Jan. 29: New Zealand declines invitation to join Trump’s Board of Peace

Iranian Mossad agent details his role in internal attacks on regime during 12-day war

An Iranian Mossad agent, who says he was on the ground in Iran carrying out preemptive attacks as Israel launched strikes to destroy Iranian nuclear sites in June last year, describes his actions in an interview with Channel 12’s investigative show “Uvda.”

The interview with the man, whose identity was kept secret, aired this evening.

The agent says that a wave of rocket and drone attacks, launched from within Iran, destroyed key air defense systems, ballistic missile launchers and targeted senior Iranian military figures, as well as nuclear scientists in the early hours of June 13, 2025, as Israeli warplanes were being sent to strike Iran.

"התקשרתי למפקדה ודיווחתי: 'עשינו את העבודה'": אראש, כך הוא מכונה כדי לשמור על זהותו – עשה משהו שלא נעשה מעולם. סוכן איראני בשירות המוסד שהתיישב מול מצלמות "עובדה" וסיפר לאילנה דיין על מה שעשה על אדמת איראן, בלילה ההוא ביוני: pic.twitter.com/usB0UgTNeP

— עובדה (@Uvda_tweet) January 29, 2026

The agent, identified in the show by the alias “Arash,” says that he first became uncomfortable with the Iranian regime when he started school and was indoctrinated with hatred for Israel and the US. While he was studying at university, he says his 17-year-old sister was arrested and beaten for not wearing a hijab. His father paid for her release, but the incident was enough to make the family leave Iran.

The incident left Arash with a deep desire to act against the regime in Iran and help his friends who were still there, he says. In 2015, he began working for the Mossad and received training abroad, he says, including in Israel.

Ahead of Israel’s June 2025 campaign against Iran, Arash says he was sent by the Mossad to Iran, where he was the leader of one of the teams that carried out the internal attacks. They carried out their mission before being pulled out and brought to Israel, he recounts.

“Our mission was to take a special and specific weapon and to assemble everything together and be ready to launch it,” he says. “I was Mossad eyes inside this mission.”

Suspect in Chabad headquarters ramming charged with hate crimes

A driver, seen on the right after being arrested, rams his car into an entrance to the Chabad movement's world headquarters, in New York City, January 28, 2026. (Social media, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

The suspect who allegedly rammed a vehicle into Chabad’s world headquarters in New York City last night is charged with hate crimes.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny says at a briefing that the suspect is Dan Sohail, 36, from Carteret, New Jersey.

Carteret allegedly smashed his Honda Accord into an entrance of the synagogue five times.

He is charged with attempted assault, reckless endangerment, criminal mischief, and aggravated harassment. All the charges are being filed as hate crimes.

Sohail had previous contacts with Chabad, attending a “social gathering” at the same location around 10 days ago, Kenny says.

“We believe that he was in Brooklyn last night to continue his attempt to connect with the Lubavitch Jewish community,” he says.

Security camera footage showed the suspect parking a few blocks away from the scene of the incident, walking to the synagogue entrance, removing bollards from the sidewalk, and returning to his car. He drove to the synagogue, exited his car again, removed snow from the driveway, then smashed into the entrance, Kenny says.

Sohail said at the scene that “his foot slipped” and, in an interrogation, said he lost control of his vehicle because he was “wearing clunky boots,” Kenny says.

The incidents are being treated as hate crimes because “he attacked a Jewish institution,” Kenny says.

“This is a synagogue. It’s clearly marked as a synagogue, he knew it was a synagogue because he attended there previously,” he says.

There are no known threats to houses of worship, but police have increased protection of religious sites around the city out of caution.

New Zealand declines invitation to join Trump’s Board of Peace

New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks to the media at Government House in Wellington on June 13, 2024. (Marty MELVILLE / AFP)

New Zealand has decided against accepting US President Donald Trump’s invitation to join his Board of Peace, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says.

Trump launched his Board of Peace last week, initially designed to cement Gaza’s rocky ceasefire, but which he foresees playing a wider role that concerns other global powers.

Luxon says in an email statement that the decision has been made not to join the Board of Peace in “its current form.”

New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Winston Peters adds in a post on X that a number of states, particularly from the region, have stepped up to contribute to the Board’s role on Gaza, and “New Zealand would not add significant further value to that.”

Peters post adds that as a “leading founder and longstanding supporter” of the United Nations, it is important that the Board’s work is complementary to and consistent with the UN Charter.

“It is a new body, and we need clarity on this, and on other questions relating to its scope, now and in the future,” Peters says.

IDF says it killed terror operative in Gaza who crossed ceasefire line

A Palestinian terror operative who crossed the Gaza ceasefire line in the Strip’s south earlier today was killed by troops, the military says.

According to the IDF, the operative crossed the Yellow Line and approached troops of the 7th Armored Brigade “in a manner that posed an immediate threat.”

The troops then opened fire and “eliminated the terrorist to remove the threat,” the IDF says.

Since the start of the ceasefire in October 2025, the IDF has said it has killed dozens of terror operatives and other “suspects” who have crossed the Yellow Line — demarcating the military’s withdrawal in the Strip — and approached troops. Such incidents have taken place on a near-daily basis.

‘Pain is still raw’: Relatives of Bondi Beach victims visit Israel, meet chief rabbi

Rabbi Yoram Ulman (center), head of the Sydney rabbinical court and director of Chabad Bondi, and community member David Meir, meet with Israel's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber (right) in January 2026. (Chief Rabbinate)

Rabbi Yoram Ulman, the head of the Sydney rabbinical court and director of Chabad Bondi, visited Israel and met with Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Kalman Ber earlier this week, a spokesperson for the Chief Rabbinate says in a statement, six weeks after a terror attack killed 15 people at a Hanukkah event organized by the center on the famous Australian beach.

Ulman, who lost his son-in-law, Rabbi Eli Schlanger, was accompanied by another member of the Sydney Jewish community, David Meir, who also lost loved ones in the massacre.

“The pain is still raw, and coping with it is a daily struggle, but the embrace we received from Jewish communities in Israel and around the world strengthened and continues to strengthen us during these difficult moments,” the pair told Ber in his office in Jerusalem.

“Alongside the terrible pain over the immense loss, it is important to remember and take heart in the fact that the spirit of our people remains strong,” Ber said. “They did not defeat us and will not defeat us — not in Israel and not anywhere in the world.”

CCTV footage shows soldiers accompanying settlers who reportedly stole livestock from Palestinians

Security camera footage from Tuesday night published by left-wing Israeli activists shows soldiers accompanying settlers who reportedly stole 150 head of livestock from the Palestinian hamlet of Khirbet al-Halawa, in the enclave of Masafer Yatta in the southern West Bank.

The footage shows settlers walking some of the livestock, followed by at least six armed soldiers in uniform. The soldiers are not wearing tactical vests or helmets, as troops typically do when operating in the West Bank.

Settlers and soldiers steal a flock of sheep from the village of Halawe: during the brutal assault the day before yesterday on the villages of Masafer Yatta, the militias were recorded by security cameras stealing the sheep. . pic.twitter.com/xUyJh0dueD

— מחוץ לעדר/ kivsa shchora (@masafering) January 29, 2026

Two Palestinian women can be seen following the soldiers. According to the Israeli activists, the women are from the families whose livestock was stolen. The activists claim that the women were detained by Israel for a day, bound, blindfolded and denied food.

In a statement earlier today, the IDF claimed that troops came to Khirbet al-Halawa after being alerted to the theft of livestock from a Jewish shepherd by Palestinians. The statement added that a Palestinian woman was arrested for allegedly assaulting an officer.

A screenshot of the statement, shared by Channel 13 legal correspondent Yossi Eli, shows the IDF adding off-the-record that it was investigating claims that soldiers stood idly by while sheep were being stolen.

The off-the-record section does not specify who the sheep were thought to have been stolen by, but the rest of the statement indicates that soldiers did in fact respond to the alleged theft of livestock by Palestinians.

The IDF does not respond to a request for comment on the new footage, including on why troops were not in full combat gear while operating in the West Bank, and why the army claimed publicly that livestock was stolen by Palestinians but alluded only off the record to the possibility that livestock was stolen by settlers.

