Jan. 28: Eulogizing last returned hostage Ran Gvili, Herzog says nation can now ‘slowly begin’ to heal

Government reportedly demolishes home belonging to relative of slain hostage Youssef Ziyadne

Israeli authorities demolished a home belonging to a relative of slain hostage Youssef Ziyadne earlier today, Hebrew outlets report.

According to Ali Ziyadne, the brother of the deceased hostage, bulldozers arrived alongside law enforcement to destroy the building on the outskirts of Rahat, a Bedouin city in the Negev. The house belonged to their sister, a mother to 10 children, per Ali Ziyadne.

He tells the Walla news outlet that he had asked authorities to postpone the demolition by another year, as he and the rest of his family continue to mourn, but the request was denied.

עלי אל-זיאדנה, אחיו של החטוף יוסף אל-זיאדנה שנהרג בשבי בעזה: במקום שממשלת ישראל תגיע לנחם אותנו לאחר החזרת החטוף האחרון, שלחו אלינו כוחות כדי להרוס לנו את הבית pic.twitter.com/akJu6oKIm2

— מוחמד מג'אדלה محمد مجادلة (@mmagadli) January 28, 2026

“I thought the government would bow its head because of the funeral today,” he says to the outlet, referring to the funeral of Ran Gvili, the last slain hostage to be recovered from Gaza, who was laid to rest this afternoon. “They [the government] didn’t come to console [us], but they know how to destroy.”

Ziyadne, a 53-year-old Bedouin father of 19, was kidnapped to Gaza with three of his children by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023.

The man and his son Hamze were subsequently killed in captivity. Ziyadne’s other two children, Bilal and Aisha, were freed in a November 2023 hostage deal, after spending more than 50 days captive in Gaza.

This is the second time authorities have demolished a home belonging to the bereaved family. In July, the government tore down a residential building belonging to Ziyadne’s brother, Khaled, and his son.

Despite Bank of Israel opposition, MKs advance bill setting deficit ceiling at 3.9%

Lawmakers vote 62-55 in favor of the first reading of the Deficit Reduction and Budgetary Expenditure Limitation Bill, setting the deficit ceiling for 2026 to 3.9 percent of GDP. The bill will be forwarded to the Knesset Finance Committee for preparation for its final two readings.

“The prolonged and intense fighting has led to a structural increase in government expenditures over the medium and long term,” requiring setting the deficit ceiling at this level, the bill’s explanatory notes state.

“The primary increase is in defense and interest expenses; however, civilian expenditure has also grown, due in part to increases in welfare spending for benefits to victims of hostilities, rehabilitation costs for geographic areas damaged in the fighting, expenditures for the mental health system, and more.”

The Bank of Israel deems 3.9% as too high since it does not allow for a reduction in the debt burden.

The budget deficit slipped to 4.7% of GDP in 2025 from 6.8% in 2023. A spike in defense costs due to the Gaza war pushed the deficit higher over the past two years.

Reuters contributed to this report.

State budget advances after passing first reading in Knesset with partial Haredi support

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks during a vote on the state budget at the Knesset, January 28, 2026. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

The 2026 state budget advances in its first reading by a vote of 62-55, following a two-day delay caused by last-minute Haredi demands related to the coalition’s ultra-Orthodox draft exemption bill.

Under the state budget bill, expenditures for fiscal year 2026 will be approximately NIS 811.74 billion ($262 billion), consisting of a regular budget of approximately NIS 580.75 billion ($187 billion) and a development and capital account budget of approximately NIS 230.99 billion ($74.5 billion).

The bill is supported by the ultra-Orthodox Shas party and Degel HaTorah faction, and opposed by the three-member Haredi Agudat Yisrael faction. Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri is not present during the vote.

Degel HaTorah faction won’t commit to passing budget, as Smotrich reported to praise Haredi draft bill

UTJ MK Moshe Gafni speaks at a Degel HaTorah faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, January 9, 2023. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

The ultra-Orthodox Degel HaTorah faction rebuts Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s claim that it will vote yes on all three readings of the state budget, regardless of the ongoing debate over the Haredi draft exemption law.

“The Finance Minister’s statement regarding our alleged commitment to vote on the budget in the second and third readings is completely unfounded, and everyone is aware of that,” the faction says in a statement.

Earlier this evening, Smotrich stated that he would not have brought the state budget to a vote without a Haredi commitment to support it in all three readings. Haredi parties have threatened to withhold their support for the budget absent the passage of a bill enshrining exemptions to conscription for yeshiva students. The budget must pass by March to avoid triggering early elections.

The pro-government Channel 14 quotes Smotrich, whose Religious Zionism is officially undecided on the draft exemption legislation, as saying in discussions of the bill that it is “a good law, we will present it as an achievement.”

Suspect arrested in New York City for allegedly punching rabbi, yelling ‘F*ck Jews’

NYPD officers are seen ahead of the annual Israel Day Parade on Sunday, June 2, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A suspect has been arrested for attacking a rabbi in New York City yesterday, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz says, noting that the incident took place on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Katz says the suspect, Eric Zafra Grosso, has been charged with a hate crime. Katz’s statement did not name the rabbi, only stating that he is a member of the Bukharian Jewish community who was wearing a kippah at the time of the attack.

“The gravity of this alleged assault is compounded by the fact that it occurred on International Holocaust Remembrance Day,” Katz says.

Grosso allegedly approached the rabbi, shouted “Fuck Jews,” and punched the rabbi in the face and chest, knocking him to the ground.

Grosso is charged with assault in the third degree, assault in the third degree as a hate crime, and aggravated harassment in the second degree, and faces up to four years in prison.

Jews are targeted in hate crimes in New York City far more than other groups, police statistics show.

Likud slams Yesh Atid for its MKs’ interruption of meeting with Haredi lawmakers

L-R: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a 40 signatures debate, at the plenum hall of the Knesset, December 8, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90); Opposition Leader and head of the Yesh Atid party MK Yair Lapid leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on December 1, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party condemns Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid, after several of the opposition party’s MKs entered the committee staff area outside of Likud lawmaker Boaz Bismuth’s office, apparently interrupting talks with representatives of the ultra-Orthodox parties.

“Likud strongly condemns the violent outburst and photographing of documents by members of Yesh Atid by the office of the chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK Boaz Bismuth,” a Likud spokesman says in a statement.

“The panic within Yesh Atid, following their crash in the polls to below the electoral threshold, is driving them out of control. Even for political provocations intended to impress the party chairman in hopes of securing a spot on the [party’s election] slate, there are red lines,” the statement adds.

Most polls show Yesh Atid losing seats but comfortably entering the Knesset in upcoming elections.

Video from the scene showed several MKs, including committee members Elazar Stern and Moshe Tur-Paz, arguing with Degel HaTorah MK Uri Maklev outside of Bismuth’s private office, adjacent to the committee chamber. In the video, Tur-Paz could be seen picking up and photographing a document from a desk.

Asked about the incident, Tur-Paz told The Times of Israel that he and his colleagues had come to the committee room “to tell the Haredim and Bismuth: you will not strike a deal behind the backs of those who serve. We will not allow it.”

Sharing a copy of the photograph he took, which showed a list of committee members, Tur-Paz said that he snapped the shot “in an unclassified area,” adding that he did not break in.

Goldknopf: Agudat Yisrael will vote against budget due to jailing of Haredi draft evaders

MKs Moshe Gafni and Yitzchak Goldknopf seen during a vote on the state budget at the Knesset, January 28, 2026. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

Addressing the Knesset plenum, United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzhak Goldknopf declares that he and members of his Agudat Yisrael faction will vote against the 2026 state budget, declaring that his community feels “persecuted” by a government that arrests yeshiva students who dodge the IDF draft.

“There are things that are more important than a budget, and in their name we oppose the budget. The State of Israel without the Torah of Israel does not need a budget,” he states, accusing the government of turning yeshiva students into “criminals” and “second- or third-class citizens.”

“Our intention in this vote is not to overthrow the government,” he continues, adding a direct appeal to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to postpone the budget vote until a law regulating the status of yeshiva students can be passed.

Goldknopf’s Agudat Yisrael faction opposes the current enlistment bill on the table, despite the fact that it would exempt yeshiva students from conscription because it contains sanctions.

Degel HaTorah, UTJ’s second faction, supports both the bill and the budget, as does the Sephardi Haredi party Shas. The budget is seen as likely to advance.

Activists block ex-court chief Barak after he slams government for flouting ‘social covenant’

Former Supreme Court presidet Aharon Barak speaks at a conference of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel on January 28, 2026. (Courtesy of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel)

Right-wing activists block former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak from driving out of a parking lot after he lambastes the government for having violated Israel’s social contract by advancing sectoral interests as opposed to those of the entire country.

In his fiery speech, Barak asserts that Israel’s Declaration of Independence no longer reflects the values of the country.

Speaking at an event dubbed “The First Liberal Congress” held by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, Barak lambastes the government and its ministers for what he says is a campaign of delegitimization against the judiciary; for failing to tackle criminal violence and murder in the Arab sector; failing to establish a state commission of inquiry into the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks, and for striking a “political deal” to enshrine in law ultra-Orthodox exemptions from military service.

After concluding his speech and leaving the event, far-right activist Mordechai David, together with other right-wing agitators, block Barak’s car from leaving the parking lot, calling him a “dictator” and “criminal,” before the 89-year old retired judge is able to drive away, Hebrew media reports.

בתום הכנס של התנועה לאיכות השלטון, חוסמים מרדכי דוד ופעילים נוספים את רכבו של נשיא בית המשפט העליון לשעבר, אהרן ברק, ומונעים ממנו לצאת מהמקום

(צילום: תומר אפלבאום) pic.twitter.com/NFvvh621o0

— Yair Foldes (@Yair_Foldes) January 28, 2026

“Government ministers display contempt for the judicial branch and for its head, Supreme Court President Justice Isaac Amit. There are calls not to comply with court rulings, attacks on judges, and continuous delegitimization of the judiciary,” says Barak in his speech.

The former Supreme Court president alleges that the delegitimization campaign against the judiciary has been prompted by “the refusal to do the obvious — to establish a state commission of inquiry following the events of October 7.”

Amit, as president of the Supreme Court, would appoint the members of such a commission were the government to establish one, and critics have alleged that the attacks on Amit are designed to justify the government’s refusal to create such a commission.

“The social covenant that underpinned the state since its establishment has been breached… rulers act in favor of sectoral interests,” continues Barak.

“The Declaration of Independence no longer expresses our shared values,” the former judge further laments.

“Our Arab citizens — who, under the Declaration of Independence, are entitled to full and equal citizenship — are discriminated against and exposed to violence that the police, for some reason, fail to eradicate,” he says.

He bemoans controversial legislation being advanced by the government to enshrine military service exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men.

“Equality in sharing the burden of war has been replaced by a political deal,” says Barak.

Putin hosts Syria’s Sharaa for talks, with Russian military bases on the agenda

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa pose for a photo during their meeting at the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow on January 28, 2026. (Maxim Shipenkov/Pool Photo via AP)

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa visits Moscow for the second time in less than four months, and Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasizes his readiness to help the country rebuild its war-battered economy.

“I know that there is a lot that’s necessary to restore in Syria, and our economic operators, including the construction sector, are ready for this joint work,” Putin says.

The talks were expected to focus on the future of Russian military bases in Syria, a key foothold for Moscow in the Mediterranean.

Sharaa, who first visited Russia in October, thanks Putin for helping to stabilize Syria.

He led a swift rebel offensive in December 2024 that ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad, a close Russian ally who enjoyed Moscow’s support for years as his government fought a devastating civil war.

