Jan. 20: Ministers reportedly decide to keep Rafah crossing shut, bucking US pressure

EU vows ‘unflinching’ response to Trump’s Greenland gambit

European leaders draw a clear line over Greenland, vowing an “unflinching” response to Washington’s threats even as US President Donald Trump says he is ready to hold a meeting in Davos about his plans to take the autonomous Danish territory.

Asked hours before he is to head to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, how far he would go, Trump replies only: “You’ll find out.”

“We have a lot of meetings scheduled on Greenland, and I think things are going to work out pretty well,” Trump tells reporters about his Davos meetings.

Leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Swiss ski resort close ranks against Trump’s increasingly aggressive America First agenda, while Greenland’s prime minister says his tiny population of 57,000 must be prepared for military force.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen leads the European rejoinder, cautioning that Trump risked plunging US ties with the European Union into a “downward spiral.”

France’s Emmanuel Macron warns against US attempts to “subordinate Europe,” and blasts as “unacceptable” Trump’s threats to impose tariffs of up to 25 percent on countries opposed to his Greenland plans.

Trump had earlier insisted Greenland was “imperative” for security. “There can be no going back — on that, everyone agrees!” he posted on his Truth Social platform.

The US president, who will address the annual gathering of global elites on Wednesday, has put the transatlantic alliance to the test with his demand to take over Greenland.

IDF denies issuing new evacuation orders for Gazans

Contrary to a report by Reuters earlier today, the IDF says it has not issued any new evacuation orders for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, but did warn civilians against crossing the Yellow Line, which demarcates the military’s withdrawal as part of the ceasefire.

According to the Reuters report, the IDF dropped leaflets ordering Palestinians in Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis in the Strip’s south, to leave their homes, in what the news agency claimed was the first forced evacuation since October’s ceasefire.

“Urgent message. The area is under IDF control. You must evacuate immediately,” said the leaflets, written in Arabic, Hebrew, and English, according to Reuters.

The military confirms to The Times of Israel that it dropped leaflets in the area, but says it was intended to warn Palestinians against crossing the Gaza ceasefire line, rather than a forced evacuation of an area where civilians were residing.

“Earlier today, IDF troops identified an attempt by Gazan civilians to cross the Yellow Line toward the Israeli-controlled side. The civilians were warned not to cross, including through leaflets that were distributed in the area,” the military says in response to a query.

“Contrary to what was claimed in the publication, there is no evacuation of the population in the area,” the army adds.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Trump: Iran canceled 837 hangings after we warned it would be ‘very bad day for them’

US President Donald Trump reiterates his claim that Iran halted plans to execute protesters last week after threats from Washington.

“They were going to hang 837 people, and… we let them know that if that happens, that will be a very bad day for them, and they decided not to do it,” Trump says at a White House press conference. “I can’t tell you what’s going to happen in the future, but supposedly they’ve taken that off the table.”

Trump had threatened to strike Iran if it killed protesters, which the regime proceeded to do in the thousands. But toward the end of last week, the president indicated that he had pulled back from plans to attack due to Iran’s purported cancellation of planned hangings of protesters.

Iran has not publicly confirmed those plans.

Trump says he has ‘very important call’ shortly with Erdogan ‘who I like’

US President Donald Trump says he has a “very important call” shortly with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “who I like.”

That relationship has been a cause of anxiety in Jerusalem, due to Erdogan’s bitter criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza.

Netanyahu has expressed his opposition to the US placing top representatives from Turkey and Qatar on the Board of Peace’s Gaza Executive Board, which will be playing a key role in the oversight of the postwar management of Gaza.

Trump says Board of Peace ‘might’ replace United Nations, but wants UN to continue

Asked whether he wants his new Board of Peace to replace the United Nations, US President Donald Trump says, “It might.”

“The UN just hasn’t been very helpful. I’m a big fan of the UN potential, but it has never lived up to its potential,” Trump says during a White House press conference.

“The UN should have settled every one of the wars that I settled… [but] I believe you’ve got to let the UN continue because the potential is so great,” he adds.

The US originally presented the Board of Peace as an oversight body focused on Gaza, and the UN Security Council voted in November to give it a mandate to do so until the end of 2027.

But the Board of Peace charter sent to potential members last week makes no mention of Gaza and indicates that the US would like the panel of world leaders to become the world’s preeminent conflict resolution body.

Trump: ‘We think we know’ location of body of last hostage in Gaza

US President Donald Trump says, “We think we know” where the body of the final deceased hostage, Ran Gvili, is being held in Gaza.

Trump makes the revelations during a White House press briefing while going through his administration’s accomplishments during his first year in office.

Israel had pushed back on advancing to phase two of Trump’s Gaza plan before Hamas has handed over Gvili’s body along with its weapons. But top US officials informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Florida last month that they did not want to hold things up any longer and would continue the search for Gvili along with efforts to disarm Hamas simultaneously with the operationalization of phase two, officials told The Times of Israel.

A “very good channel of communication” is operating to find Gvili’s remains and there are several potential sites where his body may be located, said a US official during a briefing with reporters last week.

“We will not consider this mission completed until the last body is found. With that being said, we are not going to hold up going to phase two for that because both parties have agreed to continue working in good faith,” the US official said.

The US official also argued that last week’s launch of the Palestinian technocratic committee, along with continued progress on Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan, would boost the chances of locating Gvili’s body.

Brother of former Hamas hostage Avera Mengistu has gone missing

The brother of the former Hamas hostage Avera Mengistu has been missing for two days, with police asking the public for assistance in locating him.

Police say in a statement that Ashgara Mengistu, 33, left his mother’s home in Ma’ale Adumim, just outside Jerusalem, on Sunday, and has not been heard from since.

Police describe Ashgara as 1.75 meters tall, with black hair. A resident of the southern port city of Ashkelon, he speaks Amharic, the statement says. A major search operation is underway in the Haifa District, Kan says. According to the outlet, Ashgara was last seen in the north of the country on Sunday.

His brother, Avera, 38, entered the Gaza Strip of his own accord in 2014, amid mental distress. He was arrested by Hamas shortly after entering the coastal enclave. He was freed only in February 2025, with several other captives, during a ceasefire and hostage release deal with Hamas.

AG: Government decision to shutter Army Radio part of process to ‘restrict free press’

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara says the recent government decision to shutter Army Radio, a public broadcaster, is part of a process over the last three years by which the government has sought to “restrict the free press” and “exert pressure” over it. She says the High Court of Justice should therefore annul the move.

Writing in response to petitions to the court against the cabinet decision in December to shut Army Radio down, the attorney general says the move must be seen in the context of other steps taken by the current government in the media field, such as legislation to give the government control over the Kan public broadcaster’s budget and sell off its news division, as well as further legislation to give the government significant control over broadcast media, news websites and other press outlets.

“Seen together, this should raise serious concerns that the independent nature of central components of [the Israeli media market], with an emphasis on news broadcasts, is being altered, as is the ability of the Israeli media to fulfill its essential role in democracy as the ‘fourth estate,'” writes Baharav-Miara.

She also says the decision itself was flawed by “foundational defects,” including a failure to enact the closure via legislation, since previous legal determinations have stated that executive action to close the station would only be permissible if public broadcasting in Israel were “operative and stable.”