Iran army spokesman says it will respond ‘instantly’ in case of any attack

Iran will deliver an immediate response in case of an attack by the United States, the army spokesman says, warning that US military bases in the region or an aircraft carrier could be targets.

“A decisive response will be delivered instantly,” army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia tells state television after the USS Abraham Lincoln deployed in the region, saying that US aircraft carriers have “serious vulnerabilities” and that numerous American bases are “within the range of our medium-range missiles.”

“If such a miscalculation is made by the Americans, it will certainly not unfold the way [US President Donald] Trump imagines — carrying out a quick operation and then, two hours later, tweeting that the operation is over,” he warns.

Israeli official: EU listing of IRGC as terrorist org makes it easier to build cases against members

An Iranian worshipper holds up a banner containing the Revolutionary Guard emblem as the others chant slogans during Friday prayers ceremony at Tehran University campus in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. (AP/Vahid Salemi)

The European Union designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization “gives the EU practical, operational tools to act more forcefully,” says an Israeli official.

The IRGC and individuals within the organization are already under heavy EU human rights, WMD, and drone sanctions.

“There is first of all a dimension of support for the protesters who took to the streets,” notes the official in a briefing to Israeli reporters.

Beyond the demonstration of support, the listing will make it easier to build the legal case to take action against IRGC members.

To take legal action, the state must present an evidence-based case to the court, in which it is difficult to use many forms of classified intelligence. Following the designation, the burden on the state is not to prove that an individual is involved in a specific terror plot, but only that he belongs to or is operating on behalf of the IRGC. The same applies to assets that the state can freeze.

“The linkage between law-enforcement bodies within Europe — sharing information and cooperating through Europol — will be easier,” notes the official, “and it will also be easier for the EU, which coordinates ties between police forces, to turn this into an official, clear mission with goals and targets.”

The official also argues that the IRGC’s use of European criminal networks for terror attacks will be much harder to do once the gangs “realize that all the eyes of European law-enforcement bodies are on them.”

Private companies will likely take extra care to distance themselves from any activity connected to the IRGC in order to protect themselves.

Germany led the effort within the EU to convince Italy, France, Spain and Portugal to agree to back the move, the official says, adding that there were many other European states that joined in as well.

“We tailored our messages,” says the official of the yearslong Israeli effort to get all 27 EU states to agree. “The IRGC portfolio allowed us to speak about wide-ranging terror activity across many fields: terror within European states, arms transfers to the front in Ukraine, proxy activity, and human rights violations. Through our missions, we tailored the message to what most resonated in each country, and we can point to concrete shifts.”

“That doesn’t mean everything happened because Israel acted,” the official continues. “It means there was willingness, and we served that willingness with the right messages — that’s what we tried to do.”

A January 14 phone call between Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and his French counterpart, Jean-Noel Barrot, was a key element in convincing Paris to change its mind, says the official.

There was also a seminar on the IRGC hosted by the US in Budapest last week that many countries attended.

Hegseth: US military ‘prepared to deliver’ on Trump’s threats against Iran

US President Donald Trump looks on as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (R) speaks during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, January 29, 2026. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the US military will be prepared to carry out whatever US President Donald Trump decides on Iran to ensure Tehran does not pursue nuclear weapons capability.

With a large US military force gathered in the region, Hegseth is asked by Trump at a cabinet meeting to comment on the situation.

“They should not pursue nuclear capabilities. We will be prepared to deliver whatever this president expects of the War Department,” Hegseth says, referring to the Trump administration’s unofficial renaming of the Defense Department.

US officials say Trump is reviewing his options but has not decided whether to strike Iran.

US-Iranian tensions soared following a bloody crackdown on protests across Iran by its clerical authorities in recent weeks.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene if Iran continued to kill protesters, but the countrywide demonstrations over economic privations and political repression have since abated. He has said the United States would act if Tehran resumed its nuclear program after the June airstrikes by Israeli and US forces on key nuclear installations.

Israelis illegally smuggling goods into Gaza reportedly spikes in recent months

Palestinian commercial trucks are seen parked in an area in Deir al-Balah near the Kissufim crossing in the Gaza Strip as they wait for permission to receive a cargo of goods for sale in the enclave, January 27, 2026. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

There is a growing phenomenon of Israelis smuggling goods into Gaza in recent months, Channel 12 news reports, showing footage in which an Israeli shows the outlet where he hid cartons of cigarettes in rubble for Gazans living near the border to pick up.

Much of the smuggled goods comes on aid trucks, according to the report, which shows additional footage of hidden compartments in aid trucks holding cigarettes, iPhones and even electric bikes. The goods end up contributing to Hamas coffers in Gaza, says Channel 12.

The Gazans involved in the smuggling transfer money to West Bank associates, who then send it abroad before it is moved to money transfer agents in Israel. One of the Israeli smugglers was found with NIS 700,000 in cash.

Attempts to smuggle contraband into Gaza using aid trucks are expected to rise, security officials said this morning, noting that Israel had so far mainly foiled attempts to bring in cigarettes and other tobacco products, as well as some prohibited agricultural products.

There has been no known attempt to smuggle weapons into Gaza using the aid trucks, according to Israeli security officials.

Netanyahu holds security consultation; Israel said to expect Iran attack even if US strike is limited

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on January 4, 2026. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding a security consultation in Jerusalem with top advisers and defense officials on a “classified topic,” the office of one of the attendees tells The Times of Israel.

According to Channel 12, the discussion is focusing on Iran and the possibility of a US strike.

Israeli officials do not believe that a limited strike will bring down the regime, and that US President Donald Trump shares their assessment, according to the outlet. Therefore, they assess that Trump will focus a potential attack on physical assets, especially the nuclear and missile programs.

Even in the case of a limited strike, the channel reports, Israel believes that there will be a significant Iranian attack on Israel, to which Jerusalem will respond in force.

Israel also has identified massive pressure from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and Oman on the White House to allow them to mediate between Washington and Tehran to find a diplomatic solution, says Channel 12.

A directive from Trump on a potential strike on Iran is expected in the coming days, once all of the US military assets heading to the region are in place, a senior US official tells Channel 12.

Iranian security forces rounding up thousands in mass arrest campaign, say sources

Plainclothes Iranian security forces have rounded up thousands of people in a campaign of mass arrests and intimidation to deter further protests after crushing the bloodiest unrest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, sources tell Reuters.

Within days of stifling the protests, plainclothes security forces launched a campaign of widespread arrests accompanied by an intensified street presence based around checkpoints, according to five activists who spoke on condition of anonymity from inside Iran.

They say detainees have been placed in secret lockups.

“They are arresting everyone,” one of the activists says. “No one knows where they are being taken or where they are being held. With these arrests and threats, they are trying to inject fear into society.”

Similar accounts are given to Reuters by lawyers, medics, witnesses and two Iranian officials speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid retribution by security services.

They say the roundups appear aimed at preventing any serious revival of protests by spreading fear just as the clerical establishment faces rising external pressure.

Freed hostage Sasha Troufanov reveals sexual harassment during Gaza captivity

Freed hostage Sasha Troufanov, left, with his girlfriend Sapir Cohen in an Israeli Air Force helicopter on the way from the Gaza border area to Sheba-Tel Hashomer Medical Center near Tel Aviv, soon after his release from 498 days in captivity in Gaza, February 15, 2025. (IDF)

Freed Israeli hostage Sasha Troufanov reveals that he was sexually harassed while being held captive in Gaza.

In an interview with the BBC, Troufanov — who was released in February 2025 after almost 500 days in captivity — says that during a six-week period that he was held above ground, a guard tried to encourage him to do a sexual act on himself.

Troufanov also tells the British TV network that during his weekly allowed shower, he noticed a hidden camera.

“I noticed it and I took the shower trying to avoid my private parts toward this angle, but I had to do it because I needed to shower,” he says.

Then he was taken underground into the tunnel network, where he says it was dark and damp, and he was largely alone for many months.

“I remember feeling that I am buried underneath the ground while I am still alive. I was losing it. I was having a hard time to find hope in this place,” he says. “Many times I lost hope completely. I said to myself: ‘This is the last place you will see alive.'”

With the return of the final hostage body this week, Troufanov says that rebuilding Gaza is “understandable,” but the people there must be stopped from attacking Israel again: “The terrorists were telling me: ‘We will do this again and again.'”