The Russian military has begun recently pulling out from a base in northeastern Syria in an area still controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces after the group lost most of its territory in an offensive by government forces.

Putin tells Sharaa that Moscow always supported Syria’s integrity and congratulated him on reclaiming control over the area, describing it as a “very important step.”

“You know that we always stood for the restoration of Syria’s territorial integrity, and we support all your efforts in this direction,” Putin says.

In the meeting, Sharaa emphasizes the importance of Russia’s role in supporting Syria’s unity and stability, Syria’s SANA state news agency reports. He notes that in 2025, Syria had overcome major challenges, the latest of which was the reunification of its territories, and he expresses hope for a transition to stability and peace, it adds.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said ahead of the meeting that “all issues related to our military’s presence in Syria will be discussed in the talks.” He refused to comment on reports that Syria’s interim government had pushed for Assad’s extradition.

EU mission meant to oversee Rafah crossing has 24 staffers in region, hasn’t gotten start date

The upgraded Gazan side of the Rafah Crossing with Egypt, pictured on December 8, 2025. (Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel)

The European Union Border Assistance Mission, meant to oversee the Rafah Border Crossing between Gaza and Egypt, currently has 24 staffers in the region ready to start working, a European official tells The Times of Israel.

The crossing is expected to open in the coming days as part of the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza.

The EUBAM staff is split into two security and police teams. More members will be coming in the coming days.

The EU still has not received a date on which the crossing will reopen, says the official.

Report: Netanyahu turned down 11 chances to kill Hamas leader Sinwar in 2023

Head of Hamas in Gaza Yahya Sinwar chairs a meeting with leaders of Palestinian factions at his office in Gaza City, April 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned down 11 chances to kill Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, months before the terror group’s October 7, 2023, attack, Channel 12 reports, citing a senior defense official.

Sinwar was the architect of the October 7 invasion, massacre and mass abduction in southern Israel. He was killed by the IDF in Rafah in October 2024.

According to the official, in February and March 2023, the Shin Bet succeeded in ascertaining Sinwar’s location repeatedly, and told Netanyahu, but he would not greenlight an assassination despite the security agency’s recommendation that he order the strike. He would not even convene officials to discuss the possibility of a strike, says the outlet.

The Prime Minister’s Office denies the account, saying that it has matters backward and that Netanyahu “demanded repeatedly to eliminate the Hamas leadership, but the security leadership stopped it. This is well documented in minutes of the discussions.”

US says disarmament program will offer funds in exchange for Hamas ceding its guns

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz addresses the High-Level Security Council on Palestinians and Israel during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis, File)

The US ambassador to the UN says that Hamas will be urged to cede its weapons via an international buy-back program, providing new details regarding the program Washington plans to advance to strip the terror group of its weapons.

“Independent international monitors will supervise a process of demilitarization of Gaza to include placing weapons permanently beyond use through an agreed process of decommissioning, and supported by an internationally-funded buy-back and reintegration program,” US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz says in remarks to the Security Council.

The remarks confirmed The Times of Israel’s reporting from recent months about plans to institute a “buy-back” program where participants would be given funds or jobs if they agree to hand over their weapons. It is part of a broader decommissioning initiative that the Gaza ceasefire mediators are pushing that would see Hamas gradually hand over its arms, starting with its heavy weaponry.

Israel is unlikely to accept this gradual process that prioritizes heavy weaponry over light weaponry, given that the latter category has also been used by Hamas to maintain its grip on Gaza.

A US official briefing reporters last week also said that the disarmament program would offer amnesty to Hamas fighters who cooperate with it.

Hamas’s disarmament is meant to happen under the second stage of the ceasefire in Gaza, which US President Donald Trump kicked off last week.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon says during the Security Council session that Hamas still holds thousands of rockets, anti-tank missiles and some 60,000 assault rifles.

Waltz does not elaborate on the makeup of the international monitoring system, but does claim that countries have agreed to contribute troops to the International Stabilization Force meant to oversee security in postwar Gaza, which will “establish control and stability, so that the IDF can withdraw from Gaza based on standards, milestones and timeframes linked to demilitarization.”

He avoids naming the countries that will contribute troops to the ISF. The last time he did this in November, one of the two countries he identified — Azerbaijan — would go on to announce that it had decided not to do so. The second country, Indonesia, has yet to confirm its agreement to contribute troops.

Waltz says the Board of Peace will oversee postwar Gaza, and the Palestinian technocratic National Committee for the Administration of Gaza will “will apply pressure to Hamas to honor its commitment and to disarm. Hamas must not have any role in the governance of Gaza, directly or indirectly, in any form.”

Bismuth accuses opposition MKs of crossing ‘red line’ after they interrupt meeting

Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth accuses opposition MKs of crossing a red line after several Yesh Atid MKs enter the committee staff area outside his office, apparently interrupting talks with representatives of the ultra-Orthodox parties.

Video from the scene shows several MKs, including committee members Elazar Stern and Moshe Tur-Paz, arguing with Degel HaTorah MK Uri Maklev outside of Bismuth’s private office, adjacent to the committee chamber. In the video, Tur-Paz can be seen picking up and photographing a document from a desk.

“A red line has been crossed! I have just summoned the Knesset Sergeant-at-Arms following the violent and forceful outburst by opposition members of Knesset who stormed my office at the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee,” Bismuth posts on X.

“Those same actors who warned about ‘the right wing storming the Knesset’ are the ones behaving today with bullying and vulgarity, attempting to turn a sovereign institution into lawless territory — including serious attempts to photograph committee documents unlawfully,” he says, adding that he plans on submitting a complaint to the Knesset Ethics Committee.

חברי הכנסת של יש עתיד התפרצו ללשכה של ח״כ ביסמוט כדי לעשות בלגן נגד הדיון הפנימי של החרדים על חוק הגיוס. תראו בסרטון המצורף את ח״כ משה טור פז, מרים מסמך שאינו שלו מהשולחן במשרד , מצלם בסלולרי והמשיך הלאה.

נאמר לי שזה מסמך סתמי עם רשימת חברי הוועדה.
נניח.
לכן זה בסדר? pic.twitter.com/T7bJRKy64w

— יקי אדמקר (@YakiAdamker) January 28, 2026

The incident comes on the heels of a meeting earlier this afternoon between Bismuth, coalition whip Ofir Katz, and Degel HaTorah and Shas MKs Uri Maklev, Yaakov Asher and Yinon Azoulay.

Also reportedly in attendance were former Shas MK Ariel Attias, who represented the Haredi parties in negotiations over Bismuth’s bill, and committee legal adviser Miri Frenkel Shor, whose requested changes to the bill have sparked ultra-Orthodox pushback.

Yesh Atid chairman and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slammed that meeting, accusing participants of having “set up an alternative Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for themselves” to exert “heavy pressure on [Shor], to push her to approve changes that the ultra-Orthodox parties want.”

Asked about the incident, Tur-Paz tells The Times of Israel that he and his colleagues had come to the committee room “to tell the Haredim and Bismuth: you will not strike a deal behind the backs of those who serve. We will not allow it.”

Sharing a copy of the photograph he took, which showed a list of committee members, Tur-Paz says that he snapped the shot “in an unclassified area,” adding that he did not break in.

France to back EU listing Iran’s IRGC as terror group, source tells ToI

The likelihood that the European Union adds Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to its list of terror groups jumps significantly, as France decides it will back the measure.

“France supports the inclusion of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations,” an Élysée Palace source tells The Times of Israel.

The 27 EU foreign ministers are scheduled to convene tomorrow morning in Brussels, where they will vote on listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

Adviser to Khamenei: Iran will hit ‘heart of Tel Aviv’ in response to any US attack

The head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, at a meeting in the Iranian capital Tehran on June, 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A top adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, posts on social media in Hebrew that the regime will attack Tel Aviv in response to any strike from the United States.

“The limited strike is an illusion,” Ali Shamkhani posts on X. “Any military activity from America, from any source and at any level, will be considered the beginning of a war, and the response will be immediate, comprehensive and without precedent, and will be directed at the aggressor, to the heart of Tel Aviv and all of its supporters.”

Shamkhani’s post comes amid continued speculation over whether US President Donald Trump will attack Iran in response to its bloody crackdown on anti-regime protests, in which thousands were killed.

In December, Shamkhani posted on X, “Any aggression will face an immediate ‌#Harsh_Response⁩ beyond its planners’ imagination.”

Iran has said it would strike Israel in response to a US attack.

In debate over budget, Smotrich says it will support troops, stem rising cost of living

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich addresses the Knesset on January 28, 2026. (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)

Opening the debate ahead of the first reading of the 2026 state budget, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declares that the budget will support reservists, career soldiers and civilians, whom he describes as not just “lines in a spreadsheet.”

The budget is being advanced “without populism, and with responsibility toward the public good,” he says, boasting that Israel’s economic performance under the current government has been “nothing less than amazing.”

“After two years of a costly war, the State of Israel is a powerhouse of strength. We predict a 5.2 percent growth in GDP in the coming year. Inflation is returning to the target range, between 2% and 2.5%, we are curbing the cost of living and preserving the value of the money of Israeli citizens,” says Smotrich.

“Our currency is demonstrating extraordinary strength against the dollar and is trading at a historic rate,” he continues, adding that “when the shekel is strong, prices fall” and calling on the governor of the Bank of Israel to “greatly lower the interest rate, quickly, and free the economy for growth.”

“High-tech is at an all-time peak. In the first three quarters of 2025, investment flows into Israel totaled $19 billion. We surpassed pre-war levels. The stock exchange is at record highs, with a 100% increase since the start of the war. The labor market is tight, and state revenues in 2025 rose by NIS 35 billion above the forecast as a result of expanding the tax base and cracking down on undeclared capital,” Smotrich boasts.

“The state budget before you is NIS 660 billion. After two years, we are beginning to bring the defense budget into a reasonable framework and increase investment in education, welfare, digitization, and more. This budget is not just an economic document, it is a declaration of intentions and tells the world that the State of Israel and the Israeli economy are stronger than ever.”

Opposition MKs convey ‘deep regret’ to Biden for PM claiming ’embargo’ on his watch led to IDF deaths

US President Joe Biden speaks about the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage deal in North Charleston, South Carolina, on January 19, 2025. (Roberto Schmidt / AFP)

Opposition lawmakers Gilad Kariv, Alon Schuster and Ram Ben Barak pen a letter to former US president Joe Biden expressing their “deep regret over the inappropriate and untruthful remarks” made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his press conference last night when he claimed that an arms “embargo” under the previous US administration led to the deaths of IDF soldiers in Gaza.

“Millions of Israelis profoundly value the longstanding partnership between you and the State of Israel and your friendship with its people — a relationship grounded in shared democratic values and a deep moral bond,” write the lawmakers from Labor, Blue and White, and Yesh Atid, respectively.

נתניהו משקר ומכפיש. אנחנו אומרים תודה.
יחד עם חברי להובלת השדולה לביטחון אזורי, ח"כ אלון שוסטר וח"כ רם בן ברק, הוצאנו מכתב לנשיא ארה"ב לשעבר ג'ו ביידן בו הסתייגנו מדברי השקר וההבל של נתניהו ביחס לתמיכה שהתקבלה מארה"ב במהלך המלחמה תחת נשיאותו של ביידן.

במכתב ביטאנו את הכרת התודה… pic.twitter.com/wmmwhpjaFy

— גלעד קריב (@KarivGilad) January 28, 2026

“We remain especially grateful for your immediate, dramatic and unprecedented support of Israel following the brutal Hamas attack of October 7th [2023], including vital military, financial and diplomatic assistance, as well as your personal and decisive efforts that contributed significantly to the release of hostages and the saving of innocent lives,” they write.

