,” the narrator adds.

Board of Peace Executive Board member Ajay Banga says the World Bank, which he heads, has created a Gaza Reconstruction and Development Fund.

He says the World Bank will manage contributions to the Board of Peace transparently and ensure that the money is used to promote peace.

Israeli airstrike reported in east Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley

Lebanese media reports an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon’s eastern Beqaa Valley a short while ago.

There is no immediate comment from the IDF.

Israeli tech entrepreneur says Gaza must be ‘digitally’ relinked to world

CyActive CEO Liran Tancman. (Photo credit: Courtesy)

WASHINGTON — Israeli technology entrepreneur Liran Tancman tells the Board of Peace inaugural session that Gaza must be “digitally” reconnected to the rest of thr world.

Tancman, who has been working with senior US officials on Gaza over the past year, says that by July, Gaza’s 2G network will be “upgraded with free, high-speed access.”

He says the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) is building a secure digital platform to allow for electronic payments, financial services, virtual learning, and healthcare services.

“This effort is supported by our regional partners, and I believe you will hear some exciting news from them on that later today,” Tancman says, without elaborating.

“In parallel, we’re advancing an Amazon-like logistics system to help Palestinian launch businesses, import globally, and trade securely,” he continues. “This will lower prices, drive growth and help transform Gaza into an open, transparent, corruption-free economic zone,” he adds.

Board of Peace official says Gaza reconstruction begins with clearing rubble, bombs, and tunnels

Yakir Gabay. (Avisco)

WASHINGTON — Board of Peace Gaza Executive Board member Yakir Gabay says the reconstruction of Gaza begins with clearing over 70 million tons of rubble and unexploded ordnance, along with hundreds of miles of tunnels.

“We have a detailed master plan for housing and infrastructure of modern schools and hospitals, manufacturing and agriculture, roads and trains, water and energy plants, logistic hubs, telecom, tech and data centers, sports and leisure facilities, seaport and airport and much more,” says Gabay, an Israeli-Cypriot real estate mogul.

“The funding is ready and will be invested in a free economy,” Gabay says.

“The local population will build their own cities, which will create hundreds of thousands of jobs and will revive the economy.”

“The Gaza coastline is 26 miles long. It can be developed as a new Mediterranean Riviera with 200 hotels and potential islands. The value goes to the Gazans through the Gaza sovereign fund,” Gabay clarifies. “This plan is all subject to a full disarmament of Hamas.”

Rwanda security summit looks to expand Israel-US partnership to Africa

GOP Senator Ted Cruz addresses Americans, Israelis, and participants from across Africa at the Kigali Security Summit, in Kigali, Rwanda, (Kigali Security Summit)

Americans, Israelis, and participants from across Africa convened in Rwanda yesterday for the Kigali Security Summit, titled “Aligning the United States, Israel, Africa, and the New Middle East.”

Organizers tell The Times of Israel that the gathering explored ways to position Africa “as the next frontier for expanding the strategic depth of the US-Israel partnership, with Rwanda serving as a leading gateway partner.”

GOP Senator Ted Cruz, Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen, and Robert O’Brien, former National Security Advisor to US President Donald Trump, addressed the forum remotely.

Israel has been steadily expanding its ties in sub-Saharan Africa in recent years.

The strategic vision presented at the conference has the US providing “strategic depth and global leadership,” Israel contributing security expertise and innovation capacity, and Rwanda serving as a key African partner and “bridge to other countries in Africa.”

There were four panels at the event – Strategic Foundations — US, Israel, and Africa; Memory & Moral Leadership; Regional Security Dynamics & Strategic Cooperation, with Rwanda’s foreign minister and the former US special envoy for the region; Innovation & the “Start-Up Nation” Playbook, with Start-Up Nation co-author Saul Singer and Start-Up Nation Central founding Executive Director  Wendy Singer.

Norway to host meeting on Palestinian aid, won’t join Board of Peace

OSLO, Norway — Norway plans to host a meeting this spring of the Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee (AHCL) for Palestinian aid, but is not joining US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry says.

Trump earlier on Thursday told the first meeting of his peace initiative that $7 billion has been raised for a Gaza reconstruction fund and that Norway had agreed to “host an event bringing together the Board of Peace.”

Norway has for decades led the AHCL, which was set up in the wake of the 1993-1995 Oslo Accords that sought to bring to an end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, although peace in the region remains elusive.

“The United States, together with the European Union, are vice-chairs of this group… We are in contact with the US about how we can also talk about the peace plan for Gaza there,” a spokesperson for Norway’s Foreign Ministry says.

“Norway has clearly communicated that we will not become a member of the Board of Peace, and this position remains firm.”

Commander says Gaza stabilization force to include 20,000 soldiers, 12,000 police officers

ISF Commander Major General Jasper Jeffers (R) speaks as former UK prime minister Tony Blair listens during the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace on February 19, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP)

WASHINGTON — International Stabilization Force Commander Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers reveals that his force will consist of 20,000 soldiers along with 12,000 police officers.

“The ISF will do two things: stabilize the security environment in Gaza and enable civilian governance,” Jaspers says in remarks at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington.

He says the US has already established a joint operation center that is going to be the headquarters of the ISF.

A slide presentation shows that the base will be located in southern Israel, apparently at the Civil-Military Coordination Center that has been operating in Kiryat Gat since last year.

Jaspers thanks Indonesia, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania for contributing troops and Egypt and Jordan for agreeing to train Palestinian police.

The ISF commander adds that Indonesia has agreed to fill the position of deputy commander of the force after Jakarta committed to contribute the largest number of soldiers — 8,000.

High Court instructs state to advance Western Wall egalitarian plaza upgrade, without further delays

Guests attend a bar mitzvah ceremony on the egalitarian Ezrat Israel plaza near the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Israel on June 19, 2023. (Courtesy of the Masorti Movement in Israel)

The High Court of Justice instructs the State of Israel to move forward with completing the necessary bureaucracy to obtain building permits to restore and upgrade the Western Wall egalitarian plaza, following a hearing on the topic on Tuesday, three years after the last one.

In its decision, the court says that the state and the Jerusalem Municipality shall submit an update on the matter within 90 days.

The egalitarian prayer section, also known as Ezrat Israel, is located at the southeastern end of the Wall. It is not easily accessible, nor does it offer facilities such as restrooms or full access to people with disabilities. Worshippers praying there have not been able to directly touch the Wall since 2018.

During the hearing on Tuesday, the representatives of the state and the Jerusalem Municipality blamed each other for the delay in implementing a 2017 directive to upgrade the platform and restore its direct access to the Wall.

The Jerusalem Municipality’s attorney also stated that a new cabinet’s approval was necessary for granting building permits for the works, although the cabinet had already approved the upgrade in 2016.

In its decision, the court clarifies that no additional approval is required, but the parties may request renewed approval from the Israel Antiquities Authority. Following that, the state will need to file the application for building permits within 14 days and an appeal to the Committee for Planning and Building, Jerusalem District, if no answer is received within 45 days.

“For nine years, the state and the municipality have been dragging their feet and refusing to promote an egalitarian, respectful, and accessible alternative in the Ezrat Israel,” Attorneys Ori Narov and Orly Erez-Likhovski, who represent the Reform Movement in Israel, one of the petitioners, say in a statement. “Now, the Court is ordering an end to the foot-dragging.”

Board of Peace envoy says office will help Gaza technocrats assert control of Strip

Nickolay Mladenov, high representative for the Board of Peace, speaks at the board's meeting during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on January 22, 2026. (Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

WASHINGTON — Board of Peace High Representative Nickolay Mladenov says his new office will assist the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), “hopefully removing the roadblocks that they will be facing in taking over civilian and administrative control of the Gaza Strip.”

Mladenov says his office will coordinate with both Israel and the Palestinian Authority, showing a slide that confirms the creation of a coordination committee between the Board of Peace and the PA, as first reported by The Times of Israel on Wednesday.

Mladenov reveals that the NCAG has posted a job posting for police on its website for Palestinians to apply to serve in the Gazan police, adding that 2,000 people have already submitted applications in the first few hours.

The police will be trained in Egypt, Mladenov says.

He says a framework for a weapons decommissioning program has been approved by the mediators.

“We now need to move forward on communicating it and negotiating the details of the implementation plan with the factions on the ground,” Mladenov says.

“If I can ask one thing of all of us, it is to make sure that we have one message: there is no other option except the full demilitarization and decommissioning of all weapons in Gaza for reconstruction to begin and for people to have a new way of life going forward,” he says.

Lebanon’s economy resilient, but reforms needed to renew growth, IMF says

WASHINGTON — Lebanon’s economy has shown resilience despite conflicts in the region, with tourism fueling a bit of a rebound, but restoring growth will require comprehensive reforms, the International Monetary Fund says.

IMF spokeswoman Julie Kozack says the IMF remained in discussions with Lebanese authorities, following their request for an IMF-supported program in March 2025, including a staff mission to Beirut in early February.

Discussions were focused on two big issues, she says, citing the need for banking sector restructuring and a medium-term fiscal strategy.

Head of Gaza’s technocratic committee says 5,000 police officers to be deployed in Strip

Ali Shaath, head of the Palestinian technocratic committee for managing the Gaza Strip, seen in Cairo, Egypt, on January 19, 2026. (AFP)

WASHINGTON — National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) chief commissioner Ali Shaath announces that 5,000 Gazan police officers will deploy in the Strip in 60 days.