Now, Troufanov, almost a year after finally achieving freedom, is set to dance in a few weeks at his wedding to Sapir Cohen, who was also taken captive on October 7 and freed after 50 days.

Iranian vice president says country must ‘be prepared for state of war’

Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref speaks during the third Caspian Economic Forum in Tehran on February 18, 2025. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Iran must be ready for war, its first vice president says, after the US moved an aircraft carrier to the region and did not rule out military action against Tehran over its deadly protest crackdown.

“Today we must be prepared for a state of war. Our strategy is that we will never start a war, but if it is imposed, we will defend ourselves,” First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref says, quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

He adds that Iran is “ready” for negotiations with the United States but says “this time we want guarantees,” without giving further details.

Suspect in Gaza smuggling investigation is relative of Shin Bet chief, court reveals

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)

The Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court clears for publication the fact that one suspect in an ongoing investigation into smuggling goods into Gaza is a close relative of Shin Bet chief David Zini.

The court says in a statement that the “wide-ranging security incident” is being investigated, including allegations that “multiple suspects transferred goods from Israel to Gaza in exchange for money.”

While one of the suspects is a relative of Zini, the court stresses that “the Shin Bet chief has no involvement whatsoever in the suspected acts.”

However, due to the family connection, “the investigation of the suspect is being conducted by the Israel Police rather than by the Shin Bet.”

Earlier this week, Haaretz reported that the probe implicates soldiers, civilians and security agencies as being involved in a widespread smuggling ring.

Trump claims ‘it looks like’ Hamas will disarm; Witkoff: They’ll give up their AK-47s

US President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP/Evan Vucci)

US President Donald Trump says that “it looks like” Hamas is “going to disarm.”

He doesn’t provide any proof for the claim made during a cabinet meeting, and Hamas officials, as recently as several hours ago, had insisted that wasn’t the case.

Chiming in, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff also insists that Hamas will demilitarize. “They will because they have no choice. They’re going to give up their AK-47s.”

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said yesterday that Hamas will also be urged to cede its weapons via an international buy-back program, providing new details regarding the program Washington plans to advance to disarm the terror group.

Waltz’s 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 and amnesty 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, Arab diplomats have told The Times of Israel. 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.

Trump, during the cabinet meeting again, touts the assistance Hamas provided in locating the bodies of the last deceased hostages still held in Gaza — help that Israel has yet to confirm.

“Hamas was a big factor in getting all of the hostages back. They found the dead hostages,” Trump says. “Between Israel and Hamas working together, they got them back.”

Iran’s military says EU designation is ‘irresponsible and spite-driven’

Iran’s military blasts a European Union move to designate the country’s Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organization, saying the decision is “irresponsible and spite-driven.”

“The illogical, irresponsible and spite-driven action of the European Union has undoubtedly been taken in unquestioning obedience to the hegemonic and anti-human policies of the United States and the Zionist regime,” a statement from the General Staff of the Armed Forces carried by the official IRNA news agency says.

IDF says airstrike in central Gaza targeted Hamas operative planning attack on troops

The IDF confirms carrying out an airstrike in the Maghazi camp area of central Gaza, saying it targeted a Hamas operative who planned to attack troops stationed in the Strip’s south.

The strike took place on the Hamas side of the ceasefire line, and according to Palestinian media, it killed at least two people.

According to the military, the operative was planning an imminent attack against troops in southern Gaza.

“The terrorist posed an immediate threat to IDF troops and was therefore targeted in a precise strike to remove the threat,” the army says.

The IDF says it took steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strike, including by using a precision munition, aerial surveillance and other intelligence.

Bismuth punishes opposition MKs who breached his office

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

Following yesterday’s incident in which several Yesh Atid lawmakers entered the staff area outside the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Boaz Bismuth’s office, the Likud lawmaker announces that he is removing two of the opposition faction’s MKs from their roles heading subcommittees.

“Following the severe breach last night of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s classified compound, I have directed the removal of MK Moshe Tur-Paz from his position as chair of the Subcommittee on Foreign Policy and Public Diplomacy, and the removal of MK Ram Ben-Barak from his membership on the Subcommittee on Intelligence,” tweets Bismuth, adding that his committee is “the ‘holy of holies’ of Israel’s national security, not a playground for provocations.”

Last night, Yesh Atid MKs, including Tur-Paz and Elazar Stern, entered Bismuth’s bureau adjacent to the committee chamber, apparently interrupting talks with representatives of the ultra-Orthodox parties regarding the coalition’s controversial bill to exempt yeshiva students from military conscription.

Video from the scene showed the MKs arguing with Degel HaTorah MK Uri Maklev outside of Bismuth’s private office, with Tur-Paz picking up and photographing a document from a desk. The paper in question, a photo of which was shared with The Times of Israel, appeared to be a list of committee members.

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

Bismuth reacted harshly, accusing the opposition lawmakers of crossing a “red line” and declaring that he would report them to the Knesset Ethics Committee. In a statement, Likud also slammed Yesh Atid, characterizing the MKs’ actions as a “violent outburst.”

Asked about Bismuth’s decision to remove him from his position as chairman of the subcommittee, Tur-Paz accuses the Likud politician of promoting draft evasion and attempting to “create ‘spins’ to distract the public.”

“Having been appointed as committee chair specifically to authorize draft evasion, he has lost the right to speak about leading by example,” Tur-Paz tells The Times of Israel. “While the IDF chief of staff warns of a shortage of combat soldiers, the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee under his management has turned into a puppet theater.”

EU’s Kallas on Trump’s Iran threats: ‘Region doesn’t need new war’

EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas talks to journalists upon arrival for a EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on January 29, 2026. (SIMON WOHLFAHRT / AFP)

The EU’s top diplomat warns the United States against starting a new Middle East war, as US President Donald Trump threatens potential strikes on Iran.

“When it comes to attacks, then I think the region does not need a new war,” foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says, responding to a question from a reporter.

Iran slams EU terror designation of IRGC as a ‘major strategic mistake’

Tehran’s top diplomat slams the European Union’s decision to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a “terrorist organization” as a “major strategic mistake.”

“Several countries are presently attempting to avert the eruption of all-out war in our region. Europe is instead busy fanning the flames,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says in a post on X, as Iran faces off with the United States, which has moved a strike force to the Middle East.

“After pursuing ‘snapback’ at the behest of the US, it is now making another major strategic mistake by designating our National Military as a supposed ‘terrorist organization,'” he adds, referring to the return of UN sanctions on Iran triggered by key European powers last year.

NYC Council announces new bipartisan antisemitism task force

The New York City Council, the city’s legislative body, is launching a new Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, a Jewish council member says.

Inna Vernikov, a Republican representing part of south Brooklyn, says she will lead the council alongside Eric Dinowitz, a Democrat from the Bronx.

“With the unprecedented rise in antisemitism in our city, whether it be in public schools, on the streets, or at institutions of higher learning, Jew hatred has become a full blown crisis,” Vernikov says in a statement.

“We will focus on holding to account any entities who embolden antisemitism or allow it to fester. We will seek justice for Jewish New Yorkers at a time when Jewish civil rights are being trampled on and when Jewish New Yorkers are concerned for their future in our city,” Vernikov says.

She adds that City Council Speaker Julie Menin created the task force. Menin is expected to formally announce the group later today.

Menin, the council’s first Jewish speaker, has announced a five-point plan for combating antisemitism in the city that did not include an outline for a task force.

Jews are targeted in hate crimes more than all other groups combined in the city.

It’s unclear how the new task force will interact with the mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been interviewing candidates to lead the office, but has not appointed anyone since taking office a month ago, although the office has continued to function.

US sends additional warship to Middle East amid Iran tensions

This handout image from the US Navy shows Capt. Daniel Keeler, the commanding officer of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, as he prepares to fly an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter in the Indian Ocean on Jan. 23, 2026. (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Daniel Kimmelman/US Navy via AP)

The US Navy has sent an additional warship to the Middle East, a US official tells Reuters, amid a large military buildup in the region and soaring tensions.