But Baharav-Miara stresses that the decision to close Army Radio comes at the same time as “extensive legislative moves” to change the regulation of news broadcasts on commercial channels, “in a manner that poses a real risk of seriously harming the independence of news outlets,” and which would expose them to significant economic and political pressures.

This would mean that legislation, not a cabinet decision, is required to close down Army Radio, the attorney general asserts.

She adds that even at the current stage, when Army Radio has not yet been fully shuttered, there are concerns that a “chilling effect on the media and its independence” is already being felt due to the steps the government is taking.

“In view of the various flaws in the government’s decision, the attorney general’s position is that the government’s decision cannot be left to stand, and is therefore null and void,” Baharav-Miara’s position paper states.

At the end of December, the High Court issued an interim injunction freezing the cabinet decision to close down Army Radio until the court reaches a final ruling on petitions against the move.

IDF official: 30,000 currently designated as draft evaders, but true number much higher

There are currently 30,000 Israelis designated as draft evaders, half of whom are identified as members of the ultra-Orthodox community, while the religious affiliation of the rest cannot be determined with certainty, Lt. Col. Avigdor Dickstein, head of the Haredi branch of the IDF’s Personnel Directorate, tells the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Of that second half, some are from the general public and some from the ultra-Orthodox community. The number of designated evaders is expected to rise by many thousands over the coming month, he says.

Some 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged between 18 and 24 are currently believed to be eligible for military service, but have not enlisted. The Israel Defense Forces has said it urgently needs 12,000 recruits due to the strain on standing and reserve forces caused by the war against Hamas in Gaza and other military challenges.

Testifying before the Knesset State Control Committee in mid-September, the head of the IDF’s Personnel Directorate said the military’s efforts to crack down on ultra-Orthodox draft dodgers have been ineffective. However, Dickstein told the Kan public broadcaster last week, after over 530 Haredim enlisted within one week, that the mass issuance of draft orders to Haredim and subsequent enforcement, including imprisonment, has been “unequivocally effective” in boosting enlistment numbers.

Dickstein’s comments today come as the committee rushes to complete a marathon series of discussions on the government’s proposed yeshiva student exemption bill. If passed into law, the bill would grant renewed service exemptions to full-time yeshiva students while purportedly increasing conscription among graduates of Haredi educational institutions.

It would also effectively reset the status of yeshiva students who ignored call-up orders over the past year, while yeshivas would immediately receive half of their pre-ruling funding, easing economic and legal pressure on the community. Committee legal adviser Miri Frenkel Shor has objected to such an arrangement, arguing that canceling existing legal proceedings and judgments is a highly exceptional step, which does not apply to the entire population that is required to report. This effectively means that Haredim who broke the law by refusing to report when ordered will receive immunity, while non-Haredi evaders will not.

Shor called on the committee to examine extending this provision to the general population.

Addressing the committee, Cabinet Secretary Yossi Fuchs argues that shortening mandatory military service and working to create a “small and smart army” was a mistake. This needs to be fixed in tandem with passing the law regulating Haredi conscription, he argues.

Former Supreme Court chief Asher Grunis rushed to hospital in serious condition

Former Supreme Court president Asher Grunis has been rushed to the hospital in serious condition.

The 81-year-old conservative led the court in 2012-2015. He currently chairs the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee.

The committee is vetting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nominee for Mossad chief, Roman Gofman, whose selections have been questioned over his involvement in the use of a minor for a so-called influence operation while serving in the Israel Defense Forces.

Grunis also leads the state commission of inquiry tasked with investigating the Submarine Affair. Formed under former prime minister Naftali Bennett in 2022, it is probing some $2 billion worth of deals with German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp that have been under scrutiny for possible corruption and bribery. One aspect of the probe deals with critics’ accusation that Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu green-lit a 2014 naval deal between Germany and Egypt that jeopardized Israel’s qualitative advantage at sea.

Report: Eisenkot proposes merger with Lapid, Bennett for mega-slate ahead of next election

Former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar! party, has proposed a major merger in the opposition between himself, Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid and Naftali Bennett’s new party, Channel 12 reports.

The network says both Lapid and Bennett have courted Eisenkot to join their slates, but that he wants to bring them both together in a joint platform he believes could net some 40 seats in the next general election, to be held later this year.

Bennett’s still-unnamed party has been polling at around 22-24 seats in recent surveys, Yesh Atid at 7-9 and Eisenkot at 9-11 in the 120-member Knesset. However, it is unknown whether a joint slate would be worth more than the sum of its parts, or possibly less — right-wing Israelis who might vote for Bennett may not necessarily be fans of Lapid, the opposition leader.

Channel 12 does not provide sourcing for the report. None of the politicians has commented on it as of yet.

IDF announces military drill in the Galilee tomorrow

The IDF has announced that it will conduct a military drill tomorrow in the Galilee region of northern Israel.

“As part of the drill, there will be an increased movement of security forces,” the army says.

IDF finds weapons cache in Gaza tunnel shaft

IDF troops located a cache of weapons in a tunnel shaft during mop-up operations on the Israeli side of the Gaza ceasefire line in the Strip’s south, the military says.

The IDF says soldiers of the 188th Armored Brigade and elite Yahalom combat engineering unit found firearms, RPGs and other military equipment in the shaft.

Amid the ongoing ceasefire, the military has been operating on the eastern side of the Yellow Line to demolish Hamas tunnels and other infrastructure belonging to Palestinian terror groups.

Meeting UN General Assembly head, Herzog calls ICC warrant against Netanyahu a ‘reward for terror’

President Isaac Herzog condemns the exclusion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the World Economic Forum in Davos as “a reward for terror,” in a meeting with UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock in Switzerland ahead of the president’s participation in the summit.

“It is unacceptable that shameful international politics — repeatedly weaponized against the State of Israel — are being used by international legal forums to prevent senior Israelis, from the only democracy in the Middle East, from attending the [summit], a conference that aims to shape the future of the world and the Middle East,” Herzog says in the meeting, according to a statement from his office.

Netanyahu, who has attended the conference in years past, is currently prevented from traveling to member states of the International Criminal Court due to the court’s arrest warrants issued for him and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over allegations of war crimes committed in the conflict with Hamas in Gaza.

“Preventing [Netanyahu], or, for that matter, [Gallant,] from attending a global forum aiming to shape the future of the Middle East by such legal means is a reward for terror,” Herzog states in the readout, which adds that he intends to raise the issue of “the exclusion of senior Israelis from international forums, as well as the revocation of the sanctions imposed by the International Criminal Court” at the conference.

“Israel is not only fighting to protect its people, it is on the front line defending the entire free world against the Iranian regime’s empire of evil and its terror proxies,” Herzog continues, calling it “essential” that the international community and European nations “take action to bring this shameful episode of the imposition of illegitimate sanctions to a swift end.”

EU moves to tighten ban on drone exports to Iran after crackdown

The European Union proposes banning the export of more drone and missile tech to Iran after a deadly crackdown on protesters, European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen says.

“Europe stands in full solidarity with the brave women and men of Iran who are risking their lives to demand freedom for themselves and future generations,” von der Leyen writes on X.

“Today, we are proposing to ban additional exports of critical drone and missile technologies.”

Von der Leyen says the EU is also readying other sanctions on those responsible for the “continued and brutal repression” of protests that rocked the Islamic Republic.

UN chief urges Israel to halt UNRWA compound demolition

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres is calling on Israel to halt its demolition of the UN Palestinian refugee agency’s East Jerusalem compound and restore it and other UNRWA premises to the world body “without delay,” a UN spokesperson says.