“A new governing authority is now in place for Gaza with a clear mandate and a clear commitment to establishing development and stability. However, we are operating in extremely difficult conditions,” Shaath says in remarks at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington.

“Large parts of the Gaza Strip are severely damaged — destroyed actually, humanitarian needs are acute, law and order remain fragile,” Shaath says.

“This is not a normal operating environment president, which is precisely why discipline and prioritization matter,” he continues.

“Our priorities are defined into four categories. First: restore security, via professional civilian police under one authority, one law and one weapon; including training and developing 5,000 Gazan police to be deployed in 60 days.”

“Secondly, revive economic activities and livelihood,” he says. “Thirdly, ensure sustainable emergency relief, as described earlier.”

“Fourthly, restore basic services, including electricity, water, health, and education,” he adds.

“Our mandate is simple, step by step to build the foundation for lasting peace, dignity and prosperity for the people of Gaza, and this is where we count on your continued leadership and support,” Shaath says, turning to Trump. “Blessed is the peacemaker.”

Starmer not giving the US permission to use Diego Garcia base to strike Iran — report

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows six B-2 stealth bombers parked at Camp Thunder Cove in Diego Garcia on April 2, 2025 (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

The UK is refusing to grant permission to the US to use British bases to strike Iran, according to The Times.

US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal of support for the UK plans to give up sovereignty over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean — which includes the key Diego Garcia airfield — stems from the British refusal, reports the UK paper.

According to the report, US plans included the use of Diego Garcia and the RAF Fairford base in England, both of which can only be used to strike if the UK government agrees. British PM Keir Starmer is concerned the Iran strike might violate international law.

Last night, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Diego Garcia might be needed were Iran not to agree to a deal, “in order to eradicate a potential attack by a highly unstable and dangerous regime — an attack that would potentially be made on the United Kingdom, as well as other friendly countries.”

“Prime Minister Starmer should not lose control, for any reason, of Diego Garcia,” Trump stressed.

After state comptroller’s comments, Netanyahu says he aimed to ‘reveal the truth’ to public with Oct. 7 disclosures

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says the premier aimed to show the truth to the public, in response to comments made by the state comptroller, who said earlier that political and military office holders have “exposed to the public” only partial details about his review of the failures surrounding the invasion and atrocities on October 7, 2023.

“The prime minister published the protocols in accordance with his authority in order to reveal the truth to the public after the High Court of Justice halted the comptroller’s investigation. The only way to reveal the entire truth is through an equal and independent investigative committee, which will represent the entire public, and all materials will be presented to it,” Netanyahu’s office says.

Netanyahu recently released a 55-page document of his answers given to State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman for his probe, which included selectively chosen excerpts of security cabinet meetings regarding the situation in Gaza before October 7.

Englman made his earlier comments in his response to High Court petitions asking the court to order him to end his review and not publish the conclusions and reports on the key issues of the October 7 failings. The court issued an order in December freezing Englman’s probe until it makes a final decision.

Jeremy Sharon contributed to this report.

US United Nations envoy praises Gaza aid effort since ceasefire at Board of Peace meeting

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz speaks during a UN Security Council meeting to vote on a US resolution on the Gaza peace plan at the UN Headquarters in New York City, November 17, 2025. (Angela Weiss/AFP)

WASHINGTON — Addressing the Board of Peace inaugural session, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz hails the aid effort for Gaza since the October 2025 ceasefire.

He says over 70 countries are participating in the US-led Civil-Military Command Center in southern Israel.

Waltz says 4,200 aid trucks have entered Gaza each week for 13 consecutive weeks — “the longest stretch of high volume assistance to Gaza in years.”

While assistance has indeed increased significantly, aid organizations have argued that Israeli restrictions on “dual-use items” have prevented much-needed shelter supplies from entering the Strip.

Still, the uptick in aid has led to a massive decrease in diversion, which Waltz says is down to 1 percent.

Waltz says drinking water in Gaza has also doubled this month and child malnutrition has been cut in half.

Trump: Indonesia, Morocco, Albania, Kosovo, and Kazakhstan sending troops to Gaza stabilization force

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump announces that Indonesia, Morocco, Albania, Kosovo, and Kazakhstan have all committed troops and police to the International Stabilization Force tasked with securing postwar Gaza.

“Egypt and Jordan are providing very substantial help, troops, training and support for a very trustworthy Palestinian police force,” Trump adds.

Countries that have expressed interest in joining the ISF have stressed that they only want their troops to engage in more modest peacekeeping missions, such as securing borders and humanitarian aid, as opposed to enforcement operations that could require combating Hamas and other armed groups in order to take away their weapons.

Brussels hits back at justice minister’s attorney for accusing EU of trying to oust Levin, ‘topple government’

Attorney Yoram Sheftel speaks during a rally in support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on November 26, 2019. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

The European Union hit back at Justice Minister Yariv Levin’s attorney, Yoram Sheftel, after he called the bloc “hostile” and accused it of trying to oust Levin and topple the government during a High Court hearing today on petitions related to Levin’s conduct filed by the Zulat Institute, an Israeli NGO that receives EU funding.

During the hearing, Sheftel stated that “The European Union is hostile. Italy, France, and Spain imposed an embargo in order to prevent us from achieving victory in a war for our survival,” adding that the Zulat Institute received “hundreds of thousands of shekels” in funding over the past three years from the EU, which he claimed reflected efforts by the bloc to oust Levin, and that Brussels “is acting to topple an elected government from power.”

In response, an EU spokesperson states that Sheftel’s claims regarding the EU “are entirely false, offensive and unacceptable.”

“The EU has never and will never attempt to bring down a democratically elected government. We expect these comments to be withdrawn immediately,” the statement continues. “We are proud of our support for civil society organizations across the world and in the region, including those promoting the democratic values that lie at the core of the EU’s relationship with the State of Israel, such as freedom of speech and the freedom to protest,” concludes the spokesperson.

The Zulat Institute was founded by former Meretz leader Zehava Galon and focuses on issues related to governance, civil liberties, and minority rights through research, advocacy, and legal action. Today’s hearing concerned petitions requesting that the court order Levin to cooperate with Supreme Court President Isaac Amit in order to make much-needed judicial appointments and alleging that Levin’s reasons for not doing so are unwarranted and violate his public service obligations.

Netanyahu: ‘There is no more containment of threats… If you don’t come to the jungle, the jungle comes to you’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the IDF cadets graduation ceremony, at the Bahad 1 officers school in southern Israel, February 19, 2026. (Screenshot/Israel Defense Forces)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells an IDF graduation ceremony for officer cadets that Israeli security policy now eschews the notion of “containing” threats, indicating, instead, that Israel now actively confronts threats beyond its borders.

“If you don’t come to the jungle, the jungle comes to you,” he also notes.

The two sets of comments signal that Israel under Netanyahu has shifted to a more aggressive orientation in the wake of the Hamas-led invasion and massacre on October 7, 2023.

“There is no more containment of threats. There is no more Mabam,” the prime minister says, using the Hebrew acronym for the “campaign between wars.”

The “Mabam” military concept guided IDF operations, notably in Syria and Lebanon, for the decade before October 7, 2023. Netanyahu was in office for all but 18 months of that period.

In 2013, Israel understood that the civil war in Syria offered an opportunity. The fraying Syrian army meant that Israel enjoyed unprecedented freedom of action in the country to fight against Iranian entrenchment and Hezbollah’s military buildup, without committing ground troops and entering deeper conflict. The IDF effort that emerged from that understanding was called Mabam.

Netanyahu also says that there is no more concept of the “villa in the jungle, in which you hide from the predators over the walls. If you don’t come to the jungle, the jungle comes to you.”

The “villa in the jungle” phrase is said to have originated with Ehud Barak, who gave a 1996 speech as foreign minister to Jewish communal leaders in St. Louis, saying, “The dreams and aspirations of many in the Arab world have not changed. We still live in a modern and prosperous villa in the middle of the jungle, a place where different laws prevail. No hope for those who cannot defend themselves and no mercy for the weak.”

Trump says US to contribute $10 billion to Board of Peace

US President Donald Trump speaks during a Board of Peace meeting at the US Institute of Peace, February 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump announces that Washington will contribute $10 billion to the Board of Peace tasked with overseeing the postwar management of Gaza.

The figure is far higher than the $1 billion that officials initially believed that the US would donate.

There is no breakdown of the funds or timeline for when they will be transferred.

Addressing the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace, Trump says Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, and Kuwait have also agreed to contribute what amounts to over $7 billion to the cause.

Trump says the latter group will be giving a “relief package,” indicating that their funds will go largely toward humanitarian aid.

Separately, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is raising $2 billion for the support of Gaza, Trump announces.

Trump says FIFA has agreed to “raise a total of $75 million for projects in Gaza,” which will be “soccer-related.”

He claims that Japan has also agreed to host a Gaza fundraiser and that Norway has agreed to host a subsequent Board of Peace event.

Kilometer-long Hamas tunnel in north Gaza demolished, IDF says

Inside a Hamas tunnel located by the IDF in northern Gaza's Beit Hanoun, in footage published by the military on February 19, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

A kilometer-long Hamas tunnel in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun was recently demolished by combat engineers, the military says.