The official, who was speaking on the condition of anonymity, says the USS Delbert D. Black has entered the region in the past 48 hours. This brings the number of destroyers in the Middle East to six, along with an aircraft carrier and three other littoral combat ships. The additional warship in the region was first reported by CBS News.

Arkia says it could be forced to reroute Thailand flight if Somalia blocks airspace

An Arkia plane takes off at the Ben Gurion Airport, outside of Tel Aviv, August 14, 2025. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

Israeli airline Arkia says it has not received a renewal of its permit to fly over Somalia airspace, which runs out at the end of January, and it could therefore be forced to change its flight route to Thailand.

“As part of international aviation procedures, airlines submit periodic requests for air transit permits on various routes,” Arkia says in a statement. “As of now, Arkia has not yet received the renewal of the periodic permit for air transit over Somalia for February.”

“If approval is not received by the beginning of February, the company will operate flights on an alternative route, without any change to flight times and without harming passengers,” the carrier says.

The move comes amid fierce opposition and large protests across Somalia against Israel’s recent recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland.

Arkia says that the issue is being handled by Israeli authorities, including the Civil Aviation Authority and the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

According to the Ynet news site, El Al’s permit renewal is not until March.

Israeli drone strike reported in central Gaza

Palestinian media reports at least two dead and several wounded in an Israeli drone strike in central Gaza’s Maghazi camp.

The IDF has not yet commented on the reports.

Iran’s IRGC to carry out live-fire exercises in Strait of Hormuz, Press TV reports

In this image provided by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard via Tasnim News Agency on August 20, 2023, a machine gun's muzzle of a Revolutionary Guard speedboat is seen as the boat moves near USS Bataan at the Strait of Hormuz, in the mouth of the Persian Gulf. (Iranian Revolutionary Guard/Tasnim News Agency via AP)

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard naval forces will carry out live-fire exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on February 1 and February 2, Press TV reports.

The strait is the world’s most vital oil export route, which connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

Netanyahu’s next White House trip tentatively scheduled for February 18-22

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara pose for a photo before departing Ben Gurion Airport to New York early on September 25, 2025. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington in February is currently scheduled for February 18-22, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

Netanyahu is expected to meet US President Donald Trump for the 7th time in his second term in the White House, and to speak at the AIPAC conference in Washington.

Netanyahu will be in the US capital over Shabbat if the dates do not change.

Sa’ar welcomes EU’s ‘historic decision’ to label Iran’s Revolutionary Guards a terror group

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas (L) listens to Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar during a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem on March 24, 2025. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar welcomes the European Union’s “historic decision” to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization.

“This is an important and historic decision. For years Israel has worked toward this outcome, and in recent weeks with even greater intensity,” Sa’ar writes in a Hebrew-language post on X.

He calls the IRGC “the number one force behind the spread of terror and the destabilization of the region,” saying the move will thwart these activities in Europe and send “an important message to the men and women of the Iranian people who are fighting for their freedom.”

Red Cross hands over 15 Palestinian bodies held by Israel after Ran Gvili found

The International Committee of the Red Cross gives the bodies of 15 Palestinians. held by Israel to the Gaza Health Ministry, after Israel recovered the body of Ran Gvili, the last hostage held in Gaza, earlier this week.

The handover took place at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, The Times of Israel has learned.

The ratio of Palestinian bodies handed over for every hostage body returned during the Gaza ceasefire has been 15:1.

Israel moved ahead with the handover even though Hamas did not locate or hand over Gvili’s body. The IDF found his remains earlier this week during an operation in a cemetery in Gaza City.

“This marked the completion of a months-long operation that led to family reunifications and supported the implementation of the ceasefire agreement,” says the ICRC in a statement. “The operation began in October, with the release and return of 20 living hostages and 1,808 Palestinian detainees.”

The ICRC notes that it continued to facilitate the return of bodies, including 27 of the 28 slain hostages and 360 dead Palestinians.

“Since October 2023, the ICRC has helped facilitate the return of 195 hostages, including 35 who were deceased, and 3,472 Palestinian detainees,” adds the ICRC.

“We feel relieved to have helped reunite families with their loved ones. For families whose loved ones did not return alive, we hope they can now grieve fully,” says Julien Lerisson, head of the ICRC delegation in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

“The opening of the Rafah crossing plays a significant role in addressing the urgent needs of the population,” Lerisson continues. “The ability to bring in larger quantities of specialized equipment — essential for reconstruction work and for locating and identifying remains in a dignified manner — is crucial in this regard.”

Rafah is expected to be reopened next week for pedestrians, after Israel confirmed earlier this week that it had agreed to do so.

EU confirms it will designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as terrorist organization

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, right, arrives at a graduation ceremony of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers, May 20, 2015. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

European Union foreign ministers have agreed to add Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the bloc’s list of terrorist organizations, European Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas writes on social media platform X.

“EU Foreign Ministers just took the decisive step of designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise,” Kallas says.

Kan begins process of selecting Eurovision song from around 200 submissions

Noam Bettan, Israel's 2026 Eurovision contestant, poses for a photo in Neve Ilan, near Jerusalem, January 21, 2026. (Yael Abas Guisky/Flash90)

The Kan public broadcaster says it has received around 200 song submissions for the upcoming Eurovision, and will now work to select one for Noam Bettan to sing at the competition in Vienna in May.

The professional committee assembled by Kan is meeting for the first time today to begin narrowing down the song selection, Kan says.

For the first time, the committee will be hearing the songs either with an AI generated voice or an anonymous performer to assure a fair process, says the public broadcaster. Many songwriters in Israel were angry after a song by Keren Peles — also a judge on the TV show that selects Israel’s Eurovision contestant — was selected both in 2024 and 2025. Kan barred Peles from submitting a song this year.

The song Bettan will perform at this year’s song contest will be unveiled by Kan in March.

Bettan, a 27-year-old from Ra’anana, was chosen as Israel’s Eurovision contestant last week after winning the singing competition show “Hakochav Haba” (Rising Star).

EU sanctions target Iran’s interior minister, prosecutor general over protest crackdown

The EU imposes sanctions on Iran’s interior minister, prosecutor general and regional Revolutionary Guard commanders over a deadly crackdown on mass protests.

The 27-nation bloc in total adds 15 officials and six entities to its asset freeze and visa ban blacklist, according to the EU’s official journal.

The adoption of the sanctions comes as EU foreign ministers are expected separately to agree to add Iran’s Revolutionary Guards to the bloc’s list of “terrorist” organizations.

Former senior police officer Yoram Halevi to become COGAT head next week

Incoming COGAT chief Maj. Gen. Yoram Halevi speaks during a ceremony after being promoted to major general, at the IDF HQ in Tel Aviv, January 29, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

Retired senior police officer Yoram Halevi is promoted to the rank of major general ahead of entering the role of chief of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Israel’s liaison body to the Palestinians.

A ceremony is held at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, attended by Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Halevi’s family.

On Wednesday next week, Halevi will replace Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, who has served in the role for nearly five years.

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

It is unprecedented for a former senior police officer to be given a top role in the IDF.

“After 39 years of service, today I am once again putting on a uniform and joining the IDF General Staff Forum with deep humility. In recent months, I have studied the units of COGAT, the missions, and the sensitivities of the role,” Halevi says at the ceremony.

“At a time like this, with major challenges on all fronts, and with new mechanisms that are taking shape, the weight and importance of the unit are only growing. Alongside the complexities, there are also significant opportunities, and we must act to meet them with determination, responsibility, and professionalism,” he says.

COGAT is a Defense Ministry unit that oversees and coordinates humanitarian and civilian matters in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and, more recently, also in areas of southern Syria under IDF control. The unit’s commander is an IDF general who is a member of the military’s General Staff Forum.

Culture minister continues campaign to recalibrate Israeli film industry

Culture Minister Miki Zohar speaks at the Knesset in Jerusalem on November 26, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Culture and Sport Ministry launches a campaign saying it aims to strengthen and promote a new version of Israeli cinema.

In the campaign, called “Israeli Cinema, An Israeli Story,” a video released by the ministry starring actor Golan Azulay (“Shababnikim”) emphasizes so-called bourekas comic drama films popular in the 1960s and 1970s and other uncontroversial, nonpolitical films.