“The secretary general views as wholly unacceptable the continued escalatory actions against UNRWA, which are inconsistent with Israel’s clear obligations under international law, including under the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations,” deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq tells reporters.

US Central Command announces arrival of F-15 squadron in Mideast amid tensions with Iran

The US Central Command says it has boosted its capabilities in the Middle East with the arrival of an F-15 fighter jet squadron, amid the ongoing tensions with Iran.

CENTCOM publishes a photo of an F-15E from the 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron landing at an undisclosed base in the Middle East earlier this week.

A U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle assigned to the 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron lands at a base in the Middle East, Jan. 18. The F-15's presence enhances combat readiness and promotes regional security and stability. pic.twitter.com/QTXgOsOozV

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) January 20, 2026

The same squadron was deployed to the Middle East in April 2024 to counter Iran’s drone and missile barrage on Israel.

CENTCOM says the presence of the F-15s in the region “enhances combat readiness and promotes regional security and stability.”

Meanwhile, the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group is still reportedly on its way to the Middle East, which will further boost the US’s available firepower and defensive capabilities, and give President Donald Trump the option to launch an attack on Iran against the backdrop of the regime’s killing of protesters.

There is ‘no alternative’ to Trump’s Gaza plan, says Qatari PM

The Gaza Board of Peace is “presenting a path,” Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani says at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“The first stage of the deal being implemented doesn’t mean that the deal is done,” Al-Thani warns. “We have a lot of work to be done right now.”

“We are happy to be a contributor to peace and stability in our region,” he says of Qatar’s inclusion on the Board of Peace.

“We have no alternative paths to seek right now,” he says of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan.

One of the most important things to focus on in Gaza right now, says Al-Thani, is to “make sure that the withdrawal of Israeli forces is happening as soon as possible.”

Syrian defense ministry announces four-day ceasefire with Kurds

Syria’s defense ministry announces a four-day ceasefire with Kurdish forces, after an understanding was reached between the two sides on the future of the Kurdish-majority Hasakeh region.

The ministry announces a ceasefire “from 8 p.m. (1700 GMT) … lasting four days,” saying it is part of the agreement between the Damascus government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Belarus leader and Putin ally accepts Trump invite to serve on Board of Peace

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has accepted US President Donald Trump’s invitation to serve on his Board of Peace, his office announces.

The Russian ally joins the leaders of Argentina, Hungary, Morocco, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, who have announced decisions to accept Trump’s invitation to join the Board of Peace. Dozens of world leaders were invited.

Palestinian Authority condemns demolitions at UNRWA’s East Jerusalem HQ

The Palestinian Authority condemns the demolitions at the headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem.

“The ministry warns of the gravity of this deliberate escalation against UNRWA, which comes within the framework of a systematic targeting of its role and UN mandate, and an attempt to undermine the international protection system for Palestinian refugees,” the foreign ministry in Ramallah says in a statement.

Norway won’t take part in Trump’s ‘Board of Peace,’ deputy FM says

Norway will not take part in US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” initiative, as is currently presented, Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik tells daily Aftenposten.

The board would be chaired for life by Trump and would initially address the Gaza conflict, with plans to expand its scope to deal with other conflicts, according to a copy of a letter and draft charter seen by Reuters.

The Norwegian foreign ministry does not immediately reply to a request for comment.

US estimates 200 Islamic State fighters escaped Syrian prison, US official says

About 200 low-level Islamic State fighters escaped Syria’s Shaddadi prison yesterday after guards from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces left the facility, but Syrian government forces recaptured many of them, a US official says.

The official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, says about 600 foreign fighters from Islamic State had been transferred from Shaddadi prior to January 19 to other facilities and remain in detention.

Saudi Arabia condemns Israel’s demolition of UNRWA buildings in East Jerusalem

Saudi Arabia condemns Israel’s demolition of buildings at the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in East Jerusalem, expressing its support for the body in Israel’s crosshairs.

The kingdom expresses its “strongest condemnation of the demolition of buildings belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) by the Israeli occupation forces,” its foreign ministry says in a statement.

Following Israel’s law banning UNRWA activity, the Israel Land Authority—backed by police—has seized the UNRWA compound in Jerusalem’s Ma’alot Dafna neighborhood.
The site is returning to state control and will be redeveloped for public use. pic.twitter.com/UXiSL3tZXx

— Amit Segal (@AmitSegal) January 20, 2026

The kingdom also expresses its “support for UNRWA in its humanitarian mission to help the brotherly Palestinian people.”

The demolition was in line with a law passed in October 2024 banning the UN agency from operating in the country. Israel accuses the UN agency of perpetuating the conflict by continuing to confer refugee status on Palestinian descendants. It ramped up its campaign against the agency after evidence showed that employees of the agency had participated in the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas. Israel has also alleged that more than 10 percent of UNRWA’s staff in Gaza have ties to terrorist factions, and that educational facilities under the organization’s auspices consistently incite hatred of Israel and glorify terror.

Christian Zionist organization fires back at patriarchs who condemned movement

After the heads of major Christian churches in the region released a statement condemning Christian Zionism last week, a leading international Christian Zionist organization based in Jerusalem responds that “the promised restoration of Israel in modern times enjoys ample biblical credentials in both the Old and New Testaments.”

“The Jewish return to the Land of Israel both reflects and affirms the faithful nature and character of God to always keep His sworn covenant promises, thereby strengthening the Christian faith rather than damaging or undermining it,” the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem says, after the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem listed Christian Zionism among the “damaging ideologies” being advanced by individuals in Israel.

“The promised Jewish return to Zion has been taught and embraced by many devout Christians throughout the Church age, from the original Apostles and some of the early Church fathers to medieval clergymen, right up to the modern-day Protestant and Evangelical church movements,” says ICEJ. “Christian Zionism thus predates Supersessionism and will survive its passing.”

ICEJ has been a key independent player in Israeli diplomacy, playing central roles in countries in the Pacific and Latin America moving their embassies to Jerusalem.

“Our shared Christian Scriptures counsel that it is better to address any differences we may have about doctrine and beliefs firstly in direct dialogue among brethren, rather than through the media,” says ICEJ.

Notably, the Latin Patriarchate, which is part of the Heads of Churches, has not shared the statement condemning Christian Zionism on its website or on social media.

Route 4 opened after ultra-Orthodox protest; police say officers called ‘Nazis’

Police say they cleared an ultra-Orthodox demonstration on Route 4 near Bnei Brak after protesters blocked traffic, clashed with officers and hurled insults at police, including calling them “Nazis.”

Demonstrators were protesting the now canceled autopsies of two babies who died at an unlicensed daycare in the ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood of Romema.

According to police, protesters sat on the roadway, threw stones and used their bodies to block vehicles, endangering both themselves and others on the road.

Police say they were forced to use crowd-control measures and extract vehicles trapped in the demonstration, after they declared the protest unlawful and issued warnings that were ignored by participants.

המשטרה הפעילה בהפגנה בכביש 4 אלימות רבה, ובין היתר מפקד תחנת בני ברק תועד חונק את אחד המפגינים. בניסוף, פרש הצליף במפגין שישב על הרצפה. זאת במסגרת הפגנת החרדים נגד נתיחת גופותיהם של שני התינוקות שמתו אתמול במעון בירושלים, המתרחשת בעיר ובבית שמש.