According to the IDF, the tunnel featured several rooms where Hamas operatives would hide out. Inside, the army says troops found several explosive devices.

The tunnel was located on the Israeli side of the Gaza ceasefire line during mop-up operations of the Gaza Division’s Northern Brigade. It was then razed by the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit.

The military believes that at least 60% of Hamas’s estimated 550-650 kilometers (350-400 miles) tunnel network across the Strip is still intact.

A Hamas tunnel in northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun is demolished, in a video published by the military on February 19, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

Trump says Gaza war over, Hamas will be met ‘harshly’ if it doesn’t disarm

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump asserts that the war in Gaza is over, even if there are “little flames” that persist.

Israel has been carrying out near-daily strikes across the Strip, targeting what it says are terror operatives violating the ceasefire. The Hamas-run health ministry says over 570 Gazans have been killed since the beginning of the October ceasefire.

While Hamas has pledged not to do so, Trump claims that the terror group is going to give up its weapons.

“If they don’t, they’ll be harshly met,” Trump warns.

The president rejects the notion that Hamas operatives are prepared to die in their fight against Israel.

“Everyone said, ‘Oh, they don’t mind dying.’ No, they don’t want to die,” he says.

Trump then reiterates his praise of Hamas for recovering all remaining hostage bodies from Gaza.

“The world is now waiting on Hamas… It’s the only thing that’s right now standing in the way,” Trump says, appearing to downplay what has always been the main obstacle in rebuilding Gaza.

Trump hints he’ll make decision on potential Iran strike in ‘probably 10 days’

US President Donald Trump speaks during a Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace, February 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump indicates he’ll be making a decision on a potential strike against Iran in the next 10 days.

Recalling the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June during his remarks at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace, Trump says, “Now, we may have to take it a step further — or we may not. Maybe we’re going to make a deal.”

“You’re going to be finding out over the next, probably 10 days,” Trump says.

Trump reiterates that Iran “can’t have a nuclear weapon.”

“You can’t have peace in the Middle East if they have a nuclear weapon,” he says.

“Now is the time for Iran to join us on a path that will complete what we’re doing,” Trump says.

“If they join us, that’ll be great. If they don’t join us, that’ll be great too. But it’ll be a very different path,” Trump continues. “They cannot continue to threaten the stability of the entire region.”

“They must make a deal. If that doesn’t happen… bad things will happen,” he adds.

Trump says he’s tapping son-in-law Jared Kushner as ‘peace envoy’

US Vice President JD Vance (L) and Jared Kushner (R) watch as US President Donald Trump arrives for the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace at the Institute of Peace on February 19, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP)

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump says he’s going to be appointing his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to the role of “peace envoy.”

Kushner has been working ad hoc for the administration for much of the last year, focusing largely on Gaza and, more recently, Russia-Ukraine and Iran.

In Trump’s first term, he served as senior adviser.

Trump talks up accomplishments, compliments ‘young, handsome’ Paraguayan president

US President Donald Trump speaks during a Board of Peace meeting at the US Institute of Peace, February 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump’s remarks will likely go on for quite some time, as he is largely going off-script to discuss his accomplishments over the first year of his second term.

He’s currently going one by one, welcoming most of the world leaders present at the Board of Peace inaugural meeting.

Giving a shout-out to Paraguay President Santiago Peña, Trump calls him a “young, handsome guy.”

“It’s always nice to be young and handsome. It doesn’t mean we have to like you. I don’t like young, handsome men. Women — I like. Men, I don’t have any interest,” Trump says as those present chuckle nervously.

France ‘surprised’ European Commission sent official to Board of Peace meeting

PARIS, France — France says it was surprised that the European Commission had sent an official to the Board of Peace in Washington, saying it did not have the mandate to represent member states, its Foreign Ministry spokesperson says.

Speaking to reporters, Pascal Confavreux says as far as Paris was concerned, the Board of Peace needed to focus on Gaza in line with a United Nations Security Council resolution, and that until that ambiguity was lifted, France would not take part.

“Regarding the European Commission and its participation, in reality, we are surprised because it does not have a mandate from the Council to go and participate,” he says.

Trump: Board of Peace ‘most consequential’ group of leaders ever formed, some countries ‘playing cute’ by not joining

US President Donald Trump speaks during a Board of Peace meeting at the US Institute of Peace, February 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump begins his remarks at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace in Washington by asserting that the panel of world leaders is the “most consequential” ever formed.

He says some countries are “playing cute” by not having joined yet, including some that he doesn’t even want to be on the body, although he did invite them.

Most European countries have refrained from joining due to concerns that the body may usurp the UN while giving Trump ultimate power and the ability to chair the panel for life.

Netanyahu: If Iran attacks, they will face a response they can’t imagine

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the IDF cadets graduation ceremony, at the Bahad 1 officers school in southern Israel, February 19, 2026. (Screenshot/Israel Defense Forces)

As US and Israeli preparations for a possible strike on Iran continue, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issues a sharp threat to Tehran’s leaders, should they fire missiles at Israel.

“We are prepared for any scenario,” he says at an IDF cadets graduation ceremony, “and one thing is certain — if the ayatollahs make a mistake and attack us, they will face a response that they can’t even imagine.”

Netanyahu says that Israel is “operating side by side with our major ally, the United States” to face the Iranian threat.

He says that in his meeting last week, he gave US President Donald Trump “Israel’s position on the guiding principles for any talks with Iran.”

Turning to Gaza, Netanyahu promises that Hamas will be disarmed and Gaza will be demilitarized. He stresses that “there will be no rehabilitation of the Strip before the demilitarization of the Strip.”

“Very soon, Hamas will face a dilemma — to give up its weapons the easy way, or to give up its weapons the hard way,” Netanyahu declares.

Netanyahu says that demilitarized zones or security zones inside enemy territory “are a vital need in order to minimize the danger of a ground invasion.” He notes with pride that IDF troops are still in Syria and Lebanon.

Gaza technocrat committee opens applications for police force from ‘qualified’ residents

The Palestinian technocratic body tasked with managing postwar Gaza under Washington’s peace plan for the territory opens applications for “qualified candidates” seeking to serve in a “transitional police force” to be deployed in the Strip, according to a public announcement shared on its official X account.

“The #NCAG is recruiting qualified candidates for a professional, accountable, transparent, and merit-based transitional police force in Gaza,” the announcement reads, adding that “qualified individuals wishing to contribute to Gaza’s recovery through policing roles are encouraged to apply.”

Public Announcement
Build #Gaza’s Future; Serve with Responsibility

The #NCAG is recruiting qualified candidates for a professional, accountable, transparent, and merit-based transitional police force in Gaza.

Despite decades of war, destruction, and suffering, Gaza is home to…

— اللجنة الوطنية لإدارة غزة (@NCAG) February 19, 2026

Some training programs are already underway to prepare Palestinian police for deployment in Gaza under US President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan for the territory, which authorizes the deployment of a temporary International Stabilization Force that would support and work alongside the NCAG police force. While the police force’s precise mandate and role, if any, in disarming Hamas remain vague, the “end state” of Trump’s plan would see “only NCAG-sanctioned personnel” carrying weapons in the Strip, according to details of the plan presented by the Trump administration in Davos last month.

NCAG’s official website says it seeks “highly capable Palestinian men and women committed to maintaining public security, supporting order and stability, strengthening the rule of law.” Criteria for eligibility are listed as being “a Gaza resident aged 18-35” with “no criminal record” and “good physical fitness.”

“With a ceasefire now in place and the Committee about to take on its responsibilities in Gaza, it is time to give an opportunity to those prepared to carry responsibility and uphold the rule of law,” the NCAG continues. “The next phase requires strengthening policing institutions, reinforcing professionalism, and ensuring public trust.”

State comptroller says public only has ‘partial picture’ of Oct. 7 responsibility, in possible hint to PM’s disclosures

State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman attends a State Control Committee meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 12, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman says that office holders, including political and military officials, have “exposed to the public” only partial details about his review of the failures surrounding the invasion and atrocities on October 7, 2023.

It appears that he is referring, at least in part, to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent release of a 55-page document of his answers given to Englman for his probe, which included selectively chosen excerpts of security cabinet meetings regarding the situation in Gaza before October 7.

Englman makes his comments in his response to High Court petitions asking the court to order him to end his review and not publish the conclusions and reports on the key issues of the October 7 failings. The court issued an order in December freezing Englman’s probe until it makes a final decision.

“This conduct is improper since in this state of affairs, in which the audit procedures were terminated before the reports were completed and published to the public, the public was exposed to a partial picture, as provided by the aforementioned officials, instead of receiving complete and final review reports, which include the findings of the state comptroller,” says Englman.

The State Comptroller’s Office says that its response to the petitions “disproves one by one” the claims made against Englman’s probe, “and details the damage done to the public interest that has already taken place due to the court order, and the damage which is likely to happen if the court rules in favor of the petitions.”

The Military Advocate General’s Corps’ Military Defense unit and Movement for Quality government petitioned the High Court in September, alleging that there were “substantive flaws” in Englman’s information-gathering processes, and argued more broadly that the ombudsman has no remit to conduct an inquiry into the October 7 attack, since the role of the office is to examine the processes of the agencies under review but not to examine policy and strategy.