“Your leadership and compassion during our darkest hours will not be forgotten. Please know that the words spoken by Prime Minister Netanyahu do not reflect the views or the spirit of large segments of Israeli society and the Jewish people around the world, nor do they diminish our appreciation for your steadfast commitment to Israel’s security and to the pursuit of peace,” they continue.

“Your name and legacy are written on Israel’s wall of fame, and you will be known forever as one of Israel’s greatest friends and allies,” say the lawmakers. “With respect and gratitude, and with the words of the Priestly Blessing: ‘May God bless you and keep you.'”

Biden has not commented on Netanyahu’s claim, though when he was in office, his administration denied the premier’s previous allegations that the US had placed an “embargo” on arms shipments to Israel. Since last night, former Biden White House officials have disputed the claim.

Police said to interrogate acting director-general of PM’s office in May Golan corruption probe

Social Equality Minister May Golan, at the Knesset plenum, in Jerusalem, January 8, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Police interrogated Drorit Steinmetz, acting director-general of the Prime Minister’s Office, on suspicion of involvement in a corruption scandal centered around Social Equality Minister May Golan, Haaretz reports.

Golan is suspected of creating made-up jobs in her ministry for her close associates and their family members.

Police believe Steinmetz is guilty of fraud and breach of trust, after allegedly helping one of Golan’s associates secure a position in her ministry, a source involved in the affair tells Haaretz.

The alleged beneficiary is Harel Hershkowitz. According to a Channel 12 report last year, he was hired to help Golan’s ministry with social media activity and may have continued to fill the role even after being drafted into the army, flouting regulations.

The man happens to be the grandson of Daniel Hershkowitz, who supervises civil servants employed by the state in his role as acting civil service commissioner.

Authorities suspect the elder Hershkowitz approved his grandson’s appointment to Golan’s ministry, among others, Haaretz reports. He denies the allegations.

Dairy farmers, sour over Smotrich’s planned reform, removed from Knesset after protest

As Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich opens the debate on the 2026 state budget ahead of its first reading in the Knesset plenum, several dairy farmers are removed from the visitors’ gallery after donning T-shirts reading “dairy farmer” to protest Smotrich’s proposed dairy reform.

Dairy prices have long been a flashpoint in Israel, with spikes often touching off public anger and even mass protests amid the country’s high cost of living — an issue that has consistently ranked among voters’ top concerns in recent elections.

Amid recurring nationwide shortages of price-controlled milk, Smotrich has spearheaded a reform intiative, vowing to end a problem that he has argued stems from an overregulated, overly concentrated dairy market.

Addressing reporters in the Knesset last week, Smotrich argued that cheese prices are artificially high due to local monopolies, which “have limited the quantity of imports and forced us all to pay dearly” and touted an order he had signed to increase the duty-free quota for hard cheese by 70 percent, to 19,500 tons.

Dairy associations have warned that the reform will severely damage the domestic dairy industry and lead to the closure of about 400 dairy farms in kibbutzim and peripheral areas across the country. Local dairy industry advocates have claimed that the reform will have serious implications for food security and consumers in Israel.

MKs’ salaries rise, as they choose not to extend 3-year freeze

A plenum session at the Knesset, January 14, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Salaries of Knesset lawmakers are increasing by thousands of shekels per month for the first time since 2023, as the country contends with a rising average cost of living.

In 2024 and 2025, Knesset members froze their salaries — generally linked to the average wage and inflation — in a show of solidarity amid the country’s difficult economic conditions following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack and the subsequent war in Gaza.

This year, the freeze was not extended, so salaries increased automatically. The new year has seen a massive rise in costs for the average citizen, with many households struggling to make ends meet.

Rank-and-file MKs will see their monthly pay rise from NIS 44,146 ($14,250) to NIS 48,739 ($15,733), while deputy speakers and Knesset committee chairs will see their paychecks grow from NIS 46,567 ($15,031) to NIS 51,359 ($16,578).

The leader of the opposition, currently Yesh Atid’s Yair Lapid, will receive NIS 54,957 ($17,740) up from NIS 49,850 ($16,091), and the Knesset speaker, Likud’s Amir Ohana, will earn NIS 61,491 ($19,849) rather than his current NIS 55,812 ($18,016).

The decision provoked criticism from former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who is not in the Knesset, and charged the body with lining its members’ pockets while doing nothing to help ordinary Israelis’ economic plight. Bennett is running for prime minister in the upcoming elections.

“Today, Knesset members raised their own salaries by NIS 4,563 a month to keep up with rising prices. This takes effect immediately. So why are they abandoning the rest of Israel’s citizens? Why has this government done nothing to help Israelis cope with this insane rise in prices? You had three and a half years — you did nothing. Soon we will fix it,” Bennett says in a statement. The actual figure is NIS 4,593.

Lawmakers’ salaries last rose three years ago in 2023 from NIS 45,274 to NIS 47,583, a 5.1% increase after three years of a previous freeze sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anti-Israel activists announce solidarity campaign with funders of Hamas jailed in US

Demonstrators take part in a protest organized by Within Our Lifetime, which endorses the Hamas-led October 7 massacres in southern Israel, outside the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, January 15, 2024. (Screenshot: X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Anti-Israel activists in the US announce a solidarity campaign with members of the so-called Holy Land Five, who are in prison in the country for funding the Hamas terror group.

Five activists from the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development were convicted of illegally funding Hamas, which the US designated as a terror group, in 2008.

The foundation pretended to be a nonprofit, but instead of focusing on social welfare programs, funneled millions to the terrorist group, prosecutors said.

The convicts have become a cause célèbre in some anti-Zionist circles.

Activist groups announce a “week of solidarity” with Shukri Abu Baker and Ghassan Elashi, who are still in prison. The other three people who were convicted have been released.

The activists say the Hamas funders were “wrongfully imprisoned” and prosecuted due to “Zionist pressure.”

The solidarity week, starting today, is backed by anti-Zionist activist groups including Within Our Lifetime and the Palestine Solidarity Working Group.

There will be events in Austin, Texas; Seattle, Washington; Los Angeles, California; and New York City.

The events include poetry readings, screenings of an Al Jazeera documentary about the case, the launch of a book by Abu Baker, and letter writing to the prisoners.

US embassy hosts rare event in Saudi Arabia marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day

The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia held an event yesterday marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day in what appears to have been one of the first such gatherings ever held in the Gulf kingdom.

Several Jewish participants are spotted in the pictures posted by the US embassy. A post on X by the embassy does not mention Jews by name as the victims of the Holocaust but says, “Accurate Holocaust education remains essential to countering antisemitism and advancing religious freedom.”

“Today’s modest but meaningful commemoration reflects a universal duty: protecting our shared humanity across cultures, faiths and nations,” the embassy says in the post.

Marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we honor the victims by learning from their stories and standing firmly against prejudice in all its forms. Accurate Holocaust education remains essential to countering antisemitism and advancing religious freedom. As part of… pic.twitter.com/lGlyZJOdwi

— U.S. Embassy Riyadh (@USAinKSA) January 27, 2026

Masked men raid Beersheba store with army jeep, steal large cigarette haul

Masked men broke into a convenience store in Beersheba overnight after ramming the building’s entrance with an army jeep, Hebrew outlets report.

Security footage from the break-in shows the jeep reversing into the storefront, shattering its glass and allowing four burglars to enter.

Once inside, the burglars are seen ransacking the establishment and throwing packs of cigarettes into a large sack before making off with the merchandise.

באר שבע היום לפנות בוקר, מחבלים רעולי פנים פורצים לחנות 'צ'יפופו' בפרץ סנטר, בשכונת פלח 7.
הם הגיעו למקום בג'יפ צבאי גנוב, נגחו בוילון הברזל של החנות, גרמו נזק כבד למבנה ונמלטו עם כסף מזומן וסחרה. נזק של עשרות אלפי שקלים.
באסה. מסתבר שפרוטקשן לאויב לא עוזר.
רק טרנספר pic.twitter.com/iQAP4pNxBo

— איילת לאש (@ayeletlash9) January 28, 2026

The convenience store owner, identified as David, tells the Walla outlet that the burglars stole tens of thousands of shekels’ worth of cigarettes.

According to David, police officers on patrol chased the suspects towards Rahat, a Bedouin town north of Beersheba, but lost track of the four after they went off-road.

No arrests have yet been reported in connection with the robbery. Police do not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Police announce new steps to stem traffic deaths after spike in 2025

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

Police announce the launch of a major operation against “life-threatening traffic offenses” in the wake of the deadliest year for those on the road in two decades.

Starting tomorrow morning, hundreds of officers and police volunteers will be dispatched across the country for “significant and focused enforcement,” police say.

At the same time, police will oversee a parallel enforcement operation coordinated with the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), meant to crack down on distracted driving, running red lights, speeding and other traffic offenses.

The past few years have seen increased numbers of traffic-related deaths, with road safety officials bemoaning persistent inaction by the government.

Last year was the deadliest for road users since 2005, as 443 people were killed in traffic-related accidents, per data from the NRSA.

Supreme Court president denounces leaders’ ‘blatant disregard for the rules of law’

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit speaks on January 28, 2026. (Courtesy of Israel Bar Association)

Supreme Court President Isaac Amit implicitly accuses the government of undermining the rule of law by failing to abide by court rulings in a speech at an inauguration ceremony for newly qualified lawyers, saying that by ignoring court rulings, those with power are making the law “worthless.”

“We are witnessing a blatant disregard for the rules of law, and the treatment of binding rulings as mere recommendations,” Amit tells the assembled lawyers.

“Being obligated to the law and to the implementation of judicial decisions is a basic condition for the existence of a functioning democratic society. When public figures ignore judgments that they do not like – what message does this send to the public at large?” Amit asks.

The government and some of its ministers have recently come close to disobeying High Court orders.

The government has failed to draw up policies to enforce ultra-Orthodox enlistment as ordered by the court; National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir has been found by the High Court to have violated an interim order not to give operational orders to the police; and several cabinet ministers have explicitly called on the government not to obey specific court orders.

“If someone in a position of power or influence allows themselves to ignore a judicial decision that they do not like, why would the average citizen consider themselves obligated to it? Why would defendants agree to pay damages they were ordered to pay? Why would parents pay child support? Why would prisoners report to serve their sentences?” asks the Supreme Court president.

“This undermines the very idea of ​​an equal and equitable legal system, binding on each and every resident of the country,” he says. “The message is simple: if the law is not equal for everyone, the law is worthless.”

Poll: Most US Jews with strong link to Israel, Judaism see Israel as safest for Jews

A family of immigrants to Israel, part of the stories being told at Yom Haaliyah event on November 7, 2024 at Anu Museum of the Jewish People. (Credit: Yonit Shiller)

Two-thirds of American Jews who have a strong connection to Judaism or Israel view Israel as the safest place in the world for Jews, according to a survey published today by the Jewish People Policy Institute.

The survey, conducted January 15-20, sampled 710 American Jews from JPPI’s database. JPPI says the group “does not constitute a representative sample of the entire US Jewish population” and “consists predominantly of those with a relatively strong connection to Jewish identity, and/or Jewish institutions, and/or Israel.”

The survey finds that 68% of those surveyed agree that Israel is the safest place for Jews to live, up about five percentage points from last year. The end of Israel’s war in Gaza and growing antisemitism were the main reasons given, the survey said.

Perceptions vary by religious affiliation among respondents. Agreement is highest among Orthodox Jewish respondents (91%) and Haredi respondents (78%), followed by Conservative respondents (74%). It is lower among Reform respondents (62%) and those without a denominational affiliation (64%).