(יאיר פולדש, הארץ) pic.twitter.com/oxpXpMJtYU

— חדר מלחמה (@waroomisrael) January 20, 2026

One protester was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, police say.

All lanes of Route 4 have been reopened to traffic.

Police emphasize that while the right to protest is a “cornerstone of a democratic state,” they will not allow disturbances that threaten public safety or disrupt freedom of movement.

Teen killed by bus; police launch investigation, deny link to nearby protest

A 17-year-old pedestrian was struck by a bus and killed near the Hasidic moshav of Komemiyut in south-central Israel, with the Magen David Adom emergency service saying he was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to the MDA, medics and paramedics responding to the incident on Route 3533 at the Aluma Junction found the teen lying on the road with a severe head injury and no vital signs.

Police say they have launched an investigation into the circumstances of the fatal crash. Officers from the Kiryat Gat police station and traffic accident investigators are examining the scene, and the bus driver has been detained for questioning.

Police stress that, contrary to reports circulating online, there is no connection between the fatal accident and a protest that ended earlier near Komemiyut.

Top Palestinian leader accuses Palestinian Authority of institutional corruption

A former Palestinian Authority intelligence chief publicly accuses the Palestinian leadership of allowing systemic corruption to flourish within its institutions, in a rare appeal addressed directly to PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

In an open letter, Tawfiq Tirawi, 77, says he repeatedly alerted the Palestinian president to cases of graft, but to no avail.

“The corruption system now operates with confidence and immunity,” writes Tirawi, a senior member of the Fatah central committee led by Abbas, whose presidential mandate expired in 2009.

Tirawi alleges the involvement of businesses and individuals in the takeover of public and private lands and assets, describing what he calls a “moral and ethical collapse” of Palestinian institutions.

He also accuses aides around Abbas, who is 90, of “deliberately hiding the truth” from him.

Tirawi says that after consulting with other Fatah figures, he decided to make the issue public, warning that if the situation persists he would disclose details of specific cases to the media.

“Did our people make all these sacrifices — martyrs, prisoners and wounded — only for us to reach a stage where thieves and land brokers are left to spread corruption without deterrence or accountability?” Tirawi writes.

EU parliament to freeze approval of US trade deal — lawmakers

EU lawmakers have agreed to hold off ratifying a key trade deal with the United States following President Donald Trump’s tariff threats over Greenland, the main political groups say.

The parliament was planning a vote in the coming weeks on removing tariffs on some US products as part of the agreement.

High Court bars autopsies for infants who died in Jerusalem daycare — ZAKA

The High Court of Justice has ruled that autopsies will not be performed on the two infants who died Monday in an unlicensed Jerusalem daycare facility, according to the ZAKA organization, which filed a petition to the court on behalf of the families.

The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court ruled earlier that autopsies could be performed, but after hearing arguments today, the High Court accepts ZAKA’s petition.

The earlier court decision had sparked mass Haredi protests in Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh and other locations.

Dror Shoshim, the attorney who represented the families in court for ZAKA, describes the ruling as “an important decision demonstrating humane sensitivity and respect for the dead.”

The families, who are ultra-Orthodox, opposed the autopsies on religious grounds. Jewish law in general proscribes autopsies on the grounds that the human body is sacred and thus should not be tampered with after death, and urges that funerals be held as quickly as possible after a person dies. But Jewish law does permit autopsies in some situations involving saving another life.

Police arrest 11 in violent ultra-Orthodox protests in Jerusalem, Beit Shemesh

Police say 11 people have been arrested amid riots in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, including one suspect who allegedly bit a police officer, as ultra-Orthodox protests continue against court-approved autopsies of two babies who died yesterday at an unlicensed daycare.

According to police, rioters are setting trash bins on fire and rolling them through the streets, damaging infrastructure, attacking civilians and officers, and blocking train and vehicle traffic in an effort to disrupt daily life.

During attempts to arrest suspects, police say one individual confronted officers and bit one of them on the hand before being detained.

16 מוקדי הפגנות ברחבי הארץ נגד נתיחת גופות הפעוטות שמתו במעון בירושלים; תיעוד מחסימת צומת בר אילן בירושלים >>@daniel_grovais @nakash_noam pic.twitter.com/6Dt50lFmi5

— גלצ (@GLZRadio) January 20, 2026

The same two cities saw rioting last night over a court ruling in favor of carrying out the autopsies. Orthodox Jews generally consider any tampering with a dead body a desecration, and avoid autopsies under most circumstances.

The causes of death of for 4-month-old Leah Goloventzitz and 6-month-old Aharon Katz have not yet been determined.

Palestinians endure ‘systemic abuse’ in Israeli prisons, rights group says

Thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons are enduring “a systemic, institutionalized policy of torture and abuse,” one of Israel’s leading human rights organizations says in a report.

Based on interviews with 21 Palestinians released from detention as part of the October 2025 ceasefire, the Israeli rights group B’Tselem says prison conditions have led to deaths and irreversible health damage. The group says former detainees spoke despite threats of rearrest if they shared details of their experiences.

The Israel Prison Service says it “categorically rejects the false allegations,” contending it operates lawfully, is subject to oversight and reviews complaints.

“Any concrete complaint submitted through the official channels is examined by the competent authorities in accordance with established procedures and the law,” it says in a statement.

The military and Shin Bet — which are responsible for arresting prisoners and conducting interrogations, respectively — do not respond to requests for comment.

In a report titled “Living Hell,” B’Tselem details what it describes as a “grave pattern of sexual violence” in detention facilities and prisons, including threats of sexual abuse and physical assaults such as beatings to the genitals that caused severe injuries. The report also says detainees were subjected to forced anal penetration with objects. The report describes ongoing organized violence, including beatings, electric shocks, and the use of tear gas and stun grenades. Living conditions, the group says, are marked by severe overcrowding, shackling, and limited access to food and hygiene. Denied adequate medical care, some detainees have undergone amputations or reported loss of eyesight or hearing.

Iranian parliament warns of jihad if supreme leader is attacked

Any attack on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would trigger a declaration of jihad, or holy war, the Iranian Students News Agency quotes Iran’s national security parliamentary commission as saying.

Tensions between Iran and the United States have grown following a severe crackdown of protests across Iran, which US President Donald Trump warned could lead to a response from Washington.

“Any attack on the supreme leader means a declaration of war with the entire Islamic world and must await the issuance of a jihad decree by Islamic scholars and the response of Islam’s soldiers in all parts of the world,” the parliamentary commission says.

Bulgarian synagogue vandalized with antisemitic slurs, swastika

Antisemitic slurs and a swastika were spraypainted on a synagogue on Saturday in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, according to Hebrew media reports.

Plovdiv police are investigating the incident.

“This outrageous incident will not deter us,” Rabbi Mendi Mendelsohn, the city’s Chabad emissary, tells the Hebrew daily Israel Hayom. “Plovdiv is a tolerant and safe city. This is an unusual act, and we are in constant coordination with the police forces.”

???????? — ANTISEMITISM: This morning in Bulgaria, antisemitic graffiti including slurs and swastikas was sprayed on the gate of the community synagogue in the city of Plovdiv, and local police opened an investigation into the incident pic.twitter.com/rogtuyfANO

— Belaaz News (@TheBelaaz) January 20, 2026

6-month-old baby dies of cold exposure in Gaza, Hamas-run health ministry says

A 6-month-old baby girl died over the past day from cold exposure in Gaza, the Strip’s Hamas-run health ministry says.