The campaign is part of Culture Minister Miki Zohar’s ongoing efforts to halt the perceived left-leaning slant of Israel’s film industry, including by slashing government funds and canceling awards ceremonies.

“Israeli cinema is an inseparable part of our identity,” says Zohar in a statement. “The reform I am leading in the film industry brings cinema back to the people and brings Israeli audiences back to theaters. The reform opens the door to new creators and refreshing work, and encourages Israeli films that succeed both artistically and with broad audiences. Cinema is returning to the people.”

Visiting north, Herzog says Israel has ‘moral obligation’ to tackle crime in Arab society

President Isaac Herzog (third from left) visits a supermarket owned by Ali Zbedat, who helped spark a general strike in Arab society against violent crime, during a visit to Sakhnin alongside the northern city's mayor, Mazen Ghnaim (on his left), January 29, 2026. (Courtesy)

President Isaac Herzog meets with Arab mayors and bereaved families of homicide victims in northern Israel.

His office says he spoke with more than a dozen Arab mayors in Sakhnin, a city from which a wave of anti-crime protests has emerged in recent days.

The president also visits Ali Zbedat, the owner of a supermarket chain in the city who sparked a general strike in Arab society after going public about having been threatened by criminal organizations. Zbedat shuttered his franchise until further notice after revealing the attempts to extort him, and other businessmen in the city soon followed suit, which morphed into a general strike in Arab cities and towns nationwide.

Herzog also meets with Qasem Awad, the father of slain pediatrician Abdallah Awad, who was gunned down at the start of last year while filling in for a fellow doctor at a clinic in Kafr Yasif. The head of state expresses his condolences to Awad and his family, calling his son’s killing a “criminal and incomprehensible act.”

“The fight against crime and violence in Arab society must be at the very top of the national priorities and be addressed with the utmost determination,” Herzog says. “This is a national mission and a moral obligation. We must erase this stain from the face of Israeli society.”

Speaking to Herzog, the bereaved father says that the government has a “basic obligation” to protect its Arab citizens.

“Do not push us into the backyard. We are law-abiding citizens, people who want to live in peace, with dignity and security,” he says. “If the government decides that the fight against crime is a top priority, it will also know how to do it.”

Last year was the deadliest year for Israel’s Arab minority, with 252 people killed in crime-related incidents. The homicide rate doubled in 2023, coinciding with the start of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s tenure, and has continued to rise apace since.

Cornerstone laid for new industrial park in Sderot amid push for growth in Gaza border region

Officials lay cornerstone for a new industrial park in Sderot on January 29, 2026 (Courtesy Tekuma Directorate)

Ministers, senior officials and dignitaries lay the cornerstone for a new industrial park in the southern city of Sderot that is expected to provide some 5,000 jobs and become one of the region’s main employment and growth centers.

Covering around 628 dunams (155 acres), Sapir B will combine industry, logistics and knowledge-intensive industries, reflecting the principles of advanced development, transportation accessibility and a green environment, according to the Tekuma Directorate, tasked with rehabilitating the Gaza border region following the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and massacre.

The directorate is investing NIS 70 million ($22.7 million) alongside NIS 230 million ($74.6 million) from the Economy Ministry.

Aharon Barak’s daughter gives evidence to police after right-wing agitator blocked their car, harassed them

Far-right activist Mordechai David and other agitators block the vehicle of former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak, outside an event in Tel Aviv held by the Movement for Quality Government, January 28, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The daughter of former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak gives evidence to the police after right-wing agitator Mordechai David and others blocked their car from leaving a conference he spoke at last night and harassed the ex-judge.

David, who has been lauded by cabinet ministers and coalition politicians in the past, called 89-year old Barak “a nothing,” a “dictator” and a “criminal” as Barak and his daughter left the event, and uploaded the incident to his Instagram account.

Barak, a Holocaust survivor, is internationally respected and is seen as Israel’s preeminent jurist. Within Israel, he long has been seen by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other right-wing leaders as a leftist “activist” who is to blame for many of the problems with the judicial system that the government’s controversial judicial overhaul aims to rectify.

Late last night, the Movement for Quality Government in Israel, the organizer of the conference where Barak delivered an address, filed a police complaint for disturbing public order, harassment, and blocking traffic.

David, who was convicted of attempted arson in 2021, regularly blocks the cars of politicians, journalists and other figures he disagrees with, and harasses them.

He has been hosted by Justice Minister Yariv Levin and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has authority over the police, and praised by other coalition politicians.

Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman lauded David for his actions, accusing government critics of hypocrisy for not condemning harassment of coalition figures and right-wing groups, stating on X: “Thank you to the wonderful Mordechai David for peeling back your hypocrisy. Simply wonderful.”

The head of the Movement for Quality Government Eliad Shraga calls David “the long arm of the government,” adding “he is friends with Levin, Ben Gvir, gets invited to Knesset committee hearings as an honored guest, and is praised by ministers and coalition MKs.”

Adds Shraga: “When thugs block the car of the former chief justice, this is not a protest, this is organized harassment aimed at terrorizing anyone who dares to stand up to the coup.”

Shraga also calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to condemn David. A spokesman for Netanyahu does not immediately reply to a request for comment.

IDF believes 70,000 Gazans killed in war, as claimed by Hamas; civilian-terrorist ratio still unknown

Palestinian women mourn over the shrouded bodies of family members killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza City on August 30, 2025, at Al-Shifa Hospital. (Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

The Israeli military believes that the number of people killed in the Gaza Strip during the war, which began with the Hamas-led terror onslaught on October 7, 2023, is around 70,000, as claimed by the Hamas-run health ministry.

A senior security official says that the actual breakdown of the toll is still under review, and it is unknown exactly how many of the dead are members of terror groups and how many people died directly as a result of the fighting.

According to the Hamas health ministry, a total of 71,667 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

The ministry also claims that at least 440 Palestinians died of malnutrition and starvation in the Strip during the war.

Israel denies this, with the security official claiming that these statistics are manipulated by Hamas to include individuals with underlying severe health issues.

Israel, during the war, largely rejected death tolls claimed by Hamas’s health ministry, especially following specific incidents in which the terror group announced what Israeli officials called “exaggerated tolls.”

However, the overall number of those reported killed in the Strip — even in previous wars — has always been considered by Israeli security authorities to be relatively reliable, even though the toll does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.

Before the October 2025 ceasefire, the IDF said it had killed at least 22,000 combatants, as well as another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.

IDF officials also previously said that the combatant-to-civilian deaths ratio remained relatively the same throughout the war, with two to three civilians killed for every dead terror operative.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas, including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.

Suspects accused of smuggling goods from Israel to Gaza said set to be charged

Police have reportedly filed a prosecutor’s declaration against a number of individuals suspected of helping smuggle goods from Israel into Gaza, with indictments against several of them expected to be filed next week.

Reports vary as to whether there are 11 or 13 suspects.

Earlier this week, the Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court partially lifted a gag order on a probe that Haaretz says implicates soldiers and civilians in a widespread smuggling ring.

The court barred the publication of any further details, including anything that could identify the suspects. The gag order is in place until February 10.

Meanwhile, several Hebrew media outlets have petitioned the Ashkelon Magistrate’s Court to lift what remains of the gag order and allow for the publication of the case’s details in full.

Judge Yaniv Harush is set to issue a ruling on the petitions today.

Putin, UAE president to discuss Iran tensions at Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on January 29, 2026. (MAXIM SHIPENKOV / POOL / AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin tells his UAE counterpart Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan that Russia is closely monitoring the situation in Iran and wants to discuss it with him in Kremlin talks.

Putin makes the comment at the start of talks with the UAE president whose country has recently hosted peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the potential for talks between the US and Iran had not yet been exhausted, and that any use of force against Tehran could create “chaos” in the region and lead to dangerous consequences.

Man shot in Nazareth succumbs to wounds, the 25th killing in Arab community this year

A man wounded this morning in a shooting in Nazareth has died in the hospital, police say.

The victim is named by the Ynet news site as 34-year-old Mosab Abu Johar, a resident of nearby Yafia.

Police say they launched an investigation into the shooting. No suspects have been arrested.

Since the start of the year, 25 Arab citizens have been killed in violent circumstances. Last year was the community’s deadliest to date, with a total of 252 killed in crime-related incidents.