Katz vows Israel will act against ‘every threat, near and far,’ in apparent jab at Iran

Defense Minister Israel Katz speaks at a cadets' graduation ceremony at the Bahad 1 officers' school in southern Israel, February 19, 2026. (Screenshot/Israel Defense Forces)

Speaking at an IDF cadets graduation ceremony, Defense Minister Israel Katz says Israel will act against “every threat, near and far,” in an apparent reference to Iran amid the ongoing tensions.

“We beheaded the leadership of the Houthi terror organization in Yemen that attacked Israel, and removed the threats of annihilation over the State of Israel in Operation Rising Lion in Iran,” Katz says at the officers’ school in southern Israel, known as Bahad 1.

“We will not allow threats of annihilation against the State of Israel in the future either, and we will act against every threat, near and far,” he says.

“I say from here to all our enemies: Do not test us and do not challenge our determination, because you will find a united people and a strong and victorious army facing you,” Katz adds.

Also speaking at the ceremony, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the military’s “eyes are open in every direction, and our finger is more poised on the trigger than ever in the face of any change in the operational reality.”

“Anyone who seeks to test our determination will encounter power that will exact an immediate and heavy price,” he adds.

Group photo snapped as Trump arrives at Board of Peace event; Sa’ar placed next to Qatari PM

US President Donald Trump (C), flanked by US Vice President JD Vance (L) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R), joins leaders for a group photo during the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on February 19, 2026. (SAUL LOEB / AFP)

WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has arrived at the US Institute for the Board of Peace in Washington for the inaugural meeting of his Board of Peace.

The event begins with a group photo with senior officials from over fifty countries.

American organizers notably placed Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar — who is representing Israel instead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — right next to Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Abdulrahman Al Thani.

Making small talk as the cameras flash, Trump asks the foreign leaders if they’re enjoying the American music blasting in the background, which appears to be the playlist used at the US president’s political rallies. Many of them reply enthusiastically in the affirmative.

The U.S. organizers of the Board of Peace leaders family photo positioned the Israeli foreign minister and the prime minister of Qatar next to each other pic.twitter.com/bhoU4onoR0

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) February 19, 2026

Mayors meet senior police officers after night of deadly violence in Arab community

Sakhnin Mayor Mazen Ghnaim speaks to senior police brass and local politicians at an emergency meeting over the surge of violent crime in Arab society, in Tel Aviv on February 19, 2026. (Israel Police)

Mayors hold an emergency meeting this morning with the senior police brass, including the force’s chief, to “address the rising violence in Arab society,” police say.

The meeting takes place after four Arab citizens were killed last night, one of them by a police officer.

“This is a shared fate. The engineer, the doctor, the teacher, everyone wants to return home safely. It is absurd that this is our only request right now,” says Sakhnin Mayor Mazen Ghnaim, who chairs the Federation of Arab Local Authorities, to participants.

Ghnaim is meeting with officers in Tel Aviv alongside Modiin Mayor Haim Bibas, who represents Israeli municipalities as chairman of the Federation of Local Authorities.

During the meeting, Bibas decries the violence as “terrorism” and says he appealed to the prime minister, urging him to involve the Shin Bet in cracking down on criminal organizations.

Over 100 other mayors are present at the meeting, police say, in which participants have discussed upping law enforcement’s presence at “friction points,” launching national operations to seize illegal weapons, and expanding police’s technological capabilities.

Chief Commissioner Danny Levy says police are doing all they can to combat violent crime and demands officers be granted the “necessary technological tools,” referring to a bill that would allow police to wiretap, hack, and use spyware against certain suspects.

He also urges cooperation from other agencies, including the State Attorney’s Office and court system, which police in the past have accused of not doing enough to prosecute and keep suspects in custody.

US Sen. Graham: ‘All these ships are not coming here because it’s nice this time of year’

US Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, says that a joint military operation between Israel and the US against the Islamic Republic’s regime would be welcomed by the Iranian people.

“A joint venture between Israel and the United States to help degrade the capability of the Iranian Ayatollah to kill its people would be welcome news in Iran,” Graham tells Sky News Arabia.

‘There’s planning for that. The decision hasn’t been made. All these ships are not coming here because it’s nice this time of year,” he says, referring to the US armada massing in the region.

???????????????? Will US take military action in Iran?
  "All these ships are not coming here 'cause it's nice this time of year." says Senator @LindseyGrahamSC pic.twitter.com/dPLY9H3olS

— Jewish News Syndicate (@JNS_org) February 19, 2026

WATCH: Trump set to address Board of Peace as delegations begin arriving

WASHINGTON — Delegations from around the world have begun arriving at the inaugural session of US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace in Washington.

Trump and Vice President JD Vance will make opening remarks shortly, followed by speeches from a dozen other US officials and senior representatives involved in the Board of Peace, which is tasked with overseeing the postwar management of Gaza.

Then, over a dozen foreign leaders from other countries represented on the Board of Peace will give brief remarks.

High Court orders Levin to justify his refusal to make key judicial appointments

Justice Minister Yariv Levin at the annual Jerusalem Conference of the 'Besheva' group in Jerusalem, February 16, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The High Court of Justice issues a conditional order instructing Justice Minister Yariv Levin to justify his refusal to make much-needed judicial appointments, which can only be made with the agreement of the minister and the Supreme Court President.

The decision follows a hearing today on petitions requesting that the court order Levin to cooperate with Supreme Court President Isaac Amit in order to make the appointments, and alleging that Levin’s reasons for not doing so are not professional, lack a factual basis, and violate his obligations as minister to serve the public.

The court order specifies that Levin must justify in particular his refusal to appoint two district court presidents as well as some deputy district court presidents; associate judges to help alleviate the courts’ case burden; court registrars; and judges to parole boards.

The court gives Levin until March 15 to file his response to the conditional order, and says that a hearing will be held in the first half of April.

During today’s hearing, the justices repeatedly contradicted arguments made by the attorney representing Levin, Yoram Sheftel, citing a 1966 High Court ruling that determined that a minister is obligated to exercise his authority when there is a crisis within the administration in question, and a ruling from 2019 directly contradicting Levin’s argument that since he has not signed off on Amit’s appointment as president his appointment does not stand, and there is no one for Levin to cooperate with in making the necessary appointments.

“Formal law is what determines. Precedent from the High Court is what determines. Everything else is nonsense in the air, it has no value,” said Justice Alex Stein of Sheftel’s arguments.

Trump administration said planning to build 350-acre military base in Gaza

Illustration: US army personnel and other officials monitor screens displaying imagery of the Gaza Strip during a media tour of a newly established joint command center operated by the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM) inside the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat, southern Israel, on November 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

The Trump administration is planning to build a 5,000-person military base in Gaza spanning 350 acres, the Guardian reports.

The base is meant for the International Stabilization Force, the multinational force intended to oversee Gaza’s postwar development under US President Donald Trump’s plan for the Strip.

Plans for the base were detailed in contracting records of the Board of Peace, the British publication reports. The Board of Peace, chaired by Trump and meant to supervise the development of postwar Gaza, is about to hold its first meeting in Washington, DC.

The base is eventually to include a shooting range, bunkers and a warehouse for military equipment. It will be surrounded by barbed wire and 26 guard towers, the Guardian reports.

It will be located in a flat area of southern Gaza.

The construction process is said to include a search for tunnels and includes a protocol if bodies are found in the area.

In November, the White House flatly denied a report that the US was planning to establish a large military base in Israel near the Gaza border for use by international forces that would operate inside the Strip to maintain the ceasefire there.

Jacob Magid contributed reporting. 

Haifa neighborhood’s shops strike in protest after 2 killed in ongoing crime wave

Residents of Haifa’s Halisa neighborhood shuttered their stores this morning as part of a general strike, after two men were gunned down in the area.

Last night, assailants shot and killed Ghalib Balqis, 34, and Suhail Abu Jabal, 26, outside a corner store in the neighborhood. Police say the shooting was part of a dispute between criminals.

A school in the neighborhood has also closed for the day as part of the strike, Walla reports. Halisa’s neighborhood committee tells the outlet that it organized the strike in opposition to the violence that has been sweeping Arab society, which has seen 55 members killed in crime-related incidents since the start of the year.

Haifa residents are expected to demonstrate this afternoon in the neighborhood and call on police to crack down on criminal organizations.

???? ג'אלב בלקיס וסוהיל אבו ג'בל נרצחו בירי בשכונת חליסה בחיפה.

ג'אלב בלקיס (בן 34) וסוהיל סובחי אבו ג'בל (בן 26) נרצחו בערב יום רביעי לאחר שנורו בשכונת חליסה בחיפה. הם סבלו מפציעות חודרות אנושות ומוות נקבע במקום. על פי דיווחים ראשוניים, שני הצעירים נמצאו מחוסרי הכרה, ללא דופק או… pic.twitter.com/xtRQ2icAdS

— Asslan Khalil (@KhalilAsslan) February 18, 2026

Head of Gaza’s technocratic committee in DC as Board of Peace meeting set to kick off

Ali Shaath, head of the Palestinian technocratic committee for managing the Gaza Strip, offers condolences to a Palestinian family, in Cairo on January 15, 2026. (Mohammed Abed/AFP)

The head of the Palestinian technocratic committee that is meant to handle the postwar day-to-day governance of Gaza, Ali Shaath, is in Washington, DC, to attend the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, two Palestinian officials tell AFP.