Shatha Abu Jarad is the ninth child to die of exposure in Gaza during the winter season that started last month, the ministry says. According to Palestinian media, she died this morning in Gaza City.

The health ministry also reports that Gaza hospitals have over the past 24 hours attended to seven people wounded by the IDF, and received the body of one person who was killed.

The report does not identify the people, specify the severity of the wounds or say where or when the they took place.

The death and injuries bring the number of people the Hamas-run ministry says were killed and wounded by the IDF since the Gaza ceasefire deal to 466 and 1,294, respectively.

WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, says the 466th casualty is Musael Aqel, who died today of injuries sustained in a previous Israeli strike on central Gaza’s Bureij camp. His age, and the date of the strike, are not reported.

استشهاد مساعد عقل متأثراً بجراحه التي أصيب بها سابقاً بقصف الاحتلال له أثناء عمله مع طواقم بلدية البريج pic.twitter.com/oTuaHfP7Td

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) January 20, 2026

The outlet also reports several people wounded by IDF gunfire this afternoon in Bani Suheila, on the Israeli-controlled side of the ceasefire line east of Khan Younis. The IDF has not commented on the reported incident. The army regularly says it fires on gunmen who cross the ceasefire line and who pose a threat to troops.

Rothman kicks deputy attorney general out of meeting on contentious bill to split AG’s role

Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon is ejected from the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee after Religious Zionism MK Simcha Rothman, the panel’s chair, does not allow him to present his position during a debate over the coalition’s bill to split the role of the attorney general.

The contentious bill would split the role of the attorney general into different positions and drastically reduce its authority. The opposition has pointed to it as a key component of the government’s renewed judicial overhaul agenda.

Committee legal adviser Gur Bligh says that he thinks it is appropriate to hear from the Attorney General’s Office and Rothman agrees, stating that there are other representatives aside from Limon in the room.

In response, Limon states that if he does not speak, other representatives will not either.

Rothman then instructs Limon to leave while a coalition lawmaker yells that the government attorney is a “neighborhood bully.” Limon is escorted out of the committee by a guard.

Following the incident, the far-right lawmaker accuses Limon of making a “criminal threat” and says he should not be allowed in the Knesset. It is unclear what Limon is alleged to have said.

UAE president accepted Trump invitation to Board of Peace, Emirati foreign ministry says

UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan accepted US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join the Board of Peace, UAE’s foreign ministry says in a statement.

UAE reaffirmed its readiness to contribute actively to the mission of the Board of Peace, “supporting greater cooperation, stability, and prosperity for all,” the statement adds.

Man hit by vehicle during Haredi protest against babies’ autopsies

A man is in moderate condition after he was hit by a vehicle on Golda Meir Boulevard in Jerusalem, the Magen David Adom emergency service says.

The man, aged around 18, appears to have been hit during a protest by Haredi men against the planned autopsies of two babies who died in unclear circumstances at an unlicensed daycare in Jerusalem’s Romema neighborhood yesterday.

מתקפה חמורה על נהג שנקלע להפגנה בצומת בר אילן pic.twitter.com/BqED1v4quK

— Inbar Twizer ענבר טויזר (@inbartvizer) January 20, 2026

Detention extended for caregivers held on suspicion of reckless manslaughter of 2 infants in Jerusalem daycare

The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court extends the detention of two caregivers from the unlicensed Jerusalem daycare where two infants died yesterday.

The caregivers are being held on suspicion of reckless manslaughter and will remain in custody until at least Thursday.

In the detention hearing in court, the police representative said he was shocked by what he saw in the apartment serving as the daycare premises, Kan News reports.

He said the daycare facility had been operated for years and that the premises suffered from “clear neglect.” Evidence has also emerged that the carers put some of infants under their care to sleep in the bathroom, next to a toilet.

The owner of the daycare was arrested today, and under questioning revealed that she has run the daycare for some 30 years.

The cause of death for 4-month-old Leah Goloventzitz and 6-month-old Aharon Katz is still unclear.

Remaining UNRWA sites in Israel to be cut off from electricity starting tomorrow

After Israel demolished the East Jerusalem headquarters of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants, Energy Minister Eli Cohen’s office says that all UNRWA facilities in Israel will be cut off from electricity tomorrow.

Their water will be cut off as well in the near future, says Cohen’s office.

The Israel Electricity Corporation sent a warning on January 6 that the electricity would be cut off in 15 days.

The electricity cut-off will affect seven UNRWA facilities, Cohen’s office tells The Times of Israel.

The sites include four schools, and a baby health clinic.

In December, the Knesset passed a law prohibiting the provision of electricity or water to facilities owned by or operated on behalf of UNRWA.

Israel has long sought to shutter UNRWA, saying it perpetuates the conflict by continuing to confer refugee status on Palestinian descendants.

It ramped up its campaign against the agency after evidence showed that employees of the agency had participated in the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas.

Israel has also alleged that more than 10 percent of UNRWA’s staff in Gaza have ties to terrorist factions, and that educational facilities under the organization’s auspices consistently incite hatred of Israel and glorify terror.

Police scrap senior appointment for man convicted of race-based crimes, accused of anti-LGBTQ incitement

The Aguda LGBTQ umbrella organization says it received official notice from police chief Daniel Levy that the senior appointment of Rahamim Hugi, who reportedly called for violence against members of the LGBTQ community and has a criminal record that includes assault and race-based crimes, has been canceled.

A police spokesperson confirms to The Times of Israel that Levy pulled the appointment of Hugi to head the new ultra-Orthodox enlistment department.

“The direct and consistent contact of the Aguda with police leadership has led to the cancellation of a serious and unacceptable appointment of a man who has called for violence and murder against the LGBTQ community,” says Aguda chair Nimrod Gornstein.

“This is not just an LGBTQ issue,” says Gornstein. “With its opposition to the appointment, the Aguda speaks for everyone who condemns racism, hatred and incitement.”

The i24 outlet reported last night that Hugi had been confirmed as head of police’s new ultra-Orthodox enlistment directorate, with a rank of chief superintendent.

The outlet first reported in November, without naming Hugi, that a man accused of racist and anti-LGBTQ incitement was in the lead to become police’s new ultra-Orthodox enlistment czar. At the time, the candidate was said to be the favorite of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s close circle.

Hugi was reportedly arrested at the 2015 Jerusalem Pride Parade, where ultra-Orthodox extremist Yishai Schlissel went on a stabbing rampage, killing 16-year-old Shira Banki and wounding five others. According to i24, Hugi attended the Pride Parade as a counter-protester and called for all participants in the parade to be stabbed.

In a court filing the following year, police said Hugi had a “a very lengthy criminal record” that included assault, damage to property and race-based crimes, i24 says.

Katz in oblique warning to Turkey: We won’t let anyone undermine stability through proxies in Gaza or elsewhere

Issuing a thinly veiled warning to Turkey, Defense Minister Israel Katz says in Athens that Israel and Greece are determined “not to allow actors seeking to undermine regional stability to establish a foothold through terrorism, aggression, or military proxies — in Syria, in Gaza, in the Aegean Sea, or in any other arena — and to realize their dangerous ambitions.”