But only about 8% of those surveyed say they are currently considering immigrating to Israel. Far more say they might under certain conditions. Some 12% say they would consider it at some point in the future, 35% would do so under specific circumstances, and 27% would do so in extreme circumstances. About 13% said they would not consider moving to Israel under any conditions.

Forty percent of respondents cited antisemitism as the primary reason for considering immigration, the survey finds.

Most respondents said they personally know Jews who have moved to Israel, and more than 70% believe those acquaintances are satisfied with their decision, JPPI says.

UK, France, Canada and others condemn Israel’s demolition of UN site in Jerusalem

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, and French President Emmanuel Macron hold a joint press conference in London, July 10, 2025. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain and allies, including France, Spain, Japan and Canada, strongly condemn the demolition last week by Israeli authorities of the East Jerusalem compound of UNRWA, the UN agency serving Palestinians.

The group of countries, in a joint statement, calls on Israel to halt all demolitions.

The statement is published on the British government website on behalf of foreign ministers from Britain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Portugal and Spain.

Haredi Degel HaTorah faction says it will back state budget, easing its advancement

Ultra-Orthodox rabbis, including Degel HaTorah party spiritual leader Rabbi Dov Lando, attend a rally against the arrest of draft-dodging yeshiva students outside of the military prison at Beit Lid, August 14, 2025. (Courtesy/Daniel Nefoussi)

Following a meeting with Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth and coalition whip Ofir Katz, the ultra-Orthodox Degel HaTorah faction announces that it will vote ‘yes’ in the first reading of the 2026 state budget.

It demands that the Haredi draft exemption bill advance before the budget’s final passage.

In a statement, a spokesman for party spiritual leader Rabbi Dov Lando says that following the meeting, “Degel Hatorah will support the budget law on first reading and will insist that the conscription law be completed before bringing the budget law to second and third readings.”

According to Hebrew media, Bismuth agreed to hold a series of talks to iron out Haredi objections to parts of the bill.

The ultra-Orthodox Shas party, which was also present at the meeting, will also reportedly support the budget this evening, making it likely to advance.

In legal filing, former NYC mayor Adams denies discriminating against Muslims after Oct. 7

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks to the media in City Hall, New York City, December 15, 2025. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)

In a legal filing, former New York City mayor Eric Adams denies he discriminated against Muslims during his response to the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

Hassan Naveed, the former head of the city’s office to prevent hate crimes, filed a lawsuit in a New York court in October 2025, alleging Islamophobia in how the Adams administration responded to anti-Israel protests after the massacre in Israel.

Naveed, who is Muslim and was appointed by Adams, claimed he was removed from his position due to anti-Muslim discrimination and was subject to a “hostile work environment.”

His complaint alleged that administration staffers posted “anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian” statements on social media, that Adams criticized the Muslim community for not condemning Hamas, and that Adams compared anti-Israel protests to Ku Klux Klan rallies.

Adams’s legal team responds in a new court filing, denying all allegations, while acknowledging some basic facts in the complaint, such as Naveed’s removal from his position.

The response says that Naveed’s allegations are based on “petty slights and trivial inconveniences,” and that Naveed lost his job due to “his own negligent or otherwise culpable conduct.”

The legal team’s response asks the court to dismiss the case.

Naveed also sued the City of New York and the mayor’s office, demanding more than $1 million in damages and a judgment declaring that the defendants had violated city human rights laws.

After filing the lawsuit, Naveed was appointed to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s transition team.

State Attorney’s Office reopens case against guard who allegedly shot Bedouin teen

Illustration: A suspect is arrested during an overnight raid on December 8, 2025. (Israel Police)

The State Attorney’s Office has decided to reopen a case against a volunteer security guard suspected of the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old Bedouin citizen of Israel nearly two years ago in the Negev.

The victim, Juma’a Danfiri, from the unrecognized village of Wadi al-Na’am, was spotted late at night in February 2024 with two others hopping the fence that bounds Kibbutz Retamim in an apparent burglary attempt.

After the three were handcuffed by members of the security squad, one of the guards allegedly shot Danfiri three times in the head while he was face-down on the ground.

The suspect, whose name is under a gag order, claimed he shot Danfiri in self-defense after he broke free from his restraints and tried to attack him with a pocket knife.

Danfiri’s family’s attorney, Avi Himi, disputes this version of events and insists that the six guards at the scene tampered with evidence to evade justice.

The case was nevertheless closed by the Southern District Attorney’s Office due to the suspect’s apparent lack of guilt.

Himi reached out to the State Attorney’s Office last year to appeal the decision, and now informs The Times of Israel that the appeal was accepted earlier this week.

The case and its evidence have been returned to state prosecutors for further investigation.

Bismuth said to meet Haredi MKs, legal adviser, over draft bill; Lapid: ‘Completely insane’

Likud MK Boaz Bismuth chairs a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, December 2, 2025. (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)

After speaking with Rabbi Dov Lando, the spiritual leader of the Haredi Degel HaTorah faction, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth is reportedly meeting with senior Haredi politicians to discuss his Haredi draft exemption bill ahead of this evening’s first reading of the 2026 state budget.

The reported meeting sparks outcry from Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, who accuses Bismuth and coalition whip Ofir Katz, who’s also in attendance, of skirting the defense committee.

According to Radio Kol Barama, Bismuth and Katz are meeting with Degel Hatorah and Shas MKs Uri Maklev, Yaakov Asher and Yinon Azoulay. Also reportedly in attendance are former Shas MK Ariel Attias, who represented the Haredi parties in negotiations over Bismuth’s bill, and committee legal adviser Miri Frenkel Shor, whose requested changes to the bill have sparked ultra-Orthodox pushback.

Degel HaTorah and Shas are expected to officially express their positions on tonight’s budget vote following the meeting, Kol Barama reports. They have previously indicated that they will vote yes.

In response, Lapid declares that “what is happening right now behind closed doors of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee is simply completely insane.”

“Ultra-Orthodox political operatives have set up an alternative Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for themselves, and together with Bismuth and Ofir Katz they are sitting there and exerting heavy pressure on the committee’s legal adviser, trying to push her to approve changes that the ultra-Orthodox parties want,” he declares.

“This is horse-trading over the security of the State of Israel, encouraged by Netanyahu.”

While the Haredi parties have not set it as a condition for their support of the budget, the Ynet news site reports that Degel HaTorah and Shas, alongside various ministerial professionals from across the government, are also formulating a five-year plan to fund the development and growth of Haredi local authorities to the tune of up to NIS 1 billion.

EU unlikely to list Iran’s IRGC as terror group, expected to add sanctions on Tehran

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas waits for a standup space as she arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, June 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

The 27 European Union foreign ministers are scheduled to convene tomorrow morning in Brussels, where they will vote on listing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization.

Though Italy recently announced it would vote in support, the measure is not expected to gain the unanimous backing it needs under EU rules, a European diplomat tells The Times of Israel. Spain, Portugal, and France still do not back the move, according to the diplomat.

Even if the IRGC is not listed as a terrorist group, the EU still levies significant sanctions on the IRGC and its members. It imposed human rights sanctions on Iran in 2011 and has renewed them continuously since then. The EU also has sanctions on Iran over weapons of mass destruction and over its support for Russia in Ukraine.

It ramped up sanctions on regime officials in 2022, and currently sanctions over 230 individuals and 40 entities, including the IRGC.

The EU is expected to announce new sanctions on Iran in the coming days, including new sanctions connected to Iran’s drone industry.

Shin Bet head hosts IDF chief for meeting on ‘strengthening cooperation’

Shin Bet chief David Zini (left) and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir are seen during a meeting at the Shin Bet's headquarters in central Israel, January 28, 2026. (Shin Bet)

Shin Bet chief David Zini hosted IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir for a meeting today at the domestic security agency’s headquarters.

“The two discussed the continued strengthening of cooperation between the organizations across the various arenas,” the Shin Bet says, adding that they also discussed “challenges facing the organizations during this sensitive period.”

The pair also met with the Shin Bet’s brass for a security briefing and “discussions on essential coordination and cooperation between the organizations,” the agency adds.

Shekel hits four-year high against dollar, in 18% jump over past year

Illustrative: A man counts stacks of Israeli shekel and US dollar banknotes at an informal money exchange stall in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on July 2, 2024. (Bashar TALEB / AFP)

The Israeli shekel strengthens to around a four-year high amid continued gains in the local stock market, a flow of investments into tech and defense companies, and a weakening dollar globally.

The shekel trades around NIS 3.09 against the dollar.

The local currency has gained about 3% against the greenback this month and 18% over the past year.

“Markets have remained fairly calm, despite concern regarding a US strike on Iran, which could embroil Israel,” says Leader Capital Markets chief economist Jonathan Katz.

“Macroeconomic factors (primarily a rapid expansion in the high-tech sector and capital raising from abroad) continue to support pressure for shekel appreciation, which supports more moderate inflation and lower rates.”

The Tel Aviv-35 index of blue-chip companies was little changed but is up more than 10% so far this year. The TA-Defense Index gains 1.3% and has risen 32% since the start of 2026. The TA-Technology Index adds 0.8%, taking this year’s increase to 19%.

Related: Mighty shekel could boost shoppers and travelers, but many will miss out on bonanza

“The strong gains in the Israeli share market in recent days and weeks are luring foreign and local institutional investors to shift funds from abroad into the Tel Aviv stock market, which in turn means that they are selling the US currency and are buying shekels, fueling shekel appreciation,” says Mizrahi Tefahot Bank chief markets economist Ronen Menahem. “In addition, the shekel is also gaining as the dollar weakens globally.”

Palestinian who hurled firebomb at troops yesterday shot dead, IDF says

A Palestinian who hurled a firebomb at Israeli troops in the West Bank was shot dead yesterday, the military says.

Palestinian Authority health officials identified the man as 20-year-old Muhammad Rajih Nasrallah.

According to the IDF, during an operation in the southern West Bank town of ad-Dhahiriya, troops spotted the suspect hurling a Molotov cocktail at the forces.

“The soldiers returned fire and eliminated the terrorist,” the army says, adding that no troops were hurt.

Footage appears to show settlers clubbing Palestinian lying helplessly on the ground

Settlers repeatedly bludgen a Palestinian in the village of Khirbet al-Fakhit in the southern West Bank on January 28, 2026. (Screen capture/X)

New footage from one of last night’s settler attacks in the southern West Bank appears to show a group of masked Israelis repeatedly clubbing a Palestinian man as he lies helplessly on the ground.

The man was apparently on guard duty in Khirbet al-Fakhit when footage shows several masked people arrive and immediately begin bludgeoning him, unprovoked. He suffered several skull fractures and was taken in serious condition to the hospital, where he underwent surgery, according to Palestinian media.

The IDF issues a statement saying that it arrested two Palestinian women who it claims attacked soldiers after they arrived at the scene. There were no arrests of settlers, who have been increasingly able to carry out attacks on Palestinians on a near-daily basis with almost complete impunity.

הפלסטינים מפרסמים תיעוד של האירוע אתמול בחירבת פחית במסאפר יאטא בדרום הר חברון. חמישה יהודים תוקפים באלימות קשה פלסטיני שנפצע קשה ועוד מספר בני משפחה נוספים. הפלסטיני נותח הלילה בבית החולים בחברון וסובל משברים בגולגולת. https://t.co/HcwocL94zA pic.twitter.com/zDfvsTJMpk

— Haim Goldich | חיים גולדיטש (@HGoldich) January 28, 2026

Responding to last night’s attack, Democrats MK Gilad Kariv says, “Jewish terrorism in the territories has become a daily reality. Violent settlers carry out pogroms in Palestinian villages every single day.”