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

Daily protests demanding police rein in the violence have been taking place since last week as frustration mounts over the issue.

A mass rally is scheduled to take place Saturday in Tel Aviv.

IDF says all suspects fled after arson attack by settlers on West Bank Bedouin encampment

IDF troops and Border Police officers were dispatched to the West Bank Bedouin enclave of Khallet al-Sidra, adjacent to Mukhmas, last night, following an arson attack by Israeli settler extremists.

The military says that the troops scanned the area, but “all of the arson suspects fled and no further findings were located.”

“The investigation of the incident will be conducted later today by the security agencies,” the IDF says.

Several homes in the Bedouin encampment were set on fire in the attack.

Mukhmas and surrounding communities have come under attack from extremist settlers a number of times in recent months.

Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror onslaught, there has been a major surge in attacks by settler extremists on Palestinians and their property across the West Bank.

The IDF recorded over 750 incidents of Jewish nationalistic crime and settler violence in 2025, while the total for 2024 was 675 incidents.

The attacks, which occur on a near-daily basis, largely go unchecked.

Prosecution of Jewish extremists is rare, and convictions are even rarer. Critics have accused the government, described as the most hardline in Israel’s history, of turning a blind eye to the attacks.

IDF intelligence chief, Saudi defense minister in Washington for talks with US on potential Iran strikes

An Iranian woman walks past an anti-US and anti-Israel banner hanging on a building in Palestine Square in Tehran on January 27, 2026 (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Senior Saudi and Israeli defense and intelligence officials are in Washington, DC, this week for talks with the Trump administration over potential US strikes on Iran, Axios reports, citing two US officials and two other sources with knowledge.

According to the outlet, Israeli officials including IDF Intelligence Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder are sharing intelligence on potential targets in Iran, whereas the Saudis are trying to head off a war through diplomatic means.

Binder met senior Pentagon, CIA and White House officials on Tuesday and Wednesday, say the two US officials.

Meanwhile, Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman — younger brother of powerful Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — is meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff on Thursday and Friday.

The Saudi crown prince has told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that Riyadh would not allow its airspace or territory to be used for military actions against Tehran, state news agency SPA reported earlier this week.

Trump is weighing options against Iran that include targeted strikes on security forces and leaders to inspire protesters, sources have told Reuters.

According to CNN, talks between Washington and Iran failed to make inroads on a deal to end the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and that has increased Trump’s openness to major intervention.

Agencies contributed to this report.

Turkey arrested six suspected of espionage for Iran, state broadcaster says

A US Air Force F-15 fighter jet takes off from Incirlik Air Base near Adana, Turkey, Dec. 15, 2015. (AP Photo)

Turkish authorities have arrested six people including an Iranian national on charges of political and military espionage for Iran after coordinated raids across five provinces, state broadcaster TRT reports.

The suspects were detained following a joint investigation by Istanbul prosecutors, the anti-terrorism police and Turkey’s intelligence agency, according to TRT.

They are accused of gathering information on military bases and other sensitive locations in Turkey and abroad, allegedly in coordination with members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence arm, according to the report.

TRT says the six are further suspected of conducting reconnaissance around the NATO-run Incirlik air base in the southeastern Turkish province of Adana, taking part in shipment of drones through Turkey for use in third countries, and sharing information with Iranian intelligence.

Iran was hit in the past month by the most widespread unrest since its 1979 Islamic Revolution. It is also under US pressure to negotiate a deal to curb its nuclear program or face, in President Donald Trump’s words, a “far worse” attack than the US strikes on its nuclear facilities last June.

Iran claims to have received 1,000 drones for its army amid spiking tensions

Interceptor missiles are fired at Iranian drones and missiles launched at Israel, as seen over Tel Aviv on April 14, 2024. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

A batch of 1,000 drones was received by the various branches of the Iranian army, semi-official Tasnim news agency reports, amid growing tensions, with US President Donald Trump warning of an attack if Tehran refuses a nuclear deal.

“In accordance with the threats ahead, the army maintains and enhances its strategic advantages for rapid combat and imposing a crushing response against any aggressor,” the army’s Commander-in-Chief Amir Hatami says.

The claim cannot be verified.

Iran has said it could respond to American strikes with attacks on Israel and US interests in the Middle East.

IDF shutters Hostages HQ: ‘Scenario in which everyone returned is beyond all imagination’

Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon attends a ceremony held at the IDF Central Command headquarters in Jerusalem, on July 8, 2024. (Oren Ben Hakoon/Flash90)

After over two years, and with the return of all the captives from the Gaza Strip, the IDF says its Hostages and Missing Persons Headquarters is going dormant.

The unit had been established under the Military Intelligence Directorate in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror onslaught, and was tasked with the intelligence-gathering efforts on the hostages and missing persons. Until November 2025, it was headed by Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, who also served as the IDF’s point man on hostage negotiations.

“The scenario in which everyone returned is beyond all imagination; we did not assess that we would reach this situation,” a senior officer in the unit says in a call with reporters.

In all, the headquarters dealt with 255 hostages held in the Strip — the 251 abducted on October 7 and four who had been held since 2014 and 2015.

During the first days of the war, the unit was looking into 3,100 missing people, a number that dropped over time. It took until the end of 2024 to confirm that a total of 251 had been abducted, according to the officer.

According to the IDF’s data, 38 of the hostages were abducted alive and killed in captivity after October 8, 2023. In many cases, they were murdered by their captors, and in others, the military has confirmed that its own actions, including airstrikes, led to the deaths of hostages.

“Each such case was thoroughly investigated; there were different types of errors, and therefore there were several cases of harm to hostages,” the senior officer says.

The unit was made up of some 2,100 soldiers, around 60 percent of them reservists. The soldiers largely came from the Intelligence Directorate’s Special Operations Division, with others from dozens of units.

According to the senior officer, work at the headquarters was divided into two departments: one dealing with the living hostages and another with the deceased.

Teams of intelligence officers investigated where the hostages were held and by whom, and what their conditions were. The officer says the work was constant, as Hamas often moved hostages around, especially in Gaza City.

The officer says that throughout the entire war, up until the October 2025 ceasefire, the military prepared for rescue operations of living hostages. But he says it became “increasingly operationally complex” to carry them out.

“There were operations that were not publicized, that were already prepared and were halted at the last moment, or operations that went into action and did not achieve their objective because the hostage was not found at the location, but we continued to work on this all the time,” he adds.

EU ministers approve new Iran sanctions over protest crackdown, support for Russia

This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)

European Union foreign ministers adopt new Iran sanctions targeting individuals and entities involved in a violent crackdown on protesters and the country’s support for Russia.

The ministers are also expected to reach a political agreement to include Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the bloc’s list of terrorist organizations, putting the group in a category similar to Islamic State and al-Qaeda and marking a symbolic shift in Europe’s approach to Iran’s leadership.

Artist posts final Daily Postcard, ending project depicting hostages and October 7 dead

On the left side, Engelmayer (middle) with the parents of Tal Keren, who was killed while fishing on Zikim beach by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy Tamar Engelmayer). On the right side, Engelmayer (left) with the father of Carmel Gat, who was taken hostage from Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7, 2023 (Courtesy)

Illustrator Zeev Engelmayer posts his final Daily Postcard a day after the burial of fallen police officer Ran Gvili, ending a project he began in the weeks after the October 7, 2023, Hamas onslaught.

The final postcard is a collage of many of the hostages who died on October 7 and in captivity, and former hostages. Engelmayer himself appears in the corner.

Engelmayer, popularly known as “Shoshke,” writes on Instagram: “The Daily Postcard. The last one. In this final postcard, I drew them around me, because they’ve long since become a part of me. I’m sitting in the corner, and I feel that they are with me. All around me are those who returned and those who did not return alive. Some of people who are very dear to me are not in this postcard, so maybe I’ll draw them as a continuation, something bigger. The Daily Postcard project ends today.”

Engelmayer adds, “Thank you for being with me and the colorful marker pens, every day with the painful and emotional stories, for the Daily Postcard. You are the people that I waited for. One day, lightness and kindness, and our ability for compassion and love, will overcome everything.”

The illustrator’s Daily Postcards embodied the horror, fear and sorrow of October 7 and the war in Gaza, with portraits of hostages and other victims and survivors of the war.