“Ali Shaath… arrived in Washington at dawn today to participate in the Washington meeting of the Board of Peace. Shaath is scheduled to deliver a speech outlining the general framework of his plan for the first 100 days. He is accompanied by the committee’s official in charge of the finance portfolio,” a source familiar with the committee tells AFP.

A committee member confirms to AFP that Shaath had arrived in Washington.

Representatives of dozens of countries are set to participate in the meeting of the Board of Peace, which was established to oversee postwar Gaza’s development but whose mandate Trump has since expanded to other global conflicts.

Germany moves troops out of Iraq, citing Mideast ‘tensions’

Germany’s military has “temporarily” moved some troops out of Erbil in northern Iraq because of “escalating tensions in the Middle East,” a German Defense Ministry spokesman tells AFP.

Dozens of German soldiers have been relocated away from the base in Erbil, capital of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.

“Only the personnel necessary to maintain the operational capability of the camp in Erbil remain on site,” the spokesman says.

The spokesman does not specify the source of the tensions. But US President Donald Trump has ordered a major buildup of US warships, aircraft and other weaponry in the region and threatened action against Iran.

German troops are deployed to Erbil as part of an international mission to train local Iraqi forces.

The spokesman says the German redeployment away from Erbil was “closely coordinated with our multinational partners.”

2 Palestinians arrested on suspicion of online incitement; police warn of surveillance ‘even during Ramadan’

A flier posted by police near residents' homes in Beit Ummar and al-Khader, two Palestinian villages in the West Bank, after the arrests of two residents on incitement suspicions during overnight raids on February 19, 2026. The flier reads, "Even during the month of Ramadan, Israeli intelligence forces monitor what you do on the internet." (Israel Police)

Police say they arrested two Palestinian men on suspicion of online incitement during separate raids overnight in the southern West Bank.

During the arrests, officers put up leaflets near the homes of both suspects, warning residents that Israeli intelligence agents surveil Palestinian social media activity.

“Even during the month of Ramadan, Israeli intelligence forces monitor what you do on the internet,” the leaflet reads. “You have been warned.”

In a raid on Beit Ummar, a village north of Hebron, police nabbed a 26-year-old man who allegedly affiliated with Hamas and encouraged attacks against Israelis on the Telegram messaging app, confiscating his electronic devices and transferring him to interrogation.

The same night in al-Khader, south of Bethlehem, officers arrested a 20-year-old on similar suspicions, seizing his laptop, police say. He was also brought in for questioning by police.

Incitement to nationalist violence is a terrorism offense under Israeli law and those convicted often face prison time.

Most of Beit Ummar falls within Area B of the West Bank, meaning the Palestinian Authority exercises civil authority over village residents, while Israel maintains security control. Most of Al-Khader is located in Area C, under full Israeli control.

Police officer killed in traffic accident south of Haifa

First Sgt. Antoine Yousef Shehadeh, who was killed in a traffic accident in northern Israel on February 18, 2026. (Israel Police)

Israel Police says one of its officers was killed in a traffic accident last night in the north, after Israel marked its deadliest year on the roads in two decades.

First Sgt. Antoine Yousef Shehadeh, a 35-year-old policeman from the northern Arab town of Kafr Yasif, was struck by a car last night south of Haifa.

Police announce his death with “great sorrow and grief,” noting that he was killed while on duty. The officer leaves behind a wife and two children.

Shehadeh started out in law enforcement in 2014 as a police detective in the West Bank. He most recently served as a log-keeper in the Nesher police station, located in the Coastal District, which encompasses Haifa and its environs.

Police have been struggling to enforce road safety laws amid high turnover in the force’s traffic division and inaction on the part of elected officials. Last year was the most fatal year on the road since 2005, with 443 people killed in traffic-related incidents over the course of 2025.

Rabbi who tricked women into believing he was secular and single given 20 months in prison

Rabbi Yosef Paryzer, who was convicted of of using the alias "Jack Segal" to deceive up to 12 women into having sexual relations with him (Israel Police)

The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court sentences Rabbi Yosef Paryzer to 20 months in prison following his conviction in January 2025 on 12 counts of defrauding women, as well as on charges of providing false information via computer.

Between 2016 and 2023, Paryzer, an American citizen who is married with children, used a fake identity to meet women on dating sites and have sexual relations with them under false pretenses.

He used the alias “Jack Segal” on dating sites, posed as a secular, single man, and gave false details about his life to the victims, with whom he engaged in concurrent, months-long relationships. According to the conviction, he falsely told the women that his relationship with them was serious and exclusive in order to get them to give him intimate pictures and videos of themselves and to have sex with them.

He pleaded guilty to defrauding 12 women in this manner on the day that the women were set to begin testifying.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Amir Shaked says he issued a more lenient sentence because Paryzer pleaded guilty, sparing many of the complainants from testifying in court, and because he entered a rehabilitation program after being exposed.

Paryzer is also ordered to pay between NIS 5,000 (nearly $1,600) and NIS 15,000 (nearly $4,800) to each of his victims.

Russia calls for restraint from ally Iran while also performing naval drill with it

Russia's President Vladimir Putin, left, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi shake hands during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 23, 2025. (Alexander KAZAKOV / POOL / AFP)

Russia calls for restraint amid growing tensions over a possible US attack on Iran, and as Moscow and Tehran stage naval drills that the Kremlin said were scheduled and should not be a cause for alarm.

Iran has become one of Russia’s closest allies during Moscow’s Ukraine offensive.

The United States has massively built up its forces in the Middle East and President Donald Trump has warned Iran to make a deal with Washington, hinting at military action if talks fall through.

Moscow and Iran also hold navy drills in the Sea of Oman today.

“These are planned exercises and they are agreed upon in advance,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says.

“Russia continues to develop relations with Iran and in doing so, we call on our Iranian friends and all parties in the region to exercise restraint and prudence,” he adds.

Moscow is calling for “political and diplomatic means to be given absolute priority in resolving various issues,” Peskov says.

Some countries have urged their citizens to leave Iran, citing the threat of a military conflict.

“We are currently witnessing an unprecedented escalation of tension in the region, but we still hope that political and diplomatic means and negotiations will continue to prevail in the search for a settlement,” Peskov says.

UN report: Hamas may be guilty of war crimes over treatment of hostages, killing of GHF staff

A Hamas operative stands guard as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) use a digger as they search for the remains of hostages in the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern of Gaza Strip on December 1, 2025. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

A United Nations report finds that the killing last June of 12 Palestinian staff associated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation by armed men, including possible summary executions, may amount to war crimes by Hamas.

Hamas has declined to comment on the shootings.

The report raises concerns about the use of civilians as human shields to prevent Israeli attacks, something Israel has long accused Hamas of doing and that the terror group has denied, and outlined unnecessary or disproportionate use of force by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

The holding of and mistreatment of hostages taken in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack may amount to war crimes and potentially other atrocity crimes, the report says. It cites allegations of torture, beating and deprivation of food.

“There must also be accountability for serious violations of international law, including possible international crimes, by Hamas and its armed wing, Al Qassam Brigades as well as other Palestinian armed groups,” the report says of the terror group.

The same UN report says Israel’s actions “raise concerns over ethnic cleansing” in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The report says the GHF, the controversial Israeli- and US-backed system for aid distribution that operated last year, “failed utterly” to deliver humanitarian aid at the scale required, violating Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law.

Israel dismisses the report.

Doctors Without Borders official: We will keep operating in Gaza ‘as long as we can’

A Palestinian woman arrives with a child at the Doctors Without Borders or Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) clinic, in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City on New Year's Eve, December 31, 2025. (Omar AL-Qattaa/AFP)

The local head of Doctors Without Borders tells AFP the charity will continue working in Gaza for as long as possible, following an Israeli decision to end its activities there.

In early February, Israel announced it was terminating all the activities in Gaza by the medical charity, known by its French acronym MSF, after it failed to provide a list of its Palestinian staff per Israeli regulations.

MSF has slammed the move, which takes effect on March 1, as a “pretext” to obstruct aid.

“For the time being, we are still working in Gaza, and we plan to keep running our operations as long as we can,” Filipe Ribeiro tells AFP in Amman, but says operations were already facing challenges.

“Since the beginning of January, we are not anymore in the capacity to get international staff inside Gaza. The Israeli authorities actually denied any entry to Gaza, but also to the West Bank,” he says.

Ribeiro adds that MSF’s ability to bring medical supplies into Gaza had also been impacted.

“They’re not allowed for now, but we have some stocks in our pharmacies that will allow us to keep running operations for time being,” he says. “We do have teams in Gaza that are still working, both national and international, and we have stocks.”

Earlier this month, MSF said in a statement that it had suspended non-critical medical activities at Nasser Hospital in Gaza’s Khan Younis due to the presence of armed men at the medical facility and “a recent situation of suspicion of movement of weapons.”

The aid group said that armed men had additionally been arresting patients. MSF’s statement appeared to mark the first time that an international humanitarian group in Gaza publicly reported the presence of armed men in a hospital or the possible use of such a facility for moving weapons.

In December, Israel announced it would prevent 37 aid organizations, including MSF, from working in Gaza beginning on March 1 for failing to submit detailed information about their Palestinian employees, drawing widespread condemnation from NGOs and the United Nations.