“IDF Central Command, the police’s [West Bank] district and the Shin Bet are not curbing this phenomenon. It is becoming increasingly clear that these bodies are deliberately turning of a blind eye — whether out of fear of confronting the political echelon that gives full backing to these violent zealots, or out of silent consent to their actions,” Kariv writes.

“Beyond the moral injustice and the disgrace, this constitutes criminal negligence on the part of the security establishment,” the MK continues, saying the attacks will lead to more violence and damage Israel’s international standing.

“I call on IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to stop ignoring this grave phenomenon and the unacceptable patterns of action and inaction of the IDF Central Command on this matter,” Kariv continues, saying Israelis must protest the attacks.

Hamas says it’s ready to cede Gaza governance to Palestinian technocratic body

Palestinians walk along a street past a tent camp surrounded by buildings destroyed during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City, December 30, 2025. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)

Hamas says it is ready to transfer the governance of Gaza to a Palestinian technocratic committee, while insisting the key Rafah Border Crossing be fully reopened within days, per the recent announcement of the technocratic committee’s chair.

“Protocols are prepared, files are complete, and committees are in place to oversee the handover, ensuring a complete transfer of governance in the Gaza Strip across all sectors to the technocratic committee,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem tells AFP.

The 15-member National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) is a team of Palestinian technocrats created as part of the US-sponsored ceasefire agreement that came into effect in October 2025.

It is charged with managing the day-to-day governance of postwar Gaza and will work under the supervision of US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.

The NCAG, headed by former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath, is expected to enter the Gaza Strip once the territory’s Rafah crossing, on its border with Egypt, reopens.

Hamas spokesman Qassem adds that the Rafah crossing “must be opened in both directions, with full freedom of exit and entry to the Gaza Strip, without any Israeli obstacles.”

Rafah is Gaza’s only gateway to the outside world that does not lead to Israel and is a key entry point for both people and goods. Shaath announced last week that Rafah would reopen in both directions the following week.

Israel has said it will only allow pedestrians to travel through the crossing as part of its “limited reopening” once it had recovered the remains of the last hostage, Ran Gvili. Soldiers brought back Gvili’s remains on Monday.

Qassem says that “it is clear that Hamas is committed to the agreement to stop the war on the Gaza Strip,” which began after the terror group’s onslaught in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

With the technocratic committee’s creation and the last hostage held in Gaza returned to Israel, the ceasefire deal’s next important milestones will be Hamas’s disarmament, which is meant to lead to Israel’s staged withdrawal from Gaza. Hamas has so far not surrendered its weapons.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report. 

Iranian ‘regime’s days are numbered,’ German leader Merz says

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivers a statement at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, after a hotly contested pensions bill passed Germany's Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, on December 5, 2025. (John MACDOUGALL / AFP)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says that the Iranian government’s “days are numbered” as US President Donald Trump renews threats of intervention after a bloody crackdown on protests in the country.

“A regime that can only hold onto power through sheer violence and terror against its own population: its days are numbered,” Merz tells journalists at a press conference alongside Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan.

“It could be a matter of weeks but this regime has no legitimacy to govern the country,” Merz adds.

Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Yad Vashem's Hall of Names (David Shankbone/ Wikimedia Commons)

A Norwegian parliamentarian has nominated Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and museum for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Writing to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Christian Democratic Party lawmaker Joel Ystebø calls the memorial center in Jerusalem “one of the world’s most significant institutions in the fight against antisemitism, hate ideologies, and historical distortion.”

Ystebø calls antisemitism “one of the most persistent and destructive forms of hatred” and laments the rise in antisemitic attacks since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, which began the war in Gaza.

The 24-year-old says Yad Vashem is as a “vital reference point for truth, knowledge, and moral clarity” in an era of increasing conspiracy theories and Holocaust denial and distortion.

“In a time when antisemitism is once again gaining a foothold in public discourse, Yad Vashem reminds us of what is at stake if hatred and lies are allowed to pervade,” writes Ystebø.

“The Nobel Peace Prize has historically honored those who stand against hatred, oppression, and injustice,” the lawmaker continues. “Yad Vashem does precisely this by being at the forefront of the fight against antisemitism, one of the most serious threats to peaceful coexistence in our time. Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Yad Vashem would be a clear recognition that the struggle against antisemitism is a struggle for peace, democracy, and human dignity.”

After crisis over draft bill, budget likely to advance as 2 Haredi factions signal support

Rabbi Dov Lando in Bnei Brak, August 21, 2025. (Sam Sokol/Times of Israel)

Two ultra-Orthodox factions in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, Degel HaTorah and Shas, are likely to support the 2026 budget in its first reading today, indicating that the measure will advance after a disagreement over the coalition’s Haredi draft regulation bill postponed the budget vote by two days.

Speaking with The Times of Israel, a spokesman for Degel HaTorah spiritual leader Rabbi Dov Lando says that while an official decision has yet to be made, “this is the direction” things are heading in.

However, the same spokesman releases a statement noting that “contrary to reports,” Lando has yet to make a decision, which will only be announced after a meeting currently taking place between him and Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth regarding the conscription bill.

Meanwhile, Hebrew media outlets report that Shas will also support the bill.

According to ultra-Orthodox news site Behadrei Haredim, the Agudat Yisrael faction, which together with Degel HaTorah comprises the United Torah Judaism party, will oppose the budget.

The budget vote had been postponed over a dispute regarding the controversial draft regulation bill, which would enshrine sweeping exemptions from conscription for yeshiva students. If the government fails to pass the budget by March, it will trigger early elections.

Austria’s chancellor to make his first official visit to Israel next week

Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker will be in Israel for a two-day trip next week, his first official visit to Israel.

He is slated to land on Sunday evening. He will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, and is scheduled to meet with President Isaac Herzog as well.

Stocker will also make an extended visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.

On Tuesday, the chancellor will head south to Nir Oz with a freed hostage.

Austria is one of Israel’s closest allies in Europe.

Stocker spoke by phone with Netanyahu for the first time in May 2025, two months after he assumed office.

Held my first phone call with Israeli Prime Minister @netanyahu. The Strategic Partnership between Austria and Israel has developed well in the last years. The Austrian government is fully committed to Israel's security and to the fight against all forms of antisemitism. 
Hamas’… pic.twitter.com/PEjh9NOxtY

— Christian Stocker (@_CStocker) May 20, 2025

Palestinian Authority says Jerusalem stabbing suspect killed, body detained

The Palestinian Authority’s General Authority for Civilian Affairs says the suspect in the attempted stabbing at a checkpoint south of Jerusalem was killed and his body detained by Israel.

He is identified as Qussai Halaika, 28, from the town of al-Shuyukh, north of Hebron in the southern West Bank.

No one else was injured in the apparent attempted terror attack.

عاجل | مصادر محلية: الشهيد الذي ارتقى برصاص قوات الاحتلال عند حاجز الأنفاق جنوبي القدس؛ بزعم محاولته تنفيذ عملية طعن، هو الشاب قصي ماهر حلايقة من بلدة الشيوخ شمال الخليل.#قدس_بلس pic.twitter.com/S9Kx1EkjB8

— قدس بلس (@PlusQuds) January 28, 2026

Iran says it’s open to talks but also ready to ‘defend itself and respond like never before’

Iranian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Gholamhossein Darzi listens during a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Iran, at United Nations headquarters in New York, January 15, 2026. (Angela Weiss/AFP)

Iran is prepared for discussions with the United States but will defend itself if it is provoked, Tehran’s mission to the United Nations says.

“Iran stands ready for dialogue based on mutual respect and interests—BUT IF PUSHED, IT WILL DEFEND ITSELF AND RESPOND LIKE NEVER BEFORE!” the mission said in a post on X.

Last time the U.S. blundered into wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it squandered over $7 trillion and lost more than 7,000 American lives.

Iran stands ready for dialogue based on mutual respect and interests—BUT IF PUSHED, IT WILL DEFEND ITSELF AND RESPOND LIKE NEVER BEFORE! pic.twitter.com/k3fVEv1rus

— I.R.IRAN Mission to UN, NY (@Iran_UN) January 28, 2026

Woman, 70, killed in Jerusalem after crane falls onto her from truck

Police forces are seen at the scene where a crane collapsed onto a vehicle, killing a woman in the Arnona neighborhood of Jerusalem, January 28, 2026. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

A 70-year-old woman was killed after a crane attached to a truck collapsed on her in Jerusalem’s Arnona neighborhood, first responders say.

The pedestrian was found lying on the sidewalk by Magen David Adom and Hatzalah medics, according to statements from both agencies. The crane also appears to have fallen onto a parked car.

Paramedics rushed the woman with a life-threatening head injury to Shaare Zedek Medical Center. She succumbed to her wounds and was pronounced dead by medical staff at the hospital.

Police officers dispatched to the scene detained three suspects connected to work at the site and are examining the circumstances of the lethal incident, police say.

Total killed and injured in Ukraine war could soon hit 2 million — report

A residential building is seen damaged after a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, January 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

A new report warns that the number of soldiers killed, injured or missing on both sides of Russia’s war on Ukraine could hit 2 million by the spring, with Russia suffering the largest number of troop deaths recorded for any major power in any conflict since World War II.

The report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies comes less than a month before the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

The CSIS report, released today, says Russia suffered 1.2 million casualties, including up to 325,000 troop deaths, between February 2022 and December 2025.

“Despite claims of battlefield momentum in Ukraine, the data shows that Russia is paying an extraordinary price for minimal gains and is in decline as a major power,” the report says. “No major power has suffered anywhere near these numbers of casualties or fatalities in any war since World War II.”

It estimates that Ukraine, with its smaller army and population, has suffered between 500,000 to 600,000 military casualties, including up to 140,000 deaths.

Neither Moscow nor Kyiv gives timely data on military losses, and each side seeks to amplify the other side’s casualties.

Turkey detains 6 suspected spies for IRGC, local media reports, as it urges US-Iran talks

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan gestures as he speaks during a press conference after a meeting with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan and Indonesia in Istanbul on November 3, 2025. (Ozan KOSE / AFP)

Turkey’s authorities have detained six people suspected of spying for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps by monitoring military facilities and other strategic sites across the country, local media reports.

Reports of the operation came as Turkey’s foreign minister urged Washington to start nuclear talks with Iran in an interview, as US warships arrived in the region amid fears of a strike over Tehran’s protest crackdown.

“It’s wrong to attack Iran. It’s wrong to start the war again. Iran is ready to negotiate on the nuclear file again,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan tells Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television.

“My advice has always been to our American friends: close the files one by one with the Iranians. Start with the nuclear issue and close it. Then move on to the others,” he says.

In a phone call today, Fidan and Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi evaluated “efforts to reduce tensions in light of recent developments in the region”, a Turkish diplomatic source says.

Speaking to Al-Jazeera, Fidan says problems with Iran should be tackled individually.

“Do not treat them as a package. If you put everything together as one package, it will be very difficult for our Iranian friends to digest and truly process it,” he says. “In some cases, it may even seem humiliating for them. It would be hard to explain not only to themselves but also to their leadership.”

In the arrest operation, security forces carried out simultaneous raids in five provinces, including Istanbul and Ankara, following a joint investigation by the counter-terror department and Turkey’s intelligence agency, state-run TRT television reported.

The suspects allegedly conducted reconnaissance and surveillance around Incirlik air base in the southern province of Adana, which hosts US forces, says the broadcaster.

One of the six detainees was of Iranian origin, the private DHA news agency reports.

The group is accused of transmitting intelligence and logistical information to Iranian intelligence operatives, TRT says.

Investigators also reportedly uncovered evidence that the suspects had monitored the shipment of drones through Turkey for use in other countries.