“Those who dream of dragging the region backward, establishing control through terror, or rebuilding empires at the expense of sovereign states will encounter a resolute alliance of free, strong nations capable of defending themselves,” Katz continues, alongside his Greek counterpart.

On the subject of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last slain hostage held in Gaza, Katz stresses that “Hamas bears the responsibility to locate him and return him to Israel for burial without any delay.”

UN nuclear agency says no off-site power at Ukraine’s Chernobyl amid Russian strikes

Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant lost all off-site power and lines to other nuclear plants have also been affected, the UN nuclear agency says, as Russian bombardments targeted energy facilities across Ukraine.

“Several Ukrainian electrical substations vital for nuclear safety were affected by widespread military activity this morning,” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi says on X.

“The IAEA is actively following developments in order to assess impact on nuclear safety.”

Erdogan will decide soon on Trump’s Board of Peace invite, FM says

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will soon decide whether to join US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace initiative after having received an invitation, Turkey’s foreign minister says.

“We have received an invitation. Our President is being invited as a founding member, on behalf of Turkey (and) will likely make his decision on this matter very soon,” Hakan Fidan says in a televised interview with state media.

Trump releases conversations with Macron, Rutte praising him on Syria, offering to find solution on Greenland

US President Donald Trump posts on his Truth Social app screen grabs of recent text conversations with French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Iran, Greenland and Syria.

Rutte tells Trump, “What you accomplished today in Syria is incredible,” likely referring to a rather precarious ceasefire signed between the Ahmed Al-Sharaa government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces on Sunday.

Rutte promises Trump that he will highlight to the press at the World Economic Forum in Davos “your work there, in Gaza, and in Ukraine.”

The Dutch politician also tells Trump that he is “committed to finding a way forward on Greenland,” the Danish territory that the US president says he is planning to take control of.

Macron tells Trump in a text that they “are totally in line on Syria.”

He also says that “we can do great things on Iran,” without elaborating.

Turning to Greenland, Macron says he does not understand what Trump is trying to do with his focus on the island.

Macron offers a diplomatic initiative, in which he would gather the G7 leaders in Paris with the Ukrainians, Danish, Syrians, and Russians on the sidelines. He also invites Trump to dinner in Paris before the president returns to the US.

Police arrest Palestinian illegally in Israel and his employer, near IDF chief Zamir’s home

Police say they arrested a Palestinian who is illegally in Israel and his employer this morning near the home of IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who lives in Ramot Hashavim, between Hod Hasharon and Ra’anana.

According to police, Border Police and Central District police officers were dispatched to the community after a report to emergency services of shouting heard in Arabic.

During searches in a residential neighborhood, officers located an illegal entrant from the West Bank city of Tulkarem at a construction site, along with a suspect from the central Arab town of Kafr Qasim, approximately 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from Ramot Hashavim, who allegedly employed him.

Both suspects were detained and taken for questioning, police say.

Police stress that employing, housing, or transporting people illegally in Israel poses a potential security risk and may serve as infrastructure for terror activity, adding that such offenses are treated with “zero tolerance.”

Haredi rioters assault elderly man in Jerusalem protests over autopsies of ultra-Orthodox infants

Ultra-Orthodox rioters assaulted an elderly man in Jerusalem today, as violent protests continue against court-approved autopsies of two babies who died yesterday at an unlicensed daycare, Israel Police say.

According to police, demonstrators on Bar Ilan Street blocked roads with rocks and threw the elderly man into the roadway after he tried to clear stones from the street. The incident was spotted in real time by police surveillance units.

Ultra-Orthodox rioters protesting the autopsies of two Haredi babies assault an elderly man in Jerusalem while he tries to clear rocks from the street, January 20, 2026. (Israel Police)

In a separate incident, police say officers arrested a suspect who was seen rolling rocks into the road in an apparent attempt to block traffic.

Police say the rioters have “crossed every red line,” accusing them of deliberately harming civilians and officers, and vow to continue acting “with a firm hand” to restore public order and bring those involved to justice.

Haredi protests were continuing in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh over the planned autopsies of 4-month-old Leah Goloventzitz and 6-month-old Aharon Katz.

The Katz family, along with the ultra-Orthodox Zaka emergency service, is appealing the decision to the Supreme Court, which is expected to hold a hearing on the matter this afternoon.

Two caregivers from the overcrowded Romema daycare have been detained on suspicion of negligent homicide and negligence.

Katz meets with Greek defense minister in Athens

Defense Minister Israel Katz is in Athens meeting with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias, Katz’s office says.

In late December, Israel, Greece and Cyprus signed a trilateral work plan for military cooperation among the IDF, Greece’s Hellenic Armed Forces, and the Cypriot National Guard in 2026, in a move that further deepens security coordination among Turkey’s regional rivals in the eastern Mediterranean.

The agreement, signed in Cyprus, also provided for various bilateral work plans and covers joint exercises and training, working groups across a range of fields and strategic military dialogue on shared security challenges, according to the military.

Also in December, Greek media reported that the three allies were examining the establishment of a joint rapid-response military force in the eastern Mediterranean, amid growing concern in Athens over Turkey’s expanding military posture.

Shas condemns attack on lawmaker’s son, apparently over draft exemption bill

The ultra-Orthodox Shas party issues a statement “strongly” condemning last night’s attack on the son of MK Yinon Azoulay, arguing that it harms the entire Haredi community.

Shas states that the attack was “a dangerous crossing of a red line” that “defames the entire Haredi public and causes a desecration of God’s name.” The party further demands that the police “bring the violent demonstrators and their leaders to justice,” insisting that “it is impossible for an extremist group to continue to terrorize the public and its elected officials, and to go unpunished again and again.”

Two suspects, both minors, were arrested over the incident in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod. They reportedly cursed their victim over Shas’s backing of a bill that would establish continued military service exemptions to full-time yeshiva students while purportedly increasing conscription among graduates of Haredi educational institutions.

Many Israelis object to the bill on the grounds that they do not believe it will increase ultra-Orthodox enlistment, despite coalition claims, while hardline Haredi elements object to legislation containing sanctions of any sort against members of their community.

Azoulay is a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee currently debating the bill.

In a tweet, committee chairman Likud MK Boaz Bismuth slams the “outrageous and ugly violence” against Azoulay, stating that his work on the bill “only deepened my appreciation for your dedication and your true commitment to the people of Israel.”

“There is no room for compromises; full enforcement is required, and the law must be applied to the fullest extent against the offenders,” Bismuth writes.

Haredi rioters throw rocks, set trash cans alight in protests against planned autopsies of babies who died at daycare

Haredi protesters are rioting at a number of locations in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh to demonstrate against the planned autopsies of two babies who died yesterday at an unlicensed daycare, police say.

In a statement, police say the rioters are throwing rocks, setting fire to trash cans and damaging property, while blocking traffic routes.

Police are using water cannons and other methods of crowd dispersal.

The same two cities saw rioting last night over a court ruling in favor of carrying out the autopsies. Orthodox Jews generally consider any tampering with a dead body a desecration, and avoid autopsies under most circumstances.

The causes of death of for 4-month-old Leah Goloventzitz and 6-month-old Aharon Katz have not yet been determined.

The Katz family, along with the ultra-Orthodox Zaka emergency service, are appealing the court’s decision to the Supreme Court, which is expected to hold a hearing on the matter this afternoon.