It had alleged that two MSF employees had links with Palestinian terror groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which the medical charity has repeatedly and vehemently denied.

IDF says it foiled bid to smuggle assault rifles from Egypt into Israel via drone

An attempt to smuggle three assault rifles into Israel from Egypt using a drone was foiled yesterday, the Israel Defense Forces says.

The IDF says the drone was spotted crossing the border by soldiers monitoring surveillance cameras and the Israeli Air Force’s air traffic control array.

Troops of the Paran Regional Brigade then downed the drone, which was found to be ferrying three assault rifles, the military says.

The weapons were handed over to the police for further investigation, the IDF adds.

כוחות צה"ל סיכלו ניסיון הברחה של שלושה נשקים מסוג 'M-16' בגבול המערבי

תצפיות צה"ל ומערך הבקרה האווירי זיהו אתמול, רחפן שחצה ממערב לשטח מדינת ישראל בניסיון להבריח אמצעי לחימה.

לאחר הזיהוי, כוחות צה"ל יירטו את הרחפן שאותר עם שלושה נשקים מסוג 'M-16' לאחר סריקות של כוחות חטיבת… pic.twitter.com/3bu6ozIrWi

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 19, 2026

Over the past two years, there have been frequent attempts to bring weapons and drugs over the Jordanian and Egyptian borders using drones.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested over misconduct

Britain's Prince Andrew, Duke of York arrives to attend a Requiem Mass, a Catholic funeral service, for the late Katharine, Duchess of Kent, at Westminster Cathedral in London on September 16, 2025 (Jordan Pettitt / POOL / AFP)

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Prince Andrew, has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over his links to Jeffrey Epstein.

British police say a man in his sixties has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, adding that they would not be naming the man “as per national guidance.”

But multiple British outlets report that police had arrested Andrew, aged 66, King Charles’ younger brother.

He was previously stripped of his royal title over his connection to Epstein, the late convicted sex offender who has been linked to a broad array of politicians and public figures.

Palestinian journalists allege ‘systematic abuse’ in Israeli prisons, report says; IDF denies mistreatment

Members of the press wait for a Red Cross convoy after Hamas's release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander, on Salah al-Din Street, east of Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, May 12, 2025. (Ali Hassan/Flash90)

Palestinian journalists held in Israeli prisons from October 2023 to January 2026 have suffered “systematic abuse,” according to a Committee to Protect Journalists report published today.

The IDF and Israel Prison Service deny mistreating the journalists.

Of 59 correspondents interviewed, “all but one reported being subjected to what they described as torture, abuse, or other forms of violence,” the New York-based watchdog says in a statement.

CPJ director Jodie Ginsberg urges the international community to “take action” over the reports of abuse.

“The scale and consistency of these testimonies point to something far beyond isolated misconduct,” she says.

The CPJ says journalists spoke of beatings, sexual violence, prolonged restraint in painful positions, and exposure to loud music, barking and bomb noises.

They also described unsanitary living conditions, medical neglect and food deprivation. The CPJ says the interviewees lost 23.5 kilograms (52 pounds) on average while in detention.

The time period surveyed stretches back to the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that launched the war in Gaza.

Most of the prisoners were placed in administrative detention, a controversial system that allows them to be held without charge for a potentially unlimited period. None were prosecuted.

Most were prevented from communicating with their lawyers, according to the CPJ.

The nonprofit says the IDF did not comment on the specific allegations. However, a spokesperson for the military says detainees “are treated in accordance with international law.”

The spokesperson adds that Israeli forces “have never, and will never, deliberately target journalists,” and that any violations of protocol “will be looked into.”

Israel’s prison service, also contacted by CPJ on the allegations, says that to its knowledge “no such events have occurred.”

It also says all prisoners are detained according to the law with basic rights fully upheld, and that they can file complaints as needed.

UN: Israeli actions raising ‘ethnic cleansing’ fears in West Bank, Gaza; Israel dismisses report

View of the Israeli settlement of Kedumim in the West Bank, February 12, 2026. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

Israel’s actions “raise concerns over ethnic cleansing” in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the United Nations says.

The UN human rights office says the cumulative impact of Israel’s military conduct during the war against Hamas in Gaza, plus its blockade of the territory, had created living conditions “increasingly incompatible with Palestinians’ continued existence as a group in Gaza.”

“Intensified attacks, the methodical destruction of entire neighbourhoods and the denial of humanitarian assistance appeared to aim at a permanent demographic shift in Gaza,” the office says in a report.

“This, together with forcible transfers, which appear to aim at a permanent displacement, raise concerns over ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank.”

The report looks at the period between November 1, 2024, and October 31, 2025. A ceasefire took effect in Gaza in early October.

In the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the report says the “systematic use of unlawful force” by Israeli security forces, “widespread” arbitrary detention and the “extensive unlawful demolition” of Palestinian homes is being carried out to “systematically discriminate, oppress, control and dominate the Palestinian people.”

“These violations are “altering the character, status and demographic composition of the occupied West Bank, raising serious concerns of ethnic cleansing,” it says.

Israel’s permanent mission in Geneva dismisses the report’s findings about Israel’s actions, and says in a statement that the UN human rights office had lost its credibility.

“Office of the High Commissioner is engaged in a vicious campaign of demonization and disinformation against the State of Israel,” it says.

Police investigating ‘revenge’ graffiti on Jerusalem’s Church of the Visitation

Police are investigating nationalist graffiti that was found on the walls of the Church of the Visitation, a prominent Christian holy site in Jerusalem.

The messages, written in red spray paint, read “Revenge” and “David, king of Israel lives and endures.” They were found near the church’s entrance and on its outer wall, respectively.

#صور| مستوطنون يعتدون على كنيسة الزيارة في قرية عين كارم المهجّرة. pic.twitter.com/JtCyq7IpqI

— المركز الفلسطيني للإعلام (@PalinfoAr) February 19, 2026

Graffiti in the same red paint was also found on a car parked nearby, appearing to read: “The (Jewish) messiah is here!” The parentheses are original to the graffiti.

Police say officers arrived this morning at the Catholic church, in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem neighborhood, and began to collect evidence in order to track down the vandals.

AG chides government for delaying law letting police use advanced tech to spy on suspects

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara attends a ceremony for outgoing Supreme Court Justice Yosef Elron at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, September 18, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara accuses the government of dragging its feet on passing a bill that would allow police to spy on certain suspects using “advanced technological means” including hacking and wiretapping.

Speaking to a gathering of officers in the police’s investigations and intelligence division, the attorney general says that a government-sponsored bill allowing for covert surveillance of suspects has been “sitting on the Israeli government’s table for a long time,” according to Hebrew media outlets.

“I call on the justice minister and national security minister to advance this already-prepared legislation in order to permit the Israel Police to operate with advanced technological means in the near future,” she says.

Her comments come in the wake of a particularly violent night in Arab society, in which four men were killed within hours, including one by police gunfire. The other three were gunned down in two separate shootings, one in Haifa, the other in the Negev Bedouin village of Lakiya.

Baharav-Miara and other public officials have insisted that police are hobbled in their fight against violent crime without the legal framework to surveil suspects through hacking and wiretapping.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees the police, turns the accusation back on Baharav-Miara, insisting she is the main obstacle to the bill’s passage.

Deriding the attorney general as a criminal, the far-right politician accuses her of “preventing police from using technological means in the struggle against Arab criminal organizations.”

“Until we accede to her blackmail to use these same tools against elected officials. This is what interests her — fabricating cases [against] the right. We will not accept being blackmailed and the blood of the murdered Arabs is on her criminal hands!” he writes on X.

Polish citizens should leave Iran immediately, may be impossible to exit within hours, PM Tusk says

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk attends solemn ceremonies at the monument to the 1939 heroic defense of the Westerplatte peninsula to mark the 85th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, at Westerplatte, on the Baltic Sea, Poland, September 1, 2024. (Wojciech Strozyk/AP)

Polish citizens in Iran should leave immediately, Prime Minister Donald Tusk says, warning that due to the potential for armed conflict evacuation may no longer be possible in a matter of hours.

“Please leave Iran immediately… and do not go to this country under any circumstances,” Tusk says.

Hundreds of reservists protest reduction in days granted for personal affairs

IDF reservists operate in the northern Gaza Strip, in a handout photo issued by the military on January 17, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

Hundreds of IDF reservists sign a petition protesting a reduction in days granted to them for personal matters and transition back to civilian life.

The drawdown in those days was announced as part of a broader reduction in reservist callups this year. The military said earlier this month that it would reduce the number of days reservists are required to serve under routine call-up orders — as opposed to emergency ones — from 72 to 55.

Of the 55 days in reserve duty, 42 would be dedicated to operational activity, with the remainder being for training and organization. The move has angered some, as previously, reservists were given more time for organizational purposes, with the number depending on how many days they’re called up for and what unit they’re in.

The petition expresses “deep concern and displeasure” with the decision, which it says is a “significant blow to the reasonable trust of reservists, and is likely to cause significant personal and professional harm — specifically to those who reported for service out of a sense of mission and duty.”

The petition threatens to appeal to the High Court of Justice if the issue is not resolved.

OpenAI’s Sam Altman calls ‘urgently’ for global body to regulate the AI industry

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) takes a group photo with AI company leaders including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (center) and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei (right) at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on February 19, 2026. (Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

Sam Altman, head of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, tells a global artificial intelligence conference that the world “urgently” needs to regulate the fast-evolving technology.