Engelmayer’s postcards became world-renowned, hung in public and private displays, and turned into placards and posters held by the artist and thousands of others at rallies and protests.

Lungs used in Rabin Medical Center’s 1,000th transplant taken from fallen soldier

Sgt. Maj. (res.) Asael Babad, who died on January 22, 2026, after being wounded in a Hamas attack on October 19, 2025 in southern Gaza's Rafah. (Israel Defense Forces)

The 1,000th lung transplant performed at Rabin Medical Center was taken from fallen soldier Sgt. Maj. (res.) Asael Babad, the hospital says.

Asael’s lungs were transplanted into Amram Hazan, 53, who suffered from advanced chronic lung disease, saving his life.

“Asael always felt a divine mission to do good for the people of Israel, and it was clear to us that if there was a way to save lives even after Asael’s passing, this was the right thing to do,” Babad’s family says.

Babad, 38, a father of five, was severely hurt in October in a Hamas attack in the southern Gaza Strip, a week into the ceasefire. He succumbed to his wounds last week.

“I am breathing on my own again and returned to life after being in very serious condition,” says Hazan. “I am deeply grateful to the noble family who donated the lungs to me.”

Russia: Potential for US-Iran talks not exhausted, use of force against Tehran could create regional ‘chaos’

This handout image from the US Navy shows Capt. Daniel Keeler, the commanding officer of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, as he prepares to fly an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter in the Indian Ocean on Jan. 23, 2026. (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Daniel Kimmelman/US Navy via AP)

The Kremlin says that the potential for talks between the US and Iran had not yet been exhausted, and that any use of force against Tehran could create “chaos” in the region and lead to dangerous consequences.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov is commenting a day after US President Donald Trump urged Iran to come to the table and make a deal on nuclear weapons or face a possible US attack.

Brent oil price tops $70 amid Trump’s threats to strike Iran

Brent crude oil tops $70 per barrel for the first time since September as US President Donald Trump increased his threats against Iran.

In London morning deals, international benchmark oil contract Brent North Sea crude jumps 2.4 percent to $70.06 per barrel.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate climbs 2.6 percent to $64.82 per barrel.

Senior Hamas official: We never agreed to give up weapons, no one has talked to us directly about it

Hamas politburo member Moussa Abu Marzouk, front, attends the funeral of Saleh Arouri, in Beirut, Lebanon, January 4, 2024. (AP/Hussein Malla)

Hamas never agreed to disarm, says senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump insist that the terror group must give up its weapons in the near future.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Abu Marzouk says that “we haven’t discussed the weapons yet, no one has spoken to us directly about it. We haven’t spoken with the American side or the mediators on this issue, so we can’t talk about what it means or what the goal is.”

He says that a Hamas agreement to hand over its weapons “never happened, not for a single moment did we talk about the surrender of weapons, or any formula about destroying, surrendering, or disarmament.”

If Israel, the US and the West failed to disarm Hamas through two years of war, “how can they obtain it through negotiations?” he asks.

Hamas has indeed never publicly agreed to disarm.

Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza does explicitly say that Hamas must disarm, but the Hamas statement endorsing the plan issued on October 3 contained significant conditions and did not mention disarming directly. It said that “other issues mentioned in President Trump’s proposal” — a euphemism for disarming — would “be discussed within a comprehensive Palestinian national framework.”

Hamas, Israel and the mediating countries signed another one-page document in Sharm el-Sheikh the day before the ceasefire began, but it focuses on the first phase of the Trump program, primarily the hostage-for-prisoners swap.

Abu Marzouk says that at the negotiating table “we will discuss which weapons will be removed, what will be removed, how they will be removed.”

Abu Marzouk also stresses that it is Hamas running Gaza: “The movement has restored order to the Gaza Strip to serve the Palestinian people and preserve their security.”

He hints that Hamas has a veto over the new technocratic committee set up to run Gaza, emphasizing that no one can enter Gaza without Hamas’s consent. At the same time, he says Hamas will facilitate the committee’s work, and “provide security.”

Turkey to offer help resolving US-Iran tensions when Araghchi visits tomorrow, source says

Turkey will offer to help resolve tensions between Washington and Tehran when Iran’s top diplomat visits, a foreign ministry source says a day ahead of the visit.

“Turkey is ready to contribute to resolving the current tensions through dialogue,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is to tell his counterpart Abbas Araghchi when the pair meet, the source says.

Turkey plans to ‘reinforce border security’ if US attacks Iran and regime falls, official says

Iranians walk past a billboard showing Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with anti-US rhetoric in Tehran on January 27, 2026. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)

Turkey is weighing contingency plans along its border if neighboring Iran is attacked by the United States, a senior official tells AFP.

“If the United States attacks Iran and the regime falls, Turkey is planning additional measures to reinforce border security,” says the official, who requested anonymity.

Police open probe after far-right activists block Aharon Barak’s car, call him ‘dictator’ – report

Far-right activist Mordechai David and other agitators block the vehicle of former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak, outside an event in Tel Aviv held by the Movement for Quality Government, January 28, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Police are reportedly investigating far-right activist Mordechai David and a number of others after they blocked former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak from driving out of a Tel Aviv parking lot after he spoke at an event last night.

According to Ynet, David is to be interrogated alongside several other men on suspicion of disturbing public order after they stood in front of the retired judge’s car while David lambasted him as a “dictator” and “criminal.”

David opened the door to Barak’s car and filmed himself calling the 89-year-old the “Khamenei of our generation,” referring to Iran’s supreme leader. “Lucky for us, his generation has passed. We are the new generation, the generation of the messianic age,” David says in the recording.

Officers are reportedly examining whether David and the other activists committed any other offenses last night, Ynet adds.

Police do not immediately respond to a request for comment confirming the investigation.

Police to file terror charges against Palestinian who killed 2 in ramming-stabbing attack last month

Aviv Maor (left) and Shimshon Mordechai, who were killed in a terror attack in northern Israel on December 26, 2025. (Courtesy)

State prosecutors are set to file terror charges against Ahmad Abu al-Arroub, who carried out a fatal ramming-stabbing attack last month.

Arroub, a Palestinian from the West Bank city of Qabatiya, killed two people and injured two others in a stabbing and car-ramming rampage in northern Israel.

Following an investigation by the Shin Bet and Northern District police investigative unit, Arroub will be charged in the Nazareth District Court with murdering Shimshon Mordechai, 68, and Aviv Maor, 18. He also faces three additional counts of attempted murder, police say.

According to law enforcement, Arroub crossed into Jerusalem through a weak point in the West Bank security barrier a few days before he carried out the attack on December 26. He was employed in construction by an Israeli citizen from Arraba.

The morning of the attack, Arroub set out with his employer to Mesilot, a northern kibbutz where he was working as a plasterer.

That afternoon, he took a knife and screwdriver from the site and stole his employer’s pickup truck.

He used the vehicle to fatally ram Mordechai in the northern town of Beit She’an, then proceeded to Kibbutz Ein Harod, where he stabbed Maor as she waited at a bus stop. Right after that, he was shot by an armed civilian while en route to the nearby town of Afula.

Police say that indictments will also be filed against Arroub’s two brothers, who were working illegally in Israel, as well as his employer.

Lufthansa group extends cancellation of night flights to and from Israel through Feb. 3

A Lufthansa plane takes off at the Ben Gurion International Airport, outside of Tel Aviv, August 14, 2025. (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

The Lufthansa group of carriers says it is extending the cancellation of night flight operations to and from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport through February 3, due to the situation in the Middle East.

The move comes after the Lufthansa group – whose carriers also include SWISS, Austrian Airlines, and Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings – decided to operate all flights to and from Tel Aviv as daytime flights from January 15 through January 31 in anticipation of potential hostilities with Iran. As a result, Lufthansa group flight crews will not have an overnight stay in Israel.

The German carrier says that it is rescheduling some of the canceled night flights to daytime hours to ease travel for passengers.

Iran arresting doctors who treated wounded protesters, activists say

Doctors are being arrested in Iran for treating those injured in the regime’s brutal crackdown on protests, The Guardian reports.

According to the newspaper, at least one surgeon is at risk of being sentenced to death.