Two caregivers from the overcrowded Romema daycare have been detained on suspicion of negligent homicide and negligence.

צומת הר חוצבים-גולדה מאיר בירושלים נחסמה ע"י מפגינים נגד ניתוחי מתים pic.twitter.com/LD8YvIh4HG

— A dios Le pido ???? (@Yaronara) January 20, 2026

הפרגוד: חסימת אוטובוס עכשיו בבית שמש. על רקע הכוונה לנתח את הגופה. pic.twitter.com/eGmqmYhLsN

— הפרגוד (@moshepargod) January 20, 2026

Iran’s Araghchi blames Israel after Davos speech scrapped over deadly crackdown

Iran’s foreign minister hits out at the World Economic Forum in Davos for canceling his appearance over a crackdown on recent protests, saying the decision was based on “lies and political pressure.”

Protests in Iran sparked by economic strain in late December exploded into the biggest challenge to the Iranian leadership in years, with the full scale of the violent crackdown yet to emerge due to an internet blackout.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was slated to speak today at the annual gathering of global elites in Switzerland, but was disinvited after the WEF said it would not be “right” due to the “loss of lives of civilians in Iran over the past few weeks.”

Araghchi says his appearance was canceled “on the basis of lies and political pressure from Israel and its US-based proxies and apologists,” in an X post.

He calls it a “blatant double standard” to disinvite him while inviting Israel after its war in Gaza, saying it “conveys moral depravity and intellectual bankruptcy.”

Araghchi’s post on X is accompanied by a video saying the demonstrations were a “terror operation” spurred by Israel’s Mossad spy agency.

Rights groups say they have verified at least several thousand protesters killed by Iranian security forces, with some estimates putting the true figure as high as 20,000 dead.

UN Human Rights Council to apparently hold emergency session on Iran’s deadly crackdown

The UN Human Rights Council will hold an emergency session on Iran in the coming days, with proponents aiming to discuss “alarming violence” used against protesters, a document shows.

An Iranian official says authorities have verified at least 5,000 deaths in the protests, but activists say they believe the number of people killed to be much higher.

The scale of the crackdown has emerged piecemeal as Iran remains under an unprecedented internet shutdown for over 11 days.

Driver chases Jewish boys in Melbourne while yelling ‘Heil Hitler,’ making Nazi salutes

A group of Jewish teenagers was chased through the streets of Melbourne by a driver who shouted antisemitic slurs, including “Heil Hitler,” and made Nazi salutes, Australian media says, citing police reports.

According to The Australian, five schoolboys, easily identifiable as Orthodox Jews, were walking home from Adass High School last night when a white utility vehicle approached them.

CCTV footage shows the vehicle stopping near the teenagers, who fled across an intersection.

The vehicle then makes a rapid U-turn and accelerates toward them, coming within meters of one boy.

The teens were pursued for between five and eight minutes, with the driver yelling slurs at them, according to the report.

The incident occurred near the Adass Israel Synagogue, which was firebombed in late 2024.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan condemns the “hateful behavior,” noting Nazi salutes are banned under state law.

Police are investigating and have urged witnesses to come forward.

Australian Jewish groups say the community is facing unprecedented levels of antisemitic attacks, including the deadly terror attack at a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi beach last month.

CCTV has captured the terrifying moment Jewish teenagers ran for safety as a ute driver performed Nazi salutes and chased them through Melbourne streets. Read the full story: https://t.co/m1RLUTXi1e pic.twitter.com/1md9owEIz7

— The Australian (@australian) January 20, 2026

Israel demolishes UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem; UN agency: ‘Unprecedented attack’

Israel demolishes the UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem, in line with a law passed in October 2024 banning the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants from operating in the country.

Israel accuses the UN agency of collusion with Hamas.

“UNRWA-Hamas had already ceased its operations at this site and no longer had any UN personnel or UN activity there,” the Foreign Ministry says in a statement. “The compound does not enjoy any immunity and the seizure of this compound by Israeli authorities was carried out in accordance with both Israeli and international law.”

UNRWA spokesman Jonathan Fowler tells AFP that Israeli forces “stormed into” the compound.

“This is an unprecedented attack against UNRWA and its premises. And it also constitutes a serious violation of international law and the privileges and immunities of the United Nations,” he adds.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir arrives at the scene to watch the demolition.

“This is an important day for sovereignty in Jerusalem,” he says. “Today these terror supporters are being kicked out of here with everything they’ve built. This is what will be done to every terror supporter.”

Despite the ban, some UNRWA operations have been hobbling along in East Jerusalem.

Israel has long sought to shutter the agency, saying it perpetuates the conflict by continuing to confer refugee status on Palestinian descendants.

It ramped up its campaign against the agency after evidence showed that employees of the agency had participated in the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas.

Israel has also alleged that more than 10 percent of UNRWA’s staff in Gaza have ties to terrorist factions, and that educational facilities under the organization’s auspices consistently incite hatred of Israel and glorify terror.

Egypt’s Sissi to meet Trump on sidelines of Davos, Cairo says

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi will meet US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Egypt’s presidency says.

This will be the first meeting between the two leaders since the US announced it was launching the second phase of its Gaza plan.

27 babies, toddlers hospitalized after Jerusalem daycare tragedy are released home

Twenty-seven babies and toddlers who were hospitalized yesterday after two babies died at their unlicensed Jerusalem daycare have been released home.

The Shaare Zedek Medical Center says all of the released children are in good condition.

A total of 53 babies and toddlers were hospitalized yesterday. It is unclear if the remainder are still receiving treatment or are at different hospitals.

The causes of death of for 4-month-old Leah Goloventzitz and 6-month-old Aharon Katz have not yet been determined. Two caregivers have been detained on suspicion of negligent homicide and negligence.

Israeli comedian said held for 6 hours at Toronto airport after Hind Rajab complaint

Israeli comedian Guy Hochman says he was held for six hours of questioning upon arriving in Canada.

The comic’s detention came after a complaint was filed by the anti-Israel legal group the Hind Rajab Foundation, according to Hebrew-language media reports.

Associates of Hochman tell Channel 12 news the comedian was detained upon arrival at Toronto airport and was only released after intervention by the Israeli Consulate.

There is no reported comment from Canadian authorities.

Hochman later performed a gig for the local Jewish community, where anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian protesters rallied outside.

One of the activists tried to attack him, injuring his manager in the protest, Hochman writes on social media.

“The attacker was arrested by the local police,” he adds.

הם ניסו ממני להיכנס לקנדה, אבל אחרי 6 שעות עיכוב, נכנסתי.
הם ניסו למנוע ממני להופיע מול הקהילה הישראלית, הופעתי.
ובזמן שהם המשיכו לצעוק לעצמם פרי פלסטיין במינוס 10 מעלות, אנחנו התחממנו מצחוק 400 ישראלים בפנים. ככה מרגיש ניצחון ???????? pic.twitter.com/QeN9QbsV86

— גיא הוכמן (@HochmanGuy) January 20, 2026

The Hind Rajab Foundation said last week they filed a criminal complaint against Hochman over “military propaganda and incitement linked to Israel’s war on Gaza,” due to videos he made with Israeli soldiers.

Hochman sparked outrage last year when he posted a video in which he gave a mocking tour of a damaged Gaza hotel while in the Strip under the aegis of the Israel Defense Forces. The video was later taken down.