An organization could be set up to coordinate these efforts, similar to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), he says.

Altman is one of a host of top tech CEOs in New Delhi for the AI Impact Summit, the fourth annual global meeting on how to handle advanced computing power.

“Democratization of AI is the best way to ensure humanity flourishes,” he says on stage, adding that “centralization of this technology in one company or country could lead to ruin.”

“This is not to suggest that we won’t need any regulation or safeguards,” Altman says. “We obviously do, urgently, like we have for other powerful technologies.”

Many researchers and campaigners believe stronger action is needed to combat emerging issues, ranging from job disruption to sexualized deepfake videos and AI-enabled online scams.

“We expect the world may need something like the IAEA for international coordination of AI,” with the ability to “rapidly respond to changing circumstances,” Altman says.

“The next few years will test global society as this technology continues to improve at a rapid pace. We can choose to either empower people or concentrate power,” he adds. “Technology always disrupts jobs; we always find new and better things to do.”

Iran atomic energy chief says no country can deprive Tehran of enrichment rights

This handout picture made available by the Iranian Atomic Organization (IAEO) office on November 2, 2025, shows the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (left) and Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, during a visit to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, to meet with senior managers in the nuclear industry in Tehran, Iran. (Handout / various sources / AFP)

Iran’s atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami says no country can deprive the Islamic Republic of its right to nuclear enrichment, after US President Donald Trump again hinted at military action following the second round of US-Iran talks over Tehran’s nuclear program in Geneva.

“The basis of the nuclear industry is enrichment. Whatever you want to do in the nuclear process, you need nuclear fuel,” says Eslami, according to a video published by the Etemad daily publication.

“Iran’s nuclear program is proceeding according to the rules of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and no country can deprive Iran of the right to peacefully benefit from this technology,” he says.

Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. However, it has enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities.

UK condemns 10-year sentence for British couple in Iran

A undated handout picture released by the family of Craig and Lindsay Foreman through Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London on February 15, 2025, shows Craig and Lindsay Foreman posing for a selfie photograph at an unknown location. (Photo by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office/AFP)

British foreign minister Yvette Cooper condemns as “totally unjustifiable” the 10-year sentence given to two British nationals detained in Iran, saying the government will continue pressing for their release.

Craig and Lindsay Foreman had been charged with espionage after Iran accused them of gathering information in several parts of the country.

“We will pursue this case relentlessly with the Iranian government until we see Craig and Lindsay Foreman safely returned to the UK and reunited with their family,” Cooper says in a statement.

Joe Bennett, Lindsay’s son, says in a separate statement that the couple had appeared at a three-hour trial on October 27 last year in which they were not allowed to present a defense.

“We have seen no evidence to support the charge of espionage,” he says, adding that the family was deeply concerned about the couple’s welfare and the lack of transparency in the judicial process.

US air power buildup in Middle East is largest since 2003 Iraq invasion — report

This photo provided by the US Navy shows sailors preparing a Boeing EA-18G Growler on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Indian Ocean on January 21, 2026. (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Daniel Kimmelman/US Navy via AP, File)

The buildup of US air power in the Middle East is the biggest since the 2003 invasion that launched the Iraq War, the Wall Street Journal reports.

That invasion, which began a devastating war that lasted more than eight years, began with what was called a “shock and awe” bombing campaign.

Now, the US is accumulating forces in the region as US President Donald Trump weighs a strike against Iran following its deadly crackdown on anti-regime protests last month. The US is negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program, but US officials have suggested that the talks have so far yielded little fruit.

The US has sent dozens of aircraft to the region as well as multiple aircraft carriers. The fighter jets include F-16s, F-22s and F-35s.

The report indicates that the American military buildup allows for a much longer campaign than the US strike on Iranian nuclear facilities during the Israel-Iran war last June, which was carried out with B-2 bombers.

Australian bar shut over posters of Netanyahu, Trump and others as Nazis, under post-Bondi law

Australian police have shuttered a Canberra bar, declaring it a crime scene, and seized posters depicting politicians as Nazis under new hate crime laws passed after the Bondi Beach terror shooting targeting a Jewish event.

One of the images shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Nazi uniform, according to photos on social media. Signs in the window read, “Sanction Israel” and “Stop genocide.”

The posters also show US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, and billionaire Elon Musk, in Nazi uniforms.

The establishment, Dissent Cafe and Bar, says the images are meant as satire.

Officers asked the owner to remove the posters yesterday after someone complained about “possible hate imagery” in the bar, police in the Australian Capital Territory says in a statement.

“The owner declined this request and so a crime scene was established,” the statement says. “Five posters were subsequently seized and will be considered under recently enacted Commonwealth legislation regarding hate symbols.”

Police shut Canberra bar for "possible hate imagery"@ACTPolicing seize display posters depicting @POTUS @VP @KremlinRussia_E @netanyahu & @elonmusk as Nazi officers under Commonwealth law on hate symbols. Dissent Cafe & Bar owner had refused to remove posters. @canberratimes pic.twitter.com/FsjGjCe9eI

— Petlee Peter (@petleepeter) February 19, 2026

Under the hate crime legislation passed after the mass shooting at Bondi Beach on December 14, it is an offense to display Nazi and other hate symbols or to make the Nazi salute.

However, the law gives an exception for symbols shown for a “legitimate purpose,” including artistic, literary, religious, academic and educational reasons.

Dissent Cafe and Bar said it canceled a music gig after what it called “obvious harassment.”

“The crime is displaying these posters, clearly and obviously parody art with a distinct anti-fascist message,” it says in a message on social media.

Police say they are seeking advice on the legality of the posters, which are available online from the Grow Up Art group.

“It’s clearly satirical,” bar owner David Howe tells Australian public broadcaster ABC. “It shows you how utterly ridiculous the police force are at missing the point.”

IDF demolishes home of terrorist who committed deadly November ramming and stabbing attack

IDF troops demolished the home of a Palestinian terrorist who carried out a deadly car-ramming and stabbing attack in the West Bank last year, the military says.

On November 18, 2025, Walid Sabarneh, along with a second terrorist, Imran al-Atrash, accelerated their vehicle into people at the Gush Etzion Junction, before stabbing several victims.

The terrorists killed Aharon Cohen, 71, and wounded three others, including two civilians and a soldier.

Overnight, the IDF says it operated in the West Bank town of Beit Ummar and demolished Sabarneh’s home.

כוחות צה"ל הרסו את בית המחבל שביצע את הפיגוע בצומת הגוש בו נרצח אהרון כהן ז"ל

כוחות צה"ל מחטיבת עציון ויחידת יהל"ם פעלו במהלך הלילה בכפר בית אומר שבחטיבת עציון, להריסת ביתו של המחבל ואליד צבארנה.

המחבל ביצע יחד עם מחבל נוסף את פיגוע הדריסה והדקירה ב-18 בנובמבר 2025 בצומת הגוש… pic.twitter.com/W5etU4biMs

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) February 19, 2026

As a matter of policy, Israel demolishes the homes of Palestinians accused of carrying out deadly terror attacks. An appeal can be submitted, but such attempts rarely succeed.

Israeli officials have said the policy is intended to dissuade Palestinians from planning terror attacks, as doing so will harm their extended families’ livelihood. Critics call it collective punishment.

Australian police probe 3rd threatening letter to country’s largest mosque ahead of Ramadan

Australian police say they have launched an investigation after a threatening letter was sent to the country’s largest mosque, the third such incident in the lead-up to the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began yesterday in Australia.

The letter sent to Lakemba Mosque in Sydney’s west yesterday contained a drawing of a pig and a threat to kill the “Muslim race,” local media report.

Police say they had taken the letter for forensic testing, and would continue to patrol religious sites, including the mosque, as well as community events.

Lakemba Mosque has received its third hate-filled letter this year containing death threats and references to the Christchurch shooter on the eve of Ramadan. MORE: https://t.co/guTLaHOH5I pic.twitter.com/bqzdJaEZ9A

— The Daily Telegraph (@dailytelegraph) February 18, 2026

The latest letter comes weeks after a similar message was mailed to the mosque, depicting Muslim people inside a mosque on fire.

Police have also arrested and charged a 70-year-old man in connection with a third threatening letter sent to the Lakemba Mosque’s staff in January.

The Lebanese Muslim Association, which runs the mosque, tells the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) it had written to the government to request more funding for additional security guards and CCTV cameras.

Some 5,000 people are expected to attend the mosque each night during Ramadan. More than 60 percent of residents in the suburb of Lakemba identify as Muslim, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemns the recent string of threats.

“It is outrageous that people just going about commemorating their faith, particularly during the holy month for Muslims of Ramadan, are subject to this sort of intimidation,” he tells ABC radio. “I have said repeatedly we need to turn down the temperature of political discourse in this country, and we certainly need to do that.”

The threats targeting the mosque follow the Bondi mass terror shooting on December 14, in which gunmen killed 15 people attending a Hanukkah celebration.

IDF says overnight strikes in Lebanon targeted Hezbollah arms sites, rocket launchers

A wave of overnight Israeli airstrikes in several areas of southern Lebanon targeted Hezbollah weapon depots, rocket launchers, and other military sites, the IDF says.