Alireza Golchini, 52, from Qazvin in central Iran, has been charged with “moharebeh,” or “waging war against God,” according to Norway-based rights group Hengaw.

His cousin says the doctor posted his phone number on social media and told injured protesters to contact him if they needed help.

“He was arrested in a violent manner in front of his wife and son, who is only 11. They beat him up so badly during arrest, they broke his arm, ribs and dragged him out of his home. My family is terrified,” Nima Golchini, who is based in Canada, tells The Guardian.

“All he did was his duty of saving lives as a medical doctor. He had sworn to save people’s lives. How can any doctor not stand by his oath? I am worried not only for him, but also for other healthcare workers who have been arrested for simply standing by their sworn oath,” she says.

Hengaw tells the newspaper that at least nine doctors and volunteer medics have been arrested in recent days.

Hossein Raeesi, an exiled Iranian human rights lawyer, tells the The Guardian: “This appears to be a deliberate revenge campaign against doctors and medical staff who refuse to abandon the wounded.”

Alireza Golchini, a surgeon from Qazvin, has been sentenced to death for treating injured protesters in Iran.
Doctors are being arrested and executed for doing their jobs.
This is state terror.

Don’t believe the regime’s claim about stopping 800 executions.
When this regime… https://t.co/MlBVciZvv6 pic.twitter.com/mvZ6MQyfIr

— Masih Alinejad ????️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 28, 2026

EU ministers expected to list IRGC as terror organization, impose new sanctions on Iran

EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas talks to journalists upon arrival for a EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on January 29, 2026. (SIMON WOHLFAHRT / AFP)

EU foreign ministers are expected to agree today to put Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on the bloc’s list of terrorist organizations after a deadly crackdown on mass protests, the EU’s foreign policy chief says.

“We are putting new sanctions on Iran and I also expect we will list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist list,” top diplomat Kaja Kallas tells journalists ahead of the ministers’ meeting in Brussels.

“If you act as a terrorist, you should also be treated as terrorists,” she says.

Man shot, seriously injured in Nazareth

A man is in serious condition after he was shot in Nazareth, medics say.

The Magen David Adom emergency service says medics provided care on the scene before transferring the man, aged around 25, to hospital.

There is no comment from police and no reports of arrests.

Since last week, daily protests have been taking place in Arab locales across 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 far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s tenure, and has continued apace since.

Trump, Schumer move toward deal to avert US government shutdown over ICE – report

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer waits to speak to reporters following a closed-door meeting with fellow Democrats on spending legislation that funds the Department of Homeland Security and a swath of other government agencies at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

US President Donald Trump and Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer moved to reach an agreement to negotiate new restrictions on federal immigration agents, potentially averting a government shutdown early on Saturday the New York Times reports citing officials familiar with the matter.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The White House and a spokesperson for Schumer do not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

Under the plan, the Senate would carve out legislation funding the Department of Homeland Security from a six-bill package of spending measures required to fund the military, health programs and other federal agencies through the rest of the fiscal year, the Times says.

The report comes after US Senate Democrats called for new restrictions on immigration agents earlier in the day, setting up a confrontation with the Trump administration.

Large swaths of the US government could shut down this weekend if Republicans and Democrats do not reach a deal on immigration.

Suspect in Chabad headquarters car ramming arrested; no injuries

The suspect who rammed his car repeatedly into an entrance of the Chabad movement’s world headquarters is arrested at the scene.

Video shows the man exiting his vehicle, walking slowly toward the street, and being detained by police.

New footage shows a male driver ramming their vehicle into the entrance of Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters on 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, New York.

He would then exit the vehicle before being taken into custody by authorities. No immediate reports of injuries. https://t.co/wss3pcQbrd pic.twitter.com/70WuJvvA02

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) January 29, 2026

There are no reports of injuries or the driver’s motive.

The incident provokes widespread alarm from elected officials and Jewish leaders.

“We’re horrified by tonight’s car ramming attack at Chabad World Headquarters,” the UJA-Federation of New York says.

The ramming takes place during a major annual celebration marking the 75th anniversary of the late Chabad rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, taking on the leadership of the movement.

The building is evacuated, police have closed off the street and are treating the location as an active crime scene.

Trump wants to create conditions for ‘regime change’ in Iran — US sources

Nicki Minaj and US President Donald Trump stand on stage during the launch of a program known as Trump Accounts at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, January 28, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

US President Donald Trump is weighing options against Iran that include targeted strikes on security forces and leaders to inspire protesters, multiple sources say, even as Israeli and Arab officials say air power alone will not topple the clerical rulers.

Two US sources familiar with the discussions say Trump wants to create conditions for “regime change” after a crackdown crushed a nationwide protest movement earlier this month, killing thousands of people.

To do so, he is looking at options to hit commanders and institutions Washington holds responsible for the violence, to give protesters the confidence that they could overrun government and security buildings, they say.

One of the US sources says the options being discussed by Trump’s aides also included a much larger strike intended to have lasting impact, possibly against the ballistic missiles that can reach US allies in the Middle East or its nuclear enrichment programs.

The other US source says Trump hasn’t yet made a final decision on a course of action including whether to take the military path.

The arrival of a US aircraft carrier and supporting warships in the Middle East this week has expanded Trump’s capabilities to potentially take military action, after he repeatedly threatened intervention over Iran’s crackdown.

Driver smashes car into Chabad’s world headquarters in Brooklyn

A driver smashes a car into a side entrance of the Chabad movement’s world headquarters in New York City.

Video shows a car repeatedly ramming into the building’s doors.

A car just drove into the side doors of 770 at Chabad Headquarters. Baruch Hashem, there are no injuries. Witnesses report the driver yelled for people to move as he drove in. It appears intentional. The synagogue has been evacuated as a precaution.

Please stay away from the… pic.twitter.com/ljsoZ0sIE7

— Yaacov Behrman (@ChabadLubavitch) January 29, 2026

The driver’s motivation and further details are unclear.

The building 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, is known colloquially as “770” and revered worldwide.

Key funding bill passes first reading in Knesset

Lawmakers vote 59-54 to pass the 2026 Arrangements Law in its first reading in the Knesset. The Arrangements Law, a key part of the annual budgetary legislative package, determines how funds will be disbursed.

Brooklyn man sentenced to 15 years in prison over Iran-backed plot to kill dissident

Masih Alinejad blows a kiss to supporters outside the federal courthouse after testifying at the trial of her would-be assassins in New York, Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

WASHINGTON — A Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for taking part in what prosecutors call a failed Iran-backed murder-for-hire plot against Masih Alinejad, a prominent Iranian dissident living in the US, the Justice Department says.

Carlisle Rivera, also known as “Pop,” previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and one count of conspiracy to commit stalking before US District Judge Lewis Liman for the Southern District of New York, who imposed Wednesday’s sentence, the Justice Department says in a statement.

Alinejad, who fled Iran in 2009, is a longtime critic of Iran’s head-covering laws and a journalist. She has promoted videos of women violating those laws to her millions of social media followers. She was living in Brooklyn at the time of the alleged plot on her life.

The case was part of a crackdown by the Justice Department on what it calls transnational repression: the targeting by authoritarian governments of political opponents on foreign soil.

Prosecutors say Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its intelligence officials have repeatedly tried to target Alinejad.

Iran has dismissed as baseless allegations that its intelligence officers sought to kidnap or kill her.

Other people have also been convicted in the US and sentenced in relation to the alleged plot.

Settlers set fire to homes in Bedouin enclave near Jerusalem — PA

Settlers set fire to several homes in the Bedouin enclave of Khallet al-Sidra, adjacent to Mukhmas in the central West Bank, the Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem governorate says.

Footage shared with The Times of Israel by Rabbi Arik Ascherman, an Israeli human rights activist who frequents the area of Mukhmas, shows at least three homes on fire, with the flames appearing to have been set inside the structures.

One video shows Palestinians holding a hose and approaching a home as flames rage inside and smoke billows out the windows.

WAFA, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, reports that the settlers had earlier shut down the only road to Khallet al-Sidra, and that after the attack several Israeli military vehicles entered the village.

No arrests have been reported. The IDF doesn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this month, settlers wounded at least four Palestinians and left-wing activists and set fire to at least eight homes and two cars in Khallet al-Sidra, according to the PA.