2 minors arrested for apparent attack on Shas MK’s son over Haredi draft exemption bill

Two minors have been detained over an attack on the son of an elected official in Ashdod, police say.

According to reports, the two attacked the son of Shas MK Yinon Azoulay. The victim’s condition is unknown.

The incident came as some lawmakers from Shas and fellow ultra-Orthodox party United Torah Judaism have been targeted for cooperating in the advancement of a bill to enshrine draft exemptions for yeshiva students.

Hardline factions reject any plan that would conscript members of their community, even though the proposed law would enshrine mass exemptions for the yeshiva students.

In November, a group demonstrated in Azoulay’s apartment building, chanting “traitor” at his door.

China confirms invitation to join Trump’s Board of Peace

Beijing confirms that China had been invited to join US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.

“China has received the United States’ invitation,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun tells a regular news briefing, without specifying whether Beijing would accept the invitation.

The board was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of war-torn Gaza, but the charter does not appear to limit its role to just that.

Washington has asked various leaders to sit on the board, chaired by Trump, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungarian premier Viktor Orban and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Guo says China-US relations have achieved overall stability in the past year, despite a trade war that saw both countries impose tit-for-tat tariffs on each others’ products.

“Over the past year, China-US relations have experienced ups and downs, but have maintained overall dynamic stability,” Guo tells reporters.

“Cooperation between China and the US benefits both sides, while confrontation harms both,” he adds.

Haredi protests set to resume over planned autopsies of babies who died at unlicensed daycare

Ultra-Orthodox protests are expected to resume today as an appeal was set to be heard against authorities’ plans to perform autopsies on the bodies of two babies who died in an overcrowded, unlicensed daycare center in Jerusalem yesterday.

The planned protests will come after rioting overnight in Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh.

The parents of the two deceased babies oppose the procedure, as Orthodox Jews consider any tampering with a dead body a desecration, and the matter was brought before the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court. The judge ruled in favor of the authorities, but the babies’ parents, along with the ultra-Orthodox Zaka emergency service, announced their plan to appeal.

Medical officials have not yet determined the causes of death of 4-month-old Leah Goloventzitz and 6-month-old Aharon Katz, whose bodies were found on Monday morning, along with 53 other babies and toddlers with varying degrees of injuries at the Haredi daycare center.

The autopsies would help police investigators confirm their working theory that the two babies died of heat exhaustion and dehydration linked to a faulty heating system in the daycare facility, which operated out of several adjacent apartments on HaMem Gimel Street in the Romema neighborhood.

Two caregivers suspected in the deaths will appear at Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court today for a hearing on their detention. According to reports, the two are suspected of reckless homicide and negligence.

Trump threatens 200% tariff on French wine, champagne over Board of Peace snub

US President Donald Trump threatens 200 percent tariffs on French wine and champagne over France’s intentions to decline the US leader’s invitation to join his Board of Peace.

The board was originally conceived to oversee the rebuilding of war-torn Gaza, but the charter does not appear to limit its role to just that.

“I’ll put a 200 percent tariff on his wines and champagnes. And he’ll join. But he doesn’t have to join,” Trump says, referring to French President Emmanuel Macron.

A source close to Macron told AFP yesterday that France “does not intend to answer favorably” to the invitation.

The board’s charter “goes beyond the sole framework of Gaza,” the source close to the French president said.

2 carers suspected in deaths of babies at unlicensed Jerusalem daycare set to appear in court

Police say that the detention of two suspects in the deaths of two babies at an unlicensed Jerusalem daycare facility has been extended.

The suspects will appear at Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court today for a hearing on their detention, police say.

The announcement appears to suggest that a third suspect has been released. Three caregivers at the daycare were detained yesterday.

According to reports, the two are suspected of reckless homicide and negligence.

Police and the State Prosecutor’s Office are pushing for autopsies in order to uncover the exact causes of death for 4-month old Leah Goloventzitz and 6-month-old Aharon Katz, whose bodies were found yesterday, along with 53 other babies and toddlers with varying degrees of injuries at the Haredi daycare center.

Police reportedly believe the two babies may have died of heat exhaustion and dehydration linked to a faulty heating system in the daycare, which operated out of several adjacent apartments on HaMem Gimel Street in the Romema neighborhood.

Trump confirms he invited Putin to join Board of Peace

US President Donald Trump confirms he has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to be a member of his Board of Peace initiative aimed at resolving global conflicts.

“He’s been invited,” Trump tells reporters.

Russia has been largely diplomatically isolated by the west in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine.

The Board of Peace, which will act as an umbrella oversight body for Gaza and which Trump will chair, will largely be made up of heads of state from around the world.

Leaders from a range of countries in the Middle East and across the world have been invited.

The board would be chaired for life by Trump and would start by addressing the Gaza conflict and then be expanded to deal with other conflicts.

Member states would be limited to three-year terms unless they pay $1 billion each to fund the board’s activities and earn permanent membership.

Diplomats warn the plan could harm the work of the United Nations.

Avdija falls short of NBA All-Star starting lineup; can still make team through coaches vote

Portland Trail Blazers’ Israeli forward Deni Avdija fell outside the top five on ballots submitted by fans whose votes determine the starting lineups for the NBA All-Star game next month.

Avdija finished seventh in the Western Conference voting, just two spots shy of a starting bid.

He still has a chance to become the first Israeli player to be named an All-Star through the coaches vote, which will be revealed on February 1. Seven players will be selected from each conference ahead of the game in Inglewood, California, on February 12.

The 6-foot-8 Avdija is in the midst of a breakout season after entering the league six years ago. His 26.2 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game have analysts predicting he’ll make the Western Conference team this year.

Some 1,500 ISIS prisoners reportedly escape amid Syrian gov’t advance on Kurdish city

The Kurdish website Rudaw reports that a spokesperson for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Farhad Shami, said around 1,500 Islamic State members escaped from Syria’s Shaddadi prison.

Earlier, the Syrian army said “a number of” Islamic State fighters had escaped a prison that had been under SDF control in the eastern city of Shaddadi, accusing the SDF of releasing them. The army did not say how many escaped.

Ministers reportedly decide to keep Rafah Crossing shut, bucking US pressure amid anger over Board of Peace

A small group of senior cabinet ministers on Sunday decided against reopening the Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Egypt, bucking US demands that the gate resume operating as envisioned by President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war, the Ynet news site reports.

The decision came amid Israeli frustration over the inclusion of senior officials from Turkey and Qatar in the Board of Peace’s Gaza Executive Board, which will be overseeing the postwar management of Gaza.

Israel has also argued that it shouldn’t reopen Rafah in both directions before Hamas agrees to disarm and returns the body of the final Israeli hostage, Ran Gvili.

Walz was also asked if he was a foreign agent during Harris team’s VP vetting — report

Former US vice president Kamala Harris’s campaign asked Tim Walz if he was a foreign agent for China during his vetting process to become her running mate, CNN reports.

The network cites four sources familiar with the matter who ostensibly are tied to Harris as the former vice president’s inner circle seeks to push back on allegations of antisemitism after Jewish Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said he was asked during his vetting process if he was a foreign agent for Israel.

CNN says a series of trips Walz took to China sparked the question from Harris’s vetting team.

IDF says it targeted Hezbollah operative in south Lebanon airstrike

A Hezbollah operative was targeted in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese town of Zibqin, close to Tyre, a short while ago, the military says.

The IDF does not immediately provide further details.