Sephardic chief rabbi lauds ‘miracle’ of Ran Gvili’s body returning ‘intact’ from Gaza

Sephardic Chief Rabbi David Yosef eulogizes Ran Gvili, comparing his battle and that of the Israeli nation on October 7, 2023, to that of Jewish rebel leader Simon Bar Kochba, who initiated a rebellion against the Roman Empire in the second century.

Referring to a legend that tells of the bodies of Jewish people not rotting during the Bar Kochba revolt, despite the Romans preventing them from being buried, Yosef says a similar “miracle” occurred on Monday, when Ran “returned intact, whole of body.”

The chief rabbi speaks about the antisemitism sweeping the world.

“God loves us, but the other nations, not so much,” says Yosef. “We’re dealing with antisemitism — we who created, we who want to survive, to live, but the world blames us even though we want to defend ourselves. We have no solution to this antisemitism, but we have to fight it and have to know that they hate us because we’re Jews.”

Yosef says that Jews need to be proud of who they are, “that we’re the chosen people of God, and we’re proud of being God’s nation.”

Yosef says that what the Jewish people have undergone, on October 7 and since — including the Hanukkah massacre at Australia’s Bondi Beach — proves that the Jews are still a united nation, and “we still love one another.”

He calls upon the Israeli people to support the thousands of bereaved families and the orphans, and to “hold them up and support them.”

“You, the Gvili family, united all of Israel around you,” says Yosef.

Police: No injuries to Israeli forces in attempted stabbing at checkpoint outside Jerusalem

No Israeli forces were injured in the attempted stabbing attack at a checkpoint south of Jerusalem, police say.

According to the police, Border Police officers stationed at the “tunnels checkpoint” identified a suspect arriving on foot from the direction of the West Bank.

During an inspection, the suspect presented his ID card before pulling out a knife, police say.

“The security guards at the checkpoint opened fire at him, and the suspect was neutralized,” police add.

The suspect’s condition is not immediately clear.

Ben Gvir’s call to impose death penalty on terrorists met with applause at Ran Gvili’s funeral

Public Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir speaks at Ran Gvili’s funeral.

“Your pain is our pain, your sadness is our sadness, your pride is our pride,” says Ben Gvir of Gvili, a fallen police officer.

“Your way forces us, right and left, religious and secular, Arabs and Muslims, and Druze and Circassian, to destroy the Hamas organization! Punishment for the terrorists, those who raped our women and killed our children deserve the punishment of death.”

He calls the Gvili family a “family of lions,” and says that Talik Gvili “teaches us what it is to be a proud Jewish mother.”

“Rani was born into this DNA of Talik and Itzik.”

Ben Gvir speaks of Gvili’s bravery on October 7, 2023.

“He put his shoulder into [the fight against] our enemies, even when his shoulder was broken,” says Ben Gvir, who thanks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his stubbornness in bringing home Gvili’s body for burial.

At Ran Gvili’s funeral, Netanyahu vows to dismantle Hamas, honor his legacy ‘for generations of fighters’

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the funeral of Ran Gvili, in Meitar, southern Israel, January 28, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu eulogizes fallen police officer Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the final hostage returned from Gaza, and declares that Israel is determined to achieve its remaining war aim of defeating Hamas and thus honor Ran’s legacy.

Israel has succeeded in “bringing all our brothers and sisters home,” Netanyahu says, receiving much applause from the crowd, before adding that “This is still not the final word.”

“We are determined… to dismantle Hamas, to dismantle the Strip — and that, too, we will achieve,” he says, to more applause.

He warns Israel’s enemies, saying, “Let all who think they will prevail over us know — look at Talik Gvili [Ran’s mother]: ‘It is not you who will defeat us. We will defeat you. We will overcome you.'”

Netanyahu hails Ran’s heroism on the day he fell in battle during the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, invasion and massacre, when, “shot twice in his body, with his shoulder already injured, he defended Kibbutz Alumim and killed 14 accursed terrorists.”

“The exemplary fighting of Ran Gvili, until the final bullet — that combat will be remembered for generations,” he says.

He adds that the memory of Ran “will continue,” noting that the government approved a plan on Sunday to advance the establishment of a new community in the Negev “that will commemorate Ran.”

The planned community, to be called Renanim, will be built east of Beersheba and “will express in its name the magnitude of Ran’s contribution to Israel,” Netanyahu says.

He also says he is adopting another initiative to establish a pre-military academy in Ran’s name, that will prepare young soldiers for service in the police and YASAM units —” an academy that will instill his spirit and his legacy for generations of fighters.”

Police say assailant ‘neutralized’ after trying to stab security forces at checkpoint south of Jerusalem

An assailant attempted to stab Israeli security forces at the “tunnels checkpoint” south of Jerusalem a short while ago, police and medics say.

Police say that the attacker was shot and “neutralized.”

There are no reports of other injuries at the scene.

‘I’m so proud to be your father’: Itzik Gvili bids his son a final farewell

Itzik Gvili speaks at the funeral of his son, Ran Gvili, in Meitar, on January 28, 2026. (Paulina Patimer/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Itzik Gvili, the father of fallen police officer Ran Gvili, says he is speaking from his heart and had not prepared his eulogy.

“When we got to Shura (a military base), and opened the coffin and touched you for the first time in two and a half years, it was completely intact,” says Gvili.

Gvili says that IDF units dug up 250 graves in the Gaza City cemetery where his son’s body was buried in their quest to find him, and that the number 250 is the numerical value of his son’s name, Ran, in Hebrew letters.

“That’s another one of the things we got from you,” says Itzik Gvili. “You set everything up from above. I’m so proud to be your father. I miss you every minute and every second.”

Trump to Iran: Time is running out, the next strike will be ‘far worse’

Time is running out for the Islamic Republic, and the next US attack on Iran — if Tehran doesn’t make a deal — will be far worse than the June 2025 strike, US President Donald Trump threatens in a Truth Social post.

“A massive Armada is heading to Iran,” he writes. “It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm, and purpose. It is a larger fleet, headed by the great Aircraft Carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela. Like with Venezuela, it is, ready, willing, and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary.”

The USS Abraham Lincoln and its carrier strike group arrived in the Middle East on Monday.

Trump says that he hopes that Tehran will “quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS – one that is good for all parties.”

“Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!” Trump stresses. “As I told Iran once before, MAKE A DEAL!”

“They didn’t, and there was ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ a major destruction of Iran,” he writes, referring to the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at the end of Israel’s 12-day war with Iran.

“The next attack will be far worse! Don’t make that happen again. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Arab residents of Tamra go on strike in response to shooting near local school

Arab residents of Tamra are on strike today after a shooting near an elementary school rocked the northern city at the start of the week.

Business owners have shuttered their shops and schools will remain closed for the day as part of the local general strike, which occurs as a growing number of Arab citizens take to the streets and demand police curb violent crime in their communities.

On Sunday, a man shot at a car passing the al-Biruni school in Tamra, alarming students and teachers. Hours later, worried parents marched with their children from the school to the local police station.

Later today, residents will stage another march, this time from a local mosque to the al-Biruni school, a resident tells The Times of Israel.

The violent crime plaguing the Arab sector has reached new heights in recent weeks, claiming a total of 21 victims within less than a month. Last year was the deadliest on record for Arab society, with 252 people killed in crime-related incidents.

Since last week, daily protests have been taking place in Arab locales across northern and central Israel over the spread of violent crime. A mass rally is scheduled to take place Saturday in Tel Aviv.

The homicide rate in Arab society doubled in 2023, coinciding with the start of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s tenure, and has continued apace since.

‘All the laughter is gone, I’m left with only memories’: Shira Gvili eulogizes her older brother

Shira Gvili embraces the coffin of her brother, Ran Gvili, at his funeral in Meitar, on January 28, 2026. (Uriel Even Sapir/Hostages and Missing Families Forum)

Shira Gvili, the sister of fallen police officer Ran Gvili, speaks through tears as she eulogizes her older brother at his funeral.

‘When Mom entered my room and said it would take time for you to come home, I couldn’t imagine it would take 843 days.”

“The forest isn’t the same forest, nice clothes don’t feel the same and schnitzel will never taste the same,” says Gvili.

“All the laughter is gone and I’m left with only memories, and every motorcycle I see takes me back” to those her brother used to ride. “Sometimes I smile when I see one and sometimes it feels like an arrow to my heart.”

Gvili promises her brother that she chooses to live and that he will always be by her side, and says he has come to her in dreams and in symbols and signals.

“Last month, I went to America, we went to places that I never imagined I’d ever get to,” she tells her brother. “I really did everything; I spoke at the UN and Congress and the White House, all of it in English, are you proud of me?”

“I did it so that you would come back,” she sobs.

“Now, allow me take off this uniform and the title of ‘sister of a hostage,’ and just be Rani’s sister.”

She plays an audio recording she once received from her brother: “Don’t worry my sister, everything is ok,” the slain police officer can be heard saying.

“I love you, and everything is ok, I’m not worried,” she replies now.

After, she walks over to embrace Ran’s coffin, laying her head on it momentarily.

Eulogizing last returned hostage Ran Gvili, Herzog says nation can now ‘slowly begin’ to heal

President Isaac Herzog speaks at the funeral of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, in Meitar, on January 28, 2026. (Screenshot/Israel Police/GPO)

President Isaac Herzog says Israel can “slowly begin” healing as a nation following the aftermath of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack, speaking at the funeral of fallen police officer Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, the final hostage to return from Gaza.

“Ran, the hero and the beloved, ‘the last hostage,’ is finally brought to eternal rest, in the soil of home,” Herzog says, telling the Gvili family that “an entire nation accompanied you and all the families of the hostages for hundreds upon hundreds of days.”

Gvili’s return “is also a momentous moment for an entire nation,” he continues, saying that “from within the sanctity of this moment, the shattered fragments of our hearts can slowly begin to gather toward healing and repair, which are so desperately needed by us as a people.”

“An entire nation looks upon you today… and knows: through your path, and through Ran’s path, we must rise from this terrible pain,” Herzog tells the Gvili family, saying that the nation must now “rise to the next chapter of our existence as a people. Rise strong, confident in our way; rise hand in hand… believing in our State of Israel — Jewish and democratic — and guarding it with utmost devotion, as Ran guarded it.”

As he has done when eulogizing other returned slain hostages, Herzog apologizes to the bereaved family on behalf of the state for the loss and delayed repatriation of their loved ones: “At this moment I ask of you, as president of Israel, in the name of the State of Israel: forgiveness. Forgiveness that we were not there for him. Forgiveness that together with so many families you were forced to wait for the return of your beloved for so many days — so agonizing,” he says.

He also indirectly repeats his call for a thorough commission of inquiry into the events that led to October 7, saying that in light of Ran and other fallen heroes during the war, “we are obligated: to look directly at the site of the wound; to investigate thoroughly, to clarify in depth, to pursue the truth relentlessly, to heal and to recover.”

“Thus, only thus, and only together, to build here a shared Israeli tomorrow. For your sake, dear and beloved Ran, and for ours,” the president says.

‘I’m the proud mother of Ran Gvili’: Talik Gvili parts from her son

Talik Gvili speaks at the funeral of her son, Ran Gvili, in Meitar, on January 28, 2026. (Screenshot/Israel Police/GPO)

Talik Gvili, mother of Ran Gvili, sighs as she begins to eulogize her son.

“Wow, I’m the proud mother of Ran Gvili, the last to return.”

She thanks all the government leaders present, as well as members of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum and the hawkish Tikvah Forum, as well as her family, including her own parents, and the residents of Meitar.