The military says the presence of the Hezbollah sites were a violation of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon.

New Mexico probes allegation of bodies buried near Epstein ranch

Documents that were included in the US Justice Department release of files related to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein files are photographed on January 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

The US state of New Mexico is investigating an allegation that the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein ordered the bodies of two foreign girls buried outside his remote ranch there, the state Justice Department says.

The allegation emerged from documents released by the US Department of Justice,

New Mexico Department of Justice spokesperson Lauren Rodriguez says it had requested from the US Justice Department an unredacted copy of an email from 2019 containing the allegation.

The US Justice Department does not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FBI declines comment.

“We are actively investigating this allegation and are conducting a broader review in light of the latest release from the US Department of Justice,” Rodriguez says in an emailed response to queries about the case.

Earthquake of magnitude 5.5 said to strike southern Iran

An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 struck southern Iran, the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) says.

The quake was at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.21 miles), GFZ says.

US to withdraw all American troops from Syria — reports

US soldiers patrol in Syria's northeastern city Qamishli, in the Hasakeh province, then mostly controlled by Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), on January 9, 2025. (Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP)

The United States is planning to withdraw all of its 1,000 troops from Syria over the next two months, according to US media reports.

Washington will end its presence in the country after the Syrian government extended its control over the country and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces once key to fighting Islamic State (IS) pledged to integrate into the state, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Television network CBS also reports on the plan, citing unnamed US officials.

The decision comes after US forces recently withdrew from some bases in Syria including Al-Tanf and Al-Shadadi, which were used in the US-led international coalition’s fight against IS.

Washington has drawn close to Syria’s new authorities since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, and has transferred thousands of IS fighters from prisons to secure facilities in Iraq.

Israel refusing to release body of Bedouin ex-IDF soldier who died while being held without charge — report

Israeli authorities are refusing to release the body of a former Bedouin soldier in the IDF who died while being held in prison without charge, Haaretz reports.

Hassan Kashallah’s family was notified last month that the 26-year-old died while being held in administrative detention, a draconian tool that Israel uses against Palestinians and Arab citizens — but no longer Jews — which allows authorities to hold a suspect indefinitely without charge.

In addition to being prevent from burying Kashallah, his family has not been given any information regarding the cause of his death, Haaretz.

Kashallah was arrested in 2025 on suspicion of membership in the Islamic State and of planning a terror attack, but prosecutors declined to indict him ostensibly due to lack of evidence. Nonetheless, the Shin Bet requested that he be placed in administrative detention. Defense Minister Israel Katz complied and he was held ever since.

Kashallah denied the charges against him and his family points out that he and his siblings served in the IDF, including in Gaza during the recent war.

Kashallah’s attorney says Israeli authorities placed her client in a prison wing with Palestinian security detainees despite knowing that he would be in danger due to his past service in the IDF.

During a remand hearing last year, Kashallah told the judge that he feared his life was in danger in prison. “I’m afraid to die here,” Haaretz quotes him as having said before bursting into tears.

Responding to the Haaretz report, the Israel Prisons Service says the circumstances of Kashallah’s death are confidential, while the Shin Bet declines to comment.

IDF carries out overnight strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces releases an overnight statement announcing that it is carrying out airstrikes on what it describes as Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

No immediate details are provided about the targets.

Palestinian Authority says 19-year-old succumbed to wounds sustained in settler attack

The Palestinian who suffered serious gunshot injuries during a settler attack in the central West Bank’s Mukhmas on Wednesday has died of his wounds, the Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem Governorate says.

He is identified as Mukhmas resident Nasrallah Abu Siam, 19.

صورة| شهيد بلدة مخماس نصر الله أبو صيام، والذي ارتقى متأثراً بإصابته برصاص المستوطنين خلال الهجوم على البلدة شمال شرق القدس المحتلة. pic.twitter.com/PcUhwZueo8

— القسطل الإخباري (@AlQastalps) February 18, 2026

He died at the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah, where he was brought with four other Palestinians who were wounded in the attack, the PA governorate says.

The killing represents a “dangerous escalation that calls for international sanctions” on Israel and settlers, says the governorate. It adds that the escalation is “incited and supported by members of the Israeli government — chief among them the ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich,” Israel’s national security and finance ministers, respectively.

Abu Siam is the first person killed by Israeli settlers in 2026, and the 37th since the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, according to the PA’s official news agency WAFA.

Trump reportedly told US could hit Iran as soon as Saturday, as he mulls potential strikes

US President Donald Trump gestures during a Black History Month event in the East Room of the White House, February 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nathan Howard)

US President Donald Trump has been told by his top national security advisers that the American military could launch strikes on Iran as soon as Saturday, CBS News reports, though he has still yet to make a decision on whether to green light an attack.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the US broadcaster says the timeline for a decision is expected to extend beyond this weekend, adding that the Pentagon is temporarily shifting some personnel out of the Middle East in the coming days as it readies for a potential Iranian counterattack if the US strikes.

Amid Iran tensions, Rubio to meet with Netanyahu in Israel on Feb. 28 — US official

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu give brief statements to the press at Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem, October 23, 2025. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Israel on February 28 to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a US official confirms to The Times of Israel, amid heightened tensions over Iran.

A senior US official tells Reuters that in the wake of US-Iran talks in Geneva on Tuesday, Iran is expected to submit a written proposal on how to avoid its standoff with the United States.

Top national security advisers met in the White House Situation Room to discuss Iran and were told all US forces deployed to the region should be in place by mid-March, the official says.

Tucker Carlson and Huckabee had ’emotional’ interview in attempt to mend rift in GOP, says former Fox host who was present

Former Fox News host Melissa Francis speaks with The Times of Israel in Jerusalem on February 18, 2026. (Lazar Berman/The Times of Israel)

Conservative anti-Israel podcast host Tucker Carlson and US Ambassador Mike Huckabee engaged in a long, productive, and “emotional” conversation earlier today at Ben Gurion Airport, says a friend of both men who helped set up the interview and was present for it.

“Tucker asked a lot of questions that a lot of Americans are asking,” Melissa Francis, a former Fox and CNBC host, tells The Times of Israel in Jerusalem after the interview.

“They came together and did a really good job of answering Tucker’s questions and the ambassador correcting the things that he felt like were wrong,” says Francis, who is in Israel for the 8th time since the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel.

“Huckabee called him out on all those things and challenged him and corrected him today,” she says.

Carlson never the left VIP terminal at Ben Gurion Airport, though Huckabee invited him to remain in Israel for several days.

The meeting between the leading Israel critic and an outspoken Christian Zionist was “professional,” says Francis.

“I think it was emotional,” she continues. “There are strong opinions, but I thought it was a great exchange of views.”

“The ambassador is so well-informed and is an ambassador, a pastor, a governor, and a television extraordinaire, so he’s more than capable dealing with it,” says Francis. “So it just it seemed like it was a great match.”

Francis says that she had dinner with Carlson in Florida a few weeks ago and she invited him to come along for a visit to Israel. He responded that US President Donald Trump has asked him to rein in the fight within the Republican Party over Israel, out of a concern that it was helping the Democratic Party.

According to Francis, Carlson said that he reached out to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to arrange a meeting in Israel, but never received a response.

Francis urged Huckabee to do an interview with Carlson. “I think we all realized that this infighting is terrible for Republicans,” she says.

Former PM Bennett condemns Tucker Carlson as ‘a chickenshit’ and ‘a phony’

FILE - Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, September 21, 2025, in Glendale, Arizona. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett denounces Tucker Carlson as “a chickenshit”and “a phony,” after the right-wing American commentator claimed he was detained and interrogated at Ben Gurion Airport.

“The guy who’s been spouting lies about Israel for the past two years, landed today at Ben Gurion Airport, took a quick picture in the logistics zone, tweeted it to pretend he’s actually IN Israel (so he can later claim that he’s a serious reporter who toured Israel), didn’t even step foot in country, then made up a story that he’s being supposedly harassed by our security (didn’t happen), whined about it, got back into the private jet and flew off,” Bennett writes on X.

“Next time he talks about Israel as if he’s some expert, just remember this guy is a phony!”

Israel, US envoy reject Tucker Carlson’s claim he was detained and interrogated at airport

Tucker Carlson attends a meeting with US President Donald Trump and oil executives in the East Room of the White House, January 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Conservative anti-Israel media personality Tucker Carlson claims that he was detained by Israeli security staff at Ben Gurion Airport after interviewing US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, which Israel — and Huckabee — firmly deny.

“Men who identified themselves as airport security took our passports, hauled our executive producer into a side room and then demanded to know what we spoke to Ambassador Huckabee about,” Carlson tells the Daily Mail. “It was bizarre. We’re now out of the country.”

The Israel Airports Authority “firmly rejects” the claims.

“Contrary to the reports, Tucker Carlson and his entourage were not detained, delayed, or interrogated,” the IAA says in a statement shared by the Foreign Ministry. “Mr. Carlson and his party were politely asked a few routine questions, in accordance with standard procedures applied to many travelers.

“The conversation took place in a separate room within the VIP lounge solely to protect their privacy and to avoid conducting such a discussion in public.”

Huckabee chimes in.

“EVERYONE who comes in/out of Israel (every country for that matter) has passports checked & routinely asked security questions,” he writes on X. “Even ME going in/out with Diplomatic Passport & Diplomatic Visa.”