Gvili says she imagines her son in heaven, with a tribunal of all the slain heroes She imagines him with a glass of arak, telling the others to come and listen to his eulogies. “It’ll be cool,” she imagines her son saying.

Gvili recalls seeing a rainbow while driving with her husband to the first meeting for the families of the hostages in October 2023.

She says they drove into the rainbow and she felt it was a sign from her son.

“My beloved boy, the hope that you would return on two legs or even one gave us the strength to go through this without you,” says Gvili.

“I imagined you looking at me, and telling me, ‘Don’t cry, you’re proud, you’re proud,'” says Gvili. “Every time I’m tearful, I feel you looking at me, ‘My proud mother.'”

She tells the crowd about how her son, a police officer, once returned from handling a protest and told her that the protesters spat on him.

“‘What, they don’t understand that we’re on the same side?'” Ran asked of his mother.

“I felt that was my goal to show everyone that we’re one nation, that we’re all on the same side,” says Talik Gvili. “I promise you that because of you, we all remembered that despite the disagreements, we’re one nation.”

“700 soldiers looked for you and found you, 700 soldiers found you and brought you back,” says Gvili.

She speaks to Israel’s enemies.

“You, our enemies, tried to scare us. Look what’s left of you and you’ll see what will be left of you,” says Gvili.

“Rani and the other heroes give us the strength,” says Gvili. “You’re so with me, Rani, I’m Talik Gvili, a proud, proud mother.”

Pope Leo calls for an end to antisemitism worldwide

Pope Leo calls for an end to antisemitism worldwide, marking the annual commemoration of the Holocaust with a prayer for a world without prejudice or racism.

“On this annual occasion of painful remembrance, I ask the Almighty for the gift of a world with no more antisemitism and, with no more prejudice, oppression, or persecution of any human being,” the pope says during his weekly audience at the Vatican.

Leo, the first US pope, appeals to world leaders “to always remain vigilant, so that the horror of genocide may never again fall upon any people.”

International Holocaust Remembrance Day, an annual commemoration established by the United Nations, was marked on Tuesday.

Relations between the Catholic Church and Judaism have improved in recent decades, after centuries of animosity.

Leo, like his predecessor Pope Francis, has condemned antisemitism several times since becoming the leader of the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church last May.

Daycare worker arrested over death of infant in Bnei Brak to remain in custody until Monday

A daycare worker arrested over the death of an infant on her watch is ordered to remain in custody until Monday, Hebrew outlets report.

The baby was fatally injured yesterday at an unlicensed daycare in Bnei Brak, which was since shuttered by authorities.

The employee’s detention was extended another six days by a judge in the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court.

She is suspected of causing death by negligence, Ynet reports.

Yesh Atid, Blue and White submit bills to dissolve Knesset ahead of 2026 budget vote

Ahead of the first reading of the 2026 state budget today, opposition parties including Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid and MK Benny Gantz’s Blue and White have submitted multiple bills to dissolve the 25th Knesset.

A previous bill to dissolve the Knesset failed last summer after the ultra-Orthodox Shas and Degel Hatorah factions reached a compromise, which has since failed, with then-Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein over the enlistment of yeshiva students.

Under parliamentary rules, because the legislation was defeated, lawmakers had to wait six months to bring another Knesset dissolution bill to a vote.

The coalition is negotiating with the Haredi factions over the enlistment issue, with Shas and United Torah Judaism threatening not to support a vote on the 2026 budget today unless they receive concessions on the final draft of the draft exemption bill being revised by current Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth.

The vote on the budget bill was initially supposed to be held on Monday but was delayed due to the political crisis.

According to Channel 12, earlier this week Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that if the budget didn’t pass its first reading on Monday, the Knesset should be dissolved. In response, Lapid tweeted: “Smotrich, just a reminder, the bill I submitted to disperse the Knesset will come up to the plenum next Wednesday.”

Speaking with The Times of Israel, a spokesman for Lapid says that the bills are “a way to apply pressure” and that “if there is no majority, of course we will remove it.”

Bills to dissolve the Knesset are regularly added to the Knesset agenda and then removed before a vote due to lack of support.

In a statement, Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party announces that it is removing all of its bills from the plenum today in response to “the attempt to stall the budget vote,” which has been placed at the end of today’s lengthy plenum agenda.

Gantz also calls on the other opposition party leaders to remove their proposals, with his party explaining that their goal was to “not allow representatives of the ultra-Orthodox parties and Likud time to negotiate.”

WATCH: Ran Gvili’s funeral set to begin in Meitar

The funeral of fallen police officer Ran Gvili is about to begin in Meitar, the Gvili family’s home community near Beersheba, is about to begin.

Among those in attendance are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, former defense minister Yoav Gallant, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Blue and White chair Benny Gantz, and Sephardic Chief Rabbi David Yosef.

Both Netanyahu and Herzog will be delivering eulogies.

It is the first funeral that Netanyahu is attending for a Gaza hostage.

The funeral service can be watched live:

IDF says Palestinian operative who crossed Gaza’s Yellow Line killed in strike

A Palestinian terror operative who crossed the Gaza ceasefire line in the Strip’s south yesterday was killed in an airstrike, the military says.

According to the IDF, the operative crossed the Yellow Line and approached troops of the 188th Armored Brigade “in a manner that posed an immediate threat.”

The Israeli Air Force then struck and “eliminated the terrorist to remove the threat,” the IDF says.

High Court hears petitions against government’s decision to close Army Radio

The High Court of Justice has tough questions for petitioners against the government’s decision to shutter Army Radio during a hearing this morning, over claims that the move requires legislation and that the government does not have the authority to close the station.

Uri Hess, an attorney for the Movement for Quality Government in Israel asserts that legislation addressing the status of Army Radio as a public broadcaster regarding its financing and broadcast frequency means that the station’s status is anchored in legislation, and therefore needs legislation to shut it down.

But Justice Daphne Barak Erez points out that Army Radio itself was established by the Defense Ministry as a department of the military, and that it is therefore entitled to close that department without legislation.

Hess argues further that the decision by Defense Minister Israel Katz was flawed by a series of procedural problems relating to how the advisory committee was established and the manner in which it recommended closing the station.

Justice Alex Stein asserts, however, that there is no law even requiring the establishment of a committee.

“My problem is that there is no support in law for what you are saying; these are very general claims. Where is there a requirement to establish a committee to close Army Radio, given the authority of the Defense Ministry?” asks Stein.

Hess counters by insisting that all government decisions are subject to the standards of administrative law, which includes a stipulation that there be a “factual basis” for a decision.

“Otherwise we’re talking about an arbitrary decision,” argues Hess.

In December last year, the cabinet unanimously approved Katz’s controversial proposal to shut down Army Radio by March 1, 2026.

Following petitions against the move, the High Court froze implementation of the decision. The attorney general has also opposed the closure of Army Radio, arguing there were procedural and substantive flaws in the government’s decision-making process to close the station, of which the cabinet was informed ahead of time.

Crowds gather at entrance to Meitar as police convoy escorting Ran Gvili’s coffin nears

Itzik Gvili, the father of slain police officer Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, thanks the Israel Police officers stationed along the funeral procession route, on January 28, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/FLASH90)

The police convoy accompanying the coffin of fallen police officer Master Sgt. Ran Gvili makes its way to Meitar, the Beersheba bedroom community where Gvili’s family lives and where he will be buried.

Community members stand at the entrance to Meitar, holding Israeli flags as they wait to salute the police van carrying Gvili’s body to the funeral as it nears the town.

Itzik and Talik Gvili, wearing black T-shirts bearing their son’s image, are accompanying the convoy, stopping along the route periodically to hug and greet police officers on hand for the funeral.

Police officers on horseback stand to attention, near the entrance to the community sports center where the funeral service is being held.

Supporters and neighbors accompany the van as it heads past the Meitar school yard, which is surrounded by Israeli and Israel Police flags. After all the other hostages were returned to Israel, Gvili’s family held weekly Saturday night rallies there, urging the government and US President Donald Trump to bring his body back before moving on to the second phase of the Gaza deal.

School kids, teenagers, families, neighbors and scores of police officers are present for the funeral.

A large banner at the front of the site shows Gvili in uniform and reads: “The first to go out and the last to return.”

KLM backtracks, cancels flights to Tel Aviv until further notice

Ilustrative: KLM airplanes sit in Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Jan. 18, 2018. (AP/Peter Dejong)

Dutch airline KLM retracts its plan to resume flights to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport today, citing the “current security situation and operational feasibility.”

After cancelling flight services to and from Tel Aviv last weekend amid concern of renewed conflict with Iran, KLM was expected to restart services today, though with more limited operations due to “the geopolitical situation.”

“KLM’s highest priority is the safety of passengers and crews… selecting safe and optimal flight routes is an integral part of our daily operational routine,” KLM says in a statement. “Based on the current security situation and operational feasibility, it has been decided at this stage not to resume flights to Tel Aviv.”

“We continue to closely monitor developments… once it is safe and responsible, we will offer our customers flights again,” the airline adds.

KLM says it has resumed flights to other destinations in the region, including Riyadh and Dammam in Saudi Arabia, and is exploring the possibility of restoring operations to Dubai starting Friday.

Iranian FM says he hasn’t requested negotiations with the US

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says he has not been in contact with US special envoy Steve Witkoff in recent days or requested negotiations, state media reports

US President Donald Trump said yesterday that another “armada” is floating toward Iran and that he hopes Tehran will make a deal with Washington.

The US deployed additional military assets in the Gulf following nationwide protests in Iran that led to the country’s bloodiest crackdown since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“There was no contact between me and Witkoff in recent days and no request for negotiations was made from us,” Araghchi tells state media, adding that various intermediaries were “holding consultations” and were in contact with Tehran.

“Our stance is clear, negotiations don’t go along with threats and talks can only take place when there are no longer menaces and excessive demands.”

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian told Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman yesterday that Tehran welcomes any process, within the framework of international law, that prevents war.

Police officers, civilians line the road as funeral procession for Ran Gvili begins

Police officers salute as a convoy carrying the coffin of Ran Gvili, the last hostage whose remains were recovered from the Gaza Strip, passes through Matzliah in central Israel on the way to his funeral, January 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Crowds of people waving Israeli flags are waiting outside the Shura military base as the procession for the last Israeli hostage, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, sets off for his hometown of Meitar.

The convoy is led by the National Motorcycle Unit of the Israel Police’s traffic division.

Dozens of police officers stand in rows along both sides of the road, saluting as the procession passes.

Two police officers probed on suspicion of fabricating evidence, interfering with investigation

Authorities are investigating two police officers on suspicion of fabricating evidence, interfering with an investigation and conspiring to commit a crime, a police-probing body in the State Attorney’s Office says.

The Department of Internal Police Investigations (DIPI) arrested one of the suspected officers after interrogating him. The second suspect was released to house arrest.

The detained officer was brought this morning to the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court for an extension on his remand. The investigation is ongoing, the DIPI notes.

Knesset committee cancels planned discussions on Haredi draft exemption bill tomorrow

MK Boaz Bismuth chairs a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, January 27, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee cancels a series of discussions on the government’s draft exemption bill planned for Thursday after chairman Boaz Bismuth’s (Likud) announcement last night that lawmakers had finished discussing all clauses of the controversial legislation, paving the way for its advancement to its final two readings in the Knesset plenum.

There still remain significant gaps between the demands of the ultra-Orthodox parties and the recommended changes to the bill being advanced by the committee’s legal adviser, and the behind-the-scenes wrangling as Bismuth drafts a final version of the bill based on his panel’s discussions could take one or two weeks.

Bismuth’s decision to announce the end of discussions is widely seen as an effort to show the Haredim — whose displeasure with changes demanded by the legal advisor has threatened to tank their support for the 2026 state budget, the first reading of which is scheduled for today — that he is making progress toward the bill’s passage.

The bill — which introduces measures aimed at increasing military conscription among members of the Haredi community but ultimately enshrines continued exemptions for full-time yeshiva students — has garnered opposition both among the opposition and members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition.

Israel Police pay respects to Ran Gvili at Shura military base ahead of funeral procession

An Israel Police ceremony for Master Sgt. Ran Gvili is underway at the Shura military base in central Israel, ahead of his funeral this afternoon.

Following the ceremony, a funeral procession will depart the base in central Israel at 10:30 a.m.

From there, it will travel south, to Gvili’s hometown of Meitar, where he is to be buried, just before 12 p.m.

Gvili’s family invites the public to stand along the procession route with Israeli flags to pay their respects.

The funeral will begin at 12:30 p.m.

Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel

Iran has executed a man who was accused of spying for Israel, the Iranian judiciary’s media outlet Mizan reports, naming him as Hamidreza Sabet Esmaeilipour.

“Hamidreza Sabet Esmaeilipour who was arrested on 29 April 2025, was hanged for the crime of espionage and intelligence cooperation in favour of a hostile intelligence service (Mossad) through… the transfer of classified documents and information, after the verdict was confirmed by the Supreme Court and through legal procedures,” Mizan says.

Executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel have significantly increased since last year, following the 12-day war between the regional enemies in June.

Two siblings said wounded by IDF gunfire in Tulkarem, one detained

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reports two people wounded by IDF gunfire near Thabet Thabet Hospital in Tulkarem, in the northern West Bank.

One is a 19-year-old woman who was taken to the hospital after being shot in the leg, the Red Crescent says.

The IDF does not immediately respond to a request for comment.

WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, reports that the other person wounded is the 19-year-old’s brother, who was detained by Israeli forces before the Red Crescent could attend to him. His age is not immediately reported.

According to WAFA, the brother and sister are the children of a local Fatah official.

Brother of slain hostage Itzik Elgarat says he won’t attend Ran Gvili’s funeral as Netanyahu will be there

Dani Elgarat standing next to the coffin of his brother, Itzik Elgarat, during a funeral service outside the slain captive's home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, March 3, 2025 (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

Dani Elgarat, the brother of slain Hamas hostage Itzik Elgarat, says he will not attend the funeral of Israel Police Master Sgt. Ran Gvili today, because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to deliver a eulogy.

In a post on X, Elgarat says he had planned to attend and pay his respects to the final hostage returned from Gaza, but, after finding out that “Mr. Abandonment, who is responsible for the October holocaust and the abandonment of the hostages,” will be there, he changed his mind.

“He had the opportunity to attend more than 2,500 funerals,” Elgarat writes, apparently referring to the combined toll of the roughly 1,200 October 7 victims, fallen IDF soldiers, and victims of fighting on other fronts. “He did not attend.”

“Tomorrow, he will attend not out of a sense of responsibility, but so that it cannot be said during election campaigns that he did not attend a single funeral of the fallen hostages,” Elgarat charges, adding that he “will not attend an election event, even if they try to present it as apolitical.”

Elgarat says he will instead visit Gvili’s parents, Talik and Itzik, during the shiva, the weeklong Jewish mourning period, and pay his respects to their son there instead.

President Isaac Herzog is also expected to speak at the funeral, but unlike Netanyahu, he has previously delivered eulogies at the funerals of several other hostages as well.

Rubio to warn Venezuela’s acting president she’ll meet same fate as Maduro if she doesn’t comply

Venezuelan Vice President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez gives a press conference at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, March 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to warn today that oil-rich Venezuela’s leader will suffer the fate of US-deposed predecessor Nicolas Maduro if she fails to comply with US wishes.

Delcy Rodriguez, who was vice president and is now acting president, “is well aware of the fate of Maduro,” Rubio will tell the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to prepared testimony.

“It is our belief that her own self-interest aligns with advancing our key objectives,” Rubio is to say.

“Make no mistake, as the president has stated, we are prepared to use force to ensure maximum cooperation if other methods fail,” he will say in the prepared testimony, referring to US President Donald Trump.

Rubio, a former senator, agreed to testify before the committee after weeks of Democrats accusing the Trump administration of both deceiving lawmakers and exceeding its authority by using force.

El Salvador confirmed as 27th country represented on Trump’s Board of Peace

US President Donald Trump, right, shakes the hand of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, April 14, 2025. (Pool via AP)

US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace unveils the confirmed members of the panel tasked with overseeing the postwar management of Gaza.

All countries announced on the Board of Peace X account had already publicly confirmed their membership, except for El Salvador, which becomes the 27th nation represented on the panel.

It will join Argentina, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Egypt, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Morocco, Mongolia, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Nearly a dozen countries have indicated rejection or explicitly rejected invites to join the Board of Peace, including Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Ukraine.

Others have yet to respond to the invitation, including China, Croatia, Cyprus, India, the European Union, Russia and Singapore. The US has said some countries need to receive parliamentary approval before joining.

Rabbi attacked in New York City on Holocaust Remembrance Day

A rabbi is assaulted on the street in New York City, as monuments around the city are lit yellow for Holocaust Remembrance Day.

A group of lawmakers in Queens condemns the attack in a statement, saying the rabbi was physically assaulted, verbally harassed and threatened for being Jewish.

He did not suffer serious injuries, the statement says.

New York City Comptroller Mark Levine says the attacker approached the rabbi in the Forest Hills neighborhood, called him a “fucking Jew,” and punched him.

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

Last year, the city averaged around one suspected antisemitic hate crime per day reported to police, and Jewish security officials have said many incidents are likely not reported to police.

Ilhan Omar sprayed by unknown substance during speech in Minneapolis

US Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar was targeted during a speech late Tuesday by a man who sprayed an unidentified liquid at her from a syringe before being tackled by security guards, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

The man was led out of the premises as Omar, a frequent target of attacks by President Donald Trump, continued her speech saying “we will stay resilient in the face of whatever they might throw on us.”

The incident took place during a town hall in the US city of Minneapolis, where two US citizens have been killed this month in a violent anti-immigration crackdown, provoking growing unrest.

No arrests made after settlers reportedly burn homes, wound residents of 3 southern West Bank villages

Dozens of settlers reportedly raided three Palestinian villages in the southern West Bank on Tuesday night, torching homes and wounding several residents.

The raids targeted the Bedouin hamlets of Khirbet al-Fakhit, Khirbet al-Sabban and Khirbet al-Halawa.

While Israeli security forces arrived at the scene, no arrests were made and residents reported the theft of dozens of livestock by settlers.

Palestinians in Area C of the West Bank have faced near-daily attacks from settlers in nearby outposts, with almost no enforcement by Israeli authorities.

Hours earlier, Palestinians from the nearby village of Fasa’il reported that some 500 olive trees were uprooted by settlers.

In Beit Fajjar, several vehicles were firebombed and a home was graffitied with the Hebrew phrase, “The Land of Judah Awakens.”

Meanwhile, the PA health ministry reports that a 20-year-old Palestinian succumbed to his wounds after being shot by Israeli troops during a raid of the southern West Bank village of Dahariya.

The IDF does not respond to a request for comment.

אש שהוצתה בחירבת פחית, היום pic.twitter.com/4b6PV8AJnF

— הארץ חדשות (@haaretznewsvid) January 27, 2026

Trump: ‘A beautiful armada’ is sailing toward Iran right now, ‘I hope they make a deal’

US President Donald Trump says another US “armada” is floating towards Iran and he hopes that Tehran made a deal with Washington.

“There is another beautiful armada floating beautifully toward Iran right now,” Trump says in a speech.

“I hope they make a deal.”

It is not immediately clear if Trump is referring to the USS Abraham Lincoln and accompanying warships, which arrived in the Middle East on Monday, or another carrier strike group.

Pre-Oct. 7 Hamas memo quotes top Islamic Jihad official calling Gazans killed by misfired rockets ‘price of war’

Palestinian terrorists of the Islamic Jihad movement participate in an anti-Israel military parade marking the 36th anniversary of the movement's foundation in Gaza City, October 4, 2023. (Mahmud Hams/AFP)

A memo from before the Hamas onslaught of October 7, 2023, reportedly captured by the IDF in Gaza, quotes a top Palestinian Islamic Jihad military official dismissing Hamas’s concerns that rockets launched by the terror group during a previous round of fighting in Gaza were falling short of Israel and landing inside the Strip, with deadly consequences for Gazans.

“We are in a war; even if a thousand are killed by friendly fire, that’s the price of war,” Akram al-Ajouri is quoted as saying in the document, parts of which were first published by the Kan public broadcaster this morning.

Days after the Hamas onslaught sparked the current war, a misfired Gazan rocket that Israel said was launched by Islamic Jihad landed in Gaza City’s al-Ahli Baptists’ Hospital, killing hundreds, with Hamas and many major news outlets initially placing the blame on Israel.

In a post on X, Israel’s Foreign Ministry shares the quote from Ajouri as published by Kan, and writes: “Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders acknowledged their rockets were falling inside Gaza and killing civilians. They chose to keep firing.”

“These are their values. A terrorist organization that kills its own civilians,” says the ministry.

According to Kan, the memo is a report by a senior Hamas official, code-named Ahmed, on a meeting he had with Ajouri in Beirut. The Times of Israel could not independently verify the document.

The first page of the text published by Kan indicates the meeting took place on August 28, 2022, though it’s unclear if this heading applies also to the section of the text that contains the quote from Ajouri.

The war Ajouri refers to appears to be Israel’s 2022 Operation Breaking Dawn, which was fought against Islamic Jihad for 66 hours from August 5 to August 7, when Hamas reportedly pressured its ally to reach a ceasefire. The first page of the memo alludes to Israel’s then-recent assassination of Tayseer al-Jabari, a top commander in Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, the al-Quds Brigades, who was killed at the start of the operation.

The first page published by Kan also refers to Islamic Jihad official Jihad Ghannam as having taken up a new post. Ghannam was killed in an Israeli strike on May 9, 2023, at the start of Israel’s Operation Shield and Arrow, which lasted for five days.

High-profile journalist Douglas Murray joins New York’s Yeshiva University

Douglas Murray, author and journalist speaks at the ARC (Alliance for Responsible Citizenship) conference in London, February 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Douglas Murray, a prominent, pro-Israel journalist, joins New York City’s Yeshiva University, the university says in a statement.

Murray, who is British, is a regular commentator on Israel in international media, and his joining the university is a high-profile acquisition for the school.

Murray is appointed as Yeshiva University’s inaugural President’s Professor of Practice. The university says the position “recognizes leaders who have shaped public discourse and invites them to contribute that perspective to university life.”

Murray will deliver lectures in an honors course on poetry called “The Values of Verse: Sacred and Secular Perspectives.”

“Great poetry is not an ornament of civilization,” Murray says in a statement. “It is one of the ways civilizations think, remember and endure.”

“I’m honored to join Yeshiva University in a setting where those questions are taken seriously and explored with intellectual rigor,” says Murray, who is not Jewish.

Yeshiva University, in Manhattan, is a flagship institution in the US Orthodox community.

The university has previously honored other non-Jewish pro-Israel figures, such as Sen. John Fetterman and Rep. Elise Stefanik.

Riyadh says it will not permit attacks on Iran from Saudi territory

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman tells Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during a call today that the Gulf monarchy will not allow attacks on Iran to be launched from its soil.

The Saudi prince “affirmed during the call the kingdom’s position on respecting the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and that the Kingdom will not allow its airspace or its territory to be used for any military actions against” Iran, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry says in a statement.